Through Time and Light [Cayde-6 Fanfiction]

Chapter 13 Lost in Time

The Infinite Forest was unlike anything Liv had ever encountered. It wasn’t just a place—it was an ever-shifting maze, where time and reality twisted with every step. Paths that once seemed clear vanished, replaced by new landscapes or endless loops. Simulated enemies, echoes of the Vex’s experiments, came and went, each encounter feeling more surreal than the last.

But the fireteam pressed on, their goal still uncertain. The only thing they knew for sure was that the Vex held the key to understanding time—and that meant they had to push deeper into the heart of the forest, no matter what lay ahead.

Hours passed, or maybe it was minutes—time lost its meaning inside the Infinite Forest. Liv, Cayde, and the rest of the fireteam moved carefully, navigating the shifting environment as best they could. But with every step, Liv felt the pull of something strange, something beyond just the Vex’s manipulation.

“Everyone stay close,” Faelyn warned, his bow drawn as they passed through yet another shimmering portal. “This place is playing tricks on us.”

Liv glanced over at Cayde, who was uncharacteristically quiet. His hand cannon rested loosely in his grip, but his usual cocky demeanor was nowhere to be seen. His eyes scanned their surroundings, but Liv could tell something was off.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled, and the air around them shimmered. Without warning, the fireteam was separated—Liv and Cayde falling into one direction, Faelyn and the others vanishing into the shifting maze.

Liv hit the ground hard, groaning as she rolled onto her back. When she opened her eyes, the landscape around her had changed entirely. They were no longer in the dark, mechanical corridors of the Vex stronghold. Instead, the world around them was a strange, glowing expanse—like a dream, where nothing felt quite real.

“Cayde?” Liv called, panic rising in her chest.

“Over here,” his voice came from her left, and she scrambled to her feet, rushing toward him. Cayde was leaning against a tree that hadn’t been there moments ago, wincing slightly as he stood. “Well, that was fun.”

Liv rushed to his side, helping him steady himself. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Cayde said, though there was a hint of strain in his voice. He glanced around, his brow furrowed. “What the hell is this place?”

Liv looked around too, her pulse quickening. They were alone now, just the two of them, in a place that felt suspended between time and reality. It was eerily quiet, and yet something about it felt... peaceful. Almost like they were outside of everything, just the two of them.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But we have to find the others.”

Cayde nodded, but he didn’t move. Instead, he looked at her, his expression unusually serious. “Liv... what if we’re stuck here?”

Liv blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone. “We won’t be. We’ll figure it out.”

Cayde didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at her, his usual smirk gone, replaced by something far more vulnerable. “You really think we can change it? The future?”

Liv swallowed hard. She knew what he was asking. Not about the mission. Not about the Vex. But about his death—about whether she could really save him from the fate she knew was waiting for him.

“I have to believe we can,” she whispered. “I didn’t come all this way just to fail.”

Cayde’s gaze softened, and for a long moment, they stood there in silence, the weight of everything they hadn’t said hanging between them. And then, before Liv could react, Cayde took a step closer, his hand reaching out to gently cup her face.

“Liv,” he murmured, his voice low and full of something she hadn’t heard from him before. “I’ve been around a long time. Seen a lot of things, lost a lot of people. But you... you’re different.”

Liv’s breath caught in her throat, her heart racing. She had always known there was something between them, something more than just the camaraderie of battle. But hearing Cayde say it—hearing the raw emotion in his voice—it made everything feel more real.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Cayde continued, his thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. “But if there’s a chance—if there’s even the slightest chance that we can change this, that we can make it out of this alive—I want to take it. With you.”

Liv’s chest tightened, emotion swelling inside her. She reached up, her hand resting on his, and for a moment, everything else faded away. It was just them, standing in this strange, dreamlike place, suspended in time. No battles, no missions, no fate hanging over their heads. Just them.

“I want that too,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Cayde smiled, a soft, genuine smile that made her heart ache. “Good. Then let’s make sure we do.”

The moment between them lingered, heavy with unspoken emotions. Cayde’s hand slowly dropped from her face, but the intensity in his gaze didn’t waver. Liv could feel the shift in their relationship, like a barrier that had been between them for so long had finally crumbled.

“Cayde, I—” Liv started, but before she could finish, Cayde stepped closer, closing the space between them.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said softly, his eyes locked on hers. “I already know.”

And then, before Liv could even process what was happening, Cayde leaned in and kissed her.

It wasn’t the kind of kiss Liv had imagined—if she had ever let herself imagine this moment at all. It was slow, tender, filled with all the emotions they had been holding back. Liv’s heart pounded in her chest, her hands instinctively reaching up to rest against Cayde’s chest as she kissed him back.

For a moment, time itself seemed to stop. The Infinite Forest, the mission, the looming threat of the future—it all faded away, replaced by the warmth of Cayde’s lips on hers and the overwhelming feeling of being with someone she cared about more than she had realized.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathless, and Cayde rested his forehead against hers, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

Liv laughed softly, still trying to catch her breath. “Me too.”

They stood there for a while, wrapped in the quiet, stolen moment. But eventually, reality began to creep back in. The mission, the Vex, the future—they were still out there, waiting for them.

“We should probably find the others,” Liv said reluctantly, though a part of her didn’t want to leave this place. Didn’t want to leave this moment.

Cayde nodded, though he didn’t seem eager to move either. “Yeah. But don’t worry—we’ll have plenty more of these moments when we get out of here.”

Liv smiled, feeling a warmth she hadn’t felt in a long time. For the first time since arriving in this universe, she felt like things might actually turn out okay. Maybe she really could change the future. Maybe, just maybe, she could save Cayde.

They finally tore themselves away from the moment and began navigating the strange, dreamlike landscape once again, searching for any sign of Faelyn and the rest of the fireteam. As they walked, the tension between them had shifted. It wasn’t the awkward, uncertain tension of before. Now, it was something unspoken, something deeper—a bond that went beyond just the battlefield.

Cayde stayed close to her side, his usual sarcastic quips softened into something more affectionate. Every so often, their hands would brush, and Liv would feel her heart skip a beat all over again.

“We’ll figure this out,” Cayde said after a while, his voice steady and reassuring. “We’ll find the answers we’re looking for. And when we do, we’ll change everything.”

Liv nodded, her determination solidifying. “Yeah. We will.”

And together, they pressed on, deeper into the Infinite Forest, ready to face whatever challenges awaited them—together.