A/N: I have nothing to say this time :P Just keep reading the story :)

Ryan rested his head against the window frame, staring up at the waxing moon illuminating the small bedroom that he was currently in. He rarely ever slept a full night - even before Raccoon City, in fact - So it wasn't unusual for him to be awake at night like this. He gazed up at the moon solemnly, enjoying the quiet of the bedroom. It was a few minutes before he realized that he could hear a pair of voices coming from across the hall.

With a moment of concentration, he recognized Claire's voice, then a few seconds later, Alice. They sounded like they'd left their door open slightly. He silently padded across the room in his socks, crouching down at the old fashion keyhole and began to listen.

"Claire, she's just a kid. Why do you want to do this so badly?" Alice asked, and Ryan could tell just by her tone that she was keeping her face expressionless.

"It's not that. I jumped the gun with her. You went through a routine entry... She didn't. I just want someone to keep an eye on her until I can be certain that I won't regret my choices." Claire replied, and Ryan could tell that Claire was pacing. The sound of her voice kept coming closer, then moving away. To him, Alice seemed to be stationary, most likely leaning against the wall or sitting on the bed.

"You think that she's infected, don't you?" Alice asked, and Ryan felt a chill run down his spine at Alice's question. Was June really infected? He kept his ear pressed to the keyhole, hoping that it wasn't true.

"I don't know. That's the problem." Claire answered. "If she isn't, then I don't have to worry."

"What if she is infected?" Alice asked, which made Ryan's heart leap into his throat. "Then what will we do?" It sounded to Ryan that Alice already planned to kill June. He was shocked at the idea of Alice killing June so coldly.

Claire sighed. "Then I'll do what must be done."

Ryan pulled his ear away from the door in utter shock as the chill went right back up his back. They both thought that June was infected, and planned to exterminate her in cold blood! He walked back to the window and sat sideways on the sill, hugging his raised shin and resting his back against the frame as he processed what he'd heard from them.

Footsteps reached his ears, descending the staircase down to the first floor. He assumed that one of them had left, thus ending their conversation. He returned his intense gaze back up to the moon, which threw his pale face into sharp relief. In the moonlight, his skin was practically reflecting the light.

He remained motionless, thinking hard for several minutes until he felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. He directed his gaze towards the bedroom and saw the door slowly opening.

With calculated slowness, he used his right arm to reach into the back of his waistband until his fingertips brushed against his hidden M92f pistol. Not even Claire knew about this pistol, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

However, he relaxed when he saw Alice slowly opening the door. Oddly she didn't seem to notice Ryan silhouetted in the window. Ryan watched as Alice sat down on the bed in the middle of the room - which Ryan had ignored when he came up here - and let out a sigh. She rolled up her left sleeve and seemed to rub her wrist distractedly.

Alice rubbed her temple with her left hand, and Ryan noticed over her shoulder that her left forearm had several odd scars on it. He raised an eyebrow at them, but remained motionless as he returned his gaze to the moon.

Alice shrugged her duster off and turned to place it beside her, but she suddenly froze. She glanced up at the window and saw Ryan looking out the window. She relaxed as he quietly let out a slow breath, seemingly unaware of her presence. The moonlight made him appear much older, throwing parts of his face into shadow, particularly his cheekbones and above his eyes. Alice realized that his eyes had a chilling look to them, almost making them appear to be chips of green ice.

Despite his lack of motion or acknowledgement, Alice could tell he knew she was there. But, she was confused as to why he was up here in the first place.

"When I was nine..." Ryan suddenly began, making Alice watch him with narrowed eyes. "I went to sleep over at a friend's house for the first time."

Alice was listening suspiciously. Why was he retelling this to her?

Ryan scoffed to himself. "His older brother was supposed to have been gone for the weekend. So, when me and my friend finally decided to stop playing video games and go to sleep... His brother snuck into the basement where we were sleeping. We'd been told he was away for the whole weekend by his parents."

Alice remained silent. She had a rough idea what could've happened next, but waited for Ryan to finish his story before saying anything.

"His brother was the neighbourhood bully. Guess who his favourite victim was?" Ryan asked, glancing away from the moon to briefly look at Alice sitting on the bed, her torso turned to face him.

Alice already knew the answer. Why else would Ryan have been assured that the older brother wasn't home? "You." She replied quietly.

"Yeah, exactly." Ryan turned his gaze back out the window with a distant look to his eyes. "So, he woke us up, obviously. But he was wearing a plastic hockey mask and holding a kitchen knife."

Alice raised an eyebrow at the sadistic nature of the older brother. This was roughly what she'd thought had happened, so she kept listening.

"He grabbed me and made it seem like he was going to stab me. He actually did slash my arm when I tried to get away. I've kept the huge scar I got from it hidden ever since then." Ryan continued, and Alice noticed for the first time that his left forearm was covered by a heavy leather bracer while his right was bare. She slowly stood up and approached his side, her eyes on his emotionless expression.

Alice slowly took his left arm, and locked eyes with him. He didn't react or pull his arm away, so Alice began to reach under the bracer to unclasp it. She was surprise to find a metal object mounted to his inner forearm.

"What is this?" Alice said, staring at the metal object that ran the length of the bracer. She could tell that Ryan had attached it to the bracer and that it held another purpose than to just be protecting his arm and hiding his scar.

"It's a retractable blade. I made it about a month before Raccoon City." Ryan replied as he gently pulled his arm free from her grasp. Alice watched as he pulled his wrist up and a sharp blade suddenly extended out of the end of the metal device.

Alice was impressed with the concealed weapon. It was about eight inches long and quite sharp. It reminded her of switchblade.

"Why did you make this?" Alice breathed, watching as the blade smoothly slid back into the protective casing as he lowered his wrist. This had to have been illegal before Raccoon City, but in the current world, it was genius.

"Self defence." Ryan replied as he held up his hand and pointed at a ring on his left middle finger, on which he wore a fingerless glove. "This ring has a wire attached to it that releases the spring to extend the blade and retract it."

"Have you ever had to use it?" Alice asked as she examined the barely visible wire that the glove concealed. "Before Raccoon City, I mean."

Ryan was silent for several seconds before he nodded, averting his gaze.

Alice recognized the pain in Ryan's eyes, so she moved a bit closer to him. "Did they live?"

Ryan sighed before shaking his head. "It was... the brother I told you about. He tried to attack me, s-so I s-stabbed him."

Alice wrapped her arms around him as his shoulders started to shake with silent sobs. She held him for a few minutes in silence, waiting for him to calm down. He'd just revealed a dark secret to her: he'd committed a murder that he must have kept a secret for all these years.

"It's okay, shhh... It's not a problem anymore. Don't cry." Alice whispered into his forehead, holding him a bit more securely.

Ryan eventually calmed down, and he wrapped his own arms around Alice's shoulders as he said. "Thank you, Alice."

Alice smiled at him encouragingly. "Don't mention it, partner." Before he could say anything else, she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek as she stood up to leave. "See you in the morning." She purred as she closed the door, leaving him to return to staring at the moon, his entire face turning a brilliant crimson.

Closing Remarks: Firstly, the story that Ryan told Alice is entirely made up. That DID NOT actually happen to me.

Second, the blade in his bracer is indeed the Hidden Blade from Assassin's Creed. I take no ownership in the device's concept, all respective rights belong to Ubisoft.

Thirdly, Alice finally realized that Ryan does indeed trust her and is not infatuated by her, like Claire Redfield had thought, by revealing an event from his past that he has kept hidden for so long.

Finally, Alice gave him the kiss as a sign of positive reinforcement for calming him down when he started to cry. By no means will I make this Fanfic into anything much more than that. This is rated T for 'Violence and Language', not M for 'Violence, Language and Sexual Content'.

I hope you enjoyed that as much as it gave me trouble to write! (It gave me quite a hassle to write)

Now, time for a coffee refill so I can keep writing!