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Halo Reloaded: Carried Away

@ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask, @authortobenamedlater

The firefight had ended in a hiss of plasma and the smell of scorched alloy. Smoke curled up from the shattered ruins around them, blue embers still flickering in the wreckage.

Linda was crouched behind a half-collapsed wall, breathing fast through gritted teeth. Her right leg armor was twisted at a bad angle, hydraulics leaking coolant that hissed like a kettle.

John stomped over through the debris, his silver visor glinting in the haze. “Linda. Talk to me.”

“I’m—” she winced, trying to stand. The armor hissed again and she dropped back down. “—completely fine. Just… taking a quick break. Maybe forever.”

“Fracture?” he asked, already kneeling beside her. “Sprain. Probably. Or my entire femur’s trying to divorce me. Hard to tell through the pain.” John exhaled sharply, the kind of sigh that could mean either exasperation or concern—or both.

He didn’t argue; instead, he hooked his arm under her knees and shoulders in one smooth motion. “John—!” she blurted as the world tilted. He hoisted her up effortlessly, like she weighed nothing, and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Put me down!” she hissed, half-muffled against the back of his armor. “I can walk!”

“Sure,” he said dryly, stepping over a smoking beam. “You’ve been doing a great job of that so far.” Her face was burning beneath her helmet. Of all the ways to get carried, it had to be this one. She could practically hear Kelly or Kai making jokes about it already. “John, this is humiliating,” she groaned. “You got shot in the leg by a plasma caster. Humiliation’s not your biggest problem right now.”

“I can still shoot, you know. I could shoot you in the back.”

“You’d have to get a hand free for that,” he said, unfazed. “And I’m not putting you down until we’re clear of the kill zone.” She let out an incoherent noise of frustration that only made him chuckle under his breath.

The sound was rare enough to make her heart stutter—somewhere between oh no and oh yes, he laughed. “Enjoying this, aren’t you,” she muttered. “I enjoy not watching my teammates bleed out. You’re heavy, though.”

Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?!” He adjusted his grip. “Armor weight, I mean.” “Oh sure. Blame the armor.”

“Alright, maybe it’s the sniper rifle. Thing’s half a ton.”

“Keep digging, Chief. You’ll hit the planet’s core any second now.” He didn’t reply—too focused on getting them both out of the blasted ravine—but she could tell he was smirking behind that visor.

She knew him well enough. The quiet confidence, the absolute lack of shame. It was infuriating. And… infuriatingly attractive. By the time they reached the evac pelican, her face was a furnace inside the helmet.

Fred was standing at the ramp, gun slung across his chest, eyebrows definitely raised. “Spartan-058 down?” he asked. “Minor injury,” John said, lowering her gently onto the drop-bay bench. “But she insists she’s fine.”

Fred tilted his head. “Uh-huh. You sure she’s not just trying to stay in your arms a little longer?”

Linda’s soul left her body.

John paused, visor turning toward Fred. “You want to repeat that?” Fred wisely climbed into the cockpit without another word, but not before she heard him mutter, “Just saying, Chief—there are easier ways to flirt.” Linda groaned and covered her visor with both hands. “Please eject me into orbit.”

John crouched beside her, doing a quick diagnostic scan of her leg armor. His voice softened a little. “You’re lucky that blast didn’t burn through the plating. I’ll patch it once we’re airborne.”

“...Thanks,” she mumbled, still trying not to die of embarrassment. He gave a small nod, stood up, and said simply, “Next time, don’t try to solo an entire Banshee squad.”

“Next time,” she shot back, “don’t look like you’re auditioning for a heroic rescue vid.” That earned her a low, amused rumble over the comms—his version of a laugh. And somehow, despite the pain and the heat rising in her cheeks, she smiled.

She’d take being carried by him any day… just maybe not in front of the whole team.

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