July 2014

First meeting

Chris remembers way back when they met, when Chris was just starting to feel tired of the gig and losing people at 36 and Piers was barely 21, eager to remind him of what Chris would be losing were he to give up the life of a military man. Not that the B.S.A.A. would have wanted to hear if it if Chris tried anyway, they were the ones constantly pushing him to find new recruits. That was when and where Piers came in - young and ambitious, dedicated and ready to serve under Chris with overwhelming loyalty.

"I know I don't have much prior training" Piers had said, eyes boring into Chris', firm and fierce in their intensity "But I am ready to remedy that over and over until I am your equal in combat, captain."

Chris hadn't really bothered to remind Piers then that he still wasn't his captain. What the point in that have been when he fully intended to recruit Piers that very night, with a phonecall short and sweet enough to make you wonder if it had actually happened. Chris had been in the middle of following formal B.S.A.A procedures when his question of whether or not Piers wanted to join had been interrupted by a cheeky "Of course, captain Redfield, I am surprised you have any doubts about my wanting this. I thought I'd made it clear I don't want anything more than I want this." Chris had scoffed under his nose at his own inability to argue with that. If the kid was arching for a life mission, who was Chris to deny him one.

First Moment

Chris remembers when Piers had come to save him from his miserable life in Edonia. He even remembers not remembering any of his past at that point. Chris remembers living an empty life and the role Piers played in pushing him back into working for the B.S.A.A. The kid was relentless and harsh in his successful attempts to make Chris snap out of his haze of self pity and drinking, always ready to call him out on his bull shit. There was no question that Chris admired Piers' determination as much as he loathed it at that time. Now he just admires it. Piers had saved him from himself then, and in the following weeks had repeatedly saved him from himself over and over at the expense of his own pride and ego. Looking back at their time in China now, Chris wonders how come a kid of 25 was better able to manage his emotions than Chris himself was.

He sometimes wonders how he would have held onto his sanity had it not been for Piers' constant reminders of the man Chris was supposed to be - "the great Chris Redfield". The young man had forced Chris to acknowledge the duty he had to his team, to their mission, the duty he had to himself to leave the messy drunk behind in Edonia and to move on to be a captain focused and responsible enough to follow through.

And he had followed through, hadn't he? Ada Wong was defeated, even as she left questions unanswered behind, Haos was defeated, as impossible as it may have seemed at one point to do so. Chris remembers having a better grasp of his priorities during Piers' sacrifice and often ponders what more he could have done to save his partner. How much kinder he should have been to Piers in those last moments, or perhaps how much angrier. To this very day, he doesn't know if the kid needed to be ordered into surviving, tricked into it, or seduced. What approach could have Chris taken at that faithful moment to have Piers join him into the escape pod.

First Kiss

Chris remembers wanting to make his move at many points during their serving together, especially in China. Piers had pushed his buttons in more ways than one, and definitely more than any of his previous partners had. The kid had seemed to know exactly what to say and how to say it to make Chris' blood boil, and what was worse - or better? - was that Piers didn't seem to care about how unsettled it made his captain. He was so hell bent on making Chris step up to the plate and become the captain he should have been that, it had been beyond challenging for Chris to keep his cool and not do something rash and reckless to his partner, his own image be damned.

When they fought, and those fights were plenty during their mission in China, Chris had wanted nothing more than to fit all the pieces together with Piers' help. And that included more than fighting side by side, Piers probably knew so himself, but had never tried anything either. In the moments tensions were highest between them, and everything seemed almost to be bursting through the seams, Chris had been the closest to losing it. That was probably why he had been harsher with Piers than he'd been with any of his other men. He can admit now that he had used his position as captain to try to put the younger man in his place, to calm his strong spirit, and even to submit him. And somehow Piers had managed to stay as grounded and fierce, somewhat of a walking contradiction, through all of it, until the very end.

And yet, despite everything that had happened, nothing had happened between them at the time. Chris likes to imagine how things could have panned out if he had kissed Piers while they were pursuing the giant snake, or after they'd lost Marco, or after Ada was no more, or even just after Piers infected himself with the virus. Chris wonders if their story would be somehow different had he acted upon his other instincts besides the ones to serve, protect and even kill in the name of their mission.

"Still wondering about what could have been, captain?" the familiar voice asks behind him and Chris finally snaps out of his wandering thoughts. He turns to face his old partner.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that anymore?" Chris draws his lips together tight to demonstrate his displeasure, even as his resove crumbles and his gaze show he doesn't really mind it.

"And how many times have I told you that I like to stay connected to the past just as much as you do?" Piers' lips are curled into his unique smirk, green eyes glinting as they size Chris up. He steps closer to where Chris is sitting in front of his desk and nudges his shoulder pointedly. Automatically, Chris pushes his chair back enough to make room for Piers to seat himself in his lap sideways and facing him, his better arm making its way around Chris' shoulders smoothly. Chris takes the moment to scan his gaze over Piers face and body, the habbit of making sure Piers is okay and not about to fall apart into his hands hard to shake.

Piers hasn't changed that much, even if he isn't the same as he was before injecting himself with the virus. Whatever the B.S.A.A. did has now meshed well with the C-virus, all things considered, even if many aspects of the mutation are still evident, be it in the shape of fading scares across Pier's face, arm and chest. Chris notices improvement every month, if not every week, and that is really the best they could have hoped for.

"Hey, don't drift away on me again now." Piers demands softly, fingers training over Chris' stomach from over his shirts. "Still wallowing in guilt?" he questions, frowning as he gazes at Chris, demanding an answer.

Chris is silent for a while, eyes still inspecting Piers' face. It's difficult for him to relate how he feels to his partner without giving Piers a reason to snap and lecture him again on how things have turned out in a way that they can both live with, and live happily even too. Finally, he answers the younger man.

"It isn't guilt that makes me look back on China so often, or at least not guilt predominantly." Piers huffs under his breath and nods shortly at this, his hand petting the back of Chris' neck warmly, but the expression on his face serious as it can be, jaw set firm as he listens to Chris continue.

"It is my sense of responsibility for you, for us" Chris gestures vaguely, trying to illustrate his point. "What happened in China, what was happening with you after... it is not easily forgotten.." He trails off and grits his teeth together, memories of Piers struggling with his mutation for months overwhelming him briefly.

Piers chimes in then "Unless you smack your head on concrete again and leave me searching for you for another six months." he grins at Chris, almost managing to fool him about not caring a weight about what had happened to them himself. Chris grabs him by the neck and pulls him in for a rough kiss, lips mashed together firmly for a long moment, a reminder of their reality now and not what had been. When they pull apart, Piers is panting slightly, his usually bright green eyes now darker and hooded. He adjusts on Chris' lap as the older man's hands settle on his thighs.

"I know we won't forget." Chris mutters, squeezing Piers some in his urge to keep his partner close, protected from everything and everyone who means him harm.

"And I don't see why we should." Piers adds, resting his hand on top of Chris' and squeezing it. His right arm still doesn't function as well as the left one, but he's getting there - he has already been talking about returning to the B.S.A.A to serve, giving Chris mini panic attacks each time. "Each of those events pushed us closer to where we are now, to how we are now. They are a part of our story." The younger man explains, his grip on Chris now surprisingly strong. Chris raises his gaze to meet Piers'.

"Our story..." he whispers, and finds himself unable to keep a smile from forming on his face. "Yes, I like that." Piers nods, leaning in for a short kiss. "Me too." he says against Chris' lips and for a moment Chris doesn't remember so much of the bad stuff.