Shaxx radiated with agitation as he loomed over the Guardians on the pier, his stance wide and unflinching with his hands clasped behind his back. No one dared to move when his painted visor scanned the area, going from Aner in the water to Frea sitting at his feet. The sense of dread he gave off made even Maku take a step back for fear of becoming a target of the Titan's wrath.

"Where were-" Frea started, hoping to ease the building tension in the air.

"Come," he cut her off, briskly turning around to leave just as fast as he had arrived.

As the huntress slowly rose to her feet, Aner shot a remark from behind her. "She's not your dog, Shaxx."

The Crucible handler froze in place, his hands falling into fists at his sides.

"Whoa there, Sir." Maku stepped up to him to block the path to his brother. "Aner didn't mean that...he's not so great with filtering his words and-" He caught himself as the Titan ignored his pleas, shoving him to the side.

Aner was just beginning to pull himself by the cleats anchored to the dock, when a hand flew across his vision and grabbed the scarf draped around his neck. With one arm, the ex-Iron Lord yanked him out of the bay and threw him back onto dry land. He stumbled for a millisecond, trying to regain his footing on the slick wood, and then straightened to comb the wet hair out of his eyes. Seaweed clung to his belt like a newly acquired sash while water leaked from the openings in his armor.

"Care to repeat that, whelp?" Shaxx challenged.

"Yeah, actually." Aner glowered, squaring off his shoulders, he stood nearly as tall as the other Titan and could easily reach his eye level. "I saw what happened between you two in the airfield the other day. I don't care for the way you treat her, not then, and not now."

Shaxx poked a stern finger against the four linear scratches carved into the other Titan's shoulder armor, the only sign left of Frea's struggle from earlier. "Ironic," he growled. "You're the last person to be saying that after the move you just pulled."

"You bast-"

"Stop it. Both of you," the huntress intervened, placing her small frame between the towering giants. "What happened at the airfield was my fault, not Shaxx's."

Aner huffed, his glowing eyes lowering to meet hers. "Considering everything you've been doing for us, I think you deserve to vent without having someone else chastise you for it."

"And this is how you want to express that opinion? By disrespecting authority?"

His face dropped. "No...I..."

"Bro," Maku added, placing a hand on the Titan's shoulder. "I think it would be best to go."

Turning his head sharply to the side, Aner clicked his tongue. "Fine. But Frea..."

"What?" She asked, a little too stiffly.

"I meant what I said earlier."

Frea wove her fingers together, acutely aware of the hovering Titan burning a hole though her hood with his eyes right behind her. "I know and I'm flattered but..." She took a deep breath. "I love Shaxx. And that won't change anytime soon."

Her unabashed honesty made the tips of Aner's cheeks tint purple as he adverted his eyes and pretended to cover a cough to hide his reaction. "It's a good thing I don't give up easily then," he mumbled.

"Alright, alright." Maku pulled at his brother's arm. "Let's go before Lord Shaxx loses his cool, okay? Bye, Frea."

"Bye." She returned the Warlock's wave as they left and let out a tired sigh when she noticed Aner sneak one last glance her way before they blended into the party. Her hands moved up to hug her elbows, that was one problem down...now she had to deal with the other, much larger one. When she turned on her heel to face him however, he was walking away, his boots rocking the dock with every step.

"Shaxx? Shaxx, wait!" Frea strained her legs to keep pace with his long strides as he crossed the yard and pushed through the crowd. Displaced and half-drunken Guardians turned to shoot them glares until their eyes landed on the Titan, which made them quickly move back to make space for them. "Please, can't you just stop for a moment?" He halted so abruptly that she collided face-first into his back. With stars now dotting the corners of her vision, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Please," she begged, her voice quivering. "I can't understand if you don't talk to me." His only response to her was silence, or whatever he said was drowned out by the noise from the party, but she could feel his hands fall on hers and then he was tugging her away.

He brought her to the edge of the forest, out of range of the music and any prying eyes, and dropped her hand. She watched him as he strode over to a fallen tree and plopped himself on it, his back facing her.

"Are you mad?" Frea finally asked, unable to stand the quiet any longer.

"At you? Or your friend?"

She walked over to the tree and warily place her hands on the horizontal trunk like it would burn her. "Yes."

"Then no," he bluntly replied.

"Ah," the huntress murmured, looking down. It was obvious that he wasn't up for talking, of course he wasn't, not after that scene he just witnessed. "I can go if you want, Shaxx. If you need to be alone..." When she turned to leave, a hard jolt pulled back on her cape and she tripped, falling into the Titan's outstretched arms.

"Stay," he said and placed a hand behind her knees, lifting her up and into his lap. "Just give me a moment to breathe, so I can stop feeling the need to punch something."

"But don't you always feel like punching things?" She grinned. To her upmost relief, his chest rumbled with a soft laugh.

Their conversation drifted into a quietness that ticked into minutes as they sat there together, sharing the gentle thump of their heartbeats. The awkward feeling, the uneasiness, even the nerves that were making Frea on edge, gradually dissipated into a calmness that made her realize just how tired she was. She fought to keep her eyes open, the warmth of Shaxx's arms making it near impossible to do so, and opted to fiddle with the pendant that dangled from his mantle to keep herself alert. As she did so, she could feel the Titan shift under her, his visor traveling downward to watch. His hand that wasn't supporting her back reached out and gently took hold of the swath of white fabric around her neck, turning it over to reveal the crimson blood stain from her tussle with Xane underneath.

"My anger isn't directed at you or anyone else," the Titan muttered, rubbing his thumb across the collar of her cape. "Aner is right."

"Aner is a lot of things, right, isn't one of them at the moment. What happened at the airfield, was all me, I acted out and you just reacted back. I'm sorry for that." She sighed. "I've actually been trying to tell you that all night."

"How about," he added, his tone brightening. "We both take credit for it and move on?"

A tender smile crept onto her lips. "Deal. Still mostly my fault though."

"Frea."

"Okay, it was both of us." She laughed, patting his armor playfully. If felt so good to banter with him like this again, how long had it been since they were able to trade quips? "Do we need to talk about what happened at the pier?"

"Do we?" Shaxx asked, titling his head. "If pronouncing your undying love and throwing a Titan three times your size across your back isn't enough to send a message, then your friend is an idiot."

"Ugh." A rush of blood come up to Frea's cheeks as she buried her face into her hands. "I can't believe I did that. Maku is never going to let me live it down now."

"I'm sure he has more pressing matters to worry about right now than to tease you. Did you get to spend time with your clan tonight?"

"Yes. Speaking of which, where did you go? I thought you were going to join us."

"I..." The Titan nervously scratched at the subtle dents in his chestplate. "Thought it would be best to give you some space, to see your friends before the mission tomorrow. They tend to stiffen up whenever I'm around."

A cozy heat spread inside her heart and she swung her leg over his waist so she could face him directly, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. This entire time she was worrying about him avoiding her, but he was actually looking out for her well being, making sure she wouldn't have any regrets if things didn't turn out as well as they hoped. Her friends were like her family, they were the anchors that kept her levelheaded and secure when the world threw too much at her, and Shaxx...he was there to light her way when her resolve wasn't enough. How could she fail?

"Thank you," she whispered, resting her cheek against the fur of his pine-scented mantle. "For everything." Her tone sounded almost final, it could be, for all she knew. But everything she had experienced in the years leading up to this, the time they had shared together, felt like a dream. A dream she did not want to wake up from, and she wasn't sure how to express that except to simply thank him for it all.

His arms tightened around the huntress, his fingers straining against her armor. "Frea," he said painfully. "Don't speak like that, you will win."

She lifted her head and traced the sides of his helmet, her fingertips grazing the base of the horns, and pressed a long kiss to the thin line of his mouthpiece. The metal left a coppery taste in her mouth, like blood. "Whatever happens, if one of us doesn't make it...will you wait for me?"

The way she looked at him, with a hint of tears lining the bottom of her eyes, made Shaxx's stomach clench. He pulled his head back and reached around to unlock the seals at his neck, his haste to relieve himself of the armor made him yank the helmet away so roughly that it bounced off the tree trunk once before rolling to a stop on the forest floor.

"I," he started, taking her head into his palm. "Will wait a thousand more lifetimes if I have to." The Titan's lips crushed against hers, desperate in their need to touch her, and she responded to him in kind as she opened her mouth to allow access for his tongue. She shifted her body to move closer against him and his breath hitched when she brushed against the fire building between his legs. Her hips rolled over him again when she noticed his reaction, enticing him further. "Frea." His hand flew up to tightly grip her soft thigh, stilling her movement. "You need to rest tonight."

"Do you not want to?" She asked, biting the bottom of her lip with a smirk.

He sighed. "Giving me the puppy dog eyes is unfair."

"But it works doesn't it?" Frea softly trailed a finger down the front of his chest armor, stopping just at his belt. She could tell he liked the teasing when the hand he still held to her leg flinched. "Shaxx," she whispered, almost singing his name. "I want a better memory than saying a quick goodbye in a burning Tower...in case luck isn't on my side this time."

She didn't need to say more.

In mere seconds, they had each other nearly out of their undersuits, armor vigorously tossed to the side much like Shaxx's helmet. As she reached for his pants again, he grabbed her wrist. "You'll hurt yourself if you rush," he growled in her ear. The Titan then slid off the tree trunk, carrying the little huntress with him, and pinned her against the wood.

When he bowed to one knee and lifted her leg over his shoulder, Frea's face lit up like furnace. "Hold on, you're not about to..." Her voice caved as he hooked a finger around her underwear and buried his face between her thighs. Had he not been holding her up, she would have toppled over. His tongue worked magic over her most delicate region, building her desire up by tenfold, the sheer pleasure of it was almost unbearable for her as she quivered in his grasp. Her fingers tangled in his hair when she bucked against his mouth in climax, waves of heat washing over her like lava.

Her body was still shaking when he stood up, a miniscule smile of confidence plastered across his lips. "Good?" Unable to form her thoughts into words, the huntress just nodded, earning a chuckle from him. "Good." Shimmying out of the rest of his clothes, he lifted her up so their hips aligned and pressed her harder against the tree, the fabric of her cape keeping the bark from scratching at her bare skin. The huntress tucked her face against the crook of his neck as she locked her ankles around his torso, tilting herself in an impatient attempt to get him to move faster. "Careful now, it's been awhile since we've done this," he purred.

"When did you become phlegmatic?"

His answer came when he eased into her flesh, she yielded to him so effortlessly that he reached all the way to the base with the shallow thrust, making her gasp from the feeling of fullness. "Patience sometimes has its perks." He gave her a moment to adjust to him, their mouths finding each other during the time. He only broke away to skirt his teeth around her jaw, to the supple flesh of her ear, and nibbled on it. Frea's legs suddenly tensed around him, forcing him even deeper into her core. Shaxx lifted his head with a hiss, locking eyes with her, the provoking grin she offered him when she did it again was enough to send the Titan over the edge. He plunged into her without hesitation, each slam of his hips created angry red marks across his scarred shoulders from her nails.

"Shaxx..." she cooed, already so close to another release.

He pulled back, placing her feet down on the ground and bent her over the fallen tree, his hands guided hers to the wood and laced their fingers together as he pounded harder into her from behind. Frea's back arched into his chest as she came, trying her best to stifle the cry. The Titan groaned in response and he sank his face into the folds of her cape, his own orgasm brought on by her body clenching around him.

"Guardian...Guardian? Frea!"

The huntress opened her eyes, blinking wildly when she was greeted by a harsh glare of fabric. The sun outside was beating on the tent she was in, making the light seem much brighter than it was.

"Ugh," she rubbed a hand over her face. "What time is it?"

"Dawn. The sun came up half an hour ago," her Ghost responded in her head.

Her body creaked in protest when she rose to a sitting position, the warm blanket sliding off her shoulders, and looked next to her. Shaxx still slept steadily, unperturbed by her movement even though his arms reached out for her. She smiled and carefully brushed some of the loose hair out of his eyes, taking in the image of him and burning it into her memory. There was no 'one more hour' this time, she had to go. Her smile dropped when her chest ached and she leaned down, planting a soft kiss to the Titan's temple.

"Goodbye, love. I'll make sure this won't be our last day," her voice cracked as a single tear ran down her cheek. "Even if that means I have to fight until my light runs out, just...stay safe, okay?"

Frea climbed out of the blankets and grabbed her armor, casting one last look back into the tent before she walked out into the rising sun.