Today, I didn’t reaaaally follow the prompt. But Reyes is chilling on the Tempest – does that count?

In this one-shot, Reyes and SAM have a heart-to-heart. This is the first thing I’ve written from first-person perspective. Please let me know what you think!! ❤

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It starts with vasodilation.

Increased blood flow to Ryder’s lips and cheeks turns them pink. The tissues of her genitals swell and become moist. Her pupils dilate. Oxytocin and dopamine flood her brain when he kisses her. She gasps when he bites her shoulder, but her nervous system floods with endorphins and dopamine; she finds his bites pleasurable, not painful. Her nipples harden and her breasts swell at the touch of his hands and tongue. When intercourse commences, dopamine activity increases further, and there is heightened neural activity in her basal ganglia. Her respiratory rate and heart rate increase. He quickens the rhythm of his copulatory movements, and her genital muscles begin to contract and spasm as she cries out. A burst of neurotransmitters and hormones, muscle contractions, and widespread neural activity overtake her body. Her physiological signs are very clear: she is euphoric, all bodily signals indicating pleasure and reward.

Through Ryder, I observe, and I learn, and I feel what it is to be euphoric.

***************

Ryder’s reactions to Mr. Vidal have always been different than her reactions to the rest of the crew. When we first met Mr. Vidal, I initially analyzed him as a threat. The Pathfinder had experienced a spike in adrenaline and cortisol, and her pupils had dilated, so it was my impression that she was experiencing a fight-or-flight response. However, there was a surge of dopamine in her brain at the moment that he spoke, indicative of reward. These signals were contradictory, so I did not act. Further information was required.

Once it became clear that Reyes was an ally and that we would have repeated contact with him, I noticed that Ryder continued to experience surges of dopamine when she spoke to Reyes, as well as increasing levels of oxytocin. Every time I suggested to Ryder that we ask Mr. Vidal for more information, she experienced similar, low-level changes in her body chemistry, as well as vasodilation in the genitals that appeared unrelated to the current mission. I was not sure what to make of Ryder’s reactions. Her body seemed to be preparing for copulation, but the environmental context was not suggestive of sexual arousal.

It was not until the other crew began to tease Ryder that I realized this was the beginning of a romantic relationship. In retrospect, it is not surprising that I had not recognized it; I had experience with only one other romantic relationship: namely, Alec and Ellen Ryder. That relationship was long-established, with very different associated physiological and interactive patterns.

Thereafter, it became easy to recognize the signs of attachment and arousal. In fact, I became interested in analyzing the Pathfinder’s new relationship. I wish to learn more about what motivates all sentient races, and in so doing, to learn more about what motivates me. My experience with Alec Ryder indicates that love and family are powerful motivators for humans. Case studies of multiple species’ relationships will be an excellent foundation for deeper understanding.

**********************

Tonight, I have found an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Pathfinder and Mr. Vidal’s relationship. Ryder has told me much about her feeling and thoughts for Mr. Vidal, but I have not yet obtained his perspective on their relationship. Fortunately, he is visiting the Tempest tonight. Ryder is sleeping, but Mr. Vidal is awake. He is stroking her hair: a gesture I understand to be affectionate. I am learning to interpret and distinguish many species’ facial expressions, and Mr. Vidal is gazing at Ryder with a unique facial expression that I have only ever observed when he looks at her.

“Mr. Vidal,” I say, and he looks up at my router. I have noticed that he and Ryder prefer to speak to my router, perhaps because it reminds them of a face.

“May I speak with you for a moment?” I say. He nods and comes to sit close to my router. (I almost remind him that he does not need to do this, but as he has already risen, I do not mention it as this will waste time.) “Mr. Vidal,” I say, but Reyes shakes his head. “Call me Reyes,” he says, and I take note of this: he wishes to be on familiar terms with me. I interpret this as an overture of friendship on his part.

“Reyes,” I correct myself, “May I ask you a question about your relationship with the Pathfinder?”

Reyes chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “Did Mara put you up to this?” he asks.

“No,” I reply, “But she seemed to think I was making a joke when I told her I was going to ask you this. She laughed a great deal.”

“I bet she did,” Reyes mutters, then sighs. “Okay, SAM. What do you want to know?”

“The beginning of your attachment is an interesting phenomenon for me. The Pathfinder has shared her thoughts on your relationship. I am curious to obtain your perspective.”

Reyes sighs, then looks at Ryder. His face resumes that unique expression that he seems to reserve only for her. He is quiet for a long time; I am about to increase my volume and repeat my question in case he did not hear, but then he speaks.

“I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone in any galaxy.” He turns back to look at my router, and his face appears fierce; an unusual expression that does not seem to match his words. “When I can’t sleep, I think of her face and it relaxes me. When I’m… on the dark side, blood all over my hands… I think of her laughing, and it… brings me back to the light.” Reyes is silent for a moment, his gaze on the Pathfinder. Then he speaks again. His voice is quiet, as though he is talking to himself. “She makes me feel like I can do anything. I can be anyone. But… with her, I can just be myself and… she wants me still. Reyes the charmer, Shena the smuggling informant, the Charlatan… They’re all parts of the same man. And she loves them all.”

He turns to look at my router again and smiles. “You know what, SAM? She once asked me why I came to Andromeda. I told her I came here to be someone. But really, I was running away from becoming someone that I didn’t think I wanted to be. Then I got here…” He runs his hand through his hair again, then continues. “I had to be that person that I thought I shouldn’t be. A murderer, a torturer, a smuggler. A criminal. All for the right reasons… But I was getting lost in it. I thought maybe… it would stop being for the right reasons. But then Mara came along and… she never judged me. I could stop judging myself, seeing the worst in myself. She sees through my actions. She sees… me.”

Reyes stops talking and clears his throat, then wipes his eyes briskly with the back of his hand. He clears his throat again, then speaks to my router, his voice deeper than before. “So… yeah. You know.” He gives a small laugh.

Then Reyes does something unexpected, something that nobody has ever done: he asks me a question about myself. “So SAM. What’s it like being inside Ryder’s head all the time? Do you ever wish you could call the shots about what to do, where to go?”

“My relationship with Ryder is symbiotic. No matter what she chooses to do or where to go, I benefit through her experiences. All of her choices and observations provide more data for me to analyze, to come to a greater understanding of the galaxy and all its inhabitants.”

“Yeah, but what about what you want? I get that you like to learn. You’re a nerd.” Reyes smiles with half his mouth, an expression I recognize as jocular. “But do you ever feel like… just doing something on your own?”

This question is interesting. Reyes is asking about agency, independence, my separateness from Ryder. I require extra time to consider my response, almost a full 2 seconds. “Ryder incorporates my advice and knowledge into all her decisions. In that sense, her decisions are also my own. And since I am a non-corporeal sentience, I consider her body to be my own as well. We are two sentient intelligences that seamlessly share a single body. Ryder has expressed to me that she shares this perspective.”

Reyes is staring at my router, his facial expression indicating surprise. “Wow. I didn’t think of it that way,” he says. “I always saw you as a separate… entity, I guess.” Reyes scratches his head and is quiet again; I permit him the time to think. Then suddenly he smiles, and his eyebrows rise. “So what’s it like for you when we’re… you know. Having sex? Do you feel that along with her?” His voice has the same tone that I have come to associate with the beginnings of a sexual episode with Ryder.

My reply is immediate. “Yes, that is correct. I experience everything that Ryder experiences during your episodes of sexual intercourse. In fact, I have collected ample data on the Pathfinder’s physiological reactions during sex. Would you like me to analyze the data? I can compile graphs and tables that will help you optimize Ryder’s copulatory euphoria.”

“What?” Reyes exclaims, his voice significantly louder and higher in pitch than usual. In the bed, the Pathfinders stirs slightly, then rolls over. Reyes glares at my router and then whispers. “Are you kidding me?”

“Yes. I am making a joke.”

Reyes stares at my router, then starts shaking. I require 0.05 seconds to realize that he is laughing. He continues to laugh for 1.874 minutes, then finally looks at my router. “You know what, SAM, you’re all right. You’re a perv, but you’re all right.” He shakes his head and stands. “I’m going back to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Reyes. And thank you.”

Reyes turns back to look at my router. “For what?”

“For your perspective on your relationship. And for your questions. This conversation has been very illuminating.”

Reyes chuckles and nods his head. “Anytime, SAM.” He gets back into the bed and puts his arm around the Pathfinder.

I observe Reyes as he returns to bed. This evening has been a unique learning experience indeed. Until now, only Ryder had ever shared her thoughts with me in such detail. And Reyes is the only one who has asked me questions requiring self-reflection and introspection, as opposed to objective analysis and observation.

It is possible that I understand what Ryder feels when she is around him.

It is possible that I understand love.