New Horizons, IX
By: Hotaru
Warnings: Steve bashing, abuse, strong language, trying to fix the new speaking/paragraph things.
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Leon and Claire stared at the sight before them. "We should take a picture." Claire whispered. "I have an old Polaroid that the station couldn't use any more. Instant memories." Leon replied with a devilish grin. He disappeared into his room and rummaged around in his closet before emerging with a camera. "It looks ancient." Claire remarked.
"Shh, you'll wake them up." Leon whispered back, walking in front of the bed and pushing the button in. "Get a closer one." Claire told him, reaching for the first picture. Leon moved to the other side of the bed and took another picture and handed it to Claire. "Anything else?" Leon asked. Claire thought for a moment. "Get a pic of his arm." She said finally.
Leon wrinkled his brow. "His arm?" He asked. Claire sighed exasperatedly and pointed to Chris' arm, which was pushing Jill's breasts upwards. "Ohhhh, that's a good one." Leon said, leaning in for the shot. Chuckling slightly, Leon and Claire went into Leon's room and laid the pictures on his bed to develop. "I wonder what they did…" Claire mused as the pictures slowly came into focus. "I didn't hear anything last night…you?" Leon replied.
Claire shook her head, and the two jumped as they heard voices. They went to Leon's doorway and listened in. "What time is it?" Chris asked.
"Um…quarter after ten-ish." Jill replied.
"Oh. You sleep well?" Chris continued.
"Yeah. You?"
"Mm-hm. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"Huh? Oh right. No actually…it made me feel better. All that worrying I did when you were gone must have fried my nerves or something."
"I'm glad. You think they're awake already?"
"I don't know.."
Leon emerged from his room and grinned. "Morning you two! Great day, isn't it?" He asked cheerfully. Chris immediately shifted away from Jill and smiled shakily. "Sure is. Let's just hope it doesn't get too hot." He said, climbing off the bed. Leon winked at Jill, who looked shocked and frightened. "I hope it was comfortable last night." Leon said, frightening the two. "Huh? W-what do you mean?" Chris asked.
"The bed. And the temperature. Some times it can get cold in here if the A.C. is on all night, but if you turn it off, it gets hot really quick." Leon said innocently. Chris and Jill breathed a sigh of relief. "It was a little chilly, but a nice break from being horribly humid and hot." Jill said, climbing out from under the sheet. Leon nodded and headed into the kitchen and quickly stuck a picture he had taken under a magnet.
Chris went into the bathroom, and Jill busied herself taking care of the bed, so Claire ran into her room and went into the living room a second later. "Morning everyone." She said, smiling at Jill and heading into the kitchen. "Morning." Jill answered, folding the bed back up. Claire snickered at the picture on the refrigerator and shook her head.
"Hey Claire, what time did you want to go shopping?" Jill called from in the living room. Claire walked into the dining area and shrugged. "I guess we could go early to beat the crowds." She replied. Jill nodded, and Chris emerged from the bathroom. "Morning." He greeted his sister, purposely ignoring Jill. He sat down at the table and let his head fall backwards. Claire went into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of Wheat Chex. They weren't the best tasting cereal out there, but at least they were healthy.
Jill, who had just entered the kitchen and saw the picture, hung her head in embarrassment. She pulled it from underneath the magnet and tossed it to Chris. Groaning slightly, Chris turned the picture over. "So what happened last night?" Leon asked, joining Chris and Claire at the table. Jill immediately intervened. "Nothing happened." She should have said something more but there wasn't really a way to explain it without receiving an un-fair amount of teasing.
Leon and Claire obviously wouldn't accept that answer. "Ok, here's how it went down. I wanted to hold Jill because my arms felt empty, so I held her and it was okay." Chris said finally. Both Claire and Jill let out an adoring "Aw" while Leon narrowed his eyes and whispered, "You sly devil, you." Chris couldn't help but smile. He liked the thought of being with Jill after all.
"Anyway, we should get going soon, Claire." Jill said, trying to turn the attention away from her and Chris. "Sure. Let me get changed and get Katie ready." Claire replied, getting up from the table after finishing her bowl of cereal. Jill went into the bathroom to change, leaving Leon and "Sly Devil" Chris alone. "So tell me everything." Leon said.
Chris raised his eyebrows. "Jesus, Leon! You're so eager!" he said. Leon grinned.
"Ok, basically, we talked for awhile about how Claire's doing. Then, she rolled to one side and I took a deep breath, moved my pillows next to hers and wrapped my arm around 'er. She tensed up at first but I asked her to just let me hold her and she said ok." Chris explained lowly.
Leon chuckled lightly to himself. "That's great, that you could take a step forward like that. Did she say anything?" he asked. Chris shook his head. "She held my hand, and that's good enough for me." He replied, standing up from the table as Jill emerged from the bathroom. "So what are you guys going to do today?" She asked, looking in the refrigerator for some breakfast.
Chris and Leon shrugged. "Guy stuff? Take a trip to the batting cages, get some ice cream, flex your muscles?" Jill offered.
"A trip to the batting cages sounds good." Leon remarked.
"Haven't been to one in years." Chris said. "But ice cream and the muscle flexing I'll have to pass on."
Jill giggled and looked up at Chris. "What, you're too big for some ice cream?" She teased. Chris smiled down at her in a daze. "No…"
"It's gonna be ninety degrees today, get some ice cream punk." Jill persisted.
"And what if I don't…?"
"I'll force you, one way or another."
Leon chuckled to himself and patted Chris on the back. "We'll figure it out when it happens." He said, heading to his room. Claire emerged from the bathroom, ready to go. "I have no money." She reported. Leon emerged from his room with the envelope full of cash. "My boss gave me some extra money to pay for anything you might need while you're here." He said, pulling out some money and handing it to Claire. "Is it out of your paycheck or anything?" She asked worriedly.
"No. I think it was from Good Will or a charity or something. He wasn't too clear on the specifics, or at least I don't remember him being too clear. Anyway, that should be plenty." Leon replied.
"And I have some money too, in case you run out." Jill piped in with a smile. Claire smiled inwardly, happy that so many people care about her. "Thanks. Well, I guess we can go now." She said gratefully.
Chris and Leon stood in the doorway and waved as the two woman walked down the hallway towards the elevator. "So what are we going to do?" Chris asked, heading back inside the apartment. "What ever you wanna do. We could go to the movies, escape the heat for awhile." Leon suggested. Chris nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I hear 'Signs' is really good." He said.
Leon shrugged. "That sounds fine. It may seem weird, but I get this kind of high when I'm scared. That's what a life altering hell will do to you!" he continued, heading to the phone to get the movie times. Chris in the meantime prepared some breakfast. "Ok, the closest showing is at 12:45. We could grab some lunch out there before the movie starts." Leon said, hanging up the phone. Chris nodded. "But what about the time between now and then?" He asked, milk dribbling down his face.
"Uh…well I guess we shouldn't go to the batting cages right before the movies. We'd be sweating like hogs and stinking twice as bad." Leon said.
"Are you man enough to play miniature golf?" Chris asked.
"Mini-golf? You can't be serious." He said, leaning against the wall.
"I only asked if you were man enough. You don't have to, I was only making a suggestion."
Frowning slightly, Leon shrugged. "I dunno. Two guys and miniature golf. I can't help but imagine that we'd be thought as gay." He said. Chris chuckled slightly and brought his bowl to the sink and washed it. "That's true I guess. We could always do that with Claire and Jill some other time. Is there an arcade around here?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's on the opposite side of town from the movie theatre. You wanna do that?" Leon replied. Chris nodded. "I'm gonna kick your ass so bad." Chris boasted. Leon shook his head. "Nah, you won't. I'll have more lollipops and tootsie rolls than you can imagine." He countered. Chris chuckled slightly. "At least we'll have candy for the movies."
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Claire, Katie and Jill wandered down the streets, looking in the windows of the store they would pass by. "Ooh.." Jill murmured, stopping in front of what looked like a candy store. "You can't be serious." Claire remarked as Jill went for the door. "Ah, come on! We'll just get some Swedish Fish and Jawbreakers and we'll leave, ok?" Jill said, motioning to the door.
"Alright, fine." Claire said, finally heading into the store. Ten minutes, and five dollars later, Jill and Claire emerged from the store with heavy brown paper bags. "I have to carry this the whole time?" Claire asked, holding up her bulging bag. "No one told you to buy two pounds of fish." Jill replied, popping a Jawbreaker into her mouth. Claire laughed, a genuine laugh for once.
"There's a clothing store across the street. Wanna go there?" Jill asked. Claire shrugged. They crossed the street and headed into the store. "May I help you ladies?" A saleswoman asked. Jill and Claire shook their heads, and just looked around. "Aw, sweaters." Claire said, stopping at a shelf full of them. "They're on sale, too." She continued, holding one up.
Jill looked out at the visible heat outside. "No wonder. Why don't you buy a couple?" She asked. Claire shrugged. "I don't know…" She murmured. Jill grabbed a few and thrust them into Claire's arms. "Go ahead, indulge yourself for once!" She said, as they continued around the store.
When they were through, there were three bags of clothes for Claire. "You want to head home?" Claire asked, nearly melting as they left the air-conditioned store. Jill nodded and they headed back to the car. "I bet those sweaters are going to come in handy today, huh?" Jill asked sarcastically. Claire smiled and shut the trunk. "Oh yeah, it's getting colder by the minute." She replied, climbing into the car, which was terribly hot.
Jill snickered and started the car up. "I'm hungry." She announced. "Oh, that's right, you didn't have breakfast." Claire replied, a moment later. Pulling out into the street, Jill asked, "Is it ok if we stop somewhere to eat? I doubt the boys'll be home yet." Claire shrugged. "Sure, it's fine. I haven't been eating much lately, and I'm starting to feel it." She replied.
Cranking up the radio, Jill drove around town, looking for a good place to eat. "There!" She announced, pointing at an outdoor café. Pulling into a parking spot that had been empty for nearly a minute, Jill turned off the car and the two climbed out. "At least we can sit in the shade." Claire said, nodding at the large red and white umbrellas that were at every table.
"You want anything?" Jill asked as Claire sat down at a table. "Uh…a milkshake." Claire replied with a smile. "That's it?" Jill asked. Claire nodded and folded her hands in front of her face. She watched the people that passed by—happy couples, single women, single men, little old women with silver walkers, children who were too young to be alone…
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TBC
