Strattland are truly the platonic soulmates doomed by the narrative, you can’t convince me otherwise. Just look at them:
Chasing after him personally to bring him onto the project, to watching him run, having neither the heart to stop him personally nor the choice to let him go anymore.
Going from needing two coffees to function and heading straight to work, to sharing one cup each and simply being still for a moment, together.
From bringing him into rooms and making everyone there appreciate him, to leading the room that is fully aware he is their only saving grace.
From “Must be hard, having to ask everybody to… you know.”
“Actually, it isn’t.”
To... “Don’t make this harder, please.”
The first and last time he makes her smile, by acknowledging her intelligence, (and being snarky about it).
By being surprised that she knows he was fired for calling the leading scholar in his field a “staggering waste of carbon,” rather than for standing by what he said as he tried to imply. And years later by throwing the phrase, “You’re smart, you’ll figure it out,” right back at her.
(& I could go on and on, like even about the items passed between them... the hackysack that’s not lava, and the xenon Grace figurine that’s not a gas :))))
