An MGSV fic I've had in my head for a while after completing the game. I worked on it slowly as I was busy with my other stories.

Since the game's ending is a sad one, here in my version, Quiet never speaks English even after Venom Snake is poisoned, and they escape together alive and well.

Warning: this chapter contains a sex scene, which is also my first time writing one.

I don't own MGS games and stuff.

With a voracious sandstorm on the way, a fleet of Soviet troops hunting for them and unable to summon a chopper for evacuation, Venom Snake, outnumbered and defenseless, saw that he could not stay in the palace ruins for long and that there was only one thing to do right now in order to avoid death the upcoming army.

He had to travel straight into the sandstorm itself. It would be risky, but at least it would provide lots of cover for him and Quiet from the invading troops.

"No sun, no water. Don't you dry up on me, now." he said as he hoisted Quiet up over his back fireman-style and ventured into the sand-engulfed desert with her.

The sniper woman was unconscious as a result of their battle against invading Soviets earlier. At the end, one tank shot a round at them. It didn't kill them, but it did hurt her hard enough to injure her with a nasty bruise on her side and knock her out, but not seconds before she too fired a rocket of her own at it from Venom Snake's RPG and blew it up to smithereens. Despite the attack, she survived thanks to her parasites although she remained incapacitated for now.

With no access to any sunlight or water, her injuries would take longer to heal and they had no time to wait for the storm to clear to gain access to sunlight because, as stated previously, Soviet soldiers were headed their way after Venom and Quiet's grueling battle against their armies. The two succeeded in driving them back earlier and now here they were, running for their lives from the extra backup in the middle of a blinding storm of sand.

Well, he was doing most of the running. At least being lost in the desert was better than getting caught and/or gunned down by a bunch of vengeful Soviets.

Venom had flown here to find her after she ran off from Mother Base and was determined to bring her back safe and sound, parasite carrier or not. He refused to lose her. She was special to him.

Some of the staff back at Mother Base thought Quiet's escape was out of betrayal, especially Miller due to the strong dislike he had for the woman ever since the day she was brought to their base and was not shy of showing it. But Venom sensed that treachery was not the reason for her departure. It was because, after the second parasitic outbreak happened and caused a lot more deaths than the first outbreak, she feared that, because she was a parasite infectee too, her silence alone would not be enough to prevent a third incident from happening. She believed she was doing them a favor with her absence because, with her gone, a third outbreak would never happen.

Of course, there was also the option of removing her vocal parasite via Code Talker's treatment or throat surgery. But she didn't consider it at the time.

Venom Snake's presence in the barren desert to fetch Quiet was not because of business, it was a personal thing. He wanted his silent friend back safe. He's lost so many friends and comrades over the years, especially female ones, and he would not let it happen with this woman today.

After a minute of running blindly into the storm and successfully evading the soldiers, Quiet started to twitch and spasm and he was forced to drop her onto the sand. He tried his best to gently calm her down as she twitched violently. She stopped and before Venom could react, she shook again until she stopped and he decided to carry her in a different way.

He went behind her, placed his hands under her arms, locked them around and above her chest, (being careful not to touch her breasts out of respect), and dragged her away.

After a minute, he saw a large rock up close and placed Quiet and himself behind it just in time as a lone Soviet soldier approached the scene, trying to find his targets.

Venom remained silent and well hidden as he stared at the Soviet soldier who had not found them yet. He and Quiet had their own handguns with them, but both firearms lacked suppressor attachments and firing them would result in more of the soldier's friends finding them and he and Quiet were outmatched and outgunned with very little ammo left for self-defense if that happened.

Plus, Quiet was without her rifle as she dropped it back at the palace after the battle ended, so she too would be unable to have a firefight with them if she were awake.

He held Quiet in his arms, keeping her and himself out of the soldier's sight.

As the soldier inched closer, Quiet started to shake and moan again and Venom had to carefully restrain her and keep her from giving their position away. He was hoping the storm was loud enough to keep the lone Soviet from hearing the noises she was making.

She stopped and Venom placed his bionic hand across her cheek to hold her in place and she calmed down for now.

If Quiet were awake and healthy, she could easily dispatch the soldier and save them the trouble of hiding.

He noticed the soldier raising his gun near their direction. Did he discover them already?

Remembering that he lost his knife back at the palace, Venom slowly reached for Quiet's knife, ready to kill the soldier with it. But he stopped after noticing the soldier was aiming his rifle at something else close to them.

It was not them he was aiming at, it was an animal. A snake, a cobra which the Diamond Dogs founder and leader found ironic.

While cautious around the cobra, Venom was kind of hoping the snake would attack the soldier and drive him away. That's be the one good thing for the animal's appearance.

That would never happen because the unnamed soldier opened fire on the snake while Venom did his best not to make a sound from the gunfire. He was used to hearing gunfire, but still, it was loud.

The shooting stopped and the soldier picked the now-dead snake off the ground on the tip of his gun's barrel and examined it. He seemed satisfied with his kill and tossed the body away.

Unable to find his targets and not wanting to waste any ammo on more useless animals, the soldier turned around and walked away, much to Venom's relief.

But his celebration was short-lived when he saw and heard another snake crawling toward them, hissing at the two.

Quiet twitched again and the snake slithered toward them, hissing more aggressively.

The snake eyed Quiet. Venom knew what was going to happen as the animal inched closer toward them. It was going to bite her!

He would not allow that. He didn't come this far to save Quiet from the hands of violent Soviet soldiers just to have her poisoned and killed by some wild animal. He wondered if her parasites made her immune to toxins of all kinds. He'd have to ask Code Talker about it later when they rode back to base as he was the expert of the parasites, but he'd rather not find out this way now.

When the snake coiled back and lunged, he quickly placed his right arm between Quiet and the cobra, protecting her from harm, but also getting himself bitten in the process.

Shit! he thought and did his best to suppress the urge to yell in pain.

The snake latched on, injecting him with its own toxin in seconds.

Venom got the animal to release his arm, grabbed it, lifted it over the side of the large rock and smashed its head against it, killing the animal instantly. He tossed the body away and silently groaned in pain and stared at his bitten hand.

Quiet was fine, but he was not.

Fuck! He thought in agony. He was poisoned, but to him, it was worth it to keep Quiet safe.

The soldier thought he heard something until he was called away by other Soviets and he walked toward them and away from his hidden targets.

Soon, the soldiers were all gone, probably off to keep searching somewhere else away from them, and Venom and Quiet were now alone in the barren desert.

Venom suddenly felt close to blacking out. The poison was already starting to affect him, but he had to resist the urge long enough to save himself.

He reached into his pouch and got something out of it.

What he had in his hand was an antivenom serum. He always carried a few of these in case he were ever poisoned during a mission and now was the perfect time to use one of them.

Good thing I brought these with me. He thought as he followed the procedure on injections and plunged the needle into his neck as it was the only bare spot available due to him being covered all over.

When the needle was empty, he disposed of it and laid gently against the large rock, waiting for the serum to do its job. He hoped there were no more poisonous snakes around because he had brought only two serums and he just used one of them.

Venom held Quiet close to himself and cradled her gently to shield her from the sand as she was almost bare while he was heavily clothed. He gently stroked her hair and forehead with his real hand, wiping away whatever dirt and sand was on her face as she remained out. He looked at the black bruise on her side and reminded himself to seek medical attention for her when they out of this mess.

Truth be told, he had fallen for this woman, something he thought was impossible. They started off as enemies at first with two near-fatal encounters, but after recruiting her to Mother Base, he only saw her as another fellow soldier like all the others and nothing more.

However, as they spent more time with each other on and off the base, as much as he tried to resist his attraction to Quiet to focus on his responsibilities as Diamond Dogs' leader, he became better acquainted with her and, aside from killing hostiles and destroying vehicles, Quiet's personality and views evolved from cold and hostile to gentle and friendly as evidenced when she silently flirted with him during helicopter rides, invited him to shower with her in her cell from that time he went days without hygiene, goofed off with him on a rainy day, gave him cigars as a present for his birthday and even lit one for him by shooting its tip when he held it in his mouth and risked her own safety to retrieve a child's soldier's pendent from a highly dangerous gas pit on the base.

Would a ruthless, evil assassin do those kind of things? He risked life and death bringing her to his base, hoping to change her for the better when everyone else saw her as a dangerous enemy and Venom was now happy to have met Quiet and had no regrets over sparing and recruiting her, nor did he regret coming here to save her from captivity.

With nobody in sight now and having taken an antidote injection, Venom finally allowed himself to relax now that he knew he was out of danger and would survive the poison. He kept Quiet cradled in his arms as he rested.

Eventually, Quiet woke up first and took a look around. The sand blew across her almost-bare body. It didn't hurt her much, but she ignored it anyway.

The sandstorm was still brewing, but it was less harsh this time. Even with her parasite powers, she could not see anything beyond the walls of sand that invaded the terrain. The only good thing from their situation was that at least the Soviet army was gone. She saw Venom Snake napping so he wasn't aware that he was awake yet and also saw his arms wrapped over her, keeping her close to himself.

She was alone now with him.

Quiet couldn't believe that he ventured all the way out here just for her, even after she tried to kill him twice before and her reason for coming to his base being discovered by him. She fled to get away from him and Diamond Dogs to keep them all safe from her parasite and yet he still showed up for her. She was very touched by his deed. He could have left her to be tortured and killed as payback for the outbreak on the base and for her double assassination attempts against him, but he didn't. She felt that he was probably going to be angry with her for leaving when this was all over and she was prepared to take the heat, believing she deserved it because none of this would be happening right now if she just stayed put on Mother Base.

Ever since joining Diamond Dogs and participating in missions with Venom Snake, Quiet had also clearly developed similar feelings for him as he had for her. She never thought befriending, and later, falling in love with the man she was supposed to hate and kill would ever happen. But it did.

When Quiet began to warm up to him, she slowly started rethinking her life choices and began to regret all she had done before and after she joined Diamond Dogs. The big things she regretted most of all were her involvements with the attack on that hospital in Cyprus, her duel with him at the ruins, her short fight with him when she confronted an infected D.D. member for having a Kikongo language strain and, recently, leaving Mother Base after that second outbreak happened without an explanation, the latter being the reason she and him got into this current situation of theirs in the first place.

While feeling heavy guilt for those things, like Venom Snake, she too was also glad to have met him and did not regret her new friendship with him. After gaining his friendship, she personally renounced all loyalty she had of XOF. She was a Diamond Dog now and the black ops group she once worked for was now her enemy along with her former commander, the deceased Skull Face. If given the chance, she would have gladly killed him on the day Venom took out Sahelantropus.

He can rot in all the circles of Hell for all she cared.

But the one thing she can never deny was that the new person she is today, both her abilities and personality, would not exist if it weren't for Skull Face, Venom Snake and that mysterious man with the bandages on his face from the hospital. After Venom and the bandaged man badly immolated her, her XOF teammates found her, brought her to Skull Face who put her through the parasite therapy that restored her back to full health and gave her the abilities she currently had and tasked her into finding Big Boss, become a captive of his intentionally, be brought to his base of operations and end him and all of Diamond Dogs with her English strain as his ace in the hole. She was his back-up plan in case he failed to kill Big Boss and perished (which he did) and she later admitted this to Code Talker after her true reason for coming to Mother Base was discovered. But due to her growing romantic feelings toward their leader, she found herself unable to use her strain and she abandoned her original plans and personally cut off her allegiance to Skull Face and XOF permanently. She never wanted to return to them ever again. She wanted to stay with Diamond Dogs, with Venom Snake, forever.

Plus, he treated her much better than Skull Face and the rest of XOF ever did. Except for Skull Face, the entire unit, who were mostly males, didn't take her seriously, treating her like a second-class citizen because of her gender. It was like a girl in a "boys' only" club. Because she was the only woman in XOF, she had to toughen up and work extra hard to show the others that she was not someone to mess with and lived with the belief that emotions were a distraction and a weakness in the unit and in life. That was why she was bitter most of the time. Especially when, similar to what that Soviet soldier almost did to her at the palace, one of her former XOF comrades tried to make a sexual move on her and it ended with her smashing his testicles to the point where he was dependent on a wheelchair to get around.

In a way, all three people are the reasons she was a heroine now. It was a hard road at first, but now she loved her new position. She wanted to tell Venom how she felt about him so badly, but her strain prevented her from doing so. She could have told him in writing or in Navajo with Code Talker translating what she said, but she still would not because a part of her still desired revenge against Big Boss.

But considering what happened to them earlier, her time spent with the person she was assigned to kill, and what the outcome may have been had they both failed to survive the onslaught, or if Venom Snake died in the fighting, Quiet started to reconsider her vengeance plans because she realized how much trouble they have led her to, almost getting killed a few times other than what happened a few minutes ago and luring Snake here to risk life and death to save her.

Making a choice now, she dropped her personal grudge and decided to focus on the better life she had with Diamond Dogs and with Big Boss. She no longer wanted revenge. To her, it just was not worth it anymore.

With her grudge dead, she also desired to see Code Talker later on about the possibility of ridding herself of her vocal parasite so that she can talk to Venom in English. Despite telling the old man that she would never speak English again, she wanted to in the future. Her refusal of his treatment was when she felt she deserved to be silent as a punishment for her days as an assassin, but now she no longer wanted that.

She wondered if the treatment would strip her of her abilities. While she now wished to rid herself of her English strain, she did not want her abilities gone. They helped her survive a lot better than without them before and she rather liked having them. Plus, they were what helped retain her human appearance considering what happened to her at Cyprus. She wouldn't be alive with Big Boss if she were never subjected to Skull Face's parasitic therapy.

Soon Venom Snake stirred awake. His vision was blurry and he took a moment to adjust and slowly moved his hand to check on it after the bite.

Quiet noticed his movement sounds and placed a hand on him to get his attention and he responded by quickly turning to her direction with a knife in his hand, which Quiet quickly recognized was hers, and had it aimed at her neck.

She didn't bother to defend herself as she realized it was a reaction. She did surprise him, after all.

Venom relaxed when he realized it was only her.

"Quiet. You're awake." he said and, upon realizing the knife was Quiet's, he gave it back to her and she took it.

She knelt down to him, helping him sit up.

He studied the blazing storm. There was no way they were going to be able to walk or run their way out of this and there were no vehicles around to use either.

"Sorry about that. You just surprised me, is all." he said and she smiled and patted him on the shoulder, expressing no hard feelings.

"Are we alone?" he asked and she nodded.

"Are you alright? You had a nasty bruise on your side from that tank blast earlier." he asked her.

Quiet looked at her midsection and saw nothing on her side. The bruise was gone, healed thanks to her parasites.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." he said and looked around his utility belt for his water canteen to give to her, but he didn't have it.

"Crap. I had a canteen of water with me, but I must have lost it in the fight. Sorry." he said.

Quiet smiled and waved her hand in a "No problem" way. She didn't care for that now. His company was all that she desired. They were together again and that was all that mattered.

She noticed the dead snake beside them and gave him a "What is that?" look at him while pointing to it. She never noticed it while she was awake.

H turned and saw the dead animal.

"It was about to bite you while you were unconscious. It bit me instead and I killed it. I couldn't let it hurt you." he explained.

Quiet was scared after hearing he was bitten by the animal.

"Don't worry though. I took an antidote serum I brought afterwards otherwise I wouldn't talking to you now." he said to calm her down and it worked as she sighed in relief.

While grinning on the outside, inside, she was feeling rather foolish for being partly the reason for their current problem. Her guilt would have risen tenfold if Venom did die in the battle or by that dead snake on the ground. She would have truly killed Big Boss as she originally intended if those things happened and even with her abilities, she would not be able to resuscitate him unlike her.

She was now relieved that he was still alive.

"Once this storm blows over, we'll summon Pequod to pick us up." he said.

Quiet agreed and, wanting to comfort Venom Snake, Quiet inched closer to him, hoping to engulf him in a hug as gratitude for what he did for her.

Suddenly, his iDroid beeped and a voice spoke.

"This is Pequod. Do you read me?" called the pilot called 'Pequod'.

Quiet and Venom looked at the device as he grabbed it.

"This is Pequod. Ahab, what is your position? We can't stick around any longer. Talk to me, Boss!" said Pequod.

Venom and Quiet stayed silent for a few seconds. Not out of ignoring Pequod, they were trying to figure out how to respond.

"This is Pequod! Ahab, Ahab, do you copy?"

Nothing.

"We can't stick around any longer. We have zero visibility. We're gonna have to pull back. Cutting transmissions."

At that moment, Venom inched the iDroid toward his lips and spoke into it.

"Pequod." he said.

"Boss? Boss, is that you?"

"Yes, I'm here. I found Quiet, we fought off the Soviets and we're now stranded alone in a sandstorm." he said.

"You found her? Excellent. I'm in the area as I speak, but I can't see where you two are in this storm. You're going to have to guide me to your location, Boss." said Pequod.

Speaking slowly and clearly, Venom fed directions to Pequod, letting him know his and Quiet's whereabouts.

Quiet knelt next to him while this happened, watching out for enemies. Despite being dry, she was still able to use her powers and fight if danger appeared.

When Venom finished, a bright light suddenly shone down on them. Their ride was here.

"Pequod, I can see you. I have a visual." Venom said.

"There you are, Ahab! Visual confirmed!" Pequod said through the device.

"Pequod, hurry! This way!" Venom said.

"Get back! I'm about to descend!" said Pequod.

Venom and Quiet got up and backed away as the helicopter started to lower itself down to the ground close to them.

When it was close enough, Pequod waved at them from inside while the door opened and Venom and Quiet saw a couple of D.D. soldiers inside the helicopter.

"Get in!" one of them said.

Venom and Quiet walked toward the helicopter. Quiet went inside first before he went in next. He shut the door and they all sat down on the seats. They were now safe from the blistering winds and scorching deserts.

"Strap yourselves in, you two. We're getting out of here." said Pequod.

"Wait Pequod! Don't fly away just yet." said Venom.

"What? Why not?" Pequod asked.

"The sandstorm's too strong and the chopper won't operate properly while the storm's active. Let's wait it out until it dies down." Venom said.

"You sure, Boss?" asked the pilot.

"Yes. There's nobody else around for miles, so it's safe to remain here until it's clear. If we fly now, we might crash or explode." said Venom.

"Got a point there, Boss. Okay, we'll wait until the storm is gone. Oh, and good to see you again, Quiet. I was hoping he'd find you." said Pequod.

Quiet smiled at Pequod's support of her.

The other D.D. soldiers shook hands with her, indicating that they were happy she was safe. Quiet assumed they still hated her when she first saw them, but, from their behavior, perhaps they started to show some respect to her.

Pequod fully placed the chopper down on the ground and deactivated the engine, leaving all passengers inside the helicopter in the middle of the blazing sandstorm.

While waiting, Pequod stood from his seat to stretch after sitting down for a long time while Venom and Quiet remained sitting next to each other.

"Hey, I have a water canteen with me in case you guys want it. You were in the desert for who knows how long, after all." Pequod said and took out his canteen and handed it to them.

Quiet's eyes lit up and she took it. Although water killed her for a few seconds back there, she still needed it to survive.

She opened the canteen and was about to pour its contents on herself when she stopped suddenly and looked at Venom. She handed the canteen to him, believing he should have it.

"No thanks. You need it more than I do. I can wait until we return to base." Venom declined.

Quiet smiled in thankfulness and raised the canteen over her own head to pour the contents on herself.

Water poured all over her head and body. The instant it touched her skin, the parasites in her started to feed on the liquid.

Quiet closed her eyes and let the water drip all over her and her parasites do their job.

She only used half of the canteen and handed the leftover water to Venom. He took it and drank it until it was empty.

As soon as he finished, Venom gave it back to the pilot and returned to her side.

"I was informed by Code Talker that you're a speaker of Navajo and it's the only language your parasite has no effect on. Right?" Venom asked her.

Quiet nodded.

"While flying to find you, he said, on my comm link, that you spoke to him in Navajo. Aside from the English strain, he said that you refused to take his treatment because of a personal reason." he said.

Quiet nodded, while regretting bypassing the treatment for the reason she now discarded, and said something to him in Navajo.

"What the-? I didn't know she can be so talkative!" Pequod said.

"Me neither." said a soldier.

"It's Navajo, a Native American language. Her vocal parasite doesn't work with that language, so it's safe for her to use unlike English." Venom told him to keep him and the soldiers from freaking out.

"Navajo? As in the language that kept the Japanese military from deciphering American codes during World War II?" asked a soldier.

"Yes." said Venom.

"Any idea what she said, Boss?" asked another soldier.

"Not a clue, but Code Talker should." Venom said and radioed Code Talker.

"It's me." Venom said.

"Did you find the woman?" Code Talker asked.

"Yes. She's with me in the helicopter. We're waiting for a sand storm to end so we can fly away safely." he said.

"Excellent work." he said.

"I'm also calling because she said something in Navajo just now and I was wondering if you can translate for me." said Venom.

"Certainly. Ask her to repeat what she said into the radio for me." said the old man.

"Here." Venom said to Quiet and leaned the iDroid close to her.

She leaned close to the device and repeated her words into the radio for Code Talker to hear and he translated.

"She says 'Until my English is safe to use, this is the only language that I can speak safely. Before, I still craved vengeance against you, but now I wish for that no more. It has proven to be troublesome. You have been a good friend to me ever since you welcomed me among your people and I wish to stand by you for the rest of my days.' She is expressing how she feels about you. It seems that spending time with you has changed her from the cold-hearted person I have been told of." he said.

"Thanks for the translation." said Venom.

"Will that be all?" he asked.

"For now. I'll only call if she speaks in Navajo again." said Venom.

"Very well. I think I am going to have another one of those hamburger meals Mr. Miller introduced me to before. I find them to be very delicious." said Code Talker.

"There's plenty in the mess hall. Help yourself." said Venom and turned his radio off.

To pass the time while waiting to fly, Venom played, in his cassette player, music from tapes he requested from some of his soldiers from Mother Base. His tapes usually contained mostly music from the 1950's, 1960's and early 1970's as they were the tunes he was raised around in his younger years.

Music from the current era was still new to him.

Back on Mother Base, his soldiers often played or sang to music called "heavy metal" from today's popular artists such as Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Sodom, Kreator, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Exodus, Diamond Head, Ozzy Osbourne, The Sex Pistols, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, King Diamond, Venom (the band), The Ramones, Black Sabbath, KISS, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, The Scorpions, AC/DC. There was so much new stuff out there and he could barely keep up with it all.

The music scene of today was all topsy-turvy to him now. Most people these days did not want music about hippies, peace and love that Venom was used to, not that he had time to listen to any of that before anyway. No, today's music was all about violence and rebellion. People craved loud, fast and heavy music that spoke of war, death, destruction, doom, religion, horror, hell, Satanism, sex, partying, crime, just about all kinds of violent topics expressed in real life. And Venom thought the things he experienced on the battlefield every day was hell. Now it's expressed in modern rock music. Even though he found the music confusing, he still stashed some of those songs with him anyway to sample them when on breaks. Not to be cool, just out of interest.

So far, he slowly grew fond of this new music. In fact, what he was playing in his cassette player was one of those tape his troops was so fond of.

Not wanting to listen alone, Venom made it so that the cassette player would blare the music through its speakers. He was careful not to play it too loud to avoid attracting any unwanted attention from outside the chopper.

"Now that's what I'm talking about, Boss!" one soldier said and he and the others bobbed their heads to the beat of the song.

Quiet liked it, too. She loved rock music, but she never let anyone, Diamond Dogs or especially XOF, know that. Not even Skull Face knew when she used to work for him. But the songs she listened to spoke of killing and causing chaos, which was kinda what her old group was trained to do.

She silently requested a song of her own and Venom allowed Quiet to flip through his collection until she came across a title that interested her and Venom played it for her.

She had never heard this new song before and she liked how it sounded.

During the song, Quiet slowly bobbed her head to the music with a grin on her lips.

The sniper that tried to kill Venom before would never had done this. She had changed a great deal.

The sandstorm outside was starting to decline as the winds were blowing less every passing minute and soon, the storm ceased altogether and the area was clear. The passengers can see everything outside again.

"Finally." said Venom. There were no hostiles anywhere in the desert. It was safe to fly now.

"Okay people. Get ready." said Pequod.

Venom, Quiet and the two soldiers strapped themselves to their seats and Pequod got back to his seat and started up the engine.

The helicopter roared to life and the blades above began to rotate and pick up speed until they were a blur.

"Departing!" Pequod said and off they went.

"Hey Pequod, one more thing. Head back to the palace ruins. There's something we need to retrieve before we fly back to Mother Base. It'll be quick." said Venom.

"Alright Boss." he said and flew the chopper back to Lamar Khaate Palace.

Quiet was confused as to why he wanted to venture back to where they just escaped from.

Venom turned to her and said, "You lost your rifle there. I figured you'd want it back, right?" he said.

Quiet, now knowing why he ordered the pilot to fly them back to the palace ruins, hummed in approval.

The chopper made it back to Lamar Palace and Venom opened the door when they inched closer to the ground.

"Man, what the hell happened here?" asked one of the soldiers in the helicopter when he and the other one saw how the palace looked.

"Quiet and I had a massive firefight against the Soviets. We won." said Venom.

"Only you and Quiet versus dozens of Soviets? Damn, Boss!" said the same soldier.

Quiet leaped out of the helicopter and scouted around for her sniper rifle. They had more rifles back at Mother Base, but the one she used was her signature one and Venom Snake had it built especially for her. Leaving it behind didn't feel right to her. It was a gift from him.

The Soviet soldier she shot with the rifle after killing the other soldiers was the same man who stole it from her upon her capture. Killing him like that was personal for her. Karma really was a bitch as most people say.

There you are! She thought when she found her rifle. It was seen near a bunch a rocks on a hill behind the palace. Quiet assumed it would be where she dropped it after she and Venom Snake survived the invasion, but she then realized, upon remembering the tank blast at the end, that her weapon must have been blown back afterwards.

She picked it up, examined it for damages or defects, finding only little scratches and dirt, and returned to the helicopter.

While walking, she eyed that container that she drowned in by that bastard soldier. Her butterfly markings appeared over her eyes from remembering that moment. The moment she died, everything went black until the sun touched her bare legs. The water inside was now dirty and murky due to the sandstorm earlier.

I never want to return to this place ever again. She thought and kept walking, forcing her markings to vanish to keep Venom Snake from worrying.

"Found it?" Venom asked.

Quiet showed her rifle to him before jumping back in and taking her seat next to Venom Snake again. She placed its safety switch on to avoid accidental fire, but kept it loaded and by her side in case they encountered another fighter jet like the one she shot down when Venom Snake first captured her.

"Okay Pequod, that's all. Now you can fly us back to base." said Venom after closing the door and sitting next to Quiet.

"Okay, Boss. Departing." said the pilot.

The desert land below them started to shrink as they ascended higher and higher until they were in the air, flying out of Afghanistan.

In his mind, Venom was congratulating himself for his accomplishments here. He found Quiet, saved her from the Soviets who tried to rape and kill her, fended off a Blitzkrieg-style assault alongside her, survived a sandstorm and leftover Soviets hunting for them, avoided becoming snake food (no pun intended) and escaped with their lives intact just now.

The woman he cared for deeply was recovered safe and sound and back with him. He hoped she would not run off again in the future. Quiet was his means of maintaining his mental humanity aside from D.D. He used to never think of anything or anyone but himself in the past. It was always about the mission and returning safely with success and with dead bodies of enemy soldiers in his wake. He was a lone wolf and he felt that was all he would ever be for the rest of his days and killing soldiers and doing missions was his way of numbing his inner pain of being lonely.

Until he met the beautiful sniper woman sitting in the helicopter with him. That helped change his behavior. Well, not all, but somewhat better.

If those Soviets had killed her back there, he would be back to how he was before they met: alone, unhappy and void of purpose other than trading blood for money or something else.

Not anymore.

Sure, there were many female Diamond Dogs troops at Mother Base and they admired him and all, but he saw them as soldiers only and nothing else. Besides, none of them could ever compare to Quiet. She was one of a kind, like a rare treasure item or a baseball card that was difficult to find, and it's not because of her parasite abilities. Even if there was a possibility that she could never be relieved of her English strain and can never tell him anything in that language, he didn't care. Her being alive and back with him was all he desired, silent or not. He had a new purpose in life that kept him going and that was her. When they got back, he would tell her of how he feels for her because he knew she felt the same of him.

He guessed that Miller would remain his usual, jerky self toward Quiet in spite of her helping Venom survive the Soviet assault when they made it back to the base. Nevertheless, despite her defection to their faction, he still gave her a hard time at the base, especially on the night she was interrogated by them after they found out that she was the one who tried to kill him at the hospital and that Skull Face infected her with her English parasite.

Venom remembered that and began to regret her treatment, especially since he allowed it to take place. He watched Quiet be zapped and drenched with burning saltwater until Ocelot poured his canteen of fresh water on her to wash it away.

Venom and Ocelot, despite them taking part of the interrogation as it was kinda protocol for suspicious people on the base, disliked what happened while Miller relished it to the fullest like a sadistic tyrant. Quiet is a former Cipher agent. He hated them with a strong passion. What did others expect from him, a victim of them? He felt no remorse for Quiet's abuse while Venom did as Quiet proved her worth among the unit. He didn't know if Ocelot regretted it too, but his behavior at the end indicated some pity from the revolver-wielding man otherwise he wouldn't have washed the saltwater off of her.

How could I let that happen to her? She faced torture and abuse by us and me, the person she admired, and yet she still stands by me, by us. Perhaps I'm no better than Skull Face. He'd probably laugh at our treatment of her if he saw it. For all I know, he probably also subjected her to a similar method to perhaps break her into what she used to be when we met. I've heard of civilizations that did that and still do today. Or perhaps she had a rough childhood that shaped her into the killer I saw her as. Venom thought upon that memory.

He personally vowed to never allow Quiet to be tortured like that ever again. Anyone who harmed this woman, even Miller, would get what he or she deserved from him. Quiet was his responsibility and messing with her would be a bad idea.

Skull Face was a madman, but he "introduced" her to him. He just wished their meeting was different and less violent than previously.

"So, will you stay with us again and permanently this time?" Venom asked.

Quiet nodded.

Of course I will. I will never leave you again, Snake. Leaving your base was a stupid decision of me to make. She thought. At least her thoughts didn't activate her parasites. If only he were a mind reader, then communication would be easier that way.

They stayed sitting together for the remainder of the flight back. After all that transpired, Quiet decided to nap throughout the whole ride, leaning on Venom's shoulder, her personal hero.

Nobody and nothing can ever separate them again.

"Pequod, when we get back, take us to the medical facility. I want to have Quiet inspected for serious problems. She went through a lot and I'm worried about her health more than my own." said Venom.

"Okay Boss." said the pilot.

The helicopter eventually reached Mother Base's medical platform and Venom looked at the window and saw most of his soldiers crowding around on the helipad to support his return.

It seemed Pequod made a call to the base telling them about where they would be landing.

Venom wondered if they were also willing to welcome Quiet back with open arms this time. If so, the only person who would not do such a thing was Miller, unless he manipulated everyone else to treat her the way he does. He would find out later.

The helicopter landed and he stepped out first.

"Welcome back, Boss. Did you, you know, find her?" Ocelot asked.

"I did." said Venom. He went back into the chopper and approached the sleeping sniper.

"Quiet. Quiet, wake up." he said while gently tapping her.

Quiet's eyes fluttered open and she saw blurriness until her vision cleared quickly and when it did, she was looking at Venom Snake..

"We're back. You can get out now." he said while gently patting her shoulder.

Quiet yawned, stretched, stood up and walked out of the helicopter.

She saw most of the base's personnel staring at her.

"Welcome back, Quiet. You alright?" Ocelot said to her.

Quiet nodded in thanks for his welcome, but still remained wary of him because of him being part of her interrogation before.

The soldiers murmured to one another about her. Most of it was about how their leader found her and brought her back in one piece.

Quiet walked toward the Diamond Dogs soldiers. Venom, Ocelot and Pequod wondered what their reactions would be to her presence.

Soon, the others were chatting with Quiet, expressing gratitude and apologies for the harsh treatment she endured from some of them and she mentally forgave them all.

"Well, she's a popular figure around here now." Ocelot said.

"She's like a celebrity figure to us here, huh Boss?" said the chopper pilot.

"Well, she may be well-liked to all here now, there's one person around here who still spites her unfortunately." Venom said.

"We'll get to him later. Let's just cherish the moment we have now. Skull Face is dead. You rescued one of our most powerful members and prevented a parasitic apocalypse from happening." Ocelot said.

After spending time with the soldiers, Venom remembered something he needed to take care of.

"Quiet, follow me." he said.

Quiet turned to look at him and followed him to the medical buildings.

Venom and Quiet found the room they sought and entered.

Miller suddenly made an appearance from out of nowhere, but Venom and Quiet did not see him.

"He's back?" Miller asked.

"Yes." said Ocelot.

"With her?" Miller asked.

"Yes. They saved each other from the Soviet armies and he's off to get her medical attention." Ocelot said.

For a while Miller was silent. He was in deep thought. Did he still resent Quiet or did he change his view of her? He hated Quiet to the fullest, but after hearing that she helped the Boss survive a Soviet invasion, he didn't know what to think now.

The soldiers disbanded, off to do whatever they were doing and left Ocelot and Miller by themselves.

"Miller, do you still resent Quiet? Even after the good she's done for the Boss and for us? She's proven that she's no longer against Diamond Dogs or him." Ocelot asked him.

Miller didn't respond and kept glaring at the ocean beyond the platforms. What was going through his mind?

"Miller?" Ocelot asked in concern.

Without saying a word, Miller walked away from the helipad. Even Ocelot couldn't tell what was on his mind.

"Sometimes I don't get you these days, Miller." Ocelot whispered to himself as he walked away from the helipad.

Venom and Quiet made it inside the facilities and Venom told the staff there to give medical examinations for Quiet and himself after informing them of what happened out there. The medical personnel agreed to examine them and the Diamond Dogs leader and the silent sniper followed them into the med bay.

First was Quiet. She was given the regular medical checkup. They examined her. They drew some blood, gave her a full body scan, (her parasite still showed on the screens, but the doctors didn't freak out like last time) and within half an hour, she was released and in came Venom Snake next.

Both had passed their exams and, rather than return to her cell, Quiet was allowed, by Venom himself, to join him in his private quarters for the moment.

Quiet, upon entering, sat down on his bed while Venom was busy showering away whatever dirt, grime and blood he collected from the battle and the sandstorm after.

When Venom was finished, he exited the shower room, clean and was wearing regular clothing. His sneaking suit needed to be cleaned thoroughly. He also shaved his facial hair off, revealing a clean look. He figured that now was the time to get rid of his beard and mustache. He liked it better.

"Okay Quiet, you're next." he said.

He noticed Quiet didn't move and felt something was wrong with her as her face showed an expression of sorrow.

"Something wrong? Oh, that's right. It's going to take time for the shower water to be hot again." he asked.

That was not the reason for Quiet's mood.

Quiet turned her face away in shame. Venom suddenly had a hunch of what it was.

Feeling the need to comfort her, he sat next to her, placed a hand on her face and turned it to him and the woman was now looking at him, wondering what he was going to say to her.

"Quiet. You ran off because you feared causing a third parasitic outbreak after what happened with the second one, didn't you?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Do you blame yourself for it?" he asked.

She nodded sadly.

"You can never be the cause of another one as long as you remain silent or if we remove your parasite. Besides, in case you weren't here when we found out the cause afterwards, the second outbreak was because of Huey Emmerich." he explained.

Quiet remembered that man with the bionic legs. The one who built customized Walker Gears for Venom to use as a counterpart to the ones the enemy troops used.

What?

She was already gone by the time the entire base staff learned what Huey had done and missed his trial, therefore, she was not fully aware of the whole story.

Venom told Quiet about what happened and what Huey did to cause the outbreak along with other things he did before his arrival on Mother Base and she put a hand to her mouth in shock from hearing it all.

That's horrible! How could that man, the one whom Snake saved from Skull Face, mutate the strain even further and cause so many deaths? That sounds like something Skull Face would have done! She thought in disgust before realizing something else.

I was like him and he was me. He did to this base what I was originally meant to do. The only difference is that Skull Face ordered me to kill the Boss's people, which I refused and still do, while Huey achieved it on his own without orders from anybody. I regret wanting to kill these people with my parasite while he never did.

"After the second outbreak ended and his experiments with the parasites became knowledgeable all over Mother Base, we put him on trial for his deeds. He defended himself, saying it wasn't his fault and he even went so far as to blame me for the deaths of my soldiers despite him tinkering with the parasites willingly." said Venom.

Quiet's signature "butterfly" marking appeared over her eyes, expressing her anger at Huey Emmerich.

That deluded bastard killed those poor people and he dared to have the gall of blaming Snake for putting down the very victims Emmerich himself infected?! I should hurt him for this! She thought.

She wasn't also aware that Huey was banished from Diamond Dogs until Venom then told her of Huey's fate for his extreme act of betrayal.

He's gone?

Quiet's markings faded, but her anger toward the disgraced scientist remained. Someone who committed such a tragedy like he did was deserving of a harsh punishment or a death sentence. But he spared Huey and kicked him out of the group despite what he did. Quiet believed it was because of how Venom defended her after the outbreak when she was tortured. Despite her being a carrier, he still refused to have her executed or banished. She hated that painful moment, but she didn't blame Venom for it. It was out of reaction from discovering her identity as his former would-be killer and from having lost so many comrades at the hands of enemies like XOF. Who doesn't respond like that after enduring a grave tragedy?

"He's gone and no further outbreaks can happen here. Well, as long as you don't speak or someone else doesn't experiment with your . . . uh, problem." he said, trying to avoid offending or scaring her due to her own parasite in her throat.

Quiet placed her hand to her neck, knowing what he meant.

I now wish I never accepted this damned strain in my throat at all so that I can currently express my feelings to him. That chance almost died with me back there and I cannot risk almost losing it again.

"By the way, what happened back there with the Soviet soldiers? I saw you kill them, but I didn't see what they were doing to provoke you to take such violent action like that." he asked.

Quiet was unsure if she could "tell" him. What happened to her at the palace was horrible and traumatizing despite all the violent encounters she faced most of the time. But she felt he deserved to know after he risked himself for her and she grabbed a notepad, a pen, wrote what happened and gave it to him.

She remembered Ocelot trying to get her to communicate through writing only for her to refuse it to hide her then-secret objective. Until she was cured of her English strain, this was her only way to fully "speak" to the Boss or anyone. Her Navajo was limited. For now, it'd be for him only.

Venom read it and became angry when he finished.

No wonder she butchered them all like that. All the pent-up rage she built up during her stay on Mother Base, she released on those men when she had enough of them and, to her, it finally felt good. They deserved it for how they treated her, especially that man who tried to rape her after she died for a few seconds. At least she had the perfect targets to channel it all on instead of Venom Snake or his troops.

Quiet approached him, stared into his eyes as he did with hers, and then she hugged him.

Venom, stunned at first, placed one arm around her back for comfort.

During this moment, Venom could have sworn he was hearing light sobbing sounds coming from Quiet.

She was crying and he realized that her soft crying was from more guilt and not from the Soviet battle hours ago. She may have earned Venom's respect and friendship, but, to her, all the horrible things she did as an assassin remained in her memory.

After a while of crying, Venom gently lifted her away and saw her tear-stained face. Her tears stung her face as they were salty, giving her weakness from saltwater., but she didn't seem to care about that. She really felt bad about her past and all she helped slay.

She wrote another message for him on paper and he read it.

All the people I killed for XOF . . . for Skull Face! I did such evil things without remorse! That doctor, that nurse, they treated you when you were ill and defenseless and I murdered them both, slowly and painfully with glee! And I almost did the same thing to you! I almost murdered a defenseless man who woke from a decade-long coma and was unable to properly defend himself! I am a horrible person! A freak!

He rubbed her back to sooth her as she kept weeping.

"Quiet, I know you feel bad for your past as a killer. But you're not that person anymore. Well, you still kill, but only against those who do wrong to others rather than against innocent people and only when it has to be done for survival. As awful as your past was and what you almost did to me, I have nothing against you for it now. The time we spent together changed you for the better and my view of you. It allowed me to see this virtuous side of you and . . . well, you mean everything to me now and I don't give a crap about what Miller or anyone else thinks of you. You are not a horrible person or a freak." he said.

Quiet wasn't fully convinced. She couldn't stop thinking about her victims. She claimed them all for an evil man and it was now hitting her back at full force. And yet one of her former victims was here comforting her, wanting her to stay with him despite knowing what she was capable of doing.

"What Ocelot said of you being 'in love with the Legend' a few days ago, did he mean you were attracted to my status or did he mean you were actually in love with me?"

Quiet took another paper, picked up the same pen and started writing and when she finished, she handed the paper to him and he read it.

It said:

Before I give my answer, there are some things I need to make clear with you first.

First: I am utterly horrified at how the second outbreak happened and I feel awful for almost getting us killed all because I thought myself to be a great risk of starting another one even if I was silent. I no longer feel that now that I am aware that the true fault lies within Dr. Emmerich.

Second: I still feel bad because, like I said, before we met, I killed, regardless of whether my targets were guilty or innocent. I still murdered them, even those who were helpless to defend themselves. Those people I slaughtered at the hospital. Me nearly shooting you and choking you to death. Our battle at those ruins. All of that I had done in the name of XOF, Cipher. I stole the futures of many victims out of blind loyalty to an organization with no care for anyone but themselves.

Third: I do not ever wish to return to the life I used to live by. I am happy that you do not see me as a murdering monster anymore. But truthfully, there is not a day that goes by where my past activities do not haunt me because they do now and I can never drown them out no matter what.

Quiet picked up another piece of paper upon running out of room to write and wrote another message and gave it to him to read.

Back there, you came for me, fought to keep me safe from those people when I escaped the base as a self-punishment. You could have ignored me and left me to die or be violated by them after you learned who I was and what I was capable of doing, but you refused and came to my aid anyway even when I never asked for it in the first place. That is something nobody has ever done for me before, even when I was with XOF. To them, you were responsible for yourself and if you were captured, no rescue would come. You were on your own.

When I was being interrogated, Miller was right about my vocal parasite. Skull Face did implant the English strain in me as his means of killing you. He tasked me with letting myself be captured and brought to your base on purpose in order to destroy you all from the inside. I was going to unleash it when you least expected it and fulfill my mission regardless of my own life as it is suicidal to the host, but the kindness and equality you expressed to me, which I myself did not expect from you, made me reconsider and I am now glad I did not proceed. My original goal was a terrible mistake, the two outbreaks made me regret my plans and I refuse to infect and kill anyone aboard this base anymore in the future. I could have easily escaped the interrogation and incapacitate you all, but I remained and took the torture as my way of proving my loyalty to you and your unit even if most of them were unaccepting of me.

Before, I was seen as a heartless killer, trained to kill without hesitation, but you saw something good in me. You took me into your army and changed me for the better. How you treated me and coming to my rescue back there were the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.

And last, but not least, as to the answer for your question . . .

Quiet put her materials down, leaned over and gave him a kiss to his neck. It was not only her way of thanking Venom Snake for his kindness and for saving her, but also her way of apologizing for her killing attempt on him at the hospital months ago. Attacking him like that was very barbaric and she hated herself for that now.

Although being roasted alive was incredibly painful back then, Quiet knew she deserved it then and a part of her was glad it happened otherwise standing in front of the man she loved would not be happening right now. If the bandaged man were here, she would also thank him for being responsible for that, for stopping her from making a grave error of killing her future lover.

Quiet retracted herself from him and gave him a friendly smile.

"It's hard to believe that the silent sniper woman standing in front of me, who tried to kill me twice before, now winds up loving her former target. Our two meetings may have gone off on the wrong foot, but in a way, I'm actually glad we met, I just wish it happened differently. You are my whole world Quiet and I don't ever want to lose you." he said and placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

Venom then remembered her torture session again and needed to say something about it.

"Sorry about the torture session you endured. Believe me, that was Miller's intention, not mine. He strongly insisted it after his discovery of your injuries from that gas tank incident and I simply went along with it without thinking clearly. I feel stupid for not stopping it earlier." he said.

Quiet remembered that day too. It was agonizing, but she refused to be angry at Venom Snake for that.

I do not care about that. I can never hate you for it. She thought and jotted this down on the notepad again.

"Do you hate me for what happened to you at the hospital when that bandaged man set you on fire?" he asked.

Quiet shook her head, telling him that she was not angry at him for that and wrote another message.

You and him were simply defending yourselves from me and, as painful as it was, I deserved it. It's a good thing you two stopped me from succeeding otherwise we would not be here right now, enjoying each other's company. I am so, very sorry for trying to kill you. Can you forgive me for that?

Venom placed both hands, real and bionic, over Quiet's face and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

Quiet's eyes widened in stunned shock, but she closed her eyes and embraced it. She was getting what she wanted from him ever since falling for him.

"I already have, Quiet." he said in response to her question.

Quiet wrapped her arms around his neck and back and kissed him back.

He then removed his glove and placed his bare hand on Quiet's side, feeling her skin for the first time. Her choking him at the hospital was different and, to him, didn't count. Besides, she was wearing gloves back then, so he didn't actually feel her hands.

She had really smooth skin.

Quiet let out a tiny giggle from the touch and looked at the hand and then removed her own gloves and placed her hand over his, placing her hand to his chest, enjoying the moment.

Quiet looked at the bite wound on his arm caused by that wild cobra and pointed at it.

Will you be alright?

"Don't worry about that. It'll fade. I took it for you. Can your parasites actually protect and heal you from being poisoned?" he said.

Quiet nodded. If that cobra had poisoned her, she would have survived. But she was still touched that Venom Snake took the metaphorical bullet for her and risked dying from it, further proving his respect and love for her.

Quiet removed all of her gear from her form, leaving her in nothing but her bra and panties. She also took her ponytail off which freed her hair. and it slid down to her shoulders. Venom Snake remembered seeing her hair like that before, but this time, he embraced it happily, reminding himself that the female assassin from the hospital was gone and was replaced by this stunning beauty in his private room.

"Uh, you might want to shower first, Quiet. You're still kinda dirty from the sandstorm, remember?" Venom said.

Quiet, looking herself all over, realized it and felt lightly embarrassed.

He's right! I need to get clean, too. I wish he hadn't showered first, so that I could repeat our previous showering with him.

She walked into Venom Snake's bathroom, turned on the shower and stepped inside. She left the door open intentionally for him as a joke in case he wanted to enter and "check on her".

After a few minutes, Quiet was finished. She turned the water off, dried herself and re-entered the room where she found Snake listening to a tape on his iDroid device.

He had his back turned to her and had headphones over his ears, so he didn't see or hear her coming in.

A playful smirk forming on her lips, Quiet turned invisible and slowly crept up to him. When she got close enough, she flicked her hand at his hair.

"What the hell?!" he yelped and quickly turned around.

Quiet revealed herself and giggled from his reaction.

Got you!

"Oh, so that's how you want it, huh? Well, get ready for this!" he said and grabbed her and flipped her over onto his bed and sat on top of her.

Quiet smiled and feigned being under attack and soon, the two began to make love and Quiet loved every second of it. She loved her new life as a heroine sniper a lot better than her old one. She loved the feel of fighting for good. She loved being accepted by someone who chose to forgive her for her past and murder attempt on him and, most of all, right now she loved feeling Venom Snake's hands, both real and prosthetic, on her body.

Unlike with the Soviet soldiers who tried to rape her, Quiet enjoyed being touched and kissed by the leader of Diamond Dogs. He was not cruel to her like they were.

The Diamond Dogs were her team now. Venom Snake was the new love of her life. She was now a heroine soldier rather than a ruthless killer.

To hell with XOF! Diamond Dogs forever! she thought.

They started out with slow, passionate kissing. Then Quiet laid down on the bed and Venom sat on top of her, rubbing her sides which she liked.

Quiet got an idea and pointed to the knot on her bra.

Open it. She thought with a smile.

"You want me to undress you? Won't that remind you of . . . what happened back at the palace?" he asked nervously.

Quiet shook her head and spread her arms apart and over her head, allowing herself to be vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do with her.

Touch me however you wish! I am yours!

Venom complied, untied her bra knot and slowly opened it, revealing her bare chest.

It was the most beautiful part of her body that he had ever seen and this was his first time seeing it. He was a lucky man.

He playfully rubbed his hand over her exposed chest, sliding his fingers between her breasts, feeling where her heart and lungs once were.

Quiet closed her eyes and let herself embrace the feeling.

That feels good!

After a minute of rubbing her chest, Venom placed his hands over her breasts, covering her nipples.

Quiet kept her eyes closed and enjoyed being touched.

He then rubbed his thumbs over her nipples several times, massaging them, much to Quiet's incredible pleasure.

Keep going! I am loving this!

He leaned forward and planted a kiss on each nipple and the middle of her chest.

Don't stop!

Venom Snake then gave her a light tickle on the underside of her breasts, making her giggle again.

That tickles!

Later, he did the same for her nipples.

How wonderful! Keep going!

The rubbing continued. Venom was starting to enjoy this as much as she did.

He gently rubbed his fingers across her armpits, earning more light giggling from her.

I forgot how ticklish I am!

He then massaged her throat, the spot that contained her vocal parasite. The touch relaxed her.

Once my bothersome vocal parasite is gone, my first words in English will be my admission of my love for you!

Venom then went for Quiet's bare belly. He rubbed her sides and stomach, making Quiet smile again.

He led his hands to her legs, starting with her thighs.

Ahhh, that's it! More!

Soon, the sex stopped and both people were spent.

That . . . was wonderful! Quiet thought with a smile.

"You enjoyed that?" he asked her.

Quiet nodded and kissed him again.

"By the way, what's that tune you always seem to hum? Is it a song you heard where you came from or was it something you made up?" he asked.

Quiet grabbed the pen and paper again, wrote her response and handed it over to him.

It is a song that my parents used to sing to me when I was a little girl. It soothed me and it stayed in my head for years to come. Unfortunately, they were gunned down by enemy raiders when I was a teenager and I barely escaped alive. One soldier, however, found me and tried to hurt me. I retaliated blindly, killing him slowly. That and the deaths of my family angered me to the point where I discovered XOF and joined them as a means to vent my rage to everyone.

But, as I said earlier, I am not that kind of person anymore thanks to you, Snake.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to you then. You shouldn't have gone through something like that. Do you still miss them?" he said and asked.

Every day. My ability to express kindness and love to anyone died when my family did and it remained that way for years until we met. You brought that lightness back to me. She wrote.

Venom Snake kissed her cheek as a means of expressing his condolences to her dead relatives.

"Any word on what happened to the killers of your family?" he asked.

I found out that they all succumbed to gunfire from their enemies while their leader, whose name I do not know, shot himself later upon learning he was infected with inoperable cancer. I despise the idea of someone getting cancer and dying from it, but in my case, after what those men did to me and my home, justice was finally done and they each got what they deserved.

Venom kinda agreed with her on that. He didn't remember his own family, but he was still able to pity this woman who's tragic past was what made her vicious as an adult until now.

"Well, it's getting late. We should get some sleep." he said.

Quiet nodded and was prepared to dress herself and return to her cell in the Med platform until she was stopped by him.

"Not tonight, or ever. From now on, my room is yours. I think you've been cooped up in that cell long enough and deserve to move in with me. You've earned your place at my side." he informed her.

She expressed feelings of happiness at that. Venom Snake had finally trusted her enough to allow her to sleep with him in the same room.

"Will you stay here?" he asked.

Quiet nodded and returned to the bed with him.

Venom removed his prosthetic arm and placed it on the table next to his side.

"If you're wondering why I have a bionic arm, it's because I lost my real arm in an attack on our previous base nine years ago. The doctors had to amputate it to keep me alive. I went into shock upon that discovery at first when I woke up from my coma, but now, I've learned to live with it." he told her.

She grabbed his amputated limb close to herself and gently kissed the stump, expressing both her sorrow over the loss of his arm and not caring what he looked like.

"Good night, Quiet." he said and kissed her one more time.

Quiet giggled.

You too, you wonderful man! Quiet thought and kissed him back and snuggled herself closer to him, burying her head into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

Quiet usually slept alone during her XOF days and when she first came to Mother Base. Now she was sleeping with someone and it was the man she loved so much.

As they say, "Love can bloom even on the battlefield."

Quiet proceeded to hum her tune to soothe herself and him.

"I think I just found my new favorite song. If I were a musician, I'd love to have that recorded." Venom said.

Quiet appreciated that.

Glad to know you love my song. It would make a great hit, wouldn't it?

"Are there lyrics to it?" he asked.

Quiet hummed a "Yes" answer and wanted to write it for him later.

"Tomorrow, we'll visit Code Talker about removing your parasite from your throat. I want to hear your voice again, this time on good terms." he said, remembering hearing her speak into her headset back at the hospital. That was then and this was now.

Good.

Soon, both lovers were asleep.

After finishing the game, I chose to take on a fic about Metal Gear and lo-and-behold, here it was. I had to do some research to get as much as I could right.

This is but the first chapter. There will be a couple more and the next chapter will have Quiet seeing and undergoing treatment for her parasite problem.

I hope I do well here. Tell me what you think.

PS: The horizontal line option of this site malfunctions sometimes. Anyone go through the same thing?