Author's Note: Whoa, first time I've written a MGS fanfiction since it took me too long to understand the whole story xDD This one features Raiden, Sunny and Hal in a frienship/angsty thing I came up with. It's set during Act Four before Raiden intervenes and battles Vamp, the moment when Sunny's eggs turn out alright (yay for you! xDDD). I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Metal Gear Solid or any of its characters; they all belong to Konami.
Special dedication to Maria (Young Ria xDD) and my friend Josh whose birthday is officially today (now August 22nd). I hope you have a nice day!^^


Metal Gear Solid: Irony To Its Best

I recovered sooner than expected from my last dialysis and I had made my decision: I was going in. I had a great hunch, one of those I never doubted, and I knew Vamp would be there. It was a premonition, something like a sixth sense; I couldn't bring myself to think otherwise. I rested aboard the Nomad after the medical process and Hal took care of me whilst Snake was infiltrating Shadow Moses. Somehow, I felt hollow inside, as if a piece of my heart had been ripped away, and with a huge knot in my stomach but, also, with hope. That was because of only one thing: Sunny was there.

When I opened my eyes, I found her looking at me intensely with a faint frown on her face that soon disappeared when I awoke. Once again, she smiled and talked to Hal; I still couldn't make out what she was saying. I didn't move, still stunned, and Sunny disappeared from my sight.

After spending so much time with her, having been by her side for so long, I'd come to think of Sunny as a younger sister. No matter the circumstances, she always smiled at me; I had barely seen her with nothing else that wasn't a beaming expression (save for hours ago, when she was reluctant to let me go and seemed as if to yell at me). Unfortunately, I hadn't returned those smiles but I hope that I could one day. Until then, I'd have to reflect about it.

Slowly, I tried to sit up but the cables attached to my chest did not allow me to. That, though, alerted Hal, who spun his chair around and averted his gaze from the computer screen. I kept silent, not in the mood to talk, and I could see the ghost of a smile across his face.

"How're you feeling?" he asked me as he walked towards the bench I lay on. I didn't shrug or reply but I let out a sigh, somehow telling him I felt fine. "Let me take those off you." Whilst he unplugged the cables with care, I still kept silent; when he was done, I felt my body working on its own again. Rubbing my eyes due to the lack of sleep (the induced comas by anaesthesia weren't refreshing at all), I tried to speak. Not even my vocal chords would work then and I fell silent. Hal gazed at me with worry, and I spoke.

"How's Snake?"

"Our last communication was just twenty minutes ago," he replied. "Everything good so far." I nodded, calm, and swung my legs over the side of the bench, getting used to moving again. Silence reigned between us again, only disturbed by the soft humming of the machines around us. Hal turned his back to me and my gaze wandered to the stairs, catching sight of Sunny's shadow's movement. I felt my mood lighten and, although I knew, I asked Hal about her.

"Sunny? She's upstairs." I didn't know why I was surprised but I simply was.

When Hal saw me attempting to stand up, he stopped me, gesture that earned him one of my purely stubborn looks. Both of our gazes met and he suddenly understood that it was useless to argue; moreover, it wouldn't be advisable to stir up the tension, and he let me up. It felt strangely odd to be up and moving again on my own two feet -how odd is that?- but if I wanted to go to REX's hangar, I'd have to be fit.

I went up the stairs, exercising my numb muscles, and I soon reached the top, where I found Sunny facing an egg box and with two of them in her hand. Sunny turned and faced me at the sound of my metal feet and, as always, she smiled. I wanted to smile back, but couldn't.

"Jack!" she exclaimed happily. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm better." My voice came out less hoarser, which I thanked. She didn't say anything else and climbed up to the step in front of the cooker, cracked the eggs and started cooking them in her usual way, yet the pan soon had a lid on. My eyes turned from Sunny to the floor and to Sunny again, whom I found looking dreamily at a blue flower in a small vase.

"It w-was a g-gift from N-Naomi," she stuttered, noticing my curiousness. Next thing I knew, the duck-shaped alarmed clock started ringing noisily and Sunny quickly took the lid off the pan, instantly becoming marvelled. It was as if she'd seen a wonder and I looked over her shoulder to see. The cause of her excitement was her success: the eggs were perfectly done.

"I cooked them r-right, Jack!" she exclaimed jumping in joy. I wouldn't know much about cooking but I noticed how soon the eggs would start burning, so I quickly put them out of the pan, Sunny's hand guiding my own. And then, I smiled to her but faintly, my mouth acting on its own accord as it seemed. Sunny beamed at me, trotted down to the stairs' landing and called Hal.

"U-Uncle Hal!" she told him excitedly, "I-I did it right!" Hal knew immediately what she meant and replied happily, congratulating her with a smile; of that, I was sure.

"Way to go, Sunny!" Would it be the first time there was no tension between us? I thought so. Sunny took the hot eggs, picked up a fork and lent me the plate, holding it firmly. I raised my eyebrows, feeling like not knowing what to do.

"Y-You eat them. I-I was cooking them f-for you when you w-woke up, Jack." She told me. I slowly shook my head.

"I'm not hungry, Sunny."

Her face changed. "But I… You have to eat! You m-must be hungry, a-aren't you? A-After the d-dialysis, y-you must be weak and e-eating's how to solve it!" I was genuinely impressed at her wit; of course, it was an obvious statement but it was how she said it that impressed me. To tell the truth, I was famished; dialysis always left me with a rumbling stomach. Hesitantly, I took the plate from Sunny's hands, who nodded with joy. And to be honest once again, I ate slowly but I wolfed it down, thanking the fact of finally having something to taste and that satisfied my stomach.

Sunny couldn't be happier and I left the plate aside, letting out a low sigh. She delicately took my hands and looked at me straight in the eye. It was the first time I'd seen such an intense gaze in a child; her mother's strong gaze, Olga's, was something she'd thankfully inherited. I exhaled and lowered my head, breaking eye contact and feeling the pit of my stomach knot painfully. Sunny looked crestfallen and, in a moment of tension, I stood up and went down the stairs -somehow clumsily-, leaving Sunny upstairs.

"Hal, I'm going," I blurted out regardless, which made Emmerich jolt and turn, standing up floored. My gaze met his again and Hal took a step forward, clenching his fists.

"You're not-"

"I'm feeling exceptionally fine, Otacon," I interrupted, making new use of his nickname. Hal could not believe me but didn't have any arguments to use. I felt rueful after speaking to him like that but it was my decision. "I am sorry, H-"

"You don't have to apologize, Raiden." He cut me, raising a hand. My expression didn't change at the sight of his, one of worry and unrest. But then, Hal looked at me intensely. "Do what you must. I shouldn't keep you from that." He said.

We both heard Sunny walk down the stairs and she placed herself in front of me, looking at me as if saying 'Please, tell me you're kidding'. Unfortunately, I wasn't.

"You're g-going?" she asked quietly. I nodded again and sat upon my resting bench, looking at her as if requesting something from her but nothing occurred to me. Sunny lowered her head, staring at the floor, and I felt my hand acting on its own accord: I came to lay it on her hand and then it slid to her cheek, cupping it. Sunny's head perked up with a gasp, her skin warm under my metallic fingers, and she did something I didn't expect: she hopped on my knees, sat and flung her arms around my neck, pulling me into a hug.

I returned it, putting both of my hands on her back. I didn't see it back then, but Hal smiled warmly at the sight. I sighed, feeling better but worse at the same time; this all reminded me of Rose, whom I wondered about for the briefest of moments. Her Jack was dead. In spite of that and as cruel as it might sound, I felt that that hug was the warmest I'd ever received. I separated from Sunny, who smiled hopefully at me and I genially ruffled her hair after standing up and picking my blade. I attached it to my waist and stayed still, expectant and reluctant. Sunny laid a hand on my wrist.

"Don't worry, Sunny. It'll be okay." I said. Sunny's smile widened.

"I know."

Suddenly, I felt like teasing her a bit. "What's that, you can foresee the future?"

Sunny laughed wholeheartedly, a sound I'd never heard until now. "It's been my 'S-Sunny Side Up' f-fortune telling. I-If the eggs come out n-nicely, it means something good's g-gonna happen."

"I see."

"Oh, can you tell N-Naomi I cooked them right? S-She was t-the one w-who taught me t-the first time s-she was here."

"Sure. Sunny, I have to ask you something." Sunny nodded and I kneeled in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Am I good to go?" Sunny's heart had sunk; I knew it by the slight change in her demeanour. She averted my gaze, not wanting to look at me.

"B-But… Y-You've fought a l-lot and e-every time y-you've come back, I-I've been h-happy but… w-what if…?" I turned serious, gazing at her long at hard.

"Since when have I seen you so pessimistic?" I asked her. "Sunny, trust me. I'll be fine." And then I noticed how my heart shattered at the sight of one single tear of hers sliding down her cheek. Sunny nodded, refusing to cry, and smiled at me again.

"You h-have t-the 'go ahead'."

With that, I was more than ready.

xx

Naomi kneeled next to Vamp, distress and seriousness in a mix across her features. My wounded body loomed over her as I watched the flame of life in Vamp's eyes slowly extinguish itself. I held myself steady, feeling the pain sear my wounds and extremities and as if my body had pores and all of them would bleed until I was dry. I looked at Snake, who looked as tired as me and didn't look back at me. Then, I spoke.

"Naomi," I called her, and Naomi's head didn't turn. "Sunny ask me to tell you something."

At the sound of her name, Naomi looked at me, her expression contradicting the tone of her voice. She had regained some interest when I had mentioned Sunny and she seemed expectant to hear what I had to say.

"What is it?" she asked.

"'I cooked them right'," I said wistfully as I remembered Sunny's beaming expression. And that reminded me of I'd sworn to return and that she'd see me alive.

Naomi laughed sadly, looking away, and looked up to the ceiling whilst we all watched in awe. "Good for you, Sunny… You finally did it."

And as two tears rolled down her cheeks, my mind clung to Sunny's image and my heart shrank with sorrow. I had a hunch, one of those which I never doubted, one which told me nothing good would result out of this.

And so it was. Whilst Sunny was in the Nomad, her cooking mentor perished after time unfroze.


A/N: It's kinda sad but it's the best thing I could think of. Reviews are appreciated!^^