Chapter Text
FELDSPAR
“You’re staring again.”
Gossan startles, turning back to where they’d been cleaning their helmet. Feldspar blinks, a bitter smile on their face. They would stare a lot if Gossan up and vanished for years, too.
“Sorry,” Gossan whispers. Feldspar lifts themself up until they’re sitting on Gossan’s workbench. Their hands are still, gaze locked on the diagrams of the solar system pasted to their wall. Feldspar grabs them by the chin, turning their face toward them. They’re missing an eye. And half an ear. Feldspar swallows, running their thumb over the outer edge of Gossan’s scarred skin.
“What happened?” Feldspar doesn’t want to know. It’s been over a month since they’ve returned, and they’ve never asked. It was a busy month, anyway. Considering half of it was spent with them in a bed, and the other half was spent with Rheniite in a bed. Technically they should still be in a bed, but Feldspar saw them sneak off to the waterfall after the storm started. If they don’t come back by morning, they’ll go and search them out. Otherwise, sometimes it’s best to leave the adventurous types to their adventuring.
Gossan purses their lips. “Slate. It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.”
“You wore off on the astronauts you trained, you know?”
“What?” Gossan spins a pencil until it drops on the floor. Neither of them move to pick it up.
“They say the same tired excuse.”
“And you don’t?”
Feldspar snorts, leaning back against the wall. “I’d say I’m a bleeding heart romantic. I say everything I think. For instance, did you know you’re still cute when you’re mad?” Gossan hits Feldspar so hard they almost fall off the workbench.
“You’re so aggravating.” Gossan rips the towel off the table and starts actually cleaning their helmet.
Feldspar smiles. “I want to dance with you. What do you think? Put the work away for five minutes and have a little fun?”
Their hand drops. “We don’t have any music.”
Feldspar bends over, hanging off the side of the workbench. They smirk when they feel Gossan grab them by the belt loops. They use Gossan’s hold to pull themself back up, their signalscope in hand. “I bet either Chert or Riebeck are playing.”
“I don’t know…”
“Come on, before I have to dig Rheniite out of a hole they fell in or something.”
Gossan hides their face behind their hand, and Feldspar takes it until they can see that bashful look in its full glory. Feldspar hops off the workbench and pulls Gossan with them until they’re both standing. It’s been so long since they’ve last been this close. A lifetime, it feels like. Feldspar nuzzles their face into the skin where Gossan’s eye used to be, and their chest hitches with their breath.
“Will you ever tell me?” Feldspar asks. Gossan hooks their finger around the collar of Feldspar’s shirt, pulling it down until they can see the dip where their clavicle healed wrong. They press their nose to it, their lips cold and chapped against Feldspar’s chest.
“If you ever tell me.”
Looks like another day of wondering will come to pass. Feldspar takes Gossan’s hand and uses it to twirl them around and away from the old injury. Dark Bramble is just a story, a far gone nightmare. They’re here now, with Gossan's fingers intertwined with theirs as they spin in long strided circles around a workshop Feldspar knows like the back of their hand. They always knew they’d have this again. It was as non negotiable as surviving.
They could ask Slate, but there’s no telling how Feldspar will react if they find out Slate is the reason Gossan got injured like this. It already makes their blood simmer. Slate is one of their best friends. The three of them were an unbreakable trio growing up. Now, Gossan has nothing to say about Slate, and Slate has nothing to say about Gossan. The last time Feldspar saw them in the same room was the day Feldspar left to scope out Giant’s Deep, and back then, they’d been bent over the same flight suit model, Gossan trying to explain why retrorockets were dangerous while Slate ignored every word they said.
Everyone gets injured at some point. Tektite loses a leg here, Gossan an eye there. It’s the nature of the sort of work they do. What are the odds of it being Slate’s fault, and not just Slate being involved?
They want to tell Gossan everything. Out of everyone in the village, Gossan should’ve been the first they told. But Rheniite was there, and there’s something untouchable about them. Like if Feldspar were to stick their hand out and try to pat them on the shoulder, their hand would phase through. It’s a puzzle; the same sort of seemingly unsolvable mystery that led Feldspar to try and conquer the current on Giant’s Deep. Rheniite isn’t telling them something, and it’s not something as simple as the fact they enjoy sneaking out of the village.
When Feldspar said they felt trapped, Rheniite looked at them with a knowing they’ve never felt from anyone else. An unfathomable amount of years trapped in Dark Bramble. How could Rheniite ever comprehend how that feels? And why does Feldspar think they could?
Gossan’s face gets so close to Feldspar’s they can feel their breath ghost across their chin. They say, a hand brushing over the scar on Feldspar’s cheek, “You pulled me away from my work to dance, and now you’re thinking about something else?”
“Just trying to solve a few loose ends.” Feldspar wraps their arms around Gossan’s waist, the only sound that of their boots on wood.
“I never could keep you around for long, could I?” Gossan chuckles, their lips brushing over Feldspar’s own. It sounds resigned, but Feldspar doesn’t take it personally. They’ve known each other forever. How silly would it be if Feldspar was still hurt by Gossan pointing out the fact they’re a bit up in the air? “Where are you going next?”
“After I find Rheniite, or…?”
“Yeah.”
Feldspar ponders for a moment. “Ember Twin, probably. Rheniite told me about this cave blocked off by rocks from floor to ceiling. Figured I’d take some of Tektite’s explosives and see if I can get through.”
Gossan’s eyes flutter closed. “Stars, you just never do things by halves, do you?”
“Not if I can help it.”
Stepping away is harder than Feldspar thought it would be, but the sun is about to rise and they haven’t seen Rheniite crawl their way back yet. The rain has slowed to a trickle, but the lightning still flashes every couple minutes. The storm might circle around again, it might not. Getting a move on now will at least guarantee they’ll keep their clothes dry for the start of their walk.
“Please don’t get yourself killed,” Gossan says, crossing their arms behind their back. “That would be really unfortunate for my work load.”
“Oh?” Feldspar leans back against the wall.
“Yeah. Who is going to fix my satellites if you’re dead?”
“Isn’t that a job you pawn off on the trainees?”
Gossan shrugs. “Not going to be one of those for a hot second. It’s all on you now.”
“Yipee!” Feldspar stands, twirling their finger around in a circle. “Well, I’m going to go somewhere that is not here. Away from your satellites. If you need me, don’t.”
Gossan flops back down into their chair. “Communication line three, got it!”
Feldspar totally doesn’t set their radio to communication line three the moment the door closes behind them.