Tower, Earth, Sol System
There were times when Ghost wished he could heal his best friend's mental ailments as easily as he could the physical ones. To give a soothing pulse of Light, and all the pain his friend was feeling so deeply would just go away, and he'd smile again, like he used to. Maybe then Ghost would stop feeling so useless.
No matter how much Ghost wished it was, that wasn't the world they lived in. Instead, every time they returned to the Tower after a successful mission, instead of seeing his friend go get ramen with Cayde or Holliday like he once did, he could do nothing but watch as the person he loved more than anything continued to suffer, alone. Every time he tried to push his friend to spend time with some of the others, in the hopes that perhaps they could provide the relief he could not, his suggestions were simply dismissed.
So when Ikora had come to Ghost privately to ask after his friend, her concern for him visible, he had given a noncommittal answer as usual and left in search of his friend as quickly as possible. He hated this. He hated doing nothing.
"Where were you, Little Light?"
He had found his friend, and as usual he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, likely because he hadn't, aside from the "rest" he got from being resurrected.
"Ikora wanted to talk," Ghost chirped, as outwardly cheerful as ever, "She's worried about you, you know."
As he flitted back to his usual position above his friend's shoulder, his friend simply gave a neutral grunt and averted his eyes as he kept walking.
"Did you hear Saint started up the Trials again?" Ghost continued, "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to have you participate!"
"I can't spare the time," his friend evaded with a shift of his hands and tensing of his shoulders, "Zavala wants me focusing entirely on helping Rasputin get his bunkers and satellites running. The Almighty is our most pressing threat right now."
Internally, Ghost sighed, resigned to having to continue watching his friend silently bear the burdens of humanity, with no thought of himself.
-LINE BREAK-
Ghost and his friend watched silently from the Tower courtyard, surrounded by other Guardians, as the Almighty was destroyed in spectacular fashion by Rasputin's warsaw network. His friend's hands were clenched tightly at his sides in anxiety, and Ghost was fidgeting over his shoulder. They weren't the only ones to feel anxious about all of this, not by any means; many of the other Guardians and Ghosts surrounding them were just as outwardly nervous. When finally the Almighty crashed to the Earth, not far from Twilight Gap, there was a palpable sense of relief throughout the Tower.
Once again, the City had been saved from certain doom.
Minutes later, as Ghost and his friend waited for Zavala to finish his speech before heading back to their rooms, Ghost noticed Saint quietly lumbering his way in their direction, before stopping and waiting for the impromptu debrief to end. Turning back to listen to Zavala, he felt a sense of unease at the Commander's last words, and judging by how his back went ramrod straight, his friend felt the same.
"Together, we'll overcome any enemy we face. And with allies like Rasputin, who can stop us?"
As the surrounding Guardians dispersed, Ghost bumped his friend lightly to direct his attention to Saint. The large Titan was doing his best to squeeze through the rush of leaving Guardians, and failing miserably. Ghost hummed in amusement, while his friend sighed and shook his head exasperatedly before elbowing his way towards the friendly yet massive Exo, with Ghost bobbing along behind him.
What followed was a series of cursing and muttering Guardians left in their wake, with any who were spirited enough to verbally protest quickly silenced with a withering glare from his friend. Before long they had reached Saint, and the majority of the crowd was dispersed.
As they approached him, Saint greeted them in a laughing voice, "Guardian, Ghost, my honored friends! I see you do not have the same difficulties moving through crowds as I do! Unfortunately for me, the same methods that worked on the Vex and the Fallen do not work on allies! HA!"
As Ghost gave a few chuckles in spite of himself, his friend simply huffed and glanced back at a few Guardians who had lingered behind, continuing to glare at them and mutter under their breaths. At his glance, however, they hurried out of sight, and he turned back to Saint with a shake of his head as he muttered, "I don't know, I find that much the same tactics are required in getting them to go away."
"HA! This is true, this is true!" Shaking his head and rummaging through the pouches around his belt, Saint continued, "Anyway, friend, I came to give you something!" He pulled out a smaller wooden carving of a pigeon, seemingly infused with Light. "I have made it in thanks for what you have done for me, both in rescuing me from the Infinite Forest months ago, and reuniting me with Osiris." He held up his hand to stop the protest about to leave the other Guardian's mouth, "I know what you will say, that it was nothing, but I…" He looked down, his voice growing weary, "I know what it is like to face the truth of one's own demise, the burden it brings."
At this point Ghost was flitting nervously around his friend who had frozen completely, but Saint was not deterred. He placed one of his massive hands on the shoulder of the other Guardian, and leaned in closer, his voice softer than Ghost had ever heard it.
"You will persevere, my friend. And if you should meet your end, you shall not do so alone. I will die next to you, and we will be like the battle brothers of old! But before that, we will find whatever could conquer us, and we will triumph!"
With a bellowing laugh, Saint pulled the motionless Guardian into a bear hug, lifting him off the ground in the process. Ghost watched on, noticing that while his friend was putting up a token struggle, he seemed to be relishing the friendly gesture nonetheless. Still laughing, Saint dropped the other Guardian back onto the ground and stepped back, before holding out his hand with the carving once more.
Ghost snorted in amusement as his friend grumbled, before he quickly took the gift and held it out for Ghost to transmat it back to their quarters. "Thank you," he huffed, still embarrassed, though there was the trace of a smile on his face. With a final nod to Saint, he turned and started walking away.
Ghost and Saint watched him go, and once he was out of earshot, Ghost spoke quietly, "He'll likely never say it, but what you said meant a lot to him. Thank you."
Saint hummed thoughtfully, replying, "How is he doing? I can only guess so much, unfortunately. I am not Osiris, after all!"
Ghost chuckled for a moment, before sobering again, "He's… not doing well. Ever since, well, ever since Cayde died he's been withdrawn, but after everything that happened on the Moon," Ghost's flaps drooped and shuddered, "After everything that happened with the Darkness, seeing his grave was just… the final straw, I suppose. Since then, he hardly sleeps, and he spends all his time running missions, no matter how mundane."
Saint sighed, crossing his arms and staring at the Traveler above them, "When I was young I never considered that the person I looked up to so much could be so burdened, but now, I understand him better, I think. I have felt the same loneliness and despair that he does now. I will do my best to be the friend for him that I so desperately wished for in those times." He nodded his head in firm resolution, his hands now planted at his hips. Ghost could see at that moment why this Guardian was so respected, not that he needed the reminder.
Saint turned and looked at Ghost, before reaching out a hand and patting him affectionately, "You are a good Ghost, to worry so much for your Guardian." He laughed, "Perhaps not as good as Geppetto, but none are!"
Ghost was very grateful for the inability to blush just then. "I- uh, thank you, Saint."
Continuing to chuckle, Saint waved his hand in the direction the other Guardian had gone, "You'd best be on your way, before your Guardian starts to worry about you, instead! And bring him through the Trials sometime!"
Ghost collected himself, both figuratively and literally, his flaps tightening up again, before bobbing and floating away, "Right! Bye Saint! And thanks again!"
When he returned to his friend's side, Ghost decided not to comment on the smile on his face, nor the fact that his body was actually relaxed for the first time in a long time. And when they reached their quarters, and his friend finally slept peacefully for a full night, Ghost said nothing. He just cozied into the little nest they had made for him, and watched over his friend happily.
For the first time in a long time, Ghost felt relief. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. As long as they were together, they could face anything.
