Vow

Yetta stumbled out of Crow's room, mumbling to herself about how cold it was. She couldn't find Crow anywhere in the house, and he wasn't answering her texts, so she figured he must be at work. Rain pattered on the windowsills, a quiet, steady tapping. Luckily, there was hot coffee left for her, and the first sip sent warmth flooding through her chest. The heater kicked on, rumbling to life as it warmed the house around her. 

With a quick check on her datapad, she noted it was in the thirties outside, and grumbled some more. She changed her mind on going out. Not worth it. Crow had taken them both off of patrol duty for now, letting them mentally recover a bit from the previous week. So, she was just gonna stay in her pajamas, relax, turn on some TV-

A knock at the door broke her away from her coffee, and Yetta groaned. She shuffled to the door, opening it to see Carman holding a covered pan of…something. "What-?"

"Figured you could use a warm meal," Carman started. "You two didn't have any sort of house warming party, so I had to track you down."

"We weren't…really thinking about it?"

"Hm." Carman nodded to the inside, and Yetta let her in, closing the door behind her. "So…has the close proximity brought anything?" the warlock asked. "Any new developments I need to know about?"

Yetta bit her lip, crossing her arms. "Wha-what do you mean by that?"

Carman chuckled, watching her student's discomfort. "Oh, nothing. Here, let me serve you some of this." She held her hand out for a serving spoon. "Crow will be off of work soon, he went in early to organize some patrols, organize a few missions, and help the issues blow over. It's amazing what a few reminders will do to the psyche."

"What….did you do…?" Yetta asked suspiciously. She got a couple plates, setting them on the table as Carman served.

"Just reminded them of somebody. Somebody like you, actually. Well, he had a vex arm where you don't, but still." Carman shrugged. "They were mostly fine with him. Making them face their own hypocrisies…well, nobody likes to face that. The only 'scandal'," she made air quotes with her fingers as she spoke. "…Left are the rumors that you and Crow are together."

Yetta took her plate, leaning against the counter. "Technically, we are. We agreed to start dating again."

Carman set down her spoon in shock. "You did? Oh, that's wonderful!" Then, as a side note, she added, "Elsie owes me some glimmer."

"Mom!" slipped out before Yetta could stop it. She just rolled with it. "Why are you betting on Crow and I? Y'know what? Doesn't matter." She spooned some of the breakfast casserole into her mouth, humming softly. 

"Did you two at least talk about how private you want the matter to be?" Carman asked. "So far, Crow's trying to tell them that it's not anyone's concern who he sees."

"Because it's not." Her datapad dinged, and then dinged again. Yetta risked a glance at the messages, her eyes widening. "I need to go," she announced, abruptly. "I'll be home soon."

. . .

This settlement was peaceful. Yetta knew it was. She had delivered supplies to this group of Eliksni several times. Skethris's people. The ones who had stayed behind. They were nothing but peaceful. But as Yetta looked at the burnt settlement, smoke curling around her, as she read the reports that the attack was "in self defense", something wasn't adding up. "Jason, call Crow," she ordered her ghost. 

Not even the rain put out the Solar induced flames, and Yetta ran over to help one Eliksni out from under some rubble. "Easy, easy does it," she soothed, chasing away the flames that threatened to lick at his arms. Tears threatened her vision. They were doing so well for themselves. "Devrim!" she called out. The older sniper appeared at her side. "Tell me you saw who did this." She fought to keep her voice level.

"I did. Do you want me to report this to Crow when he gets here?" he asked, a hand on her shoulder as they both helped the staggering alien to his feet. Yetta nodded, wordlessly.

"I called Crow, and Carman. They'll be here shortly," Jason beeped, scanning a small Eliksni for injuries. "What caused this…?"

. . .

Skethris paced back and forth as she chittered anxiously. The survivors of the attack had gone with them to the City for shelter. Skethris wouldn't give them any other choice. She grabbed Yetta's hands. "Tell me you will find who did this," she begged. "My people-."

"I know." Yetta squeezed back. "Devrim is reporting everything he saw to Crow now. We'll get answers."

"We didn't want trouble."

Yetta took a deep breath. "But sometimes, trouble will find you, regardless. I assure you, this will have heavy consequences."

When the word reached about the attackers, two hunters and a titan, Yetta didn't even get a chance to act. Crow made sure his hunters were kept on house arrest, Zavala doing the same. The motivation was as simple as "they saw Eliksni, and mistook them for the aggressive ones." Yetta's mouth twisted in disdain. If they had *just* slowed down, homes wouldn't have burnt to the ground. Regardless, the matter was dealt with, swiftly 

She stood at the abandoned settlement, rain dripping off of her helmet. A feeling of guilt gnawed at her core, the hunter crossing her arms. Crow had finally put her back on patrols, which Yetta tackled fairly easily. She sat down on a nearby log, gun resting at her feet. She could hear Crow walking up behind her, sitting with her. He'd made sure to break a few sticks as he approached, so as to not startle her.

"You tried your best," he said calmly. 

"That settlement was off limits," she grit. 

"And we're seeing if there's more to the story." Crow pulled her into him, hand rubbing her shoulder. "You did a good thing. Skethris has been a good addition to the quarter, making sure her people aren't a problem."

"She's scared," Yetta mumbled, burying her face into his shoulder. "They all are."

"I've removed the hunters from duty, temporarily. I would have gone permanently, but I wasn't allowed to."

"That's shitty. What's the terms and conditions?" she asked.

He replied, "they have to work in the quarter for a year. Maybe more if they misbehave. Something to teach them humility."

She sighed, straightening up. "That's not a good idea," she warned. "They attacked an Eliksni settlement, and we're putting them with the same Eliksni they targeted? Think about this."

"Shit, you're right." He sat on the remnants of a wall. "Any better ideas?"

Yetta hesitated, then took a seat beside him, her legs dangling. "Put them on training duty. *Strictly* training duty. Nothing else." She shrugged. "Teach them to slow down and think. Can't learn anything else if you're training civilians."

He nodded, thoughtfully. Rain dripped down his face, and his hand covered hers, subtly. "See? I knew I wanted you at my side."

"Whatcha mean?" Yetta tilted her head as she asked. Crow smiled, nudging her shoulder with his. 

"You're like an advisor." He leaned forwards. "I mean, look at how fast you were to offer something new." He tapped her forehead. "The gears up here are turning, I know they are."

Yetta laughed softly. "I'm not an exo," she pointed out. "I don't have gears."

"You know what I mean."

She laughed softly, turning her face to the sky. The rain hadn't slowed down. If anything, it was starting to come down harder. Cold was starting to set in through her armor, however, and she shivered slightly. Crow slid an arm around her, guiding them both off the wall. Yetta took the lead next, leading him into a small jog to get under some cover. 

The old building was long crumbled, though fractured words were still visable on the walls. Yetta backed up against one of them, slipping off her soaked hood. Taking his hood off as well, he gently stroked her damp hair. She smiled, easily, and leaned her head into his palm. Her hand slid over his, holding it there.

Crow wrapped his free hand around her waist, resting his forehead on hers. Her chest rose and fell with every breath, suspense filling her lungs. "Are we about to kiss right now?" she asked. 

"Would you like to?" he offered. His golden eyes found hers.

"Maybe." She smiled crookedly.

He chuckled, tilting her head back. Crow bent down, capturing her mouth with his, pressing a kiss there. Yetta hummed softly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she returned the sentiment. He tasted as good as he smelled. Smoke and metal. He pulled away, slowly, and started laughing, softly. Yetta opened her eyes, smiling widely. His laughter was contagious, and she leaned her head into his chest as her body shook with peals of laughter.

"All this time?" Yetta asked, once she could breathe. "All this time, and we haven't done that once."

"We haven't."

"Dunce," she teased. Crow grabbed at his chest, offended. 

"Oh? Oh, *I'm* a dunce??"

She kissed his nose, a cheshire grin on her face. "Yes."