The Drifter - Tumblr Posts - Page 2
destiny except you’re a retired guardian who put down their weapons to take up farming in a remote little village where they raise livestock and fish and occasionally takes up arms to protect their village from whatever evil encroaches
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Destiny (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Osiris/Saint-14 (Destiny), The Drifter & Osiris (Destiny) Characters: Osiris (Destiny), The Drifter (Destiny) Additional Tags: Alcohol, Heavy Drinking, Angst, Memories, Reminiscing, Friendship, Game: Destiny 2: Episode: Echoes, Game: Destiny 2: Episode: Echoes spoilers, Spoilers, Depression, Neurodiversity, The Sundial (Destiny), Osiris/Saint-14 Angst (Destiny), The Iron Lords (Destiny), Camaraderie, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Anger, Insecurity, Pain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD Summary:
Sometimes the only person you can talk to is one that you knew before you were a legend. Unfortunately for Drifter, that means playing bartender to one belligerent, and heart-broken, Phoenix.
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME SAINT REFERS TO DRIFTER AS "the basement man" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Babygirl Drifter for all your Babygirl Drifter needs
ERIS MORN and THE DRIFTER in DESTINY 2: SEASON OF THE WITCH.
gamers I'm making a drifteris artbook of a selection of my art of them from the past few years - I ordered a test copy and when it gets here and I finalize stuff I might run an interest check and/or some kind of preorder thing for em but I'm excitedddd
A moments alone
As requested by @erisxdrifter a quick little sketch of our favourite hate-love relationship. click for better resolution
A Moment in peace
Yall have @kiiyome-art to thank for this ever seeing the light of day. Please go give her some love and check out her comic shes doing because it's GORGEOUS!
(Context for this piece because I still haven't posted Phantoms back story. Phantom was rezzed around the same time as Drifter and she went by the name Aurora. They were sweet on one another for a while until ✨️trauma✨️ they reunited when Drifter retuns to the tower.)
Anyway, enjoy this fluffy little piece between phantom and the basement dweller
(Drifters POV)
I was half awake, lyin’ there in the dark, when I felt her move. Phantom. My little bat. I stayed still, eyes closed, lettin’ her think I was still asleep. The way she moved was soft, like she didn’t wanna disturb me, but I could feel the shift in the air. Her weight left the bed slowly, like she was tryin’ to sneak away—but there was no sneakin’ past me, not when it came to her.
I cracked one eye open, just enough to see her standin’ at the edge of the bed. She wasn’t dressed and the soft glow from the console near the window highlighted her pale skin. She didn’t even look back at me. Her mind was somewhere else.
I could see the lines of her tattoos snakin’ over her body, the way her skin seemed to glow under the dim light of the derelict. She was somethin’ otherworldly, and fuck, every time I looked at her, I couldn’t believe she was mine again. There was this strange, untouchable quality about her, like she was just barely tethered to this world, but when she was with me, it was like I grounded her. Kept her steady.
Damn. What are you doin’ up, sweetheart?
I watched her from the shadows as she padded barefoot over to the console, her hands brushing against the controls without pressing anything. She leaned against it for a second, her eyes flickering up toward the wide windows that looked out into the black void of space. She always did that—always had this fascination with the stars.
The way she gazed out at them, like she was starin’ at something far beyond our reach, always made me wonder what she was thinkin’. Phantom never talked much about herself. She was a mystery, even to me. But there was somethin’ peaceful about the way she looked out there—like the coldness of space matched the quiet in her heart.
I stayed quiet, watchin’ her in the silence. Her body moved in this effortless way, graceful even when she wasn’t tryin’ to be. She pressed her hand against the window, her fingers splayed out like she was reachin’ for the stars, the warmth of her skin causeing the glass to fog a little round her fingers. There was a sadness to it, though—something unspoken that I hadn’t quite figured out yet.
“Can’t sleep?” I finally muttered, my voice low and rough, still pretending I’d just woken up. No use in lettin’ her think I’d been watchin’ her the whole time. She didn’t startle, didn’t even turn around. She just kept her eyes fixed on the stars outside, her voice soft when she finally spoke. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Didn’t,” I grunted, sittin’ up in the bed, stretchin’ my arms over my head. “But I know when somethin’s on your mind.”
There was a long pause, and I could hear her breathin’ in that slow, steady rhythm she always fell into when she was thinkin’.
“I’ve just… never been able to sleep out here,” she said quietly, her hand still resting on the glass. “Not in space. It’s too… open.”
Too open?
I frowned, slidin’ out of bed and walkin’ over to her. The cold air of the derelict made the floor under my feet feel like ice, but I was used to it. I stood behind her, lettin’ my hands rest on her shoulders, feelin’ the tension in her muscles. “You feelin’ trapped out here, or somethin’?”
She shook her head slowly, leanin’ into my touch just a little. “No. Not trapped. More like… untethered.”
That word hit me hard. Untethered. It made sense, I guess. She didn’t have much in the way of roots. Hell, she didn’t even work around the Tower or other guardians. Kept to herself. She was always drippin' in mystery, and even though we’d grown close—*real* close—there were still parts of her that seemed like they belonged to the stars and not to this world.
I stepped closer, my chest pressin’ against her back, lettin’ her feel my warmth. “You ain’t untethered, sweetheart,” I murmured, my voice low against her ear. “Not with me around. I got you. You’re grounded with me, yeah?”
She finally turned her head to look at me, those green eyes of hers soft, contemplative. There was a vulnerability there that she rarely let show. For all her coldness, for all her sharp edges, there was somethin’ delicate underneath it all.
“I know,” she whispered, her lips curving into a faint smile. “You always got my back,"
“Damn right I do,” I said, brushin’ a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re my fire cracker. I told you, I’m keepin’ you safe. You’re not floatin’ out in the void anymore.”
She let out a soft sigh, leanin’ back into me fully now, her body relaxin’ against mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pullin’ her close, and for a moment, we just stood there in the quiet, watchin’ the stars outside the window.
“You’re with me, Aurora,” I murmured against her neck, lettin’ the words settle in the air between us. “And I ain’t lettin’ you go.”
The stars outside the window shifted as the first light of the sunrise crept over the curve of Earth, painting everything in a soft, golden glow. I stood there with my arms wrapped around Phantom, her body warm and pressed against mine. We didn’t say much, just watchin’ as the light spilled across the surface below us. There was somethin' about it, somethin' peaceful, that made all the noise in my head go quiet for a while.
She leaned into me, her head resting on my chest, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of her breathing. In moments like this, she wasn’t the cold, mysterious hunter that kept to herself, always hiding behind that hood and mask. Right now, she was just... mine. My little secret. And I’d be damned if I wasn’t gonna keep it that way.
“Sunrise,” I muttered, my voice low as I watched the light spill over the horizon. “Almost forgot how pretty that shit can be.”
Phantom didn’t say much, just gave a small hum of agreement, her fingers tracing light patterns on my arm. She wasn’t one for big displays of emotion, but I knew she appreciated moments like this. Maybe even more than I did. She was ancient—older than she ever let on—and I had to wonder how many sunrises she’d seen. How many she’d spent alone before we found this strange, tangled thing between us.
“You ever watch the sunrise like this before?” I asked, keeping my voice quiet, like if I spoke too loud I’d break whatever calm was hangin’ in the air between us.
She shifted slightly in my arms, eyes flickering as she stared out at the horizon. “Once or twice,” she finally said, her voice soft, distant. “But never like this.”
I smirked, leanin’ down to press a light kiss against the top of her head. “Yeah? Guess I make it special, huh?”
She let out a small, amused snort, barely a laugh, but it was there. “Maybe.”
“Maybe, huh?” I chuckled, giving her a squeeze. “You got it bad, Phantom.”
She didn’t respond, but I could feel her relax further into me, and that was enough. We watched the last bit of the sun crest over the horizon, the golden light filling the small space of the derelict with warmth that didn’t match the cold steel of the ship.
Eventually, she pulled away, slowly, like she didn’t really want to leave the warmth of my arms. I let her go, though, watching as she padded across the room with that effortless grace of hers. Phantom bent down, pickin' up my discarded shirt from the floor, the fabric too big for her small frame, but damn if she didn’t make it look good. She slipped it on, the hem falling down to her thighs, and I could barely hold back the grin.
“Hell of a look on you,” I muttered, leanin’ back against the console as I crossed my arms over my chest, enjoyin' the view.
She glanced over her shoulder, rollin' her eyes in that way she always did when I teased her, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. “Shut up,” she said softly, but there was no bite to her words.
I smirked. “Don’t act like you don’t love it.”
She didn’t deny it. Instead, she tugged the shirt down a bit more and headed toward the small corner where we kept the essentials. She paused for a moment, then glanced back at me with a raised brow.
“Coffee?” she asked, her voice back to that cool, collected tone she always had, like she wasn’t just pressed against me minutes ago, lost in the quiet moment we shared. I let out a low chuckle, pushin' off the console and wanderin’ over to her, not botherin’ to put on a shirt myself. “You makin’ it or am I?”
Her eyes flickered up to meet mine, a playful glint there that only I ever really got to see. “I’ll make it,” she said, turning back to the small counter, her hands moving to grab the supplies.
I leaned against the wall, watchin' her in silence for a moment, takin’ in how damn domestic this all felt. Phantom, in my shirt, makin’ coffee in the quiet of the derelict as the sunrise cast everything in a soft glow. If anyone saw us now, they’d never believe it. They’d never believe she was the same cold, distant hunter who barely spoke to anyone. But with me, here, she was different. She was... softer. Still a mystery, sure, but one I was more than happy to unravel piece by piece.
“Phantom,” I muttered after a moment, my voice low, thoughtful. “You ever think about... stayin' here? Just the two of us? Forget the Tower, forget all the shit out there?”
She paused, her back still turned to me as she finished makin' the coffee. I could see the slight tension in her shoulders, like she was thinkin’ about it. Then she turned, two cups in hand, and walked over to me, handin' one over.
“Maybe,” she said quietly, takin' a small sip of her own cup. “But the world doesn’t forget people us,"
I took the cup, watchin’ her carefully. “Yeah, but we can pretend for a while. Can’t we?”
She looked at me over the rim of her cup, and for a second, I thought I saw that same quiet sadness she always carried, like she wanted to believe it, but knew better.
“Maybe,” she whispered, her eyes meeting mine. “Maybe we can.”
And that was good enough for now.
Mithrax is beginning to think he needs to keep a closer eye on who the hatchlings see in the Eliksni Quarters. Some of them are developing rather... morally ambiguous attitudes.
Day 12 of Destinytober - Eliksni/Fallen
Unlikely Allies
Shin Malphur and the Drifter
Day 13 of Destinytober