A/N: So I finished Gears 4 on the weekend and I couldn't contain myself. Goes without saying, but this has spoilers for Gears 4 in it.

If you want to yell about Gears with me, you can find me on Tumblr as duchashka

special ladyfriend

Something was bothering Baird.

Sam had known the man for a quarter of a century; she was getting pretty good at picking up on these things. That's why, as soon as they'd made it back to their house in New Ephyra after helping JD and his friends storm the Hive, Sam had led Baird straight to their bedroom upstairs. It wasn't that she was trying to use sex to distract him from whatever had flustered him—rather, over the years Sam had discovered that the best place to get to the heart of any matter with Damon Baird was the intimacy of their bedroom.

Still, that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy themselves after a very long day.

"It was good to finally see Marcus again," she said, her body arching towards his as his thumb stroked lazily around her nipple.

Baird hummed noncommittally, a deep rumbling right next to her ear where he was trailing sticky kisses along her jaw, and made no sign that he was going to contribute to the conversation.

"It's been a long—ah—" Her breath hitched as his fingers slipped between her legs—"long time since the gang was—ah, fuck—back together."

She squeezed her eyes shut briefly, summoning every ounce of her self-control so she didn't abandon her investigation. But, damn him, Baird seemed to have figured out exactly what she was doing and was using every trick up his sleeve to break her concentration. Her hips began to roll in rhythm with his movements and when she was finally able to open her eyes again, there was a self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

Oh no, you're not getting out of this one, dear.

"I can't believe that the grubs are actually ba—"

He cut her off with a deep, firm kiss that she couldn't help but respond to, her hands sliding up his arms to cup either side of his face. However, she could feel something in the rigid press of his lips—uncertainty, and maybe even a little bit of fear.

She pulled back to make eye contact with him. "Talk to me, sweetheart. What's bothering you?"

"Why does something have to be bothering me?" he asked, trying to lean in and kiss her again. Sam held her hand up between them and gave him a look that clearly communicated there was no moving forward until he gave her the truth. Sighing, Baird dropped his gaze. "There… was a moment today when I thought—When that giant fucking monstrosity crashed the chopper—I thought I might lose you."

"Hey, hey, hey." She reached up to palm his jaw, gently forcing him to look at her again. "We made it out, didn't we?"

"Yeah, by the skin of our teeth."

"Just like old times, then."

He chuckled quietly. "Not exactly like old times." And he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as he spoke.

"We beat them before. No saying we won't be able to do it again."

"Last time we lost people. A lot of people. Good people."

"You can't start by assuming that the worst-case scenario is the most likely one."

"I'm a pessimist," he said, grinning humourlessly. "That's kind of what I do."

"Come on, darling. You can't tell me those kids—JD, Del and Kait—they don't remind you of anyone? Young, impulsive, stubborn, beating the odds at every opportunity?"

That got a genuine smirk out of him. "Yeah, kind of feels a little like history repeating itself. Although it's frigging weird to see JD running around with a Lancer. I swear he was in diapers only yesterday."

"Time flies," she said, tilting her head back in an expectant way. He rolled his eyes but indulged her with a kiss nonetheless, and this time it was slow and sweet, like they didn't have a care in the world.

"I'm going to build an army of automatic mechs," he said, moving his lips from her mouth to her neck and kissing down. "So many mechs. And put them in a circle around the house."

"You say that like you expect me to stay here while you and the boys go off to save the world again."

In answer, he bit down on her shoulder and then laved the spot with his tongue. "Gotta make sure all the important stuff stays safe."

The words—and the sentiment behind them—made her heart swell in her chest. "If you seriously think I'd stay behind while you—"

His mouth covered hers again, swallowing her protest. He kissed her, hungry and claiming, and didn't let her breathe again until he seemed satisfied that she wasn't going to continue her argument. "I know, Sam, I know. Just… let me have this. For tonight, at least."

"Okay," she said, circling her arms around him and pulling his body flush against hers. "Okay."

The world beyond the bedroom door fell away, leaving just the two of them to get lost in each other, safe in the precious twilight moment they had created. They mapped out the familiar terrains of each other's bodies, allowing themselves to forget about all the fractured certainties of the day. One thing, at least, remained true: what they shared together in that room.

Later, when they had both come down and caught their breath, Baird fell asleep with his head resting on Sam's ribcage, his arms still wrapped possessively around her torso. Her forearms were resting on the nape of his neck, drumming a soft pattern against his skin. She'd have to wake him up in a few minutes; her left leg was trapped under him and the circulation had been cut off a while ago. Yet, she was reluctant to rouse him and shatter this quiet moment.

If she was honest with herself, she was scared too. Twenty-five years had come and gone since the Locust had been destroyed—or so they thought, anyway. Turned out the grubs had just been hibernating, changing into… something. It was unsettling, finding out they'd been wrong this whole time, blissfully living their lives while a new evil was evolving beneath their feet.

Still, it did no good to let her fear get the best of her. She had to have faith in the new generation—the way Hoffman had had faith in Delta Squad all those years ago. If JD and his friends needed their help, Sam was sure the old guard would waste no time hopping into another helicopter to support them.

As if sensing her thoughts, Baird's arms tightened around her slightly. Sam smiled softly to herself, running her knuckles up and down his spine.

Yeah, Sam decided, she'd fight like hell this time around too. She had something that was worth protecting.