Chapter 24: Mutual Confessions

Wesker rarely left except to get her food for the next week, during which Claire felt extremely sick. He was surprisingly receptive to her requests, although she asked for as little as possible. He would bring her lunch—usually a sandwich—and he would occasionally grab her a new book to keep busy. She found herself sleeping more than usual, but he said that it was normal since her body was adjusting. He explained that he had felt the same way. He could sharply remember the uncertainty he had faced when in her shoes, but there had been no one to ease his concerns as he did for Claire. She knew it and appreciated it.

"How's your work going?" Claire asked one afternoon. Wesker mockingly regarded her over the top of his shades.

"Swimmingly."

"That's too bad." He smirked. "Wesker, where did you go after the tyrant killed you? I'm just curious." He did not pause in his typing.

"I stayed underground in an office for several months."

"And if you win, then what?" This time Wesker did pause.

"You'll see when it happens." Claire leaned into her stack of pillows—built from every possible pillow in the building—and took a nap. She and Wesker were on good speaking terms again. It was impossible to avoid when he was the only living thing around for company, and she was distressed to find that she wanted to trust him as much as she had before. She didn't, but she still saw something else to him besides a monster, and she felt that he was allowing her to see that for more than practical reasons. She could at least believe him when had said that he had not, in fact, done what he had only for business. The truth she sensed behind that statement kept her spirits alive. She smiled sadly, for she very much doubted that he had ever spent so much personal time with another person.

She awoke to the delicious smell of chocolate. Wesker was not present, but there was a mug of hot cocoa sitting on the nightstand. He entered as she was busy sipping the warming liquid. She frowned into her cup as he resumed working. It was time to make her admittance, especially after everything that had happened.

"I'm sorry," she said. Wesker's eyes shot to her. "You aren't a monster. I spoke in anger, and I'm sorry." It killed her to say it, but she felt it needed to be said for own good. "You're still a cruel, conniving man though—just more human than you get credit for."

"Be careful what you say and think," Wesker cautioned flatly. "It seems even being injected with a virus can't destroy those humane notions of yours. You Redfields are eternally foolish in that regard."

"If they are such nonsense, than you would not have kept me alive and treated me like this for so long. I should have listened more carefully to what you told me last week." Wesker was studying her carefully now. "It's more than business, I think, no matter what you claim, and, if you claim otherwise, than you're only deluding yourself. I think you like having me sit around while you're working. Without me, you'd be in some hole with infrequent phone calls for company. You've been telling me that all along, in your own way..." Suddenly, Claire seemed embarrassed and turned away. "Wesker, I'm just trying to admit that I was wrong in some ways and thank you for the cup of cocoa."

"Your welcome."

"You should still rot in hell," but the heat wasn't behind her words. It sounded like a lame, tagged on sentence. Claire snuggled into the blankets feeling better. Admitting that there was more to them than captor and captive lifted a load from her tangle of feelings, but it was still a tangle. She tossed the blankets off and moved to the door after grabbing a fresh change of clothing.

The bathroom tiles were cold beneath her feet, but the hot water of the shower quickly made her feel better. She ran a finger over the inside of her elbow, where a bruise had formed. Her body felt normal. She sighed and washed shampoo out of her hair. Wesker had been right; Chris would suffer more from knowing Claire was turning into a similar creature than if Wesker had outright killed her. That the world could hold such cruelty was unfair, to say the least. That it should arrange for her to feel for a man who caused that misery was even crueler. He deserved to die, and she knew it would be her duty to help do it if she was ever free to rejoin her friends. Justice had never felt emptier.

She exited the shower and stood before the sink to put her hair back into a ponytail. The entire bathroom was fogged, and she cleared the mirror with a hand while she secured a towel around her midriff with the other. She nearly jumped out of her skin to find Wesker's reflection. He was standing directly behind her shoulder, smirking. Claire sucked in her breath and shot him a harsh glare.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she demanded. Wesker only looked more amused as he bent his mouth to her ear.

"This is my bathroom."

"Then I'll leave you to it." She tried to leave, but Wesker grabbed her shoulder and hauled her back. She was now cornered between the sink and him, but facing him.

"Not until I allow it." Claire crossed her arms over her chest and demanded he get on with it through her eyes, but inside she was worried. "I'm afraid kidnapping you has resulted in unforeseen consequences, as you so aptly pointed out." Claire could not believe she was hearing this. "I'm a bit attached." He said it like he might refer to being fond of a certain dessert, and Claire did not know how to take that. "But it changes nothing. I want to be clear on that. Chris is still on my hit list, as are his annoying accomplices. If you become a thorn in my side, I will rip you out as I would anyone else." Claire seemed more subdued than angry, which surprised him.

"Men like you don't change, do they?"

"No, and if we do, we never admit it." His face was drawing closer to hers, and Claire quickly averted her face with fire in her expression.

"And you couldn't wait to tell me this? You had to come in the bathroom?" She was truly angry now. "Maybe I'm attached too, but, now that we've settled that, stop trying to manipulate me any further." Wesker threatening bared her way from the bathroom with a hand on the wall. "Albert Wesker, I don't care what you are! Don't you dare jerk my emotions around like you did when we were watching the snow. If it's to get at Chris…"

"Don't even ruin my mood by bringing him into this," Wesker roughly ordered. The command momentarily silenced Claire. She could feel his anger radiating. "It would break his heart, and that would satisfy me, but I don't need to resort to common sexual tactics or threats to break people. In some ways it is far less expedient and productive in the long run." Wesker straightened and pivoted to leave the bathroom.

"Wesker, wait!" She jogged after him and they were stopped outside of the bedroom. "I'm not finished. You can't expect me to not think such things after the way you've used me. And you are so damn difficult to read. What the hell am I supposed to think? And those freaking sunglasses don't help!" Before she knew what she was doing, she had ripped the glasses from his face and thrown them to the floor, where she promptly stomped them into several pieces. Regret set in almost immediately. Shit.

Wesker had her by the throat and forced her against the wall. He was definitely pissed beyond belief. His fingers squeezed but not to the point where Claire couldn't breath. She stared him down, daring him to do it.

"Do you want to die, Miss Redfield, because that's where this is going," he angrily promised. Claire began to cry, and the tears ran over his fingers.

"Go ahead. I'll come back anyway, and be a freak like you…" She squeezed her eyes tightly and only felt Wesker loosen his grip and come closer.

"Is that what this pent up anger is still about, being infected?" he questioned darkly and softly, but Claire shook her head no. It was the game with her emotions. Wesker's features relaxed in understanding. "You are quite an interesting person, Claire. You really don't belong here, but one day, when certain obstacles have been removed…" He caressed her face and proceeded to kiss her. It was gentle as before, but not as fleeting. One hand held the side of her face while the other wrapped securely around her waist. Claire's hands gently held his sides, for she wasn't sure where else to put them. Her lips parted and encouraged his, but her insides were engaged in a desperate struggle.

Wesker moved to her neck and slowly planted kisses there. Claire had never been kissed like this. His movements were controlled, deliberate, and too methodical to be completely genuine, like everything he did, and his confidence was suffocating. Claire realized that the feel of his arms around her was the safest and most secure that she had felt for as long as she could remember. Was it the effect of this place? She wanted to be comforted. His lips were warmer than she would have expected. He loosened his grip and let her towel fall to the floor.

"Feeling conflicted, dear heart?" he whispered with his red eyes incredibly close to hers. He didn't need to ask the question; her torment was clearly stamped on her face, and her body remained somewhat stiff.

"Not everyone can shrug off loyalty without a second thought," she said, equally soft. Wesker smirked privately. There would not always be other loyalties to cling to, not in the end. His arms encircled her, but only loosely. One of his hands buried itself in her wet hair. The other made small tapping patterns on her lower back as he contemplated the future role of Claire. As he released her, Claire felt the hesitancy in his actions, but he never let short-term satisfaction ruin long-term goals. .

"You are shivering, dear heart. Get some clothing." Claire felt extremely awkward in her position and hastened to the room. Wesker smirked at her in the doorway while she quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. "I trust that is much better." Claire hopped into the bed, and Wesker went back to work. Like their previous show of intimacy, it almost felt a dream, like it had never happened. Claire thought about running her hands through his blond hair. What the hell? She took out the collection of Shakespeare and began jotting down some notes to clear her mind. Wesker was tapping his fingers again. He tapped and tapped and tapped.

"I love that sound," she commented. "It lets me know that someone, somewhere in the world is happy because you're not." Things really hadn't changed, but, as Wesker cast Claire a concealed smirk and warning, she knew that they had. "Wesker, things do change." He said nothing, but he was thinking. Not in a world like this, dear heart; not in a world like this.

**************

"Try this one, Redfield," Ada whispered and pointed to a name on the list. Chris jumped and spun around. The slender woman regarded him with a mysterious smile and stepped backward. Chris immediately noticed that she held a handgun and was tapping it against her thigh. Her eyes surpassed him and searched for Leon. The entire team was stunned at her sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Chris demanded as he rested a hand on his own gun. Ada waved dismissively and retrieved the list of labs that he had been studying.

"Relax, tiger," she soothed. "I came to offer some advice."

"And how can we trust you?" Jill demanded.

"I am a practical woman," Ada flawlessly returned. "So believe I have my reasons, and there was some persuasion." Her eyes briefly met Leon's before she focused on Chris. "Wesker has your sister at a resort base, but you'll need to figure out which one."

"You're sure about that?" Chris asked.

"No," Ada admitted, "But those are the types of sites Wesker has chosen to lay low at before. I suggest you get cracking on it, because I will have to tell his highness something. You have two days, and then Wesker will know that you've been at five bases and have the locations of more, possibly his. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Leon hated to see her go so quickly but remained fixed on the other side of the room.

"Wait!" Chris hurriedly burst. "My sister, is she okay? Why does Wesker have her?" Ada paused and smiled.

"Now that is an interesting question. All I know is that she's alive. Goodbye, and be prepared for a hellish Wesker." Ada's hand reached for the door. If they found Wesker, then what? He'd kill them if they weren't careful and lucky. She hated to think that her last time seeing Leon would not be an appropriate goodbye. She stepped through the doorway.

"Ada," Leon called. She glanced over her shoulder. "Thank you." She momentarily bowed her head toward him and then disappeared. Leon dwelled on her image, but Chris was ready to take on the world. Jill gave him a huge hug and kissed him. Hope renewed was not to be undervalued.

"Let's kick some tyrant ass!" Chris bellowed.