Bizarre Love Triangle
by SailorStarDust1
Stretching his limbs while letting out a loud yawn, Kaz lazily leaned against Mother Base's safety railings, relaxed gaze behind his aviators staring at that hazy, soothing, blue of the ocean. The distant sound of a chopper's descent must've been Snake returning from the day's missions. He took it upon himself to pull an all-nighter: Various resources and documents needed procuring—R&D would be thankful for the influx of work, no doubt.
The blonde found himself thinking back to 2 days prior; a date on the beach. Nothing terribly fancy for either of them, simply grabbing burgers at a restaurant in town before holding hands while they walked along the coast. They exchanged smiles on their peacefully quiet walk, Kaz cheeky enough to lean in for a kiss—Snake slowly returned the affections as his hands fell to the younger man's shoulders.
The distant setting of the sun warmed their bodies, soon enough the reality of usual desk work for Miller and various missions for Snake would rear its head once more.
The sound of spurs jangling immediately broke Kaz from his thoughts. Whirling around, sunglasses raised above his head, the Japanese-Caucasian's blue eyes met gray catlike ones, unfamiliar blonde hair the backdrop.
Heart skipping a beat—the stranger was certainly attractive—the most striking thing about the man, besides his eyes, was the cowboy outfit he wore. Weird, no hat to finish the look?
With a slight frown—What was security thinking, allowing an apparent stranger to explore Mother Base unintended?—Kaz cleared his throat, sunglasses set against his face once more. "Can I help you?" Arms crossed, voice complete business mode.
Smirking, the stranger easily replied: "Yeah, you can. I'm lookin' for John." Who was this guy trying to impress with that Texan accent of his? "Is he around?" The man calmly reached for something within his shirt, fingering the object.
A necklace? Kaz wondered if it was a gift from someone. He then blinked twice while scanning his memory banks. John? Who the he—Oh, that's right.
"Snake's out right now.", he offered, evenly—but not suspiciously, opting to keep a polite front. Friendliness would happen if this guy didn't prove to be a threat to Big Boss's safety.
"Mh." Nodding, the cowboy turned to leave. Where was their interrogation room located? "Well, he specifically allowed me clearance to visit, so I'll leave you to it." Threat to John's safety? Adam would've laughed at the thought. Like hell he'd forget the promise made to his late mother.
"Hold it." Kaz's hand immediately squeezed the other man's shoulder while flashing his most charming smile. "You must be Ocelot, huh? He's mentioned you before."
"Sure am, comrade. Don't you think you're a bit too young to be running this base?"
Kazuhira laughed off Ocelot's apparent disbelief, his hand—still lingering slightly—before offering Ocelot a friendly pat. "Seems we're about the same age, so you tell me."
Snorting, Ocelot couldn't help but roll his eyes. Who did this kid think he was trying to fool? His flirting was beyond obvious! "Listen, buttercup. It's good that you're keeping John busy, given the mess his head's been in ever since several...incidents...with this shared project of yours, but—"
Not missing a beat, hands slipping into his pockets, the Militaires Sans Frontières subcommander calmly interjected. "It's a dream that Snake and I share. Not just a project, nor are we simply guns for hire. You've seen the staff and our Mother Base. What we started—together—in '72 was the start of something big. Rome wasn't built in a day."
Voice lowering into a low growl, Ocelot couldn't help the overprotective feelings enveloping his heart. Was Miller here really trying to start Round 1 of Who Knows John Better?
"Let me simplify things for you: His heartbreak over The Boss and a certain project aren't wounds that time will heal as easily as you're implying."
Kaz just shrugged, thinking a moment. "Her bandana's at the bottom of Lake Nicaragua. Seems he was able to move on just fine."
The dirty, otherwise silent, glare Ocelot shot Kaz didn't go unnoticed. Yet it was in fact the cowboy who broke the tense atmosphere, crashing ocean waves the only sound filling the air as nearby staff nervously left the scene to patrol elsewhere.
"Hm." Calculating thoughts in various directions. "Makes me wonder if you moved on from your, shall we say, private contracts?"
Immediate, deep, frown lines set against the 28 year old's face, momentarily aging him ten years. Fucking hell. The less said about his business dealings with Zero, the better.
"Look." Voice firm on the matter. "Securing MSF's future aside, I'll gladly admit I've made my share of mistakes. Big Boss understands." Kaz wisely left out the part of Snake giving him a brief cold shoulder after the confession. "Regardless of your personal connection to...him...", the blonde's teeth were clenched now, "I'd appreciate a little understanding, too."
Ocelot sighed as his own arms crossed while gazing at the sea. His angered heart soothed by the distant cries of seagulls. Personal irritations aside, and vaguely keeping tabs on both of those men ever since that nasty Patriots split occurred two years prior, Ocelot was well-aware where his loyalties lay.
His eyes met Miller's, a gentle smile gradually breaking out. For John. Always, it was for John—whether or not Big Boss would ever understand the reverence and love Ocelot held for him. "Fair enough." He offered his hand which Miller accepted without hesitation. Once again, Kaz's lingering gaze and tender touch didn't go unnoticed—simply unacknowledged.
More than a little curious about this man's past with his Boss, Kazuhira's own smile was bright. This guy was certainly cute as hell; bad habits which Snake would always warn Kaz naturally catching up whenever he'd see a pretty face.
"John is just such a plain name. Still can't believe it."
Adamska chuckled, shaking his head with mirthful eyes. "You're telling me."
"Makes me wonder if I should start calling him Johnny?"
The cowboy's snickers turned into full-blown laughter, at the memory of that American-transferred guard at Tselinoyarsk—perhaps they would cross paths here at MSF? Stranger things had happened, especially when it came to Big Boss's vast connections to people.
"What's so funny?" Eyebrows shot up behind those aviators.
Ocelot then and there wondered why he so desperately wanted to see Miller's eyes unguarded. Miller's features were unique. Honestly...beautiful.
He swallowed thickly as their eyes locked, but kept his cool.
"Come with me." Kaz extended his hand in honest offering, wanting to bury the hatchet. No need for them to bicker about Snake after all. Their mutual love for him was evident. Sunglasses pocketed in his shirt, there was a gentle smile against his lips. "Let's chat privately, hm?"
Something about that smile and those light blues...It was difficult for Ocelot to resist. Secretly, he couldn't deny it was easy to see why Snake had—evidently—fallen for his subcommander.
"Alright." He chuckled, accepting the warmth of Miller's hand against his leather gloves. The men making their way together for Kaz's private quarters.
"Tell me, Miller—"
A chuckle as his hands returned to his pockets, to hide any suspicions from overly curious staff members. "Kaz is fine, Ocelot."
"Hm. Adam's fine for me, too."
Grinning, Kaz teased while they continued walking side by side: "Plain Name John won't shut up about you, you know."
The cowboy's heart skipped a beat despite himself. "Really, now?"
"Oh, yeah. Adam is great this and that...It's nice to finally meet you." Kaz allowed a chuckle to escape, his hand resting on the door of the room he and Snake shared. "Care for something to drink?" His voice turned sing-song, smile pure mischief. "We have a private minibar~"
"It was a long ride over. Sounds nice."
Having touched down and showered—making sure to grab a bite to eat in-between hellos and (boring) salutes to his ever devoted staff—Snake in his jungle fatigues tiredly grumbled as he entered his room.
"Uh..." Doing a double take towards the two kissing men—their shirts unbuttoned and Kaz's scarf undone while otherwise clothed, a shot of whiskey for each man resting on the nightstand—sitting on the bed that he and Kaz shared, Snake cleared his throat.
Loudly.
Breaking out of his dreamy bliss of warm lips and rough hands with eyes fluttering open, those same eyes immediately widened at the source. "Bo—Boss! Adam and I...We were just...!"
"Kaz." Snake's eye narrowed, lack of amusement evident in his voice. "Didn't I tell you to quit the flirting?" He blinked, face scrunching up in confusion. "And did you just yelp?"
Ocelot laughed during soothing strokes of Kaz's hair, free hand toasting Big Boss with his glass. "Nice to see you too, Boss."
"It's been awhile, Adam." He enveloped the younger man into a hug—Ocelot, naturally, immediately reciprocated around Snake's waist—before frowning again at the two blondes, straightening. "Mind explaining what all this is about?" Snake nodded towards Kaz who was calmly sipping his whiskey on the rocks, unfazed. Snake, to his annoyance, had stumbled upon worse in his partner's private escapades. He unfortunately didn't have much room to complain.
It was Miller who replied, cheeky bastard that he was. "Just catching up with your old war buddy, Boss."
"Kaz, your idea of "catching up" is just..." Groaning loudly, Big Boss sat in between both men while angrily chugging the remainder of Kaz's drink. His subcommander laughed, simply pouring himself a fresh glass once Snake finished. Ocelot, meanwhile, offered a friendly arm around Snake's shoulder.
"Need a backrub?" Ocelot nearly purred the question towards Snake, the alcohol lowering his generally private thoughts.
"Good idea." Snake turned to Kaz, practically nudging his shoulders against the man's face. "Kaz, a little help?"
Kaz hummed as his nimble fingers set to relieving that tension of those tight muscles. "Sure thing~"
Ocelot covered his face with his gloved hand, sighing.
Happy as Adam was to reunite with his favorite dense bastard and that intriguing subcommander, maybe he'd need another glass to get through the night while the three caught up. But catching up in good spirits, through laughter and light discussion...An honest smile formed on Ocelot's lips. That sounded nice.