Title: Reality
Summary: Fears and paranoias; is love artificial?
Rating: PG
Pairings: Snake/Otacon, Raiden/Snake
Warnings: Slash, mild OOC
Disclaimer: Kojima-sama's.

Losing yourself was so much easier than finding it. Finding it again and again. He can see his eye twitch, another stupid question being asked.

Hal knows he shouldn't interrupt; it's not his place to. Knowledgeable, intelligent – but, let's face it – helpless.

Helpless, as Jack ponders loudly, which means he does not think, he asks.

Helpless, as the words 'VR', 'Patriots', 'not', 'AI' and 'real' are repeated, repeated over and over and over and over and over. He reads through Dave's exasperated thoughts, and as though equipped with a sniper scope, zooms in on 'He's just rephrasing his first question.'

Over and over and over.

Yet he's still helpless, even after Jack stops asking. When Jack moves closer. When Jack's lovely luscious lips graze gently across Dave's stubbly cheek.

Helpless, when Dave doesn't shift, but Jack does. Jack leaves. But Hal isn't sure why Dave isn't moving. Perhaps he liked it. Perhaps that's the way he's felt for Jack.

Silent. Hal prays that this isn't reality. He's lost himself because he wants Dave to be real, but not Dave's supposed love for Jack.

Hal, master of self-deception. Most of the time telling himself something that was real when really, it wasn't.

"You were watching," and Hal's muscles tighten. Stress and love. Lethal in the heart of Hal Emmerich, who spills his feeling and hopes and fears and "You have to be real, Snake, not an AI, everything after Shadow Moses has to be real" and Dave understands all at once.

He pulls Hal close, unintentionally bumping against the fridge, "Love you, Hal" and Hal knows that everything he's believed in so far is real.

END

A/N: UM, YES. My first foray in MGS. I apologise if this has been done before, or something, but I was aching to do a serious Snake/Otacon, as well as not making it too sappy and obvious and without too much dialogue. Methinks I failed.

Writing exercise, kinda sorta not really. Maybe I'll make it into a poem, and when I do, I'll remove this and re-post it. IN POEM FORMAT!

Let's all admit together that Raiden WAS a Snake fangirl. I mean, boy. "Are you THE Snake?" Ask for an autograph while you're at it, Raiden!