Chapter Text
It all started like any normal day. A young couple returning home with their newborn child after nights at the hospital beaming and excited for their homecoming.
Now for any other family, fate would have ignored them, letting them live out their normal, typical lives. But fate wasn't kind. Not for this family.
In the end, what was supposed to be a cheery homecoming had turned into a scene of nightmares.
Blood trailed along the wooden boards as the acrid smell of gunpowder and iron filled the air. The couple that had been laughing and smiling hours ago now laid on the floor, their lifeless bodies sprawled limply on the cold boards, their hands reaching out in one last act towards the swaddled babe in their murderer's arms.
“Package has been retrieved. Will report to the pick-up site in five minutes.” One of the masked mercenaries reported, ignoring the wailing coming from the babe in his comrade’s arms. “Will you make it shut up?” Another one of the men asked, growing irritated as the babe only yelled louder in response.
But there would be no quelling to the babe’s wailing. It cried as if knowing its parents were dead or as if it had known of what its fate would be. It wailed until it could no longer wail, until finally it fell asleep exhausted.
And when it would wake up, its life would no longer be the same.
For as long as Albert remembered, Umbrella had encompassed his entire life. From the moment he was able to walk and talk, the company made sure to dictate every single aspect of his life, steering him on a course more for the benefit of the company rather than for himself. For anyone else, they would have gladly let a higher power dictate their course in life rather than deal with the growing pains of independence. But he wasn’t like anyone else. He wanted to be able to choose his own path and while he was allowed to follow his desires, it always ended back to where he started. Back to Umbrella. Back to Spencer whom still had the final say in his life and made sure he kept him on whatever path he had envisioned. It was stifling and he hated it.
Perhaps he was just being ungrateful. After all, the man did raise him well, giving him the best education and many sorts of lavish things that money could buy. But was making one’s own choices considered an act of ungratefulness? Perhaps selfish, Albert concluded, but not ungrateful. He wasn’t some puppet that Umbrella could just use for their own gain. It angered him greatly that those above him only saw him as an tool of theirs to use. It was humiliating and just utterly degrading.
Freedom just seemed so out of reach. It was like an unattainable goal. But a goal nevertheless.
He would achieve that goal. No matter what. No one would stand in his way.
Or so he thought.
Years would pass by quickly. In the blink of an eye, the boy had become a man of great prowess and intelligence. Yet, Albert still sought more. Eventually, he would come to Raccoon City and join S.T.A.R.S despite Spencer’s objections not that he cared much of the man's opinion to begin with. This was to be his statement to the CEO that his life was his own. As he stepped through the doors of the R.P.D, he made a promise to himself then. A promise to keep his teammates at arm’s length so he may reach his full potential.
Emotions make you weak. They’ll only pull you down in the end. That was one lesson he could agree with Spencer on.
But then, that brunette came into his life and managed to make him break said promise. He still remembered it all clear as day. Seated across from him, the young man would fidget nervously and avoid his eyes but would answer all his questions to the best of his ability.
So far, the man had left a good impression. His file too was quite impressive. However, said file also mentioned of an incident against his higher authorities that resulted in his dishonorable discharge. Albert knew that could spell trouble in the future if he were to take on the brunette but as he talked to the younger man, it was clear that Chris wasn’t a troublemaker as the discharge report said. It prompted him to dig deeper then.
“Why’d you go against your Captain, Mr. Redfield?” He had asked.
That seemed to confuse the brunette. It was as if he had expected to be thrown out once his file was on the table before him. “Mr. Wesker, I don’t think-.”
“Let me ask it again. Why did you go against orders, Mr. Redfield?”
The brunette kept silent, not sure if he should answer it but a stern glare from the blonde made him spill. “…The Captain was a bastard. He would endlessly pick on those who were slightly behind the rest and often encouraged the others to haze them. I… I couldn’t let him continue such practices.” The brunette told him, growing even more upset as he continued to speak.
That was all he needed to know that he had found the right man for the job and it still made him chuckle when he recalled the shocked look on the man’s face upon learning he was hired to be the Pointman of Alpha Team.
He found himself bonding with the others, growing closer than he would have liked. But he just couldn’t stop himself.
Weak. You are weak to let them drop your defenses so easily. The inner voice in him mocked but he ignored it.
He ignored it as he found himself growing closer to the Pointman, ignored it when he realized he had fallen for him, and ignored it still when he confessed his true feelings to the brunette one night outside the bar.
For once, he was happy. But that happiness would be short-lived, his desire to be free breaking the bubble of happiness he was in and he was once again falling into the abyss that was his imprisonment. So he made plans in secret. Even as his heart warred against him, he drew up plans late into the night ensuring that they would go perfectly.
He wasn’t going to stop. Even if it may cost him his soul.
That had been a year ago. Now he had a mere few weeks left. A few weeks to finally achieving what he had longed for so long. In a few weeks' time, he would finally break free from Umbrella’s clutches and be able to forge his own destiny.
Yet for some strange reason, that joy was mixed with a trickle of doubt. Why should he doubt his course of action? He had never been wrong in his decisions before. But deep down, his heart knew why.
If he chose this path, there would be no going back. There would be lives lost and a treachery of which he and Chris will never recover from. He didn’t want to lose Chris. And as much as he pretended to not care about the other members of S.T.A.R.S. he knew that it was a lie.
Going to the bar after a successful mission many times before, he had come to see them more than just puppets. Rather, he saw them as companions, dear friends whom cared about his well-being and trusted them as much as they trusted him even if he didn’t show it. Nobody had ever shown him such kindness, that was until he met the S.T.A.R.S. members.
His heart twisted at the thought of keeping them in the dark to succumb to their fates as his playthings. It begged the question then, should he tell Chris and the others the truth? But Albert knew if he were to do so, then the chances of him being compromised would be greater.
To tell or not to tell? To be free or to remain a prisoner? To be selfless or to be selfish?
Shaking his head, he turns back to focus on typing up the day’s reports. He would have time later to mull over this. Just then, the door to his office opened and a familiar face peeked in with a huge grin on his face.
“Hey, am I interrupting you?” Chris asks.
“…Yes. I was typing up reports so you better have a good reason for barging into my office, Chris.” Albert said in a no-nonsense tone. Yet instead of being deterred, that only seemed to make Chris’s grin grow even wider.
“I got donuts and coffee! You should take a break. It’s not good for you to be all cooped up in here forever, Albert.”
Donuts and coffee sounded good right about now. It would beat dealing with the paperwork. “I could spare a few minutes.” The blonde said.
“Great!” Stepping in, Chris kicked the door close behind him as he walks over with the box of donuts in one hand and the other holding the tray of hot coffee. Setting them on the desk, Chris leans down pecking a soft kiss on Albert’s cheek.
“Got your favorites too by the way.” He said cheekily.
That earned a soft smile from the Captain, which was a rarity in itself. No one except for Chris had ever seen the blonde smile. Oh, they’ve seen him smirk but that was about the closest thing to any hint of emotion he would display, often times appearing cold and unfriendly instead.
It was why many officers in the R.P.D. didn’t dare approach him.
Chris knew he was a lucky man to see this side of Albert and he was thankful for the blonde letting him into his life. He still remembered it like it was yesterday when Albert confessed his love for him. Honestly, he had thought it to be a joke at first. That was until Albert slammed his lips to his in a searing kiss that left him breathless.
“So I heard you’re going to a meeting out of town in two weeks' time from now.” Chris said.
In an instant, Albert’s smile dropped. Damn Spencer for calling him to a meeting the day before the final mission. Damn him for bringing his doubt to the forefront once more.
Tell him the truth. It’s for the best. His heart advised him.
Don’t tell him. It’ll only ruin everything you’ve worked so hard on. His brain whispered.
Noticing how Albert suddenly became quiet and looked so forlorn, Chris couldn’t help but feel concerned for his lover. “Hey, is everything alright?”
That snapped Albert out of his warring dilemma. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine Chris. I’m just not looking forward to the meeting that’s all.”
“I can tell. What, you going to deal with someone whose stick is so far up their ass?”
That made Albert chuckle. “You could say that.” If only Chris knew how much of a pain it was to deal with Spencer.
“Man, I’m so glad that I’m not you right now.” He jokes, earning a swat from the Captain.
“Very funny. Anyways, shouldn’t you be working?” Albert asks as he reaches for his coffee.
“And miss having a snack with my boyfriend? Not missing that, thank you.” Chris grinned. Rolling his eyes, Albert smiles mirthfully, letting Chris lean in to give him another sweet kiss.
If time could come to a standstill, he would rather be here in his office kissing Chris. He would rather have that than be forced to confront on the decisions that would change his life forever for good or for ill.
If only Albert knew that his fate was sealed long ago.