July 31, 2557, 1012 Hours
UNSC Infinity, CDR Sarah Palmer's Office
Sarah glanced up from the stacks of paper on her desk. Perks of being an officer. She thought she had heard something…"Tom, please don't sulk outside my office. It's unbecoming." Tom wandered in idly, making it seem as if he had just arrived, rather than standing outside for five minutes trying to work up the courage to come and talk to her. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sarah. I just got here." "Mhm." She muttered sarcastically.
He fidgeted silently for a few moments. She looked up, putting her pen down. "What is it, Tom? I'm kind of busy." If it was anyone else speaking, she would have been reprimanded harshly. As it so happened, Tom would let it slide. "Last night…" He began, then stopped. She sighed. "Tom, I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't even think about how you would feel afterwards." He shrugged. "It's okay, really. I had the best dream ever last night." Sarah froze. She wasn't expecting this. She was expecting to get denied, this wasn't really happening. Tom could have anyone he wanted, she had overheard some of the other women and even a few men talking about how handsome and dreamy the captain of the Infinity was. There was no way he wanted her. Or was there? She didn't dare vocalize the thought out of fear of what he would say back. She chuckled a little inside. She was the most respected woman on board the Infinity, not to mention a Spartan, and she had trouble talking to a man about her feelings for him. She instead chose for a more tentative, "So...you're not mad at me?" He smiled at her. "Of course not, Sarah. To be honest, I've wanted to do that since I first met you." She looked at him in shock. "You...what?" Was all she could stutter.
July 31, 2557, 1230 Hours
UNSC Infinity, Spartan CW3 Lilith-G245's Quarters
John walked back into the room, looking for Lily. He immediately noticed that she wasn't there. He moved to the bathroom, noting her absence there as well. Back in the main cabin, he noticed that a dresser drawer was open. Looking inside, he saw that a set of her exercise clothes were gone. He pieced it together and headed for the nearest Spartan gym.
It took him a matter of minutes at a brisk walk, and he moved inside. He saw Lily in the corner, hitting a reinforced punching bag as hard as she could. Her gloved fists were a blur as she delivered blow after blow to the poor dummy. The two other Spartans in the gym were giving her sidelong glances, making sure she stayed where she was. Looking closer, he saw her tank top soaked in sweat. He blinked, surprised. She had only been here fifteen minutes at most, and she was pushing herself that hard? A part of his conscious mind told him to stop her before she hurt herself or someone else. He began towards her. As he drew close, she saw him and stopped, glaring at him angrily. He saw she was crying, silent tears flowing freely from her eyes. As he got even closer, she lashed out at him, and he grabbed her fist inches away from his chest. With her free arm, he saw her wipe some of the tears away, then suddenly embraced him, her breath coming in hitched gasps as she cried into his chest. He let her hand go, and she wrapped both arms around his neck. Unsure of what to do, he returned the gesture, putting his arms around her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other two soldiers pause what they were doing to openly stare at the bizarre scene before them. Upon seeing John look at them, they immediately returned to their activities, pretending as if they hadn't seen anything. He was suddenly aware of Lily's voice. "You came back." She whispered, her voice catching a little. "I guess I was wrong about what was best." He replied quietly. He waited until she stopped crying and shaking, holding her against him the entire time. "Come on." He said. "You need to get cleaned up." With that, they departed the gym, Lily holding his arm.
Spartan Davidson looked at Spartan McKenzie. "What the hell just happened?"
He asked his friend. "Redheads." Was all McKenzie said, returning to his bench press.
July 31, 2557, 1016 Hours
UNSC Infinity, CDR Sarah Palmer's Office
Palmer shoved Tom against the wall, kissing him fiercely. Tom kissed back, matching her intensity and lust. She ran her fingers through his short hair and gasped his name into his mouth as she kissed him. He didn't resist, even as she towered over him. His hands moved to her firm yet supple backside, and she felt herself begin to slip into an almost trancelike state as a wonderful feeling she hadn't felt in a long time began to bloom inside of her.
Just as she was about to lose control, Roland's voice came over the rooms speakers. "I'm sorry to interrupt, I really am, but Captain, you're needed on the bridge." Tom swore, and Sarah put a finger to his lips. "My cabin, tonight." She said, running her tongue over her lips seductively. Tom smiled weakly, before giving her a quick kiss and departing.
As Tom entered the bridge, Roland materialized on the holotable. "Allow me to apologize again, sir, but this is extremely important." Tom shot him an irritated look. "Forgiven, you little cockblock. Now, what do you want me to see?" Roland immediately pulled up a set of coordinates. "We've received a tip that there's another Halo ring outside of charted space. It was only recently uncovered, and wasn't in any Forerunner records." Tom's frown intensified. "Where'd this intel come from?" Roland paused. "Highcom. Osman, in particular. She didn't say how she acquired it, but knowing the Admiral, she wouldn't send the Infinity on a wild goose chase." Tom nodded. "Is that all?" He asked. Roland nodded in affirmative. "Yes sir. Before we depart, we're going to rearm and resupply." Tom smiled weakly. "I'll be in my quarters if you need anything else." He needed to sit down and think about this.
July 31, 2557, 1302 Hours
UNSC Infinity, Spartan CW3 Lilith-G245's Quarters
John sat on the bed as Lily showered. He felt very awkward, but knew that he couldn't back out now. Besides, even if he could, he wasn't sure if he would. He enjoyed Lily's company and didn't like seeing her hurt by something he had done. After a few minutes, the shower cut off and a fresh looking Lily stepped into the room, a towel wrapped around her body. Seeing her like that stirred something within that he had never felt before. He immediately assumed it was trouble. In his experience, new things should always be treated as hostile until proven otherwise. Still, it felt strangely... good . She giggled cutely as she noticed him staring. He felt his face get hot and he looked away. "You can look at me John, I don't mind." She said innocently. It took every ounce of discipline in his body to not take up her offer. In the end, however, he sneaked another glance at her. She smiled. "John, have you ever seen a woman outside of the armor before?" He paused. He had, but he had never felt like this around them before. He shook his head. She laughed. "Well, I suppose it's only natural, then. Now, turn around, I need to get dressed." He obeyed, averting his eyes again. After a few moments, he shot another quick glance in her direction. She had her back to him, and all she was wearing was a pair of black underwear. She was selecting a pair of shorts from the drawer, and his eyes shot back forward. It felt wrong, dirty even, but he felt so satisfied. He hated how he was resorting to such immature actions.
A few moments later, she wrapped her long arms around his shoulders. "I'm glad you came back." She whispered into his ear. "Me too." He replied quietly, one of his arms snaking out and finding it's home around her waist. He pulled the two of them back, and they collapsed on the bed, cuddling each other. He brushed a few strands of her damp hair away from her face. He didn't feel nervous anymore. He felt like he belonged.
She sat up suddenly. "Hey, let's go hang out in the rec rooms, we can watch a movie." He agreed, even though he had no idea why she wanted to go watch training films. He just wanted to be with her. When they arrived, she went straight for a shelf with hundreds of small cases on it. He watched her select one quickly. She held it up, and he saw that it had a picture of a woman's face with a handsome man hovering over her, seemingly protective. They were both young, and the words above the two of them read 'Twilight'. "This movie is sooooo old." Lily said. "It first came out in the early 21st century." John blinked. That was over 500 years ago. "The original's still one of my favorite movies though." She beamed before continuing. "The sequels, however, are another story." She shook her head. She inserted the disk into the machine, turning on the giant television that occupied most of the wall. John sat on the couch in front of it, Lily sitting beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her.
He had never realized that films could tell a story. He was confused at first, then intrigued. He wanted to ask Lily what a vampire was, but didn't want to sound dumb. He figured out by the middle of the film that a vampire was a superhuman person that never aged and drank blood rather than ate food. He found himself enjoying the movie, growing nervous when Bella was in danger, and even chuckled a little at one of Carlisle's bad jokes.
When it was over, he found that Lily was asleep on his shoulder. He smiled. She'd had an active day, so he couldn't blame her. He got up, putting the movie back on the shelf and turning off the TV, before gathering her in his arms and carrying her back to her room. He tucked her into the bed, pulling the quilt up and over her body. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments longer, before stroking the hair out of her face and working up the nerve to do what he was about to do. Gently, he leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. He saw it in the movie, and it seemed to signal intimacy between the two people, Edward and Bella. He left after that, turning the light off as he went.
The second the door closed, Lily opened her eyes, biting her lip to stop the cry of joy that threatened to escape.
July 31, 2557, 2226 Hours
UNSC Infinity, CDR Sarah Palmer's Quarters
Tom couldn't sleep. Beside him, Sarah had her arms wrapped firmly around his chest, ensuring he didn't leave her side the entire night. He looked at her, noting how she was even more beautiful when her shoulder-length autumn hair was down. Tom wasn't expecting her to pounce on him the way she had when he had stepped into her room, and the two had made love with a passion and intensity that he'd never felt before. Sarah handled him with a gentleness he hadn't expected, considering she could have easily broken him in half. She had fallen asleep almost immediately afterwards, whispering "I love you, Tom" into his ear just beforehand. He had answered in a similar fashion, despite it being their first time together. He felt something when he was with her that he hadn't felt since he had had his first kiss with Chyler Silva back at Corbulo. With the arm that wasn't wrapped around the sleeping woman beside him, he grabbed and inspected the dog tags on his bare chest. He knew that one of them was Chyler's. Not a day went by that he didn't think about her and what they could have been if she had survived. It didn't matter now, though. Chyler was gone, and Sarah needed him here and now. No matter how much he missed his first love, she wasn't coming back.
Chyler wasn't the reason he was restless though. His mind was still swirling with thoughts of what lie on the ring. He knew the stories, everyone did. Prometheans, Covenant remnants, perhaps even the Flood. The sooner they left, the sooner they could finish with the reconnaissance and summary destruction of this newfound ring.
Eventually, his body succumbed to exhaustion and he fell into a deep, restless sleep.
