Troy opened his eyes warily. He was surprised to find himself awake at the right time. He usually woke up early in the morning due to nightmares, but something was different today, he couldn't remember what... He felt something shift behind him and an arm around his waist tightened its grip slightly.
"Good morning," Calsu murmured. Troy blushed fiercely as he felt the arousal of being this close to a girl. In bed. Near naked.
"G-g-g-good m-m-m-morning," he stammered. Calsu rubbed her face against his neck.
"Sleep well?" Troy decided she was enjoying this waaaay to much, but couldn't do anything but blush harder. She didn't wait for an answer. "How about we go get some breakfast?" Troy nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He wondered if Calsu did these things to embarrass him, or if she actually had no idea how suggestive these things were. She pulled out of the bed and strapped her armour on, holding out a hand for Troy to take. He accepted, and was pulled to his feet by the incredibly strong Sangheili. "Hopefully we get the day off today," she said as they walked. Troy paused. He looked out the large window nearby.
"Is that... Earth? Damn, those guys need to announce these things!" Calsu and Troy took a seat with some marines who knew all the latest gossip and caught up with recent events. The Stand in Solitude was on shore leave because of its valiant efforts in recent battles. In fact, one of them added, they believed there was going to be a medal ceremony this evening.
As it turned out, there was a medal ceremony that evening. The entire crew showed up wearing their uniforms and any medals they had previously earned. Calsu seemed quite curious about the whole thing and even went as far as to accompany Troy to the ceremony. She seemed quite interested in the medal already hanging on Troy's shirt. Troy had explained it was the 'Prisoner of War' Medal, awarded to those taken as a POW and survived it. Troy was surprised when he was called up that evening to receive the 'Navy and Marine Corps' Medal and the 'Medal of Honour'. Calsu was among the many clapping for him. Hoi got awarded a few medals. Troy grimaced, remembering those medals would be given to his family alongside his coffin. Troy felt honoured to have three medals pinned to his chest, and the new rank of Sergeant, First Class. He now commanded Fireteam Cobalt. He felt a bit overwhelmed by the sudden twist of fate. The war was over, he had close friends, and he was highly honoured. He grinned to himself, then to Calsu. She smiled back at him. The ceremony over, the marines were left to enjoy their leave. Tomorrow Pelicans would be available to take down to Earth for shore leave, but Troy knew he would stay here. He didn't really have a right to go on Earth, it wasn't his home; it was his mission. Now, it was just another planet that happened to also be the planet where humans originated from. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Calsu. He realised he had just been staring at the planet he had been pondering about, and had completely forgotten about her.
"Troy, there is something I have been meaning to tell you..." Troy glanced at her questioningly. He found himself staring at her again, remembering the time in the cafeteria when he had come so close to considering telling her... but he could never. If she found out...
"Yes?" he asked, trying not to blush.
"I have... had a feeling that has, er, been nagging at me for a while." She choked on her words, blushed a bit, then stalled. She tried to find a way to say it without him hating her. "A feeling about you." Troy hoped he wasn't getting the wrong message here. He stepped up so he was inches away from her. She was quite a bit taller than he was, but not significantly so. Thank god females were slightly smaller than the average male. He reached up, wondering if he was about to die, and pulled her head down towards him so he could kiss her, right on the mandibles. She slid her arms around him and hugged him to her, adjusting so she had a better angle. When Troy finally broke the kiss, she was a bit flustered. "Is it really that obvious?" she asked.
"No," Troy replied. "I was just hoping that you meant what I've been feeling for the past few days." Calsu gasped happily and kissed him again. Troy giggled shyly, causing Calsu to smirk devilishly.
"Do you want to do something special with me?" she whispered, right in his ear. He closed his eyes, unable to guess what she meant. She sounded excited about it though, so he nodded and decided to go with it, to make her happy.