This is going to probably be mostly a fluffy, romance piece between Chris and Piers. Not really sure yet. I don't exactly think things out ahead of time. Also, forgive any typos or weird wording. I am rushing this slightly to be done in time to go to work.

Insert standard disclaimer of non-ownership here.

Insert standard warning about themes (i.e. homosexuality, violence, language, etc.) here.

Unexpected Touch

Chapter 1

Chris Redfield did not like to be touched.

While the captain was warm and friendly to his soldiers, and so very loving to those he considered friends, he always made sure to stay out of reach. The only exceptions to this embargo of physical contact were his long-time partner, Jill Valentine, and his baby sister, Claire. Even Chris' old friend Barry Burton had found the brunet side-stepping out of reach when the older man would make any move to give Chris his signature hearty pat on the back.

Piers had seen the man deftly avoid even the most innocent and friendly contact with such skill and subtlety that the offending person often didn't realize that their touch had been essentially rejected. It was probably why people continued trying to touch the captain, whether by handshakes, hands on shoulders, or whatever other seemingly friendly gesture, the sniper mused. But Piers had noticed. He noticed a lot of things about his captain.

Right now, Piers was noticing that his captain was very guarded. Something about the situation had the man tense and wary.

The sniper's eyes moved from soldier to soldier, though his focus remained on the two men conversing together in the lobby of the on-base hotel where he and the rest of Alpha Team were currently lounging.

The lobby wasn't particularly small. The front of the building was made of wall-to-wall windows extending up to the ceiling, giving the lobby an open and airy feeling. Piers supposed it was for aesthetic reasons, but he hated knowing that it gave full view of every occupant in the room to any dingus outside with a rifle, particularly when the occupants of this lobby were some of the best soldiers the BSAA had to offer.

There were two small discernible groups of soldiers sitting and standing around as the two men spoke. The smaller of the two men spoke in quiet, calm tones. While Piers could easily hear the man, if any of the other soldiers in the lobby had been talking, the noise would have covered the man's voice. The larger of the two men spoke in an overly loud, overly confident volume that was entirely unnecessary for the quiet in the room.

Piers returned his eyes to the two men conversing near the center of the lobby.

These men were two of the most respected and dangerous men in the BSAA. They were Chris Redfield, Captain of Alpha Team, and David Bohan, Captain of Charlie Team. Chris was leaning his hip against the side of one of the padded sofas while Bohan stood a few feet away. Their teams were lounging idly by, watching as the two captains spoke about missions both past and upcoming. Piers stifled a small smirk as he noticed that the two teams were staying very much within their groups, not intermingling with each other in the slightest.

Like territorial dogs, he thought. Piers shook his head, chuckling at the thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his captain glance at Piers before returning his focus to the loud man in front of him.

Piers had to resist rolling his eyes at the display of Charlie Team's captain. Even Captain Bohan's body language was loud. The man threw his arms out with every gesture, gave loud guffaws, and his every expression was childish in its complete over-exaggeration. For yet another time in his career with the BSAA, Piers found himself grateful to have Chris Redfield as his captain. He didn't think he would have been able to handle listening to David Bohan all day, every day like Charlie Team had to. He was thankful for his captain's cool, quiet demeanor. His captain didn't need to be loud to command the complete attention of everyone in the room.

Of course, he had heard that his captain wasn't always the calm and reserved man that Piers had come to known. Apparently, Chris Redfield had a wild temper. While Piers was glad to never have been on the receiving end of that legendary temper, he had to admit he kind of wanted to see it. He wanted to see his captain riled up. Angry. Full of energy and fervor. Passionate.

Piers shook his head again to dislodge the thought before his mind could run too far with it.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused. Are you wanting to fight me?" his captain incredulous voice drifted to his ears.

That piqued the sniper's interest. Piers snapped his focus back to the two captains.

Charlie Team was a Special Operations Unit out of the Western European Division of the BSAA. Despite both teams having reputations for what the teams lovingly described as complete bad-assery, they were mobilized out of two different areas and had never met before today. Deciding that the two teams could learn from each-other's skill set, Charlie Team was sent by HQ to join Alpha at their base for a one-week training meet-and-greet.

Clearly, though, if the invitation for the captain's to fight each other was any indication, that plan to train and learn from each other was already quickly spiraling into a dick measuring contest.

"Shit, you make it sound like I want to take this outside. I meant a fucking sparring session. It's not every day I get the chance to fight The Great Chris Redfield," the last part was practically sneered. The sniper felt his body tense up at the tone.

Piers watched as his captain took a slow breath before responding.

"I'm not sure how productive that would be. It wouldn't set a good example to our men to see us knocking each other around. Charlie or Alpha, we are still one team," Chris replied coolly, crossing his arms over his chest and maintaining chilly eye-contact with Bohan.

"Really? Well, we are both experienced fighters. I think they could learn a lot from watching us."

Chris looked unmoved by Bohan's rationalization.

And he shouldn't be, thought Piers. The man clearly just wanted to pick a fight so he could say he beat 'The Great Chris Redfield.'

"Oh, come on. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of superhero? You're not scared to fight someone on even ground, are you? Afraid I'll make you look bad in front of your pups?" Bohan chuckled as he gestured at Alpha Team.

Piers clenched his teeth, eyes narrowed, as Bohan released a mocking, braying laugh. Around him, Piers could practically feel his teammates tensing up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben begin to stand. Without thinking, Piers was moving from his spot by a decorative pillar to approach Bohan, mouth already opening to impart some choice words about respect. He didn't get far when Chris deftly stood from the sofa and stepped between Piers and Bohan, blocking the other captain's view of the angry approach of Alpha's sniper.

With a sigh and casting a quick calming look over his shoulder at the sniper behind him, Chris replied, "No. But you're right. We should be using this time constructively. I'm sure some hand-to-hand combat drills would be useful for all of us. If your men want to go get their training clothes, we will meet you at the gym here on base. They have an area there for martial arts and boxing."

Captain Bohan gave a victorious - and obnoxious, Piers thought - smirk.

"You heard Captain Redfield, girls. Go get your shit!"

The men of Charlie Team, seemingly used to their captain's insulting mannerisms, immediately headed out of the lobby and deeper into the hotel to their rooms. Captain Bohan gave Alpha's leader a quick smirk before following the rest of his team, leaving Alpha Team alone in the lobby.

Looking around at the other members of Alpha Team, Piers saw that no one looked particularly impressed by Bohan's antics or the way he had interacted with their captain.

"Captain," Piers recognized Ben's serious voice, "I'm not sure that anyone is really in the right frame of mind to do some melee drills right now."

Before he could stop himself, Piers piped up, voice dripping with sarcasm, "What? You don't think this pissing contest is going help make us better soldiers? I'm shocked!"

"Piers," his captain's soft, commanding voice stopped him from continuing his mocking. The sniper turned from Ben to look at his Captain standing in front of him.

"Look, I get it," the brunet continued. "Bohan's a bit much. But we are going to be good hosts and play nice. So let's make this as much of a learning experience as we can." The captain's eyes quickly scanned all of the soldiers' faces before landing on Piers. "Okay?"

Piers was certain that the last part was aimed almost exclusively at himself.

There were three quiet "yes, sirs" and then the sounds of his teammates making their way out of the lobby and out to the parking lot where their BSAA vehicle was parked. Piers looked over to his captain, who was still standing in front of him, silently waiting for his response.

"Piers?"

The sniper sighed. "So, you're going to let that idiot fight you and call it 'playing nice'? Am I understanding this correctly?"

It was his captain's turn to sigh. "I don't like it any more than you do. Believe it or not, I don't relish the thought of someone beating on me. Especially not a dick like Bohan." Piers smiled at the small insult his captain dropped. The man would never talk so unprofessionally around any of the others. Just Piers.

Chris continued, "But I also know if we don't humor him, he will use it an ammunition to trash Alpha to the other SOUs. We don't need that kind of division in our ranks. So let's put on our game faces and make this as constructive as possible."

Piers responded with an unhappy but obedient "Yes, sir."

Chris hesitated just a moment before placing a hand on the sniper's shoulder, adding with a small conspiratorial smile, "And let's mop the floor with them, Lieutenant."

Laughing, Piers shook his head, placing his hand over his captain's where it rested on his shoulder, and responded with a more enthusiastic "Yes, sir!"

His captain gave Piers a large, warm smile before turning and heading for the exit. "Let's get to it, then."

Piers trotted after his captain, grinning.

Chris Redfield did not like to be touched. But, on occasion, he didn't seem to mind when his sniper took the liberty.

Piers was standing in the section of the large on-base gym that was dedicated to boxing, martial arts, and other combat training. He was dressed in standard issue BSAA PT clothing - a black, sweat-wicking tank top with a white BSAA Eastern European Division emblem emblazoned on the left breast and a pair of loose, black sweatpants. He was barefoot as he stood on the mats with the rest of his identically dressed team.

Neither Piers nor any of the other three members of Alpha Team said anything as they eyed the other soldiers slowly beginning to congregate around the nearby boxing ring that stood atop a small, elevated platform.

"Guess the word is out about Captain fighting Bohan," Carl mused, watching as more soldiers entered the gym and headed straight to the boxing ring.

Piers sighed in irritation.

In some ways he could understand their interest. Captain Chris Redfield was a legend - and rightfully so - for his combat skills. Not only an exquisitely trained marksman almost without equal, the captain was also a force to be reckoned with in hand-to-hand combat.

But so was Captain David Bohan. There were rumors, although Piers wasn't so sure of their truthfulness, of Bohan fighting two hunters unarmed and snapping their necks with his bare hands. It was the sort of story that the sniper would generally roll his eyes at before excusing himself from the conversation. However, after seeing the incredible - no, impossible - feats of strength and endurance of his own captain, he wasn't so sure that the rumors were fiction.

And while his captain didn't have many positive things to say about Bohan's personality, Alpha's captain had only the utmost respect for Bohan as a fighter. And that respect definitely couldn't be discounted.

This was sure to be one hell of a fight. It was either going to last a while or be over in an instant. Piers was certain there would be no in-between. And either way, it was going to be talked about for some time to come by the soldiers of the BSAA.

"Anyone else here hating this?"

Piers could hear the slight nervous undertone in Carl's voice.

"We all do. I really doubt that a cage match was what the higher ups were thinking of when they suggested that we train with Charlie Team," Ben replied quietly. The man was irritated but he was covering it well.

"Where is the captain anyway? This fucking waiting is driving me up the wall," Andy let out an exaggerated huff.

Piers took a break from absently counting the gathering soldiers to look around for his captain. If he was honest with himself, he was also nervous. Nervous? Hell, Piers was practically seething as he stood there, waiting for his captain to join them. He didn't want to see his captain being thrown into a violent fight just to satisfy the ego of an idiot. Chris Redfield was a hero! He wasn't a goddamn punching bag!

A grating laugh drew Piers' attention off of the small crowd and to the entrance of the locker room a little ways off. He saw Bohan walking out of the locker room in a pair of ACU pants and a grey t-shirt. Charlie Team's captain was loudly talking to some other men, though Piers couldn't catch the words over the noise in the gym. He did, however, catch the sneer and mocking laugh that was clearly directed at the members of Alpha team.

Narrowing his eyes and swallowing back the rush of fury that was rising in his throat, the sniper continued scanning the gym for his MIA captain.

"What a douche," Andy muttered, watching Captain Bohan. And for the first time since joining Alpha Team, Piers found himself in complete agreement with the man.

A chuckle behind them had Alpha Team turning to see their captain, barefoot and in his BSAA PT clothes like the rest of the team.

"While I am inclined to agree with you, Andy, please don't let anyone hear you insulting him. I really don't want to have to pretend to punish you." The brunette smiled wryly at his subordinate.

Piers shook off his slight surprise at his captain's sudden appearance. He heard a quiet "Sorry, Captain" as he watched his captain take in the small crowd that was gathering around the boxing ring.

The brunet sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Well, this is less than ideal. I'm not sure how I'm going to spin this circus into a combat lesson for you guys."

After a moment, Chris dropped his hands to his sides and put on his best professional 'captain' expression before walking toward Bohan, who was already stepping up into the boxing ring. The other members of Alpha Team gave each other quick, apprehensive glances and trotted after their captain.

The two men stood in the center of the ring. There was no referee or moderator of any kind. There were no rules discussed. Piers assumed it was because there was a certain unspoken code of decency that the soldiers stuck to while practicing combat drills and he hoped that unspoken code would be adhered to in the ring. This was meant to be merely a training session, after all.

Looking at the two men, Piers felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Logically, Piers knew his captain was no push over. The man was 5'11" barefoot and was over 200 pounds of pure muscle. His captain had nearly two decades of combat under his belt and had trained with some of the most dangerous men and women alive (and dead, Piers added mentally, picturing Albert Wesker).

But Bohan? Well, Captain David Bohan dwarfed the sniper's captain. The man was a hulking 6'6" monster. His muscles were barely contained by the grey t-shirt the man wore. Where Chris Redfield had received his military training from the Air Force, Bohan was an ex Army Ranger. Where Chris Redfield had joined S.T.A.R.S. following his military career and spent his time keeping the peace in his hometown of Racoon City, Bohan had become a mercenary for a private firm and had racked up a horrific kill count of cartel soldiers and insurgents.

Chris Redfield fought the good fight to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. David Bohan fought because he enjoyed the violence and chaos of it.

Swallowing the knot in his throat, he heard the small crowd hush as his captain began to quietly speak to Bohan.

"We're keeping this friendly, Dave. This is to teach our guys."

"Of course. Stop worrying, Chris. I won't pound you too badly." Bohan let out a mocking laugh. Piers could feel his pulse quicken with rage. "Now stop stalling and let's treat the children to a show."

Bohan immediately lunged forward, faking a right hook aimed Chris' head only to pull back at the last moment and attempt to stomp the brunet's knee inward. Bohan's heel met air as Alpha's captain had anticipated trickery of some sort and deftly side-stepped the attack. Chris immediately backed up and put some distance between Bohan and himself. Bohan chuckled as he watched Chris retreat a few steps, giving the audience a theatrical self-satisfied smirk.

One move into this fight and Piers was already furious. If that kick had met its target, his captain's knee would have been mangled. Bohan's first attack in what was supposed to be an educational and friendly match was aimed at permanently disabling his captain. Judging by the exclamations coming from the gathered crowd and enraged silence of the rest of Alpha, it was already clear to everyone that this fight was going to be anything but friendly.

The sniper watched as his captain set his jaw in determination and a dangerous light crept into the man's eyes.

"A bit much, don't you think, Dave?"

"Do you always whine like a bitch?" And with that, Bohan dove in again, swinging fists and legs expertly in an attempt to land a blow on the smaller man as Alpha's captain defended himself.

For several minutes the fighting continued. The sounds of flesh colliding against flesh rang in Piers' ears as some blows landed and other blows were blocked. The crowd, Alpha Team included, stood in awe watching the two behemoths of the BSAA fighting in the ring. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were watching two deadly weapons collide. Every resounding crack resulted in a multitude of flinches and "Ooh"s from the crowd. To Piers, it was both fascinating and terrifying watching his captain fighting in the ring.

After only a few more minutes, when Bohan was unable to land any truly damaging blows, Piers felt himself swell a little with pride knowing that his captain was starting to distinguish himself as the better fighter. No matter what Bohan had to throw at the man, his captain was able to see it coming and counter. However, as Alpha's captain managed to gracefully dodge, parry, and return every blow for blow, Bohan's moves became increasingly reckless. Piers eyes narrowed. Bohan's moves were becoming increasingly violent.

The two men disengaged each other for a brief moment, catching their breath and reappraising each other. Piers closely looked them both over with his trained sniper's eye now that they were still.

His eyes quickly evaluated Captain Bohan. The man's chest was heaving as his breathed and his grey t-shirt was already soaked through with sweat in several places. He clearly was not holding back any speed or strength in his attacks. The man's plan had obviously been to quickly injure Alpha's leader and put Chris out of the fight rather than try to compete with Chris' nearly inhuman stamina. It was well known throughout the BSAA that the man could continuously run and fight over the course of many miles and multiple days without rest of any sort during missions when necessary. Knowing he was unlikely to tire the brunet, Bohan's strategy was to debilitate him. But the captain of Charlie Team was expending a large amount of energy in his attacks and had remarkably little to show for it. Instead, Bohan was himself sporting a bloody nose where a jab had caught him and the beginnings of a black eye.

Piers then turned his eyes to his own captain. Sniper's eyes missing nothing, Piers saw a smear of blood on Chris' chin where the man had taken a glancing blow to the mouth earlier. His breathing was strained, but not noticeably so. Another smear of blood on Chris' knuckles marked where Chris had made contact with Bohan's nose. But other than those small spots of blood and a sheen of sweat on the captain's forehead, the brunet looked otherwise unaffected by the fight.

Piers felt himself breathing slightly easier, knowing that all of those blows from Bohan had done minimal damage to his captain. He watched as Chris took a breath and then begin to take a small step toward Bohan, hands raised in a placating manner.

"Listen, Dav-"

Crack.

Piers stopped breathing. It felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. The noise from the crowd that had begun to rise as onlookers started talk during the slight lull died instantly. Shocked silence fell over those watching the fight.

Piers would swear he watched the blow in slow-motion, from the moment Bohan threw the haymaker to the moment the fist landed on his captain's temple, spinning his captain fully around. He could see the droplets of blood and sweat fly from his captain's face and hair into the air, hanging there as though frozen in time. He could see the sickening, satisfied smirk settle onto Bohan's face the instant his fist made contact. He saw his captain have to grab onto the rope that was now in front of him to steady himself, eyes closed and breathing ragged as he tried to push down the pain from the blow. He saw Bohan showboating behind his captain, congratulating himself on dazing his opponent. He heard the dull roar of exclamations from the crowd rise around him.

It took a moment for Piers to recover from shock of the cowardly attack to begin moving toward the ring, to his captain's side. He absently noticed that the three other members of Alpha were pushing their way through the small crowd toward their captain, as well. Piers and Ben were nearly in front of their captain when Ben began calling to their captain.

"Captain! Are you okay?" Ben's voice sounded unsettled, laced with obvious concern for their captain's welfare.

Carl's voice was heard shouting from over Piers' shoulder, "Captain! Do you need a medic?"

His teammates voices were dull to his ears.

Piers reached the ring and looked closely at his captain's down-turned face.

"Captain," he called softly. Somewhere behind him, he vaguely heard Andy shit-talking Charlie Team about low blows and honor. He couldn't be bothered to care about Andy and his antics right now. Right now, Piers needed to hear his captain say that he was okay.

The word had barely left Piers' mouth when stunning blue eyes flew open and locked with his own hazel ones. Piers felt the air leave his lungs. He had never seen his captain's eyes up so close. Especially not with the paralyzing amount of rage currently coursing through them.

Quicker than Piers thought possible, especially for someone of his captain's size, Chris spun around and delivered a devastating blow Bohan's cheek, sending the large man staggering back several steps. Without missing a single beat, Chris dove after Bohan raining blow after blow onto the stunned man. This continued a few seconds before Charlie Team's captain was able to recover. Once Bohan regained his wits, the fight resumed again far more violently than it was before.

Piers knew he was gaping as he watched the speed and strength behind his captain's blows double. It was clear to him that his captain had been holding back earlier, pulling his punches before they landed, in accordance with the spirit of a combat drill. But this wasn't a drill. And the brunet wasn't holding back any longer.

The fight ended quickly after that. Bohan had been pretty well spent by the time he had decked Chris in that surprise maneuver, and so was utterly unprepared for the raging monster he had unknowingly unleashed.

Bohan was down on one knee, one hand on the canvas and the other raised in front of his face to ward off the devastating overhand blow Chris was a heartbeat away from landing on the man, when Piers heard the man yell, "Enough! Fucking christ!"

And with that, Alpha's captain regretfully wrenched his fist back out of its trajectory toward Bohan's head an instant before it landed.

There was a moment of silence before the crowd of soldiers erupted in cheers for the two captains, compliments for the two fighters audible through the din. It had been one hell of a fight.

Even as the cheering started and Bohan started to pick himself up off the canvas, Piers could see his Captain still shaking with barely concealed rage. The man was clearly trying to reign in his urge to continue beating on the bloody man.

Even though Piers could barely blame the man for wanting to continue doling out punishment, Piers was still somewhat shocked to see this side of his captain. He had never seen the man so angry, so violent. The man standing in the ring over the bloody Bohan was an enraged beast, not his calm, boy scout of a captain. And Piers couldn't take his eyes off of him.

The sniper's eyes took in every detail, memorizing as much as he could in the moments he had. He memorized the wild, feral fire in the man's normally kind blue eyes. The barely contained seething fury in the expression on his rugged face. The restrained heaving of the man's chest. The sweat that collected and pooled in the dips of the man's collar bones peaking through the tank top that he wore. The large, bloody, dangerous hands, still fisted in anger at his sides.

It was...intoxicating. Piers shivered, despite the humid heat of the gym.

Several long moments passed, as Bohan struggled to get to his feet and as Chris stared Bohan down in rage, before Chris closed his eyes and drew a long, steadying breath. Piers watched as the tense fury seemed to drain from his captain's shoulders. When his eyes reopened, Chris' eyes were once again calm. He took a step forward and gently extended the hand that had just moments before been poised to strike the kneeling man.

Piers watched Bohan eye his captain's hand with contempt before taking it and allowing Chris to pull him gently to his feet. What a douche, the sniper thought, echoing Andy's earlier sentiment. The sniper smiled in pride at his captain as he watched the man give Bohan the use of his shoulder to lean against and helped Bohan exit the boxing ring.

Giving each other quick glances, the members of Alpha Team removed themselves from the dispersing crowd and moved back to the mats in the far corner of the gym. Without a word to each other, they sat down on the mats and waited for their captain to join them. No one said anything while they waited, but it was clear that all of them had walked away with a healthy appreciation for their captain's skills. And an even healthier respect for their captain's temper.

They watched in silence as their captain helped Bohan back to his team and as the experienced gym staff used a blood spill kit to clean up the blood drops in the boxing ring. They watched as Chris spoke to a man Piers assumed was Bohan's second-in-command. Distantly, Piers heard Carl sigh and stand up from the mat. He turned and watch Carl approach one of the gym staff cleaning the boxing ring and speak quietly before both of them headed to the desk at the front of the gym. Carl was just returning with a small red bag when their captain joined his team at the mats.

"Here, captain," Carl said, holding up a first aid kit for their captain. "Mind if I take a look at you?"

Chris hesitated, looking at the bag held up in Carl's hands. He smiled at Carl before replying, "I think I'll be fine. Thank you."

Piers was expecting his negative response. The captain always refused medical attention from his team. The man didn't care for having anyone's hands on him, even if it was to render aid.

Silence fell over the group, no one was really sure what to say. Instead, each chose something different to focus on in the gym.

The sound of a throat clearing had Piers rolling his eyes. Of course, it would be Andy to open his mouth and break the silence.

"So, uh, I'm not really sure. I must have drifted off during the 'lesson' or something." Piers could practically hear the quotations. "What exactly was it you were meant to be teaching us up there?" A cheeky smile was plastered over Andy's face.

The captain thought for a moment. "'Don't piss me off,'" came the tired, gravelly reply.

And like that, the thick tension blanketing the group eased and melted away. Piers watched the team relax as they shared a short laugh. Piers felt a smile cracking his own lips.

"Well, hell, Captain. We already knew that!"

I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Any response at all would be appreciated.