V. Takes place after the sequel to "Under the Surface" (which will be written, I promise!)
2100 Hours, November 11, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Africa, Cairo UNSC Military Complex

"I have something for you."

Cortana looked up from her tablet and saw John standing at the entrance of her lab. He looked tired; stubble darkened his jaw and cheeks. His hair was flat against his skull, a side effect of wearing his helmet for an extended period of time.

It had been just over two weeks since she, John, and the handful of survivors from the Halo campaign had limped back to UNSC-controlled land. They had managed to thwart the Flood outbreak and destroy the Halo compound, but there was still a war left to be fought.

The Covenant were pressing in on their lands and Cortana knew it wouldn't be long until they would strike again. The UNSC was doing all it could to stave off the enemy. Cortana was in charge of the base's security while John had been temporarily assigned to work with his former Blue Team until a replacement for Keyes was found.

Eight days ago, John and the rest of the Blue Team had received orders to infiltrate a secret Covenant base, code name: Unyeilding Hierophant. For the first time since the attack on Reach, Cortana had been unable to accompany John on a mission and, because of the long distance separating them, their neural link was practically useless.

Cortana used all of her hacking skills to do her best to monitor the Spartans' progress, but there were times when he and his team had fallen completely off the grid. Finally, eleven hours ago, she had received a comm transmission from a very tired – but alive! – John, telling they were on their way back to Cairo.

He and the others had arrived on base several hours ago. Immediately, they had been ordered to to relay their mission reports to Lord Hood. Cortana had passed the time by working on the Mark VI armor for John.

She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "If it's your after-action report, don't bother giving it to me. I read it as you transmitted it to High Command," she replied.

"It's not." He approached her desk with his hands behind his back. Then he reached forward and placed a small package next to an empty coffee cup.

Cortana glanced at the bag before her head shot up, her eyes widened, and she gazed at John in disbelief. A trace of a smile curved his lips. "This is coffee. Real coffee."

"It is." His voice was laced was something unusual: amusement.

That didn't stop Cortana from from grabbing the bag and pressing it to her nose. She inhaled deeply, savoring the bitter scent of the beans. Coffee from actual coffee beans rather than the artificial coffee crystals that the UNSC had been forced to use was extremely rare. And yet she held two precious pounds in her hands.

She reluctantly set down the bag as she looked at John. "Tell me you didn't kill a Covenant commander just to intercept his delivery of coffee."

"No. This was a thank you gift from Admiral Jackson for finding his daughter during the mission."

She leaned back in her chair, appraising him suspiciously. "And he just happened to give you coffee?"

The amusement fell off his face. Suddenly, he looked extremely awkward.

Gotcha.

"John?"

He fidgeted slightly. "I might have mentioned something about wanting to bring some back to base."

Jackson's coffee stash was legendary amongst the UNSC so it was no surprise that John knew he could ask for it, but it still left the question, "Why?"

He looked her directly in her eye. "You deserve something for your actions at the Halo Installation."

Finally, she understood what he was thinking. The award ceremony, which was scheduled to take place in two days, had left John uncharacteristically bothered. "You're still upset about that, huh?"

"Cortana, you stopped me from activating Halo," he replied as if that was enough of an answer. "You should be at the ceremony, too."

"I will be there," she countered. She would not allow herself to feel flustered at John's advocacy for her.

He scowled. "You know what I mean."

Of course she did. For not being very verbose, John had been quite vocal about the necessity of including Cortana during the ceremony. High Command's response had been direct and unequivocal; there was no need to acknowledge Cortana because she did exactly what she was programmed to do.

"Don't worry about it, John. AIs, even ones that save the fate of the planet, aren't technically soldiers, or humans from ONI's point of view, so I can't get any of those shiny medals you seem so fond of. Besides, " she nodded towards the bag of coffee beans, "I've got everything I could possibly want."

John didn't seem too convinced. "Cortana-"

Without allowing her subroutines to stop her, she stood up. She knew that there were always going to be some people in High Command who saw her as nothing more than a machine.

"It's enough that you want me to be there," she whispered. Then, as if it was the most natural thing to do, she stood on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. The warmth of his skin caressed her lips. She allowed her eyelids to flutter closed for two heartbeats before pulling away.

There was nothing significant about the kiss, she told herself. It was a friendly gesture that conveyed her appreciation more than words ever could.

That was all.

It didn't explain her elevated heart rate or the sudden fluttering in her stomach, though.

She met his stunned expression without fear. A faint, but distinct blush colored his cheeks.

He said nothing for several seconds as he searched her face. Finally, the shock faded and the faint smile that he had walked in with appeared again. "Are you sure your feelings aren't anything personal? Because I thought they were only about the coffee," he rumbled, referring to a simpler time before betrayal and despair clouded their outlook on the war.

She allowed herself a grin as they stepped back, thinning but not breaking the tantalizing pull between them. She'd missed this. She'd missed him. "You caught me." She nodded towards the bag. "When I convince myself to crack open the bag, I'll let you know. The least I can do is offer you a cup."

"You don't owe me anything," he said gently.

Maybe not, but Cortana couldn't think of anyone she would rather share it with. "I know that, John," she said sincerely.

He considered her for a moment, and then nodded. "No sugar."

"No sugar," she repeated.

He nodded once more and headed for the door.

Before he reached it, she called, she called, "And John?"

He stopped and swiveled around to face Cortana, giving her a questioning glance.

An impish smile passed over her lips. "You're quite handsome when you're blushing."