(A/N) Well, now that we've got our amazingly awesome and yet so cruel end to Season 13, here's me attempting to write RvB fic. I'm gonna try something like what they did with the freelancer arc, in that I'm going to have two stories going at once. This and the other story, When Angels Fall (With Broken Wings), can be read separately, but your enjoyment will definitely be enhanced if you read them together. Whatsoever you choose to do, dear reader, I hope you enjoy.

Until You Break, Until You Yield

Chapter 1: Blue Amber

Blue amber is amber exhibiting a rare coloration. Under artificial light, the amber appears like ordinary amber, but under sunlight it has an intense fluorescent blue glow. When held against the sun it will appear like ordinary amber, and under ultraviolet light it will glow a bright milky-blue. This effect can be compared to the ocean, which, although transparent, can appear anything from light blue to dark blue to black, depending on depth, mass, salinity, etc.

XxX

Nope, Maine decided as he went crashing to the floor for the fourth time. Getting out of bed this morning was definitely not worth it.

The training exercise of the day was two on two – he and York versus Virginia and Michigan. There'd been something in the objective about working as a team, but that was not Maine's strong suit. He worked alone and he got the job done alone. That was how he'd always done things.

So why were Gin and Mitch such a fucking problem?

Maine growled in frustration as he started to pick himself up – and immediately found himself laid out flat when Mitch threw York on top of him.

"Get off!" he snarled, shoving the shorter male off of him.

"Jesus Christ, Maine!" York snapped, remaining sitting on the training floor while Maine pulled himself to his feet. "How many times do you feel like getting tossed around like a goddamn ragdoll today? The point is to take them together."

"Don't you know, York?" Mitch called to him from the far side of the field, where she and Gin stood at the ready with their pugil sticks. "Maine doesn't need any help. Amigo probably thinks if he keeps running at us, he'll knock us down eventually. Isn't that right, princesa?" she called out to the much larger freelancer, snickering as she swung the pugil stick over her shoulders.

Oh, no. That little bitch was not starting in on that whole 'princess' thing again. Snarling in anger, Maine ran at the gray-armored pair yet again. Unfortunately, they easily closed ranks and threw him back with another perfectly timed attack from their pugil sticks.

"What'd I tell you, big guy?" York snarked, now sitting cross-legged while impatiently tapping his stick against the floor. "You're not gonna get past 'em when they're working in sync like that. Wanna talk strategy maybe?"

Grunting in exasperation, Maine turned his focus back to their opponents, seeing that Gin had taken the opportunity to make a side attack on them, leaving Mitch wide open.

"Come at me, princesa!" she challenged, and for a moment his vision went red, only filtering down to the red accents on her armor when he started to charge her again.

"Maine, stop!" he heard York shout, but he didn't heed. His focus was completely on Mitch – and that was his mistake. He didn't see Gin reverse his attack, just felt the sting of the other agent's weapon as it struck the back of his neck, sending him flying forward into Mitch's pugil stick, then straight to the floor at her feet.

"Fuck!" he ground out, opting not to stand up this time, because that was the match.

"Point to Team B," F.I.L.S.S. announced dispassionately over the loudspeaker. "The match goes to Team B. Thank you for your participation, agents."

"What the hell, man?" York demanded as he jogged over to them. "Did you miss the memo or something? It was a team exercise."

"Does not play well with others," Mitch joked, offering Maine her hand to help him up, which he refused. He pulled himself to his feet, glaring at the other three all the while.

"Really, Mitch? You're still gonna mess with him outside the ring? Dunno if I like your odds now," Gin said as he swiped her pugil stick from her.

"Odds of what?" she asked as she removed her helmet, scratching languidly just behind her left ear. She'd just recently had her head shaved and only a little of her dark hair had grown back in.

"You know how this works. Training over, partnership dissolved. I feel no obligation to stop Maine coming after you for that princess crack. In fact, if he feels the need to kill you in your sleep tonight, I'm just gonna sit there and laugh."

"Ten seconds," Maine warned her. If she was still standing there when the countdown was finished, well, he really just couldn't be held responsible for what might happen to her.

"Ah," the woman started in understanding, green eyes shifting between Gin and Maine. "Well, I'm always up for a little hide and seek."

"Five seconds."

"Catch!" Mitch shouted, tossing her helmet in Maine's face before bolting off the training floor. He was about to throw the gray and red helmet down and take off after her when he found himself stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Not contesting she deserves what's coming to her, but I think you can afford to give her five minutes' head start. Don't you?" Gin cajoled.

Maine just grunted in response, rolling his eyes as he threw the discarded helmet at him, the red highlights contrasting with the sky blue highlights on Gin's armor.

"Seeing as how you're not taking off like a bat outta hell, I'm gonna take that as agreement and say I owe you my desserts for a few nights."

Maine sighed, but found just a little more of his anger slipping away at the offer. Maybe he'd even let Mitch get off scot-free. After all, who was he to say no to a few extra puddings?

"And once again the savage beast is soothed with sugar," York said with a small chuckle, unknowingly stoking Maine's ire once again. He would at least have to dislocate something when he finally caught up to Mitch.

"Good show, bitches," South called out as she and North strode onto the training floor.

"What are you two doing down here?" York asked. "I thought Wyoming and Florida were supposed to go up against Connie and Kansas next. You guys aren't supposed to be on deck with Dee and Missy until later."

"The last two matches got called," North explained. "Looks like our new kid got shipped in a day early. Carolina's in with him now."

"Carolina?" York wondered aloud, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Since when does she hold rookies' hands?"

"Since today, apparently," Gin said with a shrug.

"So who wants to go have a look at the new meat?" South asked, clearly grinning maliciously beneath her visor. She always got like this whenever new recruits were admitted to the project.

Maine didn't really care, though. He would see the new kid when he saw him. Instead of following York, Gin, and the Dakotas, he headed off in search of Mitch. Couldn't let her get too far ahead.

XxX

"Oh, my God. You still have that damn rubber duck?" Carolina ribbed as she watched her brother unload his gear into his locker.

"Hell yeah, I do," David sniped back. "It's my lucky charm. Hope you don't think I survived that last tour with nothing but my skills."

"Well, somebody must think that. Otherwise you wouldn't be here," she pointed out.

"True enough, but…Kat, is it true I'm the youngest recruit so far?" he asked, not looking at her as he closed up the locker.

"That is true," she granted, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him pick up his helmet and tuck it under his arm. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno. I just…I guess I can't help wondering if the only reason I'm here is- is because he-"

"Don't start in on that. You're here because you earned this spot. You deserve it. He doesn't play favorites, not with this project. If there was someone better, he would've picked them," she said firmly. "All the same, I wouldn't go into mentioning he-"

"Yeah, no. Fuck no," David said, shaking his head. "That's trouble neither of us needs. But you don't care if the other agents know we're related?"

"I won't make a big deal about it if it comes up. It won't be a secret. Wouldn't be any different than the twins. None of that 'Kat' stuff here, though. Here I'm Carolina, and you're Washington."

"Right. That's gonna take some getting used to," he said, beginning to twirl the helmet between his hands.

"You'll get there. We all did." She would've said more, except that was the moment Mitch came barreling through the locker room.

"'scuse me. Coming through," she huffed as she shot past.

"Hey, Mitch. This is Agent…Washington," Carolina started to introduce, voice trailing off in confusion when Mitch ducked behind a discard bin.

"Hello," Mitch called back, sticking a hand just above the bin and waving.

"Agent Michigan. Mostly we call her Mitch," Carolina explained to her brother before turning her focus to the bin. "What did you do to piss Maine off this time?"

"What makes you think it's Maine?" the bin asked.

"Because he's the only person on this ship you'd actually hide from, maybe?" Carolina suggested in a very thin voice.

"Point Carolina," Mitch responded, holding a single finger above the bin. "I may have made a few cracks during our team match. Gin and I sorta wiped the floor with them."

"Surprising no one," Carolina said with a sigh. "Still doesn't play well with others."

"That's what I said. And apparently he's going to kill me in my sleep for that. So if he comes sniffing around, I'm not here."

"Right, because there are so many places to hide in here," Carolina said with a roll of her eyes.

"You lack imagination, Carolina," Mitch declared. "Maybe the new guy'll be a little more interesting."

"Actually, I-" David started, but was quickly interrupted by the door being violently shoved open. The newest freelancer was then greeted by the sight of the largest human being he'd ever seen.

It honestly wouldn't have shocked David if this bruiser of a soldier measured in somewhere around seven feet. Even beneath his white armor, it was obvious he was very well muscled. He couldn't quite help his nervous gulp when the other man stomped into the room, growling – actually growling, what the actual fuck? – as he pulled off his EVA helmet. Beneath the domed visor was a perfectly shaved head and an expression that was both angry and – eager? Maybe?

"She's here," he muttered, more to himself than to either of them.

"Knock yourself out," Carolina said with a shrug. "Just try not to break anything this time."

"Maine, I take it?" David whispered to his sister as the behemoth moved past them, beginning his search of the locker room.

"Mmhm. My advice – stay out of his way. Man has a bit of a temper."

"Right," David mumbled nervously as he watched the larger freelancer dig through the discard bins. After going through each one, he yanked them roughly away from the wall. When he finally came to the last one, he didn't bother to dig through it. He just yanked it away from the wall and shoved it against the far bank of lockers.

"Fuck, Maine!" Mitch hissed in pain as she climbed out from between the lockers and the bin. "If you're gonna kill me, could you at least do it to my face?"

Maine cracked his knuckles and his neck as he glared at her, as if to say, 'With pleasure.' But before he could advance on her, the new kid was suddenly standing between them.

"Or you can just ignore my warning and get yourself killed on the first day. That works, too," Carolina said, shaking her head.

"That…that's not fair," David insisted, not completely sure what had possessed him to throw himself in the giant's path. "You can't just kick her when she's down like that. You're not…you…" David's voice slowly trailed off as he looked Agent Maine in the eyes, unable to help noticing their amber color. It was almost like looking an eagle in the eyes. Really, it was the most intense gaze he'd ever been fixed with.

Maine's first thought was that he was going to eat this rookie for lunch. After all, nobody got in his way and lived to tell about it. But when he fixed the kid with his best death glare, he found himself strangely hung up. There was something oddly…earnest in the new recruit's gaze. Normally a look like that made Maine want to punch something because it was just so painfully naïve and it had no place in the military, but right now – now it had an almost calming effect on him, and that was something he couldn't understand. What the fuck was with those goddamn blue eyes?

"Hello? Anyone awake in there?" the burly freelancer vaguely became aware of Carolina's voice somewhere off to his left. Following the voice, he found the redhead standing off to the side, a quizzical eyebrow raised as she surveyed the two of them. Shaking himself out of whatever funk he'd fallen into, Maine glared at the other agent before turning his attention back to the rookie.

"Move," he grunted. He didn't want to hurt the kid, but he would if he had to.

The new agent shook his head, opening his mouth to say more when Mitch suddenly stepped in, shaking her head as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"That was a ballsy move, gatito. Not many can get between Maine and his punching bag and live. I can't have a rookie dying for me, though. I gotta take what's comin' to me," she said, clapping him hard on the shoulder before shoving him aside. "Okay, Maine. Give me your best shot," she said, throwing her arms open, welcoming whatever he saw fit to dole out.

Maine surveyed his prey for a moment, actually feeling drained of the anger he'd built up during his search. Seriously, Blue Eyes, what the fuck? He really couldn't afford to make an exception, though. If word got out that he'd let Mitch off without so much as a punch being thrown, he was going to start losing his reputation.

"Any day now, hombre. I'm gonna get old down here," she warned him, and before she could say anything else she might regret, Maine delivered a harsh blow to her midsection, sending her stumbling back a few feet. Then he took a step back, crossing his arms and grunting in satisfaction.

"Seriously?" Mitch demanded once she'd stopped coughing. "That's it? No brawl? No trip to Recovery?"

"You're complaining?" Carolina asked her.

Thinking about it a moment more, Mitch grinned and shook her head. "Guess not. Thanks for that, gatito. You might just be my lucky charm," she said to David before heading out of the locker room.

"What was that…she was calling me?" David asked, eyes shifting between the door, Maine, and Carolina.

"No idea. She does that sometimes. You learn to go with it."

Grunting to get Carolina's attention, Maine directed his gaze toward the new kid, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh, right. Maine, this is our newest recruit, Agent Washington, lately a captain of the UNSC Marine Corps," Carolina introduced.

"Hi," the kid said, reaching out a hand to shake Maine's. The older freelancer stared at him oddly for a moment before slowly accepting the hand. Seriously? This kid had been a UNSCMC captain? Maybe he wasn't as young as he looked?

"Oh, wow. Maine shakes now?" York's amazed voice suddenly butted into the conversation. Maine rolled his eyes before turning to glare at the new arrivals. The tiny gesture actually drew a small laugh from Agent Washington, which pulled Maine's gaze right back to him, blinking several times in confusion. Then he shook his head and grunted in disapproval.

'Don't do that.'

"S-sorry," Washington stuttered, schooling his features into a more serious expression, though he couldn't seem to help scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Maine tilted his own head to the side in curiosity, uncertain whether the rookie had actually taken meaning from his vague sound or if he'd simply been apologizing out of habit.

Opting to save the exchange for later when he had more time to examine it, he turned his focus back to York. Before he could commence with his usual round of threatening growling, though, the tan freelancer raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Only messing, man. I don't have a death wish. Besides, we don't wanna scare the new kid on the first day of school. Agent New York, by the way," he said to the rookie as he approached them. "You can just call me York, though."

"I'm – Washington," the new recruit returned stiffly, and they all knew he'd had to remind himself to use the codename.

"Good to know you, Wash," York said, pounding him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "These two are the Dakota twins, North and South, and that's Virginia," he introduced the other three individually.

"Gin's fine," Virginia said, offering a small wave. "Guess you're gonna be Maine's new roommate."

"Oh…really?" the new agent asked, looking over at Maine again, who just shrugged in response. "What…happened to the last one?"

"You sure you wanna know?" York asked, wrapping an arm around Washington's shoulders and leading him away from Maine.

"I…yes?" the rookie squeaked.

"Well, you'll probably find out one way or the other," York stage whispered sympathetically. "We've still got bets going on whether or not Maine ate him."

David felt the blood drain from his already pale face when he turned to look at the mammoth freelancer again. Maine had turned his eyes to the ceiling in a very clear 'Lord, give me strength' sort of way, and for some reason, David still found it funny. He managed to hold back the giggle this time, instead offering Maine what he hoped was a friendly smile. For some reason, he just wasn't finding this man as scary as he was supposed to – as the others definitely seemed to.

"Guess I'll just have to take my chances," he said with a shrug as he disentangled himself from York.

"New pot," South suddenly announced. "Ten bucks says Maine puts the new kid through a wall by the end of the week. Who's bettin'?"

"Week? What week? They won't make it forty-eight hours," Gin said with a snort. "I'm completely in on that. Twelve bucks."

Thankfully for all parties involved, Maine heard none of this. His focus was completely on Washington. When he managed to stop looking at the rookie's blue eyes and look at his other features – at his short blond hair, his rounded, youthful face, the dusting of freckles scattered over his nose and cheeks – he found there was something almost pleasing in those looks. He absolutely refused to concede that the word cute may have crossed his mind. He didn't know what it was, but there was something he liked about this kid. Unlike most of the others, he actually didn't feel the need to punch Washington through a wall – and it might just be for that reason that he needed to. He'd just have to wait and see.

While all of this was going on, Carolina couldn't help seeing the way her friend and her brother were looking at each other. David she was used to seeing this sort of thing from. He had a stubborn habit of looking on the bright side, always had, as far back as she could remember. Even when he'd been just a helpless little baby rolling around in his cradle, he'd hardly ever cried. Always he had a smile and a laugh for everyone and she was relieved to see that a tour through the outer colonies hadn't diminished that. David was still her baby brother.

Maine was a different story.

She knew Maine was from the SPARTAN program. In fact, it was the reason he had so much trouble working with the other freelancers. He was used to a different level of communication, which none of the others could really understand. Neither did Maine expect them to. Even she couldn't fully conceive of what it was like to be raised as a soldier, to be molded for the singular purpose of living and dying for the war, and as such, there was always that wall that seemed to surround the supersoldier – a wall that nobody but her had been gutsy enough to breach. She and Maine respected each other as soldiers and comrades, and she could see the protective and loyal nature that hid beneath the years of conditioning, loss, and anger, but she also knew he didn't let anyone else see that deeply into the heart of him. Now, the way he was looking at her brother, she got the very distinct impression that he wanted David to see him. He wanted the newest freelancer to see the truth of him – not just the Spartan that everyone else saw.

Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe David was the partner Maine needed in order to open up, to reach his full potential with Project Freelancer. No. She didn't think he was going to put her brother through a wall. In fact, she didn't think she could see Maine raising a hand to David ever. Maybe this was the friendship they both needed. When Maine caught her staring at them, though, he just growled before turning on his heels and heading out of the locker room.

Okay. Probably this epic bromance she was seeing the seeds of would need a little more time to germinate. But in the meantime, she'd just have to work on calling David 'Wash' in her head. That was going to be a tough habit to break herself of.

"How about you, Carolina?" South called to her. "You want in on this one?"

"Yeah," the redheaded freelancer said, finally tuning back in to the conversation. "Fifty bucks on never."

York whistled as he glanced back at her. "Solid fifty? What do you know that we don't?"

"Nothing in particular," she said, tilting her head casually to the side. "Just think I've got a pretty good grasp of what does and does not annoy Maine," she finished, offering her brother a confident smirk, which caused some of the tension to ease from David…Wash's shoulders. "Well, if you want to see the rest of the ship, we'd better get going. Daylight's wasting."

"Y'know, in so much as there is daylight in the vacuum of space," York couldn't quite help adding.

XxX

By the time dinner rolled around, word of the new pot had apparently spread all around the Mother of Invention. Maine could tell because they all seemed to be watching him a bit more closely than normal, probably waiting for him to snap. If he'd been the type, he might've grinned at the extra attention, but he did have to keep up appearances. They were all expecting a berserker brute, after all.

David watched Maine with no small amount of trepidation, not out of worry for himself, but for anyone who happened to pass by the supersoldier. Agents and other personnel had been approaching South all throughout the meal in order to get in on the betting. Every time someone walked away from her and happened to pass by Maine, he would growl warningly at them.

"So…why is everyone making bets on how long it's gonna take Maine to hospitalize me when he pretty clearly wants to break South's neck?" he asked Carolina, gaze constantly shifting between her and his new roommate as he pushed the last of his potato salad around on his plate.

"They just don't know you and Maine like I do. They assume you'll do something stupid and get your head bashed in for your trouble. But I don't think you-"

"Hello," a new voice interrupted before Carolina could finish. Unlike most of the others in the mess hall, the agent who sat down beside Carolina was still in armor, save for her helmet. The armor was pure white with a set of purple accents, which the owner of the armor seemed to have matched with strands of purple-dyed hair framing her face.

In anyone else, David supposed he might have noticed the honey brown color of her skin or her dark hair. He definitely would've noticed the nasty scar that bisected her face, running from the left side of her forehead down to the right side of her jaw. Only he didn't really make note of any of these details until after the fact. What he saw when the new agent sat down beside his sister was her eyes. They were a sky blue color that…well…he didn't quite know how to describe it. The best way he could describe how he felt under this woman's gaze was like a slide under a microscope – like he was some lab specimen and her eyes were the needles pinning him in place. He felt a keen desire to look away, but found that he couldn't quite manage it. The new agent just kept staring at him, grinning amiably, but still staring – still piercing.

"Hey, Kansas," Carolina spoke up again, finally breaking the strange tension. "This is the new recruit, Agent Washington. Wash, Agent Kansas," she introduced.

"Hi," David mumbled, still finding himself unable to look away from Agent Kansas. He couldn't say how much longer she held him pinned like that before she finally blinked and looked down at the table, allowing him to look away.

"So you'll be bunking with Maine," she said quietly. "Very interesting. Six months, I think," she said before rising and going to place the bet with South.

David stared after Kansas for several moments before turning back to Carolina and hissing, "What the fuck is with her?"

Carolina shrugged before finishing off the last of her meatloaf. "I couldn't say. She has that effect on everybody, though. Try bunking with her sometime," she said with a brief shudder.

"Wait. Kansas is your roommate?"

"That's right."

"Uh-oh. Kansas did the creepy eye thing again, didn't she," York said as he filled the spot Kansas had so recently vacated.

"Yeah," David responded with a shudder to match his sister's. "It was freaky. It was almost like…"

"Like you couldn't look away?" York suggested when he was unable to finish. David just nodded while the other freelancer shook his head in sympathy. "Sure you have what it takes to play with the big kids, grasshopper?" he asked, making a subtle grab for the brownie that still remained on Carolina's tray.

"Yeah, no," Carolina said, easily blocking his hand with her fork. "You'll steal this brownie over my dead body."

"But…but…brownie," York pouted, lower lip trembling comically, but Carolina had zero sympathy. She lifted the chocolaty dessert with one hand and took a large bite of it, slowly chewing while she leaned her forehead against his.

"Mmm," she moaned quietly while she chewed, eyes slipping shut.

"Now you're just being mean, 'lina," he said, groaning quietly as he looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe you should have eaten yours slower," she suggested, tongue briefly darting out to trace his lips.

"Or maybe I'll just live a little vicariously," he said before catching her lips in a particularly deep kiss, apparently seeking out the flavor on her tongue.

"And that's my cue to duck out," David mumbled, chuckling awkwardly as he turned away from the pair. Just because he was happy his big sister had finally found a guy she could tolerate didn't mean he had to play spectator. Instead he turned his attention back toward Maine, whom he saw stand up and make his way to another table, where North and South were deep in conversation with Mitch and Gin.

Maine stood next to Gin for a solid five minutes before the shorter freelancer took notice of him. When he finally did, his shoulders tensed slightly as he turned to face the giant.

"Hey, Maine," he started hesitantly, moving his tray so that it was out of Maine's direct line of sight. "How's the teriyaki?"

Maine said nothing, just stared levelly at the other agent as he held out his hand, gesturing for him to hand him something.

"Aw. Aw, c'mon, man. Do we really have to start now? It's brownie night," Gin whined plaintively, spreading his arms as if to defend his tray.

Still Maine said nothing, just continued to hold out his hand expectantly.

"Maine, big guy, buddy," Gin cajoled. "What do you say to two weeks of desserts and we start tomorrow instead of right now?"

Silent as ever, Maine shook his head, keeping his hand exactly where it was.

"But they won't make these again for another month. Brownies!" Gin continued to argue as he got up from the table, promptly dropping to his knees before Maine. "I'm prepared to cry and beg, o shining tower of SPARTAN badassery. Please see fit to spare this mere mortal his chocolaty indulgence."

Even then Maine remained unmoved, a tiny sneer curling his lip as he repeated his earlier gesture. Sighing, Gin finally reached back to his tray and picked up the much-contested square of chocolate, pressing a feather light kiss to its surface.

"Ah, Brownie, we barely knew ye," he lamented as he placed the brownie in Maine's hand. "Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden ax and smilest upon the stroke that murders me."

Maine said nothing, just chuckled gruffly as he headed away from the distraught man, grinning as he bit into the brownie. He didn't see Mitch split her brownie down the middle and pass half to Gin.

Well, David thought as he watched the hulking agent head out of the mess hall, I'll definitely never be bored here.

XxX

(A/N) So…any interest in seeing where it goes?