Sydney, Australia was one of the greatest examples of human tenacity. One of Earth's oldest standing cities, it had faced certain destruction more than a dozen times over the centuries - not the least of which having occurred when it was nearly leveled during the Covenant invasion of Earth in 2552. Each time, the entire city was rebuilt from its very foundations. Now, not even five years after the end of the Human-Covenant War, the city was a thriving metropolis once more.
The streets bustled with people going about their daily lives. The citizens strode with purpose and confidence, disregarding the sweltering summer heat. So rushed and hurried was the life of the citizens of Sydney that the majority of them entirely ignored the unnaturally large pair that strode amongst them.
Linda-058 watched the busy Australian citizens rush by her with a bemused smirk. Behind her, John-117 walked with guarded steps. The legendary Master Chief was undoubtedly uncomfortable in the civilian environment, as a single glance in his direction would clearly prove. Still, he dutifully followed along behind her.
Blue Team had been called to Sydney to give a full personal debriefing to the members of HIGHCOM. Following their debriefing, the Spartans were provided with civilian clothing and told to take the day off. When they hesitated to accept the suggestion, Lord Terrence Hood went so far as to give them a direct order to, "Go out and buy yourselves an ice cream cone for goodness' sake!" as the Admiral had put it.
And so, true to their orders, Blue Team set out to buy ice cream. When they realized they had no idea where to look, Fred offered up a competitive solution - split into pairs, and whichever group found the best ice cream won.
Now, fifteen minutes later, Linda was finally starting to feel confident. She had a target. A street ice cream vendor two blocks to the north, loudly boasting about having the best ice cream in the city. However, her partner in the race was lagging behind.
The sniper impatiently looked back only to find John still staring, trying his best to keep out of everyone else's way. She stepped back to his side, tentatively reaching out to grab the man by the wrist. "Come on," she said gently. "If we lose this race, Kelly will never let us hear the end of it."
John looked around, more unsure than Linda had ever seen him. For a man who was so confident and at ease in combat, he looked like a lost puppy in a non-threatening crowd. Linda let her hand slip down and grab John's. When he felt her fingers entwine within his own, a soft smile crossed the team leader's lips. He let her pull him along through the crowd toward the street vendor.
Soon they each held a cone of dripping ice cream. In the intense Australian heat, it only took a matter of minutes before Linda was wearing more ice cream than she had managed to eat.
"So, what do you think?" John asked, working his way through his own fast-melting cone. "Best in the city?"
Linda looked over her hand somewhat distastefully. "A little sticky for my blood," she said honestly. "But the flavor is fantastic." She turned her gaze from her own hand to John, and couldn't help but laugh when she found him with a large drip of melted ice cream on the tip of his nose. She reached out with one finger to wipe the offending vanilla from his face, showing it to him and earning a bashful grin.
His grin grew somewhat more confident when he said, "You've got some on your face, too. Here, I'll get it for you." Then he leaned in close and gently pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth.
Linda's eyes closed on instinct as she relished the brief contact even in the heat of the day. Then her eyes snapped back open and her cheeks turned a dark shade of red when she heard a low whistle from behind her accompanied by Fred's familiar voice saying, "I should have known better than to leave you two alone."
The sniper whipped around to face her other teammates, hoping that the flush of the hot day would be enough to cover her blush. She searched for something snarky to retort, but found herself at a loss for words.
John answered in her stead. "You're just jealous that we found the 'Best Cone in Sydney,'" he said smugly, gesturing to the sign from which he was quoting directly. "Whatever you two found must have paled in comparison."
"We couldn't find any ice cream," Kelly replied. "We got slushies instead."
Linda grinned wolfishly. Though Kelly had tried to come across as nonchalant, it was clear that losing in a competition as inconsequential as the hunt for ice cream was frustrating to both her and Fred.
"So let me wager a guess," John said slowly, tapping his chin in thought. "One of you got a blue slushy and the other got red?"
Fred nodded, his eyes wide in surprise. "That's one heck of a guess, Chief. How'd you come by that?"
"Nothing, really," John replied in a deceptively casual tone. "I just happened to notice both of your tongues were purple."
Now Fred and Kelly's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "I should have known better than to leave you two alone," Linda echoed impishly. Then she grabbed John's hand again and quickly turned, enmeshing them both in the crowd before either of their teammates had a chance to respond.