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Scott Ryder was sitting in the Meeting Room and reading messages he received from various people from Eos and the Nexus, and listening to Liam and Jaal talk about music while they worked in the Research Room. They’ve been talking about anything and everything for as long as Scott was sitting there, and they were so invested in their conversation that they didn’t even notice when he’d walked past them to get to the Meeting Room earlier. It was honestly adorable how interested these two were in each other’s cultures and customs, and how much they enjoyed spending time together.
Liam held Jaal’s full attention as they moved on to talking about different types of music and instruments, Jaal’s investment in the conversations making Scott smile. The way Jaal asked question after question about each instrument and its history was clearly making Liam happy, especially since he got to ask questions back. At this point both of them just completely abandoned their respective work and started pulling up different resources to research different instruments together, and Scott found it ridiculously charming.
When Scott was finished with the messages, Jaal and Liam were still not done talking about music. As he walked down the stairs to join them, Jaal looked up from the screen displaying what Scott assumed were Angaran instruments, and the way Jaal’s face lit up even more when he spotted Scott made the man’s heart skip a beat.
“Having fun?” Scott asked as he approached them, one hand immediately resting on Jaal’s shoulder.
“We are,” Jaal agreed. “Earth music is… different. And very diverse.”
“It’s definitely an experience. I can introduce you to some of Sara’s favorites, too, if you want. She’s the music person between the two of us. Her taste in music is very particular, so you’ll be able to experience a wide range of genres within the span of one or two playlists.”
“I would like that,” Jaal covered Scott’s hand with his own, his smile sweet and gentle, making Scott want to kiss him. So he did. “I imagine talking to her about it would be interesting as well.”
“You say that now,” Scott laughed against Jaal’s lips, before taking a step back. “If she’s into something it’s really difficult to get her to stop talking about it, so you better start preparing for when she wakes up. And fair warning, she’ll be asking you so many questions, too.”
“I’ll be happy to answer all of them.”
Smiling, Scott kissed Jaal once more, and as the Angara wrapped one arm around Scott’s waist, Liam patted Jaal on the shoulder with a smile.
“It’ll be an adventure for everyone involved, believe me,” he said. “Come on, let’s get back to work. We’ve been talking more than I expected.”
A few hours later, when Scott finished dealing with Addison, Tann, and the situation on Kadara, he sat down in his quarters and began going through his and Sara’s old favorite songs. He started searching for the titles he remembered Sara loving and often listening to, hoping Jaal would enjoy them as much as Sara did. Only when SAM suggested that he should get some sleep did Scott realize he spent a few hours on just looking up songs, but selecting a diverse list of songs for Jaal to enjoy mattered more to him than sleep right then.
Scott would have to remember to thank Liam for the idea, honestly. The Pathfinder wasn’t the greatest at picking out gifts for people, purely because he was very indecisive, but also because he often ended up overthinking his every choice, which he realized wasn’t the best of traits in a Pathfinder. He was working on it. Hopefully, neither Jaal or Liam would hold his awful gift giving skills against him.
As he worked on the list, listening to some of the pieces Sara had made him listen to when they were younger, he felt tears gather in the corners of his eyes. Scott really missed his sister. He missed her energy and her drive, as well as the way she approached every challenge she faced. She would do so much better as a Pathfinder, he still truly believed that.
“Is everything well, Scott? Your heartbeat is elevated.”
“I’m fine, SAM, thanks,” Scott muttered as he wiped his eyes.
Sara would be fine, that was what Scott reminded himself every time he ended up thinking about his sister. Everything would be fine.
He finished his gift for Jaal, and that was what he should be focusing on.
Jaal loved it when Scott presented it to him the next day, which managed to calm Scott down.
They were lying on the bed in the Pathfinder’s quarters as Scott explained the meaning and significance of every song, followed by stories of how had Scott and Sara found each piece. Jaal was listening attentively to each story and, as always, asking a lot of questions, one arm wrapped around Scott.
The Pathfinder just finished explaining how Sara had introduced him to the last song from the collection, when he felt Jaal pressing a kiss to his brow.
“Thank you for this, my heart,” Jaal said, tangling his fingers with Scott’s. “I’ve never heard music like this before, not even among the ones Liam introduced me to yesterday. And thank you for telling me about your sister as well. I cannot wait to meet her.”
“Oh, she’ll love you,” Scott, still smiling, pressed a kiss to Jaal’s jaw. “I just hope you won’t believe everything she’ll end up telling you. She really knows how to tell a story, especially when the story is about me making a fool out of myself.”
“I will keep that in mind,” Jaal promised, clearly amused by Scott’s comment. “The next time we are on Aya, I will introduce you to my family’s favorite songs. I think we still should have instruments my siblings and I used when we were young.”
Scott kissed Jaal once more. “I can’t wait.”