"You idiot…," Claire shook her head down at the body she had resting against her lap, cradling him with her left arm, her soft blue eyes shining with the inevitable tears. Her heart was still racing from the events that had just unfolded, but she knew now was the time she had to really focus. She pulled the bandana she had tied around her neck off and folded it hurriedly. Pressing it to the four gaping wounds along her partner's side would do nothing, and part of her knew it, but she didn't know what else to do. Her shaking hand could feel the warmth of blood soak the material instantly and she bit her lip hard to stop herself from crying.
Leon was wearing a permanent grimace, and though his steely gaze was on her, she had a feeling he wasn't quite seeing, "Hey… At least… women dig scars… Right?"
She shook her head again and wished with everything she had that she could take the last ten minutes back. She'd gotten sloppy and let herself stop paying attention to the task at hand. The moment was brief, but it was enough. Leon had shoved her out of the way of a lunging Licker and had taken a gruesome blow to his torso. Its claws tore through every layer he wore with ease. He dispatched the vile creature with a few carefully aimed bullets before he, too, fell to the floor in a quickly expanding pool of blood.
Leon's gloved hand felt around slowly as he searched for her hand. When he found it, he grasped is as hard as he could, but his strength was fading, "..Don't worry, Red… Don't you… worry."
Claire choked out a chuckle at her dearest friend's unstoppable optimism in their darkest moment, her soft features contorted into a painful mask. She was trying her hardest not to crumble, "I. I won't, A-Ace. I wo-won't… You're the t-toughest guy I know."
He was barely speaking above a whisper and the redhead had to lean in to hear his words, "I'm… really sorry… things never… n-never got normal…"
The words hit Claire directly in her heart and her pent up tears started to trickle down her porcelain cheeks. After Harvardville, Leon had said he'd hoped they could bump into each other under normal circumstances. In that moment, she knew that wasn't going to happen. Her chest tightened more than she felt she could bear, leaning in to hold Leon closer. Cheek pressed against his cool face, Claire Redfield finally broke. She sobbed harder than she ever would again, holding the empty shell of Leon S. Kennedy.