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The bed shifted, making Chris open his eyes. Early morning sunlight shown through the slight part of the blackout curtains, illuminating the slope of Leon’s shoulder and down his arm. Chris blinked and rubbed his eyes when he heard Leon lower his voice.
“Yes, I can be in the office in twenty. I’m leaving now.”
The phone screen brightened before Leon ended the call, and he pushed himself up to stand.
“Early morning call in?” Chris turned over to lay on his back, stifling a yawn.
Leon looked over his shoulder on his way to the bathroom. The light clicked on.
“Yeah. Did I wake you?” The sink started.
Chris sat up and stretched. Something popped in his back and he groaned, settling his feet on the carpet. The bed squeaked as he stood up. A little light flashed on his phone before it buzzed; a new message.
“Yeah, but it’s not exactly your fault. Military training.” Chris picked up the phone.
The sink cut off and he heard the toilet flush then Leon popped out with a toothbrush in his mouth. Chris glanced over as he opened the messaging app.
“Yoof shoo?” Leon mumbled around the mouthful of foam.
Chris chuckled at him. “Yeah. They have you scheduled for today? I thought you were supposed to be off.”
Leon nodded as he headed back into the bathroom. Chris looked at the new message to see Katrina’s contact picture smiling up at him.
I landed. <3
Chris sent back a quick response before he slid the phone into his pocket and went to lean in the bathroom doorway. Leon looked at him in the mirror reflection as he continued to brush his teeth. After a moment, he spat and rinsed the brush, taking a handful of water to swish. Chris took the hand towel off the rack to pass to him.
“Yeah, but Hunnigan said there’s some kind of paperwork that came in over the weekend.” Leon wiped his mouth and handed the towel back to Chris. “Something to do with Ezra’s lab.”
Chris hummed and slid the towel over the rack again. “I thought they were done with you about that? That it was up to the analysts.”
Leon shrugged and stepped around Chris. “Yeah, but apparently this is something only I can handle. So.” He gestured and opened the closet.
“So you’re the one to get called in.” Chris watched Leon pull on a pair of slacks. He tutted softly. “The professional look still doesn’t suit you, Kennedy.”
Leon laughed and looked over his shoulder. “I think I’ll save my worries for the day it does, Redfield.”
Chris stepped into the bathroom to take care of himself. When he finished, Leon was already gone. The bedroom door was open, letting in light from the hall. Chris padded outside and into the kitchen to see Leon pouring himself a cup of coffee. Their eyes met and Leon grabbed another mug to pour Chris one.
“Thanks.” Chris leaned over to bunt the side of Leon’s head as he took the mug. “So how long’s this gonna take?”
“No idea.” Leon put the carafe back and snapped the lid on his tumbler. “Hunnigan was vague about it. So thirty minutes to the whole fucking day.”
Leon took the tumbler and started for the front door, sitting it on the table by the door. He fished his boots out of the cubby and stepped into them. Chris sipped his coffee and followed, watching the way Leon’s back curved. It was too early for anything dirty, he reminded himself.
“I hope it doesn’t take the whole day.” Chris started, taking a longer drink. “Considering it’s your birthday.”
Leon looked up, his brows raised. The look of surprise shifted to confusion then back to surprise as he straightened. Chris grinned at him. Leon tilted his head, and his mouth parted before his brows rose and he nodded.
“Yeah, fuck. Yeah, okay. It is my birthday.” He ran a hand through his bangs. “Wow. Uh, fuck. I forgot.”
“I noticed.” Chris grinned over the lip of his mug.
Leon fixed him with a look before bending back down to lace his boots. “How did you remember, Chris?”
“Wrote it down in my calendars.” Chris said without shame. In their line of work, it was easy to forget days. It was also easy to forget the importance of days.
“Heh, I bet.” Leon snorted as he stood. “Well, I hope you didn’t plan anything because I’m pretty sure this is gonna be one of those all day things.”
Chris shook his head. “No. I figured maybe dinner at home, a movie.”
Leon smiled, soft and gentle. He leaned in to kiss Chris’s cheek. The smell of Leon’ s cologne and toothpaste lingered as he pulled back. The edges of Chris’s lips turned up as he watched Leon take down his keys and pick up the tumbler.
“You have good ideas, Redfield. I’ll text when I get free.” Leon opened the door and stepped out into the hall.
Chris waved and waited for the click of the door before he turned the deadbolt. He carried his mug back toward the dining room where he left it on the table. The curtains were drawn and the sun was peaking over the tops of the skyscrapers. He rested his hand on the window frame and looked down to the street level to see the parking garage exit.
A familiar dark jeep pulled out several minutes later.
Chris pulled out his phone and pressed Katrina’s contact picture. It rang twice before she answered.
“Operation surprise party is a go. I’ll pick you up in ten.”
The drive to Katrina’s hotel was slow going due to the early morning traffic, but it gave Chris more time to go over his mental to do list. He had spent weeks planning Leon’s party around their schedules, and was more than a little surprised nothing had come up.
“Make sure he stays at the office until I give the go ahead, Hunnigan.” Chris turned down the street and could see the hotel looming ahead.
“Of course, Captain Redfield.” Hunnigan’s voice was full of amusement. “Though I still think throwing a surprise party for a man with PTSD isn’t really a good idea.”
Chris laughed. “Yeah, I thought of that. I think I can do something that won’t make him too...jumpy.”
“You mean stabby.” Hunnigan chuckled.
“That, too.” The hotel entrance crept closer, and he noticed someone sitting on a bench near the curb. “Thanks again, Hunnigan. Don’t forget to bring the fruit salad.”
“I won’t. Good luck.” Hunnigan ended the call.
Chris pulled up to the front of the hotel to see Katrina sitting on the bench, swinging her feet. He rolled down the passenger window and leaned over.
“Hey, Kat. Good flight?” He called.
Her face turned to him, and her eyes lit up before she bounced to her feet. She smiled excitedly and did a nother little hop.
“Chris!” She squeezed her hands together. “I missed you so much!”
It had only been a few weeks since their reunion at the steakhouse, but for Chris it felt like years. He put the jeep in park and opened his door to step out. Katrina was practically vibrating with joy as he stepped around the front of the car.
“You look great, Kat.” Chris held his arms open for her.
Katrina giggled and jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Chris laughed and squeezed her gingerly around the middle, pulling her off the ground in the process. She was such a tiny thing.
She pressed her cheek against his and squeezed him with everything she had. “I’m so excited to plan Leon’s party with you! He’s going to be so surprised!”
Chris sat her back on the sidewalk and watched her adjust the skirt of her day dress. She wiggled her hips then looked back up at him.
“He really is. You’re not the only person who made a special trip.” Chris opened the passenger door.
“Really?” Katrina turned to pick up a medium sized box from the bench. It was wrapped in dark blue paper. “Who else?”
“Well, my sister and Sherry to name two.” Chris took the box to put in the backseat while Katrina climbed in.
“Sherry.” Katrina tapped her chin and buckled, turning to watch Chris as he walked back around to the driver’s side. “That name sounds familiar.”
“It should.” Chris agreed as he closed the door, buckled, and put the jeep in drive. “She’s a girl Leon saved back in Raccoon. He and Claire.”
“Oh.” Katrina grinned. “So he makes a habit of saving young ladies.”
Chris laughed and started down the street toward one of the party stores. “Yeah, I think he does. I think he missed his calling as a knight or something.”
Katrina giggled, covering her mouth with her wrist. “I don’t think he missed that at all.” She looked at Chris, eyes bright. “Neither of you.”
Chris hummed softly as he turned down another street. He glanced at Katrina then back to the road as he pulled into the parking lot of the sprawling mall complex.
“I’m glad you could make it in, Kat. We have a lot to do.” Chris put the jeep in park and leaned back in the chair.
“We do.” Katrina unbuckled and pulled out a notepad from her dress pocket. “Decorations, food, a cake.” She flipped open the book. “I wanted to bake Leon a cake, actually.”
Bake a cake? Chris couldn’t remember the last time he’d baked a cake. Maybe when Claire was younger, though he didn’t have glowing memories of the event. Something about frosting explosions and burnt edges.
“Can you bake?” He looked at Katrina with his brows lowered.
Katrina stilled and stared at her notepad. Slowly, she turned her head to him and chewed her lower lip. She tapped her fingers against the notepad.
“Well, no, but I have a friend’s recipe and it couldn’t be that hard, right?” She forced a smile and touched Chris’s arm. “I mean, you fight monsters, and I don’t die. Baking a cake should be easy!”
“I didn’t know sugar could burn like that.” Katrina whispered as Chris fanned the oven.
The smoke alarm blared overhead, and Chris coughed as the burned remains of the cake smoldered on the stove top. He flicked the towel at it again and gestured toward the dining room windows.
“Get those open!”
Katrina turned to scamper toward them, tugging the blinds up. She unlocked the panes and yanked them up, waving her hands toward the window. The smoke began to clear, and Chris grabbed the broom to press the alarm button to turn it off. The cake continued to smoke as he picked it up to carry toward the window.
“Oh, it looks really bad.” Katrina covered her mouth with her hands.
The cake was supposed to have been a simple butter cake, but somewhere during the process, it had caught fire in the oven. Chris had hurried to shut the oven off, and when the cake was no longer aflame, he had pulled it out.
Now he looked out of the window, over the street. No one was on the sidewalk. He looked at the burnt brick.
Chris turned the cake pan upside down and gave it a firm smack. The cake popped free and dropped to the pavement far below. Katrina made a quiet noise and Chris looked to see her still covering her mouth with wide eyes.
She hissed, accusatory. “Chris!”
“It’s fine. It’ll degrade.” Chris looked back down to the splotch of black and yellow. He pulled his head back into the apartment and sighed. “Any idea what we did wrong?”
“Angered the baking gods?” Katrina shrugged helplessly and took the pan to the sink.
“Besides that.” Chris leaned on the wall by the window.
Katrina looked at him as she turned on the faucet to soak the pan. Her eyes strayed to the oven before she shrugged again.
“I don’t know. We followed the directions, had the right temperature. It shouldn’t have...combusted.”
Chris pressed his lips thin and moved away from the window when there was a knock at the door. The two of them froze, and Katrina stared at him wide eyed. It couldn’t have been Leon, he had a key. Chris relaxed with that assurance and headed toward the door.
He opened it to see Claire standing on the other side holding a gift bag. A grin broke out on his face, and he swung the door open the rest of the way.
“Claire!” He grabbed her in a similar hug he’d given Katrina and yanked her inside. “You’re early!”
“And you’re crushing me, Chris!” She patted his back.
Right. Chris sat Claire down and squeezed her shoulder instead. “I’m glad you came.”
“Sure, sure. I still owe Leon a good kick in the ass for worrying me.” Claire stepped around Chris with her package. “I bet he even forgot.” She paused. “Oh, hi.”
Katrina was staring at them from the sink, holding the pan tightly in her hands. She looked at Chris, head lowered. Fear was in her eyes, and her fingers tapped against the pan in a nonsensical rhythm. He softened his expression and held Claire’s arm gently.
“Claire, this is Katrina.” Chris smiled. “Kat, this is my little sister Claire.”
“Hello.” Katrina let the pan go and hurried to dry her hands on a towel. She bit her lip. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Chris.”
Claire chuckled. “All good things I hope.” She held her hand out to Katrina. “I’ve heard a lot about you, too . My brother says you’re quite a girl.”
Katrina took Claire’s hand and lifted her head a fraction. She smiled, soft and shy. Claire squeezed her hand then let go.
“I was lucky to meet them.” Katrina admitted.
“Yeah, these two are always in the wrong place at the right times.” Claire smiled again then looked around the apartment. “Alright, so what needs done before the birthday boy arrives? Also, please don’t tell me that burnt smell is because you let Chris try to bake?”
Katrina ducked her head, her face reddening . “Well... we tried to do it. Together.”
Claire blinked then let out a snorting laugh. “Oh my God. Well, it’s a good thing I came over early. You two start on decorating, I’ll take care of the baking.” She rolled back the sleeves of her sweater and headed for the kitchen.
“Good idea.” Chris nodded and turned to Katrina. “Grab the streamer bag?”
Katrina nodded and hurried out of Claire’s way over to the kitchen counter for the streamer rolls. She turned back just as Chris hoisted her up and onto his shoulders. She squeaked in alarm then let out a laugh as he walked them toward the front door.
“This beats a step ladder!” She giggled. “But I need tape!”
“Right here.” Chris picked up a roll from the table and tore off a strip for her.
Katrina thanked him and started to pin and unroll the blue and gold streamers, braiding them as they went around the room.
“So I think I know what happened with the cake.” Claire called. “Who set the oven?”
“I did.” Chris admitted as he passed up one edge of the birthday banner to Katrina.
“Figures.” Claire poured the fresh batter into a clean pan. “You read the temperature upside down. It was 375, not 573. You can’t even get an odd number on an electric oven, Chris!”
Well, that did explain it . Chris turned to see his sister rolling her eyes and frowning at him. Even Katrina looked at him confused as she finished the last roll of streamers.
“I guess the box was upside down when I preheated?” Chris carefully sat Katrina on the floor and shrugged. “Oops?”
“Yeah, oops. And it’s a wonder they trust you with military equipment.” Claire laughed.
“Hey, that’s different!” Chris pointed.
Claire didn’t seem convinced as she put the second cake in the oven and moved to start on the frosting.
It took two hours for them to finish prepping. Chris held his phone in his hand as he watched Katrina and Claire settle the birthday cake on the dining table. The two of them moved slowly as they worked their fingers out from underneath the cake board, speaking carefully as they went.
“Easy.” Claire urged as she pulled her hands free.
“Almost. Almost.” Katrina slipped her fingers out and looked up at Claire. “We did it!”
“We did!” Claire cheered and held her hand up for a high five.
Katrina slapped her hand, and the two of them laughed excitedly before looking over at Chris.
“When’s the food arriving?” Claire asked.
“Right about now.” Chris headed for the door. “I shot Hunnigan a text to let Leon loose, too.”
“And the guest list?’ Claire wiped her hands.
“Also coming up with the food.” Chris opened the door. “Hey, welcome.”
The delivery driver blinked at Chris from his spot among the several guests. Each of them had a Chinese takeout bag, no doubt trying to help cut out the poor guy’s trips. Chris smiled at him and stepped aside, gesturing them all in.
“Just put it on the kitchen counter. We’ll arrange it ourselves. And make yourselves comfortable!”
The delivery man stepped inside followed by Jill and Carlos. Carlos grinned at Chris, punching him playfully in the arm.
“Hey, Boulders.” He grinned.
“Not funny.” Chris shook his head.
Jill chuckled and patted Carlos. “You promised to be good.”
“That was good.” Carlos leaned against her as they walked further inside.
The rest of the guests filed in until Sherry stopped in front of Chris.
“So Leon doesn’t know?” She gestured inside the apartment.
“Nope. All of this is going to be a big surprise.” Chris patted her back. “He’s going to shit to see you.”
Sherry laughed. “ It’ll be good to see him again. Thanks for inviting me, Chris.” She stepped inside.
“Sure.” Chris turned around to notice Katrina standing in the corner near the dining room. She was tapping her fingers again and looked nervous. “Hey, Sherry.” He settled his hand on Sherry’s shoulder and started to walk toward Katrina. “I have someone you should meet.”
“Yeah?” Sherry looked up at him then toward Katrina.
Katrina lifted her eyes and stilled her hand. She wet her lips.
“Yeah. Sherry Birkin. Meet Katrina Sparrow.” Chris gestured between them.
“Oh, you’re the girl Leon told me about.” Sherry smiled and held out her hand. “He said we had some things in common.”
Katrina stared at her hand then looked at Chris who nodded. She slowly took Sherry’s hand.
“We do?” She asked softly.
“Yeah. We both found Leon when we needed him.”
Katrina blinked then smiled, looking away. “He’s a good knight.”
Chris smiled and turned when he felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out to see a message from Leon saying he was in the garage. He sent back a quick reply and looked over the party.
“Alright, Leon’s heading up. I’m going to intercept him, so places, people!” Chris clapped.
“Just make sure he’s not armed or can get to a weapon when we jump out.” Claire rubbed her face. “We don’t need him braining someone.”
“Will do.” Chris waved and headed down the hall toward the elevators.
The elevator doors opened in time to Leon pressing the UP button . He lifted his head, a look of irritation in his eyes, to see Chris. The look broke, replaced by a smile .
“Oh, it’s you.” He sighed and stepped into the elevator to lean on Chris. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Chris wrapped an arm around Leon’s waist and hit the button for their floor. “Long day?”
“Pointless day.” Leon pushed back his bangs. “Very pointless.”
“Yeah?” Chris squeezed his hip. “Paperwork?”
“Mountains of it. It was like whenever I finished something, Hunnigan found a new file.” He crossed his arms. “I’m just happy to have it done with.”
“I bet.” Chris agreed as the elevator slowed.
“Yeah.” Leon straightened. “You said something about dinner and movies?”
“I did.” Chris nodded as the doors opened and they stepped out. “Though I do have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Leon tilted his head in suspicion. “I don’t really like surprises, Chris.”
“I think you’ll like this one.” Chris rested his hand on Leon’s shoulder. “Do you trust me?”
“Chris, I...” Leon faltered as they stopped at the apartment door. “It’s not that I don’t, it’s-”
“Do you trust me, Kennedy?” Chris repeated, voice stern.
Leon sighed. “Ye s , Chris, I trust you.”
“Close your eyes.”
“What?” Leon started to shake his head.
“Trust me.” Chris squeezed Leon’s shoulder.
Leon sighed at length but shut his eyes. Chris watched him a moment longer before he opened the apartment door. He rested his hand at the center of Leon’s shoulders and walked him forward. They stood in the middle of the room.
“Alright, Leon. Open your eyes.”
Leon opened his eyes and twitched against Chris as the room erupted in a loud shout of “happy birthday”. He gripped Chris’s hand before he calmed and let out a laugh.
“Oh, shit. A surprise party?” Leon looked around, his smile shifting from nervous to genuine. “Wow.”
Chris squeezed Leon’s hand before draping his arm over his shoulders. “Yep. I had a conversation with a little party planner, and we threw it all together.”
“What party planner?” Leon pinched his brows.
“A little one.” Chris grinned and pointed to Katrina.
Leon followed his hand and stilled when he saw Katrina. Then h e stiffened when Sherry stepped out behind her.
“Holy shit.” Leon pulled away from Chris to walk toward both women. “Sherry, Kat.”
“Happy birthday, Leon.” Sherry smiled, throwing her arms around one side of his neck.
“Happy birthday!” Katrina hugged him from the other side.
Leon wrapped his arms around both of them, squeezing them tight. He let go and looked back at Chris.
“And they’re not the only ones.” Chris nodded his head.
Leon turned around to see Claire who moved in for her own hug. She squeezed him tight.
“Don’t think because it’s your birthday you’re skipping that ass kicking I promised.” She whispered.
Leon laughed. “I deserve it.” He let Claire go and stepped toward Chris. “You’re kinda cute, Redfield. And sweet. For an asshole.”
Chris rested his hand on Leon’s cheek and leaned in to touch their foreheads.
“We see a lot of bad shit, Leon. Sometimes, we need to be reminded of the good.” He leaned in to press his lips to Leon’s. “Happy birthday.”