It Never Ends
Author's note: Just want to say something quick here. This is a one-shot (obviously.) centering on Chris and Sheva (duh.) and it has emotions and romance (predictable.). I think I need some sleep or coffee; beggars can't be choosers.
This is based off the viral campaigns that were released when RE5 came out. They're cheesy, overdramatic, and the Chris actor is like half the right size, but they're like Hallmark movies in the fact that they entertain. I was inspired after I read a lot of fan fictions on the ShevaXChris fan page for DeviantArt and one particular story by RevanBodyguard that I can't remember the name of. I wanted to try my own hand at what was going on during these viral campaigns.
Alright, that is all. Read on!
It had been a long day, and it wasn't even 6pm yet. Footsteps on the cement of the abandoned building sounded throughout the establishment, offering the only sound as the two people that these steps belonged to avoided speaking with one another. The sun was racing for the horizon as the atmosphere held a chilly climate. But it had nothing to do with temperature, rather a tension between these two people—these two agents.
Looking in his peripheral, Chris could see Sheva grip her shotgun with a tense grip, her knuckles whitening under her fingerless leather gloves. He wanted to say something, maybe ask her how she was doing or if she thought the area was clear, but those options just seemed inappropriate because what he actually needed to say was an apology.
How was she supposed to say something to him? When she went to go tell him that they needed to continue on with the mission this early afternoon, she found him fully clothed in the cold water of a bathtub, holding his handgun. When she grasped his shoulder to gain his attention, he freaked and pointed the gun at her, ready to pull the trigger. It had been an awkward couple of seconds before he lowered the gun and apologized, but she could see in his tired brown eyes that something was deeply wrong. She didn't need the barrel of gun staring her in the eye to see that.
So now the awkward tension never seemed to have lifted as they surveyed the area, checking all rooms and corners of this long forgotten warehouse. After defeating Wesker and escaping Kijuju, Sheva joined the cleanup crew to sterilize the area and make sure no more Majini were left. She knew Chris would offer his help. He was a kind person and always putting his life on the line, even if he was going a little crazy now.
Josh had teamed them up to be partners again, sending them to the southern area of the infected village. And as they killed and destroyed the wandering infected, Sheva asked herself repeatedly why she wanted to be a part of this. Going back into the hellhole was like playing Russian roulette; was she going to die this time? Maybe get a parasite shoved down her throat and forced to play puppet? She was pushing her luck when she reentered the cursed village.
But as they continued on with cleanup, she realized she was doing much better than the muscle man, Chris. He didn't say much, just did what his orders were and went on. Though, maybe once or twice, or twelve times, he had what she knew was a panic attack. Whenever a Majini simply touched his neck or had him pinned, he'd pull out the shotgun, blow the Majini's brains off and then start panicking. Depending on the close proximity the infected got, Chris's attacks would last from a few seconds to ten minutes. Sheva would shout at him to calm down, but he kept chanting under his breath about something that sounded like 'they're in, I can't get out.' But most often he'd say, 'Make it stop.'
And she did want to make it stop. The way he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears frightened her but also made her question the BSAA as to why they would allow him to continue on with missions when something was obviously wrong.
No panic attack had happened today…so far. They had killed a total of 17 Majini and weren't sure how many there were left. Seeing as the place was quiet and the times they did run into infected, they were usually stragglers from what had happened before when Wesker was still alive. The south end of Kijuju was almost clear. They'd probably run into a few more infected and Josh would radio them to find shelter and get rest for the night before they started up on the next day. Sheva just hoped that there were no Majini left so Chris wouldn't flip out again.
Working up the gumption, Chris turned his head to look at the woman next to him, watching her as she tapped the first aid spray on her belt to make sure it was still there. If there was something he'd learned about Sheva, it was that she was slightly paranoid. But about the easy stuff, like first aid spray or herbs, nothing like her life was about to be taken away from her and she was going to die in the fiery pits of hell… No, she didn't worry about that. Chris was the one to be paranoid about that sort of thing.
Even though he was embarrassed to crumble in front of her when one of his episodes happened, he was thankful that she was around. If it was anyone else, they'd probably tell him to suck it up and keep going, or he'd be thrown into a loony bin. But that's what he was thankful for with Sheva; instead of telling him to get up and move, she kneeled right beside him and did her best to bring him back to reality—not that reality was much better than his panic attacks. Granted, she'd have to shout at times when the attacks got so bad, but it wasn't hateful shouts, rather desperate and concerned bellows. When he'd get back to himself and calm down, he would feel so ashamed to look her in the eye to see the scared look her hazel orbs held.
How was she dealing so well after Kijuju? He was behaving like a diabetic in a candy shop, gasping for air and waiting to be released and delve into his temptations. Though, his temptation wasn't to get a mouthful of sugar, but a mouthful of metal. He shivered when he thought of how low he had become. Sheva on the other hand, was stable with her emotions, attentive to the slightest sound of rat's pitter-pattering on the floor, aware of the slightest drift that blew through her hair, so attentive even to the point when she'd see that tick switch before Chris started crumbling. For being in the danger zone, she was calm, cool, and collected. The three C's that Chris was not.
His feet stopped in their tracks when Sheva's hand came up to signal for him to halt. And when she held two fingers out, his body shivered slightly from the signal she gave him. It meant that there was an enemy nearby and Chris could feel the presence of a panic attack creeping up his spine.
No sound filled their ears, not even their own breaths. But when they heard the distinctive sound of slurred Swahili, Chris couldn't hold back the shaky breath leaving his lungs. As he mentally told himself to stay calm and get a grip, Sheva prayed to God that he wouldn't panic before they got rid of the infected.
There seemed to only be two. Voices conversed in two rooms down from where she and Chris stood. Sheva switched her shotgun for her longbow, opting for a quiet approach rather than the booming ring of a shotgun. She thought about telling Chris to stand back and let her take it, but she knew the shame a man felt when a woman stepped up and took the lead. Not that Chris would mind her leading, that's what she was doing now, but he wouldn't allow her to go alone.
He stayed a few paces behind her with his handgun drawn at his side, pointing at the ground. Very quietly, Sheva peeked around a corner of a doorway and caught site of two male Majini grunting about something incoherent. They faced away from her, so she pulled the string on her bow, feeling the familiar brush of elastic touch her bottom lip and let the arrow fly. As one of the men fell with an arrow right through his skull, the other turned around in bewilderment but quickly turned angry. She was about to pull another arrow from behind her back when Chris's gun fired twice, both bullets meeting the other man's forehead.
A melodic sound of sighs filled the air as Sheva and Chris looked at one another. She looked relieved that that had gone so smoothly, Chris just looked to be content without being touched by one. But as Sheva was going to say something, she saw hands grasp his shoulder from behind and pulled him back. Refusing to fall back, he elbowed the figure behind him and escaped the claw like hands. His throat tightened as he heard Sheva yell for him to run. That only meant one thing. There was a horde coming.
Being in a particular stupid mood, he looked over his shoulder as he ran by Sheva, catching sight of the group that was only so far behind them. His legs cramped by the sight of about ten Majini running for them, but he inwardly screamed for his legs to move and get him away from the predators.
The air whizzed and whistled in her ear as she ran like the wind, making sure that she wouldn't trip and fall, just like in the movies. As they were approaching the last room at end of the hall, Sheva yelled for Chris to shut the door as soon as they got in as she was preparing her shotgun. He made sure she went through the threshold first, twisting back around to grab the door but ducked when Sheva ordered him to. The blast from the shotgun was a familiar sound; familiar like the sound of a heartbeat to a doctor. Why couldn't he become a doctor instead of this? Oh yeah, he wanted to save the world. Good thinking.
He slammed the door shut when he saw the first three Majini in the crowd fall back from the blow of the shotgun. Sheva was already tipping a bookcase over to barricade the door, leading Chris to shove a heavy military desk right behind the bookcase.
"It won't last forever, but it'll buy us some time," Sheva muttered as she took deep breathes. She looked over her shoulder at him when he didn't respond, finding that his eyes were wide and he seemed to stop breathing. Attaching the shotgun to her back, she approached him slowly, making sure not to scare him or push him over the edge. But before she could say anything, he spoke first.
"I'm fine," he droned, grabbing for his SMG.
She was going to say something when once again she was interrupted with a loud bang at the door. Cursing silently, she grabbed a grenade. Chris watched as she stood on top of another desk and began climbing onto the next floor above through the large hole in the ceiling. This place was really abandoned and forgotten with all the holey walls and floors. When she made sure nothing was on the floor with her, she reached her hand down for Chris to grab onto. He didn't until he was almost standing, though. Letting go of her hand, he looked around to find they were alone, but soon heard below the door fall off its hinges and the infected started screaming that their prey was no longer there.
He took a step back when Sheva threw the grenade below and dodged away from the weak floor she stood on. A huge blast exploded below them, making their floor vibrate slightly with the waves of the grenade's detonation. Simply hearing, the two agents could hear that only about six were left alive. Receiving another grenade from Chris, Sheva tossed it down and covered her ears as the blast invaded her eardrums again. Now there were two left.
As Sheva readied her hand gun, she could see one through the hole in the floor. Letting out a steady breath, she pulled the trigger and eliminated the Majini below. She was about to shoot the next one who was off to the side when suddenly the floor beneath her feet gave out. A screech tore from her vocal cords as she fell with the floor, landing on her bum, but part of the shattered floor fell onto her right leg. The pain shot through her body immediately and a sound of agony passed her clenched teeth. When she heard the last Majini shout, she looked up and only saw the axe coming for her face.
Her eyes shut, waiting for the fatal hit, but when she heard a gunshot, she squinted an eye open to see the infected with the axe dead on the floor, motionless. Hearing the sound of a thunk, she looked to see Chris jumping down from the desk that they had just climbed up from. Instantly, she held her hands on both sides of the rubble on her leg, but her arms were too weak to lift the broken cement.
"Let me do it, Sheva," Chris offered with a quiet voice as he lifted the rubble easily. The cement hit another part of the room and Chris turned back to look at her. But instead of seeing her stand up like he expected, he caught sight of a small red spot on her leg pant. Silently freaking out, he got to his knees and gently laid a hand on her knee.
She could see the scared look in his eyes, and the way he gulped she knew that an attack was coming. Grabbing ahold of his hand, she called his name. "Chris, I'm okay. Nothings broken, see?" She wiggled her foot around and lifted her knee to a slight angle to show him she was in working order. "Just a few scratches and a little achy. I'm okay, though."
Blood. Even the smallest patch of it scared him more than it had ever. Images ran through his head of blood on his hands, dead locals piled around, the sound of Wesker talking in his nasally voice. His mind raced as his hands shook, the panic attack quickly approaching him.
"Chris?" Sheva whispered his name, knowing what was about to happen.
Eyes sealing shut tight, hands clenching at his sides, the mumbled words began falling from his lips. He could hear Sheva's voice calling him, but the imminent images of dead bodies and flying infected began invading his mind.
"Chris, look at me," she demanded, moving to sit with her legs folded to the side as the man in front of her began to crumble. "Christopher, look at me. Please."
"They're in, I can't get out," he murmured, falling into the recesses of his fears. "Make it stop," he begged. As Sheva's voice got louder, so did the bellowing of the Majini, taunting him and looking for blood.
Her knee throbbed as she brought both her hands to the sides of his head, holding him firmly with her thumbs on his temples. She pressed gently into his skin with her thumbs and called out to him some more. He repeated 'make it stop' as she pleaded with him to look at her. When she knew that this was a big panic attack, as if the previous ones were leading up to this, she thought of a way to bring him out before he fell into the dark and never-ending abyss.
Calling his name wasn't doing anything, shooting at the floor would just scare him more, so it left little choices for her to pick. When he called out to her, her heart broke.
"Make it stop, Sheva," he prayed for her.
Out of decent ideas, there was one left that she was nervous to do. However, when he besought for her again, she pushed the nerves away and went in for the kill. Before he could say anymore, she silenced him with her lips as she met his own in an awkward kiss. He was stiff for a few moments, but when she was about to pull away, he kissed her back and let her hold him. She pulled away when his shaking lessened and when he sighed contently.
"There's no Majini, Chris," she told him, stroking his cheek. His brows furrowed in protest, as if he didn't believe her. Telling him to finally look at her, he did so and met her tender gaze. "Nothing's coming after you. You're safe and alive. I'm right here with you, okay?"
"Promise?" he enquired, moving his stare to her lips.
"I promise. Nothing will happen to you."
"You either, right?"
She chuckled softly, brushing her nose against his. "Me either. We'll be okay."
His entire body sighed in relief, his bones settling in calmness as she reassured him. Danger would be right next to them no matter what, but if she said they'd be okay, then he believed her. As she ran her fingers through his hair, he wondered how much longer this cleanup would last and what would happen after. Would they still be partners? Would they still talk if they were separated? Had something major just happened between them? The only question he could answer was the last. Yes, something had just happened and it was very important and significant, and he was on board with her.
As she was checking her leg out, he asked her, "So what does this mean? I mean, between us?" What could he say? He was eager to find out.
She thought for a moment, knowing that it was driving him mad. "Well, I did it to get you to calm down. But I admit that I'd been thinking about kissing you for a while."
He laughed for the first time in days, maybe weeks. It felt good but also strange as his body actually shook out of joy and not claustrophobic fear. She smiled at him, happy to see him in lighter moods. His gaze fell back to her lips and he found himself leaning to her. But before he met her lips, he thought it'd be good to ask after all she was doing for him.
"Can I kiss you?" he quietly asked, slightly shy of her response.
Butterflies flew about in her stomach when he asked her. No boy or man had ever asked if he could kiss her. It was sweet, new, and exciting all at once. "Of course you can."
And he did, softly and tenderly, embracing her small body and the moment they shared. His panic attacks weren't gone forever and the fear would always be taunting him, but he had someone with him. And as their lips meshed together, he now realized that he always had someone with him. She just so happened to be in Africa the whole time, unconsciously waiting for him like he had for her. Life was hard, but it wasn't bad now that he had something to fight for. Something to look forward to. Something to live for.
Author's note: Annnnd cut! As we conclude our one-shot and awe over the lover's blossoming into something sweet and gag worthy ('All But Forgotten' reference; Claire's words, not mine. Oh, wait a minute…), I want to thank you for reading. I hope it 'twas a good read and satisfying, even though Chris was a cry baby in this one. But in those viral campaigns, they made Chris look like a little b-word with all that sad stuff. But I like them nonetheless and glad that they can inspire stories.
Please let me know what you thought with a review, I'd most grateful. Seriously, I smile like a little school girl when I'm reading your reviews and it brings me happiness. :)
-Sarai