Author's Note: Oh ack. I hardly know what happened in this chapter. It sounds like a rip-off of 'A Simple Hug', which is another friendship fic in this section that I enjoy reading.
This would be a two-part storyline, I think. I've decided to look into Snake's inner turmoil and very messed up feelings, because I don't think I've written about that much. We've had enough humour and fluffiness... so let's have some depressing scenes... and depending on how you look at it, more fluffiness. It probably doesn't help that I've written the whole thing literally only listening to 'K. K. Ballad' and 'K. K. Love Song'. Totakeke is a good source of background music. No words to mess up your thoughts, yet beautiful guitar rhythms and melodies. I love that guy. Honestly. xD
FRIENDS. FRIENDS. JUST FRIENDS. Being very close to each other, yes, but if two guys nowadays can't hug or go out for a meal together without being gay... x.x
This chapter develops Snake's thoughts at this present moment in the whole series. It's not a very depressing one. But I can assure you that the next one will be quite dark. Just to warn you. x.x
It was a beautiful morning.
"God, I'm tired..." Snake mumbled as he went down the stairs towards the breakfast bar. His hair was disheveled and only was kept in a somewhat acceptable style by his new bandanna - and he wasn't wearing any of his weapons or his suit. He was just in his black shirt and trousers, looking dazed and half out of it. He was so tired at mornings recently. Perhaps it was due to his break from the usual stay-awake-or-be-killed routine.
When he stumbled down to the bar, he found that it was mostly deserted. Toon Link was in the corner, eating chips with ketchup and playing with his little pet pig. One of the Ice Climbers - Popo - was slumped over one of the tables, and failed to notice Snake (who had flinched away at this unsettling discovery). And there was Mario - he didn't look as if he was really paying attention to his surroundings. He nibbled daintily at his toast with marmalade, turning the pages on a broadsheet newspaper and reading the articles. Sometimes he would frown and bite his lip, but that was it. He had not noticed Snake. The mercenary glanced at him, but didn't really acknowledge him at all; he was simply too tired to care.
"One coffee... cream and sugar, hun." He went up the counter and placed his order with a slur in his voice. The Hammer Bro behind the counter looked at him oddly.
"I'm a guy. You aren't my type. Sorry."
"Ah, damn it." Snake muttered. "Listen here. I'm tired and in severe need of some coffee and sugar. I might be unarmed but I can still take you down. Now just shut your mouth and get me the damn coffee like a good barista. Or..."
The Hammer Bro gulped, and nodded hastily, turning around and calling to the others in the kitchen. "One... coffee... um, with cream and sugar."
"Americano?" Came the reply, which sounded suspiciously like Stafy's.
"No. Cappuccino! How many times must I tell you that cream and sugar equals a cappuccino?"
Snake sighed, feeling a migraine form. He couldn't stand arguments this early in the morning. He rubbed his temples, frowning softly; and it was a really bad time to get a migraine, with all the brawls he had lined up today. He had a grand total of three that day, all on Shadow Moses Island - and he was beginning to question the nature of this strange tournament. What was Master Hand actually trying to find in all the Smashers? Some people got injured, sometimes Master Hand himself had to halt the brawls; Luigi had told him that this went on for months, and then in the last month they would each undergo a different mode of brawling before they all went their separate ways. Snake, being a very suspicious person by nature, didn't particularly like the way that Master Hand kept everything secret from the Smashers. They were three and a half months into the tournament, which, in its entirety, went on for 'seven or eight months' according to previous veterans.
"Good morning, everyone!" A happy voice called from the entrance of the bar, and Snake turned his head towards the speaker. Luigi was coming down the stairs, looking freshly washed and cheerful. He opened his mouth to greet him, but soon closed it as he watched the following exchange with an unfathomable look on his face.
"Mario!" Luigi called, not noticing Snake (who was in the shadowy corner of the order counter, far away from the tables) and instead going up to his brother's table. Mario had just finished his coffee, and was folding up his newspaper, getting ready to leave; but he looked up as Luigi called him, and a bright smile appeared on his face. Snake noted that he had been looking depressed just seconds ago, yet he was smiling in his brother's presence - did Luigi mean so much to him?
"Good morning, Bro." Mario replied, standing up, and laughed softly as Luigi wrapped his arms around him in a morning hug. "Slept well?"
"I did indeed." Luigi nodded and smiled, still holding tight onto his brother. "And you?"
"Same here. You're in a good mood today, wanting a hug from me this early." Mario chuckled and hugged his brother in return. Snake watched them from the bar, knowing that he was technically spying on what was meant to be a brotherly, private moment - but Mario's reactions to Luigi were not what he had expected. "Going for a brawl today?"
Luigi thought for a moment and then replied: "In Pictochat and Final Destination."
"I'm due in for-"
"Good morning, Smashers." Master Hand's voice rang out from the bar speakers. Everyone's head swiveled around in the direction of the speakers, except for Snake's - he was still intensely watching the two. "For today's first brawl... Mario versus Mr. Game and Watch. Please get ready for your brawl. Your brawl location is Delfino Plaza. The match will commence in thirty minutes. As Delfino Plaza is a far-out location from the hotel, please watch the time carefully. You shall be alerted via the loudspeakers five minutes prior to your brawl."
The brothers sighed. "Master Hand talks too much." Mario said, shaking his head. "I guess he answered for me, then. I better get going. What he means by 'watching the time carefully' is-"
"-to go to the waiting room and stay there for the whole half hour." Luigi finished. "I get you, Bro. Good luck with Game and Watch. Mind you, he's not in a good mood. R.O.B. nearly incinerated him yesterday, so he's still being really antisocial."
The older Mario brother laughed and ruffled Luigi's hair; the latter grinned and nuzzled into Mario's arms. "Thanks, Luigi. Glad to see that you can still read my mind. You used to do that all the time when we were kids - when we were completely oblivious and I was learning to jump six feet."
Luigi giggled. "You can read mine too, Bro. The jumping thing was what I was thinking."
Mario laughed and patted his brother on the shoulder. He glanced up at the clock, still smiling. "...I'd best be going. Good luck with your brawls today." Mario gave his brother one last tight squeeze, and waved goodbye, walking out of the bar. Luigi waved back with his cap, making the two brothers grin at each other again. Snake watched all of this, never once looking away. Mario departed from the bar and was soon out of sight; Luigi took his place, putting his brother's used cup away and taking up the newspaper in his hands.
"Cappuccino's up." The Hammer Bro called, putting a large cup full of hot, foamy coffee in front of Snake. "Hello? Wake up! What are you looking at?"
"Huh? What?" The mercenary glanced around quickly, and then stared blankly at the cup of coffee before he clicked back into place and started to count out the money. But the Hammer Bro had already seen what he was gazing at; he turned and looked at Snake.
"I advise you not to go spying after the Mario brothers." He whispered. "You should have seen Mario at dawn. He stumbled down here, miserable and in need of a drink. He wouldn't talk about anything much but just sat there sipping his brew for the whole hour. I had to persuade him to go back to his suite, I did."
"That's nice." Snake murmured, not really paying attention. The Hammer Bro's gaze narrowed, and he glanced around furtively before leaning down and talking in a low voice.
"Look. I'm serious." He said urgently. "One thing I do know is that he's miserable because Mr. Lean and Green won't take much notice of him anymore. Mario's younger brother that is." He explained, as Snake looked blank at the nickname. "Don't know why Mario's so fussed, I said so myself. He can't hold on to his brother for all eternity. But he seemed really down and depressed because of it. I've just seen them having their little morning hug, and Mario looked happier than he's looked in ages. So don't you go spoil it. He deserves some happiness for himself." Done with his talk, the Hammer Bro nodded and turned back to the kitchen. "Stafy! How are the chocolate muffins doing? If you've burnt them again..."
Snake stood there for a second, staring blankly into thin air; but then he took up his coffee so suddenly that a little bit spilled from the cup. Taking no notice of this, he went and got himself a little container of sugar, and then sat down on the table furthest from Luigi - the latter failed to notice, as he was busy reading the newspaper. And he didn't particularly want to be seen. Hiding out in the dark corner, Snake took a small sip of his cappuccino and thought back to five minutes ago.
What was Mario doing, pretending that everything was all right? And furthermore, was Mario even telling his younger brother anything? Snake hadn't told Luigi of the last argument he'd had with Mario, but expected him to at least know about it. So far the green-clad plumber hadn't shown any signs that he knew anything; the mercenary had passed it off, thinking that he and Mario had both been forgiven. But now he was thinking again about it; it seemed likely that Luigi really didn't know.
He took another sip of his coffee. There had been that look in Mario's eyes - one of fatigue and half frustration - that Snake hadn't liked. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his expression had turned more negative. It was so obvious that the red-clad plumber was hiding something from Luigi, and it was making him miserable.
And Luigi deserved to know about the argument at least.
"How long is he going to keep it from Luigi?" He muttered to himself. "How long is he going to pretend that everything's alright? The fool!" He downed the last of his coffee, and quietly left the bar, looking back only once to see the younger Mario brother. The latter was checking his watch and glancing at the bar entrance, wondering when Snake would come. Wanting to go and talk to Luigi so much, yet unable to face him that morning, the soldier walked away to his first brawl with a heavy heart.
Later that afternoon, Snake was hiding out in Shadow Moses, inside his box. He'd just finished all of his brawls and was tired beyond belief; but he was still holding out, because he had some things to do there. As the semi-owner of Shadow Moses Island, he would be the one checking the overall look of the entire area and making small reports. The Shadow Moses R.O.B. would do the rest of the cleaning and such. He frowned as he lightly bit the end on his pen; the brawls had helped to take his mind off what he'd seen that morning, but now he had nothing better to do he was remembering again. The whole conversation with the Hammer Bro, and Mario's reaction to Luigi made him feel uncomfortable. Mario had been a shallow figure to him, one he didn't know well and didn't particularly want to know. Mario was simply selfish and overprotective in his eyes, much too one-dimensional; yet now that he'd seen the other side of the man, Snake couldn't help but pity him a little. He knew that Mario was unhappy.
Snake didn't feel that it was his place to tell Luigi what Mario hadn't. The younger Mario brother deserved to hear the full explanation from Mario first. Then Snake could give his version of events and let Luigi make his own decisions. But the fact was that he wasn't Luigi's relative, nor family; he was merely a friend, and the mercenary knew perfectly that family came before friends in situations like this. But he couldn't just leave Luigi oblivious either.
While he was contemplating this, a boy by the name of Lucas was walking around Shadow Moses, hopelessly calling for his Rope Snake.
"Rope Snake... where are you..." He called softly, fully knowing that the object could not answer back. Back in his home world, it could, but not here. He found Shadow Moses too empty and disturbing for him; more than once the spotlights had almost caught him, and he had only just managed to tiptoe out of the way as those lights swept by. Why had he left the Rope Snake in the arena, for God's sake? Lucas sighed - he'd searched the whole of the ground floor, but there had been nothing. The boy inched upwards and grabbed hold of a platform, heaving himself up to the first floor and looking for a flash of red.
"Rope Sna-" He called out, but the words died in his throat as he stared at the object lying in the corner. It was a cardboard box, unmoving and silent. There was seemingly nothing on it; Lucas briefly considered looking through the box, but ultimately decided against it as it seemed to be upside-down. He inched over to the cardboard box carefully, unaware that a very alert mercenary was watching him from the interior.
"What's this?" Lucas looked, finding nothing special, and mindlessly kicked the cardboard box. "Stupid..."
Snake instantly felt his temper skyrocket to nowhere. That boy had kicked his box. His box. And he'd been rather annoyed with all his problems too - the brat would pay. The fact that Lucas had suffered through unbelievable hardships before entering the tournament, and probably deserved a break at the very least, did not strike him at that moment. He leapt out with a low growl, and pounced on the poor boy, jamming a gun to his throat and putting one arm around his chest, crushing him so he couldn't escape. Lucas yelped and struggled, to no avail. The soldier merely held him tighter.
"Let's get the options clear." He growled. "You can either keep your nasty mouth shut and die a horrible death, or explain - at least attempt to - why you happened to kick my box... and die an equally horrible death. Your choice."
"Is... is there an option not to die at all?" Lucas stuttered, glancing back at Snake with terrified eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't know-"
"That's not an answer to my question!" The mercenary snarled, making the poor boy whimper and start crying. "Now answer me properly! Why did you kick my box? Talk quickly, brat, or I'll make sure you die in the most terrible way known to mankind; death by codec!" But the boy was simply too frightened to talk, and only looked at him, tears running down his cheeks and trembling.
And indeed, Lucas would have died a slow and painful death by codec - had help not arrived on the scene.
"Oh, let Lucas go, Snake!" Luigi's voice called from below, and in a second the younger Mario brother had neatly landed on the platform, crossing his arms. "He's just a boy. And I know you aren't that cruel. I mean, death by codec? Leave him alone, for God's sake."
Snake sighed; he did not appreciate interruptions, but it was Luigi who had made the request after all and he couldn't well refuse. Very slowly, and very reluctantly, he released his grip on the blond boy, who jumped free and gazed at him with a scared expression. Snake shot him a death-glare, and Lucas flinched sharply, eventually turning and running away at full speed.
"And don't come back!" Snake hollered after the boy, before slumping down on the cold steel floor and looking at Luigi. "What brought you here?"
Luigi walked over and sat down next to Snake, who promptly pulled another box down on top of them both. "I wanted to see you. I went to your suite, but you didn't answer... so I figured that you'd be here." Snake looked at him sharply, the light filtering thorugh the side holes of the box allowing him to see the other man clearly. "Where were you at breakfast? I waited for you for a long time. You didn't show up." Luigi looked upset at the memory, and sighed; the mercenary momentarily considered telling him that he had indeed been in the breakfast bar, but decided against it. He would have to explain things that he didn't have a right to explain.
"I skipped breakfast. Sorry about that... just wasn't hungry..." Snake replied, carefully watching Luigi's reaction. The latter seemed to be vaguely worried, but he seemed to buy the story, encouraging the mercenary to continue. "I had a brawl lined up straight after the breakfast hour anyway. That's why I didn't come. I apologize if you were worried. So what happened at breakfast?"
Luigi's expression turned less severe, a dreamy kind of look filling his face. Snake stared at him, mildly disturbed, and backed into the sides of the box slightly.
"It was cutest thing ever." Luigi murmured. "Guess what? Jigglypuff kissed Meta Knight! In full view of everyone! The bar just went about crazy. I even saw Samus Aran cheering."
"...Samus Aran cheering?" Snake repeated, aghast. "Did she even know how to cheer?"
"And Princess Peach was throwing champagne around with Princess Zelda. It was the cutest and most craziest thing I've seen this month. Master Hand had to arrive to quieten everyone down. You should have been there."
Snake considered this briefly. "I'd have come... to see Samus cheer. Other than that... nah."
"Why not? Meta Knight and Jigglypuff were so cute!" Luigi protested. "Are you a romance hater or something?"
"Nah." Snake grinned. "I just don't do mushy stuff. I do homicide. Care to join me sometime?"
"Um..." Luigi laughed nervously. "Thanks... but no thanks. I'll stick to 1-UPs and being friendly to everyone."
Snake 'hmph'ed. "Huh. Shame about that. I was looking forward to unleashing the Negative Zone on the victims with you. I like watching them stumble around like drunks."
"See if it's funny when you get caught in it, though." Luigi retorted, pouting lightly. "I'm the only one resistant to it, so get yourself caught in the Negative Zone once, why don't you? Let's see if you can laugh, then."
"Oh, I would." Snake replied loftily and pinched Luigi's cheek. "And that's for not being co-operative. You just completely shattered my hopes, Luigi-"
The green-clad plumber winced at the pinch, and rolled free of Snake's grasp, starting to giggle despite the pain. "By the way you go on about it anyone would think I broke your heart! Stop going on about it!"
"But I'm still your friend, Luigi. You know that, don't you?"
"Of course I do, silly." The green-clad plumber punched him lightly on the shoulder, but he stopped giggling, and sat quite still, matching Snake's gaze with his own. "You're a good friend... my best friend... and I mean that. You've done a lot for me, Snake."
"I'm not forgetting what you've done for me, either. Remember the 1-UPs and this?" The mercenary gestured to the bandanna. In response, Luigi pulled up his overall legs a little, showing long, black-striped socks. "You're wearing it, too. It suits you."
"Thanks." Luigi smiled, and then they both fell into a comfortable silence. Snake resumed writing up his Shadow Moses report, idly ticking off some of the options provided in the form. The other watched him for a while, but then turned and peeped out of the hole on the side of the box, observing the surroundings. The island was deserted now, with no trace of Lucas or any other Smashers. The arena wouldn't be used again until tomorrow. He withdrew and shivered lightly, despite the box being warm due to their body heat. Luigi craved warmth; the box was warm enough, but what he wanted was someone to hold onto. Unfortunately, he couldn't get anyone to hug him most days. This was because Luigi had a penchant for hugging people without consent, and without taking any notice of the surroundings.
It wasn't that he would run up to a random person and ask for a hug. He was already too much of an advanced hugger for that. He usually kept it to himself, but once he either got drunk or so exhausted that he would go half insane, there was no stopping his hugfest.
The only one who could counter this one, so far, was Mario. Mario knew his brother more well than any other Smasher, and when things like this happened, he would give Luigi a tight little squeeze of his own and give him some coffee to calm his nerves. He was the only one who Luigi could be perfectly assured that he wouldn't injure or otherwise traumatize during his little 'moments'. A willing tight hug and coffee with lots of cream and sugar - to him, that was the antidote to everything. And he liked it that way.
But the other Smashers, of course, didn't know that. So Luigi would go around, wrecking much havoc, until he found Mario or he calmed down by himself. Quite often this resulted in accidents - one time he'd been brawling too much and just had this urge to cling on to anyone for extra comfort and warmth. Captain Olimar had been his unfortunate target - he himself had jumped out of the way before Luigi had managed to grab onto his spacesuit, but his Pikmin were not so lucky.
"Hug!" Luigi had screamed, and dived in Captain Olimar's general direction. The latter hopped out of the way, and Luigi tripped, accidentally squashing all six Pikmin under his body. When the little Captain had recovered from the shock, he looked to find the younger Mario brother sprawled across a ditch, surrounded by faint Pikmin spirits.
Olimar had hit the roof.
But it wasn't quite Luigi's fault that he wanted hugs from people. All his life he'd been rather under pressure - what with having so many phobias as a child, being constantly scared by his enemies and the disadvantages of being a kid brother to Mario - and he wanted to make sure that he was safe, secure and amongst kind company. One simple hug could help him relax. That had been his childhood habit; whenever he felt down, or scared, he would cling to Mario and hold on tight. The habit had stuck, and now anyone he was even mildly friendly with would be included in the list of potential hug victims. And not everyone would be so understanding. Last time he'd tried to hold on to the Pokemon Trainer, he'd been battered.
But there was little that would stop Luigi, so when he was on a hugging spree, the Smashers very wisely withdrew into their suite and locked the door. In fact, even the mention of the word 'hug' from his lips would provoke a simillar reaction. But Snake wouldn't do that. Although the mercenary looked like the very last person one would go to look for a hug, Luigi knew him too well. Swallowing his nervousness, he called the soldier again.
"Snake?"
"Hmm?"
"You know when you said that you do homicide?"
"Yeah..."
Luigi flushed lightly. "...Do you do hugs?"
"...That's mushy stuff. Which I don't do."
"Come on. Just once."
Snake considered this for a moment. "Well..." He wasn't the hugging type, nor was he really into physical contact of any kind (except for stroking people's hair and an occasional pat on the back or shoulders). And the exchange that morning still weighed heavily on his mind; should he really be touching or be this close to the younger Mario brother? Wasn't that selfish? But he soon shook away that thought. He would dwell on it later. He was fine with Luigi - the younger Mario brother had done a lot for him, and besides Snake didn't feel uncomfortable with him at all. If it was a hug he wanted, he would give it to Luigi. "...Well... I suppose I can make an exception for you. You're a nice guy."
"Then hug me." Luigi requested.
"Okay." The mercenary replied simply.
And they embraced in a warm, friendly hug.