Disclaimer: I do not own any of the settings/characters in the below peice of fiction- they all belong to Capcom.

Warning: Swearing, mention of male/male sex, and violence

Authors Note: I was listening to an old song called 'You Always Hurt the One You Love' and I suddenly got some inspiration to write an RE story involving Chris! And, because I adore the WeskerxChris pairing I had to put that in as a main theme! Anyways, hope you enjoy the story, and I wanna give a shout out to Volatile Syndicate for correcting my silly mistakes and helping me work out all my ideas. Without you this would never see the light of day!

A soft wind slid through the open window, mixing the outside smell of freshly mown lawn with the flower scented perfume of a young woman sitting in a kitchen, hand hovering above a half finished puzzle with a photo of a cartoon character smiling up at her.

The radio sitting atop the fridge broadcasted a smooth, lazy afternoon song from the 50's, the sound of static occasionally interrupting the sweet melody.

"So Chris… where do you think this piece goes?" The woman asked, her deep blue eyes looking up from the puzzle, an amused expression on her face as she gazed across at her son.

Chris looked over the puzzle, his eyes occasionally glancing up at the piece his mother was holding before going back to the puzzle. Shifting slightly, he moved up so he was sitting on his knees while his hands braced his upper body on the table to get a better look at the game before him.

"Over there, Mommy! Put it there!" He finally stated, pointing at a rather obvious space. Nodding in agreement, his mother placed the piece down where it belonged and let her son press the object down- firmly cementing it in its proper place.

The song on the radio faded out and was replaced by another classic tune, but this one caused Chris' mother to begin to sing softly as she picked up another piece.

"You always hurt… the one you love, the one you shouldn't hurt at all… you always take the sweetest rose… and crush it, 'till the petals fall." She hummed out, a small smile gracing her lips as she moved slightly to the quickening pace of the song.

Chris watched her for a moment before turning to look at the radio. He listened to the music carefully before turning back to his mother, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't understand it." He stated, pouting slightly.

Tearing her gaze away from the puzzle, his mother glanced up at him and cocked her head to the side before resting her chin on her hand. "Don't understand what, sweetie?"

"This song… they say you always hurt someone you love. But you love them, and hurting someone isn't love. You always tell me not to hit Claire because I love her!" He said matter of factly, a stubborn look gracing his young features.

"Well that is true… but sometimes things can be more complicated than that." She said, going to pick up another piece. "You'll understand when you're older."

Sitting back into his chair properly, Chris let out an exaggerated sigh. Kicking his feet in his chair for a few moments, Chris glared at the table before speaking again. "I want to understand now."

Chuckling softly, his mother stopped singing yet again and looked across at her little boy who was squirming in his chair, lips pressed out in a pout he usually wore when he was impatient with the way things were progressing.

"Well, let me see…" She turned to look out the window into the backyard, trying to ignore the squirming child in her side view. "Sometimes… sometimes you can love someone so much that you want to protect them… and sometimes protecting them will make them not feel very good. Kind of like they have a tummy ache. But they'll feel better later on, even better then before you hurt them."

Turning away from the window she looked back at Chris who had stopped moving about, but still looked confused. Sighing softly, she ran a hand through her bangs and sat back. "Or, sometimes when you hurt someone, it's just another way to show your passion in your relationship- to show an emotion that is as potent and as captivating as the love you usually feel for the person. And sometimes, people get confused between hating someone and loving them… it feels like there is only a very fine line between the two, and you end up hurting the person you love in the confusion."

Chris sat in silence for a moment, eyes downcast before he sighed heavily. "I don't get grownup things."

Laughing, his mother moved to reach across and ruffle Chris' dark locks. "I don't always get grownup things either."

Just as the song finished and turned to an Elvis tune, the wailing of a small child upstairs could be heard.

"Looks like Claire is awake." Standing up, Chris' mother left the kitchen and let out a small yelp in the hallway.

"Remember to clean up your toys, Christopher!" She called as she hurried upstairs, leaving Chris alone with his thoughts and a half finished puzzle. Picking up the forgotten piece his mother left, Chris fiddled with the edges, turning it around and around in his hand before dropping it on the table and leaving to clean up his toys.

* You always hurt the ones you love *

"So, how's your girlfriend doing, Liam?" Chris asked as he sat down on his cot, a loud squeak resounding through the barracks as the old mattress protested the weight.

"She's okay, but she's soundin' lonely." Liam shrugged and paused a moment in the middle of shining his boots. "How's your sister doin'?"

"My sister?" Chris asked as he played with the edge of his blanket. "She's good, she's just started grade eight… or is it nine? Shit, I can't keep these ages and grades straight."

"Hah, way to show your deep interest in your baby sister's life." Liam said, throwing the cleaning cloth over his shoulder as he dropped his boot to the ground and stuffed his foot in before lacing them up with military efficiency.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I try and get into contact with her whenever I can!" Chris stated, glaring at Liam before hopping up as their Sergeant burst into the barracks, cuing the daily inspection. All the men lined up alongside the cot and assumed the strict military position.

As his units Sergeant wandered down the hallway, inspecting the beds and the men's overall presentation, Chris glanced down at his bed to notice his fiddling had managed to make his blanket a tad too messy for his strict Sergeants liking.

"What's this, Cadet?"

Snapping his attention forward, Chris puffed his chest out and stared straight ahead. "What do you mean, Sir?"

"Your bed isn't made, Cadet. I want you to take a look at your neighbour's bed and tell me what you see."

Chris glanced down at Liam's bed and inspected it quickly before looking straight ahead yet again. "The blanket is placed on the bed, tucked in the side, with no creases or bumps. Flat as a board, Sir!"

"Exactly. Meanwhile, what is your bed's condition?"

"It has a slight crease on the corner of the blanket, Sir. So slight, in fact, that only a trained man such as yourself would be able to notice it." Chris replied, barely suppressing a smirk.

A quiet grunt could be heard coming from the Sergeant before he quickly composed himself. "I want you to fix that bed, straighten your hair and then do twenty push-ups for that smart ass comment. Do you understand, Cadet?"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Do you understand why I'm so harsh on you, Cadet?"

"Because you always hurt the ones you love, Sir!"

"Make that fifty push-ups, Cadet."

* You always hurt the one you love *

"Shit, why do I always forget my fucking keys." Chris mumbled, trudging back up the steps to the STARS office in the Police Station while he patted himself down a few more times, hoping he didn't leave his keys on his desk, yet again.

He had already left his keys behind five times- once more and it would just be ridiculous.

"Hey, Redfield, forget your keys again?" One of the younger cops asked as Chris passed him in the hallway, causing Chris to glare at the young man as he hurried past. Coming to the STARS office, Chris burst in and hurried to his desk causing an older male sitting up ahead to jump.

"Barry? Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Chris said, looking up as he went to his desk to see Barry looking startled and a little dishevelled.

"Nah, don't apologize," Barry said waving his hand before sitting back in his chair. "Forget your keys again?"

Chris paused and let out a heavy sigh before sitting himself down in his own chair. "What tipped you off?"

"The fact that you always forget them."

Rolling his eyes, Chris nodded in agreement and tilted his office chair back. "Pretty much… So now you know why I'm back in the office, but why are you still here?"

Barry ran a hand over his chin and let out a puff of air before sitting forward in his chair, arms resting on his desk. "I'm hesitant to go home to see my family at the moment. Well, I'm more hesitant to see my daughters; my wife is a little more understanding of certain adult duties."

Raising an eyebrow, Chris lifted his arms above his head while lifting his legs up to rest his feet on his desk, pieces of dried mud falling off and on to his folders and notes. "Mind if I ask what's up?"

"I'm just the bad guy in the family right now. I decided to send my daughters to a new private school, which means they won't be going to school with all of their friends. It's not like I want them to be away from their friends, but it's for the best… I hope. The school will offer them a lot more education wise, and will hopefully let them get into better High Schools and Universities in the future… just right now all they can think about is how I'm the worst father in the history of mankind."

Chris chewed on his bottom lip and listened carefully to what Barry was saying, secretly feeling a little honoured that Barry would open up to him about such issues. After all, they were on the same team, but the age gap between them sometimes prevented each other from really speaking.

But the lack of personal communication between to the two over the years left Chris a little hesitant to tell Barry what he thought of the situation- he was after all just some young kid who still had a while before he would be ranting about his daughters being upset with him.

"Yah probably don't care much, forget I said anything." Barry began, mistaking Chris' silence caused by a lack of interest.

"No! No, it's not that," Dropping his feet down with a heavy thud, Chris sat straight in his chair and looked across at Barry intently. "I was just thinking about what you said. I think your daughters will be okay after the first few weeks of class- you know, after they've made new friends, met some cute boys and developed crushes… or you know do the things kids do these days."

Barry nodded slowly and looked down at his desk, flicking a paperclip across the desk. "Yeah, I just feel like I hurt them, you know?"

"Well… as they say: You always hurt the ones you love." Chris mumbled, watching the paperclip skidder and stop close to the edge.

Barry grunted slightly and yawned as he stretched. "Yeah, I guess they do… anyways, I've got some reports to finish up and you've got some keys to be taking home with you."

Chris laughed softly and stood up, saluting Barry with his hand that held his house keys in them. "Right, Sir!"

Making his way to the office door, Barry watched Chris go to leave before stopping the younger man at the door.

"Chris… uh, about you and Captain Wesker…" He said, hesitation evident in his voice.

Chris visibly tensed as he held on to the door handle, a vice like grip wrapping around the golden handle. "What about me and Wesker?"

"Uh, well you see…" Barry began, watching Chris' body language for a moment before sighing. "Just be careful."

"Yeah…. I don't know what you're talking about." Chris mumbled before opening the door and slamming it close with a resounding thud, leaving Barry alone with his paperwork.

*You always hurt the one you love *

"You look really nice tonight."

Jill looked up from the silverware she had been inspecting and smiled across the small table at Chris, the dangling earrings she was wearing catching the light coming from the candle in the middle of the table.

"Not so bad yourself, Mr. Redfield," She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and rested her chin on her hand, keeping eye contact with Chris. "I don't think I've ever seen you with a nicely pressed dress shirt on before."

Chris looked down at himself and touched the collar of his shirt, shrugging. "Claire told me to wear this shirt. She said the colour looked good on me."

"Well she was right. It brings out your eyes." Winking, Jill let her eyes wander, inspecting Chris before nodding as if to approve of her dates appearance. Sitting back, Jill placed her hands in her lap and looked around the restaurant as Chris reached for his wineglass, taking a large sip of the deep red liquid.

After a few moments of silence Jill turned her attention back to Chris and chewed on her bottom lip before speaking. "I'm glad you asked me out tonight… I was beginning to wonder when all the flirting would lead to something."

Chris fiddled with his napkin and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well I figured… I mean, well we've known each other for a while… and well, you're a girl, and then… yeah."

Jill laughed softly and reached across the table to take Chris' hand in her own. "That was a really romantic thing to say, Chris."

Chris chuckled softly and turned his hand around to hold Jill's smaller, delicate hand in his own as he looked up to lock eyes with her own caring and loving eyes. She really looked amazing tonight, Chris thought. Her eyes sparkled, cheeks blushed a rosy tint, hair glossy and pulled back to rest behind her ears to once again reveal the beautiful silver earrings dangling from them.

Chris felt safe with Jill. He felt like if anything happened, she would be there to protect him- to watch his back. And he hoped she felt the same with him. He was damn lucky to be with her in this situation, to just have a normal everyday sort of date with a woman he loved. All of these feelings should have made Chris feel like confessing his love to her; to commit to her in a relationship… it should have made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

But he didn't.

Alongside the feelings of being safe and secure when he was with Jill, he also felt pain and sorrow from all of the things they had been through together- all the things they would continue to face in a daily basis until Umbrella fell completely. And no matter how much he tried to erase the memories, he just couldn't help but think of how her hands were too small, her eyes too full of innocence, and her lips far too soft. It would never be right between them until he could forget-

"-so eager, Christopher… so eager for just a taste."

Strong hands grabbing him, spreading his legs as he tangled his fingers in short blond locks.

"- s-someone could walk in. The door isn't locked."

A growl, hot breath against his neck as teeth grazed his heated skin. Deep, fast thrusts inside him combined with an overwhelming feeling of being owned.

"-don't stop… keep moving. Faster, harder… keep going."

Never stop…

"Chris, are you okay?"

Jill's worried voice broke Chris free from his memories, cold fingers releasing their grasp on Chris' consciousness with an abruptness that caused him to gasp softly. Lifting his gaze away from their interlocked hands, Chris studied Jill's worried face before speaking.

"I don't think we should do this."

He watched the line between her eyebrows become more noticeable as she slowly withdrew her hand from his. Tilting her head to the side, Jill let out a soft sigh and looked at Chris closely.

"I… I thought you might say that. I w-wasn't expecting it tonight of course, I figured maybe we could have a few more dates and then maybe you'd decide…" She began, her hand clutching the napkin before her tightly.

"I'm sorry Jill, I should have- I should have said something sooner- told you my worries before I asked you out." Chris said, at a loss as to what to do with himself. He decided taking another sip of his wine would help in some way.

"Well… I suppose maybe you should get all your worries out now while the topic's been brought up." Jill waited patiently while Chris set his glass down and stared intently at the wine.

"I just think it wouldn't be wise…at least not right now. Not when Umbrella is still around and we depend on each others professional relationship in the field- I mean, we're partners. And I don't want the possibility of us being romantically involved to get in the way of anything. I mean… what if it doesn't work? What if something happens and we don't want to be together… what'll happen then?"

Chris finally looked up from his glass and watched Jill process the information for herself- wrapping Chris' reasoning with her own. Finally she looked up at Chris- and for a split second Chris thought she knew- knew that there was more to it then that, that something else was holding him back.

But as soon as that feeling had come, it quickly passed and was replaced with Jill's crestfallen face.

"I don't want to agree, but I think I have to. You're right, we have too much riding on our relationship- to add anything to it could just damage things further," Jill said, letting out a puff of air at the end. "I wish your reasoning didn't make sense, though."

Chris ran a hand through his hair before rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to hurt you, Jill… but, I mean… well, you always hurt the ones you love."

*You always hurt the ones you love*

"What are you doing?"

Chris looked up from his suitcase, toothbrush and shampoo halfway in a zip-lock bag. Claire was standing in the doorway of his bedroom, arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed the scene, clothes strewn half hazard into an open suitcase with documents and what appeared to be a gun case lying on his desk.

"Packing," Chris replied before turning back to what he was doing and closed the zip-lock bag before stuffing it into a side pocket. "I have a mission to go to- someone gave us a tip on where the last running Umbrella base could be. I have to go help out."

"But you just got back from a mission a few days ago!" Claire said, walking into the room to stand near the suitcase, forcing Chris to at least acknowledge the fact that she was there.

"You know as well as I do that Umbrella needs to be stopped, and we can't rest until it's gone," Chris mumbled, looking around the room frantically before hurrying to his desk to grab his combat knife. "Besides, Jill's going in too and we never go on a mission without each other."

Claire watched Chris begin to sharpen the blade for a moment before stepping forward and taking the knife out of her brother's hand, slamming it down on the desk. "Chris, just stop for a second and talk to me… why can't you just stay behind this time?"

"Because this might be the big break," Chris retorted quickly and glared at Claire before shoving past her to go to his dresser and opening a drawer. "I can't let any tips go unchecked. One of these days Umbrella is going to fall."

Shuffling through the items inside, Chris paused a moment before slamming the dresser drawer closed again. Stopping midway to his bed, he looked at Claire and watched as she placed her hands on her hips and stared right back. A moment passed between them before Chris went back to his suitcase and stuffed the rest of the items of clothing inside. "You know I have to go."

"No, you don't." Claire said, watching as her brother flipped the suitcase lid down.

"Yes, I do." Chris replied as he opened the suitcase again before going back to the desk. Flipping through the papers quickly, Chris was about to say something else before Claire snatched the papers out of his hands and shoved his shoulder slightly so he was facing her.

"Chris, is this all really about Umbrella, or is this you being afraid to stop moving around for once and actually begin to reflect on your god damn life- because the way I see it, you're awfully eager to lay all of your problems to the side and not think about them because of your commitment to fighting Umbrella. Seems like a might convenient scapegoat to me, Chris."

"Don't talk about shit you have no understanding of." Chris growled out, snatching the papers back and taking off into the kitchen of his apartment with Claire following close behind.

"Well then enlighten me, Chris. See, this is exactly the problem- I don't understand all of this because you won't open up and tell me! God, you've been so closed off ever since Mom and Dad-"

"Don't!" Chris whirled around quickly and stopped Claire in her tracks. "Don't say it, Claire-"

"-ever since Mom and Dad died, Chris," Claire burst out, tears welling in her eyes as she stood her ground. "When are you going to accept the fact that they're gone and there was nothing you could do to save them- and that maybe you can't save everyone around you?"

Chris bit back a snarl and turned around, continuing to the kitchen where he grabbed a discarded folder and shoved the papers between the sheets. Leaning against the counter, Chris took a few steadying breaths before making his way back to the bedroom.

"You're right Claire. Maybe I can't save everyone, but I can damn well try."

"Chris, you're going to work yourself to the edge!" Claire followed him back into the bedroom and watched as he flipped the suitcase lid over again and began to zip it up. Rushing forward, Claire flipped the lid open again, causing Chris to finally stand straight and look at her. "Just take a breather… just stop and talk to me for a while… please?"

Chris looked at his baby sister and sighed softly. Reaching forward, he cupped her cheek and gently brushed away a tear that had fallen down. "You know I can't do that… I have to go, Claire."

Shoving his hand away, Claire stepped back from Chris and glared at him, eyes going hard. "You're just afraid to talk to me, aren't you? Afraid to say something that you might regret, maybe reveal something… something about you and him?"

Chris froze in place and almost stopped breathing- a sense of being trapped consumed him as his little sister came dangerously close to a subject he did not want to talk about.

"I don't know what you're-" Chris began, before Claire interrupted him.

"I know more about him and you then you would ever tell me, Chris… god, I can sense him all over you-"

Chris snapped back as if struck- the comment making him feel tainted and sullied, like the man had more power over him then he ever wanted to believe, as if his traitor's hands were wrapped around him, crushing him… holding him down- drowning him with memories and past regrets.

"Don't. Don't talk about him, Claire. Don't you bring him into this." Chris growled out, malice in his voice that made Claire falter for a moment- but only a moment.

"Why the hell not? He's all part of this obsession you have- he's practically the cause of all this! He pushed you away from everyone- from your friends, from Jill… from me! Why can't you just-"

"No, we're not having this discussion. End of story… I don't want to hear it, Claire!" Chris yelled, shoving past her yet again.

"Then it's all true, right? You and him… you two…" Claire couldn't get the words out, not wanting to say it out loud in fear that if she said it then it would all be true.

Chris tried to move away from her, to distance himself so she wouldn't feel the possession that crept along his skin making him feel dirty- like he didn't deserve to be anywhere near his baby sister. Unfortunately for Chris, Claire grabbed on and hugged him close, her face burying against his back as she held tightly on to him.

"Stop running, Chris… please." Claire sobbed out, finally breaking down as she held desperately on to her older brother- her protector.

Chris took a few shaky breaths, his pose ridged and guarded as Claire continued to hold on, physically not letting him leave. Moments passed before Claire's grip relaxed slightly, her tears still coming. Turning around, Chris looked down at her before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. Seeing her break down completely on account of him made his resolve break. The past argument between them gone- replaced with a brother simply trying to comfort is sister.

Claire relaxed slightly in his arms and stuffed her face in his neck, letting him shelter her for a moment.

"You think you're doing everyone a favour by continually doing this… by trying to save the world," Claire began, her voice muffled. "I want to save it too… but sometimes you have to look a little closer to home and start working on things there before you can take on the job saving the entire world… because right now you're only hurting the ones who care about you."

Chris ran a hand through Claire's hair and rested his cheek against the side of her head, rocking them back and forth much like their mother used to when they were upset.

"You always hurt the ones you love…" Chris whispered, a few tears escaping as he closed his eyes.

*You always hurt the ones you love*

He couldn't believe what he had seen- heard- felt. It was too much to handle, too much to take in. The cold look in her eyes, the malicious smirk gracing his features, the lack of recognition in her face as she hit him without hesitation…

It was all too much.

Running around a corner, Chris found himself in what appeared to be another tomb, cobwebs and bones scattered about on the floor and in the corners. His feet echoed loudly off the stone walls and his breathing sounded too loud in his ears. The occasional gunshot could be heard down below, muffled cries coming from the women battling tooth and nail to help the men who were currently playing a morbid game of cat and mouse.

"There is no use in hiding!"

His voice carried through the maze of stone, bouncing off the walls and making their way to Chris as he paused in the tomb room. Looking around frantically for something that could give him the advantage, Chris took a moment to listen to more of the sounds around him and gasped softly when a cry from Sheva resounded about the complex. In that moment of listening to the sound and fearing for his partner, Chris let his guard down. It was for only a split second- but that was all he needed.

A sickening crack could be heard as the back of Chris' head was hit, knocking him to the ground. He barely had time to bring his arms out and catch himself awkwardly on his elbows, skin breaking as the abrasive stone tore against flesh.

"I would have expected you to be more on guard, Christopher," Wesker cooed out, bringing a foot out to roughly push Chris over so he could glare up at the tyrant. "But then again, I hadn't expected you to run away from me."

"Fuck you, Wesker." Chris growled out, gun aimed at Wesker as he loomed above the younger man, a sickening smile twisting about his lips.

"Now now, Chris, is that anyway to speak to me?" Wesker asked, lighting fast reflexes darting out to rip the gun from Chris' clutches. Swirling the handle around, Wesker pointed Chris' gun at the brunette's forehead as he gracefully kneeled down to straddle him.

"You deserve more than that, Wesker." Chris tried to knee the monster, but was quickly stopped with a blow to the jaw and the barrel of the gun being pressed against his temple. Chris took the hit and swore he could feel a few teeth break. Spitting out some blood, Chris locked eyes with Wesker as if daring him to pull the trigger.

"Mm, I suppose some would say I do. But then, they're all dead… except for you," Wesker replied as his free hand gently caressed Chris' jaw line, causing the BSAA member to flinch. "See, you're still standing, despite having fought me again and again, Christopher. I'm beginning to wonder if it's sheer luck that has saved you from your death… or perhaps you really are a talented individual, adept with the skills to kill a man such as myself."

Chris stayed still, listening to what the mad man had to say. His head was throbbing from blow to the jaw, while all his nerves were frayed to the point of insanity. More gunshots were heard down below, and this time a cry from Jill carried upwards.

"I think I would like to test something out…" Wesker mused out loud before standing up and threw the gun across the floor. "How about a round between just us… like old times?"

Chris tried to twist the words around in his head, tried to makes sense of it all before instincts kicked in and he was rolling across the floor, desperately reaching for his gun. A noise to his left could be heard before he was slammed against the wall, leather clad hands wrapping around his neck.

"Did I say you could use a weapon? Always jumping ahead without hearing the rules," Wesker hissed out, eyes flashing behind his sunglasses. "No weapons… simple hand to hand combat."

Chris desperately grabbed at Wesker's hands, trying to free himself before the tyrant let go, throwing him across the room. Landing with a thud, Chris hissed out in pain as his hand instantly rubbed his sore neck.

"W-what kind of g-game are you playing at?" Chris coughed out, standing up shakily. He glared across at Wesker as his Ex-Captain moved a few paces back, hands spread outwards as he smirked across at Chris.

"Think of this as a training exercise… now fight me." Pulling his sunglasses off, Wesker showed Chris his reptilian gaze as if to further drive home the fact that Wesker was no longer human.

Chris knew Wesker was insane, but he could usually follow the man's thought pattern despite how uncomfortable such a revelation brought to Chris. But this time… this time he was lost. Wesker has truly lost it…

But if he didn't do something soon, Wesker surely would have, and Chris wanted to hit him at least once- give him back just a fraction back of the pain he had caused the younger man before him. Letting out a roar, Chris flung himself forward and surprised even himself as he caught Wesker in the stomach, throwing them both against the wall.

Wesker let out large breath of air as he made contact with the wall, and Chris wasted no time in pulled back to deal another blow, this time striking the tyrant's jaw with a sharp blow. He began to pull back and strike again, throwing punch after punch on Wesker, cutting open the skin on his knuckles as his hand struck anything and everything. Wesker's crazed laughter could be heard among the blood rushing through Chris' system- and Chris should have been worried that he was hitting Wesker so much, that he wasn't fighting back but simply taking the blows, and that he was laughing.

But all he could think about was how it felt so good to cause pain to the man, how it felt so good to hurt him.

Tears sprung forth from Chris' eyes as he began to wear down, but he refused to stop, even as his body broke down and the blood on Wesker's beaten face began to mix with his own. Wesker deserved to feel the pain- to be beaten down completely like he had done to Chris so many times. As much as he held it back, as much as he hated to recognize it, Wesker had been Chris' poison for so long- and Chris wanted to rid himself of the man, as if destroying the man who destroyed his trust- his very livelihood- from his life completely would correct everything. As if killing him would right the wrongs of his past mistakes.

Wesker had hurt his friends, destroyed the lives of those he worked alongside with, tormented Claire, and created Jill into his perfect puppet- and Chris… Chris had given Wesker his trust, told him his thoughts, dreams, and aspirations, he had even given him his body, so long ago… and Wesker had taken it all and ripped it all apart, tearing gaping holes in the fabric of Chris' existence, whether Chris realized it or not.

Wesker deserved to hurt.

"I. Hate. You. You. Bastard." Chris cried out before he finally stopped, his spirit completely broken. Slumping heavily against the man he hated, Chris grabbed at the leather collar of Wesker's shirt and squeezed down hard as he continued to mutter out his hatred for the man.

Wesker's crazed laughter had faded into a deep chuckle; hands limp on his sides as Chris let it all out. What seemed like an eternity passed before Wesker finally moved. Lifting his hand out, Wesker roughly pushed Chris off of him, throwing him across the room so the younger man hit the wall.

Chris lay limp against the stone, too worn to feel the pain of impact as he watched Wesker walk across the room with catlike grace, the wounds on his face healing quickly, leaving his face stained with blood.

"W-why are you laughing?" Chris whispered, not even flinching as Wesker again straddled him and roughly grabbed his hair, tilting his head up so he was forced to look into the demonic gaze of the man he loathed so much.

"Because, Christopher… you always hurt the one you love." Wesker replied, a sadistic smirk gracing his bloodied features.

Chris let out a strangled gasp as the words carried over to him like a slap to the face.

"N-no…" He whispered eyes wide as he was consumed by the crazed fire in Wesker's gaze. He couldn't move, couldn't tear his gaze away as the man before him once again displayed the control he still had over him, after so many years.

Chris was too shocked and too distraught to see the slight shift in Wesker's stance as the older male pulled out his magnum, silver glinting dangerously under the low light cast throughout the tomb. Tilting Chris' head to the side, Wesker's lips brushed gently across Chris', hot breath dancing against flushed skin as the barrel of the gun slid up and under Chris' jaw.

Closing his eyes, Chris succumbed to the feeling of defeat- the feeling that it was all done for. Squeezing his eyes, Chris let the slight brush of their lips take hold before the loud bang of a gun shot resonated through the room- breaking the spell that had been cast. Blood spurted forth from Wesker's shoulder, and the tyrant roughly pushed Chris away before standing up and spinning around to see Sheva standing at the tombs doorway, hands steady as she held her gun in front of her.

Growling, Wesker made his way towards Sheva as the woman glanced quickly at Chris who had snapped back to reality and was making his way back to his own gun that had been forgotten only a few short minutes ago. Sheva was ready to shoot again, despite knowing she would miss- when the beep of a watch could be heard and Wesker paused.

"Hmm… looks like it's your lucky day, girl, your seven minutes are up." Wesker said, gracefully putting his sunglasses back on. Cracking his neck, he turned slightly to admire the shaken appearance of Chris for a brief moment before leaving the room at a rapid pace.

"Chris, are you alright?" Sheva asked, running over to inspect Chris for wounds. Seeing the blood on his hands and the bruise on the jaw, she snagged a First Aid Spray and coated the two of them quickly, letting the medicine ease the physical pain.

Chris wished it could help with the mental scarring.

"I'm fine, are you and Jill- I mean are you alright?" He asked, watching Sheva messily try and tie her lose hairs back into a ponytail as the two of them started to jog through the tombs and back into the main area, presumably to find Wesker and hope to god that Jill was going to be alright.

"I'm fine, and Jill was knocked out when I came in here to find Wesker… what was going on-" She began, but quickly stopped speaking when she saw the look in Chris' eyes.

"It doesn't matter, what matters is we have to go catch him and save Jill." Chris said, his voice full of conviction- as if he had even more riding on all of this than before. Sheva watched his movements for a while, seeing how shaky and uncoordinated the BSAA member was and began to wonder how much more Chris could take before something bad happened… something the man couldn't deal with.

"Yeah… let's go help her." Sheva replied, showing confidence when she lacked it completely. One of them had to keep it together…

*You always hurt the ones you love*

"What did you feel like doing tonight?" Claire asked, sitting herself down on the couch before wrapping her legs in under her.

Chris turned the television off and looked over at his sister, an eyebrow raised. "Hey now, you came over saying you wanted some 'quality fun time' with your older brother and yet you didn't have anything planned for this 'fun time'?"

Chris let out a huge sigh and bravely took the punch to his shoulder courtesy of Claire.

"Well I'm sorry if you're apartment is so damn boring." Claire muttered out, curling up further into the couch. A comfortable silence surrounded them as they sat in the living room, listening to the ticking of a clock and enjoying the fact that they didn't have anywhere to run to- at least not for now.

"Hey… Chris. How are your therapy sessions going?" Claire asked after a moment, eyes downcast before flicking up to read Chris' reaction.

"'S okay," He replied, looking dead ahead. "I mean, I'm still not happy that I'm going, but… I'm working on making my life work now that I've saved the world… countless times."

Claire saw the subtle smirk and rolled her eyes, although she was smiling too. "I'm glad you agreed to actually seek some help- even though the BSAA had to threaten you with holding you back from the next few missions."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Chris ran his hand over his face and closed his eyes, letting his head hit the back of the couch. "Mm… it was a good threat, and I can see why they did it. Can't have a crazy person-"

"Don't call yourself crazy, Chris, because you're not. I think the proper term for your condition would be called 'Shell Shocked' and it would be good for you to remember it."

"Sorry… mom," Chris looked over at Claire and stuck his tongue out before reaching out to ruffle Claire's hair, causing strands to stick up from the static charge. Batting his hand away, Claire scooted far away until she was off of the couch and standing up.

"That's it, we're doing something. Where do you keep your board games?" Claire asked, ignoring the loud groan on the couch.

"In the closet." Chris mumbled out, flopping down on the couch like a twelve year old rather then a thirty-five year old he really was.

Claire went into the small hallway and dug around before pulling a variety of boxes out and back into the living room. Dropping them unceremoniously on to the small table, Cloud began shuffling the rather poor selection of games. Sitting up, Chris joined her in looking at the boxes before freezing as he picked up a familiar box.

"You always hurt… the one you love, the one you shouldn't hurt at all… you always take the sweetest rose… and crush it, 'till the petals fall."

"Chris… Chris are you alright?"

Claire's concerned voice snapped Chris out of his memories. Shaking his head clear, Chris looked up at Claire and nodded, a small, bitter, smile gracing his lips. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You… sure," Claire asked, taking the puzzle box of Chris' hand while glancing down at a cartoon character smiling up at her.

Chris tapped the table with one of his fingers, chewing his bottom lip as he considered answering the question.

'Do you believe that she deserves to know this all, that it might help your recovery?' The scratching of a pen could be heard as the man sitting on the chair across from Chris took notes.

'Maybe… I don't know. I mean… she might not handle it well. I don't want to hurt her.'

'Stop thinking about how it will effect other people for a moment… start thinking about yourself for onceand think about how it would feel to tell her the truth about the battles you've faced over the years.'

'I think I would feel… good. Relieved, but terrified at the same time. What if she- no… what if I'm not ready for everyone to know?'

'Then you're not. No one is forcing you, Chris. When you're ready, then I think you should tell your friends and family about your feelings and thoughts… and your past if you're willing. Keeping things cooped up for so long can have lasting damage.'

"Hey… Claire… I think it's time I told you everything- about my past… what happened those years with STARS… my missions in Umbrella… about… about Wesker." Chris began, glancing up from his finger to look at Claire. She had paused her board game shuffling and looked at Chris- hope in her eyes.

Maybe if he told her- if she knew… things would be okay for them. Things would be better… they could move on together. He had been feeling like his past mistakes and regrets were keeping him and everyone around him down, because…

He hates hurting the ones he loves.