Kent/Feldspar

[videointhenoise]

"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.

Comments

[getfeldsparred]

Sometimes they know they can be dense, but they can tell when the subject makes Kent uncomfortable or sad. They fold their hands over their stomach and stare up at the ceiling.

“Do you have more bad days than good here, Kent?”

[videointhenoise]

"No day is bad. Not anymore," he explains. "But there are times that are hard. Or difficult. And yeah, there used to be a lot."

He thinks about it. "But it's been a lot better, lately."

[getfeldsparred]

It’s reassuring to hear, even if they’re still sad for Kent.

“Everyone at the village loves you.” They pause. “Possibly more than they love me, and they raised me from an egg. It didn’t take long as all.”

[videointhenoise]

"It's because I'm more handsome than you," he says with a smirk, not wanting to linger too long in that space.

"It - feels like home. Weird as it is."

[getfeldsparred]

“I dunno…Timber Hearth’s a pretty nice place to call home.” They grin and brush shoulders against his.

And yeah, they’re pretty handsome. Definitely more than Feldspar, with all their scars and weird scale pattern.

Stupid handsome alien.

Feldspar gets up with an annoyed grunt to turn out the light.

[videointhenoise]

"Everything alright?" he wonders, pushing up on one elbow.

He, of course, has no idea the lights are on.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar pauses mid-step, then realizes - right! Duh!

“Oh, I’m turning off the lights! Sorry, heh.”

They crawl back into the bed with Kent and pull up the blanket to cover the two of them.

“We’re facing away from the moon, so if you start freezing while you’re sleeping just elbow me and I’ll find us another blanket.”

[videointhenoise]

He settles back down with a chuckle. It's been a while since he's shared a bed.

"Thanks, flyboy," he says again with a contented sigh. "Good night."

[getfeldsparred]

“You’re welcome, alien.”

After giving it some thought they turn onto their side facing the door, deciding it was somehow the most casual of all the sleeping positions.

“Night.”

They close all four eyes with a quiet sigh and try to sleep, though thankfully they’re so tired from all the adventuring it comes easily enough, even with someone in their bed.

[videointhenoise]

Kent falls asleep easily, letting the sound of Feldspar's breathing soothe him to sleep.

He does wake up cold, but moves closer to the other body in his bed, seeking out whatever warmth he can find. He isn't fully awake, but Feldspar is absolutely getting a shivering cuddle.

[getfeldsparred]

That Hearthian instinct to cuddle with the next warmest body absolutely betrays them, and they turn in their sleep and wraps their arms around the huddled body in their bed. It’s been a long time since they’ve cuddled like a hatchling, but the desire for affection never really goes away.

[videointhenoise]

Kent wakes when he hears Eskar moving around, and turns, pulling out of Feldspar's embrace.

Feldspar's....cuddling.

...Kent flushes a deep red and sits up, placing a hand on their shoulder. "Hey. I think it's morning," he tells them, trying to steady his racing mind.

[getfeldsparred]

At some point Feldspar feels fluff against their cheek and nuzzles into it, and is in mid-dream when they start being shaken away.

“Mnppfff. Go away, Gabbro.” They turn away from the shaking and waves their hand. “We’ll go explorin’ later.”

[videointhenoise]

"I have too many fingers to be Gabbro," Kent tells them with a laugh and moves off the bed, sliding the blanket over his friend's head.

"Come on."

[getfeldsparred]

They definitely don't sound like Gabbro. Feldspar groans and rubs their face with their hands, then swipes at the blanket until it falls off.

"Yeah, yeah. I should see if Esker needs help with the ship anyway."

[videointhenoise]

Kent cackles to himself because it's much better than remembering the warm touch of Feldspar's arm on his. Or how their breathing felt against his skin. Or how comfortable it was to simply lie there with them.

"Are you doing that to actually help or to be nosy?"

[getfeldsparred]

"Hey!" They sit up and stretch their arms over their head, then arch their back until they hear a pop. "I can help with things! I know how to do basic repairs on my own ship."

With tape. But that's fine, it holds, it works!

Feldspar hops around the room as they pull on their EVA suit and boots.

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah, but does Eskar feel that way?" he teases and starts to pick up his own suit and put it back on.

He can't wait to take a shower.

[getfeldsparred]

"Esker's nice, but not so nice that they'd just let me do whatever I wanted and ruin all their hard work."

They pick up Kent's helmet and hand it to them.

"I'll make you something warm to drink by the fire."

[videointhenoise]

He takes the helmet and tucks it under his arm for now. "It's alright. Just - help me get there and I'll sit and wait," he assures them. "It's no big deal. And the faster that ship gets repaired, the faster I can go home and sit in my own comfortable chair."

[getfeldsparred]

Home.

Feldspar guides Kent out to the small fire and helps them find a suitable place to sit for a spell, giving them some breakfast in the form of a bun with some kind of savory filling. Esker's already tinkering with the ship, so they run up the crater to help them out, handing them tools and chatting with them casually.

"When are you coming down? A week?" Feldspar extends a hand down to Esker to hand Esker back their wrench.

"For the next big campfire," Esker tells them. "I've got to reup my supplies, and Slate's been wanting me to help with some of the new equipment they've been working on."

"New equipment?"

Feldspar can see the glint in Esker's eyes. "Sure, new equipment. Interested?"

"Of course! What're they putting in the ships? You hafta tell me, Esker!"

Thankfully Esker has mercy on them and tells them all about the new reactor Slate's been putting in, which puts a little metaphorical extra spring in their step as they bound down to the crater.

"Esker's told me about a platform they want to build on the north pole, so I'm gonna check that out before we go. I'll be right back, Kent."

They give a little pat to his shoulder and bound off towards the north pole, one of Esker's radio antennas in hand.

[videointhenoise]

Kent stays there by the fire, tearing apart the little bun as he eats it. He can hear the other two talking, though he can't make out all the words. He doesn't try; it's not his conversation. He sets his helmet down beside him and perks up when Feldspar comes.

Then he smiles and settles again when they leave. "Have fun," he calls out with a smile before he leans forward, hands in his lap.

[getfeldsparred]

Esker, setting down their tools and wiping their hands on their pants, walks to where Kent’s sitting and patiently waiting.

“They’ll be back in a flash. No one knows the moon better than Feldspar,” they reassure him.

[videointhenoise]

"I'm not worried," Kent tells them, raising his head with a smile. "They aren't risky when I'm around."

He leans forward again, towards their voice. "Have you been up here long?"

[getfeldsparred]

“That’d be a new thing then, because Feldspar’s downright reckless with their own health.”

Esker looks Kent a little more closely, obviously drawing a few silent conclusions themselves.

“Not long, no. This outpost is sort of a new thing, we had to wait for the trees to grow and haul all the supplies back and forth. I was excited to come up here though; Felds and Goss kept saying how beautiful the view was, and they weren’t wrong. Plus I don’t take as many risks as them - sure, I’ll fly anything Slate builds, but I’m not the first one to volunteer to go out and explore a new planet.”