Timestamps/any warnings are before each prompt. Oh, Cortana and John...I've missed writing you.

SENSITIVE

(set between Halo: CE and Halo 2)

"Did I ever tell you I'm afraid of thunder?"

John looks up from his report to see the hint of a chagrined look pass over Cortana's face. She is looking down at the Earth below, where heavy thunderstorms are beating down on the African plains. They are safe, high above in the Cairo station, but he can tell she's unsettled.

"I didn't think you're afraid of anything."

She raises an eyebrow. "A few things." She pauses for a second. "Like losing you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"What about you? What scares you?"

"Nothing."

It's a lie and they both know it, but she doesn't call him on it. Instead, she says softly, "I'm not going anywhere either."

/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-

STRAY

(set during the promo for Halo Xbox One)

John has gone rogue.

For the first time, John isn't following orders given to him from the UNSC. No, his actions are based on what he needs to do.

Find Cortana.

When he learned there was intel that Cortana might have survived, he asked Osman to follow any leads.

She denied his request.

For a while, he was content to follow her orders. But when he heard information that ONI was sending a Fireteam to various locations where Cortana's program might be to eradicate her program, John knew he needed to act.

Now, he finds himself on an unfamiliar planet with no weapon and miles of sand around him.

Cortana's here somewhere.

And he will find her.

/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-

KISS

(human!Cortana AU, post Halo 4)

Cortana is kissing him.

John knows that he should be doing something - kissing her back, for one thing - but he can't get over the fact they're here, in front of all these people, doing this.

The claps and cheers from their audience tense him up more, but he knows that he needs to focus on the woman in front of him.

Closing his eyes, he returns the kiss.

The cheers get even louder.

Eventually, they pull away. A mischievous grin passes over her face. "How does it feel to be an old married man?"

Words have never been his strong suit, so he does the only thing he can think of.

He kisses her again.

/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-

I THINK OF YOU

(set between Halo 3 and 4)

It is dark.

It is silent.

It is a lonely.

It is in these long, countless hours that I'm afforded an opportunity that I haven't had since the day I was activated. To think of you.

Part of me is telling me to save my thoughts. I'm fighting an impossible enemy that will cost me my life. Rampancy.

But I cannot deny myself thoughts of you.

I think of your eyes, how expressive they are and how it is shameful that they are too often hidden behind your helmet.

I think of the smile in your voice because I have yet to see one on your face.

I think of you.

And I no longer feel alone.

/*-/*-/*-

WAIT, WHAT?

(set after the "Cortana" level in Halo 3)

"It's good to see you, ma'am."

'Vadam doesn't miss the look that the Spartan and the construct exchange as the video feed is terminated. The cabin is silent for several seconds before the Spartan speaks.

"Johnson is right."

"Is that you're way of saying you missed me?"

The Spartan shifted, uncomfortable. "Cortana…" His voice trailed off.

She crossed her arms. "Yes, John?"

John. So that was the Spartan's given name.

"I missed you."

'Vadam frowned. The tone in the human's voice conveyed a deep bond between the two of them.

But...she was a construct. He was not.

'Vadam shook his head as they approached the ring. It seemed humans were more confounding than he previously thought.

/*-/*-/*-

ONCE MORE

(set after Halo 4)

After nearly two years, John saw a sight he never thought he'd see again: Cortana.

Her eyes widened when he stepped into the room. "John...I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I told you, I'm supposed to take care of you." The words were tight in his throat.

She threw her arms around him. Her sobs cause her body to shudder against his. John's arms moved on their own accord and wrapped them around the woman he had lost.

But, never again.

They stood there for a minute before she pulled away. "There's something else going on, isn't there?"

"I need you."

"You've already defeated the Flood and Didact. What could be worse?"

"The Precursors."

/*-/*-/*-

THE EDGE

(human!Cortana, character deaths)

"We're going to die." He sounds amazingly calm.

"We don't know that." Her argument comes off weak. His helmet had been destroyed during the explosion, their uniforms were stained with blood -both their own and their enemies.

"Cortana, I-" He pauses, then starts again. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Cortana wants to cry at the unfairness of it all. Doesn't she and John deserve a little happiness after everything they had done?

John shows no such resentment. In the last minutes of his life, he was accepting his humanity.

And she was resenting hers.

Then, she feels something unexpected. His lips pressed softly against hers.

It is the last thing she feels before everything goes dark.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

LONG DISTANCE

(post Halo 4)

She is a fragment of what she once was.

She can only remember bits and pieces of her past. Her history is clothed in shadows.

There is one thing that she does remember with clarity.

John.

There is a promise in that singular word.

Her thoughts, as random as they are, calm when she thinks of him.

There is a distance that separates them, she knows that. If he was near, he would be there with her.

Whispers of her past speak of another time when they had been apart and how he had found her. Although she can't recall the details, she clings to that truth.

He will find her and she will be whole again.

/*-/*-/*-

DECAY

(set before the "Showdown" cutscene in Halo 4)

"You are risking your service record for me."

"I know what I'm doing."

"I can't -" She struggles for a moment. "I can't let you do that, John."

"No one will harm you, Cortana. Not a Gravemind, not the UNSC. No one."

A window appears on his HUD. "You can't save me. You know that, right? My program is decaying faster than I anticipated."

He refuses to accept the matter-of-fact tone to her voice. He builds a wall around his barely-contained emotions out of stubbornness and denial.

"We're going to find Halsey. You are going to make it." There's no other alternative for him.

"I'll try. For you, John."

John plans to hold her to that promise.

/*-/*-/*-/*-

CHOCOLATE

(human!Cortana, some random AU where angst took a vacation)

It started with a small chocolate candy on the desk in her lab.

Then, there was the chocolate cupcake sitting on the side table in her quarters.

The pattern continued for a week. Each day, there was a chocolate confection waiting for her.

She suspected John was behind the treats, but each time she was sure she would find him, he was nowhere to be found.

Not today.

She had made a big deal about taking a day off in the mess hall that morning. The lab, she had told John, was off-limits.

He had looked at her as if to say, Why are you telling me this?, but she was wise to his feigned disinterest.

She hid in the corner of her lab, knowing he'd be there soon to drop off her treat.

It didn't take long for the door to open.

But, immediately, Cortana knew something wasn't right. That wasn't John.

It was DelMarco.

Oh.

Cortana fought down a wave of disappointment and shock. The womanizer was trying to pull moves on her? What would John say?

Wait, what would John say?

Probably nothing. She suppressed a sigh.

She watched as DelMarco put the chocolate candy on her desk. When he had left, she emerged from her hiding spot and approached the chocolate.

She popped the chocolate in her mouth. For some reason, it didn't taste as sweet as it did before.

As she chewed the candy, she started to think about what she was going to do. Telling him the truth - that she had no intention of dating him - was the only option.

There was no reason to waste any time. She went out of the door Delmarco exited.

And was greeted by an amused looking John.

There were wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled. For a moment, Cortana was too busy appreciating his unexpected presence that she didn't pick up why he was there.

But her confusion didn't last long.

Her eyes narrowed. "You sent DelMarco in there."

He took a step closer to her. "If you wanted to know if it was me, you could have asked."

That would have ended their game and she wanted to win by catching him in the act.

"I will catch you."

There was a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. She knew he liked the idea of a challenge.

"We'll see."

He turned and walked away. As she turned, she felt something rustle in her pocket. She reached in and pulled the item out.

It was a small chocolate bar.

How had he…

She peeled off the wrapper and ate the candy. She'd be ready for him tomorrow. If not...well, losing didn't taste that bad either.