openmisc | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

videointhenoise

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

From:

getfeldsparred

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

From:

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.

From:

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.

From:

videointhenoise

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

From:

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.

From:

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."

From:

getfeldsparred

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

From:

videointhenoise

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

He slides a hand along the back of their head.

From:

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.”

From:

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.

From:

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?”

From:

videointhenoise

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

From:

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.”

From:

videointhenoise

"Anything to be warm with you," he says and pushes the blankets off, sitting up. "The kids haven't come back yet, have they?"

From:

getfeldsparred

Anything to be warm with you. Feldspar smiles a little dreamily.

“Nah, house is still quiet. C’mon, let’s go to the shower.”

They take Kent’s hand and guide them gently towards the back room with the shower and sauna.

From:

videointhenoise

He follows, turning the water on and jumping back when it comes out cold. Like he always does.

"Fuck!" he mutters, reaching out his hand to the stream.

From:

getfeldsparred

Feldspar cackles, already under the stream as it slowly warms up.

“Kent, you do this every time!”

From:

videointhenoise

"I know," he laughs. "One day I will remember where it is." He grins, taking Feldspar's hand so he can guide himself under the water.

From:

getfeldsparred

They hold Kent’s hand tightly and guide them under the warm water, arms folding around his waist as they step into his back and tuck their chin onto his shoulder. “This was a great idea.”

From:

videointhenoise

"Mm, I know," he says with a smile, pressing close to them. "And this will make it easy to fill you up."

From:

getfeldsparred

Feldspar laughs against his skin, then takes a little nip at his neck just because they can.

They’ve always loved Kent’s freckles. They’re the human equivalent of the Hearthian spots, but small and dainty and pretty. They find one with their mouth and have a lick.

From:

videointhenoise

He shivers despite the warmth of the water and trails his fingers along the back of their neck. "Stop that," he mutters. "Or this won't be cleansing at all."