Chapter Text
Osiris is still staring at them in an expectant way that means he’s realizing for them to notice something.
The Young Wolf is confused because they finally realized that he said centuries but they thought that was because of Saint and his Guardian Savior prophecy so why-
Osiris sighs.
“You haven’t figured it out yet have you?” He asks, and then somehow looks amused.
That-
That isn’t right. He only starts to look like that after they refused to let Osiris isolate himself after they found him because they questions-
Oh.
“Finally.”
Annoyance pierced right through whatever feelings the Guardian will now forever claim to not have about their mentor.
“What do you mean finally-“
___
Sagira is staring.
She doesn’t know how to handle this. Osiris has been weirder than this and has done weirder things to get his mind where it needs to be for visions but this?
Telling her that oh by the way, he has a student now that he knows from the future and has a debt too??
How long has he been from the future???
She side eyes the Guardians ghost who’s been hovering as close as he can to his guardian the entire time.
Sagira decides to be nice and floats over to give a friendly beep. If Osiris can somehow make friends with another guardian without them actually wanting to kill him, she can make a friend too.
__
Ghost doesn’t know what’s happening. His guardian was on the verge of breaking down after realizing something and now their talking back to Osiris why-
He gets startled out of his thoughts when Osiris’s ghost- he thinks her name is Sagira? Gives him a friendly beep and nudge.
Ghost responds in the same manner and almost flies back in shock when he feels Sagira offers a mental link to talk in private.
His guardian will be fine for a few moments right?
__
Somehow after not breaking down in tears after realizing that they weren’t alone and that they had someone from their timeline, Osiris ends up taking them to the Sundial.
The Guardian settles down on the floor and watches Osiris pace back and forth as he thinks about their next move.
They're familiar with his planning process at this point which is why they're completely blindsided when he stops pacing and asks them what they think and what their current plan is.
“Me?”
Osiris stares at them in response until they clear their throat and start speaking.
“Honestly, I was going to try and silently nudge people to make better choices and to do things differently but then I realized that-“
“-you could accidentally lead someone to an Ahamkara. So then you reached out.”
They nod, and Osiris hums before resuming to pace. They’re still confused why Osiris of all people asked them for their opinion on something like this.
The Guardian can’t remember the last time someone asked them what they thought about a plan and what they were going to do.
When Osiris gets his thoughts together enough, he finally stops pacing and stands leaning against the console, messing with a few of the settings before turning back around to speak to them.
“Think of it like this,” Osiris says, grabbing some of the vex cubes from the Guardian. “We figured out how to control Strand by becoming part of its flow. Time is no different in the Forest or in meditations.”
The Guardian processes that for a few minutes, turning the cube they had left around in their hand.
“So it’s like a box? No, wrong word, doorway. Box’s with a doorway?” They asked. Osiris pauses and they feel profoundly stupid.
“Yes. In a more simplistic way, there are doorways into other timelines.”
Ghost stares at his guardian in complete shock. “Did he just agree with you?”
Sagira snorts from her corner.
“So what happens when you break time?” They ask. They don’t really want to know that’s even a possibility that could’ve happened but here they are.
Osiris hums before answering.
“Everything shatters.”
“ Everything what-“
___
Ghost quietly studies his guardian and Osiris as they work together doing light knows what. He’s still not sure what to think about everything but he knows he trusts them.
He’s also never seen them this interested in anything so to see them not only somehow understand how time works and engaging in discussion after discussion about it-
It settles a long held fear about his guardian finding other things to be interested in other than killing.
Ghost still feels… something. When he watches how much his guardian respects Osiris and how much they trust him.
He used to be the only one they trusted like that, and now that it’s someone that Ghost doesn’t even know slowly taking over-
It’s fine.
It’s fine.
He gets broken out of his spiral when he starts to feel comfort coming from his guardian's side of the bond.
Ghost didn’t even realize he was projecting his emotions but the fact that they noticed and tried to help even while exchanging theories with Osiris-
Maybe he isn’t being replaced after all.
_
Alright so something is up. Ghost is certain of it. He’s also 80% sure that it has to do with him accidentally projecting how he’s feeling because he and his guardian are staying at the Tower for a few weeks.
The weirdest part?
He didn’t even have to badger them at all about sleeping in a safe place for once because despite what they say, Ghost doesn’t trust a ship floating in the middle of space as safe .
Maybe Cayde did something? Should he reach out?
Message Log_Encrypted
Ghost: do you have anything to do with us staying here for a few weeks?
Cayde: YOUR BACK??
Ghost: oh no.
Maybe that was a mistake.
__
The Guardian is staying in the Tower for a while. Something is wrong with Ghost and since they can’t be mad at him for not telling them what he’s feeling because then they would be the biggest hypocrite to ever exist, they can still try and fix whatever it was they did.
Hence their choice to stay in the Last City for almost a month because they can’t really do anything about, well, anything at all unless they want to risk the timeline being shattered, they can still try and make it up to Ghost.
They also know he’s starting to get suspicious of them actually staying true to their word and living in the tower for a while. He once asks them if their possessed when the Young Wolf finally starts moving stuff out of their ship.
(Ghost is staring at them when they walk back into the apartment with a few bags of their stuff.
He ends up zooming over to scan everything to make sure they actually have stuff in the bags before asking them if they got possessed.
Ghost clearly doesn’t believe them when they say no.)
They're in the middle of ordering take out and spamming Cayde to get an answer out of him because they need to know what he wants since he’s coming over anyway (they only found out because he never removed them from the Vanguard group chat when he added them there as a joke. Cayde still hasn’t realized. He’s still asking them how they found out he was coming.) when Ghost settles down next to them on the couch.
They absentmindedly pick him up and put him in their lap instead and they try to ignore the surprise they feel from him. Maybe they have been a little distant.
Private Message Log_Encrypted
Cayde: how do you know???
Young Wolf: Cayde please I want to order food what do you WANT
Cayde: TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW FIRST
Young Wolf: I’m ordering food without you.
Cayde: wait no
When Cayde finally tells them that he wants spicy ramen, they put their data pad down on the table before turning their attention to Ghost.
“I haven’t been talking to you as much have I?” They ask him.
The guilt surging through the bond from Ghost is the only confirmation they need and they cut off what he was about to say.
“I’m sorry. I forget that you didn’t travel back with me and I-“ they pause.
They never really planned on voicing this out loud but after feeling what they felt from Ghost earlier this week, they think they need to.
They can be strong for him.
“I don’t want to push you away but I’m trying to keep you safe as well. I don’t want to fuck up and almost lose you again- ow! Ghost!”
He had flown up fast enough to slam into their forehead to cut them off. They glare at him and he glared right back.
It’s a silent stand off before Ghost finally admits that he was being worried about being pushed away and he was also maybe a little jealous but it’s fine-
This time it’s the Guardian that interrupts by telling him that if they can’t blame themselves for something that hasn’t even happened yet then Ghost can’t repress his emotions and pretend everything is fine.
There is yet another silent standoff before Ghost grumpily agrees and the Guardian finally orders food.
They both ignore the happiness coming from the other and pretend to be irritated.
Private Message Log_Encrypted
Ikora: next time you go to see warlock as dangerous as Osiris, tell me please.
Young Wolf: I think he likes me
Ikora: I wouldn’t be surprised. Is Cayde with you?
Young Wolf: he never gave his paperwork to Zavala huh.
Ikora: he did not.
_
Osiris needs to focus.
It’s taking everything Osiris has to not go looking for Saint in the Forest.
He knows where his beloved is and he could prevent his death but he can’t because it’s not the right time yet and he’s already most likely ruined the timelines beyond repair with his stunt.
Osiris knows this, but it doesn’t make anything any easier. Even knowing that Saint is alive in the future doesn’t make it better because he still knew about it and let everything happen anyway.
He knows that Saint will be more than forgiving when he eventually comes to track him down on Mercury after he’s freed from the Forest, and that just makes it worse -
No.
He needs to focus.
Osiris has made a promise to save the Guardian, to ensure that the Young Wolf and the Crow will find each other again at the end of all of this.
Osiris needs to focus.
___
Location: unknown
Simulation: Ư̶̱̝̬̥̹͖͉̈́̌͆̿̒̒̏̒̎n̴̡̟̰͇͕͔͙̣̩͚̈́̿̈́͆͒͜͠ḳ̶̹̬̻̮̲̭̤͓̥̝̃̿̒́̚ǹ̴̨͎̱̽̽̄o̴̧̨̤̠̰̱̞̤͈̒̔͂͆͛̀͘͘w̶̢̛̬͈͕̓͘ņ̴̩̼̫̬̤̉̄̀̊
An Exo Titan is hunting in the Forest. He knows what he’s hunting for, who he’s hunting for and this time he knows how to find his idiot lover who thinks he has to do everything himself.
This Titan has already lived through everything once. He refuses to let his beloved suffer centuries alone again and to be caught and tormented by that witch-
Saint-14 refuses. Never again.
He also refuses to lose the Young Wolf after seeing what it did to Osiris and the Crow.
He refuses to be the one to lower the Wolf into their grave.
Never again.