Here's the next 10 prompts, up a lot sooner than I expected XD Extra thanks to Katie for being my editor and making sure these aren't too terrible before I post them XD Sometimes there will be another section with a (2), ect. next to them- that just means I was probably unsatisfied with my first attempt and made another hehe. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Also, my AU Wesker wears normal glasses instead of sunglasses everywhere XD
11. Memory
When Chris brought down the dusty old photo album, Albert thought nothing of it. When Chris brought a few of his childhood photos up for him to see, Albert thought twice about it. He stared at his ten-year-old self with curious eyes, wondering at himself silently. Chris grinned as he sorted through more photos, pleased with himself for discovering such a treasure.
"So you are naturally blond," he mused, dragging Albert's attention back to the present. He scowled over at Chris halfheartedly and turned back to his paperwork, already forgetting the last couple seconds. Chris continued to shuffle through the little windows of Albert's life until something caught his attention and made him freeze. He peered closer, unsure if it was just his eyes playing tricks on him or a smudge on the photo.
"Albert, that's me!" He blurted out, thrusting the picture in the blond's face while pointing frantically at one of the children in the background. "That's me and there's Claire, and mom and dad!" His curiosity officially stirred, Albert peered down at the photo critically.
"It...certainly does look like you," he mused.
"It's me, I'm sure of it!" Chris insisted. "I remember because Claire got her gum stuck in her hair that day and threw a fit! And we haven't been to that park in years..."
Albert recalled his own time at that particular park, trying to remember if he noticed Chris while he was there. He couldn't quite remember seeing the brunette, but it didn't matter much; all the mattered was Chris was here now and they had a whole new interesting story to share later.
12. Insanity (cont. from Innocence)
When Chris' eyes snapped open in the dark room, he was terrified that he had awoken into yet another nightmare. He twisted almost violently in the blankets and found himself in Albert's arms, said blond sleeping beside him. When he reached out and touched him, his blood froze; Albert was ice cold and Chris realized he wasn't breathing. A thin wail escaped the brunette as he drew Albert into his embrace, trying his hardest to get him to wake up. Tears soaked through the fabric of the blond's shirt as Chris frantically searched for any sign of life but came up empty-handed.
In the waking world, Albert struggled to wake Chris up. The brunette was clawing feverishly at the blonds clothes, eyes wide and glassy as he drew Albert close to him. In turn, Albert struggled to free himself, murmuring soothing words into Chris' ear. The brunette didn't respond until Albert shouted, jerking Chris fully awake. He stopped clawing at Albert and shuddered, flopping down weakly. Relieved, Albert settled them more comfortably and quietly wondered if Chris would ever beat this insanity in his mind.
13. Misfortune
Waking up with a headache and unable to find his glasses was a terrible way for Albert to wake up. It grew worse when he realized there was no orange juice left and Chris had snagged the last bagel and the kitchen was oddly barren of breakfast foods. Trying to downplay his so-far awful morning, Albert decided to pick something up on his way to work and wandered off to shower and get ready.
Fortunately, that process went smoothly right up until he stepped out the front door. The morning was cold, windy and rainy; the ground was a huge mud puddle, just waiting to take Albert down. Heaving a tired sigh, the blond edged around the worst of the mud, sticking close to the overhang of the house. Luckily the rain had slowed to a drizzle, so he didn't get too terribly wet.
He made it to the concrete platform his car was parked on without incident. Feeling confident that luck was on his side once more, he marched towards the drivers side, completely missing the icy patch underfoot. His stride turned into a stumble, morphed into a flail and ended with his butt planted firmly on the ground. Pain hiked up his back, then settled unhappily at the base of his spine, throbbing hotly.
With a sinking heart, Albert hauled himself to his feet and slid over to the car, grasping the side for balance. He successfully made it into the car, huffing in annoyance as he started the engine and pulled away from the house. To his relief, he managed to avoid getting too much mud on his precious car.
The drive to the coffee shop was relatively boring, the silence punctured by his phone informing him of messages, which he ignored. The drive-thru host looked as tired as he felt, leaning heavily against the counter as he handed Albert his coffee, offering a lazy farewell as he drove away. The ride to work seemed much less tedious now that he was starting to cheer up a little!
He pulled into his reserved spot and retrieved his briefcase and coffee, walking into the pristine lobby with a confident stride, making for the elevator. As he rounded the corner, an eager young intern pelted into him, splashing hot coffee straight onto his chest. He bit back a howl of pain and fury, choosing instead to glare angrily at the young man who stared back with wide eyes.
"I-I'm sorry sir!" He squeaked, trying to fan off the heat away from Albert's chest. It was too late though, the scientist could feel the burns settling on his skin vengefully. He shoved past the kid and stomped to the elevator, throwing the coffee away along the way. From this point on, no matter what, his day could not possibly get better.
When he reached his department (after several difficulties with his cardkey), William greeted him as usual and fetched the first-aid kit when Albert explained what happened in a very unforgiving tone. Ointment applied and lab coat on to cover the stain, the two scientists set to work in an unusual silence until late afternoon.
By the end of the day, Albert was simply too tired to care about whatever fate had in store for him on the way home. But for the first time all day, he didn't have some unfortunate deterrent as he drove home and he had to stop and sit in his car for several minutes after arriving home to simply enjoy it. Apparently he stayed out long enough for Chris to come outside and investigate what was keeping Albert.
He got out of the car and greeting Chris wearily, launching straight into his day as they walked into the house and flopped down on the couch. As he spoke, Chris retrieved a fresh shirt for him and listened, offering little words of sympathy here and there. When the story drew to an end, Albert was leaning back against Chris tiredly, allowing the brunette to massage his tension away. He also explained how he had found Albert's glasses in his truck and bought more of his favorite breakfast food because he felt bad for taking the last bagel that morning.
When faced with such adoration and expert massaging skills, Albert couldn't help but forgive and forget all his misfortune of the day.
14. Smile
Chris smiled almost all day every day, something he was always complimented for. Albert, on the other hand, smiled very rarely and almost exclusively for Chris. The marksman practically melted when Albert threw one of those rare smiles at him, but the most heart-warming smiles where the ones Albert thought no one could see. The way his lips drew over his perfect white teeth with only a hint of a curve when something struck him particularly intriguing or nice. Chris decided that happiness was something Albert could pull off flawlessly, even if it was a rare thing.
The beautiful thing was that Albert didn't smile at everything like everyone else did; he took his time to thoughtfully enjoy something and only smiled if it stuck something within him. When it really came down to it, one could say Chris was really a fan of Albert's smile.
15. Silence
The silence of the pristine white room, save for the steady beeping of the heart monitor, was deafening in Albert's ears. He stood frozen in the doorway, as if he couldn't bear to take another step. The blond was ruffled after a speedy drive and almost violent fight through the hospital; several doctors insisted he stay in the waiting room, but Albert was adamant to see Christopher, so he barged past them all and ran, his footfalls echoing eerily in the sterile white hallways.
So here he stood, gazing bleakly at a wrecked version of his love. Tubes and wires stuck out almost randomly of Chris' marred body, crisscrossing to their respective machines. Albert felt his chest tighten with every timid footstep forward until he couldn't breathe and they were only a few centimeters apart. Each rise and fall of Chris' chest was shallow and barely there. His skin was cold and pale, giving the feeling of death as Albert ran his fingers up to cup the brunette's cheek, his touch almost ghost-like.
Please, no. He begged silently, leaning over to brush his lips against Chris' bandaged eyes and smooth forehead. Albert could feel all of his resolve melt away to fear, pain and sorrow; he suddenly felt very small and alone. He couldn't bear the thought of Chris leaving him behind in this world, after all they had built together. Oh God Christopher. Don't leave me.
"Albert..." A name whispered across Albert's lips breathily.
"Christopher." There was no hesitation.
There was more silence for a while, so long that Albert wasn't even sure he had heard Chris say anything at all.
"...move...bandages..." he begged with barely a twitch of his lips. Albert drew back, still unsure if he was hearing things but determined to fulfill his request. His thin fingers slid just underneath the soft cloth covering the brunette's muddy brown eyes and lifted slowly until purplish eyelids were exposed. Albert peered through his glasses with frightened eyes as Chris' eyelids fluttered open, exposing dull irises.
Chris stared at Albert for several long seconds, humming almost silently when the blond's clamy hand touched his face oh so gently. Albert blinked once, twice and suddenly his vision was blurred with hot tears that threatened to spill over. He forced them back for Chris' sake, but he knew the brunette had seen them there.
Chris' lips twitched up in a smile and with one last sigh, he closed his eyes and left the world behind. Albert's chest constricted as he sank forward, leaning heavily over Chris' lifeless form. He watched as his world was torn in two, leaving him to float helplessly somewhere in the middle, alone, cold and terribly afraid.
"Albert? Hey, Al, wake up!" A familiar voice broke into his oblivion, shaking him to the core. Icy blue eyes flew open and saw his love very much alive and well. They were laying in bed still; it was an early Saturday morning, neither of them demanded to get out of bed early. Chris was propped up on one arm, his free hand perched on Albert's shoulder tightly. "Dude you were kinda freakin' me out...are you cry-"
Instead of answering, Albert drew Chris close to him with a shuddering breath, feeling the single tear slide down his cheek and fall onto Chris'. The brunette allowed himself to be held, confused and startled by the warm wetness that hit his cheek. Relieve and happiness swept over Albert so strongly, he could practically feel himself being dragged down into bliss.
He completely realized now that Christopher was his whole life and without him, his world would be unbearably silent.
16. Questioning
Chris would like to say he knew more about Albert than anyone else did, but he realized he hardly knew anything at all. Albert wasn't secretive, but he didn't give out any sort of information willingly; Chris had to ask question after question before he withdrew even a bit of an answer from the blond. It frustrated Chris but excited him at the same time; there was always something new to learn.
Just the other day Chris realized he didn't know Albert's middle name. It had been brought up when he spotted a document signed Albert J. Wesker sitting on the kitchen table. The brunette was still wondering at it when the blond in question made his appearance, staring at Chris questioningly.
"What's your middle name?" Chris blurted out before Albert could ask what he was doing.
"What does it matter?" Albert replied warily, passing Chris to retrieve the document. The brunette stared at him, determination blazing in his eyes.
"You know my middle name!" He protested.
"Because I found it on your resumé," Albert reminded him. "Honestly Chris, middle names aren't important. Especially mine." He had turned his back to Chris but could still feel his burning stare searing into his back. A heavy sigh escaped his lips; this was a battle he was going to lose, so he might as well get it over with now.
"It's James. My middle name is James, named after my Godfather James Marcus," he muttered, turning to scowl halfheartedly at the brunette. Chris smiled back in return, giving Albert a once-over before making his declaration.
"It makes you sound royal! Albert James Wesker..."
Albert Grimaced. "I'd rather it not sound royal, Christopher Leonardo Redfield."
The rest of the day, Chris went out of his way to remind Albert just how royal he was.
17. Ow!
"Chris, stop being such a baby!" Albert growled, struggling to hold a squirming Chris still long enough to examine his wrenched shoulder. It was a mid-summer day and Chris had decided to invite his friends from work down to the river just beyond the house; and of course Albert had been dragged along for the trip. Everyone (save for Albert) ran straight into the water and began horsing around, sometimes almost a little too roughly.
Albert had been lounging in the shade a little ways away from the bank, deeply into one of his books when Chris suddenly howled in a very distressed tone. The blond looked up sharply to see the brunette holding his left arm, pain contorting his expression. Rebecca Chambers, Chris' official team medic at the S.T.A.R.S office, stepped forward to take stock of the damage, but Albert was faster; he leaped to his feet and ran out to the water, effectively blocking Rebecca with his body.
Chris allowed himself to be dragged back to the little beach and sat down, but tensed up as soon as Albert began to run his hands along his shoulders, checking for the damage. Luckily it was only a dislocated shoulder, something that could be corrected in a few seconds.
"Brace yourself Chris," Albert muttered, gripping tight to Chris' arm. The brunette gave a small nod and grit his teeth, trying to relax. The snap was loud and made several of his teammates flinch, but Chris was stuck with the brunt of it.
"OW!" Pain shot up his arm and shoulder, burning hotly for several seconds before it began to slowly ebb. Albert stepped back, instructing Chris to rotate his shoulder slowly to make sure it had been properly put back. If it wasn't, the brunette was considering lying just to make sure he didn't have to get his arm wrenched again, but when he tried, he found his arm moved slowly and with little pain. Albert smirked, pat Chris' head and returned to his chair, satisfied his love was fine.
"Thanks," Chris muttered after him. Then without a second thought, he turned and launched himself back into the mock-fight with Joseph while Albert watched and rolled his eyes, just waiting for it to happen again.
18. Rainbow
There was a certain time every year that neither Chris nor Albert looked forward to, for it required them to be apart for an extended amount of time. The Umbrella scientist would leave for a week (or more) somewhere on the other side of the world and deal with conference after conference promoting their new products and upcoming projects, something that made Albert secretly uncomfortable. This year was particularly bad.
After several late flights, little to no food and the downpour of the century, Albert was positively fuming. This was made worse as he thought back to the criticism he had received from his subordinates and even people from other departments of Umbrella Inc. about how their resources and money were being wasted. The blond was forced to bite his tongue and wait it out, one day at a time. And on top of that, he had a terrible internet connection, meaning he could barely scrape by checking his mail, let alone make a video call to his dear Christopher.
But now as he stumbled through the door, he wanted nothing more than to destroy all the documents in his briefcase telling him to improve. He barely registered Chris calling out to him and flinched violently when he was embraced. Without thinking, Albert reached up and shoved Chris away, growling through gritted teeth. Chris backed off a pace or two, confused and hurt.
Albert ignored his questions about his trip, choosing instead to drop his briefcase ungraciously onto the floor, along with his dripping coat. He left his shoes and tie in the living room, dropping them as he walked. Chris trailed him, becoming more and more frustrated as Albert stomped away.
"Albert J. Wesker, what has gotten into you?" Chris yelled, snatching the back of Albert's shirt and yanking him back roughly. The blond in question whirled around, looking tired and furious at the same time. He glared daggers at Chris, as if the brunette had just burned down all his life's work right in front of him.
"Just leave me alone Chris!" He snarled, swatting the restraint that was his lover's arm away. But Chris refused to let it go that quickly and he soon found himself in the middle of a nasty fight with the blond. They screamed broken sentences at each other, mixing a few profanities here and there until Albert stormed into his study and slammed the door, locking Chris out. In turn, Chris returned downstairs and located his coat, keys and an umbrella and slammed the front door on his way out.
Back in his study, Albert was clawing his desk apart, scattering documents, writing utensils and other miscellaneous items on the floor. The one picture frame he kept on his desk fell face-down, echoing loudly as he stood in the now-silent ruins of the room. His breathing was erratic, coming out raspy and harsh through clenched teeth. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was being completely irrational, but he could care less right now.
Meanwhile, Chris stomped through the woods, glaring through the sheet of rain into the night. He was angrier at Albert than he had ever been; after all, no one asked him to stay awake into the wee hours of the morning to greet his bound-to-be exhausted lover as he stumbled into the house. No one asked him to be cheerful and peppy when he was dead-tired from working through training drill after training drill and then going out of his way to make Albert's favorite meal. He did it because he couldn't think of anything else he'd rather be doing. Chris nursed the hurt as he came to a stop and stood on the river edge.
Some time later, Albert was calm enough to realize it was oddly silent in the house. Perhaps Chris had gone to bed, but it didn't seem likely. He dragged himself up from his chair by the window and decided to venture out of the study to find Chris. He was done being upset and he just wanted to find Chris and go to bed. The search began in the bedroom, but Albert quickly found that Chris was not there. So he ventured down the stairs and crept into the living room, mildly alarmed to find he wasn't there either. His feet guided him to the kitchen next, but everything was as he left it.
However, a note caught his attention just before he left; it read:
At the river, be back whenever. -Chris
Albert felt shame flood through him as he thought of Chris sitting alone by the river, probably catching a cold in this weather. Well, at least the rain had let up. With a sigh, the blond retrieved his shoes and found a dry coat and went in search of Chris.
The sky was beginning to lighten with the dawn, turning the sky a light orange-grey. By the time he located Chris sitting under his umbrella on the little bank, the sun had begun to appear on the horizon. He kept his footsteps loud on purpose, just to make sure Chris had enough time to get up and leave if he was still angry. When the brunette didn't move, he sat down next to him, wincing at the soaked ground.
"I'm sorry Christopher," he began quietly, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead. "My behavior was completely out of line."
Chris grunted. "If you can put it that lightly."
Wesker shrugged lightly, but didn't reply. Minutes ticked by in silence, broken only by the sound of the forest creatures awakening. Chris folded the umbrella and set it down beside him, shifting so he was sitting closer to Albert.
"Look at the rainbow," he murmured, pointing to the perfect arch in the sky. Albert followed his gaze and smiled ever-so faintly at the glistening colors in the sky; he knew this was Chris' way of forgiving him. As they watched the sun rise, Chris and Albert basked in the feeling of reconcile and love, content that their world had been righted once more.
19. Grey
Albert Wesker considered everything in his life to be black and white; one way or another, no grey area. However, as with everything, there was one little exception; his happened to be Chris. Chris was the only thing in his life that could make him feel so confident and so diffident at the same time, make him feel oh so happy but oh so terrified without saying anything at all. It was almost unsettling how much Chris threw him off sometimes, but at the same time it felt terribly wonderful; he almost liked the feeling of not knowing what to expect.
Between the black, white and grey areas, Albert would pick the grey every time.
20. Fort
Chris woke up one fine winter morning with the greatest idea ever hovering in his mind; it was time to build a fort! The brunette snuck out of bed and trotted down to the living room, planning out his elaborate design already. He started by taking the cushions out of the couch and raking together the biggest and lightest blankets he could find to spread across the entire living room.
He built well into the late morning, keeping quiet so Albert could sleep peacefully. Just as he crawled under his blanket castle though, he heard footsteps from above and waited eagerly for the blond to come down and see his creation. It was big enough for Chris to sit up comfortably in and wide enough to stretch out and lay down. It even offered a few out the window, where the snow had begun to fall thickly, fat snowflakes spiraling to the ground lazily.
Albert finally appeared at the foot of the stairs, stopped by the spread of the blankets. He cocked one perfect eyebrow, simply impressed for Chris' ability; he assumed the brunette did this a lot as a kid, unlike himself. As he pondered this, Chris' head poked out by his feet, his face alight and smiling. Albert looked down, smiling a little as Chris tugged on his sweatpants, silently inviting him in. Humoring him, Albert crouched down and slid into the dim fort after Chris.
In turn, Chris took his position by the window and settled down, watching Albert trying to maneuver gracefully around the supports in the middle. His hair was still ruffled, icy blue eyes still glassy with sleep; Chris assumed that was the only reason why he hadn't been scolded yet. As the blond crept up to his side, he smiled and waited patiently for his rebuking.
"This is ridiculous, but you did a good job." Was all he received. Maybe it was the winter weather, Albert's favorite season, that put him in such a good mood, or a good nights sleep, but whatever it was, Chris was loving it. They sat and watched the snow for a while until it started to get a little cold and at that point, Albert disappeared to fetch the remaining blankets and some hot chocolate for the two of them.
They spent the day like that, just silently enjoying things. The blond even agreed to move their mattress down so they could sleep under the cover of the fort, something Albert secretly wondered about ever since his youth. He would never tell Chris, but it was one of the best experiences he'd ever had, for it made up for yet another childhood affair he'd missed out on years ago.
Though Chris complained about tearing it all down the next day, he knew he would do it all again in a heartbeat.
