Disclaimer: I don't own Konami nor Metal Gear Solid, etc, etc.



A tickling feeling rose up his left ear, the monitor awaited him to turn the system on in order to receive the call. Yet, he didn't answer. Instead, he just stood there, admiring her silhouette upon the window, rain served as their score, constant, it never stopped.

The noise started to became a nuisance, he brought his hand to his ear, ceasing the feeling as a voice came through his ear, on the other side of the Codec a young scientist sat on a wooden table, gaze veiled over a pair of glasses that glinted from time to time the light about him.

"Snake, are you ready.?"

"Yeah.I am headed to the infiltration point now.Don't worry, Otacon."

"Alright, call me when you get there, be fast about it, ok?"

The brief conversation took place, yet his emerald asset never left the dim shadow that stood before him, he felt the time weigh by, and he hadn't found the words already to say goodbye.

"It's getting late already, I should leave too, Roy might be waiting for me."

Roy, Roy Campbell, once the commander of FOX-HOUND was now a man that feel in retirement. He had bought a small house in the outskirts of Washington, enough for him and his young daughter that paid an often visit to him. After Shadow-Moses, Snake, Hal Emmerich and Meryl Silverburgh were presumed dead, but all was a cover up. The trio was alive, and all this time they had been tracing new Metal Gear paraphernalia, and it had been now that Otacon received a file concerning the development of a new weapon. After talking the matter, they had came up with the resolution that it was better for Meryl to go with the former Colonel, considering risky that she staid in the house by herself.

The static shadow bent forward, picking up a small brown leather bag. Unhurriedly she left the shadow shelter to enter the light one, getting poured with white glow her features were seen now, introducing a young woman, probably about her 20's. Scarlet hair that flew about the height of her shoulders, with a matching couple of dark olive eyes that pierced regretfully at his.

"Yes."

That was the only thing he spoke, a knot had climbed up from his stomach up to his throat.

"Anyway, good luck, David" She felt her voice thicken, full of repentant that she couldn't say more to him, just the plain desire of good luck. Her eyes shut, in order to stop the tears she had promised she wouldn't shed in front of him.

On the other side of the room he stood, a long flail of brown hair flew on his neck, at the rhythm of a indigo bandana tied on his forehead.

They had been prisoners of the years, and these hadn't been gracious on him liked they had been on her. Unseen features were plastered on his face, features that remarkably remembered him that maybe his time was running out. Not only he carried FoxDie in his blood system, Liquid's words were in his mind too, those words that revealed Snake about a premature death.

The distance between her and the door shortened, her hand hovered on the cool doorknob, yet she stopped for a moment, turning her head over a couple of inches to look back at the man behind him, waiting for him to say anything.

At his silence, she baked a small smile on her lips, he hadn't changed at all. Her fingers rolled over on the handle, her wrist turning to a side as the door finally opened, a cold, hoary breeze stroke her face.

Before she could step outside, she shut the door, but it wasn't the rain that made her take the decision, it was the feeling of being hold, a new force had been tossed at her, grasping her left wrist. Slowly she move her head in order to sight what was happening, and it was now she realized her wrist was attached to his finger, his eyes swam in a lake that hollered quiet forgiveness.

The bag fell to the floor, the former busy hand moved to his neck, holding him close to her.

She felt his arms about her, curled up on her waist, her ears alerted his heavy breath.

Meryl was the first one that broke the contact, moving her eyes over to his face, that strangely now showed a smile.

Who knows what was it, but she returned the smile, and wearing that smile, she picked her bag again, opened the door and let her figure disappear with the rain, leaving the solo operative in the darkness and solitude of that old house, waiting for the right time to leave.