BigBossxTheBoss

TheBossxBigBoss is the het ship between Big Boss and The Boss from the Metal Gear fandom.

Canon
Big Boss and The Boss had a deep and profound relationship that, according to Big Boss, went beyond that of lovers. They shared a master-apprentice relationship where The Boss trained Big Boss in the arts of warfare, stealth, combat and survival. This lasted for a decade before she was forced to leave him due to a secret operation she was assigned to. They would eventually become enemies after she defects to the Soviet Union and Big Boss was tasked with the job of killing her.

To Big Boss, The Boss was everything to him. He stated that the intensity and intimacy of their training meant that a part of him will always belong to her. The Boss had first met Big Boss, who was simply known as “John” at the time, when he was 15 years old and was drawn to him because of their shared experiences. Together they both developed CQC which would become their defining fighting styles. Such was the closeness of the two, that when she contacted Big Boss during his mission, who was under the codename “Naked Snake”, she could tell he had lost weight just by the sound of his voice.

Their relationship would be torn apart, however, due to The Boss defecting to the Soviet Union and becoming an enemy of the United States. She battled Big Boss on a bridge in Dolinovodno and made her defection known to him directly before brutalising him with her superior CQC skills. It was apparent that she did not wish to kill him but to instead have him grow to surpass her, as she told Colonel Volgen to let her be the one to defeat him as he is her apprentice, as Volgen intended to kill him. In another encounter she once again defeats him easily but spares him a second time. Despite her strong resolve, after she tossed him over the bridge, she poignantly tells him that her place is with them now as she watches him drift away. When they fought each other a second time, she subtly planted a transmitter on him so she could track his movements and aid him indirectly in his mission. Her protective nature for him still remained as whilst he was being tortured she was notably irritated at what she was seeing. She become upset when Colonel Volgen commanded her to cut out his eyes and was clearly reluctant to do such a thing. When Ocelot accidentally shot out one of his eyes she slapped him for his reckless actions. Even when she shot him in the leg, after they were alone, she did so using a fake death pill that he could use as part of his escape.

Big Boss was devastated at her defection and even more so when tasked with the job of killing her. But due to his belief that soldiers must carry out their orders, he agreed to do so. Before she had thrown him off the bridge, he grabbed hold of her bandana and would wear it for the next decade. He would spend the entire mission not aware that The Boss was actually working with the United States to prevent a nuclear war and was secretly aiding him in this mission. The grief of killing her was something that haunted Big Boss for his entire life and could never come to terms with it. When talking to his ‘son’, Solid Snake, he admitted to him that the day he killed The Boss was the day he died. When the truth came out to him after he had killed her, that The Boss was effectively killed off by the US government and left a disgrace, he became disillusioned with the United States and lost his patriotism. Her legacy dictated much of his life for most of the 20th century as he found himself in conflict with the people closest to him, such as Major Zero, over the interpretation of The Boss’ will. When he talked to the AI that was programmed with The Boss’ personality, he tried to ask her if she had any regrets over her final mission but the AI did not understand the question.

For the majority of his life, Big Boss struggled to understand what The Boss’s will truly meant. He believed that a world where soldiers are free from the ideologies and patriotism of countries was what she desired, as both he and her had been victims of these acts by governments. This set the course for him to create “Army Without Borders”, to be a utopia for soldiers who do not have to fight under a flag or ideology but can be free to help out where they see fit. His grief was amplified when he felt confused and betrayed by The Boss “putting down her gun”, in that she allowed herself to be killed for the benefit of a government’s ideology, something he wholeheartedly was against. He felt betrayed and solemnly discarded the bandana that once belonged to her as he now desires to free himself of her. It was only many years later, in his late life, that he came to understand what The Boss truly meant to put down the gun and to not be a soldier. What The Boss desired above all else was peace, and that her defection was to prevent a nuclear war. In the end, a life free from war and for there to be no need for soldiers was what she desired most of all. Furthermore, she saw the true challenge of a soldier is not to change the world, but to try and leave the world how you found it. This was something he, and Major Zero, failed to understand. He thus tried to pass this advice onto his last surviving son and told him to live his life as a man, not as a soldier, and more importantly not as a “Snake”. Before his death, he stood at The Boss’ grave and saluted her, with tears in his eyes.

Quotes
"The Boss: I don’t expect you to forgive me. But you can’t defeat me, either. You know me too well."

- The Boss taunts Big Boss.

"Big Boss: Why did you defect? The Boss: I didn’t. I’m loyal to the end. To my purpose. What about you, Jack? What’s it going to be? Loyalty to your country or loyalty to me? Your county or your old mentor? The mission or your beliefs? Your duty to your unit or your personal feelings?"

- The Boss challenges Big Boss on his beliefs.

"The Boss: I raised you. I loved you. I’ve given you weapons, taught you techniques, endowed you with knowledge. There is nothing more for me to give you. All that’s left for you to take is my life… by your own hands."

- The Boss tells Big Boss what he must do.

Fanon
The idea that Big Boss and The Boss were romantically involved with each other has long been theorised in the Metal Gear fandom. However, the majority of the fandom take their relationship as it was presented to them, as a master-apprentice and, at best, mother and son.

In a platonic sense, the pairing are seen as iconic to the Metal Gear franchise and the fandom very much adore both Big Boss and The Boss’s relationship with each other, especially due to it driving all of the events that take place in the Metal Gear lore.

Trivia

 * Both in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker & Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain soldiers around your base can be occasionally heard discussing the nature of Big Boss and The Boss' relationship.
 * Big Boss inherited the title "Big Boss" only after he killed The Boss. Prior to that he was simply known as "Snake", "Jack" or "John".