openmisc | Kent/Feldspar

Kent laughs, staying still. "You're an easy target, I'm afraid," he tells them with a straight face. "But if you throw them up a tree, you have to find a way to get them down."

“No I do not.” They flop down indignantly, pulling at the blankets at Kent’s feet to cover them both up. “They can stay up there and rot for all I care. They get no more stories from me.”

Kent wraps an arm around them again when they settle back down, and he kisses him sweetly. "Oh you're not the one who stays behind to listen to them."

“Wait until they figure out how to use the radio,” they mutter, tipping their head lazily against Kent’s. They can’t help it, he’s just so warm and inviting.

And tomorrow they’ll wake up next to him too, and that makes something in his belly feel just as warm.

Kent nods. "Then you'll be in trouble," he murmurs before he closes his eyes.

"I'm going to sleep," he tells them. "So if you want to sneak away, now's your chance."

“Sounds good,” Feldspar says, snuggling even closer to Kent. They have no plans to leave or sneak away, so Kent will just have to deal with the pilot’s grip throughout the night.

Its not like that night on the moon. This time, Kent happily snuggles up tight against them and holds them close until he falls asleep.

And when he wakes up, warm and comfortable, the next morning, they're still there.

He turns over and kisses their shoulder, almost without thinking.

Feldspar’s still fast asleep, comfortable in Kent’s bed and making up for days of only fretful naps in their pilot chair. They only sleep this hard after a trip into space, and even then not this long or this soundly.

They exhale in their sleep at the feeling of the lips on their shoulder, but don’t wake.

Kent doesn't move for the moment, simply letting them sleep until he realizes that he promised Hornfels that he'd meet them early to try and catch the Ash Twins.

He pulls himself away and gives them another soft kiss. "Hey. I gotta go to the observatory," he murmurs against their cheek. "Don't move my rugs."

Feldspar’s awake enough to turn and get the kissed pressed to the corner of their lips. “Mmmnf.”

They wake a little while later recalling a fuzzy conversation with Kent about rugs. Hm. Better to probably not move them.

They get dressed and decide to sneak out the window at the back of the cabin so no one can see them leaving in the middle of the morning. Thankfully everyone seems preoccupied, and they head up to the observatory to help Gossan sort through the artifacts.

Kent's already up there with the others, letting them go through the little pictures and the Braille lettering.

"Well, we want you to enjoy it too!" Gossan is telling Kent when they see Feldspar walk in. "So you teach us the dot letters and we'll put them on the labels."

"You don't have to go through all of that for one person," Kent argues back.

“You’re not one person,” Feldspar chimes in from the winding stairwell. “You’re a member of Outer Wilds Venture.”

Hornfels laughs and snaps their fingers. “That’s exactly.”

Gossan is just staring at Feldspar, a veeeeery big grin on their face. …hatchlings. Damn it.

“Hey, Felds. Have a good night’s rest?”

They decide that they’re not going to rise to the bait. “Uh huh. I’m always tired coming back from space.”

Kent turns his head towards the sound of the voice and he can't help the stupid grin that's on his face. He doesn't even realize that anyone can notice it.

The others absolutely do.

"You must have done a lot of work out there," Hornfels adds with a grin.

Kent sighs. "They've been doing this all morning."

Feldspar doesn’t even realize they’re mirroring the exact smile on their face until they lock eyes with Gossan and watch their eyes narrowing knowingly.

“That’s because they think they’re clever, but they’re not.”

They walk up the rest of the stairs and sit down on the stump that Hornfels is turning into a model of the solar system.

"They're clever, but they're also annoying," Kent points out with a laugh. "I'm going upstairs to catch the Ash Twins. I think I can start to put things on different frequencies now," he muses, taking hold of the railing and walking up.

Gossan and Hornfels are left.

And they stare at Feldspar.

And stare.

Feldspar blatantly watches Kent head up the ramp, then turns and stares right back at Hornfels and Gossan.

And they stare. And stare.

And they grin and jump to their feet. “I’m going to find Slate! See ya.”

"Coward!" Kent calls down from the top. And then - "Holy shit!" Very excited.

He does not elaborate but Hornfels starts up the steps.

They don’t owe them anything! And silence is more damning at this point. Feldspar watches Hornfels race up the stairs, then smirks at Gossan and leaves to find Slate out in their work station.

Years of fires have banished Slate out away from the village and most of the trees, but Feldspar knows they’ve always liked it better than way anyway.

Besides. Slate won’t press them about Kent. They usually like to wait until after work’s done to chat about personal stuff, and Feldspar appreciates that now more than ever.

Kent stays with Hornfels until the evening campfire, when all everyone can talk about is the sapwine ceremony the next night. It's a big night, but Kent smiles politely past the buzz of the Heartheans. He leaves room for Feldspar beside him, holding a cluple of sticks in his hand.

He can't be expected to roast his own marshmallow!

Feldspar bounds into the circle of the campfire and easily takes their place beside Kent on a log. They pick up both sticks without a word and begin to roast two marshmallows - one for Kent, one for themselves.

“Is Porphy drunk yet?”

"Not yet. They're holding their own," he laughs. "But it won't be long now, so you're not late."

He sits back, stretching his feet out.

"So guess what I found out."

“I remember my first sip of sap wine,” they remark quietly. They’d been too young and had stolen a couple of sips and barfed in one of the geysers.

“What did you find out?”

"I can hear Eskar whistling. I was able to find that frequency and tune into it. I was trying to get the Ash Twins, but the moon rose and - bam."

He keeps his voice low, not wanting to let the others know too early.

Feldspar’s eyes widen and they lean in to ask, “wait, it’s that precise?”

They shouldn’t be surprised, Kent made it after all. It’s amazing though, incredible.

“That could make our radios so much more efficient! Gossan and I - we could track each other while we’re out there.”

"Yeah. I want to try and - track it to something. Some noise. Something - really specific. The scope could guide you. That's- what I'm hoping it will do for you."

He takes the roasting stick. "Lead you back home." He clears his throat. "Me."

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