Eclipse

Summary: He was there at the beginning of it all, and now his world is finally crashing down. He needs the help that no one seems able to give. Almost no one. Chris/Leon.

Rating: T

Genre: Horror/Romance/Angst

Pairings: Chris/Leon, mentions of Claire/Leon and Jill/Chris

Time: This is set before RE 6, and right after the events of RE 5.

A/N I accidentally deleted this chapter from the site and didn't even realize it until today. My apologies. Thanks to all who PMed me to let me know! The next chapter will be up soon as well, and I apologize for the repost! :)

It seemed like time would never move forward again. He was stuck, like a clock with dead batteries, just constantly fixated in perfect stillness. The days may have passed and the year may have changed but there was simply no movement of anything meaningful. He woke up and did his job and came back to his one bedroom apartment, sitting on the couch and staring into the vast nothingness of his blank television screen. The cable had been shut off months ago when he failed to get out of bed and pay the bill. There was money, that was no problem, but there was no desire to see the fakeness of the news reports, the laughable action shows where the lead always smiles at the end. That wasn't reality.

To Chris Redfield it seemed like nothing in the world was real any longer. The life that pulsated around him seemed dull and forced, he barely took notice of anyone and never spoke to anyone save for what was needed to be polite. Reality was a ruse, a toy that could be played with by those in power. He knew what the reality was, that they were always moments away from possible biological warfare, that there were creatures that were worse than zombies, creatures that could run and fight. The typical stranger on the street had no clue, absolutely no idea just how fragile this perfection of regular life was. He knew. He wished he didn't.

The stillness of the apartment was broken by a sudden loud chirping noise that echoed off the bare walls.

"Shit!" he cursed, his skin breaking out into a light sweat and his heart hammering in his chest. He grabbed at the bulge in his pocket, sighing with relief. He pulled out the cell phone and opened it. "Whoever this is you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Don't you ever look at the caller ID before you pick up a call?" he heard the voice of his sister Claire say impatiently.

"Caller ID? This thing was made years ago, you really think it has caller ID?"

"Whatever. Maybe you should get a phone from this century then it wouldn't be such a problem." She sighed heavily. If there was one thing that was not in Chris Redfield's repertoire it was technology. He wasn't as up to date as he probably should have been. He was born in a time when you still had to use pay phones. Practically a Neanderthal.

"Yeah yeah, what do you want? You never call me on a Sunday." There was a long pause that was filled with tension. He could tell he was obviously forgetting something important and was trying to rack his brains for any inkling of what it was.

"You forgot to call me on my birthday." She finally said, her voice full of disappointment.

"Shit Claire, I'm so sorry. It's just, fuck, you know. I'm sorry. Happy belated birthday." He tried to muster up enough enthusiasm to get her off of his back. If Claire was known for one thing it was being somewhat of a hothead. He could practically feel the anger radiating through the phone.

"Shut up Chris, you don't even care. I'm so sick of this, just snap out of it. Wesker is dead; you would think that you'd be happy!" She shouted into the phone. He sighed and slumped down further into the couch. He knew she was right. What was there to be unhappy about? "Just listen, come to dinner tonight to make it up to me. It'll just be me and you and Leon."

"Leon? Why the fuck would he be there?" he asked sternly. He hadn't met the man in person yet but from everything he had heard he didn't really want to. Leon was some big government hot shot with a reputation as a total man whore, leaving mutant corpses as well as dropped panties in his wake. Chris felt anger rising in him. The fact that he helped his sister during Raccoon City didn't mean he had to like the man. "Listen Claire I don't like the kid, I don't like his stupid fucking hair, I don't like his shitty attitude, and if he so much as laid one finger –"

"Chill Chris! Jesus, I haven't even seen him in years and you've never even met him. He's back in the States just for a week before he has to go back to Spain, can you just calm down and have dinner? If it's just me and Leon he might think it's a date!"

"Is it a date?"

"No, maybe.. I don't know. Please just come with us so it won't be weird!" she begged. That was the trigger; he was no use when it came to his baby sister begging for his help. He sighed loud enough for her to hear.

"Fine, time and place?"

"Eight. Eclipse Lounge."

"Ah man, I have to dress up for this don't I?" he asked as she laughed at him. He was definitely not prepared for this. He hated eating out, especially at fancy restaurants where the waiters walked around pouring your wine and feeding you fine cheese. They said their good-byes and Chris stared at the ceiling, hoping that the phone call was just a dream and he wouldn't have to go. Of course he wasn't that lucky.

He stood in front of the restaurant in the best outfit he could find, a dark pair of jeans and a button down shirt that was missing two of the buttons. At least I put on deodorant. He walked into the Eclipse Lounge, already hating the place. It was a swanky affair, a restaurant with the lights so dim that you need a flashlight to see anything. He was late, of course, and so he asked the host if he knew where he was supposed to be sitting.

"Oh, you know we have a dress code, sir? I am sorry but I do not think that is acceptable." The host said smugly, looking at Chris up and down. Chris was already in a foul mood and this was not helping the situation at all.

"Listen, asshole, tell me where I'm supposed to be sitting and I won't tip over the wine cabinet and cause a damn scene. Please." He said lowly, under his breath. He really didn't want to follow through on this promise so he was very thankful when the host muttered something in French and then lead Chris to his sister's table. He turned the corner and was met with a hug from his sister who was wearing a low cut red dress.

"Claire, is all that really necessary?" he said and looked disapprovingly at his sisters cleavage. He of course would have preferred her in a Nun's habit but that was under the question. She declined to answer and instead stepped to the side.

"Chris, this is Leon. He helped save my life so be nice to him."

"Hello Chris." Came a low, icy voice. Leon S. Kennedy stepped up to him and Chris was taken aback by the kid. He had expected the same slightly scrawny guy that Claire had described and that was far from what Leon was. He was shorter than Chris but still tall and imposing, and in his tight black buttoned shirt he could see the outline of the sinewy muscle that lay there ready to snap. His icy blue-grey eyes looked him up and down and seemed to be mocking him. His mouth settled in a sly smile as he shook Chris' hand.

"Leon." He nodded at him and then they all sat down. Claire was settled in between them in the C shaped booth. They ordered their main courses and Claire and Leon made idle chat while Chris was sitting and hating every minute of this 'date'. He watched Leon like a hawk, vowing to break his neck if he laid one paw on his sister. He never touched her though, and through all the dinner and desserts he never so much as looked at her. Chris became frustrated, wondering what the kid was all about. Maybe he's just scared because her brother is here? He thought, wondering what plan Leon had in store.

"Well excuse me boys but I'm going to the ladies' room." Claire said as Leon stood up so she could slide by. The kid sat back down and Chris watched to make sure that Leon didn't look at his sister's backside while she walked away.

"You don't like me, do you?" Leon said, taking a sip of his drink and eyeing Chris coolly.

"Not particularly. I'm sure the feeling is mutual." Chris said as Leon laughed softly and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it on the table, sliding over next to Chris. Chris could smell his cologne, something woodsy and probably expensive. He was very aware of the kid's thigh pressing against his under the table. "What are you doing?" he asked, wanting to move away but he couldn't. Leon looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"Bringing you a job offer. Trust me I didn't want to do it, but we need the help." He said as he pushed the paper towards Chris. It was a small map of some area in Spain, along with words in Spanish that he clearly couldn't understand. He looked at it quickly, noticing that there were names on the list that were crossed out.

"What happened to those people?" he asked, pointing to the names. Leon leaned slightly closer, and Chris noticed that even his breath smelled good, like vanilla.

"Well to make a long story short, those are the deceased. We sent them in and they didn't make it. That's why I'm here to talk to you. As much as I hate to say it, we need you. The President has requested you personally."

"And what exactly is going on?"

"Well I can only tell you so much. There is an outbreak in a small village in Spain of something similar to the T-virus but it's much worse. The infected can maintain their intelligence for a small amount of time and once that window is closed they grow in size and strength. They can run, they can drive, they can fire a weapon. We need to find what is creating this mutation and stop it." Leon said, inches away from Chris' face. Chris was breathing heavily, his heart beating heavy in his chest.

"I'm not sure if I can do this Leon, not after Africa."

"You have to do it. If not it may spread and you know what that means. The President thinks I can't do this on my own and so he's asked for your help. I definitely wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't being forced." Leon said, grimacing. It was obvious that he didn't want to be doing this at all, didn't want to be going back into battle. They had done it for so long and Chris was so tired of it all. "Listen Chris, I know. Trust me, I know. Your bones hurt every hour of every day and every night when you close your eyes you see all of the death and decay. You can't ever rest and no one understands. I hate it too, but this is what we do." He said as he stared at Chris, a look of intensity in his eyes. Chris was stunned, amazed at how much Leon had hit the nail on the head. He was right, that was exactly what he saw every night and he thought no one else could possibly understand. He sighed, knowing that he was once again going to go into battle. Leon was right, this was what people like them did. There was no escaping it and if he was honest to himself he was actually looking forward to this type of action. Still, he had to mess with the kid.

"And if I say no?"

"Well if you say no then this night will end and I won't talk to you ever again." The younger man stated, folding up the paper and tucking it back into his pocket. He cleared his throat. "Of course then I would also have to fuck your sister."

Before Chris even knew what happened he had already reached out and punched Leon square in the jaw, knocking the younger man to the floor and spilling their drinks off the table. He stood and paced towards Leon who was still lying on the floor, smiling goofily and staring up at the much larger Chris. The tiny waiter came up and tapped Chris on the arm, meekly asking him to stop. Chris brushed him off and knelt, grabbing Leon's collar. As he lifted him up slightly off the ground he could feel how heavy Leon was and Chris knew that he was much larger than he had originally given him credit for. They probably would have had a pretty good fight if they wanted. I would still win he thought as he looked down at Leon.

"Fine, I'll go. Meet me at my place tomorrow, noon. We'll go over things. And leave my sister alone or so help me God I will kill you." He dropped Leon to the ground and began to walk away. He could hear Claire finally returning from the bathroom and calling out his name. He didn't turn around and instead walked out the door.

Well this is it. I'm going back in. There's no escape. There will never be any escape. One fight after the next, I don't even know how to live any more he thought as he walked to his car, the warm night air blowing lazily around him, the leaves on the trees swaying slightly, as if waving good bye.

A/n please review! Thanks!