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Challenge #25
Phrase: "Now kiss me goodnight, love."
Word Count:
777
Rating: G
Title: Introductions
Author: Rydia
Highwind
Disclaimer: Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 and all
characters refered to herein belong to Konami. I claim nothing, I'm simply
borrowing.
Summary: Otacon meets Sniper Wolf. This was actually supposed to
be #23, but I forgot to post it. So it's kinda old, but oh well.
Warning:
None, really. Slight Otacon/Wolf, I guess? It's a bit rushed, I'm afraid.
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Hal Emmerich was not the bravest person in the world. In fact, he was pretty far from it. He rarely stood up for himself or for anything he thought highly off, simply because he didn�t want to get hurt. It didn�t matter what kind of hurt it was, emotional or physical, Hal didn�t want anything to do with it. Some people might have looked at him as a coward, and maybe that was true, but he didn�t really care. He managed to survive living in a Nuclear Weapons Disposal Facility in Alaska on an island called Shadow Moses for three years this way, and he was all right.
That�s why it was more than a little bit odd for him to be doing what he was doing right now. He was scared to death, had no confidence, and was seriously worried that he might wet himself. But he was defending something that was of extreme importance to him. He didn�t have much in the way of a family anymore, since he�d already ruined that, and so maybe this had become some sort of replacement for that family he didn�t have anymore.
Still, he had to say as he started down the muzzle of some sort of machine gun, the make of which he didn�t recognize, he had to wonder if this was worth it. �Please,� he begged, unsuccessfully willing his voice not to squeak in fear. �Don�t shoot them. They�re good dogs, really they are.� Just to prove how very wrong he was, one of the dogs behind him growled rather threateningly at the group of soldiers lined up to shoot the dogs. Wonderful.
�I�m /not/ going to say it again, Doctor,� the man in charge of the group growled, obviously a step past irritated. �Move out of the way or we�ll remove you. Got it?�
Hal winced, realizing that there was little else he could do to save the poor wolf-dogs. The soldiers were bound and determined to shoot them since the overland route to the underground maintenance base was blocked by glaciers, and the only way to get there on foot was first through the caverns and then through the communications towers. The wild dogs inhabited the underground caverns and apparently had already attacked a few soldiers. Hal had befriended the animals a long time ago, but he knew he couldn�t do anymore for them and reluctantly stepped down from his protective stance.
The door slid open then, and someone came out, but Hal�s back was to the door and he didn�t dare look away from the soldiers to see who it was. Probably just another soldier to help them shoot the wolves. He was surprised at the voice which spoke from behind him, first at the fact that it was feminine and secondly at the heavy Russian accent carried. �What is going on here?�
Hal turned around, and saw one of the most amazing women he�d ever seen. Her hair was so blonde, it was almost white, and it spilled down over her shoulders onto her white down jacket. Her eyes were a piercing blue, rimmed with a tint of hazel, framed by long eyelashes. Her skin was pale and impeccably smooth. And she was looking right at him.
�They�re going to shoot the dogs,� Hal stuttered, gesturing to the men behind him. He was certain the blush on his cheeks was suddenly no longer from the cold.
The woman looked past him then, and one of the dogs barked threateningly at a soldier. He turned cocking his gun at the wolf. Before Hal could even blink, the woman had moved, her fist connecting with the soldier�s jaw, knocking his gun off and the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off of the stone wall. The dog yelped at the noise and leapt backwards a few feet, but the woman was then kneeling by the dog, calming him. Hal started--the dogs were wild, and she was petting it like it was domesticated.
�Ma�am, these dogs are wild and dangerous,� one of the soldiers said.
�They�re /not/ going to shoot the dogs,� she amended, casting a glare at the guards, who were rather shocked into silence. �There is no reason for it. Look, they�re perfectly friendly.� The wolf-dog she was petting whined and wagged its tail. �Now kiss my goodnight, love,� she said to it, and it licked her cheek in response.
She yelled a bit more and finally pulled rank to get the guards to leave. Hal, being bad with people, turned to go too, but she stopped him.
�Will you help me feed the dogs?� she asked.
He turned and smiled shyly. �I�d love to.�