Chapter Text
They act like nothing is wrong when they finally go, although Kaz leaving is unusual enough in itself. But they do leave, with less weapons and more 'supplies' than usual, and Pequod doesn't question Snake's order to drop them off just outside Kabul for an off books mission. Snake tries not to think about what might happen to the kid when they find out what he did for them.
Two apparently American men in military gear with a wolf is enough to raise a few eyebrows anywhere, but they don't stay long enough to attract any unwanted attention from the Soviet occupiers of the once-vibrant capital. They dump their uniforms, idroids and everything else that could identify them in a hotel bathroom (although Snake notices that Kaz keeps his beret, running his thumb over the Diamond Dogs logo before stuffing it in the pocket of his coat), Snake buys a hat from a market stall to cover the shrapnel in his skull and a pair of gloves to hide his prosthetic hand. Snake, with his deep tan from working out in the desert so much and dark hair still blends in better than Kaz, but the only things they really get a second glance for after that is D-Dog.
They leave the country the next day with a small group of refugees heading to Pakistan, sat in the back of an old fuel truck, after handing all too much money to a people smuggler by the name of Karim. The air is heavy with fumes of the truck's former cargo, but neither of them complain or cough like the others on board. When Kaz falls asleep against Snake's shoulder at some point in the journey, Snake pulls him closer instead of pushing him away, and neither of them moves away again when he awakes.
They reach Pakistan on schedule, and bribe the captain of a cargo ship to give them a cabin on their passage from Karachi to New York. The cabin is tiny, just big enough for the two beds, the bedside cabinet between them, and their belongings. D-Dog ends up sleeping on Snake’s bed, not that either of them complain. Kaz wakes up the first morning to see Snake with his face buried in the thick fur of D-Dog’s neck and can’t help but smile at the tangle of man and wolf. Kaz ends up spending most of his time in the cabin, only really leaving for meals, but Snake explores, volunteering to help with whatever comes up around the ship to pass the time. He’s not used to sitting down for too long, and the last thing he wants is to be alone with his thoughts.
They don’t really talk about what comes next until the end of the first week, like it’s taken them that long to really wake up to the magnitude of what they’ve started to do. It’s the evening of the seventh day, and Snake has only just come back to the room. He greets D-Dog with a grin, but frowns when he sees Kaz’s expression.
“We need to think about what we do when we get to the States, Boss.”
Snake winces slightly at being called 'Boss', but nods and tilts his head, gesturing for Kaz to continue.
“We have money, but we need a base of operations, new weapons, computers and the rest of it. I’ve got some allies, but mostly on the West Coast-”
“Kaz,” he interrupts, but so quietly Kaz doesn’t even stutter.
“I said to Ocelot,” and he almost spits the name. “That I’d take David, Big Boss’s other clone, if he insisted on training Eli. We need appropriate facilities for a kid, and the only one who could probably take on Big Boss and succeed-”
Snake breathes deeply, and repeats his name, more confidently this time. Kaz stops, but only a second.
“It’ll take time. Planning. A lot of work,” Kaz glances down at his empty sleeve. “Mostly on your end. We can defeat him. We’ll rain hell down on everything he’s built-”
"Kaz!” he barks, and Miller’s head snaps around to face him
“No,” he shakes his head. “We are not going to do that.”
"So what do you think we should do?"
"I don't know yet, but we left for a reason: to get away from him,” Snake looks away, and Kaz has never seen him look so tired and old. “There’s only one way going after him could end. You know that as well as I do.”
Kaz stands up, takes a limping step across the room to sit next to him, resting his hand on Snake’s shoulder. “What else is left for us but war?”
“What about those burgers you were always trying to fix back on Mother Base, did you ever make the perfect one?” Snake turns to him and smiles slyly. “What were they called, Miller’s Maxi Buns?”
Kaz is speechless for once in his life, and Snake laughs.
“What, that much of our money was going missing and you thought I didn't know what you were doing?”
Kaz stutters a few times before taking a deep breath. He’s silent for a few beats and then: “You really think we could do that?”
Snake hesitates. He had only meant it as a joking swipe at his friend to cut through some tension, but now he thinks about it…
“I don't see why we couldn't,” he says slowly. “We’ve got the time, the money.”
Kaz stands up stiffly and looks out through the tiny porthole between their beds, staring across the sea. “Moving on with our lives… It could be a better ‘fuck you’ to John than any revenge mission.”
Snake stands just behind him, only a breath away. He hears the hope in Kaz’s voice, hope like he’s never heard before, and sees the trace of light in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
It’s been a little over a week since they left Mother Base, but it’s only then he starts to think they might actually make it out of Big Boss’s clutches alive.