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Jack’s is crowded, an unusual phenomenon for the bar which they find themselves frequenting after their shifts. Bodies press together at the bar, laughter and loud conversation filling the space.
“Bar crawl,” says a bright-eyed, flushed-cheeked college student when asked. The two women at the bar share a look, raised brows and slight smiles saying more than enough as they wait for their beers.
Ah…college.
Eventually, Jill and Ophelia muscle their way past the throng of students, bottles clutched in hand.
“Scooch!” Ophelia says, sliding into the booth next to Chris, Jill following close behind. Ophelia passes Chris his beer, taking a sip of her own as she settles in.
“Did you have to pick the smallest table here?” Jill asks, looking at Chris with a huff.
“Just means we get to snuggle up,” Ophelia says, winking at the other woman. “Get comfy, Valentine.”
Jill laughs, taking a sip of her beer. “At least I won’t get cold. Has anyone ever told you you’re like a human furnace, Phi?”
“Look, it’s not my fault you’re just unnaturally cold.”
“No, you two are just freaks of nature,” Jill says dryly, pointing at Ophelia and Chris.
“You wound me Jill,” Phi says, slapping a hand over her chest as if she’s been shot. “You wound me.”
“You’ll get over it.” Jill shoves at Ophelia’s arm with her shoulder, knocking the other woman into Chris. Ophelia chuckles, shooting a wink at Jill.
“Don’t make me file a complaint with Wesker,” Ophelia teases as Chris groans beside her.
“Please, no talk about Wesker tonight.”
Jill raises a brow. “Why? What happened?”
Ophelia grins, throwing an arm around Jill as she leans in conspiratorially. “Our dear Chris here got chewed out for, what was it again?” She shoots Chris a smirk. “‘Flagrant disrespect of the workplace environment?’” She shrugs. “He and Speyer got into an argument over which Spice Girl is the best or something and Wesker was less than impressed.”
“Did you agree on one?”
“No, Wesker shut it down before we could finish.” Chris grumbles. “It’s Posh Spice though.”
Both women both shake their heads, Jill tutting lightly as she takes a sip of her beer.
“Wrong,” Phi sighs.
“It’s definitely Sporty Spice,” Jill agrees.
Chris’s jaw drops. “Sporty Spice? Over Posh?”
“I bet Wesker’s a Baby Spice guy,” Phi says, looking at Jill and ignoring Chris’ indignation.
“Really?” Jill clicks her tongue. “I would have pegged him for a Scary Spice guy myself but I can see it.”
“Hey, who did Speyer pick?” Ophelia asks, finally turning her attention back to Chris.
Chris mutters something under his breath, hiding behind his bottle as he takes another sip.
“What was that?” Ophelia’s brow quirks, a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth as she leans in expectantly.
Chris sighs. “He picked Sporty Spice too.”
“Ha! I always knew he had good taste,” Phi says, mouth curling into a grin around the mouth of her bottle.
“I can’t believe this,” moans Chris, covering his face with his hands.
“It’s okay Chris,” Ophelia leans into him and pats his arm. Chris puffs his cheeks and blows out a long breath, rolling his eyes. “You can’t win them all.”
“But really you should have known better,” Jill says with a wink. “It’s all in the arms.”
“Amen to that,” Phi says, clinking her bottle against Jill’s, laughing brightly.
“ Anyways ,” Chris says loudly, steering the conversation away from his loss as he shoots the pair a glare. “You two hear about the new hire?”
Ophelia shifts slightly, fingernails finding the soft corners of the label on her bottle.
“Bravo Team, right?” Jill asks.
“Yeah, that’s the one.” Chris takes a sip of his beer. “Heard they’re really young too.”
“She is,” Ophelia says, not looking at either of her companions. “Fresh out of college with her degree at 18.”
Chis and Jill both turn to look at her, brows raising.
“Someone’s well informed,” Jill drawls, eyeing the other woman carefully. “Care to share with the class?”
Ophelia sighs, flicking away a torn piece of the label.
“I’m going to be training her.”
A grin breaks over Chris’ face. “Is that what your meeting with Wesker was about?”
Ophelia nods, lips quirking up in a small smile.
“Yeah. She’s basically hiring on for the same position, so Wesker wants me to shadow her and train her for a few months.” She hesitates, finally meeting Chris’ eye. “On Bravo.”
“Wait.” Chris’ bottle hits the table with force. “ On Bravo? You’re being reassigned?”
“Just temporarily,” she says, a trace of guilt creeping into her voice as she can practically feel Chris deflate from where she’s pressed against his arm. In truth, she’s excited to have been asked to train the new recruit. She can’t deny the rush of pride she felt when Wesker told her that she would be the girl’s mentor. Yet…she’s loath to leave Alpha for such an extended period of time. Their shifts will be different, and much of her attention will be focused on training, which she knows will impact how much time she can spend with her team. “A few months, at most. At least until she has the basics down and can shadow the rest of Bravo.”
“Hey,” Jill calls softly. Phi glances over, catching Jill’s easy smile. “That’s a big deal. Congrats, Phi.”
Ophelia smiles in return, shoulders relaxing slightly.
“Thanks. Honestly, it feels nice, you know? To be trusted like that.” Ophelia turns her attention back to the label on her bottle, smiling lightly. She’d had to work hard to get where she was now, lacking the military training that the others came into the force with when she first joined. Now, she was considered proficient enough to train a new recruit.
Chris considers her for a moment, before his features soften. “She’ll be in good hands.” Opehlia flicks her gaze to his, holding his stare for a too-long moment as her features soften in return. Reluctantly, Chris tears his gaze away and sighs, back hitting the booth’s worn fabric with a little more force than necessary. “Still, it’s gonna suck without you around.”
“It’s not like I won’t be around. I’m sure if something big happens they’ll still call me in.” She elbows Chris lightly, grinning wide. “And we’ll still have the weekends. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Redfield.”
Chris laughs, a generous flash of teeth peeking from behind his lips. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Adair.”
“When does she start?” Jill asks after a moment, gaze sliding between the two, a small smirk playing on her lips.
“June.” It was still several months off, but Ophelia knows that the time will come and go far too quickly. Jill nods, spinning her bottle idly on the table as she loses herself to contemplation. “She’s got to finish her last semester technically.”
Chris nudges Ophelia’s arm, gives her a small smile. “Well at least we get you until then.”
“A toast,” Jill says after a moment, glancing at Ophelia with a warm smile, winking. “To new endeavors.”
“To good friends,” Ophelia adds, lifting her bottle to clink against Jill’s. She slides her gaze to Chris, who raises his bottle in turn as he looks at her warmly. “And bright futures.”
The three friends sit in comfortable silence as they each take their drinks. Ophelia can’t help but to feel like this is how the world was meant to be. With Jill and Chris by her side, she’s sure in her conviction that the road ahead of them is full of possibility.
Her mouth curves around the mouth of her bottle, and she leans back into the plush backing of the booth, heart full as she savors the warmth of the two people beside her.
‘98 was surely going to be their year.