A/N: This was inspired by WongFuProductions' video called Strangers, Again. I recommend you go watch it, here's the link; .com/watch?v=tSdELZxEnHY
This takes place after my stories Remembering and New Year.
I'm sorry I gave this story a sad ending, but I thought it was a good idea.
It made me sad to write this. :P
Review! ^-^
Leon's hand clenched in his pockets, with barely suppressed anger. His breath came out in huffs, with each one came a puff of white from the cold air. His jaw tightened as the redhead beside him laid a slender hand on his arm. Her mouth was set in a thin line and she blinked rapidly, hoping the tears wouldn't spill. The tension was thick in the air, both too afraid to say anything.
"Leon?" she finally whispered, afraid her voice would crack.
Nothing but silence. The blonde took a few deeps breaths and looked up into the crystal blue eyes he had loved so much. He ran a hand through his hair for the umpteenth time that day and spoke.
"What?" his voice came off as cruel and uncaring, but his expression gave him away; eyebrows furrowed, mouth set in a straight line and eyes swimming with un-shed tears. He was in pure agony.
He never expected it to end like this, not now at least. But here he was, desperately trying not to care but his heart tearing in two by the second. He didn't know where it went wrong; everything seemed so... so normal...
Normal.
That was a funny word. What was normal anyway? Fighting everyday about nothing and everything? Hateful words and neglect? It wasn't always like that, he knew, but it had been so long since things were truly good in their relationship. He almost wanted to rewind time, to go back to the days when the love was still there...
Raccoon City. The place that started it all. The place where he met her, Claire Redfield. The place where they fought through the undead, running on sheer hope. They stuck together through it all, helped each other, cared about each other. Even in that situation they somehow found a way to connect, a way to get to know each other. In the few moments of safety they had he seemed to learn so much about her...
"So, what did you do before this?" Leon asked the girl, holding back a chuckle as she downed the can of soda in a few gulps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hands and burped loudly.
"Whoa, sorry. Excuse me!" she laughed, and Leon couldn't help but laugh with her.
"It's alright." he chuckled.
"Well, I was going to college..." her voice trailed off, Leon got the hidden message behind her words. The hope they both had was slowly dwindling away. But he knew she would keep going, it was just the kind of girl she was. "But then, Chris went missing. I dropped everything and left." she looked down at her feet, sliding her feet around on the dusty floor. Leon walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She caught the message and nodded at him, offering him a small smile. With her the nightmare, the outbreak seemed a million miles away. Leon clung to the sliver of hope he had left, knowing that together they'd get out of the city alive, and hopefully find her brother on the way.
And they did. They made it out alive, together and with Sherry. At that time, little did he know how that meeting would expand into years of chasing... It was worth it though, or it had seemed like it was back then.
Leon,
I finally found you! You have no idea how long I've tried reaching you, but I guess all it took was a run-in with Sherry on my vacation… I have so much to tell you! I would've called but I never have any time. I'm actually writing this on my lunch break. Besides, I'd rather say all I need to say in person. So, from what Sherry's told me, I hear you live in D.C.? Not surprising considering your career. I'm going to be down there for a conference for TerraSave in a few days. Maybe we could meet? You don't have to answer back just meet me at Jack's Café, it's where I went the last time I was here. It's a great place, Leon. I'll know if you agree to see me if you're there by 12 p.m. on the 1st. I really hope you'll go, I really need to talk to you about what happened after Harvardville…
-Claire Redfield
Leon stared at the letter, completely and utterly surprised. After years of no contact whatsoever, he thought she would've forgotten about him a long time ago. Apparently she hadn't. He was happy that she seemed to forgive him, but angry that he failed at his attempt to forget her. He thought it would be the best for both of them, especially after Spain.
Years of avoiding her, years of forgetting about her were thrown down the drain when he made the decision to meet her.
Two weeks later, he found himself walking to Jack's Café with an out of the norm smile on his face that brightened up his otherwise solemn expression. He stopped a few feet away, examining to the tables outside. Bright red hair caught his eye and he smiled when he noticed the signature ponytail was still in its place. He came up behind her slowly and chuckled when she nearly jumped out of her chair.
"Oh, Leon! You scared me!" She laughed, trying to catch her breathe.
"It's nice to see you, Claire." he smiled again.
"It's nice to see you too." She gave off one those smiles that sent Leon's heart racing. He took time to notice how much she stayed the same throughout the years; like before, her hair was still up in its neat ponytail with no strands astray. Her facial features changed ever so slightly, same vibrant blue eyes and full pink lips, aside from the little wrinkles that had formed. Her smile was still there, no chance of faltering even through the tough times. Even her skin was the same creamy white he had often fantasized of touching. Her curves seemed to become more pronounced as time passed, her clothes accentuating every one of them while still leaving more to the imagination. And imagine what was beneath them is exactly what he did. They sat down at the wrought iron table and talked over coffee and donuts, reminiscing on nostalgic times gone by.
Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. And finally, he found the courage to ask her out...
"15 seconds!" You can do this. "14...13...12..." C'mon Kennedy, you're a survivor of Raccoon City, Havardville and Spain! "11...10...9..." This is nothing, nothing compared to Ganados, or zombies or those damn lickers. "7..." It's now or never. Leon swiftly turned towards Claire and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her towards him before he could back out. The moment his lips made contact with hers every sense was aflame, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Claire's eyes flew open in surprise but soon she returned his kiss with the same passion, which made him even more happier. He could faintly hear the rest of the announcers countdown. "3...2...1! Happy New Year!" and then the sound of clapping and cheering could be heard. Leon pulled away, his hand coming up so his thumb could lightly stroke Claire's cheek.
"Happy New Year, Claire." he grinned.
"Happy New Year, Leon." she smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. And like any other clichéd kissing scene, the bright colorful lights of the fireworks lit up the sky above them.
A painful memory, that was. To think that that had been what set things in motion, to think it was what had officially started the roller coaster that was their relationship. It was the end of the chase and the beginning of the honeymoon phase...
"Hey, big butt! Move over!" The redhead joked, nudging Leon's shin with her foot. He looked away from TV and smiled at her.
"Naw, I'm pretty comfy. Why don't you take a seat right here?" he smirked, gesturing at his stomach. Claire sighed and rolled her eyes, but sat down anyway. "Whoa, Claire, you've been putting on the pou-" his breath came out in a pain whoosh as she made a point to put more pressure on him.
"You were saying?" she giggled. He scoffed and tried taking a drink from his beer bottle, which proved to be a difficult task when he was lying down. Claire laughed when the caramel colored liquid dribbled down the side of his mouth. She grabbed a napkin from the coffee table to clean his face, and when she was done she discarded the napkin to the floor and laid down on him. "I don't think it's me gaining weight, babe." she laughed and poked at his stomach.
"I am still in tip-top shape, thank you very much. Unlike you, I know my limit in sweets." he winked at her.
"But do you know your limit in alcohol?" she smirked at his surprised expression. "Oh, I'm kidding, love." she giggled and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He scooted up to the arm of the couch to rest more comfortably and wrapped an arm around Claire's waist and the other one came up to cup her cheek.
"I love you." He smiled endearingly at her, unable to believe that after years of running away from everything and everyone that he somehow ended up here with her, the love of his life. She smiled back at him.
"I love you too. Now can we go back to watching the game?"
What had been one of his favorite memories was now his most hated. If he had known that it would lead to now, he would've never said he loved her. He'd rather not have to go through he pain that came along with those three little words. What had been the best times of his life turned into something he could describe as "comfortable".
Leon's phone rang, barely noticeable by him. His eyes stayed glued to the TV screen, watching, what was once basketball players but now just blobs of color, run across the screen. He was never a fan of the sport, but it got his mind off of Claire, who was in Oregon for yet another TerraSave conference. Going off to God knows where for work was inevitable to both. Though, they never complained about it knowing it wouldn't get them anywhere. He was happy she was so involved with her work, as he was his. But he'd wish they'd just have more time together. Lately, things seemed to boil down between them and just became... lazy, like the gentle sway of leaves in the breeze. They didn't go out as much, and they certainly didn't express their love for each other as much either. He still loved her, yes, but things just weren't as exciting anymore and Claire would agree to that. The phone stopped ringing and Leon lazily reached for it.
One missed call: Claire
He sighed heavily and let the phone drop back to the coffee table. Miles away, Claire held back tears she desperately wanted to let out.
It was definitely not how he wanted things to be between them, but it was inevitable, every couple when through it and so would they. It wasn't so bad then... but soon it turned into just plain tolerance.
"Get up." Claire kicked Leon's leg. "Get up!" She nearly yelled. Leon's eyes flickered towards her and back to the TV screen, his fingers moving rapidly across the Xbox controller. The redhead barely held back a string of obscenities from leaving her mouth. The living room was a mess; beer bottles and soda cans littered the floor, as did paper and chip bags. Messiness was not something Claire tolerated, Leon knew that after the various arguments they had about it.
Arguments seemed to happen a lot more often than usual. Arguments about anything from deciding where to eat out to what color Leon's shirt had been that one night. The fights seemed to get more and more trivial, about things little kids might fight about, not grown adults. They got progressively worse, more yelling, more threats to leave one another.
Claire walked over to the TV and deftly plucked the plug out of the socket. The TV screen went black with the message "No Signal Available" flashing in bright blue. Leon jumped up and let the controller fall to the floor.
"What was that about?" He yelled.
"Look at the fucking living room! Couldn't you at least clean up while I was gone?" she retorted her cheeks burning red.
"I was going to."
"I swear you're like a little kid! You always have to have someone telling you what to do! You wouldn't know how to breathe if I wasn't here!" Leon looked at her, pure anger in his eyes. His body was trembling with anger and he quickly walked to the door, afraid of what he might do if he stayed. He wouldn't have beat her, no, but his words to her would've been like a slap to the face. He didn't want that, even if he didn't care anymore.
He remembered leaving the apartment that day, going to bar and getting drunk like he always seemed to do lately. He came back at 3 a.m. that morning to a very angry Claire.
All went downhill from there.
Leon stared at his cellphone screen, his eyes locked on the one name that was etched in his brain, Claire. His thumb hovered over the TALK button, mentally debating one whether he should call or not; he didn't even know if he wanted to fix things, let alone what he was going to say to her. Before he could back out, though, he hit the button and brought the phone up to his ear. It rang a few times before a familiar voice answered, though not as sweet as it had once been.
"What?" Claire demanded, obviously annoyed. After one of their recent fights she had opted for staying with her brother and Jill. It had been a week since she left and a week since Leon tried working up the courage to try to fix things.
"Claire... I'm sorry-" He whispered almost inaudibly. On the other side, Claire swung her legs off the bed and got up. She paced the room, trying not to cry.
"'I'm sorry.'? Is that all you have to say?" She laughed darkly. "After all the crap we've been through and you're 'sorry'?"
"Dammit, Claire, let me finish!" he almost yelled. "I'm sorry. I love you, and I know I should've made an effort to make things better."
"Leon, it's too late for that. Maybe we can fix it, but it's going to take a long time and I don't know if I can go through it." She replied. "I'm going to sleep, let's just talk about it tomorrow, ok?"
"Yeah. Ok." he sighed.
"Alright then, goodnight."
"G'Night.' He replied and snapped the phone shut.
He never thought it would get that bad. But here he was, fate proving him wrong.
He focused on Claire again, her lips quivering and her shoulders hunched against the cold. He had the strong urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her, but it was inopportune at the moment. Her eyes slowly met his again, forcing herself not to look away and he did the same. He wanted to turn around and run away as if that would stop this from happening. It was inevitable, he knew that, but he wished it wasn't.
"I... I think it would be better for the both of us if we broke up." The words came out of her mouth rapidly, almost as if she were afraid she'd back out.
And with that simple statement they were back in square one;
Strangers, again.