A/N: Short Valenfield oneshot. Takes place after Resident Evil Vendetta. I have already uploaded this one but I accidentally deleted it.
Jill reaches her hand to the other side of her bed but is confused when Chris is not there. Then she remembered she took a nap because she was feeling nauseous after lunch. And since their cruise ship cabin has no windows, it's impossible to see if it's day or night. Thankfully she doesn't feel like throwing up anymore as she stands up while fixing her blue floral off-shoulder blouse and white shorts.
As she makes her way to the deck on the far left side, she is greeted by Claire, Rebecca and Sherry. Who are all pampering themselves in that mini pool. Rebecca is wearing her green one piece bathing suit. Claire with a one piece as well but in color red and not to mention lesser cloth material on her back side, the cut was visibly lower compared to Rebecca. Jill hopes Claire tied the knot of her top tightly or else her brother would go on a rampage. Sherry on the other hand was even exposing more skin with her white two piece bathing suit.
"Where's your brother?" Jill asks Claire as she stops in front of them.
"You mean, where's your honey?" The younger Redfield teasingly smiles at her before adding. "I don't know, maybe he is in the accommodation area, playing whatever game."
"So why not join us here?" Rebecca asks. "Come on, there is room for one more."
"I didn't bring any clothes or towel." Jill smiles as she shakes her head.
"Then just take off your clothes and we'll have a skinny dipping." Sherry casually suggests like there are no other people on the ship. Sure they are all their friends and families but the idea is still too crazy.
"Sherry!" Claire splashes water in the blonde's direction. "Do you want Chris to strangle us and the rest of the guys on this ship?"
"I was kidding." Sherry rebuts and just like that, they both engage in a playful water battle.
Rebecca tries to shield herself as much as she before nodding at Jill. The young professor knows that Jill's first priority for today is to see Chris first.
Jill waves at all three of them before walking away. "I'll make it up to you girls tomorrow!"
Early in the morning, they boarded a private cruise ship with their friends and workmates for a 3 day vacation. Of course, they need their well-deserved break and luckily they had enough savings to pay for half of the payment and let their friends chip in on the remaining balance. It's not extravagant anyway, just fancy enough for everyone with enough cabin to sleep at and a casino-like play room. Speaking of the play room.
She looks around the room but there was no sign of Chris Redfield. Leon catches her sight at the corner of the room, playing one on one Blackjack with the dealer with a drink in his hand. Next thing she saw was Helena, Ingrid and Ashley around the Russian Roulette table along with Quint and Keith. It seems like the two guys don't mind how many chips they are losing as long as they get to hang out with the ladies
She asks them if they have seen Chris but they didn't have any idea. Since she was also curious why Leon was alone at the other side of the room, she asks them if they know why as well. Ashley assumes that he is just probably sulking because a certain woman in red, as the president's daughter likes to address, wasn't able to join the cruise. Jill is offered to join the game by Quint and Keith but she declines and says the same thing she said to Claire and the others earlier.
"Jill!" She looks to her left and made her way to the dice and craps table. Barry and Parker both have wide smiles on their faces which means they must be winning against Moira, Sheva and Josh. "Here comes more luck." Barry says as he gives her a tight fatherly hug.
"Hey, Jill. Throw these for us. Will ya?" Her former partner hands her the dice. "Just make sure it hits the other end of the table."
"And give us a seven. Come on, it's not that hard." Barry adds as he gives her a pat on the shoulder.
"Dad, that's not fucking fair." Moira exclaims. Jill just chuckles as his daughter dives into a series of curse words before tossing the dice. Striking it rich, she manages to get a seven and make the two aged men roar in victory. They would actually even lift her up if only she didn't protest.
Sheva simply pats Moira's back. "It's fine. We can win some other games. Jill, join us?"
"I'm good. I gotta find Chris." She excuses herself from the crowd only to be dragged away by Carlos.
"Hey, Chicca." He pulls her into a tight hug. "Finally awake huh?"
She lightly laughs as she breaks away from the embrace. "Yeah, I didn't mean to miss all the fun. I hope you are having the time of your life though."
"Yes, in fact I do. I've been playing with random people all day. Thanks for inviting me." It's been years since they last saw each other. It would be a moral sin not to yank him in. She could only scoff and playfully jab his chest. "However, your man's sister. Claire? I think she kinda got pissed off at me earlier."
"What?" She stops herself from slapping her palm on his shoulder. That is definitely how you start a good friendship with Chris. By the way Carlos rubs his hand on his nape, it looks like he isn't joking. "What did you do?"
"We were playing poker. She lost all her chips to me." He could only shrug with a hint of guilt in his face.
She sighs in relief after knowing that she doesn't have to devise a plan on how to hide Carlos or send him to a far isolated island during the trip. But she knows Claire, she can be hot headed sometimes too like her brother. "Maybe she'll move on from it after a week or month or so. Speaking of, have you seen Chris?"
Carlos pauses for a moment as he tries to recall where he last saw him. "I think he went outside. Around that way." He points in the opposite direction from where she came from.
She was about to walk over there but she stopped for a moment. She hasn't seen Carlos for a long time. She barely talked to him, especially since her last mission with Chris involving Umbrella founder, Spencer. It felt inconsiderate of her to just turn her back on Carlos too abruptly.
"It's fine, Jill. Go on and head over to him. Let's just catch up some other time." He smiles warmly.
Touched by his words, she pulls him into a quick hug again. "Sure you're good?"
"We're good." He says with all sincerity before giving a kiss on her cheek. She smiles and pats the side of his face before wandering off outside to look for Chris.
Chris turns around as he shoves his hands in the pocket of his brown cargo shorts after hearing her voice call his name. Jill grins at the sight of him, his joyful glow almost matching the sunset view. Even as he bashfully scratches his nape, he still has that charm that always warms her heart.
"You look cute." She compliments him as she stops on her tracks, standing right in front of him by the rails.
"Claire was the one who insisted I should buy and wear this." He replies. Obviously, he is not fond of the green Hawaiian shirt over his white tank top.
"I wasn't even complaining." She chuckles as she slides her arms around his neck and gives a quick kiss on his lips. He just stares at her eyes while she glides her fingers on his nape, to the side of his neck, down to his chest. His hands resting on her waist the entire time and he could never look at anyone softer than how he focuses his gaze on the woman in front of him.
"Do you feel fine now? You disappeared after lunch. Claire said you wanted to rest because you felt dizzy."
"I'm fine now. Maybe it's just motion sickness." She answers as her hands fiddle with the collar of his shirt.
Chris couldn't help but snort. "This is not our first cruise though." Not only that but he just finds it hard to believe that Jill Valentine has motion sickness. They rode almost all modes of transportation already.
"Don't remind me of that awful cruise where Jessica kept seducing you." She crosses her arms and leans on the railings.
"You think so? Never got my attention. I was too busy looking for you." He responds while copying her body posture. In all honesty, he wouldn't mind roaming the Mediterranean Sea again if ever Jill goes missing. He would always find her. "So what, you just decided to get a nap in the middle of a cruise and miss this amazing sunset view." After all, she likes taking short naps and using his shoulder as her personal pillow.
Biting her lower lip, she tries to hold back her grin. Chris looks great, not only physically but emotionally as well. Happiness looks good on him indeed. Who knew that they would overcome plenty of wars together? Literally and figuratively. It wasn't an easy journey for them since all their past endeavors affected them deeply, leaving a burden which is sometimes too heavy to be dealt with alone. But neither one of them gave up. He might have stopped and got stuck into a dark place but she never left him there because he never gave up on her either.
"Fine. It's not motion sickness." She confesses and just stares at him. He evidently lost a couple of body mass but he still looks perfect. She actually likes the fact that she can now wrap her arms and legs around him easier. He may not be that bulky or have longer hair but she loves it. He even tried the goatee facial hair style she suggested before.
"Was the menu that bad? You can honestly tell me, Jill. It's not like I'm the one who cooked, I'm just the one who chose the set of foods." He shoves his hands in his pockets again as he looks at the sunset. It's about to sink and disappear anytime soon. It does look mesmerizing and peaceful, almost the same as every sunsets and sunrise they both witness after a mission.
"No, it's not. Did you see how much I ate? It was delicious." She says as her hands slide down from his face to his shoulders.
He scrunches his face. As far as he remembers, she had a rather unique choice of dishes earlier like lobsters, celery, watermelons and muffins. He just let out an airy laugh while slowly shaking his head. No matter how long he has been with this woman, she is just always full of surprises. Life is like a blank canvas and day by day she always colors it in different ways.
Judging from his facial expression, he didn't seem convinced so she added. "Trust me, it wasn't bad. You didn't do an awful job at planning the menu."
He grasps the small box in his pocket. Glancing at the sunset again he takes a deep breath and pulls the box out of his pocket before showing it to her. He goes down on one knee. "I guess it's not that bad to plan ahead then?"
She slightly gasps as she sees the glimmer of the diamond ring in front of her. He never once implied that he wants to get married. It feels unreal and her eyes start to be teary. It explains why he insisted on having a cruise ship trip with their friends.
He blinks, feeling uneasy. He gulps the lumps stuck in his throat. He has spent almost two decades of his life with this woman. Yet, the rest of his lifetime still yearns to be with her. For once, he allows himself to be selfish and chase after what he longed for. What he wouldn't give or do for her to be fulfilled.
"Yes." She accepts his indirect wedding proposal. Chris Redfield really does suck with words but makes up for his actions. He earned everything he has right now. She is all his. And yet, she still feels she has a lot more to give.
He lets out a sigh of relief he wasn't aware he was holding before he takes out the ring from the box and wears it on her finger.
She lightly laughs upon seeing his reaction. The thought of him being nervous and scared is adorable. "And here I thought I was the one who would surprise you." She blurts out. He looks up at her with confusion. "It wasn't motion sickness or a bad tasting lunch. I'm pregnant. We are pregnant."
The small box drops on the floor as he stands up, his watery eyes not leaving hers. He'd ask her to pinch him just to make sure he is not dreaming but he can't make up any words either. He is lost in pure exhilaration and happiness. She could only nod with a wide smile to assure him that she feels the same way.
He presses his lips on hers and hugs her as humanly close as possible.
From afar, Claire grunts then looks at Rebecca and Sherry. "I was so sure Jill would tell him before he proposed. He is a wimp when it comes to these things." She groans while handing ten dollars to each of them.
"I knew that he would get enough time to gather his courage." Rebecca lightly laughs as she accepts the money. Sherry just giggles while waving the gambling prize money.
Claire just sighs and glances at the newly engaged couple with a smile. "For what it's worth, it feels great to know they are finally gonna settle."
Leon walks towards three of them and hooks his arms over Claire and Sherry's neck. "And he said he never made plans that far ahead." He says before looking at Sherry. "Which reminds me, what's your plan with your boy?"
"You really need to let me meet him." Claire adds with a nod. Sherry could only roll her eyes with a groan.