The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
John F. Kennedy International Airport, USA
After taking their luggage, Chris separated from the trio to go to the bathroom. Kate was still saddened with the death of Mr. Lionel but more resigned about it. She watched Chris' luggage and took notice of the new extra content he brought from Bohma and tried to keep her curiosity on the matter.
In the meantime Kate and Piers waited sitting on a bench, the long silence between them was finally broken by the young soldier.
"I'm going home. There's nothing else for me to do here…"
"I thought we were waiting for Chris to deliver him his luggage"
"You wait. I go home."
"I thought you had invited me to stay with you…but I was afraid to ask as you haven't really talked to me since Bohma…"
"You already have a place to stay. You don't need me"
"Why are you talking to me like that?" she gasped, "This is why I don't get you! Two days ago we were together and now you push me away…"
"I was waiting for your grief moment diminish so I could tell you my final decision about the invitation"
"You don't want me to stay, I got it"
"No… you didn't want to come…you already have a place to stay but I was blind to see it…to accept your choice"
"What are you talking about? I didn't even have time to give you an answer! All the crap came in a row…I'm still processing things but I was too saddened to think straight about everything…"
"Kate… I don't want to argue with you anymore"
"I'm not arguing! I'm just explaining my emotional side…but you tend to ignore it and make me feel bad for…"
"I know about your sadness, your grief. I understand that"
"You don't"
"I do! And the same way you claim I don't understand your side, I can tell you the same about mine"
"So say it. I'm not a mind reader!" she said crossing her arms
"It's simple. You made your choice and I will respect that. It hurt when you pushed me away and ran to his arms, and then I found you in bed… he couldn't even disguise it. So in that moment when I saw you and he stared me back I realized I should take my troop off the field"
"It's not what you think"
"Yeah, you both keep saying that a lot"
"It's the truth"
"It's weird. He's very touchy"
"He supports me because he understands me"
"Or maybe he's interested in you"
She smirked, "You're jealous"
"I am, but…"
They stopped talking when they noticed Chris coming closer to them.
"Well, now I should get going. I'm tired and we see at work" Piers said after clearing his throat
Kate didn't say a word. Chris said goodbyes to him and then turned to face Kate.
"I thought you'd go with him"
"Why?"
"I thought you were back together…"
"It's finally over, so let's just go home if our deal is still up?"
"It is up"
She only gave a quick smile and then the pair headed to Chris' apartment.
Chris' Apartment, Following Morning
Kate opened her bedroom's door to head to the bathroom in the hallway, and smelt the scent of coffee. She looked to the side at Chris' bedroom and noticed he was already up. She looked to kitchen side and heard noises coming from there. Wondering it was Chris, she headed to the bathroom to do her personal morning chores.
About 10 minutes later, the young brunette left the bathroom and had a light scare when she saw a blonde girl coming out of Chris' bedroom.
Both women had the same expression.
"Who are you?" Kate asked almost frowning imagining another scenario about the owner of the apartment's previous night
"My name is Eliza. You?" the blonde replied calmly as she observed the brunette before her wearing a sexy and short silk red night dress
"I'm Katerina. Where's Chris?" the brunette said almost in an imposing way
"Chris went to do his morning exercises…"
"And what are you doing here?"
The blonde girl noticed the brunette's evident defensive tone and questioning, but kept her thoughts to herself and only tried to assure the woman standing before her that she was no threat to them, "I clean this place once a week because my mother cannot do it anymore. She worked for Chris for several years and to return all the good things he did for us, I continue her work"
Kate continued staring the blonde. She could be Chris' type as per his fame with younger girls. She was blonde and beautiful, thin but not flat. They had the same height. The blonde wore a skinny black capri pants and sleeveless yellow cotton top.
Eliza could feel Kate's studying eyes on her, which made her slightly uncomfortable, "I made the breakfast: coffee and toasts. Would you like something else?" she asked politely to ease the jealousy of the new girlfriend of Chris'
Kate's defensiveness was broken with that question. That wasn't a usual treatment she used to receive as she usually was the one in the serving role.
That moment they heard a click noise on the door and soon after Chris opened the door, and entered the place catching the sight of the girls talking in the hallway.
"Good morning girls"
"Good morning Chris" Eliza replied friendly
"Good morning" Kate replied with a more contended tone
"I can see you two have met already, so I don't need to introduce you, right?"
"No, it's not necessary. I told Katerina that I only clean your place and I just made breakfast. May I put the table?"
"Yeah, I'm just going to take a very quick shower and I'll be right back"
Kate observed them only following with her eyes, when Chris passed by her and she could smell the scent of sweat coming from him, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, like a baby…"
"I noticed it, but are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I am." She replied with a soft smile
Now that was the turn for Eliza watch the pair. She noticed Chris' softer tone talking to the beautiful sexy brunette. He only had that tone when he really cared for someone. She didn't watch them for too long and soon after she headed to the kitchen.
While Eliza did the cleaning, Chris and Kate were having breakfast in the dining table.
Kate noticed the large cardboards near the couch, feeding her curiosity. Her chain of attention was interrupted by Chris' sudden voice.
"Oh, by the way I forgot to tell you. One of those cardboards is for you"
"Me?" she frowned surprised
"Yeah. It's a gift"
She smiled. She was flattered in received so many gifts lately, "I don't know what it is, but thank you…" she said smiling graciously
"It's not from me"
"Isn't it?"
"Nope"
"Who's it from?" she asked in curiosity
"Angie's"
She grinned her teeth discreetly, struggling to keep a nicer composure at the mention of that name, "Why would she gift me?" she asked with a serious voice tone
"Because she wanted to…"
"Weird…"
"It's not"
"It is. You don't give gifts to someone you don't really know, unless is charity…"
Chris gasped, "Angie has a good heart and is very intuitive. She said she had an intuition to give it to us. Mine is considered a belated birthday present and yours…"
"The charity" she said with sarcasm
"No charity. I'm just telling you what she told me, but if you don't want it, I will keep it as it's part of my own gift…" he shrugged returning her level
She gasped, "I'm not saying I won't accept it. That would be rude to decline such a generous act…I just wanted to understand things…" she eased her level and forced a friendly smile
Chris took a bite of his toast, ignoring her.
Kate could sense the uncomfortable atmosphere in the air. She hated that. Although Angelina would always be a sensitive subject to her, she knew she'd have to be more controlled about her free antipathy for the redhead as she needed him and couldn't stand his ignorance that reminded her of how things were when they met. His rock.
She stood up from the chair and walked over the cardboards, "Which one is mine?" she asked in a low tone
Chris looked at her, "I don't know, I have to open it up" he replied leaving his chair
"Okay…and what do you mean that my gift is part of your birthday gift?" she tried to look nice
He chuckled, "I just said it because Angie told me my gift could be taken as a birthday gift, but your gift is like a continuation of my own…whatever that means"
"So let's find out what that means" she grinned
Chris gave a nod and unwrapped the cardboard which happened to be Kate's gift.
She opened her mouth in shock. Their hearts raced. A strange sensation cored through her body making her tremble when her eyes laid on the painting of a couple walking above the water. In the background there was a forest. The brunette woman wearing a long white dress with a red ribbon at her waist level was at the left side of the brunette man. She wore a necklace with a green gem. They held hands smiling at each other. Each carrying a small wrapped blanket.
Chris unwrapped his painting to show to Kate the back version of her own gift. Now he understood Angie's explanation.
Kate sat on the couch observing the details of her painting. Astonished. Was it a coincidence? That couple seemed the ones she used to dream about, although she had never seen them carrying anything.
Chris sat at her right side showing her his painting.
Kate observed the details. A forest at the right corner and a small wooden hovel at the shore. And a small boat.
Such a familiar scenery.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Chris commented
She nodded in silence.
"I don't know about you, but it brings me nostalgia…"
Kate couldn't help her teary eyes as she kept staring her painting, "It makes me sad…" she whispered
"Why?"
"Because there's love in their expressions and it's implicit they're carrying babies, fruits of their love…something I'll never have…" she said with a hoarse as a tear cored down her face making her wipe it
Chris didn't know how to react as he watched her sadness. Kate was a very sensitive girl, especially about children – motherhood.
"I don't know if your friend is a psychic or if you told her about my miserable condition nor why she preferred to give me this version that serves to torture me…"
"I'm sure she didn't have any bad intention towards you…"
"Of course you will defend her…you have feelings for her"
"I'm not defending her because of my feelings!"
"No? so how the hell did she choose to give me the twins version?"
"You can't know it's twins…"
"It's pretty obvious Chris! They're holding babies!" she stood up upset leaving the painting aside, "Did you tell her about my condition?"
Chris swallowed staring her, quickly recalling the moment he told Angelina when she insisted on him to give a chance to Kate and have children with her.
His silence was his confirmation, which made Kate even more upset, "I can't believe you did this! You told her!"
"I didn't mean to…"
"But you did! You made her make fun of me!"
"She didn't make fun of you"
"Shut up!" she shouted angered, "You opened your stupid mouth to that b… - sly that didn't have the guts to face me and give it to me personally her Trojan gift! She must be laughing at me!" she said with her hands on her waist
"Kate! Please, it's not like that!" he said standing up
"Give me her number!" she said staring him with a serious gaze
"What?" he frowned
"She doesn't have the guts, but I do! Now I know why you conveniently forgot to give it back in Bohma, but distance is not a problem for me so I'll tell her what she needs to listen!"
"You won't call her!"
"Yes I will! I'm not a chicken like her. I won't let her laugh at me for my condition!"
"She never laughed at you. If you have to be angry at someone, be at me! I was the one who made the inconvenient comment. My mistake"
She smirked and stared him deep in the eyes, "Did you tell her to paint this?"
Suddenly they heard a loud noise and Eliza scream.
"Eliza!" Chris said in concerned as he ran to see her in his bedroom
Kate even still upset, followed him.
"Liz, are you alright?" he asked checking on her
"Yes, I just lost my balance and fell off the stool when I was cleaning the shelf …"
Kate noticed the injury on the girl's knee, "You should put ice on your knee"
"No, I'm fine…it was just a hit. Nothing serious"
"You will put ice on it!" Kate said with an imposing tone and immediately headed to the kitchen to get ice from the freezer
Chris helped the blonde girl to walk until his armchair as she had some difficult due to the recent injury.
Soon after Kate returned with a bag with ice and delivered it to the blonde who thanked her.
That was the first time she entered his bedroom. She looked around briefly and went to gather the contents that fell off the shelf, some of Chris' trophies.
Kate, most due to her cleaning OCD, started arranging it.
"Don't do that Kate, I don't want another accident"
"Don't worry about me"
Chris and Eliza exchanged gazes and remained in silence until Kate left the bedroom.
Eliza looked down at the ice. Katerina's behavior was no surprise for her, much the contrary, it sounded familiar. Somehow she could understand the brunette in whatever made her shout. Since the moment her eyes laid on the brunette, she felt something different. A weird sensation. As if she had met her before. The same happened when she first met Chris when she used to accompany her mother to help her clean his apartment. Those sensations were things she never told anyone and obviously she wouldn't say it now.
"You heard us, right?" Chris broke the silence. Embarrassment could be sensed in his tone.
She nodded in confirmation, "Parts of it…"
"I'm sorry for that"
"No problem. I know that happens"
"I hate that kind of drama"
"I know you do, but I don't really intend to come between you, plus I just met her."
Chris let out a frustrated sigh, "I asked her, actually I kind of insisted on her to live here, but now…I'm not sure if I did the right thing…or for how long I can take that…"
"Relationships are complicated…they're never perfect and she's seems a jealousy one…"
"We're not in a relationship…not in a romantic relationship. She's just my 'roommate'…my secretary at work"
Eliza made a surprised face. They didn't act like just a "boss-employee" at all. Not to mention the argument they just had. It seemed too personal and nothing professional. Once again she kept her thoughts to herself.
"You don't believe, right?"
She made a face confirming it.
"No one does…and I'm starting to doubt it as well…"
"You have a good heart Chris. Not everyone can see that and they tend to see things with other eyes things that are not so usual…"
"It's not because of my good intentions, I'm very sure about it, but…"
"But?" she asked as he left in hang
"But for what already happened between us…"
"Oh…did you sleep together?"
"Yeah…well, kind of…"
"Kind of?"
"It's complicated…"
"Yeah, sex complicates things…"
"It does…I try to ignore it but in moments like this…I'm reminded that the line has been crossed and I have no idea where this is leading to. Or what we have…relationship or not…it's a crazy thing and I don't seem to be able to get out of it"
"And do you want to get out of it?"
He scratched his head, "I don't know…I don't know what I'm feeling…or living…all I know it started with me helping her because she had no one else, and then things got us involved in a way I don't know how to stop, or what to do, especially when "everyone" sees us as a couple"
"Maybe she's your karma…"
He chuckled, "What? My karma?"
"Yeah"
"Meaning this is a bad thing?"
She shook her head, "Not necessarily. Karma can be good too. It depends on how you deal with it"
He laughed incredulous, "This is crazy and maybe bullshit. One tells me there's a conspiracy of the universe, you tell me it's karma…they don't seem logical explanations"
"So what stops you to get out of that?"
"I don't want to let her down… I know how it feels like to be left alone and have no one else to count on…feel groundless"
"So she's lonely like you. You can make company to each other, and that's what you're already doing and there's nothing wrong about it"
"It needs a definition"
"Only you can do that, but you have to stop running away…and I'm sorry for my sincerity. I shouldn't be giving my opinion…"
"No, it's alright. I appreciate your sincerity… you're the only one I have to talk like that…you know me for a good while, you know my routine. You can see better for being outside"
"I can't say much Chris, I just met her."
"But you nailed when you said she seems the jealousy type. You're not the first that tells me that. Did she get jealous of you?"
"Yeah…I noticed some of her expressions when she saw me leaving your bedroom"
"Did she tell you something?"
"No. She kept her composure of suspicion, despite putting me into a questioning, but as I had thought she was your girlfriend I tried to keep her reassured that I'm not a threat to you"
"And what did she say?"
"We didn't talk. I offered her the breakfast and then you arrived"
"Oh I see…"
"You know…she seems to be cool, besides beautiful. If she were the nasty type she wouldn't have cared for my injury. So that detail tells something about her"
"That she cares too much"
"Just like you"
He laughed, "What?"
"Come on, admit it. You do care about people, in your weird way but you do…and I'm sure you two have other things in common that made you shelter her"
"So are you telling me to give her a chance?" he said keeping in mind Angie's words as well
"No. I tell you to give yourself a chance. As you said, I know your lonely routine. I used to make you company on the breakfasts until you met Cathy. I could see the change on you. You seemed happier for being in a relationship and having a more normal life. Honestly you deserve it. You cannot just breath bioterrorism. You can do other things too. Go out on weekends or hang out with friends. Go on trips. Date."
"You sounded like my sister"
"And she's right. She knows your routine too and after what she went through earlier the year, she has all the reason to tell you to live…have a life besides work"
He grinned, "Thanks for not telling me to date Kate or I'd start believing there is a universe conspiracy" he said with sarcasm
She laughed, "About her… and about what I heard. If you want my advice…"
"I do want your advice"
"I know the truth is sacred but sometimes a white lie can prevent further unnecessary drama, so if I were you, I'd tell her you asked the other one to make the paintings…but that there wasn't any bad intention…make something out, but tell her you asked it otherwise she seems to have a volatile personality like you and she is the determined type that won't forget a fight and will stick to it till the very end, and as a woman I know she won't forget it as it hit her biggest weak spot"
"Tell me about it! I used to see her determination with good eyes but now I don't see it that much…"
"I understand, or I have a better idea… you can give the number to her but you get in contact with the other person first and tell her what happened"
"Yeah, I prefer this option. I prefer telling Angie a tsunami will hit her but at least she will have time to take some preventing measures"
Kate was in her bedroom sitting on an armchair. She was still pissed and Angelina the sly. At Chris the moron. Why did he tell the sly such an intimate detail about her? Was he dumb enough to not realize that condition of hers hurt her immensely? What the sly had to do with her bad condition? Probably laugh at her as she could bear children. She was a complete woman that could give –him- children. That hurt her to the core. Why was she born like that? Broken and broke?
The minutes – eternal minutes – were passing. Chris was still in the bedroom with Eliza. Was the blonde his "relief" too? Why did he treat her like that? She couldn't understand. One minute he was all a good company to her and then he just raised a wall between them. Why did he play with her like that? Wasn't she good enough for him?
She stood up from the armchair to check on them discreetly. Why were they taking so long?
She turned around to take her belongings from the luggage and the first thing she saw was the letter Mr. Lionel had left for her.
She wasn't really ready to read it as she recalled their conversations, but at that moment she needed to know what his last words were for her.
Inhaling deeply, she opened the letter and the first line she read "Watch out for your jealousy"
She chuckled with that title.
She was about to continue reading it when she heard a message alert on her cell phone. Immediately she grabbed it and her eyes widened when she saw the unknown number.
"Hello Pretty Girl"
Only one person that called her like that, Dennis Fleury.
Thank you Pin and scropion for the reviews! :D