"Speed will be crucial to this next mission." said Kerrigan, pointing to the holographic map as Raynor twiddled with her short hair.

"Uh huh"

Sam flicked his eyes to Jessie's own half-lidded eyes for a brief second before continuing. "Like we discussed already, I will infiltrate their defenses while cloaked and kill their commanding officer. You need to attack their base during the confusion while they're trying to fix their chain of command."

"Right"

There was an awkward silence until Raynor realized Kerrigan had stopped to glare at her. She shrugged "What?"

"Can you stop thinking about that?" scolded redheaded guy. He tapped his finger to the map. "This is a serious operation. Stop being a pervert and focus on the mission."

"Aw it's all fine, Sam" drawled Jessie. "You know I've already got this mission all under control. Ain't no need to be a prude when we're off-duty."

"A prude who gets the job done." retorted Kerrigan, his crisp practiced speech shooting down Raynor's own rugged voice. "I didn't become a top ghost by drooling after girls. If I were a woman, your shameless ogling probably deserves to get sued."

Jessie Raynor chuckled, removing her cigar between her two fingers. "Sam. I'd wager you wouldn't react any differently if our respective genders were flipped. I'm just that charming. Besides, it's sociably acceptable for a woman to admire a guy's build. If you cared so much, you ain't ought to'be wearing a ridiculously tight suit."

Ghost leaned in, hardening his firm glare. "Well... this 'ridiculously tight suit'... is ridiculously tight for practical reasons."

"How so, Ginger?"

Sam Kerrigan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now you're pushing it. I already told you before: the suit provides agility and mobility necessary for stealth operations; it's much harder to cloak armor pieces than nano-fiber."

"Well lucky me then." She said with a smirk. "I'd reckon whoever patched that suit up was a woman. I mean... the suit just so happened to capture every glorious curve of that ass.. or your legs... or your delicious eight pac-"

"Oh my god..." interrupted the redghead ghost, planting a facepalm with an audible smack. "You're always 'accidentally' touching my ass and chest. Ever heard of personal space, cowgirl? You know, I thought men were perverts, not women. Why are you so... hungry?"

Woman snorted. "Okay, Sam. I dunno what they taught you in your cute and cozy ghost school. This cowgirl's gonna teach you a fact of life: everyone's perverted. It's just that guys aren't expected to be upstanding angels of society. Me? I ain't afraid to hide my thoughts and feelings behind a mask."

Sam sighed wearily as he crossed his arms. "Jess. I didn't get to allow these thoughts to roam my mind as I trained at the Academy. It's all about fighting, winning, surviving! Any other distracting thoughts can get you killed." He cast a hard look to his partner. "Like you. I still can't believe you actually let your guard down just to cast a hungry glance my way, and almost got killed in that Confederate ambush."

She offered a weak smile as she recollected that scene, and pointed to him. "Okay. I admit, that was mighty foolish of me. I should have double-checked to see if we fully secured the area from pocket resistance." Her smiled widened into a toothy grin. "Were you actually gettin' all worked up about me?"

Young ghost coughed awkwardly. "Marines have statistically high death rates."

The cowgirl chuckled. "It's fine if it's because I'm a woman at the front lines. Try not to think too hard. If the man in the armor dies, someone's gotta get in there and do all the fightin'."

Raynor felt a warm feeling swell in her chest when she actually saw and heard Kerrigan laugh at her words. "It's too bad you don't have psychic powers. You're always making me worry with your reckless knight-in-shining-armor routine."

"I figured a lady would fit that role just fine."

Sam leaned his tall body closer to Jessie, who simply stood still and continued to stare with her bold smirk. The redhead stared with his conflicted eyes, before cupping Raynor's chin in his hand and pulled her in for a kiss. She was already ready to return the intimate gesture.

Their lips remained locked for a few precious seconds before the ghost pulled away. "You know cowgirl... you can still depend on me to cover you"

"And I'll watch your rear end really nicely, partner."

Kerrigan nodded and smiled in satisfaction. They would watch each other's back through fire and hell, just as they've done since the first time they met.

And he instantly wiped that smile from his face. "Oh. I see what you did there. You pig!"

Raynor laughed.