Hi! Welcome to 'Mother Bird and Baby Bird', a teeny oneshot-and one of my rare deviations from boy/boy hotness. Please sit back, relax, enjoy-and make sure you're tolerant of FLUFF. Check your tolerance of emotional Old Snakes too, please.

This oneshot features a somewhat altered version of Act 4, Part 1. I'm referring to the dialogue that occurs between Old Snake and Raiden, about their tortured hearts and masssacred families.

Disclaimer: Yep, you guessed it. I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS! WHEE.

She was a radiant feather, bubbly and youthful. Whenever she drew breath, the world heard a song of vast beauty. Ripples of sunshine ensued from each of her steps, and her eyes sang of eternal Spring. While she captured an otaku's heart, she took a much older heart underneath her wings. She was a dove to be treasured, a gem to be cherished, and two souls knew that. The whole world knew it.

Unfortunately, one of her beloved souls was in the doghouse.

The BSAA and three honored guests were in the middle of nowhere. They were situated inside of a rainforest, to be precise, far away from the known world. For all they knew, they were situated on a completely different planet. Pursuing the creators of the Apocalypse virus was a daunting task, but the obstacles that came during the pursuit were far more difficult to handle. A night had just elapsed with tremendous burdens, leaving no room to breathe in the morning.

During that night, story time turned into something horrific. Each member of the team brought forth their life's story, sharing their hearts and memories with new friends. The story of an old legend was requested by a luminous flower, but an excited audience quickly grew somber. Sadness and the deepest respect became one force, running amuck on a handful of hearts. One particular heart sank, drawn into a black world of the deepest anguish. She didn't enjoy one bit of her friend's tale. There was one part of the tale that stuck out to her, and that happened to be his last sentence.

"If you follow me, you'll never see the light of day."

"How could you say something so awful?! That's not true at all!"

Those words tore the heart out of her. She felt empty, wounded, betrayed. Chris followed her friend's words by remarking on how he related to the presented story, saying he too was a part of the darkness. The Redfield had experienced his fair share of grief, losing a great deal during his BSAA career, but...hearing the absence of hope in Snake's voice killed her. It was as if he stripped her of her wings, after she put forth the greatest effort to nourish them.

She didn't look at him for the rest of the night. She couldn't! She loved him, but hated his train of thought! She loved him more than her own life, the air she needed to survive. Her love alone was enough to drive her insane, constantly reminding her of the pain he inflicted on her. It was great pain, tremendous pain, pain that couldn't easily be erased.

Or so she thought.

"Please talk to Epyon. He's...h-h-he's really s-s-sad!"

Chris urged her to speak to him, but Sunny's plea did her in. There was no way she could ignore the tear-eyed child, and she certainly couldn't ignore her longing to speak to Epyon. The night had barely left several hours ago, but it was still so fresh!

The poor thing was trying to start a fire. She saw his frailty for the first time, for he was a forlorn, trembling kitten rubbing two sticks together. The way his body shivered and his facial expression spoke of immense grief. Someone had caused him great pain, and he found it impossible to recover.

The poor thing.

"Here," she said, trying to retain her anger. She knelt down at his side, surprising him. "Let me show you how."

She kept her eyes averted, obviously struggling to keep a straight face. She heard warm chuckles, and felt her heart rise into a crystal clear sky. "No," she snapped, as she usually did in times of great distress or anger. "Stop laughing at me! I'm trying to set your fire!"

There. In her hands, two sticks gave birth to a roaring fire. Still keeping her eyes off a puppy, Rebecca Chambers rose to her feet. "There you have it," she said huffily, akin to an old-fashioned school teacher. More chuckles ensued, and she couldn't suppress her laughter any longer. Both of them ended up in a fit of warm, merry laughter. Her puppy was filled with life, radiant and brimming with energy.

"Can't even keep a straight face!"

"I tried to, but you kept on laughing at me!"

Laughter continued for moments on end, soaring into the damp heavens. Once laughter subsided, Rebecca's beloved heart asked a question. The look on his face killed her.

"Still hate me?"

"I never hated you," she said instantly, shaking her head. "Never will. I just hate the way you think."

Both of their minds returned to last night's story session. The puppy's story of overwhelming darkness shattered the night's light mood, separating mother from baby bird. His absence of faith in the future delivered a deep wound to mother bird's heart, and it would be a night he would always remember. "Sorry," the baby bird said timidly, lowering his head with cherry blossom cheeks. "Didn't want to upset you, Becky. I just...that's...that's the way I've...always thought of myself. Of my life."

A pair of wrinkled hands were taken by gentle young ones. "Never saw myself in the light," a raspy voice added, adopting the melody of happiness. "Always felt lost in the dark. If you had been with me in the good ol' days, I wouldn't have turned out so screwed up."

"You aren't screwed up," mother bird said, nuzzling her forehead against a wrinkled one. "You've just been misled, that's all."

Neither of them said another word, lost in the warmth of love.

David Emmerich (also known as Old Snake) desperately hoped Rebecca Chambers (also known as Belldandy) would forever remain by his side.

This was composed to the visual artistry of Tenchi Muyo, hot in the wake of Nocturne's fifth chapter.

This oneshot came from an idea I gave birth to today. This was actually meant to be a fullblown RE/MGS adventure, with the Chris/Old Snake pairing. In the end, I decided to just create a friendship oneshot and form another adventure to run alongside the Nocturne saga.

I actually thought of putting Snake and Rebecca into a couple, but then I started to gag. Ew, het! Bwa ha ha. But there is a present I MUST finish for a dear friend, and I will. And yes, it concerns a het couple. XD

Oh, and by the way, Sunny gave Rebecca the name of an 'Oh My Goddess' heroine.

Thank you for reading. I certainly hope you enjoyed one of my rare deviations from yaoi!