Title: Coffee Break
Fandom: Halo
Characters: Cortana, Johnson, John-117
Rating & Warnings: T for swearing
Word Count: 900+
Genre: Gen, Friendship
Summary: It was a well-known fact that Cortana was obsessed with coffee.
Author's Notes: This is a random snippet from my "Under the Surface" AU. There will be more ficlets coming so I'm going to tag them under "The Little Details".

 

It was a well-known fact around Reach was Cortana was obsessed with coffee.

She might have gotten her initial affinity for the drink from Doctor Halsey, but it hadn't taken long for Cortana to independently develop a love of coffee herself. The caffeine boost allowed her to forestall her body's inevitable need for rest; a necessity when she was run an extremely complex diagnostic. ONI techs were hard-pressed to find a time when the AI didn't have a cup of java within her grasp.

It was her first mission back on Alpha Team since near-death incident. Halsey had done everything she could to repair Cortana back to the way she had been before the crash in Panama, but the doctor had her limits. Even teamed with Cortana, they couldn't undo all of the damage done to her matrix chip. Before she and the rest of Alpha Team had left Reach, Halsey had reminded Cortana that her neural processors ran only at ninety-four percent compared to their previous abilities and to allow time to compensate for that.

Cortana had pointedly ignored the doctor's advice and was now paying the price.

Earlier in the day, ONI had requested several detailed analyses of the base and the surrounding Covenant forces. In the past, Cortana would have been able to complete the tasks and have enough time to prepare herself for the surveillance watch. Tonight, she had overestimated her subroutines abilities and barely had enough time to upload the data before trekking through the rocky terrain with Johnson to start their shift.

With no coffee.

Things could have been going better.

Johnson cocked his head questioningly, sensing her mood. "What's wrong? Ya see something?"

"No, everything is clear," she assured him. She scooted the rock under her thigh away, fighting the urge to throw it in the valley in front of them. Her frustration was almost ridiculous. It was just a cup of coffee, after all.

Or perhaps not.

Cortana frowned. Could her poor time management be a sign of problems with her base code? She ran a quick analysis of her systems; she was operating within normal parameters. Which meant one thing: she had been wrong and Halsey had been right.

Damn it.

Johnson nodded at her empty hands. "Where's your cup o' joe anyway? No watch is complete without your special blend."

Cortana narrowed her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it." She sighed. "It's probably good to not start up that habit again anyway."

"Not for me," argued Johnson. "I've seen you without your coffee. Don't get your feelings hurt when I say I feel worse for myself than you."

She knew he was right. She'd have to pick him up a box of cigars if he survived the night. Maybe two.

Cortana drew in a deep breath.

And swore she could smell coffee.

She spun around and saw John approaching the two of them with a pistol in one hand and a familiar canister in the other.

"Thank God," Johnson muttered.

"You brought me my coffee?" Cortana moved to stand, reaching out to take the cup.

"I didn't think Johnson did anything to deserve your wrath," he replied dryly.

"Damn right, I didn't."

John handed the cup to her which she grateful took. Before she could analyse how her actions would affect the stoic Spartan, she flung herself at John, careful not to slosh any of the precious liquid out of the top of the cup.

John didn't move.

"I don't know what they taught you growin' up as a Spartan," said Johnson, sounding slightly disappointed, "But I was raised with the idea that if a lady shows you some gratitude, the least you can do is act appreciative."

Cortana pulled away from John, sheepish grin in place. Despite his numerous visits and causal touches when she was recovering on Reach, it seemed as if he wasn't ready for open displays of appreciation. "It's ok, Johnson. The Chief knows it's nothing personal. It's all about the coffee."

The sergeant muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "bullshit" before lifting up the binoculars and looking through them, giving the two of them what little privacy he could.

She took a careful sip appreciatively. Her eyebrow rose. "You even remembered the sugar."

"I know how you take your coffee," John said. A small frown passed over his lips.

She ignored the urge to roll her eyes. Just because he, and every other Spartan she had met, preferred his coffee black and thick as oil, didn't mean he could criticize her. "I don't add that much sugar, John," she chided. "Just enough to add a little-"'

"Sweetness." Keyes' voice unexpectedly cut into the conversation. "Catherine told me that enough times over the years." He nodded at his team. "I just got word from ONI. Red Team has been unable infiltrate the system. They're calling us in." He looked at Cortana. "You ready?"

Cortana might have felt defensive at the captain's question if it wasn't for the compassion in his eyes. The brass at ONI might not care how hard Cortana would have to push herself to crack the database, but Keyes did. She met his gaze and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. We're meeting with Delta Team in ten minutes. They'll escort us to the base." His eyes crinkled slightly. "That should be enough time for your coffee break, don't you think?"

Cortana smirked. She always knew she liked Keyes. "Yes, it should."

"Good. And Cortana, do us all a favor? Screw the paperwork if it means you get your coffee."

She took a drink and smiled. "Understood, sir."