Work Text:
For the first time ever, Wesker made the horrible decision to go on vacation with Jack by train in a completely different country from what he was used to during winter. Their plan was to spend their entire December and January in Romania. All they wanted was to travel and take up some quality time together. The country they were visiting was located in the east of Europe, happening to be a post-communist country, Jack was somewhat hesitant on traveling there. Not because of any of the stereotypes, simply because his experiences with communists were not that great.
Not that the U.S was any better.
Their train left hours ago from the capital of the country, Bucharest, towards a location where a ski resort resided in the mountains, one place Krauser knew nothing about. Wesker's train ride was quite a time of peace and didn't seem to mind that it'd been happening for a long time already. He was in a state of tranquility, reading a book and being in the company of his boyfriend.
Not much to say for his lover, Krauser, he was the complete opposite. Any kind of long ride made him irrefutably bored. He hated to sit and do nothing, and when boredom managed to clasp him in its claws, Jack felt a nagging urge to bother Wesker, to annoy him, simply because the way he reacted was entertainment to him.. “Albert.”
“Stop that.”
Jack snickered, pronouncing Wesker's first name out loud. Wesker hated that, whenever someone called him by his first name, it was like a cat scratched his brain with its claws. "Albert!" Though, Jack gained so much satisfaction succeeding to make Wesker loathe him at times. He'd gladly wipe it off his face if he didn't love him.
Wesker closed his book with a loud thud as a sharp exhale wafted out of his mouth. The more days passed, the more he wondered how long he could still keep his calm with Jack. He was surprised he was actually getting better at it. Ever since they met, his boyfriend had been continuously pulling his strings merely to get a reaction out of him. The fact that they were in a relationship changed absolutely nothing. Krauser loved to get reactions out of Wesker and that was one of the reasons he loved him in the first place. "Jack, what do you want?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I am bored. Entertain me.”
Wesker took a deep breath, as to steady himself and retrieve to a calmer state. He knew many ways on how to entertain him, except this time he was in a train with lots of people around. "Oh, I know how to entertain you, but I can't do it here. Wait until we get to the cabin."
“I don’t want sex,” Jack bellowed. The entirety of the wagon stared at him just by hearing the word sex . It was like they’d never heard that word before. Such a revelation. Wesker’s cheeks turned red and embarrassment creeped into his system. “I just want to have fun. We’re here to have fun.”
Wesker let out a sigh in frustration and pinched the tip of his nose, he cast his head down and shook his head. "For the love of...You're a manchild. Just wait until we get to the cabin. The train will arrive at the station in 3 hours." He shifted in his seat and looked away from Jack, whose eyes were boring into him, and opened his book once again. "Would you please behave and stop embarrassing us? I am not here to paint myself as a clown."
The idea of painting himself as a clown sparked a chuckle from Jack and he refrained from making any further comments. He loved to irritate Wesker, but not to the point he would anger him. Whenever that happened, Wesker gave Krauser the silent treatment to cool himself down. Jack knew that Wesker had trouble with his anger issues and he was in the right for doing that. He didn't want to lash out at him out of sheer love for him. Jack had never actually meant to truly upset him, he cared about him, so he stopped crossing boundaries.
After Wesker went back to his book, Jack tried to run a quick analysis through his head as to what to do until they got back home. A certain few actions arose within his mind, but he was uncertain whether Wesker would be fine with it. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Go on,” Wesker answered, his voice tangled with irritation, waiting for Krauser to ruffle him even more.
“Can I put my head on your shoulder?”
“Feel free.”
Krauser expected Wesker to refuse him and instead he was pleasantly surprised by his response. Wesker rarely let him show affection in public and he'd made it clear that he didn't want that to happen in Romania as a few of his acquaintances who lived in this country told him people were pretty judgy when it came to a couple, specifically men, being affectionate with each other, throwing deadly glares and giving people the evil eye. Mostly, the old people had that habit, and their wagon was full of those.
Whatever people thought, Krauser didn't give a shit about it. He never cared what people thought of him, he was always his true self. As he gently rested his head on Wesker's shoulder, his warmth embraced him and a heavenly sensation filled him up. Wesker repositioned into his seat and slowly wrapped his arm around Krauser, embracing him with one arm as the other hand held his book.
In the comfort of his lover’s touch and presence, Jack closed his eyes and fell asleep in an instant.
His beauty slumber was interrupted by Wesker gently patting his head as the train arrived at the station. “Jack, wake up,” he spoke in a low murmur, so comforting.. “We’re here.”
Krauser blinked a few times to make sense of his surroundings. His hazy ocean eyes looked out the window and noticed the mountains full to the brink with pristine snow. He felt an overwhelming burst of joy he last experienced when he was just a little kid and saw snow for the first time. “Wow. It’s so beautiful.”
“I told you Romania is a beautiful country.” Wesker threw a smile at Krauser, shining like a blaze of sun in the entire train. “We should go or the train will leave with us.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
Krauser stepped out of the train, the cold breeze of the winter wind sent shivers down his spine, the winter’s pristine snow freshly laid at his feet. He opened his tongue to catch some snowflakes before his lover grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him forward. “We have a bus to catch,” he said.
Jack grew disappointed at the need to leave and not enjoy the snow. He was like a child whose mother told him it was time to go home. "When are we there?"
Wesker pointed towards a giant mountain in the far, the edge covered in permeate white, as if it was the color of heaven itself. The snow was so beautiful around the time of the month in Romania. So alluring, you couldn’t take your eyes off it. “See that mountain? That is where the ski resort resides. We must get there first before we can relax.” His head swirled towards his boyfriend and his soft gaze fell on him. “I know you’re tired, Jack. We’ve been on the road for quite a long time, but I need you to trust me that once we get there, you will relax. It’ll be distractive. I promise.”
Krauser's eyelids grew heavy on him, he hadn't slept in ages and that nap in the train wasn't enough. "How long does it take?"
In the bus, Jack found it extremely hard to keep his eyelids open and Wesker encouraged him to rest his head on his shoulder and take a little nap. This time their road was about to be shorter, the distance from the train station to the ski resort was just one hour away. “If you can’t stay awake, then close your eyes. I will wake you up when we’re there.” He placed a sweet peck on his forehead and tilted his head so Jack could be as comfortable as possible, then shortly, Jack fell asleep.
As Krauser blinked to escape the haze of the dreamy world, he woke up with a considerate pressure on his head and found Wesker, his head propped on his, his breath steady and calm. By the sound of it, it seemed like Wesker had fallen asleep. He imagined him sleeping, he couldn’t move his head since he didn’t want to disturb him. When Wesker finally put himself to sleep, he looked like an angel..Sure, others could say he was the devil, but still, the devil was once an angel.
The bus came to a halt and Wesker snapped awake, his glasses falling onto the side of his face, one eye revealed. Krauser quickly adjusted them back, he couldn’t risk humans seeing his eyes. They didn’t travel to this country to become celebrities, nor be tracked by the B.S.A.A and American government. As long as Wesker kept his glasses on, no one would suspect them. “Easy, sleepy head. I was going to wake you, but you looked too pretty like that.”
Wesker threw a smile towards him, his cheeks flushed. “Thank you… Then, shall we go?”
The younger man allowed Wesker to lead the way out of the bus and watched his coat flutter in the wind. Their hands intertwined one another, defying the glances from the people around, just the two of them against the world as they made their way towards the cabin residing on the mountain.
As they made it inside the ski resort, the manager of the resort gave the two of them a warm welcome. Jack was pleasantly surprised to find out that Wesker knew a little bit of Romanian. The mere fact that he was capable of speaking so many languages made Wesker irrevocably attractive to him. “Am o cabină rezervată, vă rog.”
The manager skimmed through his clipboard, looking on the list of reserved cabins, potentially searching one for the two of them. Krauser didn’t understand what Wesker told him but from the looks of it, he was looking for his name on the list.
“Domnul Albert…Wesker?” The manager pronounced Wesker with an accent he’d never heard before. Though, he couldn’t blame them, could he? He’d probably never had to deal with a name like that before.
Wesker nodded his head in agreement. “Eu sunt.”
“Cabina dumneavoastră este chiar in față, follow me.” The sudden switch to English snapped Jack right to reality. The manager was aware Krauser was just gawking at him like a fool, attempting to understand what words were being exchanged between the two of them.
Krauser walked before Wesker and both of them reveled into the nice view. The cabins were quite large, made of impeccable wood. A luxury he could have more likely not been able to access if it weren’t for him to meet Wesker. He never understood how Wesker managed to have that much money. The amount of things you could benefit from being a criminal mastermind and having many influences. It looked like he got hacks for life. “Didn’t know you speak Romanian.”
Wesker flashed a grin at Krauser. “Well, I did some research before heading here. I had to come prepared.”
“You’re so extra.”
“Like always.”
Krauser smiled, squinting his eyes at Wesker and the thought of taking his stupid face between his hands and kissing him right at that moment crossed his mind. If it weren’t for the audience, he would have done it in a heartbeat.
FInally, arriving at the cabin, the manager handed Wesker the keys and wished them a “Distracție plăcută.” Whatever the hell that meant. Judging Wesker’s reaction, it was totally a positive thing. “Come on, Jack. Let’s go inside.”
The cabin was built out of knotty pine wood, its interior was illuminated by two lamps placed on the night tables on each side of the king-sized bed in the center and one light on the ceiling surrounded by an air fan. A few framed pictures from the popular Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși. Krauser stared at the pictures with an arduous interest to learn more about it. There was a tag on it with its name in English. “The gate of the kiss. What’s that?”
Wesker walked up to him, as to also view the picture, wrapping his hands around Krauser’s waist and propping his chin on his shoulder, hugging him tightly. “I am surprised you don’t know about it. It’s a popular stone sculpture worldwide. As you have probably seen, it’s been sculpted by one of Romania’s most famous sculptors: Constantin Brâncuși. Each column has two halves of a circle, which are the symbol of a kiss. The kissing gate looks like a triumphal arch, it was actually made to symbolize the triumph of life over death. And it’s part of the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși, which is an homage to the Romanian heroes of the First World War.”
The warmth of Wesker’s embrace was merely enough to make him feel drowsy. He could barely listen to Wesker anymore and yet the sound of his sweet voice alone kept him focused on it and interested in whatever he was talking about.. Krauser wasn’t such a big fan of art as much as Wesker was, or perhaps pretended to be in order to impress him, but he always enjoyed hearing Wesker ramble about it. Art happened to be one of the few things that put a smile on his face and the sight of a blissful Wesker was a lovely sight to sore eyes. Jack adored whenever Wesker smiled, he was beautiful. You’d think there was never an ounce of evil inside this man.
"How cute," he drawled, opening his mouth wide to make a yawn fly away. The need of sleep caught up to him. "I am tired."
“In that case, I think you should sleep.”
Jack waffled to the bed and Wesker followed behind him. He laid in the king sized bed on the right side and allocated Wesker enough space to sit right next to him in case he decided to sleep, which was a rare occurrence. Wesker couldn’t feel tiredness and while that was a surplus for him, it was inflicting on his body. He could sleep, but refused to do so. Jack had to beg him to sleep countless times, and he also used that as an excuse to get to cuddle with Wesker. His arms simply made him feel safe like no other.
A few hours passed, the cabin was completely dark, only the light from the waxing moon from outside surged through the windows and painted the both of them in a blue light. Wesker was still wide awake, contemplating between actually sleeping or stare at the moon like a dog.
Minutes later, his eyelids didn’t have the strength to stay open anymore. He didn’t know how or why, probably watching Jack made him sleepy. He walked up to the bed and heard Krauser shuffle into it. Wesker could hear Jack’s breath grow heavier and he was whimpering, like he was running from something in his dream or…someone. Wesker knew that Krauser was once again having a nightmare caused by his PTSD and there was one way to soothe him.
Wesker laid down near him and dragged himself to the point he was mere inches away from his lover's body. The warmth of his body hugged Wesker as he gently wrapped his arms around him. "Jack. It's okay. You're safe." His benign fingers caressed his messy hair and his breath began to steady and a state of peace surrounded Jack. "You're alright."
The harmony of the both of them led Wesker’s eyelids to increase into their heaviness, slipping into the world of dreams with his lover in his arms. Nothing better than the perfect feeling of having the one you love near you.
In the morning, Jack woke up with the great light of winter outside blinding him. Wesker had drawn the curtains already and seemed to be way too energized and in a better mood than ever. “Wakey, wakey, it’s time we take a walk. The snow is beautiful.”
Jack threw looks of daggers down Wesker’s way. He twisted into the bed and sunk his face into the pillow, refusing to get up. “Go take it yourself. I want to sleep. This bed is very comfy…and warm.” The pillow muffled his sounds.
Wesker watched his boyfriend in disbelief, sighing at his behavior. “We are not here to sleep, Jack.” He crawled into the bed near him and traced his hand around his back. His back arched at his touch, already aware of what was about to happen. Wesker tickled Krauser down his spine and made him toss around and wiggle to get away from Wesker, but he couldn’t handle the laugh coming out of him.
“Stop.” Wesker continued to tickle Jack as he tried to force him out of bed. He made a poor attempt to ignore him, but it was impossible. Wesker knew every sensitive spot of his where Jack would get tickled the most, his hands ran across his spine and his tickles led him to jump back up, bursting into pure laughter. The insanely amount of giggling wholly flushed his entire face and as he turned, Wesker shifted his hands towards his belly button. “Wesker, stop,” he chuckled. “St- Enough!”
They rolled around into bed, with Krauser trying to crawl away from Wesker and failing to do so. Wesker succeeded into clasping his wrists with both of his hands, pinning him down, the sparks between the two of them flew in the air, the tension alarmingly intense. "So, are we going on that walk, now?"
“Fine,” Krauser conceded. “You won.”
Wesker’s lips curved into a big smile, so much pride within himself that he’d convinced Jack to get out of bed. He always loved to tickle Krauser like that and enjoyed wrestling with him on their bed like two children in love. The sight of a joyful Jack was easily majestic as if it was the beauty of the universe itself in front of time. After their little playtime was over, he got out of bed and walked up to the hanger to grab his coat and put it on. “Come on, I have something to show you.”
Jack groaned softly at his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. He did wonder what surprise he’d prepared him once again, all his other surprises had been nothing but marvelous….or that was what Wesker thought of them. “Alright, then,” he yawned.
Krauser packed clothes to be warm the entire winter while Wesker got some of his suits and his trenchcoat would suffice to keep him warm. Jack wondered if his suits were excessively thick and the trench coat was a bonus or the virus inside of him tampered with his thermic system. He’d probably never know and he didn’t bother to ask about that one matter. Either way, Wesker handled cold better than him, which did make him jealous at times.
The snow was, fortunately, not too much, their boots didn’t go through it as they walked by the skiers on the tall mountain. Krauser watched them and wished Wesker would bring him to the slope so they could ski.. Wesker seemed to be moving much further than the ski slope, making Jack wonder if his lover brought him to this ski resort to waste their time or actually ski in the first place. “Are we here to ski or just walk through the snow? One thing that’s pissing me off, already. I’m freezin’ here.”
Wesker swiveled on his heel, a sappy grin lingered on his face as he gazed towards his boyfriend whose irritation slowly descended onto his face. “Oh, you can ski, if you wish to, but it’s not the time for that, yet.”
Krauser released a sigh, shaking his head. "Always with the damn surprises."
Their little hike lasted a tad bit longer until they reached a lot where snow was just everywhere. There were rocks on the side full to the brim with nothing but immaculate white. The earth underneath them was covered in snow, no sign of any kind of stain. A couple of snowmen that were, most likely, built by children stood right in front of them. The snowmen were holding hands and there was a heart made out of snow right in front of them. Krauser stared at the fascinating peisage in awe. He’d never seen snow so delightful before. It was downright incredible.
Wesker clasped his hands behind his back, watching Jack with the enthusiasm of a little kid. “What do you think?”
Jack was distracted by the beautiful sight, even with Wesker’s question, he didn’t take his eyes off it. “It’s really…awesome. I’ve never seen snow so pretty. Didn’t know Romania looks so cool during winter.”
Wesker huffed, his eyes wouldn’t leave Krauser’s sight. The glimpse of a blissful Jack was enough to make him feel above the sky. “I sure do hope you like the snowmen and the heart. Made them myself while you were sleeping last night.”
Krauser’s eyebrows knitted into a scowl, sending lighthearted daggers towards Wesker. “You’re a lunatic, did you know that?”
“What can I say, I pride myself with that.” He continued to send a smug smile towards Jack’s way that he always enjoyed to see and the more he saw it, the more it made him fall in love with him. Wesker was a fucking asshole, but it was his asshole.
Jack strode towards Wesker and in spite of the amount of discomfort the winter clothes were causing him, he embraced Wesker with his full body..He closed his eyes, resting on him and as Wesker hugged him back, their bodies intertwined with one another and formed a mighty heart. Truly a match made in Heaven. “I love you, asshole.”
Wesker grinned scrumptiously. “I love you too, Jack.”
As they both pulled out and Jack stepped back, his eyes were off Wesker. He enjoyed laying his eyes on the snowmen in front of him and the giant heart made of snow. At times, he thought he was not deserving of Wesker, but maybe the real truth was that both of them deserved each other. They were made for each other. He couldn’t believe he had to wait that long to meet him.
There was no time for Jack to take his eyes off the snowmen than he got hit by a snowball. Wesker laughed out loud, about to forge another one in his hands. "Come on. It'll be fun." He didn't let Jack answer to that, just the scornful glances alone made him sure of what he wanted to say.
Krauser let out a sigh in disbelief, though he couldn’t control the smile on his lips. He reached for snow and formed a snowball in his hands. “Who’s the manchild now?” Then, he finally threw his snowball at him, Wesker immediately dodging it with his powers. “Hey, hey, no cheating!”
“Fine!” Wesker shouted. “I was just joking.”
And then, their playful fight with snowballs went on. Both of them created forts to protect themselves from the projectiles thrown by the other. Their laughs were simply pure, their inner children came on the surface, enjoying every moment of their snowfight. Neither of them had the chance to do that in their childhood, now they had the time and opportunity to do it and it was unimaginably wonderful.
The two met in the middle after a few 30 minutes of fighting with the snow, Wesker let Krauser win and loved to see him brag about it. His gaze softened under Krauser’s sheer presence, the sole action of him boasting about beating Wesker was easily alluring to him, just like the beauty of the sunsets. He stepped towards him, his arms gently enfolded him as his lips pressed into his. As they pulled apart, both breathed heavily, sweet glances, like two perfect constellations in the cosmos.
Jack's playful state didn't end there, he was keen on toying with Wesker, maybe to get a reaction out of him. He swung side to side, taking Wesker with him. "What are you doing?" The imbalance he created made the two of them fall down into the snow, with Wesker right on top of Krauser. "Jack."
“Sorry,” he laughed. “I was feeling a little bit silly.”
Wesker's glasses were stained with snow and he couldn't see a damn thing anymore and yet an uncontrollable grin shined on his face, along with his head shake and annoyance. The amount of love his heart held for Jack surpassed everything in the entire world.
After their time in the snow was over, they went back to the cabin and drank some hot cocoa. Winter was just the perfect season for it, even though none of them really enjoyed it that much. The following week at the ski resort formed all kinds of memories Krauser and Wesker would cherish forever. Only two lovers who spent every hour and bit of their lives together, having irrefutable fun. They’d been in love, tremendously, yet somehow, the more time they spent together, the more they fell in love with one another. None of them knew how or why, but one thing they knew for sure was that they were the perfect match. This vacation brought to the surface sides of them that were deep dug inside and sides they were never comfortable showing until the right person came into each other’s lives.
Maybe, in another universe, the two of them met at the right time, and thus, many tragedies were prevented. Maybe they could be free without having any kind of remorse or guilt about it. Just maybe. Even that, any bump they might encounter would be crossed over. Together.