Hello everyone! It's about time I updated, right? Right. Well, this isn't gonna be a happy-sunshine joy parade. Not this time. It's over 1000 words of SAD. I repeat, SAD FIC IS SAD. Ace is a jerk in this. More than usual. But, if you're into that sort of thing or are just bored, it's not a TOTAL waste of time.

Enjoy!

Something struck the back of Snake's head suddenly. He choked, coughed, and looked over his shoulder, back at the smug face of his leader. In his hand were pebbles, all of them bouncing up and down with the motion of his hand. Snake cocked a brow and Ace threw the lot of them over his shoulder, moving closer to the lanky teen. Snake shrugged and turned away from Ace, motioning for him to take a seat.

There was no need for formality now. The rest of the gang was off doing their own thing, and that left the two oldest members to indulge in the friendship they weren't supposed to have. Favoritism, after all, was never fair. Now, though, with the other three given a night off, the two were left with all they had; each other and a shack between them.

Ace took his seat without thinking, close to the reptile with his arms resting, dangling on his knees. Snake kept quiet about it, playing with his lighter. Ace snuck a few glances and chewed on his lip, as if in thought. When Snake glanced over and caught his eye, Ace smiled and smacked his arm, keeping eye contact.

"Lets go out for a drink."

Snake gave him an odd look "We have no monies"

Ace grinned and nudged his arm again "Don't worry 'bout it. I know a guy"

Snake gave him another look and flipped the lighter shut with a short click. He sighed heavily, turning it into a hiss about halfway through. You're nots going to let mes get outs of this, are yous?" Ace shook his head and stood, offering his hand to the thinner Gangreen. "C'mon, don't be shy. What's the worst that could happen?" Snake rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, but took Ace's hand anyway.

It was going to be a long night.

-///-

Around two in the morning (they had left at 10 something), Snake dragged Ace out of the bar. Turns out Ace had known a guy: a very nice, generous, friend who was also a bartender. They met in juvie, a long time ago. In return of Ace's protection from the bastard warden, (or so the story goes) he was free to have as many drinks free from the family bar any time he wanted.

Just great.

By midnight, Snake had met everyone including the nice bartender and the people who cleaned up. He had nursed two beers and a boilermaker and was a little buzzed, but could still see straight. Conversely, Ace was smashed. It only got worse as time ticked by. By 2am, Snake had to physically drag Ace out of the bar, with the help of the nice bartender. Though he was nice, he hadn't liked the way the guy's hands lingered on Ace's shoulders and back. He smiled to often at his leader. Endearing smiles. Snake would swear on his hat that he saw a wink or two thrown in there, too.

But, that was then, and this was now. And in this now, Snake was trying to haul Ace along while it was still dark. Trying to get back home with a little more than your own body weight as dead weight is hard. Even harder should you be scrawny and have to carry this weight on your spine, while it squirmed and writhed against you in protest. The stink wasn't helping either, and Snake was sure Ace was going to lose whatever he ate that week all over him.

He grimaced at the idea and adjusted Ace's position, pausing for only a moment when he moaned (in protest?). Ace continued to murmur and squirm in Snake's hold, which was steadily loosing grip. He was tired and all he wanted was to go home and pass out. Arturo could watch them for the night. Ace wasn't cooperating with his plan. He seemed to be after something else entirely.

Snake batted his leaders hand away from his crotch and hissed "Ssstop that." Ace made a whimpering noise and stood straight, pulling Snake up with him. It was a shock, Ace standing straight though stone drunk. Also a shock was how closely Ace was holding him, pressing him closer than normal. He breathed on him, like stale whiskey and gin, as oddly sweet as his embrace. Snake was confused, until that hand found his leg again.

He brushed it away and pried himself from Ace's grip, pulling him along. "Letss get homes before the ssun-" Ace had gripped him again, tugging him into a shallow alcove. His hands were on him again and his sweet breath was murmuring affectionately. Snake tried to push him away, but, lets be honest, pushing away a handsy drunk who is normally your boss isn't easy… especially if you're enjoying the affection a lot more than you should have been. Still, Snake found it in him to push the taller man away. He looked up at Ace, and saw, through the skewered shades and bloodshot eyes, a sort of pain. He immediately felt bad for what he did, though he blamed it mostly on the alcohol. So, tentatively, he murmured Ace's name.

Ace, in turn, looked down at him and blinked a few times, forcing a smile. "C'mon Snake…" he slurred "I'll make it good…just for you…" His pauses were swayed, unsteady movements toward the confused reptile. His hands fell heavily on Snakes' shoulders, and Ace looked at him expectantly. Snake, fighting the rampant urge to throw himself at his leader and indulge in the pleasure both of them seem to need at the moment, found it in him to rationalize. Ace was drunk, too drunk to remember anything, and what he would (could) remember would either be horrible twisted into forcing himself on his lackey, or Snake taking advantage of him. Either way wouldn't (couldn't) happen without jeopardizing their relationship and the gang's structure.

And so, going against his screaming need for the boy, he brushed the hands off his arms and shook his head. "No Ace… we needs to get homes." Ace blinked and stared slack jawed at the receding reptile, the blood boiling in his veins. He looked offended, and Snake flinched at that, unable to look directly at the older male. He gulped and offered his hand anyway, trying to lead him to home. Ace stubbornly refused to move, his offended look forming a nasty scowl that would have sent Snake trembling if he wasn't smashed. It looked more like a childish pout, and Snake took the according action of hauling Ace back onto his shoulders, dragging him toward the dump.

Ace began his tirade when they were about two blocks away from the junkyard entrance. Snake had almost forgotten about Ace's dower mood, but Ace hadn't forgotten his rejection as easily as the other hoped. At first it was deranged mutterings, incoherent and slobbered into Snakes shirt and shoulder. Then came the slurred question of "Ey? Are you- are ya listnin to meh? Huh?" Snake nodded absently, but Ace answered for him and babbled on about how he got no respect from dipshits like him. Snake had winced, but that had only served to spur on the torment.

"Yah dun't like it wha-when I talk shit 'bout yah, huh arsh-hole?" Snake had murmured in the negative, gripping Ace's arm a little harder. He lowered his head and tried to block out the verbal attack, but a few words floated in. One in particular stopped him completely.

"Sedusa…"

Everything stopped for Snake and Ace grinned wolfishly "Tha' shtopped yah quick…" The lithe body trembled under him, recalling everything she had put them through, only to dump them for power. He thought that- oh god he had to know better than to go back to her! Snake glanced at him, Ace still smiling stupidly. "What?" he asked "You though you was the only one who was inta me?" He laughed and shook his head, pushing his hand over Snake heart. "Whasamatter, pal?" he sneered, the sweet breath in his mouth brushing past Snake's cheek and over his nose "Where's yah heart go? Drop down in yer gut?" He cackled then and Snake's form was overcome with a tremor again.

"P-ple-please tell me... yous didn'ts…" All the while Ace's smirk got wider and wider and Snake choked on his words when he nodded, chuckling darkly. "Sure did buddy-boy… where did ya think I went?"

Snake shook his head in disbelief; there was no way Ace could betray them like that! Didn't he say 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, no dice'? Didn't he throw a huge bitch fit when she tried the same thing again? The anger wasn't unfounded; she had betrayed them, all of them, and now Ace was-… Ace had betrayed them too. It must be some kind of trick, some kind of spell that she put him under. That had to be it.

Snake opened eyes he hadn't known he closed, only to be met with the bloodshot eyes of his leader. Ace smirked again, leaning heavily on him as the realization sunk in with his words. "She's always glad to get some… she woulda fucked me, and it woulda been something better than anything you coulda done…" Ace's eyelids weighed heavily, closing a little more at each pause until the shut completely.

He passed out on Snake's back, and Snake felt his legs buckle and scrape the concrete before he could do anything. He sat there for a moment, letting everything wash over him at once like a big wave. Let everything hit you all at once, and then you can get back up and take a breath of air and figure it out from the top of the heap rather than sifting through everything while you're knee- deep. Snake opened and shut his eyes a few times, watching the streetlights flicker in the early morning while the steam rose from the vents. Ace was breathing gently against his neck, blacked out. Despite everything, he couldn't find it in him to push Ace off and leave him in the gutter for Sedusa or the street cleaners to find. He rose, dragging the more compliant dead weight toward home mechanically, sifting through everything he had learned that night.

It only took him a few minutes to get there after the hell on earth that lasted for hours. Immediately he dumped the limp body on the porch of the shack and opened the door. To his surprise, Arturo, Billy, and Grubber were there, waiting for them to return. Arturo jumped down his throat without a second to spare, battering him with questions. Snake batted him away and turned on his heel to drag Ace inside. Everything fell quiet for a moment as he dropped their esteemed leader on the floor and fished in his vest for the cigarettes he had confiscated that week.

When Snake stood back up, the questions started again, courtesy of Arturo, who followed him out into what was left of the night, while Grubber and Billy dragged Ace to a cot to lay him down.

"Where de 'ell were yous guys?"

"Outsss."

"What in the name of de holy mother" -this was punctuated with a quick catholic crossing- "happened to Ace?"

"He got sssmashed." –here Snake flipped open the lighter and took a long drag- "and thens he passed outs"

"Que? You let 'im get smashed? What de 'ell were you thinkin' eserpente? And you know what 'e says 'bout smoking. You gonna be in so much-"

"You'res in charge."

"…perdon?"

"I said you'res in charge. Is can't deals with thiss right nows. He's your problems"

And with that, Snake slunk away to collect his thoughts, leaving Arturo with his mouth agape, Billy and Grubber with tons of questions, and Ace sleeping peacefully, none the wiser.

Please review and have a pleasant day (if you can after all that sad :( )