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

[videointhenoise]

"Touch yourself if you want some relief," he snickers, managing a real, true thought in between quick movements. "We're going to need a shower anyway."

[getfeldsparred]

“You’re such an asshole.” They whimper as Kent buries himself inside of them again. “I…ugh. I don’t know why…I’m so good to you.”

[videointhenoise]

He rocks up against them, moaning as he kisses them. "Because you love me. And because you love this."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar searches for Kent’s mouth and kisses him back, or as best they’re able, biting at his lower lip and digging their heel into his thigh. “Maybe,” they tease, promptly groaning in delight to underline their attempt to be snarky. “Let’s break the bed.”

[videointhenoise]

He places his hands on the bed and snaps his hips against theirs, not bothering to be quiet about it. He's a little drunk still, very horny, and absolutely in love with this fucking alien.

He fucks them into the bed, moaning out their name.

[getfeldsparred]

This wouldn’t be the first time they’ve broken a bed, but unfortunately this one is still too new and too well-made. They can’t really break it despite the intensifying creaks and squeaks, but not for lack of trying.

Feldspar pants and moans and cries, coming without being touched as Kent fills them up to the very brim.

[videointhenoise]

Kent comes almost immediately after, spurred on by the spasms of their body against his cock. He leans down to kiss him and settles against them.

"Fuck..."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar collapses against the bed with a happy groan, body shivering ever-so-slightly from the mix of adrenaline and dopamine. Kent drives them absolutely insane, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. The only other thing that makes them feel this way is being launched into space.

“Hey,” they mutter, leaning against him. “I love you. When I’m out there I’ll name a star after you.”

[videointhenoise]

"Name a constellation after me," he says. "One that doesn't look anything like what it should."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar snorts. “Sure, a whole mess of stars. That’s about right for you.”

But they’ll give him a whole mess of stars, the whole galaxy if they want.

[videointhenoise]

He laughs and closes his eyes, lying there in their bed, wrapping an arm around him. "The kids are going to come stumbling in here soon."

He puts a blanket over the both of them.

[getfeldsparred]

“I know,” they mutter, turning to kiss Kent one last time before they go to sleep. “I’ll get dressed and go meet ‘em. You sleep, okay?”

[videointhenoise]

"You just got fucked," he reminds them but doesn't actually get up.

Sapwine is a bitch.

[getfeldsparred]

“Yeah, I did,” Feldspar grins, “in two out of the three usable holes. But I haven’t been able to look the hatchlings in the eyes today for obvious reasons.”

They climb out of bed, sore but in the best way, and clean themselves up enough that they don’t look like they’ve been fucked within an inch of their lives when they go to meet the hatchlings on the path. They also indulge in tucking Kent back in, smoothing his hair back from his face affectionately.

Lapis and Hal are giggling as they walk up to the cabin, but quickly stop and then start running towards them once they spy Feldspar coming towards them in the path. They both have a guilty look in their eyes, but Feldspar greets them by slinging their arms over both of their shoulders and grinning. “You’re not in trouble, I just wanted to see you home. Dad’s fallen asleep though, so let’s be quiet.”

They take the hatchlings back up the path, listening to them excitedly chatter instead of talking themselves. It’s nice. They’re going to miss it, honestly and truly. Once inside the cabin Feldspar sees them off to their beds, also tucking them in with a goofy smirk on their face. “Night, Lapis. Night, Hal. Come see me launch tomorrow, alright?”

As though they’d ever miss it. No one ever misses a Feldspar launch, much to their chagrin now.

[videointhenoise]

Lapis and Hal worship Feldspar, but not in the same way as everyone else. Living with him so often means that some of the shine has been taken off, and they appreciate the realness of him.

But there is something very "cool" about Feldspar that they cannot ignore.

Kent is fast asleep by the time they reach the house and he stays that way through the night, waking only when Feldspar does in the morning. He's jittery, as he is every launch, and he doesn't want to miss a moment.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar greets Kent with a kiss upon waking and then rises to start their day. There are some last minute things they need to do in the Zero G cave, a few supplies they need to store, another check on their fuel supply, and they need to get on with it before the sun comes up.

By the time they’re suited up and ready to take the elevator up to the launchpad, a large crowd of villagers have already gathered at the geysers. Their family though, they wait for him at the base of the elevator with Gossan and Slate.

[videointhenoise]

Kent does his best to distract Lapis and Hal, but they are both full of jittery nerves and incessant talking. At the base of the elevator, he holds Lapis' hand in his own, letting the happy crowd tell Kent exactly where Feldspar is. So when they reach him, Kent holds out his hand to them.

"Hey," he smiles when they're close.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar feels a bit of tension release when they spot their family. It’s a word that they’ve grown to love since Kent introduced it to them, and as they take Kent’s hand and smile at Lapis the knot in their stomach grows tighter.

“Hey,” they murmur. “I think the whole village is here.”

[videointhenoise]

"I think it is," he agrees. "But they're all here to make sure you don't burn the place down." He squeezes their hands and presses a kiss to their cheek. "I'll hold you soon," he promises.

[getfeldsparred]

They chuckle and lean into the kiss, turning their head slightly to catch his lips. “Real soon, yeah.”

Lapis gets a little squeeze, Hal a little pat on the head. Gossan gives Feldspar a squeeze to the arm and Slate gives Feldspar an affectionate knock to the head. “Your fans await, Felds,” Slate says, gesturing towards a few of the younger villagers.

Feldspar takes a deep breath in, then steps onto the elevator platform and raises their hand in a wave. “I’ll see all of you again real soon! But in the meantime, I’m going to tangle with some cyclones! Don’t tell Hornfels!”

The crowd laughs and cheers, and Feldspar hits the launch codes into the pad with one final look at Lapis and Kent. “I’ll bring you back something nice, Lapis!”

[videointhenoise]

Lapis waves and Kent slides an arm around their shoulders. The thrusters ignite and Kent lets out a breath. He can't breathe in again until Slate gives the all clear. Until they get past the atmosphere.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar immediately feels the pressure melt off of them the moment they slide into the cockpit. They’ve got this. This is where they belong.

Once they’re free from gravity, piercing through the clouds and leaving behind the pleasant air of Timber Hearth, Feldspar exhales softly and guides their ship towards the lunar outpost. Gotta say hello to Esker.

[videointhenoise]

Kent does as he always does. He stays on the radio and he fiddles with the settings, checking in with them when he can and going on his life on the surface as usual.

There really is no reason to worry. Until, of course, Slate mentions offhand that Feldspar hadn't checked in yet one evening.

And then Kent can't find them on the radio.

And they don't check in again.

And the world keeps spinning but Kent spends his time attached to the radio.

[getfeldsparred]

Their trip to Giant’s Deep is a complete success. When their ship plunged through the barrier at the center of the massive, oceanic planet, they knew they’d be chasing that high forever. And Hornfels said to stop riding the cyclones! Pfft. If they’d had done that they would have never made it down to the core! And then crawling into the jellyfish and watching the bolts of electricity strike the rubbery exterior as they drift down further and further into the water - definitely a height of their career in exploration.

They’d camped out later that night on an island that was more ghostmatter than land and thought about what to do next. Roasting a mallow and dreaming about the planets in the solar system, they daydreamed about their next challenge. The idea to finally pass that ice field of the Dark Bramble hits them like a floating island crashing into the waves. Yes, that’s exactly what they were going to do, they were going to be the first to explore the Dark Bramble.

No one had ever been past the ice field, let alone driven into the fog. Gossan tried once, but quickly gave up when they realized the Dark Bramble was just too inhospitable to explore, let alone make a camp. But Gossan is Gossan, and Feldspar is Feldspar, and they figured that at the very least could zip in and have a look around.

It was exciting. Their hands shook as they quickly packed up their camp and went back to their ship. Just a little fly through, and then they’ll find a place to make camp and call down to Ground Control and report in. Everyone would be alright if they skipped the check in this time - they’ve done it before and everyone seemed to understand then that sometimes they got caught up in the outer wilds. They wouldn’t do it on purpose to worry them.

It hadn’t dawned on them that they’d made a mistake until they heard the roar of the giant anglerfish they’d woken up. Even then, they swore they could out maneuver the thing, even if the giant vines and weird, inter dimensional portals and thick fog made for the trickiest flight of their life. They twisted and turned and looped their ship round and round, thinking they’d escaped it when they hopped from one portal to the next, only for the roar to follow. It clipped their ship and the crash that followed was violent enough that their helmet cracked and they could feel blood pooling in their spacesuit.

It was a mad dash after that to gather up supplies and evacuate the sparking ship before it exploded. They found a hollow vine and taped up their helmet the best they could, then tried to radio back home.

The static that greeted them was deafening.

[videointhenoise]

It takes weeks before Kent can be convinced to leave the radio. It takes days again before he can be convinced to go back to the home he had shared with Feldspar for so long. It's Lapis who takes his hand and leads him home. Lapis who makes him eat and brings him to bed. Lapis who has to be the one to take care of his Dad.

The entire village mourns the loss of Feldspar, though most do it quietly, out of earshot of Kent. They know what he's lost.

He doesn't sleep in their bed. He sleeps on the couch and lets Lapis take the bed. He doesn't cook in the kitchen; Hal and Lapis cook. Kent doesn't even feel like he can breathe again until it's been a year and the grief feels less immense.

He starts to work with the others again, eventually bringing Lapis and Hal into their work. His kid, his Hatchling, becomes more and more fascinated with the Nomai and they work on the language together. They create a primer and, before Kent realizes it, they're all grown up.

Ready to fly.