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“So where to now, Snake?”
“Uh, my real name is David, Otacon.”
“I’m Hal, Dave.”
“ Oh , that’s right.”
“Hal.”
“ Hal and Dave , huh?”
“That’s a good one.”
They start laughing.
“Maybe we should take a trip to Jupiter..”
—
It’s been a few months since the Shadow Moses incident, and Hal has since run out of his savings and now has no job and nowhere to live.
Maybe Snake still lives in Alaska? He thought.
He should give a visit and ask about his project named Philanthropy . Totally not because he was now poor as dirt and needed somewhere to stay for the time being until he got back on his feet. He also had missed Snake a bit since they parted ways in Alaska and decided to go on their own paths.
After a few days of hitching rides and gathering intel on where Snake had lived, Hal had ended right in front of the front door. He was nervous of course, anyone would be if they were meeting the man that saved their life a few months ago. He debated on just turning back and scrabbling up money some sort of other way instead of talking to Snake, but he decided against it. He was a changed man since Shadow Moses of course.
So he knocked on the door, and instantly a reply came from inside.
“ One second! ” Replied the voice.
Okay, so this WAS Snakes house, the intel he’d gathered was right. Now he just has to confront Snake.
Soon after the voice came from inside, the door opened and in front of him was a true vision.
Snake had obviously just taken a shower as his hair was dripping, it looks like he’d just grabbed any clothing that was near him at the time because he was wearing just a loose tank top and boxers. His skin was glistening from the water of a shower. He was truly a sight to behold.
“Ah, Otacon, It’s you.” Snake broke Hal out of his thoughts.
“Huh? O-oh yeah, It’s me Snake!” He responded.
“Well? Are you coming inside? It’s pretty chilly out there, plus I still need to find proper clothing and dry off completely.”
“Ah! Yes! I’m coming in! Thanks.” He’d blushed.
After a few minutes of fidgeting on the couch in Snake's living room, said man had emerged from his bedroom with a whole new attire.
He was wearing a simple black t-shirt that looked a little too tight on him at the moment, along with a simple pair of gray sweats. God he was attractive, Hal couldn’t deny that.
“So did you come all this way just to say hi, or is there another reason?” Snake had broken him out of his train of thought again .
“Yes! I just um, wanted to talk to you about an idea I had since Shadow Moses! Also, I really didn’t have anywhere else to go after I ran out of my savings.. So you had just popped up in my head, and I figured you still lived in Alaska, so now we’re here!” Hal sputtered out.
“Hmmm, I wouldn’t be against you staying here for a bit.. Anyways, what was that idea you wanted to talk to me about?” He’d asked.
Oh, that’s good. Snake didn’t mind if he stayed here after all, what a good guy.
“Ah yes! My idea , maybe we could talk about it over a drink? I still need to get my notes ready and all of that shnaz.”
“Do you mind beer?”
“Water or tea is fine if you have it.”
“I’ll go get started then, see you in a few Doctor .”
Oh, had he liked the sound of that in Snake's deep and scraggly voice. So much so, he could feel heat start to rise to his cheeks.
“Y-yup! See you in a few!” He yelled out while Snake was already walking towards the kitchen.
—
After finally getting all his notes in order, Snake had come back with a mug of tea and a beer can for them.
“So Otacon, what’s this whole idea about?”
“Okay so, I have this operation idea called Philanthropy , basically it’s a team composed of you and me, you for the sneaking part of course, and me behind the screen for intel!” He exclaimed enthusiastically.
“Uh huh, and what would this team of us be doing?”
“Was just about to get to that. So you know how Metal Gear Rex’s plans were leaked onto the net by Ocelot after Shadow Moses?”
“Yup, Ocelot screwed the whole purpose of my mission over, I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.”
“Anyways! So these building plans are being used to make bigger and better Metal Gears all around the world by the military.”
“ Really now? ”
Looks like Snake’s interest was piqued. Now it's time to finish it up.
“So I comprised a idea that maybe, the team of us two, would break into these facilities that Metal Gear’s were being produced in, and get pictures of the machines, with the Military’s markings on them , and leak them on the web so that pressure could be put on the government so they’d try and halt every production of Metal Gear!”
“ Hmmm , sounds pretty interesting. Do you have any of the materials to set this operation into motion?”
“ Uhhh , that’s the main reason why I wanted to get into contact with you, aside from you being a legendary soldier vital for this operation .” He was flushed with embarrassment now.
“Uh huh.”
“As I said, I have recently found myself in some money troubles .. I was hoping you had some funds to get this project into motion..?” He mumbled out.
“Yes I remember, I do have a stash of cash somewhere in this cabin I could probably use for this operation because you seem pretty enthusiastic about this whole thing. I also would like to help these nuclear weapons to be put out of commission lest another Shadow Moses type incident happens again..”
“R-really? That’s great! Thank you so much Snake for helping!!”
Hal then rushed in for a hug to the surprise of Snake who was looking at Hal’s notes on the table.
Hal then realized his impulsiveness to rush in for a hug without asking, they weren’t even that close. He backed away quickly.
“I’m sorry about that Snake! I should’ve at least gave you a heads up about it before I rushed in for a hug!” He stammered out a quick apology.
“ U-uh yeah.. It’s fine, just wasn’t expecting it was all.”
“Also, you can call me Dave outside of missions, remember?”
Ah yes! Snake had told him his name after Shadow Moses! He just never expected to use his name since they parted ways.
“Got it, also you can call me Hal too!”
“Got it Hal .”
He’d never get used to Snake using his voice to say any iteration of his name, how could a cigarette addict have such an amazingly attractive voice? He’d always hated the smell of cigarettes and the tone of the voices of people who used them, but ever since he met Snake, he didn’t really mind it.
“It’ll take a few days to gather all the money in the cabin and find everything needed for the operation, so until then, feel free to stay here. The couch is a futon so you don’t have to sleep uncomfortably, and I assume you brought some essentials in that big bag of yours?”
“Yup! I have a toothbrush plus toothpaste, shampoo and body wash, and a few pairs of clothing I can wash and re-use for the time being. Really Dave, thank you so much for teaming up with me for this operation and letting me stay at your cabin for awhile! You’re a really kind man.” He complimented.
“Well, you basically saved my life in Shadow Moses by getting me and Meryl a clear path before we ran out of time, I’d say this is the least I could do for you Hal.”
THE Snake thought Hal had saved his life? Snake had done so much more than just saving Hal’s life though! He saved the nation of America from nuclear warfare for god's sake! He taught Hal how to stand up for himself for once, he taught him what it was like to actually have a friend who would do anything for your safety, he was well and truly indebted to Snake no matter what thanks he’d given Hal.
“You really think that Snake? I was just doing the bare minimum of what friends do..”
“Yeah I think that, Hal you’ve truly grown from the sorry state you were in when I found you in that locker. You stayed behind and risked your own safety for me and Meryl’s escape route. To not just leave us behind and save yourself, shows real courage.” He smiled softly.
Wow.. so Snake really thought that highly of him.. that means a lot.
“Thanks for the appraisal Dave, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem Hal, you just really under-appreciate yourself haha.” He chuckled.
“I never thought about that before, guess I shouldn’t be so humble all the time.”
“ Well , you should go set up your bed and put your toiletries in the bathroom, there should be a fleece blanket hanging off the side of the couch. I need to go find some of my hidden savings anyways. I also assume you brought a laptop with you to do some research on, the wifi password is on the desk near the living room.”
“Thanks Dave! I’ll see you soon!”
Snake then walked out of his line of sight while he was setting up the futon. It was getting pretty late and Hal was tired from his long trip, so he just went straight to sleep as soon as he got the blanket set up.
—
Snake came back to the living/dining area after a while of searching for some of his savings. He didn’t find all of it unfortunately but he had probably found enough to get the whole operation started.
“Hey Hal, I’m back.” He said into the living room.
He received no answer, so he turned his head to the desk to see if he was possibly on his computer already. Nobody there either.
He turned around to the couch to see Otacon softly sleeping away. He was drooling a bit which Snake thought was cute, and was laying sloppily with a wolf plushie snuggled up against him.
Well, it looks like Otacon has already adjusted to his new living situation pretty quickly. He chuckled to himself.
Snake sat by him and reached down to push away some stray hairs that had found their way in front of his face. It looked like he had been trying to find his way to Snake’s house for a while because when he looked, he found some unshaven stubble on his chin.
Snake admired his face for a short bit before Otacon started stirring around, he sat up quickly so as to not disturb him because he probably needed all the sleep he could get.
Snake went back to his room to gather all his equipment he used back in Shadow Moses that could be re-used for this new organization they were going to start.
The sun was already down by now so Snake got ready for bed and fell asleep quickly as well.