Chapter XX

Natalie awoke before John. For a short moment, she thought she was still dreaming, for the cool, silky sheets and plush mattress was an unfamiliar luxury. Instead of her normal windowless view onboard the Hercules, the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, casting a soft golden glow in through the hotel window and across their bed. The room was deathly quiet, save for the small electronic whir of the mini fridge across the room and the soft snores of John's slumber. He lay on his back beside her, head slightly turned in her direction, arms folded on his chest.

Quietly, Natalie propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at the peacefulness of John's expression, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He was handsome man, although his youthful face had been already littered with little nicks and scars from battle. A thin white scar divided his right eyebrow in two, the hair never growing back through the scar tissue. Several pockmarks were visible on his cheeks and forehead, likely from acne during puberty.

What life would you have lived if they didn't choose you to be a Spartan? Natalie wondered. Would you have joined the UNSC anyway, with the outbreak of war? She was certain, however, that if even one single thing had gone differently in his life, they likely wouldn't have met.

Heaving a gentle sigh, Natalie looked around the room. Their clothes lay in a pile on the floor where they'd been discarded the night before. A glass of water still sat on the bedside table. That's when she realized how thirsty she was; the events of the night previous were being paid for with dehydration and a faint inkling of a headache pulsing in her temples. She snatched up the glass and chugged the remnants, the water feeling heavenly on her throat.

With a sober mind, the majority of her actions from the night before made her shudder with embarrassment. Everything came back to her in flashes – the brief heated passion with Myles before they went out; Amy walking in on them, putting a stop to an event that they surely would have regretted. John finding her outside the club, puking up her guts on the sidewalk. Myles' rage when he discovered that John had come back. Myles' rage. It had been fueled by jealousy, whether or not he would ever admit to it.

John had showed up at the right time. Had he not found her, who knows what the night would have turned into? You'd be waking up next to Myles, instead, a voice in her head chimed in. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Fuck, you're stupid." She whispered to herself, sitting up. She ran her fingers through her messy hair. "And lucky."

"Me?"

She turned around, seeing John had woken up. He had his arms folded behind his head, eyes still glazed with sleepiness.

"Not you. Me." She said quietly, giving him a small smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning." John looked to the bedside table at the clock. It was still rather early. "So, why are you stupid and lucky?"

"I was just pondering over how last night could've gone very differently. I'm stupid for behaving how I did, but lucky you came to the rescue."

John raised a brow, but said nothing.

"I'm going to have a shower – I reek of booze." Natalie gestured to the bathroom. "Would you care to join me?"

"I did not bring my ablutions kit with me."

Natalie let out a little laugh, realizing he didn't catch her underlying intention.

"Well, I do suppose you must need to go back to base." She felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

"If you want me to."

"What do you mean? Are you on leave, too?"

"I am on standby. As long as I am within an hour of base, ready to move in the event we are assigned a new mission, Dr. Halsey said I can do as I wish."

"So you can spend the rest of my leave with me?"

"Provided I don't get called in, yes."

Natalie laughed, feeling happiness overwhelm her. They had until 1800 hours tomorrow together – provided, like he said, that plans did not change.

"Do you want to stay?" Natalie asked.

"I wouldn't be here if I did not."

She leaned in and kissed him gently.

"I thought Dr. Halsey hated me, at first."

"Why?"

"She knew we slept together, John. The first time it happened. Security cameras don't lie." She saw the confusion intensify on John's face, so she continued. "She paged me to her office after the battle. Quizzed me on my intentions. She didn't tell you?"

"No." John looked thoughtful. "You must have said the right things."

"I'll admit, I was rude to her at first. I didn't like the idea of a civvy prying into my relationships. Do apologize to her for me, when you see her next."

"I've seen her arguing with the top brass more than once. I doubt anything you said to her was harsher than any other verbal battle she's tackled over the years. It's fine."

"She was just worried about you. She seems almost like a motherly figure, the way she was interrogating me. It was like you're her son." She paused, waiting for a reply, but John remained silent. "She also told me that she is responsible for the SPARTAN II program."

"Yes."

"She's very intelligent, then."

"Yes."

Upon bringing up the subject of the Spartans, Natalie noticed John's responses were dwindling to one-word answers. He always seemed guarded about the topic, and rightfully so. The majority of it was classified.

"Do you think maybe one day I can meet them? The rest of your Spartans?"

"I don't know. I don't know what they would think."

"About me? Or about us?"

"Us. They don't understand. The whole concept is an anomaly to them. Before I met you, I was the same."

"Do you find you've changed? I have. There is always this small part of my mind that thinks about you constantly. It can be hard to shut off."

"Hmm." John looked thoughtful.

"If you are the death of me," she said. "Well, there are worse ways to die." She leaned in and planted a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to have that shower. While I am doing that, there is this…" she grabbed a pamphlet from the bedside table and handed it to him. Attractions of New Alexandria. "Your mission is to read this and find us something to do today."

"You want me to choose?" John raised a brow. His doubtful tone almost made her laugh.

"Surely you're no stranger to making decisions, Master Chief."

After her shower, Natalie pulled on a clean pair of civvies: a simple grey t-shirt and jean shorts. When she poked her head out of the bathroom, John was still naked in bed, reading the pamphlet, his brow furrowed in contemplation. She smiled.

"Find anything?"

"I haven't finished reading yet." He didn't look up, clearly interested. For him, it was a window into a life he didn't know, advertised in a colourful array of images and decorative fonts. He tried to imagine having enough free time for some of the activities mentioned. Parties, festivals, concerts, sporting events…

Natalie left him to his reading. In the shower, she decided that she was going to pay a visit to Myles before they left the hotel. Last night was not to pass without a sober confrontation.

To her surprise, the door to Myles' room was ajar. She could hear him moving around inside, so he was awake. Good. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"What?" His tone was irritated.

Natalie pushed the door open. Myles had just come out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. Upon seeing it was her, his expression darkened as she knew certain memories came back to him.

"Look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say Spartan?"

"Don't be like that." She felt too tired to deal with his jabs this morning.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I'm making sure you survived the night."

"How sweet. I'm alive. My arm is still rather sore, although I don't think the Spartan did any permanent damage. Lucky for him."

"You're the lucky one, Myles. It could have gone much worse if you didn't have Carter and the rest of them to shut you up and drag you away. Trying to pick fight with a Spartan when you were drunk and high was not one of your best moments. You do realize that man could pummel you into pink mist, if he so desired."

"He'd get away with it, too, I'm sure. Just like the Spartan who butchered those ODSTs years back. I thought officers had nice privileges, but apparently all you need is a green suit of armour to be immune to even the highest of punishments. Where is the miserable beast, anyway?"

"In my room." Natalie clenched her jaw, letting his comment slide.

"Of course. I honestly thought we'd seen the last of him, before he showed up and ruined the fucking night."

"I was sick to my stomach, Myles. My night was over whether he had shown up or not."

Myles peeked out the hallway – one of the maids had emerged from the elevator with her trolley of cleaning products. He sighed heavily and motioned her inside the room. She followed.

"Just a minute. I'm going to throw on a pair of pants."

Myles disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Instead of sitting, Natalie surveyed the room. The mini-fridge had been stripped of its contents, the empty bottles scattered on the desk and bedside tables. The bed sheets were a dishevelled mess – beyond the destructivity of a singular body, save for the aftermath of a particularly realistic nightmare. It was clear to her then, that Myles had not come back alone last night. He'd been raving and inebriated when their squad mates had dragged him away from being pummeled by John – so he must have calmed down enough to garner the attraction of some woman, and been charming enough to get her to his bed.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Myles emerged, properly clothed this time.

"You had a fun night, by the looks of things." Natalie gestured to the bed, gave him a knowing look.

"Ah." A smile threatened to appear, tugging at the corners of his mouth. He looked pleased and thoughtful, as if he was replaying his night of passion in his head. "I ran into Lotte."

"Lotte?"

"Officer Cadet Van der Linden – well second Lieutenant, now."

"Better her than me." Natalie muttered, remembering Myles' lips on her neck, his hands groping beneath her skirt. She shuddered, as if to shake away the embarrassment.

"You love John, don't you?" This question surprised her. "It's unfortunate, if not altogether insane."

Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a finger. "I'm not saying that because he's a Spartan. Not in a prejudicial context, anyway. A realistic context. Once this war is over, if humanity still exists and we make it that far, we – the average jarheads - can release! We can take our medals and go home, get married, have babies, retire and watch our children grow. Do you think that is in the cards for Master Chief? While the Covenant may be our primary enemy, there are still the Insurrectionists, and whatever the fuck else the universe decides to toss our way. While our contract is indefinite, until this war ends - his is permanent. Fighting is his life. I know you, Nat. I know your mind better than you're willing to admit. You've likely dreamed up an entire fantasy of what your…."
"Stop it. I hate when you lecture me like I'm still a teenager."

"Not long ago, you were."

"You get after me about hoping for the future, when you're the one stuck in the goddamned past! Which is better? Dwelling on memories that cannot be changed or relived, or having the slightest shred of hope of a happy life if I live long enough?"

"You had a small taste of the past last night. We both did." He watched her expression change as these words left his mouth. "It certainly reminded me of happier days – fleeting as it may have been. Does the future not scare you at all?"

"Of course it does." This was a near whisper. "We can't control it. I can, however, control what happens until 1800 tomorrow. I'm going to make the best of it. We… we're going to make the best of it."

Half expecting Myles to make a sarcastic comment, Natalie felt surprised when she met his eyes and saw the genuine, lopsided grin that she had once loved. Next thing she knew, she was in his arms, wrapped in a vice of a hug. She stiffened at first, before realizing he had no intentions other than to be supportive. Gently, she returned the hug, matching his squeeze. She felt him sigh deeply, his breath tickling her ear.

"Ein Heute ist besser als zehn Morgen," he whispered. Even after living in Germany for most of his life, he'd never quite mastered the accent - but the words rang true.

One today is worth ten tomorrows.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're wasting precious time. Go on."

"I found something." John greeted Natalie when she returned. She half expected him to ask where she had gone, but he didn't pry. She still felt in awe of Myles' reaction – could it count as his blessing? But never mind that - she could tell John about it later.

"Oh?" She crossed the room to the bed, plopping down beside him.

"This." John pointed to the pamphlet.

Find your little piece of paradise when you stay at New Alexandria Lodge. The property boasts twenty fully furnished mountainside villas overlooking the city of New Alexandria to the east, and the Alexandrian mountain range to the west – some of the most impressive peaks on the continent. Only a twenty minute drive outside of the city centre. Parking onsite. Affordable rates, with an outdoor pool, spa and restaurant. The property boasts over fifteen miles of hiking trails – a variety for all fitness levels. Be sure to inquire about the special rates for government and military guests.

"It isn't Germany," he said. "But I think it will do."

At this, Natalie felt a lump in her throat, biting her lip. There wasn't a detail that escaped him. He'd remembered, then, how she'd told him of her family's cottage in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Earth, and the life that she had lived there, at times seemed like a distant memory - a dream even. For now, this was the next best thing.

"John, this is… perfect."

A/N: I didn't realize until I went to upload this chapter that it had been over a year since I updated. Where the fuck does the time go? The army eats most of it, I think. Been away on career courses, and then I was promoted and pushed into a vacant Sgts position that required me to work in Battalion HQ, longer hours that frankly, for a while zapped any creative energy I had. Updates should be more regular, I'm not going anywhere in the near future. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. - AB