After what was a fairly uneventful shopping trip for Chris' clothes at Banana Republic and shoes at Florsheim, both Chris and Jill made their way back to the parking garage and drove towards Claire and Rebecca's apartment, which was by Fisherman's Warf.
Claire Redfield was in the middle of grabbing a bottled water from the fridge when she heard a knock at her door. Sighing to herself, she pulled the bottle out of the fridge and walked over to the door. "Chris, is that you?"
There was no answer, so she decided to look through the door's peephole and see who was there. Immediately, she found herself staring directly into a royal blue eye. Claire continued to stare into the eye, until it suddenly blinked. "Ahh!!!!" exclaimed Claire as she jumped back and tried to regain her composure.
Through the door, she heard muffled laughter and felt her own ire rise as she realized that the azure eye belonged to Chris. In one swift moment, Claire unlocked the door, opened it, and smacked her older brother on his left shoulder with her water bottle.
"You bastard!!!! You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack when you blinked back at me!!!! Why couldn't you just simply answer my fuckin' question?!?!"
Chris tried to hold back a grin at his little sister's shocked, exasperated expression, but failed miserably. "What, and miss seeing you nearly jump outta your fuckin' skin when you saw that it really was me?!?! It was priceless, Sis..." He gave her a slightly apologetic kiss on the cheek before both he and Jill entered the apartment.
Claire seemed to calm down a bit after her brother's affectionate kiss and began to eye all of the shopping bags that the pair was carrying. "Anything for me in there?"
"Yeah actually. And thanks again for letting us come here again."
"No prob, Big Bro. You and Jilly make yourselves comfy. My roomie's still at her job and won't be back until 11."
Jill gave Claire a grin and asked, "By the way, how is Rebecca?"
"Oh, just having fun being a S.T.A.R.S. member and loving her job at Stanford Med. How are you two enjoying your vacations?"
It's been fairly relaxing...for the most part. I've been able to just enjoy my vacation, but your brother's also been around to keep me company."
"Oh really? Do anything interesting?"
"Me? No, not really. But when it's me and him, we normally just sit around and watch movies at either my place or his. Or we go out and do something that doesn't involve him breaking any windows with a stray hockey puck, soccer ball, or lacrosse ball."
"At least you two don't have to take summer classes. Hey Chris!!!! What have you been up to when you're not with Jill?"
"Ahh...surfing, playing soccer; hockey; and lacrosse, and skating as much as possible. Umm…Can I talk to you...in private?"
"Umm...sure Chris. We can use my room. Jill, just kinda hang out and relax. There's stuff in the fridge, both healthy and non-healthy."
"Okay, thanks." Jill watched both Chris and Claire make their way into her room and close the door. She then went to the fridge and grabbed a can of Sprite. After cracking the top, Jill walked over to the living room and began to take out a few things from the shopping bags.
Taking out the maroon dress, which was still in its bag, Jill occasionally heard laughter and several muffled comments from the direction of Claire's room. Jill then began to take out the matching body wrap for the dress and her shoes. She decided to leave her lingerie in the Victoria's Secret bag, because it would be a little embarrassing for her to walk around the apartment with it in hand. Suddenly, the door to Claire's room opened and both Redfield siblings walked out.
Claire sat down next to Jill as Chris began to rummage through a bag from Banana Republic. He fished out a pair of black boxer-briefs, kicked off his New Balance 803s, and walked into the bathroom. When she was sure he was in there, Claire looked over at Jill and gave her a grin. Jill caught her gaze and began to blush self-consciously.
"What's so funny?"
"Ahh, if only you knew what Christopher has planned for your evening out..."
"Can't you clue me in?"
"Nope." The sound of the shower being turned on reverberated through the walls and the pair listened until Claire asked, "So...can I see what Chris bought you?"
"Sure." Jill showed the black leather jacket, the dress, the wrap, the shoes, and pointed to a few bags from Abercrombie & Fitch, Macy's, J. Crew, and a few other stores.
"Jeez...he must have been in a generous mood today..."
"Well...he kinda had to be..." Jill then explained what had transpired at her apartment earlier that day. Claire just shook her head and laughed.
"God...now you know why I treat him like the younger sibling. You torture him by dragging him into Victoria's Secret?"
"No, I didn't have the heart to do that. Instead, I let him wait outside the store...but he still found a way to annoy me..."
"How?"
"He kept whining and pouting as he sat in the chair waiting for me. I kept waiting for him to throw a temper tantrum…he was acting like a complete two-year old, but if that wasn't funny enough, several women, mainly from your age to mine, kept asking Chris on what he thought looked good on them. They even went as far as to model the underwear on themselves and ask for his opinion about what he thought. I swear, there must have been at least thirty to forty girls mobbing him for his attention. Finally, the coup de grace for all of Chris' hard work earned me a half price discount on all of the things I bought because Chris single-handedly pushed sales to a record high for a non-holiday, non-sale day."
Claire continued to laugh even harder. She tried to talk, but kept choking on her own laughter and caused her to laugh harder still. After several long minutes, Claire finally managed to get a question in. "You both had the greatest time together, huh?"
"Yeah, we did. Chris may annoy the hell outta me...even drive me to the point of insanity, but he's gotta be the bestest best friend I've ever had. He's an absolute sweetheart...when he wants to be."
"He's also a romantic when given the right atmosphere..."
"What do you mean? Just what does he have planned for tonight? Can't you tell me Claire?"
Claire just wagged her index finger in the air and wore the same expression that Chris did when he had a surprise for her. "Uh-uh. Can't tell you. It'll spoil the surprise."
Jill slumped back against the couch and took a swig of her soda. "Damn you..."
Claire suddenly started laughing again and commented, "Boy, you really have been hanging around Chris too long. What you just did and said was a classic Chris expression. You even sounded like him when you muttered, 'Damn you…' That was totally priceless."
Jill then turned to face Claire and began to laugh as well. "Oh God...you're right. I have been spending way too much time with your brother..."
"Ah well, you two make a cute couple anyway. Everyone thinks so, even Barry. So...should I expect to see a wedding invitation in the mailbox tomorrow?"
"NO!!!!"
"Okay, okay. I'll give you two months..."
"Yeah whatever." They both continued to sit and chat with each other until they heard the shower shut off. After several moments, Chris came out of the bathroom with the towel over his shorts. He then made his way to where Jill and Claire sat. "Talking about me? " he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Always Kid." Claire playfully shoved him away. "Get away Kiddo...you're dripping water on my couch."
"Right, right, sorry. Your turn Jill."
"Alright. What exactly are you gonna be wearing tonight...since it has to complement my dress?"
"I'll surprise you. Speaking of your dress...I can't wait to see you in it..."
Jill got up from the couch and skirted her fingers across his bare stomach. "Well...you're just gonna have to wait a bit longer, Pretty Boy."
Chris longingly watched Jill go while Claire smiled at her brother. "Chris and Jill, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes-" Claire was suddenly cut off when Chris clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh shut up..." He grabbed Jill's soda can and took a drink. Chris then let go of his sister and grabbed his Banana Republic bag. As he walked to Claire's room, she asked him, "You want her bad, don't you?"
He gave her a wink and a smile before closing the door. Claire shook her head as she opened her water bottle and took a drink. She was about to move the soda can onto a nearby coaster when she noticed that it was missing. He must have taken it with him. I wonder what he's thinking about right now... Probably thinking of how to sweep Jill off her feet tonight. Claire silently looked at her watch, Hmm… It's only 7:25. I wonder what's on? She began to flip through the channels until she heard her door open and a muffled, "Claire?! Can you bring in the bag from Florsheim, please?!"
"Why don't you get it yourself?! Besides, I wanna see how you look!!"
"Fine!!" came the exasperated reply.
Claire turned around to face her brother as he walked out of her room. She suddenly felt her jaw drop as Chris neared the couch. Chris, watching the wide range of emotions play across his baby sister's face, felt his cheeks heat up.
"What?!"
Claire let out a low whistle as she took in her brother's appearance. His simple, classic-cut black slacks hung low on his hips, despite the fact that he was wearing a belt. His maroon dress shirt also fit him perfectly; the shirt was tight enough to define his muscles, but loose enough for him to move freely. Chris also wore a shiny, matching maroon tie and a simple, single-breasted black wool suit jacket. "Whoa... Who would have thought that my 'Big Little Brother' was such a bishonen?"
"Well my 'Little Big Sister', I show off when I want to." Chris sat next to her on the couch, reached into the Florsheim bag, and pulled out his shoes. Claire gently played with Chris' newly spiked hair and giggled to herself. "You couldn't comb it down for one night, could you?"
"Nope. I am what I am." He undid the single leather straps for his shoes and slipped them on. After fastening the straps, Chris stood up and smoothed out his clothes. "How do I look?"
"Like a male supermodel. No really, Jill's gonna flip when she sees you. Hey-what kind of shoes are those?"
"Would you believe...Sketchers?"
"Very nice. Plus, I love the cologne. What'cha gonna do now?"
"Gonna pick up some roses that I ordered earlier. Be right back."
"Alright." Chris removed the car keys from his pants' front pocket and quickly went out the door. When he was gone and Claire made absolutely sure that Jill was still in the shower, she picked up the phone and called Rebecca. "Hey Rebecca, guess what..."
The conversation lasted for about 20 minutes, which was the time it took Chris to pick up the roses and return. Once she heard a knock at the front door, Claire switched off the phone and opened the door. As Chris stepped inside, Claire looked him over again.
"What took so long?"
"Had trouble finding a place to park. Wait, did you hear that?"
Both paused to hear the soft 'click' of the bathroom door opening. Claire shoved Chris, with the bouquet of red roses in hand, toward the kitchen as Jill stepped out. She eyed Claire, who had an all-knowing smile across her lips.
"Where's Chris?"
"Oh, just in the kitchen...getting a drink. Why?"
"Just curious." She grabbed all of her stuff and a few bags. "May I use your room?"
"Sure. Just toss all of Chris' stuff onto my desk chair. I'll tell him to get it when you're done dressing."
"Okay. Thanks." She quickly walked into Claire's room and gently closed the door.
Claire then walked into the kitchen and found Chris eating from a roll of peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough. She arched an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged. He then took a drink from his glass of milk and sat down at the table. Smiling at him, Claire took a seat across from him and just watched him.
"Chris, can I ask you something?"
He set the cookie dough down and took another drink. "Sure...I guess."
"Have you fallen in love with Jill?"
Chris just sat there for a moment, his face totally frozen with shock. He was finally able to sputter, "Whu-what are you talking about?"
She reached over and patted his arm. "Chris, it's obvious to everyone but yourselves. You can tell me the truth."
He turned several shades of red until his cheeks matched the maroon of his shirt. "Yes. No. I don't know. Why now? Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend? Shit...I don't even know if it's love or just my hormones running rampant." Chris then rested his head on his arms. "My life is so screwed up right now…dammit, and here I thought I was doing so much better than before… Looks like I ain't ever meeting my quota…"
"Love's not supposed to be cut-and-dry. Nor simple. If it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it."
"I guess so..."
"C'mon. Let's wait for Jill to make her grand entrance together in the living room."
Chris slowly nodded as he brought his head up. Claire gave him a gentle, almost maternal smile before getting up from her seat as well. He drained the last of the milk and placed the glass in the sink while handing Claire the roll of cookie dough. She replaced the roll inside the fridge and the siblings walked out of the kitchen. Claire settled down in one of the recliners while Chris slumped down on the couch. She then noticed that there was nothing in her brother's hands.
"Where are the roses Chris?"
"Oh-oh yeah. I'll go get them."
Just as he got up and entered the kitchen, the door to Claire's room began to open slowly. Claire turned her head to watch Jill emerge from the room. At the same time, Chris steps out of the kitchen with the roses. Both immediately take in each other's appearance. Claire nodded her head in approval of Jill's appearance and watched as both Chris and Jill stood slack-jawed and continued to stare.
Chris, after standing motionless for a good long while, finally managed to croak, "You...you look-absolutely st-stunning." He simply could not take his eyes off her. The slim spaghetti-strap maroon dress clung to the natural curves of Jill's body. The skirt of the dress was about ankle-length and there was a slit on the left side that started from the bottom and stopped mid-thigh. The matching body wrap was gently draped over her slender shoulders and her maroon high-heeled shoes added about two more inches to her 5'5'' frame. Jill's short-long light brown hair was pulled back and secured with a medium-sized black clip. Around her neck was a simple, yet elegant platinum necklace that Chris had bought for her. Finally, she carried a small maroon evening purse in her left hand.
"Thanks. You...you look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, Ch-Chris," stammered Jill as she too, was gawking at Chris' dinner attire.
Both continued to stand their ground and blush. Chris was about to run a hand through his hair when Claire noticed something shiny on his right hand. She immediately walked over to him and quietly asked, "What's that on your right hand?"
Chris looked down to see the platinum ring around his middle finger and grinned at his sister. "Oh, since I bought the necklace for Jill, she bought me the ring to wear. Cool, huh?"
"Yeah, it is." She noticed that both her brother and Jill made no move to go toward each other as they just kept staring at one another. Sensing that both needed a little encouragement, Claire placed her lips near Chris' left ear and whispered, "Go over there and give her the roses."
He began to nod slowly at his sister's suggestion and found himself unconsciously walking towards his best friend. Claire held back her laugh as Chris shyly shuffled over to Jill and sheepishly replied, "Um...these are for you," as he stared at the ground. With equal shyness, Jill quietly muttered, "Thank you Chris," and kissed him on the cheek while taking the roses.
Shaking her head, Claire quipped, "Alright you two Sweethearts, you can knock off the 'too-cute' stuff and get going to the restaurant."
Both Jill and Chris laughed as they began to regain their composure and step away from one another. "Alright Little Sis, we'll get goin. 'Scuse me Jill, I need to grab my stuff inside the room."
"Oh yeah." She moved away from the door and let him pass. Jill then stood next to Claire, who was looking at her with a huge grin on her face. "What?"
"You bought him a ring?"
"Well...yeah, I did. After he bought me the necklace, which I had no clue about till he showed it to me in Banana Republic, I went to get his watch back from the man that was replacing the battery. Once I had the watch, I found the saleslady that sold him the necklace and asked what piece of jewelry would compliment the necklace for a guy to wear. So then she showed me the ring and I asked if I could borrow something to measure someone's finger. She gave me the measuring tape and I went back to where I left Chris, who had fallen asleep in the chair. As soon as I measured his finger, I bought the ring."
"Oh...you two crazy kids... You both are really in love with one another. Like I told 'Chrissy', everyone sees it, but you two. You were made for one another."
Jill continued to blush as Chris reappeared with both his and Jill's clothes in his arms. He dumped their stuff into his empty Banana Republic bag, grabbed an Abercrombie & Fitch bag and handed it to Claire. "For your troubles."
Claire just smiled as she gave Chris a kiss on the cheek and hugged both him and Jill. "Thanks you guys. It was no problem at all. You need to visit more often."
Jill gave Claire another hug and replied, "We'll see what we can do."
Chris nodded at his sister as he kissed her cheek. "Alright, we should get going. We'll talk later...much later..." He gave her a sly grin as Jill took his arm.
"Okay. Jill, you had better tell me what happened..."
"I will. And thanks again."
"You're welcome. Now get going, you crazy love-birds."
They all laughed as both Chris and Jill gathered up their stuff and left the apartment. Claire watched them walk down the hall and just grinned to herself as she stepped back inside and closed the door.
~*~
Chris' Note: -_-; Yeah, I bet you guys are wondering if Chris would actually wear some of that stuff…and the truth is, he probably would (especially since the Abercrombie stuff and New Balance shoes are stuff that I do own and wear) because for all intents and purposes, they're the most comfortable clothes and shoes that I have ever worn in my short 20 years of existence. But anyway, 'tis partly my fic and I'll make my namesake wear whatever I own (because it beats always having to dream up a new wardrobe every time). ^_^