“Always? I know for a while back there I wasn’t the easiest person to deal with.” It’s something he’s well aware of, the way his life fell apart when Jill died - the refusal to grieve or accept it, knowing she was out there (he proved them right), throwing himself into working and working and working. Three years with no time for his sister, no time for his friends, just constant battles, the constant searching. The plane to Africa he’d lost his temper, he didn’t want another partner. Knowing he’d only let them down and they weren’t Jill.
He’s not ignorant enough to believe he didn’t let that seep through onto Sheva despite his efforts - but she fought as good as she gave, believed in him, put up with him - helped him. Saved his life over and over, saved Jill’s life (knows he couldn’t have done it alone). Remembers the feeling of her hand in his as she chased after the jet, seconds away from falling and again, mid-flight, dropping himself to catch her. I’m not losing you too.
He’s thought about it before, how to articulate his gratitude, his apology. Knows he couldn’t ever phrase it the right way and hopes she knows - friends are few and far between, and ones he can trust even fewer.
“If by spoil myself you mean go to the gym, then yeah.” He’s well aware of the jokes - moreso of Barry’s insistence (and everyone else’s) that he does something else.
“Besides, you know how it is. Always sending me off to do something.”
“Good things don’t come easy, Chris. You and I both know that.” A simper of a smile, along with a playful cock of her brow. Besides, there had been far worse. He had his reasons, regardless of how he had chosen to handle them. Not that it was BLIND ADMIRATION alone or anything. Perhaps, she had just been fortunate enough to see enough that she would continue to see the man as a friend who was WORTH FAR MORE than he would give himself credit for.
One would naively think that you truly would become wiser with age. If only that were so. Not the EXHAUSTION and FEAR that she had seen creep up on so many people, over these years. Not that they could be blamed. And Sheva would never have expected herself to become such a form of support to the man himself, the moment she had decided to become his PARTNER for that mission
To dare look back on the year 2009 itself, for the HOPELESSNESS and FRUSTRATION they have felt. That instead have been drowned out by a mixture of DEDICATION and DESPERATION (Easy really, for one to guess which it was that she herself believed she was following through with). Jill had been saved, Chris was still here-- so were Josh and her. As she had continued looking on ahead, those were the very few things that she would dare think about, if her mind ever drifted back to that time.
“... Theeere’s that.” She quipped, so long as the man was watching over his own health, that was one less thing to worry about. “Not that I could imagine the Chris Redfield spoiling himself with a shopping spree or anything-- but, tell me, is there anything else that you enjoy?” It was never too late to bring back things that he had once enjoyed.
“Hm, I suppose you’re right... busy as ever, no surprise there.”