Rose

Kat stared at the candy heart in her hand. "Why do people still give these? They taste like chalk." She scowled. "Seems more like what you would give an enemy than a friend or loved one."

"It's tradition." Jorge reached over and picked a heart out of the bowl on the table. "It's more about the messages on them." He tossed the candy to the Spartan beside him.

Emile caught the candy and read it. "Hug me? In your dreams, big man." He tossed the heart aside.

"Get in the spirit." Jorge moved and before Emile could stop him he'd enveloped the assault specialist in a bear hug.

Kat smiled as she watched Emile fight to escape Jorge's grasp. For all their arguing they were very close with each other.

"If not these, then what would you want someone to give you?" Richard leaned a bit toward her. "You don't seem like the kind of woman that would like flowers or candies."

"Yeah, what did the Commander get you?" Emile grunted as he tried to push Jorge away, though he was failing miserably.

Kat ignored Emile. "Exactly what you mean by I don't seem like that kind of woman?"

Richard shut his mouth and shrank back. Jorge laughed and sat back down in his chair. He hadn't released Emile but his captive had given up fighting. Jorge settled in with Emile held in his arms like a stuffed animal. Even without armor Jorge seemed to be so much bigger than the Spartan III.

"Don't mind her. She's just cranky because Carter's been off base all day and they haven't gotten to make V'day hanky-panky." Emile tried to withdraw back into Jorge's grasp as Kat's glare turned to him. He suddenly regretted bringing the focus back to him.

"Careful or she'll break that lovely face of yours." Jorge tapped Emile's helmet indicating the carved skull.

"I'd like to see her try." Emile crossed his arms over his chest and huffed loudly.

Kat stood up and moved around the table. Emile watched her carefully as she approached him. She stood a foot away and Emile braced for retribution. She simply smiled. "You look so adorable. Like Jorge is carrying around a cute bunny. I think you should carry him around like that all day."

Jorge chuckled and shifted Emile slightly. "I like that idea. I think I will."

"Wait, what?" Emile started his struggling once more.

Kat turned and moved out of the room, leaving Emile to try to make an escape. She only wished she'd had one of those headbands with bunny ears. She'd seen a soldier wearing a pair earlier and they would have solidified her wrath.

Kat felt the heavy weight of the medallion around her neck as she walked through the hallways. It had been the first Valentine's Day gift he'd given her. Even if he hadn't known what day it was.

Kat walked into the barracks, there was no one there. She moved to her cot but stopped as she stared down at her pillow. On the feather-filled cloth rested a single red rose. She approached it hesitantly.

"It's a rose, Kat, not a snake. As long as you're careful about where you put your fingers it won't bite." Carter walked into the room from the showers. Only a towel around his waist.

Kat looked to him and let her eyes study him as Carter moved across the room to his locker. "So it's just like a man? Wait, men are the other way around. If you're careful of where you place your fingers, he will bite." Carter didn't respond as he got dressed. Kat wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't in the mood for teasing or if it was because he could feel her eyes on him and it made him nervous.

Once he'd put on pants Kat moved to sit on her cot, though as soon as she sat down her gaze returned to his back. When Carter finished he moved over to his cot, beside hers.

Kat reached over and picked up the rose, being careful of the thorns. She raised it to her face and sniffed it. She couldn't remember ever having smelled a rose before. "It's beautiful, Carter. I love it." She bit back the next words she wanted to say. She lowered the flower and frowned.

"Don't frown." Carter sounded a bit panicked, like his plan was falling apart. He learned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Please, don't frown. Be happy." He pulled back a bit but still remained close. He hesitated for only a moment before he moved closer and brought their lips together. Kat returned the kiss. It was needy and Carter was the first to pull away.

Kat looked away from Carter. "What are we doing?" She shook her head slightly. "We're just torturing each other with this. We can't….you can't…we have to…" She shook her head and Carter looked down at the floor. Kat passed the rose back to him. "I can't accept this."

Carter looked down at the rose. "I'm sorry, Kat. You're right. There are rules and we can't break those rules." He put the rose back in her hand and she frowned at him. "Please, accept this as a token of my friendship. That I love you as a teammate, and as a thank you for always having my back."

Kat finally accepted the rose and twirled it a bit in her hand. "Fine, I'll accept it if it meant that." She winced and dropped the rose. "Damn thorns."

Carter laughed and picked the flower up. "I told you to watch your fingers." He smirked slightly. "I wonder if you are careful with your fingers if a woman will bite."

Kat returned the smirk. "Might want to be careful under what conditions you test that theory." Carter looked at her confused for a few seconds before he finally made the connection. He blushed deeply. "What? Don't like the picture I just gave you? Take out the biting and I'm sure you'd enjoy it." Carter blushed a bit more as the thoughts started to run wild in his head.

Kat lay awake that night, still plagued by the day's events. She sat up a bit and looked across the room. Jorge had done as she had suggested and carried Emile around all day. Just too really annoy him he hadn't let go of him when he went to sleep. The larger Spartan lay on his cot still clutching Emile against him like a teddy bear.

Kat turned over to face Carter. She was surprised to find him facing her, eyes open. Kat stared back at him in silence. They couldn't say anything or they might wake the other team members. She wasn't even sure what she would say. His eyes seemed to bore into her, like he was trying to tell her something through mental communications. Maybe it was just him thinking really hard. No, she knew that face well, though it was different from his planning face. She couldn't take it any longer. She rolled over so that her back was to him.

Something soft brushed over her shoulder and Kat glanced back to see the red petals of a rose peeking up over her skin. She turned over a bit and looked back at Carter. His eyes were hopeful and slightly pleading. Kat took pity on him and reached over, taking the flower. Carter smiled slightly and she rolled back over. She laid the flower on the bed. She smiled down at it and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.