Spartan Town.

UNSC Infinity

0800 hours, shipboard time.

" 178 ! "

" 179 ! "

" 180 ! "

" 181 ! "

With flawless timing, Kelly counted and called out every successful rep of John's workout routine from her position directly behind the prone-positioned Blue Team Actual.

They were currently the only ones in this workout room. There were many of them located throughout the expanse of Spartan Town. Clad in a white workout shirts with " UNSC " printed on the chest, and knee length shorts, John and Kelly had taken advantage of the lack of a crowd to get in some uninterrupted PT.

At the moment, John was lying flat on his back at the bench press- which, being in a Spartan gym, was designed from the ground up to take a Spartan's weight- John minutely adjusted his grip on the well padded section of the barbell, preparing for another lift of it. It wasn't the most heavily weighted as it could've been- a light 150 pounds- but combined with his near 200 repetitions, it was finally beginning to produce that distinctive, tingling, burning sensation that came with having one's muscles made to work hard for a stretch.

He was feeling exactly where it should be: in his shoulders, all along his arms, and spanning across his pectorals. It was a good feeling, and one of the first he'd ever gotten used to as a Spartan-II: that sensation of your body being worked hard to the point of making it stronger. Archaic cultural sources referred to it as " feeling the burn. "

Well, nearly. As a Spartan, he could go a lot longer than someone who wasn't one before the " burn " set in. Some might call it an unfair advantage, but he didn't think so.

A lot longer.

" 182 ! "

" 183 ! "

" 184 ! "

" You can make 200, John, come on now ! "

Blue Team actual lifted the bar again.

" What- you had your doubts ? ", he grunted.

" I'll plead the 5th ", Kelly peered down at him. " You good ? Yeah ? Keep it up, then. "

She is so British. John lowered the bar to within a few inches of himself, inhaled briefly, then extended his biceps, pushing the dead weight up and away again for the 185th time-

" 185 ! "

" 186 ! "

" 187 ! "

" 188 ! "

" 189 ! "

" 190 ! "

" 191 ! "

" 192 ! "

" 193 ! "

" 194 ! "

" 195 ! "

" 196 ! "

" 197 ! Give me 200, John, let's go ! ". Kelly was getting into it now. She was leaning directly over him, her angularly beautiful face staring directly at him, and her sapphire blue eyes half full of intensity, and half bemusement.

Oh, She's getting a kick out of this. Its all a show for her- she knows I've got it

- and then lowering it back, bending his arms the way they'd come, and keeping them there for a heartbeat, before repeating the process, yet again. John had slipped into the rhythm now, and as long as he could keep it up, he had a good chance at not reaching 200- he was certain he could do that, as much as Kelly did-, but going well past it. That's what made a workout count; you had to at least reach your minimum, and then go past it.

Old hat. I've done this enough for 3 lifetimes. Thanks, SCPO Mendez. If I ever run into you again, I'll thank you in person.

" 198 ! "

" 199 ! "

200 ! Nice, nice ! You impress me. "

Her tone suggested she really had enjoyed this, as nonchalant and " motivational " as she'd been trying to come off as all along.

" Yeah, sure ". The barbell fell, and went up, as steadily as it had been doing. " Because I've worked up a sweat for your benefit. "

" You mean you haven't ? ", Kelly's brows went up. " Well, I've wasted my time then. Why'd I even bother. "

John didn't bother fighting off the small, but real, smile that emerged on his face at that. Somehow, and no doubt to the surprise of many UNSC psychologists, Kelly's wit and sense of humor had made it through the 25+ years of genocidal conflict with the Covenant, and to be honest, John didn't think his own would've been alright if hers hadn't been.

Maybe it said that they'd been affected by it more than they thought; maybe this was a level beyond traumatized from watching so many planets getting burned to nothing but cinders. John didn't know what to call it, or how to explain it, but he knew- had known for so many years by now- that he could trust Kelly to be a rock for him, and vice versa. She was Blue Two in more ways than one, and John's better half on and off the field.

Maybe that's how they were able to enjoy moments like these; lighter ones not surrounded by the imminent threat of death. While they were fighting the Covenant, such moments were scattered at best- outnumbered 3 to 1, much like human forces overall, by moments of numbing terror, frustration, and uncertainty. They'd become accustomed to it, but what nobody had said was they always wondered what it would be like, when things would go back to how they had been before. Eradicating the Insurrectionists had been at least an actual conflict that could end- facing the Covenant had been an outright genocide campaign aimed to remove Humanity from existence.

Well, now they had that back. The Covenant were beaten, and dissolved. Spartans were not out of a job, but they had to get back to a life without the annihilation of their species hanging over them. It wasn't going to be easy, and some of them might not become used to it for a long while.

But, they'd keep at it, because that's what Spartans- no matter whether they were IIs, IIIs, or IVs- did.

I'll pound out a few for you, Samuel.

300 total reps later, John decided enough was enough.

" Ohhkay ,then. "

" You're done ? "

" Yeah. That's all for now. "

" Allright, fair enough. "

He began setting the bar back into its cradle, with Kelly dutifully helping out, as a good spotter does. Even before the two metals met, Kelly took hold of the bar, easily taking a good bit of its weight herself. John allowed himself a second or two to appreciate how the sculpted, athletic muscles of her upper arms stood out.

They didn't bulge in a masculine way, though; instead, they looked streamlined and rock solid.

" I've got this, John ", Kelly assured him.

" You sure ? ". Breathing only a few notches more than resting rate, John stared up at her. " Its pretty heavy."

Kelly stared back at him. Instead of providing him with a response, she went one better, and hefted the bar up and down several times, before utilizing those toned biceps to raise it high over her head. She steadily held it there for a good several seconds, with elbows locked at an angle.

" Yep. It weighs more than a Grizzly tank. ", Kelly eyed the weight inches above her, then looked back down at John, with one brow raised again.

John said nothing, but he had to admit: Kelly was pretty fit.

His gaze flicked down for a fraction of a moment to her abs- chiseled, firm, and powerful.

Lithe and buff haven't ever looked so good.

" Consider your point proven. "

Overall, Kelly was built like an Olympic sprinter, with toned and athletic muscle all over. Even though Kelly was defined with long, muscular legs that were clear evidence of many consecutive leg days, John was reminded yet again now Spartan strength looked on/being used by Kelly . The combination of all that PT, and the Spartans' augmented muscle fibers which soaked up reps like a sponge, had resulted in a figure that always got John's attention when he saw it.

Strong mind and strong body. Its only enough if you have both.

Possessing the same inhuman strength as John did, Kelly set the bar down like it was made of paper, as John raised himself to a sitting position. By this point, every muscle he'd been working out definitely burned like it had been- and considering he knew exactly how much Spartan-II's had gotten their modified during the augmentations, getting them to burn was no small feat.

John rubbed a hand across his forehead. His skin wasn't wet with sweat, though it was warm. He reached down, took the water bottle he'd set on the floor by the bench before having begun the set, and took a swig of the cooled water.

The most expensive, freshest fruit juice couldn't compare to the richness of water you drank after some serious psychical effort. For a moment, John took a walk down memory lane- and this time around, it was thankfully not somewhere so grim.

I remember the water I drank after our very first Reach workout, when Chief Mendez worked us nearly to death on our first day. It was room temperature at best. I didn't care at that moment; It was water, it was clean, and God, did I need it.

Back then, he'd committed a rookie mistake by chugging it, paying for that later with cramps and slight nausea. John had subsequently promised himself he wouldn't do that again, and he hadn't.

" Always stay hydrated, right ?. ", Kelly commented, coming up on John's right.

" Of course. Exercise 101. "

" Smart man. "

John smiled, enjoying the compliment, before taking one last sip, then finally standing. Turning to Kelly, he tilted his head toward the now vacant bench.

" You're welcome to take a turn on it now, if you want. I've even left it warm. "

Kelly looked over at the empty station for a moment, then back to John.

" That depends. You, interested in spotting for me ? "

" Definitely. " John automatically responded.

He had his reasons. Spirit of well established teamwork obligation well aside, John couldn't think of many other ways he'd rather spend his time, than helping out his special girl, Kelly, keep herself in tip top shape.

Needless to say, the Kelly in question saw right through him, having caught on even faster. Her eyes narrowed, but the corner of her mouth did curve upwards in an expression of more of her brand of genuine bemusement.

" Smooth operator, John. "

There was no point in pretending otherwise, and John knew it. Not that he at all planned to, though. There were no secrets between them, after all. Kelly was his Blue Two, and nobody except them could understand exactly what there was between them. He wouldn't care if nobody could, and he didn't think Kelly did either.

Shrugging, he found his mouth curving up in the same way Kelly's had.

" What else did you expect ? ".

Kelly didn't say anything as she made her way past him toward the bench, but as she got close to John, she stopped, and took a moment to kiss him gently, but firmly, on the side of his face.

" Nothing less than you ", she told him.