The flashback part of this chapter gets a little higher on the M scale. Enjoy!

Her mind was on fire.

The torrent of thoughts raged like fast spreading flames, ingulfing whatever composure she'd somehow managed to keep on the way back to where her team had landed their ships. She told Noble and Corvan to try and rest, to decompress from what they'd had to do and what they'd seen, then she'd had Sterling transmat her into her ship without looking back. Skylar stumbled as she reappeared in the small sleeping area of her ship and ripped off her helmet, dropping it to the ground and forgetting it instantly.

Get ahold of yourself Phantom, you're no longer there, Andal said calmly from behind her and Skylar clenched her teeth together. They'd gotten out yes – out of the pyramid ship, out of the dangers in it and that haunting vision – but her mind refused to push the events away. The mocking, the reminders of her failures, and having to face down every enemy she'd killed.

"Shut up," she flatly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried and failed to clamp down on the fear and anger ripping across her mind. The ships were their saviors. What the hell did that even mean?

Do not be swayed so easy. They will do anything to pull you into their grasp. You have no use of them – not now.

The flames licked hotter, and she turned sharply around. "Shut up!" she snarled, and quickly found, the spirit wasn't alone. Standing next to the form of Andal, was Corvan. Shock rattled her brain. She wasn't sure when he'd gotten in her ship, but a brief look of surprise lit his shadowed face at the venom in her words. He frowned at her, eyes flicking from one side to the other before landing back on her.

"I'm rather sure you're not talking to me," he said calmly. "Seeing as it's clear you didn't even know I was in here. What the hell is going on Skylar?"

Shit.

This was just great, really fucking great.

Andal chuckled, green sparking in his eyes for a moment.

You can't keep this up forever. You'll break.

No. She wouldn't – couldn't. she had to be strong, but the flames refused to stop, eating away at her bit by bit. Her hand gripped at the strap of her rifle harder, but didn't move to get rid of it.

"Sterling," she said simple. "I was talking to Sterling." Her ghost wasn't even visible right now, but that didn't mean she couldn't be talking to him. She felt bad, scapegoating him, but she didn't have any other choice.

"Skylar," Corvan snapped and she flinched, blinking. "You need to calm down, take a damn breath." His words had her realizing she was nearly hyperventilating. She couldn't seem to control it either. She shook her head.

"I can't. There's too much, they're right were screwed, there's nothing we can do. How do we even begin to deal with all of thi-" she cut herself off for a moment, a sudden through somehow breaking through her growing hysteria. "Sterling?" she called, completely ignoring Corvan in those moments as her Ghost appeared. "The code, the one Efrideet left for me. Do you still have it?"

"Ya…I do." Her partner said slowly.

"Okay… Maybe it's time I just get out of here. I can't." Her head ached and she shook it harder. It didn't help. She'd promised Cayde she'd keep going but he'd understand right? He had to… Xol chuckled, the Vanguard's voice drowned out by the god.

You really think she'd let you in with me attached to you Phantom? I will not allow you to run away, to travel so far only to be turned out. You are not meant to hide, that is not why you sought my power.

She let a breathless laugh knowing he was right. Of course, he was right, even if she left the Whisper behind, the god would still be attached to her.

"He's right, isn't he Sterling?" she whispered, her eyes burning. "The pact I made with Xol… it's made that code useless to me." Damn it. Why hadn't she thought about that?

"What?" Corvan snapped, reminding her that he was still there. His cobalt eyes pinning her in place. "What pact with Xol? We killed him Skylar, he's gone."

"No," she croaked, hand gripping the strap harder. "I found his Throneworld. Passed his tests and made him into a weapon." She told him slowly, the flames in her mind so hot she could hardly think straight. "He talks to me all the time."

Corvan stared at her for a long moment before his eyes flicked to her hand and then over her shoulder where the Whisper was.

"The rifle." It wasn't a question. "I wondered where you found it, but I would have never guessed – what in the Nine were you thinking Skylar? Why would you do something like that?"

"Same reason you and Z wear Ahamkara bones," she stated, huffing as a tremor ran through her. "Power. I needed power and he's the only reason I'm still here. The Darkness wanted me, tried to trap me but he pulled me out before it got me." She laughed that forced note of false joy again, her world spinning. "It doesn't matter though, does it? What can we possibly do to stop those ships? I don't care was Eris thinks, nothing good can come from this."

You're give up too quickly – I will not allow such weakness-

"Be quiet," she snapped again, the sparks of her Light jumping across her hands. Calm down – she needed to calm down, but she couldn't. She couldn't breathe through all of the smoke the burning flames created, cutting off thoughts that had spread through her veins into her chest. She was going to die. The Darkness would destroy the world. She was going to fail Cayde and her team and –

Hands on her shoulders, close, so very close, and something warm and firm pressed against her lips. It took Skylar a long moment to realize through her suddenly halted thoughts what was happening. For her to recognize the black hair and tanned skin and the sensation – not quite the same as she'd always known but close – against her mouth.

Corvan was kissing her.

He was kissing her?

Stunned all she could do was stare into those dark eyes.

Well now… Andal mused quietly, the god suddenly completely gone from his voice. This is unexpected.

He didn't know the half of it. The Dark Age Hunter pulled back after a few moments, just enough for them to both breath, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Do you see and hear him all the time?" he asked, and because Skylar was still reeling, all she could do was slowly shake her head. "When is he not here?"

"I…" She swallowed, blinking. "The gun. I have to be touching the gun."

He glanced over her shoulder again at said gun and at the hand clamped around the strap holding it there. Without another second thought, one of his hands moved and he pulled the buckle loose at her chestplate so swiftly all she could do was flinch as the sniper clattered to the ground, sliding through her fingers in shock. Andal disappeared in an instant. Skylar let out a long breath, closing her eyes for a moment till she felt the hand still on her shoulder move down her arm slowly. That got her mind working again, remember what had just happened. She pulled away, taking a step back and frowning at him.

"What the hell was that?" she asked quietly. He huffed slightly, amused.

"I think you know exactly what that was."

"That's not what I meant. Why did you do it? You… we…" She scowled, flustered, and annoyed by how calm he was about all of this.

"It made you stop thinking – didn't it?"

Her retort fell short, the anger that might have been sparked from his actions dying out, just like the burning flames that had been driving her near mad moments ago. They'd been doused, left to nothing but hot coals that threaten to burn at any moment once more. Her breathing had evened out, and while she felt breathless it was controlled. It had helped, that one moment where she'd been zeroed in on nothing but what his touch had felt like, and the shock that had come with it. It was like when she was in the heat of a battle, but better.

"You need to stop," her friend spoke again. "I've ignored it for the past year because I know how much it had to have hurt to lose Cayde. I've lost people important to me too and it's not easy Skylar, but I won't watch you push yourself to the breaking point over and over again, not anymore. Maybe I let it go on for too long."

"I don't…What are you talking about?" The look she got in reply had her tensing up. There was anger there, irritation over the entire conversation. Corvan didn't look at all like he cared about being his sonic self.

"You've become reckless. Risking your life to get things done and prove you can do them."

"I am not-"

"What the fuck would you call that gun?" he cut in, his eyes flicking to the black rifle. "You know how dangerous worm gods are, I thought you would have been more careful seeing as you know what Z and I have to put up with. Worms and Ahamkaras aren't much different when you get down to it. But there's no point in lecturing you about it now because it's already over and done with. You're stuck with him, aren't you?"

Skylar looked down.

"Yes."

"Damn it, Skylar," he cursed out anyway and she felt more than heard him move closer again. When she looked back up and anger had lessened, the blue in his eyes back once more. He looked… worried. It was an expression she wasn't used to seeing on his face. "You're killing yourself. Running yourself ragged to the point of where you can't prosses things correctly. You can't even fight to your best abilities because you're so tired, even for a hunter."

"I'm doing fine Corvan-"

"Really?" he stopped her again. "Then why did I have to put myself in front of that sword to get you out of your own head?"

The scene was back in an instant: Corvan being cut clean in half, blood everywhere when she knew he could have dodged it. For her. He done it for her. Another tremor worked its way up her spine. The words from the Darkness, from Xol, started creeping forward again, bolstered by her own thoughts of doubt. Her eyes stung and she closed them.

"I don't know how to make it stop," she whispered. "There's too much and it all just burns across my mind fighting for attention and it won't stop Corvan. I don't know what I can do and I think that moment where you kissed me was the first time since this whole shit show on the moon started that it stopped – even for just a moment. What the hell does that even mean?"

The hand was back, but the glove was gone she realized, and this time it swept up onto her neck and she flinched at the touch, unable not to focus on something so boundary breaking she hadn't felt in… in a long time. She couldn't help the reaction she had to it, the way she moved her head to try and press it into his hand when it got to her jaw. She wanted that touch, almost needed it, and if she were honest, she hadn't found the kiss terrible either.

"It means you haven't been taking care of yourself," Corvan answered her. "It means you need to let someone in – for real this time."

She knew what he was saying, felt it down into her core. Her mind snapped back to that kiss and the hand still on her cheek — the thoughts she'd pushed back over and over again.

What the hell was wrong with her? Cayde had only been gone a year and she was…

But it was a year, she realized. A year.

Such a long time where even surrounded by people who cared for her, yet Skylar had felt alone and ashamed to even think about giving into that carnal instinct and let go. Shiro wouldn't have pushed her away if she'd approached him, she knew that, but she'd never been able to cross that line. It had felt wrong, it still did. He was too close of a friend to ever do that, even if both of them were hurting and it would have made sense.

Corvan on the other hand, had never been especially close to her. He was there, helping and constant and dependable, but she'd never been bonded to him like with Shiro or Z or Haar. There'd always been that distance, and maybe that was why this made more sense, this situation, the possibility of it.

"I don't…we're not…" She couldn't get the words out, even as that hand ran a careful thumb over her cheekbone. It was the softest thing she'd ever seen Corvan do. Soft. From the man who'd almost gotten her killed years ago and had been silently watching her back since.

Something zapped and tingled across her skin at that fact.

"It doesn't have to be about love," he told her quietly. "For most of us it's just about release, about an escape from this hell hole. A way to stop thinking." His hand disappeared after a few more seconds and Skylar hated that a part of her missed it instantly. Opening her eyes she saw him watching her, that unreadable face still fracture with emotions she wasn't used to seeing on him. Worry. Uncertainly. Maybe even longing. She wasn't sure how to take that.

"If this is something you want Corvan then-"

"It's not about me," he cut in frowning at her, what looked like hurt dancing across his eyes before that door snapped shut. "This is about you and offering you a way out. You can't deal with all of this shit when you're this tired but you can't sleep because you're too upset. I'm not here to make this worse, and at this point, maybe it's best I leave."

Leave.

Her heart lurched when he turned away, walking toward an exit that he'd likely make with a Ghost. Oh god. No, no, NO. Her eyes stung, that frantic part of her winning out in an instant, crushing hesitation and worry and sense. She blink stepped in front of him, stopping him and reaching up, having to stand on that balls of her feet and kissed him. Her fingers dug into the softer leather of his shoulders, keeping him from moving too much as he flinched. She met his startled gaze and pulled back closing her eyes.

"Please don't leave me here alone," she whispered, her hands clutching tighter. If she was by herself, her own thoughts would eat at her even more. Cayde. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered the Exo had wanted her to move on. To let him go. He wouldn't want to see her like this. He would want her to take care of herself – right? Was it so wrong to want that? To want someone to just… make it stop. Make all of it stop. Corvan was offering that.

Skylar didn't even realize a tear had escaped her stinging eyes till a thumb whipped at it and she twitched, knowing who it was but still surprise. That hand moved to push back some of her hair in the next movement as he spoke.

"I won't," he promised her. "You just have to let go first."

She took in a slow breath, opening her eyes again to meet his, realizing as she spoke the next word, they were true. She couldn't fight back anymore, even if they weren't. "I already have."

It was the final nail in the coffin for that static pressure forming around them. She had to let go, she knew that, or it would kill her just like he'd said it would. She couldn't afford to die – she had a promise to keep. So, she let go and she didn't resist when an arm wrap around her waist, and she reciprocate when he kissed her, a hand moving to his hair to grip it. Everything about this was so similar, but different. Exos were different from humans, but they'd been made to look and feel as much like a human as possible. There were still startling changes to it all though.

As least her partner knew what he was doing, even if she wasn't completely sure herself.

There was no metal beside armor, no sharp edges to worry about. Human skin was pliable, more so than the silicon synthskin found on parts of an Exo. He bit her lower lip and it was familiar enough that she stopped seeing the difference.

By the time he had her on her cot completely exposed in a way only one other person had ever seen her, thoughts halted in her mind. Her attention was solely on their presences and what she and her fellow Hunter were doing. She knew by now due to physical reactions how much Corvan wanted her, and if she were honest with herself, she wanted him too.

He didn't take off her necklace and when she bit harder than she should have at his shoulder in response to void energy rippling across her side and felt him flinch, she pulled back. He wasn't an Exo, she reminded herself, finally remembering the difference. She was going to hurt him.

"Sorry-"

"Don't be," he cut in breathlessly. "You didn't do anything wrong." Then again, maybe not. He kissed her and when he pulled back, looking her over, his chest heaving, she felt oddly… relaxed by that haunting blue gaze – once again similar, but different, darker, and not glowing. Reaching out he placed a hand on the side of her face like he had at the beginning of this, his thumb tracing the edge of her marking and she sighed.

"Corvan…"

"You're beautiful," he stated suddenly, and shock had her pausing as she trailed her hand down his back. She didn't have a good reply to that, just reached up and pressed her free hand over his, and let sparks of purple lightning dance across her other one. He tensed and groaned, his hand twitching under hers. "Shit. You're – Skylar." It was closest she had ever heard to a plea from him, and it made her feel powerful for the first time in weeks. She suddenly wondered just how long it had been for him too.

Either way, she knew what he was asking and caught his gaze.

"It's okay. Do it."

He did and whatever last lingering thoughts about anything else vanished. The world and its fire-licked nightmares were gone.

-Skylar-

The apartment Corvan rented was a barely used, one bedroom in the outer ring of the City, stuck somewhere between the Tower and the clan hub. For the most part it was a quiet area, and the walls were thicker than most, leaving Skylar to her thoughts without any real interruptions. The only other sound in the room was the slow even breathing and the heartbeat of the male Hunter she was half laying on, her gaze shifting from where her head laid on his chest to look at his face.

It wasn't often Corvan was still asleep, or even still in bed by the time she woke up. He never left her per se, but he'd never been one to cuddle really either. Something like her position now was as close as they ever got to being that affectionate with each other. It was an even rarer sight for Skylar to see his face completely relax, unguarded as he slept. Rumpled black hair over closed eyes, a slight upturn to his lips, and Skylar could still feel an arm draped across her lower back. She closed her eyes again and sighed quietly.

What the hell was she doing?

She'd thought after those moments in the lab where he hadn't given her a reason to not bring back Cayde that this was over. Of course, at the time Skylar had assumed the Exo turned human would know who she was, but even after she'd realized he didn't she hadn't come running back to the man laying under her. She'd thought they were done, that no words needed to be spoken about it and they'd simply move back to where they'd been over a year ago.

Then she'd seen Cayde's face after the crucible match and she'd known without a doubt that he knew why her clan was out of favor with the Vanguard. Darkness. Corvan had been the only one to use it in the game, but it didn't take a genius to figure out the rest. Plus, Shaxx had been there. Skylar realized in those moments whatever progress she'd made with Cayde, whatever she was salvaging with him – friendship or otherwise – was gone. He couldn't remember her, so why would he trust her after seeing that? That look – the horror of staring at her like she was a monster – it had hurt beyond what she'd been prepared for.

It had hurt and made every hope she had towards him crumble – again. So, she did what she always did these days when everything went wrong or her mind wouldn't stop spinning – she showed up on Corvan's doorstep and he let her in without hesitation. Maybe it wasn't a healthy habit, but he certainly didn't try to stop her either. If Skylar was honest with herself, whatever all of this had started off as, it wasn't just that anymore, even if he insisted it was. They were entangled. Attached. Skylar couldn't stand the thought of being alone in that way again and if Cayde was turning his back on her, then…

It was wrong. Corvan had to know it too, but it still didn't stop them.

Grimacing she pressed her face into his chest more and concentrated on how warm she felt sandwiched between the blankets and him. Time ticked by in silence for a while before she felt Corvan shift slightly under her and then a hand dipped into her hair and combed through it. Another soft, rare gesture that seemed to appear more and more these days. Something that hadn't been a thing since that first time on the Moon. He'd pulled back after that, kept things strictly physical and rough and that was what she'd needed but… when had that started changing?

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he offered after another few minutes, his voice still rough from sleep. He sounded tired, but then again, they'd been up more than half the night, she'd made sure of it. Her hand curled into the sheets at his side.

"No."

Silence.

Then:

"What were you hoping for?" Apparently, he didn't care if she didn't want to talk about it. "You had to know he'd find out at some point." He was right, she had known and she didn't even have a good answer for it.

"I don't know I just…." She hadn't been able to stop herself from trying. Cayde had been so insistent about being friends and even after two years Skylar had missed him enough still that she couldn't not say yes. She just pushed back the truth that she'd been running on borrowed time, that he'd be told about the Darkness at some point.

"Things didn't turn out how they should have," Corvan finished for her and Skylar pressed her face into his chest again, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"No."

Another long period of silence passes over the room, and Skylar couldn't get her mind to really do much other than feel like she'd messed up worse than she ever had. Minutes tick by before finally, Corvan said something.

"…It doesn't have to be him," he said slowly, hesitating for a moment. "Maybe this is a sign that it shouldn't be."

Skylar tenses instantly, her brain halting entirely. Had he really just said that? Pushing herself up into a sitting position, the blankets pool around her as the air nipped at her skin. She frowned at him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Corvan grunted, shoving himself up onto an elbow and meeting her gaze with a steady one of his own.

"You were moving on before all of this happened," he stated firmly. "Maybe the lack of memories and his reaction to finding out about Darkness means you should continue to do so." It wasn't like his words didn't make sense – indeed they were sensible, logical in a lot of ways – but the fact that he was saying them, meant something else entirely.

"Why would you say that?" she asked quietly, watch his face. "After everything we've…" she trailed off, her mind suddenly snapping to what she'd been thinking about, before he'd woken up. They were entangled. Attached. Skylar stared at him, shock running down her spine. "This is about us." A statement, not a question, because she suddenly knew there was no other explanation for it. He sighed.

"Skylar-"

"Are you kidding me?" she snapped, disbelief blending with anger. "After all this time, after everything we've done and you've said, you change your mind now ? Cayde's alive and now you just…" She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. "What the fuck Corvan!"

"It's not because he's back," he said firmly, sitting up entirely. "You know it's not." Staring at him, she knew he was right. She did know and that made the anger over power the disbelief completely. He couldn't be doing this, he couldn't – but he was.

"You told me it wasn't about love," she said evenly, her hands clenching into the bed's sheets. "You made that very clear that night on the Moon and every time after that for month and months and you never showed any sign of that being different. Not even before that, so I…" Pain. Something twisted in her chest that she hadn't even known was there. "I believed you! I made myself shut you out, never let myself ever think any different because I knew if I did and you kept telling me it was 'just for escape' it would hurt too much." It didn't matter if he'd started showing things like those soft gestures from before, that could have been explained as anything. She'd known if she'd ever given herself hope for maybe, just maybe the chance at something else with him and that hadn't happen, it would have broken her. "How long have you been lying to me?"

Something like shock flashed over Corvan's face before, shockingly, his gaze flicked to the side and his jaw locked. Guilt. That was guilt on his face. As she watched him, waiting, Skylar thought backward through the years, looking at things differently.

The fact that he'd been the one to carry and hold her as they came back from Crota, not Z. The scars on his face that he'd kept, the way he'd looked at her during the Dawning when she'd forgiven him. He'd disappeared on a long mission after word had gotten out about her and Cayde but she'd always believed it was just him being him – a loner who could only stand to be around people for to long. He'd kept his distance a while before going back to his role in the clan as the sarcastic ass who always had a solid plan when it came to important missions. After Cayde died, he'd stuck around like everyone else and he'd been the first after Z to accept her taking over as fireteam leader. He'd been watching her back for two years, only getting hostile with her when she did something stupid or too risky.

The list went on and on and Skylar was left stunned by that, by the signs she'd never really seen. It might not have been love at first, maybe she was assuming too much, but with Corvan she'd never know unless he outright told her. Which he didn't. It was just like Tevis, she'd never figured it out until he was dying, and he'd given her his Light – something so personal that she hadn't really understood till much later. Three hunters – three of them but Skylar had chosen Cayde because she'd seen that he cared about her too. He'd treated her better than anyone, done things the others hadn't that had made it obvious to her that he had feelings for her, and she had fallen in love with him because of that. Corvan had never done that, everything he did was subtle or carefully concealed in motivation.

"That long huh?" she whispered, and when he didn't say anything, it hurt more than she wanted to admit. She couldn't think of anything to say, she was so damn angry all she wanted to do was scream or attack him but she couldn't seem to do either. So instead, she got off the bed and started looking for her clothes. She found her underwear and jeans at the foot of the bed on the ground and started yanking them on.

"Would it have helped?" Corvan asked finally, and she paused in buttoning her jeans, but didn't look at him. "If I had told you the truth that night on the moon, would it have helped you?"

That… that was a good question. A question that doused some of her anger instantly. Nails bit into the fabric of her jeans as she answered.

"No," she admitted finally. "Probably hearing something like that would have made it worse." She buttoned her pants before finally looking at him. "Maybe you were right to withhold that but the rest? How did you jump from that to what you did tell me? How did it seem right to you to tell me the exact opposite Corvan? Don't you – how are you this old and this stupid all at once?"

"I thought we had time," he said, strained to keep his voice even. "I thought I could ease you into it instead of throwing it in your face. It's not like Guardians have short lifespans." No, they didn't, and under that view point he would have had all the time in the world. "I didn't count on Cayde coming back to life after two years ." No one had, not her or anyone else.

"But he did," she pointed out. "And you made the wrong choices." He's done it to himself. Corvan had always been arrogant, he always thought he knew the best way to do things and often times he was right. In battles, in strategy, but apparently not relationships.

"What the fuck did you want me to do, damn it!" he snapped, raising his voice for the first time. Skylar fought back the finch and turned back to him, meeting a gaze that looked like storm clouds. She didn't understand it, why he hadn't… they could have but… but he hadn't.

"I don't know Corvan," she said flatly, unable to stop the hurt from bleeding into her words. "Hold me and tell me it was going to be okay?" It would have been so simple, so damn simple. A hug, fingers through her hair, something warm to hold onto along with words of reassurance. How was that so hard to understand? Skylar wasn't sure what hurt more: the fact that he hadn't done that, or the look of shock that flickered across his face.

He really hadn't thought she'd want that.

She shook her head and looked for her shirt before remembering he'd pulled it off her in the living room. She stocked out of his bedroom without another word, ignoring his sudden snap of her name. Moron. Stupid asshole.

Sterling blinked into appearance as she grabbed her bra off the ground and put it back on. Her ghost spoke as she picked up her shirt.

"Maybe ya shouldn't be so quick ta-"

"Skylar!" Corvan called out, and she heard footsteps sound behind her as she pulled the shirt over her head. He'd managed to get pants on before coming after her at least. "I get it, I fucked up. Would you just give me-" his words sent sharp, biting anger into her mind and she rounded on him, not realizing he'd gotten so close but not back down either as they stood half a foot from each other.

"A chance?" she hissed. "I gave you a year of chances, I gave you a chance down in that lab where Cayde was sleeping." She'd asked him if there was a reason to not bring back Cayde, and he hadn't answered her. He'd looked upset but she'd thought it was because he thought she was backpedaling in her progress of living without the Exo. That or losing their private time together, that silent comfort they'd had. It had been about a lot more – and he'd botched it.

"I wanted to," he said finally, his voice calming slightly, those stormy eyes unrelenting in holding her gaze as if she were a tree caught in a gale. "I wanted to tell you."

"Then why didn't you?"

He clenched his jaw for a moment, before reaching out a placing his hands on her shoulders. She twitched, but didn't pull away, waiting.

"I wasn't sure it'd make a difference," he said slowly, his hands clenching on her shoulders slightly. "I didn't want to cause you any more pain and I knew telling you would do that. He always made you happy, I wasn't sure I ever did, you never said so."

She hadn't? Skylar's anger was derailed at that statement. There's been plenty of times where they'd been together in a group or alone and he'd said something and she'd smiled, but did that really count? Had she ever told him out right that she was happy, that she was glad he was there for her? She'd thanked him, she told him she wanted him in those moments when they were lost in a high. Skylar wasn't sure she'd ever said she was happy he was there.

"I never let myself consider it," she answered him quietly. "I was afraid if I let myself feel that, tell you that… that you'd decide it'd gotten too personal and leave." She hadn't wanted to even ponder being left alone like that, to be denied that small amount of warmth he'd allow. The small amount she let herself feel. "I was, though," she answered his question. "Happy, I mean. I'm sorry…I never told you." That was her mistake, he wasn't the only one who'd done things wrong. It still didn't change the outcome. Didn't change that he could have fixed it at anytime over the months, or down in that lab.

They could have been happy from any of those points forward – but not now.

Something like pain broke apart the storm in his eyes and he moved a hand to her neck, the touch gentle, warm like that first night.

"Sky. Please, let's just-"

"No!" She yanked out of his hold before she let herself think about it, before she let him finish because she knew it wasn't right. This wasn't something Skylar could just forgive and carry on with as if it were normal. Her hands clenched at her sides and she blinked at the tears demanding to exist. Even after all of this, she didn't want to hurt him, but it was wrong to do otherwise. It wouldn't be the truth.

"I don't love you Corvan," she finally got out. "I care about you. You're my friend and I am thankful for everything you've done for me but…you never gave me the assurance that I could see you as something else." She shouldn't have come here last night, it had only made this so much worse.

Skylar waited and watched for some kind of sign that she'd hurt him. Instead it was like her words had quiet suddenly slammed the door on his emotions, leaving those steel eyes that gave him his last name, the blue nearly gone. His jaw relaxed and after one more long look he shifted his gaze away. He didn't say anything, didn't move at all, he just waited and Skylar wasn't sure what else she could do or say. It was a mess. Another mess she had to deal with and she no longer had a place she could go to forget about it for a while.

She wasn't even sure who to really blame for that.

"You'll always be a welcome part of the clan Corvan… but I understand if you can't work with me anymore," she said finally, and this time, he flinched and a muscle twitched at his jaw.

"Get out." Cold. Ice cold steel – he'd never used that tone on her before. With that, he turned and walked back into his room and Sky bit back an apology. She didn't need to be sorry about how she felt, she didn't need to be sorry about something he'd done to himself. She looked at Sterling and nodded her head. Her Ghost moved closer and then the world rapidly changed like turning the page in a book and suddenly, she was in her ship's cockpit. Skylar let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand over her eyes and cursed. A light touch again her temple, Sterling trying to comfort her as she clenched her teeth together. No tears, she wouldn't shed tears for this – not this.

"Let's go home," she whispered, dropping her hand, and moving it to the controls of the ship.

It wasn't until later, that Skylar realized she'd left her boots and coat at Corvan's, but they felt insignificant to what else she'd probably lost in the last twenty-four hours. Two people that meant a great deal to her and there was nothing she could do about it. The ball was in their court.

NA:

You know... I actually felt bad for Corvan by the end of this, cause I'd worked so long on his character and weaving hints in throughout the series. They were kind of interesting together, don't you think? But, relationships can't be built on lies.

Do you think they'll ever recover? Let me know your thoughts, and thanks for reading!