This story is my take on what will happen in Resident Evil 5. There will be romance as well as adventure, so don't worry they don't exactly appear right away.

If you have any questions about the story so far, please be sure to ask in a review, and I'll answer it (or at least try my best) in the next chapter.

I would like to thank Lady Ravenlocke for editing this chapter for me. She writes amazing stories, so be sure to check them out sometime!

Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this story!

Leon threw his bag over his shoulder and turned around, looking once more at the building that helped him to travel to Spain in search of the president's daughter and relive nightmares that he thought were finished. His fingers ran through his tan hair and found himself confused over what should be his next move. He did know where Claire and the other survivors of Raccoon City were currently living, but did he really want to go back to them after all these years?

The moment he finally realized that he had feelings for Claire was the moment he knew that he had to escape New York. Both of them had lost loved ones, and he really didn't want Claire to be his rebound. If anything, he wanted an actual relationship with her. He would stand outside her closed bedroom door in the apartment they shared for what seemed like countless hours, finding the courage to open it and then having it disappear about as quickly as it came. He spent endless hours debating whether or not it was the right time to confess his love for her, or to just sit back and wait for fate to make its move. And sure enough, it did.

All of a sudden, Leon got a phone call from his superior, Web, saying that he was to leave New York as soon as possible to move to Washington and become an official part of the President's security service. And there he was again; trying to figure out a way to tell Claire that he had to leave New York and go to live somewhere else without her, and that he may not be back for a year, or even years. So finally, he just left. He left without saying a word to her, and now he was too afraid to go back to her. He'd faced the undead, brainwashed villagers, lost comrades and countless amounts of other horrors, but nothing could ever prepare him enough to face the wrath of Claire Redfield.

"Claire, I'm trying to tell you something here, why won't you just listen?" Chris asked, following his younger sister into the kitchen of her apartment.

"Because Chris, I really don't give a damn about Leon Kennedy." She answered, stressing the name of her ex-best friend.

"But don't you at least want to know what he's been up to all this time?"

Slamming the ingredients of a sandwich on her counter, she slammed the fridge door shut and glared at him. She didn't even have to say anything, Chris already knew what that stare meant. "Alright then, your loss." Chris shrugged, leaving the tension filled room.

Claire found herself making her dinner while Chris grabbed the stuff that he had thrown on the couch when he had come earlier. It was one of his daily rituals, to visit her every evening. It was his sad attempt at covering up the fact that he felt he needed to check in on her everyday to make sure she didn't hurt herself again. She wasn't a child; she didn't need to be babysat.

"Okay Claire, I'm leaving now. I'll see you tomorrow!" He called from her front door as he proceeded to leave.

"Bye!" She called out seconds before hearing the glorious noise of her front door closing.

Walking with her sandwich on a plate, she listened to Chris lock the door as she plopped down on her couch, reaching out for the remote. She turned on the TV and took a bite out of her sandwich. It was just another typical night for Claire, another carefree evening filled with her and her TV. Never in a million years would she have suspected such a drastic turn that lay ahead of her.

Albert Wesker leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows against the armrests and weaving his fingers together. He smiled at the sounds of soft, almost silent footsteps approaching up from behind him. He didn't bother spinning his chair around, because he already knew who it was.

"I trust you've obtained the sample, Ada."

"Of course I have, Wesker." She said simply, holding the vile she had stolen from Leon up in her hand.

"Good. Now hand it over." He said blatantly, holding out one hand to the side.

"Not so fast Wesker. I'm curious…what is it about this one, simple little vial that has got you all excited? Give me one good reason why I should have it over."

"Walk towards that door, and you're dead." He said firmly, still keeping his back faced towards her.

Ada turned away from the back of Wesker's chair, looking to the left and to the right from her peripheral vision. The cocking of a dozen guns filled the air at the same time, letting the woman in the red dress know that armed men were hiding in the shadows, and ready to strike.

"And if you shoot me, the vial drops and you can bye-bye to your precious sample." Ada spat.

"We can take it from the floor. It really won't be that hard."

Her grip around the vial tightened; he had her. She didn't want to give up, that wasn't like her, but it seemed that this time, she would have to make it her. Forcing all of her anger towards the mysterious man somewhere deep inside her, she reached out towards his hand and placed the vile on top of his leather glove. Watching as he put it in front of him, she stared at his blonde hair as it towered over the back of the chair.

"Soon, it's going to start. And then, I'm going to finish him like I should have years ago. And you will help me."

Ada's eyes found their way away from Wesker's hair and traveled to a small television screen, where she saw a room almost completely shadowed in darkness. But faintly, she could make out a set of heavy bars as if it were a jail cell. And in the dead silence that hung over the room, Ada heard a low growling sound coming from inside. Whatever it was, it wasn't happy.

Leon leaned back against the headboard of the hotel bed, playing with a piece of paper that was rolled up in his hand. He had it all right there, so why couldn't he bring himself to dial the number? Or better yet, actually go and see her?

"And say what? 'Oh hi Claire, it's me Leon. Got an extra room for me to crash in?'" He murmured to himself, staring at the piece of paper.

But the more he stared at it, the more his mind told him to go for it. Leaning up away from the hard wood, he opened the roll of paper up and let his eyes go over the address and phone number. Biting his bottom lip, he glances at the hotels alarm clock that sat facing him on the nightstand beside the bed. It was the middle of the night, but if Claire was still the way he she was when he left years ago, she would still be up.

"Eating most likely." He said, smiling to himself.

Pushing himself off the rather stiff bed, he picked up his bag and headed for the door. So what if he had already paid for the hotel? If worse came to worse, he can always come back to it. After all, he would rather know something for sure than be lying in bed wondering about it.

He pulled his car up to his old apartment. The last he heard, she was still living in it.

"Thank God for Jill." He told himself as he climbed out of his jeep.

She was the only Raccoon City survivor that he kept in contact with after he left. She knew all about how he felt about Claire, and about how hard it was for him to tell her he had to leave for Washington. She was the only one who knew what he had been doing all this time. And she was the only one who probably wouldn't try to kill him.

Taking in a deep breath, Leon lifted his had towards the doorbell as he recalled the secret doorbell ring that they had going years back. Pressing it five times and then twice, he couldn't help but smile when he remembered why they had come up with it

"Okay, now you know Chris likes to drop by often to check up on us, and I've been giving this a lot of thought and I came up with the perfect solution for keeping him out."

"Oh, do tell." Leon said with a smile on his face.

"Ring the bell five times, and then twice like that song. God, I can't think of the title, but it goes like this." Claire said, clapping it out.

Leon couldn't help but laugh. "Good plan, he'll never guess that."

That was back when Claire was the only one who actually had a key to the place and was too lazy to get copies of the key.

He heard footsteps come down the stairs, making an awful lot of noise, just like Claire always tended to do. Sticking his hands in his pocket, he kept his face down, his hair covering part of it, while the front door opened.

When it opened, a shadow from the light fell on Leon. His eyes followed it from before his feet to directly across from him to see Claire Redfield standing there.

"Leon." Was all that came out of her mouth.

He couldn't believe that was all she said to opening the door to see him there. Then again, after the way he left, he couldn't really expect tears, unless they were tears of anger.

"Hi."

Please be sure to leave a review/flame, I always need them, and they are always more than welcome. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think. Thanks!

-D.C.