"Is that really a good idea?" Hal asked and, while sitting on the couch next to Dave, gave him a look from aside. "What does he want here anyway?"
"Don't ask me," the soldier shrugged and reached over to steal some Cheetos from the engineer.
"Great… That means I can totally forget about my DVD marathon," Hal sulked and received a look from aside.
"You can still watch your cartoons when he's gone again tomorrow," Dave grunted, not understanding why it was so important to watch them today. He would never understand why the geek was so much into it anyway. For him it were kid-cartoons that ere way too…"over colored". "Hey!" he suddenly protested after receiving a slap against the arm. "What was that for?!"
"It's called ANIME!" Hal said in his best lecturer tone and ignored the groan he received almost instantly. "A cartoon is a whole different thing!"
"It's been drawn by someone and has voice actors…," Dave disagreed and stole some more Cheetos. "So…it's a cartoon!"
Hal huffed and turned back to the television. "You've no idea what you're talking about, Dave. Really!" he said and pulled his legs, which rested on the couch, close. "An Anime…," he began but was interrupted by a knock on their door.
Using his chance to get away from another long lecture of how cool and how different and how great Anime was, Dave got quickly up and opened the door.
"Hey," Raiden greeted and the older soldier noticed the bag suspiciously.
"You said one night," Dave said and closed the door behind the younger man, who dropped his bag to the ground.
"Yeah, I know…," Raiden nodded and was surprised to find a rather sour looking Otacon on the couch. "What's wrong with him?"
Waving off, Dave walked over to the fridge and got another beer out of it. "He just won't get it!" he heard the engineer saying behind his back and sighed heavily. He should have known that the lecture wasn't over yet.
"Get what?" Jack asked in total confusion after he'd sat down on the couch too, so that only the middle was left for Snake to take a seat.
"Anime!" Hal said and glared when Dave rolled his eyes while he handed the beer over to their friend. "I saw that!"
"So? Sue me!" the soldier replied and sat down next to him, just to steel more Cheetos.
"You're mean!" Hal complained and snatched the bag away from him again.
Jack, who had sat silently in his corner, only stared at the partners with a raised eyebrow. He had always thought that the way the two men acted towards each other was weird. Not only that they were often bickering like an old, married couple, something he had already noticed the first time he had met them, they also seemed to share a very deep friendship, which was something he didn't know among soldiers. At least he had never made friends with anyone during his active time, since soldiers like them always worked alone. But Snake and Otacon were a complete different matter and he wondered why? Maybe he could find out the reason behind it in the next two days. "Ehm… I'm sorry to interrupt but…," he said and both men stopped the bickering to look at him. "I'm pretty tired after the drive…"
"You can have the bed," Dave said and nodded towards a door on his right.
"The sheets are fresh ones," Hal added and handed Dave the last Cheetos, which earned them another odd look from Raiden.
"Okay," the blonde shrugged, grabbed his bag and got up. "Well, good night, guys…," he added with a brief wave of his hand and disappeared behind the door a few seconds later. But what he saw surprised him even more than the bickering before.
"So much to You can still watch your cartoons when he's gone again tomorrow," Hal sighed and frowned when Dave chuckled. "What?!"
"You said it yourself."
"What?!"
"Cartoons!" Dave smirked and grinned when his partner rolled his eyes.
"You are so…," Hal said but the laugh of his friend made him smile.
"Damn!"
"What?" he asked when the soldier suddenly jumped up and walked over to the bedroom. "What's wrong, Dave?!"
"I don't intend to sleep naked, that's wrong," the grunted reply came and the soldier knocked on the door.
"Something wrong?" Raiden asked and was about to put his clothes onto a chair when Snake entered the room.
"No."
He watched how the man opened some drawers and got two sweatpants and a shirt out of it, before he turned around to leave again. "Ehm…," Jack made to get Dave's attention and was happy that it worked. "You guys share the bed?" he asked carefully and saw how the soldier's eyes narrowed warningly. "I mean… Where do you sleep if I can have the bed?" he corrected himself before his opposite began to ask questions.
"Couch," Snake replied and left again, but not before he gave Raiden another odd look. Hal, who was already occupied with preparing the couch for the night, looked up. "You want to go to bed already?"
"I don't know," the engineer shrugged and put the blankets and pillows onto the now ready daybed. "Depends on you. It's still early for me though."
"Even 6 a.m. is early for you, Hal," Dave teased and threw the engineer's shirt and pants over to the man, who caught them.
"Thanks," this one said and walked over to the bathroom.
After both were ready for bed and lay next to each other on the couch with their eyes fixed on the screen, the soldier gave his engineer a look from aside. He knew him well enough by now to tell that his friend wasn't interested in what they were currently watching, which meant that he would get bored soon and start working on his computer, which again would mean that Snake would have a rather sleepless night. "Fine…," the soldier grunted in the end and ran a hand over his face. "You can pick one of your DVDs, okay?" Seeing Hal's happy smile, Dave rolled his eyes. "I said one, Hal!"
Only seconds later the screen was illuminated with an Anime movie. While the engineer looked interested and happy, the soldier looked bored and ready to jump out of the next window. Snake didn't know why, but seeing his friend in that excited state made him happy somehow. It remembered him of the several times they had gone out, either to go and eat something or if they needed food or anything else. The geek always had the time of his life, Dave thought and smirked.
"You're not listening to me!"
"Hm?" he made and looked up.
"I said the movie's over and asked if you want to go to bed or watch something else?" Hal repeated once more but, after a wave of Dave's hand, got up to switch off the TV. "You've missed the whole movie," he complained while lying down and adjusted his pillow until he felt comfortable with it. "It's every time the same with you, Dave…" With a sigh he rolled onto his side and pulled the pillow close with one hand. "Night!"
"Every time the same with me?" Dave suddenly whispered next to his ear and Hal shivered.
"W…what are you up to, Dave?"
"What I had actually planned for tonight?" the soldier growled and began to nuzzle the engineer's neck. When his hand disappeared under Hal's shirt this one stopped him, which made Snake sigh. "Come on, Hal. It's been almost two weeks…"
"I…I know," Hal replied and gave the door on their right a nervous look. "But what about Raiden?"
"He's sleeping," Dave said huskily and sucked on the other man's throat, while his hands stroked over the engineer's chest and teased the nipples. "Don't worry about him…"
"D…Dave!" Hal gasped and bit his lower lip hard to suppress a noise that would have definitely alarmed the soldier in the next room, whether he was asleep or not. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he clung to his friend's bare back and threw his head back to give the soldier, who know lay on top of him, better access.
"Pull that off," Dave said and waited for the engineer to drop his shirt on the ground next to them, before he pulled him into another kiss and went on with his caressing. Both men gasp when their hips grounded into each other and had to suppress moans.
Panting and writhing under the touches, Hal began to whimper and buried his face on his partner's neck when this one pulled both their pants down, just enough for their erections to rub against each other. While he returned the kisses he was offered, he tried to remember for how long they were already doing this and how it had even started. All he could remember was that both had gotten pretty lonely after living a whole year undercover in Manhattan and had hardly found the time to meet with someone else. They hadn't done it anyway because of trust issues and the need to stay under the radar. Their first sex had come to both as a surprise when one of them had begun to rub against the other in a semi-dozed off state, and this had somehow led to them sleeping with each other. Hal still blushed when he remembered how embarrassing the whole situation had become on the following morning. And just because they had to share a bed in the small apartment… So, after nearly five years of living with each other, the sex had somehow become a casual addition to their friendship and both made use of it from time to time.
"Ah…," it escaped the engineer's lips and he desperately tried to get closer to his friend and rub harder against him. His fingers were already digging into Dave's back and the soldier was also trying to pull him closer. The sound of their heavy and fast breaths filled the room, which suddenly seemed to be too hot for both of them. Their hips still rubbed against each other after Hal had come with a suppressed moan into his partner's neck, and it didn't take Dave long to follow. Exhausted and panting, he remained on top of the smaller man and held him as close as Hal did him. When his heart beat normally again, he reached for the engineer's shirt to clean them up, before he pulled their pants up again and rolled off the other man.
"Night," Hal whispered, turned around and pulled the blanket closer with a heavy sigh.
"Nn," Dave murmured, still basking in the afterglow and rolled onto his belly. While he soon drifted off into oblivion, the engineer still stared into the dark and thought about what had just happened. Nevertheless, he soon felt too tired to give his wishes another thought…
X
After he's woken up on the next morning Raiden remained in bed for a while longer and thought hard about what he's seen at night. He'd just wanted to use the toilet. That had been all. But what his eyes had to see… No, he didn't want to think about it further… Sighing, he sat up and looked around the room. The sun already shone into it and a look at the watch told him it was nearly 10:30. He hadn't known he'd been that tired. "Must be the shock…," Raiden thought and ran a hand through his blonde hair when his eyes fell onto the bedside table next to him. He hadn't thought about that… He made sure that the door was still closed before he opened the drawer to take a look inside. And yeah, that's what he had thought…
X
"Finally up?" Snake grunted and stood next to Hal, who was occupied with washing the dishes, and used a towel to dry whatever the engineer handed him.
"Yeah…," Raiden nodded and looked to and fro between them. "Well….I'm gonna take a shower."
"What's wrong with him?" Hal asked confused and dried his hands on a nearby towel.
"Kids today," Dave shrugged and threw the towel aside. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"Hm… I don't know," his opposite shrugged. "I'm still waiting for those downloads to finish, then I need to update my systems and I still have to burn the Evangelion episodes on DVD and…" He began to thought when he noticed Dave's grin. "What?!"
"You sound like a stressed-out housewife."
"Well, actually I'm the housewife here," Hal gave back and crossed his arms. "As far as I can remember I cook, wash the dishes, tidy up and do the laundry." This made Dave laugh a loud. "What is so funny about it? You could really help me more…"
"I just did, didn't I?" the soldier replied and smirked. "We should get an apron for you then, Hal," he added jokingly and chuckled again when his friend blushed.
"You're weird, Dave. Really!" the engineer said and cleared his throat. "Sometimes you're really scaring me."
"Damn, only sometimes?" Dave teased him grinning and watched how he walked over to his computers. "Well, I'm off and go running. Make sure the kid…" He stopped and gave the bathroom door a look. "Whatever," he waved off and left the apartment.
Sighing, Hal went over to his computers and began to start the updates. He sat down on his stool and waited for the DVD burner to finish its work. If he was lucky, and he knew he wouldn't be, he could watch at least one episode before Dave would return. Maybe even two… "What are you doing?" he heard Raiden asking after a while and turned to give the man a look. This one came over to him and held a shirt in his hand.
"Why are you running around naked?" Hal asked and turned back to the screens, not seeing the blonde's smirk. Oh yeah, he had a plan…
"Why not? Nothing you haven't seen before, right?" Jack asked innocently and hid his smirk when the engineer gave him a shocked look. He really looked like a rabbit that was about to be hit by a car.
"W…what?!"
"Well, you are a man, too, aren't you?" Raiden shrugged nonchalantly, still smiling internally and pulled the shirt over his head. "So, what are you doing?"
"Oh, ehm…" Hal pushed his glasses back up. "Some updates…"
"I see." Nodding, Jack looked around the room. "Can I do anything around here?"
"No, we actually did everything in the morning. But thanks," Hal replied and typed in some commands. "You can watch some TV or so and help me with preparing lunch in about 30 minutes. Dave's always hungry when he comes back."
"Well, after a rough night…," Jack shrugged and grinned when Hal had to cough.
"W…what do you mean?!" the engineers stuttered and kept his face towards the screens, well aware that he's blushed and that his heart was pounding way too fast.
"The daybed I mean," Raiden said and sat down on the sofa. "I hate those things. Rose always makes me sleep on it when we have a fight. I think they are rather uncomfortable…"
"Oh…. Okay…"
Yes, he was definitely on his road to victory. He only had to wait until the legendary soldier came back and took a shower before he would push the engineer a bit further. Smiling to himself, Raiden switched on the television and leant back on the sofa. This day would definitely be fun…
About and hour later he stood next to Hal and was preparing the lunch when Dave came back, kicked his running shoes into the next corner and walked over to the shower. "Dave," Hal sighed and didn't bother to turn around. "Shoes!" Rolling his eyes, the soldier walked back and put his shoes next to the engineer's. "Thank you!"
Grunting something under his breath, Dave closed the door behind him and jumped under the shower.
Raiden acted innocently as long as it too the soldier to come out of the bathroom with just a towel around his hip. He waited for Dave to disappear behind the bedroom door before he took his chance. "Wow…"
"What?" Hal asked and got three plates out of the cupboard.
"He really has a great body, don't you think?" Jack asked innocently and once more began to grin internally. Yeah, the engineer was definitely jealous.
"So? He trains a lot," Hal shrugged after a brief glare and began to set the table. "Better hurry up with the salad."
"Already done," the blonde smirked and thought about the next step in his plan. "I bet he can have anyone he likes with that body…"
"What's wrong with you?" Hal asked not hiding his annoyance.
"Nothing," Raiden waved off and took the bowl with salad to place it in the middle of the table. "I just don't understand that the two of you don't have partners. I mean…it's frustrating after a moment, isn't it?" he asked, determined to get the answer he wanted but only received a roll of the eyes from the engineer. "And you guys live together for what? Five years?"
"So?" Hal asked and crossed his arms. "What are you hinting at?!"
"I mean… What about your…" God, he loved the look on the scientists face! "…manly needs?"
Blushing, Hal sat quickly down and was glad that Dave came back at the same time. "Lunch's ready," he announced and sipped on his water in hope Raiden would just shut up and sit down.
"Chicken and rice?" the soldier asked with a raised eyebrow and in his casual gruff voice.
"I told you we need to go food shopping," Hal lectured him.
"Yeah, yeah…," Dave waved off and began to eat, asking himself why the engineer glared constantly at the younger soldier. "Something wrong?!" he asked after a moment but both man shook their heads. Shrugging, he went on eating and gave the salad a skeptical look. It was typical for Hal to cook healthy food when it was his turn with cooking. Reluctantly the man began to eat the green stuff, knowing full well that he would still be hungry afterwards anyway.
"So what are we going to do later?" Raiden asked afterwards and looked at the two men.
"Dunno," Hal shrugged and went over to his computers to check on the updates and his movies. "How about watching a movie?"
"As long as it's not one of your cartoons," Dave grunted and began to put the plates away.
"Anime!" the engineer corrected with a heavy sigh. "Will you ever learn?!"
"Ehm…no!" Dave teased him with a grin and chuckled as Hal began to glare daggers at him. "Aw, Hal, come on! Stop sulking."
"I'm not sulking," his friend replied sourly and hammered another command into his keyboard. "Go and help Raiden with washing the dishes…"
The soldier frowned. He was sure there had been a slight trace of jealousy in his partner's voice but in the next moment he was sure that he was wrong. Why should Hal be jealous? There was no reason at all. Doing what he was told to do he began to tidy up with the help of Raiden; unaware of the engineer watching them out of the corner of his eyes.
X
While Raiden sat motionless on the corner of the sofa with a bottle of beer in his hand and watched the two men next to him, he really began to forget about any doubts he had before. The whole evening he had tried to find out more about their relationship but in the end had to realize that maybe he had been wrong and there was really nothing between the soldier and scientist except for a deep friendship. But then again… Hal had reacted jealous towards whatever Raiden had to say after commenting on Snake's muscles, he had hardly spoken to the blonde at all and the younger man knew Hal had watched every move of him while he had been close to Dave. But then again the couple never gave real hints about whatever was going on between them. There were no secret touches, no secret looks…
But then again…the two objects in the bedside table were too obvious…
He heard how Dave chuckled again, which caused Hal to laugh even louder and rest his head against the soldier's shoulder. Good friends did something like that, didn't they? He sipped on his beer bottle and watched the couple a bit longer, the movie on television already forgotten. He couldn't hear what Dave whispered but obviously it was funny enough to cause Hal to giggle once more. Raiden only shook his head and put the bottle back onto the table. But then a grin became visible on his face. Maybe now was the perfect time to play his trump card… "What happened to your shirt, Hal?" he asked and the giggles stopped almost instantly. "When I got up at night you weren't wearing it. And it wasn't that warm actually…"
Swallowing hard, Hal gave Dave a look and cleared his throat. "I…thought it was too warm…"
"Yeah?" Jack asked innocently and received a quick nod. "Well, I believe that…"
"What's that supposed to mean, kid?" Dave asked and narrowed his eyes.
"Nothing…," Raiden waved off and looked back at the screen. "But actually…," he added after a brief moment and his inner devil was celebrating with joy, "you couldn't have been freezing at night. That's true."
"W…why?!" Hal asked and was afraid his heart would be bursting through his chest.
"Oh…," the blonde shrugged and gave him a brief look, acting as if the whole situation didn't interest him one bit while Snake's eyes were only slits. "He kept you pretty warm."
"Kid!" Snake growled warningly but Jack gave him an innocent look.
"Yeah?"
"What are you hinting at?" the soldier demanded to know, positioning himself in front of his engineer.
Looking into the angry green eyes, Raiden began to calculate the risk. If he dared to say what he was thinking then he ran into danger of being bitten by a very angry snake. If he said nothing….Snake would probably start interrogating him. But then again…he wanted to fulfill his mission. Staring at the man for a little longer, he finally got up and walked over to the bedroom. It was always better to have a free escape route. In the end he could still escape through the window before Snake's wrath hit him. His inner devil began to cheer him on and he counted to three, the door to his escape route already in sight… "I just don't get it," he said and could tell Snake was still glaring daggers at him. Now was the time to turn around and give the soldier a challenging look. "The hug you gave him on Arsenal was proof enough that you guys are doing each other for years. I just don't get why you can't admit that you guys are totally in love with each other." He looked at the two men, one looking shocked, one…ready to slit his throat or….no, now it changed to realization, and counted once more to five to let his words sink in. "I mean...lube and a box of Trojans right next to your bed? The shirt gone because if became too hot at night? When I got up the two of you were cuddling like an old married couple…" Oh, yeah! He did it! Hal's cheeks turned into a scarlet red and Snake's eyes were ready to fall out of their sockets. "And the two of you are just too blind or too shy to admit that you love each other. It's crazy! Anyway… I'd appreciate it if you kept it down tonight, okay? I heard him." Raiden gave a nod at the engineer and turned around. "Night!" He closed the door behind him and retreated towards the window in case Snake came after him…
But this one still sat on the couch like frozen and stared at the door, Hal next to him, cheeks red and heart pounding strongly in his chest. Neither of them dared to move. Their brains were still too occupied with what the blonde had told them. Doing each other for years, yeah. Why not? They were two grown-up men with needs. But love? Snake gave his scientist a look from a side and thought about it. Sure, he liked Hal. He was his partner and best friend. But love? He met the other man's grey eyes and looked deep into them. Embarrassed, the smaller man looked away, was surprised when the soldier touched his face and made him look back at him. Hal's eyes widened when Dave pressed a kiss onto his lips, just to lean back again with closed eyes and a thoughtful frown. "Hm…"
"W…what?" the engineer asked, heart beating even faster and watched his friend from aside.
"Is he right?" Dave asked him instead and gave him a questioning look.
"Right with what?!" Hal asked in returned and backed off a bit.
"Why are we doing this, Hal?" the soldier said and leant back, thinking about the past five years.
"I…don't know," the man next to him shrugged and looked at his hands. "You started it…"
"But you never said no," Dave gave back. "Why?" he asked and turned to have a better look at him. Blushing and feeling trapped, Hal looked away and shrugged. "You started it often enough yourself…"
"You never said no," the scientist replied and looked aside when the soldier chuckled.
"Right…," Dave nodded and held his friend's gaze. "Do you think the kid is right?"
"About us being in love?" Hal asked and looked back at the screen where a couple was just kissing each other. How fitting, he thought. "Well it would be nice if you would stop with just turning around after we had sex…"
"Hm…," the soldier made and moved closer until he sat right next to the man. "What do you suggest I should do instead?" he whispered huskily into Hal's ear and smirked when a shudder ran through his engineer's body.
"You could be…nicer," Hal shrugged and turned his head again to meet the soldier's eyes.
"Nicer, hm?" Dave asked and waited for a nod before he pushed him down and crawled on top of him. "Nicer like that?" he asked and stroked lightly over Hal's sides after his hand had disappeared under the shirt. "Or that?" he said and began to nib on his friend's neck until he heard a sigh.
"No!" Hal said to Dave's surprise and pushed him away a bit. "Lie down and make room for me," he ordered in a sure voice, waited for his friend to do so before he grabbed the blanket from the stool nearby and spread it over the soldier.
"You want to tell me a bed story?" this one asked and made the engineer chuckle.
"Better," Hall replied with new confidence and went under the blanket with his back towards Dave, who still tried to figure out what the man was up to. "Nicer like that," the engineer said and pulled his friend's arm closer until he embraced him from behind.
"I've always known…"
"Known what?" Hal asked sleepily and switched off the television.
"That you belong to the cuddling-after-sex-species," Dave grunted and snuggled closer.
"Look who's talking," his friend replied and heard the soldier sighing behind him. "What?"
"No sex today then?" Dave asked hopefully and rubbed against the man briefly.
"Dave!" Hal protested and gave him a slap on the hand. "You and your hyperactive libido… I can't believe it!"
"Hyperactive because of you," the man behind him grinned and began to stroke his partner's belly. "I just love hearing your squeals, that's all."
"See? There it was!"
"What?"
"Love!" Hal said and closed his eyes. "You said it!"
"So?" Dave shrugged and pulled him closer. "I have no problem with saying it."
"I'm all ears, Dave," the engineer yawned but opened his eyes when he was pulled into a gentle kiss. He could make out his partner above him.
"I love you," Dave said in barely more than a whisper and held Hal close to him, afraid the man would drop dead and fall from the small couch.
Instead Hal pulled him into another kiss and smiled. "I love you too, Dave." Waiting for his partner to settle back down he cuddled up to him and closed his eyes again. "If you behave…you might get lucky under the shower later…"
"Really?" Dave asked hopefully.
"Mhm," Hal nodded. "If you behave, Dave!" he warned when he felt his friend's hand wandering dangerously low.
X
Smiling satisfied, Raiden closed the door as calmly as possible and searched for his cell phone in the dark. He refused to switch on the light, not wanting to make his presence known to the couple. After finding it, he quickly began to write a short message and sent it off to Mei Ling. Yes, he really had accomplished his mission and knew he would sleep like a log, since he didn't have to worry about his mission anymore. He only hoped that neither Snake nor Otacon would ever find out about the true reason of his visit.
But he also didn't reckon with an angry Mei Ling calling him in the middle of the night and giving him a sermon about a text message, which said: Fission Mailed…
Well, I hope you guys liked it at least a bit. It wasn't really what I had on mind, but well… Review please!!