Harmony Through Grief
Uldren looks you in the eyes. "Everything I did, I did for her." He pauses for a moment, contemplating, and then proceeds, "Funny. The line between light and dark is so very thin. Do you know which side you're on?" The obvious answer comes to mind, but then the Fanatic's words echo in your head.
"You enjoyed killing them?" He demanded. "Did it make you feel good?" You paid no mind to them before, but now, with Uldren laying there, helpless, you're forced to confront it. You DID feel good upon killing each of them. It felt like justice, but also...something more. Revenge wasn't exactly sweet, but seeing what they did to Cayde, being able to return that to them... It satisfied something else.
As you hesitate, and all of these thoughts flash through your mind, your aim falls. Standing to your left, Petra turns to look at you concernedly as you shake your head and steady your hand. Whether it was driven by revenge or not, it was justice. It was time to finish what you started. Here, with the one person who Uldren's caused more pain than you. She turns back to him, he sees the resolution in your faces, and closes his eyes, exhaling. 'For Cayde' you think as you begin to tighten your finger on the trigger.
BANG!
A single shot rings out in the chamber, the Prince is thrown onto his back, and Petra's hand falters. You turn to look at her, at the smoke coming off her barrel, just as her legs give out from underneath her. In a swift motion you take a step towards her and hold her up, and look down at her face to see her eyes lost in a far off place. A moment later she blinks, regains her footing, and you gently let go of her as she refocuses on you. "I had to. For-" She starts, but then falters. She moves her lips slightly, but no sound comes out. You hesitantly take a step toward her and reach out. She extends her arm, grasps yours, and leans slightly against you. The two of you stand there, resolute and silent, in the dim glow of both light and shadow.
Back at the Spider's safehouse, the two of you fill him in on the events that transpired in the Watchtower. When you reach the conclusion, you both fall into a tacit agreement, and leave out who pulled the trigger. Once the room falls silent, Petra says "If that's all, I'm going to excuse myself." The spider waves with one hand, and she quickly leaves the room. He looks at you, almost knowingly, and gestures out, saying, "You may go as well. I understand the toll revenge can take." You nod and turn to follow her out, just in time to see her slip into a side room that the Spider allowed her to have as a bunk. She seems determined to get somewhere solitary before her tough facade falls.
You stop in the hallway, take a seat on a storage container, and your Ghost materializes. "Part of me is relieved that it wasn't you. The other part wishes it didn't have to be Petra either. I'm sorry that it ended like that. I hope-" They're cut off as the door down the hall reopens and you see her step halfway out, arms crossed, looking at you with a pained expression. You rise quickly and step towards her as Ghost disappears. She looks at you and says weakly, "Could you-" she stumbles and looks down for a moment, then tries again. "Could we please just sit?" You return her gaze and nod, then follow her into the room.
She goes to sit on the bunk, and gestures at a table against the wall behind you. "I saw it and couldn't stand to exclude you. I know you two were close...He was a good friend to a lot of us." On the table is a playing card, the Jack of Hearts. The caricature holds a jagged knife, and you can imagine him choosing it specifically for Petra, far too pleased with himself. She plops down onto the bed, removes her hood, and begins to unstrap her armor. "I know you're not much one for words, but," She stops to drop a boot, then looks up at you for a moment. "You can talk to me. Grief passes better when you don't keep it to yourself. I have some things to say too, if that's alright."
"Of course," you respond. Petra hasn't exactly shown this level of solidarity before, but it's a welcome offer after all that you've been through. After a moment you lay the reclaimed Ace of Spades, dented and worn, on the table and say, "I think he'd be okay with this." She looks at you, having finished removing her paladin armor and leaving her wearing the mesh bodysuit underneath, and places all of the gear in a chest.
"With what, exactly?" She questions. She stands to look at the Ace on the table, as you point to the matching symbol on the barrel.
"The way all of this has shaken out. Uldren gone, but not just for him. For the Reef. For the good of everything. And Ace... Well, I had replica a long time ago. Banshee handcrafted a similar gun, not quite as powerful, or elegant." You stop, tracing the magazine that practically radiated Light. "The Ace was his alone. But he looked proud to see me using that old one, out stirring up the darkness the way he used to. If he can't use it, well, I'm glad I can keep his spark burning."
Petra seems to mull something over while you stand there. Finally she says, "He named the gun after his son, you know." You look up at her in surprise, and see her small smile as she picks the gun up and admires it. "Well, the original Cayde did. After the lives he lived, he wouldn't have even known it himself, except for his dozens of damn journals. He rambles and showboats in most of them, but in just a few, he mentions Ace. He talks about how curious and adventurous he was, how eager to help people, how bright even in the dark moments. He said he could rely on it, always. And whether he realized it or not," she looks at you, "He said the same things about his 'favorite guardian'." She chuckles slightly. "Exo memories are buried deep, but with some familiar details, they can be brought out. Of course he'd be proud." She hands you back the gun.
You squeeze the grip, take a deep breath, and place it back down. You'll make sure he has every reason to be. Petra sits back on her bed and gestures next to her. You take a seat as well, and she looks anxiously at you, as she unconsciously adjusts her hair, something you've never seen before. "Guardian, I-" She sighs and stops, bringing herself under control. "There's so much I've seen lately that I didn't have time to reflect on before, but I can't escape it now. Uldren may be gone, but the wound isn't healed." She brings one hand to her face and says, "I don't know how to move forward from here. Before, I resolved myself to the Queen, but..." She trails off and goes silent. You're unsure of what to do, but after a moment she sniffles, wipes her eyes and says, "We lost so much. So many of us dead, and even after all of it, I betray her, and pile another body on top. We found some of the Techuens, but we have no sign that she's even-"
"Stop", you say softly, but firmly. She cuts herself off, and her hands begin to shake. You reach out and grab them, steadying her, and say, "You have to believe she is. She wasn't one to rush in carelessly. But either way, you make your own path forward. Loss isn't easy. But you have friends to help make continuing better." She smiles slightly and squeezes your hand. "I know your pain. I feel you," you say, and then, before you can move, her lips are pressed against yours. Her hand comes up to meet your face, you move yours to hold her waist, and you both take a short breath before your mouths meet again. You're locked like this for a heated moment before you both pull apart and she pauses, just looking at your face. Your armor dissolves off of you, leaving you in a dark mesh suit similar to hers. She's still pressed slightly against you, and you can feel her warmth, and a small hum through her suit.
"Guardian." She utters. You focus back on her, and see an unfamiliar look in her eyes- longing. Her breath is shallow and hot, and she puts her hand on your chest and says softly, "I feel you, too." You kiss her again as you feel a tight sensation grow in your pants. She helps you remove your shirt, and then your lips meet again as she runs her hand over your abs and down to your crotch, making you shudder. As you two pull apart, she lays you back and whispers, "I want you to feel all of it". Before you even realize, she's tied your wrists together at the top post of the bed, and slides down, standing for a moment to shed her suit.
As she slips out of it and it falls to the floor, her glowing, teal skin is exposed. Smooth and soft, her flesh lights up with nebulas all across it, and you're able to see her large, supple breasts with dark blue nipples, and curvy, thick butt as she climbs back onto the bed and begins to pull down your pants. As the waist moves lower, your member springs free, standing up, thick and fairly long. Your hear her make a small intake of breath before slowly grasping it with her right hand, her face down below as she begins to pump it. You involuntarily grunt and shake just a bit, and she smirks devilishly. "Tell me you want it," She commands, only slowly moving her hand up and down as she waits for your affirmation.
Her hot breath comes in waves, hitting directly on your package, and you quickly say "I want you. Petra, please."
"Oh, how polite," She replies. "Okay, then," And she quickly wraps her lips around your cock, swirling her tongue around you and beginning to bob down. You lose yourself to bliss for a moment as she goes to work on you, moving up and down, working the remainder with her hand, and letting out dirty slurping noises as she continually devours you. Your hips start to move slightly, and noticing this, she pulls back as far as possible without removing it, takes a breath, and then swallows your entire length, down to the base.
"Ohhh fuck..." You moan as she holds you in her throat. You can feel it squeeze around you slightly, and then she pulls back, and the pressure is relieved. She gives it one more half-length bob, then starts stroking it with her hand while she breaks away, moves her face down, and begins to suck on your balls. First one, then the other, and then pulls both in and swirls her tongue around them while gently sucking. She pumps you faster, then releases your jewels with an audible "SCHLOP" scound, and throats your entire member once again. "Petra!" You grunt, unable to hold out against her oral assault any longer, and shooting off strands of hot cum into her mouth and down her throat, while she purrs around your girth and then finally, slowly, retreats off of it and swallows.
Without any words, she moves up to where her face is level with yours, kisses you on the neck, and moves her hands up, untying the knot around your wrists. As the binding slips off, she sits up and then lays down on her back with her knees up. "Guardian," she mumbles, avoiding your gaze, and as you sit up you can see that she's blushing, bringing a beautiful red flush to her blue cheeks, resulting in a purple hue that only intensifies the starlight within. You place your hands on the side of her legs, and without any further prompting, she spreads her legs apart, giving you full view of her entrance. Within the teal folds, the inner part of it is a dark shade of purple, at the top is a much lighter purple clitoris, and translucent dark fluid coats her entrance and runs down her cheeks. Even from a couple feet away, you can practically feel the heat coming off of her, and can certainly smell her sweet scent. It's intoxicating.
You're unable to lay there and observe for more than a few moments before you move your face close, stick out your tongue, and slide it up against her. She moans out load and shakes slightly as you come in contact with her, and her legs close halfway around your head, involuntarily trying to keep you in. You can hear her take a sharp breath as you set to work, licking her deeply, tracing her outline, and flicking her clit, and she responds with moans in time with your actions. She tastes almost like honeysuckle, and soon her juices are coating your face as you greedily and passionately lick her up. You slide one, then two, then three fingers into her and move them back and forth as you lick around her clit, and she places her hands on the back of your head, desperately trying to pull you closer, and moaning louder and more frequently. You build up faster, and then slow down, drawing out her pleasure, before speeding back up and bringing her to the edge. Her moans are loud, drawn out, and desperate now, her starlight hum matches your rhythm, and as her walls start to convulse around your fingers, you pull them out and instead finish her with large, quick strokes with your tongue, lapping up all of her juices as she clings to you and rides the wave of ecstacy.
As she comes down from her orgasm and you both catch a breath, she swiftly flips you over so that she is on top of you now, and you kiss passionately again. You are risen back to full mast as her body grinds against you, the heat and moistness of her entrance rubbing on your member, and she moans softly as you kiss. After a bit she breaks away and leans back, then positions herself above you and grabs your member, guiding it towards her. "Take me," She says, and you thrust your hips upwards slowly as she lowers down to meet you, and your cock slides inside of her. Her warm, wet, tight walls wrap around you, and squeeze tightly as she meets your base. As you come to a stop fully inside her, the vibration of her flesh intensifies, filling you with a fuzzy sensation. You sit up, grab her body, and she wraps her arms around your head, holding you close to her chest, so you begin to lick and suck on her nipple. She lets out a moan, then the two of you pull away and her hum decreases, then just at the end you slide back towards eachother, hitting her deepest spot as her insides wrap around every inch of you.
"Ohhhhhhh fffuuuuck" she moans as you both increase the pace, you now riding up inside of her faster and faster, and her arms loosen their grip around you. Seizing the opportunity, you sit up all the way and lay her down on her back, keeping yourself inside the entire time. You begin to move again, and she digs her nails into your back. You lean in and embrace her, your bodies melding together in sweat and juices as you kiss her deeply and wrap your tongues together. You continue to kiss until she breaks away and lets out a long moan as you slide fully in repeatedly, and she spasms and claws you again as she cums, holding you tightly but allowing you to keep slapping your hips together and rock her down from the high. She takes a shallow breath and forcefully kisses you again, your lips now constantly in a dance. You thrust into her a few more times before pulling out, wanting to savor the moment.
"Turn around" you say. She obeys without a word, presenting her round, soft ass to you, and moving backwards a bit, almost begging for you to reenter her. You oblige, sliding in slowly, as one of your hands grips her waist, and the other undoes her hair braid. It all falls loose as she rocks up backwards against you, and turns her face to yours to meet tongues again. As she lowers back down you take a handful of her hair and pull it firmly, and she moans intensely and her body hums faster as you keep pounding into her from behind.
"I'm-" she stutters as a wave of pleasure rocks her and then catches a breath and tries again. "I'm so close. Let me ride." Sensing the end coming for you as well, you lay on your back, and she turns and mounts you once again, hands running through her hair as she grinds against you. You grab her hips, give one last burst of thrusts into her, and then, she climaxes again. Just as she shouts and a hot rush of fluids pours over you, her hum becomes so intense that pressed against you, your entire body feels pleasantly numb, you slap into her one last time, and you grunt, spasm, and shoot rope after thick rope of hot cum deep inside of her. As she feels this, even more of her fluid pours out, and she lets out a long, sensual moan before collapsing against you while still connected, coming down, arms wrapped around you and her head on your chest.
The both of you rest there for a moment, panting, sweaty, and blissful, until she raises her head and kisses you on the lips again. "Stay with me," she says once you break away. You nod, rub circles on her back, and kiss her on the forehead.
Her warmth rests on you, and you can feel the starlight hum in her matching your own Light. The two of you stay locked together as you drift off to sleep. As you do, you squeeze her hand and mutter "Always", and she shifts slightly in her light slumber, getting snug against you.
