I'm taking a quick break from my Final Fantasy fics for a quick Metal Gear Solid oneshot. It's an in-game fic during one of those " fade to black " moments, where nothing is really explained and it's left to the imagination ... at least, as far as I'm concerned. So, kudos to my denial, I wrote this for it. Not sure if you'll enjoy it, but I did. So .. here.

The beginning is kind of quick, because that's part of the cutscene, and I didn't want to spoil anything TOO much for someone who may read this .. anyway .. carry on.

Title: Moving Forward
Pairing(s): Snake/Otacon, Otasune
Timeline: Metal Gear Solid 4 - in game
Warning: Possibility of spoiler if you haven't gotten to the second mission briefing; more or less fluff
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, or game - that's all for Konami and Hideo Kojima

Moving Forward

'Move on?' What was that supposed to mean? Why all of a sudden? It was definitely not something he was expecting … especially not during a mission. Having just picked up Naomi and Snake in the chopper, Hal sat almost contently in front of his computer, staring at a picture of E.E. and thinking over what Snake had said to him. Move on. What was that even about, anyway? Move on from what? E.E.? It'd been nearly five years, he'd done his coping and moving on …

"Unless …" he mumbled, looking up quickly at the picture as he felt a silent, but deep, sinking feeling. Snake didn't mean –

"Who's she?" Suddenly he felt a pressure on his back, shifting slightly to look up at the person's forearms. It was Naomi – again. He perked up slightly, trying to shake off what Snake had said to him earlier. With Sunny passed out at her own computer, and Snake – maybe? – asleep on the couch, Raiden on the other, Hal didn't object to having conversation with someone he shared interests with.

Naomi asked about E.E. and Hal explained about his sister and the fact he didn't have a girlfriend, then continued to do the same for their conversation about Sunny. When Naomi asked if it was safe to sleep in the chopper left in the Nomad, he showed her to the helicopter, though he'd spent their entire time together trying to avoid the advances the woman made. He was slightly awkward over it, she hadn't been around for upwards of nine years, nor had she ever really talked to him back at Shadow Moses … so why was she acting so strange now? As he brought her to the chopper's door, the woman made another attempt and Hal narrowly escaped.

He inhaled, holding a hand to his chest, and glancing up toward the ceiling of the plane. No – he couldn't. Her advances and the timing all together … it was just too strange for him. The door to the chopper was opened and he felt himself being pulled into it suddenly. He made a quiet sound, blinking as he felt himself be tossed down on the helicopter bench. "N-naomi!" He quietly chuckled, trying to sit up a little bit. The woman straddled him and Hal couldn't help but try and push himself up a little bit more.

"Shh .. Hal." She mumbled, pressing a slim finger to his lips.

"N-no, Naomi … you don't understand." He nervously mused, grabbing a hold of her wrist lightly. When the woman cocked her head, Hal shook his in return. "I ... uh .. I can't ... really. I have a …"

"You said you didn't have a girlfriend." She smirked, leaning toward his face, tugging her wrist free to caress his face. "Don't try and pull that on me …"

"I d-don't. I don't have a girlfriend."

"… well? What's the problem?"

"I .. uh .. I have .. a boyfriend…" He mumbled the last part quietly, glancing to the floor of the chopper.

Naomi frowned and stared at him, placing a hand on his shoulder while she leaned closer to his face. "Do you, really? Or are you just really not that attracted to me ...?"

"N-no, it's true, Naomi …" He stuttered, reaching to adjust the glasses that he'd taken off and left at his computer desk, though he ended up just brushing his fingers across the bridge of his nose. "I've .. uh .. been with him for a long time."

Quickly hopping off of Hal at what he said , she quirked a brow and pulled her shirt closer together so to hide more of her chest, as if imploring the man to continue explaining while she took a seat across from him. "Who is it?"

"I'm not sure he'd want me to tell you…"

"Do I know him?" She asked, smiling and tilting her head. "Come on, I won't tell anyone …"

"Ah, ha ha … if you really won't say anything to him, it's … um … it's David. He's my …"

"David?" Naomi rose a brow again, tilting her head a little bit. "You mean … ?"

Nodding quietly, Hal glanced toward the door and then back to Naomi. "Yeah … Snake. We've been together for about five years … not too long before the Big Shell incident …"

"Big Shell …? Wow …" she muttered, glancing toward the floor. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean … I thought you were single …"

"Oh, no .. it's fine, Naomi. Almost no one really knew … it was mostly between myself, Snake, and Sunny. Though," he chuckled quietly, glancing back toward Naomi. "She calls us both 'uncle.' She thinks it's cute …"

"I almost…" she mumbled, biting her lip and looking to the dim windows. "I'm really sorry, Hal."

"Don't worry, Naomi. I'm sorry … I should have told you before."

"A-and he was right there, this whole time – I should apologize …" She looked over her shoulder, as if she were staring at Snake through the chopper. "He must hate me more than he already did."

"Really, Naomi … it's okay. A-and David doesn't hate you … he was just … a little surprised, that's all." He tried to cover, though he couldn't stop the encroaching quietness between the two of them.

Sitting in a momentary silence, Naomi shifted her gaze from the floor to the door, and back again before looking to Hal. "So … how's it going? With his rapid aging …?"

"It's been alright … I've been trying to find a cure for him … something to reverse the effects – it looks like Werner's Syndrome … but we haven't crossed anything that could really help." He mumbled, as if it were a sore subject to talk about. "Engineering didn't exactly prepare me for this, let me tell you." Giving a half-hearted chuckle, he looked to the wall behind Naomi, frowning as he imagined Snake asleep on the couch just beyond the walls.

"… I don't think there is a cure. Not for him, anyway." She sighed quietly, rubbing her neck. "Did he relay what I told him, to you?"

"No, I heard all of it … but I've been thinking … there has to be at least something to rewrite his cells … and strengthen FOXDIE again. If it can go forward, surely it can go backwards …"

"I don't know, Hal. It's really up in the air …"

"I … I know. But I won't give up. Not unless he wants me to. Even then, it'd be hard for me to stop."

Sifting through their thoughts while another transitory silence passed by, Hal dropped his gaze to the floor, shaking his head as he failed to think of anything to carry on their conversation. Naomi let out a sudden chuckle, adjusting her shirt, and leaning on her palm, supported by the elbow resting on her leg. "I can't believe I didn't see it between the two of you before …"

"… what?"

"The two of you … being together." She shook her head, smiling once more. "It's so obvious, once you look at the interactions. I guess … I just overlooked it."

"I don't understand … is it really that obvious?"

"Actually, yes. It would make sense as to why he seemed so annoyed with me … I think I want what you two have, myself." She sighed, standing up and leaning toward Hal. She lightly ruffled his hair, smiling and letting another quiet laugh escape her throat. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you. I'm … going to go to bed now, if you don't mind …" she smiled, gently placing a kiss on the top of his head. "It's been wonderful, Hal."

"Oh – r-right, sorry. Good night, Naomi." He smiled, stumbling slightly as he stood up and stepped out of the chopper. He pulled on his turtleneck lightly and ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to inspect Raiden's status. While he did, a low, gruff, "hnph" echoed quietly. He looked over his shoulder, cocking a brow as he took note of Snake being rolled over on his side. He shuffled over to the other man and kneeled at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked, blinking and giving a gentle squeeze to his shoulder.

"Fine." The gruff voice responded. "Have fun?" He asked, keeping his stare on the back of the couch and the cigarette lightly between his lips.

"What do you mean, fun? Naomi and I were just talking –"

"You don't need to make up something. I told you to move on, and that's what you're doing."

"Snake – is that what you meant?"

"Just didn't think it'd be that fast."

"… you don't believe me? I d-didn't, though … I didn't even …"

"Don't you have something else to do?"

"David…"

"Hal. I'm going to sleep." He mumbled, rolling his shoulder out of the hold. "Good night."

"… no, David … I really didn't do anything … !" His protests were met with nothing but another grumble from the elder man. Frowning at his responses, Hal lightly pulled Snake's shoulder, pinning him on his back. Grabbing the unlit cigarette out of his mouth, Hal lightly pressed his lips to the other's. Hal stared at the blue eyed agent, leaning against the man's forehead with his own. "David … I didn't do anything … I love you. I wouldn't do that to you ... whether or not you're going to tell me to 'move on.'" He quickly explained, smirking slightly when Snake finally returned his gaze. "If we had a year together or a day, I wouldn't hurt you like that. Even if I knew it would all be over tomorrow." He mumbled, standing up straight for a moment before he placed a knee on either side of Snake's body, adjusting so he was on top of the man, only lightly pressing against his stomach. He resumed leaning forward and placing his forehead against the other's, softly sighing as he did so.

"David, nothing you could say would get me to stop loving you. It's not that simple … it's been five years … that doesn't just go away." He placed another gentle kiss on the man's lips. "Please … believe me. As long as I love you, I won't do anything …"

Though he remained silent, the hint of Snake's inward joy was visible, even if only to Hal. Placing a hand on his side, and the other on the back of his neck, Snake returned his kisses with a light one of his own. "… don't you have some work to be doing?" he asked, removing his hands from his body. "Don't let me hold you up."

"I…" Hal began, but quickly cut himself off. "Alright … fine. I'll get back to work. You need to get some sleep for tomorrow … we need to help Raiden ASAP." He whispered, smiling contentedly. Lightly caressing his cheek, he kissed his forehead and pushed himself off of the couch. "I love you, David…" He softly mused, slowly making his way back toward his computer.

"I love you, too." Snake muttered gruffly, rolling back on to his side, not concerned for the cigarette that Hal had taken from him. "You look better with your glasses on, by the way." He muttered, having heard Naomi's comment of him looking 'handsome' with them off. Regardless of how serious he was with the second comment, Hal was glad to hear the response and sat back in his chair. Crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his eyes to look at the Mk. II, he offered a silent smile as the robot stared back at him. It wasn't all that significant, but he liked to know that he could be as close as possible to Snake while he was on the battlefield.

A quiet, but content sigh sounded from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Sunny, whose face was now covered with the hood of the white sweatshirt Naomi had left on her shoulders. Quirking a brow, he was tempted to ask if she was awake and had meant to do that, but decided against it; just in case she was asleep. He turned his attention back to his computer monitor, smiling as he moved his mouse pointer over a file marked "S-4K3," clicking on it to open the studies he'd done on Snake's 'disease.' He looked through the notes he'd made and the red text that he'd added after Naomi's examination. It was a bit of a stretch, but there was a possibility for some sort of cure … and there had to be some way to nullify the FOXDIE. He slipped his glasses back on, tilting his head as he read over the notes. He was going to figure out something …

Turning around in his chair, Otacon looked between the two occupied couches. Raiden was dying, Snake was dying … and here he was, only able to help with the cure of one. If they were going to help Raiden, he was going to have to work faster and try and locate all the places they needed in Europe … but first thing was first – he needed to fix Snake's FaceCamo. The quicker they got Snake in there undetected, the better.

"It'll be really simple, Snake …" He muttered, looking back to the monitor, beginning to devise the adjustments for the FaceCamo. "We'll have you out of there in no time."