" Marcus ? " Anya called, as she eased open the greenhouse door. It creaked slightly, with that gentle keening noise of old metal joints when they had to move.

Stepping over the threshold, Anya made her way inside. The greenhouse, ( if you could call it that ) was a long, low roofed building filled from front to back with all manner of agricultural plants, nestled in their rectangular soil filled wooden boxes. Green peppers, carrots, potatoes, broccoli , cauliflower, peas, and tomatoes…all of them had places in this little indoor farm.

Its our farm. Its our piece of a life without the Locust, the Lambent…a real life.

For just the 2 of them…

"Marcus ? Hello..? "

Then she found him. He was halfway down the rows ,his tall muscular frame partially obscuring a bundle of tomato plants. For the first time in months, he wasn't wearing any armor. The dark grey plates, dented, scorched and scratched from all their years of use, were absent this time. Even the bandana, that legendary bandana…wasn't there either.

The bandana was still missing….and I prefer it off. But I'd never have told you. You removed it that day on Azura, and only becasue you were ready. And that's how I wanted it.

That's when Marcus turned around, a fully ripe tomato held in one of his gloved hands.

" Anya ? "

That distinctive voice. Deep and gravelly as ever, like a Grindlift's gearbox in its lowest setting. Even when he was happy, ( which, to be best of her memory, had been a very long time ago ), his voice always seemed to have that effect on her: calming, reassuring, in a way nothing else could.

Even more so now, becasue she had something very important she needed to tell him.

Something amazing.

" Marcus…! " Anya smiled as she stepped forward, closing the distance between them. She reached out, putting her hands on his forearms.

" ..Woah….You seem happy. " Marcus got over his surprise, and gently embraced her. " Why is that ? "

Anya let her chin rest on his shoulder, casually, and deliberately, making him wait. Becasue she could.

Finally though…

"Alright…". She couldn't keep the full measure of her excitement out of her voice anymore anyway. .

" Marcus..I'm pregnant. "

In that instant, in the first few seconds after he heard those words from the love of his life, Marcus Micheal Fenix felt one, overwhelmingly powerful wave of an emotion that hadn't gone though him for longer than he could remember:

Joy. Joy in its purest form.