PIERS MEETS CAPTAIN CHRIS REDFIELD CHP #3
Disclaimer: All RE characters belong to Capcom
Eventually the mold infection was taken care of, and Piers and Andy were able to return to their shared rooms. Though a part of Piers did not want to leave Chris. He has yet to bring up the unsettling behavior of his captain, and even now, as he picks up his things to start moving back, he can't find it in himself to open his mouth and tell him.
It's Chris Redfield, the man everyone admires and loves. He's done so much, not even Piers feels he can compare. At the age Piers is now, Chris had already survived the mansion incident, and had rescued his sister, Claire, from Rockfort Island. That's not even mentioning the other amazing things Chris was able to accomplish afterwards, stopping Umbrella, one of the founding members of the BSAA, defeating Wesker and in the processes saving the entire world and Jill. Could he ever reach that many honors? He's not sure.
"I didn't know I brought so many of my belongings here." Piers says to himself when he notices he might have to do more than one trip. Maybe two, or three. He really made himself at home in Chris' room it seems. Piers curses under his breath when he accidentally drops his sock, having to reach down and grab it. It's the sound of footsteps that has the Ace leave his task in order to look over his shoulder at who is there.
"Commander Fillip?" Piers notes when he sees the man standing by Chris' door. Piers not closing the door when he stepped into his captain's room to retrieve his things. "Is there an issue?"
The man by the door nods his head once, before he's moving away while giving his message to Piers. "Captain Redfield went out drinking. It's late. Get him."
Piers watches the man leave before he dumps his things on the bed. A small frown takes his lips, as he stares at his belonging on the bed. It's not the first time this has happened. If anything, since Piers now shares a room with Chris, he became the assigned person to get the man when he gets drunk at a local bar. It's the same one, almost every other night. If Chris isn't in his office, he's out, most of the time alone, drinking. It's not a secret, not anymore. Everyone in the BSAA are aware of the problem that is, or that is brewing. Though it's still under the weather for the higher ups. The thought that Chris is an alcoholic, or at least a bottle away from becoming one, is always at the back of their heads. But no one says anything. They watch from afar. And Piers can't say he is any better.
/
Piers reaches the bar, having abandoned his task in moving back into his room to instead find his captain. The moment the Ace parks his car, there is a commotion going on. A drunk man trying to fight another drunk man, but both too out of it to land any real blows. Lucky for Piers, none of those men are Chris. Even drunkard know better than to pick a fight with someone as strong and intimidating as his captain.
The scent of whiskey is what assaults Piers' nose, making him pull the collar of his shirt to his nose for just a second. He's never been a fan of alcohol, the substance too bitter for his liking.
It takes no time at all for Piers to find Chris. The BSAA captain slumped over the bar counter, half a bottle between lose fingers, as his head lays over his other arm. Not an uncommon sight.
Piers makes his way through the crowd quickly, and the moment he's next to Chris, the Ace can smell the alcohol off the man.
Chris drank heavily tonight.
"Captain."
His voice doesn't stir the sleeping bear, so the Ace gently touches his back, and gives the man's sleeping body a shake. "Captain." he calls again, this time receiving a moan and then a groggy response.
"Who's is it's." He slurs his words while looking over his shoulder at Piers. The moment he sees who it is, he pushes his body completely upwards and moves his legs to stand up from the chair.
Piers grabs a hold of Chris, "You OK?" he can't help but ask, like every other night he's had to fetch his captain out of the bar. Chris says something, but Piers can't make out the words, but he can guess what it was. "Meh, fines."
"Let's go back to base." he tells Chris, as he helps the man reach his car, a feat better done if the BSAA captain didn't keep tripping over his own feet and find the action amusing.
Piers lays Chris in the passenger side of the car, buckles the man before rounding the car in a light jog and doing the same for himself. He turns on the car, ready to leave. He glances at Chris, the man seemingly asleep as his head lulls to the side, and is only being held by the backrest and seat belt across his chest. Lowering the window, to rid the car of the scent of alcohol, Piers drives them both back to base.
It was easier to get Chris from the bar to the car, but now that the BSAA captain is practically passed out, the heavily man is harder to move. Though, now that he's been doing this a while, Piers is getting used to Chris' weight.
Once they enter Chris' room, the Ace let's Chris drop on the bed. The man lands like a ton of bricks, not even budging one bit. Piers pick up Chris' legs one at a time and places them on the bed. With a sigh, Piers moves to his bed, moving his things so he can sit. He looks over at Chris for a few seconds, not being able to see his sleeping face because the pillow is covering him. Taking off his shoes one at a time, Piers lays back, arms behind his head as he stares into the ceiling.
It's starting again. He can hear Chris mumbling in his sleep, the springs protesting as he shifts in his sleep. Piers bites his bottom lip, eyes trained on the ceiling. He can hear the horrible things coming out of Chris, mouth, over and over again. Every night the man can sleep, Chris has nightmares, and Piers can hear the pain. All the broken promises, all the dead that haunts him, the loss, the torn soul, everything every night. Piers can hear the broken man inside.
"Please, stop." Piers mumbles, his chest feeling heavy, as frustration slowly climbs from the pit of Piers' stomach. "Stop." hazel eyes staring into nothing, "I can't keep hearing this." Piers pulls the pillow under his head to cover his ears as he closes his eyes."I can't keep seeing you like this…"
But even with the muted noise, he can hear Chris' voice, his words in his head. He can still feel the pain behind each word that escapes his lips at night.
/
Piers wakes with a start, the sound of wrenching the sound that woke him from his not so peaceful sleep. The young Ace springs from his temporary bed, and his eyes land on the BSAA captain's bed. It's empty.
"Chris?" Piers calls while swinging his legs off the bed, hazel eyes seeing that Chris had gotten up from the bed- but where is he now?
The sound of wrenching is heard again, and this time Piers is awake to pinpoint it's location. "Captain?" He calls, walking to the small bathroom. The door is slightly ajar, and Piers can see Chris hunched over the toilet emptying the content of his stomach.
Piers pushes open the door, "You OK?" He asks, knowing the question sounds stupid since the man is practically throwing his stomach in the toilet.
Chris grunts a response, before his body is tensing and he's moving to be close to the toilet and once again puking into the white bowl. Piers makes a face, really hating to see the man this way. The BSAA captain sweating heavily, and looking green.
"Jill told you about this." Piers says, while grabbing a hand cloth and wetting it. He can feel Chris glare on him, but it's only for a few seconds because he's puking once again.
Piers crutches down on one knee and places the wet cloth around Chris' neck and back, gently moving it to clean the sweat there. "We have to go back for your car." Since Piers had picked Chris up in his car and no one was able to drive Chris'.
Chris nods his head. "Yeah. Thanks-" he says, referring to the cold wet cloth draped on the back of his neck. It's refreshing, and it really does help cool him down. His head is killing him, and his stomach feels heavily and twisted, like he's going to throw up once again.
There is an unexpected knock that has Piers look away from his captain and his eyes land on the door.
Chris looks at his watch before he curses. "Shit."
Piers regards Chris with a questioning gaze. "What is it captain? Who is that?"
"I had a meeting this morning." Chris says with a shake of his head. "I forgot. They must have come looking for me when I didn't show."
"Are you well enough to attend?" Piers asks the BSAA captain even though Chris looks like, to put it the best he could, like shit. His hair is a mess, unshaven facial hair, looking sickly, and smells like he was rolling in a batch of alcohol. Not to mention…
"Captain?" Seeing Chris glance at him, Piers continues. "Did you lose weight?"
There is a knock again, a voice on the other side of the door calling for Chris.
The way his large shirt seems bigger on him. His face seems thinner, the angles of his face sharper and his shoulders and chest not as broad as Piers remembers them to be.
Chris doesn't answer him, but instead leans back on the tub, having no energy to keep himself upright. His head is pounding more than ever now, but at least his stomach doesn't feel as bad- now that it's almost empty. Chris doesn't meet Piers' eyes, staring straight ahead at nothing.
"Captain Redfield." The voice calls again.
Chris shakes his head, knowing he's on thin ice with the higher ups. After the bar fights, reaching to base drunk and turning his paper work late, Chris can't say he's been on their best side.
Piers stands next to Chris for a few more seconds before he's moving towards the door. Chris looks up at Piers, "Piers?" Chris calls, his voice giving off his confusion.
Opening the door, Piers comes to face with Roger, a tactical officer. "Sorry but Captain Redfield is ill."
"Oh, he is?"
"Yes. He's been feeling ill since the night before, I think it's something he ate. I'm sorry to inform he just won't be able to make it to the meeting. He's sleeping right now, and I don't think it would be wise to wake him. He had a lot of troubling falling asleep as it was last night."
"Oh, pardon my intrusion. I'll inform the others." he says with a sincere nod and nodding to Piers before he makes his leave.
Piers shuts the door, turns around before he leans his body against it, closing his eyes and letting his head touch it's wooden surface. He's never been a good liar and he feels horrible for doing it in the first place. But he saw that Chris needed his help, and Piers would be damn if he didn't help his captain. Piers is known for his honesty and loyalty and he feels like he just pushed a part of himself aside so he can help his captain. The Ace just hopes he doesn't have to do that again. He doesn't think he can.
"Thank you."
Piers opens his eyes, hazel meeting brown. Chris is standing by the bathroom door, leaning most of his weight against the door frame. "-For not telling them why I can't make it."
"It's fine captain. But I want something in return." Piers pauses, seeing Chris' face harden at Piers' words. The young ace pushes his body off the door and walks over towards Chris. "How much weight did you lose?"
It's not noticeable, or maybe it is. Now that Piers looks at Chris, he can see the difference in his attire. He's wearing bigger clothes, not the typical clothing for the BSAA captain who prefers a fitted shirt, and short sleeves, which is a big contrast to his heavy shirt and long sleeves.
"I don't know."
Piers sighs. "Let me see."
Chris glares at Piers, but Piers doesn't waver, so Chris ends up sighing, an obvious sign of defeat. "Only because you helped me."
And still am.
Piers nods. "Alright." Piers slowly pulls Chris shirt, as if he were to agitate a wild animal. He's not sure if Chris feels comfortable being touched the way he is, something tells Piers no, Chris would not like it, but the Ace needs to know.
The Ace sighs, glad that it's not as bad as he thought it was. Though he can see the obvious change in muscles mass and weight. The most noticeable being his arms and chest. "What's wrong?" Piers asks simply, hazel eyes meeting brown as he allows the shirt to drop and cover Chris' body.
"It doesn't matter because it's not your business." Chris says with venom in his voice, enough to make Piers rapidly blink at Chris in shock. But if that was a shocker, what Chris says next is more. "Get your things and leave like you were about to do."
Piers shakes his head in disbelief. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." Chris says with a nod, which makes Piers' blood boil.
"No." That has Chris stop and look at Piers. "I'm not leaving. Not now. Not until you are ok." Piers says sternly.
"And what makes you think I'm not?" Chris turns around much quicker than Piers was expecting, make him take a step back and hazel eyes widen. "You help me once and now I'm supposed to let you do what you want. This is my room, and yours is clean, so get back to your room." Chris repeats.
Hazel eyes narrow. Piers swallows thickly, finding it hard when Chris is looking straight at him. The man is both taller and bigger than him, and Piers knows better than to pick a fight with someone like Chris, both his captain and someone who can hurt him if he really wanted to. But he can't allow Chris to continue this way. No one is doing anything. Chris is in a self-destructive road and Piers is scared what that would mean in the long run. So..
"No."
The answer seems to take Chris by surprise if his wide eyes and slightly parted lips are to go by. And that's when Chris does his signature confused expression, tilting his head to one side, thin lips rising slightly as he furrows his brow.
"I'm not going anywhere. You're just going to have to deal with me. Someone has to look out for you. I'll do it. Take that role. No matter what you say, I'm not leaving."
Chris stares at Piers, his confused expression slowly changing to an angry one. But instead of the angry lashes Piers though he was going to receive, the BSAA captain surprises him by shaking his head and turning around- heading towards his bed. "Do what you want." He says, his last words muffled by the pillow over his face from when he flopped on the mattress.
Piers isn't sure why Chris gave up so easily, if it's because of his hangover, or because of another fact, Piers does not know, but he's glad Chris didn't put up a bigger fight. "Yes sir." Piers says more to himself while looking over at Chris body. "You still haven't told me what's wrong."
The silence drags on long enough for Piers to think Chris will not answer him or fell asleep, but he does. "Can't keep anything down these days."
Because you drink too much.
"I'll help you captain." The first thing we're doing is taking away the bottle from your hands.
He'll have to do it as fast as he can, they are to deploy on another mission soon. Edonia, if his memories serves him right. He will get Chris to let go of the bottle before then. All his efforts won't be wasted.
~The End -
Continued in RE6 ;-)
I'm not sure if to continue. If you want me to, please let me know. Thank you for reading. XD