Archive of Our Own

Cinnamon colored fingers interlaced ivory ones. A small kiss exchanged between the two.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.” She murmured, loose white hair fluttering in the wind.

“I know. But I’m the only one who knows this ship like the back of my hand, love.” He bluntly stated, chuckling at his lover's pouty lip.

“Still not fair.” she said again, putting her head to his chest. His yang took a deep, cleansing breath, and released before pulling away and taking her necklace off. Pausing, he looked at her as she gave it to him.

“Your engagement ring?” He questioned, realizing what was hanging on the thin gold thread.

“For good luck! And so you’ll remember me!’ She proudly stated, smiling at the confused man, black hair catching in the wind. He smiled, leaned down, and cupped her face.

“I’ll be back soon.”

I. Fucking. Hate. This. This titan is bad mouthing everyone in the bar. The same titan that both Aiona and Zenith approved of. I groaned in expiration while he was pointed to an awoken and started screaming in his face. Tapping in morse, I alerted Zarola to try contacting Zenith and Altran, in hopes that the two of them weren't in the middle of something.

“And you !” I couldn’t help but to flinch at his booming voice and his large finger in my face. Ears tilted back, and proximity alarm was going off.

‘To close friend.’ Zarolas voice popped up in the com in sync with my signing hands. I didn’t expect his overly large hands to pin mine to the bar, a resounding bang echoing the already silent bar. Fear was rising, and my jaw clenched again.

“Warspawn!” He spat angrily, eyes wild. I was quick to my feet, hands pulling away from under his.

“I’m leaving.” I stated simply, slowly backing away, trying to quell the static in my voice betraying my fear. Everyone in the bar seemed a bit terrified, seeing as there were only two guardians there was me and him. He started to advance.

“Hey, the lady asked you to leave her alone.” A voice sounded, causing the Titan to whip around to reveal a casually dressed man, black hair pulled back into a bun, bright green eyes boring holes into the drunken man. I suddenly knew where this was going. And I knew for a fact, that I wasn’t going to like it.

“-so it’ll be about 8 months or so before we come back home.” Came his voice over the video chat whilst his fiance folded her laundry, humming a small tune.

“Well that stinks….” She pouted sadly, flicking her fair ponytail off her shoulder. A frustrated groan mimicked her.

“I know! That’s what I said!” the raven haired man responded, a pout equal to his lovers. After an awkward moment of silence before the female of the duo wiggled a little.

“Sooo…. Remember our conversation about having kids at some point, hmm?” He raised an eyebrow, looking confused.

“Yeah…. Why?”

“Weeeell…” She fidgeted for a second before moving so he was viewing a profile of her. He stared at her, marveling her beauty when he noticed an odd looking lump in the stomach area. He squinted.

“Not to be rude or anything, but it looks like you’ve put on a tiny bit of weight.” He stated, confusion laced in his voice.

“Its for a good reason.” She said sweetly, looking down and placing both hands on the bump. Bright green eyes widened.

“Your serious?” He questioned. All she had to do was nod, and whoops of pure joy sounded through the other end of the video call, and quiet giggles emitted from her. “I’m gonna be a dad! WHOOOWOO!”

I wasn’t expecting any calls at the time, but Aiona’s voice called to me. I looked up from the shogi game that Zenith and I where playing, and quickly untangled myself from the blankets that were wrapped around me. Before leaving the room, I looked to Zenith, and signed with my ghost translating; ‘ I’ll be back .’ He nodded, but then returned his gaze to the board, bright sky eyes staring in utter concentration at the board. Quick to scoot to the front door of the shared apartment, Aiona looked quite vexed, and the same tall man from the night before was at the door, spouting a black eye and a bandage across his nose.

“Is this the guy that helped you out the night before?” Aiona asked as I approached. A quick nod from me was all she needed before leaving the entryway. The two of us just stared at one another for a minute before he reached his hand to the nape of his neck.

“I wanted to say I was sorry for what happened….” He said quietly.

‘ I was punched in the side of the head. ’ I quickly signed, Zarola’s tone clearly showing that I still wasn’t impressed with that. He raised his hands in defence.

“Like I said, never meant for that to happen. And I… uhh… kinda wanted to make it up to ya? If you’d let me?”  I couldn’t help but to raise an eyebrow, and before I could even respond, Aiona was right there, smiling sweetly and gently ushering me back into the room.

“I’m sorry, but she’s gonna be busy for a while,” The elder hunter states, but with a hard glare and a voice that was dripping pure venom, she turned and stated; “And to be fair, I don’t think your her type.” A quick wait and an ow sounded when I saw that he stuck his foot in the door, and I couldn’t help but to wince.

“Why’d you do that?” another voice sounded, but revealed a surprising fact about this stranger. He was a guardian. The pitch black ghost looked downright done with everything while his guardian muttered ‘quiet’ to him.

“What if the date was supervised? By either you, or your awoken buddy over there…. He’s glaring at me…” He nervously stated, doing a little wave. I looked down the hall to see Zeniths eyes dangerously narrowed. Aiona looked at him, then to Zenith, before doing a wait sign, and walked over to Zenith. Zarola and I looked at one another and shrugged before turning to the guardian.

“What’s the two of yous names?’ Zarola stated quietly, as if she was taking over the interrogation. I rolled my eyes and gave a staticy huff. The two newcomers looked at one another briefly.

“Cerberus.” The ebony ghost stated, seeming quite pleased with himself.

“Aabinus. Aabinus Winchester, at your service.” The man stated, doing a surprisingly formal bow.

There were sirens sounding off everywhere. Screams of the injured and dying, and crying of young children filled the site of the attack. She gagged as the dust filled her lungs, breathing heavily due to a large block resting on her leg. Her enlarged middle, rose and fell in rhythm with her breathing.

“Ok….ok… We’re ok baby, we’re-” She started to gasp in pain, the band around her middle squeezing again. Hissing in pain, she tried again to move her leg out from the block holding her leg in place. To no avail, the block didn’t budge off her leg. Trapped like a rat. Another wave of pain hit her not even a few minutes after her attempt, causing her do lay on her back, gasping to quell her frazzled nerves. “No… no no no no… Not yet baby, not yet please… not now.” She whimpered, hands clutching the fabric covering the bump. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath i-. More stabbing pain, earning a struggled scream from the silvery haired women. Labored breaths emitted from her, sterling blue eyes looking around wildly.

“Someone!” A yell came from her. “Anyone please! Help us! Please help uuu-aaaaaahhhh!!” She couldn’t even finish her cry for help when another contraction set in, the pain slowly getting worse. Shouts sounded to the left of her, and two Exos and a medic quickly rushed into sight.

“Cayde! Get the block off of her!” The medic shouted, and the horned Exo, skidded to a stop, braced himself against the block and strained. The second exo was then at his side, grabbing the underside of the block and helping to lift it enough for the medic to pull her out. Vision was starting to get fuzzy, words started to meld together, but she could sense that she was being moved quickly.

“Left leg ----” The rest of the sentence blurred out as pain ripped through her, a weak moan of pain emanating from her. “Contara---- won’t mak----.” She felt a hand and grabbed it.

“Please…. Save my baby..” She pleaded. Everything started to blur. Sound and vision, all became messy blobs or distortion. Pain was intensifying. She knew she was screaming in pain, her throat going sore. Suddenly, pain was relieved. Blissful nothing.

“Well… this is a little awkward.” Aabinus said, hair loose and in full gear. I looked blankly at him, still wearing PJ’s from last night and holding a mug.

“You think?” Zarola translated my thoughts, looking a little confused. “What; may I ask, are you doing here?”

“He wanted to say hi. And give River here this.” Cerberus stated bluntly, his shell twitching ever so slightly. While he was saying this, Aabinus fished around his robes, looking for something.

“Coulda sworn I put it, AH here!” He muttered, pulling out a slightly squashed flower. I blinked rapidly for a moment, realizing that he was giving me a small rose. “I uh found it in the New Orleans area.. Plus it was white and reminded me of you…” He sputtered ever so slightly, rubbing the back of his head while his ghost disappeared.

“Aaaannnywaays, I gotta get this report to Ikora… see ya!” Aabinus blurted before quite literally zooming off down the hall, almost running into another warlock and titan. I just stood there for a minute, looking really confused before stepping back into the apartment, and reentering cluttered dining room, the slightly squashed rose in plain view.

Zenith was leaned against the counter when she arrived back. He had been slightly distracted by Altran who had appeared from their bedroom and wrapped his arms around the shorter titan. However, as soon as River walked in, Zenith stepped away with a flush. He was still slightly embarrassed about his relationship.

“So, how did it go?” He asked as his eyes locked onto the squished rose. “Oh! Did he give that to you?” The titan's eyes softened. River looked up at him, looking a little confused of what to do with said item.

Aiona perked up from her spot at the end. “He gave you something?!” When she spotted the rose her hand rose to her chest. “Aw! A rose!”

The pair forgot their earlier reservations about the warlock for a split second as they admired the rose in all its disheveled glory. Altran smirked as he spoke up. “Warlocks have great taste and a sense of romance. I should know.”

Zenith rolled his eyes as he pushed Altran away. “You gave me roses one time. Now you think you are some Casanova.”

“Oh but love you enjoyed it!”

The pair shared a last lingering look before Aiona decided to cut it short. She clearly wasn't in the mood to see any lovey dovey heart eyed swooning that early in the morning. “Let me get some water for that and you can tell us how it went!” River meekly smiled as best she could while Zarola floated over to the other ghosts and plopped down right next to them, quietly chuckling at the thought of the awkward pair.

“It…. was a bit awkward… I think he’d just got back from a mission…”

She was watching the waves from the porch when his father out with some food. Her leg still in the cast from the attack three months ago. Many people had signed it at this point.

“Thank you…” Came her quiet reply, as she took the plate of food from her in-law.

“Your welcome.” The fathers answer seemed content while he took the seat next to her, his own graying hair whipping around, holding his own mug in hand. “My son… He loved watching the beach from this very porch.” She looked at him in confusion. “Loved it. See all kinds of things here in the water. Always something new in the waves. He chuckled, taking a sip from his mug. She blinked, her own white hair whipping slightly in the breeze.

“I can see why, I remember he told me he wanted to be an oceanologist when he was a kid.” She pointed out, gripping her mug a little tighter. The older man laughed heartily.

“Yep! To bad his school didn’t offer it!” He managed to get out, and she quietly laughed with him as well. There was a crashing noise, and muffled wailing. The old man jumped up confused.

“Elizabeth? What’s wrong?!” He shouted, dashing through the porch door. She quickly set her mug down, and grabbed her crutches, getting up to hobble in pursuit. Once inside, she saw His mother on her knees, wailing in agony as his father showed signs of silent tears. The head leader of Project Umbrus was standing in the doorway, speaking. Her face went pale.

“-ate to be the bearer of bad news sir, but we believe that the entire crew of the Umbrus Nocturne, died the same time when we lost all signals from the ship, and ships onboard AI.”  She dropped to her knees. “Your son was among them.” Another scream laced the air.

“You did what?” Aabinus snorted out, while I sipped at the tea that I’d bought.

“ On a dare, I attempted to drink four glasses of vex milk. ” Zarola translated my one handed signing. “ And I ate quarters once. Which quarters where old world currency. ” More laughter form the warlock. Zarola looked at him

“And to be fair, I tried to stop her.” she pointed out, shaking off a piece of confetti flying down off her shell. Aabinus laughed again.

“Ok so why radioroula? Isn’t that stuff toxic to basically everything organic?” I nodded, but then signed.

“ Would have gotten a little over 3 thousand glimmer. ” Zarola again translated. Aabinus raised his eyebrow.

“Your joking? Your not joking. What the fuck. That is so stupid!” He blurted, hints of laughter still in his voice. I gave him an exo smile, while Zarola just rolled her optic at the two of us. Cerberus seemingly shrugged the way ghosts do, as if to say ‘hey, could be worse.’

“Ok, ok. What stopped you though? From drinking it?” Aabinus asked, I again chuckled, and looked up at the ruins of the old guardian hub.

“ A guardian that I found… she flipped the table the stuff was on. It was great because she shrieked something in a weird language.” I signed again before taking another sip of tea. A snort of amusement left him, and that’s when I noticed a shiny but thin rope around his neck. I hummed to gain his attention, and gently tapped two fingers to my neck. Confused, he looked down and lifted up a ring from under his shirt.

“Oh, this? I had it on me when I was first rez’d. Along with a few other things…” Aabinus started before trailing off. Guilt flooded my through me and I patted his arm.

“I’m sorry.” The warlock and his ghost looked at me in surprise. “It was rude of me to ask about that.” I continued, Zarola’s shell twitching ever so slightly.

“It’s ok, your not the first to ask, and you won’t be the last either.” He calmly stated, tucking the ring back down his shirt. “Why I hide it.” He also said shrugging his shoulders, but then smiled; almost as if he was presented something special. “You spoke.” I paused, taking a minute to realize what Aabinus ment.

“I guess I did.” I stated turning my attention back to the beverage in hand.

“You should do that more often. You sound really nice.” He hummed, taking his hand, and interlacing his fingers with mine. I looked down, hands unmoving form his. The feeling felt all to familiar. “You ok?” His question was sudden, and I blinked before looking up at him and nodding. This was really nice… walking down the streets of the city hand in hand. Smiling, laughing, having a genuinely good time.

It was late, and street lights where softly glowing in the cooling night air. I’d won a huge stuffed bear with the help of Aabinus. The day was great. Several other guardians that had been with patrolling or something other were yawning as they returned to their rooms/homes, while others were either drunkenly singing, or leading their drunk passed out friend back. Aabinus seemed very happy at how the day turned out. Our hands where once again interlocked, swaying with each step. I came to realise that the two of us had more in common than I thought. Even Aabinus was surprised by this odd fact, but was more or less happy about the fact. Both ghosts had decided to settle in the hood of Aabinus’ jacket, softly chirping at one another.

“I had fun, did you have fun?” The Warlock asked, looking a little giddy, but tired all at the same time. We’d stopped at door. I wasn’t all too sure what to say to Aabinus. But… I used one finger to gesture him closer. Confused he leaned in closer, and he nearly jolted back as I pressed my head against his, and rubbed. A soft ‘Oh!’ sounded from the hood, as well as a slight sigh from the ghosts both peeking over to see what was happening. A slight cough sounded right in front of us, and we pulled away; side ears laying flat and cheeks bright red. Aiona was standing at the door with a wide smile.

“So, did the two of you enjoy yourselves?”

The two men stared at her. White hair looking disheveled, mangled and dirty. Her checks where thin. And her eyes spoke volumes. This woman had not been taking good care of herself as of late. Both men looked nervously at one another. Why was this woman even here? Why did she even want to do this?

“Are… Are you sure you want to do this, miss? You know for a fact that the procedure… is in fact permanent.” One spoke, in a semi desperate attempt to sway her. A hollow laugh escaped her.

“I am sure of what I want to do. Question is, will you do it?” She asked, sounding very hollow. All she could remember was the pain in holding her motionless son, confused as to why he wasn’t moving at first until she saw the faces of his parents. She screamed upon realizing the baby in her arms was dead. All she could remember was his father and mother holding her as she cried in anguish, their cries of pain mixing with hers as the the three of them of told that her fiance and their son was dead. She then remembered the ring she had around her neck.

“All I have is one request.” she spoke, startling the two men in front of her.

“May I ask what that is?” The man in the nice suit asked, looking concerned. She held up the necklace, ring dangling at the very end.

“This. I want to keep this. No matter what. Even after I reboot.” She stated, eyes hard. The two men looked at one another. One had a hard look on his face, the other seemed relatively at peace with her request.

“Well it’s reasonable request. We’ll accept it.” The man stated, then slapped a paper in front of her. “Welcome to the exo project.”

“River Winchester.”

I awoke with a sharp gasp. Breath was heavy and covered in sweat. What was that? I couldn’t help but to think, hand rubbing against my face. A soft groan sounded to my left, and I felt movement on my side. Looking down, I saw River curled up against my side still asleep. I then looked around, realizing that the others were still fast asleep. I was the only one awake at the moment.

Surveying the room, I could see Zenith laid out on his back with arms tucked over his head. Altran slept next to him, the warlock laying on his left side with an arm laid over Zenith's chest. On Zenith's other side Mirianna slept on her stomach with her face buried in a pillow. If I hadn't been able to see her body rising and falling with each breath, I would have thought she smothered herself. Finally, Aiona laid on the couch having claimed it earlier in the night. Her position was more unsettling as she looked like a body laying in a casket with her hands clasped together on her stomach and legs straight as a board. They were all an odd bunch to say the least. But they all had a certain charm to them. I gently scooted out of Rivers gentle grasp, laying her down onto the pillow that I was using, and stood up slowly. I think it's a good thing that I had hunters train me before I found out my class. I silently thanked myself for that fact as I took near silent steps towards the little kitchen.

Once in the safety of the kitchen, I looked at the mess of Guardians that lay in a mess on the floor and couch. I couldn’t help but smile as I took a piece of twine and tied up the loose hair and started to make everyone food.It was a slow process, but everyone was slowly getting up at the smell of food. It… It felt good. Almost all too familiar. I still remember Zavala’s words about Guardians memories. ‘A guardian is not allowed to pressure their memories’; it didn’t help that it seemed a little hard to avoid with me. Seeing as I had a book full of old photos and the ring. The soft chatter of voices, the smell of coffee and tea filling the air and food sizzling in the pan. That’s when it started.

The smell of bacon filled the air, and joyful laughter filled the air. The same cinnamon-colored woman that’s haunted his dreams from the time he meet River. Her white hair spilling from her head, soft smile flooding her face, her voice all to silmmer to the exo that he knows. She’s reaching for him. Calling his name.

“Aabinus! Aabinus wake up!” I awoke with a start. Looking up at the ceiling as well as the concerned faces of River, Zenith, and Aiona; looks of confusion, fear and concern lanced across their faces. River was in a state of panic, eyes wide and breathing erratic as she shook me again.

“Hey, hey hey! I’m ok!” Quickly sitting up I cupped her face in a desperate attempt to comfort her. Aiona patted my back, looking at me in confusion.

“Aabinus… what was that?” She asked quietly. I cast a slight sideways glance at her.

“Memory lapse…”

“How long?” came her question. I looked at her really confused. “How long, Aabinus?” Her tone was firm, but also demanding. I looked down, unsure of what to say.

“... A while now.” I didn’t want to say that they started shortly after meeting River. Zenith placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Maybe we should be doing the cooking while you rest.” I couldn’t help but agree.

He sat in the hospital bed, twirling the ring wrapped around the twine at the very end. Mission was a failure, from all the tests he could run in the small area that survived the explosion clearly pointed to a maintenance failure, one that should have been fixed before the ship even left earth. And it wasn’t easy; rationing the food, and attempting to stay sane in the near 10 months he’d spent in space. So far, the only people from Clovis Bray visited him, making him rattle off the logistics of the accident, doctors that seemed to be even more annoying as time pressed on. The only ones to see him where his parents and her. The door opened, and looking up, he was thrilled to see the faces of his parents. But what caught him by total surprise, as the unbearable silence that followed them into the room. She wasn’t there with them, neither was his child.

“H… h-hey… where are they?” He stupidly asked, all too confused as to why the two of them weren’t there. His mother started to cry, while his father sat down next to him.

“Son… about 5 months after you called… there was an attack. Terrorist from what the authorities could tell. She was caught in the attack and her leg was crushed…” His father started, watching helplessly as his only child's eyes widened in fear. ‘Apparently… she was also struck by some stray shrapnel… The…” His father faltered, a dry sob escaping him. He was already dreading what happened when his mother continued.

“Tobias… your son… died while she was in labor… bleed to death in her… Honey, you don’t know how it broke her… she blamed herself for months when it wasn’t even her fault.”

“Then why, isn’t she here ?” He nearly snapped, panic starting to flood within him. His father suddenly spoke again.

“She thought you were dead… She thought all that she loved was gone…” Dread crept up his spine. ‘Don’t say it.’ “She…. she became an Exo… she couldn’t bare the memories…” His father's voice was shaky, tears slowly sliding down his face, his mother starting to sob. “She… she looked dead. Stopped eating, stopped working, and she cried… cried for weeks on end… She’d lost the will to live with those memories…” He finished, his sons face paler than a ghost and shaking like a leaf. “I’m so sorry…” The man looked devastated as he looked down guiltily, wife now clutching her only son as he stared into space. The ring of his lover still dangling around his neck.

“Don’t worry! We’ll be back in a few hours!” Aiona’s sing-song voice sounded before the door closed, leaving me and the awoken titan looking at the door baffled, then Zenith pinched the bridge of his nose.

“By the light Aiona, you are going to be the death of me one of these days.” He muttered before scooping up small bowl off the floor, discarded by the snack the 4 of us had.

“Did…. Did I just witness that?” I couldn’t help to ask as I started to help him clean up the mess.

“Just Aiona being as eccentric as always.” Came the quiet reply form the titan. Silence permitted between the two of us for several minutes before he spoke back up. “Alright… so… Aiona and I have decided that we need to have a talk with you and River…”

“Is that why River was practically dragged outta your guy’s apartment?” I bluntly asked, again looking at the door.

“Sort of? Not my idea though.” Zenith pointed out, sitting down in the now clean living room. I sat next to him slowly.

“So…. why am I being sat down for the talk? I know I didn’t do anything wrong, or to hurt River.” I pointed out, looking all too confused.

“That is precisely what we need to talk about. Now, Aiona and I have been with River since the day she was first revived. We want what is best for here.” Zenith looked more and more uncomfortable as he continued. “We have both agreed that you are a nice companion for River and you have earned both of our respect in that regard...However, we just want you to know that River is very important to us. We do not want her to be hurt.”

The young Titan seemed to ramble on before he got to a point. “What I am trying to say is that Aiona and I have no qualms with protecting River should you make any...unwanted advances on her. She's really very naive about a lot of...those things…” Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

“We haven’t done anything I swear by the Traveler! We have not done that!” I blurted. Then realized how bad that sounded, knowing for a fact that my face was turning beet red. Zenith just stared, just as shocked as I was. “... that didn’t come out the way I wanted it.” I stated quietly, desperately hoping that he got my point at what I was trying to so desperately say. Then I noticed that he wasn’t looking at my face anymore. He was looking at my neck. Looking down, I say that the ring that’d once been hidden in my robes had fallen into plain view.

“River...she has a ring like that...but it's sized for a man. She keeps it on a chain like that as well…” Zenith mused suddenly distracted from his talk. I froze, mouth gaping.

“What? She… she has a ring too?” I sputtered eyes wide. I held the ring up so he could see it better. “One that looks similar to this one?” Cerberus suddenly popped into view.

“I thought you said you weren’t gonna pursue this.” I glared at my ghost.

“Please Zenith, is it here? It….” I paused, taking a breath. “I think that the rings may have been a part of my past… Ever since I met River, I’ve been getting lapses. Worse than when I first rez’d. That incident a few weeks ago in the kitchen, I have a feeling that it’s linked to this woman I’ve been seeing. Please….” I begged, knowing that the sound of desperation was in my voice, as well as ignoring my own babbling. “I…. I need to know, Zenith…”

Zenith's electric eyes softened and took pity on the Warlock. “Wait here.”

He stood up and headed for what I knew to be River's room. Returning after a minute, he held out a worn chain with a ring dangling from it. “She forgot to grab it before Aiona took her. She'll be angry if she finds out we touched it.”

I gingerly took the chain from him, studying the slightly decaying metal. Three of the 4 gems were gone, and one of the leaves was missing.

“This was the one I saw… I was wearing this… At least… I think it was me.” I slowly said, and flipped the ring to check the underside.

“To the moon and stars..” I read on it, then looked at the one that was much smaller and made for a more dainty hand; “I will always return to you.” Zenith squinted a little.

“Is that what that says?... odd…” He muttered as I handed him back the ring. I gulped, knowing that this wasn’t making any sense at all.

“I don’t get it though… I thought… This doesn’t make any sense!” I tried reasoning with myself. “The women I keep seeing is human…. Then why…” I stopped, burying my face in my hands. “Zenith… what do I do?” I couldn’t help to ask.

Zenith sighed and ran a hand through his snowy locks. “I...I am sorry. I do not have any memories of my past. I cannot imagine how you must be feeling. Perhaps you should take a few days to think on it? Then ask River? She has memory lapses as well. Although they aren't as frequent as your own…”

I gave a shaky sigh, before again looking at him

“I… I’ll do that…. Yeah... I’ll do that.” I quietly said, and Cerberus just groaned ever so slightly, as if he knew something bad was gonna happen.

Zenith gave a reassuring smile before he became serious once more. “But like I said...we won't hesitate to defend River's honor against any untoward advances!” I couldn’t help but groan in defeat. Dating that exo’s going to be interesting.

Planet to planet, station to station, city to city, town to town. He’d been looking for what felt like years, when it’d only been a year and a half. His search lead him to several dead ends, and wild goose chases. But he had a name and number; and what his fiance now looked like. His mother and father started to plead with him at first. But after a while, they realized that their son was dead set on finding her. No matter the cost.

At least… that was what his plan was. But something was wrong. Planets enmass started to go dark without any warning. Ships that went to investigate vanished. People started to panic. It was when he heard mechanical and human screaming, that he and many others started to run. There were too many people, too little ships. Guards loading the important people before moving to the civilians. At least that’s what he saw. He was trapped when part of the building suddenly and without any warning collapsed, cutting a few shrieks short. There was no other way out; arm was broken and bleeding, a large but shallow cut across his face. So he propped himself up to watch as the shuttles started to leave in droves. A weak and slightly garbled chuckle left him. So this is how I die , he thought, watching another 3 shuttles leave. A panicked and pained mechanical scream sounded further away, gunshots sounding in tune with the screaming before it just cut out with a streak of static. A small book lay open in his hands, a picture of him and her, 4 months before he left on his mission. Inky and thick smoke seemed to roll towards him, and seemed to pick up speed when it came into view.

“I am so sorry…. I shouldn’t have ever left you alone....” He murmured, holding her ring in his hand. “Now… I’m going to die without ever finding you. What kinda twisted irony is that?” He mused before kissing the ring, tears starting to flood his eyes. “Well… I’ll be with you soon River.” Aabinus Winchester spoke, as the darkness consumed him.

Everything was going fine if you’d asked Zenith and Aiona. The two of them were planning on surprising River with a gift, mostly because it’d been about 7 years since she’d been resurrected, and it was also one of the few days that the trio had together. Aiona carefully hid the wrapped package nearby so that she could wisk it out; making it appear as if she pulled it from thin air. Zenith was arranging the living room in the way that they always do when they watch a movie together, his gift tucked safely in her designated seat. While River was prepping the food. (Aiona was very skeptic the first time she cooked, she then found out that River could make some good ass chili.) But it was the sound of a shattering plate that caused the two of them to look at their exo friend in alarm.

River was violently shaking, eyes wide and mouth agape, the light trapped in her throat. Zarola was desperately trying to snap her guardian out of her daze. She kept turning her hands slowly, as if she’d never seen them before.

“River?” Aiona managed to say before a choked hiccuping sound came from River as she dropped to her knees, hands on face, ears tilted down, and still shaking like a leaf. The two of them where by her side in an instant, the hiccuping sobs echoing the small apartment, and the ghosts twittering and chattering at one another.

“River, honey what’s wrong?!” Aiona asked panicked, rubbing small circles on her back, as Zenith started to carefully pull her close. No response came from the snow colored exo as her hands left her face and wrapped around her stomach, almost as an attempt to control her rapid breathing.

“What... have I done?” The older titan and hunter looked at the youngest one, her voice laced with static. “What have I done?!” Her voice raised another octave, clearly sounding in distress.

“Sweetie, you didn’t do anything wrong. You did nothing wrong.” Zenith attempted to counsel his weeping friend. The two of them didn’t even hear the door opening until Aiona made a quiet gasp in gasp in surprise. Zenith turned to see Aabinus, looking very disheaved despite his rep to stay well groomed, was red-eyed with tear streaks down his face. Zenith moved to the side quickly as he realized Aabinus was dropping to his knees, and wrapped his arms around River; and started to sob.

“I shouldn’t have left you, I shouldn’t have left you all alone!” he managed to get out as River wrapped her arms around him. Aiona looked very confused, and looked at Zenith in hopes of something, but only got a confused shrug. Rivers hands kept making the same signs, which Zenith could clearly read. ‘ I knew him ’ they signed; ‘ I knew him before I became a guardian. ’ Aiona had scooted around to see what she was saying and seemed to understand. It took several minutes for the two of them to calm down somewhat.

“Why’d you do it?” The human warlock managed to get out, taking in another gulp of air. “Why did you become an exo?” Both Aiona and Zenith sucked in air. River looked up from where her head was buried and spoke;

“I thought I lost you.” She then looked down and placed a hand on her stomach. Her voice again sounding like hiccups, and Aabinus face went even more pale as he mouthed no. “And I lost him. He was so tiny, Aabinus, so tiny!”

Upon realizing what the exo meant, Aiona covered her mouth in surprise. Tears bloomed in her eyes and Zenith was quick to wrap his arms around her in comfort. His eyes held a question and upon receiving confirmation of his suspicions, his fists clenched in their hold.

Aiona had felt the loss of a child before and she wouldn't wish the pain on her worst enemy, so it was heartbreaking for her to hear that the guardian she protected as if she were her own had gone through it. Zenith felt anger burn within himself. Not directed towards anyone, however. He only wished he was with River so he could have helped her somehow. It was a pipe dream at best and utterly impossible, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it. Still, once they both gained their composure, they turned back to the reuniting pair.

River had again buried her head against Aabinus chest while he stared into space, eyes wide and vacant. Aiona carefully maneuvered around the broken plate and wrapped her arms around her distraught ward, and started to hum gently. It’d be a long time before any of the four guardians would move, and the four ghosts looked at one another.

“Imma go let Ikora know that Aabinus isn’t gonna make it to his lesson tonight.” Cerberus quietly muttered before again vanishing, leaving the other three alone. Zarola looked at the other two.

“So…. should we order them all some comfort food? It feels like it’s the right time for that.” The light blue ghost asked, shell gently shifting. “I have a Chinese food place on speed dial.”

Within a few hours, the food on the sideboard packed away and chinese food flooded their small coffee table. No dinner talk, just the quiet sounds of the four guardians eating their food. The silence was all to heavy in the air, and it wasn’t until Aabinus quietly coughed.

“This is a little awkward… And to be fair… I uh… Am sorry.” He looked at River, who’d looked up from her ramen, still had a look of sadness in her face. Aiona just looked confused. “I shouldn’t have left her. I shouldn’t have left River alone…. Maybe…” He looked down and fell silent.

“Ab, I don’t know what happened, but I highly doubt that-” Aiona started, and a flash of void energy slapped onto the table as Aabinus’s fist made contact, causing the plates to rattle.

“You don’t know that! You… You don’t know that… our son might have been alive if I never left.” Aabinus choked up before his head fell into his hands.

“Aabinus…” River started, her voice faltering. Aiona looked to Zenith, in hopes for help.

“Aabinus. It is pointless to dwell on what might have been. You will only hurt yourself and the ones you care about my doing so. River feels responsible as well. Surely you would not want her to berate herself?” Zenith's voice was calm with a tinge of unease. He was used to giving advice, but he couldn't make people believe it. Aabinus still held his face in his hands, holding stiff. It wasn’t until River reached out and touched his shoulder that he finally relaxed.

“I… I’m sorry…” Came his soft murmur. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper… like that…” He lifted his head back up and looked at the white and navy striped exo. River still looked sad, but also worried. He sat up again and pulled her close. “I should be happy that… we’re back together again…” A soft chirp sounded, and all of the gathered guardians eyes turned to the pitch black ghost.

“Ah.. that storage thing you wanted me to decrypt and fix? I did it.. I think?” He stated, and then started to play the recording. The four guardians looked in awe as they realized that a white-haired women had flickered into view, and started talking.

“Is it going?”

“Yeah, the red light is on.” Aabinus blinked as his own voice sounded off camera. The white-haired girl made a face reminiscent of a childish pout.

“Last time you said that it didn’t even record.” Was her statement as Aabinus came into the camera’s view, causing Aiona to choke slightly on the food she currently had in her mouth; Zenith to lean closer in confusion: River to pull back with a ‘wtf’ face, and Aabinus to just freeze up.

“Well, we got it to work this time you’ll see.” He hummed looking at the camera with green eyes as the women's sterling blue looked back at it. “Ok, so heyo all my fellow dorks. Been a while but I have my reasons.” the old Aabinus started as he waved at the camera, and the white-haired women leaned out of view for a second before coming back with a canned drink. “You all remember the dearest River right?” All eyes turned to River at that statement, and the exo just gave a look of ‘I have no idea’.

“As some of you know, me and him have been dating for quite some time now. And last week while we were visiting New York City, at the top of Lady Liberty.” the lady then gestured to pre-guardian Aabinus. “This bad boy right here proposes to me.” She states, a really goofy smile lining her face, then the duo show off the rings adorning their hands. The same rings that Aabinus and River had right now despite the fact that both of them were damaged. The two people in the video looked at one another with a look of affection and giddiness.

“And guess what she said?” past Aabinus asked, just before he leaned over and kissed ‘River’ as she turned her face towards him and they kissed. “She said yes,” he stated as they finished their kiss. River and Aabinus looked at one another. This was all the confirmation that the two needed; River was human in the golden age, Aabinus had proposed to River before the Collapse. The video started to glitch and cut out before it shut off. Cerberus looked at the four stunned guardians. Zenith and Aiona looked at River and Aabinus as they stared were the video was once playing. The duo sat there in shock.

“It was…. That was real.” River stated, again looking at her hands. “I… I was human.” Aabinus looked at River as she studied her hands. What anyone at the table had expected was Aabinus to reach over and hug the exo. Zenith and Aiona stared at the two of them as they hugged one another. The elder two knew better than to disturb the two of them as they hugged. Neither wanted to ruin the moment.