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She's too tired for this. Everything aches in a way she hasn't been able to shake in months. Her Ghost can only do so much about the phantom pains that sing along nerves long after they've been healed.
She just wants it to stop. Why are his quarters so far away from the hanger?
She trudges up the next flight of stairs, silently cursing and whining within the confines of her own mind. It's late and he's probably asleep by now. She can't stop in the courtyard and ask him to carry her the rest of the way. Perhaps her ship is a better option for the night but he was looking forward to seeing her tonight - she just didn't realize how late that evening would be.
It's another ten hallways before she's standing outside his door. Ghost signals Lord Shaxx's companion and the door slides open.
It's pitch black inside the room and Ghost transmats above her left hand to offer some light. She shuffles inside, the door sliding shut behind her with a soft whoosh and her hand falls away from his shell, slowly beginning the long process of removing her armor. She can hear the Titan snoring on the bed, sounding peaceful and, in a way, soothing after so long. She's slept through worse and at this point, she sleeps better when she can hear it.
She deposits her sullied cloak on the back of the chair, vowing to give it a thorough cleaning in the morning as her hand ghosts over the ace on the back. The red HUD projected beyond the confines of her helmet flickers offline as the helmet unseals with a soft hiss and she sets it down beside the larger, one horned helmet on the desk. She stares at his for a long moment, brushing a thumb absently over the curve before she removes her gloves and gauntlets. The vest is heavier than it should be, but she thinks of it as his way of being there. The Cinder Pion vest - a fragment of the armor the Titan had designed for the newest Crucible season, the Crest of the event ingrained on the front. She likes it, though. It's like he's there beside her in the field, a comfort when she aches for him the most.
She's so lost in the abyss of her thoughts that she doesn't hear him awaken. She's in a daze as she lays the chest piece on the ground and starts on her belt. She's just barely touched it when his arms encircle her, one locked firmly across her shoulders and chest, the other wound tightly around her waist as he embraces her from behind. She jolts. Exhausted neurons fire and for a moment, she's in the field. For a moment, he is an enemy she'd missed and it sends a wave of panic through her. For a moment she struggles against that which she's longed for. For a moment, he's all that grounds her.
"It's alright."
His voice rumbles along her spine, firm and resounding and her frame goes slack in his embrace. The adrenaline ebbs and she leans her head back against his chest, closing her eyes as she feels him nuzzle along the side of her neck.
"Welcome home." He whispers against damp flesh, giving her a soothing squeeze.
Her hands lift, settling along his forearm as he holds her. She needs a shower. She's covered in sweat and dirt and Traveler only knows what else. He doesn't care. He presses the softest of kisses along a new scar on her neck and she crumbles. His hold on her waist adjusts and he leans down, picking her up and carrying her carefully towards the bathroom for a shower.
She starts to protest, insisting on just wanting to sleep but he shakes his head.
"You'll rest better when you're clean. I'll help you," he promises softly, already undoing her belt and removing the armor along her lower half. She works off her tank top and silently complies as the Titan helps her undress the rest of the way after he turns on the shower. And while it heats up, Lord Shaxx gently kisses her.
It's been too long since she's been home.
He pulls away after a long moment, reaching over to check the temperature before picking her up and stepping into the shower. When he got undressed, she isn't sure - she's not even sure she remembers half of the shower. He'd maneuvered her so her back was to the showerhead, allowing her to rest her forehead against his chest and close her eyes as he gently massages aching muscles, washing away dirt and sweat as she leans against him.
"Stay awake, my little Hunter," he urges gently when she starts to sway in a half-conscious lurch. Her hands brace against his chest and she offers a feeble nod. The next few minutes blur together until the water shuts off and he's wrapping a large, Titan-sized towel around her to dry her off. He sets her on the sink while he dries off and the next time she opens her eyes, he's helping her get dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of her shorts.
She mumbles something incoherent to the both of them - it might have been a thank you, but she's pas the point of coherency. She vaguely registers being lifted from the sink, her head laying against what she's come to recognize as his chest - she can hear his heartbeat. Steady and firm, just like him.
There's something soft underneath her - the mattress probably. He has her tucked against him, blankets tugged up to her chin as she inhales slowly. Her arm reaches out, resting along the Warlord's side until it curls up and around the back of his arm. He's on his side, it's the only way she can rationalize the wall of heat in front of her face.
And then he presses a kiss to her hairline, whispers words of admiration into the soaked locks as she tries with what strength she has left to give him a squeeze. She's so warm and the ache in her muscles has long since fled beneath his touch and so, too, has the ache in her heart. She just needed her Titan. That's all it was. All those weeks without him - too long.
She buries her face against his collarbone, squeezing her eyes shut as he traces shapes along her spine with calloused fingertips. She can feel it through the shirt - his shirt. She missed him and not the Darkness nor the Cabal Empress herself is going to drag her away from him tonight.
In the morning, he's off to train rookies. In the morning, she heads to the HELM to check in with Osiris.
But tonight? Tonight, this is where she shall stay. Tonight, this is where she belongs. Tonight, this is home.
And she'll fight for it.
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