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30 Days of Prompts, Day 26:
A Bad Decision: B
Chris was pretty sure he’d made a bad decision. Not because he thought Leon wouldn’t like it, but because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to pull it off.
After he and Leon had gone through the pictures from his old S.T.A.R.S. days he just hadn’t been able to shake the idea of performing a song or two for Leon on their anniversary. And since it wasn’t going to be for a good month or so, Chris had known he had plenty of time to prepare.
His mistake had been asking Jill for help. He was more than a little rusty and he knew that Jill knew some of the basics and had a good ear for music so she’d seemed like the natural choice.
It had all gone well for a few weeks. They would get together after work in his office every few days and he’d play a few songs trying to work out which ones he liked the sound of and could sing without too much trouble.
The problem came once he had chosen the songs he wanted to play for Leon.
“You know,” Jill had begun conversationally.
Chris knew that tone and it had immediately put him on edge. He’d set his guitar back in its case and had dreaded what her next words were going to be.
“There’s an open mic —”
“No, no, absolutely not,” Chris had cut her off, shaking his head. “That was years ago.”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t have fun,” Jill had prodded.
“I was a lot younger then and I was playing the guitar more regularly,” Chris had responded, not falling for the bait. Even if it had been fun.
“Chris, you’ve practiced more in the last few weeks than you ever played when you were in S.T.A.R.S.”
“You dared me,” Chris had pointed out, scrabbling for an excuse.
He’d regretted it the moment he said it, watching as Jill’s eyes had practically lit up.
“So, you’re saying if I dared you…”
“Leon, or I, or both of us might get called out on a mission,” Chris had tried, but Jill had continued as if she hadn’t even heard him.
“Just think about how romantic it would be…” she had breathed.
It had been the final nail in the coffin.
Chris had sighed, “Where and when?”
Jill had pulled a flier out of her pocket with a grin and had set it in front of him.
Chris had taken a moment to look at the navy-blue paper. He’d been pretty sure it was one of Jill’s regular haunts. One she had dragged him to on more than a few occasions, and the open mic night just happened to be the Saturday before his and Leon’s anniversary.
“This doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to anything,” Chris had pointed out, looking up from it to see Jill grinning.
“Oh, we both know it’s just a matter of time, Redfield,” she’d taunted, walking out of his office.
And as always Jill had been right and barely 24 hours later, he had been filling in the open mic night form, the smug look never leaving her face.
“So, Claire’s bringing Leon?” Jill had asked as she checked over the paper.
“Yep. So, don’t let on, OK? It’s a surprise.”
Jill had just shaken her head. “There’s that Redfield spirit. Go big, or go home.”
“Go big, or go home,” Chris had agreed, though inside he had been nervous as all hell.
Chris looked out from behind the stage. Having explained the situation to the owner of the bar, Jill had got permission for Chris to hide backstage until his performance. He spotted Leon chatting with Claire and Jill, sat at a table in the front row. He almost felt bad as he watched as Leon kept looking towards the entrance, clearly wondering where he was.
Chris swallowed his nerves as the MC announced the act before him and decided to check the tuning of his guitar one more time, willing his hands not to shake. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever been any more nervous in his life. Come on, he told himself. Didn’t he fight B.O.W.s for a living? If he could take down a monster a good five times his size, he could do this.
Soon enough, the act before him was walking off stage to raucous applause. Chris took a deep breath and waited for his name to be announced. If he wasn’t so nervous, he would have chuckled at Leon’s rather loud no way as he stepped through the curtain and on to the stage, but in that instant, it was all he could manage to look over and smile at the other man.
“Happy anniversary, honey,” Chris announced, before clearing his throat a little and counting himself in with a tap of his foot. And then he was playing the song he’d been practicing for weeks, putting all his emotion into his voice and the nerves fell away. Chris found himself enjoying the experience and his frequent glances at Leon, whose eyes were fixed on him enraptured, only served to spur him on.
It was over all too soon and Chris managed a breathless thank you, as the crowd broke out into cheers and hollers. But Chris only had eyes for Leon who was on his feet, clapping along with everyone else, clearly emotional. Chris was off the stage in seconds and swinging his guitar round behind him. Leon met him halfway and pulled him into a hug.
“I can’t believe you,” he smiled, pulling away, seconds before capturing his lips in a loving kiss, “Happy anniversary, I love you.” he grinned and hugged him again.
Chris returned the embrace, “I love you too,” he replied against his ear.
Once they broke apart again, he took Leon’s hand as the crowd quietened and the MC announced a short break. Together they walked back to the table.
“Wasn’t as bad as you thought, was it?” Jill asked, looking smug, before pulling him into a hug of her own and patting him on the back, somewhat awkwardly considering the guitar. “Thought you might want this,” she reminded holding out his guitar case that she’d obviously gone to the trouble of collecting from backstage.
“Suppose not,” Chris shrugged, returning the hug, before putting his guitar back in the case. “Thanks,” he added as he closed the case up.
“That was so good. You should be proud of yourself,” Claire grinned as she finally got to hug him.
“Thank you, and thank you for your help,” Chris smiled, once Claire had released him.
He accepted the bottle of beer Claire handed him and finally dropped into the seat next to Leon, who seemed to have figured out that Jill had been helping him practice, and who the other man was currently getting all the details from, probably at his expense.
Chris took a sip of his drink.
“You know, he really enjoyed it,” Claire commented as she rested a hand on Chris arm to get her brother’s attention. “I think the other patrons did too. Maybe you should make it a regular thing?”
“I don’t think so,” Chris chuckled, taking another sip of his beer.
“Oh, come on, Big Bro, you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it,” Claire needled.
Chris just shrugged and took a drink. Claire knew him too well, but he was also beginning to wonder if she wasn’t a little drunk.
“Hey, I could use a refill. Claire?” Jill interrupted, speaking over both Leon and Chris’ heads as she stood up.
“Sure, I could go for another,” Claire responded, getting to her feet.
“Boys?” Jill asked.
“Same again,” Leon answered.
“I’m good, but thanks,” Chris responded, barely a quarter of the way through his beer.
“So,” Leon began once the girls had left the table, “Is it true that you spent the last few months practicing?”
“It might be,” Chris shrugged.
“Come here,” Leon smiled fondly, tugging Chris in by the arm. “I can’t believe you did all that just for me,” he whispered as he leaned in and kissed his boyfriend, Chris returning the kiss immediately. “I love you.” Leon told him again, smiling fondly as he pulled away.
“I love you too,” Chris replied, gazing at Leon just as fondly, thinking about his upcoming appointment at the jewellers.