Work Text:
Krauser pours water on the can.
Krauser waters the plants, noticing the rainbows the water produces.
The corner of his lips quirks up.
It feels good. To do nothing for a day.
Or, do a lot of things, on his terms.
His comrades would say he doesn't know how to relax.
He missed this. The silence, the fresh air, the greenery that's always easy on his eyes.
He almost stayed in bed. Until the sun rose and it reminded him of what he would miss out on.
So he ate breakfast, looking out the window. He watched the blues turn purple, turn red then yellow, and finally light blue. He dares say there was nothing but beautiful silence in his mind. All while he enjoyed a good cup of coffee, eggs from the coop and real oatmeal.
Krauser brushed his teeth, shaved the scruff he had, got his testosterone shot and made the bed.
Then, he feeds the chickens and the horses. He cleaned the barn for Miss Roberts and now he's here, fucking smelling the flowers and wishing for a second he could paint them.
Krauser surveys the area. The sun warms his skin up as he checks for anomalies in the property. He even checks the truck's engine in case there's anything he missed.
Krauser is walking at the back of the barn and hears something. He looks around and in the distance something moves.
"Oh shit," Krauser says. If he strains his eyes he can see a deer, hiding between some trees. Far enough away that had krauser not been paying attention he would've missed it.
Okay, now Krauser wishes he was the artsy type. He would have brought a camera.
Krauser holds back his breath and tries to take a step closer.
He steps on a twig and almost loses his balance.
The deer tenses up and before krauser can step back, it runs away.
Krauser sighs. It's been a while since he was here. The dogs are still not used to him.
"Jack!"
Krauser turns around. A brunette white woman in her forties runs after Krauser. "You saw that?”
Krauser nods. “A deer nosing around. Young. Might have strayed too far away from their mom. ”
Laura Roberts sighs. “Imagine if it had found a hunter. I shudder just thinking about that.”
Krauser hums. Laura loves animals. She sells everything at the market in town. Her produce is excellent and krauser buys form her every time he gets a chance. “I was going to repair the barn. Is the faucet still leaking?”
Laura shakes her head. "I dealt with that last night. Just loose screws. The issue is the faucet in the bathroom," she says and starts to explain.
Eventually krauser starts to unload the materials he got from the truck. He can make the last few repairs and then he can sit on the front porch like he's longed for all day. Hell, he could get the hammock out.
What can he say, the bigger the struggle the better the reward.
"No, no, big guy," she says. "You should rest. You already did enough."
Krauser snorts. "I won't be long. I promise I work fast."
She shakes her head, unsatisfied. "no, no way. It's your first day here and it's almost time for lunch. Good work is good work."
Krauser used to come back on every vacation he had. The only vacation worth having until he-
In the distance, he sees a motorcycle park in front of the property. A white blond man takes off the helmet and-
"Oh, fuck no," krauser hisses.
That's when the day went from good to worse.
“Who’s that?” Laura asks.
Leon Kennedy walks up to the porch like he belongs here. He gives Laura a smile. Krauser grits his teeth. He reaches for his pocket where he always keeps his custom made knife.
“Hello, ma’am, I’m Major Krauser’s supervisor.” Leon greets.
Laura looks at him with suspicion. "And who are you?"
“Supervisor huh?” Krauser drawls.
Leon doesn't let that deter him. "Leon S Kennedy. It will be quick." Leon says and finally those damn blues fall on Krauser.
Laura crosses her arms unconvinced. "Can I see your ID?"
Krauser holds back a laugh as he sees Leon struggle to pull out his badge and give it to her.
She checks his information and gives it back. "I'll be in the yard," she says, walking away.
I'll be watching you, she says.
Krauser holds back a grin. “And I’ll be in the kitchen,” Krauser says, walking inside. He doesn’t wait for anyone but hears Leon follow loudly behind him. If Leon wants to come all the way here, then Krauser's gonna make him fight for whatever it is he's looking for.
Krauser can always trust Laura can take care of herself but this feels like too damn much. It's not the first time the agency sends Leon over. Hell, Leon has one, doesn't he?
Krauser sneers. “What are you doing here, Agent?” Krauser spits out. He doesn’t turn to look at Leon. He doesn’t need to. Krauser knows exactly where he is by sound alone. The dogs walking on the floorboards of the house have woken Krauser up multiple times before. His noise sensitivity can be a pain in the ass.
Leon crosses his arms. "Krauser-"
Krauser turns around. His eyes widen in exasperation. "Speak. I know you don't visit because you miss me"
Leon huffs. "They need you to train new recruits. That's all. No deployment."
Krauser narrows his eyes. Not surprising but- "Why'd they send you?"
Leon does his best to hold back his anger. His jaw sets and his arms tighten. He's as unhappy seeing krauser as krauser is of seeing him. Good.
"Go ask them yourself." Leon quips. "I'm just here to convince you to take this job. You're on their good side. Don't fuck up now."
Krauser huffs. "Patronizing asshole" he says, turning around to face the counter. He chops up some onion. "As if I have a choice with you looming over me. If I didn't know how heroic you are I'd say you get off on controlling me." he gives Leon a look.
Leon pretends to look bored. "You do have a choice and I definitely do not."
Krauser smirks. "You do. Else you'd fuck off and save someone else. No. You need something from me."
Leon hums. "Nice theory. Do you also think the earth is flat and that were all being controlled by aliens?" he snaps. Score. Krauser hit a nerve.
Krauser sighs. He'll take the damn job no matter what. As long as he can get this? It's worth everything he can do. Even if he's chained to Leon in the meantime.
Leon grabs Krauser's shoulder.
Krauser tenses up, hand tightening around the knife.
"I want the best for you… I-" Leon sighs. "I'm here if you need me. I know it hasn't been easy to come back-"
Krauser lets go of the knife. He'll be hunted down to the ends of the earth if he even lays a hand on one of Leon's precious hairs. Despite everything, the horrors, the trauma and clear PTSD the kid has and doesn't deal with, Leon seems to be doing perfectly fine. How nice it seems to be.
Krauser reaches for Leon's hand and brushes it off. He turns around. "You came by because you're curious. You wanted to see what I have. 'What could Krauser have without me?'" he says with disgust, snarling. "'What is he without my help?'"
Leon rubs the back of his neck. "I worry about you," he says earnestly.
Krauser huffs. That would've disarmed him before. Not anymore. He moves to chop some old greens that are about to spoil. "I'll take the job."
They stay quiet for a while. Krauser chops everything quietly before throwing it in the pot. He can do training. It comes natural to him and he only has a few more years of serving his sentence before he can fuck off somewhere else.
Leon snorts. "That's it, huh?"
Krauser doesn't respond. He places everything in a pot. They're making chicken noodle soup. Krauser loves that soup. He'll take it over all MREs he's tried. Especially now. He can't believe he's saying this but he needs a nap after too.
"I don't get it," Leon breaks the nice silence. "You- I thought you'd want to get back on the field. To fight for humanity," Leon sounds surprised by his own words at the end. "You're a military man. You like training, the camaraderie and order. You must fight for something."
Krauser chuckles for the first time since Leon arrived. "You're making so many assumptions. It'd be nice to live in that world of yours. I fight for me. And I wish it was that simple."
Leon sucks in a breath. "You don't care about Bioterrorism? Are you on their side?"
Krauser turns around, looks Leon in the eye and with a smile he says. "I'm over it." he says. "if that makes me selfish then so be it, Agent. I can't stand being a pawn to something I will eventually become a victim of."
Krauser can practically hear the offense Leon takes from that. "Not if we combat it in time."
Krauser almost hears desperation in Leon's voice.
Krauser is done arguing. He just wants peace where he can get it. He supposes someone like Leon who's praised and protected for living in chaos will not find it depressing and costly. Very unlike that Redfield guy. Krauser chats with him sometimes. He could do with a vacation.
Leon sighs. "You tried to kill me, killed Luis Serra and kidnapped the old president's daughter. Do you have any idea what pain you have caused?"
Krauser can't help it. He feigns ignorance. "That's what his name was?"
Leon huffs. "You're a monster. Mutated. not a human anymore. You can't just escape everything."
Krauser hums. "Watch me," he says. "This monster wants a nap," he says.
Krauser knows Leon wouldn't take everything away from Krauser. He's unaware or unwilling to use his power the way others have agaisnt Krauser. Krauser isn't about to give him a tutorial.
"Thanks for notifying me." krauser growls "Tell your supervisor that I'll be there when they tell me." he says automatically.
Leon sighs. A few beats pass and Krauser hears him walk away.
For some reason, as he hears Leon turns over the engine and drives away, Krauser gets the feeling Leon expected more from this. He never challenges Krauser's choices unless he has something to prove.
Krauser goes back to chopping. He tries the soup and adds more salt.
Despite his best efforts, the visit shakes him to his core. What if Leon learned to use that power? What if Leon is on his way to take everything form Krauser? What if Laura stabs him in the back, literally or otherwise? What if the plaga does him in after all?
Krauser trains his breathing and finishes the soup. He takes a sip and it feels heavenly. He calls Laura as he sets the table for them both. They eat in silence.
Krauser finds himself on the porch watching the sun set. He woke up from a nap, made himself a cup of coffee and swings himself on the nice hammock Laura got him. He had been eyeing it too much and so, she bought it for him.
He protested but she insisted. So here he is, with a blanket on his lap and his old copy of Dracula.
Krauser looks up to watch the dogs run around the field. They stumble as they bark and playfully growl at each other.
"Dinner!" Laura yells, clanking their plates full of kibble. And Krauser holds on to the hammock so he isn't pushed to the ground as they bolt inside.
Laura chuckles. "You should use that nice bow of yours. I have yet to see you use it"
Krauser chuckles. "Maybe tomorrow. I'm beat."
Laura hums. "You okay?"
Krauser shrugs. "Nothing a beer can't fix."
Laura sighs. "Got it. There's a game right now. Wanna join?"
Laura had been a veterinarian. She specializes in rehabilitating feral pets, give them a new home. That's why she has a farm. Most of them are strays.
Krauser hums. "Sundays are for picking stones-"
"And getting hammered," Laura finishes. "I'll grab you a beer."
Krauser snorts. He gets up. He grabs his blanket and detaches the hammock.
Night has fallen. Blue turns orange and then deeper blue.
Krauser let's out a sigh and walks inside. He shuffles inside to put the hammock away.
Soon enough he's on the couch, second beer in hand and fuzzy blanket on his shoulders. He chuckles when the team he bet on starts to get dunked on. "Just my luck." He pets a small dog that sits on his lap.
Laura snorts. "Pick a better team next time."