Title: Metal Gear Solid: Elements of Destruction- Chapter 2: Friendship
Author: The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)
Fandom: Metal Gear Solid
Feedback: All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive. I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest: frozenblueice@yahoo.com
Pairing: The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose. There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.
Series: No. There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.
Rating: PG (this chapter only)
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima. All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess. This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it. It is for entertainment purposes only.
Type: Action/Shounen-ai
Summary: This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell." New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action. (That's all I'm revealing!)
Chapter 2: Friendship
Otacon never had to worry about setting his alarm clock for anything. He wondered why he even wasted the space on this nightstand for it. Like everyday, right on schedule, he was woken up abruptly to the sounds of agonized screaming from the room next to him. Though he knew almost certainly what it was about, the kind-hearted scientist went to check on his friend anyways, like he did everyday.
Hal reached over and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand, and put them on as he got up out of bed and ran out his door. He banged on Snake's door repeatedly to assure that if Dave was still sleeping, he'd wake up.
"Snake?" Hal called out, "Are you alright?"
Snake sat up, his head buzzing. "Damn it, Otacon!" he shouted back, "I'm fine!"
The insistent pounding stopped, and Dave stretched his arms out, yawning. Just as he expected, he had wasted another four hours on trying to sleep. In addition, he had woken up Otacon again too. He cursed himself under his breath. That poor man had too much to worry about to be startled like that every morning. But, as Snake noticed, Hal took it with a grain of salt. It was just part of a daily routine for him now. It still made Snake mad because it wasn't like Otacon just woke up and then let himself roll over and fall back asleep. No. He always came to check up on him. Snake tried to tell his friend on numerous occasions that this was not necessary, but he was blatantly ignored. If Hal wasn't a good friend, then Snake didn't know who was.
The sudden aroma of coffee, bacon, and eggs danced up Dave's nose, beckoning him to the kitchen. He smiled, "And he's even making me breakfast too."
Snake slid his pants on that he wore yesterday, and maneuvered his way through the minefield of a floor to the kitchen. Stretching his arms out again, then scratching his head, he looked up at Hal who was diligently cooking a rather delicious smelling breakfast.
Half a dozen eggs were sizzling in a well-greased frying pan. In another, a whole pound of bacon left a sweet smell in the air as it cooked. Snake picked up on it and realized that the bacon was honey-cured. His mouth was heavily salivating. "If I can't get my energy replenished with sleep," he thought to himself, "I guess I'll have to do it with food." He laughed mentally, "Looks like Otacon had the same idea too."
Hal turned off the burner that was cooking the eggs and turned around to grab the large serving plate that he'd set out on the counter. He jumped back, suddenly aware that he wasn't alone.
"Geez, Snake! When did you sneak in here?" Hal asked with his hand still on his chest. "You scared the piss outta me!" He moved his hand from his heart to push up his glasses.
Snake just laughed. Sometimes, his friend could be so jumpy.
"It's not funny," Otacon said indignantly. "Usually I know when you've come for your breakfast because I smell your cigarette smoke. It's usually the first…err second," he corrected himself, "thing you do in the morning."
"That reminds me…" Dave said, patting the sides of his pants, feeling for his little box of nerve suppressors.
Otacon rolled his eyes. Great. He had to mention the cigarette thing. Now his one and probably only chance to have breakfast without having smoke blown up his nose was ruined. He mentally kicked himself as he went back to serving up breakfast.
Snake lit up his morning cigarette and sighed. He felt a bit of relief from his tension, but his body still ached.
Hal laid out all of the food on the counter. "Breakfast is ready," he said, grabbing himself a small plate of food and heading for his computer. He sat down, starting back into his work right away, from where he left off last night.
The engineer paused for a moment to a muscular hand holding a double-sized mug of black coffee outstretched to him. He took the mug from his friend.
"Thanks," he said, "Almost forgot the most important nutrient of them all: Caffeine."
He gulped down the hot coffee as if the heat didn't phase him. The truth be known, it was probably just his tired mind refusing to process the burning sensation. Sure his mouth was well seasoned from many hot pots of coffee, but this brew was fresh, and he hadn't even blown across the top of the liquid to cool it down.
"I wonder what'd happen to you if they got rid of coffee?" Snake said, teasing his friend, and amazed at how fast he was putting away that hot brew.
Hal pulled the mug away from his lips just long enough to retort, "I'd look like Hell, like you!"
Snake looked at his reflection in Otacon's computer screen, then looked down at his partner. Both were in desperate need of a shave to remove the shadow that they'd been growing. Both men's eyes had deep black circles around them, and red lines running through them. Neither had brushed their hair, or even taken a shower in a few days.
"Too late." Snake came back wryly, raising his chin with a quick gesture towards his friend's reflection.
Otacon realized, as he looked at himself in his monitor, exactly what Snake was talking about. It didn't occur to the usually tidy man until now, just how scruffy two straight days of work could make a person. He blushed, a bit embarrassed at letting himself get this way. He fidgeted a bit, and ran his fingers through his deep brown locks, trying to straighten them out a bit.
Snake, watching his friend, laughed at his futile grooming display. "I hardly think that that's going to help at this point," he said in response.
Otacon blushed again. Snake was right. It really was too late to try to straighten himself out now. Besides, his friend had already noticed that he was rather scruffy, and he had been in worse shape in front of Dave before. Nevertheless, it was brought to his attention, so he placed his now empty mug next to his keyboard, and got up.
"I suppose a shower would feel good right about now," he said.
Looking back at his chair, he realized that he had been sitting on his lab coat. He rubbed his hands over his face in tired frustration.
"Great," he mumbled audibly, yet more to himself than his friend, "Now I have to iron that."
Snake, remembering that it was he who had just thrown the coat on the seat in a heap last night, apologized, "Sorry."
"Man. Otacon must really be tired to not have noticed that he was sitting on his lab coat," Dave thought to himself, feeling his guilt for having woken up Hal begin to rise again.
Otacon picked up his coat, and shook it out, trying to get out the freshly pressed wrinkles. He then laid it neatly over the back of his chair as he intended it to have been last night. Forgetting about his breakfast, he headed over to his dresser drawers and began to dig out some fresh clothes. All of his drawers were neat and organized, with the clothes folded perfectly.
Snake watch his friend pull out a green and blue sweater, and a pair of navy dockers. He marveled at the "filing system" and thought that maybe it was time that he gave his drawers an overhaul. He was getting tired of searching through piles of clothes to get to his t-shirts.
Otacon carried his clothes, still folded with him to the bathroom. Breakfast would have to wait. He'd rather eat it cold then spend a moment longer aware of his own filth. He sighed as he laid his clothes neatly on the sink counter. For that matter, he didn't want to sit around in front of Snake like that. For some reason, that he himself could not figure out yet, it embarrassed the Hell out of him.
Snake noticed that Hal's plate of food wasn't missing a single bite. He called after his friend, "Hey Otacon?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Aren't you going to eat your breakfast first?"
"No," the other answered, "That's alright. I'll eat it when I get out. He turned to shut the door, but found Dave standing in the doorway. Hal blushed.
"Are you sure?" Snake pressed on, a look of concern on his face.
"I'm sure," he assured his friend. "I'd just feel better if I were clean, that's all." He looked down at his feet shuffling them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a black bath towel lying on the floor. Hal picked it up, tossing it at Snake's head. Snake's trained reflexes allowed him to dodge the throw.
"You missed," the mercenary said tauntingly.
Otacon's embarrassment lifted a bit. "Yeah, well… pick up your stuff, will ya?" he said, scolding him.
Snake smiled in his usual cocky manner and shut the door.
On his way back to the kitchen, Snake crumpled the towel into a ball and hurled it into his room. It landed amongst the rubble, and would probably disappear beneath another layer of junk soon.
"No," Snake thought, "I'm not going to let that happen."
He grabbed himself some eggs and bacon, and poured himself a mug of coffee. Dave went to the fridge and pulled out the half and half. He poured a generous amount into the cup, its white liquid clouding up the darkness of the coffee. He stirred it in good, and then took a sip. It had been cooled enough from the cream to drink. Cream gave the otherwise bitter drink some body to it. Snake hated foods and drinks that were lacking in rich flavor. It was a good thing that he was an active person, or those fat laden bacon strips would've caught up to him by now. With all of the physical work Snake had to do all of the time, he doubted that it would ever become a problem for him.
"Otacon stays so thin because he doesn't eat properly," he thought. "It's because he's always worrying about something."
Snake shoveled a few forkfuls of eggs into his mouth. They were delicious. His friend was rather skilled with the frying pan, even if the chef himself rarely ever tasted his own cuisine.
"His anxiety's reached its peak. I don't think I've ever seen him this frazzled before." Snake knitted his brow in thought. "There's gotta be something specific that he's worried about, and not just the usual jitters."
Snake wished that he knew what it was, but just didn't know how to go about asking Hal about it. Dave just wasn't good with that sort of subject. Emotions were not his specialty, and not surprisingly either. All of his years of military training, and years of living on a battlefield made him suppress his emotions, and he didn't think it'd be a good idea to dig them out again. Solid Snake was very important to Philanthropy as its one man army, and he couldn't risk tainting his skills that way.
Finishing the last bit of his breakfast, he laid his dish on the counter. If he couldn't talk to Otacon about what was bothering him, then the least he could do for his friend was help alleviate some of his tension.
"Well," Dave said, "I'd better get started."
***
Otacon stood there for a few minutes staring at the door before moving to remove his clothes. He took each article off one by one, placing them into a small wicker hamper in the corner of the room. He laid his glasses down next to the sink and turned to face himself in the mirror. The now clear view he had of himself was worse than the one he had seen in his computer monitor. He turned away in disgust, and started the water in the shower.
Hal tended to like his showers on the hot side. It was good for relieving tensed muscles, and above all else: the hotter the water, the more germs he was killing. After giving the water a chance to heat up, he tested the temperature with his fingertips. Perfect. The pale, slender man got in, letting the hot water run through his hair and down his back. It felt so good, and he let out a sigh.
Otacon let his thoughts wander to Antarctica. From a scientist's standpoint, it would be a really great place to go. Almost the entire continent is untouched land. Many discoveries are yet to be made. Underneath the layers and layers of ice and snow could be the secrets of Earth's origin. Or, it could be hiding prehistoric plants, long extinct, perfectly preserved, whose properties could cure many deadly diseases, saving millions of lives.
Yes, it was every scientist's dream to explore the unknown frontier of Antarctica, but Hal would be stuck up in a building somewhere far from all of the action. He would be observing from afar, directing Snake by codec. Hal's heart will palpitate with every shot fired, as each bullet could mean the end of a dear friend and partner.
Hal grimaced at that last thought as he poured the combination shampoo/conditioner into his hand. He worked it into his hair, making sure to get a good lather.
Another dangerous mission for Snake… Otacon felt like he was worthless. He felt his situation comparable to that of a person who's found out that his friend's mother was in danger, so he tells his friend, and lets his friend go off to save her all alone. Otacon felt a lump build up in his throat. He wouldn't be able to bear losing someone else right now. Not after losing his stepsister, Emma. That was a whole year ago, but it seemed like yesterday. Hal had to just continue believing that the "Great Solid Snake" was as invincible as others rumored him to be. It was kind of hard to thought, considering he knew the man behind the legend, and he was just a man after all.
Hal moved his head back under the massaging spray of hot water to rinse his hair. The rhythm of the pounding droplets on his back was hypnotic. He was almost sucked into it as he closed his eyes. Hal shook his head, waking himself from the hypnosis. "No. I've got to remain focused," he scolded himself, "even if it's just taking a shower."
Soaping up his washcloth, he washed his body, taking extra care to scrub himself well. Otacon's body was smooth, and virtually hairless, so the soap slid down his slim contours quickly, and into the drain. Stepping under the water one last time, the last of the soap ran down, leaving a clean feeling behind. Satisfied with his hygienic state, Otacon turned off the water and reached for his towel. It easily wrapped around his small waist.
He stepped out into the steam-filled room. It kept him warm as the water evaporated off of his skin. He wiped off the fogged mirror with the blue hand towel that was hanging on a hook on the wall next to him. Hal peered at his reflection again, reevaluating himself. Well, at least the dirt was gone, but the water had not the power to wash away the tiredness in his eyes. The black puffy circles that lined his eyes were just as dark as when he stepped in.
He rubbed the stubble on his chin. That was definitely the next thing to go. Pulling out his electric razor and plugging it into the wall, Otacon thought to himself with a bit of amusement, about how lax his roommate was about shaving.
A few quick strokes was all it took to clean up Hal's face. Though quite visible due to its dark brown color, his facial hair pattern was rather sparse in some areas, especially his moustache area. Years ago, Hal had tried to grow a moustache, but he found it to be a futile effort and gave up after two weeks of no shaving, and no more than a few baby fine hairs sprouting from above his lip.
Otacon cleaned the hair from the counter and got dressed, after which he brushed his teeth.
First opening the door to let out the steam, Hal grabbed his glasses off of the sink. He used his sweater to wipe them off with, then put them back on. The air outside of the bathroom felt cool, like it usually did after stepping out after a shower. He detected something else this time though. Something… fresh? It wasn't until now that Hal noticed something different about the apartment. It was… clean?
Walking over to Snake's room, he peeked in the doorway. The minefield had been cleared and his bed was made. Otacon's eyes widened as he scanned the place. All of the guns, weapons, camera equipment and such were neatly stacked in their appropriate cases and crates. But what he saw next, made him smile ear to ear. There was Snake, with the ironing board, ironing out the scientist's lab coat for him.
Snake looked up from what he was doing. "I was beginning to wonder if you had dozed off in there," he said sarcastically.
Hal brushed back a few strands of wet hair from his face. "No. Not this time," he said, recalling the many other times that he had done so. "What's all of this for?" Otacon asked, gesturing around the apartment.
"Huh? Oh… It's nothing. Don't mention it, " Snake answered. He finished pressing out the last wrinkle and turned off the iron. Picking up the lab coat, he shook it out to cool off the fabric.
"Here ya go," Dave said, tossing the coat at his friend, "Good as new."
Otacon reached out for the item flying at him. He caught it with both hands. "You didn't have to do all of this, you know," the scientist said putting his freshly ironed coat on.
"Yeah I did," Snake replied. "You're always taking care of this place, and most of all, you're always taking care of me. It's just my ways of saying thanks, Otacon."
Hal's eyes shifted to the floor. Yeah, he did kinda take care of Snake all of the time. But, isn't that what friends do for one another? It's the least he could do for Snake having saved his life. He owed his life to him. His life…
Otacon got to thinking. "Snake, I…"
The phone rang. Dave ran off to get it.
"Hold that thought," he said. "It's probably Mei Ling. I left a message for her to call me back."
Snake picked up the receiver. "Yeah?"
"Oh, hi Snake!" Mei said in her usual heavy Asian accent, "What's up?"
"A lot," the mercenary replied, "That's why I called you. We've got trouble."
"Trouble?" she asked, "A new mission?"
"Yeah. But of course, we'd rather brief you in person."
"Oh of course," Mei agreed, "Better to err on the side of caution than to…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Snake cut her off, "I know the rest."
"Hmph," she snorted, "Sometimes you can be so mean." Mei Ling paused for a second. "So, what time do you want to meet up?"
Snake looked at the digital display on the range. "Hmmm… It's 9 o'clock now. How about 5? Your place ok?"
"Sounds good!" the overly cheery woman said, "I'll make dinner too."
"Alright. 5 o'clock then," Snake confirmed. "Later."
"See you then." Mei said, hanging up the phone.
Author's Notes:
Hmmm… Nothing that I can think of.