Something Wicked This Way Comes

She didn't move out slowly.

She just…was gone.

He woke up to the pouring rain and the sound of a truck. Chris rolled out of bed in his sleeping pants and a wife beater. He moved out into the hallway to find Felicity and Rebecca and Claire. They were carrying her last three boxes.

Apparently, she'd been moving out all morning.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist to find it was barely six in the morning.

Rebecca gave him a sympathetic look as she passed. Felicity gave him a lifted brow. Claire stopped to say, "What did you do?"

Chris shook his head and grabbed the box from her. He carried it and set it on the table. His voice, so unlike him, was controlled and cool when he said, "Send her in here, Claire. And take these two out to breakfast."

Claire pursed her lips and finally nodded. She went out into the rain and Jill came in a moment later after the sound of the truck engine had died. She was soaked and wearing her favorite blue ball cap with a yellow raincoat. She glanced at her last box on the table.

"That's my stuff."

"I'm aware of that." Chris crossed his arms over his chest. It showed the muscle in them to clear advantage. "Where are you going, Jill?"

Jill moved to get her box. He blocked her by stepping in front of her.

She sighed with exasperation, "I told you where I'm going. I'm moving out. I'm going to go squat with Rebecca for a few days while I find a place. Dog can come visit me there."

Dog was looking at her forlornly from his bed in the living room. She tried not to let the guilt get to her. "It's the right thing here, Chris. Ok? It's the right thing. Let's make a clean break. I want us to be friends, I do. I DO. But I don't know how to do that and live together. Not anymore."

She glanced up at his face. Not shaving for three or four days had put a heavy spill of whiskers on it. She knew if she touched them, they'd be soft and smooth. Not pokey. Not rough. The only thing that was rough was standing there with him and keeping her hands to herself.

Jill said, softly, "This is the right thing. You know that. It's how we keep working together. It's how we stop…"

"…stop what?"

Her hand came up to touch those whiskers. Soft. And smooth. It didn't hurt to touch them. But it hurt to touch HIM. She cupped his cheek. Her thumb skimmed his mouth.

And Jill whispered it, "This. Stop this. I don't know how to be friends with someone when you're all twisted up inside of me. I'm trying. I am. And I'll get there. But I can't do that fifteen feet from where you sleep. You saying you can?"

Damnit.

He didn't want to know that she was right. He didn't want to know that he was wrong here. And he wanted, even less, to know he'd put them here. Him. Not her. She'd done nothing but try to love him. And he'd hurt her, nearly gotten her killed, and put his hands all over her. He wanted to be friends too. He did.

But what he really wanted was to stop loving her. Loving her was going to get them both killed. He could FEEL it, in his bones. In his blood. He just didn't know how to stop.

He went with truth. Because that's just the type of guy he was. He said, "I don't know if I can. I don't know. But I know I don't want you to go. You're my best friend, Jill. Stay here. Stay."

Her hand slid down the side of his neck and over one of those rapidly expanding shoulders. Those arms, she thought wildly, they'd end up big enough to crush a man if he kept going. It thrilled her in her belly and her blood.

Chris shifted and his arms curled around her slick, wet coat. She leapt around his front like a monkey. Her little ball cap was damp against his face as they hugged. It was a good hug, tight and hard. She said, "I want to stay. I want to. But it's the right thing for me to go. I need to go. Tell me you don't know that."

He shook his head where it was pressed against her neck.

The big squish. He loved her too much. It was all over both of them. It was all over them like poison or pain or skin.

Jill leapt down and grabbed the box off the table.

He said nothing now as she took it out to the big box truck outside and put it inside. He watched her slam the back and lock it. She came back up the walk and stepped inside.

He was leaning in the archway between the living room and the kitchen. She unhooked the little key from its bronzed .50 shell that was her key chain and brought it to him. She held it out to him. "I already left a check for my half of the months rent on the mail plate in the kitchen. It'll give you time to find someone else to rent my room to."

He stared at the little key between them in her hand.

She glanced at his face and he held her gaze.

There was the low rumble of thunder around them. Rain water dripped down her nose. She finally said, "Take it, Chris. Please."

He answered, "Keep it. It's yours. That door? It's always open for you, Jill. Always."

Jill shook her head and took his wrist. She turned his hand over and put the key in it. She closed his fingers around it. "It's not. Not anymore. It's closed. And that's ok. It's ok to close the door on Valenfield, Chris. Maybe we just go back now to being Chris and Jill."

Dog whined sadly from the floor behind her.

She swiped her hand across her cheek; saying goodbye to the rain there. She swooped her fingers over her nose. And she finally, finally, let go of his hand.

Jill said, "I'll see you at Joseph's barbecue next Saturday. Wesker has me with Bravo all week working on melee skills. So…peace out, homie."

She laughed weakly and turned. Dog circled on his bed and laid down with his shaggy head on his paws. She petted him between the ears. "I'll come get him when I'm settled in. Ok?"

Chris said nothing.

So, it was going to be like that, she thought, just a goodbye made from silence. That was it. That's what happened when you said goodbye.

She stepped out into the rain. It was cold on her face. It was heavy and thick. It spilled against her cheeks and washed with the tears that started. She got about four steps before she felt the dam burst. She stood in the rain beside the big truck, put her face in her hands, and let it go.

Dog whined again on the floor.

The little key was stabbing into his hand.

Chris laid it gently on the portrait hole so prettily cut out of the wall between the kitchen and the living room. It was gold amongst the white. Dog was looking out the window now and whining sadly.

"I know, dude. I'm sorry. She'll be back soon. Until then, you and me are the two amigos right? It'll be ok buddy. It'll be fine."

Chris petted his floppy bacon ears and glanced out the big bay window.

She was just standing there in the rain with her face in her hands.

She looked so small in that big yellow coat. She looked so lost in the pouring rain. Her dark hair stuck out in bedraggled little pig tails under that blue cap. Her father had given her that hat when she was younger. It was falling apart. It was faded and soft.

It was the only real gift he'd ever given her.

The sad little girl in her ball cap and her big yellow coat…so lost in the pouring rain.

"Cheese and rice," Chris slipped on his sandals and opened the front door into the pouring rain.

The ugly gray sky rumbled and grumbled testily. Like a grumpy old man, it muttered its discontent as it cast its wet distaste down onto the waiting world.

He started her when he spoke, raising his voice above the rain, "You even know how to drive this big fucking truck?"

Jill made a little sound and lowered her hands.

Her face was puffy from crying. "I can manage it. I got it here, didn't I?"

It was half in the driveway, a quarter in the road, and half in the grass. Chris laughed, softly, "This is the worst driving ever done. Ever. And that includes teaching Claire to drive."

"Shut up, Red. Go back in the house. Leave me alone."

Chris leaped into the cab of the big truck and Jill followed, unable to do anything else. She stared at him while he adjusted the mirrors and buckled his seat belt. "Come on, Valentine. Buckle up. We don't have all day here."

A few moments passed and she leaned back in her seat to buckle in.

He backed up the truck and eased onto the narrow road. They lived a good distance out in the country closer to Wombat Junction then Raccoon City. The mailing address was still Raccoon but the outskirts of the county instead of the city.

The radio in the truck was playing hard rock. He flipped it until Billy Idol started singing about it being a nice day for a white wedding. Jill was still staring at him.

He glanced over and then back at the road.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm driving the truck. You suck at it, clearly. So, someone's got to."

"Kiss ass, Redfield. Why are you driving my truck?"

Chris laughed a little. "Friends do that, Jill. I meant what I said before. We can be friends, Jill. If you need space to do that, I'll give you space. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm not trying to use you. I'm just trying to keep you in my life. However that works for you, I'm in."

"You're trying to be my guy?"

He glanced at her again. She was looking at him so steadily.

"Maybe. How's that working out?"

"You're always my guy. That doesn't change because we can't love each other….you said you wouldn't fail me."

Shit.

He eased the truck to the side of the road. There was a cow lolling in the rain. He turned in his seat to face her. "I did. I did say that. I meant it too. I got the right ideas sometimes, Jill, but I'm not perfect. I'm sorry I failed you. I fucked up. But it won't happen again. This is how I keep that promise."

"You didn't fail me, Chris," She grabbed his hands and squeezed, "You didn't. I failed us both. I keep pushing too hard. I keep pushing. I don't know any other way but full force. I just pushed you away and I'm sorry for it. You're my best friend too. My best friend. And the only one I've ever had that matters enough to hurt me."

The thunder rolled loudly outside the truck. Rain dripped down her nose. He finally turned back to the steering wheel. "We'll figure this out, Jilly Bean. I promise. Let's get you moved in first."

Rebecca lived on the backside of Turtle Creek in a pretty little condominium. It was easy enough to move Jill's meager possessions into the big room she was going to be occupying. When the last box was settled in the corner of the room, they stood together quietly and watched the rain pound the window beside her mattress on the floor.

He said, "I'm fucking sorry like hell for all of it, Jill. I don't do regret. Ever. But I'm buried in it now."

Jill laid her little ball cap on her tiny desk and set her rain coat over the chair. "No more sorry. That's always been our thing right? No more sorry. We just…we just deal with it. Wherever it goes from here."

Chris set her motorcycle keys down on the dresser. Jill said, "You want me to drive you home?"

"I can call a cab."

"You kidding? That's just stupid."

They had unhooked her Bug from the box truck. They headed back toward his house in the rain. Her little car smelled like cinnamon and apples. Curious, he lifted a brow at her.

"Felicity puts potpourri in here all the time."

"It smells awesome. But I want apple pie now."

Jill chuckled a little. "Right? What could possibly taste better then apple pie on a rainy day?"

"Pussy. But you'll have to take my word for it." It had been reactionary to say it. It was just him. He was all kinds of dirty mouth. The moment it was out there, he wanted to take it back.

He almost apologized.

And then Jill laughed.

And he remembered why they were friends.

"I kissed a girl once." She said conversationally as she turned onto the road toward his house, "In highschool."

Chris shifted his gaze to her face. "…keep going. Embellish."

Jill snorted out a laugh. "Best friends, bottle of vodka, curious drunken hands. You know how it goes."

"Do I? Enlighten me."

She glanced over at his face. He was so amused. In the dreary gray light, his eyes were like the ocean. Jill smirked, "You're a dirty pervert, Redfield."

"True story. Help a brutha out and tell the story."

Jill told him a sordid little story about curious girls and kisses and pig tails. He was pretty sure she was just telling him about a porno she'd watched once but it was in good fun. And she was, as always, entertaining when she told it.

She rolled up into his driveway and idled the engine.

Chris shifted in his seat. "Thanks, kid. Now I get to go inside and flog the bishop while picturing your nubile teenage self tongue fucking the preacher's daughter."

Jill laughed loudly. "Why the preacher's daughter?"

"Why not? It's dirty. It's hot. It's my fantasy. Leave it alone." He opened the car door and then turned back, "Oh yeah. Here."

And he tossed the key to his house into her empty ashtray. "Just in case. The rule stands: anytime you need a place to go; you come here. No judgement. No pressure. Just us. You and me. That's it. Take the key, Jill. Please."

"….I'll take it. And thank you."

"Take it easy, kid." He opened the door and climbed out into the pouring rain.

Jill watched him run through the rain. She felt her heart shiver. All because of a tiny little key that should have meant nothing.

And meant everything.

The weeks went by easily enough. With Jill ensconced with Bravo team they didn't have to deal with the awkward silence that might have occurred. They handled each other as they'd always done…with humor.

She wrote his number on the bathroom stall of a notorious trucker hook up spot. He paid the garbage man to put bags of garbage in her car on a particularly hot day. She filled his desk drawers with sand. He filled her car with sand.

She came out of work to find it spilling sand all over the parking lot beneath it. Joseph said, "That SUCKS."

And Jill just started laughing.

Dog went back and forth on a daily basis. She had him Monday, Chris had him Tuesday. They had dinner on Wednesday and Dog went home with Jill. Friday at work Jill threw Wesker to the mat…twice.

Chris came to work to find his desk in the lobby. He sat right down and started working.

Jill's uniform in her locker was pink. Bubblegum pink. She put it on and wore it, whistling.

The days passed and it got easier. They were friends. And it got easier.

The barbecue on Saturday was a lot of fun. There was volleyball and badminton. There was hotdogs and hamburgers and potato salad. Joseph and Maggie lived on the lake so the swimming and diving and dunking was everywhere.

Jill was coming out the bathroom and bumped into the person attempting to get to the kitchen. Her hand pressed on his arm, his caught her elbow, and she looked up. Joseph said, "You two have met right?"

Jill smirked.

And the rookie said, "Jill Valentine. I'm still waiting for that coffee."

Jill laughed a little, "Leon Kennedy. Get the job?"

"Fingers crossed. I have to pass the physical assessment and finish the last stages of academy training. But it's looking promising. Officially, it's looking like first September for me to start protecting the good people of Raccoon City." He hadn't let go of her elbow. She hadn't moved her hand off his arm.

Joseph pursed his lips and smirked. "Leon is friends with Maggie's brother. I thought it was a good way for him to get to know some people on the force."

The rookie was young. She judged him as a few years younger than her. He was also still holding her arm.

And it was the first time, in a long time, she wasn't interested in pulling away. Leon Kennedy was smooth chested, athletic, lean, and had a tattoo of wolf across his upper left shoulder and biceps.

Click.

She said, "You'd be right, Joe. You wanna get that coffee now?"

Leon smiled a little. And his hair shagged into his eyes. Yeah, Jill thought, not interested in pulling away. What was it Chris had said? Maybe this was how they stayed friends. Maybe they just…let go.

She hadn't been ready with Kevin. Maybe she was ready now.

And he answered, "How about a beer?"

"You read my mind rookie."

Joseph was whistling as he moved out to his grill to start flipping burgers. It was early May. The weather was balmy. His wife was sitting on the table next to him. He had good food, good friends, and good news to share: Maggie was expecting their first baby. Also, he was pretty sure he'd just set Valentine up with a new boyfriend.

Valentine was a good girl. Friendly, funny, gorgeous. He'd met Leon Kennedy and said: These are two people that needed to meet. Only good could come from it. Kennedy hit on all her levels: handsome, fancy, funny, and had that floofy hair she liked.

He watched them walk down the shore together and sit on the pier. And he felt like a matchmaker. Maggie said, "You do that?"

Joseph grinned and nodded. "I sure did. Whatcha think?"

"Oh, he's all kinds of cute. Young, handsome, a little nervous maybe. You sure he can handle her? Jill is hell on wheels."

"Jill is soft inside and sweet. She needs someone as soft as she is. She keeps hooking up with jerks that use her and hurt her. Nice kid like that? Just what she needs."

Four feet back from him, Chris Redfield was very aware of the conversation.

He was also aware of the ugly green monster in his guts. The baby. The eagle eyed baby with the best score on the course. Of course. He shot back the rest of his beer and let it curdle like rotten milk in his belly.

On the pier, Jill was swishing her feet in the water. Kennedy was sweet. He was three years younger than her and desperate to carve out a name for himself. He came from a strong family name and a shitty father. So, they had half of that story in common.

He was telling her about his father, "The black sheep in a good family. He was a cop. He went in to impress his parents, got wrapped up in the system, and started peddling for extra money."

Jill nodded, watching that face as he spoke. "It was drugs at first. He stole drugs, he sold drugs. And then he started skimming money off busts. The nail in the coffin though? He started pimping."

Jill held his gaze, no judgement. He lifted his mouth in a wry smile. "My old man was a drug using, dealing, pimp cop. What a legacy huh?"

And again, she thought, CLICK.

"My old man is in the pen, again, for stealing from old people."

Leon widened his eyes at her.

"Oh yeah. He was a running con…on the elderly. He was taking their life savings. He was robbing seniors. He was a thief. How's that for a legacy?"

Leon held her eyes. And they both started laughing.

He said, "So I became a cop to restore the family honor. And you?"

"To EARN some family honor."

They laughed again.

And Leon Kennedy shifted. He shifted on the pier. And his arm sorta settled behind her.

She glanced at his profile. She didn't see any games there. But it put him close enough to study the tattoo on his shoulder. Jill asked, "What's with the wolf?"

"Ah," He looked a little sheepish now, which was utterly fucking charming. That young face of his was killer. She had to admit. "The wolf is synonymous with courage and victory. I was a little lost after highschool. I was kinda skinny and awkward. I ran track and had a girlfriend. We probably broke up fifteen times in four years. She dumped me again about three weeks ago. So? I got drunk and got a tattoo. Which…isn't like me at all. I usually just make a bad joke and shrug it off."

"She was a good girl?"

Leon laughed now, highly amused, "Hell no. She's a bitch. Totally. Constantly cheating on me."

And now she lifted a brow. "Why stay with her then?"

"…I loved her. I wish I had a better answer. But I did. Somebody told me once, we accept the love we think we deserve."

Jill glanced over. She glanced over. And he was laughing there on the shore. He was laughing with Samantha from impound. Samantha and her big boobs.

Ugh.

Jill felt that like a kick in the guts. "They'd be right. What would cause a guy to run from love?"

Leon laughed a little. He had a good laugh. Kinda nerdy, kinda soft. That smile was the clencher though. And that face. And that strawberry blonde hair. Ten years from now, Leon Kennedy was going to be the total package. Right in that moment? He was utterly adorable.

"Fear, mostly. We run from girls that scare us. Twisty chics. Messy chics. Those are the scary ones."

Jill felt that too. She was too twisty for Chris Redfield apparently. She said, "I'm kinda twisty. You sure you want to sit here on this pier with me?"

Jill shifted a little toward him. He turned his head to look at her.

And he glanced at her mouth.

Click.

"I think I'll risk it."

Samantha was laughing. And Chris was carrying her over his shoulder into the water. Jill said, softly, "Me too."

Leon Kennedy shifted a little more. Jill thought, he wants to kiss you. She craned her neck a little and down he came. There was a series of laughs and shouts and splashing close to them. The water was cool that flecked over their faces.

He said, "I'm glad you came to this shindig."

And Jill thought….CLICK.

And maybe this was how you moved on from Chris Redfield. You just...clicked.

And you said goodbye.