"I can't die, Aoba. You can. Or...at least, I'd rather not find out," the Titan sighed, head tilting slightly, a vague smile in his tone. He appreciated the sentiment and respected it, he simply couldn't risk it. It wasn't a matter of keeping Aoba from being independent, it was only that Declan could afford the greater risk and was more than willing to take them.

"If...you can fire from a distance, and watch your back, you can stay here and pick them off from behind and around us, alright?" he conceded, pulling the other man's hand away and gazing across the field before cocking his rifle and checking the clip.

"I can't let other people fight my fights, either. Stay safe," the big man said, reaching up and gently clapping a hand against the side of Aoba's helmet before turning and thundering off into the fray. Rested for a moment and feeling less worried about Aoba on the whole, the Titan's renewed vigor paid off and the two Guardians were soon wrecking a massive Vex. They utterly destroyed the thing, then pulled it's head from it's chassis and vanished it with the transmat.

"Uh...I'll head back to the Reef. You two catch up, yeah? Aoba, come get your stuff when you guys get back..." Mac coughed softly, shooting finger guns at them both. Declan looked down at his own hand a moment in confusion before shooting a finger gun in return, earning a loud laugh from the retreating Guardian.