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yankstrash · 2 years

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𝐌𝐒𝐔’𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 & 𝐔𝐌’𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐲 ~ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭; 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡. 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐲; 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 & 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬’ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞?

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐌𝐒𝐔) & 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫 (𝐔𝐌) 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟑𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭.

Friday, 6:00 pm, rivalry night in East Lansing, Michigan. An hour until puck drop between Michigan State University and The University of Michigan men’s ice hockey teams. People were beginning to file into the stadium and players were beginning to file out of the locker rooms and onto the ice to warm up. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat right along the glass of the rink for this game then you’re lucky enough. Ellie, the pretty 19 year old daughter of the Spartans hockey team's head coach, sure was lucky enough.

Not only did she have the best view of the game, but she had the best view to, hopefully, see her newly ex boyfriend, get shoved right into the glass and knocked on his ass (in Ellie’s words). “Now I’m not saying I’m rooting against our team, I would never do that. However, I am STRONGLY rooting to see Nic get taken out hard.” She said to her best friend and roommate, Mackenzie, who was sitting beside her. “Agreed. He needs to be humbled, bad.” Her best friend agreed.

Being around hockey her whole life, Ellie’s dad always tried to steer his one and only daughter, not to mention child, clear of hockey boys. He knew they were bad news, but he also knew sooner or later one of them would catch her eye. And sure enough, that someone happened to be his center, Nicolas Rich. Ellie and Nic began dating during their freshman year, and although Ellie would never admit the full truth to her dad, their relationship was nothing but toxic from the start.

He was exactly what her father always tried to get her to stay away from, to protect her from. She never wanted her father to turn on one of his players however, so when they broke up, as far as he’s concerned, it’s because “It just didn’t work out, he wasn’t the one for me”. But the truth is, he did everything her father knew he would. Cheated, yelled, argued, manipulated, gaslighted and worst of all, broke her heart.

While Nic would’ve never stooped as low as to physically hurt Ellie, he very much emotionally hurt her. During their 9 month relationship, she always had an idea that he cheated on her when he was away, but she could never prove it. And her accusations and insecurity is what lead to most of their arguments. She never wanted to actually be right about her cheating assumptions, but when she was in fact proven right after finding out he slept with a girl on a road trip, she broke it off immediately. Ellie put up with a lot of shit, but she knew her worth and as soon as she knew he was cheating she ended things completely.

Nic had tried to talk to her and get back together, but his attempts failed. He hurt her and she knew he would never change, and so she wanted nothing to do with him. The breakup was over a month ago at this point, and Nic has finally given up on trying to win her back. Ellie is obviously still hurt, but she is finally moving on and all she’s focused on now is him getting a nice humbling on the ice.

“Is it just me or is it colder in here than usual?” Ellie asked. Mackenzie shrugged, as she had all the appropriate attire on for a hockey game in Michigan. “I’ll be back, I’m gonna go grab a beanie from my dad’s office.” Ellie said, standing up to make her way to the locker room area, in search of a warm head piece. As she was walking, her phone vibrated in her hand. She looked down, surprised to see a text from Nic.

What was he doing on his phone, shouldn’t he be warming up?

Ellie rolled her eyes and sighed as she read the text.

“Can we please meet and talk later? I miss you. I’m sorry. Please.”

She almost laughed as she read it, before she deleted the message and carried on her way. She let out another sigh as she began walking again and bumped right into someone. Her 5 '4 frame was no match for the 6' 2 one she just collided with, and she stumbled back a bit before she was settled into place by whoever she just rammed right into.

“Holy shit I am so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going!” She said in a hurry, embarrassed that she just walked right into someone. “No no it’s my bad, I’m rushing, should’ve been on the ice 10 minutes ago to warm up.” The stranger said. It was then that she started seeing normally again, and her eyes landed on the face of the person she bumped into. Or should I say, the boy. She had to look up a bit, as he was a foot taller than her with skates on. When she did, she was met with the cutest boy she had ever seen. The title that once belonged to Nicolas Rich now belonged to the boy whose name she didn’t even know, who happened to be wearing the opposing team's jersey. The rival.

“I-”. Was all she managed to get out. It was like she was in a trance. Ellie obviously had experience talking to attractive boys. Hell, her ex boyfriend was the heartthrob of MSU hockey, and she was stunning, but for some reason this boy took all the words out of her mouth. “Sorry.” She finally said.

“I” “Sorry”. “What was wrong with me?” Was all she thought.

The boy chuckled at her flusteredness, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit flustered himself by the beautiful girl standing in front of him. “It’s my bad, really.” He said. She did nothing but smile at him, unsure of what to say next. Instead of saying anything, she moved to the side and continued her walk to her dad’s office. She had taken about 5 steps before she was called back to the boy. “I’m Luke.” Was all he said. She turned back around at the sound of his voice. “Ellie.” She said with a smile.

He smiled at the sound of her name, thankful she turned back around and told him. “And what are you doing rushing around by the locker rooms, Ellie?” He asked, curious as to why she wandered down here. “I didn’t bring a hat and it’s freezing in the rink, so I’m going to get one.” She said, her voice beginning to lose its shake and return to normal. Luke raised his eyebrows in confusion. “You know hockey games are cold, right?” He asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. She laughed at his comment. “So you’re going to steal one from the locker room?” He asked, still intrigued. “I’m going to steal one from my dad’s office.” She said. He raised his eyebrows again, but this time in curiosity.

“Your dad?” He asked. “Yes, my dad, he’s the head coach of MSU.” She said. He nodded his head in understanding, knowing he’s probably treading in dangerous waters right now. “Well I would ask for your phone number, but I have a feeling I’ll get turned down for multiple reasons.” He said, feeling a sudden confidence boost. This wasn’t like Luke. Sure, he’s had girlfriends before, but the act of talking to a girl usually scared him a bit. He may be a well known hockey player and the brother of the NHL’s biggest heartthrob, but he was soft spoken, shy and quite reserved. It took a lot of confidence for him to make a move on a girl, especially one as pretty as the one he was currently talking to; But that’s the thing, she was pretty, really pretty, too pretty to let walk away without at least trying. And so when the sentence fell out of his mouth, he was just as taken aback as Ellie was.

“And what are the reasons, exactly?” Ellie asked. “I’ll start with I’m the rival, but I’ll tell you the rest if you say yes.” He said confidently. Ellie smirked. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was get involved with another hockey player, especially one she knew nothing about. But how could she pass up the opportunity with the guy who she was staring at lustfully, who just replaced her ex boyfriend as the cutest boy she had ever seen?

Feeling a bit confident herself but not wanting to seem too easy, she replied with “Maybe if you win tonight.” Luke was taken aback by her answer, mainly because he didn’t completely get rejected, but also because he knew this meant he had to be on his absolute A game tonight if he wanted a chance. “Then win I shall. See you later, Ellie.” He said, before now being the one to turn and walk away, leaving Ellie a bit speechless behind him.

“Oh fuck, what did I get myself into?” Was all she thought as she continued on her journey, almost forgetting the reason she was down here in the first place.

#luke hughes #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes fic #luke hughes imagine #umich hockey #new jersey devils #nhl #hughes brothers

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ageless-aislynn · 8 months

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I so dearly wish I could GIF these first 2 season 2 Halo eps but in lieu of that, have my random jumble of thoughts:

SPOILERS, NATURALLY (or spoolrrs since Ais and touch typing on her tablet go together like an Elite and singing karaoke 😋)

Ackerson is deffo evil because he said "ONI" properly one time then spelled it out all the rest. My dudes, the classic Halo: Reach level is NOT "Oh En Eye Sword Base" it is "Oh Nee Sword Base." Enough said. If I saw nothing else from him in these eps, I'd know he was eeevil. 🤷😉

Kai let the red grow out/wash out of her hair. I'm conflicted but she's still mah beautiful bb grl.

Pelletless Vannak was so fun and I approve of his animal documentary obsession, lol!

Sweet mother of pearl, Riz sold me on how much pain she was in, poor bb. 😭 I liked Louis and hope he'll be around in further eps.

I paused the second ep towards the end as soon as Chief said Visegrad relay to blurt out "The Covenant is on Reach!" And then Chief said the line, eee! (I love all Halo games but Reach is my jaaaam, man. 😉 )

Okay, I loved seeing the marines interact with the Spartans and that dinner with Chief and Perez and her family hit a few surefire tropes that had me kicking my feet and squeeing with heart eyes. Of course, I ship it, need you even ask? Ya girl's a fool for love, lol! But again, it was fascinating to see Chief out of his Mjolnir, interacting with Perez and her family. "You're very large." "Yes, ma'am." Which may not be exactly correct but that was the gist and I looooved it!

John and his Cortana stand-in hit me HARD in the feels. 😭

The fact that Ackerson has Cortana in her stunted form locked up in the basement made me raaaaage. I wonder if we're not going to get s1 Cortana back and this will essentially be the Weapon? Could be why they changed her face/appearance, I guess? Her appearance obviously changes through all of the games, true, but I have to say I currently prefer her s1 look more. I'm sure I'll get used to it, though. I want her to remember John, however, so when they meet again, it's a proper reunion. I wonder if they're going to have her be in his helmet ala the game version now or will they make it so that she has to be put back in his head to stabilize him or something? 🤔

I don't know how Makee survived but I can't wait to see how it works out!

I was so happy to see a new Spartan team in Cobalt but their ribbing of Silver, especially saying they have feeeeeelings now and all that didn't make sense to me because THEY were showing waaay more emotion, IMO. I mean, are they not Spartan IIs with emotion dampening pellets themselves or did I miss something?

I get why Chief was pushing Riz so hard because of his fear Silver wouldn't be ready for the upcoming fight but DANG, Chief, she's not going to be great in a fight if she's dead! 💀

One day, I will GIF all of the shirtless scenes. *fist thump* 😇

Lastly, they got the rights to THE THEME, YEAHHHHH, BABY!!!

Okay, enough for now from me. What did you think? Fav moments, ??? moments or the like? 💖💖💖

#halo #halo the series #halo paramount+#spoilers #halo spoilers #master chief #john-117 #kai-125 #vannak-134 #riz-028 #cortana #ageless aislynn

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achangeinreality · 2 months

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Encounters Part 3

”HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CORPORALLLLLL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU!” The ODSTs clapped and cheered as they finished singing Ira’s happy birthday song. Ira laughed and cheered too as she saw her cake. It was obviously made from scratch and not by any baker of known renown. The white icing was messily slopped around the uneven cake and there was an attempt at “Happy Bday” written on top with red icing. Instead of a candle there was a long match stuck right in the middle. She blew it out and everyone cheered once again.

Ira had requested “shore leave” for this. She was technically not on any sort of “shore”, rather the mess hall, but at least she was technically off duty now. This allowed her to finally leave her hair down and wear something other than grey and camo fatigues. She wore a simple black fitted blouse and form fitting jeans but it made all the difference to her being out of uniform for a day. Not only that but she decided on dark red lipstick as well. Needless to say, her teammates whistled obnoxiously when she came out of the bathroom. The party went on for an hour and it mostly consisted of a bunch of burly men and women eating cake, playing card games, retelling old funny war stories, and- a sudden silence. Ira looked around to see that everyone had suddenly turned around and stopped talking. She joined their gaze and was insanely shocked to see Linda standing at the entrance. Despite their last interaction ending as badly as it did, Ira couldn’t help the huge grin that grew on her face. “Linda you came!,” she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat to run towards the Spartan. The ODSTs murmured in confusion and Ira shushed them. She ran over to Linda and said, “I’ll introduce you to everyone!” Linda awkwardly followed Ira and said, “Happy birthday.” Ira beamed at her and replied with, “Thank you!” She turned to face everyone else and said, “Now I don’t want any of you to be rude or nasty. This is Linda and she’s a friend. I invited her so I expect you all to be nice. Is that clear?” A low murmur of, “Yes, sir” came from the small crowd. Ira frowned and repeated more sternly, “Is that clear?”

“YES SIR!,” they all replied and saluted her. She smiled and said, “That’s what I thought. Okay let’s get back to it!” She motioned towards the cake and asked the red head, “Do you want some cake?” Linda stared at it for a moment and Ira could have sworn she saw a tiny smile start to form before her face returned to normal. Before she could respond, Ira cut a piece and served it on a plate with a fork. “Enjoy!” Linda looked at the slice and wondered when the last time she had cake was. Regardless, she ate a piece and was instantly filled with joy at the memory of her as a kid coming across a stash of sweets that Mendez had hidden in his office. “You like it?” Ira asked. Linda nodded. “Good, these guys made it!” Linda swallowed and said, “Could’ve fooled me”. Ira giggled but then did a double take and asked, “Did you just make a joke?” Linda didn’t say anything, just shrugged nonchalantly. Ira laughed and motioned for her to sit down with her teammates. “Dal what’s next on the itinerary?” Ira asked. Dal, a 30-something year old, rather short man stood up and said to everyone, “Alright guys now it’s time to shower the Corporal in praise. Let’s go around and tell her our favorite thing about her.” The team erupted in several different comments including, “What are we 4?”, “Oooo”, “That’s so lame Dal booo!”, and “No I like this, go on”. One woman, Rachel, hooted, “That ass!” Everyone laughed and some banged on the table. Ira cackled and yelled, “You know it!” Linda stared at everyone in shock in disbelief. She did her best not to look too out of place but this was so… different. Were all parties like this? How was she supposed to react? Never mind that, how was she supposed to focus on the party when Ira looked like… that. Linda had never seen such glossy, long, straight, black hair in her life. An impulsive need to touch it ran through her and she pushed it away immediately. The clothes too, when was the last time she even saw someone in civilian clothing? They were perfectly appropriate and simple but they were, well, very form fitting. She kept her eyes focused anywhere but below Ira’s face. Her face. Was that lipstick?? She had seen it in movies and on civilians when she was on human world infiltration missions but hadn’t necessarily experienced any particular thoughts about it. But right now, she was having a lot of thoughts and a lot of feelings about how it looked on Ira.

”Are you okay?” Ira asked her quietly. No one noticed Linda’s silence but Ira could see that Linda was experiencing some sort of turmoil. Before Linda could respond or react, one of Ira’s teammates yelled out, “Hey hey hey wait we haven’t heard the Spartan’s contribution! What’s your favorite thing about the Corporal, ma’am?” Linda looked at him and then at Ira and replied, “Her audacity.” Hoots and hollers rang out and Ira blushed intensely looking at Linda in surprise. “You got that right!”, someone yelled out. Linda stared straight at Ira and winked in satisfaction. Ira laughed nervously and felt her hands start to sweat but said nothing. The rest of the time consisted of more card games and dumb shenanigans. Just as the night was beginning to come to an end, Richard, the newest addition to Ira’s team, announced, “Spartan Linda, I challenge you to an arm wrestle.” The room oooo’d and some tensed. Linda cocked an eyebrow when she realized it was the same man that questioned her a few days before. Throughout the party he had made several attempts to pull Ira away to engage with her privately. But rather than let herself be torn from the Spartan’s side, she included Linda in whatever he wanted to talk about or do. For whatever reason, it filled Linda with a weirdly odd satisfaction and she slowly started to wonder if the look of annoyment on his face had more to do with Linda being a Spartan or with him wanting Ira’s attention to himself. It greatly annoyed Linda when the man insinuated that maybe Ira would be interested in taking shore leave with him some time. Ira had laughed it off saying, “Richard I see you every day. No offense but if I’m going off on an actual vacation I want to be alone.” He had laughed it off as well and didn’t suggest it any further but Linda could tell by the tension in his jaw that it was not an answer he wanted.

Therefore, when Richard challenged Linda to an arm wrestle, Linda stared right into his eyes, stood up, and despite Ira’s “No no, don’t be dumb Richard!”, proclamations , rolled up her sleeve, and sat down in front of him. Mother of god, thought Ira as she found herself completely unable to tear her eyes away from Linda’s large and muscled forearm. Shamefully so, she felt a hot, sensitive knot pulse below her core. The others sat in a circle around the two contestants. Rachel yelled out, “Wait, wait, wait. This is too good an opportunity to let go of. Everybody place your bets.” A loud rustle ensued as the ODSTs pulled out bills seemingly out of nowhere and threw them into a pile. Rachel took out a pen and jotted down everyone’s bets on her palm. “Mhm, mhm, okay…, alright I got everyone. Okay! Will the winner be, our newest but beefiest ODST Richard, or this mysterious and extremely buff Spartan Linda?,” Rachel exclaimed in the voice of a sport commentator. “Contestants, elbows down. When I say “go” you may begin!”, she added. The two grabbed hands and Linda gave his hand a hefty squeeze. Richard held firm but Linda could see a vein pulsing at his temple slightly. They made intense eye contact, one Linda could hold forever.

”GO!” Richard pushed a huge amount of force into Linda’s hand. She was surprised, it took a lot of strength to make her falter. He continued to push and push and push and Linda let him think it was doing something. Within 15 seconds however, she slammed a fraction of her strength into his hand and it resounded loudly on the table. BAM!

Groans and cheers rang out as Rachel separated the pile of money into even, smaller piles and distributed it to the happy winners. Ira jumped in and said, “Alright guys! Thanks so much for doing this for me. We’ve had a lot of great times and a lot of shitty moments too but you’re my crew and I’m so thankful for you all!” The ODSTs started to disperse and many of them went over to Linda saying things along the lines of, “Thank you Spartan, you have just bought me a taco!” Ira couldn’t help but chuckle but did feel a bit of second hand embarrassment for Richard given that he was obviously not amused. She started to clean the mess up when Rachel walked over to her and shooed her away, “Corporal you’re on shore leave and it’s your birthday. Respectfully, go.” Ira put her hands up in defeat and conceded. “Alright, alright I’m gone. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Ira said. Linda approached her and quietly said, “I know I have no right to ask you, but can I talk to you privately?” Ira gave her a small smile and nodded. The two headed out of the mess hall and walked a little ways away. Linda stopped and said, “I did some research into the tradition of birthdays and found that presents are a traditional custom. So, I have one for you.” Ira was not expecting that. She asked, “Really? Where is it?” Linda pulled something out of her pocket and gave her a small object wrapped in cloth. Ira unraveled it and found a shiny SR-99 bullet. Upon further inspection, she could make out an engravement running down its length. It read, You too are in my thoughts. Ira gasped softly and felt her eyes water a little as she read it. She looked up to meet Linda’s gaze. “This is, this is amazing. Did you engrave it yourself?,” Ira asked, still in awe. Linda nodded and said, “Yes I have some skill with weapon modification. Sometimes I have to make very small and precise cuts into the metals to customize the weapon to my liking so I applied the skill to writing.” Ira couldn’t stop looking at the words and was at an utter loss for what to say. Finally, she looked up at Linda with a warm, happy smile and said, “Thank you.” The Spartan nodded and held her gaze, responding with, “This wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about but I’d rather go somewhere with more privacy” Ira nodded and said, “We can go to my quarters. I don’t have to share on this ship.”

The women reached Ira’s quarters after a few minutes. She punched in the code to the keypad and the door hissed open. It was very small, so small that only her bed, a trunk, and a small, square desk with a tiny chair fit. “Home sweet home, try not to suffocate,” Ira joked. Linda looked around and wondered where to sit. She didn’t dare try the chair, it looked so flimsy she wondered if even Ira could sit in it without it collapsing. Ira sat on the bed and gestured at her to sit. “It’s sturdier than it looks,” Ira reassured her. Linda sat down and felt a creak below her but that was it. Ira raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She turned to look at the Spartan and asked, “So what is it?” Linda sat quietly for a second, not looking at Ira. She breathed in and out before turning to look at Ira and started, “My job is quite literally my life. It’s not even a job, it’s my purpose. And because of that, I can’t become entangled with anyone, it would get in the way of my ability to protect humanity. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, if you’d like to.” Ira didn’t say anything but she visibly deflated. She looked down at the floor, formulating a response and settled on, “Yeah I’d like that. I understand. I’ve got one question though, do you mean it?” Ira held the bullet out, words glinting in the light. Linda looked at the words with an expression of solemnes and replied, “Yes.”

She didn’t stay long after that, for Linda had an early ship out time the next morning and she needed to rest. Upon returning to her own quarters, she laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling while rubbing the dogtag she wore in between her fingers. Ding! Her data pad alerted her of a message. She looked at it and saw that it was a message from Kelly.

I’m outside your door

As Linda read the message, the door to her room opened and Kelly waltzed in wearing a tank top and running shorts. She signed a greeting at Linda and sat on the floor in front of her.

“So how was the party?”

“Good. I enjoyed myself”

“And how was the corporal?”

“Great.”

“You’re hiding something”

“I don’t hide things”

“That’s a load of shit, you hide everything, spit it out.”

“There is nothing to spit out.”

Kelly frowned in frustration at Linda’s secrecy. She stared at Linda and signed You seem troubled. Neither Spartan said anything for a while. Finally Linda gave in and admitted, “She said she’s attracted to me.” Kelly cocked her head and asked, “Again?” Linda gave a tiny half smile at the memory of the first time it happened and replied, “Yeah but she wasn’t high this time.”

“Ohhhh…” Kelly seemed pensive for a moment before asking, “So what did you say?” Linda threw her arms up in defeat and replied, “I said I can’t make anything of it, I’m not made for that.” Kelly sighed in an annoyment and rolled her eyes. “You’re such an idiot, you’re telling me that someone on this ship likes you and you can’t say it back when you obviously do too?” Linda looked shocked and asked in confusion, “What are you talking about? I never said I liked her in that way. We weren’t made for that.”

“No, we weren’t, and that’s the problem!” Kelly exclaimed. For a moment, Linda swore she saw a glint of hurt in Kelly’s eyes. Whatever was going on there she had no idea about. She almost looked mad at her.

“Don’t you ever think about Maria and wonder what she’s experiencing? Because I do. I would never stop being a Spartan, I love what we do. But sometimes I can’t help but wonder what it’s like to have someone like she does,” Kelly explained. Of all the things she had heard in the last 72 hours, this was not something Linda thought she’d ever hear. But Kelly was right, that was the problem. Linda loved being a Spartan, it was her purpose and she’d never trade it for anything. But what was it like to have someone who was more than a teammate? Her family was dear and close to her but what about a partner? Maria-062 was one of her sisters and when she heard that Maria had left the military to marry someone and have children with them it came as a massive shock. She didn’t understand it then, not at all. None of them had understood, some even refused to acknowledge Maria’s memory after that. But 8 years ago, a young and completely naive Private told her, “had the circumstances been completely different, and my rank a lot higher, I would have still meant what I said.” Something about that statement opened up a new pathway in her head and made her think, what if I could feel that way too?

There were some days when she was on the battlefield, fighting for the people on that planet and she’d see couples clinging to each other, running towards the evacuation zones. Sometimes she’d see widows, holding the dead bodies of their loved one, crying out their names. And every time, she’d wonder, what if I could feel what they feel? There were a few times when she’d see a woman that looked visually appealing and Linda was able to acknowledge that in her head at least. She realized a while ago that men didn’t exactly attract her attention in the same way. That must mean she was in fact able to feel at least a vanity based attraction to others. But to feel something warmer and closer than that? Never. She wasn’t exactly at liberty to approach most of these women and strike up a conversation, there wasn’t ever any time. So what had caused Linda to approach Corporal Hagan and ask to meet with her in the mess hall at 2100? No idea. When she got off the shuttle and looked at Ira for the first time in 8 years, a measure of relief and joy went through her. Maybe it was because most people she encountered often died not much later and it was good to see a familiar face. 8 years was a long time for someone she knew to stay alive. Nevertheless, Linda felt a compulsion to request an audience with her. What she expected out of the conversation was maybe a friendship. But as Linda had sat there and listened to Ira talk, she started to become acutely aware that a warmth was filling her chest cavity. Why? What was that? Was it cause for concern?

Maybe it was the reason why she also found herself completely unable to miss Ira’s party. It would have been a simple matter to just not go. To not sit for an entire day engraving a bullet. To not request another audience with the woman and cause further injury. Maybe it was a good thing that she was shipping out tomorrow. Because regardless of what was causing all of these irrational decisions, Linda recognized that it was happening with a woman that she had only had less than a few day’s worth of interaction. And that was cause for concern.

”It doesn’t matter now, it’s done. We should get some rest.”

#halo #linda 058 #kelly 087 #fanfic #linda058 x oc #birthday brain rot #bittersweet victory

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laughingsapphic · 1 month

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My old high school's sports teams are called the Warriors and the mascot is a roman soldier (ridiculous, since another school in town literally has the Spartans, with mascot to match) but it only just occurred to me, years after I read the books, that obviously our mascot should've been a cat

#warriors #warrior cats #tayto talks

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forgetmenautical · 2 months

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here. Random OC lore for you

this is Anaheim. she is the primary AI for fireteam riptide (the team the guy in my pfp is apart of) and just helps them with like mission overviews and general shit. she’s usually stuck on a ship somewhere on comms but sometimes she hitches a ride with one of her spartans. there are 5 of them — raum (pfp), zakariah, ingwe, noah, and håkon. zakariah and ingwe belong to my awesome friend @sunduvhar who I’m matching with :3 anyway she likes Håkon a lot because he’s the newest member (and the youngest, by like a mile) and is suuuper easy to embarrass infront of everyone else.

she is also kind of really insecure about the help she is able to provide. she wishes she had an actual physical body to herself so that she could be more direct and present, so she tries reeaaaalllly hard to be a big clown and laugh it up infront of everybody because she always a little bit scared that they think she’s not doing enough (she is and they’re all fine). do not get me wrong though she is a huge fucking dork and she loves everyone on riptide very dearly

she tries very very hard not to think about anything that’s not directly related outside of riptide. Obviously she has to keep up communications with the rest of the UNSC and tell everyone that riptide is, in fact, doing their job, but still. they are all kind of her one and only world

#probably got some stuff wrong because I’m not a halohead like my friend is :’3

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stitchlingbelle · 9 months

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Watching Halo, Episode 2

Episode 2

Ok kids, I binge-watched this entire show and took THIRTEEN PAGES of handwritten notes so I didn’t forget to talk about anything that caught me! So let’s be about it.

First off, may I say how much I appreciate that John is not a good-looking guy? He’s just a dude (the other Spartans likewise) and that sells the whole thing to me more than if they were all pretty. (Granted, I also thought Hiddleston and the cucumber guy were not pretty, so YMMV.)

Speaking of the other Spartans, how many are there? “Silver Team” implies the existence of a “Gold Team”, at the very least. And we open with a flashback to at least one getting away, or trying to—is he the only one to try, or to make it out? John apparently was supposed to go with him, or so Soren thought. He doesn’t (obviously), but he does give Soren a small headstart. (I can only assume that John/Soren is one of the top tags on AO3, this is Serious Emotional Bond stuff.) Why is Soren able to want out? Glad John didn’t shoot him.

In the present, Halsey is plotting something, because of course she is. The Spartans are trying to track John down, seemingly under some protest over whether he actually needs to be tracked down. I pegged Kai as the smartest Spartan last episode, and I’m getting confirmed in that opinion now. She questions and she thinks. Whether this is going to serve John’s arc or the UNSC, I don’t know yet.

Here we are with Kwan and Master Chief, with Kwan asking the real questions, which is a talent of hers. May I take a quick aside to point out that asteroids do not, in fact, float around that close to each other? It’s a very fun SF trope, though. Oh, so THIS is why the place is called “Rubble”. Clever. That is a seriously cool asteroid city design. YAY for someone speaking Hungarian! This show excels at showing that more than people from Iowa made it off the planet. (I appreciate all the accents to this end, as well.)

Uh, the armor’s a bit conspicuous, Chief, shoulda left that on the ship. Wow, they found Soren fast. (Has Kwan ever been off-planet before? She’s looking a little overwhelmed. Which is fair, shit is A Lot right now.) I laughed at the “mind the gap” reference. The tram thing is pure Universal Studios Ride bait.

I have a lot of feelings about Kessler and Laera, in order:

Cute kid and happy family? Oh shit they are doomed.

Otoh, Laera’s pretty glammed up, maybe she’s the sell-them-out type

Pale hair, intense eyes, Covenant destroyed her planet? Is she related to Makee?

Cute little stamp, this kid is DEFINITELY doomed

…unless they get to tragically lose Soren, instead? I TRUST NOTHING HERE

“Soren speaks of you often.” “Not that often,” Soren says flatly to the man he left behind. You talk about him constantly because you two were deeply in love, I’m calling it.

Makee is planning a mission to get the magical alien tech, full of references I would absolutely get if I were a gamer and which I instead absolutely don’t. As a fan of several long-running scifi series in an era when a lot of them are retreading ground (some brilliantly, some not), it’s novel, annoying, and deeply refreshing all at once to have to discover things as the characters do. I am still super obsessed with Makee’s costume design, and the aliens’ appearance is very well-done. They clearly put a lot of effort into making them stand up.

The UNSC brass are politicking and plotting, as the brass in any universe does, and I’m sorry, AI and cloning are never, ever good ideas in settings like this. I feel for Miranda getting constantly shut out, etc. I do wonder what the other Spartans want. Like, what are their goals? What do they think of the different people ordering them around?

Back on Rubble, Soren’s getting churros and saying “I know a guy,” which of course he does. Reth was… a choice. Ngl, this whole bit was deeply uncomfortable for me. We did get some good intel on the object and the Covenant. I absolutely appreciate Soren calling out explicitly the Mommy Dearest-ness of Halsey, she has predator vibes you can see from space. I do wish we knew more about the (apparently very few?) prisoners the Covenant takes and why and how they pick them. YIKES YIKES YIKES what did that thing just do? And who else can activate it?

And there goes John, leaving Kwan behind (so she can tragically die alongside the tragedy-bait kid??) and returning to Halsey and her creepiness. Meanwhile, Makee gets a gratuitous nude scene, which on one hand had me rolling my eyes and on the other had me glued to every detail of the construction design of that costume. So thanks, I guess, director dude.

Credits roll… wait, what do you mean, executive produced by Steven Spielberg???

#halo tv show #for extra fun spot how much more detailed each post gets as I get more and more invested

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doom-dreaming · 10 months

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college au nonsense pt. 1

“You think he’s got a girlfriend he hasn’t told us about?” Kelly shifts in her chair, her attention riveted on her brother, who’d been waylaid between the register and the table by a dark-haired woman Kelly didn’t recognize. The ambient symphony of scraping chairs and echoey conversations drowns out whatever words are passing between them, but their body language is speaking volumes all on its own.

Her other brother shrugs. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Linda snorts. “We only found out about what’s-his-name a week after they hooked up.”

Kelly smirks across the table. “You know he’s still got that guy’s number in his phone? I saw it the other day.”

“God.”

Over Linda’s shoulder, Kelly can see her brother’s conversation coming to a close. The woman smiles and places a hand on his forearm. The touch lingers for a few seconds before she takes a step back and, with a parting wave, begins to head in the opposite direction.

Moments later, Fred joins them.

“Who was that?” Kelly tips her head toward the mystery woman’s retreating back.

Fred offers a one-shouldered shrug, focusing more on his lunch than anyone at the table. “A friend. We have a class together, she was reminding me what pages we need to read for the lecture tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s nice…” Fred still hadn’t looked up from his sandwich. Kelly pounces. “...and she had to touch your arm to do that?”

“She’s cute,” John cuts in. “You should ask her out.”

“Subtlety of a brick, thanks,” Kelly gripes, shooting a sideways glare in her brother's direction.

For the first time since he'd sat down, and with his face a few shades pinker than usual, Fred looks up at his siblings. He seems to be on the verge of defending himself, but is quickly interrupted by the approach of another dark-haired woman. This one, Kelly did recognize.

She gives the group a bright smile and slides a piece of paper across the table to John. “Here’s that cheat sheet I promised. Just don’t mention me if they catch you with it during the test.” She winks and hefts her bookbag higher on her shoulder. “I’d stay and chat but I’m on my way to class. Talk later!”

Fred waits until the sound of her footsteps fades into the rest of the noise, then nails his brother with a semi-hostile stare. “And when are you gonna ask her out, huh?”

John mirrors the expression.

Fred cocks an eyebrow. “Hey, turnabout is fair play. Don’t get on the field if you’re not ready for the game.”

“Touché,” John eventually concedes, sitting back with a huff. “...shithead.”

#this is a little treat for me. to get sillay with it #not going in main tags lmao #spartan university #the mystery woman is that detective chick that fred gets shipped with i guess #and uhhhh. the guy he hooked up with is a reference to zita's locklear fic #bi fred headcanon stays winning #who else is fred shipped with #like. outside of blue team. bc i'm Not Doing That #i have a ton of ships to reference for john obviously #and ofc palmer sandwich is happening in this au as well #slaps roof of au. this bad boy can hold so many complicated relationships #AND HOW DO I GET THE ALIENS IN HERE #i need to find a way to make the arbiter a college student #oh my god wait. foreign exchange student #if you're reading these tags i'm sorry. you're witnessing madness #anyway. i'm having ideas #this was just the first scene that came out #is this in-character? we just don't know #i tried #but it's an au and they are like. 22 and not supersoldiers. so

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lpmurphy · 3 months

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Spring in Tchakova Park

Read on AO3

Master List

Chapter Playlist

Summary: Green was the color of the grass where he used to walk in Tchakova Park.

In which John meets a stranger in the park, Violet learns of the care and keeping of Spartans, and Cortana offers dating advice. (Complete 5/7/24)

Chapter Summary: John meets the Harris family. Bill tries to intimidate a super soldier. Tough questions arise.

Chapter Thirteen: Meet the Parents

The tongue lashing he had received from Admiral Keyes had been well deserved, in John’s opinion. Frankly, he felt as if he had gotten off easy for the near hour of lost time; Keyes had ripped him a new asshole after PT had wrapped for the morning about priorities, gruffly reminding John of his duties before sending him off to the showers after informing him that he still reeked of sex in far more colorful terminology. He’d take far worse for a few more moments beside her in that bed. He showered off quickly, avoiding the knowing stares and quips of the team as he dressed and set out to her office in an attempt to catch her before her workday started.

Violet stood behind her desk when he arrived at her office, hunched over her keyboard as she typed furiously, eyes locked on the monitor. She was far more polished than the last time he had saw her; now in her uniform, her hair slicked back into her tight bun. John found himself preferring her half-naked, wild-haired state of their rushed morning, wishing he had taken a few additional moments at the door to appreciate the sight of her. A paper drink carrier sat on her desk; two pale brown iced drinks with brightly colored straws sweating beside a large white paper cup nestled into it. He rapped his knuckles against the doorway, Violet looking up and smiling when she saw him.

“Hey, you,” she nodded towards the carrier, still typing feverishly, “I grabbed you a coffee on my way in. Figured you needed one after last night. I’m headed out in just a moment.”

Her fingers tapped against the keyboard before she straightened with a final clack, pulling her white coat off the back of the chair and tugging it on as she stepped out from behind her desk. She gathered the drink carrier as she crossed the room and joined him in the hall, “Share a lift with me? I’m headed upstairs.”

“So am I,” he said, matching her stride down the hallway as she balanced her items in her arms. She nodded to a few lab techs as they walked, wishing good mornings with a smile as they walked to the lift. She paid no mind to the lingering stares that seemed to follow them down the hallway, whispers being exchanged within labs at the sight of them. John shot them a look, the techs returning to their work quickly.

“Would you like me to say something?”

She shook her head. “They’ve been calling me Mrs. 117 since your last deployment. I don’t think they know that I know, though. I’ve been called worse. It gives them something to do, I guess,” she shrugged, pressing the call button and tapping her hip to his, “So, how much trouble did you get into?”

“I’m on toilet duty.”

Violet grimaced before she gave him a sympathetic smile, holding out the paper cup to him. John took the coffee from her, grateful for the bit of caffeine after the restless night before.

“We’ll set an alarm tonight,” she reassured, raising the carrier to sip from the yellow straw stabbed into the pale drink he assumed was coffee.

Her pad chirped, Violet holding the carrier out to him to hold as she shuffled the various items in her arms. He took it from her hands, looking over the assortment of markings on the cup that represented the various syrups and sauces pumped into the cup of sugar she called her morning coffee. Violet looked over the message, groaning as she read it. John looked over at her, watching as she chewed her lip, bangs in her eyes as she read over it again. Her whole body seemed to tense as she read, obviously distressed by whatever sat on the screen. The lift doors slid open, both stepping in. Violet tapped the button for her destination without looking up, John’s eyes not leaving her distressed face as he did the same.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

Violet took a sharp breath through her nose, rolling her shoulders back as she exhaled. “My mother called this morning,” she gritted out, a forced smile screening across her face, “My parents have invited us over for dinner tomorrow night and she will not take no for an answer. This is her third message she’s sent asking me to confirm.”

“According to my findings, many dating experts agree that meeting the parents of a significant other is the natural next step in the progression of a relationship. By the rules of traditional courting etiquette, most romantic partners meet each other’s parents by the three month mark of the relationship. By my calculations, you met Violet approximately-.”

“Not now, Cortana.”

“Still not talking to me? What a shame.”

Violet groaned again as her comm line began to ring, turning her pad so that John could see the caller ID of ‘Mom’ across the screen. She tapped at the screen, accepting the call with a whisper of, “Her ears must be burning.”

“You’re avoiding me, Violet Renee,” Jane Harris’ voice called through the comm line before the call had fully connected. Violet rolled her eyes, sharing an annoyed look with John before responding. He appreciated the older woman’s efficiency when communicating; no frills or small talk. Just straight to the point. Violet did not appear to appreciate the direct nature of her mother’s communication in the same way he did; the botanist pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes shut.

“I’m not avoiding you! I told you when you called forty minutes ago that I had to check with John and his schedule first,” Violet replied. “I just ran into him. I’ll get back to you in a bit, okay? I’m on a lift, I’m going to lose you.”

“You’re with him? Just ask him now. I want to go grocery shopping before it gets too busy.”

“It’s eight in the morning on a Thursday, mom,” she teased, “Who all is going to be crowding the grocery store? All the other retirees?”

“Watch your tone, young lady,” Jane warned, Violet straightening up at the reprimand. “You said you’re with him? Can he hear me? Hi, John. How are you, sweetheart?”

“Fine, ma’am,” he replied, Violet’s head falling to rest on his bicep as she rolled her eyes yet again, annoyance evident in her every action.

“Violet is making things difficult, so it’s probably best if I just ask you myself,” Jane stated, “We were hoping to have you both over for dinner tomorrow night. Would you both be available to join us? We would love to meet you.”

Violet muted the call, looking up to John, “You can tell her no. I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“Do you not want me to come?

“No,” she said quickly, pink spreading across her cheeks, “I do.”

“Then I will,” he said decisively, a small smile spreading across her face as she nodded.

“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, trying to hide the pleased smile that lifted her lips as she unmuted the call, “That works for us, mom.”

“Oh, wonderful! We’re looking forward to it. Katie and Andy will be here with the kids, too. We’ll plan to eat at seven, if that works for you both.”

“Who are you on the phone with?” Bill Harris’ voice was muffled in the background as he spoke to his wife.

“Violet.”

“Oh, can you ask her if she watched that documentary I told her about? The one about the migration patterns of-.”

“Your father wants to know if you watched the documentary-.”

“I heard him,” Violet sighed out, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow, dad. I have to go. I’m at work.”

“We will see you both tomorrow. Love you, sweetheart. Bye, John.”

“Love you,” Violet replied, terminating the call with a tap of a finger. She looked to John, the lift slowing as it reached her floor. She held out a hand for the drink carrier, John passing it back to her. Violet balanced it atop her pad, “You don’t have to go. I can make an excuse for you. I completely understand if you don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” He asked.

Violet sighed, sipping from her drink again. She offered him a small smile, John returning it. “They can be overwhelming,” she said simply.

He chuckled, wondering if she truly understood the scope of what he had spent his life doing with her statement. He gave her free hand a squeeze, “I can handle overwhelming.”

She let out a disbelieving chuckle, “You’ve obviously never been around my family. We’ll see how you feel tomorrow night.”

The door swished open, John finding himself looking out into the hallways of the Spartan Research Division. He glanced down at the panel, wondering if he had pressed the wrong button, finding the level number lit up underneath the one he had pressed himself.

“Did you press the wrong floor?” He asked, Violet already stepping off the lift.

She shook her head, turning to face him from the other side of the doorway, “No. I’m meeting with Miranda this morning. She bought yesterday, so I’m up today.”

“Already on a first name basis with Doctor Keyes? I believe that’s a good sign.”

Doctor Keyes stepped out of one of the various labs on the level, smiling when she saw Violet by the lift. Violet pointed at her, face set into a hard line of mock disappointment as the young woman neared, pointing back at her in return.

“I have a bone to pick with you!” Violet called, her smile betraying her faux outrage. Keyes’ held out her hand as she neared her, Violet wiggling the second drink out of the carrier and holding it out to the other woman.

“Yeah? Get in line,” Keyes said, holding her hand out for her drink. Violet pulled it back out of her reach, Miranda narrowing her eyes at the botanist. “What did I do?”

“The novel you sent me didn’t include a pretty important detail,” Violet said, still holding the drink back.

“I gave you information on everything you have clearance for,” Miranda replied, still holding her hand out for her drink. Violet gave it a playful shake at her side, sipping from her own.

“Well, something, or should I say someone, that I don’t have clearance for made an appearance in my kitchen last night,” she dropped her voice to a whisper, Miranda’s eyes widening, “So, I assume you should fill me in on any other little surprises that might show up in my house in the middle of the night to introduce herself.”

Miranda sighed, “Of course she did.” Violet finally relented and handed over the coffee to the defeated scientist. Keyes’ eyes glanced up to John, the ghost of a smirk on her face. “My office? I have twenty minutes.”

Violet glanced at her watch, “I have the same.” She turned to the lift, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze, “I’ll see you tonight.”

John squeezed her hand back, letting it drop as the lift doors began to swish shut. Violet and Miranda turned, the two women huddled close as they turned down the hallway to her office.

---

Summer settled over the city in a blanket of heat, the evening sun warming his back as they walked the streets of uptown. John had never found himself in this part of New Alexandria, his hand in Violet’s as they walked the sidewalk. Sadie pulled ahead, John tightening his grip on her lead. The pup slowed her stride, stepping back to his side as they walked. He didn’t mind the heat, nor did he mind the thin dresses Violet had taken to slipping into after her showers when she got back from her evening runs. She walked beside him, green fabric swaying above her knees with each step. She stopped occasionally to point out a building or storefront, sharing a memory of her girlhood attached to each, their interlocked hands swinging between them.

Her childhood neighborhood had been a short train ride through the city, the streets changing from towering apartment buildings to neat rows of townhomes as they walked the blocks from the station to her parents’ home. He watched her relax the longer they walked, a peacefulness coming over her as she stepped into the shade of the oak trees that lined the sidewalks, the branches bowing in the breeze as if to welcome her home.

She gave his hand a squeeze as they neared another row of townhomes; all slate gray with wide windows that reflected the evening light. She stopped in front of one, the porch a similar collage of the various pots and planters that littered her own balcony. A young boy, no older than three, stood with his face to the second floor window, his little hands pressed to the glass as he watched the street below. Violet smiled and gave the boy a little wave, laughing softly when his face split into an excited smile at the sight of her. He turned, running into the house behind him. Violet turned back to John, both standing at the base of the steps that lead to the front door.

“Okay, what did I forget?” she murmured, chewing her lip in thought. She had spent the duration of the walk educating him on every idiosyncrasy her family possessed, John taking in each piece of knowledge like a directive.

“My mom is going to try to hug you. She has no sense of personal boundaries, so be prepared for that,” she reviewed, “My sister is here with her kids, and I’m fairly certain she’s my most sane family member. Her husband, Andy, is the most boring person I have ever met. Try not to get stuck alone with him unless you’re dying to know the current status of the trade markets and how they’re being affected by the war. I already have a second dinner in the fridge at home, so you can eat again when we get back tonight.”

Violet skipped up the few steps to the door to knock, her hair swinging behind her. He lingered on the sidewalk. Sadie sat beside him, panting happily as she watched Violet at the top of the steps. Violet turned back to him, offering him her hand. He reached forward, gripping her fingers, Violet giving his hand a tight squeeze, “If it gets to be too much at any time, you tell me and we’ll leave. Okay?”

“It’ll be fine, goose.”

“Chief, I believe this is a new experience for you. I have already compiled a collection of advice and suggestions from a variety of dating experts regarding meeting your significant other’s immediate family. Shall I read them to you?”

Violet looked back at John, matching the tilt of his head. “Tell Cortana to take the night off,” she called over her shoulder as she turned back to the door.

Cortana’s voice relented between his ears as she asked for his confirmation of Violet’s order. John dismissed her, Violet still watching from the top step. His mouth felt dry as she knocked again, Sadie whining with excitement. Violet turned to him again, offering him an encouraging smile and reaching her hand out for his again. John took her hand in his own, taking the few steps to stand beside her, Sadie sitting between them.

“They’re going to love you,” she said softly, brushing her thumb against the side of his hand.

“You sound sure of that.”

“I am.”

The door swung open, the boy from the window standing in the doorway with an excited smile. He reached his arms out to Violet with a shriek of, “Auntie Vi!”

Violet laughed, scooping the boy up into her arms. He squealed when she gave him a careful toss, holding him overhead and kissing his cheek before hugging him to her tightly. “Hi, buddy!”

The boy laughed again, Violet pressing another kiss to his mess of blonde curls before tossing him onto her hip. “I missed you!” she told the boy, “Did you have a fun day at Nana and Papa’s house?”

The boy nodded, little arms clinging to Violet’s neck. She turned to John with a smile, waving him in as she stepped into the house. Sadie pulled on the lead with a bark, John dropping it as she ran into the open doorway. The dog ran past Violet, disappearing up the stairs into the second floor of the townhouse. He could make out the voice of her mother as Sadie’s nails clicked against the floors out of sight.

“Oh, there’s Sadie.”

“They must be here,” a second woman said.

The boy tucked his head into Violet’s neck, shyly watching John as he entered the home. John looked over at the boy, the toddler turning his face away, hiding in the curtain of Violet’s hair.

“Don’t mind him. He’s a bit stranger-shy,” she explained with a chuckle, rubbing the boy’s back. The boy turned again, peeking at John curiously from behind her hair, his arms around her neck. “This is my nephew, Elliot.”

She tapped on the boy’s back, “This is Auntie’s friend, John. Can you say hi?”

The boy turned his face away again, Violet tucking a finger into his underarm and giving him a tickle. Elliot shrieked with laughter, Violet giggling and gesturing up the stairs, John following up the steps behind her.

“We’re here!” Violet called as she rounded the landing, John following a step behind.

The stairs gave way to the living room, the walls modestly decorated and adorned with picture frames and an assortment of framed artwork depicting birds in various styles. Sadie had made herself comfortable in one of the large armchairs that faced the sofa in front of a vacant fireplace, watching the three women in the kitchen across the way. Violet shifted Elliot on her hip as she leaned down to hug the woman John recognized as her mother from the video call. Jane Harris stood nearly six inches shorter than her daughter, Violet towering over the woman in a way he wasn’t accustomed to seeing from his much shorter botanist. She grabbed Violet’s face, pressing her red painted lips to her daughter’s cheek and leaving a stain that Violet promptly wiped off.

“Hey, mom,” Violet said, giving her mother a final squeeze before Jane released her, “I see we’re having the three year old getting the door now? What’s next? The one year old is going to start answering comm calls?”

“He’s been watching the windows for you all afternoon,” The other woman replied, bouncing a baby girl on her hip. John looked over to her, recognizing her as the woman in the white dress from Violet’s pictures; Katie. Violet smiled, turning to embrace her sister and kiss the baby on the head. The two women were as similar as they were in the photograph as they stood beside one another, save for Katie’s brown eyes and Violet’s few inches of height over her older sister. Jane Harris’ eyes fell to John, the same deep brown of her oldest daughter, but Violet’s smile split her face as she honed in on him with that same scrunch of the nose.

“You must be John!” she smiled, crossing the short distance across the kitchen with outstretched arms. He looked to Violet, who shrugged with an eye roll as her earlier warning was confirmed, mouthing an apology. Jane threw her arms around him, John leaning down to accommodate the older woman’s stature as he hugged her back uncomfortably. Jane released him, her hands on his arms as she smiled up at him, “Oh, we were so thrilled you could make it, sweetheart! Violet has such wonderful things to say about you. It’s wonderful to meet you in person.”

“You as well, ma’am.”

Jane patted his arms, giving him a final smile before she turned back to Violet. Her dark eyes fell to the neckline of Violet’s dress, tugging up the front of her dress as she spoke to her, “I am so happy that you are finally bringing someone around, Vi. You’re not getting any younger, you know. By thirty, a woman loses 90% of her eggs-.”

“Can you not talk about my eggs in front of my boyfriend , mother?” Violet gritted out through her clenched jaw, pushing her mother’s hands away. Her cheeks blossomed pink as she set Elliot onto the tile floor, tugging her dress back down to where it had sat originally much to John’s pleasure. The boy ran after Sadie, chasing her out the open patio doors, “Jesus Christ.”

“Why not? Since when am I not allowed to talk to my child about her body?”

“Because you met him less than three minutes ago?” Katie finished for Violet, giving their mother an incredulous look, “Do we really have to explain that? That’s so weird.”

Katie shook her head as Jane attempted to weakly argue with the both of them. Violet rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the baby with a smile. “Hi, John. I’m Katie,” she said, passing the baby to Violet who bounced her on her hip, “You’ve already met Elliot. That little one is Elise. My husband is somewhere around here.”

Violet glanced around the room, “Where is dad?”

Jane poured a glass of wine from the open bottle on the counter, holding it out to John, who politely declined. She held the same glass out to her daughter, Violet shifting the baby on her hip as she took it. “Andy caught your father in one of his lectures. They’re out in the yard.”

Violet stepped to the open patio door, waving down to the men John saw sitting in patio chairs together from behind her. They sat in the modest backyard below at the edge of the brick patio, facing the rectangular patch of manicured grass in. The yard was lined with planter boxes that spilled over with green and flowers, a large oak tree twisting and casting shadows over the yard, its knotted trunk wrapped in strands of yellow lights that strung from the tree to the house. Bill Harris waved back, the afternoon sun reflecting on the lenses of his glass as he smiled up at his daughter.

“Howdy, pops!”

“Hey, kiddo!” Bill called back, the man beside him raising a hand in greeting as well, “Be up in a few!”

Violet turned back into the house, adjusting the baby on her hip, making a sour face. “Someone needs a butt change,” she said, hooking a finger into the back of the baby’s pants and peering down it.

Katie held her arms out for the baby, “I figured it was about that time. I’ll take her.”

Violet waved a dismissive hand to her sister, “I’ve got it! You stay here with mom. I need to give John the grand tour, anyhow.”

Katie nodded, settling back against the counter with an appreciative smile. Violet waved John on, leading him towards the staircase on the far side of the living room. He followed her up the stairs to the third level of the home, Violet bouncing Elise and humming as they walked. She led him into the first room on the right, the bright room bathed in evening sunlight. A bed sat in the middle of the room, covered in an assortment of small pillows that appeared to do little for the overall comfort of the bed. A high table sat against one wall, a rocking chair tucked into the corner beside a crib, the floor littered with an assortment of brightly colored children’s toys. Violet pushed a stuffed duck to the side with her foot as she entered the room. John lingered in the doorway, watching her weave through the mess on the floor as if navigating a minefield.

“This was my old room,” Violet stated, smiling at the baby and lifting her up to blow a raspberry on her belly before laying her onto the high table. “And once you cross that threshold, you will officially be the first boy who has ever been in it. Congrats.”

“What an honor.”

“Oh, of the greatest kind,” she laughed, “Just don’t close the door or I’ll get grounded.”

He chuckled, looking away as Violet started to undress the baby, talking to her in a low, soft voice as she changed her. He busied himself with looking over the pictures framed on the walls in neat rows. Some contained pictures of Elliot and Elise, other frames contained pictures of Violet and Katie at various ages; dressed in sports uniforms or in school pictures. A portrait of Violet sat in the center; an eighteen year old Violet in a black dress and string of pearls, that bright smile that seemed so ever present stretching her red painted lips. Another frame contained a picture of Violet more recently, dressed in a short sleeved UNSC branded tee and cargo pants inside of a polycarbonate greenhouse, drenched in too-bright artificial lighting. She sat on the ground before rows and rows of crops, arms outstretched happily, a prideful grin splitting her tearstained face as she smiled widely at the camera.

Violet looked over her shoulder before returning to wrestling with the kicking baby, “I see you found my mom’s shrine to us. Which one are you looking at?”

He pointed to the greenhouse picture, Violet squinting at it from across the room. She smiled, recognition flickering in her eyes. “That’s from my last assignment. I spent my first two years there researching and developing flash farming methods through ionic growth stimulation. That was my first successful attempt that went from seeds to a fully harvestable crop within twelve hours.”

“You’re crying,” he commented, looking again at the red that ringed her watery eyes in the picture.

“I cried for, like, four hours,” she laughed, “I was a disaster. It was the most exciting moment of my career. Can you hand me a diaper? They’re in the teal box.”

She pointed to the open closet doors, John following her finger to the box on the floor surrounded by a gathering of toys and impossibly small clothing. He pulled one from the box, reaching over to hand it to her. His eyes fell on the frame above the changed table; a family portrait similar to the few pictures he had seen on Violet’s shelves. Violet was dressed in the same yellow dress, standing beside Katie, dressed in white. Their parents stood beside Katie and a tall, thin man John assumed was Andy, an infant Elliot in his arms. A man stood beside Violet; deeply tanned with dark hair to his shoulders, his arm around Violet and his hand resting on her hip, wide smiles on both of their faces.

“Who is that?” The question left his mouth before he could think it through, Violet’s eyes following his own to the photograph. She let out a frustrated groan as she did the tabs on the diaper.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize my mom was still using that picture,” she said weakly, disdain dripping from each word, “That would be Devrin Johal. My ex boyfriend.”

“What happened?”

“He was a Covenant spy,” she said flatly, tugging the baby’s leggings back up and picking her up again. She turned to John with a smirk, finding him watching her with a blank expression. She giggled, the baby returning to her hip.

“Getting a lot of mileage out of that one, are you now?”

“I’m sorry, it’s too easy,” she laughed, blocking the baby’s hand as she reached for her earring, “No, we dated for a couple of years. We were both on the research team at my old assignment. We went up for the team lead position there, and when I got it, our relationship collapsed under the insurmountable weight of his fractured ego.”

John nodded, his eyes returning to the picture, unable to pull them away from where the man’s hand rested on her hip. They stayed on the image of her; that smile and the way her shoulder pressed against the long-haired man. Violet noticed the way he lingered on it, bumping her hip against him and pulling him from his stare. “It’s way in the rearview,” she assured him, “Just means we need to take new pictures for my mom to use.”

“You look happy,” he said, Elise babbling in her arms as she curled her fingers around the thin strap of Violet’s dress.

“I’m happier now,” she stated, moving Elise to her opposite hip and popping up on her toes to press her lips to his jaw. He leaned into the touch, fingers wrapping around the hand she pressed to his chest and touching his forehead to her own. Happy had been a fleeting emotion in his lifetime; lost to time and troublesome to remember, coming in moments few and far between. He assumed it felt something like this as he stood in her childhood bedroom, her hand in his as she looked up at him with those green eyes. He hoped the feeling lingered.

Bill and Andy had made their way into the living room when Violet and John descended the stairs. Sadie laid beside the spectacled man, her head in his lap as he absently stroked her back, listening to the other man continue to drone on. Bill glanced over her shoulder at the sound of feet on the steps, standing as Violet reached the last step.

“Hi, kiddo,” he smiled, pulling his daughter in for a hug. Violet hugged her father tightly before stepping to the side, John stepping off the last step beside her.

“Dad, this is John,” she said, bouncing Elise on her hip when the baby began to fuss.

Bill nodded, holding his hand out to John. John took it, his hand covering Bill’s as the ornithologist shook his hand.

“Doctor Harris,” he said, Cortana chirping at him about eye contact.

“Oh please, Doctor Harris is my daughter,” the older man joked, earning a smile from Violet, “Call me Bill. This is my son-in-law, Andy.”

The thin man offered John a wave and half smile from where he sat on the couch, Katie calling for her husband from the kitchen to help with taking dinner outside. Violet gave John’s arm a squeeze as she passed to the kitchen, asking her mother how she could help as she approached. Jane waved a dismissive hand as she piled Andy’s arms with dishes, both Violet and Katie taking the remaining in whatever arm wasn’t occupied by a child.

“Need any help, Janie?” Bill called to his wife, Jane shaking her head as she picked up the last bowl and made her way to the still open door.

“Don’t be long,” she called over her shoulder.

John found himself alone with Violet’s father in the living room, both men watching the other silently. John’s eyes darted to the door, hoping Violet would breeze in and continue the conversation with her father, but her laughter on the stairs confirmed he was on his own. Bill cleared his throat, watching John with the same green eyes of his daughter.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, son,” Bill said, “Violet speaks highly of you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Bill!” Jane called again, “Dinner is ready!”

“Be down in a second, Janie!” He called back, still watching John as if assessing the man in his home. He waved John on, “Let’s head down before I get in too much trouble. I assume the train in was alright?”

John nodded as he followed Bill out onto the patio stairs, Bill stopping to look down at the yard. John stopped beside him, watching as Katie and Jane set the umbrella covered table. Andy placed the last few pieces of serve ware onto the table, Violet still bouncing Elise on her hip as she talked with her sister. She smiled as she watched Elliot chase after Sadie, desperately grasping for the dog’s wagging tail. Bill removed his glasses, turning to face John again.

“John, this is the part of being a father to girls that I loathe, so I’d like to get it out of the way now if that’s alright with you,” he said kindly, John looking over to the balding man.

“My daughter is a good girl,” he stated, “Both of my girls are, but that one,” he gestured towards Violet, who had kicked off her white sneakers on the patio and taken to standing barefoot in the grass with Elliot, kneeling beside him as he pet Sadie, “She never stopped being my baby. So naturally, I’m protective of my daughter, as I’m sure you can understand.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I told my son-in-law the same thing I will tell you now, John; She is my little girl. She will be my little girl until the day I take my last breath. Whatever you do to her, I will do to you. All she needs to do is call me; morning, noon, or night and I am there. I expect that my daughter will be taken care of in the way she deserves. Do you understand me, son?”

John looked down at the balding man, Bill having to look up to meet John’s eye as he regarded the much larger man, the ornithologist's fierce words hanging between the two. Violet looked up from the yard, blocking the sun from her eyes with a hand. She gave John a quizzical look, raising her eyebrows when John looked back at her. She shook her head, calling up, “Dad, let him be!”

“We’re just talking, kiddo,” Bill called back, smiling at his daughter before returning his focus to John, “Do we understand one another, John?”

“Yes, sir.”

Bill clapped him on the arm, smiling up at him, “Good, I’m glad we could get that out of the way. Let’s eat.”

Bill turned to the stairs, taking them two at a time as he descended to the yard. John turned back to Violet, annoyance evident on her face as she looked up at him knowingly, shaking her head. John shrugged back at her, Violet stifling a laugh as he followed her father down the stairs. Jane called them all to the table, John slipping into the seat beside Violet. Katie leaned across the table to her sister, jerking her head towards John.

“Did Dad threaten him already? You’ve been here for a half hour!” She whispered.

Violet leaned over as plates started to be passed around, the family erupting into conversation as they dished food onto their plates. “Did my dad threaten you?” she whispered, her shoulder pressed to his.

“A threat would require me to be intimidated.”

She snorted out a laugh, the corner of his mouth lifting at the noise. “What, not afraid of Bill the Bird Doctor?”

“Not especially.”

Katie snickered across the table, taking the plate Violet passed to her. “He has the same line for every boyfriend. He thinks he sounds like a badass, but I’ve seen the guy cry during kids’ movies. Ignore him.”

“Sorry, I should have warned you. He likes to play the tough guy. And I haven’t exactly told them what you do, so,” Violet laughed, squeezing his knee under the table.

John found that Violet’s description of ‘overwhelming’ was quite apt for her family as they ate. He found himself listening and observing the way they all spoke to one another during the duration of the meal, or rather the way they spoke over each other. Elliot had seated himself in Violet’s lap as she ate , Violet blocking his fingers with her fork as they strayed to her plate, stopping occasionally to remind him of his own bright green plastic plate beside hers. Katie talked animatedly about her students, John learning that the woman taught at the same middle school Jane had once been an administrator in. Violet laughed and listened intently to her sister’s tales of adolescent antics, the happy sound bubbling from her. John took in the noise around him; the laughter, the competing voices, Sadie’s occasional bark at the dog on the other side of the fence and the toddler’s nonsensical talk that Violet seemed to understand. It was chaotic. It was overwhelming. It was loud and boisterous and alive and joyful. He watched Violet as she spoke, her eyes glowing as she laughed, her head tilting back as she snorted at the story her sister told, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Katie turned to where John sat, laughter still twinkling in her eyes as they fell to her sister. Violet brought a forkful of food to her mouth, watching her sister warily as a mischievous grin split Katie’s face.

“John, has Violet ever told you the story about how she cut her first boyfriend’s lip with her braces and he had to get stitches?” Katie asked, giggling as Violet stopped mid-bite to give her a dirty look across the table.

“Katie, don’t embarrass your sister,” Jane sighed out.

“At least I didn’t give my first boyfriend giardia,” Violet retorted through a full mouth, Andy snorting out a laugh as his wife’s face twisted with displeasure.

“ He gave me giardia, Violet!”

“Okay sure, River Mouth.”

“ Girls .”

“She started it!” Violet protested.

“ Violet.”

“Sorry mom,” they spoke in unison, John getting the feeling that apologies to Jane at the dinner table were a common occurrence between the sisters.

Violet snickered when Katie made a show of scratching her nose with her middle finger, sipping from her wine glass. Bill cleared his throat in an attempt to remove his wife’s glare from his daughters, turning to Violet as he sipped from his own glass.

“So,” he started, setting his glass down as he turned his attention to John and Violet at the end of the table, “I don’t think you’ve told us how you two met yet, Vi.”

“We met at the park while I was walking Sadie,” Violet explained, all eyes at the table turning to them. “We then found out that we work together pretty soon after.”

“Oh, are you also a botanist?” Bill asked, looking to John. Violet looked to John curiously, a faint amused smirk crossing her face, John meeting her eyes before turning back to her father.

“No, sir. Spartan Division.”

Silence fell over the table at the statement, all eyes falling to John again as realization sunk into the adults surrounding it. Elliot babbled beside him, a chubby fist reaching to swipe food from Violet’s plate. Down the table, Bill sputtered as he choked on his drink, Jane patting her husband on the back as he coughed. Katie erupted into laughter as she looked back at her father.

“Dad used his ‘whatever you do to her, I’ll do to you’ line on a fucking Spartan!” She gasped out, her laughter falling silent as she gripped her husband’s arm.

Violet snorted out a laugh at her sister’s hysterics, John meeting Bill’s eye at the end of the table. The older man raised his drink to John as he continued to catch his breath, John chuckling as Violet and Katie’s laughter grew. Violet’s laugh was punctuated with a snort as she turned to her father, “Still feeling like a tough guy, Pops?”

---

John sat with her father at the table after the dishes had been cleared away, listening to Bill tell stories about his time at the zoo. He had spent the past half hour telling John about how an eight year old Violet would spend days at the zoo, skipping school to go to work with her father and about the wonder she had addressed each thing there with. Bill shared how he would often find her bent over the different plants that sat in each aviary as part of the environments created for each species, Violet begging him to tell her the names of each over and over, repeating them as if they were magic words. He proudly shared that he had purchased Violet her first field book, having watched from the same patio they sat on now as his daughter carefully cataloged and recorded each plant in her mother’s garden. John hung to each word as he watched Violet in the yard where she played with Elliot.

Bill told his stories in the same passionate way Violet did; gesturing wildly with his hands and laughing at the punchlines of his own jokes before he ever delivered them. There was a familiar way to it, a comfort in the cadence in which he spoke that was so similar to the one he found when listening to Violet as she shared about her own day. John found an easiness to it as he listened to the man speak, no need for response as Bill spoke and shared and reminisced. He shared the same excitement for his field that Violet did for hers; a trait she had inherited from her father. He wondered what he might have inherited from his own.

“Bill!” Jane called from the house, the older man rising from the chair with a grunt before he nodded to John.

Violet had returned to the grass after dinner, her feet grass stained and splattered with earth as she played with her nephew. John watched as she kicked a ball for Sadie, the dog racing after it as the boy squealed in delight and clapped happily when the dog brought it back to his feet. Her niece sat on her hip again, Violet bouncing the baby along to the music playing from the house, singing along to the song.

Katie slipped into the chair beside him, crossing a leg over the other as she followed his eyes to the yard, joining him in watching her sister play with her children. They sat quietly for a moment, the only sounds floating through the yard that of the song Violet sang along to and the boy’s laughter.

“It’s good to see her happy,” Katie said to John, her eyes not leaving her children. Violet kicked the ball again, Elliot erupting into another peal of laughter as Sadie trailed after it, “I worried the move back would be hard on her. She loved being out in the field. It’s been nice to see her smile so much. Being around the kids has been great for her.”

“She’s good with them,” he agreed, Violet pressing a kiss to Elize’s cheek.

Katie nodded in agreement, “She’s the best aunt. She’s loved those kids since the moment they were both born. She didn’t let her job keep her from either of them; she would call daily to check in and see them. Since she got back on Reach, she’s been over nearly every weekend to see them. She’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met. Don’t tell her I said that, though.”

John chuckled, turning to look over at Katie. The woman smiled back at him, dishes clinking above head through the open kitchen window. “You picked a good one, you know,” Katie stated.

“I know,” he replied. He didn’t need to be told that. He simply knew.

Katie nodded, her eyes returning to where Violet played with the children. She kneeled beside Elliot as he patted Sadie’s back, softly reminding him to use gentle hands, Sadie panting as she laid out in the grass.

“I always thought she’d be the first to have kids,” Katie confessed, “She just gets it. The kindness, the patience. Hell, I’ve been teaching for a third of my life and she still blows me out of the water. She sees the value in things. She’s been that way since we were little; she’s always been able to find the beauty in everything. Every part of her was meant to be a mom.”

John watched her, finding himself agreeing with each of her sister’s statements. She was everything Katie said she was; warm and kind and lovely and all of the things he was not. His thoughts strayed to the family picture in her old bedroom, the long-haired botanist’s hand on her hip as she smiled; happy . She deserved this . She deserved everything around that table; a home and kids, the stability and normalcy that came with it that he had never known. A predictability without interruption that came at a moment's notice that he didn’t know himself to be able to provide. He remembered the feeling that came to him in his memories, the feeling that had come to him as he stood in the ruins of his childhood home. The same warmth, the same comfort, the same joy that had radiated around that table as she ate and laughed with her family. The same feeling in his chest he felt when he looked at her.

Violet’s laughter was punctuated with a snort as Elliot threw himself onto her, his hands on her cheeks as his own squeaky laugh shook his body. He watched her; her head tilted back as she laughed, that scrunch of her nose as she smiled that bright smile, the way she drew the boy closer to her to kiss his cheeks. Cortana had identified the feeling for him that day in the hangar as his hand slid out of hers, and he identified it himself as he sat there, unable to focus on anything but her in the warm glow of the lights in the trees.

Love.

God, how he loved her.

Katie shifted in her seat beside him, both watching Violet follow behind Elliot as he chased the dog. Violet glanced over her shoulder, catching his eye and flashing one of those smiles he felt right in his gut. He returned it, watching her return her attention to the boy. Katie turned to face him again, uncrossing and recrossing her legs.

“Violet loves so big. She always has,” Katie said. She reached over, squeezing his knee. John was fairly certain he had never been touched by this many strangers before in his life. Katie gave it a pat before she sat back with a smile, “I think she really loves you, too.”

He hoped she did. John nodded, his eyes returning to Violet. Katie smiled again, standing up from her chair and calling for Elliot. The boy looked to his mother, still holding Violet’s hand as they stood barefoot in the grass. Katie waved him over, stating that it was time to go home, the boy beginning to protest as he threw himself against Violet’s leg. Violet put a hand on the boy’s back, sharing an exaggerated pout with her sister before bending down, speaking to him softly as she rubbed his back. Katie shook her head, turning back to John.

“So, with that being said, don’t break her heart. Or my dad will kick your ass,” she teased, John chuckling.

Violet crossed the yard, carrying Elise back to her mother with a series of bounces, holding Elliot’s hand as they walked and giving his arm a wiggle, earning a few giggles from the pouting child. Elliot leaned into his mother’s outstretched arms, releasing his grip on Violet’s hand as Katie took him from her. Katie brushed his hair out of his eyes, speaking softly to the boy while Violet passed the baby back.

“Ready to go home?” Katie asked, Elliot dropping his head against his mother’s legs with an unhappy huff. Katie rolled her eyes, looking back to her sister and John. “It was nice to meet you, John. I hope we get to see you again,” she glanced up at the skies, the first stars of the night twinkling into existence above them before she looked back to him, “Be safe out there.”

John nodded, Katie offering him a final smile before turning to hug her sister. She whispered something to Violet, a smile splitting her face as she hugged Katie back with a laugh.

“I do too,” Violet whispered back, kissing her sister’s cheek, “Call me tomorrow. Go quick. Before the meltdown starts.”

Katie gave them both a small wave before she turned towards the patio stairs, Elliot fussing as he trailed behind her. Violet stretched her shoulders with a sigh, turning to where John sat, the two alone in the backyard. The yellow glow of the lights drew long shadows across the bricks of the patio, Violet slipping into his lap and settling against his chest. The song changed in the kitchen, the muffled voices of Katie’s family saying their goodbyes floating from the window. He watched the evening breeze rustle the leaves of the tree, Sadie rolling on to her back. Inside, Elliot shrieked out Violet’s name, John assuming that the meltdown Violet had warned her sister of had commenced. Violet laughed, taking his hand and toying with his fingers.

“Do you want that?” he asked, watching the grass where she had played with the boy and baby. Violet set her head on his shoulder, her eyes following his to the yard. Sadie laid on her side in the shade of the oak tree, dusky light crawling across the backyard.

“Want what?” she asked, the breeze rustling the branches of the tree again.

“Kids.”

Violet looked up at him, those green eyes finding his. He stiffened as he awaited her response, unsure of exactly where the tension stemmed from as he looked down at her. He knew his life in two parts; the time before her and the time now. He had never known fear before; terror had been trained out of him as a boy. But as he sat there watching her glowing in the lights, he never feared anything more than knowing a time without her again. She smiled up at him, soft and warm as she nodded, “Yeah. I do. Do you?”

Her response caught his breath in his throat, settling into him like a heavy weight.

“I haven’t thought about it.”

#halo fanfic #halo tv show #master chief #master chief/oc #romance #romcom in space #au #halo fanfiction #not canon compliant #silver timeline #john 117/oc #john 117 #spring in tchakova park

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authortobenamedlater · 7 months

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*slides this E4 deep dive under the door right before the deadline*

Sick of being sick, this took forever to finish.

The good:

I really liked the touches of “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Louis is blind but he still shoulders the grenade launcher. Danilo is a physical therapist and runs into the fray to aid the wounded. Talia is a Marine, sure, but she’s a basically a radio operator. She probably joined to pay for college or something. And she goes with John to FLEETCOM after he said she didn’t have to. Then she flies a bunch of civilians to safety while a bunch of jackals are eating Jacob Keyes for dinner. Riz and Vannak and John are made for this, literally, but many people who weren’t went above and beyond to defend Reach in a losing fight.

John going up against the cloaked elite (the Var Gatanai mentioned at the end of last episode, I assume) is pretty great, as is Talia jumping in with a tire iron. And the energy sword fight toward the end? Mm-hm.

Soren’s “kid watching Mom and Dad fight” moment with Jacob and Halsey 😂 Why do I think little Soren drove Jacob to the edge of his sanity?

John’s FACE when he gets called up during Jacob’s speech. I’m never going to stop finding that funny.

The episode does a good job letting the audience breathe in between the action. Soren especially provides some levity.

The bad:

Vannak deserved better.

Jacob got a great ending, better than his game self, but we never even got to see him step foot on a ship. His promotion to admiral doesn’t even make sense. However, he was the only flag officer who didn’t bug out and deserves props for it.

No Kai, but I didn’t expect her since she’s likely on her way to Onyx with the S-IIIs. She’ll probably be furious once she learns Reach fell and she wasn’t there to fight.

I want The Chief & Cortana Show. This is why I’m here. I will forgive the absence of my faves if we get lots of John comforting Cortana after she leads the Covenant to Earth. Or just a really good reunion.

Questions/speculations/wishful thinking:

Why did Ackerson take the Spartans’ gear? Mr suspects personal vendetta but I wonder if Ackerson has reasons beyond that. He said the Master Chief is “just a guy in a suit.” Does Ackerson want to put someone else in the suit? It would fit with the running theme of the people In Charge want John to be replaceable. Halsey wanted to replace John’s mind, does Ackerson want to replace his body?

One of the trailers shows John walking out of FLEETCOM in his armor, so he obviously gets it back at some point, but I want to know Ackerson’s agenda.

John says they need people like Keyes giving orders, or they’ll be left with people like Ackerson. Well, now Keyes is gone, so who will be Ackerson’s foil? I can’t really think of anyone on the show or in main canon. Miranda is the only possibility and smart as she is, she’s not ready for that.

I don’t think Reach has truly fallen yet. There’s enough footage in trailers (like John walking out of FLEETCOM in his armor) to make me think this is going to drag awhile. Will we get Operation: First Strike? Maybe I’m majoring on a minor, but in an S1 episode Parangosky tells Jacob to call Admiral Whitcomb. Admiral Whitcomb leads Blue Team and friends in First Strike.

Cortana will be forced to lead the Covenant fleet to Earth. This is how we get that shot of John on the drop ship with Jupiter in the foreground.

Vannak is dead and Kai is leading the S-IIIs. Silver Team is getting split. Is John going to get a new team or is he going off by himself? I’m inclined to think the latter at least for the immediate future.

Vannak is going to get hauled to The Body Shop better known as Castle Base for some new parts. They did it with Kelly.

It’s hard to speculate on what next week holds, since aside from Kai with the S-IIIs and John getting to the Halo, Paramount is being tight-lipped about the back half of the season. From the trailer, I suspect we’ll find out what role Kwan plays going forward and what happened with John and Cortana getting separated, and we’ll meet the S-IIIs. Next episode is called Aleria, which according to Halopedia is some butt-end of nowhere colony nobody cares about. I’m not even sure what to make of how it could relate to the episode based on what I’ve seen.

#halo #halo tv show #halo spoilers

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adeptune01 · 1 year

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Marauders TV Show Pitch

First of all, I don't understand why they are releasing a new Harry Potter show to HBO. I don't understand why this will exist, why people want it to exist, and why they did it this way. Second of all, if JK Rowling has anything to do with it, I will not support it or watch it.

Now that that's out of the way, this is what I would do instead.

Create a TV show following the Marauders (not necessarily a recreation of ATYD).

It would be so easy.

Each character already has their own tragic backstory:

James was raised in a wealthy home with loving parents, but is worried about living up to his family's expectations.

Sirius was also born into wealth, but into a family who value tradition and dignity above all else. He is the literal "black sheep" of the family and has to break away from their deeply ingrained bigotry.

Remus is an orphan, bitten by a werewolf when he was a child and raised in an accommodating but spartan muggle orphanage.

Peter has always been average, falling just short of his exceptional friends so he turns to darker powers, hoping to succeed where his friends dare not tread.

Besides the characters, there's also ready-made romance. James and Lily- a classic enemies to lovers tale that's already canon. And, obviously, Remus and Sirius- a beautiful friends to lovers relationship.

The show starts as the group enters year four with a lighter tone and then, as they get older and the war starts to seep into life at Hogwarts, there's a shift to a darker one- and once they graduate and join the Order of the Phoenix it gets downright tragic.

However, in the first few seasons it could do what Stranger Things did and lean into the aesthetic of the decade- the 70s. Using funky clothes, good music, and a golden filter over everything, it could build a solid vibe and attract an audience.

I even have a few episodes planned out.

Pilot: The Marauders meet to discuss their summers in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express on the way back to school. The episode features their tales boasting of summer fun juxtaposed with flashbacks showing what really happened.

Ten-Point Tosser: James becomes captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but his friends fall out of his sight as his vision narrows to winning the upcoming match against Slytherin.

Box Clever: As of late, the head-boy is a particular pest so the Marauders decide to take action. It's revealed at the end of the episode that the head-boy's father recently died in the fight against Voldemort.

Hop, Skip, and a Skive: Sirius skives off class one too many times and the rest of the Marauders are left to cover for him. Features increasingly ridiculous lies told to Professor Mcgonagall and her attempts to catch them in the act.

Annual Brilliance: It's time for the semi-official prank of the year, but the Marauders have all landed themselves in separate detentions. Throughout the episode they work under the professor's noses to pull off their biggest prank yet.

There's more I haven't mentioned (even a few full scenes planned out) but I think I've proved my point. That perfect mix of comedy, drama, and romance. The world deserves a marauders show.

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justxrandomxlivia · 2 years

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Emile A239 x fem!Reader part two

Portrait by Joshua Ezzell

Part one Masterlist

Summary: After meeting up with the rest of Team Noble, you're set out on your first mission. Things don't go as planned and you end up arguing with Emile about your behavior. Just why does he have to hold your face like this and stand so damn close you can barely breathe?

Warnings: war, mention of weapons, mention of death, angst, sarcasm, overall harmless, with some hints of early stage smut

Word count: 4503

AN: I posted the second chapter a couple of days ago already, but I was not satisfied how it turned out. So I wrote many parts new and I promise you. You will fall in love with Emile now! He is the most precious angry fluffball ever.

Chapter two: Be a good girl, and I'll take my helmet off for you

15 minutes have already passed, since we started in New Alexandria. We left the heavy rain clouds in the city, and I can finally see a few sunrays again. Two weeks I haven’t seen the sun anymore. The feeling that I’ll never see the sun anymore, grew bigger, minute by minute as I waited in my apartment for pick up.

But being now with Noble Team, makes me believe that everything will be fine. Carter explained me the situation, we are meeting rest of the Noble Team at a safe zone camp. 80 click souths from my home city. Once we arrived, we will be heading 20 click west to an old military facility for pick up of an ONI squad. With this squad we will leave fly all the way to Reach and head towards Quezon. West of New Alexandria, behind the ocean. Once we arrived, Noble Team will drop me off and I will get escorted by a UNSC special forces squad to earth.

Then I will just wait for the war to be over before I can return home? Somehow this doesn’t go well with me. I trained years of my life; I have been in different wars myself already. Against Rebels, Terrorists and others. So why am I not allowed to fight now. Its my home as well. I should fight with my brothers and sisters.

“We are landing in 2 minutes.” Says a pilot over the radio, what rips me out of my thoughts. And as we are descending, I can see how the sun slowly sets itself behind the thick clouds and mountains. I’m looking at Carter, who gives me a nod to get ready. Emile on the other side had said nothing. Not a single word, for the 15 minutest as we are in the sky. He just sat at the edge of the helicopter, scanning the area with a heavy machine gun. He seems more professional than I thought in the first place. Maybe I got him all wrong.

The helicopter eventually landed, and I followed Carter into a little tent. Four Spartans were looking directly at me as I entered. Spartans can be really scaring sometimes…

“Noble Team, this is Miss l/n. Ma’am, meet Kat, noble two.” A woman in light blue Armor nods at me. I try my best to nod with a serious face back. Trying to hide my nervosity. As Carter continues: “Jun, Jorge, Noble three and Noble five. And Lieutenant Sixx, obviously he got the callsign Noble six.” He pointed at everyone, while walking towards a simple build contact station. I looked at each of them, “It’s an honour to meet you. You can call me y/n. I don’t really like those formalities.” It sounded a little more desperate then I hoped it would, but maybe it helps me to stay calm.

Kat turned to me and gave me a light smile: “I’ve read your file Ma’am. You are more tough than you look. No need to feel intimidated by us. We don’t bite. Well, almost all of us don’t.” With that, she lifted her head and looked behind me. “You should just stay a little alert around our Grim Reaper.” She chuckled and turned her attention toward the contact station. A little confused I looked behind, seeing Emile standing at the tent entrance. Of course, he bites. I’m not even surprised; he looks like he could and probably would at one point. Quickly I turn my attention to the rest of the squad. Jorge was once a commander of the squad I served with. Against Insurrectionists, here on Reach. “Sir, it’s good to see a familiar face.” I said to him. He smiled softly, as he came a little closer to me. With his heavy hand on my shoulder he said: “Y/n, I’m glad to see you are in one piece. Your father was quite worried as he heard about the covenant. We will bring you to safety as soon as possible.” I smiled back. “Yes, thanks for that, I guess. Even though, I should fight for my home, not run away from it.” With my smile fading into a face of self-disappointment, he just let out a laugh. “I didn’t expect anything less from you. You will get a chance. But your father gives and order, and we all, just as you, are supposed to follow it.”

He's right. “But I hope I can at least kick some ass before leaving Reach.” I replied.

“Alright, attention Team.” Carter interrupts our little, small talk. And everybody pays close attention to the contact station. A hologram map shows up. He points at an ONI facility; “20 clicks west, we will meet a backup squad and secure the facility. Taking down all covenant and bring the facility back online.” He picks up a small P.a.d. from the table and hands to me. “Make sure to stay in contact at all times ma’am.” A quick nod from me as response as I fix the p.a.d. on my wrist.

Kat looks at me, “She needs some weapons, or do you want any of us to play babysitter?” She clearly won’t take the job, that’s the tone of her voice saying. Carter points with his thumbs at a weapon chest next to the station. “Take what you are most comfortable with.” He says to me. I response with another nod. As he continues: “Anyway else, I want that one of you stay full time with her. She is a highly important freight. We can’t take any chances.” He looks at each of the Noble Team members. I hope he picks Jorge. He’s the only one I know and to be honest, he’s the only next to Carter who I’d trust.

But he had other plans. “Emile, make sure she doesn’t get a single scratch. Team, we’re leaving in 10 minutes. Get ready.” He just dismisses us and is about to leave the tent. When Emile finally says something: “What? Sir with all due respect, you gotta be kidding!” He sounds angry.

Kat comes next to Emile: “Sir, I must agree with Emile, for the first time ever. I’m sure that Six or Jorge would be the better candidate for the job.” She really argues with the commander. I’m curious if she tries to protect Emile, or me? But it seems that Carter won’t budge. “My decision is made. No discussion. I need your skillset to make sure she will arrive in Quezon alive.” He says with a stern look, then he looks at me: “Ma’am. Take the weapons of your choice, vest, night vision and get ready to move.” With his final words, he leaves. And so do the others one by one. Kat looks one time more at me, “Good luck.” She smiles at me with a concerned face and leaves. While Jorge comes past me, he pats me on the shoulder, before leaving the tent as well. Now it’s only Emile and me. This is going to be great. Really great. I let out a sigh as I look at him. Then, there it is again. That feeling. He looks at me, and I can feel how he tries to kill me with his piercing stare. I turn around, trying to ignore his death threat and walk towards the weapon chest, short after I turned away, Emile left the tent as well. I survived. For now.

Now let’s pick some toys. There are not many weapons in, but I quickly made my decision. I take a MK50 Sidekick, a great sidearm that's ideal for finishing weakened enemies off. As I trained for the Airforce, I worked mainly as sniper and medic, so I’ll chose the S7 Sniper. Light and compact. The exact model I trained with, from the beginning of my time in the UNSC Airforce.

Even though I was categorized as too small for the UNSC to join in the first place, it gave me many opportunities to take down enemies in close range, while I could move faster around them and take them down with a combat knife. So of course, I’ll be taking a M1 combat knife, as I used back in the fights. A bullet proof vest and a night vision device. Ready dressed and packed, I make my way out of the tent. As I turn the corner to meet rest of the team at the landing zone, my soul leaves at the second I get yelled at, by a certain skull visor. “What the hell? You are dum?!” Emile yells at me from behind as I get shocked to the core and jump around, I see how he stomps towards me. That’s it. I’m going to die. What have I done to deserve that. I’m just praying to God, while he stops right in front of me, looking down on me, as if I’m a little child. Then he growls: “A sniper rifle? Do I look like I wanna sit in a corner drinking tea while the others dance with the covenant scum? Go pick Jun if you’re too scared to face the enemy directly, but I’m not taking care of you then!” He stomps past me.

Hold up. That’s why he is mad? God, he is the little child. I definitely will have a hard time handling him, but I’m not going to change my weapon. It will come in handy, and I still have my sidekick gun. I shake my head as if I try to shake his anger off me. Then I make my last steps to the landing zone. Standing next to Emile, I look up at him with a serious face: “Just for your knowledge, with a sniper rifle that size, I can easily take down any enemy who will come in closer range. Also I got a MK50 sidekick. Captain Obvious. In the end it’s going to be me, who has to make sure you don’t get a scratch. And probably will end up babysitting you then. So you better be more kind. Sir.” Realizing what I just said, I can hear the others giggle. The only ones clearly not laughing is me. Why do I have to push my limits always. He’s so going to abandon me in a fight. Or even push me off a cliff, should we come across one. I want to facepalm myself. But - Hold up! He is laughing himself. What the??

I look now even more shocked towards him, he is serious laughing. He turns his head to me, “You think I need back up from a tiny dwarf like you? Not even your wildest dream.” Is he insulting me now? Or joking? I’m confused! To my luck, I can hear Carter approaching from behind, with an amused voice he pats me on the shoulder: “I told you, you two will get along just fine.”

With the team in a good mood, we split up in two groups and jump on the helicopters. Kat, Jorge and Carter are in the other helicopter, while Emile and Noble Six sit on the opposite side of Jun and me. Jun, pushes me light at the shoulder: “I give you some advice.” He says while pointing at Emile. “Make as many jokes as you want to, but don’t be surprised if he’s coming after you. You can always hide behind Carter or Six. But don’t come running at me, I don’t want to die myself.” He says while laughing a little more. I nod with a awkward terrified smile at him. Does he want to tell me that he fears Emile?

Should I take his advice serious? Either way I say dumb shit to Emile, or even worse shit, that makes him angry. I will probably make him kill me. My face drops with the realisation that my life hangs by a threat. As Emile tilts his head light to the side and looks at me: “As long as I got orders to make sure you don’t loose a leg, I won’t rip off your head as well.” He says with a cool voice. Turning away once again.

Wow, how charming. I think ironically. But yeah, actually, his voice, is really charming. I hits me like a thunderstrike. Holy no! Pull yourself together girl! We are not falling for a Spartan! No No No NO! Instantly I turn my face away from the others, trying to hide my blushing cheeks. This is seriously no time to catch feelings. Also, he is so rude and reckless. And childish. And has probably many issues. No no. We don’t do love stuff here. We are professionals. So be one professional soldier. God damn. While discussing with myself, I just pray that this flight is over soon, so I can focus on the covenant instead of my stupid thoughts.

As the helicopter is turning around the mountain, we get a call over radio: “This is Carter. We get no communication with ONI. The plan changed. Jun, you stay in the helo, get up at that hill, right heading. Find a clear vision over the facility. Emile and Six, clear the left entrance area. Y/n, according to your record, you are a medic, means you go with the two and get ready for first aid, if you find any injured. All clear?” Carter gives straight instructions. Jun looks at Emile and Six, both are nodding in response, then they turn to me and I gave a quick nod as well. Jun answers over the radio quickly: “Affirmative, Sir.” With that said, we are starting to descend. I know what will come. War. But against the covenant. I never fought against any aliens before. Slowly my guts starting to turn. Then Jun pushes me once again lightly at the shoulder, I turn to him and he just gives me a thumbs up. It’s not much, but it calms me down a little, I give him a thumbs up back.

The helicopter touches the ground, and we hop off. Jun gives me one more thumb up as the helicopter rises again. Now it’s time to focus. So far, I don’t see any civilians, soldiers and no covenant. The sun has almost set completely. Taking a deep breath, I grip my rifle tight and follow Emile and Six. They give calls each other on where to walk, that the area is clear and where to move. I just follow Emile. Close, but so that he still can move free. We are approaching the left entrance of the ONI facility, and the bad feeling inside me grows bigger. I try to get a little closer to Emile and whisper to him: “Hey, Emile. I have a bad feeling. This is smelly.”, he stops in his tracks and turns his head light. “So what? You scared because your belly is grumbling? There’s no turning back now. Shut up and keep moving.” He harshly cuts me off and continues walking again. I let out an annoyed sigh and follow him once more, this time, I keep more distance. It’s a trap! I can feel it, don’t they? When the two Spartans reached the entrance gate, I walked a little bit further away, and hide behind a huge rock. It’s like a countdown ticking inside of me. Every second it could go down. I kneel behind the rock and set up my rifle, so I can assist the two when they will get surprised. And they will get surprised.

In the exact moment Six get ready to open the gate, the gate explodes and a bunch of Covenant storming out of the building. “Get to cover tiny!” Emile yells. He didn’t even realise that I wasn’t there anymore. “No shit, Sherlock. And who are you calling tiny here.” Is what I whisper to myself, while shooting one by one of the covenants. They are obviously too many to handle, even for two Spartans. Emile doesn’t think so: “What that’s all you got? Bring it on!” He yells while throwing them around like a freaking piñata. “Who’s next! Let’s dance!” He yells and laughs even more, while jumping on three covenants, blasting them to bits. Yeah, he’s nuts - That’s for sure. Six is skilled himself. Not a single enemy can get close enough to him, that he must draw a knife. While Emile on the other hand seems to have a lot of fun using his Kukri knife instead of his shotgun. And it doesn’t take too long and not a single covenant is standing anymore.

As they are about to move into the building, Emile calls over the radio: “You made it to a hiding spot in time?” I answered without even thinking “Sir, I was in a hiding spot already. As I told you, it’s smelly.” I responded. I should have just said yes and we would had no problem. But telling Emile, that I disobeyed an order, was not the smartest idea, because he was clearly not happy about that: “What’d you mean? You just decided to take a stroll around the base or what? Who gave you green lights for running off? Don’t fucking do that ever again! Now stay where you are until we call the building clear!”

After around 10 minutes, he calls over the radio: “This is Noble four. Left entrance clear. We have many soldiers on the ground. Get in here tiny, time to work.” Is all he says. Man, now I’m mad. “He can’t even say my name. And what does he mean, - time to work – I was literally holding his god damn back free, so he can have his fun in the crowd. “Arrogant ass.” I mutter to myself as I’m approaching the building. Entering, I see many soldiers, bad injured. “Ah hell.” I whispered while checking if any are still alive. These soldiers are clearly dead.

Emile was nowhere to be seen. Six came from across the hallway to me. I just shook my head. He let out a sigh and said “Good job. Out there.” He gave me a nod of appreciation. “Thanks Lieutenant. I’m sorry for the soldiers” I sighed and asked “That was the squad we were supposed to meet?” He looked at me and pointed to a door, signing me to follow. “You are right, it was them. It’s now just us. We must get the station online and then bring you to Quezon. With or without ONI.” He explained while walking ahead. Suddenly he stopped, so that I almost bumped into him. I stood behind him, a little confused. “Sir?” I asked quietly. He turned around. “You are a good sniper. For your size, surprisingly. Your senses are excellent as well. Emile said you had a bad feeling and decided to not follow the orders and hid. That’s good. But also, bad. Next time, give clear concerns to the commander. You can’t decide by yourself what to do. Other who are supposed to protect you, will get the consequences.” As he finished, he turned away and continued walking. I felt bad, he was right, but I had to make the decision. To not put the team in danger as they would have focused on protecting me.

“Sir, it won’t happen again.” I said while walking behind him like a stray dog. He chuckled “Good. And good luck with handling Emile. He’s mad.” As he said that, I was not even surprised. I let out a sigh, “Yeah, I deserve that, I guess.” We stopped in front of a big door. Six gave me a slight nudge on the shoulder and entered the room, right away, Emile came out of it. He packed me by the arm and pulled me further along the hallway. He’s probably going to yell at me again. Mentally preparing myself for what will come, he stopped and let go of my arm as we were close to an exit door. Then he turned towards me and pushed a finger against my forehead. “Listen here doll, When I tell you what to do, you shut up and do it. You can’t just leave the spot without telling anyone! Are we clear?” He wasn’t really yelling. Just a little louder, but his finger really hurts on my forehead. I pushed his hand out of my face and took a deep breath. “Yes sir. Won’t happen again.” I said with a serious look on my face to him. He wasn’t done. “Have you an idea how much trouble I get because of that!” Now he started yelling as he came one step closer. I couldn’t even said something, he came one more step closer and continued. “Not only from Carter. If your father finds out I can’t even handle a dwarf like you, I can forget staying in Noble Team.” He came another step closer. As he leaned down, his visor was almost touching my nose. But I didn’t budge. “Tell me Emile” I looked at his skull visor. “Do I look into your eyes right now? Or do I have to look more down or up?” I caught him completely off guard. He spun back and instead of saying anything, he turned on his heels and walked towards the exit door.

“That’s it?” I asked whispering but couldn’t hold back. “Emile.” I called him, he stopped and turned around. “What?” He was so pissed. Good. My face turned into an art of hell as I bit my lower lip to not laugh out loud. Another deep breath: “My belly grumbling, huh? Just admit it, I was right, and you were wrong.” Biting my lip even harder to not laugh out loud I waited for my end. But he just stood there. Saying nothing. Looking in my direction. I messed up, but it was totally worth it. It’s too much fun to piss him off. Until he started stomping towards me. “Oh shit!” I whispered. Should I run away? Too late, he was already right in front of me again. Now pushing me by my shoulders against the wall behind me. He almost threw me at that wall. Hands on my shoulder, his visor right in front of me again and his feet left and right next to mine, he was cornering me completely against that wall.

His voice, deep and filled with flammable anger “Do you wanna die?” He asked slowly. I shook my head light. “Negative, sir.” Only a whisper was what I was able to bring out. He took a breath as if he wanted to say something. But he didn’t. He was just standing there. Looking down on me, holding my shoulders and pressing them against the wall. I looked at him confused. Should I say something? Then he let go of my shoulder, cupping my face with one hand, lifting it even closer to him. With the other hand he pointed to his visor. “I you look there; you look me in the eyes.” I lost my breath at his words. His voice was now calm and soft. He was a completely different person. Nobody said anything anymore. We just looked at each other, standing so close, I swear he could hear my heartbeat.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Jun yelled: “Hey, Emile, get up to the power transmitter and check if the wires are cut! Oh, ah, Okey. Didn’t wanted interrupted. My bad.” He yelled from across the hallway. As he saw what must have looked as we were making out, Jun just left as quickly as he came around. Emile huffed and let go of me. He headed towards the exit. “You stay put. Otherwise...” He scolded. As he walked away. I followed him, as we left the building and climbed the fire stairs to the roof. I got curious. “Otherwise, what?” I asked dumb struck. He stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned around once more. “Otherwise, I’ll bite your head off. Now shut up.” He scolded once again.

Deciding to not bother him any further. I zipped my mouth with my finger and followed him further upstairs. Reaching the transmitter, it was clear that all cables were intact. He gave a radio call to Jun, saying that the cables are fine. I stood at the transmitter and looked at him. Something is weird about him. He’s rude, childish and has immense anger issues. But I can’t shake this feeling off, that I feel like starting to fall for him. How can I fall for someone I just met an hour ago. And who I haven’t even seen the face of.

He’s noble team. They don’t have a long lifespan anyway. And I’m going to earth. So, I will probably never see him again after we parted ways. Makes me a little sad. As I continue starting at him, with every emotion written on my face, I suddenly realised he’s looking back at me. Ah no, he’s going to be mad again. I smiled at him as if tried to convince him that I’m not hiding any drugs, before turning around and looking at the lake next to the facility. He was not saying anything. When I looked back at him, he is still looking at me. I narrowed my eyebrows: “Did you spaced out Emile?” I asked him. He stomped towards me, I was about to move back, but I decided to stand my ground. Would he come that close again? Is he actually starving for physical contact. The life of a Spartan can be lonely. He stopped right in front of me. Only a few inches were in between us. He took a deep breath and asked. “Why would you want to see my eyes?” – “Huh?” with my answer it was clear that I did not expected that. Emile turned away and shook his head. “Never mind.” He said and walked to the stairs.

“Wait.” I run at him and grab him by his hand. Regretting my move, as he looked down at his hand, I let go immediately. “I- am. I just try to understand you. And it’s easier for me when I can look into your eyes.” I smiled shyly and looked away. I was expecting he’d make a joke about me, but instead, he cupped my face with both hands this time, making me to look up at him. “If you be a good little girl and do as I say. I maybe take my helmet off.” Then he let go of me, and walked downstairs laughing his ass off. He made a joke about me.

“What was that?” I asked myself and rushed after him, before I get another scolding. Wait, was he actually flirting with me? With this thought I stopped in front of the door to the building.

“y/n. Station is online. Come to the main entrance.” Carters call over the radio ripped me out of my thoughts. I must stop thinking about Emile. He is just a Spartan. Doing his job. That’s it.

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