[b]The Bird and the Pilot – A D2 Short Story[/b] Crow examines the mug in his hand after taking a small sip. “This tastes great.” “Mmm,” Amanda replies as she guzzles her own beverage before slamming it onto the bar with a belch. “You can say that again.” “Can’t believe I haven’t discovered this before.” “You’ve been bodyguarding Zavala nonstop! You need a break, Bird Boy!” Crow rolls his eyes but his smile betrays his feigned annoyance. “I’ve been busy, yes.” “And…?” “I keep thinking about him.” “Who?” “Cayde.” Amanda falls silent and waits for the frame to refill her drink before responding. “Crow, listen. What you’ve done in your past is in the past. Let it go. We’ve forgiven you for what you’ve done. No need to drag it out.” “So they say,” Crow says bitterly. “But it is not that easy.” He clenches his fist. Amanda leans over and places her hand over his. “Let me show you something.” Crow blinks and nods. Amanda murmurs into her comm, and the legendary Ace of Spades transmats in her hand. “This was Cayde's.” Crow's eyes widen. “He was killed with this weapon. By Uldren Sov. Not. Crow.” The white and black-clad Guardian gazes at the gun for several moments, before reaching out his hand. Amanda places the gun in his palm. His fingers curl around the handle, his trigger finger resting on the side of the chamber. Crow exhaled shakily. “It feels so familiar.” Amanda smiles sadly. “Yeah. I thought it might. Do you feel an overwhelming desire to kill all Guardians?” Crow chuckles nervously, setting the gun on the bar. “No. Very funny.” “What do you want, Crow? To forget? Because I won’t. And that’s why I’m still standing. The loss of my family makes me work harder. Bit I will not remember your past deeds. I promise. A pilot’s promise is a sturdy one.” The Guardian looks the human in the eyes, the only eyes that he feels has understood him, has truly forgiven him. “I…” he mutters. “I want…you.” Amanda frowns, confused. “What?” “I want you…to have another drink with me sometime!” Crow finishes quickly. Internally, he kicks himself. He could aim and draw faster than most, but he couldn’t confess his feelings? He feels weak in that moment. “Uh…sure,” Amanda shrugs, slugging her second drink. “I guess I can make it work. Sometime soon.” “Yes. Soon.” Amanda watches him a moment longer before turning back to her mug with a smirk. Yep, liked her. It was plain on his face. She just hoped the same expression wasn’t true of her. Best to let him struggle a bit. [spoiler]I know I said the Season Finale would be the last, but IronJak issued a challenge and now he owes me 30,000 silver and a couple Pepsis. Let it be known that I ship Hollirow; yeah, that’s better than Hollisov. Rad.[/spoiler]