She couldn't be by her brother right now, his grief was engulfing herself as well. She needed to get away from him for a few minutes: to get some fresh air. Maybe go on a walk, even though it would be risky right now. He might come looking for her with blazing guns. She needed to be anywhere but here.
So Claire sat there on the steps out front. She sat on the cold concrete until she lost the feeling to her backside. Not that it mattered, she was already numb to begin with. She found out about what happened to Jill, Chris's partner. Chris's love.
It pulled at her heart, she lost her sister. Her only other family to Chris. She's had thoughts that the Redfield blood was cursed and killed everything that was close to family.
Why? Why did Jill sacrifice herself like that? She tackled Wesker out of a window just to save Chris. Because she loved him, because he loved her. Their partnership hadn't died, it still resides in Chris's heart. Even though he's lost Jill forever, he still has her heart; her love.
Claire exhaled loudly and looked up at the sky. Her breath misted up as she watched the twinkling stars. Looking up at the sky always calmed Claire down ever since she was a little girl.
She was just one person out of millions, and yet she was always dragged into the same thing. Bio weapons, were like second nature to her. Claire could tell their weakness out just by looking at it. Tyrants were the heart, zombies were the heads, lickers were the brains... Vital organs were the key.
Wesker. How she would love to go up to him and rip his heart out. He's killed so many innocent people, and he hadn't felt a twinge of guilt. Cold blooded bastard. He killed Jill, or so that's what people assumed by the lack of Jill's corpse.
Chris was having an emotional breakdown, Claire even saw tears forming at his eyes. Chris Redfield, the hero to millions, never cried, or so everyone assumed. Assuming is not a positive thing, it's not fact. The fact is that, that tyrant fuck is destroying this world. It's all his fault!
Claire was too busy thinking about killing Wesker when a person came up beside her. It stood there and watched the younger Redfield think. It was too nervous to go out and touch her shoulder, so it cleared it throat instead.
Claire turned her head up and looked over at the body, "... Leon?" she squinted her eyes to look at him better. The light post that was beside them wasn't lit, so it was hard to see who it was.
"Good to see you, Claire." he gave her a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Ever since his government training, he wasn't prone to showing emotions. But Claire noticed that he always showed more around her. A smirk, a tiny smile, a squeeze on the shoulder. Yet, she could read him a lot better from his eyes. They'd shine up a bit when he looked at her. Kind of like a clearing after a storm.
"What are you doing here?" she rubbed at her eyes and tried to make it look like she didn't cry. Claire Redfield was someone that didn't like people to know when she's cried.
"I don't know... I just came without thinking." he looked down at his boots, trying not to look at her. Claire followed his gaze and looked at his old worn out boots. They were scuffed and discolored, they were worn frequently by the looks of it. He looked like he ran here right after he got back from a mission.
"I see." she tried not to sound as blatant as she did. But she could help when her voice cracked as she spoke. "Chris is inside... you might not want to see him right now."
Leon nodded and lifted his gaze to her own, "Can I sit with you then?" he pointed to the seat on the steps right next to her. Silently, Claire nodded and scooted over a bit. The government agent sat down and his knees popped in the process.
"Tired?" she asked as she looked back up at the sky. She didn't feel like having a full-on conversation right now. Small talk would do.
"Yeah," he said with another nod, "Just got back to the States." Leon put his duffel bag on the grass and then looked down at it.
"Oh. Okay." Claire didn't like to pry in people's personal lives, but Leon was different. "Where'd you go?"
Leon put on a neutral and looked over at her, "Just some cleaning in South America."
"Cleaning, huh? What was it this time? Zombies, Tyrants, those Ganados." she made hand gestures to each creature and looked at him.
His eyes pierced hers and simply replied, "T-Virus outbreak in a little village. Nothing too major, got the place cleaned. Didn't have to do much because the villagers had taken care of most infected."
Claire nodded to him once again and sighed, "When is this gonna end Leon?" he shrugged in response and kept his eyes on her, "I told you, I'm going to scrub this virus from the face of the Earth. And I mean it."
"I know, but you don't have to do it all alone..." she looked away and back to the sky, "You're only one person, Leon. You don't have to do everything by yourself."
"I have to, I don't want anyone else to die from this terrorism."
Claire stood up quickly, "So you'd rather sacrifice yourself to make the world happy?! You can't change peoples bias ways! There'll always be war, there'll always be terrorism, there'll always be these goddamn viruses and I don't want you to sacrifice yourself when we know that it will never end! You're killing yourself!!" she took a large gasp of air and looked down at Leon. He sat there looking up at her, emotionless as always.
"Claire..."
"Leon, don't even talk to me right now. I'm not in the mood." she turned her back to him and started up the sidewalk to the house. As she went up the steps to the front porch, her foot slipped out and she cracked her knee on the wooden planks.
"Oh!" she exclaimed loudly and placed her hands on the weathered wood. Claire closed her eyes tightly and tried to block out the pain that was throbbing on her knee.
Leon placed the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder and walked over to her. "Come here, Red." he picked Claire up closely to him, and had her wrap her arms around his neck.
"I can walk perfectly by myself, Leon." she gave him the famous Redfield death glare as he carried her to the front door.
"I know, maybe I just wanted to carry you?" he smiled at her and reached for the door knob.
"Wait." she said as she placed her hand on his top stop him, "I don't wanna go in there... take me over to my car." she pointed over to a red Toyota Yaris that was in the drive way.
"A Yaris, Claire? What happened to the Harley's?" he laughed softly as he carried her over to the car. The worn sole of his boot slipped in the wet grass and the two bodies came crashing down to the earth.
"Ugh!" choked out Claire as Leon's body landed onto hers. She was laying on her stomach as Leon was laying on top of her back. She felt his breath on her neck as their two worlds tried to stop spinning around.
"Shit, sorry Claire." groaned Leon as she rolled off of her. His forehead had a bit of dirt on it after it connected with the ground.
Claire rolled onto her back and sighed, she could tell that her clothes were wet and muddy, "It's okay, Leon. Everyone slips." the young Redfield stumbled a bit as she brought herself to her feet. "After-all, you're pushing thirty soon." Claire gave him a slight smirk and started to pull her car keys out of her pocket.
"You're right... I'm old." Leon brushed some dirt off and cleaned his forehead. He looked up at Claire and walked over, "Mind if you give me a lift?" he hitched his thumb over to the passengers door.
"Sure," she responded with a nod, "Where ya headed to?" she clicked the button on her remote and the door unlocked. Claire walked over to the driver side door and opened it.
"Anywhere but here." he got inside the car and buckled up. Claire go in right after him and sat down in her seat.
"Anywhere but here, huh?" she turned to face him as she stuck the keys in the ignition, "What hotel are you staying at?"
Leon replied with a shrug and a yawn, "Whatever is the best in town." he rubbed at his tired eyes and adjusted the seat so it would lay back. He laid there with his eyes closed as Claire started the car.
She pulled out of the suburban driveway and started for town. She had no idea where she was going, or what his tastes would be for a hotel room. For all she knew, Leon could be sleeping on fine silk sheets and in a king sized bed. But Claire did know that he hated dumpy, cheap motel rooms. From those months on the run with him and Sherry, they both refused to sleep in crap shacks; unless is was absolutely necessary.
Claire pulled up to her own driveway and pressed the garage door opener. She didn't think that Leon would mind staying at her place, after-all, they shared all those motel rooms together.
"Uh..." muttered Leon in his sleep. He had a frown sprawled across his face and his breathing was becoming faster. "No..."
"Leon?" whispered Claire as she parked the car. She killed the ignition and looked at her friend.
He was practically hyperventilating now, sweat was beading up in his pale forehead, "Claire... NO!!" he shot up and clutched his chest. His heart felt like it would explode out of his chest from beating so hard. His stormy eyes looked glazed over at he turned his head to the Redfield.
She sat there with a calm face as she stared back into his eyes. Her blue gaze piercing his blue gaze. Like they were looking into one another's souls.
"Are you okay, Leon?" she reached out and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. A kind gesture towards the agent. She still had her maternal side, or was it really that side of her character?
"Yeah..." he said with a huff. He was still trying to ease his breathing down. Leon looked around the garage and swallowed hard. "This your place?" his eyes went back to hers and they locked.
"Yeah. You can stay here for the night if you want." she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. Leon mimicked the same gesture and followed her to the door.
"Thanks for this." he said with a small smile. His bangs fell over his right eye and Claire wanted to brush them away, but she held back the urge to.
"No problem," she replied with a wink, "my house is your house." she opened the door and it lead into her kitchen. It wasn't very big, and by the looks of it, it wasn't really used.
Leon's boots hit the linoleum floor and they made a clunking sound. Claire's small hand hit the light switch and the glare from the light had Leon squint his eyes.
"Come on, I'll show you to the room." she stepped over maps and magazines that were spread across her living room floor as they walked though her house. It was a small one story house, and Leon could tell that she crammed as much stuff as possible into the tiny thing.
"Here it is," said Claire as her knuckles knocked on the wood of the door. She opened it and revealed her own bedroom.
"Claire?" said Leon with a questionable tone. He looked around her room and saw clothes all over the floor. Claire Redfield was not a tidy person at all.
"You can stay in here, I'll sleep on the couch. I don't have spare bed rooms because they're offices or.... weapon storage." she gave him a smile and pushed him in a bit.
"I can't sleep in your room, I-"
Claire lead him over to the bed and pushed him on it lightly. "Yes you can. You're the guest and I'm making you sleep in here. Wether you like it or not." she raised his feet up and placed them on the bed. "Good night Leon." she walked out of the room and headed to the living room.
"Night.... Claire..." he mumbled incoherently and then fell back asleep. Claire made it to the couch and she too, fell asleep as her body hit the cushions.
---
A few hours later, Claire woke up and had to go to the bathroom. After she did her business and washed her hands, her memory was a bit hazed and went back into her bedroom. She ignored the lump that was on the bed and crawled back into it. A few minutes later she fell back asleep, but Mr. Kennedy was wide awake now.
He looked over her sleeping form and watched it for a while. Her face looked paler from the moon light that was shining through the window. But he could still make out her eyes, her nose, her lips... he stared at them for a second or two and then looked away. He needed to go to the living room.
As he was shifting to get off, Claire's body came up against him and moved closely. Her head rested on his muscled chest and her hand was resting on his stomach. Her breathing was soft and delicate, he could barely hear her.
Leon decided on moving again, but he once again stopped.
"Leon..." mumbled Claire under her breath. His eyes fell on her again and became curious.
"Yes, Claire?" he whispered softly towards her. Seeing if she responded.
"Don't...." she furrowed her brow and grabbed onto his shirt with her hand.
"Don't what?" he whispered again.
"Don't leave me."
Leon stared down at Claire's face and saw that her eyes were now open. She looked up at him and whispered, "Don't leave me again..." her grip loosened on his shirt as she spoke.
"Claire," he tilted her head up towards him, "This is the only place I want to be at. With you."
"But your job, you want to go off and destroy all of th-" he placed his finger over her lips and shushed her.
"I want to do it together, with you. You're my partner."
Claire sat up next to him and kept her eyes on his, "I'm not a fighter, Leon. You know that..."
"I know, but I sill want you by my side." he sat up next to her and grabbed her hand, "You're the only person I trust, the only person I..." he cut himself off and broke their eye contact.
Claire grabbed him by the cheeks with one hand and made him face her, "What were you going to say?" her cerulean orbs lit up in the moon light as she stared at her.
"I... I..." he bit his tongue and stopped. Claire smiled a bit and started talking again,
"I don't want you to do all of this alone. I want to be with you, I want to laugh and cry with you. I want to spend every waking moment with you and make sure that you're never alone. I don't want you to die while you try to destroy theses viruses on your own. I want to be your partner. I love you..."
Leon looked up at her and saw the emotions that were spread across her face. He never knew that she shared the same feeling for him as he did for her. He never realized that he had a girl right here the whole time that loved him.
"I love you too, Claire." he finally said it. He finally said the thing that his heart had been aching to say for so many years. How he wished to tell her that after they parted ways after the Air dome. He wished to meet up with Claire under normal circumstances so that he could spend more time with her.
He tilted her head up to his and pressed his rough lips against hers. Hers were smooth and silky, they felt soft against his own.
After the two broke away, Claire moved close to him and laid back down, "Come on. I'm tired." Leon laid down next to her and she placed her head back on his chest. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly.
"I love you."
"I love you too." she squeezed back and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to go see Chris tomorrow, I need to speak with him."
"Good idea... please don't mention her. Don't pity him either, he's... he's my brother."
"I know. I know how I would feel if I lost my partner...."
Claire nodded and squeezed his hand tightly, "I would too."
Leon kissed the top of her head and sighed. It was going to bed a long day tomorrow, and he needed his strength just in case he needed to dodge a punch to his face,
A/N: I'm back with more Cleon!! I was inspired by the trailers from Resident Evil: The Dark Side Chronicles (UC 2) Yes that's right, a sequel to UC!! RE2 and CV levels for sure! THEY LOOK SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!
As for now, I am playing RE5 with my brother. We're on the last chapter, we need to finish that up! WOOOHOOO!! We're badasses lol. And in case you haven't noticed, this story takes place before RE5.
I hope you guys liked the new story! Please don't flame about the pairing, it's my preference. Also, I know I have spelling/ grammar errors I have had like no sleep since Friday! D8