Vapor danced into the cold air as the engine of the sparrow cut off. The rider, a Titan Exo, dismounted after putting some glimmer in a newly installed parking meter. Several other sparrows were parked in their own spots. A few meters blinked red alerting the local law enforcement of violations. The Titan had never been in this part of the city… nor any part that he could recall…but his friends at the tower had warned him of some of the odd rules the city folk had. Things like keeping his ghost hidden, not wearing his mark, making sure not to summon his sparrow or ship. He was even told that in most areas it was frowned upon to carry weapons.
The street glowed amber thanks in part to small snowbanks reflecting the dying street lamps. In spots along the sidewalk glossy sheen helped bask the area in the yellow-orange lighting. The day had been warm enough to help melt some of the snow and ice away but as the sun set and the temperature returned to the winter normal the melted snow had refroze.
Here there were no cabal, no fallen, no loud announcements about not tossing oneself over the tower railing. The familiar of the tower was instead replaced with alien scenes for the exo. A child holding an adults hand stoping at a window that had been decorated for the season. A pair of younger adults pressed together as they hurried along the sidewalk, one fussing at the other over being late. A solo adult with a communication device pressed to their cheek as they juggled a handful of bags and a couple of boxes.
As the exo walked along the unfamiliar scenes continued to play out- a family going into a busy restaurant, a couple discussing plans for the next ‘weekend’. He felt his cheeks flush with anxiety, a feeling he hadn’t had in some time, as he began to compare what he had worn to blend in with what they all wore. His street clothes had been borrowed off a few titans back in the tower lodging and he was starting to feel underdressed. While those he had seen were mostly bundled up to fend off the cold his keen eyes had caught glimpses of nice dresses, pressed slacks, ties, button downs, and he was pretty sure that an older gentleman at the store a block back had been wearing a suit.
In contrast Ardent-2 had scraped together an old t-shirt that had faded and had a few holes- from a moth or bullets, which he wasn’t sure. A leather jacket with a few patches on the elbows covers most of the imperfections in the t-shirt and helped give the exo a more confident look compared to his inner thoughts. The jeans he had borrowed were nearly perfect minus a few stains that he had been told had come from their owner working on a sparrow, and luckily a year ago the vanguard had issued standard boots to all the titans that he had slipped into.
Finally arriving at the address he’d been given the exo stood out front of the small store front. The window like many others had been decorated for the season. This one had colorful lights around the outside and it appeared as though someone had painted snowy hills and a small cottage on the glass. Ardent-2 observed the art for a moment longer before pulling the time keeping device out of his pocket.
As trained- He was right on time. The correspondence had indicated that they would meet outside of the small shop at exactly this time- Ardent-2 was the only one standing there however. He kicked at some ice on the sidewalk and waited. Perhaps the person he was meeting was more like a hunter when it came to time tables.
15 minutes passed and Ardent-2 could feel himself getting cold despite the jacket. He gave a final look around and let out a sigh turning back towards his sparrow. His proximity alert went off as he turned and nearly walked into another man. Unlike Ardent-2 this man was human. Also unlike Ardent-2 this man was dressed fairly well from what the exo could tell.
“Pardon me” the human said looking over Ardent-2 with a curious look. “Were you going to leave before we even met?” The human pulled out his device and showed a picture of Ardent-2 “this is you right?”
The exo was caught off guard. The app hadn’t done justice to the man before him. “That’s me” he finally said before nodding “I was, you were late and as I said I was already hesitant to come down here and meet you”
“Trust me, I’ll make it worth your while” the human laughed out as he moved towards the door of the small shop. He paused to hold the door open for the Exo before following him inside.
——
“So how was it?” The hunter asked as her Exo friend moved to sit down at the bar next to her.
“Uh.” He slipped the leather jacket off and hung it over the back of the chair. “Well he’s never been part of a fireteam- and he said he’s never been with an exo before” the exo leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
“So did you kiss?!” The hunter squealed childishly as she leaned closer to the titan. “Did take you back to his ship or did you go back to yours and-“
“No- No” the titan was glad he had adjusted the color settings of his face prior to the date as he knew the question would have drawn color into his face and given away the lie.
“See isn’t dating fun” the hunter said. “As for the fireteam thing just invite him on patrol with us”
Ardent-2 leaned his head forward and cupped the warm beverage the barkeep had brought him. He looked into the liquid wondering just what he should do about the situation he had gotten into. He knew he wanted to see the man again and from the messages he’d already gotten he knew that the man wanted to see him. “I don’t think it will work out- he isn’t one to leave the city unprotected”
“Oh he’s like a loner warlock- kinda like Osiris. I get it.” Sybll stood, paid her tab, and gave the exo a kiss on the cheek. “Alright big guy gonna head out to Neptune, hear they are having a vex issue again.” She pulled on her helmet and activated the transmat system of her ship vanishing
“Yeah something like that.” The exo said staring into the drink. By exo standards he was young- only on his second reboot. But that came with a curse, one he had already been struggling with. What if they hit it off, what if they grow old together, what if he needs to be wiped before the other moved on. And then the was the guardian thing- though no rules specifically existed about guardians and non-guardians he knew the relationships were rife with conflict of their own.
The exo pulled the device out and his finger hung over the delete button for the conversation, the last line unopened by the titan but partially able to be read.
Had a great time let’s-
The screen popped up a notice:
Confirm you want to delete this message and prevent future contact