When it came down to it, Skylar liked the Infinite Forest about as much as she cared for the Black Garden. It was confusing, disorienting, and might as well have been one giant mind fuck. She'd gone into it once with Haar to save Osiris and somehow, the two of them had been tossed right back in. Only this time, the person they saved was supposed to be dead. Yet, somehow the Vanguard leader from before Zavala now stood mere feet away from her, a hearty laugh sounding from him as he spoke with his friend.

Skylar wasn't sure she'd ever seen Haar look so happy.

From what he'd told her, Haar and Saint-14 had been friends, good friends, almost that of brothers. He'd never been as close to Osiris, but she doubted many were beside the Russian Exo. It was unbelievable, friends speaking again as if nothing had happened, and lovers reunited across space and time. Skylar should have been happier for them but there was that small, weak part of her that was jealous. Even if Corvan was right, even if she'd decided to do so, it was hard to just move on, to let go.

A soft wind whispered across the area, blowing stands of black hair into her vision as if to remind her of her own thoughts. She could be happy for her friend, which was enough.

"It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" The smooth, yet somehow old voice – worn out and ready for bed – came from her right as Osiris made his way over and stopped next to her. "I don't think Haar ever completely forgiven me for leaving as I did and causing Saint to come after me. Yet he never resented me, never did anything other than look disapproving of it all."

"Do you think this will clear it all up then?" Skylar asked curiously, not taking her gaze from the scene of the two Exos laughing as Saint gestured to the blue version of his own helmet, tucked under her friend's arm. The Warlock sighed.

"No. I don't think it will be quite that easy. Much like Ikora, things might smooth out on the surface, but something with stay rough underneath. I can hope that changes, for both of them, but I won't force it. All there can be is hope that time will do the work."

Skylar wasn't much for time. Guardians didn't really have much of a use of it past how long they'd been on a mission. Older ones didn't even bother to keep track of how long they'd been alive or when their 'birthday' was. Corvan didn't. Haar only celebrated because Z wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe the only reason Skylar still felt trapped by time was because she was so 'young'.

Maybe it was because time felt like a cage with nothing but reminders of certain times of the year to gnaw at her. A dog with a bone that refused to understand nothing was left of it worth chewing. It was that feeling, that sensation that drove that weak, disquieted part of her forward and demanded to form words.

"Can I ask something?" she said finally, and felt the older man's gaze on her.

"Of course. If anything I owe you answers to any question, though I can't promise I will know them, or that you will like them."

She already knew she wouldn't, but she asked anyway.

"Could the Sundial help anyone else? Could it bring back other people that are trapped elsewhere, that are… dead?" Tevis was trapped in the Black Garden, and so many of her friends were missing or dead. Cayde was dead.

Both of them went silent, only the voices of the two men in front of them, who were slowly starting to make their way back over, sounded across the pale earth. At the halfway point, Osiris spoke.

"I never properly gave my condolences for your loss, Skylar." His words had her finally looking to him, and even with most of his face covered, the look in his eyes said enough: understanding. Sincerity. Things she didn't often find in the Warlock's features. "Despite his hangups, I can at least say that Cayde was a good man. That he wanted what was best for the City." Reaching out, he touched her shoulder and Skylar twitched, surprised. "I'm afraid unless they were trapped or died in the forest or on Mercury, there is nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

That small hopeful pieces retreated instantly, and Skylar simply nodded her head.

"I kind of thought that'd be your answer, but I still had to ask. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"Why the long faces, my friends?" Saint's cheerful, booming voice interrupted their conversation and she turned her gaze at the two Titans stopped in front of them. Haar gave her a worried look and she gave a small smile that didn't reassure him at all. Osiris's hand dropped from her shoulder and he crossed his arms.

"Just speaking of the past and those who are gone. Something that shouldn't linger on such a day I think."

Haar's expression changed to match his moment of realization.

"Sky-"

"I'm fine," she told him before he could get started. "I had a question, it was answered. Nothing more, nothing less." Nothing to talk about at all. He sighed, but didn't push her. The other Titan, on the other hand, took another step forward, hardly a foot between them. Skylar had to look up to meet his gaze. He was taller than her, but not as much as Haar was.

"Loss is a hard thing," Saint told her. "But our memories of them make us stronger." Wise words, much like Haar in that way. Everyone around her was wise, where she was often brash, willing to take risks too often.

"Yes," she said finally. The big man smiled.

"I think you could use a hug. Come – I am very good at them."

Surprise had her eyes widening, and a glance to her friend who now held back a barely contained laugh. Looking back to the legend Skylar found herself scrambling.

"Uh… I think I'm good-"

She didn't, apparently, get to say no.

Moments later she was pulled and lifted off the ground, encased in a warm, solid cage. A cage so different from the one that time reminded her of. Yet…there was nothing gnawing about it. She jerked slightly but after a moment, realized there was little she could do as she stared over the Exo's shoulder where the Sundial gleamed in the light. A strong hand thumped her back, rattling her frame.

"It is okay my friend."

Was it okay though?

She took in a breath and bit her lip. Everything was still now, everything was calmer in the world. She'd been able to make peace with any unresolved feeling about Tevis. She and Corvan were… doing something. She was moving on, moving forward. At least for a moment she could breathe easy knowing that. Nothing was perfect, nothing ever would be, and some things would always feel rough on the inside, just as Osiris had said.

She let herself relax, resting her chin between armor plating and sighed quietly. Something about Exo hugs was somehow more meaningful than others. Maybe it was because they were warm, maybe it was because they reminded her of Cayde. Or maybe it was because despite the metal, and the wires, and the tec, they were still human. A bare soul incased in something unhuman, but reached out to touch and comfort despite everything.

Skylar couldn't very well hug him back, not with her arms trapped at her sides, but Saint didn't seem to mind. He didn't speak, nor did the others, and as Skylar closed her eyes and stared at her red tinted lids, she had to agree with him.

Everything was okay.

At least for the moment.

Maybe a moment was all she needed.

-Cayde-

After spending all day working on two ships and a sparrow that refused to release its damn seat from the frame, Cayde had enough. Being able to clock out couldn't have come soon enough. Still, even after he was off he had his long trek to his new home. Staring out the glass of the elevator that went down into the City, he thought about the small one bedroom apartment he'd purchased. It wasn't much, but bigger than what most Guardians had in the barracks, and it was near the market so that was helpful.

He was just still puzzled by how he'd gotten it.

If he remembered anything from his life as an Exo, it was that Cayde had always been in a constant state of debt. So, it had surprised him when Ikora had given him a private bank account, that was supposed to have what he'd owned before dying, that he was most certainly not broke. In fact, he had more than enough Glimmer to get an apartment and furnish it. When he'd asked about his debt, figuring people would have claimed the money, Ikora had given him a small smile.

"Skylar paid it all off. Never said why, it wasn't like people were asking her to," she'd said simply, and that was that.

Thinking about the raven-haired Hunter had Cayde wincing slightly. Weeks. It had been weeks since he'd seen or spoken to her. Not since that far away connection of eyes after the match in the games. He'd spent the better time of the last few days thinking over everything Amanda had shown him, and then asked a few people about some of the details pertaining to those honors. Shiro hadn't been part of the ones on the metal sign, but apparently, they'd done more, and he'd been with them. A wish dragon. A damn Amanakara had gone crazy, and Skylar had led her team in and killed it.

It was fucking crazy what that clan had done.

Leaving the elevator Cayde made his way through the City, taking a back route to get around the traffic that always bottlenecked the market. He just wanted to get home, have a drink and maybe watch something. Maybe if he drank enough he'd be man enough to call Skylar. He was bound and determined to at least hear her side of the story – if he could just get himself to call her Ghost.

Something glinted from the sun off to the side, making him wince and turn away for the moment as whatever the sun had hit moved enough to not seer his eyes. Blinking he looked over to what it had been and stopped walking. The rays of light had hit the gold-colored metal that edged Guardian armor, and he knew that armor, mostly because it had really stuck with him that Shaxx of all people had made it.

It also seemed he didn't need to call her at all, as Skylar was standing on the other side of the road a bit farther up. She was in the mouth of an alleyway, arms crossed, eyes pinned ahead. She was also, as Cayde took a step forward for a better look, talking to someone. Two people actually. A Titan and a Hunter in full gear were on the other side of the ally's mouth. As Cayde watched, he realized there was very tense energy around them. Skylar didn't look happy either, but she didn't move for her gun and her stance was mostly relaxed. Hidden Agent. Of course, she wouldn't falter, but something was clearly up.

Finally, she seemed to say something to the two other Lightbearers, and then turned and walked into the alleyway. The others glanced at each other and Cayde spied the Hunter settling his hand on a knife at his waist as they followed her.

That… couldn't be good.

Cayde thought back to the comments he'd heard about her from the Guardians that would pass by his workstation. Annoyed. Hostile. Was she in danger? No. Surely not, Guardians knew better than to fight in the City.

Right?

Cayde cursed and after a moment, he followed them, keeping back far enough to keep out of notice. He might have lost his Light, might not be an Exo, but as Skylar had said: he was still a Hunter. And he was very good at being a hunter. The two strangers surprisingly didn't try anything as she led them through a small maze of back routes. As he paused, all of them suddenly jumped up the side of a short building, Cayde realized it was the same one he'd spoken to Skylar on once or twice when she'd been in the City. They hadn't taken the fire escape like Skylar always had, but Cayde didn't really have an option.

So, he made his way up, quietly adjusting his footing and weight to leave little to no sound as he ascended to the top and then crouched low enough to not be seen but so he could still see from his angle. The three Guardians were now very much spread out, the group of two on one side of the roof, and Skylar on the other, her back to the scene of the marketplace, arms still crossed.

"-tell me what you want Darek. You and your wall of muscle seem intent on something. Now that we're out of harm's way, get on with it." Her voice was flat, unamused by all of this.

The Titan tensed, hands clenching. "You really think you have any right to order us around. Cayde was the Vanguard leader – not you. Doesn't matter who you were to him." He huffed. "Even more so now – how would he feel about all this?" he asked bitingly. Cayde winced at that as Skylar's shoulders tensed up slightly and her hands finally dropped to her sides, the first flicker of anger in her eyes. She wasn't Vanguard, no, but if she'd been his rookie, he'd been grooming her to one day maybe be one. The Titan moved forward, but his friend put a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy Talien," he warned his friend before looking back at her. "Or maybe I shouldn't tell him that? Tell me Phantom, are you just itching to use that icy power on us? You certainly seem tense enough."

Was he seriously baiting her? Cayde had to stop himself from doing something about all this. He wasn't a leader anymore; he was just Sevens to most people and he was supposed to be avoiding problems. Too bad he seemed unable to just leave the problem known as Skylar alone.

Skylar titled her head slightly, and then to his surprise, a smirk appeared on her face, and not a normal one set there by amusement. No – that looked like something Corvan would have worn. Anger veiled behind sarcasm so sharp it should have cut the people it was aimed at. Just how long had she know the Dark Age survivor? Apparently long enough to pick up some of his personality traits.

"You think I need Darkness to have a chance against you?" she huffed, shaking her head. "I think you both know better."

"Do we?" Darek questioned, his hand tightening around his knife. "Maybe we should test that." The Titan – Talien – took a step forward again, but before either of them could do much, purple sparked across Skylar's hand and up her arm to her elbow. The Void lightning danced and played with her arm gear, curling around the Liar's Handshake blade. Skylar face still held that smirk, but it was now paired with piercing eyes.

"I don't need Darkness," she stated flatly. "My team didn't have Darkness when we defeated Atheon. When we killed Crota, or Oryx, or Riven." Her hand clenched and her Light sparked brighter. "I've never used it in the Games either, and I don't plan too. Corvan does what he wants, and I respect his choices since there are no rules against it and Shaxx sees no problem with it. But if you feel the need to retest me or him without the use of it, or any one in my clan that chose to make the best of a bad situation for that matter, then by all means do so. Challenge us to a grudge match, or…" She took a step forward and to Cayde's surprise, Talien returned to his spot next to Darek. "We can have our fun up here. Doesn't matter to me, just as long as none of the people below us are harmed."

"Why do you care about them?" Darek snapped. "You turned away from the Traveler, on its people-"

"I didn't turn my back on any of them," she cut in, taking another step forward. "Everything my team did on Europa was to make sure this City stayed safe, something you cowards wouldn't even dare to do."

"And the burns?" Talien questioned, his voice hard. "How do you explain those?"

Skylar was silent for a moment, watching them, her arm still sparking before she finally spoke once again. "A price we'd endure all over again if it meant stopping those who would use such a power it would have destroy what the Cabal almost did." The Red War, all of the people, land, and Guardians that had been lost. All of the fear that now seemed to crawl in the underbelly of every alleyway. For their part, the men were silent for a few moments afterward, and Skylar saw that as some sort of signal, her Light zapping once more before going out.

"I'll give you one final warning. None of my clan member besides the founders made a deal with Darkness, if you or anyone else hurts them for simply staying with us I will come after you, and I won't be the only one. Now leave. This is the only chance I'm giving you." The threat was real, there was no sign of a bluff anywhere in her tone or posture, and it seemed the two angry men realized it too as they glanced at each other. Without another word, they both transmatted away, refusing to turn from her as they left.

The rooftop went silent as the Hunter let out a long breath, reaching up and rubbing her eyes, a sudden look of exhaustion making her shoulders drop slightly. When her arms fell away, she looked upward at the clear blue sky and crossed them once more.

"You can leave if you want," she stated suddenly, making Cayde flinch, "But if you're going to stay, you can at least have the decency to stop hiding." She'd known he was there the entire time, hadn't she? Cayde should have known she would, with all that training for the Hidden, and with her just being a Hunter in general. He wondered if the others had noticed, but they hadn't shown any signs of it..

The question was, should he take her offer and leave while he could? A small part of him told him yes, he should leave, but a bigger part of him reminded him of what he'd learned. Of Amanda's words and of all those honors in that chamber. Between that and what he'd just seen, what he'd heard, how could he simply walk away? Cayde had too many questions, too many doubts about his first impression of what he'd seen in that match of the Crucible. With a sigh, Cayde stood from his spot on the fire escape, rubbing his hands down his jacket to dust off any dirt as he met her gaze.

Guarded, much like the first time they'd spoken on this roof, nothing like the soften gaze that had appeared afterwards. He didn't bother trying to smile, couldn't get himself to either as he stepped onto that roof. She glanced over him, as if looking for some sort of weapon, but she had to know he had Ace on him. Cayde never went anywhere without it. He hadn't pulled it free from inside his jacket though, so she quickly flicked her gaze back to his and to his surprise, a moment later, her gloves and blades attached to her armguards, disappeared.

"I'm surprised you're here," she said finally, "After weeks of silence I figured you'd made your choice, like many have." There was a small hint of hurt hidden under her calm voice, a flicker of pain in how her stance tensed up. He'd hurt her with that look he'd given her, with the distance, after he'd asked her to be friends, no less. After he'd told her whatever else she'd done, he still wanted to try. But then, maybe trying had happened, and he'd taken a step back after realizing what she'd meant. Swallowing, he looked to the side.

"Like the Guardians that just left?"

"Yes."

Silence.

For a long minute, Cayde didn't know what to say, all of his thoughts were so jumbled and it made it hard to pluck out just one, but he did, carefully and calmly.

"I've wanted to ask why you did it this entire time. Why you'd use Darkness, why all of you would make that choice, but I guess I got my answer, some of it anyway. Everything you just told them is true – isn't it?" Again, his uncertain question had her face momentarily twitch in pain before she sighed.

"Of course, it was. I don't see any reason to lie when what I did, what my team did, is what I believe was the best choice. Not right, not what we wanted, but the best one. The only one."

"What exactly happened?" He had to know everything, she had to understand that this time he couldn't just assume things – not if he wanted to truly understand her choice. Skylar sighed again, and after a moment, she walked over to the building's electrical system, and sat on the large green box. As she rested her elbows on her knees she started talking.

"There was a group of Fallen gathering on Eurpoa, led by a powerful Kell that had somehow harnessed the power of Darkness. We still don't know how she did it, we still don't know how she was able to give that power to her followers. She was building an army there and an old ally had sent out a distress beacon that the Drifter intercepted before it could get to Earth. So, my team went and checked it out, and then we started hunting."

"Who was the ally?" he asked, curiously, and Skylar frowned as if not liking the word even though she'd set it herself.

"His name is Variks. He's an Elikni who offered us help in times before when he worked under the Queen of the Awoken." Cayde didn't recognize the name of course, frustrating as it was, but he simply nodded his head and let her continue.

"We fought our way through the normal onslaught of Fallen, till we reached her, and the rest of her inner circle. Then…" She looked at her knees, away from him, and closed her eyes as if the memory hurt. "Then we started fighting and quickly realize our Light wasn't working. They weren't faltering at all, and when we all fell back into Haar's Ward, the sharps spears of ice broke right though. We almost lost Haar to that, him and his Ghost. We didn't have any choice but to run, so many of us were spent or injured, and the wounds covered in ice weren't healing. So, we ran. Corvan and I popped smoke and we retreated out of that base as quickly as we could."

Cayde was too shocked to say anything, he'd never imagined it… the Light being useless. He could almost hear Tevis laughing, telling Cayde he'd been right all along. Darkness was more powerful then the Light. What had that felt like, he wondered, as he watched the Hunter he'd trained. How had it felt to watch their power do nothing? To be nearly defenseless against something like that. To watch a friend almost die to it?

Horrible.

It must have been terrifying.

"We regrouped and met up with the Drifter and Variks, only to find Eris and the Stranger – Elise Bray as we know now, waiting with them," Skylar went on, "We found out shortly afterwards that everyone there except the old Kell could use Stasis, Darkness. They never admitted how they got it, but I'm guess at least two of them got it from the Pyramid ships like we did."

From what Cayde understood, those ships were the reason four planets or moons were now missing, taking Guardians along with them. Supposedly, they were the Traveler's longtime enemy, and the source of Darkness.

"Elise was the one who suggested using the Ships' offered power. She said as long as it was freely given, that the power couldn't control us, couldn't corrupt us. It hadn't done so to her or the other two, so she said we'd be fine. The thought of using it was… sickening. We all balked at it, protesting and refusing at first, but as we sat together by the fire, we each started to realize how very screwed we were. We already knew that within a matter of days that army of stasis using Fallen would leave and head towards Earth, towards the City, and if the Light didn't work, that left us with nothing but guns that might work if they weren't using stasis shields. It wouldn't turn out well, and we feared it might be worse then the Red War." Lifting a hand, she pushed her bangs behind one ear, finally opening her eyes again.

"We thought about contacting the Vanguard, despite our rocky relations with them, but we knew even if we did, it would take days for things to be settled. We didn't have days, and we all knew the chances of them letting us do what needed to be done, weren't good. So we didn't and each of us had to come to our own decision about what we should do. As you know, we all came to the same conclusion: to save the City, our clan, our home, we had to use the Darkness. We didn't have a choice Cayde – what else could we do?"

Still half stunned, the former Exo found himself staring at the ground, trying to come up with an answer for her. He didn't think she was lying, couldn't find a reason for it at all now. What else could they have done? Nothing. Cayde couldn't think of a single thing that could have been done in that short amount of time, but siding with the very thing they fought against…

"Are you sure those ships weren't the ones that gave those Fallen the Darkness in the first place?" he asked, "What if they've been manipulating you?"

Her lips twitched as she met his gaze.

"And if they are? Does that really change my question, does it change what we had to do?"

No. No it didn't. Cayde was trying to come up with some reason, any reason as to why they hadn't needed to do what they had. There wasn't one. He eyed the streak of red across her eyes for a moment, noting the almost burn texture of it and couldn't help the next question that came out of his mouth.

"Your Guardian marking wasn't red, was it?"

For the first time, that calm expression, broke, pain showing up as her jaw clenched and her lips lowered. "No," she said quietly. "It was blue. When we were given Darkness, they all just… burned. Pain so hot it left us all screaming. We still don't know why, as the Drifter had no such reaction. The only thing we could come up with is that the Traveler had already given up on him, and it was angry at us for betraying it." She huffed. "Sometimes I'm surprised we still have Light."

The burns were a punishment, Cayde concluded. A reminder of what they'd done. His eyes traced the lines of her marking and internally cringed at its placement, at the fact that it was over her eyelids. It must have been painful, he couldn't imagine Corvan screaming, or her for that matter. She said they'd do it all again if given a chance, even knowing the outcome. How could they stand by that so firmly?

Devotion.

He remembered that word, that part of the mantra everyone of the Lightbearers was supposed to follow. They had, but they weren't devoted to the Traveler, he realized, not as much as they were devoted to keeping the Last City safe, no matter the cost. Heroes. Amanda was right, they were heroes.

And he'd dismissed them all – dismissed her – without asking for an explanation. He just assumed they'd turned on the cause like everyone had, acting like damn sheep. He'd let his insecurities about everything else: his lack of memories, being human, not having Light, tunnel into that jolt of surprise and fear. He'd let those feelings stay because it was a distraction from everything else, and if he was honest, it made him feel just a bit more like he belonged, fit back into a puzzle where he was an odd shape. When had he started caring about that?

What the hell was wrong with him?

"There wasn't another way," he said finally, meeting her gaze once more, "You did what you had too and honestly…" He took in a breath and blew it back out. "I think I would have done the same." Reckless as it was, he knew himself even with eighteen years missing. Reckless, might as well have been his middle name, and it was a near common trait in Hunters. Even as her eyes widened, surprised and he smiled just ever so slightly, he went on without giving pause. "I'm sorry Skylar. Shit. That doesn't sound adequate. What I did…"

"It's okay," she said quickly, tilting her head slightly, though there was no smile, no warmth there. "Everyone of us is nearly trained to hear the word 'Darkness' and recoil from it. There are very few who wouldn't. You're not the only one to act the way you did and I doubt you'll be the last."

"It's not right," he argued, "I've been to that chamber, the one with all of your team's honors, and people should know better, should know you did it for the right reason." At his words, that got a half smile, a single corner of her mouth kicking up slightly.

"Despite our many achievements," she informed him, "our clan wasn't exactly sought after to join. I think the most we ever had was thirty-eight. We're down to about twenty now but…" She shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like anyone was disapproving, they were greatful and were friendly for the most part, but not a lot of them knew us. Really knew us. There's something about fame, about being idolized like that by the Vanguard, that creates a sort of… space between us and them. Like they were afraid if they got too close they'd suddenly be expect to achieve what we had. In a way they were right, but for the most part our non-senior members were still just who they were. If they did get involved with the founder's missions well… that was their choice." She gave a small shrug. "What I'm saying is I guess when you don't personally know someone, it's easy to turn your back on them, to blame them for something they did and call them traitors like everyone else."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Of course," she gave a small humorless laugh. "It bothers all of us, except maybe Corvan… but we knew what might happen when we made our choice. I wouldn't have faulted my team if they'd all chosen not to, but they agreed to follow me into that ice storm anyway. I won't let myself regret what I did, not when they did that. We know the truth and those who knows us do as well. That's what matters."

Her clan really was a family, Cayde realized. A lot of clans were simply hangouts for friends, or a place to sleep and get fireteams together. A place of common goals and where you could belong. Hidden Wings was that and more. At least for the founders, it seemed like they were close, so very close that they'd willingly walk into hell for each other. Shiro was part of that. Tevis had been part of it too. Cayde would be lying if he wasn't just a bit jealous.

His rookie had found her place in the world, even with him gone, even if her world was rocky and hard and cruel, she still had them. Cayde crossed the distance, the yards between them, to stand in front of her, to show her he wasn't scared. Not of her, not of the power running under her skin.

"I was wrong," he stated firmly, "You're not a traitor Skylar – I need you to know I don't think you're a traitor, and I'm sorry, I wish I could take it back and had actually gone and found you after that match. Let you explain. I said I wanted us to be friends and then I screwed up and…"

"It's alright," she told him again, but even as a Hidden agent, that was a poorly made lie.

"It's not. I can tell it's not, but I'd like to do what I can to fix it if you'll… if you'll give me another chance."

She stared at him, brows pulled together like she never would have expected him to say that. She'd accepted his choice from before, hadn't she? Accepted the fact that even though she'd brough him back because she missed him, that she was willing to just let him walk away if that's what he wanted. She'd done that from the start really and a part of him ached at that knowledge.

"I know I don't deserve it," he started up again, "But-"

"You have to understand," she cut in, her smile gone, "that if you're seen with me, if you want to continue what we started… that you'll have to put up with what you just saw. You'll have to deal with the questioning of your loyalty and will probably lose your chance at making connections with a fair amount of the Lightbearing society. If you're not willing to take that risk Cayde, which would be perfectly reasonable, then you need to walk away and we can… we can talk over comms like before… if you want to."

Blinking he felt a shock go through him for who knows how many times now.

"That was why you didn't tell me you were back. That's why we're always talking up here," he said flatly, almost hurt, but understanding it. Not liking it one bit either way. "You were trying to protect me." Because being seen with her in public might cause him problems. He clenched his jaw for a moment as she nodded her head, hating the fact that she felt like she had to do that and angry at her for tricking him.

"That stops now then," he told her, almost ordered her, causing her to blink, eyes widening slightly. "I'm not going anywhere, and I refuse to make it seem like I'm ashamed to be around you. To be around any of your team."

She winced.

"Cayde-"

"No," he cut in, "You wanted my answer and I'm giving you it Skylar. I don't care, alright? Besides…" He reached up and without thinking about it, rested his hand on her shoulder and felt her twitch under the action as he gave her a smile. "I'm not a Lightbearer remember? I don't really interact with any of them except your team and the few others that know the truth anyway. They all just see me as some retired Hunter who lost his Light. So, I don't have any reason to care seeing as the mass public doesn't seem to know about any of this."

Her eyes, owlishly wide, stared at him disbelieving for a whole ten seconds. Then she suddenly scoffed, her lips twitching up as she shook her head. "That's so like you," she commented, her voice suddenly slightly warmer than before. "You're such an idiot sometimes, but it was always the good kind of idiot. Never knew what was good for you." She reached up and to his amazement, touched his hand. "Okay. It's your choice so, no more walking on glass."

"Good," he said without pause, and pulled away only to be able to sit on the adjacent side of the box. "Because I was going to annoy you till you changed your mind anyway." He didn't see any reason to protest her remark – she was kind of right. She snorted and shook her head again but didn't comment on that. They fell into silence after that, and even though the air had lightened, Cayde couldn't help but wonder about other things Shaxx had said.

"Look um, can I ask you something?" He saw her turn her head towards him.

"I suppose… seeing as I've already exposed quite a bit, not much else that can be worse." He had a feeling she was wrong about that.

"It's just well, it's personal but I'd like to know and you were my rookie and-"

"Cayde," she cut into his rambling, "Just ask."

"Right…" he braced himself for a moment before doing as she asked. "The Light you use, Shaxx called it Void Lightning – Night Dancer I guess, and he said you got it because you had Arc and Void Light before the Red War." He saw her tense slightly as if knowing where he was doing with this and bracing herself. "It's just… that shouldn't be possible. You're too young. I can tell by your footwork that you were probably very quick to pick up Bladedancer, but that doesn't mean you mastered it, I knew quite a few Guardians back in the day that could do a lot more with it, hell Shiro is a good example. Having two knives is impressive, but that doesn't mean you should have gotten another Light power."

"You don't know that for sure," she mused, the sound off slightly, "I could have been a super special Guardian with the ability to do all sorts of amazing things right off the bat. I am a godkiller after all. Maybe I'm just super powerful." His silence spoke volumes for how much he believed that. It wasn't like she'd killed those gods alone. She gave up on the bravado quickly once she knew it hadn't worked and gave another sigh. "Okay fine, you're right, I should have only had Arc, and I did, but… something happened, and it wasn't even by the Traveler's will I think."

"Then what was it?"

A pause and he watched her hand curl slightly on her knee.

"Tevis died," she stated quietly, and Cayde flinched, those words still hurting. "Or was dying, I suppose. I was there, like I told you and… and he gave it to me."

"Gave what to you?" Cayde asked, confused, even as his mind started to really process that. She said it first.

"His Light. Tev gave me his Void Light right before he died."

Gave her his Light…

Tevis gave Skylar his Light.

Travelers's ass crack.

"You… know what that means right?" The most personal thing a Guardian could ever do with another. Normally it was a very small amount and only put into a ring but… he supposed what his friend had done was possible. He'd never heard of it happening, but it apparently had. Somehow, that made it even more meaningful. Skylar hummed slightly, a sad smile twitching up on her face as she looked at her knees.

"I course I do," she informed him. "God Slayer or not, when it came down to it, I couldn't save him or anyone else I cared about. Couldn't save the person I was…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Having his Light close to me, it means everything. I'll never be able to forget him because he's always with me."

Cayde filled in the words she didn't say. The meaning behind them, what Tevis had done in those last few moments. It made him remember what Amanda had said in that chamber: that Skylar had been in love with someone who had died, and it had changed her. He'd never gotten to ask who that had been, but now…

Something in his gut twisted and he remember her words over the comm system from over two months ago.

"Losing Tevis' was hard. Very hard." She'd bunched him in with the deaths of her friends and Cayde himself, but had that been in some attempt to soften the pain of her loss? A misleading choice of words to through him off, even if it hadn't been on purpose.

Tevis had given her his Light.

Fuck.

That sarcastic asshole had found someone – someone he'd probably would have only met because of Cayde. It was the only thing that made sense after thinking over everything: Skylar had fallen in love with Tevis and then the moron had gotten himself killed. It was a bit hard to swallow really, but as he watched her, that golden gaze miles away from here as she stared, the small tremor in her arm, he knew it was true.

And once again, he'd spoiled whatever good mood had been started.

Standing up, he turned to her once more, the movement breaking her from her apparent zone out. "So, I know this place a few streets down that sells spiked hot chocolate," he informed her. "Kind of seems like we could both use some after today." That was an understatement. She stared at him for a few moments, bewildered by his response. He ignored it and just smiled. "Want to go get some?"

Her brows pulled together and she bit her lip.

"I… sure."

He just smiled again, determined to fix this and waved her forward, moving toward the fire escape as he tried to figure out exactly how to get to that shop again.

He made it four steps before something touched his back and a hand curled around his shoulder. He stopped, twitching and glancing over his shoulder, only to pause at what he could see and mostly feel due to the angle. Skylar had come up behind him and grabbed his shirt. Once he'd stopped she stepped closer and the weight of her forehead on his upper back sent a jolt through his body.

Something in the front of Cayde's mind tickled, the gesture familiar somehow, the weight recognizable. He'd felt something like this before when he'd done other things, gone certain places. It was like an echo he couldn't quite hear, only feel. She'd done this before, he was sure of that.

"Skylar…"

"I miss him," she whispered abruptly, and Cayde felt his chest twisted uncomfortably at that, felt his stomach drop into his feet. He didn't need her to say it, for him to know who she was talking about. "I think a part of me shattered when he died, and I miss him and that piece every single day. I always will, I…" She trailed off, maybe realizing what she was saying, but either way, she didn't move. It seemed Amanda had been right. Losing Tevis had devastated her, and he supposed losing someone so close to you like that would change you – especially when it was a young Guardian unused to the world they lived in like someone older. Cayde had changed when Andal had died, he knew that much.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, hoping there was something, no matter how small. The hand on his arm tighten, fingers griping hard enough to crinkle his hoody as she pressed her forehead harder into his back.

"Just... just let me stay like this for a few minutes," she said finally, "Just a few." It was such a simple thing, to just stand there and let her be close to him. Reaching up, Cayde laid his hand over hers and ran his thumb over it, realizing it was freezing. She'd taken her blade-carrying gloves off to make him feel better without thinking about the weather. Kind. She was so kind under that armor and pain and Darkness. Something about that fact, made him feel like he knew her, had known her a long time, even though he couldn't remember her. A connection he knew was important, that was said in a single truth in a distant voice: the Darkness didn't matter.

He needed to make sure she knew he didn't care about it, that he was standing there by choice. That he wanted to be there.

"I can do that," he assured her. "We can stay here as long as you want Skylar." He'd stand there all night if it helped. It was the least he could do after bringing that subject up, after he'd hurt her like he had before. The former Exo wondered quietly as he stood there, if he'd been the one to comfort her after Tevis had died. If it was that memory that echoed in his head at the feeling of her against his back. He didn't know for certain, he might never, but he liked how it felt, liked that she was comfortable enough to be this close to him even after everything. Even though he barely knew her, he didn't mind, not if she didn't.

He thought at that moment that following her and those other Guardians up to this roof had probably been one of the best choices he'd made since coming back.

N/A: Does anyone really want to be able to have Saint give you a hug in-game? I mean, he'd probably break your back and you'd have to be rezzed but I think it'd be worth it.

Ah, Cayde... You really shouldn't assume such things... ;)

Thanks for reading, your support means the world.