Liam
She was good at this which both surprised him and not – she ended up being surprisingly good at combat, diplomacy, being a leader. And now football too. Heh, the Pathfinder even had some serious moves. He would need to ask her about that, maybe on that archeological digs she was Peacekeeping at they did something similar.
Sara Ryder, who would've thought. He had been a little leery at first when she suddenly went from teammate to boss, but now he had no doubts about the Pathfider. She really was perfect for the job, even Cora had to admit she was better at it than Cora would've been. And he really admired the way she could joke with them and then suddenly turn to badass mode that made her look… … ok, so maybe he fancied her.
So maybe he was trying to impress her a bit with his skills at football even if... well, he exactly a superstar. But he could joke about it! She liked his jokes, she laughed often. Her face really lit up when she did that.
Peebee might make some smart remarks about it but he did like to observe Ryder, especially when she was in action like right now. Which is why he noticed a peculiar pattern. Sara would look to the side every time she passed the ball and smile. Then at times the smile would dim into outright sulking and the others it would grow exponentially bigger and brighter.
It was only after he noticed Suvi in the audience, sitting on a rather large rock to the side, that he could begin to understand that pattern. Suvi being Suvi, she had her attention split between the game and the rock she was sitting on. And the surrounding rocks. And the plants.
He couldn't be sure but it did really seem that the scientist attention to the field, and the Pathfinder in particular, had Ryder ecstatic, while geology got only disappointment.
It happened again – Ryder showed off some very impressive footwork and shot the smile only for her to pout as Suvi's attention was elsewhere. Liam could relate to that.
Oh.
Now he got why Cora told him he wasn't Ryder's type.
Well, he could still look. She was still a badass when in action-mode. And it's not like he planned on approaching her anyway.
He sighed and nearly got hit in the head by the ball.
"Move your ass Liam! We can't have the Pathfinder team slacking off, now can we?" Ryder grinned as she shouted.
"No ma'am" he smiled right back.