Chapter Text
Xavier always knew when something was wrong with Leon. Three decades of knowing each other, being familiar with his moods, even the depths of his alcoholism, had taught the tyrant well. So when Leon came back from his training session with Chris early, he may as well have had a black cloud hanging over his head.
“Hey, you.” Leon tossed a can of sugar-free soda at Zeno where he sat on the couch. “I saw a new flavor. I’ll get a pack if you like it.” He walked past the edge of the counter and grabbed a bottle of coconut water out of the fridge and copped a feel off of Xavier. “Hey, you~” He crooned.
/Hey, you./ Xavier dug his fingers into Leon’s fringed bangs and pushed them back. /You’re home early./
“Wasn’t feeling it.” Leon shrugged. It was an obvious lie. “How’s the fort going on here?”
“I got Omen to take a pear from my hand.” Zeno cracked open the top of the soda and sucked the active carbonated bubbles off of it so they wouldn’t spill. “And Serana barked at the top of her lungs at a squirrel for most of the afternoon until it left.”
“Attagirl.” Leon agreed. “And Aurum?”
Zeno looked down at the puppy beside him on the couch. “I don’t think he cares about squirrels.”
“And he’s on the couch. I thought we agreed that dogs weren’t going to get on the furniture.” Leon pointed at the pup.
/I didn’t agree to that./ Xavier pointed out. /And I’m the one doing the cleaning./
“So I don’t get a say in what goes on in my own house?” Leon seemed to realize he’d been sharp as soon as he spoke.
Zeno straightened like he’d been shocked, picked up Aurum, and set him on the carpet. The puppy made some mild protest and looked up at him, but he put a hand on him and kept him down. “Apologies.”
Xavier frowned. /What was that for?/
“I –“ Leon cut himself off. “So long as they don’t get in the bed, fine.” Leon went to his office and locked himself in.
/That wasn’t about you./ Xavier assured Zeno.
“I gathered that.” Zeno picked Aurum back up and put him on his lap to rub his ears. “What was it about?”
/I don’t know./ Xavier admitted. /Something happened during training. It may not be your business./
“I feel like it was made mine.” Zeno huffed. “But fine.” He picked up his book and returned to reading with Aurum cozy on his lap.
Leon emerged from his office for dinner, which was quiet – like the calm before a storm. Xavier had made an Italian sausage soup with white beans and parmesan garlic bread to dip in it.
Zeno debated a second slice of the bread with his calorie tracking app in hand as he made up his serving. He gave in and took the second piece. They smelled fantastic.
“I apologize for earlier.” Leon commented, as much to his bowl as to Zeno. “I didn’t mean to snap.”
“No offense taken. So long as you tell me what that was actually about.” Zeno stirred some parmesan into his soup. (60 calories)
Leon hesitated. “I would say it’s none of your business, but it is.” He set down his own spoon. “Chris and I got into it today, during our training session.”
“Chris Redfield.” Zeno suppressed the instinctive shudder he felt just hearing the name. He was as close to a boogeyman as Zeno ever had. A man so powerful that he could defeat the closest thing to a perfect BOW the world had ever seen, and from what he’d heard he was still formidable even now. Zeno had grown up knowing he would die if he ever fought that man.
“Yes. Chris Redfield.” Leon pressed his lips together. “I’ve been trying to get him to come here and meet you. He’s not happy with… Well. You have to understand how much Chris has gone through – “
“I know more about Chris Redfield and his history with my gene source than I would ever want to know.” Zeno cut Leon off. “Does he want me dead?”
Leon pressed his lips flat. “Neither of us are going to let anyone hurt you.”
“That’s a yes.” He stirred his soup more aggressively. “…I’ve died for my crimes once, I would rather not do it twice. I might not be able to crawl my way back.”
/You’re not going to die./ Xavier signed. /You’ve done nothing wrong, Chris will see reason. And if he doesn’t, I won’t let him hurt you./
“For the record, no. Chris hasn’t said he wants you dead. He’s stressed, our training session got a little rough because he knows how Elpis has… helped me. We fought about it, then we fought about you, harsh words were exchanged, and that’s all that happened.”
/Perhaps it’s nothing to be worried about. Chris went through a similar rough patch with me./ Xavier pointed out. /Before Leon and I were married./
“Yeah, that wasn’t this.” Leon thumbed over at Zeno. “He was worried you were specifically made by Umbrella. He also wasn’t angry about you, just suspicious.”
/You are not helping./ Xavier glared.
“I’m trying to be realistic about the situation.” Leon took a drink from his glass. “Chris has been through a lot recently. The BSAA turning out to be corrupt, having to work with Howard – “
/Don’t put those two together./ Xavier defended his friend.
“Fine, fine. My point is, he’s under a lot of stress, and he’s worried that there might not be anyone he can really trust.” Leon huffed. “He’s dealing with a lot, and he hasn’t met Zeno. Once he sees you, I’m sure he’ll realize how different you two are.”
“Not that different.” Zeno muttered.
“Different enough.” Leon crunched into his bread. “We can’t hide you from him forever. Chris is a friend.”
/If he’s going to be a threat, he’s not welcome./ Xavier was signing in short, clipped movements.
“With five minutes of warning, I can hide from him forever if I want to.” Zeno grumbled. He was losing his appetite and couldn’t help but think it was a good thing. He’d noticed his abdominals were becoming less defined. He was gaining weight, a layer of flesh over him. If he wasn’t careful, he would be slow, less sharp.
“He’s not going to hurt you. He’s adjusting to the idea. And if he tries, I’ll deal with him.”
They finished their meal in quiet and Zeno grabbed Aurum on his way to bed. Serana trotted after him as well. He climbed into bed and settled with the pair of them.
“…Can we just drop it?” He heard Leon’s voice in his and Xavier’s bedroom. The two rooms shared a wall, and his senses were still heightened enough to hear them sometimes. “I told you both enough. You don’t need the details.”
He’d kept this ability from them, so he would have some warning if necessary in the early days. Was this what he’d been waiting for? He’d assumed that any threat would be wrapped in more violent tones or anger.
“Fine. I’ll tell you everything, just… Let me get my thoughts straight. …Yes, of course I lied earlier. Look, he doesn’t need to know. Chris isn’t going to do anything.” There was a long, pregnant pause. “Chris and I… Were talking about regrets, all right? The thing that started it all was a comment he made about wishing he’d killed Albert Wesker when he was still captain of STARS. He’s been thinking about where it all started a lot, trying to puzzle out ways he could have stopped everything…”
It wasn’t surprising. Zeno coddled the puppies in his lap.
“He said some stupid shit about not making the same mistake twice, and I told him he was talking crap. That’s all. It was heated, not serious.” There was a long, pregnant pause. “Don’t be ridiculous. This is Chris we’re talking about. He’s a good man.”
Zeno stopped listening. It took him a long time to get to sleep.
Zeno examined the finished cupcake. It seemed fairly normal as cupcakes went. Chocolate cake, buttercream icing in a swirl. According to his calorie app, it should be 200 calories. But it was one of twelve and half a pound of butter went into the icing alone… He put it in as 400 just to be certain. “If I’m causing trouble for you and Leon, I’ll leave.”
Xavier looked up from arranging the rest of the finished cupcakes beneath a plastic lid. /I don’t want you to leave. You’ve done nothing wrong./
“Objectively untrue.” Zeno bit into the edge of the cupcake.
/…You’ve done nothing wrong since you came here. And you were pardoned./ Xavier emphasized the sign. /I like having you here. If you want to stay, please stay./ As if the conversation were over, he scooped up the container of cupcakes and put them in the refrigerator in an easy grabbing location.
“You really don’t care? …I’m getting between you and much longer friendships.”
Xavier paused, fiddling with fridge magnets for something to do while he ordered his thoughts. /I love my friends. But you have priority for me. You would have to come between myself and Leon for me to consider forcing you out./
“I’ll come between you and Leon if I alienate his friends from him.” Zeno pointed out.
/You aren’t the one alienating our friends./ Xavier shot that down at once. /Albert Wesker did. Our friends accepted Jake. They learned to accept me. They will learn to accept you. That’s the end of it./
“I won’t say I understand, because I don’t, but I’m glad you value me that much.” It seemed to Zeno that he was getting in the way of Leon and Xavier’s happiness. And as pleasant as he tried to be to them, he didn’t bring much value to the house in return.
/We’re the same kind, you and I. And outcasts must stick together./ Xavier pointed out. /When I was introduced to Chris, he had a similar reaction that he’s having to you. He assumed that I must not have the intelligence needed to form a personality and a relationship because I couldn’t speak and had been Umbrella’s puppet./ He gestured around the house. /I proved him wrong. He’s assuming that because you look like Albert Wesker and worked for the Connections, that you must be as dangerous as that man was. You will prove him wrong./
“Make me a promise then.”
/As you wish. What promise?/
“If you want me to leave, you’ll tell me.”
/You will be the first to know./
Zeno let Aurum tug on his sock. It was blatantly encouraging bad behavior, but the little creature was too endearing. Perhaps it was a mistake to name him Aurum, because he was sure he indulged the puppy a little too much for his namesake.
His memories of Aurum were locked away in a vault deep in his mind. He tried not to think about the Tyrant. It was too painful. He’d been forced to mourn Aurum in silence, hiding it from even his handlers. He couldn’t show weakness, couldn’t show how badly it hurt him.
And of course, he had no one to protect him during the long ordeal of handling Victor Gideon. The man made him feel sick whenever he thought of him. Gideon could never forgive him for being a clone of Albert Wesker. He’d been sure the man either wanted to kill him or wanted him physically and either option was uncomfortable.
Zeno suspected his progenitor had offended Gideon at some point. Maybe insulted him somehow or showed him up. Or if he was right that Gideon’s hatred was driven by lust, turned him down. Or simply existed, favored by Spencer. That would have been enough for a man like Gideon.
Aurum tugged the sock entirely out of his fingers and shook it around his fluffy ears in triumph. He wagged his tail and trotted off across the living room carpet. The pair of dogs were a month older than they’d been, and were already growing.
Living under the Connections thumb, Zeno had never been able to ask after Aurum. He’d assumed Aurum would return to service like any other Tyrant, but some months after he’d given Aurum up, there had been a stir in the Tyrant Division. It had been a large enough fuss that he felt justified in asking what was going on and they told him that Aurum was dead. Killed on a mission.
There was no body and would be no funeral. Only a scruffy little puppy with large paws and big brown eyes in his square face. It was coming up on three years since he’d lost the other man. Some days it hurt more than others.
“You’re teaching him ALL the wrong things.” Leon pointed out, walking past the open door of Zeno’s bedroom.
“He’s only little.” Zeno worked the sock out of Aurum’s mouth.
“They have tug toys. Use one of them.” Leon sipped a mug of coffee. “What are you doing today?”
“Helping Xavier, getting started on tilling the garden with compost for winter.” Fall was approaching and it brought the death of Xavier’s tomatoes.
“Oh criminy, is it that time of year?” Leon mumbled. “I hope you like Kale. We’re about to start having it in everything.” He glanced up towards the living room and clearly began to talk to Xavier, not Zeno. “I’m not complaining about free food. It just seems like every year we end up eating kale every day and then filling the freezer with it anyway.” There was another long pause and he walked forward. “I understand it’s pretty and it grows well. I like it when we have it once or twice a week just fine…”
Zeno worked his sock out of Aurum’s mouth and scooped the puppy up into his arms. He picked up his phone and checked his calorie tracking app – kale was high in fiber, minerals, and antioxidants but low in calories. Nothing to complain about there. He wasn’t sure he’d had it before, though. Perhaps it was like mustard greens and tasted overwhelmingly unpleasant.
Aurum wiggled his whole body in happiness as Zeno carried him into the living room.
“He’s going to get the idea that he’s a purse dog.” Leon commented. Serana was leaning up against his ankle and he was running his nails up and down her back while she wagged her long tail.
“I’ll carry him around as long as I can.” Within a week, both puppies had gained a pound and it seemed like they would be much, much larger before winter came. “It won’t be forever.”
“True.” Leon straightened up and cracked his back. “Damn.”
Xavier reached over and rubbed his husband’s spine. The gesture was familiar. Something couples did normally for each other. He’d never honored Aurum with the title of partner, boyfriend, or even lover.
It was definitely a mistake to name the puppy Aurum. Xavier already reminded Zeno a little of his companion, having a namesake around was too much. “Do you think it’s too late to change his name?”
“You don’t like Aurum anymore? Going to call him something sensible?”
“Argentum maybe.” Zeno tickled the pup’s silver patches of coat.
“Of course not. You should have brought home a French poodle or something that could sit in a Burkin.” Leon rolled his eyes. “Fine, but when we get their tags engraved we’re not changing their names again.”
/Why change his name from gold to silver?/ Xavier asked, bringing Zeno over a cup of coffee with milk the way Zeno liked it.
“His coat isn’t really gold, is it?” Zeno evaded and accepted the coffee.
“You may as well call him Grey and be done with it. Why take three syllables?” Leon shook his head.
“I like – “ Zeno cut himself off when a heavy knock shook the front door. They weren’t expecting anyone.
Leon checked the peephole and turned back. “It’s Chris, X.”
Xavier looked up sharply. /Just Chris?/
“He’s the only one I see.” Leon firmed his shoulders. “I’m going to open the door. Zeno, if you want to make yourself scarce…”
Chris Redfield. Zeno felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. “I’m not running.”
Xavier moved out of the kitchen and picked up one of the blankets that was laid over every piece of furniture in the house, pretending to fold it as if that would blind Zeno to the fact that he’d placed himself between Zeno and the front door.
Chris thrust a bottle of red wine into Leon’s arms as soon as the door opened. “…Morning.”
“Good morning.” Leon took the bottle, raising a brow at Chris. “How about we talk on the porch first?”
“You know why I’m here.” Chris’s voice was gruff and low. “I want to see him.”
“How about we talk on the porch first?” Leon grabbed his arm and pushed him out and forward back through the door. Chris wavered but allowed it.
/Are you all right?/ Xavier turned to Zeno.
“I’m fine.” Zeno plucked at his sweater. This wasn’t how he would have liked to meet Chris Redfield. He’d have wanted to be in his full raiment – white suit, hair freshly trimmed, with an ostentatious earring to offset how familiar his features surely were.
“I’ll be back.” He ducked into the bathroom and braced himself against the sink. Dread pitched in his stomach. Even at the height of his strength, Chris Redfield held a mythological significance. A monster he would have to slay eventually to feel safe. One he would never be strong enough to kill. Nausea swam in his head.
He could die today. Depending on how badly this went, he could die today.
What was the point in drawing it out if he would?
Xavier was laying out an early lunch when Zeno left the bathroom. He looked up, but didn’t stop him as he crossed the living room and then into the foyer. Serana and Argentum were both fawning at his boot-side, eager for any snacks Xavier was willing to offer up.
Zeno opened the door.
Leon steered Chris by the arm out onto the porch. “You can’t do this. You can’t just show up at my house after we have a fight without even a text. Especially not when you threatened to come here, and kill Zeno.”
“I’m not here to kill anyone.” Chris didn’t deny anything. He never did. He had a focus Leon envied sometimes.
“If you’re here to talk, you have a funny way of going on with it.” Leon folded his arms, the bottle of wine dangling from one hand. “You should have texted. Or told me you were coming. Anything but just showing up.”
“What happened to that open kitchen policy?” Chris grumbled.
“You threatened Zeno. That’s what happened. If I let you in, you have to be on your best behavior.” Especially with what Xavier had been saying after Leon revealed exactly how far their argument had gone. Xavier hadn’t been so visibly furious in years, and he was certain that if Chris harmed Zeno or even looked like he would, it would be an instantaneous melee. “…Give me your gun.”
A frosty silence fell between them as Chris stared Leon down. He was much larger and stronger than Leon. But Leon was fearsome in his own right. He held out a hand between the two of them, never breaking their stare.
Without speaking, Chris reached into his coat and pulled out a heavy pistol, handing it over without the argument Leon was expecting. That made him more nervous than if Chris had pointed it at him. They were friends, but they were both unpredictable men and knew it.
“Thank you.” Leon made sure it was safed and stuck the barrel into one of his jeans pockets. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work. “I’ll ask Xavier if – “ The door opened unexpectedly and both their heads turned to the pale figure standing in the doorway.
Zeno looked pale as death, his lips were twitching as he stared back at them. His face was wet and glistening. The only way he could have looked more nervous was if he shrank into a chihuahua and stood trembling in the foyer with his lips pulling into a snarl, but he kept his voice mostly steady. “Come inside. Xavier’s setting the table and the kettle boiled.”