Otasune Long story

Hal smiled and looked at him. "Want to eat your food now that it's cold?" he joked pointing to the small tin



“I’ll live” he said, grabbing it and deciding that to eat it like that was not going to kill him. Effectively he didn’t think about it and started to eat it in that un-paused way.



Hal shook his head and sat on the bed. "Sit with me?" he asked



"Alright" Said Snake dragging what was left of his meal but still eating quickly.



Hal scooted over and sat crosslegged. "Is it good?" he asked



“Once you get past the cold, but it’s necessary, I believe it was supposed to taste better when it was still warm, why?” he asked, hoping he didn’t offend Hal with that.



"It's spaghetti Snake.." Hal looked at him with a blank stare.



“Have you eaten cold spaghetti, Hal?” he asked once he was done with his torment. “It’s another way to tell you it’s a nightmare.” He confessed. He got up and went to be rid of this container.



Hal blinked and tilted his head. "I've eaten it before but i don't get what you mean.."



“Hal have you eaten rotten ham?” he asked. “Because it tastes really close.” He explained the man. Maybe that could not be such a good idea since he was probably ruining cold spaghetti for him.



"Eww..no..." Hal replied



“Now you know what I mean.” He said, then grinned. “You learn to eat rotten ham in my ex’s sandwiches. I miss her cooking.” Then laughed.



Hal smiled and shook his head.



“I’m sure you don’t want to taste that.” He said. For once Snake found a peaceful time these days, it was really impressive and he knew he’d probably miss this as much as he missed his dogs.



~two months later~

Hal was sitting at his desk that Mei Ling set up for him. He was looking at usual sites and waiting for Snake to get back.



She has long distance relatives but they’re long disconnected from the family and aren’t in this country, this is insane! And her father has vanished from the face of the Earth too. I think only the members of her family know how he was called at all, it’s insane.” He complained walking in and sitting down with the papers.



Hal looked up and turned around. "Well where do they live?" he asked stretching.



“Oh, no it gets better. They are registered to an old address, it’s about three people and the house is abandoned. There’s no government record.” He sighed. “Apparently the only track to these people, who are the father’s family, in theory, is that he defected.”



Hal sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sure I can think of something.."



“I think so, yes, problem is that apparently we are going to have to drag her into next mission for now. Then we can locate her family.” He explained. This was getting a little more complicated then he had anticipated, still he’d promised Olga he was going to save her kid and that was exactly what he’d do.



Hal nodded. "I'm sure I can manage her." he said. "I'll need the practice, plus she can bring me food if I need it." he laughed.



“Alright, then I guess we can move on to the purpose of the mission and whatnot. Here’s the most important part; you stay the hell away.” He said as it had been bothering him that Hal had gone into battlefield before and it was playing with Snake’s mind.



Hal sighed and nodded. "I know.." he said knowing Snake was only doing it to protect him. "How far will you be away because you know I need a good connection to do what I need to do to help you." he asked.



“That’s not how you answer that, you say, ‘yes, Dave, that’s what I’ll do and I don’t even know why you ask’” He said, interrupted from his lecture by Sunny who looked genuinely surprised. “You name is Dave!”



Hal looked at him and stood up. He put his hands on his hips and stared into his eyes. "Need I remind you that I know how to protect myself." he said walking to Dave. "And I know where MY duties lie. Protecting you and /our/ child as well as Sunny. So before you go talking to me about how to answer things I suggest you assume that I know." he said poking Dave in the chest.



“Easy, easy don’t eat me” he said lifting his hands to ask for peace. Where was his white flag when he needed it? Where did this come from to begin with? Maybe he should pay more attention to what he said.



Hal backed off. "Now rephrase what you said into what you should have said." he said crossing his arms



“Haven’t I taken enough humiliation?” he asked trying to slip out of this one. “Besides Sunny already thought I was your woman, now I can see why.” He said, grinning at her when she giggled at his expense, at least he had something of an audience when hit hard with pitch-forks.



Hal looked at him. "Snake I'd feel better knowing you don't think I'm stupid." he replied. "I know you're trying to protect me."



“I don’t think you’re stupid.” He tried trying to save his neck and make that clarification as well.



"Good." Hal said sitting back down. He sighed a little and ran his hand through his hair. He felt a little worn out after that little mood swing.



“You alright?” he asked wondering why he was so pissed to begin with. Still he probably said something he hadn’t noticed. ‘I didn’t say anything, he’s overreacting.’ He though



"I'm fine." Hal said. "I need to rest a little." he added



“Well then you might want to do that” he said, but stopped talking when Sunny made her ‘no’ face behind Hal. So he just went to leave. “I’ll go outside while you do that.”



Hal sighed and stood up. He followed Snake and grabbed his hand. "I meant /with/ you." he said looking sheepishly up at Snake



“Glad to hear that” he said looking back at Hal for a moment. He was not about to pull a cigarette in Hal’s prescience however if a remark got him into so much trouble.



"Sunny can you go ask Mei Ling if you can help her for a few minutes?" Hal asked and pulled Snake over to the bed so he could lay with him for a little bit.



Sunny looked at him for a moment but still did as she was told excited that she was trusted to help Mei Ling out too, and feeling a little more part of the group in… whatever it was they did. Snake just looked at him for a moment but let himself be dragged around wherever Hal wanted him.



Hal laid on the bed and sighed. "I'm sorry for overreacting.." he said



“It happens. I remember killing a rookie for playing the patriot and telling me to kill him instead of being useful; the idiot.” He said, thinking that Hal would feel better if he put himself at level with his mistake.



Hal shook his head and smiled a little. "I'm just a little moody i guess..." he said. "..and I guess i'm going to miss going out into the field with you."



“I will too but it’s not worth the risk any day.” He said, hoping Hal would not go on another furious assault about how he could take care of himself and every living thing within a mile radius.



Hal nodded. "You still haven't told Mei Ling about the baby have you?" he asked playing with Snake's hair.



“I don’t know; I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a head if I had to begin with.” He said, trying not to think about it. He was pretty sure she’d ask everything and it would eventually end in a conversation about how it was his doing.



"Well you should tell her… Don't you think?" Hal asked tilting his head cutely knowing Snake couldn't resist it. "I might need her help if Liquid decides to show up again."



“I’ll tell her soon” he complied trying to avoid the amount of cute that the man sent his way. He was really difficult when he had to be, wasn’t he?



Hal smiled and snuggled close to him. "Are you really happy?" he asked. He had been getting mixed messages from him ever since they found out. He needed clarification dammit and if he had to guilt trip Snake into telling him then so be it.



“Yeah, I don’t know if Mei Ling is going to be, though.” He said, even if he was short of words glad he had this chance since he had been absolutely sure he didn’t deserve it. ‘I thought God knew about that’ he thought.



"How come?" Hal asked. 'don't women like this type of stuff?' he thought to himself



“Because it was all my fault, from beginning to end, I let you fall in their hands, I um… Made it happen, you know what I’m on about.” He explained, getting the feeling that Hal was not going to agree.



"But you had no control over it..I was the one who was careless.." Hal replied looking down a bit.



“I know where this is going and we’re not having this argument.” He said, thinking about telling Mei Ling for once.



"I was only stating the truth Snake..I got careless with the transmissions..." Hal admitted.



“If you say so.” He said, trying not to bring any more of this. He just hugged Hal for a moment as that was something more important to him.



Hal snuggled and smiled. "I..Like it when you hold me like this.." he said blushing a little.



“That’s good to hear.” He said, letting himself just, for a moment and for the love of God, love Hal at least, or admit to himself that he did. “I’m out of my sane judgment.” He mused.



"Really now? When were you ever sane?" Hal giggled looking up at him



“This coming from a guy who spends hid life before a collection of data.” He said, trying to guess as far as he knew from computers.



Hal laughed. "Yeah yeah I know.." he said as a grin spread across his face. "You know we'll be in trouble if this baby ends up having my brains and your braun." he added.



“There is no way I’ll allow that sort of ignorance.” He joked. Being completely honest to himself he hoped this kid was nothing like himself. Not to mention that Hal was one of the most brilliant minds he’d ever come across, but to keep up the tease…



"I knew you wouldn't." Hal giggled smiling up at him. "I love you..r way of thinking." He meant to put in that hidden 'I love you..' to see if Snake caught on, a test if you will.



Snake, of course, completely missed that, if anything it seemed like Hal had strained to say that and he ended up mistaking it with sarcasm. “Just because I can’t bring the FBI’s IT team down to it’s crying knees and make them break down in suffering with my code doesn’t mean I can’t do that to your creation with a missile launcher.”



Hal giggled behind his hand noticing Snake didn't catch that.



“What? Besides, It’s going to be a girl anyway… That is unless God realizes I was not supposed to deserve this, but up till now he’s none the wiser.” He explained with a cheery look on his face.



"Or do you want it to be a girl?" Hal asked poking him playfully.



“I don’t want anything. That’s what’s going to happen, fact of life.” He said, thinking that if he was firm in this he might actually convince the fetus or something, he wasn’t good at this, wasn’t supposed to be. “Damn it, I just realized that there is no section in my training that covers this particular variation.”



Hal tilted his head in confusion. "I hope you didn't mean what I thought you meant." he said trying his best not to have yet another moodswing.



“What do you think I meant?” He asked, hoping Hal was not going to get pissed off yet again.



"The 'I don't want anything' thing you said." Hal replied. "What did that mean?"



“That I don’t want anything” he said a little confused with Hal’s reaction. Maybe he should have added that ‘in particular by the way he looked



"Does that mean you don't want the baby at all or is it something else....?" Hal asked swallowing a little.



“It means that I don’t mind if it’s a boy – did you think I lied?” he asked, really worried about the pay Hal swallowed. “I think you let me in too far, I influence you too much.” He said, getting up to gather information.



Hal sat up and looked at him. "Well...j..just clarify...more..next time...Ok..?" he said softly. "You scared me..."



“I will” he said, pausing for a moment. “I’ll go gather information, also I have to try um… milk… can’t be in this country and not try that milk, it’s a crime. I’ll be here in a moment.” He promised before making a bee-line for that door.



Hal blinked. 'What's wrong with him...?'



Sunny was surprised to know Mei Ling didn’t know so she told her all she knew. But for some reason the older woman had wanted to speak to Hal herself. Not that Sunny really made anything of that. Snake, in the other hand, had gotten to where he wanted to and managed to start sniffing around, doing his job, excluding the bottle in his right hand as he did so.



Hal sat on the bed thinking. He wanted to make Snake feel better about this whole thing but couldn't think of a way



Sunny managed to go back to where Hal had told her to leave and she was confused not to find him still standing there for three seconds before going to look for him elsewhere and calling for him. Snake was thinking that maybe the stuff was strong like they told him, he still downed it anyway, whisky was whisky when it came to it, really, besides, the search for information was giving results for once.



Hal got up and walked out of the computer room. He stretched a little, causing his shirt to lift up a little, and yawned.



Sunny found him there so she carried out her messages to get them out of the way. “I called Mei Ling, she asks why she had not been told of this or something like that” she said, then smiled.



"Is she coming?" Hal asked fixing his shirt a little.



“I don’t know” she said simply looking at the computer in interest but not really daring to ask to play with it.



Hal nodded and opened his mini fridge taking out a small pint of ice cream and a spoon. He sat on the couch nearby and started eating.



Eventually Mei Ling followed the same route the girl had taken earlier but now she had put her things away so she had time to spare. “Hal, can you please do some explaining, I think I’m lost.”



"Lost?" Hal blinked. He took one more bite of ice cream before setting the container aside. "I'm sorry Snake didn't tell you.."  he said motioning for her to sit down



“Yes, lost, who’s pregnant?” she asked, as Sunny made that sound like Snake was a woman for some inexplicable reason and she was sure that if she kept that image she’d have nightmares.



Hal looked at her and sighed. "I am.." he replied.



“Oh my God… She was serious. Ok, how?” she asked, really sure Hal wouldn’t lie to her but the last time she checked her anatomy courses in college did not include men getting pregnant.



Hal explained to her the whole situation. "Yeah...so that's what happened.." he said once he was finished. He was already eating his ice cream again.



She was staring at him for a second and the snorted, she honestly tried not to laugh but she had to cover her mouth not to and it was too obvious. “Snake’s a hazard.” She concluded once she had composed. “Now I know why the people who posses a uterus hide behind the codec when working with the man.”



Hal couldn't help but giggle at that. "I'm not sure he's really dead set on having it yet.." he said taking another bite of his ice cream



“Oh. Wow, um, how about you?” she asked. Really she could picture Snake being so cold at a time like this. However that only made her question why Hal had let the man do this in the first place. Still why not want a baby, sometimes she could not understand how Snake’s mind worked. She’d have to poke his chest latter.



"I'm happy… But I'd feel better about it if Snake didn't make it out to be yet another burden..." Hal replied looking down a little.



“You know how he is, Hal.” She tried comforting the man. Ooh Snake was hearing her when he got there from… Oh for the love of god where was he anyway? “How long?” she asked thinking that it couldn’t be a very long time because she had to ask.



"2 1/2 months. By my calculations but I may be a little off." Hal replied. "I won't start showing more till next month or so I've read." He added. He had been reading up on everything on various sites and a few books



“Thank the lord /someone/ has a brain around here.” She said as Snake walked in. He started to u-turn when she lifted a hand his way. “No, no, no, no, you stay where you are, where were you?” She asked with her friendly tone that said she was being ‘helpful to a friend’, the sweet thing.



Hal looked up at him as he set his ice cream aside again.



“I forgot-“ “you forgot I was going to end up coming over, Snake, please just come in and try to be truthful cause I want to hear it from you.” She said, pressing him into a corner, so to speak. “Hear what?” he asked walking in after putting something on the floor outside. “I want to know why Hal tells me you think this is a burden” Oh this was not looking up.



Hal blushed slightly. 'why did she have to tell him that..?' he thought to himself. he started biting his nails and fidgiting with the bottom of his shirt.



Snake saw how Hal reacted to that, and he didn’t like it, so far what had he done to make the man be so guarded of him. It sort of hurt to have the fact that he was something of a freak of nature made to kill thrown at his face like that, especially since fear was something he knew didn’t belong in Hal’s mind, no matter how small the amount, it registered as ‘enemy’ to him. “I’m just being realistic, but I want this” he said, as if daring the girl to contradict him in this one thing. “Ah, see, I knew you had to have been being an asshole for some your typical reasons, not for something a-typical.” She said with a smile that indicated that he was /her/ little asshole.