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"What about Lloyd? He was expecting me home after work."

Chris chuckled at his sister. She was just looking for any excuse to get out of tonight. "Consider him already dealt with. I called him on my way to pick you up. He said he'd see you whenever you got home."

"Great." Claire mumbled.

Chris shot the younger Redfield a quick look before turning back to the wheel. "I never quite understood what happened between you guys. I'm sure whatever it was, you guys can overcome it. I mean, considering you both managed to survive Raccoon City together. Isn't something like that supposed to bring people closer?"

Claire raised an eyebrow. "I don't know Chris…how close did it bring you to Jill Valentine?"

"Cute, Claire. Real cute."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire Redfield didn't like feeling uneasy. About anything. She could feel her heart nearly jump out of her throat as she stood in front of Leon's apartment door, waiting for him to answer the doorbell.

Maybe he'd forgotten about what she had done all those years ago. Maybe he'd forgiven her and would stop giving her those occasional cold looks he seemed to be so fond of. Then again, it was Leon Scott Kennedy, so probably not.

There should be no mistake; Leon was one hell of a guy. And he had always been there for Claire, no matter what the situation, without asking a single question. It was like having another Chris Redfield in her life, only this one was not related and not quite the hard-ass. Except behind the smiles and friendship, there was an unspoken harshness and disappointment he felt towards her. He tried his best to hide it, Claire could always tell, but he was never very good at keeping things from her.

It was written all over his face. She had to admit, though she was ashamed to, that she was relieved when he had taken the job in Washington. Maybe the time away from one another would strengthen the bond they shared.

Leon swung the door open, a huge grin on his face as his cold blue eyes shot between the Redfield siblings.

"Chris, it's great to see you again, buddy." Leon said, reaching his arms out to give Chris a manly hug.

Claire shifted when her old friend turned to her and saw nothing but genuine happiness in his eyes. "Claire, you don't know how good it is to see you." He whispered to her when he pulled her in for a hug.

She was in a sudden shock when she felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close to him. She felt his muscles through his shirt, his hard and sculpted chest against hers. Her hands grazed his arms and left her in disbelief. When the hell did Leon Kennedy get so damn buff?

"Kennedy, let go of my little sister. Government agent or not, don't make me clock you." Chris said, playfully punching the back of Leon's arm.

Leon laughed as he let go of Claire and took a few steps back. "Come in you guys. Jill's already here. We've been talking, and I'm thoroughly disappointed in you, Chris." Leon said, closing the front door behind him. Claire noticed that he locked it moments after, chain lock and everything. You can never be too safe, she reminded herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The moment Leon explained what had happened to him in Spain; he almost wished that he hadn't. He could read their faces with no effort, and remembered the looks that each one bore. It was terror. Nothing but sheer terror. Hell, it was probably the exact same expression he had on his rookie cop face back in 1998.

Though hoards of the undead trying to gnaw your face off is a fairly disturbing thought, a brand new virus giving those infected the ability to work amongst each other to kill the uninfected was somehow much more terrifying. Until the moment he discovered what exactly was going on in Spain, he never thought anything like that was possible.

Maybe this wasn't the ideal thing to open with...

"Hey, Claire, are you alright?" Leon asked, moving over to her on the couch. He scanned his apartment before moving so close to her to see exactly where Chris had gotten to. He was in the kitchen, hunting for food in Leon's poor fridge with Jill by his side. He figured this would be the best opportunity to finally get a few things off his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She nodded quickly. But she was lying. He could see that, he wasn't stupid. She kept her eyes peeled to the ground as if scared to look up into his.

But she did look up at him, with those wide baby blue eyes, when he grabbed a hold of her arm and gently pulled her to her feet. "Come; let's go talk on the balcony for a second."

He slid the balcony door closed and turned to look at her. Her back was facing her, her arms holding each other, trying to shield the other from the cool breeze. Her fire red hair blew back, the wind blowing into her as her eyes scanned the beautiful view of the city.

Leon walked to her side and slipped off his jacket, slipping it onto her shoulders with a warm smile. She glanced back at him and returned the smile before turning her attention back to the endless horizon of lights.

Leon leaned against the railing, staring off into the night as she was. He took a deep breath for courage and decided it was time to be a man and face the music.

"So what have you been up to, Claire?"

Claire slanted her head to watch Leon's face glow under the moonlight. A quick breeze blew by them, swaying strands of his light brown hair over his sharp eyes. "I'm a nurse at the hospital."

"Oh, nice. Which one?"

"Mount Sinai."

Leon nodded, "very nice."

He noticed something that whipped the smile off his face almost instantly. What was that on Claire's finger? Was that...

"Are you engaged, Claire...?" Leon asked hesitantly.

Glancing down at her finger, she looked up and shot him a small smile, nodding.

"Oh, wow...uh...congratulations. When...did that happen?"

He had never felt the way he did that moment. It was like a slap in the face. No, scratch that, it was like a punch in the face. He couldn't pin point where the feeling came from, but it was far too strong for his liking.

He thought they were closer than that, much closer. How could she get engaged and not tell him? And who the hell was this guy?

"About a year ago. I would have told you, but Chris told me that you were really busy in Washington." She answered the question as if she could read his thoughts. "His name is Lloyd...he's a construction worker." Every single question in his mind, answered. God, Claire Redfield was an amazing woman.

"And Chris approves?"

Claire shrugged, glancing back at her big brother watching TV with Jill behind the glass. "I'm sure he doesn't, but he doesn't say anything about it to me. Anymore, at least. No one will ever be good enough for his little sister. His standards are so high they're God-like."

A laugh escaped Leon's lips as he listened to Claire talk about her brother. It might have been annoying to Claire, but when it came down to it, Leon felt the exact same way. Claire was an amazing woman, the greatest one he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. And if someone was going to date her, they'd better be damn near perfect. No, actually, they'd better be perfect.

"And when is the date?"

Claire shrugged. Subconsciously, she played with her ring within her fingers, her eyes entranced on the white gold. "We haven't decided."

"Both of you haven't decided...or you haven't decided?"

Claire looked up into Leon's eyes.

"Claire, I completely understand where you're coming from, and I know it hurts, but sometimes you have to let it go." His voice was low, almost a whisper, as the wind carried it to the woman who stood silently beside him. Her eyes had fallen to the sidewalk twenty stories below, her heart had fallen just as low.

Claire remained silent. She couldn't speak. The tears stinging her eyes were an unstoppable force and she was quickly losing the battle.

Leon didn't speak a word. Instead, he just watched her carefully. It broke his heart to helplessly watch tears as they formed in her eyes, the glint of the moonlight illuminating them perfectly for him.

He knew exactly what it was about without having to say a word. Steve, the one she lost but could never fully let go. She had told him all about it, years ago, with tears streaming down her face and her chest heaving. He remembered every moment of that conversation, because he swore he could feel his heart breaking alongside hers. She had trouble dealing with it, the whole thing. And from the looks of it, she hadn't quite figured it out yet.

"It just…isn't fair." Claire finally said. Her voice was as heavy as her heart, and hearing it was the final straw. She could hold the tears no longer, could no longer put on a brave face and pretend she was alright like she had done all those years. If there was anyone that could help her, it was the man who stood beside her. "You should never say that to a person…not when you die. It just isn't fair."

"I know it's not Claire. He shouldn't have said it."

"And now I pay for it, every single day. He didn't even know me…how could you utter those words to anyone you've known for such a short time?"

"In those types of situations, you grow a lot closer to somebody in a much shorter amount of time than you would normally. Look at us, Claire. We've had our differences, but I still come to you with every little thing, and you do the same. There's something in you that I will never have with anyone else, and I'm sure he felt it too. How could he not when he's with someone as amazing as you?"

Claire shook her head and whipped away the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I just can't understand why it's still bothering me. It was so long ago. I feel so stupid for letting it still bother me…for letting it run my life."

"Claire, you can remember the ones you've lost along the way, but you have to pick up the pieces of your life and keep going. I don't know much about the kid, but I do know that he wouldn't want you to waste the rest of your life away because of what happened to him. Live. If not for me, then for him."

She sobbed and nodded, and that was all it took for Leon to close the gap between them. Wrapped his arms around her waist, he pulled her close to him again. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Claire, you know you can talk to me anytime…it's what I'm here for. I know I'm in Washington most of the time, but I'm just a phone call away. And if you need me here, I will leave the minute you mutter those words, no questions asked." He whispered into her ear.

She felt his warm breath against her neck and smiled. "I know…thank you, Leon."

Inside Leon's apartment, Chris saw the embrace the two Raccoon City survivors were sharing outside and immediately jumped up from the couch. He could see the tears on Claire's pale cheeks, and felt his blood instantly boil. What the hell did Leon do?

He moved to take a step towards the balcony, but was pulled back to the couch by Jill's strong grip. She stood behind him and shook her head as he glanced back at her.

"Let them talk, Chris." She told him firmly.

He let out a defeated sigh and turned back to his little sister crying in the arms of one of his closest friends. Government agent or not…he would clock him.


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