Frea wasn't sure how much time passed as she laid curled in Shaxx's arms, the fur around his collar ticking at her nose. She always imagined it would smell like gunpowder, but instead it had the faint scent of pine, the same smell that often drifted on the breeze in the Cosmodrome. The Titan's steady breathing beneath her was relaxing, however his teasing fingertips tracing circles on the unarmored section of her back was driving her wild inside.

"Shaxx." The huntress lifted her head to meet his eyes. "We should probably move, the others could find us any minute now."

"I suppose." He agreed but made no effort to release her from his tight grasp.

"They seem like a talkative bunch, who knows what gossip they'll spread if they see us like this," she said.

He frowned at that comment. Shaxx was already in Commander Zavala's bad graces, the last thing he needed was another lecture.

With a sigh he hefted himself off the ground, lifting the small huntress by the waist with him. Frea bit back a surprised squeak as he carefully set her back on her feet. She'd always been aware of their size difference, but seeing how easily he could pick her up was still a bit jarring. Even compared to his fellow Titans, Shaxx was massive, the only other person to come close to his height was Lord Saladin. And Frea was tiny for a Hunter.

The questionable look that crossed the Titan's face snapped Frea from her thoughts.

"Awfully spacey today, aren't you?" He smirked.

Frea felt her skin flush hot when she realized she had been staring. She whipped around a little too quickly to hide her expression, the tail of her long cape brushing against him.

"I'm always spacey," she mumbled and retrieved their helmets, tossing Shaxx his.

He replaced it with a click, the air seals locking into place around his neck. "How big of a head start do you want? Five seconds or ten?"

She put on her own helmet, adjusting it under her hood. "Shouldn't you be the one getting the head start? I am faster than you."

"So, two seconds then?" He titled his head.

Frea stepped up to the Titan and playfully poked at his chest plate. "Three seconds, no charging allowed."

Shaxx laughed and gently grabbed her hand, curling his armored fingers around hers as he squeezed. He was getting bolder with touching her, and she found herself wanting more every time he did. "Next time we meet, I won't go easy on you," he challenged.

"Neither will I," the huntress replied.

"I swear to the Traveler, Dand, if you snipe me one more-" The shout was cut off as the Titan went down, bullet to the helmet.

The Warlock next to Frea chuckled as he reloaded ammo into his gun. "Too easy."

Both teams had twenty kills now, and it was still anyone's game. Frea was hunkered down with Dand in the courtyard, watching his six while he kept anyone from getting too close. Unworth was down and waiting to respawn, gone just long enough that they couldn't expect any last minute backup plans from the Titan. Shaxx and his Hunter teammate had them pinned in the corner. The cover was protecting them for now, but not for long.

Just as Dand leaned around the wall for another shot, Frea noticed a red dot trained on his chest.

"Wait!"

Too late. The Warlock went down in flames, sniped by the rival Hunter.

Frea pressed herself back against the stone. She knew Shaxx was going to close in any second now, between him and that sniper, she had no chance in a fight. The huntress inched to the edge of the wall and spotted a small hole in the farthest corner of the courtyard, an escape route to the enclosed hallways, and her only shot at getting out alive. If she sprinted then maybe...

Suddenly a voice cut into her comms. "Guardian."

She jumped and nearly dropped her shotgun. "I'm a little busy right now, Ghost."

Her Ghost materialized into the air in front of her. "You have a call. It's urgent," it insisted.

Frea sighed and crouched back into cover, there goes that chance at getting away. "Patch them in," she said.

The Ghost expanded, its light growing brighter as it broadcasted the radio signal. Normally, if the caller was within range they could be wired into Frea's comms. Whoever was contacting her was most likely on another planet.

"Hey." A familiar voice she hadn't heard in days finally came through the static.

"Dex? You finally back from that patrol?" She asked with a smile. It was good to hear from him again.

"Sort of. I'm still on Saturn. Won't be back to the Tower until tonight."

"Those Taken been keeping you busy or can you not get the job done without me?" She chuckled, earning a exasperated sigh from the Warlock.

"Actually, I was contacted by the Commander about that mission in the Hive nest with Lord Shaxx-"

"Are you going to hide all day, Hive-bane, or do I have to drag you out?" Shaxx's lively shout bounced off the walls behind her, making Dex pause.

"It that Lord Shaxx? Where are you?" He asked.

"Uh, just doing some practice exercises in the Crucible," Frea replied.

A long silence dragged out before Dex finally spoke again. "I thought you hated the Crucible."

The huntress could feel herself start to panic, he was too perceptive for his own good. "Y-you know, gotta try different things sometimes." She awkwardly laughed.

"Frea?" Shaxx emerged from over the low wall she was using as cover. He immediately noticed her sitting down with the Ghost and holstered his gun. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Shaxx. Just talking to Frea about a certain mission." Dex cut in, a noticeable touch of irritation in his tone. Frea stiffened at the way he said Shaxx's name. She glanced up at the Titan but he hardly seemed to care about Dex's blatant show of disrespect.

"Is it about that Hive nest?" Shaxx asked.

"I've been ordered to not include you," the Warlock curtly replied.

Shaxx crossed his arms over his chest. "By Zavala, I assume."

Before the conversation escalated any further, Frea stood up and grabbed the Ghost out of the air. "Dex, we'll talk about this tonight at the Tower. You can fill me in then," she said.

"Fine."

Her Ghost then shrank back to normal size, indicating the signal was gone. Frea kept her eyes cast down as she processed what just happened. This was the first time she'd ever seen Dex act like that. It was clear he suspected something was going on between her and Shaxx. He was the last person she wanted to know of this, but then again she can never hide anything from that man. Her Ghost blinked up at her with its gentle light.

"How troubling," it whispered.

The same thought was going through Frea's mind as well.

The huntress felt a gaze and she looked up to see Shaxx staring down at her. She figured he would be mad, especially with Dex's attitude toward his superior, but the Titan just stood there. His body language gave nothing away and his expression was hidden behind his intimidating helmet. Frea found herself unable to say anything, the air between them so tense it was suffocating.

Shaxx finally looked away, summoning his Ghost to his palm. "Let's wrap this up, it seems you have an appointment to keep."

The coldness in his tone made Frea's chest clench in pain.

How troubling indeed.