#sorry queen

He heard shuffling coming from the bedroom, along with a very loud groan and the sound of a laptop slamming shut. Then, the door opened, revealing a clearly exhausted Ryland wearing a fox sweater, sweatpants, and fuzzy socks with a sloth print. Quite the look, if you ask Colt. “What.”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine!”

“It’s five. Post-meridiem,” he retorted flatly.

Colt furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Post-mer- what?”

Grace sighed and shook his head. His main goal for the day was to finish grading the tests from Friday, but his stupid brother had different plans. Affectionately. “Pick up a book for once, you dunce.” He moved to sit on the arm of the couch opposite Colt, feet up on the seat on either side of the other’s legs and his knees in front of him so he could rest his arms atop them. “Now, what are you ruining this wonderful day for?” He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Real nice, dickhead,” Colt responded, pulling his leg up to kick at the other. He landed a foot on his shin, and the regret was immediate. Ryland glared at him with such intensity he wondered if he’d even be able to make it off the couch before his brother strangled him. 

Evidently, he could not.

Grace jumped across the seat, landing roughly on Colt’s legs that he failed to bring to his chest in time. He then shot a hand to his neck, poking lightly once where it met his shoulder and eliciting a quiet yelp. “Okay, idiot, let me get this straight-”

“Funny,” Colt sassed. The irony of Ryland’s bisexuality was not lost on him. Speaking of; the man himself scowled over his crooked glasses at his twin, clearly not amused. “Get it? ‘Cause you’re ga-HAY!”

A quick pinch to the same spot was delivered before he continued. “Fine, let me get this bi: you broke into my apartment while I was finishing up work for my job, hollering about how Court ‘ordered a break’. And then, I stop working to come talk to you, and you swear at me and kick me?”

“Whahat even ihis your advehersion toho swearing? Yohohu used to swear religiously!”

“I’m a teacher, and I’m not the fun one that lets you drop the f-bomb in the middle of a question.”

“Lameass.”

Another sequence of pinching.

“Wahahait! Wahait, Ihi’m sohohorry! Lehet me explahain before you do anythihing brash, plehease!” Colt giggles, reaching to hold Grace’s hand. Grace let him do this as a quiet invitation to explain, and it effectively eliminated the threat of tickles. “Ohokay- Court got upset that you’ve been avoiding us this week, and he sent me to be the bad cop and make you stop overworking yourself.”

The teacher frowned, sitting back on Colt’s legs slightly. “So he sent a watch dog? And he thought you were the best option?” Colton notoriously wasn’t the best at handling Ryland’s moods. If anyone could do it somewhat well, it was Court. He was more understanding in that respect. But hey, his twin was at least good at physical distractions.

“Man, I don’t know what the fuck he was thinking either,” he laughed, squeezing Grace’s hand gingerly. “I, at the very least, got you away from that laptop.”

Ryland chuckled, squeezing back as a silent ‘thank you’. “Gosh, you sound like mom.”

Colt gasped, covering his mouth with his free hand rather dramatically. “Oh my god! When she’d yell at you for staring at Thesaurus on that old computer for hours? I remember that!”

He fought back a smile, trying for an annoyed look even if he couldn’t seem to manage it. “Better than whatever you were doing with it, loser.” He could manage an insult. And a quick poke to his stomach. 

“Hehey! Those parkour videos I watched are astronomically cooler than your dictionary obsession!” Colt shoved at the offending hand, attempting to hold it like the other one. “Mine at least had something to do with my career. You were just a fuckin’ nerd.”

Daggers seemed to be coming from Grace’s eyes, this time without glasses blocking them. His glasses were now hanging off one of his ears – a quirk he’d developed when he first got them in middle school. He never liked wearing them, but their mom really got on his ass about it after he’d lost two pairs in a month because he didn’t wear them. Without realizing it, his ‘teacher voice™’ slipped out as he threatened his brother. “Retry that.” 

At first, there was an instinctual fear from the tone – he and Ryland got into a lot of trouble in middle and high school – but it quickly dissipated once he saw the poorly concealed grin on his face. “Or what, Mr. Grace?” He mocked, digging himself into a very deep hole.

He raised his eyebrows at the blatant disrespect before yanking both his hands out of his brother’s grip and sending them towards his sides, stopping just short. He relished in the giggly shriek that ripped from the other’s mouth. “You tell me, crash dummy.”

“Wahait- Ry- Rye bread, my dearest brother! We can talk about this, rIGHt?” His voice pitched up  as the other dropped his hand about an inch lower, where his fingers were just barely touching his shirt. “Cohome on! Wehe’re bohoth adults here, rihight?”

“Rye bread? Last time I heard that one was sophomore year, Colton,” he teased. “If you wanna talk like adults, you can act like one, idiot.”

Colt shook his head, arching up slightly and slamming his back into the couch when Grace’s fingers poked into his sides. “Rylie, plehease!”

He only snickered at him and his actions. “That one was your fault, bud.”

Colton pouted – well, as much as he could with the goofy smile on his face. 

“Oh, don’t pout at me. It looks really pathetic with your obvious smirk, loser,” Grace continued, pulling his hands away a little bit just to mess with Colt. The whiny groan that followed was music to his ears. “Gosh, that’s just pitiful, dude.”

He tried his best for an offended glare, but it turns out that’s really difficult for him to pull off today. “What?”

“Does getting thrown into walls not help your touch starvation?”

“What-? Ryland!”

He huffed out a horribly suppressed laugh. Maybe this break-in could be worthwhile. “What about that Tom Ryder guy? He’s rather touchy.”

“That’s only with you! God, I hate that guy…” he muttered, his face scrunching in disgust.

“Really? I’ve seen him mess with you on set before,” he recalled it very clearly. He’d jokingly mentioned that Colt was being annoying and that someone should shut him up. Ryder had lunged at Colt – who had no idea that Grace had even been talking to Tom – and promptly shut him up. By shoving hands into his ribs. Apparently this was not a normal interaction between them, because the crash dummy complained about the outburst for hours after they left.

“Because you were there! Ry, he has a massive crush on you, he literally does everything to impress you.” Ryder hadn’t shut up about his brother ever since he first met him. It was exhausting.

Grace hummed, suddenly dropping his hands to the other’s ribs and digging in with vigor. Loud cackles filled the room as a result. “Oh. Tell him I’m not interested. Believe it or not, I do have standards.”

“IHI HAHAVE! HE WAHANTS TOHO HEHEAR IHIT FROHOM YOHOHU!” Colt yelled.

“Oh. Too bad, I have no plans to show up on your movie sets any time soon.”

The stuntman snorted and slapped at the back of the couch when the squeezing got too close to his underarms. His brother grinned and stayed there. “HAHA-have yohoUHU *snrk* nohot gohotten HIHIS cahahlls?”

“Uh- no? Why would he have my number, anyway?”

“YOHOHUHU GAHAVE IHIT TOHOHO HIHIM!”

Ryland thought for a second, drilling his thumbs into Colt’s hollows. “Oh! Yeah, no I remember now. I gave him a fake number,” he laughed. “He seemed a little stalker-ish when he asked.”

Colt’s smile seemed to double in size at that. “Thahat mahakes mehehe FEHEHEEL behetteher abohout intrOHOduhucing YOHOHU!”

Grace chuckled and moved a hand to pinch his hip. “What’s your problem with him? He’s nice enough.”

“YOHOUHU DOHON’T WOHORK WIHITH HIHIM! MOHOVE SPOHOHOTS!”

“Oh? “Move spots’ and not ‘stop’? Interesting,” he teased, not moving spots.

Colt kicked his legs behind Ryland, almost shooting him forward with the force. “SHUHUT UHUP!”

“What’s wrong, big shot? Can’t handle some tickles?”

“FUHUCK YOHOHUHU!!” He screamed, opting to grab his brother’s sides, done with the disrespect. 

The teacher squeaked and sacrificed one hand to pull at Colt’s. He took his opportunity to buck, trying to flip their position. Grace gave up on tickling, steadying himself on the couch and trying his best to ignore the hands on his sides.

“Yohouhu fuhudging dihing dohong!” He belittled, gripping his hands again and actually succeeding in getting him away. “Yohouhu’re gonna make mehe fall!”

“Really? Almost like that’s my goal, dipshit!”

Ryland scoffed. “Oh please, Colton, you’re acting like you have an issue with this.”

He frowned quite dramatically and crossed his arms. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Right, I’m sure you don’t.”

 “Shut up! You’re the same way, asshole!” He cried, shoving his chest and almost knocking him back.

“You jerk!” Grace squawked. “You know what, just for that, I’m not gonna indulge in this,” he firmly said, climbing off of him and going back to his spot on the armrest.

Colt balked. “What- but- Rylie!”

He shook his head and smirked. “Nope. Maybe if you cursed at me less…”

“Ryland!”

“Colton!”

Colt put on his best puppy dog eyes and stared right at his twin. “Please?”

Grace thought about it for a second. “What do I get out of it?”

“A way to blow off steam? A distraction, perhaps?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Can you spell distraction?”

“D-I- wait, fuck you! I know how to spell!”

“Ooh, not convincing, buddy.”

He frowned cartoonishly and sat up. “Fine!” He said with finality before jumping on Ryland and unintentionally sending them both off of the loveseat and onto the floor. The scientist took the brunt of the fall, wheezing out a coughing fit after landing. Colt took a seat on his hips and pushed down on his upper arms to pin them.

He waited for a couple minutes to let Ryland get his breath back and stop coughing up a lung. Who says he’s not considerate? 

“You absolute fucking dumbass!” Was the first thing he said when air graced his diaphragm. “Thinking really isn’t your thing, is it? You witless son of a-!”

Colt lit up. “There’s the Ryland I know!”

“Oh my gosh. I hate you so much!” He shrieked, bringing a knee up to lodge it in Colt’s back. “I haven’t cursed in years, you unintelligent rhino!”

Colt hissed in pain, squeezing his arm lightly and eliciting a yelp. “Ow! Rude.”

He rolled his eyes. “No, you’re right. The rhinos deserve a better comparison.”

“Ugh! Fuck you!” 

Ryland considered a number of (debatably) family-friendly insults before deciding the damage had already been done. “K, great, now can you get your fatass off of me? I can hardly breathe.”

He gaped at the teacher who’d just yelled at him for swearing in his home. “Okay, one: screw you, I’m not fat. This is pure muscle, baby. Two: three? All aimed directly at me? I must be special.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Okay, wow. The ‘mellow science teacher’ was really quite the opposite. “Mm, there’s Mister ‘Staggering Waste of Carbon’. We missed you.”

“That’s still a sore subject!”

“Mkay, Ry,” he conceded, letting go of his arms to skitter along his stomach. Grace squeaked pathetically, moving to cover his face rather than fight back. “Awe, still just as pitable, huh?”

Ryland kicked a leg up again, but Colt squeezed his knee and sent it crashing back down before it could make contact with his spine. “Pihihitiahable, yohohuhu fohohool! Ahand thahat’s nohot truhue!” 

“Pitable, pitiable, close enough. Basically the same word,” Colt repositioned his hands on his ribs and clawed.

“Ihits NOHOT! DAHAHAMN IHIT NOHO!”

He faked a voice with pity. “Ohh, also still very sensitive. You were always the more ticklish twin.”

“NOHO IHI WAHASN’T! JUHUHUST AHASK COHOUHURT!”

Colt gasped, making a fist and roughly digging his knuckles into his ribs. “No, Court would definitely agree with me. Remember the butterfly incident?”

“NOHO SHUHUT UHUP!”

“You don’t? You were embarrassed for weeks, Rylie!”

He frantically shook his head, still covered by his hands. “SHUHUSH!”

“When a butterfly landed on your neck in the courtyard, and you screamed in front of the whole biology class?” He continued, ignoring the panicky pleas for him to be quiet. “Oh my god, wasn’t your crush there, too?”

Ryland snorted into his palm and kept shaking his head.

“No no! He was! I remember this; he thought it was adorable and kept tickling your neck for the rest of the year.” He laughed, much to his twin’s dismay. “It was super funny, by the way. Even the teacher laughed at you, in case you forgot.”

He narrowed his eyes, as if to say “how could I forget”. However, it didn’t hold much weight due to the dorky smile and extremely red face.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. You literally gushed about that guy nonstop at lunch.”

“OHOKAHAY IHI GEHET IHIT! STOHOP PLEHEASE!”

Colt did as he was asked, letting up but not moving from his spot on his hips. He listened to him heave for a minute before he started to gently rub where he’d been tickling. Grace flinched at first but eventually relaxed into the affection. 

“You okay?” He finally asked. 

Ryland was quick to flip him off. “‘M fine. No thanks to you.”

“Mhm, sure.” He climbed off of him and stood, offering a hand to Grace. He hesitantly took it, but didn’t stand up. Instead, he pulled him sharply down next to him. He plunged onto his stomach and Ryland took up residence on his back. “Ry-!”

“You really want tickles that bad? Fine.”

Colt was very quickly made a laughing mess on the floor.

~~~

“I’ve been getting emails,” Grace admitted through a mouthful of spaghetti. 

Colt looked up from his plate indifferently. “Well duh, you’re a teacher, Rylie.”

He groaned, shoving his shoulder lightly. He didn’t miss the flinch from his brother when he reached toward him. “No, dimwit. Like… government emails. They want me to work on a science issue they’re having.”

“What?” He nearly dropped his food. “What type of issues? Wait- I thought you were done with that?”

“I am. I- I think I am,” he stuttered. “But it sounds serious. No- it doesn’t ‘sound’ serious, it is serious. At least from what little information they’ve given me. And they’ve been very persistent in reaching out to me. I mean, they must be desperate if they’re reaching out to a scientist with a record like mine. I might just see what it would entail, and go from there.”

Colt put his plate down on the coffee table. His concern seeped into his tone. “Wait, back up. How serious?”

“Promise you won’t freak out?” He waited for a nod, which came very quickly. “They found something on the sun. They think it’s been dimming it. It’s travelling to Venus aswell.”

“Okay, trying my best to stay calm here – Hypothetically, what does that mean for Earth?”

He paused for a second, unsure if he should continue. “Um, it would mean less sunlight. Less warmth. Less… resources for-” He couldn’t seem to fully say it and gave up, turning away.

“For life…?”

Grace nodded.

“Oh… oh my god,” he appeared to think about what that meant before turning back to his brother. “And why- why do they want you?”

“I’m not sure. Either microbiology or chemistry, probably.”

Colt shook his head. “It can’t be microbiology, right? That would mean cells. Cells are life, are they not?”

“They are. It still could be either.”

“No!” He yelped. “No – that would mean aliens. An alien wouldn’t be eating our sun, right?”

The lack of an answer from Grace scared him.

“Right?” He repeated with more urgency.

“It’s anybody’s guess, Colt. I don’t know.”

Colt stood up, covering his mouth as if he were about to throw up. “What the fuck do you mean, Ryland? You’re supposed to know! You’re the smart one!”

“The highest officials don’t even know, Colton! And I don’t have all the information, either!”

His breath quickened and he pivoted to face Grace fully. “No! C’mon, you’re just- just joking, right? This isn’t real. It can’t be real!”

“Colt, calm down please. You promised.” He sounded on the verge of tears, reaching for Colt’s hand to hopefully anchor him.

He jerked away, nearly tripping over the coffee table. “Ryland, how could I possibly be calm?” He yelled. “How are you calm?”

“Please!” He stood too, his spaghetti long abandoned, and finally grasped his hand. Colt seemed to snap out of his trance and he collapsed into his brother. Grace wrapped his arms around him and held him up as he hyperventilated. “Hey, I know. I know it’s scary,” he softened his voice, carding a hand through Colt’s hair. “But it will be okay, alright? The top minds on the planet are working to resolve it, okay?”

“Why are they so desperate then? Why do they need more people?” He forced through a sob.

Ryland almost didn’t have an answer, and his hesitation didn’t help Colt whatsoever. “It’s more complicated than that. The more people they have working on it, the better, right?” The reassurance somehow made sense, and Colt’s shaking lessened.

“Right.”

They stayed standing and hugging for a couple more minutes until Colt’s panic fully dissipated, plus a couple extra minutes. Eventually the stunt double pulled away with a painfully fake smile. 

“Thank you.”

Ryland nodded. “You’re welcome. Now sit down please,” he requested, plopping back down himself.

Grace opened his mouth to speak, but Colt held up a hand. “Before you try to move on and distract me, answer me a question?” A small nod. “Are you going to work on it?”

He stalled to think. “I’ll think about it.”

Colt barely accepted the answer before grabbing his plate of pasta again. “Okay. Distract me now, please.”

And he did.

~~~

“Dr. Ryland Grace?”

His head snapped up from his desk. There was a redheaded woman in his classroom doorway with an important-looking man behind her. Her accent confused him – it was pretty, but not one he could place off the top of his head. Not that it mattered, but he liked to know. “Maybe. Who’s asking?”

She pulled out a packet of papers, and Grace immediately recognized it as the research paper that ruined his career. He reared back. “Is this you?”

“No,” he said, despite the fact that it was. Her fiery glare made him reconsider his answer, though, so he refined it. “No, I’m not doing this today, sorry.”

He moved to gather his papers and shove them in his bag, really not in the mood to do this. Especially not after explaining the (dumbed down) Petrova problem to a class of thirteen-year-olds.

“You misunderstand me,” she said coldly, walking quickly to his desk to slam the packet on it. He flinched and looked up at her again. “This is you.”

“Whether or not it’s me is irrelevant. It’s a stupid paper that was poorly received in the science world. It’s not worth a second look,” he responded with disinterest. “Is that all?”

She seemed very unimpressed with his answer. “Come with me.”

He made a disgusted face without meaning to. “And why would I do that? You’ve just burst into my classroom and showed me the paper that tanked my career.”

“So it is you,” she sounded too smug for his liking. She also reached into her pocket on her coat and pulled out a badge. A government badge. Oh shit. “Come with me.”

He shook his head and finished shoving his stuff into his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and standing. “Can I ask why? Or is that government restricted?”

“Confidential,” she corrected. Wow, he was not used to being corrected. “And you can know everything once we get there.”

“Get where? I never said I was going with you?” Ryland questioned in a panic. “I don’t even know who you are!”

She rolled her eyes somewhat professionally before humoring him. “Eva Stratt. Relax. I’ll fill you in on the essentials.”

“No. If this is about science, I’m not doing it,” he decided firmly, beginning to walk out of his room.

“No one said anything about science, Dr. Grace,” she said, following him out of the room.

He scoffed, “Why else would you show up with that stupid paper?”

“Doctor, why would you get a PHD in microbiology, just to not use it? I urge you to rethink.”

Grace huffed before answering her. “I left that life a long time ago. I have no intentions of going back.”

“Left? Or ruined it by insulting a rather important person?” Stratt was definitely finding joy in torturing this poor middle school teacher.

“Doesn’t matter. Regardless of reasoning, I’m not going back. There’s nothing you can say to change that.”

She stepped in front of him and stopped him from moving forward. “You’ve read the emails. I know you know what this is about.”

“Yeah, and I ignored those too. For a reason. Having some desperate government official show up in my class isn’t changing any of my opinions,” he sidestepped her and kept walking. “Thanks for trying, though.”

Stratt cleared her throat and suddenly there was a man holding him by his arm, preventing him from leaving. “I don’t appreciate the disrespect, Dr. Grace.”

“Yes, well, I don’t appreciate being kept from going home and eating my dinner that’s been calling my name all day. Clearly none of us are happy with how today is going,” he sassed, trying to pull his arm out of the man’s grip.

“Just hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.”

Ryland couldn’t believe the government was working this hard to get him on their side. He figured he might as well bite. “Fine. But please don’t make him hold me the whole time.”

“Great,” Stratt nodded and the man released his arm. “Let’s talk.”

They began walking towards the exit – down the stairs and by the office – where his bike was waiting for him. She explained stuff he already knew first – the dark spots on the sun, how they were travelling to and from Venus, and the consequences they were predicting it would have. But she also added new details. They’d managed to collect samples from Venus, and they had it contained in a lab, waiting to be studied. They didn’t have a microbiologist to study them. They wanted Grace to be their microbiologist.

“No. That’s insane,” Ryland barked out a sarcastic laugh as they turned the corner to his bike. He stopped right next to it and pivoted to look her in the eye.

“I assure you it’s not. We are all sane here.”

He sighed. “Why do you want me? I absolutely destroyed my career with that study on h2o and life and the interviews surrounding it. Not only that, but I’m a teacher. I ride a bike to work because I can’t afford a car. I can barely afford an apartment. I’m the last person who should be helping with this.”

“Do you still think your study was right?” She asked bluntly.

He thought about it for a second. “I still stand by what I said, and I know you know what I’m talking about.”

“Yes, I’m very aware of your, er, outburst,” she responded, crossing her arms.

“Why are my beliefs on life formation relevant? Especially mine specifically?”

She fronted a thin-mouthed smile. “We need someone who thinks they can’t be wrong. You’re perfect for that role.”

Grace truthfully didn’t know whether or not to be offended at that. “Okay.”

“Okay?” She mimicked. “Are you doing this or not?”

He thought for a second looking between her and the man. 

“Yeah. Let’s do this.”

~~~

Okay, so! A lot happened and was discovered after he agreed to go with the desperate government lady. And he needed to update Colt and possibly Court on everything.

Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pick up your phone, crash dummy. I swear to god, Colt, if you don’t answer me soon Five minutes I’m gonna break into your dressing room if you don’t answer in five minutes You ~~~ what the fuck do u want im busy doing my job

Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yeah, I’m sure getting thrown out of windows is much more important than your brother

You ~~~

keep up that attitude and im forfeiting my break

Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WAIR WAIT* IM SORRY Please? :c You ~~~ dont sadface me what do u want this better be good

Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Um When do you think you can come to my place?  Preferably today You ~~~ I get off at 6 y? Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That works Be at mine by 6:30 please You ~~~ fuck u mean that works whats going on Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You’ll see Be there You ~~~ fine c u at 630 Science-y Smartass ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you

“Okay, what do you want, loser?” Colt said the second he walked in Ryland’s apartment.

He clapped, handing him a cold coke and sitting at the table. “Sit down.”

“Oh shit, a table talk? This can’t be good,” he joked, sitting across from Grace. The smile disappeared when he saw the serious look on his twin’s face. “Oh my god, who died?”

Ryland burst into laughter, placing his head in his hands. “Holy cannoli, Colt, nobody is dead.”

“Okay, so what’s with the face?”

He shook his head, smile gone once again. “Okay, I’m gonna start slow. You have to promise to stay calm. And you can’t tell anyone.”

“What? Who the fuck would I tell, smartass?”

“I don’t know, you’re kind of a wildcard. But I’m being serious, this is government level stuff.”

Colt furrowed his brows and opened his can of coke. “Oookay? Stop being suspenseful, I’m curious.”

“Okay. Do you remember the conversation we had last week? About the dots on the sun?”

“...Yes?”

“Okay, well: I was leaving work today, and there was a woman in my classroom. Her name is Eva Stratt. She’s in charge of that problem – Project Hail Mary.”

Colt jolted. “Hail Mary? No. You know what that implies, right?”

“Yes, I know. It’s fitting, though. You’d know that if you’d let me explain,” he said and his brother sighed and nodded. “Good. She was there to recruit me to the project. Turns out they got samples of the dots, and they wanted me to look at it. And not in the chemistry way.”

He nearly spat out his drink. “Woah, hold on! What the fuck? They needed you for biology? Fucking cells ‘n shit?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

Ryland paused to take a breath. “It’s an alien. And I was first contact. Pretty cool, actually, I got to name it. It’s called astrophage now.”

“Genuinely what the fuck. I’ve got to be hallucinating.”

“Nope. This is real, dummy. And, not only that, I’m apparently involved officially in the project now. As the um. Lead… scientist..?”

Colt blinked. “And again I come back to; WHAT THE FUCK?” He shouted, throwing his hands up.

“What?”

“Fuck you mean ‘what’? There are aliens eating our fucking sun, you named them, and you’re the lead fucking scientist for the project that’s trying to save. Our. Fucking. Planet.”

Ryland frowned, taking a swig of his own coke. “Well, when you put it that way-”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Spell insufferable.”

Colt stood up and flicked Grace’s forehead. “Fuck you.”

Grace winced, shoving his hand away. “Owww!”

“Drama queen,” he teased. “Wait, does Court know?”

“Not yet. I’m getting there.” 

Colt made an incredulous gesture and an utterly confused face. “Fix that. Now.”

“What? How?”

“Oh my god. Call him, you fucking moron!”

Grace rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone. “I’ll call and tell him to come over.”

“Fine.”

Court answered on the third ring, immediately yelling at Ryland. He was already on speaker, so both Colt and Grace heard him loud and clear. 

“Ryland fucking Grace you have major explaining to do!” He screamed into the phone. 

Grace made a confused face at Colt. “Um, you’re on speaker. Colt is here.”

“That’s so wonderful that I actually don’t care. Tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Why is everyone swearing at me today?” He muttered before actually addressing his older brother. “Okay, so, I did actually have something to tell you, but I want to know what I’m getting yelled at for first.”

Court audibly sighed. “Turn on the news. Channel four.”

Ryland did as he was told, flicking through the channels and finding the news. His face was front and center, with the words “New leading astrophage scientist” under his picture. The reporter was talking about how he’d made first contact with alien life. And not only alien life – but the species responsible for eating the sun. 

“What the fudge?” He yelped, looking to his twin for answers.

“Exactly. Explain yourself, please.”

He took a second to think of what to say, eventually landing on the simple explanation. “There was a scary government lady who showed up at my work. She said she needed a scientist. That she needed me specifically.”

“Rylie, what the fuck?”

“I’m a very special person?” He answered sheepishly. This earned a slap to the neck from Colt and a very loud groan from Court. “Ow! Stop hitting me!”

“Stop being an absolute dumbass!”

“Clearly I’m not dumb if I’m currently a leading fucking scientist!”

“He swore! I win, dickheads!” Colt boasted, throwing his hands up in victory.

“Oh shut up!” Both Ryland and Court said in sync, and all three of them laughed. 

Court broke off first. “Ry, promise me you’ll be safe?”

“I promise, Court. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be alright.”

“Good. Thank you.”

~~~

A couple weeks passed since the conversation. Ryland had been updating his brothers every time something new happened in the project. It was honestly the most lively their group chat had been in years. 

But this week was gonna be different.

“Rylie?”

Ryland answered the phone call from Court after stepping away from Stratt. “Yo?”

“I know you’re busy, but Colt and I are planning to go on a vacation this weekend. We want you there.”

Grace frowned. He was completely booked out until the Hail Mary launched. “Court, I’d love to, but I can’t get time off. People are heavily relying on me for the astrophage. I can’t get away, even for a weekend.”

Court huffed, clearly upset by this. “They’re working you like a dog. You deserve a break.”

“I know, I wish I could, but it’s just not possible.”

“It’d be nice. In the mountains, nice weather, no service. They wouldn’t be able to bother you.”

“Court, I-” 

There was an extremely loud explosion that interrupted him, and suddenly the world on Ryland’s side of the phone erupted into yelling and phones ringing.

“Ryland! What the fuck was that?”

The only answer he got was a thud from his phone hitting the ground, and he heard his voice distantly screaming Stratt’s name.

“Ryland!”

He never got an answer, and eventually Colt called him to see if he’d heard from Grace. He’d allegedly been trying to call him for forty-five minutes straight. Court hadn’t realized he’d been waiting for Ryland to come back for that long. After Colt finished his side of the story, he explained the booming noise and the screaming that followed to him, and he freaked out. 

“Did he get fucking shot?” He screamed.

“No! Nonono, I heard him talking after the noise. He sounded fine. If he was shot he would’ve sounded choked up, or whiny, or something.”

Colt released a breath he’d been holding. “Okay, good. So we just wait until he comes back.”

“Yeah. It’s okay, Colt. I promise.”

“Okay is a strong word.”

~~~

The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey Ry, answer us when you can! We’re really worried Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ seriously rylie u better be ok if ur not ill kill u The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lay off, Colt. Just be okay. That’s all I’m asking, Ryland. ``` Ry, it’s been a couple hours.  What’s going on? Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ rylie im really scared answer please ``` You ~~~ Hey guys! Sorry Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ RYLAND WHAT HAPPENED R U OK? You ~~~ I’m fine, dummy. A little traumatized But it’s okay The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh thank god What happened, ry? You ~~~ There was an explosion. We lost our scientist and the backup We need to find someone new with the coma gene before launch But it’s okay I mean it’s really fucking sad but We’ll find a way. The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh my god Please be safe Rylie I’m so sorry that happened Are you okay? Need to talk? Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ holy shit do u want me to come over? You ~~~ I’m not in San Fran anymore. We’re at the launch site. We were supposed to be preparing since we’re launching Sunday Oh my gosh I have so much work to do Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ let me know when ur back in san fran okay? You ~~~ I will I’m sorry I can't go on the trip, guys. Take a shot for me The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We’ll just be gone for the weekend We can plan another when you’re back Remember that we’re leaving tonight, we’ll text when we get back You ~~~ Okay Be safe I love you guys The Judicial System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love you too, smarty Crash Dummy ~~~~~~~~~~~ Love you dipshit You ~~~ 🖕

~~~

“Dr. Grace. My office, please,” Stratt demanded, catching the man off guard. He was trying to finish some paperwork over trying to find a new scientist to go on the mission. But it was hard to find a scientist willing to die on such short notice.

He stood and followed her to her office. She took a seat on her rolling chair and he sat across from her. “What’s up, Stratt?”

She sighed. “Would you be willing to be the scientist on the Hail Mary?”

He jumped. Never in a million years would he say yes to that request. He had the coma gene, he guessed, but that didn’t mean anything to him. He had a family, he was a regular at a cafe, he had students who he loved like they were his kids. It was insane to him that she thought he’d be willing to drop all of that. “Stratt– you know I’m not capable of this. I’m just a science teacher at a random middle school in San Francisco. Besides, I have too much to lose. I can’t just- leave everything behind.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” the solemness in her voice scared him. He studied her face, and that’s when he saw the tear marks on her cheeks. He didn’t realize that the death of her scientists affected her that much, but it did make sense. They’d all created a pretty strong bond in the time working on this mission. “Ryland–” She dropped the formalities. “You know how hard it’s been. We can’t find enough scientists who are willing to do what we’re asking. And people who are willing don’t have the coma gene.”

“I know. I’ve been doing the paperwork for it,” he responded, now becoming skeptical of the conversation. 

“You have the gene.”

No. No she can’t. “I know.”

“Ryland please don’t make me say it,” her voice wavered and a stray tear dropped down her cheek.

He hesitated, his heart rate suddenly spiking. “Stratt, you don’t mean–”

“Ryland you need to do it. I want to say you have a choice, but– I can’t.”

He pushed his seat back, and suddenly a group of men walked in. They looked strong, at least, stronger than him. “No. No, Stratt, you know I can’t. You know I can’t do it. Please!”

She took a shaky breath and continued. “If we have to make someone go, they can’t have a family. Preferably not even a pet fish. That’s asking for a lawsuit. They also have to have the coma gene, or that’s a failed mission. When I look at the people I currently have at my disposal, I only see one person who both meets this criteria, and is capable of completing the mission. And that’s you.”

She doesn’t know about Court and Colt.

His eyes burned and he rummaged in his pockets for his phone. “No! Stratt, I have two brothers. Colt and Court. I don’t meet the criteria, I- I can’t go up there, please!” He rushed out, hoping that saying it faster would make her believe him. Where is his phone??

“Never once have you mentioned these brothers. How am I supposed to believe this?”

His face became salty, tears now freely coming out of his eyes as he checked his last pocket. His phone was actually there. “It never came up – you never asked, Eva. Please, let me-!”

“Grace, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“No! I can prove it, please! Eva please!” He begged, frantically pulling up their group chat and sending out pleas for them to show up. “Let me bring them here, please!”

Stratt was crying, too. She looked back at the group of men, who were busy dealing with a briefcase. “Ryland.”

“Let me call them! Let me prove they’re real!” He yelled, calling Court’s number. It went straight to voicemail. He tried Colt, only to have it do the same. “No! Nonono! Please! They’re real!” He called them both five more times before Stratt spoke up.

“Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe. I can’t have you stalling any longer, Dr. Grace.” Formalities.

“NO! You’re planning on murdering me, Eva!” Ryland screamed, slamming his hands onto her desk. She didn’t even flinch. “I help you with everything, and you want to murder me! I thought we were friends!”

She closed her eyes and another tear strolled down her chin. “I never said that I want to do this, Doctor. I don’t have any choice.”

“You have a fucking choice! What you don’t have is patience! You’re a fucking coward, Stratt!” His own words made his chest burn. He cared about her so deeply, but she clearly didn’t care about him at all. She’s opting to kill him rather than wait.

Her shoulders shook with repressed sobs as she stared him directly in the eye. “I need you to understand something, Dr. Grace. This isn’t me betraying you. I’m purely showing that I believe in you.”

“You fucking liar! You’re betraying me! You’re- you’re really betraying me.” He trailed off at the end, glancing toward the door that the men failed to block. He didn’t think about it before booking it out of the door. He briefly heard Stratt’s radio static and her voice.

“Yes. He’s running.”

He ran all the way out of the building and towards the fence. He begged whatever higher power there was above that the gate was open as he fumbled with his phone to call Court again. It went straight to voicemail again. And this time he left one.

He looked back to see the men chasing him, only to spot Carl at the very front of the pack. Fucking carl of all people. A burst of adrenaline allowed him to run faster, turning back in time to see the closed gate. He screamed profanities that, just last week, he would’ve tickled the shit out of Colt for. He distantly heard Carl yelling at him to stop running; that it was useless and he was making things more painful than they had to be.

Not long after, a man in nurse scrubs slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. All of the oxygen in his lungs was forcibly vacated and he crashed into the grass. “NO!” He wheezed, trying to push up, but there were immediately more men at his sides grabbing his arms and stopping him from doing so. “YOU’RE MURDERING ME!”

The men seemed to have no remorse for their assault, only continuing to push him into the greenery. He felt like his arm was gonna break if they pushed any harder. Then, he caught sight of the needle. He began hyperventilating, doubling his fighting. But no amount of adrenaline could get him out of this situation. 

His voice broke pathetically as he pleaded for his life. “DON’T DO IT! DON’T DO IT! PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE!”

It was too late. The needle entered his neck and he screamed in both pain and terror. He quickly fell silent as the drugs kicked in, his eyes slowly shutting from the drowsiness. 

That’s when Carl decided to speak. “You know who you are. You’ve got this.”

No I don’t.

~~~

  A zipper shrieked as Court closed his backpack. It was Tuesday, which meant they were finally coming down from their Airbnb lodge in the California mountains. He turned to see Colt sitting on the couch, staring at his phone that didn’t work yet.

“You ready to go?” He asked, hoping to release Colt’s tension. Colt only grimly looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I just have a really bad feeling.”

“About?”

“Ryland. I can’t explain it, but I’ve had this pit in my stomach since Saturday. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Colt admitted, standing to help haul bags to his car.

Court thought for a second before moving over to grab Colt’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m sure it’s okay. If something went wrong, he would’ve found a way to tell us. He’s smart.”

“You’re right,” he nodded, scrubbing his right eye. “Let’s just get to service so I can call him, okay?”

“Okay. Grab your bag and let’s go.”

They finished loading up Colt’s car – which was really nice thanks to his movie money – and started their descent down the mountain. Service came back around halfway down, though it was relatively spotty. So they most likely wouldn’t be able to get a call out until they reached the town all the way down the mountain. That was about forty-five minutes from where they were.

The ride down didn’t involve much talking. They were both worried sick, though neither of them wanted to admit how scared they were. They both didn’t want to affect the other. 

Court rode as passenger prince, so he got to pick the music. Colt didn’t totally agree with his choices, but he’d given up on trying to fix his older brother’s music taste when he was in high school. He got attacked many times over belittling his playlists.

Once they got back into the town, both of their phones buzzed an egregious amount of times. Colt’s heart dropped and Court’s eyes flashed his fear. Court was the first one to check, since Colt was driving. He opened the group chat first.

His gasp told Colt everything he needed to know. He pulled off to the side of the road and turned on his hazards, glancing at Court. “Read it. Aloud.”

Rylie ⭐ ~~~~~~~~ GUYS ANSDER OYURE PHOENS HELP CODE RED PLEASE IM BEIHG SERIOUS  I NEED HELP GUYS PLEASE IM BEGGING THEYRE KILLING ME THEYRE SENDIN ME TO SPACE ON THE SHIP PLEASE GUYS PLEASE GUYS??? Im sory i wawsnt safe I love you gusy.

“He spelled stuff wrong. And didn’t correct himself,” Court said, shell shocked, and stared at his phone blankly. He continued, “He left a voicemail. Called me fifteen times.”

Colt had his head on the steering wheel, shaking, as silent sobs wracked his frame. “He called me thirteen,” he choked up, stopping himself from talking for a second. “Play the voicemail.”

Court nodded and pressed play. The noise of Ryland’s frantic screaming filled the car, suffocating his brothers.

"Court the one fucking time I need you to answer your phone! They’re murdering me! I’m running, the gate should be open. I love you. Tell Colt I love him. I'm sorry I couldn't be safe. I hope I can see- FUCK GET THE FUCK AWAY!”

There was a thumping noise and Grace’s voice became more and more fuzzy. There was suddenly another ear-piercing scream that was undoubtedly Ryland’s, followed by a series of “Don’t do it!”’s. Then there was a painful crack that sounded like glass. Or, better put, a phone screen. Someone had stepped on his phone and broke it. Deliberately.

His brothers sat in the heavy silence of the car, the only noise being Colt’s gasping for air. Court stared at the road like it had personally offended him, before he slammed his fist on the door. 

“Switch seats. Don’t question, do it now.”

Colt did as he was told. It was better that way. Not like he could see past the tears, anyway. 

Court buckled up and immediately stepped on it, going at least twenty miles/hour over the speed limit through the town. He didn’t care. He knew what this woman looked like and where she would still be. And he could get there faster than she would be able to prepare for it. The drive was already maybe three hours tops going the speed limit, and Court could easily turn that into an hour. 

~~~ 

“Stratt?” The voice came from Carl, and it had some urgency behind it.

“What?” She accidentally snapped at him. She’d been trying her best to keep her composure, but Grace’s words kept haunting her. A fucking coward. That was the first time she’d heard him curse. And it was directed at her. With anger. She didn’t blame him, of course. She was launching him into space to die. A suicide mission. But she also didn’t have a choice, and that’s what she had to keep repeating in her mind to keep herself sane. She had to see this through before she went crazy.

“We have a problem.”

She glared at him. “I’m busy. Have someone else handle it.” Yeah, busy rethinking everything she’d ever done wrong.

Another thing that was bothering her: ‘I thought we were friends!’. She, truthfully, also thought that. She still wished for it deep down, but she’d ruined it. Though, she couldn’t let it matter too much to her, considering she’d never see him again. The only excuse she had for her actions – besides the obvious – was that he was only her right hand. Nothing more, nothing less. Especially nothing less.

He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned and slapped him away. He shook it off and spoke. “No, it’s a you problem.”

“Excuse me?” She sneered, shoving him back. It threw her off slightly too. Admittedly, she hadn’t been eating much since the launch. “Have you forgotten who you are talking to?” 

“No! I didn’t mean it like that, Jesus Christ, Eva!”

“Stratt.”

“Fine. Have it your way! God damn it, Stratt.”

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and get rid of the dizziness plaguing her. “What do you need, Carl?”

“Eva fucking Stratt.”

Stratt jumped at the voice, reaching for her gun in her desk drawer. That sounded way too much like Grace for her liking. Carl seemed to have the same thought, reaching into his suit jacket and posing his hand over his own gun.

The mystery person finally stepped into her office, holding a pistol in at the ready. A taller man was directly behind him.

“Grace?” Carl said what they were both thinking, the grip on his gun faltered and his hand dropped out of his suit. 

The man in front was a spitting image of Ryland – hair, eyes, height, voice, fucking everything. The man behind him was uncannily similar, but you could definitely tell he was a different person. Stratt squinted and finally got a good look at the doppelganger. She immediately clocked the heartbroken look on his face. 

Grace has brothers.

“Fuck,” she muttered, finally understanding that Ryland wasn’t lying. She’d murdered someone with a loving family, and she didn’t listen when he told her about it. 

His brother – the shorter one – threw the pistol down, it hit the floor and fired into the wall, effectively triggering the security system. Alarms started blaring, making Stratt’s head spin painfully.

“He wasn’t lying,” she retched, dropping to her knees with her gun still in her hand. 

The taller brother scoffed. “Lying? You thought he was lying about having brothers?” His tone was dangerously low as he pushed past the other one. “You fucking monster.”

Carl had a face of pure horror as he rushed to Eva’s side. The fact that she still had her gun made him nervous. “Stratt, please..” He glanced up to watch the two men carefully.

She felt like throwing up. She tried to help the urge by bringing a hand up to her face. The hand holding her firearm. “Court and Colt.”

“He even gave you names?” The shorter one yelled. He was also crying. God, he looked just like Grace. “And you didn’t fucking believe him?”

Stratt sobbed, repeating their names over and over in her head.

“You goddamn bitch!” he screamed. His voice was getting louder every time he spoke. “Fuck you! You deserve to rot in hell! You–”

The taller one – Court – cut him off and spoke as a warning. “Colt.”

Colt ignored him, walking with staggering steps closer to Stratt. “You ruined one of the last good things I have in my life,” he accused, red hot anger fueling every step he took until he collapsed onto his knees in front of her. “You killed my brother!” He finally screamed in her face.

“Colt!” Court stayed back despite the concern in his tone, the gun in Stratt’s hands was really stressing him out. “Get the fuck back!”

“You deserve to die and suffer with all the disgusting killers just like you.”

Through bleary-eyed delirium, Stratt raised her gun without thinking.