Snake got up to the first rays of sun, as they penetrated through the window behind him. He rubbed his eyes and got into a sitting position, his leg protesting. He looked around to see the room empty except for himself. Beside him were placed a few tablets and a small water bottle. Snake picked up all of the five or six tablets and gulped them down in a single go. He then turned to pick up his shirt, he pulled it distractedly only to hear a small sound of something falling on the floor. He looked down and saw the revolver Ocelot had been playing with last night and a small smile appeared on his lips. Ocelot respected his weapons, and he never placed them on the ground, that`s why it must have been put on Snake`s shirt. Snake picked it up and opened it to reveal only one shot left. At least it's better than nothing, he thought grudgingly as he placed it in his pants` pocket and shrugged on the shirt.

Just as he got into a standing position, he heard some sound behind him. He flipped around and got into his usual stance, pointing the weapon at the door. The door of the room opened, to reveal Eva. His posture relaxed and he put the gun back in his pocket, she eyed him, her glance lingering on his leg for a little longer because his whole weight was concentrated on the other and his pants were marked considerably with dried blood.

"morning Snake," She said, shaking her head deliberately to make her hair wave across her shoulders, he didn`t know why, but this gesture always seemed to repel him. "The leg, I brought some bandages."

Snake looked down and saw Ocelot`s shirt still wrapped around his thigh roughly, "no, I`m fine." The wound was already hurting and he wondered if taking the fabric off would induce more pain.

Eva raised an eyebrow and walked over to him, eyes fixed upon the Spetsnaz commander`s shirt, "where did you get that? It`s Ocelot`s, isn`t it?"

"yeah," Snake went through the options, whether to tell her or not, after all, she had gained his trust. But he didn`t know what held him back from telling her straightaway. "Found it lying somewhere." He knew it was unconvincing.

She laid her hand on his shoulder and forced him on the floor, sitting down next to him, Snake noticed that the way she was leaning to him wasn`t all that necessary, "he didn`t return to the base last night, the soldiers were all dispersed in the forest searching for him." She paused, Snake eagerly waited for the rest, "they assumed you had something to do with that. Where did you get that shot?" she pointed to his leg, "it hasn`t got something to do with him, has it?"

Snake shook his head slowly, "the Ocelot unit did it yesterday, he wasn`t with them." Eva nodded understandingly and talked to herself, "he`s been acting weird lately, I honestly think Volgin`s been suspecting him to be the internal spy, I`m all clean. If he continues like this long enough, untold disappearances and all, I bet he hasn`t got much to live."

Eva didn`t notice when the other soldier`s breathing had stopped, Snake furrowed his eyebrows and stared into space. Ocelot`s life was in danger, just because he had been sneaking out to provide him chunks of information, medicines and weapons. He wasn`t listening to what the one next to him was saying till she got up, "…and that shirt of his, be sure to keep it on the wound when you get out, that`ll heighten the colonel`s suspicions and if we`re lucky, we might as well get rid of a legendary cat."

Snake`s eyes widened, of course, she was right, if anybody saw that shirt protecting his wound, Ocelot would be in mortal danger. His hand tightened around the revolver in his pocket, he wouldn`t risk taking it out in front of anyone too. Eva walked to the door after tossing a knife to him, "see you Snake."

"Wait," Snake caught the weapon in the middle of its dive and said slowly, "you said you have the bandages?"

"Yeah, I have. But didn`t you…"

"I want them, just in case."

Eva looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, took out the white cloth from her pocket and threw it to him before walking out. Snake wrapped the bandage on is leg after disposing off the shirt. He took out Ocelot`s gun and threw it at the corner where he had last seen Ocelot, it hit the wall lightly and fell on the ground with a small clank. He had the knife so he wouldn`t risk keeping it. He kept staring at the neglected weapon for another minute or two before sighing and getting up. He walked up to the revolver and opened it; took out the bullet and pocketed it, before delicately placing the revolver on a small broken wooden shelf at the side of the room. He sighed again, He respects his weapons.

The next few days went by with Snake resting in the same room, occasionally getting out hunting for food. As long as his leg wasn`t in any condition to support him, he couldn`t risk going out and continuing the mission because as told by Eva, the security had been tightened. He hadn`t seen Eva after she had handed him the bandage, there was no sign of Ocelot after that night too and Snake was mildly thankful. He didn`t want Ocelot risking his life for him any more than he already had. He received a hell lot of calls from major Zero, inquiring about his progress, it was out of impatience not concern that he wanted Snake`s wound to be healed quickly. Getting up one morning, Snake decided that he was better enough to go on with his mission since he didn`t have much time left, neither could he take anymore of the man`s numerous inquisitive calls. Just as Snake walked out the rubble of the facility, and under the shades of the trees, his microphone started vibrating again so he hunched over to answer it.

"Snake, how are you doing today?"

"better enough to resume." Snake said hoarsely.

"well that`s good. I wanted to tell you that the link of the paramedic has changed, you won`t be able to contact her. She`ll be informed of your injuries and will contact you herself."

"is that it?"

"Yes. Until next time."

"affirmative." Snake clicked it off and sighed, "You can come out now,"

A moment later, rustling was heard from the tree behind him, a black clad person jumped from the top branch and landed perfectly on his spurred boots. Just like a cat… Snake noticed.

"Did you just happen to be there or..." Snake stopped as Ocelot neared him, dusting his uniform elegantly.

"No, I haven`t been spying on you. I just thought today might be the day."

Snake started to walk on the mudded path casually, Ocelot beside him. "you know that Volgin`s suspecting you?"

"yeah," Ocelot kicked a stray stone in the path, Snake eyed him incredulously but didn`t say anything.

Ocelot didn`t know why he had come to him in the first place, his intuition had been correct and that`s what gave him the satisfaction, something had given him the feeling that Snake might get out of the sanctuary today. He was well aware of the fact that the colonel suspected him but he was on the verge of figuring something out about that. He knew he shouldn`t have risked coming here, seen with Snake like that meant a free one way ticket to hell.

"so, is there a purpose for our meeting or do you really want Volgin to clear his suspicions?" Snake asked, he was getting uncomfortable of the silence. There was a pause.

As sensitive as a cat`s ears could be, Ocelot grabbed Snake`s collar and pulled him to the ground with him, making the shot meant for his head to go astray. He turned his head venomously in the direction of the bushes at the side and aimed at them, before pulling the trigger and making a light dying sound escape through the person`s mouth as he fell to the ground. He then looked down at Snake`s uncomfortable expression`s below him, feeling a tingly sensation at the pit of his stomach as the blue eyes stared back at him, admiration hidden deep within the mask of annoyance. Snake furrowed his eyebrows in an attempt to glare at the one inches away from him, but it was awfully hard since he had just banked his life. Ocelot smirked at the pathetic attempt and got up, dusting his sleeve and pocketing the gun. He offered Snake his hand but the other just glared at him for a moment before pulling himself upon his feet, with the slightest hint of difficulty that had nothing to do with his healing leg. Ocelot retreated his hand. Snake straightened his shirt and glanced at the bush where the corpse now laid.

"you can`t risk being seen with me," Snake growled heatedly. "What if someone else had seen you do that?"

"no one did." Ocelot ran a hand through his hand awkwardly, not meeting the other`s gaze. In truth, he was a little worried too but was far from voicing it. Snake huffed angrily and turned away from him.

"look," Ocelot took a calming breath and took a step towards him, "I'll take care of everything." He paused. Snake looked at him from the corner of his eyes, feeling the anxiety weigh him down. He didn`t want somebody`s life to be in danger because of him, particularly if that someone was Ocelot. "Sokolov has been transferred to another room in the basement, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to gain access to him after all the suspicions Volgin has for me." That proved to be a virtual blow for Snake, now Volgin was limiting his access because of him. There was another few moments of silence before Ocelot met the other`s gaze, did his usual hand gesture and he was off. Snake kept looking in his direction long after his back disappeared in the thick forest, suddenly feeling more alone in the surroundings than he had been before.

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A/N: yara leave a review or two... i don`t mind. you know that these things keep most of us dragging on...