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]

They sigh as Kent presses against them, warm and heavy. “Love you,” they mutter, slurring the words slightly as though they were drunk. “Don’t pull away yet.”

[videointhenoise]

"No," he agrees and trails his fingers along their skin, down their arm, taking their fingers in his. "How could I? As long as I'm here, you're here."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar feels a warmth traveling up their spine as Kent joins their hands.

“Best thing I ever discovered in space.”

[videointhenoise]

"Even more than that rock?" he teases gently, kissing their neck again.

[getfeldsparred]

“The rock doesn’t fuck me like you do,” Feldspar grins. “You gonna make good on that promise and plug all my holes for tomorrow? Last chance before I go back into space.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent groans.

"Don't remind me. But yeah, I was planning on it." He turns and pulls them in tightly.

"I love you."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar laughs and turns into him, burying their face into his neck. “I love you. And it won’t be so bad now that Lapis is mostly grown.”

It was worse being away when they were little.

[videointhenoise]

It always feels the same for Kent. Losing the love of his life, even for a few days or weeks, is hard enough. Even with Lapis. But he doesn't ever want Feldspar to think that means Kent wants him to stay home more.

He presses a kiss to their cheek.

"Mostly grown. They're still a hatchling," he mutters.

[getfeldsparred]

“I know, I know,” Feldspar sighs. “Still just a little one, but at least able to mostly keep themselves alive. That has to count for something, huh?”

They’re still all smiles then they talk about leaving. It’s like breathing - it’s just something they have to do to survive. But there is pain when they leave Kent and Lapis, which is why they’re starting to slow down.

This’ll probably be their last long trip. Only short journeys after this attempt to get into the center of Giant’s Deep.

[videointhenoise]

"Which is good for those days you're back and resting and I am in the lab, going over your incomprehensible notes," he teases.

[getfeldsparred]

“That’s why I record everything now, makes it easier on you and Hornfels.”

They twist so they can bury themselves further into the blankets, pulling Kent along with them.

[videointhenoise]

Kent grumbles as he buries into the blankets as well. "Wake me up before the kids come back over," he mutters.

[getfeldsparred]

“You know we’re gonna have to go get them,” they scoff. “They’re not coming back of their own free will.”

[videointhenoise]

"They will when they get bored," he points out. "And they need someone to bother." He's talking slower and slower, yawning between his words.

[getfeldsparred]

“That’s their favorite pastime, bothering you,” Feldspar says, listening as Kent slowly starts fading. They’re not ready to sleep yet, but they like these moments, when Kent’s drifting off and they can just hold him and think about the stars.

[videointhenoise]

He curls up a little as he nods. "They can keep doing it," he murmurs before he finally falls fast asleep.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar snoozes off and on after listening to Kent breathe for a while and thinking about their next journey. They’re running through a checklist when they finally fall asleep, and wake early in the morning to climb out of bed and stretch out their aching joints and limbs. All those crashes are finally starting to take their toll.

[videointhenoise]

Kent can hear them moving and he rolls over, facing them. "Hey. You're getting too old to get up that quickly out of bed."

[getfeldsparred]

They laugh softly, pausing on their stretches to lean down and kiss Kent on his forehead. “Hey. How’d you sleep?”

[videointhenoise]

"Pretty good. It's getting cold. Think it might rain."

He slides a hand along the back of their head.

[getfeldsparred]

“Bad day for a launch,” they mutter, covering Kent back up with the blankets. “Hornfels guessed conditions might be fuzzy for a couple of days.”

[videointhenoise]

"Good," he murmurs. "That means you don't need to be fully focused today." He did promise to fill them up today, after all.

[getfeldsparred]

“Guess we lucked out, huh?”

They lean down and kiss Kent again, this time his cheek, sighing softly as his hair tickles their nose.

“Breakfast?”

[videointhenoise]

"Breakfast. But - let's take a shower first," he suggests. "Doesn't that sound better?'

[getfeldsparred]

A nice hot shower does sound real nice, especially with some company. “Yeah, let’s take a shower. As long as you’re ready to climb out of bed, that is. The air’s kinda chilly.”