Hihihihi!!! love ur works so much :) could you maybe do a hound wolf squad reader with Chris or Leon???
Thanks for sending in a request! I decided to do the Chris option for this one!
Summary: No one can know that Chris is dating one of his team members. Unfortunately, he's not as subtle as he'd hoped.
Masterlist
Not Too Subtle - Chris Redfield x Reader
It starts as a joke.
That’s how most of these things start, apparently. The first time you notice the betting pool, it’s because you catch people looking at you and Chris in that very specific way. The kind of way people use when they think they know something you don’t. Three guesses later, you decide they absolutely do know something you don’t.
The Hound Wolf Squad is gathered around the table after a mission, all of them looking half-dead and somehow still full of energy. Drinks are scattered everywhere. Gear is tossed in corners. The men are absorbed in conversation, hushed whispers so quiet that their Captain can’t hear them. Said Captain is by the window, washing the blood off his knuckles in the sink like the whole world hasn’t just tried to kill him again.
You step into the room with a stack of ration bars in your arms and a look on your face that is probably a little too tired to be polite.
“The fuck are you guys talking about?”
Four heads snap toward you. Parker immediately looks guilty. Mike looks like he’s trying not to laugh. Zach is staring into his drink like he’d rather die than participate.
And Chris… Chris just looks vaguely curious, which somehow makes it worse.
You narrow your eyes. “Why are all of you staring at me?”
There is a beat of silence. Then Parker says, far too quickly, “Nobody’s staring.”
Chris looks between all of them with the expression of a man realizing he has walked into a trap. That alone makes you suspicious.
You set the ration bars down slowly. “…What is going on?”
They say nothing. Which is apparently an answer. Chris turns around from the sink, drying his hands on a towel. His brows pull together a little when he takes in the scene.
“What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Parker says at the exact same time Mike says, “Everything.”
Chris looks immediately more concerned. You look more irritated. “This is not helping.”
Zach clears his throat so hard it sounds painful.
Parker, under absolutely no duress, blurts out, “We have a betting pool.”
Silence. Chris blinks. You blink. Then, you turn very slowly to look at him. “A what?”
Mike folds both arms and points at Chris with zero mercy. “Captain thinks we don’t notice when he starts smiling at his phone.”
Zach mutters, “No offence, Captain, but you’re not being subtle. We know you’ve got some girl back home! Just tell us, already.”
Your eyes move to Chris. He goes still. Very still.
At the beginning of your relationship to him, you two had made one rule: No one can know. Not because it’s forbidden exactly, there’s no official rule against dating inside the unit, but because both of you agreed that if the squad found out, you’d never hear the end of it.
So. No PDA. No pet names. No weird favoritism. No one needed to know that Captain Redfield sleeps with his face buried in your shoulder whenever deployments get bad. Simple.
Apparently, not so simple.
Parker gestures vaguely at the table. “It started as a joke.”
“It is still a joke,” Mike says. “Just an expensive one.”
Chris closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them again, there is already the beginning of something dangerous in his expression. “…How expensive?”
Nobody answers. You glance at the table. At the crumpled paper under a half-empty mug. At the numbers written in aggressive marker. At the names. Odds, you realize.
Your mouth falls open. “Oh my God.”
Parker points at Zach. “He started it.”
Zach immediately throws both hands up. “I did not start it. I merely-”
“You made a spreadsheet!”
“I made a predictive model! You know I was a stats guy before all this-!”
“Enough!” Chris is bellowing now, hand pinching the bridge of his nose.
You stare at the paper again. Chris, to his credit, actually looks offended now. “You people have a spreadsheet? What the hell even gave you these ideas?”
Mike tilts his head. “Well, let’s see.” He starts ticking points off on his fingers with the air of a man presenting evidence in court. “You stopped smoking. You’re always texting someone. You shaved! We haven’t seen you shave in months!”
Chris opens his mouth. Closes it, almost like he’s too exasperated to speak.
Mike keeps going. “You smile at your phone every time you text.”
Your mouth twitches despite yourself. At least they don’t seem to realize it’s you. You’re the ‘mystery woman’. You’re the person he’s been texting.
Chris just sighs.“For the record,” he says slowly, “none of you have any right to comment on my personal life.”
There’s a mixture of sighs and groans as the Squad drops the conversation.
Little did you both know that this was not going to be the end of this.
.
.
.
The betting pool somehow gets worse. Not bigger, necessarily. The men aren’t stupid enough to include other units in the bet. But it gets worse. Because now that the idea has entered everyone’s heads, they start seeing evidence everywhere. Unfortunately, they are very bad at pattern recognition.
It starts two days later. Another deployment. This time, the weather is cold. Everyone’s miserable, yourself included. The mission itself isn’t awful, but it’s one of those long ones. Hours of waiting followed by twenty minutes of absolute hell. By the time everyone gets back to base, nobody’s in a great mood. You peel your gloves off and immediately start rubbing at your fingers. They’re numb and cracked from hours of freezing dry air. You assume that no one notices your discomfort.
Chris apparently does. You’re halfway through unpacking when something heavy and blissfully warm lands on your shoulders. It feels soft against your skin, and you could recognize the scent coming off of it anywhere.
His jacket.
You blink. Chris doesn’t even look up from checking his weapon. “You’re cold.”
“…You’re also cold.” You roll your eyes, tugging the fabric tighter against your body.
His shoulders lift. “I’m fine.”
Then he walks away. You slowly look up. Three squad members are staring.
Parker squints. “…Captain’s weird.”
“WAIT.” Zach nearly leaps out of his seat. All heads turn in his direction, your own eyebrows lifting. He lowers his voice. “…Maybe she’s a doctor. Maybe his girlfriend is one of the medics!”
Mike frowns. “…What?”
“Think about it. He quit smoking!”
Parker gasps. “Oh my God.”
“YOU THINK HE’S DATING A MEDIC?”
You decide not to interfere.
.
.
.
They do not forget their theory. In fact, they get worse. By the end of the week, the theory has evolved. Not only is Captain Redfield dating a medic, he’s apparently deeply in love.
You find this out while cleaning one of your weapons. Parker is sitting nearby with all the confidence of a man who has never once been right in his life.
“It makes perfect sense.”
Mike nods seriously. “It really does.”
“Think about it!” Zach gestures with his fork.
You do not want to think about it. He continues anyway. “He stopped smoking. He started sleeping more!”
You blink, confused. Chris sleeps the same amount he always has. Which is to say not enough.
Zach continues. “He started shaving.”
Mike gasps. “MEDICAL INFLUENCE! She’s making sure he’s healthy!!!”
You nearly choke. Across the room, Chris is reading over reports. His eyes flick up once. “…What are you idiots talking about?”
Mike points at him accusingly. “Your girlfriend.”
Chris pauses. The man’s eyes widen a little. “…My what?”
Parker leans forward. “Captain.”
Chris slowly lowers the papers. “…No.”
“You don’t have to tell us.” Mike sighs. “We support you.”
Chris stares. “…Support me through what?”
“Your relationship.” Parker shrugs.
Silence. The man in question slowly turns, eyes locking onto you. You immediately look away. He narrows his eyes. You pretend not to notice. Chris looks like he’s about to say something, to spill the proverbial beans, when Mike speaks again.
Chris blinks once. “…That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” He rubs a hand over his face. In the meantime, you’re struggling to suppress your giggles. Before any other shenanigans can occur, the clock strikes noon.
That means that the mess hall is open for lunch.
Wordlessly, everyone gets up, and heads for the kitchens.
.
.
.
You grab your tray, and load it with everything that’s offered, before sitting down at the table again. Chris sits beside you automatically, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No one pays any mind to it, really. It’s normal for the Captain to sit beside his team. Nobody notices. That is, until Chris reaches over. He takes your spoon, lowering it into some of the food that you were about to eat. He takes a bite, and makes a face.
You know him too well. You know what he’s thinking.
Too salty.
Without a word, he puts the spoon back, and starts eating from his own tray. The entire table freezes.
Parker slowly turns, eyeing everyone in the room. A long pause. “…Captain?”
Chris glances over. “What?”
Parker points at your tray. “…Did you just taste her food?”
He frowns. Looks down. Looks back. “…Yeah?”
“…Why?”
“…She always over-salts things.” The man just shrugs. As if your soul didn’t just exit your body. As if you two didn't just get caught. The table goes dead silent.
Chris takes another bite. Doesn’t notice. Then, casually, he pushes his water bottle over to you. “You should drink water.”
Your entire body locks. Slowly, all three squad members turn toward you. Fuck.
Nobody says anything. Zach quietly reaches into his pocket. Pulls out a folded paper. Crosses out: MEDIC. And writes: Y/N.
Some time ago, I made a quick mockup for a "Family AU" in which Eveline got the family she always wanted (sort of)! I remember seeing AUs like it before, but couldn't seem to find them, so I drew one. Featuring old art of Clancy that was supposed to be a comic but I have since forgotten the context to finish it </3
