Mine to Claim
Chapter One - Changes
fResident Evil fanfic

The soft sound of typing could be heard throughout the room. Only the glow coming from the computer screen was seen in the otherwise dark room. A pair of gloved hands effortlessly moving back and forth across the keyboard seeming to make quick work of the files open as the mouse darted around the screen both closing and bringing hidden windows to the forefront of attention. Occasionally, there would be a small pause in the steady rhythm. For a moment the room would go completely silent before the clicking of the keys started again. Black sunglasses were set down beside the screen during one of these moments of silence.

The pauses weren't because the figure typing was thinking. No, he was listening to his surroundings. For a signal that his efforts have not been a waste, but each time he stopped to listen there was only silence whispering in his ear. How long would it take? It should have happened already, shouldn't it?

The man turned his head cracking his neck followed by a roll of the shoulder. Patience was required for this part. That was the only problem with lab tests. They couldn't predict how long of a wait he was in for. A test tub was one thing but the body was another, especially one that belonged to such a stubborn subject.

It didn't matter how long it took…

All that matter was that it worked…

The chair swiveled as the man turned to stand. A hand came up to smooth back the blonde locks atop his head as the man moved away from the computer to the other side of the room. Pulling another chair from the wall he sat by the side of a bed.

More silence followed, crimson gold eyes turned to the heart monitor on the left and the flat line that seemed to taunt him fearlessly. Those inhuman orbs stared back and while the man's face was expressionless, as if nothing fazed him, those eyes showed something darker.

Stripping off a glove, long elegant fingers traced the wires from the machine to the electrodes placed across another body that lay on the bed before him. Though it was dark his eyes took in what little light like an animal's, allowing him to see remarkably well. But he didn't to see… not for this. He knew this body perfectly as it belonged to the single best example of how strong, and annoying, a human's will to survive could be.

The sheets of the bed were pulled down to the body's waist. This was to fully see the extent of the chest. Those watchful eyes studied the exposed torso closely and fingers moved from the wires to follow the lines of all the well-toned muscles. They paused at the center and a smirk crossed the man's features.

Why? This was the first sign that all the waiting would pay off. Fingers touched the spot and the man tilted his head almost seeming to recall a distance memory.

He remembered being in a similar situation once, it had been unpleasant but necessary. Now he was in the position to see the act first hand without any distractions.

His hand ghosted up the body to the throat, grasping it tightly for a moment before letting go and feeling the pulse point. Still nothing, how frustrating.

"It would seem that even in death you delay the inevitable." The words rolled off his tongue smoothly with the subtlety of an accent. Arrogant, confident, cryptic, seductive… dangerous were just a few undertones that together made up that potent poison for the ears.

Eye traveling to that peaceful expression on the other's face, it brought a sense of triumph knowing the owner of the body was finally silent and could cause no more trouble. The encounter that had ended that life, for the moment, kept replaying in his mind over and over like a favorite day dream. Indeed, it was something long overdue after all the carefully laid plans that were dashed, after all the times he had this one within his grasp only to lose sight of his target through some stroke of bad luck… there he had been, standing over the body of his fallen rival.

Standing suddenly he turned away tired of the silence that had been pleasant at first but now was beginning to chafe that seemingly endless patience he possessed. Never in his life did he think the day would come where he actually wanted to hear that voice again. The blonde left the room for a moment only to return within a few minutes with a fresh bottle of water.

Sitting back at the computer he went back to work going through status reports. Stage one was completed and on schedule no less, but there was still so much to be done. He should be out seeing that all the preparations were going according to plan, checking the status of the surface. The list seemed endless, but it all had to wait. He didn't dare leave the room for too long.

Valves deep inside the dormant chest opened but nothing moved.

…lub…

The valves opened again and this time the whole right heart pumped but the lungs weren't functioning yet. Without the lungs exchanging gas, ...the circuit was left incomplete.

…lub…

The muscles clenched again with the added force of the veins that brought the blood to the heart for oxygenation put more pressure for the lungs to start.

…dub….

Then suddenly the left heart started pushing what blood it still contained out into the body via the arteries.

…lub-dub…

The two sides pushed together restoring blood circulation. All that was left was those damned lungs, without which the brain wouldn't be able to come back and the reactivating muscles would starve soon after life was restored. All that seemed to be left was for the heart to keep pressuring the lungs with rising carbon dioxide levels.

…lub-dub…

Fingers twitched as blood arrived to the cool flesh. Throughout the upper body muscles moved as if jabbed by unseen hands. As expected, the muscles almost immediately started to suffocate. There wasn't any way around it, without air the body was doomed to a short rebirth.

…lub-dub…

Air was sucked in through still lips filling the lungs to nearly full capacity. Not sure what made them function out of the blue, but now there was nothing stopping the brain from coming alive again.

Revival at this point was mostly focused on everything above the waist. Something within the flesh seemed to concentrate on the body's core knowing that the arms and legs could take care of themselves. Once heat was generated within the chest everything else would follow.

…lub-dub…

The face that had been so serene in death's embrace stirred.

…lub-dub…

Arms clutched the sheets as the head shot up off the bed. Eyes wide open as the chest heaved heavily as if coming up from being held under water. The sudden increased air flow made the heart speed up.

The crackle of plastic called for a pause from the blonde at the computer. His eyes shifted to the water bottle next to him but it was as he left it. The crackle continued until it was followed by a soft thud.

Cat like eyes slowly turned to the heart monitor. They narrowed at the sight of the once flat line now rising in steady waves. He could see a crushed water bottle on the floor; it had been forgotten during a previous session of waiting by the bed.

From the floor those eyes followed the wires from the heart monitor to the bed where a pleasant surprise stared back at him. The previously still body was now sitting up supported on one arm while the other flexed experimentally, testing dormant muscles and nerve endings.

The eyes on the awakened man were staring off in the blonde's direction but they weren't really looking at him. He only knew that by the constant blinking and narrowing of the other's eyes.

He's trying to focus, he thought to himself taking in the sight. It was a little disappointing really. During his own awakening his senses hadn't been so delayed coming back. The corner of his mouth twitched, Still so slow to catch on, aren't you…

"Chris…"

Unfocused eyes darted to meet his and he saw in satisfaction the fog burn off leaving those orbs clear and sharp. He remembered those eyes very well and all the emotions that had flashed in them over the years. Already he could see the change taking effect on them. What he remembered to be a rich shade of brown was bleeding to a more animalistic golden hue and the pupil shifted to become elliptical.

There was something unsettling about the way they watched him. It was hard to pinpoint but this man, Chris, was giving him a look he'd never seen before, unsure of the surroundings and yet completely dangerous. The man at the computer gave a low growl as a realization hit him.

It wasn't Chris watching him at all. If it had been, the silence would have been over long ago. This could very well complicate things. If it wasn't Chris then what was it? He looked back at the water bottle on the floor then to the one as his side. Taking notice of how those gold eyes followed his gaze and seemed to take interest on the bottle. Picking it up he started to unscrew the cap and brought the mouth of the bottle to his lips. His observer seemed to visible tense at the sight, mouth opening as if to say something before closing again.

He gestured with his other hand at the bottle, "You want this?" He asked tipping the bottle up and taking some of the fluid into his mouth but not swallowing. He was answered with silence and glare from his onlooker.

Standing he made his way back over to the chair he'd been in moments ago, keeping in mind to move slowly so not to stir up Chris. The closer he got the more he seemed to notice more about this man. For starters, even though Chris was sitting up mostly his legs seemed to be immobile or this 'Chris' didn't know how to move them.

As he sat down again he noted the other leaning away while giving him a suspicious look. The man tilted his head to one side watching the creature in front of him. Those new gold of eyes looked at him like a child would, so unsure of whether or not they were on the same side.

Water sloshed around as the bottle was held out just enough to communicate the offer. Chris looked down at the bottle but was hesitant to take it. Perhaps there was more of the real Chris behind those glowing orbs than originally thought.

A hand rose up from the bed poised to take the bottle as the arm acting to support the torso from falling over shuffled behind the back.

The hand shot out and took hold… of the blonde's collar.

Irritation flashed his eyes but kept his expression schooled. Their eyes met for a moment and he got the sense that Chris was under the belief there was more to be had then what was shown. With a not so gentle yank he was pulled forward.

A very hungry mouth crashed into him and he was met with a prying tongue running over the line of his lips wanting to be let in. It took a bit of time but soon the tongue was pushing its way into the other's mouth. Once opened Chris started draining off the water that was still within the other man's mouth.

While the sudden turn of events had been unexpected to say the least, he refused to let that bother him. Harder then it sounded considering he had the tongue of his rival forcing its way into his mouth. What was more confusing was his own reaction. On contact it was like something inside him just rushed to the surface whispering from the back of his mind 'give him what he wants, feed it, nurture it'.

This 'Chris' was nothing but the virus in control. Now that the body had come back from the brink of annihilation all those annoying limitations came back in full force. Right now the virus was trying to deal with the worst of them all, complete dehydration, by taking in as much fluid as it could to redress the balance.

Even if it meant taking it from someone else's mouth.

Deciding that this moment had gone on quite long enough he tried to pull his head back and when this didn't work he bit the offending tongue hard. Chris hissed withdrawing immediately as a trickle of blood ran down his chin. Gold eyes glared at the other darkly before snatching the bottle of water away and shoving the other back into his chair.

The blonde growled as well at the rough treatment. Reaching up he wiped his mouth and spat to the side trying to the other's taste out of his mouth.

The crackle of plastic returned as Chris downing the precious fluid in a greedy fashion. A drop escaped following the path the drop of blood had left on the skin. They two mingled for a while before dripping down the man's chest, weaving between the electrodes still stuck to him.

The bottle fell from Chris's lips with a relieved sigh. It was such a wonderful feeling of the cold liquid running down the throat and into his stomach leaving a pleasantly cool sensation in its wake. His eyes were somewhere between half lidded and closed just enjoying the feeling through his body. Leaning back Chris fell back into his original position on the pillow.

Looking at the heart monitor the blonde could see that Chris had gone back to sleep by the slowing of his heart rate. Standing up he moved back to the computer staring at the screen for a moment before opening another document and resumed typing.

The waiting game had started again it seemed. At least now he knew Chris would eventually wake up as planned.

If that was the case though then he should cherish the silence while it lasted.

And there you have it!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
You have no idea how scared I've been about posting this. I apologize if this chapter was a little hard to read. I am in the habit of not saying a character's name until someone else within the story says it first.

This is my version of what COULD have happened in RE5 if Capcom hadn't been hell bent on killing Wesker. Chapter 2 will explain how all this all happened. Keep in mind this will be a WeskerxChris story so if you don't like that pairing please go somewhere else.

Thank you to Rheth-Sheth and MyraHellsing for helping me edit this.