X.
The next morning, he woke up with a slight hangover. The curtains were still shut, and the cold darkness of the room made him feel distant and yearning for something that he wasn't sure of. He blinked his eyes a few more times before becoming fully awake. He still didn't get up though, and it took him a short while before finally realizing that an arm was draped across his chest.
He turned to his side to look, and was relieved to find the familiar presence of someone whom he shared last night with, and as memories came trickling slowly back into his mind, he remembered sharing a few more nights with him before. He studied his features and admired how peaceful and serene his young face looked like, wishing that he could be the same at some point in his life.
Piers breathed softly before forcing his eyes to open and check the bedside clock, "shit," he murmured, "good morning, captain," he greeted with a smile as he kissed Chris lightly on the cheek.
"Good morning to you too," he replied as he cupped the younger man's face, stroking it affectionately.
"How are you feeling?"
"Never been better thanks to you."
Piers smiled warmly, "you were great last night, captain."
"And so are you," Chris praised back as he recalled the events that happened between them last evening which started with a kiss so violent that he himself was surprised at where he got that ability from—and why he preferred it.
Their tongues explored each other's mouth and their bodies begged to be touched, setting fire through the cold night. Passions flaring and with desires burning, they drowned themselves in throes of pleasure. Piers missed his captain badly and he knew that if he didn't get another chance to be touched by his beloved captain it would shatter his mind into pieces.
He did his captain a favor by playing the role of his long-time lover Albert Wesker for one night. The fact was painful enough to think of, but he allowed himself to be some kind of a martyr because that man is temporarily non-existent in Chris' memory. God knows how much he loved his captain, and if ever things end up between Chris and Albert Wesker he would gladly catch up to keep him. He didn't remind Chris about the lover he had waiting worriedly back in the U.S though. He wasn't an advantageous person, but it was Captain Redfield who asked for it. He secretly thought of their intimacy as payment for keeping the secret of Wesker's real status from everyone, for he knew that the notorious blonde was wanted to each and every anti-bioterrorism group in the planet.
It didn't take long before both of them hit the bed. Piers gripped the sheets as pain and pleasure swept through him like a giant wave while his captain was thrusting into him rhythmically. The feeling of the older man being inside him was something that he would never replace anything with. He wanted him so badly that he wanted to crawl inside him and scream his name.
Finally relaxing after their love-making, he felt contented in relieving his captain of all the stress from the past months. He would have to face reality when Chris finally remembers Wesker soon—and face Chris when he confronts him about why he didn't say anything about it sooner. For now, they still basked in the afterglow and the cold morning.
Piers had brought him breakfast in his bed, and after Chris was done eating everything up he decided to nap, feeling drained from the previous days of heavy drinking and last night's "events". The young man left him as he was, deciding to fill up his position for the day and give him a break with Chris' permission.
As soon as he closed his eyes, another series of images flashed in his mind; causing him to toss and turn on the bed, struggling to break free from the embrace of his memory loss. He felt desperate and frustrated and unable to breathe—like he was drowning in a sea of those lost memories, as faces now showed up in his dream while they introduced themselves: a red-haired woman who bore a striking resemblance to him appeared to be looking down at him with a serene smile on her face, "hello Chris. Do you remember me now? I'm Claire, I'm your sister," she said.
He grimaced to her in his dream out of discernment, "my sister?"
"You have to remember, Chris. Please come back to us," she pleaded.
Another figure appeared out of the shadows, and this time it was a tall, blonde gentleman with sunglasses on over his fine features. He smiled at him, and his face flushed because he looked beautiful when he did that, "hello, Christopher. You had me worried for so long… I want you to come back." The blonde gentleman leaned closer and kissed him as the woman who calls herself as his sister smiled approvingly, "I miss you, big bro," she said.
"And I miss you too, Christopher. Come back home… come back to me," the blonde man pleaded as he sat beside him and cupped his face, "do you remember me?" He asked hopefully.
Chris was stunned, and shook his head in frustration, "who are you?! Please… help me remember! What's your name?"
Another beautiful smile crept upon the handsome blonde's face, "Albert Wesker. That's my name. You're the only one who knows about me, so keep it a secret to the others, alright? I will be waiting for you."
Suddenly the two figures started to dissipate like smoke, he remembered himself screaming and calling out their names as they disappeared back into the darkness. He finally woke up after acquiring another piece of the puzzle that was his lost thoughts, "Albert Wesker… Claire," he repeated. He knew that today is going to be the day to find out more about his self.
He shot up, dressed quickly, and decided to find Piers to talk to him in private. He was a little pissed off at why the young ace didn't tell him anything about this Claire or Albert Wesker, and felt that he was hiding something from him. Whatever the reason is, he will find out soon as he breezed through the hallways. He bumped against some of the men from last night and asked them where Piers was, and they told him that he was in his room doing some reports and other paperwork. After one of them told him that he was in "room number 267" he left in a hurry. He was growing impatient and suddenly there was this empty, hollow feeling inside him.
He knocked on room 267 and Piers opened up. From the expression drawn on Chris' face, he knew that he had to talk, "come on in, captain," he said as he gave way for the bigger man. As soon as he got in, he went straight to the point, "is there something that you need to tell me, Piers?"
Piers looked away and walked over to the night stand, crossing his arms and sighing, "I was afraid that this is coming."
"Why? Why did you have to hide things from me? Who is Claire and who is Albert Wesker?"
Piers didn't answer instantly as he looked back right at his captain's eyes, "how did you find out about them?"
"I just had a dream and they were in it!"
"What if they were just a dream after all?" He knew that driving the conversation the other way around was futile. He had to admit to himself that he was selfish and somewhat possessive, and his attempts of canning the conversation went flat as Chris suddenly approached him and held him by the shoulders angrily. "I don't want any bullshit between us, Piers. Who are they?" Chris said through gritted teeth; he had enough of the lies and he isn't going to allow the man to drive him through it once again.
Piers felt defeated. He didn't want to let go of his captain, but he was with those people first, and he was a kind and good-hearted man. He knew that one way of proving that he loved his captain was to be honest with him. If they can't be lovers right now, they'd have to be friends at the very least so that he'd have a better chance in the future. "I'm so sorry, captain," his voice was small and apologetic. Chris felt his sincerity and felt sorry because he snapped at him so quickly.
Finally letting go of the smaller man, hot tears almost welled up in his eyes as he put his hands on his hips and turned his back against the young man. "I'm so sick of it all, Piers," he said.
"I know, and I'm so sorry captain," he repeated. He went back to his makeshift desk and rummaged through some of the papers scattered around it. He pulled out two folders out of the clutter and handed it to Chris, "this is everything you need to know… and remember."
Chris reluctantly accepted it and skimmed through its contents before closing it again, "and how about those names I mentioned a while ago, is there any information about them inside these folders?"
Piers nodded silently. This was it—his role as the captain's lover is finally over in a flash; but he wasn't going to let him go without a thought, "captain…"
"What is it?" Chris replied before he got himself to leave.
"I love you," the young man said meekly.
Chris slowly nodded in acknowledgement, "if my dream a while ago was true, now's not the time for that, Piers."
Piers smiled weakly, "yeah, I just wanted to let you know. And don't worry about Albert Wesker; he's always going to be kept as a secret."
"Thank you," Chris said and was replied with a soft "don't worry 'bout it" before he left the room to go back to his own. Chris decided that whatever he and Piers had together will never get between them when they finally get back to the field, and just like with Albert, their fling would also be a secret to everyone in the BSAA.
Back in the solitude of his room, Chris sat down and read the files through impatiently until he finally came to the page that contained the information about his sister, Claire Redfield. He felt a sudden contentment and happiness when he found out that he wasn't alone after all. Along with Claire's information he learned about Raccoon City and what he used to be, and the rest of the memories attached to that information streamed in automatically.
It was now Albert Wesker's turn to be discovered. He read the pages and found out why he was a secret to everyone. He was surprised to find out how he loved a man that evil and how they were still together before he wandered off six months ago. A sharp pain pierced through him again and more memories flashed and poured through the cracks, and then the pain was replaced with a severe longing. He slammed his fist on the table, suddenly filled with strong determination and eagerness to go back to his waiting lover. "I'm going home… no matter what happens," he said to himself.
Meanwhile, Piers couldn't stop smiling at himself as soon as Chris closed the door behind him as he left. He felt genuinely happy for helping his captain in his own way. The young man wasn't bitter, but he was hopeful. He felt his captain's sincerity when he made that silent promise of keeping him when things are over between Chris and Albert Wesker. He was too positive, until that hope died away with him deep in that cold, black, watery abyss months later.