Work Text:
Wesker sat in the fading daylight pouring in from his living room windows. In the near silence he could just hear the running water from where Chris was taking a shower. His mind wandered in contemplation, from Chris, to work, to lab reports, and back to Chris again.
He sighed, content.
His thoughts drifted to what they should have for dinner that night before the infernal sound of his phone ringing snapped him out of his reverie.
Wesker furrowed his brow and snapped open the device, accepting the call, his own voice taut with irritation. “What is it, William?”
“Well that’s no way to greet your only friend,” William Brikin responded by way of greeting.
“I have other friends.”
“Do you?” William asked with amusement. “Your little boyfriend doesn’t count.”
“Yes. I do,” Wesker hissed. It was a lie and they both knew it, but he wasn’t about to admit to such.
“Fine, fine. Look, Albert, I need a favor.”
“I'm busy,” he said, reclining back into his seat on the couch.
“No, you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t have accepted my call.”
Wesker grumbled to himself, he hated it when William was right.
William ignored Wesker’s obvious displeasure and continued, “I need you to watch Sherry for me tonight.”
“Get Annette to do it.”
“She can’t. There’s been an emergency at the lab and we both need to be down there to clean it up.”
“I don’t see what situation could possibly merit both you and Annette needing to rush down to the lab and leave me to babysit your daughter. Unless,” Wesker added with a light mocking tone, “one of your test subjects managed to break out.”
There was silence.
“…William?”
“YES. FINE. YES. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d gloat about it, but of course you figured it out anyway. There was a new hire at the lab and the idiot didn’t lock up properly after he was done taking notes so one of the subjects broke containment. The thing killed him and apparently destroyed half the lab it was in before the U.S.S. unit on-site managed to kill it. They’ve assured me that everything’s fine but you know how I am with things and I don’t trust that they’re not downplaying the damage to placate me,” William spoke in a rush, his voice tumbling out through the phone’s speaker.
There was the sound of William taking a nervous breath before he continued his monologue. “I need to get down there and see how bad the damage is, and I can’t leave Sherry home alone because I promised her she wouldn’t be alone tonight. So please Albert, watch Sherry for me tonight.”
Wesker was stunned. He often teased William about the possibility of one of his lab rats breaking loose, the G-Virus had always seemed like a recipe for disaster, but he hadn’t been expecting it to actually happen.
He truly didn’t mind watching Sherry, she was a well-behaved child, and it had been a number of months since he’d last seen her. He just didn’t like the idea of William regarding him as his personal babysitter, although it did help that William was actually begging him for assistance.
Wesker sighed into the phone, “You can drop her off.”
“Oh, good. I knew I could count on you. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
William hung up before Wesker could point out that the drive between his apartment and the Birkin residence was most certainly longer than ten minutes. Meaning that William had called him while already making the trip over. It seemed that William’s begging was just to make sure Wesker was happy before he dropped his daughter off at his doorstep.
Wesker let out a loose sigh and tilted his head back against the couch to stare up at the ceiling. This was not how he imagined his evening going. He stayed like that until he heard the bathroom door open. Sitting up, Wesker watched Chris emerge in a cloud of steam, naked aside from a towel wrapped low around his hips.
Wesker drank in the sight appreciatively. That was how his evening was supposed to be going.
Chris met Wesker’s gaze and gave him a sly grin, crossing the room to stand in front of Wesker’s seated form. Chris leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.
Wesker parted his lips and took Chris’s mouth with his own. Chris’s damp hair dripped water onto Wesker’s face, but he found that he didn’t mind. He slid one hand up Chris’s bare chest and felt the muscles under his fingertips, his hand roamed higher as he traced the outline of Chris’s pec and then moved to roll a nipple under his thumb. Chris moaned into his mouth and, with great reluctance, Wesker separated himself and pushed the man away before things went any further.
“Get dressed. We’re going to have company.”
Chris looked at him in confusion but dutifully disappeared into the bedroom and shortly after re-emerged wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans. He plopped down on the couch next to Wesker.
“Soo… who’s coming over?”
“A dear friend,” Wesker answered. It was close enough, although he wouldn’t necessarily classify Sherry as a ‘friend,’ but ‘acquaintance’ didn’t seem appropriate and he didn’t particularly care to delve into explaining his and William’s relationship.
“You have friends?” Chris turned bright red as soon as the words left his mouth. “I mean—of course you have friends! You just always seem annoyed when you have to talk to anyone at the station…”
“Yes, I have friends.” Wesker glared at him. He wished people would stop assuming he didn’t have friends just because he detested personal relations. “If I act hostile towards people at work it is because those people are idiots and deserve to be talked down to.”
“Oh… umm… ok.” Chris didn’t sound convinced. “So you want me to meet your friend?” he asked, changing the topic.
“Yes.” No? Wesker wasn’t sure. He thought it over. It didn’t really matter to him if Chris met Sherry or not, but Sherry was coming and Chris was already here so that was that.
“Ok,” Chris hummed, satisfied with Wesker’s answer.
The doorbell rang.
“That will be her,” Wesker said, getting up to answer the door.
“Her?”
Wesker ignored the quizzical expression on Chris's face and opened the door on Sherry Birkin.
“Hi Uncle Wesker!” Sherry beamed as she walked inside. Blonde hair fell around her face somewhat haphazardly, held in place with a red handband. She wore what Wesker was fairly sure was her school uniform and had a backpack slung over one shoulder.
“Hello dear heart, your father said you’ll be joining us this evening.” Wesker gave her his most charming smile.
“Yep! I brought my bag and pajamas and everything! I’ve never had a sleepover before!”
Oh. Is that what William had told her? William was aware that neither himself nor Wesker had never had a ‘sleepover’ before, wasn’t he? Wesker didn’t know what the young girl would expect from the activity. He also didn’t have a guest bedroom, but he supposed he could have her sleep on the couch for the night. He doubted she would complain, anything was probably better to her than another night spent alone.
“Yes, that’s right,” Wesker agreed. “Did your father leave already?”
Sherry nodded. “Uh huh. He drove away as soon as I got out of the car. He said there was an emergency at work,” she explained. Her gaze then drifted past Wesker to the man standing behind him. “Who’s that?”
Wesker glanced back at Chris, who looked utterly and completely confused at what was going on. “That’s Chris Redfield. He’s going to be joining us this evening.”
Chris shook off his stupor and came up and knelt in front of Sherry so they were at eye level. “Heya! I’m Chris.” Chris gave her a warm smile. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Sherry Birkin, I’m 11 years old, and I’m in 6th grade at Raccoon City Children’s Academy,” Sherry recited, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she spoke.
“Oh double-digits, so you’re a big girl, huh?”
Sherry gave Chris a big smile. “Yep! …How do you know Uncle Wesker?”
“He’s my boss. I’m part of the S.T.A.R.S. team at the R.P.D., and Wesker is the team Captain.”
“So you’re a police officer? Do you catch bad guys?” Sherry questioned.
“Sure do!”
Wesker could hear the pride in Chris’s voice as he replied.
“And you’re… umm… related to… Uncle Wesker?” Chris asked, hesitantly.
“No,” Wesker answered for her, “I’m simply friends with her father.” Wesker directed Sherry as to where to put her shoes and began to usher her further into the apartment. “Now come, have you eaten yet? Chris and I were just discussing what to have for dinner.”
“We were?”
Wesker shot Chris a warning glance. “Yes. We were.”
“I haven’t eaten yet… Can we get pizza? Daddy said we could have pizza tonight before he had to go back to work.” Sherry looked up at him hopefully.
Wesker gritted his teeth and turned away before Sherry could see how much he absolutely did not want to order pizza for dinner. Pizza was greasy, messy, and largely uncivilized. Obviously there were some expectations to that, but he was sure that an 11 year old girl would not be asking for the kinds of pizza that he would personally find to be satisfactory.
“I don’t think I know of any pizza restaurants, let me grab the takeout menus I have and you can sort through them.” Wesker began to walk into the kitchen to grab the mentioned menus. If he could just direct Sherry to a more favorable dinner option…
“Oh, don’t worry about that, Wesker. I know a good place a couple blocks over we can order from.” Chris interjected, ruining Wesker’s plan.
“Of course you do,” Wesker sighed, “but I’m afraid I don’t know that place so I won’t be able to order from there.”
“No worries, I can drive over myself and order and bring everything back. They’re usually pretty quick.”
“Can you really? Thank you, Mr. Chris!” Sherry chimed in.
“Of course! What kind of pizza do you like?” Chris was grinning.
“Pepperoni! Can you get breadsticks too?”
“Sure thing!”
Chris and Sherry both wore delighted smiles, and turned to look at Wesker expectantly.
“What kind of pizza would you like, Wesker? I don't think I’ve ever seen you eat any before.”
How was this happening?
“You know what I like. I trust you’ll get me something appropriate,” Wesker replied, trying not to let his irritation show in front of Sherry. He was sure any kind of pizza that Chris could order would be equally distasteful.
“Hmm…” Chris thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think I know what to get you. Will you two be ok while I’m gone?” he asked, looking between Wesker and Sherry.
“Of course. I happen to be quite good at looking after children,” Wesker stated with a hint of amusement. He had an office full of them, after all.
Chris looked at him skeptically.
“I assure you, Sherry and I will keep excellent company while you pick up dinner. Isn't that right, dear heart?”
Sherry nodded. “I’ll behave. I like hanging out with Uncle Wesker.”
“Oh, I wasn't worried about you, Sherry, I’m sure you’re a great kid. I was just…” Chris trailed off, still glancing at Wesker with uncertainty.
“You were what, Chris?” Wesker stared daggers at him.
“I… umm… nevermind. I’m sure you guys will be fine…”
“Yes, we will.” Wesker agreed. “Now then,” he crossed the room to grab his wallet and handed what seemed like an appropriate amount of cash to Chris, “I trust this will cover everything?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Chris shoved the bills into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled his brown leather jacket off the coat rack from where it rested, shrugging the garment on. “Do you need me to get anything else while I’m out?”
“No. Just dinner will suffice.”
“Ok.” Chris slipped on worn out tennis shoes and grabbed his car keys off a side table by the door. “I shouldn’t be gone more than 30 minutes. You sure you’ll be fine without me?” he asked again, still looking concerned.
“I am perfectly capable of watching my own goddaughter without you hovering over my shoulder,” Wesker snapped, his voice laced with irritation, he was getting tired of placating Chris. Was it really so hard to believe that he could get along with a single child? “Now are you going to get us dinner or do I need to make other arrangements?” he concluded.
The comment shut Chris up, his eyes went wide and his mouth fell open in a silent ‘O’ while he no doubt processed the information regarding Wesker’s personal ties and tried to work out what to say in response.
After a moment, Chris let out a loose puff of breath and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, his face tinged red with embarrassment. “You’re right… sorry for doubting you, sir. I’ll be back soon.”
“Good man.”
Chris gave a short nod in response and left the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
Sherry looked at the closed door for a moment with a curious expression before turning her attention to Wesker. “Was Mr. Chris afraid you were going to yell at me?”
“Observant, aren’t you?” Wesker noted before nodding in agreement with Sherry’s statement. “Yes, I believe he was worried I would raise my voice with you.”
“But you’ve never gotten mad at me before,” Sherry noted curiously.
“I know that, but I’m afraid Chris is used to seeing me bark orders when we’re at work.”
“Ohhh,” Sherry uttered in understanding, “I heard you yell at someone once while you were visiting daddy at work, you sounded really scary.”
Wesker huffed in amusement, “Yes, people do tend to get scared when I yell at them.”
Wesker led Sherry over to the couch and sat at one end, while Sherry sat at the other. She placed her backpack on the floor where it leaned against the side of the couch. They chatted for a while, Wesker inquired after William and Sherry told him how her father was doing and what she knew of his research into the G-Virus. Sherry spoke of what she was learning in school, the book she was reading, the few friends she had made—anything she could think of to talk about, really. Wesker couldn’t imagine that he was the girl’s first choice for company, but she seemed rather happy to have someone who would listen to her talk.
When their conversation had died down, Wesker checked the clock for the time. It had been almost an hour since Chris had left.
Sherry noticed Wesker’s attention had drifted to the clock and spoke up, “Shouldn’t Mr. Chris be back soon?”
“Yes… he should have been back already…” Wesker mumbled. He began to ruminate on the various things that might have caused Chris’s delay. Maybe the restaurant was backed up. Or Chris had gotten lost or stuck in traffic. Or maybe Chris had gotten into a car accident… Was Chris ok? Was he hurt? Wesker began to worry.
He was halfway off the couch and about to tell Sherry they were going out to search for Chris when heard a knock at the door. Wesker tried not to rush as he went over and opened it.
Chris stood on the doorway, hands full carrying pizza boxes and several plastic grocery bags that were looped around his arms.
Wesker’s gaze softened for just a moment upon confirming that Chris was safe before it turned back into his usual hardened look. “You’re late,” he spoke simply, devoid of empathy.
“Yeah… Sorry about that. I ran to a couple other stores while I was out.” Chris shrugged and pushed past Wesker to enter the apartment, carrying his load into the kitchen where he began to unpack some of the bags.
Wesker saw ice cream containers, microwavable popcorn, and a various assortment of candies emerge from within the plastic bags.
“What is all that for?” he inquired, rather confused as to why Chris felt the need to buy all of that.
“It’s for Sherry,” Chris stated, placing the ice cream into Wesker’s freezer. “She said this was her first sleepover so I figured I’d make it a good one for her.”
“You got all that for me?” Sherry had followed them into the kitchen and stood wide-eyed, looking at all the goodies Chris had bought for her.
“Sure did! I also got you this!” Chris gave her a big smile and handed her one of the bags.
Sherry took it from him and looked inside, her face lighting up into a smile even bigger than the one Chris was giving her when she saw its contents.
“You go pick one out while Wesker and I get the plates out and everything, ok?”
“Uh huh!” Sherry nodded eagerly. “Thank you Mr. Chris!” The girl clutched the bag and ran back to her spot on the couch.
Wesker watched this whole exchange curiously. “What did you give her?”
Chris opened a cupboard and started pulling out plates. “I stopped by a video rental place and took out a couple of kid’s movies. You have a VHS player, right?”
“I am not going to spend my evening watching children’s movies,” Wesker growled, ignoring the question and keeping his voice low so Sherry wouldn’t hear him.
“Well then you don’t have to watch them. You can go sulk in your study and read a book or whatever while I sit with Sherry.” Chris pointed a plate at him accusingly. “You can’t expect her to sit in silence all night until she falls asleep.”
That was exactly what he was expecting her to do, actually. Wesker often enjoyed quiet evenings spent engrossed reading a novel or scientific paper or some sort before turning in for bed, and letting his thoughts sort through the possibilities of the future and his plans to eventually betray Umbrella and become something greater than the company would ever allow him to be while he was held within its grasp in the quiet solitude. Did children not also enjoy this sort of contemplation? Wesker had always been like this, but he was aware that he had not had what would be considered a typical childhood.
Chris took his silence as the affirmation that it was and shook his head with a soft smile. “See, you need me here.” He ripped open the box containing the microwave popcorn and pulled out a bag, tore off the plastic wrapping, and then held it out to Wesker.
Wesker glared at him, and refused to touch the package. “You want that with your pizza?”
“Yes.” Chris gave Wesker a look like he couldn’t believe he had just asked that. “You always need popcorn with a movie and we’re going to watch while we eat.”
“Is that… typical… at sleepovers?” he found himself asking, staring at the offending popcorn bag with disdain.
Chris laughed lightly and further held the bag out towards Wesker. “Sure is.”
Wesker grimaced and took the bag gingerly, his hands felt greasy just touching the outside of the package. He placed it into the microwave and hit the popcorn button, afterwards swiftly moving back across the kitchen to wash his hands off and remove the grimy feeling.
Chris rolled his eyes at this display, but thankfully didn’t comment further.
While the popcorn was beginning to pop within the microwave, Chris grabbed the pizza boxes and carried them into the living room. Wesker grabbed the plates and followed him, setting the items down on the coffee table in front of the couch, because apparently they were eating dinner there tonight, rather than at the dining table.
Wesker looked at the scene with contempt and addressed Chris, “If you get pizza grease on my furniture you will be the one refurbishing it.”
Chris winced. “Jeez, I’m not a slob. I know how to eat without making a mess.”
Wesker huffed, “Sure.”
Seated on her couch corner, Sherry watched the exchange with interest. On her lap she held one of the movies Chris had brought her.
“Did you pick one?” Chris asked her with a smile, changing the topic of conversation.
“Uh huh,” Sherry nodded, “this one.” She handed him one of the VHS tapes.
Wesker could make out a group of cartoon dogs on the cover, along with a bright orange cat. He noted the film’s title, Oliver & Company—not that knowing the title of the children’s movie he was being forced to watch was going to make the evening any more bearable.
Sherry looked between the two men like she was unsure about something and then suddenly sat up a bit straighter and turned to Chris, speaking with confidence, “Uncle Wesker is just upset because he was worried about you.”
Wesker was taken aback by the comment, the girl really was observant.
Chris blushed pink. “O-oh… He was?” he asked, glancing over at Wesker.
“Yep,” Sherry nodded, “because you were gone so long.”
Two sets of eyes turned to Wesker, gauging his reaction.
Wesker kept his face as impassive as ever and said nothing.
The microwave beeped and Wesker quickly turned on his heel and removed himself from the living room to get the accursed popcorn, leaving Chris to stare after him and figure out how to work his VHS player on his own. When he returned to the living room with a bowl of popcorn in hand he found Chris and Sherry seated at opposite ends of the couch, each with a plate of pizza in hand, the advertisements that came before the film playing on the TV.
Chris looked at him and gestured to the small amount of space left in the center of the couch. “You’re in the middle.”
Of course he was.
Wesker took his seat with a sigh of discontent and Chris took the popcorn bowl out of his hands and replaced it with a plate carrying a slice of pizza. He turned his gaze down at the plate slowly, ready to face another disappointment upon seeing whatever unsavory item it was that Chris had gotten him, only to be pleasantly surprised by the dish in his hands.
A crushed tomato sauce was spread atop a wood-fired crust, further topped with mozzarella and a fresh basil leaf, along with a drizzling of olive oil. Pizza Margherita. It appeared Chris did know his food preferences after all.
He took a bite out of the slice.
“Is it good?” Chris looked at him expectantly.
“It is. Thank you, Chris.” he replied, granting Chris a smile along with his thanks.
Chris beamed and shuffled a bit closer along the couch so their legs brushed together.
Even with the looming threat of a night entirely spent watching animated children’s films, with good food on his plate, Sherry’s eager anticipation about a night spent catering to her own desires, and Chris’s body pressed warm against his own, Wesker thought that maybe the rest of his evening wouldn’t be so bad after all.