Summary: It should have just been a regular morning for Chris Redfield. He should have been just heading out for his usual every day job. So why did he wake up to find a certain puppy eared male in his bed?
Pairing: Nivanfield
Author's note: Sorry for the wait. Here's another chapter update for you all. :) Also just wrote another Nivansfield fic but it's posted on my Archive of Our Own account. XD So you'll have to go there to read it, though it's not really explicit but it isn't very innocent either and I won't take any chances because of the subject matter.
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My Pet Peeve 20
Three weeks had passed since the Umbrella laboratory had burned down. They did manage to get what little evidence they could but all of the major pieces were missing from the equation, things like what they were using to control the Semi and Illium, body evidence, and Spencer himself. Though the Spencer mansion had been left untouched by the self-detonation, there was nothing there except some family jewels that were useless to anyone but a common thief.
During those three weeks Chris was stuck in lockdown at the BSAA Headquarters. He wasn't allowed to go home or to even leave the premises unless under extreme security. And even within the walls of HQ, he was only allowed to leave his room with an escort at his side. He was told it was for his protection though why they felt like they had to protect him was beyond him. For what? As far as Spencer knew, he was dead. They had no reason to need him.
When he'd questioned Jill about it, she'd said that it was orders were HQ and that he had to follow those orders. He still hadn't personally gotten a chance to talk to Wesker. He'd learned the other was in a lockdown similar to his except in a cell versus a room. They didn't trust him, the man who had lied about his death and teamed up with Spencer. And from what information Chris had gathered from Jill, Wesker hadn't said anything else beyond the fact that none of this was over. It also seemed that they were running experiments on him to find out what was going on with his body, particularly his unnatural red eyes and the fact that whatever had been done to him had made him along stronger and faster than a normal human. He might have been even more powerful than a Semi if not at the same level as them.
Chris hadn't seen Leon at all either since the lockdown nor anyone from Alpha team. It made no sense and it was starting to work his patience. He needed to get out and get some fresh air. He needed to find Piers. He hadn't heard anything else about the case of the missing Semi. Spencer was laying low wherever he was. And Piers had to be with him, he just had to be. He'd take that over any thought of the other being dead.
Panting, Chris let himself lay on the floor on his back worn out from the pushups he'd just completed. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself fit. Bits of exercise around the small room kept him sane, kept him from thinking about the Semi whose unique hazel eyes he really missed looking into. He stared up at the ceiling frowning. He had to get out of this place. How much longer were they planning on keeping him here? He needed to talk to Wesker. Chris stood up shaking his arms out to relax the tense muscles as he walked over to the window.
Up on the fifth floor, he could see a lot of the city from here. He hoped that somewhere out there Piers was still walking around even if he didn't remember Chris or even himself. It was nice and sunny outside, completely the opposite of Chris's not so sunny mood. He hadn't gone into depression like he'd done with Wesker. Maybe because he knew Piers wasn't dead. Part of him wondered why he cared so much for a Semi he'd only known for a short amount of time. But all he could do is shrug his shoulders in response. It was just one of those things where you just…you just knew that the feelings in your heart were right. Granted, that didn't necessarily mean that Piers felt the same way. Well considering the way things went now, Piers didn't feel anything for anyone. Great, now he really regretted letting the Semi come along with him to Umbrella.
He froze up in front of the window as a red light suddenly shined on his chest. The light traveled slowly around his chest before slowly crawling its way up until it stayed clear and steady on his forehead. He swallowed, daring his eyes to look around searching for the source of the red light. It was a sniper, he knew that much. And in such a large city, trying to pinpoint exactly where it was would be even harder. But he took his time following the angle the light seemed to be coming from. Finding the source made his mouth slacken his body move without thinking as he pressed both of his hands against the glass. At this point he didn't care if the other shot him. Just the fact that he had the visual sighting to know he was alive was enough. "Piers!"
Maybe he saw the desperation in his eyes through the scope. Maybe he still had a little bit of his real self still left inside there because after a moment Piers lowered the scope down staring straight through the window from literally two blocks away. Whatever his intentions had been must have changed as the other stood up turning his back on Chris as he started for the door leading back down.
Chris banged his hands on the window willing him not to go. After so long, after three long weeks, he didn't want to be away from the other again. Not like this. "Piers!" He yelled the name again, louder this time. He didn't care if the guards outside his room heard it or the fact that they were banging on the door asking him if he was ok while in the same breath demanding he unlock the door. If he could stop Piers from leaving, he didn't care.
His eyes stared in surprise as he saw Piers stop and turn his head to look at him. Had the other heard him? Whatever it was, it was a chance. He didn't know if Piers could read lips but he talked anyway hoping to get to the other somehow. "Piers, I know you're in there. You have to fight it. Don't let Spencer use you." Chris paused watching the familiar ears twitch before Piers's eyes slid up to meet his. He swallowed having those eyes on him but he didn't look away as he said the next words. "Piers…I need you. Come back to me." The hazel eyes blinked…then they blinked again as a look of confusion came over them.
"Chris…" Chris hadn't heard him say the name…but he was familiar with those lips, familiar with how they formed that one word with a sort of emotional respect. It made him smile staring back at the other.
"Piers…" It was ruined the moment a large Semi came walking out to the rooftop to meet Piers. Blond hair looked similar to Wesker's in style though that was as far as comparisons could go. A mean looking scar went down over his left eye cutting across his cheek to stop at his chin. From this distance it was hard to tell, but going by the black looking tail, he was another dog type just like Piers. He looked like he'd been through a lot of battles, probably part of his training thanks to Spencer. As his presence was noticed Piers's face closed up as he turned looking at the taller Semi. Whatever the other was saying to him, Piers didn't react much besides his tail twitching more occasionally.
Chris turned his head quickly when he heard the door open as Jill came in followed by two guards. With no threat in the room, she dismissed the two guards closing the door behind her. However, Chris's attention was already back out the window frowning as he stared at the now empty rooftop. He was gone again just that quickly. He felt his hand clenched up into a first against the glass not even startled by the touch on his shoulder as Jill stood behind him.
"Is everything ok?"
He stayed silent a moment getting himself back in control before he turned around staring down at her shorter form. Her hair was blond now where it used to be a pretty brown color. He remembered it well and remembered the reason for why she changed her hair color. It had been his fault of cause since she'd done it as a way to try and break away from her past self that had loved a broken, drunken Chris. Whether it ever worked though, he didn't know. And in a way, he didn't want to know because it would only make him feel guiltier for not being able to give her what she wanted.
"I need to talk to Wesker," he said. She frowned looking away from him, her brows furrowing as if troubled as her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'm not sure that I should let you do that," she said finally looking at him again. She let her arms fall to her side again. "Honestly I feel like you need to go get a checkup as well. You've been through a lot of stress and I fear the anxiety is getting to you."
"I'm not having a panic attack if that's what you think."
She turned on him then, glaring as she gestured viciously towards him. "Then what was that stunt earlier! My soldiers were freaking out at how much you were yelling not even five minutes ago! And aside from that, you haven't said much of a word to anyone since you got back!"
"…Not sure how I could while being confined to a room 24/7." He glared back not daring to tell her what the screaming was about. She'd either think he was crazy or would send men out there to take Piers down. If that happened and Piers noticed it, he might never come back again. That was the last thing he wanted.
"We're doing this for your protection," she said sighing letting the heat deflate out of her as she looked up at him worriedly. "Trust me. This is the last thing I wanted to do to you. But after that stunt you pulled, going into Umbrella by yourself and putting yourself in danger, I don't think I can trust you out on your own."
"And you took my phone."
"For your protection."
"I'm not even allowed to see Leon or Claire or even my own goddamn soldiers!"
"This is all for your benefit, Chris."
"Then you might as well lock me up in prison with all the freedom you're giving me." Hell, he felt like even a prisoner had more freedom than this. At least they could go outside. He was surprised they hadn't barred up his window. And if they knew that he'd seen the Semi out on the rooftop, they probably would have.
"Look," she said staring up at him pointedly. "We're doing everything we can to find Umbrella and put a stop to this. Right now, until we can get Wesker to talk to us, we're not getting anywhere."
"And I'm sure running experiments on him all day are helping him want to talk."
"It's for his-"
"Right, for his benefit." He gave a sigh as he sat down on the bed tiredly. This was starting to give him a headache. He ignored the worried look Jill gave him as he looked out the window towards where he'd last seen Piers wondering and hoping he'd have a chance to see him again soon. "Look, I understand that you're trying to help me. But right now, there's someone important to me out there that really needs me. And I can't do a thing for them if I'm stuck trapped inside this place." He looked up at her, his expression practically pleading for her to understand. "If you're not going to let me do anything else, then at least let me talk to Wesker. I want to at least find out what's going on from the man himself. Being left in the dark is the reason why we're stuck in this whole mess in the first place."
She stared at him quietly, contemplating over his words before she sighed. "I'm not the one pulling the strings. Headquarters is the one making the decisions here. But I'll see what I can do." She started for the door before she paused looking over her shoulder at him. "If I do manage to convince them to let you see him, it might be a very quick visit. I suggest you think of all the questions you can ask during that time." She left him there closing the door behind her as he fell back on the bed frowning as he stared up at the ceiling. It was progress. But questioning Wesker wasn't going to be enough. He needed to think of a way to get out of here. And he knew he wasn't going to be able to do it alone.
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It was another two days before he saw Jill returning, the door opening to admit her entry. She frowned, her eyes meeting his only for a second before she looked away from him rubbing at her arm. She had something to say otherwise she wouldn't be in there right now. She was avoiding the topic but Chris wasn't about to let it happen. He had an idea that Jill hadn't been able to get permission for him to speak to Wesker but he needed to hear the words himself.
"…What did HQ say?"
"…You're…not going to be able to speak to Wesker."
"I figured as much," Chris said standing as he turned looking out the window. The sun was starting to set. He found his eyes still searching around looking for the Semi he knew wasn't there anymore. He'd been doing that often he found out, ever since that first discovery. "Why would HQ even bother to let me talk to him?"
"They did," she said. "They intended to do it today." The words popped him out of his little world as he blinked before turning looking at her.
"Then why are you telling me I can't speak with him?" He walked towards her slowly, his eyes staring at her curiously.
"…Hard to talk to someone that isn't there, isn't it?" Chris stared down at her in confusion but she looked away again, her eyes closing. "One of…the experiments didn't go quite right. It was too much for him and…."
He reached behind him slowly lowering himself down to sit on the bed as he stared up at her. She wasn't saying what he thought she was saying...was she? That Wesker was dead? He frowned staring down at the ground. Strangely enough, it didn't hit him as hard as he thought it would, not like it had the first time. Maybe it was because he wasn't as attached as he used to be? Or maybe because he still felt like he was a traitor? No, he didn't feel that way anymore. He was stuck in a sort of grey area that a little more interaction might have molded into something akin to friendship.
"If he's dead, how long are you planning to keep me here?" Chris said looking up into Jill's shocked eyes.
"You…you're not upset that he-"
"How long, Jill?" His voice rose as he stood up. He tried to keep it down but being confined like some kind of animal for three weeks was really getting to him. He needed out and he needed it now. "How long are they planning on leaving me to rot inside this room? This whole situation involves me and yet I don't have a single say in it!"
"Chris-"
"Don't bother," he said glaring before he turned his back on her feeling some of his anger deflating. It was hard to be mad at her, especially since a lot of this wasn't really her doing. She was just doing what any BSAA agent would do, following orders. "Make sure the door doesn't hit you on the way out." It was silent between them. Chris's back continued to stay towards her before he heard her sigh as her feet headed towards the door. He heard the sound of the door clicking shut before he really relaxed walking over to the window and resting his fingers on the glass, eyes searching once again for the missing Semi.
He had to get out of here. He wasn't doing any good staying hidden behind a locked door. He just needed to figure out how he was going to get out of here without causing a ruckus.
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The sound of his room lock clicking startled him into waking up. His eyes glanced over at the clock frowning seeing 2:30am flashing back at him before his eyes turned towards the door. Even though it was dark, his eyes were adjusted enough to see the door slowly starting to open. His brain jumpstarted into action as his eyes widened, his hand ready to reach out and grab the lamp as a weapon if he needed it. A dark figure slipped into the room, face looking towards the bed before it started walking towards it slowly, quietly so as not to wake up the already awake Chris. This person was purposely trying to be quiet. Why? To make sure he didn't wake up? The only reason they would need to do that is if they planned on hurting him.
His hand shot out quickly grabbing hold of the lamp but the figure move even faster gripping his wrist to keep his hand from moving. Chris's eyes shot up about to curse the person out when he froze feeling a finger rest against his lips signal silence. Chris tensed up seeing the figure leaning closer before his eyes shot open in surprise.
"We're getting out tonight," Wesker's voice said quietly in his ear sending a shiver down his back at how sexy the voice still sounded to him. Damn his body for reacting to it. "Stay quiet and follow me." He stepped back again and Chris dared to admit that he missed the other's close warmth. But he stood up from the bed dressing quickly but quietly grateful that Wesker busied himself with keeping his shade covered eyes watching out the door for any disturbances.
Once Chris had his shoes on, the two of them were making their way out the door. Chris paused looking at the two bodies by the door. Two of his would be guards. They weren't dead but Wesker had effectively knocked them out. Wesker was already at the other end of the hallway and Chris moved faster to catch up feeling like he was following a wraith. What if he was just following after a ghost? Wasn't Wesker supposed to be dead…again?
Cameras were everywhere but Wesker seemed to remember them all as he found blind spots for them to stay in when the camera wasn't facing them. Anyway time they came across a guard Wesker would quickly move behind them and knock them out. Something told him based on watching how Wesker moved that he could have escaped with no problem a long time ago, that he was strong enough to withstand BSAA's retaliation. It was probably a form of mutation that had been caused by Spencer's experiments. Yet, here Wesker was choosing to sneak out verses break out. Was it just for Chris's sake? He found it hard to believe but really anything at this point could be true.
They worked their way down the stairwell going below headquarters and into the underground garage. Once again Wesker was careful of the cameras weaning his way through the cars to his destination with Chris in tow. The heavy duty SUV was there waiting for them, windows rolling down to surprise Chris into shock as he saw Ava in the driver's seat. Even more surprising was Leon sitting in the passenger seat, a smirk on his face as he gave a small wave.
"Le-mm!" A finger was placed over Chris's lips to silence him and he swore he could feel his cheeks redden when he realized it was Wesker's finger, the other not even looking at him as he did it. Seriously, he should not be able to react so easily to a former crush. But that was the problem. Chris had once felt strong feelings for this man and he was starting to think that they had never really died down. And that was causing some conflicts for his affections for the missing Semi.
Wesker walked over and opened the back door signaling for Chris to get in. Getting himself under control again, Chris nodded as he piled inside sliding over so that he was sitting behind Leon as Wesker followed him inside closing the door behind him. Alarms starting going off, everyone looking around at each other before Ava started up the car flooring it, tires squealing on the pavement as it took off.
"Looks like those guards you knocked out might have woken up," Ava said looking into the rearview mirror at Wesker.
"That or someone else just found them," Leon said it while glancing back at Wesker but the tall blond didn't even respond beyond a grunt as he folded his arms tilting his head down as if he were going to take a nap. There was not an ounce of concern in his actions. Had he expected this to happen?
Agents flooded out of the stairwell one after the other but it was already too late as they burst past the checkpoint barricade heading out into the city, everyone holding onto whatever they could to steady themselves except for Wesker who seemed undeterred by the motion. Chris stared at him trying hard to see the eyes hidden behind those dark shades but it was like looking into an empty void.
"Stare any harder and I'm sure they'll eventually crack under your scrutiny," Wesker said, his head tilting back to look at him. Chris blushed turning his head away instead looking out the window to see if they were being pursued.
"Don't worry, they're not chasing us down yet," Ada reassured him smirking at him in the mirror. "With half their guys knocked out, the others won't be ready for hot pursuit quiet yet."
"And by that time we'll be out of the city," Leon said turning around in the chair to look at Chris before he grinned. "Nice to see you again. How long has it been?"
"Almost a month," Chris said grimacing. A really long month. He hadn't been able to talk to anyone besides Jill since this whole mess happened. And there wasn't much he could get out of her since she'd becoming a willing pawn to headquarters. But he couldn't really blame her. After all, he didn't really understand anything that was going on himself.
He rolled the window down savoring the feel of the wind blowing in his hair as he took in a deep breath. His first breath of life outside BSAA headquarters in almost a month. To an extent, he was free to move around, free to do as he wished as long as he didn't draw attention to himself. He was sure his companions wouldn't force him to stay locked down though he wondered why Ada was a part of this. Aside from the small bits of information and advice she'd given him, she'd never been very close to him. But he wondered if maybe it had something more to do with Leon as the atmosphere around them seemed more carefree. Just little things like the glances Leon was giving her and the small smile that would show up on her lips when he did. He had some poking to do on this little observation.
"We're heading out of the city," Leon said glancing back suddenly and frowning at the smirk on Chris's face, oblivious of Chris's previous observations. But he ignored it as he continued explaining their plans. "We're going to switch cars at a designated spot then keep moving. At least this way it'll slow HQ down long enough to let us go into hiding."
"We have a little safe spot established already," Ada said breaking in to take over as she kept driving. "It took a lot of sneaking around and preparations to get everything in order."
"You better keep your side of the bargain," Leon said suddenly as his eyes flickered to Wesker. "Otherwise, I'll dump you out right now and let BSAA have you."
"As if they could stop me," Wesker said cryptically. "But that's fine. I'll explain to you everything that's going on in exchange for the vials you took from the research lab."
Chris frowned looking between the two of them. "What exchange? What are you two talking about?" Both men looked at him before Leon sighed and shook his head.
"I'll explain it to you once we're all safe and sound. No point dwelling on it right this moment." Chris nodded slowly though his eyes cut over to Wesker watching him suspiciously. The older man acted like he couldn't feel Chris's eyes, his arms staying folded over his chest as he appeared to stare straight ahead. So there was a reason behind why Wesker allowed himself to be taken by BSAA in such a state. He should have known there was more to it. No way would Wesker have stood by and let BSAA research him for the sake of his good nature.
Chris leaned back in the chair closing his eyes as he let his thoughts wonder. He didn't know how long the ride was going to be. But there really wasn't much else he could do besides resting his body. Besides, it would help in the case he needed to act fast. He didn't know what awaited them but he knew that as soon as the opportunity rose, he would be out there looking for Piers no matter what anyone said to him. He was going to find him and he was going to bring him back.
TBC…
