Chapter Text
"Your mission will always come first. Always do as you're told."
Master Miller's words had stuck with Dave, even after all these years. It seemed like all his life, he was doing someone else's bidding. In Outer Heaven, in Zanzibar Land, even at Shadow Moses...
Shadow Moses.
Dave scowled as the memories started flooding his mind. Somehow, Shadow Moses stuck with him the most. Maybe it was because it was during the incident that he discovered his long lost brother. Maybe it was because they gave him the illusion of control only to reveal that he had no choice in the matter all along. Or maybe it was the large number of genome soldiers he had killed to further his mission. Whatever the case, whenever he started thinking about it, he was filled with a sense of existential dread. The memory of his mission on Shadow Moses always left him with the same question: Have I ever been in control?
With a frustrated groan, Dave keeled over, digging his fingers into his hair. In his mind, he could see the faces of everyone who had used him as a tool: Naomi, Colonel Campbell, Big Boss, Houseman, and probably so many more whose names he didn't know. Was there anything he had done on his own? Anything at all? His head began to spin as he desperately searched his memories for actions he had taken on his own. Dave wanted to believe that joining the military had been a choice of his own, but knowing his origins, his enlistment was planned from the start. Had he done anything?
"Snake?"
Dave's brows furrowed at the sound of a familiar soft voice. He lifted his eyes and saw Hal's concerned gaze fixed on him. He blinked, slowly lowering his hands from his head. Of course. Seeing his partner reminded him of the one thing he had done on his own.
"Are you okay?" Hal squatted down next to him and gently placed a hand on his cheek. Unlike the others who had felt "sorry" for him, the look of worry in the young brunette's eyes was genuine.
"Hal..." Dave breathed out his name as if afraid that if he spoke too loud, he would disappear. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Hal's waist, pulling him closer. In the darkness of his mind, Hal was a shining beacon of hope. Just thinking about his smiling face, his beautiful laugh, made the weight of his past feel a bit lighter. For once in his life, he had someone to share his burdens with, and Hal was more than willing to do so. Dave hugged Hal tightly against his chest, breathing in his comforting scent: Coffee beans and coconut shampoo. He let out a small laugh. It was strange that those were the scents that brought him comfort. It's because that's his scent.
"Snake." Hal repeated his name, pulling him back to reality. "Are you okay?"
"I am now." He gently kissed Hal's forehead, then leaned his head back, resting it against the wall.
Yes, at least there was one thing Dave had control of.