@embarrassedauthornerd @morganas-pendragons @lialacleaf @owlofthenight117 you 4 are the reasons I'm finally sharing this
Deviate
(Part 2: Sir)
Halsey would consider him broken, if she knew.
On paper, he was an ideal Spartan. His physical scores were exceptional, even among the other Spartan II's, his strategy and decision making skills were well within acceptable ranges, and he'd never disobeyed orders. Well, almost never.
Cameron 409 stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, a pair of stolen scissors held in his fingers. A halo of brown hair lay discarded on the tile around his feet as he stared at his reflection. Halsey had chosen him, along with 74 other children, at the age of 6 for her Spartan program. Even from the start, she demanded perfection, in everything. Cameron knew it wouldn't matter to her that he measured up in every way that mattered; deviations were not permitted.
Cam ran his fingers through the short fluff on his head. It wasn't the neatest of haircuts, choppy and uneven, but the sight made something in his chest lift. Until the sound of the bathroom door opening brought the weight of his impulsive action crashing back down into him. Cameron froze, fearful gaze meeting the wide eyes of his sudden company. Kelly 087 blinked in surprise at the scene in front of her.
"Cam? What're you doing?" she asked, rare confusion in her tone.
"I- I-" he scrambled for an excuse, anything but the truth to explain his actions, "My hair was getting in my way under my helmet." he finally came up with, not entirely a lie, but he knew she could hear his heart hammering in his chest.
After a moment, Kelly slowly nodded, looking thoughtful. "Do you... want some help? It looks like you missed a spot in the back."
Cam's eyes went back to the sink before he hesitantly agreed. He felt Kelly walk up behind him and gently take the scissors from his hand, before beginning to clean up his hack job. A few minutes later, Kelly stepped back to admire her handiwork.
"Well, I'm not going to be a stylist any time soon, but it's not awful." Her attempt at humor drew a small smile from her companion, before his expression fell again. The pair stood in silence for a few moments, before Kelly spoke up once more, "Everyone's going to be waking up soon, we should clean up. And don't worry, you know John won't let you get in too much trouble." The pair worked quickly in comfortable silence to sweep up as much hair as possible from the floor.
As they were leaving, Cameron finally spoke again, "Kelly? Thank you, for your help."
The other Spartan grinned, "You know I'll always have your back."
