Lucina stared vacantly over the scenery of Earth from her spot on the edge of one of the Tower's ledges, her leather clad legs pulled up her chest armor covered chest. Her leather covered arms wrapped themselves around her knees. It was evening, the sun setting just over the horizon. There was a gentile humming in her ears, the sound of which she associated with the on goings of the Last City. She had learned to tune out all of the loud noises of the people around her and focused instead on her immediate area. There was a couple of birds chirping nearby, flying just overhead. There wasn't a cloud in sight, allowing her the full beauty of the sky as it faded from blue into oranges and yellows and purples.

She was thinking to herself, questioning herself and her role as a Guardian. She was an Awoken Huntress, a Bladedancer, but was that really anything special? She didn't think that it was. There were lots of Guardians, a decent portion of which were Hunters. With as many Hunters as there were, there was a good number of Bladedancers, as well. Several of which were Awoken. All she was was another Guardian, a statistic. There was nothing in particular that was special about her other than her bad jokes and quiet personality.

He would never look at me any differently from any other Hunter… she thought with a soft sigh to herself.

"What are you doing over there?" a familiar voice questioned, startling Lucina out of her thoughts. She turned her head some to find the Exo Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6 looking at her some in amusement, his glove covered hands on his hips. "Come over here before you fall off. I don't want to lose my favorite Hunter to something as unoriginal as a bad accident."

Lucina blinked some before nodding, standing carefully. She was careful and graceful as she walked along the ledge, jumping down to the safety of solid ground in front of the Exo. It wasn't the first time that she had walked along the ledge. "I'm surprised to see you here…" she admitted quietly. Yes, he lived in the Tower, but he was usually always around the other two Vanguard leaders down underneath the surface area, so to see him out and about was certainly a strange sight indeed.

Cayde shrugged a little. "I heard that something was bothering you, so I came to check it out," he told her truthfully. "What's on your mind?"

The Huntress shrugged, treading carefully through the water of their conversation. "It was nothing important."

Cayde's brow plates drew together in a slight frown, but he didn't press the subject. If she didn't want to say anything about it, he wasn't going to force her to. He was sure that she would tell him whenever she was ready to. "Well, since you aren't doing anything, do you want to join me for a drink down at the bar? It'll be on me."

The Awoken woman felt butterflies flutter in her stomach at his offer. He was offering to buy her a drink, to take time out of his schedule just to help her get her mind off of things, but… "I would, but I might get… intoxicated."

"One drink won't make you drunk," the Vanguard teased, a smile in his voice. Although she hesitated, he had made a good point. In the end, she had agreed to one drink. On the way down to the bar, the Exo tried to make small talk with the Huntress, but she had never really been one for conversation. She replied with short answers and a quiet voice. She had always been that way for as long as the Vanguard had known her. When Cayde asked her what she wanted to drink, she told him to go ahead and pick for her.

As they sat down in the barstools across from the bartender, Cayde said, "One shot of strawberry lemonade flavored vodka for the Guardian, here, and a scotch for me. Put it on my tab."

The Exo nodded. "Understood," it said in a monotone voice. As it turned and started to prepare their drinks, Cayde looked over to Lucina and offered her a smile.

Shyly and weakly, she returned his smile.

As their drinks were placed down in front of them, she looked back at the counter. She picked up her shot glass and swirled the liquid around some inside of it. It was clear in its color. Glancing over to the Hunter Vanguard, she saw him holding his glass of scotch up, gesturing to it with his head. She turned some towards him and lifted her glass. "Cheers," she said quietly.

Cayde clinked his scotch against her vodka and nodded. "Cheers," he said. He sipped his drink as she threw the shot back down her throat.

One drink turned into two, then three, then four… then more. Before long, Lucina was thoroughly smashed, a sloppy smile drawn across her lips and an occasional giggle escaping her. Cayde had tried to get her to stop her drinking, or at the very least slow down, but she kept insisting that she was fine, that one more wouldn't hurt. While he was pretty sure that he could overpower her if it was needed, he really didn't want to risk her using her Arc Blade on him out of a drunken rage. He did that before in his younger years.

It really wasn't an experience that he wanted to repeat, in all honesty.

Though, that didn't stop him from trying. Well, to an extent, anyways.

Until Lucina started to talk.

"You know, you've always been pretty attractive," slurred the woman with a drunken giggle. "Especially for an Exo… and your voice always makes me feel so weak in the knees…" Her sloppy smile seemed to falter some, a slight sadness washing over her. "I know that I shouldn't fall for you… You're my mentor! The Hunter Vanguard!" She sighed heavily, laying her head against the table. "And I'm… I'm just another Hunter. I shouldn't feel the way that I do about you, but I do…" She turned her head so he couldn't see her face. "I have feelings for you."

Cayde was surprised by her confession, honestly unsure of how to feel about it. She had feelings for him? How did he not notice earlier? Was she that good at hiding her emotions? He paused. Did he have feelings for her? He found right then that he needed some time to himself, to think about what Lucina had just told him in her drunken stupor. Smiling, he reached over and lightly patted the back of her short, dark blue hair. "Go home, kiddo. You're drunk and you should sleep it off." He saw her tense and quickly said, "I'm not rejecting your feelings. I just think that you should probably tell me when you're sober." He saw her relax. "Get some rest. Don't forget to drink plenty of water, too."

[xXx]

When Lucina woke up the next morning, she knew instantly that she was hung over. She had a screaming headache that hurt worse than the wail of a Hive Wizard ringing in her ears, and she felt sick to her stomach. The light of the sun streaming in through her window made her cringe, unconsciously pulling her blanket up and over her head to shield her eyes. The sunlight had made her head begin to throb. Getting up with her blanket shielding her eyes, she went over to the window and pulled down the blinds, darkening the room instantly. She lowered her blanket around her shoulders and squinted some, taking in her surroundings. She had been in her room, alone, wearing her armor from the day before still.

She noticed that she smelled of alcohol and wondered what exactly had happened. Then it came crashing down on her, her mind instantly flooding with her memories from the night before.

She had no idea of what she may have done with Cayde, or of what she may have told him the night before, but she feared that she may have told him something personal, something that she didn't want him to know. Her Ghost refused to tell her anything, which only reinforced her fear.

Frowning some to herself, her mind went into hyper drive as she attempted to recall what had happened after she had started drinking. It was mostly a blur, much to her disappointment, but still, she tried to remember. Grabbing a basic set of clothes, she peeled off her armor carefully, starting first with her cloak. She looked healthy when she wore the armor, but in reality, she was a bit skinny, her body well-toned from all of the exercise she managed to get in her everyday life as a Guardian. Her pale blue skin was just the tiniest bit paler from where it never met the sun.

She took a shower, hoping to wash off any and all grime along with the smell of alcohol, taking care to wash her dark blue hair thoroughly before stepping out. After she dried herself off, she dressed herself, wearing black skinny jeans and a Dead Orbit hoodie that she had fashioned for her for the days she decided to take off in order to rest. As she donned her short, black combat boots, she made a mental note to wash her armor after making herself something to eat. Anything to delay having to go and talk to Cayde in case she had said or done something incredibly stupid.

As she stood, she heard a low knock come from her front door. Frowning as she pulled up her hood, she wondered who it would be. It could easily have been one of the Exos that dotted across the map of the Tower, coming to check on her since she had yet to leave her apartment.

When the knocking came again, she called, "Hold on, I'm coming!" She made her way to the door, opening it only to find that, while it was indeed an Exo at her door, it was the Exo she sort of dreaded to see at that moment. "Cayde…?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I came by to check on you. You were pretty hammered last night. I wasn't sure if you even managed to make it home," he told her. Lucina felt the slightest bit flattered by his concern, a light blush dusting across her cheeks.

Shifting from one foot to the other a little nervously, she swallowed. "I-I'm alright," she assured him softly. She found herself worrying some at her bottom, dark blue lip and instantly forced herself to stop. "L-listen… Speaking about last night… D-did… Did I say anything offensive or do anything stupid?"

Cayde chuckled some, looking a little tense. "No, not at all," he assured her. "Which reminds me…" He leaned in and brushed his lip plates against her cheek, instantly making her face burn bright. It had turned a much deeper shade of blue than it had been previously. "I thought about what you said last night. About liking me. And you're right. You shouldn't feel the way that you do about me. But you know what? I shouldn't be feeling what I'm feeling for you, either. I wanted you to know that I feel the same way that you do." He offered the stunned Huntress a smile that was mixed between charming and a little bit flustered. "So… If it isn't too bold of me… Do you want to spend the day together?"