Chapter 9 "She blinded me..."

"How come it's still not enough?" The beautiful Sniper stands at the peak of the arch, staring at the full moon, in front of her lays Snake, asleep. She takes out her rifle and points it at him, just as she's about to squeeze the trigger, a blue butterfly stands at the gun's muzzle.

"Snake… Snake… Snake!" Opening his eyes, Quiet was shaking his shoulder.

"Quiet?"

"Snake are you feeling all right?"

"Ye… yeah…. Why are you so worried?"

"You wouldn't wake up for three days…I thought you went to a coma..." "Coma? I was just waiting for you last….wait…"

"No Snake, I went out at night to smoke and when I went inside you had fallen from the bed, knocked out."

"But why it feels like it was last night, and why I can't remember any of it" "Just take a deep breath Snake..." He lays on the bed again feeling a slight headache and confusion.

Quiet gets up to make him breakfast,

"I even feel dizzy..." pressing against his forehead to lower the pressure

"it'll go away..." Quiet comes to him holding a tray with his grub,

"Here, eat."

"Thanks..." He looks at Quiet and notices something is strange about her behavior; she sets the tray and quickly goes to the front door, not wanting to look at him. Snake wonders, his instincts tell him this woman is up to something, while eating he sees Miller to his side staring at the woman, as if telling him his suspicion is right. After he finishes, he picks up his crutch, and goes outside to smoke cigars. Noticing Quiet is cleaning her rifle. Behind her lays Miller pointing to her gun.

"That Brennan again…" As he lits up his cigar, he notices Quiet is flustered, something is bothering her. He goes to her and as he's about to put his hand on her shoulder Miller signals him no but he ignores his advice and goes through with it. She turns to him in surprise "Bo boss?"

In that second, he could confirm her hesitation, she is up to something, but he doesn't know what it is. And his instincts tell him to not ask since she won't answer him truthfully. Miller hands out a gun to Snake and puts it in his pocket, as he reaches out for his gun, Ocelot stops him and points to Quiet. As Snake turns he sees something in her eyes, as if she were to break down and cry. He carefully observes her, in her eyes, he feels her hesitation, the feelings she's wrestling. He knows her to be quite the violent and bloodthirsty woman, so putting her at gunpoint would only lead him to his death. What he could do? He then turns to Ocelot and he taps his shoulder. Snake follows his lead and gently squeezes the Sniper's shoulder.

"Quiet, what's wrong?"

"No nothing…." He decides to sit alongside her, watching her work. She begins to get a bit nervous but as time goes by she begins to feel relaxed at his presence.

The more he observes Quiet, the lighter his heart feels, smoking the cigar, he feels like he is in a calm place, akin close to what most people call "home".

"Damn it..." says Snake, as to break the ice.

"Snake?" she stops cleaning her gun and turns her attention towards him.

"You're such a beauty." Snake feels weird as he says these words and something is just bursting out of his chest so he just lets it out.

She begins to feel flustered again and her Brennan falls from her grip,

"Ah..." he grabs her hands.

"It's okay.." says the soldier, she turns, she sees him sporting a relaxed expression with a calm smile. He then proceeds to ask her

"Didn't you say this was a made-up paradise?"

"Ye yeah…"

"We're like Adam and Eve here…". She gets up after hearing the name Eve, she feels surprised, blushy, and confused.

"Hey…" asks Snake as he touches her shoulder again. Without saying a word Quiet goes back to the house, all flustered. Snake decides to get up and light another cigar, sighting and chuckling a bit in amusement. She sits down on the couch, wondering about what to do.

"The sample must be stronger…"

As those words echo through her head again, she feels pressure, she was working on something she would not reveal to him, but at the same time, she needed him. Tears go from her face because of the intense emotions; she had never felt anything like this before. She then hears footsteps and turning to her side she sees him there, gently touching her shoulder again, as if letting her know it's okay. She sees the sincerity in his eyes, even though Snake was no longer a leader of men; he still carries himself proudly like one. She gets nervous for a moment, turning invisible and as the legendary soldier looks for her, she appears and kisses him. She hugs him strongly and he embraces her. They go to the couch and continue their intense kissing. She begins to take off her clothes and his.

After finishing, Snake lies sitting all naked on the couch, while Quiet is laying there with her feet in his lap all bare too. Their clothes are scattered all over the bear fur. "Never thought I would be here...with you…" murmurs Snake, but Quiet could hear him, sporting a gentle smile, but tears were still falling from her face. After a long moment of silence, Snake sees Miller standing at Quiet's side. He makes up his mind.

"Quiet…"

"Hmm?"

"I think it's time we talked." She sits on the couch, looking down on the floor then to him.

"Even though you saved me, why did you still want revenge?"

Quiet takes a deep breath "Skull Face",

"Skull Face?"

"Yes, it started with his revenge that he passed on to me; I inherited his rage and hatred toward the world. However, when I fell in silence, I began to love the world, choosing the language of gratitude instead. But with you, there was a part of me who still wanted to settle the score after that defeat in the ruins. I wanted to kill myself first because of the humiliation, I was already having it hard being unable to speak, and then you defeat me, despite my enhanced abilities. Nevertheless, you didn't let me kill myself, you further humiliated at me first. I knew you would take me to your base and torture me eventually. And part of it did, you would not intervene whenever that Miller would go on his ranting when he tortured me. I knew you couldn't but still, it made me feel rage inside… I hated every one of your soldiers working there. The only reason I did not get the parasite treatment was because of them. The only one who would stand between my death and me was Ocelot. And someday even he could go out his way against me. So eventually, I had to leave Snake; your pals are what caused my exile, not my speaking English."

"Then why am I here!?" he looks at her as he raises his voices

"Would you have preferred to be dead?" she gives him a cold stare

"Quiet! Answer me!"

"You don't like this place?" she keeps her cool

"Stop dodging the question!"

"I am going…"

"Quiet…" she turns invisible when Snake calls out her name

"Quiet? Quiet!" he flips the couch in frustration but falls down due to losing his balance. The woman turns on the vehicle and goes to the ruin to do her work, leaving her frustrated lover behind.

Snake gets up and puts his clothes, silence and stillness surrounds the cabin now. He lits a cigar and takes a deep breath. Letting his mind go adrift, letting the rage pass on. Sitting on the table, still smoking. As he looks outside, Snake takes out his handgun, starts to take it apart, and cleans it as a means to pass the time.

As he keeps staring at the gun, he's taken aback when he was pointing it to Quiet. Finishing the cigar, he remembers all the things he had done and didn't do. When he ordered the men to put her in a cell, when she saved the necklace, the time they fought in the base over a wounded soldier because of her. He also remembers the time she helped him escort and extract the children from Africa, how she wanted to intervene in Eli's battle but he ordered her to stand down. He realizes that some of those moments they shared their bond would grow. Even if she were to speak English, he would be just like her. Because at that time he didn't want to speak, his emotional pain and burning sensation of revenge robbed him of most words. They both enjoyed killing, basking themselves in the blood of their enemies. She was a demon just as much as he was on the battlefield. And he felt brokenhearted when she left him.

Blowing out the last smoke of his cigar, he remembers, remembers it all. He puts the gun down and stares outside to the blue sky. "Great partner…" he mutters. Meanwhile, Quiet is at the ruins doing her chores. She's sporting an angry frown, letting out angry sights, and throwing stuff in frustration. After she finishes, under the fading light of the sun, she goes up to the arch and decides to meditate on what has transpired. She takes out her gun and looks through her scope, this was a way for her to think deeply, as looking through the scope enabled her to concentrate more. Eventually, she starts to see flames; she's taken aback at the moment she lost her words.