Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Only a day had passed since the survivors visited Leon's place. Leon was currently in bed, trying to make the most of his vacation when he heard a knock at the door. He grabbed his 1911 from under his pillow and quietly made his way to the door. When he looked through the peephole he could see the ex mercenary, Jake Muller. Leon put his gun in the back of his waistband and opened the door. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

Jake was nervous, though he didn't show it. Jake often showed discomfort by remaining stoic. "Hey, Leon. Look, I wanted to ask you some things about Sherry."

Leon sighed and moved out of the way, granting Jake access to his home. Leon knew what Jake was going to ask him. The unresolved romantic tension was apparent when the two had visited. To the best of his knowledge, Jake and Sherry had never done anything relating to sex or even kissing. The two men took a seat across from each other at the dining room table. "So what do you want to know?"

"I just want to start things off by telling you that I-"

"You're serious about my daughter and you want to be with her, yada yada yada." Leon said, trying to skip over the awkward bits of the conversation "Listen, Jake, I love Sherry as much as I would if she were my own daughter, but I don't have control over who she wants to be with. I look into your eyes and I see a man who's been through more than most can fathom. I know that you're a good kid so you don't have to worry about how I feel about you two being together."

"There goes the speech I rehearsed so much on the way over here." The two men chuckled, breaking the tension that flooded the room. "I want to know more about what she likes. What her idea of a good time is and all that."

Leon nodded. "Sherry is pretty docile. After Raccoon, the government took her in so she was raised in an environment that wasn't very kid friendly. As she grew up, she didn't have the same experiences as other girls. She didn't go to high school. She didn't have any contact with people her own age. If you want to give her a good time then do something that gives her companionship. Take her out for dinner or go dancing. Something like that will be fine."

Jake gave a sly smile to himself. "It's that simple, huh?" Jake couldn't hold back a smirk. It was simple, but not easy. It would still take him some time to talk Sherry into going out with him. At least he knew Leon was cool with him going out with Sherry. "Thanks Leon." Jake sat up from the table and started walking to the door.

Leon just stayed at the table and said, "Anytime kid. Just remember what I told you about hurting Sherry."

"Yeah yeah, 'hell hath no fury like Claire Redfield protecting Sherry Birkin.'" Jake lifted his hand, both as sign of understanding and as sign of goodbye as made his way to the door.

Leon chuckled and said, "Exactly." He couldn't help but smirk at the intentions that the younger man had with his daughter. He knew Jake would make Sherry more than happy. After Jake left, Leon thought about the previous night and what happened with Claire.

As hard as it was to admit, Leon had thought of Claire fondly that night. While he laid in bed, thoughts of his red haired friend had erupted. He thought of how things might have ended up if Claire hadn't been joking; of what might have happened if he woke up with her in his arms. Leon lived a lonely life. His social life consisted of his fellow survivors, Hunnigan, and anyone he was partnered with. He hadn't been in a serious relationship with a woman for the past several years. The closest he ever got with anyone was flirting with a random woman that he passed by on the street. Last night had made him happy. Thinking about Claire and how she made him feel made him happy. Leon didn't really know what it meant though. Was it just a small fantasy that he found pleasure in thinking about or was it something deeper? A sigh left his lips. He didn't know the answer to his questions and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. One thing was for sure though. Leon had been happy last night. Most nights he laid in his bed while empty thoughts ran through his mind, but last night, as he thought of Claire, he was happy.

Leon grabbed his cell phone and looked at Claire's number, debating whether or not he should call her. He pressed the call button and anxiously waited for her to pick up. "Hey Leon. I was just about to call you." She said with a type of uncomfortability.

"You were?" Leon asked, surprised

"Yeah. Look, I wanted to apologize about what happened last night. I acted a little inappropriate and I wanted to make sure that we're cool."

"Claire, we survived Raccoon City together. Do you really think that I'm going to get mad at you because you tried to live out your fantasies about us." Leon joked, but in all truth, he was nervous. He was subconsciously hoping that Claire wouldn't say something like that she didn't feel that way about him.

He heard a laugh on the other side of the phone. "Leon, did you hit your head? You're talking like a crazy person." The two laughed until Claire finally asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Leon felt a lump in his throat. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. I know that we had dinner last night with everyone, but we didn't have a chance to really catch up so I wanted to get you alone for a little bit."

"So what you're saying is that you want me all to yourself? You know greed is a sin, right," she said teasingly.

"Alright. I was just trying to be nice. I was gonna take you to your favorite steakhouse, but since I'm just some sinful bastard, I'll just go with someone else."

"Did I say greed was a sin? I meant that greed is a very endearing quality, and you are incredibly nice to offer me such a good time."

The two laughed until Leon finally spoke up. "Alright then. Pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds good. Bring all of your money."

"One steak, max"

"You're no fun."

"I disagree. I'm plenty of fun, and you might have seen how fun I am if you weren't playing around last night."

Leon showed up to Claire's door in his signature leather jacket. He knocked on the door and awaited Claire's answer. When she opened the door, Leon observed her apparel. The redhead was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Nothing extravagant, but even so, breathtakingly beautiful. "Like what you see, Leon?"

Leon smirked and said, "What is there to see? All I see is my cruel best friend who thinks it's fun to play around with my emotions."

Claire punched Leon's shoulder. "Come on, you big baby. I was just messing with you."

Leon kept on faking his heart break. "I know, but to mess with such a gentle and sensitive heart is cruel beyond words."

"As much as I'd like to continue this session of no-so-witty banter, I'd prefer to leave so that we can eat."

Leon quickly performed a courteous bow before he said, "Right this way, malady. Your chariot awaits."

"If you keep acting like this I'm gonna make you wish that you never came out of Raccoon City." Claire said with synthetic annoyance.

"If you feel that way, then maybe I should just give our reservation to Jake and Sherry. At least they'll appreciate my generosity."

"Fine. Give it to them." Claire gave Leon a hug and whispered in his ear, "Then we can get straight to the fun part."

"You are one cruel woman."

"And yet you love me anyways."

The two ceased their battle of verbal abuse and made their way to the restaurant. When they arrived, they found the floor of the restaurant littered with peanut shells. They found it hard to believe that the floor was cleaned everyday and still managed to look like a sea peanuts by the end of the day. Leon walked to the front desk and said, "Kennedy for two."

The woman checked the computer and said, "Right this way, sir."

The woman lead the two to a booth and gave them the traditional small basket of steaming hot bread rolls with butter. Leon tore into the bread rolls, not waiting for them to cool down. He looked to his redheaded companion and said, "You know, I could come here just for the rolls."

Claire smiled happily at him. "I have an idea then. You give me your steak and then you can just eat the bread."

"Not on your life, Redfield." The two looked at their menus and ordered their food.

While they waited for their meals, the two conversed about the normal parts of their lives, but they soon ran out of topics. Given their occupation, they had little to talk about when it came to their normal lives. They eventually began telling stories of their lives before Raccoon. Even though the two had heard each story more than once, it was always nice to talk about things that didn't involve a walking corpse. Before their meals even arrived, Claire spotted two familiar people come through the door. She quickly poked Leon's arm, urging him to look towards the door. Leon turned his head to see Jake and Sherry talking to the waitress at the front desk. Claire looked back to Leon and asked, "Why do you think they're here?"

"Well, you see Claire, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they-"

"Quit being a smart ass."

"Jake came by my place this morning to ask me about Sherry. He wanted to know more about what she likes. I'm just surprised that the kid made his move this fast."

"Should we stay out of sight?"

"I think we should do more than that." Leon took out his wallet and left a hundred dollar bill on the table. "Once the two of them are seated, let's get out of here. If Sherry sees us, she'll want to talk to us, and I'd prefer to make sure that Jake's plan can go without any complications."

Claire giggled and said, "You really define the saying 'bros before hoes' Leon."

Leon smiled and kept watch on the younger couple, waiting for the perfect time to leave. As soon as Jake and Sherry were out of sight, Leon stood up, with Claire following him to the exit. As soon as the two of them made it to Leon's car, Claire asked, "Now what are we gonna do? I'm still hungry."

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"How about we go back to my place and order a pizza?"

"Works for me." Leon started the car and began driving back to Claire's house.

While they drove back, Claire ordered a pizza for delivery. Once they entered the house, Leon took off his jacket and set it down on one of the chairs. "I'm not gonna lie, Leon. I'm shocked that you can live without that jacket on." She chuckled.

"I can but only for a few minutes. If I don't wear it after a while I'll suffocate."

Claire put on the TV and switched the channel to a sitcom. The two sat down on the couch, awaiting their pizza. Once the doorbell rang, Claire stood up, paid the pizza boy, and brought the pizza inside for the two of them to enjoy along with a few beers from her fridge. The two of them conversed more about their lives while they ate. Several hours had passed and the moon rose high in the sky. The two sat at the kitchen counter, both slightly inebriated, still trying to talk about normal, everyday things, which was boring Leon to death. Curious about Claire's opinion, he decided to get back to the previous night. "You know I'm still mad about last night."

"Oh really? What can I do to make it up to you?" Claire asked.

"Why don't you surprise me." A notorious smirk popped onto his lips.

Claire pondered what to do for a short moment, eventually coming up with a solution to the problem. "I've got it." She said with confidence.

"Oh?"

"Close your eyes."

Leon hesitated for a moment, debating with himself whether he should trust his friend or not. He eventually accepted Claire's request and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed and he felt a sweet sensation on his lips. Claire was kissing him. His eyes shot open at the sudden realization. He unknowingly pushed her away in shock. "Claire, I-"

Claire silenced him as she kissed him once more. This time Leon sank into the kiss. He pulled her in closer, running his hand up her back and through her hair. Thoughts were racing through both of their minds yet neither of them paid any notice to them. The kiss became more deep as the two of them continued through the storm of passion that enveloped them. Leon suddenly heard a ring from his back pocket. He grabbed his phone by instinct and answered without thinking of the current situation. "Kennedy." He answered the phone with his breath exhausted. Hunnigan was on the other line, informing Leon of a mission that he had been selected for. Leon halted his response as his mind processed the full gravity of the situation. Shakily, he answered, "Alright. I'll be there soon." Leon hung up the phone and saw Claire looking to him with worried eyes. "I, uh, I have to go."

Claire pursed her lips awkwardly. "Yeah. We'll talk later, yeah?" She said trying to play off what they had just shared.

"Yeah. Claire, I-"

Claire held up her hand, letting Leon know that he should stop talking. "It was just a mistake, right?"

Leon took a deep breath. He wanted to say that it was the best thing that he ever did but he knew that he couldn't afford to do something like that at the moment. Though it pained him to do so, he replied, "Yeah. Just a mistake that anyone could make." Leon grabbed his jacket and walked out of Claire's house. On his way out, he struggled to not punch the wall in frustration. "Goddamnit, Kennedy." He said to himself angrily.

Claire watched Leon drive away from a window. As she lost sight of him, a single tear crept down her face. "Just a mistake." She told herself. "Just a stupid mistake."

Hey guys sorry for how long it took for me to finish writing this chapter. I'd like to give my thanks to Xaori for editing this fic. She's responsible for the more elegant phrasing such as " Nothing extravagant, but even so, breathtakingly beautiful.". She has a fic called "Just Friends" that you guys should check out if you haven't yet. I'll try and update another chapter soon, but I make no promises about when.