There were times when the sun dove beneath the horizon, and starlight soared through the world like a dream. There were times when the stars were brighter than diamonds, sharing hymns with the angels. There were times when pebbles skipped across starlit ponds, and hearts skipped at the mere sight of miracles. A certain miracle always caused a heart to skip, and the miracle's name was Dante.
Whenever the demon slayer was around, the world was aglow with doves. The world was aglow with music, crisp and bursting with sunshine. A certain someone thought he'd never see the sun rise above his dark horizon, but in walked Dante. The night's slayer had a head of brilliant white hair, sharp brown eyes and a wit to rival Doc Holiday's. But to top it all off, he was even more charming than a fairy tale prince. He was the sheath against the rain, sleet and snow, forever valiant against all forms of poison.
It was nighttime, and the world was silent. The moon was saying its hellos to the world below, even as the world slept in a field of dreams. Soldiers and civilians alike were sound asleep, mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead. And even though their peace was sadly ephemeral, it was just as important as the exercise of drawing breath. In their slumber, they could dream. They could smile, protected against tanks and machine guns.
It was nighttime, and an old legend was definitely smiling.
Covered in silence, he was led to his dormitory aboard the Nomad. His family slept, awaiting the unborn day with bated breath as he was drawn into the blankets of tranquility. A gentle finger poked the bridge of his nose, and star-strewn laughter graced the air. "I've got you now, my pretty," a big bad wolf snarled, and Little Red Riding Hood laughed. Before he knew it, Little Red Riding Hood was under the covers, forced into his bed by a sneering dog.
"Here you will rest, and here you will become mine! I-ooooh, what's this?"
Smiling, and feeling much lighter than a feather, Snake watched as Dante's hands studied him. The kind, loving hands studied his eyes, nose and ears. "My, what beautiful eyes you have," the devil slayer declared, his own face brighter than a diamond dipped in a moonlit lake. He gazed at Snake as if he had discovered him for the first time.
"Oh! And what a cute little nose you have! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the most beautiful morsel of all!"
"You don't know any better," Little Red Riding Hood said with a grunt, beaming from ear to ear. "Quit playing around and get under here!"
The wolf tossed himself under the covers in a flash. Beaming at their newly initiated contact, his ladybug snuggled against him. Off of instinct. A small, frail creature was blissful because of the wolf, happily protected from a world that had given him so much pain. The creature was old, covered in wrinkles, but happy. And his feverish happiness made him appear and feel several years younger.
Old Snake was happy. And to Dante, that fact of life meant more than every pizza parlor ever would.
Dante gazed at him, as if he had just discovered him all over again. Snake was right there, at his side, so small and delicate. Much smaller than he appeared to be. With a smile the devil slayer watched over him, thrilled at how comfortable the other was near him. There was no way he had been like that with Meryl. From everything Dante had heard, Snake's first relationship had been a confusing, cloudy disaster.
Neither of them spoke for what felt like a century, but neither of them cared. Snake was the one to break the silence, bearing the tone and eyes of a child waiting for Santa Claus. "What's it like?" he asked, his eyes tugging on Dante's heart. Beaming, Dante gazed right into his eyes.
"What are you talkin' about?"
The soldier grunted, looking as if the answer should have been obvious. "Your home. Your city. The store. What's it like?"
"I'm no tour guide, sweetheart. I couldn't paint a picture for you if my life depended on it. Why should I tell you when you're going to see it anyways, peanut?"
Peanut decided that answer was unsatisfactory. Pouting in the fashion of a disappointed child, Snake peered into the white covers for solace. But then reality caved in on him, and a frown replaced the playful round of pouting. Much to Dante's dismay, he turned away from the demon hunter and burrowed into the covers. "What if I can't see anything?" he asked, his voice muffled by white linen. "What if you can't take me anywhere?"
Just when Snake thought Dante couldn't get any softer, he did. "I'm taking you to see the world," the devil slayer said, stroking his back-even though it was covered in sheets. "We're going places, you and I. Why, right now, you and I are in our private Heaven. There isn't any Liquid, there aren't any nanomachines, and I've got Heaven's most beautiful gem. Right here. How can it possibly get any better than this?"
Just when Snake thought he couldn't fall any deeper into Dante's arms, he did. He fell in love with Dante all over again, peering straight into his honest, tender eyes. When the devil slayer had given him the world, he looked as if he had simply given Snake a grocery list. And there was something else about the inexplicably handsome devil hunter. Something beautiful. Something that sang of old-fashioned movies.
He was sharing a bed with Dante. The two of them had shared the same bed on several occassions, but as infatuated as Dante was with him, the younger male never made any advances. Ever. Snake was initially horrified by Dante's obvious refusal to ignite anything physical, but studying the other's behavior softened all fear. The sweet prince barely kissed him, but whenever he did, the world stopped. Time stopped, and everything became beautiful. The world screamed, bubbled, boiled with beauty. The stars shimmered, the sun sang, the heavens parted and angels played their trumpets.
Reflecting on all of that, Snake gazed at him. He intertwined his fingers with those of Dante's right hand, smiling. Blushing. Perfectly happy with himself, and with the sleeping world. "I love you," the master hunter said, as if Snake had liberated him from a twenty year prison sentence. Snake's cheeks darkened at the random confession, but he couldn't tell what was meant to come next.
"You mean everything to me. You're my sun, moon, stars and everything in between."
Even though the final half of Dante's statement made no sense, Snake thought the rest of it was to die for. "I love you too," the puppy said, and if he had been given a tail, it would have been wagging. Wildly. What was Dante going to say? Were his dreams going to come true? Was there a certain question Dante wanted to ask?
"Snake..."
"Yeees?" the old soldier asked, even though he already knew the answer to Dante's question. It would be 'yes' without the question mark.
"Would you..."
"Yes?"
"Pay off my debt at Antonio's?"
Snake almost fell out of the bed. If he had been in one of Hal's anime shows, he would have fallen out of the bed-with an old fashioned tear drop.
"First of all, who is Antonio?! I thought you were friends with Tony!"
"I am," Dante replied, perfectly innocent. "Antonio is his brother, and he has his own pizza parlor. See, whenever Tony decided not to feed me, I went to his brother's and-"
"I don't care if you ordered peanut butter pizza! What is all of this?! Why are you asking me to pay your damn debt?!"
"Because you love me," the devil hunter whimpered, wounded from head to toe. "If you love me, you'll save me from a life of desolation and woe."
"You're supposed to be saving ME from a life of desolation and woe, jackass!"
They couldn't share any more banter. Snake dove into a violent fit of coughing, but he was instantly comforted by his anchor. And as soon as Dante wrapped his arms around him, the outside world crept into their perfect, private Heaven. Liquid crept in, Naomi crept in, FOXDIE crept in, and the Patriots crept in. But despite all of the pain they brought, sunshine came in their wake. Snake had his anchor, his sheath, his protection from the rain.
Snake had his savior.
"I don't want you to pay anything," his savior said softly, caressing his wrinkled cheeks. Blushing, Snake batted at Dante's hands, but the master hunter kept them right where they were.
"I don't want you to pay or do anything. I just want you to be mine."
"I am yours, for as long as I can stay."
Tears struck Dante's eyes, and when rainwater struck his eyes, the world knew trouble lurked on the horizon. "You're staying," he said urgently but gently, moving his hands onto the soldier's waist. "You're staying, and I'm taking care of you."
A grunt came from underneath a pile of sheets. "What did you really want to ask me?"
"Well...I was going to ask you to marry me, but...we already are."
A wide-eyed, teary-eyed puppy popped out from underneath his covers. "We are?" he asked, clearly confused by enchanted by Dante's presented concept.
"Sure are, ladybird. Why, we're missing our rings, but look at us. Up in the sky, high amongst the stars...nestled against each other, safe from the world and all of its villains. Safe from everything but the beating of our own hearts."
Snake didn't say anything. He just stared at a beaming Dante for a minute, then closed his eyes. He snuggled against the other's side while grunting, fell silent for a moment, but then asked his husband a question.
"Have any friends?"
Dante had occupied himself with running a hand through the other's hair. "Pardon me?" he asked, inwardly amused by Snake's sleepy tone. And in response he got a little sigh.
"Have any friends? You know, someone you could set Hal up with? About time he found someone with a soul."
"Well hell hell, Mister Sassy! Too bad you can't talk like that in front of Miss Naomi Hunter!"
In response to that, Snake wrapped his arms tightly around the other's waist. He gripped Dante as though he were in danger of being torn out of Dante's arms, and couldn't stomach the thought of losing him. The gentle hunter kissed the top of his head, then lifted his face just so their eyes could meet. "I think I might have the perfect candidate for ol' Otacon," he assured the other softly, "but their blind date will have to wait. Maybe we'll go on a double date."
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night. And for the very first time, they spent the night in kisses.
This was composed to the serene, romantic music of Lifehouse. Particularly 'From Where You Are' and 'Everything'.
I love writing this. I love writing Old Snake with the characteristics of a child, and I love writing about his MGS4 dilemmas. They're beautiful, deep and wondrously poignant.
I also love old school, old-fashioned Dante. He's just too romantic. I'll take him, bwa ha ha!
Hmmm. Perhaps the aftermath of Big Mama's passing will follow this. Who knows, considering the way this year has gone so far? I do love that part of the game, though, and it's perfect foundation for more fluff. Liquid pounds the crap out of our poor Snake, Snake's mother dies right after they're barely introduced to each other...
Yum yum yum. I think I've made my decision, children.
