New Alexandria, Reach

November 14, 2557

Marcus Austal had two very different lives.

The first was his military life as a Spartan-IV. Undergoing high-risk operations in mysterious places and part of the never ending battle to remove all the scum who wished to do the UNSC harm. Seriously, the list kept getting bigger, even though they managed to fight off and defeat a powerful alien empire. Apparently some people's thanks were to resume their campaigns against them once again, now some had the aid of the remnants of Covenant working alongside.

His second life was one he had hoped to pursue even further. Until a couple months ago, he had lived by his lonesome. Not something out of the ordinary since he had been doing it for as long as he can remember. In a sense he still lived by his lonesome, but a certain neighbor of his made settling down seem worthwhile.

It was nearly evening by the time he had gotten back to his apartment out in the suburban areas of the rebuilding city. Remnants of glassing and destruction could be seen further out, a harsh reminder of the Covenant's relentless onslaught that had devastated both sides on probably, the most destructive battle of the UNSC-Covenant War. There was still much to be done for rebuilding the colony, but progress had been made.

With his personal gear in one hand and a bag of food in the other, he set them down on the floor and unlocked his apartment, making sure the security alarm had no activity since he had last armed it. Fortunately, it wasn't and he was able to quickly enter.

His apartment was decorated very little and he had gotten boxes out in preparation to move.

Citing the costs, even for a cheap and well-placed apartment like these would still mean that his work was quite far away. Firebase Noble, the 37th primary center of operations was a thirty minute highway drive. Costs to live on base were cheaper and he could walk straight to work.

Of course, it wasn't without its drawbacks either.

He examined his nightstand, opening the drawer. Inside there was an Acheron A9 personal defense pistol, his favored sidearm in the field. Its semi-armor piercing rounds were advantageous against most body armor at a distance, even when the competing M6 series performed obsolete under the same circumstances.

This particular A9 had a black nickel finish and one he deemed sentimental in value to him. A9s he carried as a Spartan were often more "expendable" military variants.

If he ever needed it, it was just inside his nightstand.

Rounds were stored in a locked box nearby, two magazines full.

The smell of the sandwiches in the bag made his stomach growl. He had never had such of a thing called Philly Cheesesteaks, however asking Fowler about them made the other Spartan verbally lash out in surprise. Apparently it was all cheesy, beefy with caramelized onions, all over a roll. Of course, with a Spartan's more strict diet, they had to be careful however much they ate. Even when their bodies augmentations allowed them to take more energy from food that they ate, it still made them have to watch their diets for anything unnecessary..

Still, even a high fat food like a cheesesteak was better than UNSC rations, save for a few like the chicken stew and beef lasagna. Austal never wanted to talk about both the coffee and the berry blast protein bars. Plus, the cases of MREs came with a nutritional supplement inside a small pouch that went into water. It replenished certain body essentials, but it left an awful chemical taste in the water. On many UNSC bases, one could find a reusing box, a small container that servicemen could cast sealed, but unwanted parts of their meals for swapping or eventually repackaged and issued again. Those reusing boxes would be stacked to the brim with nutritional supplements and occasionally protein bars.

He stepped outside, not bothering to put on a jacket since he was only heading next door. Since he had last been on Reach, the weather had gotten significantly colder. Wind started to rip at his skin, about the time for light jackets, while it wasn't yet wintertime and he knew that New Alexandria winters were long and harsh.

He rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Coming!" He heard her voice.

The door opened and his grin lit up.

Marcus' girlfriend and next-door neighbor Gabrielle Addison was a team member of high end Westbrook photography studios. He had asked her out on a date before he and the rest of Eon had made the final push to oust the failed leaders of an ultranationalist party that had attempted to overthrow New Corsica. The colony was a birthplace that they shared.

Gabrielle stood at five foot eight, having auburn hair that fell to her shoulders. Her dark blue eyes sparkled in the light and he believed that they were what made her so captivating.

She had a slim, but wonderful model like figure, thanks to her newfound job as one recently. However compared to the models on the magazine, it would take her some work for her to make way onto the cover.

"Marcus!" Her face lit up and she threw herself at him. The fortunate Spartan caught her mid-lunge as she landed into his arms in a very affectionate hug.

This was not the lady he had first met four months ago.

When he first met his future girlfriend, she was a very shy person. Although she wouldn't tell, he instantly knew that she was afraid of him. After spending some more time with her, he found out that her fear of men primarily stemmed out from her father.

He was a large person who had been very abusive, as he and her mother had never gotten along very well. Initially, it had been just a growing rift in relation between her and her parents. The only people she held close in her childhood was her older sister, Jacqueline, who had died when she was only seven and two very close friends who had also moved to Reach with her.

Like her, he was also frequently without his parents, being mostly independent.

Still, she was only twenty-two years old and part of her was still broken.

Part of Austal too, was broken, so they shared something in common. They never had much of a real family.

"I brought dinner." He held up the bag.

"Great! I love cheesesteak sandwiches."

That's another thing he loved about her. She ate just about anything. Her friends were another story. How she managed to keep her figure despite this wide appetite of hers was a mystery.

"Yeah, those aren't for you. I got a ham and cheese." When she gave him a puzzled look, he chuckled, "I'm kidding! I got three of them!"

The sandwiches were excellent, especially to Austal's palate, which had started to adjust again to UNSC rations. Now upon eating this, he'd have to go through the entire disgusting process again.

He made a decision to have just the beef, provolone cheese and grilled mushrooms and onions on his two. Without a doubt, he or any other Spartan could easily scarf both down without breaking a sweat.

For Gabrielle's, he had gotten the same, except he had added a bit of tomato sauce.

Thankfully, they didn't need to dirty any dishes, since the wrappers already served as a place to catch any food that dropped.

Marcus gave a satisfied grunt as he balled the wrappers of both his sandwiches and made a basketball throw into the open wastebasket. He had finished all his food by the time she was only three-quarters done.

"Work going alright?" She asked, "When do you go back?"

"Not for a while, at least by my last remembering." Currently, he was lying to her about his occupation. Saying that he operated as part of a surveillance and recon unit for potential threats to the UNSC. It ran much deeper than that.

This was a woman he had come to care about a lot in the temporary time they had officially began dating. Their jobs often overlapped and just spending time together was starting to get scarcer. He knew that if she had found out what he really did, something bad would happen. It was a secret he kept from her.

"Hey,"

"Hmm?" He looked over into his eyes and he turned a bit more serious. He felt something on his back and reached behind to scratch it. Was he getting nervous or something?

"I need to ask you something." He looked down at the ground, "Um, I've been contemplating about moving."

"Moving out? Where?"

"On the grounds of the base where my team operates out of. I've already been putting in interest into several slots of the residences on the grounds."

"Why?"

Austal rubbed his forehead and scratched his back again. "Cheaper. I don't have to go far to work."

"What about me?" Gabrielle asked him, her previous joyful expression turned into an uncertain one. At first, she had been afraid of him. Now it seemed like she was afraid he would disappear. "You're just going to leave? Won't we still see each other?"

"That's the thing I wanted to ask." He reached over and gently pulled her hands into his. Looking into her beautiful blue eyes, his voice began to drop. "I was wondering if you would like to come with me."

He knew the risk, if she said yes; he would eventually have to tell her about his status as a Spartan. Knowing that many things still scared her, finding out your boyfriend was a newer version of what was deemed a freak and killing machine could be devastating. She knew that he fought and killed bad people, but much of the details he had left in obscurity.

"I don't know Marcus. I really don't. All of these problems come up when you move, especially with other people."

"I know. I'm sorry to put that thought into you. I have a month to make a decision before my entry will expire. I haven't decided myself either because I want to stay somewhere close where we can still see one another. I don't expect you to say yes. Hell, I don't even expect an answer from you. This isn't the first time I've had to make a decision and ended up losing someone I cared a lot about."

"You've done a lot for me Marcus. I really can't thank you enough and moving with you on your base would truly make us happy, but I'm not sure if I can."

Through Marcus' help, Gabrielle slowly began to overcome her shy and shaky self. He hoped to show her that not all people were bad or going to hurt her. For those that did, that's where his occupation came into play. Like in Bowman's psych audio, Eon did bad things to bad people.

"Enough of that." Marcus held up a holo-movie. "I brought a movie. Want to watch?"

"Sure." She smiled again, the prior conversation aside. "However, you must do something for me first."

"What?"

She went inside her bedroom and came back out with a tube. The label read a brand of moisturizing cream.

He cocked an eyebrow, "You've been busy."

"I've noticed that you're constantly scratching your back and I don't think it's because of me. You might have eczema."

"Eczema." Austal was familiar with it, having the condition at his birth, but thanks to his augmentations, the epidemic had been suppressed. His scratching could have possible been triggering it once again.

"Fortunately, this cream I bought should put it down for good. Just try not to scratch it once it's been applied."

Marcus moved over to take the bottle, but she pulled it out of his reach. He gave her a curious look.

"I need you to take your shirt off."

"Getting a little flirty here aren't we?" He smiled thinly, trying again to take the bottle. Once more, she moved it out of his reach. "Just let me do it myself."

She crossed her arms across her chest and gave a mock glare, "Shirt off. We're not watching the movie until we're done."

"This certainly isn't the Gabrielle I met in August." He tossed of his shirt, "Happy?"

"On the couch."

Austal lay facedown.

Gabrielle's eyes widened at his back.

While it was in excellent shape, it was the markings that were what caught her attention. Three of them were long stripes of dark red that ran vertically down his back. All over, were random markings that were much more faded.

Each scar had a different story to tell and her brief glimpse at his front told her that his back was much worse.

"All these scars," She whispered, "Why?"

"It's part of the duty." During a mission in New Corsica, Eon was tasked with aiding a resistance leader and ended up getting caught in the target zone of a gunship. Although they managed to escape through a warehouse, the aircraft fired missiles at the support beams. In the collapse, Eon four had scraped his back from sharp concrete shards. The speed of the fall, combined with its razor edge easily sliced past the suit's flexible part. He didn't even feel the pain until he was being checked out in a medical bay.

Those scars were the newest ones in his "collection" and he tended not to bother with them much.

He felt her soft hands begin to rub into his back. The cream felt icy to the touch and quickly faded.

Suddenly, he felt a stinging pain lance through his back.

"AAH!" He lurched up, "What the hell was that?!"

Gabrielle had jumped back in surprise, having previous instincts take over. Her face looked like she had just failed her college entry exam. "It's just a cream that will help with your dry skin."

"You didn't tell me it was going to sting!" He rolled off the couch and sprinted off into her bedroom, leaving her in shock. Never had she seen him move that fast.

Inside her bathroom, Marcus turned his back and now saw that his scars were reddening from the medicine. The stinging sensation had begun to fade, but that was definitely a surprise he never expected.

"Marcus!" Gabrielle came into the room. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, still examining himself in the mirror. "Yeah."

"I was just trying to look out for you. Never expected that to happen."

"Me neither." He caught his shirt when she tossed it to him, "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it."

Once Austal slipped on his shirt, she wrapped her arms around him and slowly pressed the side of her face into his chest. "You scare me too much."

"I know." He gently lifted her into his arms and made his way back out to the holo-tank. "You ready?"

The movie wasn't excellent, but it didn't disappoint either viewer. By the time it had ended, Austal had his arm draped over Gabrielle's shoulders and she was comfortably leaning into his side. The credits were onscreen and he found himself begin to battle the urges of sleep.

He made sure that the alarm for both his and Gabrielle's apartments were working and shut off the apartment's lights. Grabbing a blanket from the closet, he slid to the backside of the sofa and laid the blanket over both of them. The couch held enough space to accommodate both of their bodies.

Marcus placed a pillow beneath their heads and shut his eyes, wrapping his arms around Gabrielle's back at his side. It wasn't long before his breathing slowed and he drifted off into sleep.

This temporary leave Eon is having will be short lasting. Danger is still brewing out and Eon will have to jump back into the field! For now, Austal is enjoying all the time he's got with his girlfriend.

It's been such a busy week, having my brain deep-fried by final exams. At least school is over for the semester and I managed to get a couple of certificates for future courses I am looking forward to taking! Now I've had a chance to finally write ahead of what's posted and maybe even speed up the bridges between the updates. Not sure yet, as I am also writing a second story at this time and will be starting a third in the near future.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.