We Stand Together

Chapter 32: Once and For All

A few days pass in relative peace until one morning.

Eden wakes with a sour feeling in her gut and a notification that the time has come for her to do her Black Garden mission. A bad feeling twirls around the pit of her stomach as she sits up. Something is going to happen today, she knows it. What it is, Eden isn't sure. Only that whatever it is, it's going to be bad.

Uriah, upon sensing her distress, soothes her and tells her that her irrational fear is nothing to worry about. Eden listens and tries to go about her normal morning routine.

Shower, make sure she has her guns and ammo, grab the Gate Lord eye, and check-in with her fireteam.

Everything goes well at least until she gets to her fireteam.

They sit in the living room, waiting on her. When Lance sees her, he waves her over with a solemn face. Eden swallows back a lump in her throat and sits beside him, nervous. The dread in her stomach nearly paralyzes her with worry.

Jaren and Axel stand behind him, shifting from foot to foot anxiously. And when Jaren looks her in the eye? She knows almost immediately what's happening.

"Eden, it's time."

Those dreaded words. Those terrible, awful words that she hoped she'd never hear.

Eden swallows hard, unsure what to say. She knew that they would have to leave sometime but she never prepared for it. So, she does the only thing she can. Eden levels a wobbly grin at them and says, "Make sure to throw in a punch for me, okay?"

Lance manages to crack a grin but other than that, they all remain sober.

"Before we left, we wanted to give you a present. We've been saving up the glimmer ever since you've joined the fireteam and we thought you'd like it."

Eden keeps her attention trained on Lance as he brings his palm up, Clovis hovering in the space above it.

The red Ghost twirls his shell and chirps, a blue light scanning the air in front of him. Within seconds, a full set of Titan armor hovers there. A white shader rests upon the outside with accents of silver lining the spaces in between. Eden gapes at the sight.

She looks over at Lance and the others, smiling so wide it feels like she's splitting her face apart.

"It's so beautiful. Thank you!" She gushes, standing up to inspect the armor closer.

Excitement rushes through her body and she looks at Uriah with bright eyes. He chuckles, already anticipating her next words.

"Yes, I'll put it on."

Eden grins widely and watches as the armor disappears from the air and into her body, replacing the old set.

"Finally look like a proper Titan, kid," Axel remarks.

The pride in his voice has her grinning with a light blush dusting her tan cheeks.

"Thank you, all of you. This is the best gift ever. I just wish it wasn't in the wake of something so serious."

She looks down, a small frown tugging at her mouth.

A comforting weight settles on her shoulder and she glances up to see Lance's kind face.

"Eden, I want you to remember something for me, okay?"

She nods.

"No matter what happens and no matter where we end up, we will always stand together. Always."

Though it's only for a few days, Eden knows she'll miss his comfort. How he always knows what to say. Grinning softly, she pats his hand saying, "Thanks, Lance. I appreciate hearing that. I mean, after a speech like that, I expect you to come back home so I can hear more."