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Raiden liked to think he was pretty observant, his job kind of demanded it. He had to keep a close eye on guard patrols, memorize floor plans, and find sensitive documents. Sure, he didn’t realize Pliskin was the legendary Solid Snake at first, but can you really blame him for that? The man was a master of disguise and infiltration. He was called a legend for a reason after all.
All this to say, Raiden noticed things. He noticed how close Snake was with his “business partner” Otacon. Too close to be considered just friends. Sure, friends can touch casually, a hand on the shoulder, a special handshake. A friend might offer a comforting hug after a family member’s death, but friends don’t hug like that. They don’t nuzzle their face into the other’s neck. They don’t get close to whisper into each other’s ear. Those actions were for a closer kind of relationship.
Snake and Otacon were dating.
To be frank, it didn’t make sense. Snake was a soldier and a hero. He looked like an action hero, the kind of guy you’d see on a poster with a girl on one arm and a gun in the other. How did he end up with, let’s be honest, a scrawny nerd who cried too much?
It was something that stuck in his mind whenever he saw Snake. They had been working together recently, trying to track down Olga’s child. It was on one such day that things came to a head. Raiden met the two men at one of their hideouts, a run-down apartment that they had been squatting in, to discuss recent developments.
“Mei Ling mentioned finding some possible leads in Texas,” Otacon said, “I should contact her for more details, narrow things down. After all, Texas is a big state.” He stood up from the rickety table they were all gathered around and walked into the other room.
That left Raiden and Snake, alone in the room.
“So….” Raiden awkwardly said. How to broach a topic like this? “You and Otacon.”
Snake just grunted in response, eyes still focused on the document in front of him.
What a stellar conversationalist. Was Snake going to make him spell it out? Fine then, “You two are together, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Snake finally looked up at Raiden, his tone very much a warning to Raiden to watch his step, “Is there a problem with that?”
“No! No no no, of course not!” Raiden backpedalled, “I just…I didn’t…”
“Didn’t think I would be into men?” Well…yes. That was part of it. Gay men were more…effeminate, a fact Raiden was all too aware of. Plenty of people had assumed he was gay because of his hair, or his soft face. But Snake? Manly men like Snake weren’t gay.
Raiden shrugged his shoulders and Snake gave a gruff laugh, “I forgot, you were trained in VR. You’ve never had to share a barracks with several other men. You get real close to each other then.”
Raiden felt his face flush. He wanted to point out that he had been in a barracks back when he was a kid, but that didn’t seem relevant to the point Snake was making.
“That doesn’t matter,” Raiden shook his head, as though he could shake the blush off his face, “You’re a legend, the best infiltrator ever! People must be lining up at your door to be with you, so…why choose him ?”
He flinched as the words left his mouth. There was probably a better way to say that, preferably a way that didn’t sound like a direct insult to the very intimidating Solid Snake’s boyfriend, so he was pleasantly shocked to see Snake smiling at him.
“That’s exactly why I chose him.” Snake said as he leaned back in his squeaking folding chair.
“Huh?”
“The whole legend thing,” he explained, “That’s what everybody always sees, that’s what everybody wants. The legend. They don’t want the man behind that legend.”
Snake leaned his head further back, staring up at the ceiling, “Everyone I’ve been with has an idea of what I should be. They can’t handle it when I don’t live up to that image, when they realize that I’m just some fucked up guy. When I have nightmares that leave me anxious and checking all the locks, when I get so stuck in my own head that I can’t function anymore, when things get so bad that getting blackout drunk is the only way to ease the pain, they all run away after that. Everyone except Otacon.”
“Otacon didn’t shy away when things got rough. He stuck by me through all the shit and he never thought less of me for it. Hell, he came looking for me when I was at my lowest and gave me something to live for. Otacon’s never wanted the legendary Solid Snake, he just wants me.”
Snake's gaze drifted down, looking idly at the table, eyes not really focused on anything, a small smile on his face as he reminisced. It all sounded so…sweet. Raiden’s earlier confusion at their relationship was now replaced with a small pang of jealousy. Sure, Raiden loved Rose, but he didn’t really trust her like Snake seemed to trust Otacon. Even before everything came out after Big Shell, he never let her see his breakdowns. He always locked himself away in his room, empty so he wouldn’t break anything in his rage. What would it be like if he let her in? Would she pull away? Would she comfort him? Would their relationship be stronger for it?
He was snapped from his thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps. Otacon was coming back. Raiden snapped up the map on the table, pretending like they had been working the entire time. Snake, however, had other ideas. As Otacon approached, Snake slung an arm around the man’s hip and pulled him close. Then, Snake leaned up and gave him a small kiss.
“S-Snake!” Otacon’s eyes darted to Raiden, who did his best to keep a perfectly neutral face, “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
“Just remembered how lucky I am to have you,” Snake smiled.
Otacon gave him a playful shove, “Flatterer,” before shifting tone, going back to being all business, “So Mei-Ling said there was a possible lead in Galveston Texas. Apparently a recently retired, high-ranking general just adopted a daughter there. The ages match up and–”
Raiden wasn’t really listening, too busy thinking about him and Rose. He resolved to talk to her when he got back. They should talk more often. He looked up to see Snake following along intently with Otacon's plan, a wide loose grin on his face.
Maybe Raiden could trust Rose a bit more, let her into his world, just a bit.