Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.
And So They Were
The sun hung high above the horizon, the sight of it bringing relief and hope. Billy Coen and Rebecca Chambers collapsed on the ground, feeling – for the first time since the beginning of their hellish nightmare – safe and relaxed. They slipped off their shoes and socks; the sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing was soothing, and they could feel themselves slipping in to sleeps arms.
This feels nice, Rebecca thought drowsily as she relaxed in the grass, arms folded beneath her head. She wiggled her toes and dug them in to the ground, enjoying the feeling of the grass tickling her feet. The sun shone down on her, warming her up comfortably. Rebecca's eyes fluttered shut, blocking out the bright blue sky and cheerful clouds that filled her vision. She could feel Billy breathing beside her, slow, deep breaths. Every inhale caused his arm to brush hers, and ever exhale repeated that brief moment of pleasant contact. She could smell him too – soap, blood, and sweat and dirt. Sighing softly, Rebecca felt a smile curl her lips and she began to fall asleep.
The sudden movement of Billy beside her had Rebecca on her feet in an instant, gun drawn and ready. A glance as his face had her turning red in embarrassment, and putting away her gun. Billy raised an eyebrow at her, smirking slightly. The wind was blowing his hair in every direction. The normally perfect hair was sticking out, making Billy look wild and rather…sexy. Embarrassed for her over reaction and for staring, Rebecca turned away to stare out at the forest spread out before them. Once she was confident her blush had disappeared, Rebecca moved to stand beside Billy, who had walked to the edge of the cliff. He was staring back the way they'd come, obviously hearing the sirens and other sounds of the government speeding to the mansion Billy and Rebecca just barely escaped with their lives from. His smirk had faded, and so had his relaxed posture.
Without speaking, both knew that Billy would soon have to leave, or risk getting captured. Rebecca could feel her breath catch in her throat, and sorrow making her heart heavy. While she'd only known the cocky man for one night, they'd been through more together than most people go through in their entire lives. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to go.
But if he stayed…he'd be locked up and then executed.
Neither option was an appealing one, but what could she do? She could hardly go with him…couldn't she? She didn't have any family left, and all her team members that she'd been close to were now gone. But the very idea was preposterous! Absolutely crazy…wasn't it? Leaving with Billy meant being on the run constantly, never being able to settle down. Long nights and stress from not knowing if you were going to be caught or where you would sleep.
But…Rebecca thought, rather helplessly. A glance over at Billy's serious face made her pause. There's no guarantee he'd want me to come anyway. I've been nothing but a burden to him, and he's not going to want to have to drag me along.
Rebecca watched from the top of the hill as the cars pulled up the drive and stopped a safe distance away from the burning building. Knowing that it was better if Billy left as soon as possible, Rebecca reached out and grabbed Billy's arm. She pulled him away from the edge of the cliff, dropping his arm and watching him sadly as he turned his attention away from the people below to her.
"You…you should go soon." Rebecca managed to get out. She couldn't meet his eyes, for fear he'd be able to read the feelings that she knew were shining out of them. "It won't be long before they start searching the surrounding area, and you need to be long gone by then. Please," Rebecca added, sudden urgency filling her as she realized Billy getting caught could very well come true. "Please, leave now. If you get captured, I…"
Turning from Billy, Rebecca straightened and tried to sound as firm as possible. "Leave, while I go down and hold them off for a bit." Turning slightly so he could only see her profile, she smiled weakly. "Without me slowing you down, you should reach town by nightfall if you hurry."
No response.
Rebecca forced herself to turn the rest of the way, to face the man she'd become so very fond of. While she couldn't say she loved him – it was too soon, despite all they'd been through together – but she could honestly say she cared a great deal about him. I don't want to see him hurt, Rebecca thought as she met his blue eyes. I don't want him to be captured because of me.
"Why are you still standing here? Leave, quickly!" Rebecca said, emphasizing her words with a jerky, swinging motion of her arm. Billy reached out and grabbed hold of her hand, stilling her in one smooth move.
"Rebecca," he said quietly. He didn't seem to know what to say after that. He trailed off, staring down at their clasped hands. "How are you going to explain what happened?" He asked finally.
"Well, I…I'll say that I never saw you, and that I made it out of the mansion just in time to see the explosion happen. I'll hint that nobody could've survived that explosion, so maybe they won't search for you. Or maybe they won't search as thoroughly," Rebecca added thoughtfully.
"That might work," Billy acknowledged. He dropped her hand and took two steps towards the forest. Back facing her and head bowed, Billy seemed to struggle to say what was on his mind. "I suppose you'll go back to working for S.T.A.R.S." Billy said.
"I suppose," Rebecca said. "Although I'm not so sure that's what I want to do, now…" The reminder of what Billy had gone through – something that hadn't been his own fault, only become the scapegoat – was difficult to forget. Rebecca didn't want to become the scapegoat from this situation.
"If you…really don't feel like you could go back…" Billy trailed off again. He turned towards her and gave Rebecca the most awkward, hopefull smile she'd ever seen. "You could always come with me." Billy concluded. Suddenly realizing that sounded a bit too unmanly, Billy added, "After all, you'll need someone to look after you."
Though she knew Billy was only making an excuse for his one "weakness" as he probably thought it was, Rebecca was offended anyway. "Hey! You might've been Mr. Bad Ass in that mansion, but you got to admit you needed me, too! I saved your ass a couple of times, and who was the one to fight Dr. Marcus?" Rebecca reminded him.
Smirking, Billy cocked his head to the side. "Ah, but I saved you more times than you saved me. And you needed someone with actual physical strength to get those windows open to weaken the monster enough for you to defeat him."
"Actual physical strength…!" Rebecca growled. "I'll show you physical strength, you…you…brute!" Diving forward, Rebecca moved to punch the exasperating, annoying man. He ducked under her arm and darted toward the forest.
"Too slow, Rebecca, too slow by far!" Here he grinned wickedly over his shoulder as he disappeared in to the shadowed forest. "Catch me if you can!" Rebecca's breath caught in her throat as the image of Billy grinning like that at her, brown hair still sticking out every which way, blue eyes dancing with laughter, burned itself in to her mind.
Making a split second decision, Rebecca ran after him, leaving behind S.T.A.R.S and an empty life. Oh well, Rebecca thought. I wasn't really cut out for that job anyway. The sight of Billy running up ahead made Rebecca feel almost light headed with happiness. Laughter bubbled its way up from her chest, bursting forth like a dam breaking. It rang out in the forest, startling some birds up in the trees. Those flew from their perches, frightened by the sound of her laughter. Billy's answering laugh had them squawking in indignation and flying off for a quieter part of the forest.
Slowing to a stop and clutching a stitch in his side, Billy surrendered to Rebecca. A small smile was curling his lips, and he looked happier than Rebecca had ever seen him. She grinned unabashedly back. Billy turned to continue walking, moving purposely through the forest. Following him at a more sedate pace, Rebecca took time to enjoy the situation she was in. She felt free, lighter, and it seemed to her as if everything was brighter somehow.
The young woman smiled and bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing again as a single leaf drifted down in perfect timing to land on the head of the man in front of her. Quickening her pace, Rebecca reached up to snatch the leaf from his head.
Frowning, Billy turned with questioning eyes to Rebecca. He raised a single eyebrow and lifted his right hand to brush over his head. Finding nothing, his eyes narrowed. In response, the brown haired woman lifted the tiny yellow leaf.
"It landed on your head," Rebecca explained. A single quirk of his lips was the only response she got. Walking in silence, the ex-STARS couldn't keep the smile from her face. She twirled the leaf by its stem in her hand as she tilted her head to gaze up at the sky.
The feeling of somebody touching her hand drew her attention back down to Earth. Smiling shyly at her companion, she could almost feel her happiness in the air.
Between their clasped hands, the little yellow leaf became a sign of hope for the future.
And so they were, and always would be: together.
Note: I believe in the game it was optional as to who would fight Dr. Marcus…though I could be wrong; I don't quite remember. But my cousin and I always had Rebecca fight him, and for the purpose of this story, let's have her be the one.
My first Resident Evil fanfics... Please be kind. If you spot any mistakes, there's no need to be rude when pointing it out to me.
I apologize for the title; it was the best I could come up with.