This fic takes place in MGS4. There are some spoilers. I don't own any of this.
Hello Stranger
By Marie Nomad
Snake slowly woke up to see Otacon working on the face camo that he brought back from South America. He was curious about it since it was so useful with Laughing Octopus, and he would need it in Europe. The enemies know about his condition, and people know what he looked like. If he wanted to get through this next part alive, he had to keep a low profile.
"That should do it," Otacon said as he handed Snake the mask. "I just added some more fabric from the spare octo fabric we had and modified it for your nanomachines. I had programmed various faces into it, and you can use any of those faces. The problem is that we can't use any faces that we never saw before. So, you have to use faces of people you know."
"Sounds a little creepy." Snake commented as he slipped it on.
"I know, but at least it will help you blend in. It sounds interesting."
"Oh really." Snake accessed a face, and it morphed into Otacon's. He stared right into Otacon's own eyes, and he blinked.
"Okay, maybe it is a little creepy." Otacon looked down.
Snake walked to the mirror and felt his 'face'. "Feels real. I don't feel anything covering my mouth."
"It was made to be used on a permanent basis so you can eat, drink, talk and yes, smoke."
Snake put a cigarette in his mouth and let it hang there. "Nice."
"Can you try another face?" Otacon asked as he turned red.
"Yeah yeah." Snake changed his face to one that looked like Drebin's. "I can try this when I'm looking for Big Mama. Nah." He shifted to another face.
"No." Otacon shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Laughing Octopus is a very much a woman. It doesn't fit."
"Then, why did you put it in there?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Snake rolled his eyes and then saw one that intrigued him. His face transformed into a younger version of himself. He stared at the mirror awestruck. If those damn doctors didn't see him as some sort of disposible soldier and screw with his DNA, he would have looked like that. How much time had it been since he saw himself in the mirror like that?
"Snake." Naomi breathed out as she walked in.
"The face camo works." Snake said as he kept on staring. He had missed his young face. It wasn't as if he was narcissistic. It was that reactions of the women that see him broke his heart. Meryl nearly freaked out when she saw his face. Naomi burst into tears when she saw his body. He didn't know how much more he could take.
"Naomi! I think I got the eggs right this time." Sunny called out as she climbed down the stairs. Snake had to admit that the eggs are looking edible since Naomi started giving her some cooking instructions. The girl paused as she stared at him. "Who are you?"
"It's me." Snake took down the face camo to reveal his face. "It was just a mask."
Sunny signed in relief. "Oh. I'm glad."
"You are?"
"Yeah! You look different!" Sunny smiled at him. She skipped to the computer and started doing whatever she does on the computer.
Snake chuckled as he shook his head. "That kid…"
"She was used to seeing you like that than before." Otacon pointed out.
"I guess." Snake paused as he turned on the face camo again. His young face was what he should look like plus or minus the facial hair. He switched off to see his old face. He didn't know what kind of face he should wear. He wanted to look young because that is what he should be if it weren't for his messed up genes. He couldn't deny the fact that he was old and show it off, just to prove to everyone that Solid Snake was still here and he will fight no matter what. He took a deep breath and coughed. No matter what mask he wears, inside he was still dying.
The End