Forever is Subjective (Uldren Sov x Hunter! Reader)

Too Late

You weren't there in time for Cayde-6. That was all you could think as you saw his broken body on the ground. You ran towards him, barely able to breathe. His killer stood near an exit way of some sort.

"Don't worry, he didn't feel a thing," the Awoken man gestured to your friend, his voice smoother than silk. You saw the contempt in his golden eyes as he walked away, leaving you to grieve for Cayde-6. You drew your weapon, but the doors sealed too soon.

"D-Don't blame yourself. I-it's not your fault. I love you, kid. I shouldn't have played nice," Cayde-6 coughed, growing weaker by the minutes. You ripped off your mask and pressed your forehead against his face plate, starting to cry.

"No, n-no! Stop, no! Cayde!" His metallic hands came up and hugged you for the last time.

You released your ghost, and your little light scanned Cayde-6. His eye-lights dimmed, and Cayde-6 leaned back. He turned around sadly, and you knew.

Cayde-6 was dead. Your brother and best friend was dead. Your Traveler-forsaken Vanguard was dead.

And you were pissed.

~

"I-I'm scared, (n/n)," you said to your ghost, cradling then in your hands. He nuzzled you, comforting you to the best of his abilities.

"I will always be here for you," he said, trembling with emotion. You smiled at him, bringing the small robot up to rest on your head. He soon settled in, your only bright spot in a whirlwind of grief.

You looked around at the room. Your once homely dorm room was meticulously clean, and there was a small holographic tribute to Cayde-6 playing on the coffee table. You hadn't slept well since his death, instead dedicating your energy to cleaning and other house chores. Your fire-team, Kore and Joan, had kept their distance, terrified of upsetting you. They didn't know that you wanted to be with them and grieve together.

The isolation hurt so much. The anger felt like a dagger. You needed to get out of there before you started screaming. You grabbed your hand cannon, not really caring if it wasn't nessecary. Maybe being in the Crucible would do you some good?

"I doubt being in a high-stress environment with guns going off every three seconds is a good idea, (Name). The Prison of Elders could've left you with some pretty bad trauma," your ghost objected, floating a few inches in front of you. You sighed, knowing that he had a point.

"I can't stay in one place forever, (n/n), and the Crucible is a good place to work through some anger. But you're right, I'm already stressed enough," you caved, putting your weapon down and walking to the lounge.

~

Nothing much had happened in the lounge, and only one other guardian was there. Xialak, a warlock, had never been particularly fond of you, but he'd been polite. As you wandered aimlessly around the Tower, you found yourself in Cayde-6's favorite place.

He'd shown you the small storage room almost two centuries ago, and since then, the two of you had filled it with random things. It was a humble collection of simple trinkets, but each of those treasures meant a lifetime of memories to you. A lightbulb illuminated the room, and your eye was caught by something fairly bright.

It looked like a small diary, pink cover, lock and all. Cayde was written on the cover in bold, white letters. You backed away from the diary, realizing that however close you and Cayde had been, this was still invading his privacy. You sighed, closing the door and leaving these things for another day.

So much had already happened, and all you wanted was to get out of the Tower and just breathe. You returned to your dorm to grab your weapons, and then left for the hangar. As you walked down the halls, you saw a few friends looking at you in concern. Kore, your fire-team's exo titan, furrowed her brows at your speed-walking. Kore stepped forward to stop you, but hesitated, and you slipped past her.

"Well that was kinda rude!" her ghost, Uluru, spoke up, bristling with indignation. Kore gently whacked Uluru, hushing her.

"(Name) and their ghost have been through a lot. Let them be a bit moody, will ya, Uluru?" you chuckled at the fondness in Kore's voice.

You continued on towards the hangar, keeping the small memory tucked away in your heart. You loved these moments the most, the times which guardian and ghost weren't just thrown together by the Traveler. The times when they were friends and family.

~

It was peaceful in the orbit of Nessus. Ever since you'd found Cayde-6 here, stuck in a Vex loop, it had been your favorite centaur. It held hilarious memories of the Exo who made your life feel normal and mementos of you two doing stupid things. You thought of Failsafe, and decided you should check in with her. After your ship landed, you set up a com channel.

"Failsafe? Are you okay?" you tentatively asked, not sure which side of her you'd catch today. You heard weeping from the other end, and choked cursing.

You spawned in your sparrow and zoomed off towards Failsafe's location, almost hitting another Hunter. They toppled backwards, and screamed something along the lines of bubblegum-flavored boysenberries. You decided to ignore that and continued on with your journey.

Nessus always had beautiful sunsets, but this one topped it. Green stained the sky, edging on the wild orange, yellow and red horizon. Tall foliage arched overhead, creating a canopy of crimson glass. If you weren't speeding to Failsafe's aid, you'd totally stop and dance.