Author's Note: Not sure what to say besides thanks to everyone who has been reading (or rereading) this story. I hope I didn't make you wait too long for an update; I'm still working through my revisions and I hope we'll all be happier for them. Also, thanks to the folks who took the time to leave some kind words. Makes me glad to know you're enjoying the story so far.
Three
"You lost? What do you mean you lost?"
"You heard me," the Hunter replied. "Nothin' to say for it, 'sides Lady Warlock's a grea' shot."
Duncan had just hopped up on the edge of Amri's workbench, removing his helmet to let the Exo Warlock have a look at his ear. The Exo wasted no time before he began to clean away some of the dried blood collecting in the Hunter's ear and spilling down the side of his face. Albert hovered patiently next to the Warlock's Ghost, Edward. When the Hunter turned his head to give Amri a better look, the Exo let out a long, low whistle as he inspected the damage, "Seems like Bailey wasn't the only one that gave you a hard time in there, mate."
"Did you jus' whistle?" Duncan raised an eyebrow as he put his helmet down on the bench to his right. He looked up at the Warlock in his Fireteam with a curious gaze.
"Oh, that's not so bad," Kellin decided, hovering over Amri's shoulder to get a better look at Duncan's injured ear.
"Yes, I suppose I did," Amri ignored the Titan, placing his elbow into the Titan's chest in an attempt to keep him from meddling with the Hunter. Amri had his head cocked at a slight angle to the side as he seemed to be waiting for Duncan to let him know if whistling had been an appropriate reaction in the context of the situation. When he didn't reply, Amri explained, "Kellin has taught me how to whistle."
"An' how, exac'ly, does tha' work?"
Amri and Kellin stopped struggling against one another to offer the Hunter a pair of puzzled expressions.
Duncan, confused, tried to explain, "Y-you don' have lips, Amri."
"Pretty impressive, right?" Kellin smirked, wriggling his eyebrow as he placed one hand on the right side of Duncan's head and pressed a cloth drenched in rubbing alcohol against the Hunter's injured ear.
The pain was intense. Intense and immediate as the Hunter struggled against the Titan, growling an impatient and exaggerated, "Ouch! Kellin that hurts!"
"Oh, you decided to enunciate every syllable that time," the Titan complemented, letting the Warlock take the cloth from his hand. Then, mocking Duncan's accent, Kellin teased, "Ya almos' sounded like a real Guar'ian!"
"You are not helping, Titan," Amri reminded, moving forward to place the rag, this time with a much more gentle hand, against the Hunter's injured ear. Albert and Edward moved forward at this cue and, when the Hunter tensed, it was for his Ghost administering some careful placement of the Traveler's Light which helped him to relax. The Warlock paused in his work and placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. Waiting for Duncan to nod, Amri cleaned the remainder of the dried blood away from his Duncan's ear.
"So, back to you losing," Kellin pressed, taking a seat next to the Hunter on the workbench, so both men had their backs turned to the doorway of their bay in the Hangar.
"Back to me losin'," Duncan nodded, feeling his shoulders droop when he took the time to think about what it meant to admit to it. He supposed luck hadn't been on his side that day, leaving Bailey to be the Guardian nearest to him when he'd needed one last kill. Taking a deep breath, he wished he could go back in time to the night before when he'd had all the liquid courage he'd needed to strike up a conversation with her, and do things differently. Starting with agreeing to meet her in the Crucible.
What time had it gotten to be? Surely it wasn't so late he couldn't convince Kellin and Amri to make a quick trip to Venus and liberate some type of spire or another from being misused by the Vex. Certainly his cause was more just than anything the Vex might fathom. One glance at his Fireteam told the Hunter it was best he not pursue this line of thought. So he frowned and cracked his knuckles.
Was it too late to ask her out like a gentleman?
With a wary gaze, the Hunter watched the Titan raise his arm. Cringing for the feeling of Kellin's elbow in his side and what it had meant for Amri and his mending, Duncan sighed and exaggerated his perfect diction for the Titan's benefit, "That hurts."
"Oh, lighten up, ya big baby," Kellin dismissed by crossing his arms over his chest. His shoulders straightened as his eyes gleamed with mischief for a moment before he leaned forward to whisper something the Hunter couldn't quite understand.
"Wha' did you say?" Duncan asked, noticing the way Amri was shaking his head in disapproval at the Titan.
"You're better off not knowing," Amri replied.
"I asked," Kellin was almost yelling at the Hunter, "If, since you struck out, you'd like a lesson in how to ask a woman out for a drink? Directly; without Crucible games. Like a real man."
"He still can't hear on the left side, Kellin," Albert paused from his work to scold the Titan.
"Oh, I heard him alrigh'!" Duncan muttered to his Ghost as he clenched his hand to a fist at his side but he didn't move. Even despite the direct nature of the taunt, Duncan knew Kellin well enough to understand he was only joking. Poorly and about a subject that still felt like an open wound. Deciding his best course of action was pretending he wasn't bothered by Kellin's antics, Duncan replied, "Wha' do you know abou' how ta be a man?"
Kellin laughed for his appreciation the regular cadence of their friendship was returning. Traveler forbid Duncan had a girl when Kellin didn't, regardless of how many years of a head start the Titan had on his Fireteam-mate. The Titan smirked, patting Duncan a bit harder than was comfortable on the shoulder as he did so, "There's our Hunter! Starting to act like his damn self again. No more chasing pretty girls into the Crucible, yeah?"
"Yes, mum," Duncan rolled his eyes.
Before the Titan could manage another sarcastic comment, Albert whirred forward with Edward right beside him and seemed proud to announce, "All finished, Guardian! How does that feel?"
"Still no' grea'," Duncan frowned, reaching up to touch his injured ear. Tugging on the earlobe, he stretched his neck left and right. After a few more moment's pause, he nodded and agreed, "I can hear jus' fine, though. Thanks, Al. An' you too, Ed."
"Well, since Albert's finally got you back in one piece," the Titan drew a deep breath, holding back a smile. "And since drinks with a certain Warlock aren't in the cards-"
"Who said drinks aren't in the cards?"
It was a new voice, echoing from the doorway leading into their Fireteam's bay of the Hangar. And when they heard it, all three Guardian's straightened and turned to see who had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
Feeling himself start to smile when he recognized the dark blue and crimson robes she'd been wearing in the Crucible earlier, Duncan hopped off of the edge of the workbench. He was pretty content to stand there admiring the way she looked under the dim lights of the hangar until he felt Kellin's elbow hit his ribs again. It was reminder enough he ought to say something to her. So, clearing his throat, he greeted, "Hi, Bailey."
She'd already walked across the room to stand in front of the Hunter by that time. Reaching forward to place her hand on his chest, she smiled as she teased, "You didn't forget about our date, did you?"
"Date?" Kellin muttered to himself as he seemed to be working out all the details. But Amri pulled the Titan to the side and offered him a warning stare threatening enough to keep him both quiet and firmly rooted in place.
Duncan couldn't stop himself from reaching out to lay his hand on top of Bailey's where it rested over his chest. He narrowed his eyes in admiration for the way she seemed to be pouting up at him. Just like the night before when Kellin had told her Duncan only wanted a Crucible match. Her grey eyes glimmered up at him, and he was stricken, again, with the desire to see her smile. After a deep breath, the Hunter reasoned, "You bea' me fair an' square, Lady Warlock. It wouldn' be polite to presume-"
"I know you let me win!" she cut him off, pulling her hand away to point an accusatory finger up at him. The way she looked when she was pretending to be angry with him was irresistible. As she continued, she stomped her heel to the ground to emphasize her point, "So, either we can have a rematch, right now, or we settle it all over drinks. It's your call."
Duncan could hear Kellin whispering with urgency, "Drinks! Pick the drinks, man." But the Hunter ignored him, careful as he took Bailey's hand in between both of his and agreed, "Drinks, I thin', would be grea'."
She smiled, and Duncan laced his fingers with hers. Ignoring the two other men in the room, the Warlock batted her eyes up at the Hunter before smoothing his cape over his left shoulder, affirming, "I think so, too. Shall we?"
Duncan let her lead him out of the Hangar. Over his shoulder, he thought he could make out Kellin's exasperated reaction, "Just like that? He gets a second chance just like that?"
And then Amri's response, "The perks of being a gentleman, I suppose. You know, you might learn a thing or two about how to treat a lady from the Hunter."
Kellin made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, as he did with many of Amri's proposed theories, but it was the last Duncan heard of his Fireteam for the evening.
Noticing the way she tried to be subtle about her attempt to work her hand back into his after he'd returned with another drink for her, Duncan trailed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. Both Guardians had long ago expended of their gloves, which now lay in a messy pile on top of the table before them. The Hunter moved his chair closer to hers, letting his free arm fall to the back of the Warlock's chair. He leaned over to whisper, "Careful, Lady Warlock; someone migh' think yer startin' to like me."
Leaning forward in her chair and pressing her forehead against his for a fleeting moment, she replied with mock solemnity, "Oh, that would be bad, wouldn't it?"
"Terrible," Duncan smiled, letting himself get lost in her sparkling grey eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he reached out to brush her bangs out of her face before explaining, "A pretty girl like you should 'ave 'er pick of anyone in the Tower."
"Then I suppose it's lucky for me you're in the Tower," she replied with confidence which spurred the Hunter to pull his chair nearer hers again.
"I'm the one tha's lucky, Bailey," Duncan hid his smile with a sip of scotch as he replied. He wanted to be close to her without seeming too forward. Regardless of all the ways she found to tie his stomach up in knots, Duncan had himself convinced it was essential to be a gentleman and the Hunter genuinely believed she ought to be treated the best he knew how. Somehow, he was going to make her his girl. He had never been more certain of anything before.
But did this Warlock ever have a way to make him feel all different sorts of off-kilter…
Not that he'd ever been smooth with the ladies.
Not that he'd ever had them lined up; not like Kellin, at least.
He'd gone with a few lady Guardians since he'd become a Hunter and none of them had even come close to making him feel the way Bailey did. He hardly even knew her, save for the few random facts they'd covered earlier in the evening, but Traveler's Light did he want to.
He wanted to know everything about her.
Even the fragmented information he had, like the way she'd often end up assigned to extra patrols because she lost track of time while reading her books or how she preferred to drink her coffee over ice instead of piping hot, even in the winter, only endeared her further. Never enough and always promising something more; it was just a taste of everything she was. It all seemed so simple, the studious Voidwalker who enjoyed her time in the Crucible more than in the field. But there was so much more to her and Duncan wanted to understand it all.
What was her favorite hour of the day? Did she like to spend her time outside under the sunlight? Is that how she got the soft dusting of freckles across her nose? Where had she learned how to make his heart skip a beat just by blinking her eyes up at him? Or hadn't she realized she could do that?
Nothing had ever felt so straightforward and confused at the same time. It was like the Warlock had managed to work her way behind his defenses with her warm smile and melodic laugh. And he hadn't even noticed until she was already there on the other side with him, trying to keep her hand in his and thinking he didn't see the way her chair was always inching ever closer.
The way it felt when their fingers were intertwined… And all of that just from holding her hand.
Finding the smooth material of his cape, Duncan watched the way Bailey ran the dark black fabric between her fingertips. Her eyes met his and Duncan couldn't decide if she was trying to be so damn adorable or if it was all by accident. Her voice was soft, and her lips seemed to pout as she whispered, "You're very quiet, you know?"
"Well, wha' would you like me ta say, Lady Warlock?"
"Let's talk about your accent, Duncan," she smiled, dropping his cape to take his hand, instead. "Are you Irish?"
"Close, bu' guess again," he teased, reaching for his glass of Scotch. Shaking it so the ice skimmed around the bottom so it might capture her attention and offer her some form of a hint, the Hunter cleared his throat. Then Bailey smiled, and Duncan put the glass back on the table without taking a drink. He was frozen, marveling at how she could make him forget to breathe for a moment with just her smile.
Narrowing her eyes as she seemed to be searching him for the correct answer, Duncan noticed the way she bit back a smile, like she had found what she was looking for, before declaring in her proudest voice, "Scottish! You're Scottish."
"Yes, ma'am," Duncan nodded. "My Ghost foun' me in the Cairngorms in the middle o' winter seven years ago. Amri, my Fireteam's Warlock, foun' me not long after tha'; brough' me back to Tower. Wha' abou' you, Bailey? Where are you from?"
"Not Scotland," she laughed, tucking a bit of her bright hair behind her ear. Under the dim light of the bar, her hair seemed to glow around her head like a halo. After a thoughtful sip of her pale ale, the Warlock added, "My Ghost found me two years ago beneath the Ishtar Collective on Venus. We hailed a ride back here to the Tower with my Fireteam's Warlock, Karina."
Reaching out to ruffle her hair, Duncan teased, "Only two? Bailey, you're so young!"
"Not so young!" she protested, laughing as she pretended to be exasperated and swat at the Hunter's shoulder. Her tone was light and playful as she suggested, "Maybe you're just old?"
"Not so old!" Duncan smiled, throwing a small bit of her teasing back in her direction. He caught her hand before she could pull it away, bringing the back of it to his lips. And when he heard her breath catch in the back of her throat, and she looked up at him, taken aback that he'd managed to catch her off guard, the Hunter pressed his forehead to hers.
His left hand still held onto hers but he brought his right to rest against her collarbone. His fingers were careful in how they cradled the nape of her neck. Their eyes were locked, and Duncan could feel he was holding his breath, but so was she. Gently, he laced his fingers through her hair, letting his thumb trail across her temple. Her free hand worked its way against his chest, and the Hunter smiled.
There was chemistry here; Duncan could feel it.
"Just kiss me already, would you!" and it was a statement, rather than a question. She had demanded it. Which was rather convenient, considering he'd wanted to do exactly that since he'd run up on her in the Crucible earlier that afternoon.
Duncan was happy to give the lady, his lady, precisely what she asked.
Tilting her head upwards the slightest bit with a gentle motion of his wrist, Duncan watched her close her eyes. She was starting forward, leaning towards him, and the Hunter wondered if she could hear the way his heart was pounding in his chest. Could she feel it under his chest plate?
He thought to admire the way her dark eyelashes splayed across her cheekbones, which were flushed a soft shade of pink from the few drinks she'd already had. Her bangs fell out of her face, and Duncan decided she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in all his life. Before or after the Traveler had chosen to reforge him with Light. He squeezed her hand, feeling the way her fingers wrapped around his.
Closing his eyes, he let his lips fall over hers.
Duncan kissed her, slow and careful, wondering why he hadn't expected she would be so warm. Why hadn't he known she was going to fit so well in his arms? Why did it all of a sudden feel like he was right where he was supposed to be? He'd been surprised, taken aback by the sensation that everything about this woman was drawing him in. Lost in his desire to deepen the kiss, Duncan pulled his hand out of hers to let it fall to her waist and slide around to the small of her back.
She made a small noise caught somewhere between a sigh and a gasp as Duncan decided to pull her closer still. He'd never given a woman a kiss like this, never been kissed like this, and he certainly hoped Bailey hadn't been either.
He thought, for a brief moment, of the way her nails felt sliding through his sandy-blonde hair but ignored the chills that ran down his spine when he felt her tongue press against his lips. Duncan recognized he was losing control of the situation, and Bailey was taking over, but the way it felt when her tongue swept into his mouth was… everything. All that mattered and the only thing he could concentrate on. She was clouding his mind, making him lose all sense of reason.
When a myriad of supportive whistles from strangers he would never know rang through his ears, Duncan tried to remind himself she'd only asked him for one kiss, and this one was… well, this one was well on its way to becoming more than that.
Slow and almost reluctant, the Hunter pulled his lips away from hers and opened his eyes. She was already looking at him, surprised perhaps, to find she'd somehow managed her way into his lap. But when a mischievous smile threatened to spill across her features, she caught it at the last moment. Bailey leaned even closer to ask, "And just where do you think you're going, Hunter?"
"Goin'?" but before he could finish his sentence, Bailey had leaned forward to kiss him again. She whispered a soft sigh into his ear, and her arms were around his neck; her lips had managed to find the tender place behind his ear. Without thought, Duncan's hands were on her waist, pulling her body against his. When he felt her teeth teasing the skin of his neck, he couldn't hide his shudder for the chills that raced down his back.
"Are you cold?" she asked, letting her right hand move to caress the side of his face. Bailey was entirely intentional about what she was doing to him; the Hunter could read it in her eyes as they glimmered down at him. She kissed all of the places that her hands left slowly, with great care. Her hands were warm, soft; when Duncan realized she'd employed the power of her Solar magic to warm them, he pulled away to catch one of her hands and hold it out between them both.
"Now, wha's this abou'?" he teased, feeling his heart rising in his chest when the sweet sound of her laughter reached his ears. He'd have to remember to thank Albert for repairing his hearing; her laughter was a sound he knew he'd never get tired of hearing. When Bailey didn't reply, Duncan asked, "Where's the Lady Voidwalker? I was quite fond of 'er."
"Well, for now, I want to be the Sunsinger," Bailey replied. And, though she had moved a bit closer and was still smiling at him, the Hunter thought he could read a bit of irritation evident in her tone.
Lacing his fingers with hers, Duncan teased, "Can I have you both?"
Duncan watched her eyes light up for a moment as she seemed to consider what he'd just said to her. He decided it had been the right thing to say when he watched her lean in closer to him and press her lips to his. Offering his hand a gentle squeeze, Duncan took it as his cue to make a move. The Hunter folded her up in his arms, whispering, "Can I see you again, Bailey?"
"You're seeing me right now!" she protested, closing her eyes before going after his lips again.
"Yeah," he agreed, kissing her forehead as both of his hands found her biceps. He pinned her arms to her sides and met her with a serious gaze, "Bu' I like you an' I wanna know I'll ge' ta see you again."
Bailey smiled, confessing, "I like you, too."
"I know," the Hunter smirked, resting his forehead against hers.
"I want to see you again, too," she whispered with her lips hovering just over his.
Duncan shivered, watching the way she batted her eyes up at him like she had no idea what the effects of her charms could lead to. Brushing her bangs out of her face, the Hunter asked, "How abou' tomorrow, then?"
"Oh, you're something else, Hunter!" Bailey smiled, bringing her free hand to his cheek. She paused there for a moment before lacing her fingers through the soft hair at his temple. Quietly, she promised, "Keep playing your cards right, and I think you'll like where you end up."
"An' where's tha'?" he asked, letting his lips brush against her ear. He watched her features brighten as a smile replaced the fixed expression she'd held him under. Emboldened by the scotch, he leaned forward to add with a confident tone, "With you, I hope."
