As the years passed, Reese had come to find it rare that anyone was as simple and uncomplicated as their official records made them out to be. Complexities and nuances couldn't be written into the blank pages, couldn't be displayed on screens and hidden among the pixels. Everyone came with baggage clinging to their ankles like cinder blocks, weighing them down as they dragged their feet across the floor. Cole was no different in this way and yet his baggage pulled at her heart. Despite knowing the Council would frown heavily at her decision to divert the Anzio on a path to Grissom Academy, she worried little about their ire. What were they going to do, fire her? Unlikely. Firing an independent and rogue Spectre wasn't easy, let alone the leader of their (allegedly) singular black ops outfit. Either way, Reese quickly calculated that remedying the unease on Cole's tense brow would be far more beneficial to him and the crew than serving him a flat negative just because it was what she was "supposed" to do.<br/><br/>A smile peaked at the ends of her mouth as Cole began to offer his thanks. Her warm, dark chocolaty gaze briefly caught Cole's icy blue before their lips unexpectedly met. A warmth akin to fire began to spread across her body, first from where their lips touched, then where his fingertips delicately caressed her cheek. A woman prone to holding herself stiff and tall, always a soldier, always prepared, Reese felt it too easy to lean into him, to push when he pulled and relax against him as his body pressed into hers. She lifted a hand to hold against his chest, to feel his heart pound like wild drums beneath the muscle and bone. All to quickly, the heat of Cole's mouth was torn away from her. The commander snapped her eyes open, looking to him, feeling his warm breath against her skin.<br/><br/>Electricity danced from the lieutenant's touch across her lips, a waltz of pure energy as it crackled between them. "Only slightly out of line," she replied quickly, smirking as Cole began to kiss her again, slow and with the intention to truly taste. She allowed this for a moment, opening her mouth to him and letting their tongues carefully intermingle and explore one another. Though her movements were languid, easy, her heart began to race inside of her. She could feel the blood flow through her veins with each beat and became acutely aware of<i>precisely </i>where that blood decided to go.<br/><br/>Reese let her arms snake around Cole's broad shoulders, pulling him on top of her as she leaned back against the couch. Her legs were wide and welcoming, hands demanding. As they continued to kiss, her fingers blindly found Cole's hand, placing it firmly on the plump rise of her breast. She wanted him to feel her, to explore her body as if she were a fascinating, wildly intriguing new galaxy just aching to be discovered. Unbeknownst to her crew, it had been a long while since Reese had followed her own orders to find pleasure and comfort in the arms of another. The hands of a stranger could never appeal to her completely, could never fully satisfy the empty pang inside of her.<br/><br/>But Cole... Cole felt right.