Author's Note: I don't know if I'm 100% happy with this installment, but oh wells. I think it gets a little jumpy in places, but I really couldn't figure out a way to make it more coherent. Fail. Well, as long as the rest of you enjoy it, I'm good. Oh, I know I said that each of these chapters kinda stand alone as one-shots, but I guess you would have had to read Ch2 to get Chris's reference. Meh.
Disclaimer: Resident Evil and all of its entities therein are the property of the glorious Capcom.
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Albert Wesker was not the type to willingly engage in social contact, least of all attend large events with huge gatherings of people, so getting him to actually agree to go to the RPD's annual police banquet had been one of the most grueling challenges Chris had ever faced. There was no real reason why he thought it necessary that Wesker should attend but as part of his routine to playfully agitate the captain, he had taken the impossible task upon himself. He had tried every trick he knew; bribery, guilt-tripping, mocking, use of outside influence, and even down-right begging in an attempt to get Wesker to attend the event and still nothing even remotely influenced the stubborn and impenetrable man that was his captain. Chris was almost ready to just give up and accept defeat when he remembered one aspect of the captain's cool personality; his pride. And so he had publicly made Wesker a wager-they would compete in a shooting contest. If Chris won, Wesker would have to attend the banquet and stay for the entire duration of the event. However, if Wesker was the victor, Chris would play personal secretary to Wesker for an entire month; he would come in on time, fill out the tedious reports to Chief Irons, and even bring the captain coffee in the morning, plus whatever else Wesker could think of to put Chris to work. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to have the marksman at his complete bidding and thoroughly confident in his own abilities, Wesker had willingly accepted the terms of the agreement and so the entirety of S.T.A.R.S. had paraded down to the firing range to witness the two men duel. Chris was usually favored to win when it came to any shoot-out between him and another member of S.T.A.R.S., but few could actually bring themselves to bet against Wesker. He was very rarely seen practicing at the firing range but no one on the force doubted the Alpha Team captain's abilities.
The 'match' had lasted a good twenty minutes and still neither Chris nor Wesker had been declared the winner. They had taken to playing a sort-of variant of the game "Horse"; the first shooter would hit a random spot on a target twenty-five yards away and the follow-up would be expected to hit that same location or lose the match. In order to expedite the process, they had both agreed that even being off the mark just once or ever so slightly would ensure victory for the other shooter. With neither one of them wanting to lose however, the competition was lasting a lot longer than expected and Chris was beginning to lose steam. Wesker of course had noticed the fatigue on the younger man, which only increased his level of confidence. This however, was exactly what Chris wanted.
Wesker was lining up to repeat Chris's shooting of what would have been through the left eye of an actual person on the target in the distance. The captain was on average quicker to aim and pull the trigger than the marksman was, but this too, worked to Chris's advantage. Just as he saw Wesker's trigger finger twitch, he leaned close and bellowed "Wesker likes tea parties!" loud enough that everyone heard it even through their ear protection. Wesker had flinched ever so slightly, but when they pulled up the targets, Wesker's bullet had missed its mark by mere millimeters and thus making Chris the much disputed winner of the shootout.
And so here they were at the banquet, the majority of S.T.A.R.S. feasting and celebrating together while their captain brooded angrily in a corner of the room somewhere. Chris had actually expected Wesker to flat out refuse to attend despite their agreement but was nonetheless pleased that his plan had worked.
"I still can't believe you won, despite the fact that you cheated," Barry marveled.
Joseph took a large swig of his drink before clapping Chris heartily on the back. "Yeah, it was awesome! Why the hell did you yell that though, anyway?"
Chris just laughed. "I guess it's an inside joke."
Jill raised a dark eyebrow in question but he just shrugged and took a sip of his beer. True, he had the opportunity to let the rest of his team in on the lesser known aspects of the captain's life but the older man had been subjugated enough for one day.
"Speaking of the Captain, I think I should go find him before he decides to go on a murderous rampage. He's not exactly a people person," Chris mused, excusing himself from the group when they nodded fervently in agreement.
After several minutes of wandering around the crowds of people, Chris finally spotted Wesker on the balcony, scowling angrily at the retreating back of a rather attractive woman. Quirking an eyebrow in curiosity, the marksman waltzed over the blond and wrapped a playful arm around his broad shoulders and gestured to the retreating woman with his beverage hand.
"Aww, did the captain get rejected by the pretty lady?" Chris mocked.
"Hardly. The woman lacks the propriety to realize when her company is unwanted. She has been making fool-hardy advances since we arrived and it was growing tiresome."
Just then, the woman turned around to glare hatefully at the pair, at which point Chris noticed the mascara running freely down her cheeks and her red-rimmed, puffy eyes.
"You made her cry?!" Chris demanded, unhooking his arm from Wesker's shoulder and staring at the older man with complete shock. "What kind of monster are you?"
Wesker snorted in indignation. "At least I have the decency to cause her suffering whilst still face to face. I cannot even begin to count every woman you've left alone in the morning after you've slunk away somewhere during the night."
"Ouch! Way to hit below the belt, Captain," Chris placed a hand over his chest in mock hurt. "But touché, nonetheless," he added thoughtfully, taking a large swig from his glass.
The blond smirked and looked towards the small group of S.T.A.R.S. members that were several yards away and watching the pair with interest. From this range, it was impossible that the other officers could hear what was going on, with the exception of Chris's outburst, perhaps, but that clearly did not stop them from intently spying or looking away guiltily when they noticed their captain's steely gaze.
"I do hope however, that you will extend greater courtesy and respect towards Miss Valentine."
Chris almost choked on his drink; the comment had caught him so off-guard. When he was finished sputtering and coughing, he looked up at his captain incredulously.
"Jill? Wha-what do you mean?"
"Chris," Wesker drawled mockingly, "it's fairly apparent with the way you stare lecherously at her all the time. Did you honestly think that no one would notice?"
"I do not stare! Besides, she's not my type." He defended himself nervously, taking another sip from his beer in an attempt to look unaffected.
"Ah, you mean not blonde with copious amounts of choice female anatomy?"
"Exactly! I mean- no! Yes? Wait- ugh!" he mentally slapped himself for falling too easily into Wesker's trap. "You know that I hate you sometimes, right?" he stated miserably.
"You flatter me."
"Only you would take that as a compliment," Chris sighed and looked toward the direction where Jill was standing, her body now turned away from the two men. "I just- I dunno. I mean, she's cute, but I just don't think it would work out…" he trailed off.
Wesker simply raised an inquisitive eyebrow, waiting patiently for Chris to continue.
"I never have much luck attracting the 'good' girls. Jill, well, she's one of the good ones. She's strong-willed, capable, fun, attractive in her own way, and definitely unique. Plus she's my partner- I'd trust her to watch my back no matter what. Speaking of, why are you encouraging me? You should be telling me that dating a co-worker is improper, or something." He asked suspiciously.
"Chris, when have you ever actually listened to anything I've told you? Whether I wish it or not, you will always remain steadfast and stubborn in whatever your goal is at the time. It's both an admirable and tiresome trait of yours. Since I have zero faith that you will be unable to restrain yourself, I simply ask that you are a bit more careful with this situation. I do hate filling out needless reports to human resources, and at this point if it came down to it, I would gladly keep Miss Valentine on the squad over you." Wesker smirked.
"Wow, thanks Captain. Good to know that I'm truly appreciated." Chris replied dejectedly, slumping his shoulders in disappointment.
"Perhaps if you actually arrived to the office on time and heeded my command, I would find you in higher favor."
"Somehow I think you would still have some reason to hate me, even if I did do all of those things." He muttered bitterly.
"Chris," Wesker drawled, "you should know by now that despite certain personal… failings… I regard you as my best man. Contrary to your belief, I did not assign you to be Alpha Team's Pointman on a whim. You've more than proven yourself capable."
The younger man allowed a small smile to make its way onto his face. Chris knew that the captain was all but incapable of giving out a real compliment, so the fact that he had allowed this admission truly meant something to the brunet. Suddenly he felt himself becoming very inspired to draw the line between him and his partner as just that- partners, at least for the time being. Besides, what Wesker didn't know couldn't possibly hurt him, right?
He had been about to voice his resolution when he noticed that Wesker seemed to no longer be paying any attention to their conversation. Instead, he seemed to be focused on a crowd of people located near the cocktail bar. Annoyed, Chris waved his free hand in front of the captain's face in a futile attempt to win back his attention.
"I apologize, but it seems I have to leave you to enjoy the rest of this inane gathering on your own," Wesker cut in, glancing briefly at a very confused Chris Redfield. "It would seem that my presence is required elsewhere."
Without any other warning, the blond casually walked away from the balcony and toward the gathering of people near the bar. Chris watched curiously as his captain strode over to a very elegant looking woman in a scarlet colored dress with a tasteful but revealing slit up its side and his jaw all but dropped in shock when he saw Wesker place a confident hand on the mysterious beauty's back to lead her away from the rabble. After they had disappeared from sight, Chris found himself unable to remove the dumbfounded and shocked expression from his face.
After several moments of incredulous staring, his agape mouth turned into a goofy grin. So, his captain was a human male after all! Chris was sure to store away this information in the vault of his mind so he could make ample use of it later; he reasoned that it was due to his direct influence that Wesker had managed to meet up with such an attractive woman, and he didn't plan on letting the blond live it down any time soon. Still grinning, Chris ordered another glass of beer and resolved to make a silent toast to his captain before seeking out his fellow S.T.A.R.S. members once more to enjoy the rest of the banquet.
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AN: Aww, Chris is crushing on Jill! Obviously while there is never any official word on a 'relationship' between them, they definitely seem like more than just partners, so I guess I'm attempting to set them up for how/why they act the way they do in the future. Jill seemed awfully concerned for Chris's wellbeing in RE1 and obviously Chris's obsession with Jill in RE5 goes a little bit beyond 'just partners' if you ask me. I'm not going to actually make them into a couple, but I suppose they're fun to play around with.
Wonder who the bitch in the red dress is- I MEAN… what?
I'm definitely not going for a Wesker/Ada pairing in this; I envision the scene as Wesker meeting with Ada to discuss their dastardly dealings with The Agency and Chris just kinda makes assumptions from there. I don't believe that Capcom ever officially stated when exactly Ada and Wesker began their negotiations and since Wesker had been planning to leave Umbrella, I took the liberty to assume that they had begun their partnership fairly early on. Who knows? And if Capcom did state something to the contrary, well, shenanigans. It's a fanfic for a reason :P. Plus, again, Wesker is too badass to be involved in relationships and I really cannot envision Ada becoming romantically involved with Wesker on any level. That whole Leon thing kinda gets in the way.
Anyway, reviews would be appreciated, as always.