Work Text:
“Captain, the European BSAA troops are here.“ One of the soldiers from the front truck radios in, having probably already arrived in the village.
“Oh fuck’s sake, please don’t tell me...“ Chris mutters to himself, silently praying the soldier doesn’t say what he dreads he’ll hear.
“They are Captain Y/N’s troops, sir.“ His radio comes back to life, the same soldier reporting in again.
“Fuck...“ He groans, running a hand over his face quickly as he navigates the rough road leading into the village. He grabs the radio to reply, keeping his eyes ahead, “Have her in viewpoint at all times.“
Chris had given very specific instructions to the Europe BSAA HQ when he reported the crash and asked for back-up in the village where they had first located a sign of Miranda. Those instructions were hard to not follow considering they were quite simple and self-explanatory: Do. Not. Send. Y/N. On. The. Mission. Very fucking simple, no? Well, apparently not, seeing as how Y/N is now in that village, facing its hellish monstrosities alongside her troops - the troops she’s worked so hard to train and get in shape and the troops she’d put herself in the main line of fire for.
This thought makes Chris step on that gas pedal hard testing his luck behind the wheel. It was already proven once to be not that strong of luck, seeing as how he’s already crashed one terrain truck in the past twenty four hours but that’s the last thing on his mind at the moment. All he can think about is his foolishly selfless wife in the middle of that nightmare of a village. That’s more than enough to cancel any fears of crashing.
When the BSAA issued vehicles come in view, right at the entrance of the village, Chris basically jumps out of his before it’s even fully parked. His eyes skim over the immediate surroundings, ears peeled in search of any unusual or worrisome sounds. After yanking out his guns from the trunk and equipping his explosives on his belt, he takes off with a rather quick pace, heading for the center of the village where the most of the action is said to be going down. That, in translation means is where he’ll find Y/N - in the thickest of the battles.
In the early days, when him and Y/N were still just colleagues and even when they were in their boyfriend/girlfriend days, this selflessness and heroism of Y/N’s was what attracted him to her. What impressed him and intrigued him. Now, a decade and a marriage later, that same heroism and selflessness is what leaves him restless. He’s constantly alert and constantly on edge. The only times he’s not worried about Y/N’s safety is when she’s within arm’s reach or under his watchful eye. The only nights he can get a wink of sleep is when she’s in bed with him. Otherwise, count on Chris to pull an all-nighter just to come up with the most horrendous of situations his lover could find herself.
One thing’s for certain and no amount of him complaining about it will change it: Y/N is a soldier first and a wife second.
He finds her exactly where he expected her to me - in the village center that’s still smoking after an explosion he’s glad he didn’t witness for he would’ve gotten an actual heart attack knowing Y/N was near it.
It takes him less than a second to land his gaze on her - in the middle of the smoke cloud, surrounded by a mob of people applauding her, offering her hugs and handshakes. If he’s to be asked he’d chase every single one of those people away from her out of pure instinct and need to be the only one by her side during such a chaotic and dangerous situation.
But then again, seeing her like this - smiling happily at the people whose lives she just saved, the look of relief and gratitude in her eyes and her humble demeanor - makes all his worries almost be worth it. Almost. He loves seeing his wife happy like this. In fact, the only times he’s seen her smile so widely is after a successfully completed mission or escaping a near-death situation with all her soldiers and limbs in one piece.
He’s not selfish - he doesn’t want to keep her from the one thing that brings her the most joy in life, he just wishes he could at least compete with her job when it comes to her love and time. He wishes he could make her smile like that. He wishes he could make her as happy as her job can.
He wishes he was a better husband.
Y/N’s eyes suddenly land on him through the smoke and crowd, a look of relief and fondness flashing across her features, her smile reducing to a smirk of admiration - on he frequently gives her so she’s started reflecting it back at him. She excuses herself from the mob of people who shuffle aside to make way for the BSAA captain who just saved their lives whilst putting her own in grave danger.
“Took you long enough. Thought you’d be a no-show.“ She says as she approaches him, placing her hands on her hips like she usually does when she’s annoyed by something he’s done - more often than not: forgotten to wash the dishes.
He rolls his eyes, “Aren’t I lucky my overachiever wife was first one the scene despite...”
“Despite your threats to HQ?“ She raises her eyebrows sarcastically, tilting her head to the side to emphasize just how much she disapproves of his actions, “Yeah, you might be threatening, Captain Redfield, but I’m very, very persuasive. Thought you knew that though.“
He scoffs, “You really think I don’t, Captain L/N Redfield? How long have we been married exactly? Four years and eight months, if I’m not mistaken. We’ve been together for a whole decade too. So yeah, it’s safe to say I’ve grasped onto your kinks and quirks.“
“But still can’t get over some of them, I see.“ That sentence leaves him torn. The wording of it makes it sound like a snide remark, but the way she said it was sincere.
That little bit of sincerity he rarely receives from her in the field is what leads him to break one of their main rules: not a married couple when in action. This rule was established way back when they started dating, they just modified it from ‘not a couple’ to ‘not a married couple’. It was an important note so the two don’t get carried away and risk anything for one another. That involved treating each other as nothing more than soldiers while in the field. No affection, no pet names, nothing of what happened behind the door of their shared home back in Texas.
Little does Y/N know, Chris is constantly breaking that rule. Always thinking of her first, always making sure she’s safe, always prepared to risk the whole darn operation for her.
This time, however, he breaks the rule rather obviously, taking her hands in his own. To his surprise, she doesn’t object or pull away, just keeps looking him straight in the eyes and even takes a step closer. “How am I supposed to get over the fact that you have a literal death wish. Or over the fact you trust the people you safe so easily.“ He asks, the usual hostility now replaced with sheer desperation.
Desperation that clearly softens her, seeing as how her hands’ hold on his firms up, despite the furrow of her brows, “I don’t! I just-”
“Let them give you a hug after you save their lives? How are you sure they’re not gonna stab you in the back - quite literally!“ He cuts her off, causing her to roll her eyes.
“I’m by no means a rookie, Chris. I’ve been in this for as long as you have, I know a thing or two about how to evaluate and handle a situation. I know it’s unfair of me to ask of you to not worry about me but it’s also unfair of you to ask me to withdraw from the frontlines. Especially when you know how much they mean to me.“
Y/N expected a retort of the typical ‘Chris’ nature. She expected him to continue the argument to try and prove his point or at least defend it. However, what he does makes her wish he did one of the two first-mentioned actions.
He lets go of her hands, taking a step away from her as he whispers, “Apparently more than I do.” The hurt in his voice strikes her heart like an arrow, leaving the sassy, quick-witted Y/N speechless as her husband walks away to join his troops.
“Fuck’s sake, Chris. Why do you have to make everything so complicated and dramatic?“ She mutters to herself, her hands clenching in tight fists.
“Captain, what do we do?“ One of the soldiers on her team, presumably one of the newer ones calls out to her, reminding her of that ‘not a married couple rule’ she too broke.
Reminding her that both her and Chris will forever be soldiers first and spouses second. Reminding her of her main purpose in life. So, with that in mind, she answers:
“We move forward, soldier. We always move forward.“