Work Text:
On a Friday afternoon, Chris’s personal phone rang. Seeing Wesker’s name on the display, he grabbed his cigarettes and headed outside to take a smoke break while he accepted the call. "Hey, you haven’t called me without warning in a while. Is everything okay?" he asked, using his badge to open the door to the fire escape landing that the office smokers had claimed for their own.
Wesker didn’t sound worried when he replied. "Yes, it’s just that it’s late, and I thought talking on the phone would be faster than typing." Chris hummed in agreement. "I was looking through the financial documents, and I lost track of time, but I think I found something."
Chris stopped with the cigarette halfway to his mouth. "About what?"
"It’s all buried deep in transactions, I can’t explain it quickly, and I really have to get out of the door within 5 minutes. But I couldn’t wait until Monday to share." He sounded rushed, and Chris had no idea what he was talking about except for the time constraint, since it was nearly time to pick Zeno up from school.
"Okay, thanks. Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but maybe you can tell me later? Just call me after dinner, or after you’ve put Zeno to bed, and we can talk."
"Yeah, I’ll call you tonight," Wesker replied, and Chris had the feeling that he had been too distracted to think about it himself. A first.
"Bye, Wesker," he said, but the line had already cut off. He put the cigarette in his mouth and enjoyed his momentary break from paperwork before he returned to his desk. He really had no idea what Wesker meant on the phone, but he’d probably explain later, so he pushed the call to the back of his mind.
Later, after he’d eaten dinner and was tidying up, he received a message from Wesker that simply said:
He tapped the contact and started the call. Wesker picked up on the first ring. "Hey," he said, putting away the last plate. "Do you finally have a quiet moment to yourself?"
Wesker hummed in agreement. "I put Zeno to bed; he’s not sleeping, of course, but at least he’s in his bed."
"Don’t you have to stay with him?" Chris asked. Wesker wasn’t trying to keep his voice down, and that had piqued Chris’s curiosity.
"No, he has his plushie, the nightlight is on, the door is ajar, and I am just in the next room. He’s fine," Wesker explained to him.
Chris could perfectly picture him in his head, sitting on the couch in his immaculate living room, perhaps looking at one of the doors that had always been closed off whenever he visited, left ajar to keep tabs on the child. Not for the first time, he wondered what each door hid. He had only been allowed into the kitchen and bathroom, never even invited to try the couch.
"Oh, okay. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Wesker took a deep breath, probably deciding on where to start. Or how much to dumb it down for him. Chris didn’t care; he had time. "Let’s start from the beginning. You know Umbrella, and you know there are other companies that make and deal in B.O.W.s, right?"
"Yes, and terrorist organizations that just buy and deploy them, making my work days more interesting," he replied. "I could name a dozen off the top of my head," he added, not happy about it.
Wesker paused for a moment before delivering the blow. "I think I found traces of a new one," he said, sounding somehow resigned. "I spent the past week going through the financial transactions of the branch, tracing each and every one of them. I won’t bore you with the details," he said, sighing, probably at the memory of becoming bored himself, "but suffice to say I found some pretty big holes in the books."
Chris wasn’t sure he understood. Wesker wasn’t elaborating, so he had to ask. "What do you mean, was someone embezzling money? I don’t really care about that."
"No, I mean that someone probably sold some very valuable assets and hid the tracks. They deleted some of the transactions or conflated some sales to hide the real dealings. I saw similar inconsistencies in one of the files you brought over the last time. I think there might be a new organization setting up in Europe."
"Why Europe?" Chris asked. He had more updated information thanks to his most recent field mission, but he couldn’t share the details of that operation yet.
"Bank routing numbers. I wish I could show you the files so you could see for yourself." Wesker sounded a little frustrated by their limited way of communicating.
"No need. I believe you. And besides, you’ll just waste your time trying to explain it to me, you need to make a case to my boss." Chris closed his eyes, thinking of what the chances were of convincing Wesker to talk to his higher-ups and it going smoothly. Yeah, not likely. He sighed. "You know what? Maybe you should make a presentation or something that we can show them?"
"I guess, one second." Wesker must have put down the phone and walked away from it, probably to check on Zeno, and there were a few minutes of dead air on his end. Chris waited patiently for his return. He heard Wesker pick the phone back up and walk to another room, then the noise from a keyboard. "I could start collating my findings into a file. I haven’t prepared a presentation in ages," he grumbled. "I hated doing that."
"Are you presenting it, or will I have to?"
"Take a wild guess," Wesker replied, sounding like he was enjoying the idea of causing him discomfort.
"Working together again is just the gift that keeps on giving," Chris sighed, making Wesker laugh a bit more compassionately.
"I’ll prepare a script for you to read," he promised.
Chris didn’t think that made it any less annoying. "How kind," he replied sarcastically.
"Don’t screw it up."
"Fuck no, this is important," Chris said, dropping the sarcasm and turning serious. He listened to Wesker clicking and typing while he collected his thoughts. "I know I’ve asked you before, but why do you care?"
"Because if I am not going to be the one to do it, I don’t want anyone else to destroy humanity."
Odd, but Chris couldn’t fault the logic, not when it worked in his favor. Wesker was still busy typing fast, and Chris got curious. "Are you working on it right now?"
"Yes."
"Far be it from me to advise against working, but can't it wait until Monday?"
Wesker chuckled. "I see that your work ethic has improved since I was your Captain." Chris didn’t know how he felt about that reminder. It had been a long time, and working together like this was bound to dig up their past, sooner or later, he just hadn’t expected Wesker to do it so directly.
"Well, I am the one who has no life to balance against work, unlike you," Chris reflected, realizing the irony of the reversal of their past roles.
Wesker humphed. "That’s why I am working on it now. I have plans for tomorrow."
Chris casually asked, "What kind of plans?"
"I promised Zeno we were going to the zoo."
Before he could second-guess himself, Chris said, "Oh, I love the zoo. I haven’t been to one in ages. Can I join you?"
Wesker was silent for a long minute; he’d even stopped typing. "Why?" he asked back.
Chris didn’t have a real answer to why he had invited himself along. Not a conscious one, at least. "Why not?"
Wesker subjected him to another silence while he thought of what to reply. "I guess it’s a public place, and you are free to go wherever you please on your free days, Redfield." His answer was not an invitation, but it wasn’t an objection to his showing up. Chris guessed that he wasn’t the only one plagued by conflicting feelings.
"I can bring snacks."
"Don’t push it."
"But if I, hypothetically, went to the zoo tomorrow, when would be the best time to go?"
Wesker hesitated again, then told him, "2 PM."
It was up to Chris to decide whether Wesker had given him the time he really was going to go or not. He chose to believe it was the truth. "Well, I hope to see you tomorrow." Wesker huffed in lieu of a proper reply and started clacking on the keyboard keys again. "Don’t work too late, Wesker."
"I’d tell you the same, but I have a feeling you’re not."
"Nah, I left my work at the office. All I have to do is catch up on my TV show, and try to make it an early night for a change."
"Big plans, Chris."
"Maybe I’ll squeeze in a quick shower. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you tomorrow," he joked.
"I’m flattered," Wesker said flatly, making Chris laugh.
"I’ll leave you to your work, which could probably wait until Monday, anyway, but you do you."
"Yeah, good night, Chris."
"See you tomorrow?"
"Maybe."
Wesker hung up, and Chris plopped himself in front of his TV to spend the evening exactly as he said.
The following afternoon, Chris was queuing for tickets at 2 PM when he saw Wesker and Zeno stroll to the entrance and scan their yearly passes to go through and skip the queue. Once past the gates, Wesker turned and immediately spotted him in the crowd. He grinned and waved at Chris, almost mockingly, but Zeno noticed the interaction and also waved at Chris, more warmly. Zeno attracted Wesker’s attention, and Chris saw Wesker bend down to listen to whatever the child asked before replying affirmatively. They moved to the side, and Wesker grabbed a map from the stand while they waited for Chris to pay for his entrance and scan his ticket.
He approached the two of them and said hello.
"Hello, Chris," Wesker greeted him, polite but detached.
"Thank you for the LEGOs, Mr. Chris," Zeno said to him, making him smile. He had not expected Wesker to tell Zeno who got him the present, or that the child would actually remember and bring it up. He was pleasantly surprised.
"I heard you were not feeling great, but I see you are much better now."
Zeno nodded.
"Zeno insisted that we wait for you," Wesker explained, much to Chris’s flattery.
"Well, thank you.” He told both of them. “I haven’t been to the zoo in ages. Where should I start?" He asked the child, who checked with his father for permission and then pointed in a direction.
"First, we go see the big cats. They have snow leopards here," Zeno told him.
It seemed clear that they had already planned their visit beforehand around Zeno’s favorite animals, and Chris hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay with Wesker that he tagged along.
"Come along, the two of us can talk," Wesker told him, offering him a rare straightforward invitation.
They let Zeno lead the way, walking a few feet in front of them where they could keep an eye on him and have a semblance of privacy to talk.
"You look tired," Chris remarked, staring at the way Wesker’s mouth was tense, since his eyes were hidden behind the ever-present sunglasses. Perhaps it was his presence, but he suspected that the man had stayed up until late to work.
"I am tired. But I am almost done with your stupid presentation. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow, so you can practice beforehand."
Chris was impressed. "Wow, you’re really earning your consultant’s fee," he joked.
"What consultant’s fee? The BSAA doesn’t pay me a cent." Wesker retorted.
Chris checked that there weren’t people within earshot around them and replied, "Isn’t the fact that you and Zeno are not in a cell under 24/7 surveillance payment enough? You’re welcome, by the way," he finished, realizing that he’d never told Wesker that he had been the one to vouch for him and insist that Wesker’s wasn’t going to go anywhere since he seemed to be well settled into the child’s life. "Why did you think I was around so much?"
Wesker stopped dead in his tracks. For a fraction of a second, the perfect composure faltered, his jaw tightening as his mind processed the meaning of his words. Then he resumed walking, his stride smooth and unbroken as if nothing had happened. "To check on me? And here I thought you enjoyed my company," he said, the sarcasm sharp, but masking the sudden shift in the air.
And while it wasn’t false, Chris couldn’t admit it so easily. Yes, once they got past the tension at the beginning, he actually liked talking with Wesker about work. Or about Zeno. Or getting his texts about his run-ins with the school and minor inconveniences of life. "Actually, I do," he admitted in the end. "I guess I am that much of a masochist. Besides, you can even be funny at times."
Wesker was speechless. He had gotten an answer more sincere than he expected. "I am glad my discomfort amuses you," He replied, but it was not as harsh as the previous sentence.
In the meantime, they had reached the big cats' habitats, and Zeno walked back to grab Wesker’s hand and lead him to the snow leopards’ enclosure, hoping to see one napping in the shade. Chris followed along, reading the informational text next to the enclosures and enjoying the happiness radiating from the children around them. It had been a while since he had been surrounded by joy rather than work, responsibilities, and worry. It felt great.
They did a thorough tour of the section, where Zeno excitedly showed Chris that the tiger was swimming in the pond, probably to escape the afternoon heat. He never expected the child to be so friendly to him, since they had only briefly interacted a couple of times. Clearly, Zeno had judged that if his dad talked to Chris, he was safe.
It was evident that Wesker and Zeno had been to the zoo multiple times, and they knew their way around, barely needing the signs depicting animals that were at every intersection to guide even the youngest visitors. Chris couldn’t remember if the zoos of his childhood had been this well organized, or so extensive.
Their next stop was the petting zoo, where Wesker let Zeno join the other kids inside the enclosure, and they waited outside while he did the rounds petting all the goats, who loved the attention. After a while, Zeno came to the fence, asking, "Papa, can you help me get up there?" pointing to the tallest rock, where a lone goat was resting.
"There are plenty of goats to pet down here," Wesker replied, logically. Chris spared a glance at Wesker’s shiny shoes, guessing that he wouldn’t want to step on some goat pellets in them.
Zeno stared straight at him with a determined expression. "But every goat deserves to be petted."
Wesker failed to understand the logic, but tried really hard to understand his child, while Chris could barely contain a chuckle beside him. "He has a point."
Wesker sighed, conceded defeat, and vaulted past the fence to help his kid accomplish his goal, with little regard for how his polished shoes hit the straw and goat pellets scattered on the ground. Zeno could climb up the rock on his own, but wanted the safety of having his parent ready to catch him in case he slipped. Chris just enjoyed watching their interaction from the sidelines. Once he had successfully petted the remaining goat, Zeno grabbed Wesker’s hand to climb down. Satisfied, he followed Wesker outside through the gate, and they moved on along the path.
While they were walking around, they heard a voice calling, "Zeno!"
All three of them turned in time to see a child run up to hug Zeno.
"Nora!" he said as he hugged her back. They were still holding hands when Nora’s mother joined them.
"We’re going to see the penguins!" the girl excitedly told her friend.
The woman looked at the two of them and confirmed, "Yes, it’s their feeding time in 10 minutes, we need to go if we want to see it."
Zeno looked up at Wesker. "Can we go too?" he asked, and there was no reason to say no, they were there to see the animals after all.
Wesker nodded. "Sure. Why don’t you two lead the way?"
They started walking together, the children walking ahead holding hands, following the signs with the penguins on them, the three adults behind. The woman walked by their side, but leaving more distance between herself and Wesker than Chris did.
"It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. All I keep hearing, day in, day out, is 'Zeno this, Zeno that'… I think he’s Nora’s best friend."
Wesker nodded, pleased. "He also mentions Nora often."
"I’m Jane, by the way. Nora’s mom." She clarified, waving at them mid-stride to keep from stopping.
Wesker tilted his head to the side, acknowledging the introduction. "I’m Albert, Zeno’s dad," Wesker said in a way that clearly spoke of practice. Not that it was much needed, given their resemblance.
Chris felt her gaze on him and scrambled for something to say. "I’m Chris… I’m just a friend,” he said, mind momentarily blank. At least it was the closest approximation he could offer to a complete stranger. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt that had been the right thing to say. Chris felt Wesker’s gaze on him, silently questioning his words, but he decided to ignore it. Wesker probably couldn’t have come up with a better explanation himself. He opted to defuse the tension with a friendly quip. "And here I thought you knew all the PTA parents, Al." Chris immediately regretted running his mouth. He didn’t even want to know where ‘Al’ had come from. Chris rarely even called him Albert in his mind, let alone to his face, having only done it a few times in the past to get a rise out of him. Chris’s neck burned, and he could almost feel Wesker’s annoyance mounting. He clearly had not appreciated his contribution to the conversation, and especially the nickname, but it was too late to take it back.
The woman was completely oblivious to the burning glare Wesker was shooting at him from behind the sunglasses, since she was keeping an eye on the kids, and Chris’s comment sounded perfectly neutral to someone who wasn’t familiar with their history.
"Oh God, no. I’m not in the PTA, I can’t stand those snobs," she said, just glancing at them as they kept following the kids along the path.
"Neither does he," Chris added, clearly stepping past the line. He knew because he felt Wesker’s hand grip his wrist hard to get him to shut up. At least he was holding back, because he could have shattered his bones had he wanted to.
"He must hide it better than me, because they love him and hate me," Jane told them, amused.
Wesker made a noncommittal noise and relaxed the grip a little, but didn’t let go, yet. Chris received the message and kept his mouth shut before he said anything else that would sound too friendly.
Wesker only let go of his wrist when they had reached the penguin enclosure, before anyone else could notice. A small crowd had formed around the fence, blocking the view of the animals.
"Oh, we should have gotten here earlier," Jane remarked, reaching her daughter and trying to find a path to the front through the crowd.
Looking around them, Chris had an idea. "Well, I might have a solution." He nodded towards a man next to them, who was holding a child on his shoulders. Wesker looked at him, and Zeno followed his gaze too. It occurred to Chris that maybe Wesker had never thought of carrying a child like that. After all, with his superhuman strength, Zeno wouldn’t be too much for Wesker to hold in his arms, since he could lift Chris one-handed. Chris nodded at Wesker, encouragingly. "There are three of us and two kids. I think we can do this," he offered, since the woman was much shorter than they were, and it wouldn’t do to presume she’d be okay with a stranger picking up her child.
But the girl was much bolder than he had expected. She studied him for a moment, compared him to her mother, and decided that she wanted the vantage point. "Can you pick me up, please, mister?" she asked Chris directly.
Chris waited for her mother’s permission before he replied, and when she agreed, he told the girl to hold tight so he could lift her up. He let her sit on his shoulders and held her ankles to stabilize her. Zeno watched the scene and asked Wesker, "Can I also be up?" Wesker lifted him effortlessly and put him on his shoulders. Nora looked at Zeno and jokingly pouted. "Not fair, you’re taller!"
"Can you see properly?" Wesker asked the children since they now towered over the little crowd in front of them.
"Yes!" was their enthusiastic reply.
They watched the penguins get their fish and play with their handlers, and once it was over, the crowd started to disperse around them.
"Time to get back down, young lady," Jane told her daughter, who had been quite comfortable.
"But I like being tall!"
"Yeah, me too," Chris chuckled. "But you need to listen to your mom."
"Come on, Nora. We’re gonna go get a snack," her mom said, and Chris patted her feet.
"Ready to get down?" He asked, and she let go of his hair, letting him put her down on the ground.
"Thank you, Sir! What kind of snack?" she asked her mother.
"I packed some fruit and sandwiches. We’re going to the picnic area over there.” She paused for a moment, extending an invitation to their little group. “What about you?"
Chris just deferred to Wesker, who looked up at Zeno, still on his shoulders, hands messing up Wesker’s slicked-back hairstyle, while he didn’t seem to mind. "I’d like to go see the tortoises," Zeno decided.
Wesker patted his leg. "Okay, then we have to say goodbye to Nora and her mom."
Zeno nodded. "Bye Nora, see you Monday in school. Bye, Nora’s mom."
"Nice meeting you," Wesker said, and Chris thought that he sounded sincere.
"Likewise, have a nice afternoon," Jane wished them, holding onto Nora’s hand, who was already trying to pull her away towards the picnic tables. "Bye Zeno!"
They separated, and Chris took the map sticking out from Wesker’s back pocket, without thinking about it. After all, Wesker had both hands occupied holding the child over his shoulders. Wesker definitely noticed and stiffened, but didn’t comment on it.
"We know the way," Wesker said, instead, a certain edge to his voice that Chris couldn’t place.
"Left!" Zeno said, pointing at the sign at the next split of the path.
"Well then, I’ll just follow your lead." Chris put the map in his own pocket and walked next to Wesker, who stopped every time there was an intersection to let Zeno guide them. Chris studied the two of them, Wesker seemed more relaxed, and the child happy. From time to time, Wesker readjusted his sunglasses that were tilted by the movement or the child, but he never complained. He didn’t even seem bothered by his messed-up hair or by the dirt on his shoes. Chris realized he finally got to see Wesker in another light; he’d never looked so human in all the time he’d known him.
They reached the tortoises, and Zeno leaned forward to ask Wesker, "Can you put me down, please?"
Wesker agreed, effortlessly lifted him off his shoulders, and gently put him down on the ground. While the child approached the terrarium to look inside at the giant tortoises, Wesker took a moment to readjust his hair with his fingers. It was far from perfect, but Chris thought it suited him. They stood a little out of the way, close enough to talk.
"He’s a great kid," Chris told him, sincerely, and Wesker’s mouth turned up a little at the corners in a small smile.
"I told you already; he’s exceptional," he repeated, and Chris shook his head.
"Not that. Anyone can see he’s smart. But he’s also polite and kind." He felt a little sad for Wesker. "You’re doing a great job."
Wesker remained at a loss for words.
"And he has a good eye for friends. I guess he’s not friends with the likes of the kids of the PTA sharks," he said, making Wesker laugh at the idea.
"Luckily. At least I don’t have to organize playdates with them."
"You’d complain to me the whole time," Chris realized, secretly liking the idea.
Afterwards, Zeno guided them through to the reptile enclosure, and then Chris consulted the stolen map to chart a roundabout path that eventually took them to the gift shop and exit. They quickly went through, and Chris impulsively decided to get a memento. He asked Zeno for help in choosing and walked out holding a keyring with a tiny tiger attached to it.
By the time they left the gift shop, it was nearly closing time, and Zeno was yawning, clearly tired from the long afternoon. Before Wesker could, Chris offered to carry him, and the child accepted happily. Once on Chris’s shoulders, Chris told him, "Look, you are even taller than Papa!" which seemed to win him a lot of points with Zeno, who was delighted to be able to look down at Wesker. Wesker, however, seemed less than thrilled and had a sour expression during the entire walk to his car. There, Chris put the child down, and Wesker helped him into his car seat. Before he could secure him, Zeno bent forward to properly bid goodbye to Chris. "Goodbye, Uncle Chris," he said with a grin.
Wesker’s entire posture stiffened up in sheer dismay at the familiarity.
Chris looked very pleased with himself. “Goodbye, Zeno. Thank you for the help.”
Wesker finished securing the seatbelt and took a step out of the car, meeting Chris’s gaze firmly. "Don’t think too highly of yourself, Redfield," he warned, trying to regain some emotional distance, but Chris was just too pleased to take him seriously.
“Oh, no, I’m gonna tell everyone about this,” Chris teased.
Wesker just pressed his mouth in a thin line and took a step back. “Where’s your car?” He asked, his tone maybe hinting at the possibility of offering him a ride.
Chris looked around and tried to remember where he parked. “That way, I think,” he pointed, not too far away. “I can walk there,” he said preemptively.
Wesker followed his finger and didn't insist. “Well, I’ll update you tomorrow?”
Chris nodded. “Sure. If you have time to finish. Otherwise Monday is fine. I could come over for coffee, and you can show me around the PowerPoint?”
Wesker thought about it. “I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll decide on what to do.”
“Perfect. Bye Wesker, bye Zee.” He waved at the child and started walking back to his car, turning around to check on them before he turned a corner, and catching a glimpse of the car’s taillights.