We have entered the last chapter of 2019 and we're entering 2020. We're actually getting close to the end of what I planned to write. my initial plan was for around 46 to 50 chapters so we have roughly 14 chapters left. Part of me wants to keep writing but at the same time, I'm also hesitant to just go free reigns outside of mapped-out lore territory. So for this, I leave the choice to you. If you don't feel like leaving a comment/review to tell me what you prefer, I have a strawpoll set up. I had to enter a few spaces so the writer wouldn't autodelete it, but if you want to participate in the poll here is the link.
www. strawpoll .me /45386343
The options are A) continue writing this one, but write a parallel Heisenburg/OC story to build lore off each other. B) Just keep writing, screw lore. C) Wait and see if they release any DLC and if not, keep writing. D) stick to the original plan and stop at 46-50 chapters.
Song suggestion: Be Somebody by CVBZ
Disclaimer: I own nothing! -throws confetti- CapCom please don't sue me for being a simp.
November turned to December and winter took its place as the trees became bare of leaves once more and the sun sets earlier and earlier each day. Those who did walk outside stayed bundled up to stay warm. For this particular night, residents of the all too familiar apartment complex stayed inside to avoid the frozen winds behind closed doors. Two held each other close in the dark between shifting fabric while breathing heavily. A whimper a moan, a grunt, and a groan. pounding hearts, dilated eyes, and curled toes.
The two eventually lay to rest and Emma nuzzles her face against him to get comfortable as he puts an arm around her waist. The two were quiet for a while before Emma Leaned to kiss Chris's neck. "How was work?" She asks with a hint of a smile as she goes back to resting.
"It was work," He replies with a slight smirk as he kept his eyes shut. Emma chuckles at this. The answer returned but she didn't mind. It was the same answer as always yet somehow it was different now that she understood what work was for him. "How goes job hunting?"
Emma grumbles in return. "Nothing yet." She says with a tired sigh.
She returned home a week after the Halloween incident to find a lovely pile of mail on her counter, of which was a letter saying the label was shutting down due to lawsuits from the incident and their connection to 'illegal substances' and that she'd get a 4-month severance package since she worked there for 8 about years. 6 years prior to the merger and almost 2 after. Other than that, she was out of a job. Not that she was surprised, if anything she felt lucky the director didn't use her as a cover story for the incident. Crazed employee turns to arson from stress and sets building on fire. Instead, they went with another gas leak story to try and explain why the surviving workers were 'seeing things' and how it was all in their heads.
"You'll find something," Chris replies with a slight shrug.
"Yeah" Emma replies with a short nod. "Have you heard anything from Mrs. Russo?" Emma asks.
"mh-mh" He replies as a quiet no.
Emma frowns upon hearing this. "She's been so quiet as of late... I'm worried."
"Hmm" Chris replies in quiet contemplation.
"Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow and see if she wants to bake or something. Just to make sure she doesn't need anything..." Emma says while thinking it over "It's not but it would put my mind at ease."
"hm" he gives a short hum of approval.
At this point, Emma notices the trend in his answers, and her expression shifts to one of amusement. "After that, I might see if I can visit Chel, she mentioned having a plan for holiday shopping that required putting an elephant on the sun but we'll see. I'm not sure about how but it seems interesting." Emma says seeing if he'd notice the stray detail.
"m-hmm" Chris replies with a slight nod. That would be a solid no to the unasked question 'are you paying attention'.
"mkay, Well I'll be heading out then," Emma says with a chuckle Giving his chest a pat before she moves to get up and crawl out of bed.
"Huh?" Chris says as that got his attention. He stops her as he hooks her waist to keep her from leaving.
"I asked if you were tired and you said yes," Emma says in response with a smirking smile.
"That's not what you said," Chris replies with a slight frown.
"What did I say?" Emma asks with a smug grin, Checkmate.
Chris remains silent but clears his throat.
Emma gives him a peck on the nose before moving to finish getting out of his bed and starts getting dressed. She could shower once she got back to her place. "Get some rest," she says and he gets out of bed as well to pull her close once more so her back was against his chest.
"You could always stay?" Chris offers as a playful smile crosses Emma's mind.
"Mh-mh" She replies to poke fun at the man standing behind her.
"It's late, Duke will be fine till the morning," Chris says as he gives her a gentle peck.
"Hmmm," she replies still smiling as she was enjoying her little game.
"You can have the first shower" He offers which got her attention.
"Hm" offer accepted. She leans back and gives him a peck "Fine" She agrees "Mind if I borrow a shirt then?"
"Vulture"
"Stingy" She replies and sticks out her tongue. He laughs and gives her another peck before letting go to go and get her the requested shirt.
"Pretty sure my nickname has always been Alpha," He says with a smirk as he offers the shirt.
"M-hmm," Emma replies with a hint of sarcasm still smiling playfully as she accepts the shirt and turns to leave. "Yeah, I'm not calling you that."
Chris gives her a gentle swat to the rear in response causing her to yelp from surprise.
"Chris," she says amused but swats his arm away in return as he laughs. After a bit more playful banter the two were finally able to wash up and settle in for the night to sleep. It was a dreamless sleep but those tend to be the more peaceful nights for the BSAA agent.
Emma eventually woke up as her alarm sounded at 6:30 earning a grumble from Chris, his alarm wasn't for another 45 minutes. Emma turned off the alarm and got up with a stretch. Food. she nods at that thought. it was a bit out of order but she got out of bed and put on her jeans to head back to her apartment, Feed duke, and walk back with a few supplies. It was a bit out of order but she didn't usually spend the night. She dug through a few cabinets to get what she needed and started making a bit of breakfast. a few slices of bacon some eggs, and toast.
Chris's nose twitched slightly as the scent of breakfast made its way to his room. again he grumbles and checks his phone. he still had 20 minutes... he gave a tired sigh and gets out of bed. She was going to turn him into a morning person, wasn't she... He stretches, cracking his back before getting dressed for work and heading out to find Emma sitting at the Island, eating breakfast and still wearing his shirt.
"Morning," Chris says groggily as he walks over and places a hand on her shoulder and leans forward a bit.
"Morning," Emma replies leaning back to give him a quick kiss.
At this point, he notices there was only one plate of food. "So, do I get any?" He asks curiously and gestures to the meal.
Emma chuckles. "I wasn't sure when you were going to wake up. Your plate is in the microwave. It should still be warm."
He nods at that and walks over to retrieve it along with a fork before walking back to take a seat next to Emma.
[Emma] Chris report: Doing well. Having a real breakfast for once not a meal supplement bar.
[Claire] It's a Christmas miracle lol
[Emma] Can't guarantee it but depending on how work goes, he should be in a decent mood when you arrive later. Are you sure I shouldn't tell him you and your BF are stopping by?
[Claire] Positive. He's going to be cranky it's just a matter of how long he's cranky.
[Emma] Okay, I'll trust your call on that.
[Claire] Thanks.
"Who are you texting?" Chris asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Your sister," Emma says casually and continues to poke at the device.
"When did you get her number?" He asks with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"Back at the beach," Emma says before taking another bite of food. "She asked me to give her updates on how you're doing every once in a while" She explains which causes Chris to shake his head before eating his breakfast.
Once he finishes his meal he gets up to put his plate in the sink. "I'm heading out."
" 'Kay. Oh, try not to work too late?" Emma requests. "I'm gonna put in a roast so I'll need help eating it." She offers as an excuse. Claire owed her one for this.
"I'll see what I can do," Chris agrees with a shrug and heads out. He drove to work with a contemplative expression. She spent the night, made breakfast, and was making dinner later all in the span of 24 hours. She was up to something. The question was, what.
Once he's gone Emma smiles and sends another text.
[Emma] Is roast beef okay for dinner?
[Claire] Sound great, Thanks again. We should be there around 6:30/7
[Emma] Not a problem.
With that taken care of Emma cleans up a bit around Chris's apartment before heading to her own. She takes care of Duke before heading back again, washing her hands and starting up the oven to slow cook the roast. Into a large covered roasting pan went the beef roast with carrots celery, onions, a modified version of that tomato sauce recipe that Mrs.R gave her. it took about an hour to get it all set up but she nods and sets a timer. it was 9 so by 2 she'd need to flip it and cook it for another 4 hours while working on the rest of the meal. From what claire was saying Chris didn't have the best opinion of this boyfriend of hers and they only sometimes got along. Hopefully, if they were both busy eating and on semi-neutral grounds then they wouldn't be arguing.
With that thought, Emma cleans up the kitchen, washes her hands again, and heads out to see if Mrs. Russo was home. It was kinda nice being home during the day. Usually, she'd be working on job applications but, she figured she'd give herself a day off after a month of little to no success. It took a minute but the door eventually opened showing a tired but happily surprised-looking Mrs. Russo.
"Emma, what a surprise," the woman says with a soft smile.
"Hi Mrs. Russo," Emma says smiling back. "I was wondering if I could maybe get your help. if you have the time,"
"Of course dear, what can I do for you?" she offers as she opens the door a bit further.
"Well, I'm having guests for dinner tonight. I was trying to think of a dessert to make when I remembered those cookies from the last new years. the Pizza-lles?" Emma explains and attempts to pronounce the name of the cookie.
"pizzelle" Mrs. Russo corrects "They are a classic this time of year," she says with a short chuckle."They require a special iron and anise to make though."
"Ah shoot," Emma says with a slight frown but the woman motions for Emma to enter the apartment.
"Come in, you can borrow mine. I'll show you how it works" she offers and Emma smiles.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Emma replies as she walks in. The place looked... honestly like a mess. It only made Emma worry more. Mrs. Russo was usually so tidy.
"What are you serving for dinner?" Mrs. Russo asks curiously.
"A simple Slow roast, nothing too exciting," Emma replies with a shrug.
"hmm, Anise doesn't usually pair well with beef." Mrs. Russo says "May I suggest something else instead since you're here?"
"Sure I'm all ears," Emma says with a nod.
"a simple Semifreddo would taste much better. It's more of a summer dessert since it's served cold but some still prefer it with winter fruits, the light flavor will help after such a rich meal"
"That sounds perfect," Emma smiling at the adjusted plan. She honestly didn't care what they made, she just wanted to make sure the woman was okay and by the looks of it, she wasn't.
"hmm, We'll need a few things from the store... but you're already starting your roast right?" Mrs. Russo asks.
"It's okay, I can just order what we need and have it delivered." Emma says as she takes out her phone "What do we need?"
"Let's see... some roasted hazelnut halves, Almonds would be fine if the store doesn't have them. cranberries, some dark chocolate, and some heavy cream. that should make a good winter Semifreddo I already have honey, rose water and the other basics"
Emma nods as she adds the items to the shopping cart and orders the ingredients before switching to send a few messages to Chris.
[Emma] I don't think Mrs.R is doing okay... her place is a mess.
[Chris] I just helped her clean it last week...
[Emma] I'll see what I can figure out.
"There we go, they should be here in about 30 minutes," Emma says as she puts her phone back into her pocket.
"Good, just enough time for us to do a bit of prep work," Mrs. Russo says as she starts digging out various supplies that they'd need. As they do so Emma works on washing the Sink full of dishes. Mrs. Russo protested at first but thanked Emma after she insisted that it was the least she could do in exchange for the help she was receiving from the woman.
Before long the kitchen was clean, the groceries arrived and the two got to work. thanks to their prep work it didn't take too long for them to make progress. It would take them an hour tops between making the heavy cream into whipped cream to make the base of the Semifreddo, and macerating the cranberries into a sauce.
"How have you been doing by the way?" Emma asks as they were about halfway done making the base.
"I've been holding on" Mrs. Ruso admits "It's difficult without Marco, God rest his soul, but each day is a blessing."
Whoa, what? "Is he still not feeling well?" Emma asks confused.
"Oh. right." Mrs. Russo says sadly as she stops working with the mixture. "I'm sorry Emma but he passed away last month..."
Oh my gosh. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize," she replies stunned.
"I haven't exactly wanted to talk about it... It would have been difficult for you to know," Mrs. Russo admits quietly.
"Still," Emma says with a sympathetic frown but Mrs. Russo makes a waving motion at her to tell her to stop.
"It was his time," Mrs. Russo says though sorrow is evident in her tone. "It was a nice funeral though. Marco never was one for theatrics so just a small gathering of family."
Emma nods understanding, he did usually keep to himself so it made sense that it was a more private event. The woman pushed herself to smile as she gave Emma a small side hug.
"It's good you stopped by though, this is nice." Mrs. Russo says appreciatively though she seemed to want to change the subject.
"Of course, I'm home most days at the moment so if you ever want to talk or need anything let me know." Emma offers and Mrs. Russo shakes her head.
"I'll be fine sweetheart, but thank you" Mrs. Russo replies.
The two continued to chat and Emma even stayed an extra hour just to listen to the woman speak about whatever was on her mind, her plans for the holidays, how excited she was to see her kids and grandkids. before long Mrs. Russo walks over to the fridge retrieving the Berries and the now semi-frozen mixture that was in a small bread pan.
"There we go, now just keep this in the freezer until you're ready to plate and serve it. Put the macerated Cranberries and Almond halves over top before slicing it up." Mrs. Russo explains.
"Thanks again. I'll make sure to drop off a plate, seems only fair to share since you did most of the work" Emma replies, which causes Mrs. Russo to chuckle.
"You're sweet. I'll look forward to trying it." Mrs. Russo agrees with a nod before sending Emma on her way.
It was almost noon by the time Emma got back to her place. She put away the two containers, one in the fridge the other in the freezer, before texting Chris to let him know what she found out regarding the Russos then got back to work cleaning up her apartment. At 2 she flipped the roast and put it back into the oven, by 5 she had the table set and the sides ready.
6:40 pm rolled around and Emma started plating the Dessert, taking it out of the bread pan and putting it on a serving plate before putting the berries and roasted almond pieces over it and put that back into the fridge. this would keep it well enough until it was time to serve it. She started putting together a dinner plate for Mrs. Russo when she heard a knock at the door. Duke started barking in response.
Right, Claire mentioned he was a bit twitchy around dogs. um. "Duke bedtime," Emma says and the dog gave an indignant huff in response. there was someone at the door. "Duke bed," she repeated and the dog grumpily troats into her room. Emma closed the door behind him before heading over to the main entryway to open it. Waiting outside was claire and a man in a leather jacket with what appeared to be an early 2000's style Emo bangs hair cut. it was a choice.
"Claire good to see you," Emma says with a smile and Welcomed the two into the apartment.
"Good to see you too," Claire replies as she walks in with the man and Emma closed the door behind them.
"I was just about to drop off a plate with the neighbors but feel free to make yourself comfortable," Emma explains as she goes back to serving up the extra plate.
"It's a nice place," Leon says as he casually glances around.
"Thanks, Leon right?" Emma asks as she gets a small dessert plate for a slice of the Semifreddo to take over as well.
"Yeah. Emma?" he asks in return.
"Yep, Nice to meet you." She replies before picking up the plates. "I'll be right back."
Leon looks over to Claire after Emma leaves. "We could have gone anywhere for a vacation and we're visiting your brother."
Claire rolls her eyes at that but smiles "It's the holidays, you're supposed to visit family."
He just wanted to spend some time alone, his last few attempts at a vacation were botched and this looked like it was probably going to join the list. "I'll behave if he does."
"It's one night, you can do it," Claire says with a chuckle as she takes a seat.
"Yeah," Leon replies before taking a seat next to claire.
Eventually, Emma returns and heads back to a few empty glasses on the counter. "I'm not sure when Chris will be here, can I get you anything to drink?" She offers "I have water, and some red wine."
"Water's fine," Leon says.
"I'll try a bit of wine," Claire says with a smile.
"Coming right up," Emma says as she pours two glasses of wine, a glass of water, and a glass with two fingers of bourbon. She picks up the water and liquor first.
"Claire mentioned you prefer heavier drinks. It's bourbon hope that's okay." Emma says putting the glass down next to the cup of water by Leon's plate.
huh... maybe it wouldn't be a complete bust... Leon accepted the peace offering giving a slight cheers motion before drinking from it which causes Claire to smile at Emma. operation 'keep the boys in a good mood' looked like it was going to work. Claire might get her family photo yet.
Emma walks over with her and Claire's glasses and puts those down before starting to move the main dish and sides onto the table. it was almost 7 at this point. Just as she was taking her seat a click could be heard as the door opened.
"It smells good. What's the occa-" Chris says as he walks in and closes the door behind him before noticing the additional people in the apartment "-sion... Kennedy," So that's what she was up to.
"Redfield," Leon replies with a casual nod.
Last names only. Well, this was going great so far... Claire gives her brother a sheepish smile "Good to see you" she says looking at Chris. "We were in the area."
Chris looked over to Emma with a slightly annoyed expression. He did not believe that they 'happened to be in the area' when they were a 4-hour flight away. She knew.
Emma gave a small smile in return while making a vague gesture to the empty seat next to her before starting to serve herself so the meal would begin. "If you're not hungry that's fine." She offers as an out for him. She wasn't going to force him to stay. Chris thinks it over but takes the seat. It was only a few hours. "Can I get you anything to drink?" Emma offers as she watches him serve himself.
"Sure, whatever you have is fine," Chris replies and Emma gets up.
"How was work?" She asks with a smile as she tries to get him used to talk.
"It was work," he says as a small smile started to form, how this turned into a joke for them was beyond him but it helped him relax all the same.
"I see," Emma says as she gathers a cup of water and a nicer beer from the fridge. "Claire any plans for the holidays?" she asks as she walks back and placed the drink in front of Chris.
Claire smiles at the question "Just doing a bit of traveling around, though while we're here, I was thinking maybe we could take a picture together for the holidays?" She requests which causes Chris to raise an eyebrow.
"You flew all the way out here for a picture?" he asks a bit confused. why not just use one of the pictures from the beach trip. Emma's mother had taken plenty of just him and Claire during the visit and provided them to the two.
"Not like you were going to go to her," Leon mumbles into his drink.
Chris stands up abruptly. Leon does so as well drawing a pistol out of instinct from seeing sudden movement and Chris grabs a knife from the table. Claire stands up with her own weapon pointed at Leon.
"WHOA, All of you. Talk about overreacting! Not in my house." Emma says as she stays seated, not wanting to further escalate the situation. Not good. This was bad. "Either you sit and be civil, or you two are kicked out, I'll have a lovely dinner date with Claire instead and we'll take a holiday photo by ourselves." She offers as an ultimatum.
Claire lowers her weapon first then Leon and Chris put the knife down.
"Thank you. I already looked under the beds there are no bioweapons in the house. Please put guns on the island counter, those are not welcomed at this table." Emma says while trying to keep an authoritative tone. She did not spend all day cooking and cleaning for there to be a texas stand-off before she even got a bite. She looks to Claire with an annoyed 'what the shit was that' expression. Emma offered her home as a neutral zone and they both brought pistols to dinner?
"Sorry," Claire says quietly as she moves to do as she's told. Leon hesitates but after a glance from Claire, he relents and does so as well as Chris takes a seat again.
Once Claire and Leon were both seated she nods. "Okay. now. Let's try this again," Emma says as her tone says she was fairly well done with any shenanigans. "It's so nice of you three to join me for dinner. How have you been?"
This time around the meal went much smoother. The conversation barely evolved past small talk. Plans for the holidays, different shows that they were keeping up with, books they were reading, complaining about paperwork, and the like, but they were talking at the least.
Once dessert was served and finished Emma shifts to get up. "You mentioned wanting a picture with the boys right? why don't you three stand by the tree real quick, I'll take the picture." She offers and Claire smiles at this.
"Sure that would be great." Claire agrees and gets up as well. The guys get up shortly after, they weren't thrills but they'd go along with the request. "You should be in the picture too though," Claire says as they walk over to the tree.
"That's sweet of you, but I don't have a tripod to hold up my phone," Emma says with a slight smile. oh well.
"Ask bastion?" Chris offers as a solution. She was a bit surprised he'd be willing to wait since he still seemed a bit annoyed about earlier.
"Oh, um sure let me see if he's home," Emma says and hesitantly leaves the 3 alone for a bit before returning with the Nail tech.
" Alright, let's take a picture," Bastion says with a smile as he accepts Emma's phone. "gals to the middle guys to the side so you don't block the tree" He instructs once everyone was in position he took the picture. "Hm. You're all a bit stiff-looking..." he admits.
Emma looks at Chris and makes a silly face, which causes him to laugh. His laughing causes Claire to chuckle and in turn, gets Leon to crack a smile. Click.
"Okay and one more time, smiling at the Cameraman," Bastion requests as everyone looks back at him. Click. "Much better. okay, you're free to move." Bastion says as he walks over to Emma and hands back her phone.
"Thanks," Emma replies and forwards the 3 pictures to Claire.
"Not a problem. I'll be heading out unless you need anything else" Bastion says and Emma shakes her head.
"That should be it, thanks again for the help. Feel free to steal a bit of dessert on the way out." She offers.
"Not a problem and oh, don't mind if I do," He says as gets a small plate and fork from the kitchen to serve himself a slice of the mostly frozen whipped treat "I'll stop by tomorrow with the dish. Thanks, Em"
"Not a problem," She says waving him off.
"We should probably head out too, it's been great to see you both," Claire says with a smile.
"Yeah, this wasn't so bad," Leon admits with a short chuckle as he offers a hand to Chris which he accepts and shakes.
"Travel safely," Emma says in parting before the both of them left closing the door behind them and Chris took a seat on the couch.
"You couldn't have told me they were going to visit?" Chris asks as Emma takes a seat next to him on the couch with what was left of her glass of wine.
"Claire told me not to because you'd be cranky," Emma replied with a shrug.
"I'm kinda cranky now," Chris says in turn with a slight frown.
"She mentioned that would happen either way." She replies as she puts the glass down on the coffee table. "It wasn't that bad right?"
"Yeah no, I loved the part where I had a gun pointed at me," Chris grumbles causing Emma to shake her head before getting up and walking around to stand behind where Chris was sitting on the couch.
"It was nice to see Claire again" She offered instead as she gently rubbed her thumb against the back of his neck to try and relieve some of the tension.
He gives a quiet sigh in response. "Yeah, It was nice to see she's doing well." Emma smile but that faded quickly "I still think he's an ass though."
"you are determined to be cranky arent you?" Emma asks, shaking her head as she shifts to working a knot out of his shoulder.
"a little bit," he admits.
"okay grumpy Gus. how about we make a bet then." Emma offers as she stops what she's doing to simply give him a hug from behind while leaning over the back of the couch so her face was next to his.
"I'll hear you out," Chris agrees he was still a bit miffed that she didn't tell him about the whole dinner plan thing.
"I'll bet that I can get you to smile with one word. if I'm wrong you can be grumpy all you want and I'll drop it." Emma offers, feeling rather confident in her suggestion.
"Seems easy enough." Chris agrees with a nod. "I'll accept."
"Alpha," Emma says before giving him a peck on the cheek.
Shit.
A small smirk started to form and the more he tried to suppress it, the worse it got.
"Alpha," She said once more this time in a sing-song tone as he moved to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"That's cheating," he says with a chuckle.
"Should have made that a rule before accepting the bet," Emma says chuckling as well.
"Get over here," He says as he reaches around and pulls her over the back of the couch to get her to rejoin him on the seat.
He gives her a peck on the forehead. "So... about the holiday photos. Do you think you could text them to me?" Chris requests which slightly surprised Emma.
"Oh. Yeah sure," She agrees though her surprise and slight confusion became evident in her tone.
"Thanks... I promised I'd send out a card," Chris replies causing Emma to smile.
Whooo boy the start of this chapter was a struggle to write X'D I'm really not good at this stuff but hopefully, the attempt is appreciated by those who were hoping for more spice. That and dang it, I'm sad cause I killed another character. OTL With this we're now on to the year 2020. I'll see you in the next chapter.
Review Responses:
Luffy the Fox - Aw :) thanks so much! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story VuV it's certainly an unusual one XD so I'm glad that I'm able to write something out of the ordinary that is enjoyable. I'll try and go back through what I have already and do some edits soon for typos and grammar.