One Filthy Face of Death

She kissed him like she'd eat him. He opened his mouth and let her. He finally broke free from her mouth with a desperate gasp.

"Christ, Jill."

She grabbed his face and held it. "I can fight my own battles, big guy."

He tried to shake her grip loose on his face and she smacked him again. He gave her angry eyes now. And she said, "Stop pulling away. I can fight my own battles. I can. But I love you for loving me enough to do it for me."

He tried to pull away again. Jill bit his mouth and stole his breath. "Stop it. I mean it. I love you, Chris. I LOVE you. You can keep running. Go ahead. Keep running. It won't change anything. You can't get rid of me by treating me like I don't matter. I've had men do that my whole life. But I know I matter. I KNOW I matter to you. So, stop trying to get rid of me. I don't need to be your girlfriend. But I need you to be my guy. Be my guy. Damn you. Be my guy."

She felt his whole body relax. She felt him relent and his hands came up to tunnel into her hair. He pulled her into him and squeezed. She hugged him so tight she was afraid she'd break him.

Sweaty, humbled, he looked down at her. "This isn't how we stay friends, Jill Valentine. You showing up to grab my dick at 2 a.m, isn't helping. You monkey grabbing me and rubbing your panties on me isn't helping me keep my hands to myself."

She laughed now, hoarsely, "Redfield, this is exactly how we stay friends. We've always had this shit happening with us. Denying it? Pretending it's not there? It's what makes us so awkward together. So maybe we can't date. But we can do this. We can do this together, Chris. Because it's the kind of friends we are. It just is."

They held gazes. "Promise me you'll come home before curfew. And be safe."

Jill considered it now, watching him. "I don't think I want to say yes to that. Saying no before got us here. I think I'll keep saying no."

Chris laughed a little, holding her against him. He could set her down. But neither wanted him to.

"You punched our boss. You dumped the witch."

"I did."

"The first one I get. The second I don't. Why?"

"I didn't want to cheat on her. She's a nice girl."

Jill held his eyes now. "Who were you cheating with?"

He was quiet for so long she grabbed a handful of his ass to get him to answer.

"Whoa. Easy there, Valentine. You'll get me excited."

Jill laughed a little. "Who were you cheating with?"

And his face said it all. "Nobody. Yet. But I knew eventually I wouldn't be able to keep my hands to myself anymore. I went under the desk and ate you out at work the other day. You were done for the day and closing down your computer. You'd changed out of your uniform. I could fucking TASTE you in my mouth. You kept shifting in this little miniskirt you're always not really wearing. Those boots of yours…they haunt me. I KNEW you were wearing a thong. So…I just..I had you. I had you under the desk."

They held gazes for a long moment. "And I wasn't stupid enough to think it would stop there, Jill. I'm mostly a good guy. I don't fuck other girls when I'm dating one. The guilt of going down on you while I was with her nearly killed me."

She stroked his back, desperately in love with him. He was a good man. So devoted. So determined. He didn't know how to do anything half assed. So, he'd felt guilt where other men wouldn't have bothered.

"And I let you suck me off. So, I had to deal with that. I told Gia there was someone else. I let her down easy. She's a nice girl. Gorgeous. And she liked me. But I can't get you out of my fucking head. So, I did the right thing."

She stroked his sweaty hair now, tenderly. "I came over last night and used you."

There. It was confession hour it seemed.

His face was so sweet. So calm. And so gentle. "I know that."

Jill shifted where she was hitched to his front. "I shouldn't have done that."

Chris lifted a brow at her. "Curious. But I'll bite. Why not?"

Jill touched his cheeks. His hands eased up the backs of her thigh and cupped her little butt. And he was right…it was a thong. Damn her.

"Because that's not who you are. Is it?"

His hands fully cupped her naked bottom now. She made a little sound of surprise and delight. And he stroked her smooth skin.

"I'm just me, Jill. Just me. So maybe this is the kind of friends we are. Maybe we punch our bosses and fuck like bunnies and fight bad guys together. Maybe that's who we are."

Jill gasped a little as he kneaded her pert bottom and rubbed her against his groin.

She whispered, hoarsely, "Maybe we are. Best friends?"

"Cheese and rice. Who would say no to you?"

So maybe, he thought desperately as stayed wrapped around him torturing him with her friendship, maybe he was the guy that punched his boss, threw aside all the rules, and risked everything for Jill Valentine.

And maybe he was perfectly ok with all of it.

Because she was the best friend he'd ever had.

They played the zombie game drinking beer. They played 21 BlackJack and Jill kept losing. After four rounds of it, she narrowed her eyes at him, "You cheating, Redfield?"

"Would I?" He asked, innocently.

He won again.

And Jill grabbed his hand and jerked him forward. He spilled on his face on the floor and she sat on his back. "CONFESS!"

Laughing, Chris answered, with his face in the carpet. "I cheated."

"I KNEW IT!" And she smacked his ass. "CHEATER!"

He loved her. How could you not love her? And he'd missed being her best friend like this. Dog laid on his back and pinned him down with her. Jill let out a hooting laugh.

"Oh, Red, you are so SCREWED now!"

She was right about that. Friends or not, he was probably going to love her forever.

The fourth of July, they went to the street fair in celebration of their nation's birthday. The whole team came out to watch fireworks and drink beer and enjoy all the food trucks that peddled their delicious treats. The smell of smoking meat and popcorn and funnel cakes peppered the air split with laughter and happiness.

The weather was surprisingly cool for how hot it had been all summer. A cool breeze filtered through the humidity and kept the pavement from wavering with the heat. Jill and Chris sat on the grass with Rebecca, Felicity, Dog, Maggie, and Barry Burton's oldest girl Moira. She was an adorable little thing with pig tails in a red, white, and blue dress.

Jill was teaching her how to do a cat's cradle with yarn around her fingers.

Felicity was showing Rebecca how to tie together an opponent's shoelaces properly. She said, "It keeps you from having to bind their legs. Works like a charm."

Maggie was petting Dog while she rubbed her ever expanding belly.

Chris sipped his beer and asked her, "You're never worry about having a baby married to a man who fights terrorists for a living?"

Maggie chuckled a little and tossed her pretty hair. Joseph was with Brad and Barry getting hotdogs. "Never. He's my heart. And we're having a family together. There's no way to know if that'll last but for now? It's all good. Honestly, Chris, any one of us could be dead tomorrow. What else do we have but today?"

It was a good answer.

Dog woofed and ran toward Captain Wesker as he crossed the grass. Jill gave Chris a long look and he rose.

He crossed the town square toward him. Wesker, even in the heaviest part of summer, wore black. He was in black from head to toe. And he wasn't even sweating. His glasses covered those pale eyes as he waited.

Wesker spoke first and surprised him, "First Chris, let me apologize for what I said about Jill before. That was crass. It was disrespectful and ill timed. I utilized poor judgement trying to motivate you and spoke out of turn. I've apologized to Jill directly for it as well."

Chris glanced back at Jill in surprise. She caught his eye and nodded, like she knew what they were talking about. Chris said, quietly, "She's my best friend. But I was out of line too, sir. Way out of line. I want to formally apologize for hitting you. And I'm willing to accept the suspension for as long as necessary."

Wesker patted his shoulder, calmly, "I think three weeks is long enough. You can return to duty on Monday. In the future Chris before it comes to that, just consider that there might be a good reason for a bad decision but it doesn't excuse the act itself."

"Yes, sir."

"Enjoy your holiday." Wesker turned to head back toward the courthouse.

Chris hesitated and finally said, "Sir?"

Wesker paused and glanced back at him.

"Sir…would you like to join us? I don't mean to step out of line again here but you never seem to be enjoying yourself at these things. The fireworks will be starting soon. Do you want to watch them with us?"

Wesker considered this and finally nodded. "Revelry with the team is a good idea, Chris. And in the spirit of keeping moral up, I believe you're right."

Rebecca said, from the ground, "Is Wesker coming over here to sit with us?"

Jill replied, "Don't piss yourself, Bec. Relax. I've spent a lot of time with him. He's a little uptight but he's friendly enough."

Felicity gave her wide eyes. "He's friendly!?"

Jill laughed a little, "Surprisingly. I think he even joked with me one day."

And now Maggie let out a loud guffaw, "Don't be silly. You know that didn't happen."

Wesker joined the team as they all settled around on their little grassy knoll to watch the fireworks. The display was beautiful. It was loud and bright and exciting. The sky above the clock tower lit up and exploded with color and beauty. The music planning was patriotic and fitting.

Wesker, Barry, and Joseph all lounged on the grass with Maggie and Felicity. Rebecca and Barry's girls sat on a blanket to one side. Brad and his girlfriend, shockingly, sat off to the other side. Chris, Jill, and Dog watched and walked a little around the square with a sprig of cotton candy.

Chris took a big bite of it making a sound like a dinosaur and made Jill laugh.

Across the square, Claire was flirting with Kevin Ryman.

Chris said, "Should I stop that?"

Jill shook her head, smiling. "No way. He's great."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. It's not his fault that I wasn't ready to move on."

Chris glanced down at her and she held his gaze for a long moment. He thought about leaning down to kiss her right there in front of everyone. It lingered in his mouth like mouthwash. He actually touched her face and skimmed his thumb over her cheekbone.

Red, pink, and green exploded over her face as the fireworks went off. Jill glanced up at his face and smiled. She said, "You getting mooshy on me, Redfield?"

And Chris laughed a little. "That's a negative on the mooshy stuff, Valentine."

He dropped his hand and Jill turned his palm over and put a penny in it. He glanced at it and at her face. She was smiling at him and looked…well…she looked beautiful in the flashing colors. She said, "I noticed you carry that penny in your badge. Claire told me it was the one she found in the parking lot the day your parents were buried."

Chris said nothing now, watching her face.

She said, "You found the penny on the worst day of your life. And you kept it. Who does that?"

She covered his palm with hers and held that penny between them. "You're the guy who loves forever, Chris Redfield. Forever. And you never forget. You can't do anything but protect and remember those who matter. So maybe…maybe you take that penny I gave…and you remember me too. Whenever we're not together…you'll remember me anyway. I figured…maybe you'll keep my penny too."

Shit.

He wrapped their hands together and squeezed. Dog leaned against their legs and they both petted him absently without even realizing it. Chris said, "Jill Valentine…you big sap."

She laughed a little, wetly. And then she looped her arms around his waist and moved in.

He dropped his cheek to the top of her head and held her while the world exploded in color and light around them.

On the grass above them, Rebecca said softly, "She's kinda stupid for not loving him."

Felicity replied, "She loves him. And he loves her. But they're both too stupid to do anything about it."

Joseph, sitting beside his wife, said, "Maggie and I were friends all through school. I didn't see her for ten years. Then one day? I just opened my eyes. One day? They'll both open their eyes. Until then? You have to let them be blind."

Blind, Wesker thought, is what they all were.

But they'd see the truth soon enough.

It was, after all, Independence Day...and he was about to be free from the lie of what he'd become.

Jill dropped him off at his house after the fireworks ended. She watched Dog leap from the car and run out into the backyard to go potty. Chris turned his head in the passenger seat and met her eyes.

"You want to come in and hang out for awhile?"

Jill shrugged and parked the car. "Yup."

"Cool."

They made nachos and watched television and had too much to drink. She fell asleep in the spare room with Dog on the floor snoring.

He came awake at 2 a.m. again. He rolled to his side and she was looking at him. In the moonlight, her crystal blue eyes were silver.

He was naked, wrapped in sheets, with his bare feet sticking out the bottom of the tangle.

She stood beside the bed, looking down at him.

He lifted a hand, caught her wrist, and tugged.

She came down beside him on the bed with a bounce. He leaned up on one arm to look down into those haunting eyes. She asked, softly, "Would you remember me, Chris Redfield? If I was gone?"

The sad lonely girl who no one had ever really loved. She was so scared of being alone again. So scared that no one would miss her if she was gone. So scared that she would just…disappear.

And he answered, "I would never stop looking for you, Jill Valentine. Ever. You? This is where you are." And he signaled his chest and circled his finger.

Jill smiled, studying his face in the moonlight. That strong jaw, that dark skin, those heavy brows of his. His wasn't a face you forgot. It was a face you remembered, long after you should have let him go.

She whispered, "I'm just a plain faced girl that's the daughter of a criminal. Maybe there's nothing here worth holding on to."

And she was the only person in his life to let him in. She just did it. She just let him inside to see her, to know her, to love her. She just let him. And she'd given him a penny to remember her. Because he'd punched their boss and gave her a dog, and took the time to see, for the first time in her life, not the plain faced daughter of a criminal…but the accomplished, dedicated, and determined woman who would stand side by side with him one day and change the world.

And she loved him. She just loved him. It was the first time she knew, in her bones, that there was no Jill Valentine without Chris Redfield. Whatever else was true, they were connected now, they were connected…and she didn't want to know what life looked like without him beside her. He was her guy. And she was his girl. And the best friends forever joking? No joking. Lovers or not, they were best friends forever.

And she loved him.

And just this once? She wanted to love him.

Jill lifted a hand and cupped his face. Her other hand settled, gently, against Chris' chest and over his heart. He leaned in, she leaned in, and they kissed soft and smooth. Their foreheads brushed together.

Their eyes stayed open as he rolled, smoothly, atop her. She opened her legs and slid her feet down his calves. His arms braced beside her head. Her hand stayed on his chest and the other held his face.

She was in a little tank top and her panties. No g-string now. No. Just simple, white cotton, and plain. The plain faced girl, she'd called herself. She was never plain. Never. He slipped his hands under her tank top and slid it over her head.

He kissed one soft breast and the other. And he kissed her…right over her heart. His eyes lifted to her face again. And Chris intoned, low and with feeling, "I will always hold on to you, Jill Valentine. Always. And I won't let go."

She lifted her hips so he could slide her panties down her legs. His arms braced beside her head, her hands curled up his back to hold him, and he rubbed himself against the damp heat of her. She whispered, soft and desperately, "I won't let go either. Chris, I won't let go."

He slid into her, slow, achingly slow, and stole her breath.

Their eyes stayed locked. Her mouth opened silently on a gasp. His breath caught and his brow furrowed. Her eyes blurred and hooded but held. Held. Held.

His voice was low and gruff when he whispered, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world."

And she believed him. She believed him. The feeling of him inside of her expanded, spilled, and filled her from ears to feet to soul. She didn't just let him in her body; she let him in her heart. He took up a place inside of it and stayed, stayed, even as he slid in and out of her needy body.

Jill started panting, heavy, heavier. Her slick heat welcomed him, eagerly, as she did, completely. And they moved together musically now. His gruff sighs, her soft gasps, the rhythm of flesh and need. She lifted her face for his mouth and they kissed again, wet and long. It wasn't fucking. It was love.

It was wet, needy, gentle. It was love.

And punctuated by their held gazes.

Maybe it wasn't the kind of love that they could use to build a life together as man and wife. But it was the kind of love that stayed, long after the love songs ended and the passion fled and the body aged. It was love that made laughter and held on, held on, when all other hands would let go.

And, just this once, they made love in the moonlight and held on.

Jill arched against him and kept on holding onto his face and his gaze while she crested, shivered, and came around him…still holding on. Chris dropped his mouth to kiss her, spilled his tongue into her mouth, and the phone started ringing.

They left it…left it. And he pinned her hips to the bed, pumped his body almost quick and deep now into her, watch her bow and shudder…and spilled inside her pulsing heat. He actually gasped with it and her hands grabbed his biceps to hold on as she felt him tremble. He trembled…the big squish.

He dropped his forehead to hers and trembled…and the answering machine clicked on, whirring.

It was Barry Burton.

"Chris, dude, get in here. Now. Hurry. Bravo's chopper malfunctioned again. There was a call about a disturbance in the mountains. They thought they might have found the cannibals. The chopper set down…and we lost communications. We lost them. ANSWER YOUR PHONE."

Chris snatched up the receiver, breathing heavily. Jill was grabbing his back now in horror.

He ground out, "Barry! What the hell man?"

He listened. He held her eyes.

And he said, "Yeah. I know where she is. Yeah. I'll get her and we'll be right there. Cheese and rice. Yeah. On the way."

He hung up the phone.

She said, "Oh my god."

And they held eyes for a moment longer as the fear rolled between them. She whispered, softly, "Don't let go ok?"

Chris answered, softly, "Never."

They rolled apart to hurry now.

And go to face the worst night of their lives.