As expected, Tessa was true to her word. A few days after he'd helped her with the TV and console, he was reading over a few papers for Ikora when she walked into the Hall of the Guardians. She sauntered up to the table where he was standing beside Ikora.
She was dressed in her armor, the strong fabric and sturdy chest plate hugging her body. She stood next to him, on his left, smiling at him and nodding to Ikora, who was on his right. Her helmet was tucked under her arm, balanced against her hip.
"Let's go." She told him simply, glancing to Ikora, who nodded.
"What?" Damian asked, placing the papers he'd been reading onto the table in front of him. "Go? Now? Like right now?"
Five minutes later he met Tessa on the hanger floor. She'd changed some of her armor from before, most recognizable was a Graviton Forfeit helmet, one of the few hunter armor items he could recognize on sight. Her armor was a pleasing mix of blacks, grays and blues, he assumed the shader was probably Shimmer, but he wasn't positive.
He was wearing simple gear, strong but simple robes colored with a simple red and gray shader called Barrier Ethos. He hadn't really planned anything, but he didn't mind, he didn't care much for making flashy impressions. That is, until he saw Tessa give his armor a once over and smirk, then quickly try to hide it.
"What?" He asked, frowning but also wanting to smile as he headed over to where she was standing, "Am I boring?" He asked her, teasing.
"No, no, of course not. Soft red and gray are both very vibrant colors." She said, matching his teasing tone. He grinned at her, and she grinned back, then started to head up the ramp, into her ship.
He paused at the foot of the ramp, looking up after her, "Are you sure you don't want me to take my own ship?
"It's fine, c'mon, this way we don't have to worry about meeting up." She replied, pausing at the end of the ramp to listen to him, then waiting for him. He nodded and followed her up, into the ship. Like his, beyond the ramp, on the right there was a doorway leading to a small kitchen and– if her ship had the same layout as his– a tiny bathroom. On the left was a closed door, probably leading to her bedroom. The space on either side of the ramp had multiple racks, cables ran up and down the racks, securing the ammo crates and various weapons stacked there.
Tessa led the way straight ahead, through a door into another little room. The front was the cockpit, complete with two seats, a huge windshield and an array of buttons and gadgets. The back half of the room was a living room of sorts. There was a comfortable couch, along with a few blankets and pillows. There were also a few cabinets of books, the doors glass, allowing him to see inside. He'd never known she'd liked to read, and he probably wouldn't have guessed. Looking at the shelves, he noticed some of the titles were familiar
"I spend a lot of my time in my ship, but this is only a fraction of my collection." She said, following his gaze.
"You have good taste." He replied, feeling himself smile as he moved closer to admire the books.
"So I've been told. Half of these Ikora gave to me." She said.
"Wow." Damian said, lifting his brows. It was surprising to think Ikora would be willing to give books away rather than hogging them for her personal libraries. But, if Ikora had given these to Tessa, it would explain why he recognized so many of them. She did have good taste, but her taste was also wide, and he was able to find a bit of everything on her shelves.
"Where do you keep the rest?" He asked, looking away from the shelves after a long moment.
"Mostly my apartment in the Tower, then some at my friend's apartment in the city."
"The protective ones?"
"Yep. I spend a lot of time when them too, like my home away from home." She said, her gaze shifting to one of the shelves.
Damian watched her for a while before speaking again. "Where is home?" He asked, watching her curiously for her response.
She looked over at him, taken aback by his question. He watched her expression change from surprise to thoughtfulness as she pondered his words.
"Honestly? I don't know. I don't think I've known since early in my first life. I don't think home exists for me anymore." She confessed, glancing at him. "What about you?"
He almost didn't reply, but she had given him a piece of truth herself, so he should give her at least something in return. "I don't know either. I have a complicated past, things I'd prefer to hide. And I'm bisexual, so I've faced discrimination and hate in the past, so home isn't here for me because of that. Or at least I don't think it is, but I still think it exists. I think it's more of a feeling or a person, not somewhere you could find on a map." He said, looking back at her to find she was more surprised than before.
"No one's ever said anything like hat to me." She explained, seeing his gaze.
"The bisexual part? Or-" He stammered, worried he shouldn't have told her. Most gays or bisexuals were extremely flamboyant about their sexuality, especially when it came to Guardians. Damian wasn't really like that. He was cautious- or at least more cautious than others. He made a point to tell people early on in any sort of relationship- that being friendship or something else- because he didn't want to get attached to someone who didn't accept him.
"No, no, no," She said, quickly cutting him off. "I have a friend who's bi, so I'm totally find with that. It's impressive you had the courage to tell me so quickly, since we hardly know each other." Damian felt himself relax. "I was surprised about what you said about home. I've never thought of it that way I guess."
"Never?" He asked, frowning.
"Well, maybe not never, but I didn't think anyone actually thought of it that way."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Tessa moved into the cockpit after a few long moments of silence. She seated herself in the pilot seat as her ghost appeared and began to start up the ship. Damian slid into the seat beside her as the ship hummed to life and exited the hangar.
The flight to the old cosmodrome passed in silence, they couldn't go warp speed because they could crash into the earth and die, so they spent a few hours in silence, both of them dosing off now and then as the ghosts took shifts steering the ship. When they finally slowed to a landing approach, it was mid-afternoon, Guardians raced by on sparrows, attacked nearby enemies or raced by on foot in pursuit of enemies, resources or loot.
The Ghosts lowered the ship close to the ground, the ramp lowering for Tessa and Damian to jump out. They did, Damian gliding down and landing softly, Tessa falling and jumping just before she hit the ground, allowing her to land softly as well. Once they were standing on the hard packed dirt, she sighed looking around. Despite the combat zone, her posture was relaxed, her weight shifted on her right hip, her left hand resting on her left hand, her gun dangling from her right hand at her side.
"I remember the first time I went on a mission here. It seems like so long ago." She mused, and Damian wished he could see through her helmet, wished he could see her eyes.
"What happened?" He asked, she glanced over at him, "On your mission." He clarified. Just because he couldn't see her face didn't mean he couldn't read her expressions. Body language was one thing, but Guardians had a sort of sixth sense, through the Light. It had been a part of him for as long as he could remember, and once he became a Guardian he'd realized he wasn't alone. Beings of the Light had the sense, they could feel the light like a physical force around them, and through it they could reach out and touch things, feel things, read things. Natural human decency kept him from using it the wrong way, and as he read Tessa he did so from afar, only brushing the surface, his light touching hers softly.
"I got my butt whipped." She was saying, "I was fighting a-" her light went frigid and sharp next to his, "Don't do that." She snapped, taking a step away from him.
"Do what? The sixth sense?" He asked, pulling his light away from her's hastily.
"The light thingy, where you feel emotions or whatever. It's just creepy." She said, shaking her head.
"I didn't mean to invade-" he stammered, "I was just listening."
"How does that work anyways?" Tessa asked, "I get that you're born with it and it's like a sixth sense, but how does it work? Ikora and Cayde keep telling me I have it but-" she paused, either noticing Damian's befuddled staring, realizing she was rambling or just not wanting to keep talking. Long moments passed, all the while, Damian stared at her, his mouth half open as if he was going to say something but being so confused he couldn't even voice his confusion.
"I wasn't born with powers of the Light." She said after a while, as if that cleared everything up.
"B- but you're a Guardian!" He stammered, even more confused.
"No, you're a Guardian," she snapped, "My parents were Guardians, in what you would call a Guardian wanna-be that didn't ask to be one."
"How-?"
"When my mother died, she gave me her Light, all her power. She thought it was my destiny to become a Guardian, she didn't give me a choice, she didn't even tell me." Tessa said, her voice tight. Damian let a moment pass before speaking up.
"Are you angry at her?" He asked, his voice quiet. It was an odd thought, the vanguard legend didn't even want to be a Guardian.
Tessa sighed, sitting down heavily in the dirt, her legs in front of her, elbows on her knees. "I don't know." She said at last, "I'm angry at her for not asking me or even telling me. She just did it like I would automatically understand my purpose. I like being a Guardian, I like fighting for the city, but I don't want to do it just because my mother wanted me to. If I'm going to go to the literal end of this world defending it, I want to fight for myself too."
"Yeah, I understand that." Damian said with a nod, sitting down beside her. "When I was a kid, I didn't know what my powers were, all I knew was that I was different. Through the light I could sense people's emotions without looking at them, I could tell when the most stoic person was feeling sad because you can only push your emotions so far away."
"Does every Guardian have that?" She asked, looking at him sideways.
"To an extent. Ikora says I have it stronger than most. Most Guardians actually have to put thought into it. For me, I can't help it, I just see it or feel it like it's any other sense."
"What's it like for most Guardians? Besides having to put thought into it."
"Most just sense the feelings on the surface, it would be hard to see anything someone isn't openly expressing. For me, someone can have a nightmare in the Tower and I'll feel it."
"Well... that makes me glad I can't use it, then." Tessa said, even without reaching out, Damian could sense she was frowning.
"Why?" He asked, "If you can't use it yet you probably don't have it very strongly. But the sense can also be used as a safety precaution. A way to observe your surroundings, like seeing when you're blind. You'd be at a considerable disadvantage if you were to not learn, you know."
"With what you've told me I'm not sure I want to learn." She explained, "Even if I don't have it strongly."
"Everything comes with a price." He countered.
"I've already payed enough."
"It could keep you safe."
"Yeah? Like it kept you from crashing into me on your sparrow?" She demanded, regretting it when he winced.
When he didn't reply, she tried it, pulling her Light in and imagining she was casting it out like a wave, bending around everything solid as she sent it forward, feeling through it. Then she felt it, felt her Light brush against his in a dance where only their fingertips brushed, but it felt like a spark of electricity.
Damian was the first to pull away, his eyes wide at how quickly she'd managed it. As he opened his mouth to speak, he knew she could see his face through her light. He froze, senses tingling for a moment before he did as she had, throwing a wave of light out, stronger than hers, rolling across the landscape behind them.
"What?" She asked. He looked to see her staring at him as he shot to his feet, reaching out a hand to help her up from where she sat.
"Hive threats, a big group of them, all headed this way." He said, extending bid hand further. He felt worry and concern cross her face, but she took his hand anyways, letting him pull her to her feet.
"Hive? Why here? Are the Fallen fighting them?" She asked, taking her gun in both hands as he let go of her hand.
"I don't know. There are already Guardians and some Fallen fighting them, But the Fallen are getting mowed down and the Guardians aren't making much progress. Let's go." He held out his hand for his Ghost Kylie to summon his sparrow. Tessa did the same and soon they were zipping across the rocky landscape, the first brushes of snow from the upcoming winter thinly blankets pieces of the land.
Damian led the way, following his sense, his robes flying out behind him as he crouched close to the powerful machine. Tessa rode close behind, often switching from riding on his left or right to avoid obstacles or jump planes, using the wings as ramps. Within minutes, they were zipping across the waters of the river leading to the forgotten shores, Tessa coming up to ride beside him to avoid getting caught in the wake his sparrow left behind.
"I see 'em!" Tessa shouted to him over the wind, raising a hand to point to a cluster of Guardians and Hive. They rode towards them, circling once to scope out the threat before leaping off their sparrows and charging into the fray. Upon their arrival a Titan waved to them, seeming to be the one in charge. The fireteam leader, perhaps.
"Hold down the fort with these two!" He shouted to them over the sounds of explosions and gunshots, nodding to another Titan and a warlock, "I'll be right back!"
"Roger that!" Tessa shouted, chucking a sticky grenade onto a Knight, her light getting a crazed battle-high feeling as she watched it blow up, turning to shoot another knight. Damian followed her into battle, throwing grenades and shooting enemies as he kept an eye on her. They flowed and crashed into the Hive with thunderbolts of power, killing before the leaders could summon reinforcements.
"Hey, twinkletoes!" Tessa shouted to him as she leapt into the air, double jumping to get a good angle before burying her throwing knife in the throat of a monster behind him. If anything she was the twinkletoes. "Stop staring at me and kill some Hive." She said, landing in a roll, popping up and slapping his shoulder as she jogged past him. "I know I'm pretty but you can't get me in bed if you're dead."
He knew why she'd said it. To provoke him, to distract him, to see what he'd do, and it worked damn well. Whoops of laughter echoed from the other Guardians and Damian was so taken aback he had to scramble out of the way of a Knight's blade.
"Like I said!" She called to him, dancing around a hallowed knight in a furry of blades.
"Scatter!"
Damian obeyed, jumping out of the fray. He looked up to see the Titan from before, flames raging across his body, Hammer of Sol in his hand. From the corner of his eye he saw Tessa slamming her bland into the Knight's neck before leaping out of the way with the other Guardians as the Titans hammers cleaved through the sky, turning their little circle of fighting into a circle of flames.
It didn't take long for the Titan to take care of the rest, slamming his hammers into the Hive from within the circle as Damian and the other Guardians shot at the Hive from the outside. Within minutes, the Titan stood, flames roaring around him, in a circle of bodies and blades. A few moments passed before the Titan rose his last hammer, a shout of triumph roaring past his lips. The other Guardians raised their own weapons, echoing the shout.
Hours later, Damian and Tessa climbed back onto Tessa's ship, covered in half frozen mud from the snow that had melted in the afternoon sun, had mixed with the dirt and refrozen in the sinking sun. Tessa was shivering as she put her gun on a rack, pulled off her helmet and then began to tug off her boots. Damian couldn't help but shiver as well, his robes soaked through with cold.
"Do you mind if I change?" He asked, pulling off his own muddy boots. "I have extra clothes."
"Sure, bathroom's that way," she said, pointing to the doorway on the right side of the ramp.
"Thanks." He said, setting his boots beside hers, next to an ammo crate.
"No problem." She said, slipping through the door on the left side of the ramp, closing it and locking it behind her.
A few minutes later, they were sprawled on the couch, Damian sitting rather normally, Tessa tucked up in a corner, her legs pulled in close, a book in her hands. Wrapped up in her book, she kicked out her legs, laying them across Damian's lap. It took her a moment, but once she realized what she was doing she quickly pulled away.
"Sorry." She said quickly.
"No, no, it's okay. I don't mind." Damian said, quickly as well.
"Oh... thanks." She said, stretching her legs out again.
Silence.
"Your feet are tiny." Damian observed. Tessa was small in general, probably one of the shortest Guardians he'd ever seen, now that he thought about it. But she carried herself differently, relaxed but dignified, not going out of her way to make others feel small, but looking bigger than they were. It was odd though, because it wasn't like she had a stacked build, she was lanky and long legged, she was just short. But then again, Guardians tended to be quite tall, so she was probably average standing beside anyone from the city.
Tessa laughed, "So I've been told."
"What size are your shoes?"
"I dunno, women's six or something?" She said with a shrug. "Anything that I don't wear in combat is my friend's territory. Well, hers and my Ghost's, I'm sure he knows."
It was his turn to laugh, "You say that you're not, but I think you're a Guardian down to the bone."
"In some aspects at least." She said with a shrug, "What about you? Are you a Guardian down to the bone?"
He hesitated before answering. "I was raised in a place where Guardians and technology weren't very common, so I have some utterly non-Guardian traits." He said, "Oh, but I do have about thirty percent of that buff blonde dude who wants to save the entire world."
"Oh, yeah?" She said smirking, an eyebrow arched. "Do you have the typical I-make-all-the-girls-fall-in-love-with-me-but-I'm-too-busy-being-in-love-with-my-muscles mindset?"
"Obviously." He said, returning her smirk and locking eyes with her as he raised his left bicep, flexing it. He kept his eyes locked on hers as he pressed a butterfly kiss to the muscle. "But it's not a mindset, it's a lifestyle."
"Wow." She said sarcastically, batting her eyelashes over-dramatically. "And you aren't even blonde."
He laughed, returning her grin as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yep, brown hair, brown eyes. I'm common that way." He said with a shrug.
"I think it suits you, not being common, but your hair and your eyes. I don't think bisexual Guardians are very common." She said, struggling to get her words out the right way.
"Yeah, I would know."
"I have seen quite a few gay Guardians," she noted, "Titans make the best BROTPs, even if they're not gay."
Damian shot her a confused look.
"Like I said, I wasn't raised a Guardian. I was raised with a full bookcase and a device with social media. My first language after English was Fangirl." She said, "An utterly human background."
"Better than some backgrounds." He said, his smile fading.
It was her turn to give him a confused look.
"I have a friend, he came from a really abusive background, his mother was terrible to him when he was little. She'd do things like put him on the stove and threaten to turn it on." He shook his head, "Just awful things."
"What happened to him?"
"Well, he lived in a part of the city, back in its earlier days. A group of Guardians were running a patrol when he was twelve, his mother was beating him. They walked through his neighborhood, they felt his light just panicking. He told me they though there was a monster in the house by the way the darkness was eating at him.
"They went in, arrested his mother for child abuse and brought him back to the Tower. Treated all his wounds and put him in therapy, took care of him. They didn't take him to an orphanage because in those days, they were packed and getting even more full, and they found that the Light had a lot of sway with him."
"And he was twelve?" She asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, he stayed in therapy for a good few years, studied under Ikora for a few years. His mother never let him go to school. He died in some freak accident but he got brought back as a Guardian a few years ago. They put him in a room with me for about a year or so, he was seventeen, I was eighteen. He'd been though a lot of therapy by then, but he still got nightmares."
"It seems like we all do." She said with a nod, "was he in combat?"
"Training. He'd been in one or two missions before I came, then we went in a few missions together."
"Do you think that's where they came from? His nightmares I mean?" She asked.
"I don't think so, but maybe." He said with a shrug, "Whenever we did missions together he was always really good. His movements were really smooth, he dodged bullets, literally. But he wasn't good at working with other people. He had a hard time taking orders in the spot and he was clumsy and dangerous when someone was close by. He got station in Venus a few months ago and I haven't seen him since."
Tessa made a soft 'oh' noise, but didn't pry into the details. She settled back into her book, but Damian noticed out of the corner of his eye, she looked up often, glancing at him every now and then.
The rest of the ride passed something like that. He reached out with his light once, as she seemed unsteady, but he found no sharp edges, only brittle, tense edges for a moment before she was pushing him away from the surface, meeting his light with hers. Hiding. He could have sworn he saw something just before she was pushing him away, but he wasn't sure.
Author's Note
Yet again, we have reached that part of the chapter where I apologize for inactivity and promise to get better then don't show any improvement. Will it be different this time? I doubt it, but I have my notebook in front of me now so that's gotta count for something. This is a shorter chapter than normal, but I promise, the next chapter is exciting and filled with character development and drama. I understand that it is chapter 9 and I haven't even shown the main conflict yet, but fear not my friends, for the war is coming and I'm going to make it more interesting. I've already started writing that part, so all I have to do is type it out, but I suck at typing.
Remember to vote and give me feedback, because, just saying, from me to you, it really boosts my confidence and makes me feel really good. XD okay, until next time!! <3
Note: There are probably some errors in this chapter, I didn't proofread it very well and I was too lazy to send it to my editor person, so if you see any, please, take two seconds, comment them below. Thanks!
Photo credit to patgarci on Deviant Art.