Common misconceptions

She hadn't driven the bike back into the garage after her trip to Raccoon. In order to avoid any traitorous, sleep-disturbing sounds, Claire had cut the engine on the last corner before turning into their street and had walked the motorcycle home. The roaring couldn't only have woken up Chris and Jill, but also those neighbors who didn't mind any distraction as long as it gave them a reason to argue with someone the following day. Old Mrs. Jefferson, from the other side of the street, for instance, had once accused Chris to have stabbed the tires of her car when he'd not even been home. People like her were certainly just waiting for another opportunity to irritate them, so it was the best not to call for any unneeded attention. Claire parked the bike in its usual spot and snuck into the house. Careful not to make a sound, she decided she'd have a glass of milk to calm herself down after her nightly escape. Maybe that would help her find the needed sleep.

When she turned into the kitchen, something shattered to the ground.

"Claire, oh. I'm sorry." It was Jill who was standing there in the darkness of the night, with tousled hair and an oversized pajama shirt — Chris' shirt, as Claire didn't fail to notice. The woman pressed her palm onto her chest as she panted at the redhead. "I didn't hear you come down the..." She stopped speaking and looked at Claire. "Stairs." She frowned. "Did you go out?"

The initial anger over Jill wearing Chris' pajamas was soon blown away, leaving her stuttering all kinds of nonsense, busy thinking of a good excuse she could tell Valentine. Kelly, maybe. Yes, she could have been studying with Kelly until —her eyes darted to the kitchen clock— 1 am.

"Were you with a boy?" Jill smirked smugly at her before she bent down to remove the shards of the glass she'd dropped. When she got up, she seemed to reconsider and frowned a bit. "Or a girl?"

Claire sucked in a breath and shook her head eagerly.

"I..." She sighed. "A boy." What a weird word for a creepy S.T.A.R.S. Captain in his late thirties. Claire licked her lips and narrowed her eyes at Jill, asking for complicity. "Don't tell Chris, please."

The older woman chuckled.

"I won't. You're old enough." She quirked an eyebrow and pouted a bit. "But I assume you're using protection, aren't you?"

Claire coughed up a little. That conversation was not only getting displeasing, it was ridiculous as well. She was a grown-up; there was no need to give her the sex talk. Just to finish off the subject as soon as possible, she nodded, eye-rolling, and put on a smile.

"Yes, we are."

Jill kept smiling at her and shrugged.

"Sorry," she muttered as she looked down. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but I don't have any family and I always wanted to have a sister to talk to."

Claire blinked at the brunette and felt a little sorry for her. Chris had told her that Jill's father, the only family she had, was in jail. She had never known what it meant to be a sibling and she was, strictly considering it, alone in the world. Claire forced a smile and shook her head.

"It's okay," she said and leaned onto the counter. "Just, please, promise that Chris won't find out. He wouldn't approve."

Jill stretched her little finger out.

"I pinky swear."

Claire giggled slyly and hooked her finger into Jill's, sealing their deal.

"Thank you."

Something about Jill's behavior changed once the brunette had found out about Claire's nightly escapes to her supposed boyfriend. Their common secret was reason enough for her to give the redhead hidden smirks and always be on her side when the Redfield siblings started to argue about unimportant stuff, like the choice what they wanted to watch on TV or what they'd have for dinner. Claire noticed the brunette more relaxed when they were together and she started to believe that she'd frightened the young S.T.A.R.S. Officer a bit. Had she actually been acting like a dangerous sociopath? Maybe she'd taken her jealousy a little too far and Jill was not the only one who feared her. Claire couldn't help but feel ashamed of her behavior, as she didn't recognize her usually nice self in those acts anymore, and she decided she'd be kinder to Jill and everyone else around her.

However, that was harder than she'd expected. The word she had given to Wesker was rasping at her nerves and causing her to be irritable and anguished most of the time, picking up pointless fights with anyone and anything. On Thursday morning, she yelled at her coffee mug after burning her fingertips on it and on Friday afternoon she had already used up her complete repertoire of swear words. Chris played the angry older brother pretty well, complaining whenever she cursed, but Claire knew that, deep inside, he was proud of his little sister as she was just following his own footsteps.

On Monday, a long-awaited notification made its way into their mailbox and Claire nearly choked on the revelation when she brought in the mail. Among bills and advertisement, there was also a message from...

"College." The dreaded letter had finally arrived. Claire walked absentmindedly into the house, staring at the letter that contained her future and that burnt in her hands like hot steel. Jill was in the kitchen and looked up, greeting her when she saw the redhead step through the door.

"Hey, Claire, what's up?" Once aware of how distant the redhead looked, Jill got up and began snapping her finger in front of the girl's face until she received the deserved attention. "Everything alright? Bad news?"

After another moment of silence, Claire eventually shrugged her shoulders. She was shivering. It was a letter from the college she'd been hoping to hear from ever since she'd sent out the application letters. It had taken them eight weeks to reply to her. Eight weeks! Kelly had gotten her confirmation after only five. That meant they rejected her, didn't it? Jill had a look at the mail and put a hand onto Claire's shoulder. It was warm.

"I see. Want me to open it for you?"

And Claire's eyes watered as she glanced at the brunette.

"Would… would you?" she shrugged shyly. "Please, don't tell Chris if it's negative."

Jill smiled and sliced the envelope open with one finger. Once unfolded, she began to read, a serious expression dressing her face. Those were the longest moments Claire had lived in years. The last time she'd had that same feeling had been the day they had been waiting for news about their parents' condition after their tragic accident. Back then, the outcome had been the worst possible and it had nearly destroyed both herself and Chris. Admittedly, no one's life depended on this notification, but if this went wrong, it was her fault. Her fault alone. Claire bit her lip as she watched Jill read attentively.

She should have studied harder.

Jill looked back at her.

Maybe if she had spent more time rereading the letter she'd sent out to the colleges and universities, they would have accepted her.

"You're in."

Chris would be so disappointed.

Wait.

Claire blinked, her questioning glance impacting on Valentine's face.

"What?"

Jill smiled widely.

"Congratulations, Claire."

As time had stretched earlier, now it equally just snapped back together in a second and seemed to hit Claire directly in the face. She felt her lips turn into a wide smirk — so wide it nearly hurt.

"I'm in?" She asked in disbelief and Jill nodded eagerly. The brunette took hold of her and let Claire scream her euphoria all through the house. She jumped up and down, Jill with her. "I'm going to college!"

Unaware of the world around them, the women hopped through the living room like two ping-pong balls, laughing happily until they ran out of air. Once they'd come to stop, Claire embraced Jill tightly. It was meant to be a silent apology for having hated her in secret ever since she'd moved in with them.

"Thank you, Jill." Her voice was weak as she expressed her gratefulness. "Thank you so much."

It wasn't only because she'd opened the letter for her. It was because she was there to love Chris and to take care of him once Claire would be gone; because she tried to be a good friend and an older sister to the redhead, even though she had to feel uncomfortably unwelcome in her company. It was because she had promised she wouldn't tell Chris about the imaginary boyfriend with sunglasses and, so far, she hadn't. However, Valentine was oblivious to most of the reasons.

"I didn't do anything." Her smile showed the most perfect row of pearly teeth. How beautiful Jill was. She would, someday, make precious little Redfield children with Chris. "This is all your merit. You did this, Claire."

And as Jill squeezed her hand tightly, Claire started to believe that the brunette was the best thing that had ever happened to her brother. The lock behind them made an announcing sound and caused them to turn around. Chris came in, waving a puzzled look through the house. "Hey! What's happening here?"

Claire shook her head a little and smiled widely.

"Chris!" She grabbed the confirmation letter from Jill's hand and held it up triumphantly. "I'm going to college."

Chris blinked at her and smirked cockily.

"Hey, that's great, but…" Eyes narrowed, he tilted his head. "What made you think you wouldn't?"

That took her breath and voice away. She just stared at her brother, who had never had the slightest doubt about her suitability for any college she'd like to attend. She ran into Chris' arms and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Chris, for believing in me."

And Chris laughed as he spun her around until she was dizzy. Claire giggled like a child in her brother's arms, holding on to his wide, strong shoulders as the surroundings blurred and danced around them. Once he'd sat her back onto the floor, Chris caressed over her hair.

"How about we go out for dinner tonight?" he suggested, smiling at his sister. "We have to celebrate! You choose the place." Claire smiled widely at the thought that she and Chris would be going out for dinner again. She nodded in excitement and was about to reply to her brother with another hug, but Chris turned back to Jill. "What do you think? You're free tonight, aren't you?"

Jill shrugged, certainly aware that Claire's academic achievements were something she wasn't part of.

"This is Claire's night. I don't want to disturb," she explained timidly and glanced at the redhead, as if she was asking her for permission. However, Chris laughed at her.

"Oh, come on! You don't disturb," he replied. "You're part of the family. Isn't she, Claire?"

Claire couldn't hold back a disappointed sigh. She would have loved to go out with Chris alone, but after Jill had been such a great friend to her, telling her not to come would have been simply rude. She'd promised to behave. Jill was the woman who seemed to make Chris happy, and whoever achieved that was more than worthy to be considered part of the family. Eventually, Claire smiled and walked back to Jill.

"Oh, Jill, please. Come with us tonight. You'll see we can behave in public." Claire turned back to her brother and gave him a bratty smirk. Chris laughed, and Jill seemed to give in.

"Alright." She nodded and turned around. "I will take a quick nap, if you don't mind. Wesker had me writing a ton of reports this morning and I need to recover before I can concentrate on dinner with you two."

As she strolled away laughing, Claire turned back to Chris. She expected a satisfied reaction in him, but what she found was a face full of lust and desire. He was staring at Jill's butt like some sort of perv, with dilated pupils and that ridiculous smirk as wide as his face. She should have found it amusing, but it just made her heart ache for him, as it reminded her that he would never look at her like that.

To bear with the sadness of the moment, Claire allowed herself a sassy comment.

"Stop the drooling, Chris," she spat out among laughter. "I cleaned the floor yesterday."

He took a breath and shook his head before he launched a shy glance at his sister.

"Sorry," he huffed and rubbed his neck. "I'm just really into her, you know?"

Claire blinked warmly.

"Are you in love, big brother?"

Chris rolled his jaw. He was usually an open book when it came to emotions; uncontrollable and intense. But now that it was the most important emotion of them all, the huge, brave Chris Redfield became as timid as a little kid. Eventually, he shrugged a shoulder.

"I should know if I was, shouldn't I?"

Now it was Claire's turn to shrug.

"Maybe." And maybe meant that maybe everything wasn't lost after all.

They went to Raccoon City that night, as Jill had suggested a nice little place not far from the station. Chris hadn't been amused to be that close to work on his free night, not speaking of Claire, of course, who feared they'd run into Wesker. However, as Jill had spoken so well about the place, and even though it was Claire who had to choose the restaurant, they eventually decided that the pizzeria was the best place to have dinner together.

Admittedly, it was. They shared three different types of pizza and all kinds of other Italian snacks and they almost rolled out of the restaurant after dinner as they couldn't even walk properly anymore.

"I'm going to explode. It was so good. Thanks for the suggestion, Jill," Chris said laughing as he laid his arm around his sister. "Had a good time, Claire bear?"

The redhead rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me that."

Jill laughed, holding her belly.

"Oh, guys, thanks for taking me with you. I had a great night."

Chris and Jill laughed loudly as they all walked back to the car. Claire watched the couple, a little annoyed by their rapport. For years, it had been just Chris and her, and they'd been alright. Now Jill Valentine was pushing herself into her tiny family, altering the close bond they had. Claire pouted. She was wearing the leftovers of their dinner while Chris and Jill were holding hands. Saddened, she bit her lip. They looked so cute together that one could believe they had been cut out of a magazine. As Chris suddenly turned to Jill and pecked her mouth, Claire's heart shrunk a bit.

He was happy.

He was truly happy and it was alright. Claire had always wanted him to be happy, so Jill's presence in his life was more than welcome. They laughed a lot together; they had common interests and listened to tales about those they didn't share; they slept in the same bed and had sex. It looked pretty much like a romantic relationship, Claire noticed with a heavy heart. To her, life had been complete when they'd been living alone, but now she knew that Chris had been missing something. Now he had found Jill, who completed him in a way Claire never would. In a love story like theirs, there was usually no room for the little sister and she sometimes feared that Chris would choose Jill over her if he ever needed to.

Just in case, she wouldn't make him choose.

Chris unlocked the car. He and Jill took the driver's and passenger's seat; Claire climbed into the backseat behind her brother. When he was about to start the engine, Jill called out.

"Down! Wesker!" She grabbed Chris' neck and pulled him down. Out of shock, Claire's reaction was stunningly identical to theirs.

"Why are we hiding?" Chris whispered, laughing a bit. "It's our night off."

And Jill began to giggle.

"You never know what he will come up with to make you get back to work," she hissed. "Once, he made me stay until midnight to rewrite a report I had handed in. My shift had ended at eight." She slowly lifted her head to see if she spotted their Captain. "He always acts like there was a real urgency in this godforsaken place."

Claire eyed Jill. The brunette was laughing, but she sensed the unease the chance to meet their Captain in their free time was causing her. Anyway, she herself didn't want to come across Wesker either. Hadn't he told her not to follow him ever again?

"What is he doing out here? Does he live here?" Chris asked suddenly, but Jill just shrugged.

"I have never seen him out of the station. But I don't think someone like Wesker would live in this district of the town. This is a place for more modest people."

Claire listened carefully. Apparently, Jill's opinion about Wesker didn't differ much from her own, and the Captain's words came back to her.

She's had half of the RPD, and she sucks cock like a professional.

And a thought she hadn't considered yet came to her all of a sudden. Jill had slept with Wesker, too, hadn't she? Claire bit her lip, trying to hide how disgusted she felt.

"Who knows in what dark affairs that guy is involved," Chris muttered. "Maybe he buys the poor people's children and eats them for dinner."

Jill laughed nervously.

"Maybe he patrols the streets at night for fun," she said. "I think he is the kind of man who likes to control things."

Claire breathed nervously in the backseat, nodding at Jill's comment. Wesker liked to be in control, that was clear. Chris lifted his head a little to see better and soon chuckled.

"He's gone," he exclaimed and the three of them moved back into a more comfortable position. "Phew. Who would have guessed that spying on our Captain in our free time would be more exciting than working with him on a case?"

Jill rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Please, we're not spying on him," she said, her hand tightly pressed onto her chest. "But I agree that it's more exciting than what we've done so far in our jobs."

Claire listened attentively to their conversation. Chris usually didn't talk about his job at S.T.A.R.S. He'd always claimed he didn't want to tell her horror stories and that the information was classified anyway, but, apparently, their daily tasks and assignments weren't really going to be dangerous. She huffed out a silent laugh. What had they expected to find in a town called Raccoon City?

Chris started the engine and began their ride home, while Claire tried not to die of shame in the backseat.

Finding Wesker on the street in the middle of the night wasn't precisely a nice way to end a successful day. After their encounter on Monday night, the nightmares had decided to return and disturb Claire's sleep again, reminding her of the test that was waiting for her in the S.T.A.R.S. office on Wednesday. The sickening thoughts and dreams of Albert Wesker using her body wouldn't let her rest, causing her to toss and turn all night long, until she'd eventually fall asleep about half an hour before the alarm clock would ring. On Tuesday, Claire had taken a couple of sleeping pills before going to bed and had been able to sleep a few hours more than the previous night, but she felt anything but rested when she got up on Wednesday.

If she was lucky, she'd doze off during her meeting with the S.T.A.R.S. Captain.

The thought didn't particularly soothe her nerves. It kept stinging in her abdomen as if someone was kneading her inners with both hands. Claire stumbled into the bathroom in pain, hoping a hot shower would help her relax and shake off those evil thoughts for the rest of the day. When she undressed, she found out that the pain had nothing to do with the expectations of her appointment that night, but was just something that came with a grown-up female body.

"Shit," she hissed at the dark stains in her underwear. Was it already time for her to get her period again? The dates on the little calendar that hung in the bathroom for that precise purpose told her it had been exactly twenty-eight days since her last period and that the stupid bleeding wasn't just giving her a surprise visit to tell her to calm down. Apparently, she had been too absorbed by other stuff, like dealing with Chris' love life and fucking his Captain, to notice how time was passing by.

Claire sucked in a breath as she became aware that her period was a huge inconvenience for whatever Wesker would want from her that night. She was in pain and bleeding and the sheer thought of getting anything shoved into her was giving her nausea. Maybe Wesker would be disgusted, too, she thought as she stepped into the shower and let the stream of hot water pour down on her. A little afraid of his reaction, Claire decided she needed to speak to the Captain to warn him about her current condition.

Ideally, before their appointment that night.

She stood in the phone booth, counting the coins she had available and thinking of the best way to make the call as short as possible. She had decided to call Wesker at the station, hoping to talk herself out of the commitment without pissing the man off. Pissing him off was the least she wanted to do, as the Alpha Team Captain didn't only know very intimate details about her — he also had evidence to prove just how desperate she was to hide them. Thinking of the cute little cotton panties she'd so urgently want to recover, Claire pushed the coins into the device and dialed the number of the Raccoon City Police Station. Hopefully, she wouldn't encounter any troubles to speak to the Captain of S.T.A.R.S.

"Raccoon Police Department. Officer Pratchett speaking. How can I help you?"

Claire couldn't hold back a shy smile as she recognized the name. Cory would help her get through to Wesker easily.

"Uhm, hello, Cory," she stuttered, using his first name to remind him of their first meeting a couple of weeks before. "It's Claire, Claire Red. We met when I visited Captain Wesker some days ago." Leaving him time to think and remember her, she paused.

"Oh, yes, of course, Miss Red." The officer's sunny voice was enlivening. This would go well. "How can I help you? Do you need me to put you through to S.T.A.R.S.?"

Claire giggled. That had been almost too easy.

"Yes, please. I need to speak to Albert Wesker again," she added a soft beg to her petition, but Cory would certainly help her without asking for any more details.

"Sure, wait a minute, I'll put you through!" And even before Claire could mutter a quick thank you, the line clicked and the ringing tone beeped into her ear. Great! Cory deserved a hug from her next time she'd be in the station. Her heart beat harder as she waited for How would he react? Wesker was a busy man and probably not alone in the office, so his response wouldn't be very explicit. Anyway, she'd just wait and see what would happen. The line clicked again.

"S.T.A.R.S." Claire froze. That. Was. Not. Wesker. "Captain Wesker's office." No, it was not Wesker who had picked up the phone and was now waiting for her to say something.

It was Chris.

"Hello? Anybody there?" His tone was cheerful and carefree. Why in the world would Chris take a call that was transferred directly to the office of his Captain? And how the fuck hadn't she thought about that possibility before? Claire swallowed. She couldn't just pretend she was someone else, could she? Chris would recognize her voice. Perhaps coughing and whispering would make her voice sound raspy enough for Chris not to find out it was her. But what message would she give him anyway? Young man, tell your Captain that he can't fuck your sister tonight because she's bleeding, didn't sound quite convincing. An impatient breath was blown through the line from the other end. "Dude, you're fucking with the wrong man. If the Captain finds out you're pulling phone pranks on him, you can consider your career in Raccoon over."

And he laughed. Chris was laughing, thinking he was dealing with some prank caller, probably from inside the station. How could he know that it was his sister on the other end and that she was currently dying? Unable to speak, Claire hung up, causing the unspent money to shatter into the coin box. What was she going to do now? She could spend her whole afternoon at that pay phone, trying to call again and again until Chris would stop taking calls that weren't for him. But she'd have to disturb poor Cory again. That was if he was the one who'd take her call the next time. It could be any other Officer on duty that day and she'd risk being discovered. No, it was better she didn't try to call again. Claire leaned against the glass of the booth, cursing silently. She would have to go back to Raccoon that night and talk to Wesker personally.

Wesker had kept his word and had taken care of Chris and Jill that night, sending them out to patrol the streets like ordinary police officers, as Chris complained when he gave his sister a call to tell her they wouldn't be home for dinner. Hopefully, their other team members would be elsewhere, too, as most if not all of them still remembered Chris' little sister from the party in the hotel. Not to speak of Barry, of course, who was the closest of friends to Chris and herself. After cooking dinner and leaving most of the fried chicken in the fridge for later, Claire swung herself onto her motorbike and drove, once more, to Raccoon City.

Avoiding the looks of the officers at the reception was easier than she had thought, as the young men were busy looking up stuff on the Internet. Technology was decreasing the intelligence of mankind at a frightening pace. Despite having been pretty nervous the first time she'd come, Claire still remembered the way to the S.T.A.R.S. office through the library and the long, dark corridor. She was in a grey sweater she hadn't worn in years and that stretched now a little too much over her breasts. On her legs, she wore dark pants and biker boots. The laundry wasn't done yet and there wasn't anything more comfortable available in her wardrobe. When she reached the door, she knocked loudly, waiting for Wesker's invitation to come in.

She kept waiting. Nothing happened.

Claire took a deep breath and pouted. He had said Wednesday, hadn't he? He had said S.T.A.R.S. office, right? He had said 10 pm. Claire checked her watch, thinking that she'd been a little too early, but the hand jumped to the first minute after the twelve right in front of her eyes. She couldn't have been more in time. She sighed and decided to knock again. Maybe he hadn't heard her.

After her knuckles impacted against the door again, she heard something move behind her.

"Miss Redfield." Claire turned to the presence and stared into Wesker's shiny glasses. "You will have to excuse me," he explained in a calm tone. "Irons doesn't understand the meaning of an appointment at ten."

Claire smiled sarcastically.

"So, in the end you're the one who was late. I guess that means I win," she pointed out and Wesker, who was pulling out the key to the office, stopped moving a second and glanced at her. "Does that give me any extra advantages?"

Rewarded with an annoyed sigh, Claire decided she'd stop any needless provocation.

"Miss Redfield," Wesker said as he leaned to open the door. "If you believe that the first ones will always be the winners, you're wrong. Not being late is a matter of respect." With those words, he pushed the door open.

Once they crossed the threshold and Claire stood in the S.T.A.R.S. office again, all her courage was blown away. She had returned to the place where she'd had her first sexual encounter and she somehow could still smell Wesker and herself in that room. Not much had changed since then, she noticed, as Wesker closed the door behind her and turned the key. On a silent sole and almost trembling, she followed the blond into his office and towards his desk, where he took a seat. Claire kept standing, watching the Captain as he removed some papers from the surface. Did that mean he wanted to fuck her on the desk again? That wouldn't be a good idea that night.

The man grunted a little.

Busy ripping open drawers and cursing quietly, it took him a while to turn his attention back to Claire. Eyebrows jumped up as he tilted his head down and gave her a curious glance over the sunglasses. "Won't you take a seat, Miss Redfield? I promise it'll be just a minute."

Unusually weak on her knees, Claire was thankful for the offer and dropped onto the chair in front of Wesker's desk as the man proceeded in his search for whatever was missing. The silent indifference he showed her was irritating, but Claire wouldn't complain any further about his treatment. Too sharp was the feeling of guilt about the stains in her panties that morning. Fearing that hiding the truth from him would not only be impossible, but also punished afterwards, she decided it was better she'd let him know as soon as possible.

Lowering her voice, Claire leaned over the desk.

"Maybe I should tell you that... I'm on my period." Something about her shy whisper made the man look up from the drawer and nod.

"A very healthy condition for a young lady," he muttered as he pulled out a tiny key on a silver chain from the drawer and Claire believed to catch a smirk on his face. Was he thinking of banging her while she was bleeding? Her eyes fell shut in disgust as she shook her head.

"I mean," she continued. "I don't feel comfortable sleeping with you tonight."

For a second, Claire believed she had caught Wesker off guard, as he seemed to search for a proper reply to her shy attitude. The Captain eventually crossed his hands upon the desk and stared at her.

"Miss Redfield. What exactly do you believe you are here for?"

Claire shifted uncomfortably in the seat as she tried to avoid Wesker's stabbing gaze. What a stupid question. She knew he had made her come to fuck her again, but it wasn't her fault that the female body decided to bleed its inners out once a month, was it? She shrugged, looking around timidly.

"Can't I come back another day?" she asked, shattering, before Wesker blew out a breath and got up.

"There's no need for you to come back, Miss Redfield," he muttered as he walked around the desk. Claire felt her heart sag into her bowels. She didn't need to come back? How could he be so melodramatic? What was wrong about waiting a little longer? Before she knew what exactly she was doing, Claire jumped onto her feet, catching the Captain before he could even reach the door. She pressed herself against his toned chest, her hands fisted tightly in his uniform.

"Wesker, don't!" She howled, blocking his way out. "Come on, this is not my fault. Please, let me... make it up to you some other day." She would do whatever it took to assure he wouldn't harm Chris, nor tell him her secret. Wesker sighed annoyedly, but before he could dismiss her for good, a thought came to her. What had he said once? Jill was good at what? Holding back a first gag of disgust, Claire slowly slid to her knees in front of the Captain, ripping another grunt from his lips. "Maybe, like this?"

The man snorted indignantly at her insistent offer. Claire didn't care if he feared her teeth on him. She wouldn't just let him get rid of her that easily. Her tongue ran nervously over her lips, showing him how serious she was about her deal. Wesker took a deep breath and sighed, before his right hand started caressing caringly over her forehead.

"Do you think you can handle that, Miss Redfield? This is not a piece of chewing gum, you know?" He was so calm, serious and so, so mean. Claire gulped down the knot in her throat.

"I won't bite you," she hissed, still a little disgusted by what she was about to do. Her hands shivered as they began to rip furiously on Wesker's belt and her look drove back up to meet his. "Also, you will surely tell me how to do it the right way."

And she believed she'd spotted a nod on him as she undid his belt with a tight grip on the leather. Wesker didn't move. He let her unzip his pants and pull down his dark underwear until his member popped out and stared right into her face. It was long, thick and meaty, with a pink head covered in a shiny, wet layer, and the sheer smell of it gave her nausea. Apparently, he liked the idea of her mouth around him. Claire squealed and took his length into her right hand, launching a begging look up to his face.

"Guide me," she said and waited for him to respond.

Wesker cleared his throat.

"This needs saliva," he hissed as he drew back the skin from his hardened tip. "Lick your lips first, then the head. Be generous, Miss Redfield. And be careful with your teeth."

She nodded and wetted her lips before opening her mouth to him. Taking in just the tip, she licked off his salty flavor, already holding back another gag of disgust.

'Picture it's Chris,' she told herself again and closed her eyes. It always helped; it would help this time, too.

Claire ran her tongue over the whole, round head of his until it was bathed in her saliva. Wesker hummed approvingly and pushed himself a little farther into her mouth.

"There is a common misconception about speed," he explained darkly as he watched Claire struggle with the length. "Faster doesn't mean better, especially not at the beginning. So, don't underestimate the quality of slow moves."

Claire breathed in through her nose, noticing the scent of sweat emerging from his crotch right in front of her nose. It aroused her enough to moan a little around his member and he pushed her farther down. She nearly cried out when his head hit her throat and caused her to gag. Tears started to flow. The pressure was cutting her breath.

"Good. Keep using your tongue, Miss Redfield, " he said, holding her head in place until bile threatened to rise. Claire shifted and hit her palms against his thighs, pushing herself back. He eventually let go of her and his tip popped out of her mouth. She panted.

"I couldn't breathe," she whined, recovering her breath and voice as she looked up. Wesker smirked.

"I know." He muttered and held his shaft up again, pointing it at her as a silent invitation to continue.

She blew out a breath and opened her mouth again, taking him back in as deep as she could.

"Tongue. And put your hands around the root or the testicles."

Fuck. He wanted her to touch his balls. Claire tried to think of Chris again, of the amazing blowjobs she could give him if he just let her, and of how easily she would learn everything if it was him teaching her. However, she would please the Captain as he wished. Her hand was cold when she reached into his pants and touched him, but he didn't flinch. She looked at him in surprise, and he was staring back at her. He put his hand back onto her head.

"Not bad, Miss Redfield. Not bad. Now, move up and down. A little faster, if you want."

Claire kept licking, sucking and twirling her tongue over his dick, doing exactly what Wesker was telling her. She gagged, she choked and she thought she would die there. And, even so, the Captain didn't react. After another deep throated stitch, Claire forced her head back and let the head pop out of her mouth. Her hand kept stroking him as her eyes jumped to his face.

"Don't you like it? Are you sure I'm doing it right?" She innocently furrowed a brow, awaiting another punishing comment about her performance from the Captain. Chris would always moan loudly when he was with Jill. "I mean... men usually... say something, don't they?"

Wesker clicked his tongue impatiently.

"You don't look like you know what men usually do, Miss Redfield," he scoffed and insulted her. "There is no need to be loud to enjoy it, especially in a place like this. Chris probably doesn't know about it, but people can have sex with class and elegance."

He pushed his sunglasses up — a tiny little, just enough for her to see his eyes — and Claire saw how much he was really enjoying it. Nobody had ever looked at her like that. Wesker was watching her with the same expression Chris had given Valentine the day before. It was a look full of craving and it invoked a fulfilling sensation of victory inside her chest. Yes, he was enjoying it indeed, and it made her feel proud and powerful. Claire smirked a little as Wesker put his shades back into place. She rolled her jaw and opened her mouth to him again, letting him show her, not long afterwards, how classy he considered orgasms had to be. His member grew enormously thick, it throbbed and twitched and before she could even think of it, Wesker shot his cum into her mouth and just made her gag again. He didn't say a word. He breathed deeply and grabbed her head to hold her tight around him as he came.

Claire cried out of shock. He was bitter, salty and slimy and Wesker was forcing her to keep sucking him until the last drop reached her tongue. Blowjobs were disgusting, she thought, as the Captain pulled his tip out of her mouth and glared at her.

"And now you can decide if you want to spit it out or to swallow."

He was almost laughing at her as he spoke. Claire shivered. After gathering some more saliva in her mouth to dilute the sperm, she closed her eyes and forced the mix down her throat in disgust. The bitterness remained on her tongue, and Wesker was still staring at her.

"Pretty decent," he praised, receiving a hateful glance from the redhead, who stumbled onto her feet again and wiped her mouth. Damn, she needed a drink now.

Claire's icy look hit the S.T.A.R.S. Captain as he zipped his pants and turned to a metal cabinet with drawers in the corner. With the tiny key he had been holding all the time, he opened the first drawer and pulled out a tiny package.

"I guess this is yours." Claire turned her head to the object Wesker was handing her and sucked in some air. Her panties. He was giving back her panties, delicately folded and placed into a tiny plastic bag with the word evidence written onto it. She grabbed the plastic bag in a hurry and pushed it into her pocket, not daring ask what he had been doing with the content. Anxious eyes jumped to his face as she pouted a little at the unexpected surprise.

"Thank you."

Wesker nodded and walked around his desk. Claire sank back onto the chair and replayed the previous minutes in her head, trying to understand what had happened exactly. He had given her underwear back. Just like that. She thumbed over the bag with the valuable content, losing herself in thoughts. When she looked up again, Wesker was immersed in the reading of some papers, ignoring her presence in the office. There was nothing Claire hated more than being ignored.

"You know?" she whispered. "I will go to college."

Wesker hummed as he kept reading.

"So?"

Claire smiled a little. So busy he seemed, he was still listening to her.

"Yes. I got the confirmation letter yesterday," she explained. As Wesker didn't react, she kept talking. "I will study Art History at the end of summer." She eyed the blond, who didn't seem to give a damn.

"Why not science?"

He didn't even look at her as he spoke. Science? He probably wasn't talking about Social Sciences, she concluded. Claire bit her lower lip as she thought a little and eventually shrugged.

"I prefer Art History."

That made Wesker chuckle. Good. It looked like she'd given the right answer. Satisfied, Claire turned back to the bag in her hand.

"This also means that I will be off to college soon." Claire watched his face carefully and Wesker sighed. Apparently, unlike two minutes prior, he considered her presence irritating. Checking him thoroughly, Claire reconsidered that idea. Maybe he had never really stopped finding her irritating.

"What are you trying to say, Miss Redfield?" He hadn't even looked up from the report, busy being the creepy butler of Count Dracula. A strange tickle crawled up her stomach as she searched for the right words to say. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"I mean that I have less than four months here." Somehow, she managed to speak in a strong tone, wishing Wesker would be impressed by the guts that stupid eighteen-year-old was showing to the S.T.A.R.S. Captain. He wasn't.

"I see," he said, shoulder-shrugging and waved to the exit. "I think you can go now."

What was that? What did that mean beyond the fact that he was inviting her to leave him working? After fulfilling her wish to get her property back, his sudden disregard enraged her unexpectedly much. What had he called her the last time they'd been there? Unripe?

She jumped up and threw her hands onto the desk, blowing an expression of surprise onto the Captain's face.

"I can learn!" She nearly yelled her words at the man, whose only reaction was another one of those silly tilts of the head indicating that he wanted her to clarify. At least, she knew he was listening. "I mean… I thought that… maybe…" She could become the best, so Wesker wouldn't get tired of her. "You could teach me everything you… like." Maybe she could even become as good as Jill. "So, I can do it… to you."

Perhaps she could become better than Jill.

Wesker's eyebrow jumped up. He stared at her for what felt like an eternity or two and Claire tried to hold his gaze by holding the one of her own reflection in his sunglasses. She'd have paid for knowing what was going on in that creepy head of his. After a deep breath and what looked like an incredulous headshake, Wesker crossed his hands over the desk.

"Friday, next week," he eventually responded. "Same time, same place."

A shy smile popped onto Claire's lips as she realized he was accepting her offer. Yes, she would learn. Wesker would teach and train her until she was ready to confront anything; until she knew how to please anyone. And if Chris ever…

Wesker cleared his throat and pulled her off the forbidden thought. What the hell was she thinking anyway? As if Chris would ever do anything like that to his sister. Tongue flicking over her lips, she turned to the blond at the desk as he cleared his throat.

"The key is in the lock," he spoke in a dark voice. "Or do I have to teach you how to open a door first?" Claire pouted. Would she ever get used to his constant offences and sarcastic observations? Wasn't there any point where she'd just stop caring?

"Got it." Once turned, she dragged herself towards the exit. From the door, she saw Wesker nod in satisfaction before he turned his attention back to the papers on the desk. "Good night, Captain Wesker." Claire unlocked the door and ripped it open, disappearing into the dark corridors of the R.P.D.