It is during the third or fourth time they make love that Samus finally notices it.
Below shut, fluttering eyelids and a cognitive brow, past the long since healed scars, she begins to visually recognize the freckled flesh that dotes across John's face. Extending from cheek bone to cheek bone and over the bridge of his nose.
Any other person with a much less personal relationship with the super solider would perhaps soon forget or dismiss the existence of this facial trait, lacking any meaning to them besides that of trivial importance. Samus, however, couldn't seem to have the image of the spotted complexion leave her thoughts. Even as John buried his face into the crook of her neck, the harshness of his breathing —and then quickly her's as well— canceling out any other sound in the room, the memory of the visage still lingers.
Her reflection on this is only ever interrupted by releasing spasms and a long, guttural vocalization that is drawn out of the both them, followed by much softer panting, followed by John collapsing to Samus's left side, his hand brushing through his sweat soaked hair. With the amount of inhales and exhales she needs to take decreasing, Samus closes her eyes, basking in the heat that now dominates the Petty Officer's quarters.
It's isn't long before John is attending to her again, his cheek resting on Samus's collarbone as he watches her breath rhythmically in and out. In turn, she moves her hand to his scalp, letting it comb through short hair, stroking away any lingering perspiration that still attaches itself to the brown strands. A brief respite passes and John moves his lips against her throat, exhaling deeply, "Sorry."
The endorphins that now drench her brain drown out any initial concern regarding his words, "Sorry about?"
"I got a bit carried away with you," he states blatantly. "Was I too rough?"
Samus smiles to herself earnestly. There's a strange parallelism that's going on here and the doubt that John feels at the moment not unlike their first time, when she was unsure about putting him in the role they had since then became clearly satisfied with. She's supposes it's her turn now, to be the one to hold the others hand and reassure them that everything's fine.
"They're only hickeys John. It's natural for you to lose control sometimes, that's just sex for you."
He looks up to peer at her, perhaps making sure she's being sincere with him, "Are you certain?"
Samus matches the gaze with her own, "I don't mind a few marks now and then." she motions to sit up, "speaking of which..." John readily moves off of her, a touch of inquiry moulding his features as Samus shifts herself to kneel above him, her palms holding the sides of his face. "Who exactly did you inherit these from?"
He examines the way her eyes drift back and forth across the midsection of his face, "I don't know. Though if I were to guess, it'd be most likely from my father," he adds cynically, "I hate them."
"Well I love them," Samus chuckles and presses her forehead to his, relaxing herself so that she lies atop of him, "you of all people would have freckles."
John envelops her sides, and is taken slightly aback at how light she feels even with her whole weight upon him, "Unfortunately, yes. Why'd you ask?"
"I'm just surprised that I never noticed it before," she acknowledges, and it feels like she's been wanting to say exactly this since she first became aware of said spots, "I thought I was more perceptive than that. Especially when it comes to you."
His brow furrows again, "You care about my wellbeing that much?"
"Yes, I do," she kisses him lightly, "I always do."
With that, the two eventually fold into their usual positions, John enclosing his arms around her small waist, taking in the scent of her hair every now and then as Samus drifts to sleep, put at ease by their brief conversation.
Almost as an after thought, John holds her closer to himself, whispering humorously into her ear, "Maybe if you weren't so distracted with screwing me every other day you would have noticed it sooner."
He receives a quick jab to the stomach.
"Funny."