Warmth

Otacon sighed softly, his eyelids fluttering briefly closed in contentment as he basked in gentle warmth.  Blinking, he opened them again, glancing at the window with his fuzzy vision and noting the heated beams of sunlight cascading through the panes and onto the floor.  He found himself smiling, unable to help it, sliding his bare feet against the smooth sheets in quiet pleasure.

            The man behind him grunted quietly as Otacon ran his slightly cool toes down a strong calf, grinning.

            Snake's arm fell heavily around his waist, curling upward so his hand pressed against Otacon's collarbone, drawing him back against a solid chest.

            "Your feet are cold," the former FOXHOUND agent noted mildly, gently rubbing the rough stubble of his chin against the back of Otacon's neck.  The scientist arched back into the touch slightly, the smile still pulling at his lips.

            "The rest of me is warm.  And in a minute," he grinned, tucking his feet up against the heat of Snake's legs, "my feet will be too."

            Snake snorted, his breath rustling the hair at Otacon's nape.  "Ah, now I see.  You've just been using me as your heater."

            Otacon could not seem to stop smiling as he stroked his hand over Snake's forearm, resting against his stomach.  "Well, can you blame me?  I have to say, it's really effective."

            Twisting awkwardly, he strained his neck around to plant a soft kiss on the other man's lips before resettling into his previous position.  He closed his eyes as Snake nipped his shoulder gently, then soothed the area with the touch of his tongue.  A shiver wracked his frame as the other man's hand slid from his stomach to his side, trailing with teasing lightness over his thigh, then back up again.  As it reached his ribs he captured it in his own hand, drawing it upward to kiss Snake's knuckles.

            "Again?" he inquired quietly, his voice threaded with laughter.

            He felt the other man shrug, felt his lips move as he smiled against Otacon's skin.  "Would you rather not?"

            The tone was teasing, but the question was completely serious, and the young scientist closed his eyes in pleasure as Snake trailed his lips over his back, his hand slipping from Otacon's to trace whimsical patterns on the younger man's chest.

            "Ah…" Otacon replied, trying to keep the breathiness from his voice and knowing he was failing utterly, "I guess I can let it slide… just this… once…  I mean, I'm a… generous… guy…"

            His voice trailed away on a moan as the other man's hand traveled downward, fingers brushing over his skin with unbearable softness, the touch barely there as it moved along his length.  He gasped out Snake's name as the special agent brushed the backs of his knuckles along him, and then, absurdly, a ridiculous thought occurred to him and in spite of himself he burst out laughing.

            He felt the other man pause, briefly still in surprise before lifting his head, his beard rasping along Otacon's skin.

            "What?" he questioned warily.

            Otacon kept laughing, feeling his eyes watering as he shook his head mutely, slowly shifting onto his back.  Snake adjusted to make room for him, hovering partly over him with his hand braced on the bed on Otacon's far side.  After a moment of gasping Otacon managed to open his eyes, lifting his hand to wipe at his tears.

            Snake was staring down at him with a completely confused look on his face, an expression so uncharacteristic that Otacon was hard-pressed not to burst into a fresh bout of laughter.

            "I'm sorry," he chuckled, still wiping errant tears from his eyes, "I'm sorry, it just occurred to me that, Snake-"

            He broke off abruptly, frowning as a new thought occurred to him.

            "Snake," he said, changing tracks, "Does it… bother you at all, that I call you Snake?  I…  Instead of your real name, I mean."

            Snake lifted an eyebrow laconically.  "That can't be what this was about."

            "No, no…  But I suddenly thought…"

            The older man's lips twisted in a faintly amused smile, his hand lifting to absently trace Otacon's jawline.  "Does it bother you when I call you Otacon?"

            The scientist frowned.  "Of course not, I've been Otacon so long…  It almost seems more like my name than my real name now."

            Snake nodded, his fingers meandering idly down the column of Otacon's throat.  "I feel the same way.  Snake has been my name more than David ever was.  Though, if you did call me David, I wouldn't mind that either," he offered with a smile.

            Otacon nodded thoughtfully, his hand lifting unconsciously to begin stroking Snake's side.

            "So…" the other man prompted after a moment of silence, "what was the reason behind your little burst of hilarity, there?"

            Reminded of that, Otacon's lips twitched again and he felt the laughter bubbling up in his throat as he grinned into Snake's eyes.

            Frowning, the older man touched his finger to Otacon's lips.  "No, don't start that again.  Why don't you let me in on the joke first?"

            "I just," he choked, "I was just thinking that your name, 'Snake', could be taken in… a lot of different ways…  Particularly in this situation…"

            The tears were gathering in his eyes again and he blinked them away, looking up at the other man and awaiting his reaction while struggling to keep from cracking.

            Snake stared at him for a brief moment, then groaned, flopping onto his back, but not before Otacon saw the smile beginning to pull at his own lips.  Otacon couldn't contain himself any longer and laughed out loud as Snake threw his arm over his eyes.

            "I just-" Otacon gasped, "Just-  Can't you…  Can't you just see…"

            His words were then lost in breathless laughter and a moment later he heard Snake's quiet chuckle join him.  The other man's hand smoothed softly over his stomach then as he braced himself up, leaning over Otacon and shaking his head as he gazed down at his face.

            "I can't believe you were thinking about that right then."

            The scientist shrugged, lifting his hand to smooth his palm down Snake's arm.

            "I didn't mean to, I don't know why it popped into my head I just…  Oh, man…"

            "What now?"

            Otacon felt his cheeks flush and Snake's eyebrows shot upward, a smile again tugging at his lips.

            "What?"

            "I just… was thinking…" Otacon murmured, glancing to the side.  "That when we…  when you… make me…"

            Snake waited, his fingers tracing a circle around Otacon's nipple.  Otacon closed his eyes, his cheeks feeling like they were on fire.

            "When you make me… moan your name… I don't know if I'll ever be able to think of it in the same way."

            There was a very long silence.  Then Snake practically shouted with laughter, the most unrestrained expression of mirth Otacon had ever heard from him, and he opened his eyes as he felt the other man's head drop onto his chest.  Snake's shoulders were shaking, and he lifted his hand to sift through his lover's hair, watching him in bemusement, the blush in his cheeks not dying.

            Snake hugged him briefly, then lifted his head, sliding upward to press a long, hard kiss to Otacon's lips.  Otacon kissed him back, blinking at him as the older man withdrew.

            "Good Lord, Otacon," Snake said finally, shaking his head and smiling as his hands once again slid down Otacon's body, "If it comes to that, just call me David."