Destiny Stories

Staying Up Late (Melanie Quinn & Cayde-6)

"Mel? Is that you? Why are you still up?"
Cayde came up from behind me. I was currently sitting in a swivel chair in front of a holoscreen, the blue light glowing harshly on my face and in my eyes. Earlier today I had had some free time and Ikora insisted that I research something for her. I told her a Warlock or herself could do it better, but she insisted that a Hunter should do it and that I was the smartest one there was. She wanted me to look into...something involving the Vex and how they worked or something along those lines. I had been working on it for so long I think my brain forced me to forget. I was currently running on 4 hours of sleep and about 8 cans of energy drinks while I was staring at the lighten up blue screen. I was staring at the same paragraph over and over, rereading it, but it still didn't make sense. I hadn't even noticed when Cayde walked in from our bedroom, walking over to my side.
"Mel? Mel!"
"Huh? Oh sorry, Cayde. I'll be right there. As soon as I can figure this out..." I didn't even move my eyes from the screen while talking to him.
"Look, I know you hate being wrong and you wanna do this for Ikora, but can't you finish tomorrow? It's already midnight and I think you need sleep." Cayde grabbed the back of my chair spinning it around when I didn't answer.
"Hm? Oh hi, Cayde. I thought you were asleep." I said groggily, barely able to move my lips and tongue to form the words. My eyes were having a hard time staying open. I pinched the side of my thigh to bring a little life back to me. It worked, and I looked at Cayde. He had his arms crossed and he was looking at me with a look that his other hunters called 'major disappointment' or 'ultimate sass'. The former was the one I was stuck looking at now.
"Mel, do you even know what time it is?"
"Uh, yeah. It's...um... 11 pm?" I turned my gaze to the old clock behind Cayde. 2 am. Wow. I was way off.
"More like 2 am. Don't you think it's time for bed? I don't think running 5 hours on nothing but energy drinks and spite can be healthy." He walked around me and over to the table where the computer sat. Next to it was my 6 or 7 cans of now empty energy drinks. He collected them up in his arms and carried them over to the kitchen where he threw them away for me. Walking back over to me he flicked the holoscreen off.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!"
"You can finish tomorrow. You need sleep. And I'd like to go to sleep, but I can't do that without you. Plus I'd hate to explain to Zavala why our favorite guardian has passed out on the battlefield. So come on." He said the last sentence as calmly as possible, reaching his hand out for mine. I sighed and accepted, clearly seeing that I was losing this argument. He pulled me up and out of the chair, closer to his chest. I was half asleep so I couldn't keep my balance as good as usual. So when he brought me closer to him, I almost sent him tumbling backward. Luckily for me no matter how tired Cayde got he was always good on his feet.
"Man when you get tired you really get knocked out of it." I groaned a little and I could see him 'smirking'. He swooped his arm around my back and swung his other under my knees, picking me up as the other Guardians would call it 'bridal style'. A small giggle escaped my lips he did so, soon replaced with a yawn. I snuggled myself closer to his chest closing my eyes as he started walking away from the area where we were. I listened to his soft footsteps as he walked into the hallway, flicking the lights off as he went. He toed the door to our room, opening it all the way. I opened my eyes as he laid me down softly on our bed. He walked over to the other side, petting the top of Coronel's head as he went. Crawling in next to me, he adjusted the many colorful blankets around us, making sure I was comfortable. He planted a small kiss on my cheek before he pulled me closer to him. I snuggled into his chest listening to his quiet mechanical breathing before drifting off to sleep like he did.