So slow to catch on

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"I did. But not you." Chris breathed, the grief of it all taking hold of him as it hadn't done in some time. "Wesker uses you to get to me. He's always hated me. One day...I'm going to have to stop being a coward and face him head on... No one should have to suffer for me."

"You again?" Chris growled, glancing toward Jill and then back at Dave. "What the hell do you want now?"

"I trust you." Sherry returned, gently easing his shirt over his head. "Just...don't look. Okay?"

"Hey! Don't you speak to him like that!" Ruby piped up from where she peered around Dave.
Though she didn't know who she was, something inside Jill stared when she saw the face of the dark haired young woman looking up at them.

"I won't make that promise." Ark swore. "You are beautiful, Sherry, and I only wish I could help you see that."

"Chris, we really need your help." Dave was proud but in that moment he was not too proud to beg for help. There was nothing else he could do. "Please, you have to hear us out. Ruby is just...she's afraid. We've been through alot. She's just defending herself."
Chris glanced toward Jill, not sure if he wanted to be insulted again by this sulking female.

Sherry simply let this go, pressing her lips to Ark's. At least she had the darkness to keep him from seeing her scars.

"I am afraid of nothing!" Ruby protested loudly, most likely angering Dave in the process.
Jill couldn't help but smirk as she watched the slender woman defend herself so verbally. "Chris, maybe we should take this someplace else, you know... just in case someone is following them?"

Ark didn't need the light. He let his fingers travel over Sherry's bare skin, knowing where each scar was, and how it felt beneath his fingers.

Dave wanted nothing more than to bang his head on the nearest wall. Ruby would not let anyone help them, even a little bit.
Chris shook his head. "She's made it perfectly clear that she doesn't need help." He hissed. "And besides, she called me old."

Sherry kept kissing Ark, terrified of what would happen if they stopped. She was begging her memories to stay hidden in the dark. If they didn't she would never get over them and Ark would never get better.

Of course, Ruby had good reason for her mistrust of people. It was a miracle that she even trusted Dave.
Jill was doing her best not to laugh, but she couldn't keep from smiling when Chris told her this. "I see... And when you were her age, you never called anyone old?" She asked sweetly.

Ark was gentle as he rolled Sherry beneath him, careful not to make her feel trapped in any kind of way. He knew how much she was trusting him by letting things get even this far. "I love you, princess." He breathed against her slender throat.

"Of course not." Chris snorted, crossing his arms over his chest in much the same way Ruby was doing. "She's made it clear she doesn't need us. That's the end of it!"

"I know." Sherry breathed, not sure what else to say. She couldn't tell him how she felt. It would only end up hurting him.

"Right, just like i said I didn't need help when I ran into you outside the hospital, but you helped me anyway?" Jill challenged. "Chris, look at her. The kid's practically starving. She's probably just trying to act tough, when really she's scared and hungry."
"I am scared of nothing, and I am not a child!" Ruby told Jill haughtily, despite the fact the other woman had been whispering only loud enough for herself and Chris to hear.

Sherry's words did wound Ark somewhat, but he of all people knew better than to push her. He didn't question what had been doe to her in the past, but whatever it was, he knew how much it mean to give herself to him in the way she was right then.

Dave made a grab for Ruby, covering her mouth with his hand while he was nodding over and over at Jill. Maybe it was better that he just made motions than did anything else. Better that Ruby not think him her enemy any more than she already did.

Soon afterward, Sherry found herself in a tangle of sheets and Ark's legs. She was rather pleased with this fact and as she clung to him, she was happy that light was sliding in through the bedroom window. For once it seemed that her darkness had been beaten.

Like a cornered animal, Ruby fought back. She bit Dave's hand, and in the same instant she stomped on his foot. In her eyes, Dave had just betrayed her. Before any of them could catch her, Ruby was out the door and sprinting down the street.
Jill wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but she found herself looking up at Chris pleadingly, for some reason unable to simply let the girl go. The slender woman had no idea that the girl was her daughter, or the young man she had been with was able to track her scent.

Ark wasn't fully asleep, but not quite awake yet either. He could feel the warm sunlight through the window more than he could see it. It felt wonderful, the kind of good he imagined a cat felt when lounging in the afternoon sun. Of course, the feeling was all the better when he felt Sherry's slender form draped against him.

"I'm going." Chris muttered, shoving past Dave as he took off after Ruby. "Make sure he's okay!" He shouted over his shoulder.
Dave sighed heavily, looking down at the blood on his hand. This wasn't his day.

"You look like you could use a big fat steak. How about it?" Jill offered Dave with a warm smile. "I'm paying, of course." she added. "Chris is good at finding people, he'll be dragging your girlfriend back by her ear in no time."

Dave shook his head. "Ruby is impossible." He whispered. "You should know. She belongs to you."

"E-Excuse me?" Jill stammered, certain she must have simply misheard Dave.

Chris was bounding after Ruby, feet behind her. He wasn't above shouting at her but right now he was intent on getting to the young woman. He would have tackled her right out if she hadn't tried to hop over a car and suddenly gone flying.
A form moved past him, shooting inhumanly fast over his head and over the car. He was left standing where he was, gasping for breath.

Ruby had hit the ground hard, only rolling to a stop a few feet later. She wasn't actually hurt, but was cursing gravity for working against her.

Dave was on her in an instant, pressing her to the ground as he yanked her arms up above her head. "Stop!" He hissed, though it sounded more like he was shouting. "Just stop! Stop running and let me handle this!"

"No! Let go of me!" Ruby growled, her shapely hips rocking side to side in a bid to try and throw Dave off her. "You're no different than anyone else! You're holding me back, I could have been taking care of myself all this time!" By insisting they were both so weak as to need someone elses help, Dave had unintentionally forced Ruby's defensive walls right back up. The problem was, that even with her own superhuman strength and speed, Dave was always going to be stronger and faster.

"I know." Dave whispered, trying to force her to be still with a knee in her midsection. "I know. But...you see...I need you with me. I don't want to lose you again and I'm afraid if I don't show weakness to the Redfield's we will both die for it!"

"You never had me!" Ruby shot back. "You think I don't remember what you said to me?" She asked, ashamed when tears sprang to her sapphire eyes. "You said you would only ever want me if I grew up beautiful... then you tried to kill me! How do you expect me to belong to someone who could treat me that way?!"

"You were trying to defend his bitch." Dave whispered, his eyes burning. "I was trying to stop you. I was so mad. I didn't mean to hurt you, lovely. And...I was teasing you. I never thought you'd grow up so fast. I thought...I was too old for you..."

Ruby blinked and the tears in her eyes rolled down her temples as she continued to stare up into Dave's face. "She was the only kind of mother I had ever known." She whispered, though no longer struggled against his grip. "It... was because of what you did to me... That made Wesker turn me into..." She closed her eyes, forcing further tears free. "The monster I am now. I can't ask you to love this thing I've become... If you can't even tell me why you rescued me at all."

Jill had finally caught up to them and was breathing heavily as she leaned against Chris for support. "Where are they?" she gasped, unable to see Dave and Ruby where they had landed on the other side of the car.

"You act like you're something different." Dave whispered, black tentacles sliding over her wrists. His eyes darkened to nothing more than ebony globes. "We are the same and I rescued you because...I...I care about you."

"I think they're over there." Chris whispered. "I can hear her shouting at him."

Ruby didn't try to recoil from the tentacles as they touched her smooth skin, nor did she find anything ugly about the coal like appearance of Dave's eyes as they looked down into her own. She knew he was right. She knew it was more than physical attraction between the both of them, whatever the darkness was inside of her... it yearned for him in the same way the black tentacles now gently caressed her slender wrists. The young woman said nothing, instead closing the slight gap between them, allowing her inexperienced lips to claim Dave's in a heartfelt kiss.

Jill smiled ever so slightly. "Does that seem familiar?" She asked him, a slender hand slipping into his own. Dave's words were still swirling round in her head. He had to be wrong. How could Chris have not mentioned they had a daughter? And for another thing... Neither of them were even old enough to have a daughter of Ruby's age.

Dave returned the kiss, her tongue white hot fire on his own. He couldn't stand it anymore, all the months of holding back he wasn't sure he could keep doing it.

"It worries me." Chris confessed, moving forward towards the car. "This whole things worries me."

Ruby had been suffering a terrible itch that had been getting progressively worse over the months. She knew Dave could ease it, and yet was still so very scared of that kind of intimacy. To give herself that completely, was something very hard for a young woman with such deep abandonment issues.

"Why?" Jill asked, following close behind Chris. "A few minutes ago you wanted nothing to do with either of them..."

Chris didn't answer as he gently reached out to help Dave to his feet. "Streets aren't that great for make outs." He laughed softly, reaching down for Ruby. He said nothing, made no motion to do anything further. But it was clear that this was to be the last time he made this offer.

Ruby hesitated slightly, then did finally take Chris' hand to pull herself back to her feet. She accepted his help only because she thought it was what would make Dave happy. Despite her fears and insecurities, the young woman did genuinely care about the only person who had ever rescued her from anything. "Thanks." She muttered, then positioned herself behind Dave and out of Chris' view.
"You know... She reminds me of someone..." Jill commented as she looked up at Chris.

Chris was frowning at this, though he did nod. "Come on, you two. We'll get you a hot meal and a warm place to shower and rest. Hell, I'll bet we even have some clothes to fit you."

"There's nothing wrong with my clothes." Ruby muttered sullenly, proving to have her father's stubborn nature, even if neither of them realised who the other was yet.