A/N: Review time, really stupid that you can't just tag a comment in the reviews instead of using a damn PM but whatever. Also, sorry for the later upload, small skips breaking up the two conversations decided to yeet themselves to the void, fixed it though.

DarkNights: Out of all the missions this just feels meh, love the lore but wish there was more. Anywho, I concur, tossing him off the Tower seems appropriate. Appreciate the sentiment for 'liking' my story :)

Now, on with the short chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 11 - The Heart of the Matter

Act VII - House of Wolves

[Last City | Tower | Accommodation]

[No POV]

"-She's been like this since this morning?" Taka hummed, looking to Ghost for confirmation as a childish whine left the covers before her. The blue-haired Titan sighed, looking to the open blinds. "Ceres?"

"Leave me aloo~oone..." Her hand reached around to pull the covers over her. She was decent this time but curled up in a ball as she buried her face against the soft pillow, face red and eyes hesitant

Taka sat down on the edge, smiling while tugging at the cover, feeling a leg kick soon after. "What's bothering you? Is it the fact that, ahem, 'Kell of Kells' is still at large and you have to wait, or is it something else?" It was a very narrow margin, but Taka's intuition was at times sharper than any Hunter

The covers shivered, then they moved, revealing the misty eyes under a dandelion bedhead. "Latter..." She murmured, looking to the window. "I've been using the situation to keep my mind focused away from it but now... now I don't know." Ceres couldn't properly form a reply, her head was rumbling with scenarios, both sweet and terrifying, and that made her feel sick

One look at their ghosts and Taka sighed. "Can you guys give us a minute?"

"Of course," Ghost replied, floating down as Ceres patted his shell. "You better get out of this funk soon."

"Please do, seeing you this way is awfully unpleasant," CT added, the two ghosts leaving their Guardians as the ambient tick-tock of the wall clock sailed by, both Titans sitting in serenity

[Tower Courtyard]

Zane kept to himself today, Dimitri was, for lack of a better word, useless given the fact she knew what was bothering him, but he hadn't brought it up in months because of her constant teasing. So now he was lost, with Rika completely mute due to his own strange lack of communication. He never acted like this unless something was truly bothering him.

Laying down on the grass, his eyes watched the world go by passively, clouds rolled, the blue sky expanded, and jumpships bridged it all. A Hunter without his wings clipped could escape to the furthest corners of this system, some have gone beyond. But of all the things he could run from, this wasn't one he could.

"Hey there," A shadow loomed over him. "How's my favorite, slash only, Rookie doin'?"

Zane shrugged, sitting up with a sigh. Cayde and Artemis shared a look, then the ghost whistled. "Yikes, this is bad if he's gone all mute again."

"You're tellin' me," Cayde cleared his throat, patting Zane's head. "Come on," Without a word Zane followed his teacher off to the side of the courtyard, under a balcony overlooking the City. Zane then put his arms over the railing. "Look, I don't do the whole feelings thing unless it's to annoy Big Blue, but come on, lay it on me," He leaned in with a smug smile. "I can be a great listener."

"Tell that to Cayde-2." Artemis snarked, earning her a zap of Arc lightning to the shell. "Grah, you said you'd quit that!?"

"'Tell that to Cayde-4'." Cayde mimicked poorly, then both noted the glare from Rika as Cayde adjusted his posture. "Right, yeah, come on, spill, what's on your mind, Rookie?"

Zane considered it, attempting to force the blood away from his face as he slumped, cracking his mouth open after several hours he spent staring off into space in his own room. "It's... about..." The ghosts and Exo leaned in. "...Ceres."

Ceres, now sitting upright in her bed covered her face with her pillow, completely mortified by the way she was acting and because... Taka was right. For a long time, Ceres battled each and every thought and feeling with almost minimal effort, and slowly, methodically, it had started to build, like holding her breath, eventually, it had to come out.

"There, I said it, happy?" Ceres spoke up bitterly but felt a hand on her knee as she flinched

"Ceres, are you happy?" Taka remained calm and composed, sure, she teased but right now her best friend is suffering from her own mentality and woes, right now, she needed someone to listen to her properly

"Am I...?" Her hand moved to her heart, still racing as she let some of her thoughts trickle out, and that had her chest tighten again. "...I think so... I...-"

"-Can't think of anything to say," Zane admitted, shaking his head. "I wanted an easy answer but that's... not possible with her."

"..." Cayde crossed his arms, tossing his earpiece away as to shut is responsibilities up for a while. Right now, one of his own was putting himself through a ringer the Exo never quite felt himself, and if his old friend was here, he'd stand and listen to his Rookie, to Cayde when he was down in the dumps. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere, so just talk-"

"-I'm here for you, Ceres, and I'm not leaving until you're ready." Taka pulled the pillow down, their eyes met finally while Ceres broke a small smile, her nervousness simmering

"Thanks, Taka." Ceres' smile remained, then... wavered. She found her eyes now staring gently down at her own hands as she felt her chest swell with the thoughts and feelings clouding her mind. "I... I'm...-"

"-Scared, of hurting her," Zane muttered, head low, embarrassed, confused, and many more things he couldn't properly place. Resting his head on the railing he sighed through his nose. "How can... someone like me, possibly explain all of this to someone like her."

"That is a tough one," Cayde agreed, sitting back on the railing with his arms folded. "You know, C often reminds me of my Queen of Hearts, I won't bore you with the sob story; Wore her heart upon her sleeve, had mine in the palm of her hand." His smile grew, eyes to Artemis. "Hey, side note, did you know, little Artemis here - well, that isn't her name."

"Huhwaitwha?" She sputtered out, Cayde continued despite her shell bonking against his forehead. "Cayde, shut up~"

"Really?" Zane's eye peeked up with Rika

With a smug smile, he poked his ghost. "Rookie, Little Light, meet Sundance, Artemis is just her little nickname when the other Caydes forgot after each reset, the name stuck." Then he waved his hands. "I'm rambling, aren't I? Moving on, my point is that even though I've known Artemis, you've known her, for so long, there will always be something about her you never will know unless you poke and prod, take that risk and run with it."

"Used me as the example..." Artemis grumbled, and while this brought Zane's smile back, his eyes were clouded

"But...-"

"-...that's why I'm scared," Ceres tucked her knees closer. "What if I ruin the very things I already share with him, what if... I end up losing him?" That alone frightened her far greater than anything Atheon or Crota could ever inflict

Taka considered her words a moment but frowned gently. "I'm sorry, Ceres, but there's no real easy way through this," Then she smiled as her friend's head lowered into her knees. "Ceres, I've been around long enough to see children grow, make friends, find love, have a family, sometimes... see them leave this world," That brought Ceres' eyes up softly, seeing the sorrow in Taka's eyes. "Those times... I wonder how many more times will I watch life come and go, when will I end up where they are? Do I have an afterlife waiting for me?"

Even so, Taka, despite all those painful times, she remembered the days she wandered the city, chat with old friends, their kids as they ran about the streets. Even before Ceres came along, Taka was happy where she was, a Guardian, and a person. "Our time isn't any longer than there's, one day, luck and skill won't prevail, we'll slip, and we won't get up again."

Cayde's hand patted his Rookie's back, both facing the great City beyond, the Traveler, slumbering silently. "We have to take each day, draw every breath, laugh at every opportunity with gusto because... we might not see that tomorrow, the futures we think about, and at times... it can be the people closest to us that won't instead," Cayde's eyes glowed, reaching to pat his cape neatly, solemnly. "After that, its whatever memories we have of them that help us to keep movin' forward, keep our own hopes and dream runnin'."

"So, time for the big question," Artemis swooped down to Zane's gaze, her own leaning in. "What exactly is it you see in everyone's resident hero?" She made her voice as gentle as her eye

He pursed his lips, but not much thought was needed as his mouth ran along without him. "Ceres... she's-"

"-Silly, sharp, his voice when he sings, laughs, how he, no matter how bad the situation gets, finds a way to smile," Ceres herself was smiling, her chest tight but warmer, like her fire. "Cheesy as it may be, I can do anything, defeat anyone that comes my way, and laugh in its face-"

"-She's smart, and... amazing, she even fought Atheon, the thing that scared me most of all, that... I was so happy when I heard it was her that struck Atheon down," Zane's hand over his heart tightened, chuckling. "I sound like some cringy romance novel."

"Oh yeah, Queens of Hearts will do that to ya." Cayde hummed, nudging Zane's shoulder. "So what? I bet my Glimmer she's probably got all that same stuff to say about you, I mean, come on, it's me."

Resolve built in his mind, hands pulling away from the railing, "I'll tell her...-" Zane smiled

"-When Skolas is captured, his Wolves scattered, I'll tell him," Ceres raised her head, cheeks reddened as she kept Taka from saying anything. "I know, tempting fate like this is stupid," She cracked a small smile. "But I know, deep down. Me, Morbin, Zane, we will see this through to the end, together."

"And I'll tell her... she means more to me than she thinks."

"And I'll tell him... he means more to me than he thinks."

To Be Continued...

Shorter than most, but it seems things are heating up for the end of this book, maybe, possibly, I don't know! And I also fixed the small plot hole with Sundance's name without the need to edit anything, haha! I do apologize if it was kinda hard to follow but this was the best and more creative way I wanted to express both sides of this growing relationship. I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always, seeya in the next chapter Guardians!

Next Chapter: Bug in the System

The remains of the Kell's Guard march on Venus, invading Vex strongholds across the jungles. Horizon reluctantly pursues the Wolves back in the darkness of the Vex Underworld.