The shotgun burned hot in Frea's hands as she finished off the last of the Fallen patrol, its auto trigger sending every shell searing through the Captain until there was nothing left of it. As she tiredly sat down on a boulder to reload it, her fingers brushed against the XIV carved into the barrel. A week had gone by in a flash since she crossed through the Vex time gate. She settled pretty quickly despite the weird circumstances, spending her days guarding the repairs on the wall under Shaxx's orders while during the night she snuck away to the Tower. Her search through Osiris's studies in the Speaker's library yielded less than prolific results however, nothing in there seemed to tell her how to get back to the future yet.
"These scouting parties are becoming more and more frequent lately," a voice cut her from her daze. She glanced up to meet the eyes of a Hunter she'd come to know as Faelan, one of the few Guardians she allowed herself to chat to these days since they often teamed up for guard duty.
"Seems so," she agreed, looking over the bodies of the Fallen in the dirt. Their sashes were dyed a deep blood red, the telling sign of the House of Devils. "Are they really just scouting parties though?"
Faelan followed her line of sight. "Think it's something more?" He asked.
"Maybe." Frea rose to her feet and returned the heavy shotgun to her back. "They don't seem to be looking for anything and if they were, then they would have already known about this breach in the wall ages ago. But they keep sending more of these small groups here as if-"
"They're testing our defense," someone else finished her thought behind them.
The huntress twitched and hopped in the opposite direction of the new voice, putting distance between herself and the Titan.
"Ah, Lord Shaxx," Faelan greeted. "Do you need anything?"
"I came down to lend you two another gun but I see everything is already taken care of," his helmet drifted slightly in Frea's direction. "I do need you though."
The Hunters exchanged a glance and Frea felt her insides curl as she gripped her hands together. "Sure, of course," she said.
Without another word, Shaxx turned and strode for the narrow stairs leading to the top of the wall. Dragging herself to go after him, she shot one last look at Faelan who shrugged and silently mouthed something back to her. "Good luck."
The Titan's long strides made him able to take three of the steps at a time and when they finally made it to the top, Frea was out of breath from trying to keep up with him.
"I hope you're not claustrophobic," he said over his shoulder.
"Um, what?" Smoothing the hair out of her eyes she saw what he pointed to and her heart dropped. A section of the wall was collapsed except for the tiniest of holes, held up by a single rusted metal beam. Just beyond the slim passage she could see a dim blue control panel for a door.
"This part got hit the worst during Six Fronts and we haven't been able to reach the room on the other side since this happened," Shaxx explained. He extended a hand to tap on the metal and then stopped, thinking better of the idea. "Anyway, we need to hit that button and open the door to shift the rubble so we can clear it."
She sighed heavily, understanding what he wanted. "You mean, you want me to crawl in that mouse-sized hole to open the door?"
"You're the only one here small enough to do it."
"And how do we know if this whole thing isn't going to fall on me? Can't we just push it over and clear it like this?"
"If we try to move it now then we risk the chance of breaking the door permanently and then we'll have to destroy more of the wall to get to whatever is in that room." He rested his hand on his hips, turning fully to face the huntress. "Besides, if it does happen to buckle, then I'll be there to make sure you won't get hurt."
"Or to res me," Frea grumbled.
"That too."
Defeated, she spun back to the crevice. "Alright. Let's make this quick." Placing all her guns on the ground first, she ever so slowly snaked her boot into the passage and then froze, waiting for the whole thing to immediately collapse on her. When it didn't, she continued forward. She took a deep breath and held it, trying her best to suck everything in as she inched farther into the wall until finally her fingertips were nearly touching the control panel. "I think I've got it." Stretching a little too far, her knee slipped out of place and rammed against the edge of the wall. An ominous rumbling followed soon after.
"Frea!" She felt a hand envelop her wrist as the entire section of the wall came down, kicking up dust in its wake. Coughing and sputtering, her vision cleared after a few moments and she realized Shaxx was on his back beneath her, his arms wrapped around her head to protect it while she straddled his hips. Instinctively she wanted to struggle, but his hold on her tightened. "Shh, stop! You're going to make this thing fall more."
She willed herself to calm down and tried not think about the feeling of his body tightly pressed to hers or the place his armor was rubbing against. The structure above them still creaked and groaned with the threat of collapse, but so far it hovered in place just enough to not crush them, though moving was nearly impossible. "So what now, huh?"
His helmet titled slightly to look above them and she tracked his gaze. The panel was still there, still waiting. "Think you can get to that? If we open the door then the debris should fall to the other side and give us enough room to climb out of here," he said, his voice even louder in the tightly enclosed space.
"Can't you just Titan punch us out?"
"In this position?" He flailed his arms, the only part of him that was free enough to move.
"Alright, I get it," she said with a groan. Gingerly, she reached her hand through the small opening between two slabs of concrete and came up only a few inches short of the panel. Her arm fell down with an annoyed sound. "I'm almost there I just need...something." An idea popped in her mind and she tried to grab for the holster on her thigh, but the metal pressing on her shoulders kept her unable to do so. "Lord Shaxx, any chance you could reach the knife strapped to my leg?"
He twitched beneath her, his muscles flexing with tension. "Why?"
"To hit the panel," she replied, picking up on the sudden abrasiveness in his tone. "I know you don't trust me but I'm not so cold-blooding to stab the guy who just kept me from getting crushed. Even though your clumsy rescue attempt only got the both of us stuck." She couldn't help the smirk that crossed her lips. In the days she spent here, she avoided Shaxx as much as possible, yet her eyes often wandered to him whenever she had a free moment to herself. His attitude may be different from what she was used to, but she slowly started to notice the same charming quirks that made falling in love with him so easy. Once she was even treated to a taste of his dry humor while fighting off another scouting group of Fallen.
He almost seemed like he was going to retort but then he sighed as his hands left her head. "I'm sorry." Frea didn't need to ask why when his fingertips blindly found the curve of her waist and then steadily inched downward to her belt. Biting her lip, she slipped forward in an attempt to help him reach her leg easier, but his hand suddenly flew up and gripped her hip to stop her. She felt a shudder course through him underneath his armor. "Don't," he snapped. The pitch in his voice when he spoke was one she knew very well, low and raspy, brought on when her groin accidentally ground against his as she moved. She stilled and closed her eyes, trying to not lose herself to the desire building up inside her. His fingers left trails of fire down her body where they roamed, the sound of his quickening breath behind his helmet only brought her more excitement. This was torture.
Shaxx's hand finally came upon her thigh and thinking that her knife was there, squeezed. A moan escaped Frea's mouth before she could stifle it. The tense silence that overcame them after that noise was heavier than the pounds of rubble pushing on their backs from above. "Other leg," she quietly said. Mumbling another apology, he changed his angle and finally found the hoop built into her knife hilt, his finger hooking around it to yank the blade from its sheathe. She hurriedly grabbed it from his hand, desperate to get free before she made more of a fool out of herself, and tried again for the door panel. The tip of the knife was nearly there and she scooted forward, ignoring the Titan's soft groan and the way his fingers dug into her flesh as she did so. The sharp blade sunk into the panel with a satisfying shriek and the door opened. Just as predicted, the pile of metal and rock shifted into the room and the pressure pinning them down to the floor loosened. Frea ducked to dodge a sliding rod from knocking her in the head, when suddenly her world turned upside down as Shaxx rolled her over underneath him.
"Cover your head and don't move," he said.
Frea braced her arms over herself as he summoned Arc Light into his body. Electrified and brimming with power, he thrusted an elbow into the rock. It gave away to his strength, the metal mixed in with the debris conducting the lightening, and blasted a hole the size of the Titan through the rubble. Her teeth were still chattering from the static when Shaxx helped her out. Faelan and some other workers came running up behind them.
"You two alright? We suddenly heard-" The Hunter stopped when his gaze drifted down to the thick layer of dust covering them and the pile of rock behind. "What the hell happened?"
"Nothing happened," Shaxx answered quickly, suspiciously so. "Just a small cave in. Get this cleared up by the end of the day, alright?" Then he pushed through the group, heading for the opposite end of the wall.
Faelan turned back to the huntress. "And you, Frea?" He inquired.
Preoccupied with shaking the dust out of her cape, she snapped back to attention. "Nope. Nothing happened. Nothing at all."
Frea yawned wide as she keyed the code to the Speaker's library, the door sliding quietly to allow her access just like the last three nights before.
"I think my hair is going turn grey from stress if I have any more days like today," she grumbled.
"Maybe you should have stayed in tonight," her Ghost appeared over her head, lighting up the entryway until she could flick some of the lanterns on. "Losing sleep won't do you any good."
"Yes, mom." She stopped when she noticed another faint glow leaking from around a bookshelf that blocked the view of the center library. The room was a large, filled with shelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and a massive oak table set up in the middle. Every night since she started coming here it was empty, this was the first time it wasn't completely dark when she entered. Did she leave a lantern on when she left last night? Her hand clutched the bag filled with scrolls and books hanging from her shoulder tighter. No, she wouldn't have made that mistake. Spinning slowly to not make any noise, she reached for the door.
"Don't bother leaving. I already know you're there," the intruder called. The huntress cursed and hesitantly stepped back, finally coming into the light cast by the lantern positioned on the table. Shaxx sat on the desk, relaxing with his foot against the headrest of a chair and a book in his hand. The emblem for Osiris's disciples blazed a bright gold across the cover. His helmet lifted when she stood there in silence and then he snapped the book shut, the sound muffled by the parchment surrounding them. "Interesting read."
"Not really. Kinda boring if you ask me," she dryly replied. "So does this mean you'll be crushing my Ghost now?"
He snorted. "If I was then I would've done so when you came here again three days ago."
The comment caught her attention and her eyes widened. "You...knew?"
"Of course I did." He rose off the table and gently placed the book back in its place on the shelf. "I believe my exact words were I'll have my eye on you."
"Then why didn't you stop me?"
The Titan's hand stilled as it traced the worn bindings and then fell to his side. "I was hoping following you would give me a lead to Saint's intentions," he sighed, turning back to her. "Unfortunately you're much more guarded than I thought."
"Then I guess your mistrust is ill-considered." She set her bag down and eased into her usual chair, spreading the tombs out across the table's surface.
"Don't push your luck," he shot back at her without skipping a beat. "So. Assuming you're not coming here just to engage in some cheerful reading, what are you trying to find?" The glance she shot him plainly displayed her unwillingness to abide by his game. "Okay. Easy question then. Your cape, where did you get it?" Her mouth formed into a hard line, still making no effort to answer him. He took the seat across the table from her and leaned over the old wood. "You realize you're in the Speaker's private library, right? Having you exiled just for touching the door will be child's play."
Frea's eyes finally flitted up from her book to meet his visor. "You're awfully eager for someone who's been spying on me for the last week. Tired of slinking in the shadows?"
"My impatience got the better of me actually." He shifted in his chair, the wood squeaked loudly under his weight. "Indulge me at least. Then I'll let you keep coming back here, it's a fair trade I think."
"Alright fine," she sighed. "It was a gift. Given to me after my previous cloak burned up."
"From someone special?" He asked.
Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes locked on his, then she quickly averted them. "That's...personal."
"Hm." Shaxx placed an elbow on the table and rested the chin of his helmet against his knuckle. "I ask because that pattern, the gold thorns, is distinctly Iron Lord design. Very similar to a design belonging to someone-that I can say with the upmost certainty-didn't give to you."
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're implying."
"I'm not. You wouldn't be alive if you did." His head tilted. She could tell he was studying her closely, watching her reactions. "Your special someone must have quite the influence to get that cloak."
Giving up on her reading, she crossed her arms and stared at the flicker of the lantern on the table. "I suppose an Iron Lord would know, wouldn't he?"
A chuckle escaped his helmet. "Apprentice, actually. I'm not a full fledged Iron Lord until next Spring, though, if the old man gets his way then I won't be an Iron Lord ever." He exhaled a long breath, running his gloved palm over his visor. "
"Titles and formalities isn't what makes you great, Shaxx. You already are," Frea whispered. She didn't realize the weight of her words until the Titan grew strangely quiet and looked up to see him frozen still, his hands gripping the edge of the table. "I mean uh..." Stumbling to recover the conversation, she sprang up from her seat. "Nevermind. I should call it a night." She didn't bother to gather her strewn research and immediately bolted for the door.
"So are you?" Shaxx loudly called out behind her.
She hesitated and then slowly glanced back. "Am I what?"
"Saint's lover?"
The question caught her so off-guard that she nearly tripped over her own feet, giving him a look mixed between shock and horror. "What?! No!"
He leaned back in his chair and rested his arm over the headrest. Any thought he had going through his mind completely unreadable. "Goodnight, Frea."
Lips pursed and her grip tight on her bracer, she awkwardly bowed her head. "Goodnight...Lord Shaxx."