DECEMBER:
Oh my god, he's absolutely beautiful.
Snake's first thought when the young man showed up on his doorstep is not what he expected. Still, how could it be when he opened the door expecting Meryl dropping by to say hi or a FedEx guy asking for directions and got a short weeaboo with snowflakes decorating his soft black hair like crystals on a chandelier.
"Otacon? What are you doing here?" It was a rude thing to blurt out like that, but Otacon didn't look hurt.
"Snake, I... Um... I need a place to stay..." Snake looked at the man. His nose was pink from the cold, and snowflakes had even found their way into his long, thick eyelashes. Snake led him in, leading him to the couch and going to make him something warm to drink. Otacon mumbled his thanks shyly, still somewhat shy after not seeing Snake for about a year, suddenly turning up after the Big Shell incident. Snake could understand that Otacon had wanted some time to grieve over Emma. Still, why was he here? Snake didn't wonder for long though. "I was in England for awhile after Shadow Moses. With… You know. Emma's mother. I needed some place to stay and she took care of me. Emma was in college at the time. I went and visited her recently, seeing as Emma…" Otacon's voice was thick and trembling with emotion.
"Hey, hey," Snake muttered, putting a reassuring hand on the younger man's shoulder, "it's fine. You can stay here as long as you need." Snake didn't know why he'd said that.
"R-really? Oh thank you! I promise I don't take up much room! You won't even notice I'm here! Thank you so much, Snake!" Otacon took the spy by surprise when he hugged him tightly, nestling his head into the crook of Snake's neck. Hesitantly, he hugged the scientist back, patting him softly.
"Yeah. Great. Now get off."
"Sorry."
Snake didn't have a spare room or bed, and he would have felt bad if he'd made Otacon sleep on the couch, so they ended up sharing a bed. Otacon wasn't a bad person to sleep in the same bed as, unless he was up late marathoning that show with the giant robots and shit again. Other than his annoying weeaboo tendencies, he was a good roommate, not to mention the fact that he knew how to cook (some) actual food and do laundry.
"How do you know how to do all this stuff, anyway?" Snake had asked one day as Otacon sat on the couch folding warm clothes and watching some anime with a cross-dressing girl on TV.
"Oh, my parents got divorced and it was just me and my dad for awhile. He worked all the time, so I kind of learned on my own. I don't mind it. It's relaxing." Snake nodded. He was still surprised how little he knew about the man he was now living with, but then again Otacon didn't exactly know much about him either. Snake sat quietly after that small revelation and studied Otacon. The man had his hair tucked behind his ears, and his glasses were slipping down his nose. Sure, the kid was weird and awkward and he wet the bed that one time, but his heart was in the right place. He was a good person. Winter rolled around sooner than Snake would have liked, and it was once again the season of tradition. Snake didn't really celebrate anything, just because he didn't really feel the need to, but Otacon insisted they get a Christmas tree.
"It was something Emma and I used to do every year. Besides, there's a huge forest near here. We could cut it down ourselves and everything! Please?" Snake had begrudgingly agreed, and that was how they found themselves lugging a heavy saw through the woods in search of a tree. Otacon was wrapped up in two jackets and a coat, a scarf over his mouth, a woolly hat with a puffball on top, and a large pair of rainboots. Snake didn't really need that much, being genetically modified and all, but he still put on a coat to stop the shorter man's nagging. Eventually, they came across a tree that was taller than both of them, but still looked enough to be able to fit in the house. Snake got to work cutting the tree down, Otacon standing by to make sure it didn't fall on his friend. When the tree did fall, Snake jumped back just in case it decided to fall towards him. The two men tied the branches up to make it easier to carry back to the small cabin, and they soon arrived. The moment they got inside, Otacon curled up in the bed and slept for a few hours to warm himself up. Snake couldn't fathom why the younger man was so tired when it had been HIM who'd done all the work. Still, he decided to let Otacon sleep for now while he shook the snow off their tree. Hmm, their tree.
Snake kind of liked the sound of that…
When Otacon woke up, he realized that he had fallen asleep in his many layers of clothes, and woken up in his pajamas. Maybe he'd woken up and changed without realizing it. He sat up and brushed his sleep-tossed hair out of his face, smelling the scent of something cooking. He stood up and stretched, yawning loudly, and got up to go investigate. As he ambled into the kitchen, he saw something he honestly never expected to see: Snake cooking. Otacon cleared his throat, catching the attention of Snake, and causing him to quickly attempt to hide the whisk he was holding behind his back.
"It was supposed to be surprise," he muttered sheepishly. Otacon smiled and walked over to the taller man, taking a handful of chocolate chips and popping them into his mouth. "Hey," Snake reprimanded, "save some for the cookies!"
JANUARY:
The little girl came into their lives unexpectedly.
Snake had been away on a mission to retrieve Olga Gurlukovich's child, after Raiden had rescued her. Snake came home on a day that was snowy and rainy all at once, with grey skies and the kind of weather that was perfect for staying inside with a good book and a cup of something hot to drink. The door opened, and Snake walked in slowly, quietly, making Otacon jump up and run to him eagerly.
"Snake! Are you alright? How did it go? Where's the girl?" Snake sighed and smiled wearily, gesturing to a very little girl that couldn't have been more than three years old. Otacon knelt down and gave the scared girl a reassuring smile.
"Hello," he greeted quietly, not wanting her to be afraid, "I'm Hal, and this is Snake. What's your name?"
"S-S-Sunny…" whispered the little girl, clutching onto Snake's pants leg and shying away slightly. Otacon smiled and looked the little girl over.
"That's a beautiful name. You look like you need some warming up. Come inside. I'll make you some hot chocolate and you can sit by the fire." Sunny looked at Otacon, considering him and his motives before letting go of Snake and letting the man with glasses lead her into their cabin.
"After you've gotten comfortable, I'll show you around. How's that sound?" Sunny nodded and held out her arms in a gesture to be picked up. Otacon obliged, and told Snake to go and take a shower or nap or something.
Sunny didn't see anything wrong with the two men. They were kind, and they let her make eggs whenever she wanted, as long as they supervised. The man with brown hair, who she learned to call Snake, was kind of grumpy, but he meant well. She could tell that he cared about the few close friends he had, including Hal. Sunny began to call him Uncle Hal in time, though he was closer to a father. Her Uncle Hal liked to watch animated shows about brave people and play with her. Yes, Sunny was pretty positive she would like her new home.
Snake hadn't expected to be a father at any point in his life, but here he was in the middle of a grocery store with Otacon hunting down food supplies and a little blonde girl sitting in the shopping cart singing the digits of pi to herself. Otacon held up a can of soup.
"You guys up for chicken noodle tonight? I'm not in a huge mood to get creative with dinner." Snake nodded and handed the can to Sunny, who stacked it in a pyramid along with their various other groceries (how she'd managed to stack a box of cereal on top of an apple, Snake would never know). "Hey, Sunny, what do you want to snack on?" Otacon asked the little girl, who looked at him and shrugged. Snake looked between them, and he realized how alike they were becoming. Sunny and Otacon were together a lot, especially when Otacon was working (as Sunny was an incredibly bright little girl, especially with computers) and as a result she was gaining many of his mannerisms. One of those, much to Snake's chagrin, was nagging him about his smoking habits. Still, looking at them, Snake realized that they were the closest things to a real family that he'd ever had. Sure, he'd been bounced around through various foster homes as a kid, but none of those had felt like real familial love. When he looked at Otacon and Sunny, he was happy.
He never wanted this to end.
FEBRUARY:
February was still cold, with no hint of spring in sight. Still, the mismatched family enjoyed spending days inside and working. One night, Otacon and Snake were awoken by Sunny shaking them.
"U-Uncle Hal! Snake! Something's w-wrong with th-the sky!" the two men hopped out of bed as Sunny led them out into the front yard and pointed upward at the neon-streaked night sky. Snake sighed with relief and picked the little girl up.
"Nothing's wrong, Sunny. That's called Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights. They aren't anything bad. They're just nice to look at, don't you think?" Sunny smiled slightly and nodded. Otacon reached over and Snake handed Sunny to him. Otacon leaned against Snake and looked up at the lights. Being close to someone who loved him… He hadn't been so happy since he was a kid, since he and Emma went outside to play every day after school, since he truly felt loved… Sunny reminded him of Emma, sometimes. Some days he looked at her and he saw a familiar little girl with curly brown hair and a bright smile, a little girl with a gift for computers and a kind heart…
Those days were the hardest, but god they were worth it in the end. They were worth it to get through the hard days just to be greeted with one day, just one day of bliss. One day of snowmen and hot chocolate and movie marathons with Snake and Sunny. Otacon would be willing to live a thousand nightmares of them being taken away like everyone else he had loved, just to wake up in the end and feel Snake's warmth next to him in bed, to wake up to the smell of burnt eggs and the sound of Snake cracking jokes in the kitchen while Sunny cooked. Those days were the days Otacon lived for.
Snake, against his better judgment, was growing quite content with the current state of things. Usually periods of happiness like this were followed by horrible disasters, but it had been three months, and so far everything was good. Sunny was growing like a weed, and Otacon was making preparations for the three of them to move aboard their new ship the Nomad at the end of the year. He had even promised some chickens to the little girl so she could have fresh eggs when they finished up moving. Right now though, they were all three happy in their cabin. Sunny's hair was getting long enough to actually do something with, and Otacon enjoyed brushing and braiding it while Sunny played. She enjoyed helping out around the house, cooking and cleaning when it was needed, and generally filling their lives with joy.
Valentine's day arrived with a breath of fresh snow to keep the family inside another day, and they discovered Sunny had never heard of the holiday. A lot of holidays, in fact. Otacon made plans to teach her about holidays, even ones he didn't celebrate. Valentine's day, as Sunny understood, was a day that was all about love. Not just romantic love, either. The love of friends, family, and self. Her uncle Hal taught her how to make little paper heart cards, and decorate them so she could give them to people to tell them how she felt.
"You can even make some for people you don't know or haven't met." He explained as he helped her cut out a third heart.
"I'm gonna m-make one for you, o-one for Snake, and one f-for my m-mama." Sunny proclaimed as she finished cutting and placed the paper hearts of varying shades of red and pink next to each other in a line from darkest to lightest. "The red one is for Snake, because he's brave and red is a brave color, the pink one is for m-my m-mama, just because, and the w-white one is for you because it m-matches your coat." Otacon smiled and hugged her.
"How are you gonna decorate them?"
"G-glitter and markers. I m-might put some l-lace and ribbon on them t-too." Otacon kissed her head and ruffled her hair.
"Alright, you have fun making those. I'm gonna get dinner started. Do you want Snake to come in and help you?" Sunny nodded and Otacon went to go get Snake.
Snake had been cleaning his guns, working slowly through all of them while his dog Aluki sat by his legs and slept. He'd had her for awhile, and she was getting pretty old. Still, she was faithful and liked people no matter what. Snake looked up when he heard a knock on his door and saw Otacon standing in the doorway.
"Hey, I'm about to make dinner. Can you help Sunny with her Valentines?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec."
Snake and Sunny sat down on the floor and he helped her get her glue lines just right as well as shake off excess glitter. Their system was working quite well, and they had almost finished when Otacon came in.
"Hey, dinner's ready. Come eat." Dinner was usually a small affair, all three people sitting on the couch and eating while they watched a movie (someone different picked every night). Tonight's feature was The Princess Bride at Otacon's request.
"It's got something for everyone!" he defended when Snake had rolled his eyes at the title. As the movie progressed, Snake came around to it, however. Sunny enjoyed all the adventure and swordfights, and Snake liked them too. Otacon was finding himself quite wrapped up in the romance. He hadn't seen this movie in a long time, and he'd forgotten how much he loved it. Whenever something exciting happened, he looked over to see what Snake and Sunny's reactions were. When Buttercup and Wesley ended up together at the end, Otacon sighed happily and realized that he was leaning against Snake. He didn't know how long he had been, but Snake didn't seem to mind. Otacon sat up and looked over, seeing that Sunny was asleep.
"I'm gonna go tuck her in," Otacon whispered to Snake, who was looking pretty sleepy as well, "you go on to bed." Snake got up and handed the sleeping girl to Otacon, who carried her to her makeshift bedroom (a room that used to be where Snake kept old gear and trinkets until they had cleared it out in preparation for Sunny's arrival) and tucked her in, kissing her forehead gently. "Sweet dreams, Sunbeam," he muttered before he left.
When Otacon got into bed, Snake was already out cold and snoring loudly. Otacon got into his pajamas and got ready for bed, and as he curled up next to Snake, he kissed him on his nose.
"Goodnight, my brave prince. I love you."
MARCH:
March was just as wintry and freezing as the rest of winter, and Sunny was beginning to get tired of all the snow.
"When is the snow gonna stop, Uncle Hal?"
"I don't know. Snake, when is it gonna warm up?"
"Not until June, usually. Sunny, I'd say you enjoy the cold and dark while it lasts. When Summer rolls around, the sun refuses to set for very long."
"Why can't we live somewhere with a normal climate?"
"We will as soon as we move at the end of the year. I promise." Otacon said as he held Sunny close and traced their names in the frost on the window. He added Snake's for good measure, and then surrounded the three names by a heart.
It wasn't subtle like they say it is in movies. It wasn't slow or tender or any of those things. In fact, it felt like being hit by a train made of cement.
But, that was love.
Well, it was probably love. Snake didn't know what love was like, but if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he was incredibly in love with the man he was raising Sunny with. Honestly, he should have seen it coming. Otacon was probably the sweetest person that Snake knew, not to mention incredibly smart and brave when he needed to be.
It hit him one day when Sunny was playing with Aluki out in the snow. Otacon was sitting by the window; a blanket draped over his lap, a mug of strong coffee in one hand, and a book sitting open on his legs. He looked out at Sunny, smiling as if she was the best thing to ever happen to him, which it was very likely that she was. Snake looked at him, silvery sunlight caught in his thick black hair and a smile playing across his soft pink lips. It was a familiar sight, eerily reminding Snake of the day Otacon showed up in his doorway, and the same thought raced across his mind.
Oh my god, he's absolutely beautiful.
It was accompanied by the aforementioned cement-train feeling when he realized what Otacon meant to him.
Oh my god, I'm in love with him.
"Snake? Is something wrong? You look kind of… sick."
"I'm-um- I'm fine!" Snake stuttered before hurrying out of the living room. "I'm going to um…. Make some popcorn."
APRIL:
Otacon had tried to pretend it was just gratitude that Snake had taken him into his home when he had nobody, tried to convince himself that it was just a platonic kind of love, but by now he'd realized that he was undoubtedly in love with Solid Snake. Naturally, he was more than a little confused when he went to their bedroom to go to sleep one night and walked in to see Snake staring at the wall in deep contemplation as he sat up in bed.
"Uh… hello?" Otacon asked, waving a hand in front of the taller man's face, "Ground control to Major Tom. Hey, you in there? Did you fall asleep with your eyes open again?" Suddenly, Snake seemed to wake up, and he shook his head.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking…" He trailed off, uncertain. Otacon sat down next to him, resting a hand on Snake's knee.
"What about?" Snake looked at him, really looked, with a sudden intensity in his blue-green eyes, and something within him seemed to click. Before Otacon knew what was happening, he felt Snake practically dive forward and wrap his arms around the scientist, then proceeding to reach a hand up to tangle in Otacon's thick mess of silky black hair.
"S-Snake? What are you-?"
"You talk too much. Live a little." Snake smiled before leaning forward and shutting him up with a kiss.
Snake wasn't sure what he expected Otacon to do after he kissed him; he wasn't even sure he would get that far, but the last thing he expected was for the smaller man to react with such a damn fierce intensity.
Otacon was confused and still for several seconds, eventually realizing what was happening and how happy he was about it. His first coherent thought was something about wanting to get to know all of him. Otacon began with Snake's back, wrapping his arms around him and kissing back with a passion, as if Snake was all he had ever wanted in life. He held tight to the back of Snake's shirt and pulled him so close that they could feel each other's hearts beating, chests heaving air between desperate kisses and tugs of each other's hair. Almost as abruptly as it began, the kiss ended, replaced by the lazy scratch of Snake's stubble on Otacon's face and neck, his low, gravelly voice whispering almost unintelligible words of adoration that the other could just barely make out.
"God… Love you so fucking much… Can't believe you would ever want to stay with… Changed my life… for the better… fucking adore you… want to kiss every inch…" Otacon almost cried. He could have. All he'd ever wanted in his life was to be loved, to be adored like this, and to love that person back just as much, and he finally had that. Finally, after years of pain and anguish and bullshit, he had a real family, a real love. Snake's lips moved from placing gentle, loving kisses all over Otacon's face and slipped down to his throat, pulling a quiet moan from Otacon when he sucked a bruise on his Adam's apple, stubble scratching the scientist's neck in a way that made him squirm with longing.
"Snake…" sighed Otacon, wrapping his legs around the man's hips and tilting his head back further.
"Mmmm… Call me by my real name… Call me David…"
"Oh, David…" Otacon purred. God, that was incredible, knowing that Snake trusted him enough to have him call him by his real name.
Their throes of passion were interrupted by a small knock on the door. Otacon whined quietly as Snake went to open it.
"Sunny, hey, what's the matter?"
"I had a bad dream. Can I sleep in here with you two?"
"Yeah, sweetheart. Of course. Hop in." Sunny smiled and hopped up onto the bed, curling up next to Otacon, who awkwardly adjusted himself in an attempt to hide his boner. Sunny slept easily between her two caretakers, who lay awake going over what happened in their heads.
This was definitely a development they would have to tell Sunny about sooner or later.
"Sooner or later" ended up being the next week at breakfast one morning. Snake and Otacon exchanged looks over the coffee table as Sunny sat on the floor, building something out of Legos. Otacon cleared his throat and looked at Snake, who nodded in confirmation.
"Uh, Sunny? Snake and I have an announcement." The girl looked up from her blocks and smiled at them expectantly.
"Sunny, kiddo, um… Your Uncle Hal and I realized something recently, and we think you should know."
"See, Sunbeam, Snake and I are very much in love." Sunny tilted her head and smiled wider.
"Oh, is that it? You hadn't realized it sooner?" Snake sat down next to Otacon on the couch, putting his arm around the smaller man and smiling amusedly at Sunny's remark. He looked around the room at the smiling man leaning against his shoulder and the little girl singing the digits of pi as she built a Lego house. Aluki was asleep on the floor next to where Sunny was sitting. Snake hummed happily and kissed Otacon on the cheek.
This was the kind of life he could get used to.
MAY:
Summer was on its way at last, and Sunny was always outside playing with Aluki, Otacon sitting on the porch drinking coffee. He and Snake couldn't be happier.
And then they got the news.
Snake had been finding a couple gray hairs, and a bad cough plagued him from time to time. He figured it was just stress or something, not what it turned out to be.
"Rapid aging,"
"Do you know the cause?"
"We're afraid not. It won't happen as fast as it sounds, though. We'll just have to wait and see."
They hadn't told Sunny, and they probably wouldn't until they had no other choice. Still, until then… They would have to try and get by as best they could. Try to forget.
Sunny liked to lie in the sun with her sunglasses on, looking up at the clouds and finding their shapes. She almost always saw a pirate ship or a fish, and sometimes Snake or Otacon came and lay next to her, finding shapes with her. Snake liked to come out at night and show the two of them different constellations.
"That one is Orion's Belt. See, there's the rest of him, and that's his bow. And those there are his dogs." Otacon nodded.
"Over there, that's the Big Dipper, Sunny. You've probably heard of that one." Sunny's pale hair seemed to glow in the moonlight, and her eyes were wide with wonder.
"Snake, I wanna know everything about everything that I can."
"I don't know if I'd be good at helping, but your Uncle Hal and I will tell you all we know." Otacon nodded. Sunny was getting big.
Otacon stood in the hot stream of water, letting it run down his face and through his hair. Half his time showering nowadays was spent just standing in the water and thinking to himself. As he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair, he heard a knock on the door.
"Hey, Hal, can I hop in with you? I've got to shower real quickly. I've gotta be somewhere in about an hour."
"Sure, Dave. Come on in." Snake opened the door and undressed, slipping into the shower. He wrapped his arms around Otacon from behind and kissed the other man's pale neck.
"Hmmm… You smell nice. Like soap and shampoo."
"Well I did just shampoo. And you need to, too. No more kisses until you do." Otacon teased playfully, pushing Snake away lightly. Snake smiled and got to washing up. Some days were like that: playful and loving and happy. Some days were rough, and they argued about stupid things, making Sunny worried that they wouldn't be a family anymore. Those were the days that ended with Otacon holding Sunny and comforting her as she told him all her worries. Sunny was a smart girl, sometimes too smart for her own good. She almost always knew what was going on, and worried about things more than any little girl should. But not all days were those days.
Though they had begun to become more frequent.
JUNE:
Snake was sleeping later than usual, and Otacon was starting to notice. He didn't mind, seeing as it was just a few minutes, and Snake was never late for anything. He figured it didn't hurt anyone, so he let it slide. There were other things to think about, anyway. The particular issue in question had been something that Sunny brought up at breakfast one morning.
"So," she had said as she placed blueberries in the shape of a heart on her waffle, "does this mean that now that you're in love you're gonna get married?" Snake choked on his coffee and Otacon dropped his forkful of eggs.
"Um, sweetheart, we're not saying no, but we've only been dating for about a month. We'd like to get to know each other a little better and have been together a little longer first." Otacon murmured, blushing. Snake chuckled and squeezed his boyfriend's hand.
"Oh, ok." Sunny replied as she poured syrup on her waffle, "I was just wondering if I could be the maid of honor when you do." Otacon smiled and nodded.
"Of course, sweetie. I couldn't think of anyone better." The little girl beamed and went back to her breakfast.
Otacon had started having nightmares.
It wasn't as if it was unusual per se, but Snake had never seen them this bad. He would wake up to Otacon thrashing about in bed and crying out as if he was in pain. When that happened. Snake had to wake him up and hold him until he calmed down, peppering the smaller man's face with kisses and whispering words of reassurance that he was right here, that everything was going to be alright.
They both knew it was a lie.
If there was one thing that Otacon didn't want to talk about, it was his nightmares. Sure, he was pretty much used to them by now, but they'd gotten worse recently. Instead of the usual Emma drowning and calling for his help, Sunny being kidnapped and killed, Snake dying, et cetera, his nightmares had seemed to morph into more horrible versions of themselves, going from implying the death of people he loved, to showing it. Over and over he would drift back into an uneasy slumber only to be greeted by a new grisly terror. How many times would he have to watch Snake be tortured? To see his sweet, smiling sister or tiny innocent Sunny gutted like fish…? It didn't help when he got an unexpected letter from his stepmother one morning.
"W-who's Julie Danzinger?" Sunny asked, holding out a letter. Otacon rolled over in bed and looked at her.
"Huh? Sunbeam, I haven't even had my coffee yet. I'm not ready to answer questions this early in the morning."
"I already made coffee. I knew you'd say that. Now come drink it and answer! I'm curious!" Otacon sighed and rubbed his eyes as he sat up and grabbed his glasses off the bedside table. He slowly blinked the world into focus and followed Sunny into the kitchen. Eagerly, Sunny poured him a mug of coffee (sloshing some over the edge in the process) and shoved it into his hands (adding to the mess).
"Tell me!" she cried, pulling on his shirt as he added sugar and cream, turning the bitter black liquid into a smooth hazelnut color. Otacon sighed and took a sip, steam fogging his glasses as he did, and he sat down to tell her.
"She's- well, she was my stepmother. Back when I was a teenager and I still lived at home." He muttered ashamedly. Sunny didn't catch his hint that he didn't want to talk about her, and her eyes lit up.
"Oh! N-neat! What's the l-letter say?"
"Let's find out." Otacon opened the white envelope, and regretted it immediately. Upon opening it, a familiar scent wafted up to his nose: Julie's perfume. He could have vomited. When Otacon left, he told himself that if he never smelt that damn perfume again, it would be too soon. With pale, shaking hands, he pulled the letter out, his eyes flicking over it. The handwriting was the same as it had been all those years ago.
Dear Hal,
I quite enjoyed seeing you all those months ago, and I've heard that you have a bit of a family of your own now! Wouldn't it be wonderful if the three of you came to visit? I think so! You know how I miss our little talks. Write back, and call if you plan to visit!
Lots of love,
Julie Emmerich.
The words were definitely hers. That horrible witch had always preferred his last name than the one from her previous marriage. It had always burned him up inside when she tried to talk to him, but they had been former correspondents back when he had first moved away. Most of the reason he kept in touch with her was because he wanted to know if Emma was okay.
"So… What did she say?" Sunny's voice drifted over and made Otacon jump.
"Oh! Um, she… She wants you, me, and Snake to go visit her in England." Sunny gasped in delight and jumped for joy.
"Uncle Hal, we have to go! Please? I've been waiting for a chance to leave this place since practically forever!"
"Sunny, you're barely 4."
"Still, I wanna go! Please, Uncle Hal? Please?" Otacon sighed.
"Alright, but you have to be the one to tell Snake."
JULY:
Sunny had never been in an airport before, and from what she could see now, she liked it a lot. One problem was that there were so many people going places in such a hurry, so she had to hold on to Otacon's hand at all times so she wouldn't get lost. Still, the airport was full of fun things for her to do while they waited for their plane, which had been delayed because of snow. Snake had, to his dismay, been forced to leave all his weapons at home. Otacon was looking through travel brochures for all kinds of places that Sunny wished she could see. Snake was sitting in a chair and showing Sunny how to do some origami he'd picked up from some friends several years ago.
"This one is a swan. It's pretty easy to make. Want to try with me?" He said, tearing a napkin into the shape of a proper square. Sunny nodded as he tore a second one, handing her the first.
"ATTENTION PASSENGERS OF FLIGHT 125: THE PLANE IS NOW READY FOR BOARDING." Sunny thrust her paper at Snake and gasped in delight. Their flight! She grabbed her small suitcase and pulled on Otacon's sleeve.
"That's o-our flight Uncle H-Hal! Come on!" Otacon chuckled at her enthusiasm and stood up with his own suitcase, leading his small ragtag family to where the plane was. Though he was smiling, Otacon would have given anything to not be going towards the plane that would lead him to the woman that had ruined his life all those years ago.
Sunny was gushing about the view and the experience of being on a plane for the first three minutes of the actual flight; she fell asleep and stayed that way for the rest. The seats were three in a row on either side of the plane, and Sunny sat closest to the window so Snake (who was in the middle) and Otacon (on the aisle seat) could make sure nothing happened to her. Snake had also fallen asleep, but Otacon couldn't seem to. He was thinking too much about how worried he was about seeing Julie. He took a breath and decided he needed something to calm his nerves. The next time the flight attendant came around; Otacon ordered a bottle of wine. When she handed it to him with a corkscrew and a glass, he thanked her and opened it once she had left. He poured a liberal amount into his glass and took a drink. It certainly wasn't the best wine he'd ever had, and it burned his throat a little as it went down, but it was better than making it through the flight sober and having to deal with all his panicked thoughts about their destination. By his third glass he was feeling a pleasant buzz, but he didn't want to be completely drunk. He set the bottle down and leaned back to get some sleep. When he woke up, they had landed to stop for fuel.
Snake woke up to Sunny shaking his arm and telling him that they'd stopped for fuel.
"Snake, wake up! We can go look around, and U-Uncle Hal says it's time to go grab dinner." Snake sighed and got up, noticing a bottle of wine on Otacon's seat. He grabbed it and took a swig, not bothering to put it in a glass since they were getting off the plane anyway. They were in a city with lights twinkling through the sky that weren't stars; a sight that Snake wasn't used to. He turned to see Otacon standing on his left and reached out to hold the other man's hand.
"What's for dinner?" He asked.
"Well the plane leaves again in about two hours, so I figured we can just find a place to eat and hang out until about ten minutes before we leave."
"Sounds good," Snake replied, kissing Otacon on the cheek and wrapping his arm around him.
When the plane landed in England, Sunny could barely contain herself. She was eager to get off the plane, and when they finally did, she began jumping up and down with excitement. Once they had their luggage, they took a cab to Julie's house.
Otacon was about to throw up, he just knew it. Sunny knocked on the door, and he felt his stomach lurch. A few seconds passed, and there was no answer. Maybe she wasn't home!
Julie opened the door.
"Hello!" Sunny beamed, looking up at the woman. Otacon let out a small, strangled noise as her violet eyes pierced him. God, he could remember the years he had to live with those eyes looking at him with a lusty undertone over the table. Suddenly, he felt lightheaded, and then the rough, calloused skin of Snake's hand grip onto his tightly. The taller man gave him a look of reassurance.
"Hal!" Julie gasped, ignoring Sunny and throwing her arms around her ex-lover. Otacon flinched as she hugged him and the force of her tackling him knocked his hand away from Snake's. "Oh my god, you've grown so much!" he could already feel himself clamming up.
"U-um, hi Julie," He muttered, managing to escape her clutches and gesture to his small family, "this is my boyfriend Snake and the little girl we look after, Sunny."
"Oh! Well, I can certainly see you have a good taste in men, Hal. Nice to meet you…" she pursed her lips before saying his name, "…Snake… And you must be Sunny! What a lovely name for a lovely little lady!" Sunny smiled and reached out her hand for Julie to shake, which she did before shaking hands with Snake and leading the three of them inside.
Her house was somewhat lavish, and filled with furniture that made one afraid to sit on for fear of being scolded for doing so. The three visitors sat on the couch after being gestured to do so by Julie, and she made them all tea.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Julie alone for a minute, Snake. I haven't seen her in so long, and I have some… family matters to discuss with her." Snake caught Otacon's glance as he said this, and knew what he meant. He led Sunny out of the room and went to look around with her. Otacon stood up suddenly once Snake had shut the door and slammed his hands down on the table.
"What the hell is this all about, huh?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Hal. What's wrong with me wanting to catch up with my stepson?" Julie said as she nonchalantly sipped her drink.
"You know damn well what's wrong! And I am not your stepson! That was over as soon as I left!" he fumed, further infuriated by her calm demeanor.
"Is this about our little… affair?" Otacon barely contained a bull-like snort of rage at her words. Something in him snapped when she said that, and he grabbed her by the front of her shirt, pulling her close to his face and lowering his voice dangerously.
"You listen to me right now, Julienne Danzinger. My father is dead because of that. I killed him, and I am not going to let what you did to me stand unaddressed any longer. I loved Emma more than you ever could, more than you could even know, and I almost let her drown. I never got to watch the closest friend and family member I ever had grow up because you took that away from me. You scared me out of my own goddamn home, and Emma died never knowing what happened. Well you know what, Julie? I'm done hiding. I'm not the shy virgin you used to know anymore. I have a family at last; I have two people who love me unconditionally. And you know what? That's better than anything you could have ever given me. So if you want to keep them, I suggest you not lay a finger on my little girl. You stay as far away from my family as humanly. Fucking. Possible. And you stay away from me, because if I ever see you again, I will kill you. Capiche?" He let out a deep breath and let her shirt go, as if releasing all those pent-up years of anger and hate and tension, and grabbed his coat. Julie nodded, staring at him in awe more than fear.
"Snake, Sunny, get your coats. We're leaving."
"Uncle Hal, why did we leave so early?"
"Because, Sunbeam, I hate Julie. I always have," He smiled, picking the girl up, "and today I faced my fears and told her." Snake chuckled and wrapped his arm around Otacon.
"I'm proud of you, Hal. She deserved it." He smirked as he kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, making the scientist blush.
"Well, we didn't buy plane tickets and fly all the way here for my psychological well-being. I say we make this a fun family vacation. What do you two think?"
"Yeah!" Sunny cheered, and Snake nodded with her.
Everything was just about perfect.
AUGUST:
Going back to Alaska had been welcome by all (mostly Snake, who was more of a homebody than he liked to admit). Everyone was back to their regular schedules of working, and Otacon seemed to be in a better mood than usual. Snake, on the other hand, was finding more grey in his hair, but not enough to be concerned. Or at least not concerned enough to tell anyone. The last thing he wanted was to bring his boyfriend down from such a wonderful mood. Sunny was back to burning eggs and putting bows on the dog, which made both of her caretakers happy to see her enjoying life. Still, they knew the rapid aging had to be addressed, and they knew that they would have to take care of that before Snake… Well, they didn't want to think about that themselves.
Sunny's birthday was on a day that came with plentiful amounts of snow. She woke up and Otacon had already made her breakfast in bed. Pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream, and strawberry syrup. Sunny was woken up by the wonderful smell, and gasped as Otacon held the plate out to her and smiled.
"Happy birthday to you…" he began to sing, Snake joining in quietly behind him. Sunny had never had a real birthday like this before, and the most she'd ever had when in captivity was slightly more food than she usually ate. Having a real birthday with her two most favorite people was… Well, she felt like her heart was about to burst with joy! She felt her eyes fill with tears as the two men finished singing to her, and she set the plate on her bedside table and hugged them tight.
"Thank you so much… This is my bestest birthday ever!" She cried as she felt tears streak down her cheeks. Otacon kissed the top of her head, realizing that she really was like a daughter to him. Snake felt the same, and knew that the rapid aging was going to kill him someday, and he didn't know when that would be, but until then, he wanted to enjoy life. He looked at his small family as Sunny shared her pancakes with Otacon, knowing that they were the most important things in his life right now, and if anyone were to hurt them, they'd have hell to pay.
When the month was coming to an end, it became clear that they would have to sign Sunny up for school. Though she was incredibly intelligent, she still needed to get a proper education, and that was something Snake and Otacon both agreed on. There was one a few miles away, and they would be willing to drive her to and from. Sunny was incredibly excited to go when they told her, and she was insistent on making "a thousand friends". Otacon just smiled and told her how amazing school would be for her.
SEPTEMBER:
Sunny's first day of school went off without a hitch. Everyone in her kindergarten class (they had gone ahead and sent her to kindergarten instead of preschool since she was so smart) already knew that she was incredibly sweet and extraordinarily smart. Within the first three weeks, she had already become good friends with a little girl named Anya.
"Uncle Hal, Snake, can Anya come over and play?" Sunny asked on the way to school one day as her caretakers drove her.
"Fine with me," Otacon said, handing Sunny her lunch, "How about you, Snake?"
"I don't mind." Snake replied. Sunny beamed and hopped out of the car as they stopped in front of the school.
"Thank you so much! Bye Uncle Hal!" she exclaimed as she kissed Otacon on the cheek, then running over and doing the same to the other man, "Bye Snake!"
"Bye, Sunbeam!" Otacon called as the little girl ran inside, dwarfed by the size of her backpack, which was one of Snake's old military backpacks. Otacon smiled. She was growing up so fast already.
Anya turned out to be far too inquisitive for Snake's liking, and the first thing she said to him was,
"Sunny says you have a real big house. Is that true?" Snake gritted his teeth and gripped the wheel tighter. He'd never been good with kids, Sunny being a rare exception, and Otacon had stayed home while Snake picked the kids up to do some more work.
"Its… I don't know. It's the house I've lived in since I was 18, and I'm not sure what your standard of big is." Anya nodded like she understood. When they got to the house (after many invasive questions towards Snake) and went inside, Otacon was sitting on the couch and typing aggressively.
"Oh, Uncle Hal is working," Sunny said, motioning for Anya to come to the kitchen, "we shouldn't bother him."
"What's his job?"
"He's a hacker." Sunny said, smiling proudly and puffing out her chest.
"What's that?" Sunny frowned. Snake knew that being as smart as she was had to be hard sometimes when you could decode complicated files while all the other kids your age were barely just learning to read.
"He… Well, he gets into secret computer stuff to find out important information."
"Oh." Anya sounded almost bored. Sunny deflated. This kid was really starting to get on Snake's nerves.
"Sunny," he suggested, "why don't you show Anya how good you are at making eggs?" Sunny seemed to perk up at this, and led her friend to the kitchen. Snake sat down next to Otacon and looked over at the computer screen. As usual, he had no idea what he was looking at, but it seemed to make sense to Otacon.
"What are you doing?"
"Very important work," he muttered in response. Snake stared at him. How long had it been since Otacon had last blinked? Snake sat and leaned back against the soft cushions of the couch, closing his eyes for a little nap. The sound of keyboard keys clicking and the frying pan sizzling lulled him into a light sleep.
When he woke up, Otacon was gone, his laptop closed and sitting in the spot where the man had been earlier. Snake rubbed his face and sighed heavily. How long had he been out? He wandered into the kitchen and saw Otacon sitting at the table with the two girls; all three had steaming mugs placed in front of them.
"Oh, hey, sweetheart. You're up!" Otacon smiled, patting the chair next to him in a gesture for Snake to sit down, which he did. Anya sipped her drink, which Snake assumed was hot chocolate, and began talking again.
"Are you two married?" She asked, looking back and forth between the two men.
"Oh, um, no we aren't. Maybe we will get married someday though." Otacon said, blushing. Anya nodded and looked at Snake expectantly.
"Don't look at me like that, kid. I love him more than pretty much anyone, along with Sunny. We just want to get to know each other more before we get married." Anya looked back to Otacon and opened her mouth to speak once again.
"Are you Sunny's real uncle? I heard her call you Uncle Hal."
"Well, no, I'm not. She just calls me that because she wants to. I don't have a problem with it. I'm honored that Sunny considers me family enough to call me that." Anya, not missing a beat, turned to Snake.
"Why doesn't she call you Uncle Snake? And what kind of name is 'Snake' anyway?" Snake sighed and gathered himself before responding.
"She doesn't call me her uncle because of her own reasons, and I don't mind. I'd still love her just as much if she called me grandma. Snake isn't my real name, no, but it's my nickname, and what I go by unless I am very close to someone. No, I'm not going to tell you my real name, so don't ask. Now, if I'm correct, it's about time for you to go home, isn't it, Anya?" The little girl looked surprised, and both Sunny and Otacon looked just as shocked. She finally huffed and stood up.
"Yes, I believe it is." Sunny looked mortified as she, Anya, Otacon, and Snake piled into the car and drove.
When they got home, Sunny was livid.
"Snake, why did you snap at her like that? She was the only friend I had, and now she says she's going to tell everyone that her mom said she shouldn't hang out with me because you and Uncle Hal love each other! And she says they won't like me anymore after that!" Sunny sniffled and plopped down on the floor, sobbing into her hands. Snake suddenly felt horrible. He'd pissed off her only friend, and now the damn kid was blackmailing her! Otacon stepped in and sat down next to Sunny, pulling her onto his lap and holding her close.
"Snake," he whispered, "I'm gonna talk with Sunny alone. Is that okay?" Snake nodded and went to go lie down.
"Uncle Hal, why can't I b-be n-normal?" Otacon kissed the top of the girl's head and patted her back to comfort her. It was times like these when she reminded him of Emma, wanting only to be comforted and held by someone she trusted.
"Sunbeam, who needs normal? You are the most brilliant little girl I've ever met, and I wouldn't change anything about you if I could. I love you, ok? Who cares what Anya says? If she won't stick with you through thick and thin, then who needs a friend like that?" He tilted Sunny's face up by her chin and smiled. "Do you get what I'm saying, kiddo?" Sunny nodded and smiled shyly, giving him a big hug.
"Yeah, I understand, Uncle H-Hal. Thank you."
"It's no problem. Now I'm thinking you should go make amends with Snake." Sunny smiled.
"Yeah, I'll go d-do that now, Uncle Hal."
OCTOBER:
"H-H-Happy H-Halloween!" Otacon rolled over in bed, looking in confusion at the little girl standing next to his bedside and grinning.
"Sunny, Halloween isn't until October 31st." Sunny frowned.
"It's n-not? Oh, well I guess I tried to learn m-making pumpkin shaped pancakes for n-nothing then." Otacon sat up and hugged her.
"That's ok, Sweetheart. I'll help you make them."
Halloween did come, but it wasn't like Sunny could go trick or treating since they lived kind of far from, well, everything. Still, Sunny got into the spirit, and insisted on them getting a bag of candy on the off chance that any wandering trick or treaters would show up. They didn't and Sunny ended up sitting on the floor and sorting the candies in piles based on their types. Chocolate candies in one, gummies in another, taffy in a third, etc. When she was done, she invited Snake and Otacon to have a candy tea party with her and Aluki; an invitation they gladly accepted. That was how Solid Snake, the best soldier the world had ever seen, ended up sitting on the floor, wearing a pink feather boa, and eating Laffy Taffy for dinner. Sunny poured Otacon (who was wearing a blue boa and a tiara, as per Sunny's request) a cup of imaginary tea and handed him a small Twix bar, which he took gratefully.
"Thank you very much, Sunny. I'll eat it right away."
"You're v-very welcome, Uncle Hal. This is p-probably way better than t-trick or treating." Snake snatched up another small pack of Swedish Fish and ripped it open. Definitely the best "tea party" he'd ever been to. Well, it was also the only one, but still the best. He was also pretty sure normal tea parties had tea, and not dogs as guests.
Still, he was with his family, and that was what mattered.
NOVEMBER:
"We're just about ready to move into the Nomad, Sunbeam!"
"So I'll have my chickens soon?!"
"Yes, you will," Otacon chuckled. Lately, Snake had been joking about eating the chickens, which had made Sunny upset. Still, everyone was excited to move into their new flying home. Otacon realized one morning, that it had been almost a year since he had moved in with Snake. Had it really been that long? To him it seemed like just yesterday, just yesterday that he walked in and was given a home and had fallen in love. It was amazing how time now flew, when years ago it seemed that he would never get through every day knowing that people were dead because of him. Almost a year, and Snake's hair had gone from brown to streaked with bits of grey. Almost a year and Sunny had become like a daughter to him.
So much could happen in a year.
Snake was going to marry Otacon.
That was, if he said yes. Snake had been looking for a ring all month, and he decided on a simple silver band, which he had Otacon's initials engraved into. His own initials were engraved in his. It happened on a night when they were all outside watching the stars. Snake had pulled Otacon onto his lap, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before beginning his proposal speech.
"Hal, I have to say that this has been the best year of my life so far." He smiled.
"Me too, David!"
"I've never been very good with words, and I want you to know that I love you. And you are the kindest, most amazing man I've ever met. I couldn't think of anyone better to be with. Look, I don't know how much time I have left, but I do know that however long that may be, I want to spend it with you, so…" He paused, reaching into his pocket for the ring, "Hal Emmerich, will you marry me?" Otacon covered his mouth with his hands, tears welling up in his eyes, his hair illuminated by the moonlight.
"David… Oh my god… Yes! Of course I will!" he held out his hand and Snake slipped the ring on and had Otacon put his on him. He held the soldier tight, sobbing into his shoulder, completely overjoyed. He had never thought in all his life that he could be so happy. "Sunny!" he exclaimed, jumping up and running over to tell her the news, "We're finally getting married!"
DECEMBER:
The wedding was scheduled for a warm summer month, and all their friends were invited. Sunny was ecstatic, and couldn't stop telling everyone at school that her Uncle Hal and Snake were finally getting married, and that she was going to be the maid of honor.
"Jimmy Hart asked how I could be the maid of honor if there was no bride," She announced on the way home from school one day.
"What did you say?" Snake asked.
"I told him to shut up."
"That's my girl."
Sunny was easily surpassing her class, and the teacher suggested moving her up several grades, even going ahead and taking her out of school after giving her an aptitude test.
"She's brilliant. I don't know where she gets it all. I think she may be smarter than me!" Otacon smiled.
"We may just have to homeschool her," he said proudly.
"I think that would be good for her. The only other thing I have to address is her stutter. You may want to get her a speech therapist." The two men nodded, and Sunny didn't show up for school on Monday.
The Nomad was bigger than Sunny had imagined. Still, as long as she had her three chickens, she was happy. She named them Solid, Liquid, and Solidus, all after Snake and his two brothers.
"Can I eat the one named Liquid?" he asked once they had gotten the chickens settled in their coops.
"No, silly!" Sunny laughed, "I need all the eggs I can get." Snake smiled and assured her that he was just joking, and picked her up so he could give her a hug. Everything was finally coming together.
MAY:
The wedding was beautiful, and Meryl was just as excited as Sunny. Raiden showed, happy that his two friends were finally tying the knot. Otacon knew Emma would have been there if she could, and so would his Dad. He hadn't told Julie for obvious reasons. As Sunny helped Otacon straighten his tie, she couldn't stop smiling and singing her own rendition of "Here Comes the Bride".
"Here comes the groom!" she sang as she pinned a flower to his tie, "um… That's all I got, Uncle Hal. The only thing I can think of is 'falling to his doom' and that doesn't sound very wedding-y." Otacon laughed and leaned down to fix Sunny's headband.
"Sunbeam, you look amazing. This wedding is going to be amazing, I just know it." He kissed her forehead and gave her a big hug. "I think I'm ready. How about you, flower ring bearer of honor?"
"I'm definitely ready!"
"Alright, let's go."
Snake was standing at the altar, Meryl standing behind him with a lint brush and cleaning up his suit.
"Meryl, I'm pretty sure you got all the dog hair off me."
"Sorry, I'm just excited for you! I've always loved weddings." She said, hugging him tightly. Suddenly the organ queued up and Snake stood up straight, glancing nervously down the aisle at Otacon walking towards him in his snowy white tuxedo. Sunny was in front of him, the rings in the pocket of her dress, and tossing rose petals in front of Otacon. When they got to the front, they took their places and the wedding started.
They had Meryl watch Sunny while they went on their honeymoon. As they drove away, Snake leaned over and kissed his new husband.
"Hey Hal, guess what?"
"What?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Dave."
They didn't know how long they would have together what with Snake's rapid aging, but however long they had would be the best life ever.
And that was a promise.
THE END