Arcite was already gone when Frea returned to the Crucible room. Her gaze landed on the desk cluttered with scout reports. Curious, she picked up one of the papers and studied it. The Guardians were trying to keep to normal patrols as best they could, even without their numbers and power. The Farm's remote location has proven useful so far, but it still needed protection from bandits and Fallen. It was the only place they could call home for now, maybe forever.
"Hawthorne already believes Commander Zavala abandoned her and the refugees." Her Ghost worriedly bobbed in the air, casting light across the shadowy room. "Now that we're leaving..."
"We could stay and assist, but that would only help in the short term." Frea set down the report. "If the Commander is truly trying to set up a counteroffensive on Titan, taking down the Red Legion will save them all and get our City back. Hawthorne might mean well, but not everyone can survive out in the wild like this forever."
Heavy footsteps from behind signaled Shaxx's entrance, making her Ghost vanish again. The huntress nearly jumped out of her skin when his horned helmet suddenly flew into her line of sight. It skidded across the table, sending papers and tablets scattering everywhere. She didn't get the chance to turn around before warm arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly. That gentle smell of pine she'd come to enjoy so much surrounded her like a thick blanket against the cold. Her stiff muscles naturally started to ease.
"I was only gone for a few days." She smiled.
"Few days too long," he purred against her ear, sending a shiver down her neck.
The room they were in was tucked in the far corner of the hanger barn, but it wasn't really the spitting image of privacy. Outside of Frea's inner circle in her clan, and maybe a certain observant Hunter Vanguard, no one else knew of her and Shaxx's relationship. They tried their best to keep it under wraps just for the sake of simplicity, so this was bold, even for him.
"Did something happen?" Frea fidgeted in his grasp, making herself enough room to twist around and look at him. His face didn't betray any emotion except for his eyes, which gave away his uneasiness.
He shifted slightly, his hands moving to rest on the small of her back. "I ran into Hawthorne earlier."
"Oh?" She swallowed hard. This wasn't going to be good.
"Oh." Shaxx repeated, his pitch dropping low.
Frea steeled herself. "I have to go. This won't end until we have the City back."
"I know. You're the only person who can fight for us now, but even so I still worry." Shaxx buried his face into her scarf, his voice just a whisper. "I've lived and died countless lifetimes, seen more battles than I've bothered to count." He lifted his head back up to meet her eyes. "Nothing frightens me now, except for..."
A world without you.
The Titan faltered for just a second, unwilling to finish the sentence. His eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "I want to go with you, Frea."
"Shaxx," she started.
"I don't need my light to fight, my gun arm is still just as deadly." He continued, hardly listening.
"Shaxx!" The huntress stood on her tiptoes and cupped his face to draw his attention back to her. "You're all that remains of the Tower for the Guardians here. They need support and leadership. They need you. Please-" Her gaze fell downward to hide the tears blurring her vision. "I've already lost one important person because of my failure to convince him to stand down. I can't lose you too."
He embraced her harder against his chest. And she cried.
Frea never cried so hard before, all the pent up anxiety and anger from the past few days came out as muffled sobs against Shaxx's mantle. He patiently patted her hair until she calmed down. After what felt like hours, the tears dried up and she took a long shaky breath. "Sorry. You must be tired of seeing me like this," she mumbled.
The Titan was quiet at first. He bent down and kissed her wet cheeks, making Frea flinch with surprise. A bittersweet smile eased into his stoic features. "What kind of man would I be if I ran whenever the woman I loved cried?" His fingers gently stroked the smooth skin under her eyes, drying them. Tender words were a rare thing to come from Shaxx. He was a man of action after all. However, when he did use them, they made the huntress's heart flutter with joy. She unwittingly leaned into his palm, eyes closed from the welcoming warmth of his touch.
Unable to resist, Shaxx kissed her again. His lips just carefully brushed against hers. He held himself back on the night of their reunion a few days ago. Even on that dark evening he could tell she was exhausted from her journey, he didn't want to push her. But now, the Titan wasn't so sure he could do the same again. His resolve crumbled when she pulled at his armor, forcing him to step so close that their legs tangled. They would have fallen over if it wasn't for the table he now had her trapped against.
He coaxed her mouth open with his tongue and dived deeper, earning a soft whimper from the huntress. That sound she made only for him, he craved more of it. His hand lightly gripped her hair and pulled her head back enough to expose her neck. She nearly cried out when he suckled the delicate skin there.
"Shaxx," Frea breathed. "Someone might come."
He didn't care. His hands crept to the strappings of her gear and started to undo the buckles, not that he had much to fumble with.
"This armor is a mess," he grumbled, throwing the pieces he removed off to the side.
She laughed. "I was planning to ask if you had a spare set."
"Good, I don't have to worry about ruining anything then." His voice dipped lower, almost predatory. With one last jolt, he dropped her pants to the ground and lifted her onto the table. The cool wood felt like ice against her bare skin. Frea was eye level with him now, one of his hands rested against her thigh, the other he brought to his mouth. "If you have to scream." He clenched an armored finger between his teeth, slowly pulling off the glove with a suggestive smirk. "Then kiss me."
Her curiosity to ask why melted away the moment his warm hand cupped the apex between her legs. The huntress's entire body clenched up when his fingers started to toy with her. She gripped his shoulder armor, desperate to not let her yowls of pleasure echo through the room, but he was unforgiving. He merely played at her entrance, enticing and driving every one of her senses wild with ecstasy without actually delving into her core. His infuriatingly light stroking was enough to bring her to the edge but not to tip her over. It was torturous.
Frea's muscles hummed with desire as she cupped the Titan's face in her hands. She kissed him again, teasing him in the same way he was doing to her. She knew he wanted her to beg for more, but she wasn't the type to easily bend to anyone's will. Her tongue flitted along his jawbone, following the lines of his neck. Unlike her, he was still fully fitted in his heavy armor, making it a challenge to entice him further.
With a sly smile, Frea inched her fingers into the thin crevasse of his chest plate and found purchase beneath it. Shaxx twitched at her touch, rewarding her with a low growl from his throat. He started to grow rougher, more needy as his hand left her warmth to undo his belt.
The sound of loud voices outside made them both jump. A group of refugees were discussing dinner plans only a few feet away from the door. It wouldn't take much noise for them to notice the two Guardians holed up inside the room next to them.
Frea's face burned hot with embarrassment. Things were just getting good, she didn't want to stop, but getting caught with her pants quite literally down wasn't exactly an option either. She locked eyes with Shaxx, expecting him to be thinking the same thing. However, he lifted a finger to his lips to hush her and instantly she knew what he was about to do.
"Hold on." Her unsteady whisper faltered when his fiery arousal entered her. She was so ready for him that he buried himself to the base in one single movement. Frea cupped a hand over her mouth to stifle her moan. He was much harder than before, so much so that it felt like he could break her in two. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
He chuckled. "You are as well, you've never been this we-" She closed her fingers over his mouth to stop his obscene comment, earning another soft laugh from the Titan. So many emotions were swirling in her head at the moment, desire, fear of getting exposed, and the excitement of it all were intermingled into one raging fire. She couldn't decide what to focus on. Shaxx kissed her lightly on the temple, drawing her attention back to him. "Look at me. Don't think of anything else," he whispered.
His hips started to move against her, going agonizingly slow to ensure she felt every inch of his girth, but the huntress couldn't stand his teasing any longer. She urgently matched his movements and he hissed with delight.
The Titan grabbed her wrists and pushed her back against the table, pinning her small frame with his weight. His patience at its end, he pounded into her harder, making her back arch with every thrust. When the soft fabric covering her chest pressed against his armor he found himself missing the feeling of her slick skin against his, so instead he made do with tasting every ounce of flesh he could reach. Her hands, her cheeks, her lips, he could kiss her for hours. The way she nibbled at his bottom lip set his loins ablaze.
Frea's hips suddenly bucked upward as she shuddered around him, sending Shaxx spiraling to his own climax. He bent over the huntress with a pleased sigh. How desperately he wanted to continue, but the chatty people still outside his door were grinding on his last nerve.
"Never thought there would be a day where I'd actually miss being stuck in that damn Tower," he said.
Frea held back a laugh. "How funny, considering how happy you were to leave your office whenever you had the chance."
"That was because..." Shaxx frowned, stopping whatever thought he had going through his mind. He pulled away and helped the huntress off the table. "There's some armor sets packed away on my ship you can have, at least I can make sure you're prepared for whatever awaits you on Titan." He turned and started for the doorway, leaving Frea's curiosity unsatisfied.
"Are you not going to finish that first sentence?" She asked.
He froze, his head rotating just a degree to reveal the small smile on his lips. "Maybe another time."
The huntress walked the path through the Farm toward the docks, the one thing she still kept from the Tower gripped in her hand. The other Guardians had set up a memorial against the wall of the main house facing the ocean. The woodwork was riddled with pictures of missing people and keepsakes rescued from the Last City. The sun vanished under the horizon hours ago, the only light came from the deserted fire pit and the few candles placed at the bottom of the shrine. Frea hefted the makeshift sack off her new shoulder armor and cut away the string, revealing the blackened cape inside. She pulled it out and spread the material wide in her hands. The gold embroidery glistened brightly in the candlelight despite the damage, the wolf emblem still as recognizable as ever. Just the sight of her favorite cape in tatters made her heart clench painfully. The material barely held together in her fingers, now a reminder of her burned home.
"Ghost," she muttered.
The little light popped into the darkness next to her. "Yes?"
"What's the word from the clan's comms?"
The Ghost stayed quiet for longer than necessary, sensing her concern. "No news on Dex, I'm afraid."
The huntress sighed. She had to focus on the task at hand. Get the Vanguard back and take out Ghaul. Nothing else matters, yet all she could think about was watching Dex jump into the unknown after Ikora. The guilt on her conscious felt like it was drowning her.
"For those who lives were cut too short." Frea closed her eyes as she tightly cupped the cape in her hands in prayer. The smell of singed fabric irritated her nose. "I will make the Red Legion pay ten fold for everything they did to us."
She pinned the cloak up on the memorial, the torn trim caught in the gentle breeze, spreading dancing shadows across the wall. Backing away, the huntress admired her work. Shaxx supplied her with a set of light armor, well-fitted and ready for battle. Her new cape drifted to the ground off her back, gleaming in the familiar snow white color she always wore. Gold thorns decorated the hem and long fur crested the neckline. It was a cape from one of the first Iron Banners he told her. Though, Frea couldn't help but notice how perfectly it matched her usual setup. She was quite sure Banner armor didn't normally come in white.
Clipping her helmet in place, she spun away from the shrine and made her way to the hanger.