I just wanted to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter up!
I hope everyone enjoys it, and please remember to leave a review!
He remembered all those times in high school when normally grumpy teachers would walk into the classroom with that extra bounce in their step and unusually big smiles on their faces. He could still hear all his friends whispering around him. Looks like someone got laid last night. As he made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen, Leon finally understood why those men always had those foolish smiles on their faces the morning after. Especially since, in both their cases and his, there had no doubt been far too much of a gap in between female encounters.
After the Raccoon City incident, Leon was noticed by the U.S. Government, and it wasn't long before he was recruited into its ranks. Even before he worked for the Government, Leon's life revolved solely around work. Dating wasn't something that he thought of as a priority, though it did come with its perks, like the one he had the pleasure of experiencing the night before. He was a man and had needs like any other; no doubt about it, but the safety and wellbeing of countless innocent people always seemed to surpass the needs of his own. That didn't mean to say that he avoided female contact altogether. On more than one occasion, Leon found himself in bed with a random girl he had met only a few hours earlier in the darkness of some bar. Of course, that's about as far as it went with those girls, because he was always quick to leave soon after the deed was done.
Not with Claire, though. She was different than all those girls. After a few drinks, Claire Redfield wouldn't give up and stumble into a stranger's bed as willingly as those before her. She's the type that would fight through undead horrors, barely escaping death countless times, and then still somehow manage to resist throwing herself at you in a desperate attempt to feel alive amongst all the death. Though now looking back at it, he almost wished that she had. Definitely would've made the whole experience a lot better. There was a huge difference between all those girls and the one that lay upstairs waiting for him; he respected her. He cherished every moment he had with her, because he was all too familiar with how fast they can be swept out from underneath you.
Leon was so caught up in his own thoughts as he fumbled to prepare coffee for the house that he didn't pick up the presence of another person looming behind him.
"So, I noticed you didn't go to your room last night."
Leon pulled his head out of the fridge, the bag of ground beans in his hand as he closed the door and proceeded to make the coffee. He glanced back at Chris, who was leaning against the kitchen doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. Leon turned back to the coffee machine and finished preparing it. God, those arms were going to be the death of him.
"Did you go to yours?"
"This isn't about me, Leon. You spent the night in my little sister's room."
Leon turned around and wasn't surprised to see Chris standing a lot closer to him than he was only a few moments earlier. He leaned back against the counter, his hands resting over the edge as he held his ground over the towering Redfield.
"She's a grown woman, Chris. She's not the 19 year old girl you remember her as."
"I know that. I understand that she's…" Chris cringed. "Having sex. That's not my main concern. My main concern is that you think you can just keep prancing into her life, spin her around, and then leave and be MIA for years. What are you going to do once you have to go back to work? Have you even thought about that?"
"I haven't…" What was he going to do? God, how he wanted nothing more than to lead a normal life for a change. How great would it be to have a normal 9-5 job? It would probably be as great as waking up next to Claire every morning. It would be the greatest feeling a man like him could ever hope for. Unfortunately, it was a feeling he had come to accept he may never truly get to experience.
Chris calmed his nerves when he saw the hurt on Leon's face. He knew that Leon wanted nothing more than to be with Claire, but he also knew that fate was a bitch, and no doubt had more cards up her sleeve for the four of them. "You don't have to pick up the pieces you leave behind, Leon. Jill and I do, and quite frankly, we're a little sick of it."
Leon paused for a moment, dozens of questions running through his mind at the same time, each and every one of them revolving around Claire. "Tell me, does she date when I'm gone?"
Chris nodded, walking over to the kitchen table and pulling out a chair. "Of course she does. She's not the type to sit around and wait for someone to return whenever they feel like it. She's replaced you many times over the years."
"Then she'll have no problem replacing me again when I leave."
"Last I heard from you, you were what, protecting the President's family, right?" Leon nodded, answering Chris's question without saying a word. "Why don't you protect your family, Leon."
"I don't have-"
"We're your family. Protect the one person who needs you more than your country ever will." He didn't know what else to say to the younger man. He couldn't tie him up and make him lead a life he didn't want to. He only wanted the best for his little sister, and he was beginning to think that maybe Leon wasn't the best thing for her.
Both of them knew that, if it came down to it, they would rather sacrifice their lives than let Claire so much as shed a single tear. Unfortunately, both of them also knew that Leon's time here was slowly but surely drawing to an end, and there was no way of knowing when he would be back again. Chris could only hope that his little sister would understand that Leon would no doubt have to leave her behind once more, something he did all too well.
"Do you know when you're leaving again?"
Leon shrugged, his eyes darting back and forth between the coffee machine and Chris. Almost done. Then he could go upstairs, where he felt like his life wasn't in danger at the hands of the Redfield.
"I'm sure they'll be fine without me for a while. It should be over for now." Leon's face suddenly went pale, catching Chris' attention. He slipped up, something Claire had predicted at the bar on his first night back. Damnit, she knew him all too well.
"What should be over?" Leon ignored his question and pulled two coffee cups out of the cupboard overhead, pouring the hot coffee into the ceramic cups. "Kennedy, what aren't you telling me? What the hell happened in Spain?"
Leon let out a defeated sigh. He wanted to protect his friend from the images and horror that came with learning about the events that unfolded in Spain, but he knew that telling him was the best bet to finally put an end to it all. If anyone could do anything about it, it was Chris Redfield, proud member of the BSAA. Even if it was just his thoughts on the whole situation, Chris could bring a new perspective to it and maybe even shed some light on a plan to end it once and for all.
"There's a new virus. It's a lot different than the ones we've seen in the past. A lot stronger." Leon kept his back turned to Chris, his head hung as if ashamed of what he was saying.
"What? Why the hell didn't you tell me about this sooner?" Chris nearly yelled, jumping up from his chair at the kitchen table. His fist slammed against the table so hard, the whole house practically shook. It was a miracle he didn't wake Jill or Claire with his anger, let alone break the damn table.
"I promised Claire-"
"You told my little sister but not me? You failed to mention something this big to someone who works for BSAA? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Leon spun around and looked into the face of the furious man who stood before him. "Claire wanted us to have a normal life for a change, even just for a few weeks. She was going to tell you once I went back to work. She just wanted a few weeks of what a normal life might be like. No talk about zombies, viruses, nothing. Just four friends enjoying life." He paused, his voice lowered to a whisper. "That's all she's ever wanted, Chris."
"As long as people are still roaming this Earth, she'll never have a chance at a normal life. Evil will always be here, and people will always walk around thinking they're God. It's our job to take 'em down a notch and let them know that they're not. It'll never really be over, Leon."
"For once, I hope to God you're wrong." Leon shook his head.
Chris forced a smile and cocked his head towards the cups of coffee Leon had poured moments earlier. "You'd better get that upstairs. Claire isn't the nicest person in the morning if she doesn't get her coffee."
Leon chuckled, picking up the steaming cups as he made his way past Chris. He paused for a moment as he passed him, glancing back for only a second before heading to the staircase.
"I care about your sister a lot, Chris. If I could have it my way, I never would've left her in the first place."
Jill came down the stairs as Leon ran up. Chris laughed, his arms crossed over his chest as she scolded him for nearly knocking into her with steaming hot coffee. He had to bring himself back to reality when he found his mind drifting into the dream he was often consumed in. They would never be normal, never have normal lives. Umbrella and all that came after had already ruined their chances of having anything close to that. But every now and then, especially when Leon was home from work, Chris caught moments where anyone from the outside would believe they bore no scars from the past.
He watched Jill finished descending the stairs and walk over to him, a huge grin on her face. He tried not to look at the short blue cotton shorts she had on, but the man inside of him wasn't planning on letting him off that easily. His eyes trailed up her milky white skin, his fingers aching to reach out and touch the softness that he knew would cover Jill's body. But the friend inside of him knew he would get a serious ass kicking if he so much as even tried. Two good friends and partners stuck being forever that. Maybe they were normal after all.
"There may be a problem. I think we should call HQ."
Maybe not.