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Flowers!? What was he!? A child?! Kaz Miller stared at the clumsily wrapped bundle of flowers laid on his desk. No organized placement, just a mix of toned out wild foliage snugged loosely in brown butcher paper. Not even a note to be found.
Kaz scrunched up his nose, there was leftover dirt from the -oh god, were those roots??
Pushing the garbage pail closer with his foot, he tossed away what he could grab, and brushed any remaining soil off with his hand.
The Boss was waiting for his call. He had no time for silly distractions.
"I'll discuss with Miller about sending over extra supplies. You seem to be using quite the ingenuity on this one, Boss." Ocelot released the microphone button. The connection on the other end of the radio hissed with white noise. The harsh desert wind that Venom had to face once again, beating down between every few words.
"Thanks.... Base seems to be filled with rookies... scared of the boogeyman... Thought I'd have a bit of fun.. ." Venom's voice was above regular speech volume but not so much a yell. Either way, hearing the life in him was enough for Ocelot to confidently express positive moral among Mother Base.
"Giving them a taste of the Legend himself" Ocelot couldn't help but chuckle, oh to be young again...
There was a period of silence between the two...
"I haven't heard much from Kaz.... everything alright?" Venom broke the moment with curiosity.
"You spoke with him this morning" Ocelot replied in a matter of fact tone.
"It was more of a briefing, something happen?" Venom was aware of Kaz's difficult social patterns, however that still didn't change his worry.
"Ohhh.." Ocelot rested his chin on his hand, "I heard him mention something about his desk looking like someone went outside and figured he could use a remodel.." He recalls listening to Miller rant over the, what he himself would consider, a harmless gesture. However that wasn't the case for Kaz; he was revolted by it.
Time slipped through his fingers and Kaz was at his wit's end. Snake had been gone for what felt like weeks, soldiers were asking for more than he could give, files upon files fueling his constant state of anxiety, the pain in his nonexistent limbs hurting as though still there... It was all becoming too much. And the surprise he found on his desk wasn't something he had planned to make mental room for.
The bundle of flowers were tightly wrapped in between frosted plastic wrap , but instead of folds and tension to keep it from unraveling, there was twine wrapped around the base tightly to keep the flowers from falling out and black fabric interwoven, hiding any knots with a bow.
The flowers looked to have more life in them this time. Stems green instead of a near faded brown. Petals looking to be all accounted for. It truly did fit the description of a bouquet.
It also gave off a very pleasant scent of honey suckle mixed with fresh wet earth. It reminded Kaz of being out in the field. Years had passed since that was last possible... Now, he was an internal prisoner within his own body. Capabilities limited after losing his limbs... Not being able be out there with Snake without feeling like a burden, it made any guilt he had prior, only worst. He was now separated, disconnected from the man he promised to die next to...
Kaz interrupted his thoughts as soon as he felt his lip tremble and tears begin to form. Dumb. Flowers shouldn't be able to bring back such memories.
Once again, there was no note or clue of who could've sent the bouquet. He almost wanted to throw it out but, something kept him from doing so. It was a huge improvement from the last one.
It’s been a long day, and Kaz had no energy to question these anonymous gestures anymore. He didn't want to look into it passed being an unwanted housekeeping gift. The intrusion was slightly uncomfortable, but all looked and felt okay. It sure made his room look a tad welcoming. Maybe he should live a little...
If only it were possible, Kaz would think to himself, turning up both his radio and iDroid in case he'd receive a call from Snake that night. Then he proceeded to prepare for bed.
They missed their call together…
Kaz looked at the clock, he thought he’d feel upset after an hour passed, but he just felt… apathetic. He could see on his iDroid Snake was alive and well. Or so the green text over his name would tell him.
They had made a habit to set time aside during these long missions for personal connection. The last 9 years without Snake by his side, made being alone unbearable to the point sleeping through panic attacks at night were a common occurrence. The calls made them tolerable.
Despite his own personal reasons, it also felt important to give Snake the option to take his mind off the mission during cool down. Ocelot made it his personal job to fill his concentrate pen each time he would go out, D-Dog was therapeutic for just existing, and numerous soldiers would share homemade culinary goods they had just learned in R&D. So it only felt right for Kaz to volunteer a social hour, a moment of privacy for him and Snake.
Kaz flicked on the iDroid and attempted one last time.
BEEP BEEP
…
BEEP BEEP
…
BEEP BEEP
…
A familiar lump in his throat made his chest hurt, and after a few more seconds, he closed the iDroid.
Timing was hilarious, for within the same minute of swallowing his emotions down, all lights within the building shut off and the red emergency light above the exit glowed with life.
Lights out.
Kaz did what he could to laugh at the situation, but rather than a scoff, he sobbed. His eyes quickly formed tears the more he allowed himself to cry. As they curved around his jawline, it created an uncomfortable tickle. He hated feeling tears on his face. Hated feeling his glove wiping them away even more.
0200 hours…. he should’ve been in bed hours ago..
"THE BOSS IS BACK!!" One soldier shouts from the distance. All others who were either still or just now awaking were murmuring to one another; "THE BOSS IS BACK!!"
Kaz been jolted awake by the rapid banging on his door, followed by various voices and laughter running off into the distance. It was 0543. What in gods name? Kaz looked at his iDroid, no notification, then to the radio…the same as he left it..
Kaz got himself up, as quickly as he could, body sore from the cold, eyes strained and groggy from, if not crying himself to sleep, the lack of said sleep. He’s had better mornings.
After quickly putting on his clothes, he shrugged on his coat, fingered his glove on, set the barette on his head, then on came the sunglasses. Ocelot was kind enough to have gotten him various of strenuous free tools to make his adjustment to his new life easier. It was humiliating at first; Kaz hadn’t been the friendliest to anyone for so much as mentioned his missing limbs. However after swallowing his hardened pride, Kaz found the support to be rather comforting.
With a firm grip on his cane, he walked to the main platform as dozens of men all rushed forward passed him. Excited chatter quickly filled Kaz's ears and he was soon finding himself having to walk a bit faster to keep up with everyone. It was till he felt a soft touch at the low of his back. He was being escorted by no one else than Ocelot. "Ah Miller. Glad to have found you. You're going to want to see this".
"Its not like him to show up unannounced unless something is wro-"
"-nothing to worry about. all is taken care of."
Miller looked at the other man, confused.
"Wh. what do you mean?"
"I mean..all is taken care of.. Missions complete. The Boss obtained what we were looking for. Now its time we celebrate his return" The way Ocelot talked was very, factual however dismissive. Usually it would be irritating to Kaz, but this morning it felt relieving to not have to worry or hold responsibility for once.
"Happy Anniversary Kaz!" Snake stood at the doorway of the helicopter. A massive bouquet that looked almost identical to the one Kaz had received weeks ago, was held tightly in his robotic hand. Flowers piled in the back were now pouring out from behind him as the wind picked up. Spreading a vast variety of colors and smells all throughout the platform. He looked so handsome, smiling like he didn't have blood and dirt all over him. So proud and.... an idiot...
The excitable audience calmed down to a silence, maybe some quiet comments on the side but nothing to disturb the moment. Tiny hoots and a whistle if anything.
Kaz walked up to Snake once the man hopped down to the same ground level. He ignored the dozens of eyes focused on him. Snake was all that mattered right now, he really was there. Alive. Waiting for him...
As the two stood in front of one another, Snake opened his arms, encouraging an embrace. All Kaz could do was lean in, and cry, dropping his cane, and falling into Snakes arms. His shoulders shook, attempting to keep quiet; but he could no longer hold his emotions in any longer. He missed him so much, and he was okay with showing that.