Work Text:
Carlos sat in on another meeting going over BSAA conduct during an outbreak incident in Norway. This wasn't his jurisdiction. The Norway part, not the conduct meeting part, but it was one of the rare times where Chris Redfield was on US soil. If it weren't for the dispatch of US freighters sent to aid the latest outbreak, Chris would still be in Europe. Carlos wasn't going to grab a goat by the horns about it. Less hours spent flying to see him was always a bonus in his book.
The meeting about Norway also allowed Carlos some insight into the latest mutation in the black market. Too bad it was more rats. Generally speaking, he didn't have a problem with rats. They could be cute as pets. Mutated rats on the other hand, well, saying they were fucked up would be putting it nicely.
The slide on the projector changed to a still image of a corpse of a dead man covered in too much blood to note anything special about him. A party of rats with multiple red eyes were digging through or out of the body's rib cage. Their gray fur was matted black with blood. Their teeth were too long, too yellow, and too sharp. Their little hands were a sickly shade of white with copper brown claws nearly as elongated as their teeth and probably just as sharp. Furry spikes extended out from the knobs of their spines, and Carlos grimaced at the video footage. Those little suckers ran fast as hell.
"We've divided their coordination into three stages. In the first stage, the bioweapons force themselves into any orifice. A pregnant mother goes in with the group. In the second stage, the mother gives birth in the liver and the newborns begin to feast on the victim's organs. The newborns rapidly age into adults during this feast which transitions into the third stage. Once the newborns are grown into adults, the victim's body is overwhelmed and the skin gives way here" the blonde woman in her pantsuit pointed to the projector image of the man's torn open abdomen, "or if multiple mothers enter the victim, they exit through the ribcage as displayed here." She tapped where the corpse's rib cage was split open like a seashell.
Carlos lifted his mug and sipped his coffee to mask his frown. Of all the ways to go, a rat crawling up his ass and using his body as a birthing room was not one he could conjure up in his worst nightmares. Murmurs of conversation went around the table in the dark room lit only by projector light.
"Surprisingly, the victims of these bioweapons don't experience infection for their bodies to reanimate. Research is being conducted as to why, but the running theory is the damage is too extensive for the virus to heal making the corpse useless," She changed to the next slide showing a video of a victim getting swarmed by a hoard, "Once one of the colony has entered the body, there's minimal chance of removal occurring in time. Until alternative safety measures other than provided military gear can be created, victims infected by the Radical Attack Trojans should be treated with extreme caution."
R.A.Ts? Whoever came up with that name must've pat themselves on the back. Someone snorted close to his left, and he looked up to catch Chris' eye. Chris made a gesture like he was holding a mug and pointed to Carlos' cup. Was his cup leaking? He lifted it to check and froze. He brought the wrong mug to the meeting. Did anyone else notice? Did they think he was being a smartass and didn't say anything? He needed to play this off.
Carlos gave Chris a thumbs up, and Chris' quiet huff of laughter in response eased the sharp sting of anxiety about the situation. Note to self, wash his other two mugs so this doesn't happen again. At least it'd be a funny story for Leon if his partner returned to their apartment by the end of the month. He was used to getting off a flight and coming back to an empty apartment, but it was still kind of sad.
No one else noticed or seemed to care about his mug as the meeting went on. They were given injury and death counts, sanitation measures taken, and watched the Prime Minister's segment about the tragedy. What followed when the lights came on was a discussion Carlos took notes for. The room went into a flurry about working with federal officials in Norway to clean up, how much needed to be fundraised to compensate what tax money wouldn't cover, outreach to TerraSave and their affiliates, all things he was familiar with hearing about but wanted to check for any biased political practices. Thankfully, he found none. This time at least. There'd been some nasty arguments in the past, and a few BSAA leads learned the hard way how fast Carlos could organize other embassy representatives. When the meeting came to a close, he turned off his tape recorder and tucked his pen into his work binder. Based on the cramp in his wrist, he'd either be typing the rest of the day or going home early.
"Where did you get that?" Chris asked as Carlos went to stand.
"Birthday gift from Leon," Carlos pocketed his tape recorder, "we match."
Carlos' mug had a type of duck on it and text which read, " I bet this problem will go away if we have more fucking meetings ."
"What's on Leon's cup?"
"Something like I'm sure it sounded good in your head . He got a few other ones, but I don't remember them all."
Chris chuckled and shook his head. "I'd say watch it, but maybe I need one for home base."
"Do they call everyone into a room as soon as a fly farts?"
"That's the gist. We're working on implementing a rule where if the information can be easily summarized in an email, they can't call a meeting for it. They've gotten so out of hand people are starting to get their vacation time delayed."
Carlos downed the rest of his cup so he could safely tuck his mug away, "Damn. That is bad."
"Mmhm." Chris stood and rubbed the side of his neck with a wince. "So we having your meeting in a different conference room or your office?"
"My office if that's okay with you. I have some files in there I need you to see." He checked to see he was all packed up before he noticed their presenter doing the same thing.
He didn't catch if her name was Rene or Rachel, but Carlos raised a finger to Chris signaling him to wait. He needed a copy of the presentation she used for record keeping, and it'd be easier to do it now than have to look for her later. The other suits in the room didn't part ways for him while he made his way around the comically large table. All the shuffling and "excuse me's" made her glance up to catch his eye and he politely smiled at her. Not too discreetly, she flattened the lapels of her jacket and brushed some of her bangs from her face to show off her perfectly arched eyebrows.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt. I know you want to get out of here as much as the next person, but I wanted to ask you something," he said.
"Ask away Mr…?"
"Carlos Oliveira," he held his hand out and she shook it. Her wrist was slightly limp, so he had to shake her hand delicately.
"What can I help you with?" Her manicured nails grazed the inside of his wrist as she pulled away.
"Is there any way I could get a copy of the PowerPoint you created? With the videos? I need it for a report I have to fill."
The interest in her eyes vanished, and her tone shifted to the professional one she held during the presentation. "Sure. What's your email?"
"It's coliveira at chembassy.gov. I'll spell it. Everyone gets the I placement wrong. C-O-,"
"Sorry to interrupt," said a familiar voice from behind him.
Carlos turned around to be greeted with an array of flowers, and a tired looking Leon with a small bandage on his neck.
"Leon?"
"Take these." Leon shoved the bouquet into Carlos' arms and took his hand to lead him out of the room.
"Why?"
"City Clerk's office."
"What?"
"It's urgent."
"How?"
Carlos was more than confused as he stumbled along behind his partner. Lingering BSAA members parted ways for the two giving concerned looks or outright snickering at their rapid exit. Carlos didn't advertise who he was dating for privacy's sake, but how he was rushed out of the room would lead to certain conclusions.
"Leon, you haven't been home for two weeks," Carlos said.
"Yeah."
"What's so urgent then that it can't wait for me to clock out?"
A clap of heavy boots wasn't too far behind. Carlos caught the sight of Chris, bless him for getting his binder, following them .
"Whatever you have today can wait until tomorrow," said Leon.
Carlos dug his heels into carpet abruptly stopping their rush to the exit. "No it can't. Chris leaves tomorrow."
"Redfield?"
"Yeah. You barreled right past me," said Chris once he was able to close the distance. "The hell is going on, Leon?"
Carlos got a better look at Leon as he scrutinized them. There were the darkened circles under his eyes he'd have after a job. His pants were a well worn pair based on the scuffs, and his hair was a little flatter than usual. He hadn't gotten a chance to shower yet then.
"Have either of you seen the news in the last five hours?" Leon asked.
"No," said Chris.
"Just the weather while I got dressed this morning," said Carlos.
"Shit. Where's the nearest TV with cable in here?"
"Downstairs cafeteria," said a young man with too many folders as he walked by the trio.
"Thank you." Leon linked his fingers with Carlos. "Come on. Please."
The please was the main reason Carlos stopped arguing and went along with whatever Leon was trying to pull.
"Chris, call your sister, " Leon paused for a second to add, "Video call her. If she doesn't answer, that's on her."
Chris gestured from Carlos to Leon, but Carlos shrugged. He was just as lost about this. The cool flower petals tickled his neck. Their scent was more like grass than anything sweet or perfumey, but they did look pretty with the whites, pinks, and blues. He'd never really been a flower guy. When he was a kid he'd watch bees drunk on pollen flop out of the buds and put them back, but that's about as far as he got with his interest.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, the place was sparse. A few tables were occupied by a pair in dressed down uniforms and another trio in different states of business wear. The TVs on the walls played basketball and hockey games. Leon let go of his hand to talk to the nearest cashier, probably about a remote, leaving him to stand with more lingering stares his way. Did Carlos miss an anniversary? He couldn't have. He was pretty good about marking their fridge calendar and his phone calendar. Was there a special USA holiday he should know about? There wouldn't be as many people in the building if there was, right?
"I don't know, Claire. He just told me to call you," Chris said to his phone.
"Did it have to be at two in the morning?" She asked, irritated and groggy.
"Maybe it's important?" He weakly offered.
Leon returned with remote in hand and moved a table out of the way of the TV. Carlos took a few steps forward at Leon's urging, and the screen changed from a baseball game to the local news.
The newscaster in her stark green blouse smiled while a second camera view of people celebrating in the streets hovered beside her. "And in a shocking final count, the US federal government has declared gay marriage legal across the country. This bill has faced much opposition from various religious organizations as well as the current head of the GOP who has stated, and I quote, " If we allow this, they'll be letting people marry dogs next ." Such a statement was enough to push some members with plans to vote No in the opposite direction within the Senate. How this will impact the civil partnership legislation is yet to be determined, but according to Illinois House Representative Member Sarah Awning,-"
Carlos stared at the screen, the woman's words fading into background noise while he processed the information. Huh. The big banner in capital letters restating the announcement across the screen and close up of the celebrating groups made him tilt his head. Huh. Good. Good for them.
Turning to face Leon, Carlos jumped at what his partner was doing. "Jesus christ!"
Leon was already down on one knee with an open ring box in his hand. It might have been romantic if he wasn't glaring before he said through gritted teeth, "We have to do it before they take it back."
That's why Leon was trying to rush him to the clerk's office?
"You're serious?" Carlos asked.
Leon aggressively gestured to his position and then to the ring in his hand.
"Are you crazy? You know my mom will kill me if we don't have a ceremony." He snapped while trying not to crush the bouquet in his arms. "She'll kill you if we don't have a ceremony!"
"People don't always sign those papers at the ceremony," Leon argued.
"You think I'm going to run away with you, sign some papers, and not tell my family we're married?"
"Do you want the ring or not!"
Leon was still glaring at him, but Carlos was returning it in full force. He almost answered with maybe out of spite, but the bead of sweat sliding down Leon's forehead stopped him. They both knew Carlos hadn't said no, but Leon was clearly waiting for the yes.
Carlos grabbed the ring box, "Give me that."
Leon let out a sigh of relief and let his head drop forward.
The ring was nice. Expertly crafted. Silver metal was carved to look like a rolled up feather. Or was that platinum? He'd have to ask. Two pear shaped gemstones were inlaid instead of protruding outward, and their pointed bottoms touched so they looked like a heart. It was cheesy. It was-
"Are these our birthstones?" He asked, his voice coming out softer than he'd ever spoken at work.
Leon had gotten back to his feet and stood close to Carlos, "Yeah."
God, the gem choice was so Leon that Carlos had to keep himself from getting choked up. "...put it on me?"
"Yeah."
Leon took the box back and worked the ring out of the velvet cushion. Scarred fingers slipped the ring onto Carlos' calloused ring finger, and Leon released the breath he was holding.
"How'd you get my ring size?" Carlos looked at the ring, his hand palm down in Leon's.
Leon opened his mouth.
"Nevermind. Don't answer."
Smiling, Leon closed the distance so the bouquet between them was being somewhat mashed if not crushed. "So is that a yes to the city clerk's office?"
"Leon."
"Next year?"
Carlos gave Leon's hand a squeeze. "Yes. Next year."
"Do we clap now?" Asked one of the five other patrons who wasn't Chris or a cafeteria staff member.
"Yeah, go ahead," said Chris.
"Oh my god, Chris," came Claire's voice from the receiver.
What followed was the most pitiful round of applause and cheers due to the size of the cafeteria and the horrible acoustics, but Carlos and Leon were laughing nonetheless.
There was a lot to plan in a year, and there was no telling what position Leon's job would have him in around the wedding. Yet, that was something for them to worry about after settling on a date and putting in their time off. For now, Carlos was going to put his flowers in a bowl turned makeshift vase when they returned to their apartment, and send a picture of the ring to his family. He'd also immediately turn his phone off after all the pictures were sent.