I think I said already that I'm obsessed with Valenfield. And lately, because of the pandemic (please take care guys), I've been playing and replaying and watching and rewatching all the games (my comfort food, basically) and the plot bunnies are running loose inside my head. ALSO, I've been reading a lot of great fics with them (not nearly enough) and I noticed that while we have a lot of fics dealing with the aftermath of RE5, almost all of them treats Jill as a broken human and the others too. I'm not saying that they're not good (on the contrary, they're amazing) but I just wanted to take a different approach.
However, even though I love Valenfield, I also love love angst and this is what I came up with. I don't know when I'll update this because I'm doing this for fun and my head and my heart are heavy already with everything that's going on.
I also love Cleon so I decided to throw them in here and develop my writing on them.
Lastly, Brad is alive because even though he's an ass, I couldn't picture anyone else here (and in my head, I adore his attitude).
So, I hope you like it.
I didn't review this (any beta around here?) and english is not my primary language so I apologize for any mistakes.
The title is a song from Death Cab for Cutie because I love this band.
I don't own Resident Evil (because if I did, the zombie game would definitely have more romance in it.)
The bell chimes as he enters the bar.
The music is loud enough for people to dance but the volume is low enough that the costumers can maintain a conversation.
He locates the table that his friends are sitting but, before he moves there, he stops by the bar and orders himself a beer.
And that's when he sees her.
She's laughing at something that the man that she's talking to say to her. Her blue almost grey eyes are sparkling and he's glad that her hair is brown again. He knows how much the blond bothered her.
He takes his beer and walks over to his friends.
"Look who has finally decided to join us!" Brad exclaims as he stands up to greet his friend "the amazing Captain Redfield!"
"Fuck you, Brad" Chris smirks as he pats his friend's shoulder.
He spots his favorite person in the whole world and moves to hug her.
"Chris!" His sister says and he kisses the top of her head.
"How have you been?" He asks and this time his smile is genuine.
"You know, wreaking havoc around." She shrugs and Leon raises his glass saluting her. "And you? What took you so long?"
He shrugs too and sits next to her.
They all make small talk and he can't help it. His eyes drift off to where he's last seen his partner and she's still talking with the guy from earlier.
"He's just a friend, you know." Claire whispers in his ear and he doesn't look at her.
"Not my problem."
She scoffs. "Yeah, right. I'm your sister. You can tell the truth to me, you know."
"Don't know what you're talking about."
She punches him in the arm, and he makes a little show, just to make her happy.
"You should get the stick out of your ass and do something about it, bro." She finishes her drink and stands up.
He sighs as she moves to the bar to order another drink.
Finishing his, he decides that yes, he doesn't know what she's talking about.
.
It's been one year since she's been back from the dead.
One year since she was given a second chance to starts things over, even after everything that Wesker put her through.
When she left the BSAA facilities after being discharged from a lot of exams and tests and god knows what else, she decided that she would live her life to the fullest and not take anything for granted. That she wouldn't have any regrets.
She watches her partner - she wonders if she can still call him that - as her friend keeps talking about something that she's not even remotely interest.
She saw him looking at her when he arrived. She saw him staring when he sat at the table.
She also noticed when, during their work, he stole glimpses of her when he thought she wasn't aware.
A long time ago, before that damned mission, she told him how she felt. And he said that he wasn't ready.
They never spoke about it and she's been back for a fucking year and he hasn't said a word.
Now he's talking to some blonde girl at the bar and she wonders if he had been honest about, well, everything.
Her heart has been broken too many times already, to the point that she wonders if she still has one to begin with, for her to keep thinking about "what ifs".
She sighs and excuses herself.
It's been one year since she's been back from the dead.
And she'll be damned if she waits for another fake death experience to let her second chance go to waste.
.
"Do you have a lighter?"
She looks at her friend with a cigarette on his mouth.
"This shit will kill you, you know."
He shrugs. "Zombies will kill me too but you don't see me stopping anytime soon."
She laughs while she waits for him to light his cigarette with the lighter from another person.
"How are you holding up?" He asks and she sees the genuine concern on his eyes.
"I'm alive." She says and it's the truth. She is.
He nods. "I know. But how are you really, Jill?"
She smiles at her friend.
When she met Leon, a little over six months ago, she never thought that they would be close friends. But misery loves company and you can't control who you fall in love with..
And god knows how hard it is to love the Redfields.
"There are good days and bad days, you know?" She takes a cigarette from his pack and while he mutters "hypocrite" she lights her stick with his. "But like I said, I'm alive and after everything, this is all I ever wanted."
"Is it?"
She shrugs because she they both know the truth.
.
They go back inside and she sees someone standing at her table, clearly uncomfortable.
"Carlos!" She exclaims with a big smile on her face. He's her friend and she missed him so much that she can't help when she jumps on him.
He catches her and hugs her tightly.
"It's been one year already, chica?"
She used to get mad when he called her that. But now, she finds it endearing.
"Can you believe it?" Her smile is big and honest and his grin makes crinkles appear in the corner of his eyes and a little voice inside her head curses the universe because life really is unfair.
As the two friends catch up, they miss the pair of brown eyes watching them from the bar.
.
"It's pathetic, really."
Claire raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "What is, Brad?"
"The two dipshits that I call friends." He gesticulates to Chris and Jill. "He clearly loves her. I mean, we all saw how he were when she "died". And now that she's back, he doesn't do anything about it!"
Claire laughs and lets him vent. "And her! All the talk about living life to the fullest my ass. Why she doesn't say anything?!"
Barry just sips his drink, because Kathy will kill him if he gets wasted and miss lunch next day at her family's home.
"What can you do, Brad? You know as well as I do that Chris is more stubborn than a bull and Jill..." he looks fondly at his almost daughter. "She's trying."
"I know!" He slams his hand at their table. "But still."
Leon looks briefly at Claire before he finishes his scotch.
"They're afraid of taking chances, Brad. And if anything goes wrong, well, we don't really need another reason to not sleep at night, don't you agree?"
"I think it's stupid." Brad murmurs, resigned.
Leon stands up and claps his friend on the back, all the while feeling two pair of blue eyes following his movements.
"Never said it isn't, my friend."
.
"The girl of the moment."
She laughs at him.
"So, you finally found a minute to talk to me."
He smirks. "I can say the same about you."
She turns and stares at his profile. "Don't you dare say that I'm the unapproachable one, Chris Redfield. You've been talking with how many girls? And you couldn't find one minute to talk with me?"
He looks at her. She's standing with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side. He smiles fondly because even though they're old and they lived more than anyone that they know, she's still has the same mannerisms from when they met, that makes him miss those early days.
(And lost chances too, but he's not ready to admit it.)
"I'm sorry." He says and he means it.
"You better be." She turns and takes the drink that the bartender is offering. "How are you?"
"I'm... good." He turns to give her his full attention. "And you?"
"I'm good too."
They stay in silence for a moment.
Before she can ask when they became strangers, the girl that he was talking earlier arrives and touches his arm.
She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. She holds his hand tenderly and squeezes it (she ignores the way hear fingertips burns after the contact and he wonders for how long her touch will be imprinted on his skin) and says, "enjoy your night".
And leaves.
(They both missed the crowd that watched holding their breaths at their interaction. They also missed Claire shaking her head, Leon standing up to follow her and Barry trying to contain a furious Brad.)
(Also, all of them, including Jill, missed how his sad and longing eyes follows her until he can't see her silhouette anymore.)
.
"My place or yours?"
The girl - Sarah? Melissa? - asks and she rolls her eyes.
Chris has his arm around her and looks at her sister. "Do you need a ride home?"
Before she can answer, the door of the bar opens and Leon stumbles outside.
"I guess someone had a lot to drink tonight."
He snorts. "Like you are any better."
"I'm tipsy while you can't even distinguish your left foot from your right."
He tries to focus his gaze on her. "Did you ever try to beat Jill in a shot competition? That girl is a beast."
"Of course I did. Why did you think I refused?" She laughs and Leon tries to think about anything other than the sudden need to kiss her. "Do you want to share a cab?"
They don't live near but as he looks at her pleading eyes and the couple at her side he agrees.
"Great!" Samantha (Good God what's her fucking name!) answers and Claire just wants her to shut up.
One cab stops near them and before Chris can offer the ride to his sister, Leon says, "Go on ahead. I'm still waiting for Jill."
Chris sobers up a little. A long time ago, he would've said no because they are the two most important people in his life and he'd be damned if he let anyone, especially a drunk one take care of his girls. But then he remembers that Claire is a grown, capable and woman and he doesn't really know what place he has in Jill's life, anymore. Besides, he fucked up too much already with the brunette and despite of everyone thinks, he doesn't want to add this mistake to his already long list.
He shakes his head and thanks him.
He enters the car and as the girl kisses his neck, he turns around just in time to see Jill leaving the bar holding Carlos' hand.
I think way too much about the way things should be said
'cause it just can't leave my head all the way.
It seems my brand new candles would catch on fire today
I think I might get burned anyway
(Death Cab for Cutie - New Candles)