Uldren's heart was beating slightly too fast as he stared at the scissors poised to strike through a strand of his hair. With her usual cunning, they had convinced him to allow the white streaks in his hair to be dyed back to a solid black color. However, conveniently hidden from him was the fact that she intended to cut and style it as well.
"Relax, I'm just trimming the ends and evening you out. I don't think Pulled Pork even knows what dead ends are- let alone that he should heal them." Amon clicked her tongue, and the blades snapped closed with a satisfying click.
"How can the ends be dead if my Guardian is still alive?" Pulled Pork tilted his purple shell towards the woman in confusion. She sighed, pulling straight a strand of hair from either side of Uldren's head and comparing the length before continuing to cut small bits away.
"Ever since I met the pair of you, I've started giving credence to the theory that ghosts are an extension of their guardian's conscience."
Uldren frowned and glared at her reflection, causing her to laugh out loud. Her hand flew up to hold her chest as she snorted at her own wit, bringing the scissors along with it and hacking off a section of his hair. She froze and examined the mistake- a short piece that stuck out near the back of his head- before devolving into another fit of hysterical laughter.
"I'm going to leave your salon a bad review. This is unacceptable." He tried to keep a straight face while resisting her contagious joy. A flash lit up the room as his ghost captured the scene permanently, tinkling in glee. For the first time in his new life, Uldren felt content.
Once she regained her composure, she parted the hair on the sides of his head a few centimeters above each ear and used her fingers to comb it together, pulling tightly as she gathered it in the back. After a few swift movements it was deftly secured inro a small knot, leaving the other half of his hair to hang just past the shoulders. Amon smiled and stood back with her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork.
"I feel exposed." Uldren studied his new look in the mirror, turning his head to either side and patting his bun.
"You have such good bone structure- always hidden behind that dreadful, floppy cut- I hardly recognize you this way." She ignored his offense to the comment about his previous style and began trying unsuccessfully to brush the remains of his hair off of her clothes. "Well, I suppose I needed to change clothes, anyway. Once I'm done we'll head out."
The sun had only just dawned and it painted the looming shell of the Traveler in brilliant shades of pink and orange. It was a clear morning and a slight chill crept through the bustling streets of the market district near the Tower. The atmosphere buzzed with activity and the spirit of the Dawning radiated through each and every person. On one side of the plaza, a vendor and one of their customers bartered passionately concerning a roll of intricately patterned fabric. Near the back of the tent, an old woman sat stringing together a colorful garland to be hung between the buildings along with other similar decorations. She watched their interaction- fingers moving expertly without her gaze- and shook her head in disapproval. Across the way, several young children wearing brightly colored tunics chased a small black and white dog in circles around a stall, laughing and attempting to grab the ball from its mouth.
Amon and Uldren walked arm in arm as they wove through the crowd, ghosts floating behind them. Uldren wore a look of abject discomfort. He was not keen on the notion of confronting so many people without wearing his helmet. Upon spotting the pair of hunters and their ghosts, one of the children paused their pursuit of the dog, pointing at the tiny robots and calling out to their friends. Uldren tensed as three children- two young girls and one boy- bounded up to them, dog in tow. The taller of the two girls, who each wore long braids containing strands of woven embroidery floss, stepped up to the adults and stared at them with curious green eyes.
"Excuse me, Guardians, may we pet your ghosts?" The boy nudged her with his elbow and whispered something. "Pretty please?"
Amon squatted and held out her hand, beckoning Ghost to sit still in her palm so the children could see him. The girls giggled with excitement and wonder as they took turns touching the ghost's shell.
"I want to be a pet too!" Pulled Pork blinked at Uldren before moving down to the young boy that was now staring at Uldren. He twirled and expanded his floral shell, putting on a small show for the child.
"Wow!" The boy smiled as the little ghost flew into his mess of blond hair and settled itself comfortably. "Aww. Can I keep him?"
"I, um, well you see-" Amon laughed as she placed a hand on Uldren's leg, cutting him off.
"Unfortunately, these ghosts have to stay with us, but you can always visit the Tower and play with some stray ones." The boy nodded in understanding, watching as Pulled Pork rejoined his guardian.
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a hunter just like you!"
Mortified, Uldren briefly considered correcting the poor misinformed child, but before he could reply a woman called out to the children from inside the stall they had been playing around, commanding them to return and to leave the light-bearers alone. She waved at them apologetically as the trio scurried back over, yelling out thanks. Linking her arm around his once again, Amon spotted Uldren's expression of abject horror and giggled uncontrollably.
"Don't laugh at me." He pouted and untangled his arm, crossing it with his other in front of his chest.
"Lighten up. I told you not to worry, no one here knows who we are." She rubbed his arm and he begrudgingly broke his stance, allowing her to hook their limbs back together. They continued their walk down the crowded cobblestone path, peering curiously at the eclectic goods being sold. Amon gasped, changing directions suddenly and pulling Uldren with her towards a small shop filled with exotic plants and flowers. Letting go of him, she reached out to touch a pot full of large, iridescent lilies in an array of different colors. A middle-aged woman wearing a faded apron greeted them.
"Ah, yes, these are a new splice. I was able to isolate the trait from a glowing rose and recombine it with other plants. These are my first attempts." The woman pulled a small flashlight from a pocket in her apron and clicked on the light. She shone it at the flowers and they watched, mesmerized, as the plant began to glow even brighter.
"Do you offer custom arrangements?" Amon removed her hand from the petal of a blue flower and turned towards the woman.
"It's been a long time since I did anything for a Guardian wedding. But yes, I accept custom requests." The woman glanced back and forth between the two hunters as she spoke.
Amon blushed and laughed nervously, wringing her hands together. "Oh, it's not- we aren't getting married. I just want something for my apartment."
"Of course- forgive me." The woman apologized and raised her eyebrows in disbelief, but provided no additional comments. Uldren moved his hand to the small of Amon's back, pressing down lightly.
"Put together something you like. I'll come back and pay for it in a moment." Amon stiffened and opened her mouth to protest as he disappeared through the doorway.
"Damn that jerk." Amon clenched her fists, and the woman chuckled lightly.
"So, not engaged, but together- no?" The woman gave her a knowing look.
"No. Well, you see, we- it's complicated." Amon stammered as the blush on her cheeks spread to cover her entire face and neck.
"Shame. Though I suppose you have plenty of lifetimes to sort out these kinds of things." The woman hummed, turning away from her. She began leading her around the shop, collecting flowers that Amon pointed out and adding them to a growing collection in the large pocket on her front. The two women chatted lightly while the florist wove the plants into an elegant, rounded bouquet. Amon admired her creation, thanking her profusely, as Uldren returned and approached the both of them. He paid for the flowers and Amon instructed her ghost to transmat it back to her apartment. He threw his arm around Amon's shoulders and addressed the shopkeeper.
"I must commend you- my lady is exceedingly hard to please. Thank you kindly. Come, love. We must finish our errands." He bowed to the woman as Amon fumed beside him. Dragging her out of the small shop and out of the vendor's earshot, he released her and gazed down at the smaller awoken. "Karma can be rather unfortunate."
"You're such an asshole! At least I only embarrass you in private." She huffed and began stomping away from him, only to run head-first into the Hunter Vanguard.
"You've got one helluva track record, Guardian. Not someone I'd want to piss off!" The exo whistled as he looked to Uldren and then back at Amon. He pulled her into a tight hug, peering over her shoulder to look Uldren in the eye. "Watch yourself, Crow."
"Shiro, I can't breathe." Amon squirmed in his smothering embrace and he released her with a short laugh.
"I was just on my way to a Tavern for trivia night. You in, Lady Light?" Shiro looked over at Uldren. "Right. I guess you can come too, Crow."
"Sure, why not?" Amon looked back over her shoulder at Uldren's blank expression.
Who's getting karma now, bitch.
She clapped excitedly before grabbing Shiro-4's hand. "Lead the way!"
"Commander Zavala!" Amon slammed her fist down on the table, nearly knocking over their drinks, and yelled out excitedly. She met eyes with the Exo next to her. "Whether we wanted it or not-"
"-we've stepped into a war with the Cabal on Mars." Shiro and Amon burst into laughter as Uldren watched them curiously. Amon's face had been flushed purple for the last hour, ever since the alcohol in her system had taken effect. He wasn't sure how, exactly, but it seemed Shiro was drunk as well. He shook his head and downed the shot in front of him. The vodka burned as it made its way to his stomach. He hated alcohol- this was the first time he had drank anything since leaving the Distributary.
"What is the name of the first major conflict that happened in the City?" The game-master read aloud from a card they had drawn at random out of a deck.
"The Battle of Six Fronts!" Shiro yelled out the answer and exchanged a high-five with Amon. Uldren watched them interact, suddenly itching for another drink. He stood up and walked over to the bar while they waited eagerly for the next question.
The bartender looked up from the glass they were cleaning as he walked up, setting it down and picking up a handle of Whiskey. "Not one for Trivia. Eh?" Uldren flashed him a half-smile and shook his head. "I know just what you need- a little pick me up. You and your uh," he glanced at the table Uldren had been sitting at. "Friends. On me." The man winked at him as he slid a glass full of whiskey across the counter. "A hundred proof, house-made. You're welcome." Uldren thanked the man and walked back to the table, taking a sip and recoiling from the bitter taste.
In front of him, Shiro leaned across the table and whispered something in Amon's ear. Her leg was trapped between his feet underneath the table, and she brought a hand to her mouth to hide her reaction to whatever it was he had said.
Fuck it.
Uldren forced down the rest of his drink in one go before retaking his place at the table. Amon was still talking incessantly, but stopped as soon as he walked up. "I have to go to the bathroom." She excused herself and sauntered away towards the washroom. He sat in awkward silence with the exo, who was swishing around the ice cubes in his drink.
"She talks a lot." Uldren literally couldn't think of anything else to say. Shiro gave Uldren an amused look and placed his elbows on the table.
"You know she broke five years of silence just to tell the Vanguard she would kick your ass?" Shiro grabbed Amon's unopened beer and slid it over to the dejected man. "You need this more than she does."
"Are you fucking with me?" Uldren didn't know whether to feel impressed, afraid, or saddened by the fact.
"Nope! Used to be well known for her silence. Didn't say a peep for years- just let the Ghost talk for her." Shiro chuckled, shaking his head.
"Why didn't she talk to anyone?" Uldren could scarcely imagine the woman he knew acting that way. Sure, she could be quite reserved at times. But five years without a single sarcastic remark?
"Dunno. You'd have to ask her." The exo shrugged before lowering his voice and giving him a serious look. "Though I don't recommend bringing it up. Like, period. You'll thank me later, buddy." Uldren sulked, unable to process the information in his increasingly inebriated state. He ripped the top off of the beer and chugged its contents.
"What did you do to him?" Amon had returned from the bathroom and was repeatedly swatting Shiro in the arm. "And where is my beer?"
The exo put his hands up defensively, easily deflecting the small hunter's blows. "I think it's time for someone to go home." She stopped moving and gave both men her best pout, causing them to laugh. They both stood up, each grabbing an arm, and began carrying her towards the exit. She didn't fight back and started grinning instead.
"Being manhandled like this...it's a dawning gift I didn't even realize I wanted." Uldren slapped his hand over her mouth and she stuck out her tongue to lick his palm, moaning quietly.
"Save it for the bedroom." Uldren tried to sound annoyed to mask the reality that he had become unwillingly aroused. "This is no way to act around our Vanguard, or in public for that matter." Amon looked at each of them in turn.
"Well then I'll just invite my Vanguard over." The exo had remained uncharacteristically quiet until then.
"You don't have to ask me twice, lady light." Shiro laughed as he spoke, but his words lacked any humor as he and Uldren shared a glance. Uldren pondered the implications for a moment. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, or the year of loneliness, or a mixture of both, but he found himself to be not at all uninterested in the prospect of having a threesome with someone he usually would have hated. Amon swung her feet in the air, humming happily, and then rolled her head back to peer curiously at Shiro.
"Wait, do Exos have-" Shiro cut her off with a loud laugh and the two men picked up their pace, striding in sync up to a transmat pad and setting Amon down in between them.
"I guess you'll find out soon enough."
On the walk from the Courtyard to Shiro's apartment, the two men discussed strategy as if Amon wasn't right there listening. She was practically hyperventilating with furor by the time they shoved her through the doorway of his spacious new flat, and Shiro lead her and Uldren into a clean room with a decently large bed in the center. Shiro flicked a switch on an ancient-looking speaker device and a beautiful voice began to sing, accompanied by soft jazz music.
"What is that?" Amon had never seen a music box as old as that one.
"Gramophone. Ella Fitzgerald- she's a pre-Golden Age musician. Romantic, eh?" Shiro winked as he waltzed back over, grabbing her arm and spinning her around before leaning her back in his arms. He scooped her up and carried her over to the bed, Uldren in tow, depositing her on the soft duvet. She looked up at the two men expectantly, biting her lip and drawing a finger along her exposed collarbone. Amon was thankful she had opted to wear a stylish lavender tunic instead of her armor.
They both shared a nod before Uldren leaned over and started aggressively kissing her while Shiro kneeled on the bed next to her head. Keeping his mouth on hers, Uldren reached down under her tunic and ripped her panties off. Shiro already had his belt undone and was taking off his shirt when Amon reached over and began feeling around his crotch. Finding what she wanted, she broke her kiss with Uldren and turned to examine her discovery.
Shiro kept his hands to himself while Amon pulled out his robotic member and began stroking it, eliciting a low hum from the Exo. "How does it feel, Commander?"
"Thank the Traveler for Exoscience." Shiro's eyes flashed as she adjusted her head to lick along the glowing blue stripe running up and down his length.
"I've never tasted Exo before." Amon closed her mouth around the tip of his cock and began sucking him off, working her tongue around him as she bobbed her head. Uldren had moved himself down between her legs and began teasing her folds while she was distracted. He slipped a finger into her and pumped slowly while he sucked on her clit.
Amon moaned around Shiro's dick and he reached down to uncover her breasts, pushing further inside her mouth and hitting the back of her throat. He met eyes with Uldren, giving him a simultaneously jealous and impressed look when she didn't gag. "I know, right?" Uldren began teasing her asshole with his thumb while Shiro pushed once again into her throat, making her moan loudly and choke.
Shiro's breath picked up as he continued fucking her face, cursing to himself. "Don't pull away," he choked out, "that's an order." The exo stalled as he came in her mouth, launching synthetic cum down her throat. She pulled away and licked her lips, humming in satisfaction.
"Tastes like the real thing."
"Yeah? You like it?"
"Yes, Sir." She nodded and threw her head back, approaching her own release. Suddenly Uldren pressed his thumb into her anus, sending her over the edge from the surprising sensation. "What was t-that?" She panted and sat up on her elbows to look at Uldren's grinning face.
"Looks like you win the bet, Shiro." He looked up at the exo and began to undress.
"I told you- it's always the quiet ones." Amon glared at them both and they put their hands up defensively, ignoring her questions as they laughed together. "Don't worry about it."
Uldren pulled her towards him by the wrists while Shiro shifted behind her, lifting her hips to sit her on her knees. He slapped her ass, and she whimpered, pushing herself backwards toward his erection. He lined himself up at her entrance and pushed in to her. Gasping as the size of him stretched her out, she reached a hand up to intertwine it with Uldren's.
Shiro settled into a steady rhythm and Amon let go of Uldren's hand to grab his cock, pulling it towards her mouth. She sucked him hungrily while Shiro pounded into her from behind, moaning and loving the feeling of being filled on both ends.
Uldren cursed as he watched Shiro thrust into her. "You're so pretty when you're getting fucked." Amon hummed and pushed her mouth all the way to the base of his cock. He cried out and came in her mouth, and she happily swallowed it all to add it to her collection. Soon after Shiro picked up his pace, slamming their hips together as he neared his release. She used her thighs to move back and meet his thrusts, and after a few moments he pulled out and spilled himself onto her ass.
Uldren pulled her up and crashed his lips into hers, lifting her up so she could straddle his waist. He turns around and sits back onto the bed, taking her with him. She sat on his lap and ground into them while they continued to make out, reaching her hand in between them and guiding his cock into her. Shiro settled in behind them and leaned down to whisper in her ear while starting to rub and press on her asshole.
"You okay with this?" Shiro teased her, gently pressing his tip at the entrance.
"Y-yes. Please. Yes, sir." She was already on the brink of an orgasm and struggled to answer him. With her consent, the exo carefully eased himself into her ass. Amon felt a burning sensation as her muscles stretched, reflexively using a touch of void light to counteract the feeling. "Fuck!" She cried out once he was fully inside her, and before he even began to move she was riding out her climax.
Shiro began thrusting into her, matching Uldren's rhythm after a few moments. She bounced up and down on their dicks, shoving her head into Uldren's shoulder and gripping the blanket tightly as sounds of pleasure uncontrollably spilled from her mouth. Uldren grabbed her hips to steady her between them while they fucked her relentlessly.
Amon couldn't think of anything other than the feeling of being filled by both of them, of them rubbing together through her walls, of her g-spot being repeatedly slammed into. She shook uncontrollably as the most intense orgasm she had ever had took over her body. They kept driving their cocks into her as she came, each chasing their own release. Slumped against Uldren's chest, she finally felt them cream one after the other deep inside her, and then everything went black.
She felt something warm and soft wrapped around her, and a familiar but unintelligible voice tugged at her conscience.
Is that Uldren? She couldn't remember where she was. Amon tried to open her eyes, but the light was blinding and she immediately squeezed them shut. Someone was brushing their hand against her cheek. She tried to open her eyes again to see who it was and noticed that the light was significantly lower this time. Opening her eyes fully, she saw Uldren looking down at her with a worried expression.
"Amon? Can you hear me?" He spoke softly, voice full of concern. She reached out and touched his face as her vision slowly came back into focus.
"What happened?" She mumbled and moved her hand around, haphazardly feeling his face and causing him to chuckle. Footsteps approached from the other side of him and she rolled her head over to see Shiro approaching with a glass of water.
"Welcome back champ!" She helped her sit up, and they tipped her head back, bringing the glass to her lips. Suddenly realizing how thirsty she was, she grabbed the cup from him and started gulping the liquid down. As she rehydrated herself, her memories gradually came back to her, and she squeezed her legs shut in panic. "Don't worry, we cleaned you off."
Shiro pried the empty glass out of her hands and Uldren laced his fingers with hers, bringing her hand to his mouth so he could kiss the back of it. "I'm sorry, that was too much too soon." She shook her head.
"No, I enjoyed it. Don't feel bad."
He frowned, unsatisfied with her quick forgiveness. Shiro gestured to the bed and addressed them both.
"You're welcome to stay here for the night. Plenty of room."
Amon mumbled her thanks and settled back into the pillows, closing her eyes. Her ghost spoke up in the recesses of her mind.
You shouldn't have been so reckless, Guardian. He sounded more exasperated than angry.
"I'm sorry, little light," she whispered to herself.
I'm going to help you sleep, okay? Like a flame combusting the last of the available oxygen, she drifted back to sleep, still clutching Uldren's hand.