Greetings, viewers.
A few things before we kick this off: First off, thank you guys for the support. It means a lot to me when you favorite this story and leave comments. I'm always eager to show you my writing skills and ideas.
Second, due to the nature of my job, I apologize for not getting these chapters off in a timely manner. I always try to make these chapters of the best quality for you and sometimes this means it takes a while to write. I hope you guys can forgive me.
Finally, this is the longest chapter I have written so far. This seems to be a trend, doesn't it? Each chapter seems to get longer than the last and it feels like it takes longer for them to come out.
DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains a sex scene, the very first one I've ever written and the primary reason why this story will stay rated M. It is located after the third line break. I have no idea if I'll end up writing any more of these in the future, but I'm hoping you guys enjoy this one at the very least. I am by no means an expert in the art of writing sex or erotica, so please go easy on my in this department.
Reunion
Warning klaxons continued to blare, illuminating the dark hallway every once in a while in an ominous red glow. Agent Texas, for her part, paid them no mind as she continued sprinting down the hallway, her arms pumping back and forth.
Only a few minutes ago, the Mother of Invention had taken a hit by something, a result of Agent York's making, reducing power in a number of subsystems, lighting in parts of the frigate included. And a minute after that, she'd felt the ship's artificial gravity go out as well, it being the only reason she'd been able to escape the Scorpion tank that had nearly killed her.
Now she was able to proceed unimpeded, most of the Project's personnel too busy flailing around desperately trying to grab hold of something to pay her any mind. Her mag-boots kept her from receiving the same fate.
Where she needed to go was simple: the bridge. From there, she could find the hard drive they had put Alpha into, where they had put Leonard into. Hopefully, she could get to him before something truly terrible happened to him. Hopefully, it wasn't too late.
It was when she rounded the corner to the hall just outside of the bridge that she was met with her final obstacle: Agent Carolina. Standing exactly opposite of her, the cyan Freelancer crouched at the ready, fully prepared to spring into action. "Don't even think about it," she threatened.
So that's how it was going to be. "Don't try to stop me," Tex shot back. Wasting no time, she ran forward and as predicted, Carolina rushed to meet her.
The opposing Freelancers clashed, Tex moving for a gut punch while Carolina jumped off a nearby wall and threw a kick out. Both struck each other simultaneously. The kick sent Tex to the ceiling while Carolina landed on her back on the floor. Both immediately got back on their feet and continued to fight.
The cyan Freelancer proved to be slightly faster, kicking out at her opponent again. Tex was ready for her though, and grabbed her foot, attempting to twist it away. In response, Carolina tried kicking again. This time, Tex blocked the blow, not even attempting to grab. Instead, she countered with a kick of her own. Unfortunately, being upside down made it easier to telegraph her moves, and her opponent capitalized on it by blocking.
Back and forth they jabbed and punched one another before Carolina decided to pull away, backflipping to one of the side walls. Tex was having none of it, however, and lunged at her. The punch missed and Carolina jumped off the wall to avoid her. As a reward, a single kick landed squarely on her back.
Feeling her adrenaline pumping, or whatever equivalent there was given her body, she lunged at Carolina again, who was unable to move out of the way in time. They crashed together into the door that led to the Mother of Invention's bridge and failed to stop their momentum. The female Freelancers sailed through the air before landing near the front, Carolina standing one of the railings while Tex was on the floating door, its steel frame having slammed into the Plexiglas with enough force to crack it. Once again they stood facing each other, looking upside down from each other's perspectives.
"Give it up, Carolina," Tex told her.
"Never," Carolina gritted through her teeth in response. "I can beat you."
Jesus Christ, was this what this whole fight was about? The Black Freelancer felt herself getting more irritated by the young redhead's antics. She began backflipping away from her, each action emphasizing her words. "No. You. Can't!" At the final word, she launched herself away from the door, pushing it towards Carolina. To her credit, the other Freelancer merely jumped to the side.
Once they had both landed on the glass they continued fighting, Tex throwing out punches against Carolina's kicks. Unfortunately, one of Carolina's kicks left her dangerously exposed, and, remembering at least some of her advanced training, Tex ducked under her guard, snaked behind her back, and grabbed her waist before lifting her up and suplexing her into the glass, adding additional cracks to it.
Tex rolled back to her feet, still on the glass, while Carolina continued to float in the air. She really didn't want to have to kill the kid. She liked her, she had spirit. If it weren't for who she was, and what the Director told her, maybe they could've been good friends instead of enemies. Yet here they were, facing off against one another. "You can't win, Carolina," she told her opponent once more. This time, however, she made an offer. "But you can come with me."
Too late, the both of them felt the ship shudder and shake as it rapidly descended to an unknown planet. Knowing she had little time, Tex jumped up and away from the front of the bridge. If she could just grab onto something, maybe she'd survive the crash. She briefly considered grabbing Carolina as well, but she had a feeling the cyan Freelancer would just fight her again.
The ship scrapped and screamed as it finally landed, dragging across the ground. Its hull left a massive fissure in the ground from where its body had tried to stop. The mountainside caught it, stopping it before it was able to get far. The sudden jolt, however, was enough to send both Freelancers flying forward, Tex crashing into the bridge's forward console with a hard crunch and Carolina sailing into the broken Plexiglas, shattering it wholesale, and continuing beyond.
When the ship finally stopped Tex pushed herself to her feet, quickly checking to see if she had broken anything important. Seeing that she was fine and that the console she'd hit was still functional, the Freelancer moved to one of the keypads and reached out to it. She felt herself slipping out of her body, still a very new concept for her, and into the computer.
Mentally, she saw herself flying throughout the Mother of Invention's database, flitting past countless rows of storage and data in an instant. She went past the Project's mission files, the library of calculations and statistics of its personnel, even the collection of profiles and psych evaluations that belonged to the Freelancers themselves. Tex wasn't here for any of those things. She was here for Alpha.
She was doing this for Church.
Eventually she found what she had needed: a greybox, almost like a prison, made specifically for A.I., and there was only one A.I. that it could've been for. Him.
She felt what was the closest thing to her heart beat a little faster as she approached. How long had he been in there? What had they done to him? Would he recognize what was happening to him? Would he recognize her?
Tex stepped through the breach, expecting to see a broken shell of the man she was supposed to protect, the man she loved.
There was no one inside.
"Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing through cold, expansive box. "Church?"
She was met with silence.
No, she thought to herself. This can't be right. He's supposed to be here.
"Church?" she tried again. "You in here?"
Once again she was met with silence.
Her mind began to race, and a small sense of panic began gripping her. He really wasn't here. That couldn't be, shouldn't be. The Director still needed him, was still torturing him, breaking him apart, squeezing every last bit of use out of him. He couldn't possibly be dead already.
Could he?
"Tex!" she heard someone call out. Allison turned her head, searching for the source. That voice, it was definitely him. But she still couldn't find him.
"Tex!" he called out again. It was at that moment that she realized that the voice wasn't coming from the data streams. She was hearing him with her actual ears.
As quickly as she could, she surged out of the computer, pushing past all of the firewalls and safety precautions with haste.
She felt herself return to her robotic body and drew her hand away from the console, looking up. It felt like she'd been in there for several minutes, maybe even hours, but when she looked at her mission clock she'd found it had only been a few seconds. The power of being an Artificial Intelligence, she surmised.
Tex looked out the shattered window, where Carolina had flown, and saw three figures in the distance, one of them closer to the ship, but slowly approaching the other two who were next to a cliff. Thoughtlessly, she jumped out the window, bounding down the side of the ship with as much speed as she could muster.
As she got closer, she saw, much to her horror, that it was Agent Maine, now the Meta, approaching the other two, one of whom she recognized as Carolina. And right next to her was Church.
She had no time to question how or why he was outside next to her before she saw Carolina getting lifted up by Maine, one of his hands gripping her throat while the other reached behind her neck.
She heard Carolina scream in pain as he pulled the twin A.I. chips out of her. Without another thought, the white Freelancer threw her over the cliff. "Noooo!" Tex cried out.
But it was too late. Carolina was gone, just as she had remembered it.
Instead of stopping to face her, however, Maine pocketed his prizes and moved over to Church.
Tex's brows scrunched in confusion. She didn't remember Church being in a body, or outside the Mother of Invention, not in this memory. But that didn't stop the whole situation from feeling any less real.
She felt her heart race, and doubled her efforts, only to see the burly Freelancer lift up the cobalt A.I. the exact same way. Church was struggling against his captor, futilely at that.
Instead of reaching for the back of his captive's neck, the thing that had once been Maine drew a large teardrop-shaped metal object from his back, a menacing spike protruding from one end. It was then that she had realized it was the memory storage unit that had been used to keep Epsilon locked up, that Meta and Wash had tried using against her all those years ago.
"Tex," he groaned weakly, looking at her.
Tex lurched to a halt and watched in horror as Meta shoved the spike through Church's visor. His body spasmed violently as the machine sucked him forcefully out of his body before suddenly going limp.
Finished with his task, Meta removed the spike from the robot's head and casually threw it off the edge as well, just as casually as he threw off Carolina's body a few seconds ago. He turned to her, visor gleaming in the sunlight, the instrument of his work still at the ready.
Tex could do nothing but stand, frozen in shock, as she saw the body of the A.I., no, the man, she loved was trapped in a cold, lonely prison of misery. She couldn't move. She could hardly breathe. She couldn't… couldn't…
Location: UNSC All or Nothing Barracks, Orbiting Praetor
Time: 0425 Hours
Date: June 24, 2557
Tex bolted upright in her bed, gasping for air. She could feel sweat on her brow. Must've been stressing from the memory. Or was it a dream? She didn't know. Right now she didn't care.
She let out a shuddered breath, closing her eyes. Get a grip, Allison, she told herself. It was just a dream, it wasn't real. It just felt real. The Freelancer brushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear.
Opening her eyes, she surveyed her environment, reorienting herself, reminding herself where she was. The room was dark, but she recognized that she was in her bedroom on the All or Nothing, her armor and armor station off to the side. It was rather spartan in furnishings, just a desk and computer terminal facing opposite her, a small closet in one of the corners for any civilian clothes she wore, and a weapon rack for the small armory of weapons she found herself using. She usually didn't get attached to any particular weapon, but it gave her a place to put them if she chose to bring any back with her. She could make the outline of her Battle Rifle and SMGs. She made sure to return all of her ammo once they'd come back before bringing them with her.
She looked to her right, a nightstand with a digital clock resting on it along with her knife. It was almost 4:30 in the morning. Figures. It was usually an hour or two before she normally got up, the Freelancer training regime usually kicking in on most days. Today, however, after all the work they'd done over the last week, she didn't really want to.
Tex felt a slight breeze hit her from one of the nearby vents and pulled the covers over her, only now realizing she was naked. At the same time, she'd felt a warm mass to her side. She looked over and saw Leonard, lying down naked, back facing her.
The Freelancer smiled warmly at the man beside her. Now she remembered last night, why she where she was…
Location: UNSC All or Nothing Hangar, Orbiting Praetor
Time: 1603 Hours
Date: June 23, 2557
The Pelican dropships came through the hangar doors, one coming down in a single fluid motion and the other lowering itself a bit more hesitantly, still shaking from prior damage. Hangar crews rushed out to meet them, seeing one of the ships was in dire need of repair. Among them was Doc and Junior, both with their own reasons for seeing the returning teams.
Tex was the first one out of the less damaged Pelican, weapons magnetized to her thighs and back. Wash, Carolina, and Illinois came out behind her, their own weapons stored safely away on their bodies. She turned just in time to see Four's Pelican land and begin opening its rear compartment doors. She was already moving towards it as its occupants disembarked.
She could see that the Reds and Blues had made it, all without any serious injury. That didn't stop Doc from overseeing them, however, keeping his chipper attitude as his did his job ushering them out of the ship.
It was at that point that she saw Leonard, shoulders slumped from exhaustion. That didn't deter her any less as she made her way over. In fact, it only encouraged her.
Her stride slowed as his visor came up to hers, now only a handful of steps away from each other. They stared at each other awkwardly, the sounds of the others forgotten in the background. For now, it was just the two of them.
"Hey," she said, trying to keep her cool.
"Hey," he said back, arms hanging limply at his sides.
They continued to stand there awkwardly for what felt like a solid minute. Neither of them knew what to do from here. What was there to do, really? They had just come back from a mission where, for several days, they both had thought the other had died. Again. Only this time it had stung more considering they had just rekindled their relationship.
Shit, just what was she supposed to do? She could punch, kick, shoot, and blow shit up with proficiency. But emotions? Feelings? That was beyond her skillset.
Seeing that this was getting them nowhere, Tex took a tentative step forward. Then another one. And another one. Eventually, she was able to get within arm's distance of him. Before he could ask, she placed her arms around him and pulled him close.
"I missed you," she said softly into his shoulder.
Church didn't question why she had started out like this. Instead, for his part, he simply wrapped his arms around her in return and squeezed back. "I missed you too."
They stayed like that for some time, neither one willing to pull away. Church was a good half-a-head taller than her, and she considered herself pretty tall for a woman. Most men still ended up beating her in that department, for whatever good it did them. Despite the armor, they both felt comfortable around each other, fitting together perfectly like two parts of a mold. It was like they were made for each other.
Their moment of peace was shattered when someone loudly exclaimed. They both raised their heads to find Doc gawking over their newest member.
"I need to perform a full physical on you. Right. Now," he told Illinois.
"Doc, would you just calm down already?" Wash told the purple medic. "He hasn't even taken a dozen steps off the ship and you're already making demands of him."
Doc glared at the lead Freelancer, hands on his hips. "As the Chief Medical Officer for not only this team, but the entire ship as well, I must make sure every new arrival meets the physical and medical standards set out by the UNSC. No exceptions."
Before Wash could protest further, Illinois held up a hand. "It's alright, Wash. I'll do whatever the Doc needs to satisfy him." He gestured to the medic. "By all means, lead on."
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice that Church and Tex were still holding each other, their attention still on Doc and Illinois. They separated once more as the group began to disperse, hoping to not catch any more attention than they needed.
"Debrief is tomorrow at 0930, people," Wash called out before anyone was able to leave the vicinity. "Go get some rest. You all look you need it."
It was at that point that Church and Tex looked at each other, seeing just how bruised and dented their armor was. Leonard had a number of small dents across his chest and shoulder-pad, and one that was especially bad around his back where he'd taken the glancing blow from a shotgun. Tex, meanwhile, still had dirt and snowy residue along her gauntlets and legs as well as a few small dents on her breastplate where some rifle rounds had partially made it through her shields a few hours ago.
"Meet me at my room in an hour," she told him coolly before swiftly departing, not even sparing him a second glance.
Church let out a wispy "yes, ma'am" before leaving as well, taking a good guess as to why she wanted him. He chose to take an alternate route to his room as to not appear conspicuous to the others of their intentions.
The cobalt sim trooper was at her door as instructed, an hour later. He'd had enough time to get out his armor, shower, shave, and eat. Now he was in comfortable clothing: a blue shirt and cargo pants.
He knocked on her door and, to his surprise, it slid open almost immediately. Behind it stood Tex, unarmed, and wearing nothing but a loose, black tank-top and some grey sweatpants. She was barefoot, her feet planted firmly on the cold metal ground. Her red hair was draped over her shoulders, all loose and wavy, the way she always seemed to like when not scrunched up in her helmet. She honestly looked very relaxed. It was nice to see for a change.
Before Church could get a word in on her appearance, she immediately closed the gap between them, grabbing his shirt, and put her lips against his. She held the kiss for several seconds, her hands snaking from his shirt to around his neck. After a while, however, they eventually had to part for air. Neither one of them were willing to move further away from each other than needed.
To say he was surprised was a bit of an understatement. While he was expecting sex or something of that nature from her, he wasn't expecting her to lead with a kiss, a passionate one at that.
He didn't have time to think or ask why she started off this way before feeling her pull him into the room. He did not resist.
Church heard the door slide closed behind him, but continued to focus his attention on her, this woman that he loved so much. Eventually they stopped as they reached the bed, a modest queen-sized bed. Honestly, it was better than what most soldiers, most people, on a ship got. They all got stuck with one-man cots. Tex and Church did not. Maybe it was Wash's doing, letting them have it. Or maybe it was Sheila's. Maybe the computer knew that it was possible they would be sleeping together and just accommodated for that possibility. Either way, he was thankful.
He slipped out of his shoes as they stepped away from the door, removing his socks with his feet as well.
As one, they fell onto the covers, Church over Tex. He waited to see when she would flip him over, because she always had in the past. They had both established long ago that she was usually a top and he was a bottom. She liked to take control of the situation, liked being above him so he could bask in her presence. She liked loving him and feeling loved at the same time. It didn't matter to him if he was top or bottom, as long as she was happy.
But the flip never came. Instead she continued her menstruations, her nimble fingers traveling across his shoulders and through his hair. There was something different about this session, but he didn't really know what. He hoped she would tell him in due time.
The eventually managed to inch their way across the bed, kissing as they went, a moan escaping their lips every once in a while, up until her head was laying across one of the pillows. Her hair fell behind her head, splayed out like a sunset before a canvas.
God, she is beautiful, Church thought. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The former A.I. could feel the tightening in his pants now, his throbbing member urging to be free.
Thankfully, Tex was one step ahead of him. She moved her hands down to unfasten his pants. Once the button snapped off, the rest came of easily. He felt her push his pants off his hips. He did the rest by shimmying the rest of the way out, kicking them onto the floor.
His shirt soon came after. They both sat up and collectively removed his shirt, revealing his lean but muscular chest. His skin was of a lighter pigment, a sort of geeky paleness that Tex found sexy for one reason or another. He didn't have a whole ton of muscle, not enough to become any sort of model, but it was good enough for her. And if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for him.
Now it was her turn. Between kisses and gentle touches, they removed her clothes as well. The tank-top came off first. In one swift motion, Tex grabbed the bottom with one hand and lifted it over her head, throwing it off to the side along with Church's clothes. Her and lifted it over her head, throwing it off to the side along with Church's clothes. Her sweatpants slipped off her hips gently, as if she had anticipated they would come off all along. He moved to the side briefly while she kicked them off the rest of the way, shoving them off the bed. Now it was just their underwear left, Church in a set of plain grey boxers and Tex wearing a simple black bra and panties.
In stark contrast to Church, Tex's body was muscular. She maintained an hourglass figure. She was also lean, but her muscles were toned. Compared to him, she had abs and could easily pass off as an MMA fighter. She had crushed skulls and shattered mountains with those muscles.
And she was all his.
They stared at each other in rapt fascination, or maybe it was awe. "Sometimes I still can't believe you're the woman of my dreams," Leonard said first, drinking in the sight of her.
She smirked. "You're such a sap," Allison said in return, cupping his cheek with one of her hands.
"But you love it," Church replied cockily and moved his head down to kiss her neck.
Tex felt goosebumps when he kissed her. "Yeah," she breathed out. "I guess I do."
Church continued to trail kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder. She moaned as he pleased her. When he got to her bra, he moved one of his hands behind her back, lifting her up slightly. The elastic snapped off easily, his fingers working off of muscle memory.
Shrugging off the straps, she threw the bra away to a different part of the room, exposing her breasts. They weren't particularly big, but they weren't small either. They were just right in his eyes. Now unimpeded, he kissed his way down her body, across her shoulder, along her breasts, down to her hips.
Seeing his intentions, Tex reached down to her panties. Just like her bra, she stripped off the black undergarment, kicking them off her feet and onto the floor. Now she was left bare before him. The Freelancer had multiple faded scars and wounds, places that had once been bruises and cuts, where she had only barely been able to dodge or escape death. Church said a long time ago that she had been a representation of failure to the Director, that victory was something she'd never be able to achieve. What a load of bullshit that was. Each scar was a victory in and of itself, a testament that she had survived. Maybe it was her getting an actual body, made of flesh and bone, that undid all of that. Maybe her bad luck streak had never existed in the first place.
Or maybe that bad luck was just winding up, waiting for her to let her guard down, before striking and taking something from her again. In the back of her mind she was always afraid of the latter.
Church's kissed continued to the clit between her legs, where he brushed his tongue lightly against the outside. He didn't press further, though, instead kissing and licking the inside of her legs.
Tex mewled longingly at the teasing with his tongue. Of course he wasn't going to satisfy her with his mouth just yet. Fucking jackass.
He continued to kiss the area between her legs, occasionally flicking his tongue out at the edge of her vagina. The urge to release was continuing to grow all the while, but she held it in. She wouldn't give into the satisfaction just yet.
"Leonard," she whispered his name, head pressed against the pillow.
"Hm?" he let out, deliberately not choosing to proceed with the task.
"Please," she continued to whisper. "I need you."
"Oh, you need me?" She could hear the teasing in his voice. Of course he was going to tease her. Here she was, Agent Texas, number one badass of Project Freelancer, lying in bed with him. And she was completely at his mercy.
Two could play at that game. "Yes," she hissed out, bringing her hands around his head. Her hands grasped his hair, and she shoved his head back to her cunt. "Now eat up."
Church let out a muffled "Yes, ma'am" before doing as he was told. Tex let in a sharp breath and felt her hips buck as his tongue finally penetrated her nether regions. Her hands fell away from his head, grasping at the sheets instead to find some sort of purchase for the wild ride his mouth was giving her.
After what felt hours, she couldn't hold back any longer and felt herself cum into his mouth and down his throat, which he swallowed ravenously. God, she'd forgotten how good that felt. Leonard always did know how to please her just right. Sure, there had been other guys that she'd slept with, at least that's what her memories told her, but none of them had satisfied her in a way that was quite like him.
Once she was empty, her muscles relaxed, and she let out a sigh. Church raised his head up from her crotch, licking his lips. She looked back down at him, a small smile on her face.
"You enjoy that?" she asked, her tone teasing.
"Yeah," he said. "But I'm gonna enjoy this even more."
Before she could ask what he was talking about, he shuffled his way up her body and pressed his lips to hers. There was still a little bit of her cum still on his lips, but she didn't care at that point. Contrary to the way she usually snarked when around him, she loved his kisses. Just like everything else about him, as abrasive and stupid he could be at times, she wouldn't trade any of it for the world.
Tex felt his penis, now fully erect, brushing against the inside of her leg. In response, she opened her legs up to him, as if inviting him into her. He got the hint.
She breath hitched as his shaft slid right into place, the familiar sting of pain quickly being replaced with pleasure. Jolts of what felt like lightning flowed through her as he began his thrusts, keeping his initial tempo slow. He liked to savor the first few thrusts, like a person would savor food or a particularly relaxing bath. And she did too.
"Leonard," she called his name, her eyes shut closed as to allow herself to feel his presence inside of her.
"Allison," he groaned in response. He kissed her shoulder and closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in sensation.
Slowly, but surely, his tempo began to increase. Tex wrapped her legs around his waist as his pace climbed, the presence of his cock slowly overwhelming her senses.
The back of her head pressed against the pillow as he continued to ride her, his thrusts reaching a point where she would be at her peak soon. Their breathing got heavier as the thrusts got faster, both of them exhaling into each other's shoulders.
Finally, after what had felt like an eternity of bliss, she felt him climax first, emptying himself into her in a single grand finale. Simultaneously, Tex felt herself doing the same, her body reacting immediately to the feeling of Church's seed entering her with a climax of her own.
Neither of them really knew just how thoroughly their bodies had been created when the Director did what he did, but they had both assumed that their sperm and eggs were blanks. Because what was honestly the point of allowing her to get pregnant? It's not like he would've wanted his creations to have children of their own, without his specific input.
When they finished, Tex unwrapped her legs from around his waist and allowed him to get off of her. He fell next to her, breathing heavily. Sweat lined his brow from exertion. She imagined she looked the same. She certainly felt the same.
She looked at him. He had a dreamy look in his eyes, a smile on his lips. "You enjoy that?"
Tex had a dumb smile on her lips as well. "Yeah," was all she said.
"Guess I'm just that good," he continued, cockiness in his voice.
She punched him lightly in the shoulder, laughing. "You're such an asshole."
"But you love it," Church said, pressing himself up next to her. He reached down and pulled the covers over their naked bodies before wrapping one of his arms around her waist.
She sighed and breathed into his post-coital scent. Tex enjoyed the smell of him just as much as the smell of a good workout or a successful mission. It smelled… satifying.
As they drifted off to sleep, Tex reminisced on the events over the lasts few days. She had gone from telling him that she loved him to thinking he'd been dead and back to being alive. She didn't think anything had been able to set her on edge in her entire life. But nearly losing him, that had raised it to a whole new bar. The fear, the dread of thinking he'd died, it had somehow hurt more than when she saw the state he was in when she and York attacked the Mother of Invention. She wasn't sure she could live with that feeling again, not a third time. Maybe he'd felt the same way when she left him at Blood Gulch and died to Andy all those years ago.
"Church?" she asked, just as she was about to fall asleep.
"Yeah, Tex?" he asked tiredly.
"I love you."
The former A.I. paused for a second. It was still taking time getting used to hearing her say that to him, but he was warming up to the idea more and more. He looked down at Tex, head buried in his chest. Her eyes were closed and her breath was steady. But she looked content, at ease. She deserves it, he thought.
"I love you too," he said back.
Tex gave Church a dreamy smile as the memories of the night before came back to her. It had been satisfying in a way that previous times they'd had sex hadn't for some reason. Maybe it something to do with the fact that they'd been separated for a long time. Or maybe it was because he'd practically come back from the dead and she needed to really feel he was here, with her.
To think he had been out there, alone, in enemy territory, for several days. It was a miracle he hadn't been killed in that time either. He was lucky Illinois showed up to help him.
Illinois. Tex hadn't seen the enigmatic Freelancer in years, since before the Project officially fell and everything went to shit. She wondered how he was doing now. And he did imply that he was with Church for at least some of the time he'd been alone, so she should probably go thank him sooner or later.
She looked at the digital clock on the nightstand by her bed. 4:35 A.M.. The other Freelancer was probably awake at this time. He was usually up early, especially on a mission. Part of her wanted to go back to sleep with Church, but part of her also wanted to go thank Illinois for keeping him safe. And there was still the fact that they had a lot to catch up on since they'd last seen each other.
Silently, Allison slipped out of bed, away from the warmth of Leonard Church, and went to find her clothes. They were right where she'd left them the night before, scattered haphazardly along the floor with his. Moving like an assassin, she scooped up her clothes one by one, placing them back on her in rapid succession. Once she had her wardrobe complete, she found a pair of dark grey sneakers, ones she'd use in conjunction with her civilian clothes, and slipped them over her feet.
Before leaving the room, she walked back over to Church, still sound asleep, and pulled the covers over him again. He curled into them, content to lay there once more.
Satisfied, she left through the door and began to wander down the hall.
If she was being honest with herself, she was both excited and nervous to finally get to talk with Illinois after so many years apart. Despite what many people thought, she was capable of making friends, and in the early months of her existence, he'd been there, looking after her, training her, informing her, and teaching her. What many people had forgotten about the original Allison was, despite her badassery, she'd still only been a Marine. Illinois was more than that and he taught her so. But there were still many questions surrounding the Freelancer for some reason. He'd rarely talk about his personal experience, and the few times he did were always to reinforce a point when he was teaching her.
But then, even after he left, just before Project Freelancer started taking a turn for the worse, he came back. When she and York had gone on the run, he showed up virtually out of the blue and assisted their evasion. He was the reason she'd been able to go back and see Church at Blood Gulch in the first place.
Several minutes of walking later, she found him at one of several lounging areas on the ship, still in his armor, sitting at a table, datapads and a computer arrayed before him. Of course he was there, looking up information. One of the few things she did know about him was that he was always absorbing information, learning new things and strategizing around them. It was, and always had, been his nature.
His helmet was off, placed on the table in front of him, weapons leaning against side, muzzles up. Illinois looked like he was of mixed ethnicity, with the tan skin and coarse short hair of a Pacific Islander, but the eyes and lips of a Caucasian. He kept his dark brown hair short, not skin-short like a trainee new to a military branch, but no longer than an inch in length.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said to her, eyes still on the datapad in his hand.
Any other individual would've been surprised at his immediate addressal. Tex wasn't. She knew that it was rather difficult sneaking up to him, even with some of the best stealth tech available. She never knew if he had some sort of sensor equipment helping him out or if it was just an innate sixth sense he had. He never revealed it to her.
"You're lucky I'm even up now," she replied dryly.
"Why?" he asked, not missing a beat. "Because you were sleeping with Epsilon?"
Tex narrowed her eyes at him. "That's none of your business. And his name is Leonard Church."
He held a hand up in surrender. "Alright, alright, fair enough." Content with his reading, he looked up at her with oak brown eyes, carefully placing the electronic on the table.
The female Freelancer took a seat opposite of him at the table. They sat in silence as they just looked at each other. Illinois's eyes subtly changed from focused to relaxed, allowing himself to be comfortable around her.
Several minutes seemed to pass before Tex finally broke the silence. "Where have you been?" she asked quietly.
Illinois drew in a breath before answering, as if preparing his answer prior. "Fighting in the war," he told her.
"But that was four years ago," she said to him. "You couldn't have found your way back to us back in that time?"
"I didn't know where you were," he told her truthfully. "And that's not the only thing that prevented me from coming back to you and the others."
Tex raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
The male Freelancer swallowed. "The duty of a Spartan is never truly done."
Her eyes widened at the sentence. "Are you telling me you're a-"
"Spartan?" he finished. "Yes. I was a Spartan long before I became a Freelancer. It's why I know so much about combat and warfare, why I was able to teach you all the things you know now."
"I'm not Beta, though," she told him. "You didn't teach me those things. You taught her."
Illinois cocked his head to the side. "You're not her?"
"No," Tex shook her head. "I was created from the mind of Epsilon, just as she was created from the mind of Alpha."
"Yet you sound and act like her," he pointed out. "And you also recognize me."
"Well," she said, "the reasons for that are complicated…"
Illinois nodded at her. "Go on."
Tex scoffed. "You wouldn't understand."
He chuckled at her. "I knew what Beta was long before she did. I know how to disassemble and maintain just about every human weapon, and I've been through over twenty years of armed conflict. And I know that you have only had this new body for a few years. Nice look, by the way. Try me."
Tex blow out a breath. Figures. "When I first came into existence, all I knew was how to fight and what I was to Church. I didn't know who or what I really was. I knew I was supposed to be his girlfriend and that I was some unstoppable badass. But that was it. I wanted to know more."
"And I imagine you eventually did," he filled in for her.
She nodded. "Yeah, I did. I was able to piece things together, first from the crashed Mother of Invention, then the container that Epsilon had been stored in. There were two things that eventually sealed the deal, that showed me what I needed to know."
"And those were…?" he questioned.
"A blackbox, still undamaged, back at the Freelancer main ground base, where an EMP had gone off that had killed almost all of the fragments, including Alpha and Beta. Inside of the blackbox were imprints of Alpha and Beta's memories."
Illinois nodded silently, seemingly absorbing the information without much trouble. "The other thing," she continued, "were the files and recordings of Allison, the original Allison. There was even a brain scan of her as part of psych eval from when she joined the Marines."
"How'd you obtain those?"
"Resources from Delta Force." Illinois looked impressed at her, nodding his head. "Once the UNSC found out about the whole shebang with the Director, they confiscated Project Freelancer's assets. Church and I were among them. However, we were also counted as living beings. Knowing that just about every other Freelancer had gone rogue or died, I made a choice. I was afraid they were going to do to Church what the Director had done to the Alpha. So I made a deal with them. I would work with whatever unit the UNSC and ONI wanted to put me into, and I would get to bring Church with me."
"And you were with them for four years," he surmised. This new information brough many things to light. It explains the slight changes in behavior he'd witnessed in the short time he'd seen her. Where Beta had been crass and rough around the edges, she also seemed more like an impression of a person, like what someone thought another person was like. Memory was a strange thing. Yes, it was capable of absorbing and retaining so much information about individual people, but human beings were extremely complicated by nature. A person's memory could never truly replicate an original copy, not in the way a computer could. Tex, both versions, were created from the mind of an A.I. who was based off a living human being. But recordings and brain scans, those could fill in gaps that Alpha and the Director never could.
"It sounds to me," he finally told her, "that you're still Tex. You're Beta and more."
She opened her mouth to protest, but Illinois held up a hand to silence her. "You say that you're not the Tex I remember, that you seem to be another person all together, a copy of a copy. But after explaining all the things you did, I don't believe that. I believe you are Allison the way that Church envisioned you. But you are also so much more than that. You have become more than what Alpha and the Director ever remembered about you. You remembered who you originally were and became your own person. You are Tex and Allison, just as much as your previous lives ever were. And you should continue to become what you want to be."
"And what is that?"
"Whatever you want think you should be. You can be Allison, Tex, Beta, or someone completely different. It's all about how you feel."
Tex sat in silence, trying to process his words. For a while, she had doubts of who she was supposed to be, what she was supposed to be. All she knew was that her purpose was to love Church and to be the revitalized version of the Director's dead wife. But the way Illinois said it, there was something about it that made her believe him.
A lightbulb popped in her head. Looking up at Illinois, she said, "I'm still Agent Texas and Allison. But I'm also more than that. I'm my own person. And I'll be a better person than them too."
The Freelancer opposite of her nodded, a smile of approval on his face. "I can already see that you are, if your recent interactions with Church and the others are anything to go by."
"Speaking of which," she told him, "I also wanted to thank you. For keeping him safe."
"It's no problem, Tex," he nodded to her.
They sat in content silence for another few short minutes, digesting each other's words. Illinois had learned many things about Tex over their conversations, but this took the cake. He was proud of what she had become and what she was continuing to become. He was happy for her, just as he'd been happy for the reignition of her relationship with Church.
On the inside, Tex found the whole situation ironic. For a long time, Sigma, the fragment that had started the whole mess that was the Meta, had been trying to achieve becoming fully human, with blood, sweat, and tears. Now, with just a physical body and some discoveries on her own, she may have finally achieved what Sigma set out to do: she became human. She certainly felt like she was one.
Finally, the silence was broken when Tex said, "You know, you still never answered my question."
"Where I've been?" he answered back. She nodded. He snorted. "A lot has happened since we parted ways. Even when the war was over, the fighting didn't stop. When the Covenant broke apart, a fraction survived and continued to cause trouble to the UNSC. Most people didn't know about this, but us Spartans did. We still had a job to protect humanity, one that has never truly stopped. We did as the UNSC needed, taking down bad guys and restoring peace where we could."
"However," he continued, drawing in a shuddered breath. "That changed for me a few months ago. Remember how I told you I had a partner a long time ago?" Tex nodded. "She died, killed on Vindictus IV. She was my best friend and, dare I say it, the love of my life."
Tex's heart clenched. She understood the feeling. She personally didn't know the woman Illinois was referring to, but she could understand the feeling nonetheless. She'd been created as a result of those feelings. "I'm sorry," she offered her condolences.
For a split second, there was a gleam in his eyes, like he was barely holding back tears. They went away as he looked at her, smiling. "Thank you," he said. He breathed through his nose and out his mouth, calming himself. "Anyway, her sudden death was able to make me think of things in a new perspective, things I'd never thought of before."
"What were those?" Tex asked.
"That I need to keep my friends and family close, to cherish them and care for them. I'm sure you've figured this out by now, but more often than not, they are more important than any mission objective. It's why I came back to you, and these sim troopers you've adopted as your family. York, C.T., the Twins, they're all dead." He gave her a sad smile. "Tex, you're one of the only friends I have left."
Tex honest didn't know what to say. She should say she felt flattered, but that somehow didn't seem enough, the level of trust he had in her. Only the Reds and Blues really trusted her to begin with and even then only Church trusted her with his life.
"It's okay," Illinois told her, looking away. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know-"
"Hey," she interrupted him, reaching out and taking one of his hands in her own. He looked up at her, a surprised look on his face. "I'm honored to be considered a friend to you, Illinois. I don't get that title from almost anyone else. You've met pretty much everyone that would call me such. And, just like them, I'll do what I have to do to protect you, to make sure you know that you're one of my friends."
A smile grew on his face. "Thank you, Allison."
To the untrained eye, it looked like they were having a quiet, romantic moment together. However, they both knew the truth. Illinois established long ago that he knew that Church was the only one for her, that it would tear them both apart if they had relationships with other people. He had no romantic feelings for her in turn, merely being the number one fan of their relationship, which she was perfectly content with. The love of his life was dead, and he wasn't ready to move on yet. But he could support the relationship of his friend.
To the very end.
When Tex returned to her room sometime later, she found Church had already woken up, gathering together some of his clothes. So far he only had his underwear and pants on, but he was getting ready to put his shirt on as she walked in.
He gave her a wary look, crossing his arms. "And where have you been?"
"Talking with Illinois," she said, "why?"
"Oh, no reason," he replied nonchalantly, "it's just that I thought you actually wanted to stay in a committed relationship with me for once."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean by that?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"You know exactly what I mean," he shot back at her. "Sneaking out as usual, sleeping with other guys, the same M.O. you've been doing for as long since forever."
"That's…" she trailed, trying to keep her calm in the face of his growing anger. "That's not me anymore, Church."
"Oh bullshit, it's not," he said right to her face. "It's what you've always done, Tex, for as long as I've known you."
"Well, it's not what I was doing this time. I'm never doing that to you again."
"How am I supposed to believe that?" he asked her. He stood up, getting up in her face, close enough to make out the hard lines on his face in detail. "Every time I expect you to stay by my side, you always seem to run off for God-knows whatever reason. How am I supposed to believe that you won't go run off with another jock and have casual sex with him too?"
Now Tex was glaring back at him. "'Casual sex'? Is that what you thought that was last night? Do you take me for a whore?"
"Well, your disappearance earlier this morning doesn't lend you any favors."
"I was just catching up with an old friend-"
"Oh, so that's what you call your old fuckbuddies now, huh?"
"Church…" she was growling now. Tex could take his insults and his snide, crude remarks, but she drew the line at insulting one of the few friends she had left. Especially in light of the recent things he'd told her.
"'Cause our relationship seems like a big joke to you again-"
Without warning, she shoved him back in force and he fell back onto her bed. "Shut up!" she was practically roaring at him now. Her hands were balled into fists and she had that look in her eye that indicated she was pretty much ready to kill him. "Do not ever insult Illinois like that to me! Not now, not ever! Understand?"
"Fine then, Allison," Church sneered as he sat up from where he was pushed, "please enlighten me as to who he is to you and why you went to talk to him at who-know-what time in the morning."
Drawing in a sharp breath, she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself before him. Blow out air, Tex opened her eyes and looked down at him. "Illinois," she explained, "is a good friend of mine back from the early days of my time at Project Freelancer. He taught me a lot of the things I know, from fighting to making decisions in the heat of combat. And he's even helped me out a few times, particularly after the Mother of Invention crashed when York and I had to go on the run."
"Okay," he said. "Even if I were to believe you, how am I supposed to know that you didn't have sex with him in that time?"
Tex chuckled darkly and that caught Church by surprise. "He established a long time ago that he wasn't interested in me sexually. Besides, if what he told me recently is true, then he knew I was an A.I. almost from the beginning. Also tells me he's not a technophile. And that he has boundaries when it comes to relationships. He's very sharp when it comes to things like that."
She felt her heartrate go down as she continued her explanation. "As for why I went to talk to him this morning, I wanted to thank him for keeping you safe and just catch up with him. We hadn't seen each other in over eight years."
"And yet you chose to get up early to do it instead of waiting later. He didn't even do that much."
"He did more than enough for me," she told him.
"Yeah, because keeping me babysat is the only thing you care about-"
"I thought you died down there!" she screamed at him. The Freelancer blinked, her eyes threatening to water. Shaking them away, she drew in a breath and sighed. Her shoulders slumped and she collapsed onto the bed next to him. Tex faced away from him, a sad look in her eyes. Her voice raised to little more than a whisper when she spoke again. "I thought you had died, just as I'd feared. I thought that I'd never be able to see you again, that the universe had yanked you away from me, just as it had so many times before."
Church honestly didn't know how to respond to the news. For perhaps the first time in his life, she sounded genuinely afraid. And not only was she afraid, but she was also afraid of what could've happened to him. This came as a massive shock to him, even more so than when she finally confessed that she loved him. Never in a million years did he believe Allison could show or say either of those things. He thought she'd always be the cold, sassy bitch that she was until the day he died. Now that he thought about it, maybe it's specifically because she thought it was the day she though he died that she let these emotions show.
He felt overwhelming guilt for the hurtful things he said to her just now. How could he have gone from having such trust and care for her to open hostility in the span of a few hours? Meanwhile, she was just trying to do better for him, to fix the things that made their relationship so disjointed in their past lives. How could he still be that selfish, insecure prick that he always loathed being, the things that made him the most like the Director?
Tentatively, he scooted closer to her as she hugged herself tightly, continuing to look away from him. Damn, she was closing herself off from him again. It's what she normally did when there were too may overwhelming feelings in her mind, a bad habit made as a result of a poor, abusive childhood.
Gingerly, he reached out, wanting to brush a strand of red hair over her ear, getting a better look at her face. She flinched away from his touch, hugging herself tighter. So, instead of beating around the bush, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close to him. Church felt her tense up at the immediate contact at first but quickly relaxed after as he hugged her.
She turned into him, burying her face in his chest. For a brief second, he thought he could feel tears falling on his chest, but he didn't bother to check. Instead, he said, "I'm sorry."
Tex said nothing, simply laying against him. He took that as a cue to keep apologizing. "I'm sorry for insulting your friend and misinterpreting the intention behind your actions this morning. I'm sorry for arguing with you and fighting you. And, most of all, I'm sorry for not trusting you and keeping your word."
They sat there silently when he was done, with the woman hearing his heartbeat and feeling his arms around her. "We've never been great at not fighting and trusting each other," she finally spoke.
"I know," he swallowed. "And I hate it. I hate it every time we argue and yell at each other. Yet it seems to be the only thing we know how to do well at times."
"It does," she agreed with him. Pulling back, she looked up into his green eyes. "But we can get better."
"At arguing with each other?" he questioned.
"No," she chuckled, hitting him half-heartedly in the chest. He smiled at her, happy that he managed to lift her spirits up a little. "I mean at avoiding having these stupid arguments in the future."
"Speak for yourself," he teased her. "You've been getting better at showing your emotions to me than I have to you and you've been trying to talk things out rather than immediately go into insults and snide comments. I, on the other hand, am still acting like that selfish asshole that I've always been."
Tex shifted her position slightly on the bed so she was facing him a bit more. His arms slackened as she moved, but he still kept his hands on her waist. "I know," she affirmed him. "But you can be better than that, Leonard."
Church quirked an eyebrow. "You really believe so?"
"I know so," she told him. "If I can get you from being the worst shot I've ever seen to being someone I can trust to watch my back with a sniper, then I can believe you can change the way you act too."
Church smiled at her. If she believed in him and believed in their relationship, maybe there was hope for him after all. "Still," he said, "I feel guilty for yelling at you. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
A lightbulb lit up in her head. "I know how." Immediately, she stood up, grabbing his hand.
Raising an eyebrow in confusion, he stood up with her. "How?"
Tex leaned in close to him, her lips brushing against his ear. "Join me in the shower," she whispered, her voice getting husky, her breath suddenly feeling hot against his skin.
Church cocked his head to the side. "You sure you want that now? Wash said we still need to debrief."
"We still have a few hours until then." She smirked. "Or do you just not want to have makeup sex with me?"
"No, makeup sex sounds good," he said defensively. "Great, even."
"Good," she said. Tex let go of his hand and began walking towards the private bathroom. She reached her hands around her body and began slowly taking off her clothes again, a swagger in her hips as she teased him a little at a time.
When she finally got to the bathroom doorway, all that was left on her was her black underwear. She pivoted on her heels, leaning against frame, motioning towards herself with her index finger, a seductive look in her eyes, before disappearing inside.
Church's clothes flew off him as quickly as he could, desperate to keep up with her. He eagerly followed her in.
