June F: I am back once more bitches!

Sarge: All right *cocks shotgun* Let's get this goin' girly

June F: *twitches* Girly?

Vivian: Oh dear god…. *her hologram starts to flicker*

Carmen: Hey, she's pulling a me! *dives into cover*

Tex: Sarge, bad move big time

Sarge: You're scared of her Tex? *chuckles* She's not scary…

June F: *Turns to Sarge darkly and whispers in a dark voice* You're dead…

Sarge: Meep….

*One major psycho freak attack by June Later….*

Vivian: *pops in* Holy hell, it's fucked up in here!

Tex: *coughs and shrugs off a chunk of the wall on her* That went well I think…

Vivian: *chuckles dryly* Besides that freak out, let's move onto the story, shall we?

Chapter 10

UNSC Misfit

0700 Hours

4/22/2570

Red Team

"Alright men, no more losing. That's an order," Sarge tried to pep-talk his team.

"Sarge, every time we go against them we lose because of their fucking Freelancer. How is this round going to be any different?" Grif grumbled.

"Because I have a plan to even the odds. Lopez, you bring the spray paint?"

"Si."

"Come here Grif I need to borrow your head."

"Should I even ask?" Simmons said watching Sarge shake the can of blue spray paint.

"Of course Simmons," Sarge replied, "With this spray paint I will paint a bulls-eye in the middle of Grif's face and with said bulls-eye Grif runs around trying to draw their fire. While the other team is killing Grif we sneak around and…"

"Take 'em from behind!" Donut blurted triumphantly, having figured out the plan.

"Hmm…" Simmons pondered.

"What?" Grif asked.

"I thought for sure Tucker would…"

"Bow chicka bow wow!" The speakers echoed.

"God dammit."

"That's actually the first real plan you've managed to come up with," Lopez said in his classic monotone Spanish.

"Alright men, get ready. On the signal Grif run straight at them and try to draw as much fire as possible. The rest of us will move along the left flank and take those girlies down."

Each of the Reds, save Grif, locked and loaded their weapons and stood ready waiting for the signal. Sarge clutched his now modified Shotgun which he had added a mount on the left side with six spare shells tucked into it. Grif, Simmons, and Lopez held their Battle Rifles tight to their shoulders as they'd been taught to do by Wash and Tex. Donut lastly held the team's Sniper Rifle confidently along with an SMG that Sarge had made him use. The Reds had come a long way since their training had begun and now they actually moved and fought as semi-competent soldiers instead of their usual likeness to untrained cannon fodder. But they still retained their classic characteristics of mild incompetence. A trait that had cost them in every match against their comrades.

"Round begin."

At that signal Sarge led the way down the left flank past a tall wall of solid concrete with his team behind him, except for Grif who simply dashed forward and ducked behind a small corner wall five feet tall that was more of a bunker then a wall. He had grown used to being the bait and had figured out how to hide and not get shot. As he surveyed the area around him he could see small glimpses of movement of orange and maroon, or was it maroon and orange? He kept his rifle loosely trained downrange, resting on the thick wall to lessen his work load. But when he saw a familiar figure armored in orange like him and with maroon accents on the shoulders, wrists, and helmet he decided to take the first shot. With a single pull of the trigger he let loose a flurry of orange pellets that impacted next to his intended target. Liz jumped in surprise and ducked back behind the wall next to her and started scanning ahead, trying to find where her attacker was. She saw Grif at the same time that he poked his head up and the two of them raised their rifles at the same time and fired. Orange crossed path with matching orange and both Reds' were shocked to see that they had both hit their marks before they realized that they themselves had just gotten hit. Grif's hands were frozen to his rifle with thick rock hard paint expanding around his weapon and lower arms. Liz's rifle was just as cemented down as Grif's was and they stood there awkwardly for a few seconds.

"So," Grif started," I guess we're both out."

"Yeah," Liz replied.

"You were the bait too huh?"

"Yeah, yeah I was" Liz shifted awkwardly against her cover, trying to move her hands.

"You're always the chum bait Grif," Liz started, "Why so?"

Grif cleared his throat. "You're the bait always as well Liz," Grif countered, "Why so?"

"Fine Grif, be that way; I'll tell you if you tell me" Liz huffed out as she slid across her cover, reaching the edge to see Grif easier.

"Deal."

Both huffed out a stiff breathe, closed their eyes for a split second, and answered.

"I'm the team screw-up" they both confessed, and at the same time shared confused and surprised looks behind their helmets.

"That's just too ironic Grif"

"Totally true; I rather sit and drink a fucking beer than fight the damn blues…" Grif explained, but was caught up by Liz.

"Because it's just fucking pointless shooting dumb sandbags" Grif actually smiled under his spray-painted visor. Liz returned one in silence without knowing or Grif really seeing.

"Now I'm amused; what's the worst thing to happen to you?" Liz asked.

"I got dragged to the damn Warthog with Donut, and Sheila comes rolling up with Tucker, who fucking sucks at driving her, behind the Warthog. Donut and I notice it, and I offer to count to three and fucking run our asses back into base right?" Liz nodded as Grif shuffled to face her on his cover.

"So I start counting, and by the time I reached three and face the damn base, he's gone!" Grif exclaimed, "And the fucking tank rolls over my ass"

"So you were flattened by a tank?"

"Indeed I was."

Liz sputtered a bit. "That means you're dead!"

Grif chuckled in response. "Nope; thanks to Sarge, and Simmons being a gross donor, my crushed body parts were replaced with Simmons' unbroken ones"

"And Simmons?"

"He's part robot," Grif chuckled, "And get this, his butts the damn fax machine we had!" Grif started to laugh hysterically.

Liz busted into laughter. "So he…"

"Shits paper!" both exclaimed, and laughed it out. After a minute, Grif slowly started to lose his laughter, and looked straight into her visor.

"You want to hang out after this Liz?" Liz's laughter died in her throat.

"W-What?"

"Do you want to hang out after the match with me?" Grif's voice didn't waver or crack.

Unbeknownst to Grif, Liz's face lit with a blush as she responded.

"Sure Grif. I would love to"

As the two orange soldiers were doing the exact opposite of what they were supposed to be doing their teams were still playing their game of cat and mouse. In other words they were going around in circles. None of them had a clue where to find their quarry until Sarge decided enough was enough.

"Spread out men, search and destroy," he ordered jogging carefully down a thin walkway between a pair of pillars.

As Sarge moved down the thin alley he heard the distinct sound of boots moving his way. Clutching his Shotgun he inched closer to the corner and waited for the unknown enemy to walk into range. In one quick movement he spun around the corner and fired a powerful blast of red pellets right into the chest of his foe. The force of the shot sent Hawaii backwards and onto his back where he stayed frozen in place. Sarge hollered in victory at taking down the titanic Freelancer, until a cloud of red pellets slammed into the wall in front of him. He instinctively ducked back and found cover as Corporal Carmen rounded the opposite corner and unloaded another round at Sarge. As he looked back around the corner he saw Carmen loading her weapon so Sarge took the chance and sprinted forward to get a better angle. As he fired a shot Carmen took cover to avoid the shots but one small pellet hit her left hand as she grabbed another shell. Knowing that the loss of her left hand would prevent her from using her Shotgun she pulled out her pistol and fired at the charging Sarge and caught him in the chest with a trio of shots. As Sarge fell she walked over triumphantly and fired one last shot into his visor to be safe. But as she turned around a burst of maroon paint rounds hit her across her chest and once in the helmet.

"Yes! Headshot!" Simmons yelled.

He moved on, ready for anything. But when he rounded a corner at a full sprint he smashed into Lisa who was on a similar mission.

"OW!"

"What the fuck?"

They both tumbled over each other and onto the ground, throwing their weapons across the floor. Lisa ended up on top of Simmons and the two of them instantly grew uncomfortable at their rather awkward position.

"Hey watch you're going…oh…umm…"

But then their crude training kicked in and they both returned to the fight. Lisa head butted Simmons and pushed up off of him and tried to scramble for her rifle but Simmons recovered and tackled her to prevent her from reaching her weapon. The duo tumbled again and Lisa threw a hastily thought up elbow at Simmons who took the blow right to the visor.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!"

As Lisa managed to get up Simmons responded and threw a hesitant kick at her legs and found purchase but once again the two of them found themselves in another very awkward position; visor to visor on the ground. But this time neither would get the chance to get up. Instead, two pink bolts slammed into their heads and froze them. Their helmets were cocooned together, just inches apart.

"Oops," Donut mused, realizing what he'd done.

But he had no time to dwell, he had to find the last member of the opposing Red team. He scanned ahead and froze in place as he saw the barrel and scope of Kate's Sniper Rifle pointing right at him. At first he was expecting the inevitable strike from her paint bolt hitting his helmet but then he realized that she hadn't fired, then he realized he hadn't fired. Both of them were just staring at each other, not doing anything at all. Donut pondered this and tried to fathom why Kate wouldn't take this magnificent opportunity to score a quick headshot. But his revile was cut short when a blob of brown paint slammed into Kate's shoulder and ended the match.

"I am Lopez the Heavy and I claim victory!"

"Finally!" Liz hollered.

"You realize my team won right?" Grif informed, finally stretching his stiff legs as he walked over to the paint removal tables now raised.

"Fuck, but still," Liz caught up to Grif with a few steps, "It was nice chatting Grif"

"Still up for our…, "Grif grunted as the paint sealing his hands to his gun sizzled into non-existence, "our date?" He drew quotation marks over date.

Liz nodded as she was released from her gun.

"Of course, it beats staring at the damn ceiling of my quarters." Grif smiled as she turned to him.

The Reds split off after their training, all heading different directions in pairs.

"So Sarge…" Carmen walked in perfect step with him as they both emerged in workout suits; not armor, but something with some plating.

"You did well on the floor" she complemented as she picked up the heavy pair of dumbbells and heaved them up onto her shoulders.

"I should say the same for you Carmen," Sarge started as he went for another pair of dumbbells, "You got me good"

Carmen turned to Sarge to finally see him in whole. His chest was somewhat lined in small bruises already turning purple. His face also had a bruise on it, somehow larger than his chest ones, but was fading faster.

"Ouch…" Carmen groaned. The conversation drifted off as both just pushed dumbbells a bit, both not really exercising.

"Hey Sarge…" Carmen whispered. Sarge dropped his dumbbells on the ground to turn to her. She titled her head to the ground and dropped her set as well.

"Hmm…?" Sarge hummed. Carmen, with any hesitation, walked up to Sarge, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and smashed their lips together. Sarge as well didn't hesitate. He kissed her back with all he could, his arms wrapped around her back.

Sarge's hand moved from her back to her sports bra as he deepened the kiss. He tugged at the rim and slid one finger underneath the tight band of it.

"Off" he growled.

"You're fast for an old man" she whispered as it soon met the floor. Sarge twirled them around and slammed her against the wall now behind her.

"I'm not as old as you think Kristine" He went right for her neck as she lifted her chin up.

"Sarge…" she moaned out as he latched onto her pulse, sucking just enough to make her legs squirm a bit and her fingers to curl.

"Sarge, not here" she finally managed. Sarge's mouth stopped and released the sporadic beat of her pulse.

"Fine, but," he cupped her chin and brought her eyes to his. "This isn't over"

"Agreed" was her breathless response. Sarge released her arms with a huff, and started to back his way to the door.

"Where's my bra?" She blinked and gave a hard look to Sarge, who was swinging her bra in circles.

"You mean this Kristine?" he coaxed. She turned to him, ignored the rising heat in her cheeks and walked with a bounce toward him.

"Come on Sarge, give me it" she asked, adding one last bounce to her breasts as she stopped in front of him. He was dead silent as he stared between her chest and her eyes. Wordlessly, the article of clothing was handed to her.

She leaned closer to his ear as she took it from his hands with a squeeze.

"Thanks sir" she purred. It took almost every ounce of training to keep him rooted to his spot when she said it, rather than slam her into another wall and screw her senseless, the damn tease.

Instead he took her hips and kissed her once more.

"You're welcome soldier"

She tugged it on, taking the time to tease him, and left with a quick whisper to him.

"Meet me at my quarters later"

He smirked as she disappeared around the corner.

"Wouldn't miss it"

Grif and Liz's 'chat' had taken a turn for the better; they found a case of beer in his quarters. They talked mild mannerly as they moved around the ship, the case clinking ever so often. Grif looked to his right and caught sight of the marvel in the observation deck next to him.

"Come on" Grif grabbed her wrist and leaded her into the deck.

"What? What's so important in the ob-" Her eyes caught the windows around them.

Right outside the windows was a golden-purple nebula, the shape a swirl. The gold merged into the purple perfectly, making the entire thing sparkle. The room glowed a soft violet and gold.

"Oh my god, its…" she couldn't find the words to describe it. She just smiled and moved to the window, pressing her hands against the glass.

"This is beautiful Grif…" Grif took his spot next to her. He had to admit; it was a spectacular sight to see.

"It is, isn't it?" Grif set the case on the seats next to them. One of Liz's hands fell to her side, her arm swinging. Grif's hand hovered next to it hesitantly.

"I haven't seen something like this ever" Liz 's eyes lit up as they moved past the most golden part of it and into a part of it seemingly dyed deep lavender.

"You're right there" Grif's fingers grazed hers for a second, and then retreated. 'Damn it Dexter, just do it already!' He cursed at himself.

"I've never found someone like you" Grif's hand made the leap and curled around hers. She turned to him in utter shock, face turning red.

They just stood there for a bit, eyes locked on each other's, the colors in the room switching from purple to gold.

Liz finally moved, her free hand deftly moved to his neck. She moved closer to him for her to whisper.

"Just kiss me already"

Grif's hands moved to her back as he pulled her closer. Liz wrapped her arms around his neck and finally closed the distance between them. It was soft at first, both exploring a bit, but it grew hotter when Grif angled more, and his tongue flicked against her lip. Liz tried to move closer as her tongue entangled with his.

Both pulled back for air, a thin line of spittle connecting them. Liz moved forward on her toes and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes in peace.

"Thank you Grif" she whispered to him, and fell into the warmth of Grif's hands around hers.

"Anytime Liz" he whispered back. Both just stood there as the nebula of purple and gold spiraled around outside the ship.

The case of beer was forgotten in that observation deck when they left.

Meanwhile on the large spacious bridge of the Misfit Simmons and Lisa were monitoring the ship's systems as was their job as the Red Teams' Science Officers.

"Backup thrusters standing by…primary systems are running at 100%" Lisa drilled out.

"Comm systems active, no chatter so far. FILSS, estimated time of arrival to New Solstice?" Simmons rolled out.

"Estimated time of arrival is approximately twenty-six hours and twenty-two minutes at slip space speeds." FILSS replied.

"Simmons…can I talk to you for a second?" Lisa turned from her station to face Simmons next to her.

"Sure…Lisa…" Simmons said and turned to her.

"What happened during the training…"

"Oh! Yeah, that…."

Lisa took in a breathe "Look, about that Simmons…."

"It was my fault right? Most girls blame shit like that on the guy" Simmons said rather coldly.

"Why the coldness suddenly? I wasn't going to blame you," Lisa turned to look at him, "I was going to say I was…."

"Horrified, disgusted…" Simmons whispered under his breathe.

"Kind of glad it happened." Simmons hands stopped moving, his fingers hovering over the keys.

"Glad?" Simmons turned to the now blushing Lisa.

"Yea, kind of…. I-I don't know why but It felt right," Simmons held his breathe, "N-Not when it happened but now that I look back at it, it felt…right"

"Huh, that makes two of us" Simmons moved away from his terminal and up to Lisa.

"D-Do you want to do something sometime Lisa…after all this is over, of course" Simmons asked.

"Why don't we do something here, Simmons? We have to spend most of our time up here anyway…"

"What about FILLS?" he whispered, worried that the AI would catch them sometime during this, he could feel her ease dropping.

"She won't mind, plus she's not our mom," Lisa placed a hand on the junction of his shoulder and neck, "And I was wondering if we could…."

Lisa moved closer to him, and moved her hand to his chest, looking up to him. Simmons swallowed and cupped her chin, and slowly brought it closer to him. Both seemed to shock each other when their lips connected softly. Lisa closed her eyes first, and Simmons followed right after. They just marveled that an awkward situation on the training floor turned to this, of all things.

"Dick Simmons, we do not approve fraternization on the bridge with Lisa" both of their eyes popped open, and with surprisingly good synch, they jumped back almost 2 feet from each other.

"Damn you FILSS" he mumbled.

"What was that?" FILSS warned.

"Nothing, nothing FILSS!" Simmons said, and returned to his terminal; Lisa did the same.

"Your names Dick?" she laughed.

"No, it's just a shorter version of my name" he explained.

"Oh?"

"My real names Richard"

Lisa smiled and returned to her work.

"I like it" she whispered to herself. Simmons smiled at the statement, not going through the trouble of telling her he heard it.

As they were enjoying themselves on the observation deck a whole other situation was developing on the Hangar Deck where Kate had fled immediately after the match. Donut had known where to find her instantly and didn't take long to find the other pink soldier perched on top of the Red's Scorpion Tank, Monty who was whispering to her in hushed tones.

"Kate, Kate!" Donut called out as he ran towards her in the hanger bay. She turned and faced Donut from her perch on Monty, who was currently snickering.

"Shut up Monty!" Kate yelled at the tank, and smashed her hand down onto the barrel of his gun.

"Watch the paint mate," Monty yelled back, but returned to his suggestive tone, "So are you going to tell him?"

"Tell who what?" Donut asked as he reached the duo, well trio if you count Sheila next to them. Kate's face lit up a bit as she turned her head sideways.

"Nothing Donut" she replied, but her answer was echoed with a silent 'bullshit' from Monty.

"I said shut your trap!" she yelled once more, and slammed her fist down onto his barrel once more.

"Just spill it! He ain't goin' to bite" Monty reassured her.

"Donut, can you come over here?" Sheila asked, and moved into his sight.

"Sure" He walked over to the blue's tank, who oddly liked him, even though he almost blew her up, and climbed atop her main cannon.

"Ok Kate, just say it, it's not so hard" Monty said. Kate nodded and faced Donut with a fire in her eyes.

"Donut, I…I-I…" Kate just couldn't say it. She couldn't bring enough courage to say it. The fire in her eyes died down, and Monty had just about enough of her hiding.

"Oi...Donut, she likes you a lot mate!" He declared, turning his cannon toward him, and getting Kate closer to him.

"…" Donut was actually silent for once, lost in more than one feeling. He just stared at Kate, who was more than flustered and pounding on Monty in a sort of hissy fit.

"Donut, you can tell her now, you know." Sheila said softly to the private, who blushed at the tank's words. It's like she could read his mind, which spooked him a bit.

"I'll turn" Sheila rotated her cannon to rest against Monty's, who didn't really seem to notice as he was still being beaten by Kate.

"Kate, I really like you too!" he blurted out. He turned away, flustered, and stared down at his hands between his crossed legs. She looked up in amazement at his confession. She blinked away the small tears oddly building in the corners of her eyes and spoke in a shaky voice.

"You do?"

"I do Kate; I don't know why, I just do. You're the first person I've known that understands what I am and what I like and I just…" Donut trailed off, his voice choked as he held back tears. Kate maneuvered off her perch and walked carefully down the barrel of Monty and crossed over onto Sheila. She bit her lip as she walked up to Donut, kneeled next to him, and did something he never expected.

She placed her hand on his and kissed his cheek.

"Relax Donut," she said softly, trying to nudge her fingers into his, "I understand."

Donut relaxed his hand and held hers, his panic gone in an instant.

"I'm glad for you too" Sheila said, and Monty hummed in agreement.

"Kate kissed Donut, Kate kissed Donut! ~" Lisa's voice blared on the loud speakers to the entire ship. Kate tried to hide behind Donut, who looked like he wanted to kick random puppies, or more importantly Lisa, who was laughing her ass off on the bridge, staring at the screen that showed the hanger's live feeds.

"Kate kissed Donut, Kate kissed Donut! ~" Hawaii looked forward toward the bridge, and sighed again. It seemed everyone on this frigate was doing something romantic. He knew the Blues started hooking up, but he knew only now that Kate and Donut have hooked up.

"I still can't believe Donut isn't gay, he seemed SO gay over the years!" exclaimed Simmons as Hawaii passed the open door.

"I know, but…at least they're not alone with the relationship thing." He stopped his feet, moved backward, and peered into the bridge to see what Lisa meant.

Well he found out when he saw Lisa kiss Simmons, and to only be interrupted by FILSS who sent a ping to Lisa's terminal.

"Lucky bastard, oh well good for them…" Hawaii cursed under his breathe, but then got ahold of his jealousy. No negative waves, can't repeat the past… and turned to leave them to their posts, only to bump into Liz…

…And Grif, who was holding her hand.

"Sorry Hippy!" Liz apologized, and seemed to drag, or race, Grif toward the mess hall.

Why was it that he was the only one all alone on this frigate?

"This stinks, big time, man…" Hawaii turned left and went through the cabins, taking the shortest route to the observation decks.

"You know anyone can just hear us right?" came Carmen's voice through one of the closed doors. The room was Sarge's.

"I doubt anyone would be out near here anyway," Sarge reassured Carmen, "Just relax"

Hawaii didn't need to stay in front of that door for long until he knew why she was in their CO's room, as within moments, the obvious sounds of pleasure were coming through the door. He made haste to get away from that, as it brought out old memories of his own with…

"No, I won't think about her here" he warned himself as he finally reached the observation decks. He chose one at random and walked inside, sealing the door closed as he went into the middle of the room. He stood there for a second; just staring into the expanse of space and the nebula they were passing. He looked to his right and, with great luck, found an untouched case of beer, still cold.

"My lucky day, thank you alcohol," He tugged a beer free and took a seat against the glass, letting the cool feel of it and the burn of the alcohol lull him into long since buried memories of his last love….

Agent Alaska…

Things still were a bitch here since he had arrived, and every scientist was trying to get data sent in and out toward The Director without hassle. Alaska had only stumbled onto him at first, concerned how the odd surfer had got into Freelancer. The armor was on the move to the lab she watched from the observation window. It strolled through the doors; the amount of metal that was the armor seemed to intimidate the scientists even before it was on him.

"Agent Hawaii, are you ready for armor preliminaries and weapon check?" The Director asked through the comm he had. He was positioned just next to the other observation deck she watched from, and it started to fill with the others: Michigan, Wyoming, and a few others, mostly on- site personnel.

"I am, sir" he replied, his cool voice seemed to calm her nerves a bit as the armor came off the racks and was attached to his undersuit skeletal structure although the weight of the advanced armor's prototype material proved itself to be a bitch even with heavy lift gear. Everything was attached and sealed without hassle, and the last piece was the helmet. The technician took it off its stand with gloved hands, and, after a few minutes and several breaks to catch his breath, put it on him, the air seals snapped together, and completing the armor.

"Hawaii, how do you feel?" asked the Councilor. God he sounds like a pussy, she thought as Hawaii was released, and taking in the feel of the armor.

"Feels pretty good, man." He replied. The two men in their private observation deck nodded, and the Director finally made a facility-wide announcement.

"Attention Agents Washington and Tex; you will be going with our newest Agent on a mission. Meet in the briefing room. All other Agents, you are dismissed for the day. Take this time to relax."

Hawaii finally looked up to the observations, and caught sight of a woman behind the glass, her eyes seeming to shine towards him. He mindlessly waved at her, and she seemed to be caught by surprise by it. She said something to the other agents near her and turned to leave. He was left to exit the lab to his mission briefing, whatever that was.

Hawaii shivered at what he had done that night, even if he had gotten shot at he still lost control and killed dozens of people and ruined the element of surprise. Instead Tex had lured a Scorpion right to him and when it shot at him and continued to do so even after trying to just get away Hawaii had snapped. He had started with the tank. He had torn off the turret and smashed the pilot with it like a bat as he attempted to escape. Then he had crushed a Warthog with the turret killing the whole crew. But when a building had started firing at him he had done what he never thought possible. He charged through the concrete walls and snapped the I-Beams holding up the building with his bare hands and then finished off the survivors, one at a time.

He was visibly sulking as they returned to the ship.

"My god, he wouldn't do shit! I knew getting a volunteer to test it was bad!" complained Wash, who sat in front of Tex, who only glanced at him.

"You realize he is right there?" she brought up. He turned to him with a somewhat ashamed look, but it changed quickly.

"It's true" he hissed.

"Look dude, I'm a surfer, not a murderer."

"You killed them in a pretty good rage though, and some of those ways of decapitating a rebel I've never seen before," Tex commented as she took another bite of pasta.

"It was impressive; never saw someone beat a man to death with a skull" a new voice commented. Hawaii turned around to find the woman he waved at behind him with a smile on her face.

"I should use that" whispered Tex.

"Really?" commented Wash with a dead pan look.

"Agent Alaska, you waved at me at the labs" she offered her hand for a hand shake. He looked at it at first but shook it, nonetheless. Her eyes lit up again.

"Is it ok if I sit with you Alaska?" he asked. She seemed to think about it but nodded and moved toward a free table.

"So, Hawaii, you're a surfer?" she asked as they sat down. He nodded and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Proud to be it man! I miss the surf bad, but I got to admit, the armor is pretty cool" Hawaii exclaimed. He looked into her eyes again to see them light up brighter.

"You're eyes light up like the Aurora Borealis lights" he silently commented. She gasped a bit, and smiled wider then he thought possible.

"You know the lights?" she asked excitingly. He nodded.

"Yea, where I surfed, you could see them pretty well. Surfin' under those lights always gave me good luck, you know?"

"I do. Are you doing anything after this?" she asked. At that moment, things changed for Hawaii; he felt he knew this woman more than just a chance encounter.

"No, but I was wondering if you could join me in my quarters?" Hawaii asked. Her eyes lit up bright again as she forgot her tray and followed him.

His quarters were somewhat secluded from the action of the base, like hers, but it still had a few people buzzing around the door.

"Nice, a bit secluded. Its good here" she commented as he let the agent into his sleeping quarters.

"I guess."

"Hawaii, I have just a random question" Alaska brought up as she sat down onto his bed.

"Shoot"

"Have you ever believed in love at first sight?" Hawaii threw a curious look at her as the words left her lips.

"I do, actually. Why do you want to know?" Her eyes lit up again at his notion, and her blush only lit them up more.

"No reason" She turned away from him to hide, which didn't really work.

"Alaska, we just officially met, what's goin' on?" he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"N-nothing is Hawaii" she stuttered out. He smirked and grabbed her chin and turned her face toward his.

"What is going on Alaska?" She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to come out. She swallowed and finally responded.

Well, she kissed him in response.

It only lasted a few seconds and as soon as she pulled away, she was saying goodbye and flying out the door, her hair fluttering in the wind she made for it.

"Thanks Alaska" he whispered as she disappeared down the hallway.

A few days passed, and those days were not of big concern, mostly training sessions and a mission, which went well, even if Alaska only focused on the mission and ignored him most of it. Alaska seemed to withdraw from him those days though, and scuttlebutt was getting worse each day for them both. Rumors spurred on by their reactions and awkward meetings between the both. It was getting pretty annoying for Hawaii, so he grew a pair and finally confronted Alaska.

"Alaska, can we talk for a bit alone?" she turned to him in surprise, her eyes lighting up for a second as she got up and followed him down to his quarters.

He opened the door, ushered her in and sealed the door closed.

"What's going on Alaska? You kiss me and then just abandon me to the wrath of rumors?" Hawaii finally asked. She sighed and looked him in the eye.

"I did because…." Her words dropped off, and she knew she wouldn't be able to say it like this. She got up and only hugged him. He hesitated for a second, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I've been avoiding you because I think I'm falling for you, Hawaii, and I don't want to hurt myself again" she confessed into the warmth of his chest. He placed his chin atop her head and closed his eyes.

"You didn't need to hide; I'm not a condescending jackass that'll snap you in two. I wouldn't think about being one" he whispered into her hair.

She chuckled quietly and gave a hushed response.

"Why not?"

"Because I've fallen for you" Her lips crashed on his quicker than he anticipated, and both tumbled across his bed, her hands deftly working to take his shirt off.

Hawaii, being the maneuvering genius, flipped them around and already had her own shirt off.

"How did you do that?" she asked breathlessly as he nipped at her neck, eliciting a moan from her.

"I'm a surfer," he responded, tugging off his own shirt and settling above her, "You learn to do that pretty early."

She hooked her arms around his neck, and smiled.

"Good, because if we're going to do this, certain things must go off fast"

Her eyes were ablaze at that single moment. His hands made way to her legs, and a sentence was passed between the two.

"I love you."

Things were great after that but one day changed everything. After an especially heated match between Maine and himself, which resulted in a near disastrous hull breach on the training deck from Hawaii throwing Maine at, and almost through the foot thick hull of Titanium-A battle plate of the Mother of Invention. It was a fit of blind rage when Maine brought out an eight inch knife when he had tried to and almost killed Alaska in the process. So Hawaii charged him and things escalated from there. It had taken three hours to patch up the seam in the hull and another four to get Maine out of the mangled armor. So the Director had called him to the briefing room as the damage was being repaired.

"Agent Hawaii, until you can control your rather uncontrolled anger, you will be sent to one of our simulation bases until further notice." Hawaii kept a straight face as he gave a 'yes sir'. He left the briefing room and moved as quickly as he could to Alaska's quarters, only to find it empty.

"Dammit" he cursed aloud. He would have to be in the hangar bay soon, and rushing around the ship for her was a bad idea. He sighed and tried to keep a steady step toward the hangars, but her eyes kept catching his own through the hallways. As he saw his things pile onto the pelican, he looked around to the faces in that room. None gave him solace. He stepped onto the pelican, his armor color shifting. He knew this was his last chance to do anything here.

He swore in that moment to never forget her.

"I hope she's ok" he muttered as his eyes opened again, only to find the nebula gone, and the beer in his hand only chilly now. He needed to relive those moments, it kept his spirit going, and being this far from the waves killed his.

"Thank you again alcohol, you're a lifesaver dude," He thanked the now empty bottle. He set it down with the case, and smiled as he left for his quarters.

"I may not be a murderer, but I know what's right. Dude your head is mine, Director. You're gonna pay for taking me away from her," he growled in anger as the door shut behind him.

Big Z: *walks into chaos* Shit, what happened here?

Vivian: June freaked and tried to murder Sarge.

Big Z: Why?

June F: *pops out of rubble* He called me girly. I am NOT girly!

Vivian: You need be calm June!

June F: *looks around* No… *closes eyes* I won't!

Tex: Oh shit…

June F: *opens eyes, here iris' red* Too late…

Big Z: Oh god…

Vivian: EVERYONE OUT! Big, do your preview before she kills us!

Next Chapter Preview: The Misfit arrives…wait where the fuck is Caboose?