Author's Note: I apologize for this chapter and the last. For whatever reason, it messes up newly added chapters when I first upload them and I forgot to check them over. I've replaced the ones with the problems, so hopefully they're fine now. Enjoy

Luna was off for the first time in months since her arrival to the Tower, and used it to make a trip down to the City to properly tour it. Naturally, Matthew stayed behind to 'see if Bianca needed help'. Not that she minded it, Bianca was the best person for him to stick around after all. She treated him well, gave him anything to make him happy, and said nothing to discourage his dreams.

So many civilians had shops of their own here, plenty of Guardians spending hard earned Glimmer to help them out, but the sheer magnitude of the stalls left her stunned. The Tower only held a few vendors, the number of them down here felt strange. So lost in her thoughts, the bustling crowd around her was drowned out, along with the crew of workers transporting materials. Arms scooped up the unsuspecting teenager, lifting her from the pathway of the speeding vehicle.

"A young girl like you shouldn't be down here alone. Never know what might happen."

Looking up, Luna stared into a glowing red slit in the helmet only inches from her face. It was a Titan that easily seemed far more built than Bianca, the obviously masculine figure's armor a pitch black, with a wave of dark red that looked more like a stain than a shader. A Ghost the same odd shade of red hovered over his shoulder. Realizing she was staring, she took a step back and dropped her gaze.

"T-Thank you, I didn't hear them coming."

"No problem. Try to stay out of trouble."

Off loped the nameless Titan before she could say anything else. In her peripheral vision she witnessed Johnathon entering one of the numerous bars and decided to follow him in. It was only natural for her to ease through the crowd inside; she didn't command the same aura Odin did, but living in the wilds taught her a few tricks. Luckily, the only real law when it came to alcohol was to not let children have it. At eighteen, she was old enough to be allowed here. Which allowed her to find a seat next to Johnathon. "What are you doin' here Luna?"

She wrinkled her nose at the faint stench, the older man reeking of beer. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Haven't you already had plenty to drink?" "Bah, can never have enough." Can't beat 'em? Join 'em. Luna paid for a beer of her own. The first sip made her wish to throw it across the room in disgust; how did Johnathon drink this?! Sucking it up, she downed most of it in one go. The rest would be 'savored'.

That had been the plan at least. Johnathon convinced her to chug it, leading into a competition of sorts between them. In the end, Johnathon was out cold, and Luna couldn't even get up from the stool. Someone she didn't recognize came to her side, mumbling something about getting her to a place to relax.

Alarm bells rang in her mind. They were already moving her to the door and out to the street, heading the opposite direction from the Tower. No, no, this wasn't right! The danger was screeching alarms in her mind, but the beer dulled her body. The only thing she could do was lash out, catching her kidnapper in the throat. Next thing she knew she was in the dirt, but it was better than in the arms of a stranger, who soon would recover from the weak strike.

Pushing her body up she gave it her all to run only a few yards. That was when hands clamped onto her wrists, but vanished just as fast. In her drunken stupor, the blurry image of the red and black Titan came into view. "Can't look away from you for a second huh?" He lifted her into his arms, much like Odin had done for Matthew. "Let's get you to the Tower. They'll keep an eye on you." The rest was a haze. The only thing she caught, was the sound of a familiar chuckle, then a comforting warmth.

The next morning she propped herself up with one hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose with the other. "Fuuuck. I'm going to hit Johnathon when I see him." Tightening the blanket around her body, she winced at the light seeping through the nearby window as she plodded towards the door. It wasn't until she came out of the room, and walked to the kitchen a few steps away, that she realized something; this wasn't her tiny apartment! Familiar voices alleviated the fears whispering in the recess of her mind.

"How's Bianca doing since I left? I know I've been on Mercury for a while, did I miss much?"

"Eh, not really. Bianca's fine, albeit a little razzled thanks to the constant influx of patients in the medical wing. They cornered me during Crimson Days, and Cayde used me as part of a bet against Shaxx."

"I keep telling you to just buck up and face them during the holidays."

"I'm sorry, this coming from the man that leapt off the tower instead of facing his own pack of gift givers?"

"It was one time!"

"And I keep saying bullshit!" Luna peeked around the corner of the kitchen and into the small living room. A couch, a few chairs, a small table, and a cabinet made up the room, with Odin sitting in one of the chairs, and the Titan she met last night across from him in another one. "Oh, Luna, good morning. How did you sleep?"

"I-I slept great."

He motioned to the Titan across from him. "He brought you to the Tower last night and stumbled across me. We decided you could use a good rest, so we brought you to Bianca's apartment for the night." Bianca must have good standing to receive a nice apartment like this.

"Bianca's apartment?" "Technically Bianca's and mine, from our days as a Fireteam, but I don't rest here that often. I spend more time in the wilds than on the Tower most days, and Bianca sleeps in the medical wing more often than not."

The Titan chuckled. "One of the few Fireteams permitted to stay on the Tower, and you don't even use the apartment."

"Just because I don't sleep here, doesn't mean I don't use it! All my stuff is stored away in my room. Where else am I going to keep the things I own?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The Titan raised his armored hand to her. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Dan Merris. It's a pleasure to meet you." "I'm Luna. Nice to meet you." His attention left her for Odin. "Mind if I crash here for a while? I'll be sticking close by to do work for Zavala."

"Not like I care, and I imagine Bianca will welcome having another Titan around."

Dan rose from his seat and surprised Luna by pressing a button on the bottom of his helmet. A hiss of air echoed in the room. Off came the helmet, and the first thing she noticed was how pale he was. The second? The dark bags under his eyes. Running his fingers through his blood red hair, flakes of ash scattered in their wake. "Good, cause I need a shower before I do anything else. Been in the forge so long I've got ash in all the worst places."

He lumbered down the hall and Luna watched him go. "By the way, I informed Matthew of your location so he didn't worry about you. Couldn't tell if he understood what I was saying though. What, with the way he was too busy staring at Bianca." It brought a smile to her face.

"She's the center of his world right now. I'm a little concerned of what'll happen if he becomes obsessed with her."

"Ha. Don't worry about that. Bianca can let him down easy if something happens, and she'd never hurt him if she could help it." The sudden movement of Odin rising out of the chair made her jump. "Heh, must not be fully awake. I'll get you some food and drink. You're probably famished after a night of debauchery." Heat rose to her cheeks. "I-It wasn't like that!"

Odin busied himself in the kitchen while she took a seat at the counter. The unmistakable sound of a knife on a whetstone rang in her ears. "I'm no chef but I can make a killer omelette." Soon the sizzle, then the smell, of bacon reached her. Real bacon was a limited commodity in the world since livestock numbers had dwindled. Every so often their numbers swelled if trackers were successful but it didn't happen often.

The knife was a blur, the other hand cracking eggs into the frying pan. It was like Odin was putting on a show for her, hands both working independently to cut, stir, and fry everything until minutes later he put the plate in front of her with a knife and fork. It was then that she realized he was still wearing his gloves; did he never take them off?

Without thinking, Luna reached out and lightly rested her fingers on the back of them. The speed at which he jerked away nearly caused her to jump up. For the briefest heartbeat Odin shrunk away like a child first experiencing the sensation of fire. A second later, he rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "Sorry about that. I don't like my hands to be touched." The silence afterwards was awkward. It was broken by Odin shuffling from the room. "I should check in with Cayde, see if there's work to be done. Enjoy your breakfast." Then he was gone.

She felt bad for causing him obvious distress. One way, or another, she'd have to apologize. For now, she focused on the incredible omelette in front of her. "Where'd he disappear to? Thought he'd stick around to chat a bit more."

Out of armor, Dan was far less imposing. He was still broad shouldered and outweighed the girl by quite the margin, but without the armor he looked more...feeble with his sickly complexion. Clad in a casual outfit, he needed only to see the few bites left of her omelette to come to a conclusion. "Touched his hands?"

Nod.

"Don't hurt yourself overthinking it. Ain't your fault you didn't know about it. The man's got a hair trigger with those things." Dan plucked a piece of bacon from the plate by the stove and got a satisfying crunch out of it. "He'll be around to apologize soon. Probably. I've got an appointment to keep, so I'm out, but Bianca should be swinging by with some clothes for you, so you can shower up before work. Have a good day."

"Dan!"

Bianca's arms wrapped around him from behind and lifted him in a bear hug! "Down Bianca." She dropped him onto his feet with a huff. He returned the hug with one of his own, and smiled down at her. "We'll have to catch up later. Maybe over lunch with Odin. For now, I've gotta get to Zavalla and report in." He pat her on the shoulder and squeezed past her, and Matthew, to trot away.

"Sorry we're late. I ran into Odin down the hall and wanted to ask him a few things. How'd you sleep?"

"Great. The bed here was like sleeping on a cloud."

Bianca giggled. "I know, right? Best mattresses in the solar system. Plus, hardly used! Its owner tended to sneak over into another bed after all." Not wanting to pry any further, regardless of her curiosity, she nodded. Bianca guided Matthew over to her, smiling down at him to signal for the boy to offer Luna a bag of her clothes.

"I picked them out, sorry if they're not what you wanted to wear today." "It's okay, thank you Bianca. And thank you Matthew." She planted a kiss on her brother's forehead and earned a beaming smile. "I'll hop in the shower and get ready for work. Meet you for lunch Matty?"

"Yes!" Matthew shot off to get to work; a busy mind passes the time.

The Awoken Titan was next to go, Luna left to put her dirty plate in the sink, and find the bathroom. Dan apparently left the door open for her to find it, and even set out different products. They were in small containers, but tiny labels listed what they were. Multiple different soaps, but the smell of strawberries wafted to her nostrils from one container in particular. Remembering work looming over her sent her scurrying to hop in the shower.

Half an hour later, Luna bounded through the Tower halls to get an important package to the Speaker. The man was as mysterious as he was remarkable. Up the winding stairs she climbed, to discover him waiting for her. "Thank you my child." The air warmed up as he accepted the package. "The Vanguard have a hard worker in their ranks, hm?" It was impossible not to smile in response.

"All good deeds are rewarded in time. Even small ones, such as this. Give the Vanguard my best." When she walked away, she could have sworn she felt his eyes on her the entire way down.

During her lunch break she went upstairs to the medical wing to meet with Matthew and Bianca for lunch, and found the former asleep, and the latter reading from her tablet. "Hey Luna, pop a squat. Matthew wore himself out helping Eva it seems."

"It's okay, he probably needs the sleep. What'cha reading?"

Bianca looked back to her tablet with a sigh. "Odin's latest medical report. Gave him a check-up earlier when I saw him getting all twitchy." Musing over it, she didn't notice the wince from Luna. "Does he get twitchy a lot? The Vanguard mentioned it before."

"Eh, kinda. He gets tremors in his hands when they're idle, or when he's stressed. A result of the Battle of the Gap."

"Was he wounded?"

Bianca looked up at her, and Luna swore the air between them froze. Neither breathed until Bianca released a low sigh. "I know the way you look at Odin; you've got a thing for him. A little too young for the old man, but I'm not going to stop you. You need to know this before anything, so I'm going to show you something you have to swear not to tell a soul. Not even the Vanguard. Promise?" "Y-Yes! I promise!" The Ghost hovered in Bianca's hand. "The Vanguard don't know about the severity of his condition. If they did, they'd retire him in a heartbeat. Resume play of the Gap."

The feed showed Bianca take a hit from a Wire Rifle and fly backwards, body going still.

"I'm ashamed to say I was knocked out for this part. If I'd been awake, I might have been able to keep him from getting hurt."

The Hunters stood side-by-side, hand cannons blasting away Fallen. Odin drew a rocket launcher to eliminate a Captain but the moment its body flew away, a Wire Rifle pierced the unknown Hunter's throat! Tossing aside the spent launcher, Odin caught her body and drew his hand cannon with the free hand. "Come on you bastards!" The words were almost drowned out by a second shot, that cracked the Ghost working to repair the Hunter.

It landed in the dirt next to them. Whatever transpired next between the dying Hunter and Odin was missed, but Luna finally recognized the Hunter as a woman; a woman Odin clearly cared for.

Snatching the Hunter's hand cannon from the dirt it landed in, Solar energy coursed down both his arms, into the weapons.

"Watching this later, it was the first time I saw a Gunslinger use two Golden Guns at once."

Odin fired more times than she could remember, but Fallen kept coming. His own Ghost lifted the wounded Ghost and followed in the cover of his helmet, while he covered his retreat towards Bianca.

A blast struck Odin, the resulting explosion shattered the left side of his helmet and sent him sprawling.

Bianca rose first between the two, rushing for Odin.

"I got him on my shoulder and ran for the others. It wasn't until later that I got a look at his hands. Turns out, using two Golden Guns for an extended time caused the Solar energy to backlash. The nerves on his hands are burnt, there's scarring on them, and though he claims otherwise, I'm ninety-five percent sure there's chronic pain."

Bianca pinched the bridge of her nose. "I owe him for keeping the Fallen back long enough for me to wake up, and hightail it out of there, so I've limited the Vanguard's knowledge of the damage to his hands. Damage of that caliber is a risk; it can throw off his aim, or makes him liable to lose control of his energy in rough situations. So I mean it when I say, they can never know what happened during the Battle."

"Aren't Ghosts capable of healing that kind of stuff?" To her surprise, it was Bianca's Ghost that answered. "We were made by the Traveler, but we are not Gods. If a wound is left untouched for too long it will succumb to Darkness. I kept an eye on Bianca, unable to help Odin at the time, and his Ghost was busy repairing its fallen comrade. Many 'what ifs' are involved here. There's only so much that can be done. Even we have our limits."