Kent Clark (
videointhenoise) wrote in
openmisc2024-12-13 07:37 pm
Kent/Feldspar
"Just once more," they had said when Ellie's team petitioned for it. She was busy with Palmer, falling in love with science while he fell in love with God, and Kent was left to pick up the pieces. He wanted another damn go at it. The Machine had a pricetag in the billions; it was begging to be used again.
But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.
That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.
And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.
He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.
He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.
"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.
But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.
That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.
And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.
He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.
He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.
"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.
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They pause. They haven't slept with them in years and - they've never wanted anything more.
"I can?"
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“Just keep it down, alright?”
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"You're the loud one," they snort and walk inside, smiling as they hear Kent's steady breathing.
"He won't wake up anyway."
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They frown softly but continue to creep softly forward, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull off their boots. Kent continues to sleep on, unaffected by the slight jostling and soft conversation.
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"He hasn't been sleeping well," Lapis mutters and takes off their shoes before crawling into the giant bed.
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Feldspar shrugs their outer jacket off and lays down onto the bed on the other side of Lapis, letting the hatchling sleep in between them and Kent. Like old times.
“Comfy?”
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"Very," Kent says softly because no amount of deep sleep will make him unaware that his child and his love are coming into bed with him.
"It's a good thing these creatures are big or we'd never fit."
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They turn so they can put their head on Lapis’ shoulder - affectionate, but not too much, just in case Lapis wasn’t ready.
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Lapis doesn't move away. They just reach over for Feldspar's hand and hold it tightly, squeezing it just once.
"Get settled," Kent mutters and pulls the blankets over them all, feeling something unknot a little in his chest.
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They missed so many years, but in the moment it feels like no time has passed at all. Their little Lapis is looking for snuggles or trying to hide away from a storm, and Feldspar and Kent are going to take care of them.
Feldspar dozes off in the nice warm bed, falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.
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Kent and Lapis both sleep soundly, but Kent is the first one awake. He sleeps well for the first time in a while, and gets up to get dressed so that he can sneak out and find breakfast. He's walked the halls enough that he can find where the smell of cooking fish is coming from.
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“Hey, wait up!”
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Kent hears their voice and pauses, grinning as he turns back around. "Oh? I thought you'd be sleeping longer than that." He reaches back, hoping for Feldspar's hand in his.
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He brings the hand up to kiss it. "Yeah, I know. You always slept better with me." He pauses, a hesitation as he decides if he wants to continue. "Mostly because I made sure you were always very tired."
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“You always took care of me, huh? Pretty selfless of you.”
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"Was it? Or was I being selfish with the only thing that really mattered to me for so long?"
Before Lapis came around, of course.
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"Yeah, Felds," he says as if it's obvious. "Of course. What else would I have?"
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"I'm the alien," he reminds them. "And - you are my world, Feldspar." He stops with them, unsure of what they're pausing for. "My universe. Where is this doubt coming from?"
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“I don’t know if I’m the same Hearthian you met all those years ago and fell in love with. I might not be deserving of all that devotion, y’know?”
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"Maybe. But here's the funny thing. You don't get to decide that. I do," he says.
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“Can’t really argue with you there.”
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"Exactly." He starts walking again. "Do you see where they have the campfire?" he wonders. "Or the food?"
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