Chapter Text
Getting readjusted to civilian life gave Raiden a new perspective. After a month of intensive therapy, relationship counseling, and living at home with his girlfriend, Raiden was beginning to make some realizations and decisions for himself. It was like Snake had told him - he was the master of his own fate, and while he was an adult, he still felt like he was a little kid in a grown man's body due to never having achieved certain milestones of life.
Did he have a driver's license? Nope. Had he ever been to a party? Not yet. And in terms of a relationship, he was beginning to feel like that benchmark wasn't worth reaching at all. But it was a feeling that he muffled and subsided, feeling guilty about it. He wanted to make Rose happy, and he knew deep down she really loved him, but she just treated him so poorly sometimes.
Movie nights with Rose were a pretty normal aspect of Raiden's new civilian life. They'd cuddle and watch something after dinner, typically having popcorn and drinks. He watched the credits of King Kong roll, his eyes glazed over from the boredom and the alcohol. He and Rose loved this movie, even being able to quote it to each other without much thought. It was a big comfort film to them and the reason they met and fell in love in the first place. But he'd seen it probably 10 times just this month.
Rose leaned against his chest, finishing the last of her popcorn and then glancing up, her dark eyes meeting his cold blue eyes. She smiled a bit as she did this, and Raiden did the same.
"Everything okay, Jack?" she asked, putting the bowl on the nearby coffee table. "You've barely said a word all night."
Raiden nodded. "Yeah. I'm just feeling a little out of it." He felt like a million thoughts were racing through his head, but at the same time, his mind felt so empty. This was a feeling he'd gotten used to since going AWOL - not using his brain to remember strategies and keep his cool left a lot of empty space for unimportant, petty thoughts and worries that weren't rooted in reality.
Rose sat up and turned off the DVD player, rubbing his back with her free hand. "Have you checked the mail yet?"
"Not yet." Raiden stood up and brushed a popcorn kernel from his shirt, then headed to the front door and slipped his shoes on. "You expecting something?"
"Just my bank statement," she replied. "Nothing too exciting."
Nothing too exciting, indeed. That was one way to describe Raiden's new life. Not exciting or interesting, just painfully normal and repetitive. Yet, it was a nice break from his past life and it felt nice to have a purpose and make his own goals. He was slowly working towards getting a civilian job and getting on medication for his depression. It wasn't much yet, but it was a start to a newer, hopefully happier life, far from the military.
Raiden opened the mailbox and was greeted by a stack of envelopes addressed to his apartment. Most of them were junk mail, asking the newly moved-in couple to sign up for sketchy credit cards or coupons for stuff they never even bought. He flipped past Rose's bank statement, as expected, but another letter addressed to him caught his eye. Inquisitively, he stuck the other envelopes into the still-open mailbox to get a closer look at the letter addressed to him.
Jack Brannigan.
He froze. When was the last time anyone used his legal name? Hell, did anyone even know his legal name besides Rose?
He felt his heart beginning to race as he glanced over at the return information, which was vague but told him all he needed to know.
United States Military.