A/N: Hello all and welcome to chapter 63! Last chapter, we saw the Freelancers, Tucker, and Sarge take part in an epic drinking contest XD. In this chapter, we'll see how everyone's faring after drinking the powerful poison.

*Chapter 63*

Washington groaned and opened his eyes, squinting for the moment as the bright lights of the ship's bridge were far too powerful for him to look at without getting the worst headache in his life. "Ugh…what the fuck…?" He was currently sitting in one of the many lounge chairs Reach had raided from the Mother of Invention's wreck and he felt his back with a wince. 'Taking part in that drinking contest was definitely a mistake. Fuck me.'

"Good morning." Reach was looking as though he didn't drink at all last night; the Spartan was sipping a cup of coffee and flicking through the pages of an old book, sitting comfortably in a chair across from him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Washington answered, groaning and rubbing his head. "Have a splitting headache."

"Heh. Not surprising." Reach smirked and pulled out a bottle of painkillers from his pocket, tossing it over to him. "Here you are. Coffee's fresh if you want a cup. Allison was kind enough to make a batch when she got up."

"Thanks." Washington got to his feet slowly, holding onto the arm of the chair for support and blinking. This was by far the most hungover he had ever been in his entire life and he couldn't help but feel slightly envious of Reach's ability to be fully functioning despite drinking much more than him. "Who won between you and Jun, by the way?"

"I did." Reach pointed towards a motionless Jun with a smug smirk. The Spartan was completely passed out with a bottle in hand, snoring away without a care in the world. Wash took notice of the new additions his face had, including what appeared to be a dick drawn near the corner of his mouth in pink lipstick. His eyelids were painted yellow and his lips were completely black, making Wash wonder just who the one who did the deed was. His money was on either Grif or Tex.

"Okay, who drew that on him?" he asked, motioning towards the dick drawn on Jun's face. "I seriously doubt you did it." 'He's an ass at times, but this doesn't seem like something he'd do. Tex on the other hand definitely would. She's become the resident troll on the ship.'

"Who do you think?" Reach rolled his eyes. "Allison raided South's makeup kit and decided to have a little fun with it. I managed to talk her out of drawing on your face; I doubt you'd want to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and see the words 'I love cock' all over your face in bright pink lipstick."

"Thanks for sparing me from Tex's wrath," Washington said sarcastically, opening the bottle of painkillers and taking two of the pills. "I'm so fucking grateful." 'Hopefully that'll get rid of the goddamned headache.'

"You should be. She was going to dye your hair pink for shits and giggles."

"Are you serious about that or just trying to fuck with me?"

"Definitely the latter." Reach smirked and took another sip of coffee, humming in content at the taste. He smacked his lips a few times before putting the mug down and giving Jun a few light taps on the cheek. "Hey, wake up. It's almost noon."

Jun slowly blinked his eyes open with a groan, rubbing his forehead and giving Reach a look through narrowed eyes. "Dammit Adam. You continue to win these damned things. I was unbeaten in drinking competitions before you showed up."

"What can I say? I guess I'm just good at what I do." Reach just shrugged and pretended as though Jun didn't have anything drawn on his face. Not a single snicker left his mouth and Washington found himself impressed with Reach's ability to keep a straight face without covering his mouth; he himself was struggling to not to snicker.

"If you say so." Jun rolled his eyes and glanced over at the sleeping forms of Maine and South. Both Freelancers were cuddled together with South draped all over him and hugging him with a smile on her face. It was as if Maine was just a giant teddy bear for her.

Washington's heart throbbed in envy and he looked around the bridge. "Hey, where's Carolina? I figured she would be up this early of all people."

"Don't know." Reach shrugged. "I thought she was in the training room when I checked twenty minutes before you woke up. She's not in there either. Must still be in her room or something."

"I'll go check in on her and make sure she's alright." Washington pursed his lips together before he walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup. He could function for a little bit longer without having the glorious nectar that was given to humanity in order to deal with the bullshit of life. Carolina would probably appreciate the gesture.

He knew how strong she preferred it thanks to the amount of times he had to run coffee trips for both her and North first thing in the morning during Project Freelancer. Neither of them were what could be considered 'morning people' for different reasons. For North it was because he was always worrying over South and eventually Theta. For Carolina, it was thanks to her training until the most ungodly hours.

The smell wafted up his nostrils and he could feel his mouth begin to water longingly. 'No. Carolina needs it first. I can go a little longer without some.' He opened the mini fridge to add a splash of milk to it and gave it a quick stir with a nearby spoon, being careful as to not spill any of it.

With a plastic lid placed down he stumbled out of the bridge and started to make his way down the ship's corridors to the barracks. He had no idea which room Carolina was currently using, but he also knew the ones she wouldn't be in as well. That helped narrow it down a lot. 'Only have a handful of rooms to check.'

He stopped in front of the first one and knocked on it. "Hello?" He didn't get an answer and he decided to open the door to make sure she wasn't asleep. The room didn't have anyone in it and for good reason. It absolutely reeked of filthy sex. The combined musky odor of sweat and other bodily fluids made the half blind Freelancer gag. "Ugh. That's fucking disgusting."

He spied a pink thong in the corner of the room and sighed in exasperation. "Goddammit, Tucker." 'I shouldn't be surprised that he had done something like this. I shouldn't be. But for fuck's sake, don't they know how to pick up after themselves? For as much shit as I give Reach and Tex for constantly gnawing each other's faces off in public, they at least know how to clean up after themselves when they're done having sex.' He would give them that at least.

But Tucker and Sister wouldn't know how to clean up after themselves if their goddamned lives depended on it. They were constantly leaving their mess for someone else to clean up. Usually it was either Reach or South who had to throw the sheets into the wash and spray the air freshener. If someone didn't do it, the room would reek of sex for days after.

Washington backed out of the room and closed it, really not wanting to deal with any of the Reds and Blues' bullshit at the moment. Not when he still had a headache and a half from taking part in the drinking contest the night prior. 'Yeah, fuck this. I'm not dealing with this shit while hungover. Someone else gets to.'

He checked the next room over, giving it a gentle rap with his knuckles. "Carolina? Are you in there?"

"Yeah. Come on in," Carolina replied, her voice muffled by the door.

Washington stepped inside and saw Carolina sitting on her bed. She was holding a picture frame in her hands, not even looking up as Washington entered. 'Guess her mind really has been occupied with other things lately.'

"I, uh, I brought you some coffee," he said, offering the hot cup to her. "Tex made a fresh batch after Reach beat Jun in the small hours in the morning."

"Thanks." Carolina graciously took it from his hands and took a sip. "Hmm. I can tell you're the one who made me a cup."

"How so?"

"Because it's not filled with that sugary shit."

The two of them shared a quiet laugh before Washington glanced at the picture in the frame she was holding. "What is that one from?"

"It's one Utah took during your first week," she replied. In the photo was himself, North, York, Carolina, and Illinois, York's drinking buddy. "I can tell because you still had that dorky stubble on your chin that makes you look like a kid who still gets carded at the liquor store."

"Oh haha. Very funny." Washington rolled his eyes, fighting back a smile. "We were all young back then. Didn't have any of this kind of shit to worry about." 'I miss it. Everything was nice and simple.'

"Tell me about it," Carolina muttered, taking a sip of coffee. "All we had to worry about was training for our next mission and the slight competition between us. I miss it. I miss everything. How many nights did we all share watching Grifball in those days?"

"Who knows? Seems like it was every other weekend at least for the first few months," Washington answered. "Hey, are you alright? You seem a little out of it."

"Yeah." Carolina nodded. "Just…just thinking of the last time I got to see him. York, I mean. We had argued over something so irrelevant; it was over that goddamned lucky lighter of his. Never got to see him again and apologize for it."

She let out a sigh and set the picture down, looking at it with a pained expression. "Now, I'll never get that chance. He's gone." She reached into her pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out the lighter, flicking it on. It came to life, a small flame flickering on top. "I just wish I could have had a chance to say I'm sorry."

"Carolina, you know York wouldn't hold it against you," Wash said quietly. "If anything, he'd probably scold you for acting like this. This isn't like you. The Carolina I know is the one woman army who could turn the tide of a fight into her favor with ease. We all looked up to you, you know. All of us did. You encouraged us to be our best."

"Wash, thanks." Carolina gave him a quick hug and for a moment Washington was sure that his face was bright red.

"I, uh, yeah! No problem," he eventually choked out. 'Smooth.'

They heard a loud angry yell from the bathroom, along with a pair of mad cackles Washington assumed were from Texas and Reach. "ADAM! YOU HAVE SOME FUCKING EXPLAINING TO DO!"

"Oh goddammit." Washington rubbed his temples with a sigh. 'Should've known that was going to happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before Jun found out about the new artwork on his face.'

"Do I want to know?" Carolina asked, only semi-rhetorically.

"Well, you know that drinking contest we all had last night?" Wash reminded. "Reach and Jun were busy battling it out until the small hours of the morning, and Reach won. While Jun was passed out, Tex raided South's makeup kit and drew a bunch of shit on his face."

Carolina had went to take a sip of coffee at that time and promptly spat it back out in a fit of laughter. It was nice hearing her laugh; poor woman had been through hell recently and needed a laugh or two. "You're kidding me!"

"I wish." Washington smiled. "I was thankfully spared the wrath of our troll in the dungeon. Jun was not so lucky. Tex even painted his lips."

"Poor bastard."

"I know. Remind me not to take part in a drinking contest with a Spartan ever again. I think I've learned that I can't keep up with Reach. Even Maine couldn't."

"Seriously? Maine couldn't handle it?" Carolina's eyebrows rose skeptically. "He used to drink straight tequila during Project Freelancer."

"I know." Washington recalled the many nights he got to witness 'drunk Maine'. It was pretty funny seeing him try to knit afterwards. Big man couldn't even get the string through the needle. "I think this was a combination of many separate liquors. Maybe some absinthe too."

"Ugh, absinthe." Carolina grimaced. "Tastes awful."

"Agreed." Washington nodded. "So, think we should go and stop Jun from going on a killing spree?" The air was starting to get filled with a sense of murder now that Jun saw the additions that had been made to his face.

"I dunno. Does Reach deserve it?"

"Oh yes. But I doubt Jun is going to catch him."

"Ah, why not? It sounds like fun." Carolina smirked and stood up with a flex. "I could use a good morning workout."

"Alright, let's commence Operation: Stop Jun from Committing Murder."

Today was already off to an interesting start and something told him it was only going to get better as it went on. He hadn't forgotten that Maine and South were the ones who had to pay the massive water bill that Simmons managed to rack up. 'I wonder if those two are awake yet.'

He didn't think they would stay asleep for much longer, with the angry footsteps of Jun practically shaping the ship as he looked for Reach. "ADAM! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

"Does he know that Adam has an active camouflage unit installed into his armor?" Carolina asked.

"Nope." Washington smirked. "Nor does he know that he also has a secondary piece installed called Promethean Vision. The longer it takes for him to find him, the funnier this gets. I wonder what's going to happen first, Reach getting bored and purposely letting Jun find him or Jun finding him on his own."

"I'll place bets on the former."

"Same."

Washington poked his head out of Carolina's room just in time to see Reach activate his invisibility by the open door right across from hers, struggling not to snicker as Jun thundered right past him. "Goddammit! Where the fuck is he!?"

"You know, it wasn't his fault," Washington said with a snicker carefully disguised as a yawn. "If you're going to point the finger at anyone, point it at Tex."

Jun let out an annoyed growl, furiously trying to rub the makeup off of his face. "Well it's not like I can take my frustration out on someone who is currently pregnant. Besides, the son of a bitch probably encouraged her to do it."

"Normally, I'd agree with you," Washington admitted. "But he was busy in the armory for a good portion of time before you woke up and dealing with the Reds and Blues, not to mention setting a course for Valhalla to go after the Director. I seriously doubt he had the time to convince Tex to draw on your face."

It was no doubt a horrible lie (and one he doubted Jun would buy), but it was the best Washington could think up in such a short time. It was semi believable, which is what mattered. 'Fuck me; my own bullshit meter is going off at that lie.'

Jun let out an annoyed grumble but started to calm down, glaring at a spot on the wall where he assumed Reach was standing. "Fine…now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get rid of this before that idiot Tucker makes one more cross dressing joke."

He stomped away with muttering many curses in different languages under his breath and once he was a good enough distance away Reach deactivated his camo. "Thanks. Don't know how much longer I could have kept it running."

"No problem. Maybe next time you can keep a closer eye on your wife so I don't have to make up bullshit lies?" Washington suggested dryly. "Because I know damn well you probably encouraged her to do it for shits and giggles."

"I object to that claim. I actually did have to carry Tucker and Sarge back to their respective rooms, while intoxicated I might add. Not exactly an easy feat."

"Oh, let me feel sorry for you." Washington rolled his eyes. "At least you're still standing. I'm pretty sure Maine and South are still unconscious."

"Nah, they're awake. Don't worry, they're both fine. Just hungover to hell." Reach smirked. "Still can't find anyone who can out drink me."

"So, do we have a heading?" Carolina asked.

"We do." Reach nodded and typed onto his datapad strapped to his left wrist. A holographic projection of a large planet appeared, slowly spinning around. "We've already searched the first half of the MOI on Hypionia, and it's safe to assume that the Director isn't hiding there. The data we recovered shows no records of any research facilities on the planet and it's completely uninhabited by humans. No Covenant, either. That leaves us with the second half, which crashed on Valhalla. Alpha's remembering more and more now that he absorbed Epsilon back into him and he has memory of a few offsite storage facilities owned by Project Freelancer. We're going to investigate all of them, starting with this one."

His finger switched over the pad and an image of a giant wind facility appeared. "This is a power facility, owned by Freelancer. The UNSC hasn't found it due to it not being in their records and it's the perfect place to start. There should be at least some clues as to where the Director went."

"How long will it take us to reach the system?"

"A day or two, at the most. Gives us plenty of time to recover from last night's activities and get a few extra training sessions in." The Spartan glanced at Carolina. "How are you feeling?"

"Recovered enough," the redheaded Freelancer replied. "I can lead a team if I need to."

"Glad to hear it. Welcome to this band of misfits." Reach's face turned serious. "Wash, I want you to take Simmons and Donut down to the range. Carolina, you and Sarge will do one on one training. I have Tucker for swordsmanship."

"Have fun." Wash cracked his knuckles. "God knows I couldn't deal with his ass." He really couldn't stand the perverted aqua soldier.

"Trust me, he isn't going to be saying his stupid catchphrase by the time I'm done with him."

Washington wasn't sure whether or not to be worried for the simulation trooper's wellbeing. Reach was probably going to make him eat the ground for hours straight.

'Nah fuck that. Asshole probably deserves it.'

It was going to be a very interesting couple of days.

A/N: Sorry that this one took longer to come out. I originally had a lot more on the Wash and Carolina scene, but I realized it didn't fit and was rushed. Romance doesn't happen like that. So, I edited that out. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and if you ever feel like joining my discord, I always leave my name at the end of each chapter. See you!

C. Strife#5371