Dangerous Games

Yeah guys, I'm dishing out stories, or so it feels like at the moment. I guess by now my obssession with Halo has been confirmed. Anyhow, this is a two-shot story between Emile and Noble Six. She's female in this one, although I kinda see Noble Six as a dude, so t osolve it all, I just made her act less like a chick aaand more like a dude. It's all about compromising, right?

Please do leave a comment about what you think of the story, I'd appriciate literally anything!

Disclaimer: Don't own Halo, unfortunately. But if I did, Noble Team would've survived, ijs.

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Part One.

Spartan-A239, also known as Noble Four or Emile, had been paired up with their relatively newly recruited sixth member; Spartan-B312, who everyone calls Six – her actual name unknown, in a sparring match.

However, ever since Emile had gotten to see her real appearance, he had put himself on a personal mission to tease and bother her as much as possible, dropping sexual innuendos whenever he got the chance. And the thing with it all, was that he was actually seeing it as a mission – the reason behind his 'pursuit' being the fact that he wants to add her to his list of those he's laid.

And for Six… She felt like prey, unable to shake off her hunter. She was cornered every other day by Emile, his imposing character blocking all her ways out. She felt trapped, and the worst about it all was that she had no clue what to do about it. Whether or not she should just… let him accomplish his mission, in becoming one of his play toys… but there was just one problem.

It went against her morals. Badly so.

She didn't want to be someone's play toy, for she isn't an object that people can claim, however Emile seemed to see it that way, his persistence in trying to get her laid with him never ending.

And now they were sparring, which meant body contact. She had lost count on how many times Emile had swept a hand over her behind, or 'mistakenly' touched her chest plate or her sides. Her thoughts were all haywire in how she was going to solve this little problem that she had with Noble Four, or rather, the problem he had with her.

She ducked his incoming swing, and upon seeing the force he had placed in it – for even though he was harassing her body, he wasn't going easy on her – she saw the opportunity in sweeping his legs from under him with her own. And so she did. When he went crashing to the floor onto his back, she quickly climbed on top and pinned him, his arms locked on either side by her knees and one arm across his neck, the other braced onto his chest, resulting in her winning the match. However, she forgot how her position compromised her body, which now gave Emile the huge opportunity to continue his sexual innuendos once again. His hands, that previously had been pinned by Six, twisted their way out from in between her knees and went to grip her hips, his thumb and fingers securely wrapping around her sides. He was even daring enough to place his thumbs closer to the junction between her thighs than what was necessary, and Six had to quietly swallow a gasp down to stop it from surfacing.

"If you wanted to be on top, I would've simply let you. All you have to do, is ask." Came Emile's very expected comment, his voice a little out of breath but gravely and sly all the while. Six took a deep breath, almost inhaling the brown strands of her hair that had come loose from her ponytail and slipped to the front of her face, while her mind went into overdrive – pondering on how she was going to reply this time.

Should she finally play along in the hopes that he would give up, because maybe he liked her better if she was 'playing' hard to catch? And if she lived up to his expectations, his obsession would lessen.

Although she wouldn't do it for his sake, but for her own - she didn't want to become just another trophy for him to collect. Since none of her previous acting had helped the situation, maybe it would be better to play the game, and he'd finally lose interest when she became too compliant and unchallenging. So she went with it.

"There's no fun in not having to fight to be on top, that's part of the fun."

Six replied, albeit she kept her voice neutral, for she wasn't going to butter it up more than what was necessary. However, none if it would've mattered, because Emile had suddenly gone quiet. His grip around her hips tightened before it became slack, and Six slightly panicked. Had she just done something that was irreversible?

In less than a blink of an eye, Emile's upper body suddenly rose, forcing her own body to slide down to his thighs, her legs going around his sides automatically ending up straddling him, without the intention to do so. Her heart skipped a beat-no, make it two, for she had no idea what her actions would have for consequences this time. It wasn't looking good.

Emile's helmet seemed to almost be staring her down, and she desperately wanted to turn her head away, it was that imposing. But she refrained from doing it. Instead, she clenched her fists, which were unknowingly to her resting against his chest plate. After what felt like ages, Emile finally spoke up.

"The game you're playing is gonna be dangerous. I suggest you don't, for the better sake of yourself."

And with that, he gently pushed her off and rose to walk away. Six, completely taken by surprise at his unusual words, sat where she had landed, silently watching his retreating form slowly walk away. But all of a sudden, anger bubbled underneath her calm façade, and her brow furrowed in irritation.

He had no right to swipe her off just like that. Not after what he had done during the past week, nor what he had done not even a minute ago. Why was he allowed to say such comments packed with sexual innuendos, but not her? What exactly gave him the right to control and play the game to the extent of his wishes?

And he most definitely wasn't going to walk away before she had her answers, consequences be damned.

She swiftly stood up and rushed over to Emile's retreating form, placing herself right in front of him, forcing him to stop in mid-stride. She ripped off her helmet in order to send him the best glare she had before voicing her anger.

"You have no right to decide whether or not I'm allowed to play your game. You keep doing it, so I have a right to do exactly the same. You don't control the game by yourself."

Just after she had said those words, she was thrust against the closest wall, Emile blocking her view. He quickly pinned both her arms within the grasp of his one hand above her head, while his other hand went to grasp her chin. One of his knees wedged between her legs and he pushed her further up the wall with the help of his knee so her feet no longer could touch the floor. In any other situation, it would've been provocative - it would've been foreplay even - however, in this situation it was anything but.

"I do have the right to control the game by myself, because I created it. On my behalf I have nothing to lose, but the same can't be said about you. You have a lot more to lose, and if you play the game, you play it by my rules. I can take what I want, when I want, - you can't do anything about it to stop me. If you play, you're giving me all the reigns to control and take it all. Are. We. Clear?"

With every word that he said, his hand that had her wrists imprisoned pressed them harder into the wall, and she winced at the pressure. She was going to have bruises there tomorrow. She swallowed, unable to utter a word of reply to him. And even if she could, she wouldn't. She was too much in shock, and her body was too terrified to voice a coherent word. Instead, the only reply she gave was a little nod, her eyes looking down onto his armored knee, studying the state of the armor plating and the scratch marks on it. But, Emile wouldn't let her have it her way. He lifted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes, before repeating his last words.

"I said, are we clear?"

His low voice reverberated through the air, holding a dangerous tone. Six, wanting to get it over and done with so she could escape his grasp as soon as possible, lifted her frantic grey eyes and looked into his a fraction of a second before nodding, her eyes quickly shifting back to his knee, back to indifferently study the state of the armor. Inwardly, she desperately hoped he was okay with the brief lesser-than-a-second eye contact. She couldn't muster up the courage to repeat it even if he forced her to. And she wouldn't either allow him to see that his behavior was causing her eyes to water up, and that shame was written all over her face.

She just wouldn't.

So much for being Spartan material.

"Good. Stay away for the rest of the day, unless you think you're capable enough to handle the consequences." Was his final words before he let go of her and walked away, and she dropped to the floor. His voice had almost held a condescending tone, and Six, feeling utterly exhausted and defeated, slumped fully to the floor, the water in her eyes finally trickling down in small rivers across her cheeks before dripping onto the floor in small, wet splashes.

This wasn't what she had planned to be the outcome of her action. She thought he would just… pass the ball back, but the ball stayed in his court, and the playground was still his, all his.

She gave herself the time to feel weak, to let her hard built walls fall down as she grasped her knees to her chest and cried. She hadn't cried in a long time, not for over a year, but at this moment, she just couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop anything, and if she tried, she would just probably be punished for it some way. She had never asked for this whole thing with Noble Four, she never wanted to have his pursuit. But, contrary to what she told herself, the little flutter her heart always made whenever his presence was nearby spoke of how badly she lied to herself. Her waterworks slowly shut themselves off, and she wiped her cheeks free of the excess tears, before finally rising. She needed fresh air, and needed to desperately get out of the sparring room, for her own mentality's sake.

When she entered the outside grounds, her eyes swept over the area, and she spotted Carter sitting under one of the nearby trees, cleaning his rifle. Thinking on it, she thought that perhaps he could help shine some light on this whole situation that was going on between her and Emile. He most likely knew of Emile's 'goal' anyway, since he was the team leader. Besides, it wasn't like Emile had been secretive, so most likely everyone in Noble Team had taken notice.

She walked up to the tree and sat down without saying anything. She noticed that Carter glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but that was it. He just continued the cleaning motions of the many different parts of his rifle, the rag in his hand full of black spots and other liquid based materials.

"What's on your mind, Six?" Came his gentle and calming voice, and Six immediately felt more at ease when hearing him speak. She fully relaxed against the tree, her armored back meeting it with a thunk. She placed her helmet off to the side, but kept her hand on it, feeling less insecure if she held something familiar.

"Too much. I think I just majorly screwed something up." Carter's head swiveled to look at her when she voiced her reply.

"What makes you think you screwed up?" Her hair once again fell in front of her face and she swept it away before answering.

"Nothing, really. Or well, I - I don't know. Me and Emile, we were sparring… I had him pinned, but I forgot that he… that he has his ways of irritating me with his jokes and all that. But this time I decided on a different approach. Instead of blowing him off, maybe it wouldn't hurt to play his game a little." Six's voice faded, her eyes staring unseeingly into her lap before she continued.

"For the contrary, it did hurt. He brushed me off him and walked away, telling me that I shouldn't play his game because it'd be too dangerous for me. I got mad, because has no right to tell me what not to do. But when I told him that… He blew up, and he pushed me up against the wall and warned me that he could take what he wants when he wants, and that if I play, I'm literally giving him a free-card to add me to his trophy wall."

And with that, silence swept over the both of them, Six stuck in her miserable thoughts, and Carter contemplating her story. After a few passing moments of complete silence, Carter spoke.

"That was pretty odd behavior of Emile. Usually he wouldn't care about the person he's after, he hasn't warned anyone in the past, besides you, apparently." Six glanced up from her lap at his words, meeting Carter's eyes with her own, confusion and a spark of anger written in them.

"Are you telling me that he's being nice? That he's letting me off with a warning, as if he is in control of it all? He isn't! He doesn't control me!" Carter let out a sigh before furthering his reply.

"Six, Emile is a very complicated individual. He doesn't care about much, and he doesn't let anyone have the upper hand of him. He's flamboyant and sometimes a bit too much of a stuck-up, but that's just who he is. Sure, you can argue that his nature is a little violent and explosive, but that doesn't mean he's unemotional or completely uncaring." Six frowned, she had never thought about it in that type of aspect before. But, she was still skeptical, and still irritated regarding the whole issue.

"What do you mean 'unemotional'? The only feelings I've ever gotten from him is either arrogance, selfishness or anger. I have never seen him feeling anything besides those things. I just, - I don't know what to about this whole stupid thing that's going on." She let out a defeated sigh, her voice losing the edge it previously had, having been irritated at Emile's unpredictable behavior and the lack of clear answers. Because all she wanted was it to be resolved, she didn't want it to blow up into a war, or even a conflict for that matter. Carter stopped in his cleaning and moved closer to Six's slightly slumped form, his arm slipping around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"The way I see it, Emile is feeling things he has never felt before, which explains why he warned you and why he is as unpredictable as he is. He doesn't know what to do with his feelings or what to make of 'em, so he plays the only way he knows, and that's by being his stuck-up, overconfident self. See my point?"

Six's eyes widened at the newly discovered perspective, and she straightened her back from its slumped position. She hadn't thought of it like that before, that maybe the reason behind his… weird actions, was that he was trying to come to an understanding of what he was feeling. But then, if he was feeling something, did that mean… he was feeling something for her?

'Holy shit…'

"Carter…"

"Yeah, Six?"

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without your help. You always manage to say the right things and bring up new perspectives that no one else sees."

"You'd probably not survive without me, the likeliness of it zero to one. But no problem, that's what I'm here for. A team is a team, and everyone has to be able to rely on each other. I'm glad to see you're adapting well from your lone wolf-times."

"Carter! I'm still trying to adapt, but it's difficult sometimes – I keep forgetting that I have a team behind me watching my six. Old habits die hard." She punched Carter slightly in the shoulder, one, to show her appreciation, and two, he deserved it for dropping the sly comment of mentioning her lone wolf "problem", quoting one of Carter's earlier spoken words, when they first had met. He just chuckled in response and gripped her shoulder a little harder before letting go and moving back to his previous position of cleaning his rifle.

"You're doing well, Six. After all, you did come to me to ask for advice, I'd call that progress. And now it's time for you to leave, I need to clean my rifle and make sure it doesn't get put back together faultily, or I might end up shooting someone else than my actual target." Six rose from her own position at the trunk of the tree, bringing her helmet with her as she laughed.

"It's a matter of point and shoot, Carter, it's not that difficult." And with that she walked away, heading towards the locker rooms to stow away her armor and then take a much needed, relaxing shower. She was pretty sure Carter had flipped her the finger while she had her back to him, and a small smile tilted her lips upwards.

Hours later, when evening had come, Six was sitting in her room, contemplating on what to do. Emile had warned her to stay away, but now in having been 'enlightened' by Carter, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. The talk with Carter had opened her eyes, and made her see and notice things she had never previously done. Whenever Emile had dropped his innuendos, he always had that damned sexy smirk on display, and she didn't know up until now how much that smile provoked and affected her.

And whenever he had groped her, he never pushed past the acceptable boundaries. He never actually harassed her to the point of it being unacceptable like so many others usually do. He knew his limits, and he used that knowledge well to put her on edge. Except for one time, where a situation had transpired into something else entirely.

She flashbacked to one of their previous sparring sessions.

-Flashback-

They were sparring, both having been in the ring for over an hour but none bending or admitting defeat to the other. Emile came with quick punches towards her and she was forced to block and go on the defensive. It was during these situations that she hated being small and tiny. Sure, she was flexible, and fast on her feet which gave her an advantage towards bigger targets, but Emile knew this, and he utilized the weakness well, countering it by pushing her into a corner so she had no way of escaping. Much like he did outside the sparring ring. He always cornered and conquered.

She ducked one of his swings and saw the opportunity to kick at his feet when down low, however Emile had been predicting it, and as she sent a kick towards him, he grabbed it and pulled her under before he twisted and pinned her down to the floor.

The two Spartans were breathing heavily, and sweat coated their skin, the liquid shimmering in the florescent light. Emile's panting breath above her made her skin shiver when it came into contact with the skin on her neck. They were only clad in standard issue clothes, fatigues of the UNSC, so there wasn't any armor plating of protection between them, but rather only thin layers of fabric. Their eyes interlocked, and upon their locked gazes, Emile's lips slowly formed a predatory smile, it being directed down towards her, and she silently gulped, not liking it in the least. Suddenly, she felt a force of pressure pressing up between the junction of her thighs and her eyes widened when she understood that it was Emile who was causing it. He had shifted his knee to between her legs and brought it up to the sensitive sanctuary located there. All breath left her as he pressed his knee even harder against her, and she let out a silent gasp. The rumble of Emile's chuckle vibrated through her body, his chest pressing down on her in an almost comfortable sort of way, which to her was a paradox and an irony, because it wasn't supposed to be comforting – it was supposed to be terrifying.

"Seems like you're having a good time there, Six - How does it feel being underneath? Is it enjoyable? … Or perhaps pleasurable?" He moved his mouth down to her ear, his breath fanning over her cheek and her ear before his gravel voice whispered into it, his voice almost sensual.

"Maybe you like this position, I hear no complaints." And then something wet licked the shell of her ear, and she shivered in response, still unable to process her vocal cords to voice anything. And it certainly wasn't helping with his knee circling in between her legs, all the while applying pressure.

"You seem quite distracted, Six. Something the matter? Or is it simply that satisfying?" Her breath now came out in quick exhales, the heaving a solution long given up on. She didn't know what to do, how to react, or what to say. The situation was simply, and literally, breathtaking, her mind unable to function properly.

"Well, sorry to break the news to you, sweetheart, but this session has to come to an end. Don't want people walking in on us, now do we." And with that he rose, but not before biting down on her earlobe. Now standing above her, he smirked down at her – that damn sexy smirk – before proceeding with exiting the sparring ring, leaving her lying there breathless on the floor.

-Flashback end-

Her cheeks reddened when she was reminded of all the sensations that had coursed through her body at the time. All of it hadn't been adrenaline.

At least Emile had charm on side, unlike other soldiers and marines she had met. Her mood soured slightly when she recalled one situation where a couple of marines had a serious case of the grab hands. One of them had attempted to grab a handful of her ass, which only earnt him weeks at the infirmary. Emile never did anything that was as degrading as what that particular marine had done. His hands always just… skimmed across. And the fact that he had warned her that playing his game would result in… well, a final outcome…

He did care.

She swallowed, and her heart fluttered in response.

'Damn it. Why are things so complicated? Why are FEELINGS complicated?' She thought silently to herself.

As she sat silently weighing her decision on whether or not she should approach Noble Four's door, she fiddled with the hem of her sleeping shorts. She had changed to her sleeping wear after being done in the shower, donning an oversized t-shirt with a pair of shorts. She wasn't wearing any undergarments besides her panties, and going to Emile looking like that… She'd literally be asking for it. But, she glanced towards her other clothes, she wasn't too keen on putting them on just for the sake of avoiding provocation. And besides, maybe she did want something to happen…

Six cursed herself under her breath, feeling conflicted. However, she gathered all courage she had, before standing up and walking to her door, flinging it open. She checked the corridor, and she saw that it was empty. It was now or never, either she took that step outside or she remained inside, forever probably regretting her decision.

She stepped out, and closed the door behind her, ultimately closing the opportunity to back out.

But she wouldn't. She was going to see this through.

She let out another breath in order to calm her frantic beating heart before silently stepping barefoot over to Noble Four's door. The distance was short, the doors numbered according to their assigned numbers. She stood there for a few seconds, not doing anything besides shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, and it was like a void had opened up, devouring anything and everything, a sinking feeling in her stomach, accompanied by nervous flutter.

If she were to truly be honest with herself, she wasn't nervous, she was terrified. She had little clue on how Emile would react, whether he'd just slam the door shut in her face as soon as he noticed that it was her standing outside knocking on his door, or if he'd pull her in and finally claim her as his. She swallowed down the feelings of fear, and lifted her hand slowly. There was a second of hesitation, the one last chance to back out, before she brought it down, knocking three times and then taking a step away. Her eyes were trained onto the floor, and she fiddled with her hands, not knowing what else to do with them as she waited for Noble Four to open.

The creaking of a door opening had her eyes rapidly move to the source, and all breath left her. There he was, Noble Four, standing in all his imposing glory.

Without a shirt on.

And with a pair of dark grey sweatpants riding low on his hips.

'Fuck me…' Six thought silently, ignoring the indirect, not to mention almost inappropriate, innuendo she had just done.

She swallowed, and rose her eyes to meet his, almost timidly so.

'I'm a SPARTAN, why can't I behave like one?' She reprimanded herself.

His eyes were boring down on her, and her fear one again rose, causing her throat to tighten, uncomfortably so.

"I thought I told you to stay away." Came his gravelly voice. It took Six a moment before she could muster up a reply.

"Yes, yes I know… But, please, I just need to, ah… talk to you." She threw her eyes back down towards the floor. She couldn't stand his staring, it was like he was digging through her soul when he looked at her like that.

It was making her feel all too insecure.

Her hands started fiddling again in a show of nervous habit before she continued.

"I went to talk to Carter earlier today, and he explained some things… Please, I just… I need to talk to you." She repeated, and despite the fear she was feeling, she compelled her eyes through her sheer will to look back up, meeting Emile's eyes once again. His face betrayed nothing, held in a neutral mask, but his body and eyes were completely different stories. His hand was tense, clenching the edge of the door, turning his knuckles bone white, while his eyes were seemingly raging a war. She had been too afraid to notice before, but it hadn't only been that. At first he had perfectly managed to keep all emotion out of his eyes, but that wall had quickly fallen. Finally, in what seemed to be years, he moved away, giving her space to enter. She quickly sneaked in, and as soon as she did, the door behind her slammed shut, Emile's hand flat up against it. He removed it then and went to stand at the back of the room, arms crossed but with his back facing her.

Six, not knowing how to interpret his body position, slumped her shoulders a little.

"What did he tell you." Came his question, but it wasn't really voiced as such, it was more of a demand, an order. Her brow furrowed a little. He seemed very adamant to know what Carter had told her about him rather than her purpose of being here… Did he possibly think that Carter had disclosed personal information about his childhood or something? She hoped not, because Carter hadn't.

"He just explained a little about you, about why you behave like you do…" she said quietly, not knowing how much she wanted to elaborate, because it would give away personal information about herself as well if she disclosed everything he had said.

"Details, Six." Or he'd completely disregard her wish of not wanting to disclose personal details about herself. This conversation was taking a direction she wasn't completely happy about.

"Well, he said that you don't care about much, and that you don't like that others have the upper hand… That despite your explosive behavior, you're not completely unemotional…" Her voice faded, because what she was going to say next was what the entire matter truly was about.

"He said that the fact that you warned me before was a sign that something else is hiding underneath, because apparently you haven't tended to warn others in the past." Now it was put out there, all in the open. Well, vaguely so, but Six intricately hoped he would read in between the words, hopefully understanding the true meaning of it all, so she wouldn't have to explain in detail of what exactly had been said.

But it seemed he didn't need an elaboration, because his muscled back had tensed up, and his biceps bunched up in reaction to him tensing.

She saw his reaction for what it was, that he was fighting a war within himself. Six, believing that now was the time to follow what her heart was telling her, she did just that, letting go of all logical thought, uncaring of the risks, as she approached his massive form. When she was as close as she could be without touching him, her hands slowly came to wrap around his midsection - because she was quite short and he was taller than average, it was the only viable choice. Not that she was complaining. Her forehead came to rest against his heated back, and she let out a deep sigh, her arms gripping him tightly as the rest of her body relaxed. The body of Emile however, was still tense, and when her body came into contact with his own, he had drawn in a deep breath, his body tensing even further, before he slowly let himself relax slightly.

There was a passing moment of silence, of them just remaining in that position, before the raspy, gravelly voice of Emile interrupted.

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into…?" He quietly asked. He didn't get a voiced reply, but he felt her nod against his back. It was all he needed before he turned in her grasp, his front now facing the newest Noble team member. His looked down onto her, she still had her face buried against him, so all he saw was the brown colour of her hair. He unclenched his jaw, and lifted one of his hands to sweep all of the hair to the side. His hand grasped her neck, and he applied pressure to get her to look up at him.

He felt more than heard her small gulp, before she lifted her head and met his gaze head on. His eyes were smoldering, while hers were full of insecurity, as if she was unsure about it all. He almost smiled a small smile, thinking that Six was so unbelievable, yet it was one of the traits he admired about her – her defiant nature, but also her close to timid sides of herself. It made him want to protect her, even though he knew she didn't need it, being a Spartan herself. She even had a past of being a lone wolf, so if anyone had the capability to take care of oneself, it would be the woman before him.

Without another word, he moved to the left side of her, before backing her up against his bed. She fell onto it when the back of her knees met with the side of it, and he crouched down low, his head now leveled with hers.

"Then prove it." He said, his eyes watching her every move, just like the predator she had referred him to be.