Lessons Taught in a Cardboard Box
Title: Lessons Taught in a Cardboard Box
Fandom: Metal Gear Solid
Rating: G
Characters: Raiden and Solid Snake
Summary: Jack reminisces.
Dedication: To my awesome pal Lisa. :D
There was a large cardboard box sitting on the curb, next to a green trash can.
It was the first thing Jack noticed when he turned onto the street where his house was. He, Rose, and their son, John, had moved to Maryland recently. Jack got a job in Washington DC and for the most part, things were going well.
The box, he assumed, meant that the television Rose ordered had been delivered that day. Jack pulled his car into the driveway and parked it. He paused before he turned off the engine, his eyes focused on the rear-view mirror. The box sat innocently in the mirror.
It was just about the right size, he thought, but quickly reminded himself that using a box as a stealth technique was something he'd always thought was ridiculous.
Snake had sworn by them, though.
Jack turned off the engine and got out of the car. Hesitating before he went inside, he found himself heading toward the trash can and the box. It was such a simple thing, really. Just a box.
It was just a box, but as Jack looked at it, he couldn't help but think about the past. He was a nostalgic person by nature, and had always been accused of living in the past, but at least this time, he supposed there was a good reason for it.
Years had passed since he'd last seen Solid Snake. Years had passed since he'd gone by the name "Raiden."
But seeing that box sitting in the grass took him back to all of that. The first time he'd seen Snake use a cardboard box had been during the Big Shell mission. Jack had been nothing more than a rookie back then and was convinced that the man he now knew as Solid Snake was a military man by the name of Iroquois Plisskin.
"Wha--what're you doing?"
"What's it look like, kid? I'm hiding."
Hiding.
Jack wound up having to find his own place to hide, and it had been hard. There weren't too many places to hide, but Snake managed to blend in with all the other crates and boxes just fine.
Snake had always been a master of stealth. He could go through a desert and no one would see him, even if there was no real place to hide. He blended in anywhere.
In a way, Jack had both respected and envied Snake. He wanted the recognition Snake had, the fame, but when he first met him, his first impression was that Snake was a total idiot. Using a box for stealth had seemed utterly foolish compared to all the supposedly perfect techniques he'd learned in VR training.
But then Snake proved to be the most amazing person Jack had ever met... And that box didn't seem so stupid anymore.
"Jack?"
Rose brought him out of his thoughts. She was standing in the doorway, watching him curiously.
Jack blinked and looked away from the box and toward his wife. "Ah, sorry, I just got back. I'll come inside in a minute," he said.
Rose gave him a puzzled look but just nodded and went back inside.
He looked back to the box and let out a sigh. After a moment, Jack picked up the box and collapsed it, taking it inside with him. The new television sat in the living room, already hooked up. Rose was in the kitchen. John was not there, though Jack knew he was probably out with his friends.
Rose came out of the kitchen and eyed the box under his arm. "What do you need that for?" she asked.
Jack shrugged. "Never know when you're going to need it."
Fandom: Metal Gear Solid
Rating: G
Characters: Raiden and Solid Snake
Summary: Jack reminisces.
Dedication: To my awesome pal Lisa. :D
There was a large cardboard box sitting on the curb, next to a green trash can.
It was the first thing Jack noticed when he turned onto the street where his house was. He, Rose, and their son, John, had moved to Maryland recently. Jack got a job in Washington DC and for the most part, things were going well.
The box, he assumed, meant that the television Rose ordered had been delivered that day. Jack pulled his car into the driveway and parked it. He paused before he turned off the engine, his eyes focused on the rear-view mirror. The box sat innocently in the mirror.
It was just about the right size, he thought, but quickly reminded himself that using a box as a stealth technique was something he'd always thought was ridiculous.
Snake had sworn by them, though.
Jack turned off the engine and got out of the car. Hesitating before he went inside, he found himself heading toward the trash can and the box. It was such a simple thing, really. Just a box.
It was just a box, but as Jack looked at it, he couldn't help but think about the past. He was a nostalgic person by nature, and had always been accused of living in the past, but at least this time, he supposed there was a good reason for it.
Years had passed since he'd last seen Solid Snake. Years had passed since he'd gone by the name "Raiden."
But seeing that box sitting in the grass took him back to all of that. The first time he'd seen Snake use a cardboard box had been during the Big Shell mission. Jack had been nothing more than a rookie back then and was convinced that the man he now knew as Solid Snake was a military man by the name of Iroquois Plisskin.
"Wha--what're you doing?"
"What's it look like, kid? I'm hiding."
Hiding.
Jack wound up having to find his own place to hide, and it had been hard. There weren't too many places to hide, but Snake managed to blend in with all the other crates and boxes just fine.
Snake had always been a master of stealth. He could go through a desert and no one would see him, even if there was no real place to hide. He blended in anywhere.
In a way, Jack had both respected and envied Snake. He wanted the recognition Snake had, the fame, but when he first met him, his first impression was that Snake was a total idiot. Using a box for stealth had seemed utterly foolish compared to all the supposedly perfect techniques he'd learned in VR training.
But then Snake proved to be the most amazing person Jack had ever met... And that box didn't seem so stupid anymore.
"Jack?"
Rose brought him out of his thoughts. She was standing in the doorway, watching him curiously.
Jack blinked and looked away from the box and toward his wife. "Ah, sorry, I just got back. I'll come inside in a minute," he said.
Rose gave him a puzzled look but just nodded and went back inside.
He looked back to the box and let out a sigh. After a moment, Jack picked up the box and collapsed it, taking it inside with him. The new television sat in the living room, already hooked up. Rose was in the kitchen. John was not there, though Jack knew he was probably out with his friends.
Rose came out of the kitchen and eyed the box under his arm. "What do you need that for?" she asked.
Jack shrugged. "Never know when you're going to need it."