A/N: So here we go again. This story is easy to write since it's really just romance and fluff. Lord it's nice to break my brain from the drama and the dark of this fandom on it though. Seriously. Thank you for reading it as always.


DISCLAIMER: RESIDENT EVIL IS SOLELY OWNED BY CAPCOM. ALL CHARACTERS USED HERE DO NOT RESEMBLE ANYONE LIVING, DEAD, OR UNDEAD. *cough*


Part One: The Ghosts That Haunt


Chapter Eleven: In Which We Find A Little Romance, A Second Chance, and A Couple Kisses in the Dark

Her best pair of heels were broken.

Concerned, Jill stared at them in her locker. Broken.

BROKEN.

Over her shoulder, Redfield mused, "Sucks. Maybe you can do barefoot in the park instead."

Jill pursed her lips and turned to glare at him, "Is there a point here?"

He shrugged and flopped down on the bench on his back to stretch. She was in the locker room trying to get ready for her date. She was considering super glue to fix the heels.

Sweaty, Chris huffed out a breath at her, "What's a date with a rookie entail anyway? Cheap street side tacos from a cart and groping in an alley where some homeless dude is taking a piss?"

Jill, without missing a beat, answered, "Nope. That's the Redfield special. Minus the groping. Redfield? He doesn't grope you when you're dating. Just when he's trying to keep rookies from dating you."

She slammed her locker. She walked passed him while he winced. And she smacked him, hard, on his sweaty belly.

Chris yelped, Jill muttered, "Asshat."

And he licked his teeth in anger as she went into the showers.

He hated her dating. Hated it.

He hated worse that she was dating because he was so damn stupid.

Shouting at her in the steamy shower, he mused, "Can I date too then?"

Washing her hair, Jill rolled her eyes, "Knock yourself out. Although I'm pretty sure you don't know what that word means. Amber in the Chief's Office is free tonight I hear."

UGH.

Annoyed, angry with himself because it was his own doing, Chris rolled to his feet. "Been there, done that."

Jill sighed, washing her feet. Had everyone? Amber Franks – RPD groupie.

She turned and shrieked, dropping the soap like a bad prison flick. Because he was in the shower with her.

Jill slapped her hands over her eyes. She staggered into the stall door. She grunted and cursed, slipped on the soap on the floor, and would have gone over if he hadn't grabbed her arms.

And she squeaked, "What are you doing!?"

"….showering. I wasn't aware it was a confusing concept. Water, soap, washing. Pretty simple, Valentine."

"NOT WITH ME!" She kept her eyes closed, charming him, and shoved at his chest, "Get outta here!"

"….Jill…I've seen you naked. Recently. A lot more naked than this. What gives?"

Jill grunted with the effort of shoving him. But he went and she slammed the stall door. Her eyes popped open. She pointed at his face above the door. "We are NOT doing THAT anymore, Redfield! No. No more to The Sex! You hear me? The Sex? It's done. This? This is a SEX free shower!"

Three stalls down someone shouted, "What the fuck!? I'm showering at home from now on! I only come here to get laid!"

There was laughter and someone answered, Ryman probably, "Vickers, you couldn't get laid in a shower if you were in OZ."

Everyone laughed.

Redfield leaned on the stall watching her as she rapidly covered her tits and her crotch with her hands. "Stop staring, Redfield! And beat it!"

Ok.

OK.

The wrong thing to say.

Clearly. So wrong.

He laughed. Someone else laughed. She glared.

And Chris responded, "I'm torn between offering to let you watch while I do that or breaking into a Michael Jackson song."

Again, someone shouted, "You can't sing Redfield! Go for flogging of the bishop!"

Chris snickered. Jill rolled her eyes and proclaimed, "Eyes off the goodies, Redfield. I mean it. You don't see these tits again until you earn it. Go oogle some other girl in the shower."

Ryman shouted, "Vickers is down here! He's as girly as they get!"

Brad shouted back, "I'm ALL MAN BABY!"

It was clearly Joseph who answered now, "Just Christ in a Purple Prom Dress Vickers, you even shout like a girl getting fingered."

Laughter.

Chris leaned on the door again, watching Jill. "You wanna get fingered and test the theory?"

His dirty mouth. She hated it. Jill glared again, "Get the hell outta here, Redfield. Before we find out if you do."

Oh. His face. All kinds of amused. "You wanna finger me, Valentine?"

She flipped up her middle one. "There ya go. Fingered. Fuck off."

Laughter. Chris, unflappable and charmed as always, winked at her and let go of her stall.

Jill muttered under her breath and finished showering. That was the last time she showered at work, she thought angrily, stupid man. Trying to fuck her before her date.

Stupid man.

She wrapped her towel around her and fled to the women's stall area to change.

She'd borrowed a "fancy" dress from Vicki. It was strapless and shimmery blue. It was floor length and had a slit up the thigh that was tasteful and sexy. Jill bound her breasts in the bustier that came with it and slipped on date panties in shimmery pink.

She slicked back her short hair and secured it in a tasteful updo with some pieces left loose to frame her face. Makeup went on to highlight her eyes and lips and cheekbones. And she sat down to fix the shoe.

Some superglue and a prayer later, she slipped on her heels and went to the mirror.

Rebecca Chambers was standing in the doorway staring.

Jill stopped, blinking. The little lab mouse kept standing there, frozen.

Concerned, Jill asked, "Bec? You ok?"

"I'm fine," Squeaked Chambers, "I'm fine. You? STUNNING."

Stunning was good. It was good.

Jill laughed, flushing a little, "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. Stunning."

Jill picked up her clutch purse, beaded black and silver, and followed Rebecca out of the locker room. She passed through the second floor walk up and turned heads. Each time one shifted, her heart pattered happily.

Rebecca was grinning, "If I put on a dress like that, I'd look like a ten year old girl playing dress up."

Jill hugged her, one armed, "Stop selling yourself short, Chambers. Men are stupid. They'll look at any pair of tits in a dress. Dress like you mean it, you'll turn heads too."

She hit the stairs and started down them, like Cinderella or something.

In the bullpen, the whistling started. Grinning, laughing at the generous catcalls and appreciation, Jill weaved between bodies.

Someone offered to hunt under her dress for her "glass slipper."

"Eat your heart out, Gussman."

Speyer nudged Chris with his elbow where they were standing near the Chief's Office. "Dude…you are NEVER living this down."

Chris turned. He stopped. He blinked and dropped his taco.

That's how bad this moment was. He dropped his damn taco.

And he'd never, in his life, seen anything more beautiful.

Jill was laughing with Vicki and Amber and Rebecca and Heather. She was the center of attention, clearly. She looked like a storybook princess or something.

And he was the greatest fool alive. Kennedy was her prince. And him? The fucking court jester in a stupid hat juggling balls of shit.

Because she'd been his once. And now he was the guy with the taco on the floor and the regret.

Forrest clapped his arm, with sympathy, "Sorry guy. You'll get her back."

Chris shook his head, angry. "Maybe she's right. Maybe I don't deserve her. Why didn't I fucking bother, dude? Why?"

"Habit?" Forrest considered her, "You guys were friends a long time. Habit makes us stupid."

"Yeah..habit makes us stupid."

"It ain't over, man. Just use that charm you keep shouting about. He takes her out like Cinderella…you take her out like Zorro."

Curious, Chris met his eyes. "Yeah," Forrest added, "He uses charm. You use suave. Take her line dancing or something. Or salsa dancing. Sweep her off her feet with the things she likes about you. That way? You win her fair and square."

Chris blinked. Forrest blinked.

And Chris remarked, "That's the wisest shit I ever heard come outta your mouth dude."

"I know. I'm thinking of doing a radio show. Chics for your Dicks by Forrest Speyer. What do you think?"

Now Chris laughed, slapping his back, "I'd listen, you idiot. I'd be the only one. But I'd listen."

Forrest chuckled and stopped. And sighed.

And sighed again, "…sorry dude."

"For what?"

That was what.

There was the stupid rookie coming down the stairs.

Rebecca breathed, "….oh. My. Oh my. Haha. Oh."

Vicki turned.

Heather turned.

Jill followed their line of sight.

And Jill whispered, "…oh…mine."

They all laughed.

Because it made sense. He was all fancy suit and tie. Blue and black and fantastic.

What was cuter, Rebecca mused, these two beautiful people that paused and both blushed when they saw each other. Kennedy with his pink cheeks, Jill with her dilated eyes and blooms of color on hers. She laughed, lightly, a little hoarsely, "Hi."

Leon rocked on his heels, "Hey. You look…"

"Yeah…you…too? You too?"

They both laughed.

She shifted. He shifted. And he said, "Right. Date. Just…here…"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little gold necklace. Jill blinked, watching him. He looked so nervous. She felt so nervous. It was kinda great.

But she said, "This was my mother's. It's all I had of her and the old man was insistent I never touch it. So…naturally I stole it."

Jill kept watching his face.

She was kinda rooted there.

He stepped behind her and clasped the delicate filigree to her neck. It settled prettily over her collarbone. A sweet little simple gold heart.

And he finished, "There. It looks good on you. I think…I guess she'd want someone to wear it right? Seems dumb to just let it rot."

Jill kept staring at his face. He studied the locket on her neck. "Looks good on you. Beautiful. Elegant. Like you."

Lord.

Somebody giggled.

She was PRETTY sure it wasn't her. Pretty sure.

Jill whispered, softly, "….thank you."

They stared at each other, raptly, and he whispered back, "…you're welcome. Ready?"

She was. She was so ready. She was BEYOND ready.

She tucked her hand in his arm. They crossed the big beautiful lobby of the station together. It was kinda perfect.

Forrest said, quietly, "Now with the hazing? I have eighteen things I can have that kid doing to ruin their date."

Chris watched them, quiet. He shook his head. And he turned back to the reports he was working on. "Nope. Let them go."

Surprised, Joseph glanced over, "Really?"

"Yeah. Really. Look at her. Jesus Christ. Look at her. Let her have the date. She looks like a princess…let her have a night she deserves."

Rebecca blinked, glancing at Vicki. Vicki looked at Heather. They all shook their heads.

Redfield loved her. It was all over him. He loved her enough to let her go like that. Because it would make her happy.

Turning her head to him, Vicki mused, "You're so fucking stupid. Why didn't you fight for her when you had her? Why wait until she's gone?"

Annoyed with him, Heather knocked his files off his desk. They tumbled to the floor in a flutter of paper.

Jesus, he thought, Jill's band wagon of warrior chics. Getting her back, clearly.

And Heather added, "Stupid boy penis. You had her. And you lost her. And you love her. All you had to do was show it. Stupid boy penis."

They walked off.

Forrest muttered, "Bitches of Eastwick, seriously."

Maybe they were, Chris thought angrily, but they were also right.


He turned the Jeep into the parking lot. The Millenium Hotel, Jill thought wildly, with the dance floor that was entirely glass. So, you literally danced above the city with the stars.

Romance.

That's what it was.

That's what this was.

Her heart pattered.

She whispered, softly, "Can you afford this?"

Leon laughed, breathily, "Does it matter? You said date, Jill. This is what dating looks like. It's throwing all your game at a girl to get her to see you're serious."

She rolled her head to look at him in the dark car. "Are you serious?"

He said nothing. He put his hand out to her. She slid hers into it and he brought it to his mouth to kiss it.

Under his breath, he whispered, "I could throw you down and fuck you doggy style too. I can do that, if it's what you want. But it didn't work for Redfield. And it's not how I operate. I like beautiful things, Jill. I like to share those things with the people who matter. Money? It comes, it goes, you can always make more of it. One night with you in that dress? Priceless. I wanna…"

He laughed and she could see his blushing cheeks in the soft street lamp. He stole her breath.

"…I wanna show you off, Jill! I wanna show the world you're with me. Maybe it's stupid or shallow or dumb…but I'd have died if you'd been my girl all those years ago. I kept thinking…maybe if I looked like Redfield back then or something…maybe you'd have always been my girl. Maybe I wouldn't be sitting here wishing you were."

He shifted again, laughing without humor, "Sorry. I sound stupid. I probably sound really stupid."

Jill shook her head. She opened her door and got out.

Leon lingered, cursing a little, "Stupid. Yeah. Really stupid."

He climbed out after her. He was already talking, "I'm sorry. Forget I said all that shit, huh? Let's make this a rookie mistake and you can let me channel my inner James Bond and try again."

She put her hand out.

He stopped talking.

They stared at each other in the spill of streetlights.

And she said, "Hold my hand, Leon. And take a walk with me."

He studied her face. Soft, he thought, she looked so soft. There was something on her face that moved him.

He took her hand. She blended their fingers. And she didn't lead him toward the hotel.

She led him to the street.

He queried, softly, "You don't want to go dancing?"

Jill laughed, eyes sparkling, "I do. But we don't need to go broke to do it."

The little band on the street corner were sitting on barrels. They were playing drums in their lap. One had a saxophone, one a guitar. The music was lovely. Occasionally people stopped to leave money in the open guitar case.

They stopped. Jill waited.

And he spun her out to bring her back.

Shit. Romance. It wasn't about how much money you spent. It was about the moment. Entirely about the moment.

This one?

All theirs.

The crowd gathered to watch it. The beautiful girl, the beautiful boy – the beautiful summer starlight and the breeze that drifted the music around them. The musicians happily began to play a slow song.

The sweet little girl in the floppy hat tapped her foot and started serenading them.

Don't know much about your life.
Don't know much about your world, but
Don't want to be alone tonight,
On this planet they call earth.

You don't know about my past, and
I don't have a future figured out.
And maybe this is going too fast.
And maybe it's not meant to last

They settled into each other, smoothly, dancing as the fountain by the clock tower spilled pretty water, as the band played, as the world tilted.

It was, what it appeared to be, two young people on the verge of something beautiful.

But what do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

I just want to start again,
And maybe you could show me how to try,
And maybe you could take me in,
Somewhere underneath your skin?

What do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?

They drifted in together and clung, shaking.

The girl in the hat was grinning. The musicians were whispering. And the girl called, "You two? Best fucking thing I've seen all night. How about we step this up a bit?"

And that was romance too. It was knowing when to turn the page. It was turning the page to find the laughter in the swirling beginning.

Leon spoke with her softly. She nodded, she grinned, she called, "Girl! You let this one go, you send him my way ok?"

Jill laughed, watching him move back to her side. She lifted a brow, "Whatcha doin there, rookie?"

"Telling a story. Listen and learn, Valentine."

You can run and you can begin'
In a place where you don't fit in
Love will find a way ...yeah

When you're down, you can start again
Turn around anything you're in
Love will find a place yeah

If you got one heart you are followin'
One dream keeps you wondering
Love lights your way through the night
One wish keeps you tryin'
What's your silver lining
Loves lights your way through the night

Jill felt her heart stammer. She felt her eyes fill and shook her head, "….you big girl."

He laughed and spun her into his arms. They swayed and he said, quietly, "This is it, Jill, for me? This is what it feels like."

You can fall a thousand time
You can feel like you've lost your mind
Love will find a way oh yeah yeah
In a minute it can change your life
In a moment it can make you right
Love will find a place yeah

If you got one heart you are followin'
One dream keeps you wondering
Love lights your way through the night
One wish keeps you tryin'
What's your silver linin'
Loves lights your way through the night

They stopped dancing. The little upbeat love song swirled around them. And he said, "I'm not Redfield. I can't give you that. I can give you this."

He reached in his pocket and held out the little lighter. "So you can light your way through the night. It's not much, I guess. But a pretty girl once told me to stop being afraid of the dark. I'm learning. And I think maybe she needs it more than I do right now."

The damn lighter.

Jill laid her hand over it in his. "It's yours. I don't need it….because I have you."

They curled together, her feet dangled, and they kept holding on while that little love song spilled sweetly in the soft summer sky.

Romance, Jill thought, that's all it took sometimes.

He dropped her off at her door. Like a gentleman. He kissed her hand.

She laughed lightly and grabbed his vest. A romantic date, sure, you bet. With a lot of tongue kissing at the end of it.

A lot of gasping and somebody wheezed. She was pretty sure it was her pressing him into the Jeep to eat his face. Maybe.

He didn't even grope her.

Gasping, pulling back to look at him, she laughed softly, "Put your hands on my ass, rookie."

And he chuckled. He just chuckled. His hands slid down to cup her butt and tug her into him. She smeared her lipstick all over his mouth.

Somebody was humping. Again, she was mostly convinced it was her.

Laughing, letting go, Jill staggered a little as she stepped back.

He kept leaning on the Jeep like she'd kicked his ass instead of grabbed it.

Trying to be suave, Jill walked backward. "Right…so…goodnight."

"Definitely a good night. A good one. What's the rules about ASKING for the knob slobbering?"

Jill giggled a little and stole his heart. She said, "This is our first date, rookie. I think that's a negative on that."

"Yeah? We can fast forward. Come with me. We'll get some breakfast. That'll be two dates. I'll buy you a burrito at the gas station, three dates. What do ya say?"

"Charmer." She laughed, she kept walking backwards, "When do we do this again?"

"Tomorrow?"

She laughed again, face red, "Maybe. Leon?"

"Hmm." Still sagging on the Jeep like she'd kicked him from the ground. She kinda loved it.

"Thank you. I've really missed you."

He went to say something charming and she tripped. The rules said: Never look back. Apparently, walking backward was the same rule.

She went over. Her heels snapped its glued bottom. It zipped out like a rocket as her legs kicked out from beneath her. It flew like a dart and smacked into his Jeep.

Jill hit the ficus in the pot beside the stairs to her apartment. She scrambled. She went backward into it with a rustle and rip of cloth . Her legs went up over her head and the pot fell over, spilling her into the dirt behind it.

And there she was. Legs up in the air like a dying cockroach, having tried to kill her date with a rocket shoe, her perfect romantic evening soiled by the smell of compost and mulch.

The mulch had fallen into her cleavage, making her boobs look furry.

Leon leaned over her in the moonlight, eyes wide, mouth twitching. "…hey."

"…..hi." Her face was beet red, "…so…I meant to do that."

He put his hand down to her, laughing, "You always fall over when you see me. What's the meaning of that I wonder?"

Jill climbed up, light-headed with embarrassment, "You knock me off my feet, clearly."

Chuckling, he swept the dirt off her arms while she knocked off her dress. Later, he'd think he was either retarded or insane, because his brain kept on swiping. And there he was, swiping her cleavage with his hand to get the dirt off.

She was staring at him, owl eyed.

After fifteen seconds of this, he finally stopped. She froze.

He blinked.

She coughed.

His voice cracked, thrilling her, and he whispered, "….right. All better?"

She turned. He dropped the shoe. It clattered on the ground. There was the groping in the alley, Jill thought desperately as he shoved her against the wall. That was the groping in the alley that Redfield had mentioned.

His hand closed over one of her breasts in the dress, kneading. Hers slid right into his pants to grip his ass. Somebody grunted, somebody cursed. The damn dress was like Fort Knox, Leon thought with anger, he couldn't even get to her tits in it.

Jill broke the kiss, gasping loudly, "Come upstairs with me. Ok? Upstairs. Just…"

SHIT.

He stepped back, shaking. She blinked, watching him.

And he said, "Nope. No. First date. No. Redfield's up there right?"

Oh.

OH. Naturally. Of course. This was HER rule, the dating. No humping. No. Just dating.

And it would be cruel to bring him up there with Chris there. Of course, it was cruel. She shook herself, nodding, "Sorry. Right. I'm sorry. Just…I'm gonna…bye."

She ran up the steps.

He put his head against the wall and rapt it there, lightly, muttering, "…you're a good dude. You're a good dude. You're a good dude."

Jill clambered into her apartment.

She closed the door, leaning on it to gasp and jump. Because a voice said, "Good date?"

With a squeak, Jill answered, "Yep. Yes. Hah. Yeah. Jesus. It's Friday night. Why aren't you out?"

Chris laughed and set down his nachos on the table as he wandered in from the kitchen, "You know me. I'm not a Friday night hittin the clubs with the hos and the homies type of guy."

He flopped on the couch with a beer and the remote. "You wanna watch Star Wars with me?"

Lord.

This was her life.

Romance in the stars with dirt in her boobs and space wars.

She eyed him. He lifted a brow at her.

"Sure. Why not? Let me got get changed."

Chris nodded, sipping his beer. "Jill?"

She was almost to her room. She leaned back to look at him. "Yep?"

"You look beautiful."

She couldn't think of a single time he'd ever said it to her. Ever. And he never said anything he didn't mean.

Jill held his gaze. She smiled, softly. "Thank you. I'll be right back."

Chris leaned on the couch, sighing. She came back in sweatpants and a t-shirt with Howard the Duck on it. She took the beer he'd opened for her and tucked her knees up on the couch with her. "Jedi."

"Yeah?"

"You kidding? Yeah."

"Done."

He leaned back on the couch beside her. She sipped her beer. The movie started throwing the familiar theme song around them. It flickered over her face and Chris said, "Jill?"

"Hmm?"

"You still look beautiful."

She rolled her neck. He smiled, lightly, "Yeah. I meant that one too."

They held eyes. She shifted a little and leaned her head on his shoulder.

And they watched Jabba the Hut prepare for the ass kicking of a lifetime as Luke Skywalker wandered into his fortress.

Romance, she mused, it hit you in a hundred different ways.

And every single one was as wonderful as the next.

They shared nachos. They laughed. The watched the movie and fought about the purpose of Lando Calrissian.

Princess Leia started kicking butt in her bikini and Jill mused, "I would probably pay good money to look like that in a bikini."

Chris laughed, loudly, and had her lifting a brow. "What?"

"Jill…" He shook his head, "You look better. TRUST ME. You look…" He laughed again, sighing, "….it's better."

Jill watched his face, wondering, "I was kinda fat after puberty."

Chris snorted, rolling his eyes, "There's nothing fat about you. You women. You think we care about a few extra pounds? Some of us? We like it."

Jill sipped her beer, considering, "You like it?"

He laughed again. "Yeah. I like it. I don't like any one type, Jill. It's just girl dependent. But on you? I like it. You're timeless. Classic. Like a Botticelli chic or something. You're a twelve, Jill. Stop worrying about a few extra pounds."

Again. He never said anything he didn't mean.

She kept staring at him. Chris rolled his eyes from the screen to her face. "What?"

"You think I'm a twelve?"

He shrugged, trying to read her, "Always. I couldn't even believe you'd waste your time on an ugly mug like me to start with."

Jill blinked. Chris added, "Kennedy? He looks good with you. You're both…you know…model types or whatever."

She said nothing, watching him.

And he finished, "My fault – entirely. Since I was stupid about it. But I can hate him for it anyway."

"…for what?"

He shrugged, leaning back on the couch, "Looking like he does I guess. It's what girls want, clearly. A girl like you deserves, you know, fancy shit and romance like that. From a guy who looks like a stupid model. Who are we kidding here?"

Jill kept watching his face.

He added, "As long as he's good to you. Cause you deserve that too. And he realizes that you're not just beautiful, you know, you're brave and kinda quirky and say stupid shit that makes me laugh. And you like to give all your money to homeless people in the park. And you are always feeding the stray cats outside. And you look better in sweats than most girls do in diamonds."

He thought all these things. And he never said them.

Ever.

He was so dumb.

Jill said, quietly, "You bowing out?"

He turned his eyes from the screen. "You want me to?"

She shifted a little on the couch. He dropped the nacho like it was hot and turned toward her. Her hand slid over the back of his neck and his shifted to glide over her knees and rub.

It was kinda a first kiss for them too. Like hers with Leon in the starlight. This? Was kinda their first real one.

Just them. No bad feelings, no anger. No sex.

Just a soft press of lips. One, and again. He didn't throw her down and mount her. He just, let it roll.

They broke apart, watching each other in the flickering light from the television. And Jill said, softly, "No. I meant what I said. We're good friends, Chris. We're good in bed. We're good at being coworkers and partners. We need to do this and find out about the rest of it. Forget what he gives me. Find out what you do. That's what dating is. It's getting to know each other and find out if you're compatible."

She slid off the couch, "Early day tomorrow. I should rack out…" She paused, and turned back at the hallway, "We spent months in this apartment fucking like bunnies. And we never talked. Not like tonight. This? This was a date."

He watched her go and smiled, lightly, "So it was. How about tomorrow I take you to the street fair downtown…and hold your hand?"

Jill smiled, laughing a little, "There ya go. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks after all. Goodnight, Chris."

Not Redfield.

Just Chris.

It felt better than fucking her somehow to hear it. Because the fucking meant nothing. It was just dicks and holes and emptiness.

The Chris? It meant he was more than just a dick after all.