#bibigo asks

He kisses you like he needs to savor it all. Like this is even before PHM, he kisses you like it’s something he has to hold onto forever. I’m imagining specifically like. Being teachers at GCM and you’re making out in your car during lunch or something. He kisses you so SWEETLY. It’s not about sex with him. It isn’t about other intentions. He kisses you with all his might.

Pls give me more about this man and his kissing abilities because OURGH I wanna kiss him silly until we’re both out of breath but he’s smiling like an idiot with messed up hair and fogged up glasses.

this is the thing. ryland grace will never not kiss you like his life depends on it. he just wants to be close as possible and there’s something particularly fuzzy about kissing you that makes him insatiable. basically craves the proximity and the act of being intimate, and every time he kisses you, he’s just in heaven. you could not get this man more relaxed than when he’s being kissed by and kissing you.

grace is pretty talkative usually, but when it comes to the makeouts, he finds himself indecisive—alternating between talking to you (about his lessons plans, errands, a new place that’s opened he’d like to take you out to on a date) and having his lips on yours. he tries to get as much talking in as he can between the kisses, with little to no success. he learns pretty quickly that this gets you all smiley during your makeout sessions, so he probably does it on purpose sometimes just to entertain you.

should note here that grace is veeery tactile. definitely finds himself gripping softly all over your lower back and hips just so he can pull you closer to him. will tuck his hands just under the hem of your shirt just so he can graze your skin with his fingertips.

grace basically passes away every time you climb into his lap, especially when you’re in the car. really, the two of you get so worked up every time you make out, hands getting in each others’ hair, faces all hot. afterwards, grace always gets a little shy—makes a joke like, “i think a tornado ran through your car,” or some variation of this every time—when he sees the state that both of you are in. then, there’s the aftermath of trying to straighten up grace’s glasses and his tie, and trying to flatten out his dress shirt after getting it all wrinkled. he’s doing the same to you, nimble hands fixing up your hair, tugging your shirt down. still, kisses in between. he can’t help it.

but thinking about aware reader x unaware ryland. the two of them in space with very obvious crushes and reader just like…assumes they’re an unofficial thing, super comfortable with where they’re at and ryland thinks he’s silently suffering the weight of a one-sided crush. when rocky comes aboard and ryland’s away or asleep, and he asks reader “you two are mates?” reader’s just like “yeah pretty much”

when ryland is awake again at some point and rocky starts talking about the mate thing and he gets insanely flustered and then reader is just agreeing with rocky and he thinks the both of them are toying with him. and then they realise he is a complete awkward wreck and they start INTENTIONALLY toying with him.

ryland helps reader with some science experiment and they turn to rocky and are like “see? that’s part of the mating ritual” and ryland just malfunctions completely

please. please.

because being trapped in that ship for so long with grace and the attraction is clearly there, you definitely assume that it's at the least an inevitable relationship that'll come about when the mission is over. and the only reason you guys haven't talked about it clearly is because you need to prioritize saving earth and erid. (totally not because grace is shy and slightly intimidated by you)

and then, there's the downtime. grace decides to nap while rocky's still transferring things from his ship to the hail mary. which means you get to play mover for a bit and get to know your soon-to-be rooommate. and rocky is sooo damn nosy—because he can hear the way your heart rates dial up around one other depending on proximity. AND you obviously have a way about speaking about grace that needs to be explored. and when you tell him "yea even though we haven't actually shacked up," rocky is kind of charmed by your straightforwardness.

grace nearly drops his mug on the floor when rocky asks you, a half-hour later: "as grace mate, why choose grace, question?

grace being like "what? mate—we're not—that would require at least kind of—" oh, the dork that he is, grace is making all kinds of hand motions that are supposed to be interpreted as "mating." he can't even verbalize it.

and he's even more floored when you answer rocky's question with a very simple, "well, he's so passionate about science, which is a plus." grace feels like he's going to catch on fire. and the two of you just keep on going.

"...grace attractive by human standard, question?"

"well, yeah, he's handsome. maybe a little bit dorky, but i like 'em that way." and you and rocky are getting along too well, just egging each other on.

and grace is trying to flag someone's attention. like, maybe lightly offended because he thinks you guys are screwing with him. "what is happening? hello?" and when he doesn't get a clear response, he just gives up protesting it altogether. he's just so confused—especially because he's been thinking that you see right through him this whole time. it's all coming out of nowhere, and you're clearly messing with him. or rocky. both? (doesn't change that he's secretly dying at the thought of you calling him handsome).

and the second he gets remotely close to you to help with the taumoeba breeder tanks, you can tell that he's still totally shaken up (red in the face, glasses half-off, failing to speak out loud). you hitting him with the "this is part of the mating ritual" almost feels cruel, but rocky's "is initiating kiss, question?" is the final blow.

don’t i’m giddy. because i can see exactly how this would go. colt is definitely bringing his hand over your knee first, when there’s a particularly loud action scene (it’s more instinctual than anything else) and over the course of the next hour, he’s inching his way up. once he’s got a comfortable grip on your thigh, he’s taking his thumb back and forth in a soothing, sweeping motion—something to do so he can focus better on the movie.

with ryland, you can tell he’s watching your expressions and reactions to the movie, noting when you’re flinching or frowning at the screen. after a while, he gets kind of mopey that he’s not able to console you. after a while, he’s tapping on your wrist—a silent ask if he can take your hand—and he keeps it for the rest of the movie resting on the armrest between you both.

oh grace is a terribly unfiltered drunk. he’s already sarcastic as-is, and when he gets a few drinks in his system, he’s just less likely to hold it in. has a hard time keeping in sassy comments. will go on about the chemical makeup of alcohol, and also some cool (?) fun facts about the medicinal usages of alcohol in ancient civilizations—which, by the way, he definitely memorized in college to impress at parties (he’s unsure if it ever worked—but it entertains you at least, so he’ll take it). also a lot more flirty in a way that’s never actually intentional. it’s more like… grace saying what he’s thinking off the top of his head (“you look so good i really hope i don’t blackout” type) and if you try to bring it up to him the day after, he WILL be like “oh, did i say that? haha.” — lowkey dying inside.

sweetie lovey touchy colt is actually his default setting. and colt is handsy—he doesn’t mind admitting it. he HAS to have his hands on your legs or your shoulders, resting on the small of your back. it’s dramatic, really; he acts like he’s going to pass out if he isn’t touching you every now and again (like, on par with needing to breath).

and it’s worse if you guys work together because you’re having to swat him away every time he gets remotely near you. your “no pda on set” rule drives him absolutely crazy and it just means that he’s going to be glued to you the second you’re home. basically demands that you let him rest his head on your chest and squeeze at your hips. colt loves to kiss at your neck and your collarbone while you guys cuddle up—and if it’s a spooning situation, you’re getting kisses to your shoulder blades and a back massage.

wait don’t do this to me. because.

ryland in a crop top and short shorts is probably the shyest out of the three—considering he’s usually the one wearing the most layers. just so flustered trying to tug to shorts down, and then the shirt, and neither is getting any longer (you have to remind him). then, his glasses are falling off, and he’s just a complete mess. and he’s soo (not) mad when he sees how much you’re drinking this up. he’s all like “are you sure you’re into the crop? i guess it’s pretty ‘90s.” and you’re just frothing at the mouth because you’ve never seen his muscles so beautifully wrapped. ryland’s stomach is doing flips every time you run your palms up and down his arms. his soul probably raises out of his body when he realizes that your hands are going to be glued onto him until he changes out of this outfit. you beg him not to, because he just looks so delicious.

colt is really comfortable. too comfortable. again, being stuntman for ryder means he’s getting dressed up in the most absurd cowboy/pirate/cop/etc costumes, and he’s probably done the more revealing ones with little resistance. probably puts sunglasses on and does a little spin for you (the ego on this one), and you have to act like you’re totally not into it. he knows you are and you know you are—so there’s really no point. this best thing you can do is catch colt by surprise and squeeze on him the second he gets close to you (arms, thighs, ass, really everywhere). the sensation of your hands over the tight fabric of his crop top and shorts is making him choke back a groan—and you’ve got the widest grin that colt’s ever seen on you. colt is begging you to play nice with him so he doesn’t throw out his back, but in the end, he’s throwing those sunglasses off and letting you do whatever you want to him.

holland is probably the most resistant out of all three of them. literally only does it to please you and holly (who thinks that her dad’s embarrassment is premium entertainment). while she’s pointing and laughing at him, you just have this small, devilish smile on your face that’s making holland squirm. you have to assure him it’s just like that dan aykroyd skit with the hard hats! everybody loves that skit. but it’s even better than dan aykroyd because it’s your very handsome, no-longer-single-father boyfriend who’s fully on display for you to check out. you’re keeping it pg-13, laughing along, until holly has to leave to hang at jessica’s. the second she’s out of the house, you’re making a jump on holland, he’s falling onto the couch with you on him, and you’re groping him through the crop top—telling him all about how this is the sexiest you’ve ever seen him (really, porno-level). holland only gets cocky after you tell him you’re turned on by him all skimpy, and by then, he’s lowering his voice and asking if you want him in this get-up more often.

i’m thinking he was lowkey messy and a hot mess of a grad student but still pulled through bc he’s also a smartass and what fuels him besides caffeine is spite LOL

see this is the underrated version of grace that i need to write for more. because i just know that cocky!grad student ryland is sooo insufferable (and unfortunately it does work for him).

before unesco and before getting into teaching, ryland is… a cocky academic perfectionist who thinks he knows best. which, yes, he is well-versed in molecular biology and is always keeping up to date with academic journals (probably sleuths forums, too). he has his laptop glued to his hip 99.9% of the time to work on his thesis. always attends conferences—probably sits in the back with a notebook to write down his thoughts and, more often than not, counterarguments. so not afraid to get into debates with colleagues and faculty, but really everyone can tell that he’s set to go far and advance the field, so only a few people really hate it. very into the weekly all-nighter, lot of coffee runs (two minimum a day), not the best cook in world, probably runs on frozen meals. will go out to bar crawls with his grad cohort—and that’s probably the extent to which he goes out.