Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Halo universe, which is the property of Bungie Studios.
However, original characters belong to me.

Note: To people who don't like the story, PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FAN FIC, JUST LEAVE.

NOTE: As if its not that obvious I'm still gonna say it, This story is not following the
the original canon of the Halo series.


Chapter 12 Burst

The sky of Sangheilios was slowly fading to purplish hue as the 3 suns begin to set. The city lights were starting to appear and it looked quite good in the night. They walked down the street; passing by several shops and restaurants, many people were walking about, including soldiers. A few bars were full of soldiers, all drinking and having a good time with each other. No need to worry about drunkenness from them as well, they were very self-disciplined...most anyway.

Xue was walking down the street looking around for a good restaurant when he noticed N'kev walking in an uncomfortable manner. She rounded up on him and asked,

"Are you ok?" N'kev blinked at her.

"Yeah I'm fine." said N'kev weakly. Xue looked at him but didn't ask any further. They were about keep going down the street when she heard her name called.

"Xue! Xue is that you?" said a Sangheili from their behind. They turned around and saw a female Sangheili approaching them. Xue immediately recognized her as, Uzuri 'Quaram, her older sister.

"Sis, what are you doing here?" she asked Uzuri as she hugged her.

"I just got off work early today. I decided to eat out." she answered. Then she looked at N'kev.

"Who's your friend." she asked with a slight smirk.

"N'kev 'Xem, N'kev meet my older sister, Uzuri 'Quaram." N'kev nodded to her sister.

"Nice to meet you." said N'kev.

"Likewise." replied Uzuri.

"We were about to eat dinner as well, want to join us?" asked Xue.

"That would be nice." replied Uzuri. Xue found it quite odd that her sister accepted the offer since she always preferred not to bother other people's activity. She also seemed to be eyeing N'kev carefully. Nevertheless, Xue let it slide and they continued walking.

"So...which one?" asked N'kev as they paused on the sidewalk, looking at the different restaurants.

"Doesn't matter," said Uzuri, shrugging. He looked at Xue, who looked back.

"So...?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, shaking her head.

"I suppose anyone will do...this one?" he asked, simply looking to the one they stood in front of. It was a nice a restaurant. Simple yet sophisticated looking.

"Looks fine," Xue said. They stepped in and looked around. Still a bit early for dinner, as not many patrons were seated about, so they took the table at the side that had a window showing the streets. The sky was getting darker and the stars were beginning to show against the dark backdrop.

"If they only had this back at Earth." said N'kev, looking at the view. Uzuri watched him and then said,

"Why?" Uzuri asked curiously.

"I grew up in Earth, it would be nice to see these kinds of stars there." answered N'kev.

"Wait, you grew up in Earth?" asked Uzuri.

"Come to think of it you never told me about your life before you came to the academy." added Xue. N'kev was about to tell them his story when the waitress came. They ordered their food and beverages and N'kev began telling his history.

"I, my Mother and Father lived at a state back here in Sangheilios before we moved to High Charity. Sorry, if you're curious on what state I used to live in back then, I can't answer your question. I was young back then so I couldn't remember. I was very young when we moved to High Charity; about 5 years old. Its miracle I can still remember the time when we lived at High Charity.

"We were actually on High Charity when the Great Schism happened." said N'kev. Uzuri and Xue were listening intently. Xue never heard of N'kev's history until now. She was never on High Charity when the rebellion happened. But she had heard stories of what had happened up there. Gruesome stories mostly involving a parasite know as the Flood.

"Did you see the so called 'Flood'?" asked Uzuri.

"Luckily no; anyways my Mother died as we boarded a phantom, escaping High Charity. She was killed by a cold blooded brute…" he then continued his story. He told them about him meeting his future-sister Jessica Thompson. He told them about his father's sacrifice in order for them to get saved from the Loyalist group that had taken over the camp. He continued onto the point where Zen manages to find them just in time as a brute was about to crush them with a gravity hammer.

Xue now finally understood why N'kev seemed always calm and serene, even under tense situations. He must have learnt back when he was a kid that panicking won't solve anything. It was quite nerve-racking for her to hear that someone out there had experienced trouble like no other. Here she was enjoying her life like a normal child whilst N'kev was out there trying to survive.

N'kev was absentmindedly pushing his spoon around with his claw, as he told them his life story. He never felt ashamed nor seemed reluctant to tell his story. It would have taken a lot of courage to tell someone your life story, which consisted mostly of death, in a calm manner. He must've learnt a lot of self-control to not break down whenever he reminisces his past, which consisted of nothing but violence.

Xue and Uzuri watched him sympathetically as he told them his story. Xue couldn't believe how lucky she was to have a family that was still alive. Let alone, lucky enough not see your parents die right in front of you nor not to face death right in the face.

"My step-father, Zen, was kind to me even though I was…Different." said N'kev.

"Even though I was only a single Sangheili child I never felt…Alone…Because I always had my family, my 4 uncles and my grandfather." added N'kev.

"You have 4 uncles?" asked Uzuri.

"Yep, 2 humans and 2 Sangheilis; my grandfather is a Sangheili." answered N'kev.

"So that's basically my story." finished N'kev.

"You know his grandfather is nice." said Xue to Uzuri.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, he even let us ride with him to get to HQ today." said Xue.

"Oh… By the way, how did your orientation happen today?" asked Uzuri.

"It went well… Not to mention N'kev here kicked Rtas 'Vadum's ass." said Xue to Uzuri who was surprised at the statement.

"What? Rtas 'Vadum as in the Rtas 'Vadum?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll tell you later back at the house." saod Xue. Uzuri looked at N'kev surprised at his achievement. N'kev was still a rookie and he already beaten a high ranking officer. N'kev just looked at the floor, clearly embarrassed by Xue's big mouth.

"So N'kev… What's your grandfather's job?" asked Xue as she ate her food. The food just got delivered and they began eating. Uzuri looked up as well. N'kev discreetly flinched as he heard the question. A flinch where Xue noticed but Uzuri didn't.

'DAMN!' though N'kev to himself. He had never asked his grandfather on what to tell people when they asked for his job.

"He's um….A…Soldier." answered N'kev.

"What rank is he?" asked Uzuri.

"He's um… a zealot." answered N'kev.

"What's your grandfather's name again?" asked Xue.

"V'rey 'Evanam." answered N'kev. Xue nodded not prying any further. Her senses were telling her that N'kev was obviously lying again. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. N'kev wasn't the liar type. But something was forcing him to lie which she hasn't figured out what.

After they had finished eating, Xue and Uzuri excused themselves to go to the bathroom; N'kev couldn't help but feel bad as he lied through his mandibles again. The guilt was completely eating him in the inside; if he had to lie again he'll burst through the seams and be forced to tell the truth.

At the bathroom: Xue was about to enter a stall when Uzuri said,

"You like him, don't you?" Xue turned to her, puzzled.

"No I don't." she didn't know why she lied but she did.

"Don't deny it. I noticed the way when you're around him; there's seems to be something there that is not present whenever I see you amongst other boys.

"Was I really that obvious?" asked Xue. She knew she couldn't lie to her sister; her sister always had a knack for knowing things like this.

"Yup; and don't worry he seems like a good boy." said Uzuri.

"So… Does he like me?" asked Xue. Her sister had the uncanny gift of being able to read people's… actions… in a manner that will tell her certain things.

"Yes, lover girl," Uzuri smirked, "and he's attracted to you."

"How do you know? The way he looks? I saw it too."

"That and the enormous boner he thought I didn't notice under the table. I noticed he was struggling not to have one while walking, but failing entirely, which is why he sounded so awkward earlier when we were at the street." Uzuri said, now grinning.

"Oh!" Xue giggled. Now she understood why N'kev was like that earlier. He was trying his best to conceal the boner he had while walking; but it only resulted to him walking uncomfortable. When Xue asked her earlier if he was fine, N'kev was trying his best to drone out his thoughts. He was concentrating very hard making his voice sound weak.

"You should tell him how you feel; you two make a good couple. I gotta hand it to you, you really know how to pick them." said Uzuri with a sly smile then she entered her stall. Xue sighed and went into the stall, doing her business.

'I can't believe my crush on him only developed now. We've been friends since the start of the academy and we only got attracted to one another, years later. Xue smiled, and excited. She really wanted to get to know him, but couldn't have the guilty pleasure of thinking about him nude.

She finished up and washed her hands. Uzuri came out moments later and washed her hands as well. Xue was about to exit when Uzuri placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I have to warn you Xue, N'kev seems to be hiding something." said Uzuri.

"You noticed to huh?" asked Xue. Uzuri nodded,

"Especially when we asked him about his grandfather… He seems reluctant on the matter." said Uzuri. Xue nodded. It would seem that N'kev wasn't fooling anyone. People were starting to notice him lying.

"You should ask him about it." said Uzuri.

"How?" asked Xue. She had tried by herself and even with the help of Olut but N'kev wouldn't budge.

"You're a girl with a crush on him. He likes you. You like him. Solution is simple, flirt with him then you'll get your answers." said Uzuri with a smirk.

"What? I can't do that to him." exasperated Xue.

"What's stopping you then?" asked Uzuri. Xue just sighed. Her sister was right. She wanted to find a solution on how to get him to spill the beans and it was right in front of her.

"Ok… I'll try." said Xue. The two went back to the table. They paid the bill and headed out. Uzuri received a text message saying she had to come back to her workplace since she was needed again. The 2 waved goodbye to her and boarded a bus heading back to the suburbs on where they lived. On the bus, N'kev felt his heartbeat race faster as Xue rested her head on his shoulder.

N'kev's head was swimming with images of Xue as the bus drove on. He tried his best to tune them out but his attempt was unsuccessful. He couldn't help but think about her. He couldn't even believe what he was thinking. He had to laugh at the idea of it all. He had been friends with Xue at the beginning of his studying career at the academy. And throughout all that time he never thought of her as more than a friend. But now it would seem that he had developed a crush on her.

He couldn't even help but goggle at her neck (In Sangheilis, males are sexually attracted to the female's neck). It took all the self-control he had to stop himself from licking and burying his face in Xue's neck. He wanted to lick it so badly, it began to hurt.

Luckily though his torture was over when the bus stopped at their stop, the SMA. The 2 of them hopped off the bus and stretched a little as the bus rounded onto the corner. It was around 7:30PM now and the streets only contained a few people. N'kev was about to turn around to start walking back to their house when Xue placed her hand on his shoulder.

"N'kev you were lying to us again back at the restaurant weren't you?" asked Xue as he turned around. He blinked as he heard the question. He was about to say 'No, I wasn't' but he stopped himself. If he were to say that he'll be lying again. He felt the guilt of lying slowly eat him alive. He was never a good liar; not good enough to keep doing for a long time.

"Well?" asked Xue, narrowing her eyes.

"I…I…" stuttered N'kev; he couldn't bring himself to lie anymore. Xue was staring daggers at him, expecting an answer that N'kev knew he couldn't tell; and at that point he burst.

"AHH!!!" he shouted as his emotions flooded through. Luckily though there was no one around when he screamed. Xue was taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" he shouted to the heavens. Xue on the other hand was surprised to see N'kev act this way.

"I…I…I'm sorry. I have to go." said N'kev and he turned around and ran.

"N'kev wait!" shouted Xue but he was running at top speed and was already at the corner. N'kev ran back to his house. His mind was at complete disarray. The idea of him lying again and again wasn't good to him; it'll only result to him bursting near the end when he can't handle it anymore. He rounded onto the corner and placed a poker face as he pressed the doorbell on their house. A few minutes later it opened revealing, Jess on the other side.

"You're late today." she said as he let him pass through the door.

"Are you hungry, we are eating dinner right now." said Jess.

"No… I already ate. I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed." he said as he went upstairs.

"Ok." said Jess as he went back to the dining room.

Later that night, N'kev lied down on his bed, thinking of the things that had happened. He knew his sudden outburst in front of Xue wouldn't go unquestioned. Now he had to think of a good lie that would explain his outburst. Lying was uncomfortable to him but he knew he had to do it.

Another thing was also crossing his mind. Throughout the time he was lying on the bed, his head was swimming again with thoughts involving Xue. He was even having the guilty pleasure of wanting to see her in the nude. In the end he had enough; He had to...become intimate with her. The crush was driving him mad, and he had to spend some alone time with her.

He went to sleep with his mind still thinking of Xue. In the end as he slept he had dreams of kissing Xue back at the bus stop instead of the event that happened earlier.


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