Chapter Text
"Have you met the new rookie cop?" Chris asked his younger sister, Claire, as they hung up lights for the district's public service employee Christmas party that weekend.
Claire gave him an amused look. "Chris, what makes you think I would have happened to meet some random new cop?" She didn't work for the local government like he did as a member of the Raccoon City Special Tactics and Rescue Service. She wouldn't be familiar with every new hire, although she was acquaintances with quite a few police officers and other public servants just by tagging along with Chris to any event that caught her eye. Any department would have offered to hire her if she wasn't already dedicated elsewhere. As Claire liked to rub in Chris's face, everyone was more excited to see her anywhere than Chris, their own colleague.
"Just asking!" Chris said defensively, trying to untangle a particularly bad mess of wires. "His name is Leon. He's a bit of a try-hard at times, but he's got a lot of potential. Reminds me of a puppy, honestly."
"Sounds like the kind of guy who either ends up a total mess or with an enormous ego," Claire decided, holding a ladder steady so Chris could hang up more décor. "Let me guess, he came to Raccoon City with big dreams for the future?"
Chris shrugged before hammering a nail into the wall. "Every new cop starts off with big dreams. They usually snap out of the 'dream' quickly enough once they see what reality's like out in the field." As much as he loved his job, he couldn't deny that it was disheartening at times.
"As long as he stays out of trouble, it's all good with me. It's not like I have to worry about him catching me in my next crime," Claire joked about her clean record, very proud of never having gotten even a ticket before in her life. Which wasn't to say she never broke the law, but she was smart about figuring out how likely she was to be caught anytime she parked her car illegally. Chris disapproved of this, but admired her talent enough not to make her stop. It never really hurt anyone, anyway.
"Hey, guys, how's it going?" The door to the event hall opened, a uniformed woman stepping inside to deliver a box of tinsel. "It looks so festive!"
"Jill! I hope you're coming to the Christmas party on Saturday?" Chris asked, giving his office mate a large smile and stepping down from the ladder to greet her.
The woman shook her head apologetically. "You know me, I'm not much of a partier. I volunteered for patrol that night so Kennedy could come check it out instead."
Chris widened his eyes in surprise. "Leon Kennedy? You can't give the new guy a holiday like that right after he starts. He'll expect Christmas itself off next. Then New Year's, then Easter, then--"
Jill laughed. "Relax, Chris. You would have appreciated it when you started, I'm sure. Everyone needs the chance to socialize with their co-workers and get to know them. Don't be too hard on him or he'll run away."
Claire looked amused, glancing over at Chris and Jill while she took a look at a box of tree ornaments. "Guess I'll finally get to meet the new 'puppy' boy like you wanted, Chris."
"I didn't know employee siblings were invited," Jill teased, feeling like Claire was apart of the team with how much time she spent hanging around. "At this point you should start doing some of our work."
"I'm actually the guest of honor and official cookie taste tester that night, which is much more important than your work, I'm sure," Claire responded, to which Jill comically feigned great awe and reverence.
In contrast, Chris looked at Jill a bit more somberly. "We'll miss you there, you know. It's not S.T.A.R.S. if we're missing someone."
She offered in compromise, "Well, if you party hard enough, I'll have to come check out the noise complaint. I'd prefer to just be saved a slice of pie instead, though."
"Blueberry, right?"
Jill smiled and looked surprised. "Yeah, that's my favorite! I didn't know you knew."
"Of course I know!" Chris said, waving a large hand dismissively. He happened to remember a lot of the little things people said, especially her words since they worked so closely together. In fact, he couldn't help but make careful note of everything about Jill.
She nodded a bit before patting the top of the box she had brought in. "Well, I just came in to bring this for you, so I should get back to the rest of my work now. Don't get too wild, you two! I don't want to hear about any staple gun incidents," Jill said in adoring farewell, always happy to see the chaotic, town-famous siblings having fun around the workplace.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Claire turned to Chris sharply and said, "It's so obvious you have a crush on her. Just ask her out!"
"I do not have a crush on her!" Chris hushed defensively, holding up his hands helplessly and wondering what he did to make her think that. "And even if I did, it's too complicated to just do that!"
"Don't deny it! You look at her like she put the sun in the sky. But..." After getting a sudden thought that might convince her brother, Claire crossed her arms and smirked. "Fine. If you don't do it, I will."
"You can't do that!!" Chris sputtered, quickly regretting the fact that it probably gave his true feelings away.
"Yes I can!" Claire asserted before boasting, "Anybody you're interested in, whether it's a man, woman or supernatural being? If they've got a dog and great skin like Jill has, I'm not going to let the Redfield family lose a chance at having that just because you don't have any game."
Claire's words did feel a bit threatening. If nothing else, Chris truly knew that Claire was confident. And she was so unapologetically herself that it was magnetic, enough so that even the hardest Bible-thumping homophobes in town still loved her despite being open about her sexuality. Most everyone liked Chris too, but he always felt like he paled in comparison. There was nothing overtly special about him. He was a strong, hard-working investigative officer, but so was everyone else in S.T.A.R.S.
There was something that was always different about Jill in his eyes, however. Whenever they worked together, it was like they were two sides of the same coin, perfectly in sync. They took care of each other on every mission, always watching each other's back. Chris knew that working with Jill was the highlight of every workday. She was like the star of the S.T.A.R.S., her charming smile and electric personality an added piece of perfection on top of all the hard work she put in.
He had definitely lied. Chris Redfield totally has a crush on Jill Valentine. But what if she didn't feel the same way? It could ruin their relationship forever. He would have to move cities to hide from the shame. It was better to drown in the sorrow of unrequited feelings than to make anyone uncomfortable.
But maybe Claire was right and he should just try. Jill was too great to potential miss because of fear. Besides, he couldn't leave his feelings bottled up forever. It couldn't be healthy. If she said yes to a date, it would be the perfect Christmas gift. And if she said no? Well, Chris hoped that Santa could bring him a new heart or something.
"Well, you won't have to worry about that," Chris responded with a sudden dose of self-assured sass. "Because I will ask Jill out. How about that?"
Claire laughed, shaking her head in pleasant surprise. "That's more like it. You have until Christmas."
"What?!"
"The sooner you two start your movie-style romance story the better, Chris! Out of the kindness of my heart, I'll even help you."
Chris felt like he should be concerned based on what Claire sometimes considered "helping," but a sudden rush of intense nervousness was much more pressing at the moment. The holidays were stressful enough as it was; how was he going to deal with this?!
...
Chris had been guarding the desserts table the entire night, making sure that there would at least one slice of blueberry pie left at the end of the party. He felt like he had made a big promise to Jill to save her one, as perhaps overdramatic as that was. Maybe giving it to her would even present the perfect opportunity to ask her out on a date.
Usually Chris loved being in on all the action, singing Christmas songs, dancing and joking with everyone, and playing party games. He had always been good at Pin-the-Nose-on-Rudolph, after all. But he knew it wouldn't be quite so fun without Jill there competing against him, as they'd always had an extremely friendly rivalry when it came to the smallest of things. There was still Rebecca, Barry, and even Wesker who he could have fun with. Yet there was something empty about it all when just one person was missing. So, he merely waited and watched.
He kept an eye on Claire introducing herself to Leon to make sure she didn't intimidate him too much. They seemed to get on surprisingly well, which made Chris happy. He was getting more anxious with each passing moment, thinking about how Claire had challenged him to confess his feelings to Jill. He truly loved his sister, as frustrating as she could be; if she was having a good time at the party, he'd survive somehow. At least he could keep eating Christmas cookies from the sidelines.
"Are you feeling alright?" Barry asked him as the party slowly began winding down. "You don't seem yourself tonight."
Chris gave the older man a smile and a nod, waving off his concerns. "I'm just fine!" he assured him. "Do you like the decorations?" he quickly changed the subject. "I think Claire and I did a fantastic job. Look at the silver tinsel next to those lights right there. Really makes it twinkle. It's like Christmas on a string!"
Barry laughed and gave Chris a concerned pat on the back. "You're a silly kid, Chris. Sure you didn't drink too much of that eggnog? Can't say I trusted it ever since I heard Captain Wesker brought it. He goes crazy with the seasonings. Might be questionable amounts of nutmeg in there."
"I promise I'm fine," Chris repeated. "Just taking it easy tonight! I've got work tomorrow; I don't want to tire myself out too much."
Rebecca came up to where the two men stood, interrupting their conversation. She pointed to the remaining desserts and asked. "Hey, we can take these treats home, right? I don't think they're going to be finished before the party ends--"
"Not the pie!" Chris quickly stopped her with a shout. "You can take whatever you want, just not that blueberry pie," he said emphatically.
Rebecca glanced at Barry with confusion as to why Chris was so protective of half of a mediocre pie, but tried to let it go. "Um, okay. I was just eyeing that cheesecake," she defended herself. "My roommate loves raspberry cheesecake."
Chris's aggressive expression rapidly changed to something much more supportive and pleased. "Totally! Take all of it!" he offered, almost shoving the dish into her hands so she didn't have time to change her mind. Rebecca was very disturbed by his odd behavior, quickly scurrying away with the food and preparing to leave the Christmas bash with most everyone else. Barry also excused himself, but not before suggesting that Chris might need a short vacation soon.
The Redfield siblings had volunteered to clean up the party alongside a few other employees as 1 A.M. had arrived and everyone decided that they should be responsible and go home to sleep instead of continuing to scream the lyrics to "All I Want for Christmas is You." Chris continued wondering if he would see Jill before the night was over, but Claire competed for his brain's attention by rambling about the action that he had missed out on experiencing by spending the hours standing on the sidelines.
"That Leon guy is too shy! How is he supposed to make traffic stops when he's too uncomfortable simply mingling with a friendly crowd?"
Chris scoffed in disbelief while tossing some used paper plates into the garbage. "Just mingling? From what I saw, you all were pressuring him into trying to fit a whole chocolate orange in his mouth."
"And he said no; can you believe it?!" Claire gestured with her hand dramatically. "Still, he seems like a bit of a people-pleaser, deep down past that wariness. Think he'd do my errands next weekend if I asked?"
"That guy's going to quit because of you, Claire. Heck, you don't even work here, remember?" Chris was mid-exaggerated glare when the door to the hall opened, catching everyone's attention. He felt a smile grow on his face as he saw Jill's peek around the edge of the door to see what was going on.
"Can I come in? I don't want to get in anyone's way," she asked.
Claire gave Chris a knowing look before shooting Jill a grin. "The more the merrier!" she answered warmly, and Jill walked in with a look of gratitude. "You just missed the end of the party," Claire explained to the older officer.
"We saved you some pie, though!" Chris stuttered as he suddenly remembered his "mission" he had been focused on that whole time. He held the pie tin out to Jill and said, "I hope it's satisfactory."
Jill laughed. "Amazing! Thanks, Chris. You're the best. I know what I'm having for dessert tomorrow. Maybe even breakfast," she finished with a half-joke.
Instead of chuckling, Chris cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. He had never been so awkward around Jill before. Claire noticing the way he felt about his work partner made him extremely self-conscious of everything he did. What was a normal thing to ask? "How are things in Raccoon City tonight?" he decided to say.
Jill scratched her head thoughtfully, thinking through Leon's patrol duties she had taken over for him the past few hours. "Nothing out of the ordinary. But you know how it is; everyone saves up their trouble for Christmas Eve night just to make extra work for us on the holidays."
"Say, do you have any Christmas plans?" Chris asked, finally finding the nerve to try and find the right opportunity to slip in a date idea. "I think S.T.A.R.S. has it off, right?" Claire watched excitedly as Chris began trying to get somewhere, while she simultaneously tried to look natural in how she folded a tablecloth so not to distract the other two from each other.
"I don't have any family nearby, so it'll just be me and the dog. We'll watch some holiday movies and drink a lot of cocoa. You know, staying cozy inside. It's not like Christmas back home, but it's still fun!" Jill said with a shrug.
"Well, hey!" Claire interjected, frustrating Chris as he couldn't continue his own plan. "Jill could come to our house and celebrate with us, right?" Chris looked at his sister in desperate panic. Why would she suggest such a thing?! Claire only offered a subtle wink, innocently trying to set up a good opportunity for him. He saw it as more of a traumatic opportunity, however.
Jill shook her head while still smiling gratefully at Claire's idea. "That's a really nice offer, but I don't want you to feel obligated--"
"No no no! It's no trouble at all. Like I said earlier, the more the merrier, right, Chris?" Claire elbowed her brother's arm and almost laughed at the mischief she felt she might be causing, but held it in to keep up appearances.
Chris looked and truly felt like he was about to be sick, but he nodded in agreement. "Totally! We'd love to have you," he said through clenched teeth. His mind was going a million miles per hour trying to work through all the possible scenarios that could result from this.
Jill didn't seem to notice his stress, because she accepted the Redfield's invitation heartily. "I mean, if you're offering, I really have no reason to say no!" she conceded. "I'm sure spending extra time with you both will be plenty of fun. You always seem to have a lot of Christmas spirit."
"You know us!" Chris awkwardly laughed. "Just like two of Santa's elves!" What an odd thing to say, he thought. Throwing himself in the garbage can right before of him sounded like a great idea.
"We'll settle all the details later, then," Claire said, ignoring her weird brother. "It's been a long night, and S.T.A.R.S.' finest ought to get some sleep!" She reached out to give each of them a pat on the arm.
Jill gave Claire a small pat in return. "Thanks again, you two. It genuinely means a lot! And you know, I can help you guys finish cleaning to make things faster for all of us." She looked around the room. "There's not too much damage. We'll be done super fast."
As much as being near Jill was tearing Chris apart those past few days, he heartily accepted her help. If they were both busy together, things would feel normal between them again, at least for that night. That was what he wanted the most: for things to always feel the same good way they always had, no matter what romantic feelings might exist behind the scenes.
And that's why Claire trying to force his feelings out was so terrifying, because they could change everything. But at the same time, Chris did feel he had to be truthful. He couldn't keep up his awkward charade much longer, and Jill deserved honesty from him. Now his opportunity was Christmas. That could be comforting, right? What could possibly go wrong on Christmas?