#lilithofthevalley

December 2026

“Y/N, when are you going to settle down? Meet someone nice? Bring them to dinner!” Mrs. L/N asks across the dining table. Y/N’s aunt’s wineglass pauses on its path to her painted lips. The woman narrows her eyes at her sister. “That’s quite enough from you. Let the girl be. She’ll bring someone home when she is ready.” Y/N’s mom huffs softly and pointedly turns away. Y/N chuckles softly before putting her napkin on the plate and rising, collecting the porcelain. “You two are too much… I actually have to head out. To visit someone, actually.” The announcement has both Mrs. L/N and Y/N’s aunt raising their eyebrows and blinking like the words hadn’t fully settled. Y/N turns and puts her plate in the dish washer, discarding the square cloth in the basket on the counter that holds other finished napkins. 

She gives a little wave paired with a coy smile and slinks out the door, hearing the exclaimed words of her maternal family through the sealed wood.

“WHAT?!” Her aunt finally breaks the shocked silence.

“Y/N L/N! WHO IS THIS MAN?! IT BETTER NOT BE A CRIMINAL!”

~~~

He is a villain by the devil's law

He is a killer just for fun, fun, fun, fun

That man's a snitch and unpredictable

He's got no conscience, he got none, none, none, none

All I know, should've let go, but no

'Cause he's a bad boy with a tainted heart

And even I know this ain't smart

~~~

Zeno is dressed in white. Not the normal white suit, no. This time its a jumpsuit. A black patch over his left chest with a white number embroidered on the little cloth rectangle. Metal cuffs are enclosed around his wrists tightly, the connecting chain ringed around his narrow waist and attached to the cuffs on his ankles as well. 

He rolls his neck as he’s led by 5 armed guards-3 to the front, 2 following behind-and in the harsh, sterile white light, the scar that encircles his throat peeks out from the collar of the jumpsuit. 

As his eyes, a cool gray with flecks of blue, refocus forward, his lips pull into a smirk that shows just a hint of teeth…

~~~

But mama I'm in love with a criminal

And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical

Mama please don't cry, I will be alright

All reason aside I just can't deny, I love that guy

~~~

Y/N sits at the metal table in the visitation room. The one with said table and matching stainless steel chairs bolted to the concrete floor. Her posture is rigid. Spine straight as she holds a small wrapped present in her lap. As the outside reader beeps and the reinforced door swings open, Y/N and Zeno’s eyes meet, as if the guards aren’t present or giving Zeno commands. 

Zeno raises his chin at Y/N in acknowledgement. 

“There she is… My girl…” He purrs, the sound coiling around the room like a pale serpent. 

“Keep your hands to yourself. If I, or any of my boys, see you even reach for her, the visit will be cut short and you will be returned to your cell.” The lead guard barks out. Zeno just rolls his eyes with a carefree smirk. “Yes, yes, of course… You say the same thing every time, even though I have never given you a reason to send me back early.” He settles into the seat across from Y/N, eyes sparkling.

“You came…” He whispers in disbelief. “I did…” She confirms with a slow nod. “I was worried your family dinner would keep you past visiting hours…” Y/N leans forward and smiles. “Nothing could keep me from coming to see you, Z."

~~~ Mama I'm in love with a criminal

And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical

Mama please don't cry, I will be alright

All reason aside I just can't deny, I love the guy

~~~

... Listen... I grew up with lyric fics on DeviantArt. It's the oldest form of writing I've ever posted on the internet.

Location: Arklay Laboratories – [REDACTED], USA Year: 1995

The hum of fluorescent lights was constant in the lab. So constant that Albert Wesker had tuned it out as he moved from station to station, running analyses of samples, reviewing data and singling out key features he wanted to improve. It was peaceful. This is peaceful. This is heaven…

… And then the door hissed open.

Before the metal plate could completely clear the opening, a shoulder collides with it, followed by a muttered indignation. “Fucking… Stupid door… Fucking thing needs to open faster, I swear to-” William Birkin’s voice filled the once peaceful lab. Wesker didn’t acknowledge his compatriot until the sample he was holding had the pipette out of it, the cap was closed, and the glass vial was back in its secured carrier. “William….” He began and turned slowly, discarding of the latex gloves he was handling the sample in. “Forgive my… Crude wording… But…. Who pissed in your cereal today? I haven’t seen you this… Agitated since your confession to Annette was disrupted by a disgruntled oppossum…” Albert snickered. 

Usually, Birkin would jab back at the other blond, it would blow up, and the two would be at each other’s throats until the next morning, when one would leave the other coffee on his respective station’s coaster. Today however, Birkin just dropped into the stool next to Wesker and slammed his head onto the metal work surface.

A groan left him, and Wesker’s eyebrow raised at the rare sound. “... My sister is in town…” William explained, voice muffled. “... I didn’t even know you had a sister.” Albert retorted flatly. “Ugh. Because she and I are… Fundamentally different!” The collapsed man squawked before continuing. “Do you want to know something?? On my way here, I got a call from the police station. Not the one in the fuck-off-far city I thought she was living in, the fucking RPD!!!” Birkin hissed, running a hand through his hair over and over again, disheveling blond locks.

“Albert, she was arrested! And what for, you may ask?? For trespassing! And what’s worse?! SHE BROKE INTO AN ABANDONED BUILDING!” William’s arms fly up and he begins to pace the length of the lab. “Now I have to go pay her bail and figure out why the fuck she’s here, how long she’s been here, and possibly even change the locks, because I’m fairly sure she has a key to my door still!!!” He shrieks, shoulders heaving with effort. 

Wesker just puts a hand on his shoulder. “William. You are being… A touch dramatic… I do not think you need to go as far as to… Change your locks.” Birkin just stares at him out of the corner of his eye. “... Aren’t you heading to the RPD today…?” He asks slowly, in that tone that means he’s already thinking about how to word something complex. Wesker’s hand dropped and he slid off his lab coat, draping it over the back of his chair. “I am. Why? Are you wanting me to deliver a telegram to your delightful little sister?” He snickers. Birkin’s nose scrunches. “... Don’t… Don’t say it like that… No. You’re opening up a new division in the police department aren’t you? We twisted Iron’s arm to make you captain, didn’t we?” 

“... William, I hardly see what my side project has to do with your-” 

“You owe me a favor, Albert.” The interjection is sharp. The silence following is sharper.

“... What is it… That you want… William…”

~~~

“What were you looking for?!” The demanding words of Enrico Marini echo in the tight confines of the interrogation room. The officer paces the stretch of tile, eyes wide and wild. 

“What was so fucking important that you had to break into a secure facility, risk your life, and get caught by my cops?? HUH??” Marini barks. Y/N’s eyes, half lidded and calm, trace him as he stalks like a stressed out tiger. “... Your blood pressure must be obscene, officer.” She remarks and leans back on the uncomfortable metal chair. “I don’t think I want to say anything until my brother arrives. Thank you.” The younger Birkin chirps dismissively, lips curling at the corners and head tilting in mock sweetness. 

Enrico’s palm collides with the stainless steel table as the only door to the room swings open. He whips around, eyes narrowed and freezes. Breath caught in his throat. 

“I’ll take it from here, Enrico.” A barbed–and yet velvety–voice settles over the ringing from the table’s impact. “Captain, I was just-”

“I said, I will take it. From here.” Wesker dictates without looking up from the arrest report he’s holding. 

Silence settles for a second too long, a sentiment displayed by the Captain’s piercing blue eyes flicking up over his dark lenses. They stare down the officer, almost into submission, before Marini swallows down his protests and stomps towards the entrance, forcing it open with too much force. 

As the metal door sings its song of contact, the blond settles gracefully across from Y/N. 

He taps the report to straighten it, and lays it flat. Her name displayed in bold on the front page. Her eyes flit from her own name to his face.

“I’m not speaking to you or your… boys until my brother-” “William sends his well wishes.” Wesker cuts her off, balancing an ankle over his knee and folding his hands. He stares up at her and tilts his head. Despite the dark lenses, she can feel him staring…

Her posture shifts into something less… Rigid. Something nonconfrontational. Carefully rehearsed. “... He’s not mad at me…Is he?” She coos, tone coated with false sweetness. With a mini shrug, the performance continues. “I mean, what did he expect? He left such interesting stories out, and I’ve always been an inquisitive little sister… Is that a crime?” Her head tilts, mirroring his and her lashes bat.

When the act doesn’t garner a reaction, she drops it with a huff, rolled eyes, and a hard flopping back against her seat. The Captain raises a perfectly blond eyebrow.

“Stories, Ms. Birkin?” His voice wraps around the interrogation room with an underlying interest woven through the timbre. Y/N’s gaze meets him again. Measures it. Then she speaks. “... Stories. Fantasies. Ramblings about… Monsters.” 

Wesker is silent for a heartbeat; arms crossed over his chest, studying the woman across from him. “... Monsters, Ms. Birkin?” He finally chuckles. “Such an… Inelegant word for…” He stops himself and grins–lips pull back to reveal perfect white teeth in an expression that feels more like a barring of fangs rather than a smile. 

“Why don’t you tell me about these… Imaginary creatures…” He purrs coaxingly. 

~~~

“I mean seriously, nicknaming it Tyrant? How… Dramatic.” Y/N snickers softly and shakes her head, continuing. “But… Willy-boy never was the creative type.” A mocking pout settles on her face as the room falls quiet again…

And then

A sound.

It’s muffled, but in the silence… It’s loud

Laughter.

Y/N’s eyebrows furrow in confusion as her eyes narrow at him. Before she can speak, he raises his head, glasses sliding down just enough for the younger Birkin to meet his wildly manic gaze. Wesker lets his hysterics subside as he sits up, spine straight once more. “... Ms. Birkin… I have never had anyone shamelessly call my decisions dramatic or lacking creativity…” He hisses through clenched teeth bared fangs. 

The room drops a few degrees as the woman swallows and stares at him, still trying to sustain her carefully crafted demeanor.

“What are you talking about…?” She whispers before her eyes go wide. “... You’re-”

His grin stretches, eyes focused fully on her.

“Nice to meet you, Little Birkin…

My name...

is Doctor Albert Wesker…”

~~~

Fin.

“Are you working late again, Z?” A soft voice comes from the office door. Y/N, draped in a silk nightgown and a sheer robe. Her head leaning on the dark, elegantly stained wood of the doorframe. In the dark office, illuminated only by the blueish glow of a laptop, Zeno leaned against his interlocked hands, eyes squinted at the transcript he was reviewing. His glasses were discarded next to him–folded neatly as per usual. His eyes flit up to Y/N’s form and he let out a tired chuckle. “Ah, Dove…” He purred softly, rising and beginning to pace by the bookshelves. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long. But… With everything I-” He cut himself off and turned to her like a cat zeroing in on its favourite toy. “With everything we have worked towards, finally paying off, I’m finding it difficult to… Turn my mind off.” He strides before her and places his gloved hands on her hips with a reverence. Tilting his head, the dangling earring glints. “You understand.” 

Y/N just nods and places her hands on his. “Of course I do. It’s an exciting time… Power, control, everything The Connection’s has been seeking to bolster… It will keep people safe, proceeding this way…” She murmurs and runs her thumbs over his knuckles. His eyes soften and he smiles down at her, leaning in and pecking her temple. “That’s my girl.” He whispers into her hair. “Everything will be fine, Z.” Y/N reassures him as he pulls back to glance at her again. “You are organized, controlled, and calm. This is your life’s work. Nothing could go wrong.” 

He laughs and squeezes her hip. “Don’t say stuff like that, Dove… It tends to jinx things.” His tone is teasing, and yet domestic. Y/N just hums in response, not quite believing in the superstition.

Zeno steps back and draws close to the desk once more, balancing a hand on the mahogany surface. “I won’t be too much longer. I promise.” The blond coos and pulls his gaze away to look at the laptop once more. “I’ll be back in bed before you know it.” He murmurs and rounds the desk to settle into the high backed chair once more.

“Mmmm. I hope you’re back from this mission before I know it…” She says, leaning on the door frame once more. “I will be.”

“In one piece?” Y/N prods playfully. “In one piece.”

Fin.

~~~

So, obviously I'm shattered about what they did to my boy, Zeno... And while I will write my own little fanon about a happy life, where Z gets out and Leon lives and everyone is happy, hunky-dory, I must first begin with some angst... Heart hands. Love you all and I'll be back with more for our beautiful blond baby!!!!!!!!!