The old Tower stood as a smoldering mass in the distance but the space beside it was now covered in Vanguard banners and colorful flags. Wren could see them through the hole in the wall of the den. It was worse now than before. More of the roof had fallen in and where the floors were once clean swept were covered in debris.

Char marks across the floor spoke of fire and there was nothing left of her personal belongings. There was no sign she ever existed here and as bad as she felt for herself over it, she knew others had it worse. She stood in the hole and looked over the City. Most of her things were in her room in the Tower anyway and as a Hunter, she didn't have many material possessions. Others had lost everything.

Wren's fingers traced the edge of the purple shard around her neck. She had the things that were important. What more could she hope for? Of course she waited for word that Zavala would allow Guardians back into the Tower to see if there was anything left to salvage, but she didn't have high hopes.

"I guess our plans for this place are done for," Cayde said from the door.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Kiran told Sun you were out here looking for your stuff but uh… I have a confession to make."

"Do I even want to know?"

Cayde stood beside her and let his gaze drift across the City.

"When Beorn died," he began, "I came here a lot looking for you. When it looked like you'd abandoned it, I took your things back to my place."

Wren nodded slowly. "Sometimes it feels like that never happened. Between the war and Ghaul… sometimes I expect to turn around and see him there." She stared down at her palms. Had she not been a Guardian the scars of Ziro's shell would have been enough to prove what happened, but they were clean and clear of any marks.

"You scared the hell outta me, ya know?"

"I'm ashamed of how far I let it go," she admitted, shifting her weight on the foot away from him. "I should have handled it better. Loss is part of being a Guardian, I knew that from the start."

Cayde put a hand on the back of her neck and gave a gentle squeeze, massaging with his thumb. "The first one sticks with you. Most of us don't handle it well. I just wish you would have come to me. Maybe I could have helped."

Wren leaned into his palm. "I'm still dealing with it," she admitted. "I miss Beorn. All the time. But I also miss Franz and I don't know what's worse. Never seeing Beorn again, or being able to reach out and touch Franz but knowing he hates me."

"I wish I could say he'd come around, but that's something you have to come to terms with as a Guardian. Sometimes that doesn't happen. Franz is hurting. Maybe someday he'll figure out it ain't worth it, but whether he does or not, you have some damn good friends in Sisre and Rorick."

"And Koro."

Cayde tensed. "Yeah. That guy."

"You really don't like him."

"He's a good guy, don't get me wrong. I just hate his face is all."

"Jealous?"

"What? No, I just think he has this dumb look that needs to be sorted out is all."

Wren smirked and rolled her eyes. "So back to the important part. You took my things from here and put them in your apartment?"

"Yup. And guess who just got permission to check out my previous living quarters? Ya know, it's possible that I have a really cool water feature when it rains now."

"Are you headed there now?"

"Yeah, I just came to see if you wanted to go too."

"Sure. I'm getting pretty restless anyway."

Cayde slipped her hand into his and led her toward the Tower. "Now you know how I feel," he chuckled.

"I'm glad we have the City back, but I am tired of being stuck here. Any word on when Zavala is going to clear me for mission again? I heard Cerulean was sent out recently after some Fallen."

His hand tightened around hers. "Really? Huh… well, Big Blue hasn't said anything to me about it yet but I'll let you know when I hear something. So, is there anything you really hope is still around? Cuz I'm holdin' out hope my flame turret is still there."

"You would," Wren smirked. "Hm… I don't know. Colonel maybe? I guess I've been expecting it to all be gone so I'll be happy with anything. And speaking of Colonel, I see you set up a space in the hanger for the real one."

Cayde's expression darkened a little. "Yeah. After the attack and I thought you were… I dunno, I guess I needed something and when I got to the Farm and saw that little chicken it clicked."

They continued on in silence, through the lower doors of the Tower. Cayde entered security codes at every door as they ascended and at first the Tower seemed as it always had. The floor where Wren had lived before was largely untouched. Not much here the Cabal figured was worth anything but a few floors higher they had begun to raid around or use for themselves. The doors were off their hinges and items were strewn around all over the place.

The closer they got to the top of the Tower, the worse the damage became. Black streaks marred the walls and the smell of fire and smoke hung thick in the air. Whatever electricity that remained in the lower levels was gone and the halls grew darker despite the windows being blow out behind what used to be doors.

A weight hung in the air between them and Cayde held her hand tighter as he led her onward, his boots crunching on broken glass. Wren stopped in her tracks as shards of debris stabbed into the soft soles of her shoes. Cayde took notice immediately and knelt so she could jump onto his back.

"Been awhile since I've given you a piggy back ride," he said.

"Hmmm… wasn't I drunk the last time?"

"Probably."

They approached his office and he pushed the door open with his fingertips. It had obviously been raided by the Cabal. Maps were scattered and burned, weapons and ammo were gone, leaving only scraps behind of useless shit. Wren could feel Cayde tense and she wrapped her arms more tightly around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he gave the office a quick once over.

The shelves seemed to be intact for the most part. They were littered with odds and ends and all kinds of strange memorabilia Wren was sure only made sense to Cayde. Seeing those items had survived seemed to ease him somewhat and they moved on, up to where his apartment was.

"Why isn't your office with Zavala and Ikoras?" Wren asked. "I've never even seen you in your office before."

"I don't use it too much," he admitted. "And I do have an office up there with theirs, but I never liked it. Was always too clean and tidy. You've seen Big Blue's office? I dunno, never liked the way it was set up I guess. Probably a good thing too. The offices were destroyed. Be lucky if my apartment isn't in shambles."

Wren laid her head against his shoulder and zoned out to the sound of glass and debris as he passed through the halls. She wondered if it was hard on him, knowing he likely lost almost everything he cared about. All those tokens and memories. Gone.

At his door he carefully let her down and took a deep breath before entering.

It was worse than she thought. Where the window had been, spanning the living room, was now a gutted area. The ceiling had caved in and the floor above could be seen. Rebar twisted in the mass of cement, and everything was either burned, covered in ash, or heavily molded from rain pouring in freely. Only his bedroom was in decent order. Colonel was the first thing he saw and grabbed it off his bed, along with the blanket she had originally taken from him. A few other possessions were stowed in a footlocker in the closet and locked tight so he could get them later.

"Well, coulda' been worse," he sighed, returning to her at the door and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. He handed over Colonel and let his gaze return to his apartment. She could see the light in his eyes dull slightly. He was hurt by this but wasn't letting it on.

Wren slipped her hand in his and his attention immediately returned to her with a faint smile. He gave her hand a squeeze.

"I have something to show you," he said, bending down again so she could get on his back. She pulled the blanket close, taking in the scent of him which was now tainted with smoke. "This place might be wrecked, but our new place isn't."

"Our place?"

"Yup. It's down in our new Tower area. Though I dunno why we call it the Tower anyway. It's not even a Tower. Makes no sense to—"

"It's okay if you're upset about what you lost," she said and he fell silent.

"Eh, it's just stuff. I still have what's important."

"I know. But it's still hard. You can feel it around the City. People are diligent in cleaning up. Starting over. They work almost constantly to repair what was destroyed but through their hope you can still see the sadness. They're tired but trying not to let themselves linger and fully take it in. I was like that when…"

Beorn.

She rested her cheek against his shoulder. When he died she drown herself in alcohol because it was the only thing that numbed the pain. It never took it away though and the more she tried the more frustrated she became when it didn't work. As much as it physically hurt when Franz attacked her, it felt more natural to feel it that way than isolating did. All she wanted to do was drink until it didn't hurt any more and frankly, it was a fear she hadn't acknowledged before. Alcohol hadn't always been kind to her and yet when she was in pain it was her go-to and that was a terrifying thought.

"I think you're gonna love the new place," Cayde said, likely sensing her growing anxiety. "It'll need to be decorated though. It's pretty empty right now."

"I dunno…"

"About what? You havin' second thoughts?"

Wren snorted a little laugh. "No. I just don't see a point in decorating when you're going to cover every surface with junk is all."

"Hey! That stuff was not junk. It was finely curated pieces that represented places and people in my life that mean something."

"Cayde, you had a collection of candy wrappers from shops in the City just because you liked the color. Or what about those empty shell casings you picked up in the Crucible because they were shiny. I know some of that stuff meant something to you and I'm sorry you lost it, but you also tend to hoard a bunch of junk too."

"Yeah, that's fair I guess."

"Look, just keep stuff off the floor and I'm all good."

"What, you too clumsy to walk to the bathroom in the dark?"

"When there's a bunch of junk everywhere, yes. I swear, if I break a toe on some stupid nonsense like a—"

"Don't you dare say flame turret."

"On a flame turret, I will make sure you suffer."

Wren leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"You wanna do something like you had in your old room?" Cayde asked.

"No. It was bright and fun but I think I want a space I can relax in. How do you feel about dark greens and maybe some plants?"

"Pft, they're just gonna die."

"We can get fake ones."

"Kid, I'll put a life size elephant in there is that's what you want."

"I want you to help me. I mean, it's our space. Not just mine. And you'll be spending more time there than me anyway. Zavala won't keep me out of the field for forever."

"Yeah. Right."

The new apartment was huge with a balcony on the back that spanned the length of the space and overlooked a small courtyard with a fountain and a couple of trees. In a way she missed the City view, but they could have that in the den when she fixed it up again. Here they felt secluded. Away from the bustle of Guardian life.

All of the doorways were arched and either inlaid with mosaics or intricately carved. The entire apartment had hardwood floors and cream-colored tiles. There was plenty of light in the living area for plants and the bedroom was tucked in a corner with only a couple of large windows that could easily be covered with thick curtains. For now it was bare, but this place held a lot of potential.

Cayde had set up a mattress on the floor but it was clear he hadn't spent many nights here. She knew that his Vanguard duties had eaten even more of his time that usual. It didn't bother her that it was such a simple set up for the time being, since arriving back in the City she'd been staying with several other Guardians on cots that had been set up in temporary housing until more permanent solutions could be had.

The Hunters had all moved out, into their old dens or creating new ones in the City. The dynamic was shifting with them. They were becoming closer to the civilians, seeing themselves as more of an extension of them as they had lost more from their dens in the City than most Guardians from the Tower. Everything had been taken or destroyed and they felt it in the same way the civilians did.

Wren walked to the window and gazed out onto the balcony. Cayde came up behind her and leaned down to put his head on her shoulder. His hands started at her hips and grazed up her sides to wrap around her shoulders. Since the night in the barn they couldn't get enough of each other and all this time, all these nights, they'd spent apart had been restless. But here?

This was their space. All theirs.

Wren let out a long sigh of contentment, her shoulders relaxing as he kissed her neck.

"Do you like it?"

"This place is great. I know it'll be a long time before we can actually decorate or make it our own, but I really want to move the things we still have in and be here full time."

"You don't mind sleeping on the floor?"

Wren chuckled. "I think you need to spend a night in the shared Guardian's quarters and tell me what you think," she said, reaching up to touch his face. He pressed into her palm and kissed it before spinning her around to face him.

He picked her up under her thighs and carried her toward the bedroom. When he put her on the bed and began kissing her and sliding his hand up her shirt she became aware of the windows again, tall and unadorned. Could she see across the courtyard? She couldn't remember if the apartment across the way was in full view or not and although she was conscious of it, something about it excited her.

Not that she'd say as much. She closed her eyes and arched into him as he nipped her neck, careful not to leave a mark. His fingers dragged slowly down her side and she could feel his cock through his pants, pressing between her legs.

She tugged at the strap across his chest that held his dagger and groaned a little. "Why do you have to be in all that armor?"

"Because I like to torture myself," he said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Keep it on then," she said, arching toward him. She didn't care what the hell he was wearing, she just wanted him.

He hesitated only a moment before slipping a hand between them to free himself from his pants. Wren wrapped her legs around him as he entered her, fingertips biting into the leather of his chest piece. She bit her lip and he kissed her.

"You don't have to be quiet," he whispered. "This is our place. Get as loud as you want."

"Hmmm, you'll have to make me," she replied, bucking her hips against him.

A dark smirk crossed his face and before she knew it, he had flipped her to her belly and pulled her hips up to meet his but as he was taller than her, he picked her up by her hips, her knees off the bed, and began trusting deep inside of her.

At first no sound would come out but when she could catch her breath she caught herself moaning so loud her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. What if someone heard? What if he thought she was weird? She bit the blanket under her, unable to do much but hang on for dear life as he pounded into her.

"I can't—" she moaned.

"Already?" he cooed, pleased with himself.

"Fuck," she muttered, burying her face in the blankets.

"Tsk tsk, what a dirty mouth," he teased, taking long, even thrusts until she couldn't hold back any more.

The instant she let her orgasm consume her someone started banging on the door.

"Son of a bitch," Cayde muttered but didn't stop. Hands around her hips he quickened his pace until he came, pulsing hot artificial cum deep into her.

Again the banging on the door continued.

"Gimme a second!" he bellowed, giving Wren a parting kiss before hurrying to the bathroom and cleaning off, then sprinting for the door.

Wren didn't want to move. She felt sleepy now, face down in their bed, blankets now in desperate need of a wash as he dripped from her to the bed. He was talking to someone, then called out that he would be back soon and once the door was closed Wren gathered herself and went for a shower. Even though they had just been together, it wasn't enough. And yet, she wondered how this was real. How it had come to this between them? She leaned against the wall, letting the hot water sooth her, then her fingers found the mess he'd left behind and she pushed them into herself. A second time wouldn't hurt…

Outside Sisre gave Cayde a suspicious glance but thankfully didn't say anything about the sounds she most certainly heard while outside the apartment. She was willing to let it go for something else that was bothering her more.

"Cayde, we need to talk," she said.

"About?"

"Wren. She was supposed to go with us on that last mission and she never showed up. Neither did you. What's the deal?"

"Didn't get the memo," he replied crossing his arms. They both knew it was a lie, but how far would Sisre willingly let him take it?

She crossed her arms as well, mimicking him. "She's going to catch on to what you're doing. Wren isn't stupid."

"I know she's not."

"They why are you treating her like she is? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you two are finally sorting things out and she seems so much happier now than before, but you'll ruin it all if she catches on too late. Please don't screw this up before it has a chance to even start."

Cayde looked away. Why did she have to be right?

"Look, I know you're scared to death to let her out of your sight," she continued. "But keeping her here isn't much better. She'll resent you."

Now that one took him back. He'd had the same conversation with Koro after Beorn's death. He knew damn well she would grow to resent him and he was doing it anyway. But how could he let go?

"You have to let her roam."

"I know," he said. "I just… well, there's something I've been wantin' to talk to her about but I don't know how."

"What?"

He hesitated. "I gotta promise it won't leave this spot."

Now it was Sisre's turn to give him a skeptical glare. "Okay. I promise."

Cayde fished around in his pocket and showed her a small, plain black box. It didn't have to be fancy for her to know what it was.

"Woah… are you serious?" she asked.

"She started it," he smirked, gesturing to the favor tied around his arm. "Figured I'd reciprocate."

"You better not do it someplace dumb."

"You have no faith in me! Of course I'm gonna make it special. I just… don't exactly know when. Or where. Or how…"

"I can help you if you want. But I need you to do something for me."

Cayde sidestepped and leaned against the railing of the walkway. "How much is this gonna cost me?"

"Let her go with us in the morning. We have a mission scouting for Fallen outside of the City. Zavala thinks they're up to something and wants us to figure out what's going on."

"Probably nothing," he tried to assure himself. "Cabal left a whole lotta junk out there. Probably scavenging it."

"Maybe they are, but the Commander still wants Cerulean to figure it out. And that includes Wren. Even Franz has been ordered to go. I think it would be a good step toward getting us all on the same page again."

Cayde tapped his fingers on his elbow. "Yeah… yeah I guess. But I'm comin' with."

"What?"

"If those Fallen are out there lootin' abandoned Cabal ships or bases, we'll need to secure them for our own use. There's a lot of good stuff on those ships that could go into our vaults or be used for repairs around the City. They attacked us, least we can do is use what they left behind for ourselves."

Sisre had no choice but to agree. "Fine. Meet us at dawn at the North gate. And Cayde?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't keep her up all night."

He forced an awkward laugh. Him keep Wren up? Oh Sisre. She had no idea how backward she was.