in the quiet loop. (solid snake x reader)

05 - loose ends

The flickering light overhead cast faint ripples across the exposed steel and his skin. His breathing was shallow but steady now, the edge of unconsciousness slowly giving way. You knelt beside him, knees pressed to the cold floor, your fingers working gently over the gauze wrapped around his arm. A sharp intake of breath broke the silence as your head snapped up, eyes locking with his.

He was finally awake. His blue eyes, half-lidded from pain and exhaustion, flicked to yours beneath a furrowed brow. He looked disoriented at first. Then, his gaze dropped briefly to your hands still resting on his forearms, then back up.

There was something in his expression in a way that was raw and unguarded. It made your chest tighten in ways you weren't prepared for. The glance stretched into something else, like a pull between you both, barely contained. Time didn't stop, but the air between you felt weighted and thick, like gravity had shifted.

He didn't try to move, didn't push you away. He just laid there, silent, eyes locked on yours like he wasn't sure if you were real. You should've said something right away. Something tactical like what the next move was. That the Kasatka was still within reach, that the blast radius didn't take out the core of Shell 2, and that Hal was checking nearby terminals.

The way his eyes lingered on yours like they were searching for something. Your hand remained gently pressed to his forearm, where his pulse had just begun to pick up again.

"Don't do that again," your voice was soft, almost casual. But it cut through the static in the room like a fault line.

For a beat, he said nothing. His eyes searched yours. You expected deflection, or maybe a snide remark. You couldn't help the way your voice wavered slightly at the end. The silence was full enough to press in around you, thick and uncertain. You exhaled slowly and said nothing more, brushing your thumb lightly across the edge of the gauze, just once, then let your hand fall away,

He still didn't speak. But when he blinked, the lines around his eyes softened. Then, Hal's voice called from down the hall breaking the moment. You both turned away too quickly. But the tension remained, quiet and waiting, like a line pulled tight between two people who weren't ready to name what was there.

Hal's hurried footsteps grew louder as he rounded the corner, breathless but relieved to find Snake conscious and you close by.

"You're alive," he exhaled, almost a laugh of disbelief.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Snake rasped, rising slowly with your help. He winced as he steadied his weight on one foot.

"We need to get to higher ground," you said, already shouldering your bag. "There's another port up top."

Hal glanced between you both, then nodded quickly. "Strut H has a helipad. If we're lucky, there might be a Kasatka still docked."

You didn't wait as the three of you began moving with Hal ahead with his laptop tucked under one arm, and Snake leading the way with uneven steps, following them behind. The stairwell groaned under your weight. As you climbed, you could hear distant sirens still echoing from Shell 2. The door to the rooftop was jammed at first, but with Snake's shoulder behind it, it creaked open, revealing a blinding slice of the afternoon light.

The sky had cleared completely, blue stretching into forever, framed by the hard edges of oil-slick steel. Wind rushed across the open space, carrying the sharp scent of the ocean and the lingering sting of cordite. And there, parked near the far end of the helipad with rotors still locked down and glinting in the sun, was a Kasatka helicopter.

Hal whistled low under his breath. "Bingo," he rushed ahead, already pulling wires and adapters from his satchel. "I'll see if it's flight-ready. These models are all networked into the Big Shell system. I should be able to override the access protocols manually."