imthe_shit | [ action ; video ]

Well, they do for me... They restore some of my LIFE.

_{[... Oh, Snake. Heather's giving you one of those really weird looks again.]}

....

....

Hnn...

_{[... Poor guy.]}

Uh-- .... well. I guess it must be crazy future stuff.

... Crazy future...?

I'm pretty sure I'm not from the same year as you are.

2008...?

... [Looks sad a moment.] ... I'll tell you the truth... [Turns off the feed, entering the Pokemon center.]

_{[... Whoa, she... totally said something wrong there, didn't she. S-SHE WASN'T MAKING FUN OF HIS AGE, HONEST. IT WAS JUST THAT SHE DIDN'T REMEMBER THERE BEING ANY GIANT NUCLEAR ROBOTS IN THE YEAR 2008!]

[She's off on one of those little lobby sofas when he comes in, and she looks up with a brow raised.]}

I, uh... was it something I said?

[ wanders over to her, then sits down beside her, taking out the bag of burgers he bought. ]

... It's not you... I've been meaning to tell you about me.

About... you.

_{[She takes the bag if offered, but doesn't touch the contents yet.]

[She... knows about the FOXDIE. Only because Otacon mentioned it at one point. But she doesn't really know anything else.]}

... I'm all ears...

[ He sits quietly a few moments, before finally speaking. ] It's the year 2014 for me. I have accelerated aging... It was engineered to be in my genes from the very beginning. I was meant to have a limited life span, in case someone else got hold of me, I guess.

.... You... _{[Yeah, there's... what do you say to that? Like, period. What do you even say? Otacon hadn't mentioned that, although to be fair, maybe he hadn't even known.]}

... I'm sorry, Snake, I had no idea... _{[In truth, she hadn't thought he was 'from the future' because of his apparent age-- hell, her best (and only) friend back home was a guy who looked even older than him. But still, she'd had no idea...]}

How... old are you for real?

.... Fourty-three. [Takes out a cigarette, but doesn't light it. He just places it in his mouth.]

_{[... H-holy shit, he was even younger than her father...]}

... I had no idea...

_{[She sits there for a moment with the bag in her lap, holding onto its edges slightly. She's honestly not sure what to say. 'Sorry you look like a grandpa'?]

[Inwardly, she's relieved that she never did wind up calling him 'old man' like she always used to affectionately call Douglas...]}

... [Shakes his head.] It's not like you would have known anyway. I just figured I should tell you... You're... a good friend. [ Folds his arms. ]

_{[She smiles at that, but it's a sad little thing that doesn't have a whole lot of mirth in it.]}

... Thanks. I'm glad you trust me enough to've told me that.

_{[She trails off for a moment, looking down at the bag. She'd feel sort of bad eating something right now, so she'll just... save that for later. She straightens up.]}

... I guess it must be sorta nice to... be here instead of your world then, right? At least a little? ... I know I'd... I'd wanna spend the rest of my life away from war... With friends...

... [ Nods his head, and he fiddling with the unlit cigarette. ] Maybe it's selfish, or something like that but... This is the first time I've felt relaxed in a while. Hardships here are just... So much easier to deal with than home.

War's changed over the years... It's a wonder I've even managed to keep up with it. [ He doesn't want to mention the fact that he's basically got a year at best to live. ]

... I don't think it's selfish.

Not everybody can get away from the bad shit in their lives like... like some of us have. _{[She's got a sort of faraway look in her eyes as she speaks.]} ... I think it'd be ungrateful not to appreciate it. Or at least appreciate the good parts of it.

... [Nods a bit. He knows he has a mission back home but... Having seen his own mother skewered like that, having only met her an hour before... It wasn't right. It left him with a horrible taste in his mouth. He'd never had a perfect family situation, he never wished for it either... But he'd finally met a member of his family who didn't try to kill him on sight.

He'd rather be here, though, than see her suffering.

Snake puts the cigarette away, then rubs his neck.]

... My name's David, Heather.

_{[In Heather's case, she doesn't even have anything back home. Besides Douglas, that was. But... she knew exactly what it was like to escape from something horrible, something painful, into a new life-- and leave somebody behind. But as guilty as she sometimes sort of felt, for getting a chance to grow up normal while... some of the friends she had once cared about were left to turn out twisted and eventually against her, she knew there was nothing she could have done. And she was happy with what she had.]

[When he speaks again, she looks up, at first sort of confused. Then realization dawns on her face, followed by a smile.]}

... David. I like that.

Howdy, David.

... Hhn. Hey, Heather. [ Gives a bit of a smile, then points at her. ] You should pick a codename; I could call you that for three months, and we'd be even.

_[Blink.]

... Dude, I get to have a crazy code-name?

_{[Uh oh. Be prepared for a barrage of goofy teenage enthusiasm.]}

Does it have to follow the same formula of 'state of matter' plus 'animal'? Like, 'Plasmic Giraffe' or something?

... I'm not sure Plasmic Giraffe is a good codename for stealth missions.

... Well, no, but... it'd be pretty badass. Admit it.

_{[ADMIT IT.]

[But, she looks thoughtful. It wasn't really something she'd ever considered before.]}

... What do YOU think'd fit?

Dusty Muskrat. [ tease tease. ]

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