Title: Bottle of Eternal Youth
Spoilers: none
Summary: Takes place before MGS4.
I can't be the only one who noticed this. I-I'm not the only who noticed, right?
Originally posted to mgsslash
--
It's one of those rare times that he gets to go to an honest-to-goodness grocery store that he stops by that isle. His first thought is, get it as a joke, it'll be funny. His second is, he'll be pissed. Okay, maybe not so much pissed, but definitely unamused, and Otacon does not like to unamuse Snake. He runs his hand through his hair, knowing that this should not be a difficult decision, and wouldn't be for any normal person, but it is for him, and -
That's when he gets the idea, and can't help but throw it in the cart beneath the scentless soap and shampoo Snake was so fond of.
--
He packs all the bathroom items in one bag before coming in to the apartment of the week, passing it off to Snake and asking him to put it away while he and Sunny put away the groceries. He tries to do this as not-suspiciously as possible, hoping that Snake walks away before making a fuss over That Thing. He tries to look innocent as Snake's head peeks around the hallway, giving him a nod that says, We need to talk but I'm not going to say that in front of the kid. Otacon tells Sunny to keep putting things away while he helps Snake in the bathroom; Sunny giggles a little and Snake just looks irked.
"What is this?" he demands as soon as Otacon approaches, holding the offending thing out like it was dirty. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Of course not. Why did you just assume it was for you, anyway?"
Snake pauses, seeming to realize he's been had, by Otacon of all people. He just huffs and shoves the box into Otacon's hands, making to leave.
"I mean, I started going grey before you did. You remember, right? Even back when we first met, my hair was more grey than brown. And that was nine years ago. Now my hair is trying to match my labcoat."
"Now you're just overreacting."
"No really!" Otacon insists, following Snake out into the living room. Sunny was still trying to find the perfect place for a bag of bread. "Maybe it's not important to you that your hair is going grey -" but don't try to tell me that because I know you care - "but at least you had a couple decades of normal hair. I started going grey when I was a teenager."
"So?" is all Snake has to say. Otacon hears at the end, At least you have a couple decades of living left. It's probably his imagination.
"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time," Otacon finishes lamely, knowing that has to be the worst justification for anything, ever.
"Then do it."
"All right, maybe I will." He feels silly making such a fuss over hair dye, but since he was challenged, he didn't want to back down (for once in his life, at least).
--
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the bathroom door. "Otacon?"
"I'm not done yet!" is the slightly panicked reply.
"I'm sure it's supposed to look like that," Snake guesses.
"You can't even see it!"
--
Once the dye was washed out of his hair, his first thought is, this doesn't really suit me.
His second is, it reminds me of someone.
Finally it snaps, feeling like a shock to the chest: I just dyed my hair the same color as Snake's.
He doesn't know if he's supposed to be laughing at this or not, or if it's even funny. He looks at the door, just trying to imagine what Snake will think. Otacon knows he'll notice, even if he'll pretend not to; he's been getting touchy about his age recently, and all the havoc it's wreaked on his appearance.
Otacon looks in the mirror again. I don't look old anymore, he thinks.
Dave. I guess I'll just have to be young for both of us.
He opens the door and starts looking for Snake.