I come bearing an offering to the Candal community.
Chain
For as long as Crow had known Cayde-6, the exo had worn a chain around his neck. It was a subtle thing, thin and painted black, only just beginning to chip. Crow hadn’t noticed it for nearly a year because it blended into his cloak. It was weighed down under all the layers of armor and never sat openly on Cayde’s breast. Okay, weird fashion piece, Crow assumed. It didn’t necessarily fit into Cayde’s wardrobe, but it was simple enough not to raise any eyebrows.
What gave Crow pause was that he never took it off. That chain was a staple of the exo’s appearance, just as much as his cloak wrapped around his shoulders or Ace of Spades on his hip.
“It must have something on it!” Amanda insisted when Crow brought it up. “Something special, like a Vex-crystal thing.”
The hallway leading to the hangar was dimly lit and narrow, made worse by the two figures congregating there. Crow shook his head. “Pretty sure we’d have noticed if it had something on it.”
“Why would he wear a chain with nothing on it?!”
“I’ve heard it was a popular Golden-age trend.”
Amanda cocked her eyebrow and her hip simultaneously. “You really think Cayde-6 would follow a Golden-age trend? Really? Where’d you even hear about that?”
“Someone on Kepler,” Crow shrugged. “Do you genuinely think he’d wear Vex tech?”
“Touché. What do you think it is?”
“I told you, I don’t think it’s anything.”
“Just a regular old chain?”
“Yeah, maybe it was a gift.”
“Boring. I think it’s a bullet.”
“What???”
“Yeah, y’know. Like if he ever needs ammo and is at the end of the line he can pull out one last dramatic shot. Very Cayde-6 in my opinion.”
“A bullet with a hole in it??”
“Hey, it’s better than nothing!”
“I said it was a gift! Like Shiro or Banshee or someone.”
“You think it’s an exo thing?”
“No?”
“Then why did you name exclusively exos?”
“They’re the people who like him the most!”
“Fair. For the record I still think that’s boring.”
“And I think having a spare bullet on a necklace is stupid.”
“Wanna bet on it?”
At this a blue steel face rounded the corner and planted an elbow against the wall to lean nonchalantly. Speak of the devil. “What are we betting on and can I join?” Cayde asked, eyebrow plates waggling cartoonishly.
“Hey Cayde,” the two of them said simultaneously. Amanda continued with “what’s on your necklace?”
Cayde immediately sobered. “Ah. I knew this day would come.”
Crow met Amanda’s gaze from the side.
“Yeah, I would’ve told you sooner,” Cayde went on, unphased. “But once I tell you…” he dropped into a stage whisper “I gotta kill you.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Yeah okay, hardy har. What is it?”
“What’s the wager?” Cayde asked.
“We haven’t set one.” Crow muttered. Shame was dragging a flush to his cheeks: he wasn’t worried about Cayde getting upset, but getting caught in the act gossiping didn’t feel great.
“10,000 glimmer.” Amanda declared. Crow balked.
“10k?! Just for this?”
“What, can’t pay it?”
“I can!” he huffed. “But that’s pretty extreme!”
“Fine, 5,000.”
“Fine. What if we’re both wrong?”
“If you’re both wrong,” Cayde interjected, “you’ll get back to work.”
“And just what are you doing?!” Amanda pointed an accusing finger at the Vanguard.
“Hey, do as I say, not as I do. Now what are your bets, we’re burning daylight here!”
“I think it’s a bullet.” Amanda said confidently, turning to Crow.
“I don’t think it's anything.” Crow responded, a little quieter.
Cayde grinned. “Looks like the both of you are on your way to work.” And with that he turned on his heel and began to walk away.
The two of them stammered. Crow finally got his wits about him enough to sprint after the retreating exo. “Hey! Now you have to tell us what it is!”
Cayde turned and started walking backwards. “I never said that. Crow, there’s a mission on Nessus that looks good for you, want me to reserve it?”
“No no no,” Amanda had caught up. “No one here is leaving the Tower until we know what it is.”
“You gotta tell us,” Crow added. “Please?”
Cayde sighed loudly and stopped. “Fine, but only because you asked so nicely.”
It took him a moment to find the chain under the many layers of armor. He hooked it over one thumb and (at an agonizingly slow pace) pulled the chain away from his neck. At its lowest point it appeared to get stuck, but he tugged a little harder and it came free.
A single ring was strung across the chain. It was simple, a gunmetal gray color with an ace stamped on one side and a diamond on the other.
Cayde let them drink in the sight with an uncharacteristically shy grin before speaking quietly. “Exo fingers weren’t really designed for wedding rings.”
When neither of them spoke he raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Amanda finally picked her jaw off the floor long enough to speak. “You’re married?!”
“Was married, yeah. Why are you so surprised?"
Amanda caught the flicker of sorrow that crossed her friend’s eyes. Apparently, Crow didn’t.
“Why haven’t we met them? Or have we and you just haven’t told us? What are they like? How did you meet? How long have you been together? Does Zavala know?” He paused, eyebrows furrowing. “Is it Zavala??”
Cayde’s eyes went wide with horror. “What? No! He’s… just- no.”
“So when can we meet them?” He demanded.
“He’s dead.”
The silence that descended on the trio was so thick you could pierce it with a glaive.
“Oh,” Crow whispered. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It happens in this line of work.”
“What was his name?” Amanda asked softly. “How’d you meet?”
Cayde's smile returned. “Andal Brask. The best shot I’ve ever known. We were on the same fireteam, it turned out to be a good group so we stuck together.”
“And what was he like?”
Cayde sighed. “Let’s talk about that another time. Right now, I need to know if you’ll take that job on Nessus. Cabal info retrieval.”
Realizing the conversation was definitively over, Crow nodded. “Send me the coordinates, I’ll be on my way.”
“Before you leave, mind if I take a look at your sparrow?” Amanda offered. “You said it was unstable when cornering, right?”
Crow nodded. “Any idea how long that’ll take to fix?”
“Well Niik and I will have to see it first,” she scoffed. “Shouldn’t be longer than a day. Give me the codes so I can work on it while you’re gone.”
“You can use mine on this mission,” Cayde offered. “It needs to get out of the hangar.”
“Thanks, both of you.”
“Sure thing.” Amanda said as the two of them started walking towards Crow’s sparrow.
“Anytime.” Cayde called after them. His thumb and forefinger absently traced the ring strung around his neck; for a fleeting moment he could’ve sworn his cloak felt warmer than it had in years.
****
A/N: what point in the timeline is this supposed to be? Great question. I’ve got a lot of Candal stuff in various states of completion, and it’s one of my favorites to write atm. More on the way™️
