-Man of Glass-

Two days more and Eva hadn't come back to the house. She called Claire to tell her she wasn't definitive on when she would return. Could be two days, could be a week. He didn't understand why she wouldn't see him. She probably couldn't stand the sight of him, a reminder of someone captured and tortured and drugged to attack his friends. Whatever she felt, it was his fault. Had to be.

His old friends and partners came and went from the motel to the house at random hours of the day. Despite no one saying anything, he was aware Leon had been assigned monitoring his behavior for relapse until the moment he got called away. The assignment wasn't official, unlike his new orders. Everyone continuing to stop in for visits were clearly keeping an eye on him in shifts. He was never left alone for very long.

Claire was always at the house resting in bed or seated elsewhere for best recovery positioning. Rebecca, Renny, and Jill were around the most out of the motel crew. He still couldn't believe Jill had been alive for all these years and Barry knew about it. On the brighter side of things, he kicked the habit of relying too much on Wesker's presence for security, an embarrassing practice he was glad to be done with.

It was frustrating Wesker was attune to his disposition at any given time far better than his friends. Could be it was the man's pattern of observation over direct interference except when he wanted to intervene. His psychological headspace was disorganization at its finest. Present thinking got interrupted by past thinking he no longer believed in anymore. What the drugs made him think. What Alex tried to make him think. Old and new memories mixing and mashing to a confusing degree. One thought remained cognizant throughout: he loathed the monster that was Legend.

Chris lowered the tall bottle and peered out the front window. The liquor served a fine distraction from reliving moments of murder and brutality, either at Alex's hands or his own. Reality checks weren't enough to keep him stable. He had to be strong for his friends, but he was weak and troubled. Had to distract. Had to dull the internal screaming of his hopeless state. Were those new neighbors?

He managed a scoff at the idea of calling anyone neighbors. Stepping away from the window, he walked around to the door and quietly went to stand on the porch. Jill and Billy were in the kitchen drinking coffee and reminiscing on creepy mansions and their creepy owners. He hated remembering that stuff. Why talk about it?

The whiskey he left on the porch as he wandered to the driveway. A moving truck was parked in the driveway next door. For some reason he thought there was something off about it and felt the pull to investigate for answers. He'd gotten to the side of the truck when a blonde woman in tight leather exited the back, sliding the door down and shut behind her. She rounded the vehicle corner and halted, eyeing him. Chris felt distinctly threatened, an attack imminent.

Suddenly the rising tension deflated with the sound of a man's voice coming from behind him.

"Maria, we know this man. It's alright."

"You do?" Chris turned to look at him, frowning. "Who are you?"

"The name is Glenn Arias," he shared.

Far too open for his own good.

"Arias? The merchant of death," he uttered in disbelief, expanding on what he could recall. "Former CIA who got into illegal bioweapon trade during the war on terror."

"Ah, we need no introductions."

"You're kidding, right? Virus expert associated with the Los Iluminados cult moves in next door to a house frequented by a DSO agent who has dealt with them before."

"Are you counting out the BSAA agent and anti-terrorist enforcement group leader?"

Chris narrowed his eyes. "Are you after an agreement with Wesker? He's still holding onto leftover Tricell and Umbrella assets which I'm sure you covet. He'll screw you over in the end if you make a deal with that bastard."

"We have an enemy in common, Mr. Redfield. I delivered Dr. Sheppard to your associates to help them find you."

He wished he wore his uniform and weapons right now. Oh yeah, he didn't have a uniform. No BSAA or team to give him a sense of purpose. Dedicated his entire life to a cause and look where it got him. Jill could feel the same way, he considered, and made an effort to lessen the self-pity.

"You should find a new address, or better yet, turn yourself in."

Arias smiled much less pleasantly. "Here we thought you'd lost yourself. But you haven't changed at all."

Chris grimaced at the lack of truth in that. He turned toward the spot he put the liquor. Maria gazed at him as she passed by to go into the house. He wasn't sure who she was to the terrorist. Family? Friend? Partner? Employee? All of the above?

"Why don't you come inside for a drink?"

"I shouldn't."

He followed them inside the house. It beat having hovering friends spying on him because they worried he'd lose his mind again. A terrorist wouldn't care about him or how much he drank.

"I sympathize with your recent plight, Mr. Redfield," he told him straightforward while walking to a kitchen table bearing an array of liquor bottles. "The world could use a reset."

Chris stopped in his tracks, just short of the room. The attractive woman plopped down in a chair at the table, swinging her feet up to rest on the surface. Her hair covered part of her face, concealing an eye. It must be hard to see like that. But then, he imagined tight leather would be a bitch to stroll around in too. Sure looked good though...

Arias retrieved a glass and held it out to him. "Will you partake?"

"Yeah," he muttered in reply, entering the room. "I don't think that anymore, you know, about killing people to start a new world. It wouldn't fix a thing."

Handing over the full glass, the man who he just noticed was wearing really nice clothes said, "I sympathize with your suffering and loss. I can understand a desire to make the world pay for what it took from you, how people are treated."

He wasn't in the mood to explain temporary insanity. Waking in that hospital bed, he couldn't feel a damn thing except agony of every sort. Nova's presence was felt lingering outside during the early morning hours, staying near. It caused a despondency in him he embraced. His companion followed faithfully. They'd end their pain together, along with the whole planet. That was their intention. That was their mistake.

Nova kept him from processing things. Somewhere in the darkest parts of his mind, he knew this. While he was captive to the whims of a mad man, he liked it. When he wasn't trapped in hell any longer, it frightened him to be feeling and remembering. Facing what he'd done... He drank the glass dry.

Maria swung her legs over the side of the table and stood. "I'm going to keep my father company."

"Very well," he replied, watching her leave the house. They sipped their respective drinks, looking at each other now. "Another?"

He gave him the glass to fill and received it back. "Thanks."

"Do you mind if I call you Chris?"

His mind was elsewhere, and he asked, "Do you have sex with men?"

"Excuse me?" The man lowered the drink before changing his mind and taking a sip prior to responding. "What are you truly asking?"

Chris drained that glass too, and Arias judged him openly. "Want to have sex with me?"

The beginnings of a smirk formed and erased. "I must say, this is a most unexpected suggestion."

"I want to get over this shit. You're a stranger. You don't matter to me. It's not booze so it won't fog my head. Just an idea."

Alex did whatever he liked to anyone he liked. Humans were less than nothing to him. They were expendable, useful for experimentation to transform them into "evolved" versions, and nothing else. He was at a loss fighting someone as powerful as him. Wesker could be a vain and nihilistic man. Alex was those things, but had ambition to a poisonous degree. Wesker one day chose to control his worst impulses; Alex would never dream of it.

"Forget I said anything."

"I am out of practice, admittedly," Arias said, putting his drink on the table. "And with a man, I've never."

Chris grinned, laughing internally at himself for his own stupid ask. "Are you declining?"

"Fair warning given. So, I do you?"

Surprised to hear agreement for a moment, spit caught in his throat. He swallowed it clear. "Yeah."

Determination entered his mind. He became singularly focused on the decision made. Chris grabbed Arias's neat tie and pulled him close. Perturbed at the potential wrinkle His Royal Stiffness might garner, he pulled away to give a dirty look. Laughing, feeling like an idiot, he latched onto that pretty vest.

"How'd you think this was gonna go? Afraid to get a little messy?"

His eyes flashed warning which he could not care less about. Chris went for it and kissed him on the lips. He did it close-mouthed out of manners. He'd be nothing resembling Alex in this. Arias pressed forward, grasping the clean shirt Wesker bought him, and their mouths opened to expand the experience.

Images broke them apart. He shook his head, glancing at the plentiful liquor supply. The point was to move away from that somehow. Well, it wasn't the main thing he was trying to move away from.

He yanked his shirt over his head by the collar's back. "You okay wrecking your clothes?"

Arias released a mirthful chuckle. "Are you sure you've done this before?"

Chris found the floor. He did not want to think. His eyes noticed the man loosening his tie.

"I have other clothes. No mattresses have been moved into the house yet. Shall we use the couch?"

Too prissy for the floor. Fine. He went to the couch and waited for Arias to do the same. He was searching around until he spotted a bag and started digging inside. Chris shucked his boots and pants so he couldn't change his mind. The boxer briefs were snugger than he liked. Wesker didn't get everything right size-wise.

Arias knelt beside the couch, holding up a bottle which read lubricant on the label. Alex didn't use the stuff. He was meant to suffer. He tossed the bottle on the couch cushion Chris wasn't on and tore a condom from a strip of them. Consideration, how novel for this particular brand of encounter.

They arranged themselves on the cushions horizontal, finishing adjustments to clothing for what was to come. Arias prodded at the entrance to his body he'd need to use with two fingers. He hooked an arm under one knee and held it to his chest. His other leg he let hang over the end of the couch. Three fingers dug in and curled and he splintered.

"Wait."

Strong hands tore at him, clawing skin open. A hand gripped his throat and teeth dug into his neck. "This is what you do, hm? This is what you need? Drink from me! Drink!" "No!" The teeth penetrated skin, thrusts stilling as the lower assault was forgotten, and he screamed.

Oh shit, he was actually screaming. Arias stood next to the couch looking uncertain. None of what he believed happened did. It was a memory. Shit.

He felt a catatonia taking grip. Immobile, he stared at the ceiling in a stupor. Panicked thoughts wrestled with calming thoughts he struggled to insert. Until one won out over the other, he didn't think he'd be able to move.

"I heard screaming."

The male voice didn't sound familiar. It didn't comfort him. He had to get out of here. Yeah, right. He couldn't even speak.

"Trauma? A memory lapse? I'm not sure."

"Who might you be?"

"This is my house. You answer first."

"Your house. Cute." He did recognize that voice. "Name's Krauser. Are you attacking my friend there? That would be a very foolish thing to do."

Chris's fingers twitched, body feeling like it was waking out of a long sleep. He was embarrassed to seize up and freeze. The anxiety was fading, situational awareness returning.

"If we're not doing this, can I have another drink?"

"You do a lot of things you shouldn't, Mr. Redfield."

He snorted, propping onto elbows now that mobility had returned to him. "Coming from the guy about to give me a dicking, I won't hold it against you that you aren't using my first name."

"We're still on?"

He grimaced, unsure he could guarantee going through with it. "Maybe."

Arias shifted foot to foot while he was thinking on the act of sex. Only been with women in his life until Alex stole his life away. It was all bad. None of it was good. But it was supposed to be. He wanted to try. He refused to feel anger and despair toward the good things life had to offer. His words emerged cold in his distress.

"Will you suffocate me or abandon me like everyone else in my life?"

Perplexed, the new arrival frowned, and his reply sounded thought out. "Do you consider a required separation for the well-being of the public abandonment?"

Chris considered, smile growing as he recalled how little time they spent together his entire life. He'd play at sarcasm to hide the fear. "You don't call, you don't write."

Krauser crossed into the room where Arias was standing with hands clenching his pant front closed. He appeared somewhat uncomfortable at the intrusion and audience. Chris didn't care. He couldn't confuse two separate people for Alex.

He patted Arias on the thigh once. "Go ahead."

This sorry coping attempt with the enemy and faking with his friends continued. Eva's absence also continued. He drank often to shut down his guilt and loneliness. He paid a daily visit to the house next door to get fucked and feel pleasure and companionship. He recognized it was self-defeating and couldn't go on forever. Just for now.

Krauser thrust a few more times, emptying into the condom. Groaning, he fought the automatic tension and basked in the afterglow of good sex. The bulkier man released his arms and sank back on his haunches, deeply gratified. Arias rubbed his shoulder, rising from the bedspread in discomfort. He already fucked him beforehand, however... Chris encouraged him into his mouth when he noticed his hardness. This with them was different than Alex. That's why it was better.

He shifted to his side, raising his upper half. Krauser's hand gripped to jerk him to completion. Bobbing along, he spat the foul fluid on the sheets when Arias came. There was probably a more ideal system to oral. Chris reached his own "happy ending" seconds after. A hand massaged his scalp and neck briefly.

"That was nice."

"You catch on quick, Chris," Krauser remarked, amused.

Rolling his eyes, he wiped spit off his chin, sitting up. "I should get back. Leon isn't a fan of Krauser babysitting duty. I'd say he doesn't trust you, Jack."

"It's Krauser. Always Krauser. We understand each other?"

He refrained rolling his eyes again. Shuffling to the edge of the mattress, he reached for his clothes. Krauser did a backwards somersault off the bed and super sped to the pile of clothes on the floor. He threw them into his lap with a prideful smirk.

He did roll his eyes again. "Show off."

Krauser shut his eyes, leaning into the dresser. "Just jealous you're not super special like me anymore."

"You okay?" he questioned, frowning.

He straightened, opening his eyes and seeming fine. "Peachy."

Arias was mostly dressed, fixating on doing it neatly. Chris tugged his shirt over his neck and shoved a leg into his pants. Finishing getting the pants around his waist, he pushed his arms through short sleeves and pulled the hem of it downward. He was wearing the old found clothes freshly laundered and given to him by his sister.

"I'd like to introduce you to the only other family member I have besides Maria."

Chris paused before going back to tying his sneakers. Something else Wesker bought for him. Krauser waltzed to the bathroom in his nude glory to take a shower. It was his post-coital routine.

He looked at the man when he stopped and waited by the door. He stood. "Lead the way."

He was led through the house and to the moving truck which remained parked in the drive. Arias grasped the handle and lifted the door. He looked inside. There was someone alive in there. Chris knew something was up with this thing. He'd known it.

Arias motioned for him to go in and followed after. The man began sharing a story once they were inside, peering toward the far back where a bulky shadow sat.

"When the CIA discovered my dealings with the black market, their reaction was cruel. My bride... Her name was Sarah. A CIA ordered bombing decimated our wedding, killing all but myself, Maria, and her father."

Arias lit several bright candles placed strategically to illuminate the interior. It was evident this had been done numerous times. Chris moved closer, cautious but composed. He flipped the lighter closed and smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes.

"Diego Gomez. I did what I could for him. He was left disfigured and requires this medical apparatus, the equipment, to keep him stable."

The severity of his condition was breath-taking in its horror. Chris took the picture he was handed. A wedding photo with the bride and groom, Maria, and the man who must be who he was standing before. The latter two stood on the bride's side, so he assumed they were her family. He wondered what virus was used to make him look the way he did now; massive muscle to an inhuman degree, abnormal hunchback. He wore a metal mask among the other metal items adorning his body. Restraining?

It took another moment to see a jarring similarity. "The bride, um, your bride. She... Well, I don't know if you've seen her, but she looks a lot like-"

"Your friend Rebecca Coen. Yes." He switched to what he'd been saying, brushing aside anxiety. "Maria wasn't unscathed either. I was luckiest, or unluckiest, depending on your point of view."

Chris examined the lump of a man. He looked in pain. Arias must be hiding pain as well. Approaching the far back, he carefully put his hand over the other man's much larger hand.

"I'm sorry this happened to you."

He understood fallout and the things left behind. Chris couldn't be with her and it was for the best anyway. He can't love her the way she wants. They needed strength. He wasn't that. She deserved everything, and he had no ability to provide.

"We can all only take so much before there must be consequences."

Glimpses of his crimes forced him to clench his jaw. The acts were many and weighed heavy. He didn't want to think about it.

"Chris?" Jill's voice called out to him.

"I have to go," he told Arias. "Thank you for your honesty."

He was studied as he moved past to leave. "Of course..Chris."

Hopping down from the back, he saw a black car with government plates parked on the curb in front of Eva's house. He uttered as loud as he dared behind himself, "Stay here until you hear a car leave."

Jill stood between the two yards, looking at the front door until she located Chris coming from an angle she wasn't expecting. He smiled and lifted a hand to greet her. Squeezing her wrist briefly with familiarity, he leaned close to whisper.

"You know the new neighbors aren't on the up and up, right?"