Chapter 16: Slow Burn
A sudden strong gust of wind made Alice rock on her feet as she walked outside of the house in search of the small woodshed she knew was on the south wall. When she got there, she considered it a stroke of luck that the last tenants had left a liberal source of cut and stacked wood covered beneath a small awning to protect it from the elements. Some of the pieces on the ground were rotted through, but the stuff on top would burn more than willingly. She collected the densest pieces she could find and some smaller kindling, careful that wood in her arms didn't catch on the butt of her gun. The ex-project hadn't put back on her strap-lined vest, armguards, or her four gun holster, but she didn't feel right without the leather casings and the precious metal they contained so she kept on a single holster around her waist. She looked to the sky one last time before she entered the house; it had been overcast all day, but now the clouds were tinted green and amassing in what was sure to be one hell of a storm.
In a single armload she managed to carry four pieces of wood about the size of her forearm, some small sticks, and three monster logs that would hopefully last them a few hours. As Alice approached the master bedroom she gently pushed the open the slightly-ajar door with her shoulder. The room was illuminated with the failing light of the evening, and it casted soft highlights on everything in the room, including the redhead who was standing in front of a large window her backside to Alice. Claire's wet clothes were in a pile on the floor and she was dressed in only her old cami and black underwear; her dark, damp hair cascaded around her face as she reached over to the bed to grab her grey pants. The younger woman's silhouette pronounced by the coming storm behind her, made Alice stop in her tracks.
The taller woman's steps had been masked by the howling wind outside, so the redhead didn't hear her and continued to dress. She put a foot in each pant hole and steadily pulled the pants past her toned caves and thighs. Alice leaned to the side to get a little better view, but then was forced to collect herself when the redhead buttoned her pants and began to turn around. Suddenly one of the heavier logs shifted precariously in taller woman's arms and she overcompensated. Gravity won out as the piece of firewood fell on her foot. Usually her boots could withstand a significant amount of pressure put upon them, but this kind of direct hit translated into a massive amount of force right on her big toe. The crash it made caused Claire to turn around in surprise.
"Ow, FUCK!" The taller woman cursed with enough vigor to impress a sailor.
"Alice! I didn't even know you were there – are you ok?" The redhead grimaced in sympathy as the brunette cringed in pain while taking careful steps to the fireplace determined not to lose anymore wood.
Claire picked up the fallen log, noting that while it wasn't huge it easily weighed a good ten pounds. She walked it over to the stone hearth and Alice looked at it offensively. The brunette set up the wood in the most flame conducive position there could be, and then checked to make sure the damper was open. She considered for a second that the flue could be clogged with dangerous creosote, but with the care put into the rest of the place, she doubted that the chimney wouldn't have received the same dedicated attention. Just to be safe she brought out an old case of matches from her pack and lit one, holding it in the fireplace to check the draft. It passed inspection so she grabbed her flint and steel, a much more reliable source of heat because matches were hard to come by and used only when an immediate flame was necessary.
With a few loud strikes of flint on steel, several sparks flew onto the kindling and a light trail of smoke rose as a section of shredded bark glowed orange. With Alice's oxidizing breath, a flame jumped to life and swallowed the dry kindling. The next offering for the flames burned hot, just as Alice knew the dense logs would.
"I should get a few more loads of wood, are you ok here?" Alice questioned, knowing that the redhead would want to stay behind and enjoy the new source of heat.
"Now that you've got a fire started I'm perfect," Claire said animatedly.
The wind was really starting to pick up as Alice went back to the woodshed; she looked up at the chimney and sure enough smoke was coming from it, but being dissipated by wind so quickly that she knew no living or unliving thing would be able notice their presence.
The next time she went outside she could smell the distinct scent of impending rain. But it wasn't until her fourth trip to the woodpile that she realized she was stalling, again. Alice sighed, and spoke out-loud to herself as the wind tossed the cresting waves in the distance.
"You say you want to be near her, but when you get the chance – you run… What is wrong with me?" The brunette sighed and collected more wood anyways, but was determined to not leave the house again.
Alice reentered the master bedroom and the redhead greeted her.
"Hey there, I was beginning to wonder if you were just going to stay outside all night."
The taller woman stacked the final pieces she'd gathered on the already ample pile, but she couldn't decide how to respond so she didn't say anything. She checked the wood in the fire then turned around trying to figure out if she should sit next to the younger woman or not.
"Come here, you have a leaf in your hair," Claire said as she smiled affectionately and patted the floor next to her.
Her decision made for her, Alice sat legs crossed as the redhead plucked a dry leaf with her re-bandaged hand, the first having to be taken off after the swim. She twirled the leaf in her fingers and held it out to show the brunette.
"See? Told ya."
"Thanks," Alice muttered sheepishly and she turned her face back to the warmth of the fire. It seeped into her skin and chased away the remaining chill from the icy swim.
Suddenly the constant bay of wind hounding the structure stopped; the ex-project put a hand on her revolver and even Claire seemed to still beside her. A few tense seconds passed until an explosion of sound shook the house, before the accompanying lighting could even flash, Claire jumped into the brunette's arms. The room lit up; the white canceled out the orange glow of the fire for an instant as the wind redoubled its efforts to blow the building off its foundation, and the sky opened up to a torrent of heavy rain.
The first clap of thunder was not to be followed by any others like it; the storm was quickly moving away, taking with it the rain and breathing wind, leaving only the occasional bursts of light and growls of thunder. During all of this Claire remained settled against Alice; the brunette had both arms wrapped around Claire's waist while their fingers were entwined in the redhead's lap. It was such an intimate position; the taller woman could feel the younger woman breathe with her as Claire's edginess from the storm passed.
"You ok?" Alice questioned as she kissed the top of the younger woman's head.
Claire nodded slightly; she had calmed since her scare, with the brunette's help. Her stomach fluttered as the older woman ran her thumbs over the redhead's hands. With the fire in front of her and Alice's body heat on her back, she was more than warm; she was burning. Claire thought back to their first kiss on the beach and the second one at the airport; the first hadn't lasted long enough and the second was born of pain, but both drove her to desire a third. The redhead leaned slightly out of Alice's embrace and turned her head to capture the brunette's lips. The older woman, while a little caught off guard, was quick to reciprocate. Claire's butterflies resurfaced as Alice brought one hand to cup the redhead's face and deepened the kiss. Alice's tongue danced over the redhead's teeth. They continued to kiss over Claire's shoulder for the better part of a minute until their breathing was ragged and their skin flushed.
The redhead's heart was pounding in her ears as she suspended the kiss, but she was nowhere near ready to stop. Without breaking eye contact she turned out of the brunette's hold, got to her knees, and settled onto Alice's lap.
The taller woman felt both of Claire's hands on her cheeks as she took possession of her mouth. Alice held the redhead tightly against her. Their passion increased with every heated second of pleasure.
The younger woman was ready for more; she needed to feel Alice's skin so she brought her hand to Alice's left hip and pushed it up beneath her shirt. The brunette gasped as the redhead's hand explored her abs. The wandering contact found its way up Alice's ribs to the outer edge of her cloth-covered breast. Claire was enjoying the teasing immensely and just as she was about to graze Alice's nipple with her fingertips, she curved her hand around to the brunette's back, and brushed over a few raised sections of skin; her movements stilled.
Alice broke the kiss immediately; her back arching as she tried to shy away from the touch, but Claire's hand moved again following the scar from the hip all the way up to her shoulder. Multiple, smaller-parallel scars were littered around the edges of the larger one.
"What happened to your back?" The redhead asked concerned, noticing instantly the change in the older woman's mood.
"Burn."
"You were burned? What happened?" Again the younger woman's voice showed interest in her companion's wellbeing.
"A crash."
"Alice, why are you being so evasive?" Claire looked into her companions blue eyes for an answer, but she found none because Alice tore her gaze away.
The brunette considered her response; in truth it was because the first time they'd met Alice's form had been perfect, not only did the T-virus heal the ex-project's wounds quickly, it also kept an unreal vitality to the blood in her veins and a glow to her flawless skin. She wanted to be perfect for Claire. But her scar was not only an ugly flaw, it was a weakness. Had she not failed to kill Wesker, she would have worn it with pride; a mark to forever brand her debt to humanity as paid. But Wesker got up and walked away, leaving her to die.
"I was confronting the man responsible for Umbrella; we were both in a helicopter when he beat me in a fight. He was going to kill me, but with no one at the controls we crashed into a hillside. I woke to burning debris surrounding me, and a heavy strip of metal was on top of my back; I thought it was just holding me down. I didn't realize until later that it actually burned me. I forced it off and I could feel the blood running down my back as I stood, but I couldn't feel any pain."
Claire ran her fingertips up and down the center of the scar in sympathy of Alice's narration.
"Where your fingers are right now – I can't feel them." The redhead considered stopping her motions, but decided that even though it couldn't be soothing for Alice, it was soothing for her.
"Well that explains how you got it, but not why you were being evasive."
"Nothing get's past you does it?" The older woman chuckled.
"No, so spill." The redhead smiled reassuringly and Alice decided to just come out with it for once, and was rewarded for her efforts.
"I want to be perfect for you Claire."
The younger woman smirked surprisingly. "Who's says you aren't?" she responded and sealed it with a kiss.
There was nothing holding Alice back now; she loved Claire and tonight she would show her just how much.
They both were overcome by a passionate frenzy; they were close but they needed to be closer. The breaking of the kiss was mutual this time, because each wanted the shirt of the other's back. Alice pulled off Claire's cami revealing a black fitted-bra, and the redhead lifted Alice's shirt over her head then pulled off the cloth bra beneath it. The brunette worked the clasp undone on the younger woman's bra, and Claire slipped her arms out of it as Alice's lips started at her neck and worked their way down to the rise of her breasts. The redhead arched her head back, willing Alice's attention lower. The taller woman drew ever closer to her nipple, and Claire bit her lip in anticipation. She took the redhead's pink nipple into her mouth and it hardened with a flick of her tongue. The brunette ran a hand up the inside of her thigh and Claire moaned. If Alice wasn't careful, she would be taking Claire right here on the floor and that just wouldn't do, not when there was a perfectly good bed that could be put to use.
The brunette stopped her assault on the redhead's nipple, and put both of her hands beneath Claire's firm ass. She got the message, lifting herself to her knees; from there Alice undid the younger woman's belt and unbuttoned her pants. Not to be outdone, Claire took the brunette's hand and pulled her up, as they rose she used the other hand to unbuckle Alice's single gun holster. The ex-project heard her revolver fall to the floor as Claire went to claim her mouth. Both of them took off their pants and made it to bed without losing some kind of physical contact with the other.
Claire was on the bed first, with Alice on top of her. Anywhere skin touched skin it intoxicated the brunette, and she could feel her own wet arousal soaking through her underwear. One of her hands left a trail of fire all the way down Claire's stomach to the edge of her underwear; the taller woman roped a finger through it and easily slid them off. Alice was momentarily distracted by the sight of Claire's wet curls, and the redhead rolled the brunette on her back. The younger woman kissed her way to one of Alice's nipples while she rubbed the other between her fingers and her free hand settled on the inside of Alice's naked thigh. The brunette was turned to jello with each and every touch, but letting Claire have her first was not the plan. The ex-project used a maneuver left over from her combat training days to gain the advantage; suddenly Alice was back on top, the redhead's hands pinned above her.
The brunette was struck with a feeling of déjà vu, but instead of running like she did on the beach she set to torture the redhead until she couldn't take anymore. As her mouth worked hungrily on Claire's breasts, Alice slid her thigh between the younger woman's legs and pressed it to her damp center, eliciting a sensual moan. The brunette taunted her by giving the Claire the pressure she desired, then holding back until the redhead tried to push herself back onto Alice's thigh. The redhead was quickly becoming flustered and struggled against Alice's hold. The brunette stopped massaging the redhead's nipple with her tongue and looked into Claire's green eyes. The younger woman stared back.
"I need you, Alice," the redhead pleaded, her breath ragged.
It was a declaration the brunette could not deny; she replaced her thigh with her hand and lightly teased the edges of Claire's opening. Alice released the younger woman's hands so she could be in a better position to satisfy Claire's desire. The redhead used both of her free hands to hold Alice's mouth to hers. The brunette pushed two of her fingers into Claire's folds, wetting them for what was going to come.
"Oh-god, don't stop."
Alice played with Claire's clit, increasing momentum until the redhead brought up her own thigh onto the brunette's wet core. The wave of ecstasy the friction created radiated through Alice's body and she began to create more. The two easily fell into a rhythm, pleasure increasing with every movement. As the pair neared climax Alice rubbed Claire's clit with her thumb, and at the right moment thrust her fingers deep into the redhead's opening.
"Alice!" Claire cried out as their pleasure came to a peak, and they rode out the orgasms together.
Completely spent, Alice practically collapsed onto the redhead; her quivering muscles couldn't hold her any longer and she set herself down. The brunette laid out on her back and Claire moved to lay in her arms, her head resting on Alice's scared shoulder as she draped an arm across the older woman's stomach and similarly entwined their legs. Alice could tell she was grinning like a fool, but she couldn't help it. She used her free hand to brush away a lock of hair that had fallen over Claire's face and the redhead opened her mouth to speak, but shut it when she saw how much Alice was smiling. The redhead smiled too and closed her eyes in contentment.
It didn't take the younger woman long to fall asleep. When Alice was certain she wouldn't wake, she extricated herself from Claire's arms, and got up to retrieve her revolver and stoke the fire. The brunette felt so happy, but it was tainted – diseased with thoughts of fear and doubt. Alice struggled to push them away; she just needed to get back in bed with the redhead. Claire could fight these demons hell-bent on self-destruction. But it was a habit of hers; when things were going too good for Alice, she would always manage to sabotage it.
In a way she was worse than Umbrella; the Corporation was at least somewhat see-through in their destructive intentions, yet somehow Alice's best intentions caused more damage. She failed to keep the T-virus out of the wrong hands, failed to create a true cure, failed to take Umbrella down, and she failed Claire and her convoy with false promises of safety. It all accumulated to a slow burn.