Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story. Those are properties of Capcom.
Claire pulled at the covers which were wrapped around her boyfriend's sleeping form. "Leon, get up, damn you! We have to go shopping, before rush hour dawns upon us."
"Hmm...yes, Claire...You look sexy in that nightelf costume", Leon grumbled, half asleep.
Claire's eyes widened. "What was that?", she inquired, disgusted at his enunciation.
Leon, realizing what he had just said out loud, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "It's all Chris' fault. He made me play World of Warcraft with him all night".
"Hmph. Yeeah, right", Claire scoffed. "Now get dressed. We don't have much time", she commanded, adding a "and that's not happening" as a reference to his freudian slip of mind.
"What's the rush, Claire?". Leon jumped out of bed, and walked over to his wardrobe. He opened the doors and started to rummage through the miscellaneous clothing articles that were bunched up in a horrible mess at the bottom of the wardrobe. Truth be told, he had never been one to care about keeping his clothing neat and tidy.
"I already told you, we have to be at the mall before the rushtraffic settles in", she replied hastily, fumbling through the drawers of her nightstand in search of the car-keys.
Leon turned around to face Claire. "What do you think of this one?" he prompted and showed her a red shirt with black stripes covering it.
Claire burst out laughing. "Are you serious?", she asked between punctuated fits of laughter. Leon Scott Kennedy had always been a bad dresser, but this was a bit too much for Claire to handle. When she realized he was actually being genuinely serious, she stifled her laugh, straightened up, and proclaimed; "Absolutely not, Leon. You're not going out with that...that...thing..on you", she chimed, and pointed her finger at his shirt to emphazise her point. "I will not have it!"
"Ok, ok," Leon replied somewhat dumbfounded. "Geez, you don't have to get your panties in a bunch."
"Oh, get bent, Leon...and hurry up", Claire exclaimed before making her way downstairs.
"Like you're such a good dresser", Leon muttered after her. He put his red and black shirt on, and glanced at the reflection of himself in the mirror. "I think it looks rather good on me", he pouted.
"See, Leon. I told you this would happen", Claire fumed as their car made its way down the highway at one inch an hour.
"Oh, right. Like it's my fault now. It was you who couldn't locate the carkeys."
Claire let go of the steering wheel with her right hand, and smacked it into Leon's shoulder.
"Ow, what was that for?", Leon asked, rubbing his shoulder.
"I had to resort to punching you, because I did not have a good comeback for what you just said", Claire mumbled grievously, but had to stifle a laugh when she saw Leon's amused face.
"Damn you. You have, even after all these years, a genuine ability to make me laugh."
"Always glad to be of service", Leon saluted and gave a little bow, which earned another, this time a bit more playful punch from Claire.
"Shut it! Do not disturb the driver!" she giggled.
Leon let a mild chuckle escape his lips. "Oh, well. If my right to utter my thoughts has been withdrawn, a little music will have to do to lighten the mood a little", he grinned and turned on the radio. A soft flow of music erupted from the radio as soon as Leon switched it on. Leon, deciding this was a bit too easy on the ears for him, was just about to switch the station when Claire interrupted him.
"Oh, no. Don't you dare change it", Claire demanded and started singing along to the soothing sounds of "Unintened" by Muse.
Leon cringed in pain at the nasal tones that were now protruding from Claire's surprisingly strong throat. "You got to be kidding me", he grumbled and put his hands over his ears.
"Oh, look!" Claire exclaimed happily. "It looks like the trafficjam is dissolving."
Leon mused. "Well, that might have something to do with the lament that is erupting from your throat at the moment". He didn't have time to react before Claire's fist hit him in the abdomen.
"So, what are we doing today?", Chris Redfield asked as his fiancée, Jill Valentine, hung up the phone.
"Well, I just talked to Becca. She said Leon and Claire are on their way to the mall".
Chris cringed at that last word. He hated shopping malls. It had been a phobia of his as long as he could remember. Even as a kid he strived with it. What was it called now again...enochlophobia? Wasn't that what his doctor had called it? From that point on, Chris knew he was in for one heck of a day. And not in the good way, that was for certain.
"Jill, you know how much I hate malls". He tried to keep his cool about the subject, but faltered a little. And he just knew Jill picked up on it. She had a way of knowing when he was at his weakest. It was both a device of nuisance and of comfort to him that she could read him so easily.
"Oh, I know, sweety", she said affectionately, putting her hand on his cheek. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."
Chris snorted. "Like hell I'm leaving Claire and Leon unattended. God knows what those two could be capable of if left to their own devices."
Jill giggled, and gave Chris a peck on the cheek. "Great. Then help me find my shopping list. I know I left it around here somewhere."
Rebecca tilted hear head and gazed at the sleeping form of her roommate, Carlos Oliveira. To her, it was quite amazing how he managed to sleep for such an extended period of time. He had to have been out for at least twelve hours now, if not more.Deciding his wakeup-call was long overdue, she placed her hands on his back and shook him vigorously. "Waaaake uuup", she sing-sang loudly into his ears.
Carlos swatted his hand through the air in front of his face. "All right, all right, I'm awake", he grumbled wearily, hoisting his body up into a sitting positon. "Geez, chica, are you trying to blow up my eardrums?", he asked, rubbing his sore eyes.
Rebecca put on a half surprised, half insulted face. "Was I really that bad?", she inquired, puckering her lips, and glared at him with her very best puppydog-eyes.
"Stop it. Don't look at me like that", Carlos muttered while massaging his temples. He was still a bit hungover from last night, and was trying to remember what had actually happened. It had been the usual gang out on town on the occasion of Leon's birthday, but strangely he couldn't remember much else than the gist of it. His eyes widened in shock when it all came crashing back to him. He raised his hand and pointed at Rebecca. "You...did you actually outdrink me?", he asked in utter horror.
"Haha, so you actually remember our little competition." Rebecca crossed her hands under her breasts. "Yes, you actually gave in quite early. Just like a little g-i-r-l", she mocked, enunciating the last syllable to emphazise her point.
Carlos covered his face in his hands. "Oh, Dios mío. Please God, no. Let this all be a dream.", he prayed, rocking his body back and forth on the floor.
Rebecca giggled impishly at the pathetic scene before her. Just as she was about to make his life even more miserable, she caught a glimpse of the clock on her left wrist. "Oh, no...", she mumbled. "Carlos, get your gear on. We got to move."
Carlos looked more than a bit perplexed at Rebecca's statement. "Wha...what?"
"I'll explain on the way. Now, get your girly ass moving!"
"So, uh, where is everyone?" Leon and Claire had just entered the mall, and Leon was already starting to get a little impatient. More correctly, he was getting impatient because he knew the drill. Every year around this time it was the same. He and Claire would seem to be running a bit late, Claire would chew his ass off for sleeping so long, bitching about how everyone else were already at the mall. And when they would finally arrive after being stuck in traffic for the last hour, well, what do you know. They were the first at the scene. That was the reason why Leon never was in a hurry on mornings like these.
"Uhm, that's strange. They should be here. I told them 12pm", Claire mused, scratching her forehead.
Leon slapped himself mentally. This whole farce was really starting to get on his nerves."Well, I am certainly not standing here waiting for the rest of our dysfunctional group to arrive. I'm going to find myself some ne..." He was cut of by the sound of Claire's strict voice piercing the air.
"Leon, if you move so much as an inch, you will have to pleasure yourself tonight."
Leon quickly retraced his steps as the meaning of Claire's words dawned upon him. "Yes, dear", he sighed forcefully.
