Work Text:
Ryland stared down at his phone, the signal bars finally full after months at sea. It had been a long time working for the petrova task force, stuck on Stratt's vat with little to no outside contact. He yearned for it more than anything, to be able to freely converse as he wished, but instead he was stuck with official channels and emails, tracking his every move.
Like he would even think about betraying them. Like he'd sell away the information saving the world or something.
He was generally fine with the eyes kept on him at all times, for his safety and the safety of the Earth at whole. Stratt made him know that each and every scientist she had on deck was of utmost importance, another cog letting the machine of the aircraft carrier work. He couldn't be replaced easily, just like any other scientist, but after awhile the surveillance got…
Tiring.
Especially when he had someone he wanted to contact.
Talking with Marissa was easy, far and few between weeks yes, but it was easy to manage. She worked in the government, vaguely was a land tie between the US department of energy to the ship. They'd even shared official meetings through the screen on occasion, and Stratt didnt care about his occasional misuse of his emails to try and maintain some sort of relationship with his best friend. That it's self was a blessing, but it cursed him all the same because it felt like he was so close to the other most important person in his life, but so, so far away.
He looked at the last message he sent when he had gotten a single bar of signal on his american sim card, a desperate plee. Stratt never saw much of a reason to bug this phone, the woman knew he was well trained for something like this. But even Stratt, with the uncanny ability to get any and all information in the world could gloss over something. Even she made mistakes and Ryland reveled in the fact of his hidden person of interest, someone he wanted to keep far far away from any government business.
It was for the man's own good.
🚗
Sept 13, 202X
Ryland: Ik its been awhile but ill be in LA soon.
Gvmt work making it hard to talk
Meet up? In prsn?
Please?
Even just for coffee is fine.
Hopefully you'll be free, at least enough to see you :(
It had been sloppy and in a rush, strings of messages sent at once away from peering eyes and cameras. He felt like he was in highschool again, quickly sneaking around to sneak out of the house, a shame rising in the back of his neck. It didn't have to mean anything weird, they were adults, but Ryland ached seeing the messages entirely unchecked.
Who did he think he was anyways?
Ryland sighed as he shoved his hand into his coat pocket, staring out at the steadily approaching port. They had a few meetings inperson with NASA, some hotshot at silicone valley, and whoever else had the time to fly out to California on a whim to see the earth saving crew. Ryland knew that it was important, that Dr. Grace was important, but he didn't want to be here anyways.
He doubted that the man would show up though. Unread messages out of the blue, no contact or explanation for months on end. Ryland wasn't the type of person someone dropped everything for, he was more… casual than that. His life wasnt the fantasy of running after a moving train or meeting up in an airport terminal for one last kiss. He was more make out in dirty back alleys, hoping neither of them were hurt, before completely forgetting about the experience.
Well, not that he ever did.
The other members of the crew filtered about as they watched the LA harbor get closer, the Vat sailing to the port. Usually everything was done via delivery and aircrafts, but just this once they were making shore. It had happened on rare occasions before, once in China, once in the Baltics. They had been meeting with people Ryland couldn't talk to and scouting out land, Stratt jerking him along to consult him with things like space or the mission. This here was his home though, the warm state of California, and the sea breeze welcomed him in like no other.
"This is your home, yes?" Ilyukhina clapped a hand onto his shoulder, and Ryland jumped. The engineer/astronaut was as friendly as ever, a wide smile on her face as she looked out to where they were docking. There were other scientists and people meandering about, only a few taking notice to where Ryland stood in his raincoat, looking out to the beach with a look in his eyes.
"Not quite, but its close enough for me." Ryland sighed softly, leaning against the banister. "San Francisco is a little more north than this, but going off to Silicon valley will get us right about there anyways."
"You must miss it very much." She nodded firmly, wrapping the arm around her. The engineer was always so easy with affection, saying there was no reason to skirt around it. Ryland disagreed, but let the woman hang onto him anyways. "You get this ah… look."
"Someone I miss very much is there." Ryland sighed softly, pressing the power button on his phone. His home screen was empty, as it's been for months. His phone was a mockery of the invention at this point, no communication held on its digital screen. He turned it over in his palm gently, looking at the beach bobbing ever closer to them.
"You have people you miss?" Dr. Lokken said in a rather incredulous voice, making Ryland turn over his shoulder to look at her. Yao was standing rimrod straight as he tried not to laugh, though Dubois and Shapiro were not as polite.
"Yea, yeah. okay." Ryland huffed, rolling his eyes. "I get it, I'm the village weirdo." He put his hands up in surrender, pulling away from the group. This is how things always were after all, he was meant to be a loner. He did his best work with minimal attachments, its how he was able to figure out life on the vat with little issue. It's how he was able to adapt to the ever changing sleep schedules they had, since clearly there was nobody waiting for him to be awake back home to try and talk.
Him and Stratt seemed to be the only people truely free to do their work that way. Ryland was sure that she did have a family back home, but she entirely ignored them for her work. She had the ability to switch off her care for them, and Ryland simply had nobody to care for. It's probably why he was the only scientist on the same page as her as all time, the same level of sleep deprived from an inconsistent schedule.
Still, it was nice to see the Californian coast again.
He sighed softly as he found a new spot to watch the shore come closer, climbing up the stairs to look out at it. The city was bustling despite the early hours, like it never truly went to sleep. The noise of the other ships, the vat, and the sea filled his ears and Ryland took it all in with a single breath.
"Dr. Grace." And there went his peace, as dictated by Stratt. He turned to look over his shoulder at her, keeping his expression pleasant. "We will be on the move quite a lot to get things done today, i presume that will be acceptable?"
"Not much of a choice, have to save Earth." He laughed softly, leaning against the banister. As the vat rolled into shore it was like everyone got noisy at once, rushing to put preparations in. The science team on the bow below stood still, as did Ryland.
"Carl and I will be with you in the car." Stratt hummed, tilting her head as she watched people work. It sometimes felt like the people under her were really more akin to cogs in a machine or ants, just part of a whole. Ryland understood why she had to think like that, wished that he could do that, but he was just simply not strong enough to.
"The usual, then." Ryland let himself say, pushing away from the edge. Carl was standing off at the stairs, guarding them, careful as ever. Clearly there was more to discuss but Stratt stayed silent, eyes carefully on the port and the cliffs. "What more is there?"
Stratt turned to look at him, raising a brow. There was never just one thing on the agenda, it was impossible when you had all the countries in the world pinning you down to save them. His brows furrowed as he took her in, a soft breath leaving his lips as he forced himself to calm down.
"You just looked like you wanted to remain alone, so we joined you to keep it that way. As long as they think its some official business the science team seems to be less on your heels." Stratt voiced simply, letting him have space.
Ryland huffed at the notion, imagine that the science team actually cared much other than the ability he did his job with. He pulled down his beanie over his face with a heavy sigh, messing with it a little before putting it back.
"We're docked." Stratt grunted out, turning to leave. She didn't have to say anything but he knew he was expected to follow. Ryland stood fast on her heels as they made their way down, following wherever he was taken to get off of the vat.
He would say that dry land felt like a miracle, however most of the time the carrier was so large he couldn't notice much of a difference. Still, he shifted on the docks anyways, stretching out. Carl and Stratt kept walking forward, a black car on the road in the distance. He slinked along to follow them, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Then he felt it.
The slight buzz of a notification, the noise caught up in the sounds of the peir. It felt like his breath had been knocked out of him in a single moment, tripping over his own two feet.
No way. No way…
Ryland slipped his phone into his palm, staring at the black, reflective screen for a moment. Someone was talking, maybe it was Carl trying to give him directions as Stratt took care of something. He could hear the noise of the science team filtering through his brain, it always did just out instinct to make sure that he wasn't needed, but he shoved it away.
He pressed down on the power button for a moment. A single notificiation bubble was on his screen and the air really left his lungs now. He has a text message… He has a text message?! Logically he knew that it could've been anything, could've been anyone, but it still sent a strike right through his heart.
He clicked on it, his thumb annoyingly slow as he typed in his passcode. The dark screen gave way to his messaging app and just like that he remembered to breathe. His last message had the simple check mark next to it, read, it had been read.
Below it was a new bubble, one he didn't type.
🚗
Sept 13, 202X
Ryland: Ik its been awhile but ill be in LA soon.
Gvmt work making it hard to talk
Meet up? In prsn?
Please?
Even just for coffee is fine.
☑ Hopefully you'll be free, at least enough to see you :(
🚗: Look up.
Holy shit.
Ryland wasnt one to swear often, but this warranted it he thinks. He looked up from where he was standing still- when did he stop?- scanning the cliffs up ahead. They were fenced off, clean, entirely empty. That's how they were supposed to be, the area cleared for the Petrova Task Force's safety.
And there was one outlier.
A single car was parked by the fence, a silhouette of itself. Ryland knew that shape, those sharp angles popular with older cars. The person leaning against the hood of the car he knew too, not even having to see their face. Ryland hesitantly held up and hand and they shifted, standing upright to wave back.
"Dr. Grace, are you listening? Director Stratt is letting the team get-" Someone was talking in his ear but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered here. He looked over at Carl, a good few feet away discussing something with the three engineers, and then back up to that cliff edge.
It's him, it can only be him.
And if its him… Than Dr. Grace doesn't matter, only Ryland does.
Ryland bolted.
He was a good runner, he'd always known that. It was helpful to be good at being fast if you couldn't be on time, good to make up for your faults. There wasn't much running he had to do these days, not kept on the ship with five hundred safety measures put in place so one wrong thing didn't kill thousands of Earth's best. But the pavement slamming down on his feet and the heavy feeling of forcing air down into his lungs made him remember what it felt like. The freedom, the exhuastion, getting ever closer to his goal.
Ryland stood at the cliffs edge looking up. He could just barely make out blond hair and a quilted jacket, his mouth moving. Ryland couldn't hear what was being said, couldn't hear anything past the rushing in his heart, the blood pounding in his ears as it struggled to keep his brain oxeygenated.
It really was Driver up there, hand's clenched around wire fencing.
Driver…
Ryland felt tears in his eyes as his hands grabbed onto the rocky wall of the cliff. This was stupid, this was dumb, and he was going to do it. He pressed his feet to the rocks where he could, forcing himself to scale up them. If you had told Ryland two years ago he'd he scaling a minor cliff with zero equipment to keep him safe he would tell you that you were crazy. Though, on the same hand, if you told Ryland that the sun was being eaten by space dots he named he would be just as baffled and both of those were his current reality at the moment.
He could hear Ilyukhina in the background cheering through the other screams of a terrified group of scientists, an exasoerated Carl, and a Stratt wondering what the hell he was doing. He had zero answers for any of them, of course, but scientists were meant to be crazy! Supposed to challenge the norms, even if that meant what was nomrally expected of themselves.
"Ryland!" Driver's voice rang out, obviously worried. Ryland just laughed out in joy, pulling himself up. It hurt his shoulders, his hips hated this, but he couldn't stop. Driver's eyes were wide in shock, absolutely terrified. "Are you okay?!"
"No!" Ryland laughed as he dug his fingers into the earth, struggling to find another foothold. "This is terrifying!"
"Why are you doing it then?!" Driver was exasperated at this point, even as Ryland eventually pulled himself up onto even ground. The chainlink sat between them, so close but so far. Ryland panted against the wires, pressing himself against them as he clung close.
"I'm… so happy to see you." He was utterly breathless as he looked at the other man up close. "And look, I didn't die." He allowed himself to be cocky about that at least, tilting his head. Driver rolled his eyes, putting a hand through his hair. Ryland wanted to be the one running his fingers through those blond strands and he reached out. He couldn't get the wide part of his hands throught the holes in the fence though, and merely looked up.
"Hey Driver…" Ryland murmured softly, reaching up to pull off his glasses. "You'll catch me, yea?" He asked, sliding them through the fence. Driver's eyes went wide as he looked up at the top of the fence for a moment before gingerly taking away the glasses, putting them away safety.
"Always." Was the firm response he gave, stepping back from the fence. Ryland couldn't help the smile bleeding onto his face even as his hands shook. This was scary, this was stupid, he was stupid, but it was just a few more feet.
A few more feet and he could be held by the only person who mattered to him like nobody else ever could.
It was always on and off with Driver, and for once Ryland wanted to be flicking that switch firmly into the on position.
"Don't look behind you." Driver said nervously, and Ryland couldn't help but wheeze. Looking back at was probably a thirty foot drop was not wise, and he had no interest in it. Ryland wasn't a thrill seeker, but still, he flung himself over that fence like it was nothing.
And Driver stepped forward to capture him. Heavily arms slipped around his legs and they fell back, the fence digging into Ryland's back. He was laughing, his chest aching with every breath. Gentle hands came up to frame his face, calluses sliding over his cheeks as they wiped tears away.
"What was that?" Driver met him with a breathy laugh, clearly more worried than amused. His hands shook as he gently cradled Ryland close, brows tightly. It had been so long since they'd seen one another, and here they were clutching the other like it was the last thing they'd ever do.
"I was being brave." Ryland mumbled, leaning in to steal a kiss. Driver wheezed, hands framing both of Ryland's hips. He just wrapped his arms around the man's shoulder and with a soft tug he was picked up, guided over to the car and away from the edge.
"You were being stupid." Driver corrected, through soft kisses. They were clumsy, they often were, a sort of desperation between two souls often knocked out of place matching one another. Ryland laughed again, because he was being stupid, there was so much on his shoulders, but none of that could matter right now. His shaking legs gave out on him, tears slipping through his eyes as he buried his face in that familiar jacket.
"I was. I was so stupid, I hated that." He murmured, shaking his head. "But I missed you even more. You scared me so much that night, leaving out of nowhere with an injury like that. It's only fair I got to scare you back."
"I know." Driver murmured, cradling him close. They were both down in the dirt at this point, both clumsily leaning against the car. The heat of the engine was on Ryland's back and he leaned into it, bringing the younger man with him. Lips slipped against lips, clumsily as they struggled to get on the same page. It didn't matter if they were kissing like it was a new idea between them, because it was only them. Ryland would take anything if it was just him and Driver, wet tears slicking their cheeks as they bled into pathetic sobs.
"Hey, hey shh, I have you, I'm right here." Driver cooed gently, pulling Ryland as close as possible. Ryland slipped his legs over the other man's to settle down in his lap, chest heaving. He pressed his face against lips, soft blond hair, cheeks and fingers. He just had to have Driver to himself, had to keep the other man close.
"It was so much blood." Ryland felt himself whimper. Driver's face twitched, like it was his heart being broken, and Ryland cradled it closer. He rubbed their noses together as he let himself cry, not even caring if it was messing up the other man. "So, so much blood. And you left me. I would've taken care of you, Driver. I would've kept you safe, healed you."
"I thought you weren't that kind of doctor?" The other man teased, an inside joke between the two of them after days of patching up harmless scratches, but the moment quickly passed. He leaned into Ryland's palms with a heavy sigh, grabbing a wrist with gentle tension. He guided it down his torso, pulling up his jacket and shirt. "But look, I'm here. I'm okay. It's not your job to take care of me, not then, not now."
Now it was Ryland's turn to be heart broken. Instead of simpering about it though he dragged Driver into one more lazy kiss, tongue gently lapping at those soft lips before him.
"Don't care if it's my job, just want you. Tired of the months of silence, got tired of the worry. Wish you would've talked to me, Driver. Wish you contacted me sooner, wish I could stay with you." Ryland mumbled between their lips, panting softly. Driver caught his chin and pried it open, slipping in his tongue with dexterous grace. It was like he was entirely familiar with the space before him, years later still knowing how to map it out like it was the back of his hand.
"I'll keep you, this time." Driver mumbled after licking the roof of Ryland's mouth. "I'll stay wherever you put me, Ryland. I'm yours however you want me."
"Just for a week." Ryland mumbled out a correction, no matter how much it hurt him to do so. He wished he could go dumb and forget what he was supposed to do, forget about astrophage and the dying sun. Maybe Driver could take that away, all his stupid worries and doubts, the man was good at making things disappear.
"Whatever you'll give me." Driver hummed in agreement, though it felt like anything but. He pulled them both up, barely able to keep his lips off of Ryland for more than a second, escorting him into the car. "Whatever you want." He promised, thumb sliding over Ryland's bottom lip like it was the best thing in the world.
"Bold claims." Ryland hummed as he watched Driver climb into the car. He reached out to slide a hand over the man's thigh, leaning on his shoulder. "Make it bolder and go faster, where ever you can away from here."
Driver smiled at that, a cocky grin that was all teeth. Ryland practically purred as the engine came to life, a laugh bubbling up from his throat. He opened up his phone, a stream of messages coming from his team. He just sent apologies to Stratt about an unexpected vacation, prying off the metal plate on the side of his phone to take out the sim card. He put it on airplane mode and watched the streets go by faster than he'd ever think they could.
This would be a good week.
Not for the Petrova Task Force, but they didn't matter if Driver was right by his side. Like this, how they were supposed to be.