Whew! Writer's block and college classes are horrible, which accounts for the short chapter. Sorry it's not longer, but the muse eludes me. Oh well, hopefully this meets with reader approval. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.
Chapter Ten: Poor Impulse Control
An impulsive thought crept through her mind, and for once she didn't shove it aside. You'll regret this later, Hawkes, an inner voice cautioned, but she ignored it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, something she'd been dreaming about for years, and she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past now that it was here.
Leaning up a bit, closing her eyes and blocking out the pain, Jessica kissed him.
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John was surprised, to say the least, when Hawkes kissed him. Having long grown used to violence and forceful actions, this gentle brush against his lips was a bit of a shock. Why is she doing this? How should I react? This wasn't something he'd been trained for, and for a moment he was completely helpless.
The lieutenant seemed to sense his unease; she moved away a bit, ending the kiss. Before she could move too far, though, instincts long dormant had taken hold. John moved in and kissed her back, accepting the unusual gentle touch and finding himself enjoying it. Hawkes seemed to be encouraged by his action and returned his kiss, her own more-experienced mouth moving gently over his, teasing and encouraging.
John was lost: it seemed as if the moment would never end. Taking great care not to use too much force, he placed a hand on the operative's back and pulled her closer.
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What am I thinking?!?! Jessica felt the thought scream through her head almost as soon as she kissed the Chief. He doesn't want this, he can't want this! I just made a complete ass of myself, and probably embarrassed ONI no end! Breaking the kiss, she pulled away, intending to find some excuse to get away from him before she did something else wrong. She hadn't gotten far when she felt the Spartan kiss her; she hadn't even noticed him leaning forward as she tried to leave. His kiss was entirely unique: soft, gentle, and extremely inexperienced. Oh John, you've missed out on a lot, haven't you? Of course, she already knew he had.
Jessica gently returned his kiss, having had a few relationships in the past to guide her now. She brushed her lips along his teasingly, occasionally skimming her tongue against them, encouraging him to go further. The Chief apparently had similar ideas: she felt one armored hand place itself on her back and pull gently.
Taken by surprise, she didn't have the chance to brace herself for the pain or stifle her cry.
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She cried out, involuntarily pulling away from him. John cursed himself mentally: he'd forgotten that she was injured, and had put his hand right over her burn. Jessica Hawkes pulled further away, a few tears on her face, from the pain he supposed.
"I'm sorry," John muttered, surprised at how pathetic he sounded. Why can't you say anything better than 'I'm sorry'? "I don't know how I forgot about your wound." That was even worse!
"It's alright, Chief," Jessica replied, hanging her own head. "If anything I should be apologizing to you. I had no excuse to act the way I did, and I risked jeopardizing the mission in doing so. You did nothing wrong." She moved away and took a seat at the farthest corner of the cave as she could. Did I offend her?
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Jessica felt completely horrible: she had kissed the Master Chief, of all people! Worse yet, he'd thought it was his fault for kissing her, even though she'd started it! How did I screw this up? I was supposed to keep my distance. And yet, it was hard enough trying to keep away now: something was trying to pull her to the Chief. This isn't good. Hopefully I'll be able to fight my poor impulse control long enough to get back home, then I'm turning in my resignation. If she was compromising this mission by giving in to her feelings, feelings that she should have been able to suppress, there was no telling what might happen on future missions. This way she could leave before someone got hurt. Plus, once she left ONI she could disappear for a long time, if not for good then at least long enough that the Chief or ONI would lose interest.
Her decision made, Jessica faced the cavern entrance and put herself on guard.
----
That almost worked, Cortana thought unhappily. Once the Chief had put his helmet back on, she'd looked at the emotions running through his brain. Confusion, worry, surprise, guilt, and tenderness—oddly enough—were all running pell-mell through his head. Judging by the electrochemical signals going past as well, there was an increased amount of sexual desire present in the mix. Cortana ran the data and came up with a probable conclusion: Hawkes and the Chief had interacted on a somewhat intimate level. Which would definitely explain the surprise and confusion, as well as the desire. But why the worry, or the guilt for that matter?
Hawkes was sitting in a corner watching the cave entrance. Cortana tapped into her bio-monitors and noted increased stress levels, as well as an increased amount of hormones normally associated with sexual arousal. Interesting. The AI processed the equivalent of a frown as she "watched" Hawkes absentmindedly run her fingers across her mouth. I'll bet she kissed him! So why is she sitting there by herself instead of with the Chief? Cortana ceased her musing and turned her attention to the Chief. There were answers to be found, and she decided to bother him until he told her what had happened.