Origami Heart | By : Orichalcon Category: +M through R > Resident Evil Views: 7573 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil and its characters, and, no profit is made from this story. |
II. “Everything’s so…neat!” was the first thing Claire said when she stepped into the two-story building. It was the last house on the block, isolated on its own territory that emanated an unfriendly presence, the shades drawn tightly on both floors, leaking no light. She heard Wesker close the door behind her before he began taking off his boots, setting the shoes tidily into the corner. Claire knew she was supposed to follow suit, so she allowed herself one more quick survey of the first floor, ingesting the panorama. The doorway led into the living room of the house, furniture against all panels of the room. She counted five bookshelves on her right, each ledge stacked with old and heavy-looking tomes, the crinkly and tan colored pages revealing telltale signs of age. Two black leather couches, adjacent to each other, surrounded a small coffee table that supported more books and folders, which she assumed to be work. There was a desk beside the window, and if it were actually facing the window with the shades open, Claire thought it’d be lovely to be able to work and see the outside view, but considering that this was Wesker, the desk had to be situated in the corner, opposite a blank white wall. On the left side of the living room was a small and outdated-looking television resting on top of a mahogany sill. Next to it was a mini bar, expensive and fancy bottles encased behind glass. She didn’t know Wesker was a connoisseur of fine wine, but could easily picture him as one. Further back was a golden banister that led to the second floor, a tiny kitchen, and what appeared to be a locked study room, both sliding doors meeting a strange circular emblem in the center. “Compared to your apartment and dorm, that’s not saying much,” Wesker replied, moving across the room, his thick footsteps plunging into the plush, crimson carpet that spread throughout the living room like a sea of blood. He disappeared behind a jutted pillar. There was a sound of a cupboard opening and closing before he emerged again, a med kit in his hand. Claire set her own boots next to Wesker’s, paying meticulous attention to positioning them as straight as possible after seeing how rigid everything was in the house. Normally, she’d just kick them off in her own dorm and Chris’s apartment, but she wasn’t looking to get kicked into the cold snow tonight, nor could she afford to pay for anything she might damage. She wouldn’t be surprised if the antique-looking lamp cost on his desk cost the same as Chris’s monthly rent. “You make me seem like a slob.” Claire sighed and dropped her backpack on the floor before gently lowering herself into the couch, being careful not to put any pressure on the aches around her waist. Thankfully, her throbbing headache had abated to just tolerable light pulses. “My dorm isn’t that messy and neither is my brother’s apartment.” Wesker chose not to argue further on the subject of something that was of no importance, was wise enough to know that they’d just be going around in circles. “Here, clean yourself up,” he said instead, handing her the kit. Before she accepted, she removed the tactical vest clinging to her body that was slowly being warmed by the heat permeating throughout the room. She held the vest in her hands for a beat, strangely missing the security that had embraced her. She had been all too eager to give it back to him before, but now, she was having a little trouble parting with it. He seemed to acknowledge her reluctance to give up the vest, so he plucked it out of her hands. Her fingers immediately reached out, wanting to touch the Kevlar material one last time before the realization of what she was doing paralyzed her hands in midair. Something else was shoved between her palms. It was a hard, rectangular box with a red cross stamped on the lid. She drew clarity from the bold color of the cross against the bland white, the contrast so striking that it seemed to jump out at her, chasing away irrelevancies that were not welcome right now. “I trust you’ve seen one of these before, correct?” He let out an exasperated sigh and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes wearily. Claire froze again, the box now on her lap, but she made no attempt to open it. With childlike fascination and curiosity, she found herself unable to pull away from his eyes, his dark blue eyes that promised intelligence, determination, and vigor. She extracted that much, but knew there was more to those haunting eyes that held her own with sharpness that she wasn’t intimidated by. Perhaps it was because she had tried to envision on more than one occasion what he would look like without the shades, and the sight before her didn’t disappoint, not at all. “Y-yes,” she finally stuttered and pried the box open. She preoccupied herself by rummaging through the kit, head bowed so her messy locks of hair cascaded over her face, concealing the light flush that had risen moments ago. Wesker dismissed her response with a roll of his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he had gotten strange reactions for taking off his glasses. Did people not understand that he did not sleep with them on? “Hey, Wesker? Umm…do you have anything to eat?” Claire asked, the question forming upon her lips without her consent. To keep herself distracted from his trenchant eyes, her mind had weaved through various thoughts, and the one that clicked was her remembrance of seeing a homeless man across the street when Wesker had parked the police car. She remembered distinctly feeling sorry for him, but Wesker had so hastily urged her inside the house that she hadn’t had time to even point out the beggar’s existence. “Did you not grovel enough at the diner?” “No, it’s not me. Trust me, I’m still stuffed. It’s just that…I think there’s a hungry man across the street and it wouldn’t hurt to maybe…give him something?” Claire spoke with a shaky smile, desperately trying to keep her lips curved upwards as the Captain showed no indications of agreeing to her little benevolent proposal. Though, he didn’t show any signs of disagreeing with her, either. “What does my house look like to you? A soup kitchen?” he projected his thoughts aloud, mentally trying his hardest to let his patience drench him like an overflowing, cool waterfall. It was much easier said than done for he had never been a philanthropist in his life, and he didn’t plan to start right now. “I’m going to take a shower.” And cleanse myself of this filthy night. “Don’t wander around,” he warned, facing the banister. All the classified information and work only he was privy to, were locked in his private study, a room she’d have no access to. Still, he didn’t want her roaming about his house; she had no privilege to do so. “Don’t plan to,” Claire whispered, eyes following his form up the stairs until he turned at the corner, out of sight. She placed the med kit on the coffee table and tiptoed toward the window, parting the shades with her fingers. The man she had seen earlier was still there, a thick blanket (or rags) coiling around his shivering body. She felt her heart drop at the sight and cast an uncertain glance toward the stairs, waited a few moments, and decided that Wesker’s vague answer wasn’t a definite “no.” Before she knew what she was doing her, she was already in the kitchen, her attention falling upon a pot on the stove. She lifted the lid and found rice and beans inside, cold and stiff. Claire scrunched her nose. It wasn’t the most appetizing meal, but she supposed beggars couldn’t be choosers. Her hands worked quickly, messily transferring scoops of the rice into a ceramic bowl with a spoon she had snatched from the drawer. When she thought the amount was adequate, she slipped the bowl into the microwave, the low hum of it causing her wince. Wesker definitely would not be happy if he heard her fumbling with things she shouldn’t have her hands on, but she felt peculiarly prepared to defend her actions again even though the last attempt ended in a failure. A lot of friends thought her generosity was just a part of her personality, and Claire settled with that assumption. But, the truth was she knew what genuine helplessness felt like as a child, what lengths she’d be willing to go to in order to satiate her hunger when her brother couldn’t provide dinner on certain evenings. She’d had a rough childhood, and although it was beyond her humanly capability to ease all the suffering in the world, Claire made a promise to herself that she would at least try to help whenever she could. You’re doing the right thing, her mind cheered. “Really? By abusing Wesker’s kindness, doing something he probably wouldn’t approve of.” Then he would have said so, but his answer seemed open-ended. The conversation with herself came to an abrupt cease when the microwave pinged, the orange light inside diminishing. She took out the hot bowl out and held the rim and the bottom between her thumb and index finger, and stuck the same spoon she used earlier into the center of the bowl. When she passed by the banister, she heard water the sound of water running. “Let’s just hope I make it back before he finishes his shower.” Claire slipped into her boots and opened the door, a strong draft greeting her even before she stepped out. She pulled the door, but didn’t close it all the way. It would be most embarrassing if she locked herself out and had to ring the doorbell to get Wesker’s attention. If that were to happen, she was pretty certain that she’d be spending her night across the street with the homeless man. With gusts of wind, each stronger than the last hitting her, the distance between her and the beggar appeared to stretch. He seemed to notice her struggling to brave the element, his lackluster eyes glistening as she advanced through the accumulating layers of snow. When she knelt in front of him, her hands offering him the bowl she had carried from the daunting-looking house, it took a lot for the man to control his emotions. “Here,” she whispered, carefully settling the bowl into his frigid, shaking hands. He nodded, his gratitude expressed in the way the wrinkles on his face creased upward.
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