5. When Nicole Still Thinks Aydin's an Ass.

Nicole was in the process of picking out her cloak for the day, and she would have been enjoying the task if her ghost wasn't flying around the bedroom behind her buzzing loudly. He had been doing that all morning, and Nicole had been trying her damn well hardest to ignore him. It was quickly becoming difficult, however.

He floated up closer to her, stopping just behind her shoulder. She stopped shifting through the fabrics in her closet, waited a beat with bated breath. Then he buzzed extra loud.

She threw the cloak she had been examining forcibly to the ground and spun to glare at him. Why are you doing that? What do you want?

He spun his shell in pleasure, but he floated away again nonchalantly. "Oh nothing. I was just thinking…"

Nicole sighed and resisted the urge to dismantle the little orb. And what are you thinking about so loudly?

"The warlock…"

She resisted the urge to sigh again. He was going to rant to her about something, and the way he was leading up to it told her that she was not going to like whatever it was. She turned back to her closest and picked the discarded cloak off the ground. Go on, she projected anyway, because she knew that she wasn't going to escape this now that she had finally acknowledged him.

"Don't think I didn't hear your 'this kid needs friends' comment yesterday. Because I did and it set me thinking. Why don't you be his friend?"

She sent an incredulous look over her shoulder at him. No. She didn't even entertain the idea for more than a second.

"Oh come on, Nicole! It's been two years since you've had a good, consistent fireteam. You should really consider thinking about forming another. And I know it hurts and I know it's scary but this guy could really use the help."

I said no. He's annoying and dumb and he's an asshole and I can barely stand him to begin with. And on top of all that, if we were to miraculously get close, good friends become dead friends and I can't do that again. She huffed with a finality that should have ended the conversation but her ghost didn't seem to get the hint.

"Just hear me out for a minute-"

I said no!

"Nicole!" he yelled suddenly, shutting off any further complaint from her. He plowed on without giving her a chance to interrupt him again. "Do you remember your first fireteam? They paired up with you because you three were born around the same time and you trained together. But they fought all the time, remember? And Morgan went off and joined a group of titans. Then Stella got so caught up in her first research project that you didn't hear from her anymore."

Nicole sighed and relented. She wasn't going to escape this. What are you getting at?

"You spent half of your first year as a guardian by yourself. You didn't have many friends, and you had to work hard to get anywhere. You had to deal with the mistakes you made alone. Then Latvie came along."

Nicole sighed, still annoyed, but at the mention of her old friend it became sad and forlorn. Latvie had been an incredible stormcaller. It was so rare to see someone with her abilities but she was the most chipper and down to earth warlock Nicole had ever known. She remembered vividly the day she had bounced up to her in the Tower and explained that they needed one extra for a full team for a control match.

She played that match with them. Then she stayed and played the whole afternoon bracket even when the group's other hunter would laugh hysterically when he got his hands on heavy, or when the titans kept bickering enough that she laughed so hard she forgot to watch the sniper lanes. Or maybe it was because of those things that she stuck around.

"They were there when you needed friends. They took you under their wings and they taught you how to survive. They forged you into the guardian you are today. They helped you learn. And when the Twilight Gap happened, they were behind you. They had your back. Do you remember what that felt like?"

She did. And by God did she miss it. She missed them. She sank down to her knees, for a moment feeling her whole body grow weak. She remember what it was like having them around, having her Davian to flirt with. Latvie and Eric-2, the two warlocks, and of course Leon and Rehen being ridiculous titans, always bickering and punching each other. She laughed out loud, remembering how they would tell her that it was just titan high-fives. Except with a closed fist, to the face. They had been her best friends, her family. And she missed them more than anything in this world.

She snapped back to reality suddenly, wiping the wetness off her cheeks. "I'm so tired of seeing you be alone, Nicole," her ghost said softly, floating a little closer. "I'm not asking you to forget them. I just want you to let yourself heal." He was quiet for a beat and when the huntress didn't immediately reply, he kept going. "And think about it for a minute. The fireteam he was assigned out of training has obviously already disbanded. He's four months, so the vanguard can't force him into a fireteam anymore. And when this assignment is over, he's going to go back to being alone too. Can you imagine, someone as unskilled and untrained as him trying to go up against that big fallen he has out there, all by himself? He trusts you. He likes you. Give him a chance, Nicole. Please."

She sighed and shook her head. But knew the ghost was right. He was only trying to look out for her. And she knew that her friends wouldn't want her to be alone forever. She just wasn't ready to let them go yet. She didn't want to forget them.

I'll think about it.

Her ghost buzzed happiness at her and finally allowed her to finish picking her cloak. Her thoughts were heavy now though, and she couldn't find the joy in it that she had a few minutes ago.


The Tower pavilion was bustling with activity that morning. The vanguard had issued a new set of general missions and bounties, as per the weekly routine, and guardians of every skill level were seeking jobs and missions to occupy the week. She went to the board and pick up her usual slew of patrol bounties, finding one card with her and Rest's names on it.

She picked it off the board, pleased that it would take them to Venus. She picked a patrol bounty for that planet and could get two birds with one flight out.

Her ghost scanned the code on the card, and grew quiet for a moment. "Looks like we have a vex cluster. They have a project of some kind out by Campus 9, Ishtar Sink region. Vanguard wants us to clear out the whole area of vex and destroy what they're working on."

Sounds easy enough. Maybe I can teach the warlock to properly snipe. Make sure to pack an extra sniper and plenty of synths.

Her ghost buzzed happily and she felt her face heat up a little. She was taking his advice, but he didn't have to be so damn happy about it.

Where is he anyway?

"Last ping- and by that I mean annoying burst of static- was about fifteen minutes ago and they were down in the communication switchboard again."

The door was ajar like the last time she had found him down here but this time he wasn't alone. The titan that had started this whole mess was there, too, and it didn't look like he should have been. Nicole stopped in her tracks in the doorway, coming in just in time to watch the titan lift the warlock off the ground by the front of his chest piece and slam him into a wall beside the switchboard.

"Who are you contacting in the Reef?" The titan bellowed, shaking the smaller guardian roughly.

"That's classified information, you great ape. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. Not that I would want to," the warlock spat back, kicking out uselessly. "Now let me go!"

"I'm tired of all your little lies and tricks. I want the truth, and I'm going to get it. I know what I saw."

"You saw what you wanted to. You were just looking for something to take me down on. You were mad I outsmarted you. Well it wasn't hard, you oaf. You weren't even a challenge. It wasn't even fun. You're just a big, violent, clumsy idiot that can't do anything right! It's hardly my fault no one wants you on their prestigious little fireteams." If any more insults was planning to come out, it was cut off by the titan's fist slamming into the wall beside the warlock's head.

Nicole had seen quite enough of this. She clapped her hands together to make a loud noise, drawing both of their attentions to her. Her ghost materialized at her shoulder. "Shouldn't you be doing something else besides picking on people smaller than you?"

The exo glared at them both, red optics darting between her own glare and her ghost. "None of your business, hunter. Buzz off."

She wondered if he didn't recognize her. He had turned toward her a little, holding the warlock off the ground with one arm, the other waving her off.

"Actually, that warlock is our friend so it is our business, thank you very much."

'Friend' was not the word Nicole would have used, but she supposed the duel looks of shock she received were almost worth it. The titan shuttered his optics a few times in confusion, then he suddenly let Rest go. The warlock plopped to the ground without anything holding him up anymore, watching the rest of the room with cautious confusion.

The titan walked out without another word, brushing his shoulder roughly into her's, nearly knocking her over as he left. Nicole glared over her shoulder at him as the door swung back to it's ajar position again. She came over to the warlock and offered him a hand up. In that moment, he seemed entirely too shocked to be existing, so to help the awkward silence and the way he was just staring at her, she fluffed his collar where it had been crumpled in the titan's fist, and brushed off his front. When he still wasn't responding, she touched his shoulder, tapping it lightly to bring him back.

He shook his head, finally shaking off the thoughts that had been trapping him. "Er, thanks. For that." His face turned beet red again and he looked down at his feet when she stepped away from him.

She shrugged in response, motioning toward the switchboard.

He answered her before her ghost could relay the question. "Yeah, I was just finishing when Tarios came in."

Ah! That was his name. She couldn't remember off the top of her head. She motioned for them to go, and he nodded quietly. He looked a little shaken, but she supposed she didn't exactly blame him. It wasn't everyday a huge exo titan threatened your life.

"What did he want, anyway?" her ghost asked as they left the little room.

Rest turned and locked the door, shrugging his shoulders. She caught the pensive little pout he tried to hide with his back turned. "I don't know. He's mad 'cause I would- I would play my game, like I did to you the other day except- except y'know, as often as possible. I guess I- There was a few other things I pull on him." He paused for a moment, then turned toward her again. They started walking toward their ships together, the warlock still pouting. After a long pause that felt incredibly bated, he finally started talking again. "He said I- I ruined his life."

It was such a heavy statement it made Nicole pause. She glanced at him, stopping him from walking any further with a light touch.

"It was his fault for fighting with you in the pavilion," her ghost said softly, his tone mimicking the sympathy on Nicole's face.

"Yeah, but- but- but…" he trailed off, his stutter finally getting the best of him. He was too worked up and Nicole couldn't help honestly feeling bad for him. The warlock sighed heavily. "He- he wants to prove that he was- was right. That I was a- a- He said I- I ruined his repu- repu- Dammit!" He yelled suddenly, stomping his foot down.

She smiled gently and tapped his shoulder. She, out of everyone in the Tower, would know what it was like when your own voice betrayed you. She put her a finger to her lips and he nodded. She had wondered before if his stops and occasional restarts was just weird warlock-ness, but now she wondered if he had a stutter. Curiously, she remembered him speaking perfectly smooth during those long rants. But he was pretty worked up right now, she decided. It could be that. Or she could have finally found one of the tells she'd been looking for.

"You can explain once you've calmed down. Our mission is on Venus, so you can have the whole flight out to collect yourself." Her ghost said softly to him. She handed him the mission card so his own ghost could scan it and give him the parameters.

He took it without another word and stalked off to his own ship, his face still as red as a beet. She watched him walk away, something between an amused little smile on her face, and still the sympathetic little crimp in her forehead. She kind of felt bad for him. But she couldn't help but find the stuttering, red-faced embarrassment to be a little cute.

Her ghost buzzed more happiness at her. "I heard that."

Oh shut up. I'm just trying to be more friendly.

"Oh yes, more friendly. You're doing very well, Nicole. Thank you." He said the last bit very seriously, and Nicole could the feel the warmth behind his words swell in her own chest. She was trying. She was going to see where this whole thing took her. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be his 'friend'. At the very least she could help train him a little. Make him worthy of a better fireteam. That way, if something were to happen to him, then she wouldn't be responsible again.


The Ishtar Sink was experiencing a muggy day in the rainy season. She left the cockpit of her ship without a helmet to have a chance to smell the sweet jungle air before the warlock showed up. Venus had always been her favorite planet. Her personal interest in Vex lore drove her to their sites. The green fauna and diverse wildlife intrigued her. She could gaze at the fluorescent blue volcano slopes all day long, feel the gentle rain on her face. The shallow caves lit by crystal light and twisting open venues of old academies and vex structures begged for her to explore them.

Nicole got to enjoy the warm day for only a little while before the warlock showed up. He seemed significantly more put together than when he had left the Tower, nearly the moment his boots touched the wet ground, he had launched into a rant about how creepy he thought the whole concept of the Vex existence was. The stutter was gone now, and Nicole was still unsure as to what it meant. She decided to put it away as something to look for in the future.

She supposed, in hindsight, that was one of the most irritating things about him. Not his blatant disregard of authority, or his long rants that seemed to be about nearly nothing at all. But the fact that she couldn't find any honest tells about him. That was what she relied on. It was how she remained unattached for two whole years. She learned to read people like books, she knew what they feeling before they were even aware they were feeling it, and then she manipulated them to her own ends. It made her feel safe, being able to predict people. It made everything easier.

But this damn warlock either had ridiculous control over his emotions (something that she had only seen with someone like Ikora, who was similarly difficult to read), or there was a confusion of the correct emotions somewhere. Like usually stuttering meant nervousness, or maybe lying. But as far as she could tell, the warlock had been telling the truth. He had no reason to lie about the titan. But shouldn't he have been nervous when he had initially been in trouble with the vanguard? She ran over the conversation in her head, but he had not even done the stop-start thing he did when he spoke normally. And that was another thing. His normal speech patterns had, in hindsight, the beginnings of, or maybe him trying to cover, a stutter.

He confused her. And that alone was the simultaneous reason behind her hesitation toward him, and her willingness to try. She didn't like what she couldn't understand. But he gave her the challenge she had been missing.

"Venus to hunter, come in hunter."

She blinked, stopped walking, and looked up at where he was waving his hands in front of her. What? Had she blanked out? She must have. His ranting sort of just washed over her.

"Hey, she's alive. Thought you had went back to orbit without me. Or your body. What were you thinking about?"

She shook her head. He didn't need to know she was thinking about him. That would be too weird.

"Aww, come on! You can tell me," he wheedled, poking her shoulder a few times.

She swatted his hands away, giving him a short lackluster glare. He laughed but kept trying to poke her regardless. It dissolved into a short game, one that Nicole would hope her ghost was eventually going to verbally break up. When he didn't come to her rescue, she poked the warlock back. Well, it more like she punched his shoulder to stagger him backwards, but he still laughed despite how rough she was.

Traveler, he was annoying. She didn't come here to play a poking game.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" He was beside her again in an instant, that damn whine in his voice again. He was like a child!

"She was concerned about the titan earlier. Why was he trying to… well, do whatever he was trying to do?" Her ghost finally came to her rescue, feeling her ire and her discomfort at being the warlock's sole point of attention. She turned to look at his face just time to see that stupid childish smile flicker in discomfort. Hah! Serves you right, you annoying git.

"Ahh, pssh. That wasn't what you were thinking about. Idle curiosity doesn't explain how annoyed you looked. Besides, why think so hard about a big stupid titan?" He tried to deflect, but it was weak. "He's just mad I hurt his chances of getting into a good fireteam. He had his sights set on this one g-group that-" he paused and chew on his lip for a second, looking down at the ground they were walking across. He'd attempted to be light hearted but that stutter came back nearly instantly. He was serious for a beat, hard contemplation finally wiping that childish smile away. He looked back up at her a moment later, this odd little smirk on his face. Something between vindictive ire and amusement. "So, Tarios is kind of a weird guy sometimes. Like he alternates between being this really stoic asshole, and this huge cuddly teddy bear. And yes, I did just describe him a huge teddy bear. He gets all touchy-feeling sometimes." He wiggled his fingers at her for emphasis. "Kind of strange, but hey. I'm personally not into exos, so I avoided him during those touchy-feely phases he went through. But around the time he started blowing me up with rocket launchers- for fun, I swear, he does it on purpose." He paused again to gift her with a dark laugh that was hardly in good humor. "I may have started a rumor that he wore pink thongs and then left them on the doors of people he was trying to court. And to make the whole thing. I may have bought a pack of pink thongs and put them on the doors of the fireteam he was trying to join."

They walked in silence after that for a long moment. Nicole just wanted to digest that story for a few minutes. Tarios-7 was not a small guy. He's a was a damn exo titan, for Traveler's sake. He was well taller than her and Rest. Not to mention wider. And the image of him wearing a stringy pink thong was… definitely odd. But more over, the warlock had not accidentally hurt his chances with all the stunts he pulled. He had done that on purpose. As in, it had been a final goal. He wasn't even remorseful about it.

She looked at him again, seeing him a little differently than she had a few minutes ago. So, we add asshole to the list. Good to know. Now she knew for a fact that after this assignment was over, Nicole wanted nothing to do with him.

"What," he commented shortly, that vindictive little glint in his eyes. Just like when he had met her in the Tower after that wild goose chase. He was watching her for the sole reason of seeing her react to him. It disgusted her. "You got nothing to say?"

No, she really didn't. She shook her head, disgusted. They were clear of the outpost, and the thick jungle that hid it from Fallen scouts. With the path clear to use her sparrow, she summoned it and launched off, sparing him no time or hope of keeping up.


Afterword: This was supposed to be longer, but the Venus Adventure turned out to be a brat child that refuses to cooperate. So while I wrangle this beastie, I hope you enjoyed this chapter where nothing really happened. Except Tarios. Tarios is starting to happen.

Special thanks to Phantomslayer230 and Spacedolphin3 for the reviews. You guys are awesome, thank you so much!