Chapter 36: Confessions

I don't own anything. Resident Evil belongs to Capcom and Tomb Raider belongs to Core Design, Crystal Dynamics, and I think Square Enix. The only thing I own is the changes made to the stories of the Tomb Raider games/comics and Resident Evil games/comics/CG movies, the Government branch S.P.E.L.L., the person that has taken over Kathrine Warren's life, and Rose Warren. This story also will be bloody, violent, and have cursing. It's rated T for Teen.

Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Geothermal Valley, Month: November, Day: Wednesday 29th, Year: 2000, Time: 14:54 KRAT…

Leon looked over at Kat as they rested with stew in hand. It was a berry, nut, and venison stew for energy and protein. He thought about Serafima and Ivan. They loved each other very much and had more trauma than anyone he knew. Both had survived war, slavery, and the wilds. And yet they found each other. It made him think about people that stick together for that same emotion. His parents. To him, his mom and dad's relationship was the purest one. Both loved each other, the fights they'd had would be resolved the same day or the next day and they'd laugh about it later, they supported each other through everything. He looked at his food, stirring it.

It made him think back to his experiences in the "love" department. Had he really ever been in love with his past girlfriends? His end of middle school beginning of high school girlfriend was a definite no. That was more like two people who had crushes on other people trying to date to squelch the feels. It ended okay though. But that one wasn't love. Looking back, it was so tame and immature. A kid's idea of what love was. He'd had two girlfriends after her in high school. The first one had been in chess club with him. He was the one that had a crush on her. She was smart and shared an interest with him. That one ended fine. It was only a few months long. Thinking about it, that was when he started to see that relationships needed more than just shared interests and appealing appearances. But then his next girlfriend had lasted a long time. The same one that was with him through high school to the police academy. It had been bliss. She was smart, beautiful, compassionate, and didn't like everything he did but liked some of the same things. He'd thought he loved her. Damn with how long they'd been together he thought they'd get married one day and eventually, maybe, have a family. But then he got the police job for Raccoon, and she threw a fit. The fights between them were the most volatile. He tried to resolve their fights like the example his parents set, but she didn't want to solve them that quickly. She'd be mad for days. She'd only calm down and be back to normal when he gave her presents and did what she wanted. So, him putting his foot down on Raccoon, that was it for them. She broke up with him on the spot, telling him if he left for "that violent backwater town, we're done". And so, they were. It was the worst break up he'd ever had. In hindsight, that had been the most unhealthy relationship and thus had the bitterest end. Then there was Ada. He glared at the soup. Fuck thinking about that. He didn't want to think about her. After it was Claire. That one had been more two people who had caught feels, tested to see where it'd go and then felt better as friends. There was love there, but it wasn't romantic.

He looked to Kat again. He wondered; how would it go with her? The emotions he felt for her felt stronger than past relationships. His first girlfriend it felt like when you're at the top of a hill on a bike and that anticipation of the feels. His second girlfriend it was more like a balloon being blown up before popping. Then his third felt like a roller coaster that got stopped several times due to mechanical failure. Ada…that felt like fire for a moment then it burned. Claire felt like he went down that hill on the bike but hit a bump and came back down to earth. But his feelings with Kat…they felt like a full bike ride. Ups and downs, fast and slow. Resting calm and rushing excitement. When she was on a mission, he felt his heart race with concern and worry but would calm a bit knowing she could handle herself. When she got back, he felt that joy of knowing she was safe and he would get to see her smile. When he was on a mission, she started entering his thoughts when it was quiet or extremely intense. When he got back and was greeted by her or her girls, he felt relaxed and calm. But most importantly, when they were together, he felt not just the urge to protect, but he felt safe with her. He could tell her anything it seemed, and she was ready to help him, comfort him, or laugh with him. To him he saw she'd calm down too. Around him she seems looser. Less like an on-edge warrior and more the loving mom that he saw every time she was with Rose and Sherry. Being silly with them or having to be the mother figure and lay down the law, but she did it all with love that shined through.

Part of him wondered though. Is love the racing heart when you're with someone? Or is it that relaxed feeling that warms your heart? It must be trust right? He looked down again. Kat had trusted him with so much and he'd done the same. But she was holding something back. Sure, she held future events close to her chest. But he didn't care about that as she made it a point to share those events right before they came. No, there was something she was holding back about him. He knew she was feeling something for him. They'd almost kissed twice now. Yet she pulled away. Why? He'd get it if they were in danger, but both times they won't. Then there was how she acted talking about Ada. The reassurance from him about his feels for Ada seemed to have completely blindsided her. Why was that?

Was she jealous of the lying mercenary? How can she? Kat's better than Ada. As weird and worrying as her sudden Valkyrie switches were, she was way more stable than Ada was. Kat had people she cared about and that grounder her. Brought her back to reality and kept her focused. Made her happy. Ada seemed to have no one and appeared to enjoy that. Going from place to place. Kat was honest and never hid anything unless it was from people she didn't know. Ada hid everything. Ada lies. Kat didn't seem to care for money. Ada seemed to care too much. Leon huffed shaking his head. He didn't want to think about Ada.

Kat meanwhile was in just as much of a quiet turmoil as Leon was. She likely had the least experience when it came to dating guys. Two boyfriends and four girlfriends in her life. Her first boyfriend was the asshole she only thought about when she looked back at old relationships. He was Rose's sperm donor and only cared about appearances. The look of being with the Mayer's daughter. Then she dated Lara. Lara and her were more friends that made love a few times and it just got weird to stay as a couple and the sex was uncomfortable once they weren't a couple. Luella was good, but then she had a jealousy that Kat just could not sooth her of, not in all honesty. She broke up with her before it got bad, so Kat had to commend her for that level of maturity. She dated three more people after that. The next woman had been only a few weeks. She was a bar tender that flirted with her after bumping into her. It ended well as it was more a flirty relationship. They never really got together much. The next was a guy and wow he couldn't handle dating a single mother who worked for the government. Rose and Sherry seemed to not like him either and didn't try to make him feel welcome. They even pulled pranks on him if he came over. That one lasted a month. Then the last girlfriend three months back. She was nice but way too clingy and kept trying too hard to be friends with her girls. It started to get creepy, so Kat broke it off.

But she still felt that twinge of a crush on Leon from before she'd even met him. She knew that was creepy so she couldn't ever tell him about that. Well maybe someday when they could look back on it and laugh. She also knew…no, she thought she knew he only had eyes for Ada. The jealousy she felt whenever the woman was brought up, she just kept telling herself was stupid. Leon and her had never dated. The jealousy was unfounded. Yet it was still there. She didn't know when she started telling herself that she couldn't be with him, but she had at some point. Kept reminding herself that as much she liked the calming effect he had on her, she could never pursue him. She'd get hurt when the red wearing woman showed up again in person. She'd even denied when Lara told her how obvious it was that Leon hated Ada and how calm and relaxed Kat was around him. And then, Leon blindsided her. The emotion he showed when Ada was bright up. He wasn't lying to her. She could tell. He deeply hated Ada. And he wanted her to know it.

But how? How can he hate Ada? Sure, he said his reasons. Not telling him she was alive. No letter or phone call to ask how he was. The possibility of her being involved in Sherry's kidnapping and the added trauma that had done to Rose. Yet she was still doubting him. He had to love that woman, right? He clearly did in the games and books. In the Monga's and comics. Yet he showed a hate that one would have for a kitten killer. Maybe not that much, but close. She thought about him blocking those spikes that a mutated Ada obsessed Simmons sent at him. About how he saved a doppelganger of Ada from Chris. About the flirty Black Cat and Spider-man relationship the pair had.

And yet…none of that had happened…yet. She'd know properly when four happened. That was when he and Ada would meet again in person. But…she looked from her stew to Leon as he glared at the ground. If he really hated Ada that much, what did that mean? Was he gonna be a playboy and be with another girl every month or week? No. He wasn't that. Woman flirted with him. She'd seen it, but he was either oblivious to it or flat out shut it down. In fact, after breaking up with Claire amicably, he hadn't been with anyone for months. Kat had thought maybe he was waiting out the rebound period before jumping into a new relationship. But after two months and still no new relationship, Kat had written it off as Leon focusing on his job. After all, they were both focused on taking Umbrella, Black Umbrella, and Trinity down. But now…they had almost kissed twice. Did Leon…did he like her in a romantic way?

She finally broke the silence by groaning and setting her empty bowl down. "I need a swim." She voiced and walked away from camp to the river that feed into the lake.

Lara and Leon looked up at that.

"Kat, just because we're in a thermal valley doesn't mean the water's gonna be hot or warm." Lara pointed out.

"There's a glazier over there…" Leon sighed as Kat vanished though the trees. "Okay…ten minutes I'm going after her." He decided.

Lara huffed. The tension between Kat and Leon after the whole Baba Yaga thing had become thick enough that she could see Scooby-Do cutting through it with a knife and taking a bit of the Fog donut. It was so clear to her they liked each other and that it could even be real love. But neither was making the first move. It was more annoying than a Hallmark romantic Christmas movie. She understood why Kat wasn't making a move. But Leon clearly wanted to but was respecting Kat's space.

"Leon, how do you feel about Kat?" Lara asked, deciding to try her hand at match making.

Leon startled then sighed as he looked to his stew. "I…I don't know what it is."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "Talk through it."

Leon took a spoon full of the stew and swallowed, kinda wishing it was really alcohol. Liquid courage to talk this through. "I really don't know if what I'm feeling is what love is supposed to be. Or if this is what it is." He admitted, feeling weird voicing it out loud. "Kat's…She's intelligent. She's caring, kind. She's a good mom. She's…" He laughed a bit. "She's a badass in a fight. A survivor." He sighed the smile fading. "She's also lonely, I think. Has too much weight on her shoulders. Worries too much. She's stubborn. Scary sometimes." He put his bowl down, it was close to empty anyway. "But I don't care. I just…I want her to be happy and I don't wanna mess things up. But…God damnit. I wanna ask her out after this is over, but I keep feeling like I need to ask her sooner."

Lara smiled. "So, you feel more then like for her." She said making finger air quotes when she said "like".

"Yeah. It's stronger than that. The word "Like" feels like downplaying what I feel." He told her.

"So why haven't you followed through on kissing her?" Lara asked.

He startled. He partly hadn't thought Lara had noticed. "Um…well…" He threw his head back in frustration. "I don't know. I respect her too much to just do it. She pulls away…it feels wrong to just do it. Like I'm not giving her a choice or respecting her choice."

She nodded sagely. "Well, next time ask her. Or just do it. Watching you two tiptoe around each other is like watching a couple doing a waltz, getting close to each other but never beginning the dance."

Leon blinked. "You know how to waltz?"

She tipped her head down a little and looked at him like she had a pair of reading glasses on and she was looking over the frames. "You saw my family manor. It was part of my school education." Lara smiled. "But you understand what I mean, yeah?"

He looked down. "Yeah. I do. But…"

Lara sighed as she put her empty bowl aside. She'd told herself she wouldn't break the girl code. But there was nothing wrong with hinting at a secret. "Leon, ask her why she's worried about Ada."

His jaw tightened then softened to confusion. "I knew it had something to do with her, but…why?"

She held up a hand. "I can't say, there is a girl code. Kat told me the reason in conference. But if you ask her outright, she might tell you. I warn you; you might need to push a bit." Lara told him. "You're right about the weight she's got and the amount she worries about. You just have to ask her about Ada and prove to her she's got nothing to worry about in that category."

Leon looked to Lara then to where Kat had walked off. "How…how obvious is it that I…"

"Very. Claire, Sam, Jill, and I have talked about it." She held up her fingers and she counted off the people. "Jill's talked about it with Carlos. Chris and Claire have talked about it, he jokes that since he sees Kat as his sister, he'd give you the "Shovel and shotgun" talk. Jonah's asked if you two are a couple yet. Barry's said he wanted to talk to you both about it." Lara listed, more than she told Kat but hey, clearly if Leon was willing to make the first move, he needed more encouragement. "Sherry and Rose sure as hell haven't tried pulling any pranks on you when you two hang out. If anything, they try to get you two to be alone."

Leon groaned as he looked down, putting his head in his hands, feeling heat come to his face, ears, and neck. Had he really been that obvious? Was he and Kat's dance gossip for their found family? Jesus was there a betting pool? He remembered that it's a cop thing, a military thing, a damn human thing to bet on how long it takes for a couple to get together. There had to be one. And looking back, he could recall the girls in their group talking in corners together. Or the times he'd come over to visit Kat and the girls only to end up alone with Kat as Sherry and Rose would say they had homework or a project to work on.

"Crap…" He groaned into his hands.

Lara laughed. It was genuinely funny. "Don't worry about everyone else. Just focus on how you'll ask Kat about Ada. That'll clear everything up. Trust me." She told him seriously.

He huffed but nodded. "Okay. Yeah." He ran his hands down his face. "I'll…Trinity's going to be here by tomorrow…might as well ask now, right?"

"Yeah. Make sure Kat's not freezing her ass off." Lara pointed out as she tipped her head in the direction that Kat went.

He nodded and stood up. "I think I read somewhere that it's a Norwegian thing to swim in cold water then get out again."

"The polar bear plunge happens nearly everywhere. So does Ice swimming. But in Northern Europe they start out in a sauna then move to an icy swimming pool or lake for a quick cool down and adrenaline rush." Lara told him. "But there's no sauna here so I don't know how Kat's doing it."

He nodded. "See you in a bit."

Lara nodded. "Be ready for her to not be fully clothed." She warned jokingly.

She laughed at Leon's sudden pause then slower walk.

Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Geothermal Valley, Month: November, Day: Wednesday 29th, Year: 2000, Time: 15:06 KRAT…

Kat had her eyes closed under the water for a bit. The cold water had completely distracted her from everything. Just as she hoped it would. She surfaced and started to swim back to the shore. Shivering, as she glided through the water. She knew it was a stupid move, but she needed to focus on something other than…

She hissed as she got to the shore and just sat on the bank. Her mind, despite the cold was right back to thinking about her feelings for Leon and the future. She put her face in her hands. Why was this hard? Why did she have to have these feelings? Why did she have to fall for him?

Leon had found her by then. He saw her wet hair and covered his eyes quickly. He didn't want to breach her privacy. He took a breath. "Hey, um, Kat?"

Kat jolted and looked to see Leon behind her. He had a hand on a tree and the other covering his eyes. She smiled softly. "Give me a moment." She told him, thankful he was such a gentleman.

She gritted her teeth as she felt them start to chatter. As she dressed herself, she shook her head again. Why was he doing things that made her like him even more. She could think of the things she didn't like. His protectiveness from time to time, his stubbornness, and sometimes he doesn't think before doing something. But then her mind reminds her of the things she liked. She was fully dressed and looked to Leon as she sat back down.

"I'm decent."

Leon sighed and peaked between his fingers before lowering his hand from his eyes. "I'm sorry." He told her as he walked over and sat down next to her.

"It's okay. You were just checking on me." She sighed.

They sat for a moment. Just listening to the wind in the trees and the water rippling. Then Leon sighed.

"Kat…I gotta ask you something. And I think it's something that's been bothering you for a while." He told her seeing her tense up. "What's up with you and…Ada?" He asked, really hating he had to talk about her, but he was damned curious thanks to Lara's hinting.

Kat looked down and shook her head.

"Kat, please talk to me. I can't help you or figure anything out if you don't." He told her.

"Do…do you really hate her?"

He nodded. "I meant every word. I can't feel anything but hate for that bitch."

Kat was quiet again. She sighed. "You love her."

"Kat, I don't." He insisted but there was confusion in his voice.

"No…you love her in the games…" Kat told him. "In the timeline, you were…you never stuck with anyone long. You loved Ada. And she was…toxic. Always running. Always hiding shit. Stretching the truth." She swallowed, not looking at him. She picked up a small stick from a tree and started to break it into smaller pieces. "You only ever have eyes for her…She's the Black Cat to your Spider-Man."

Leon shook his head slowly. "No. Kat, you said it yourself. Things are changing." He pointed out.

"Leon…"

"Kat, I'm never going to be with her. Things are different. This timeline, it's not completely the same." He remined. "Sherry got kidnapped. Rose was born. Elza was Claire's friend and died in the artic, killed by Wesker. You and Lara dated. You were part of the Endurance crew. You were a Valkyrie in a past life. I've fought Drauger. You're an agent. You have Sherry in your custody. You have S.P.E.L.L. looking into two bad guys." He then gestured around him. "And I'm here. Both of us are here, by Kitezh. Things are different. What makes you think that I'll fall in love with Ada? That might not even be her real God damn name for God's sake." He pointed out.

Kat looked at him. "Why? Why do you hate her? You've said your reasons, but you could get over it. By 2004…" Her voice cracking, maybe there was a glimmer of tears in her eyes, he wasn't sure.

"I can't fall for her if someone else has filled that spot." He told her.

There. He said it. Not fully, but close enough. Kat stared at him. Her brain was short circuiting. She couldn't have heard that right. Who was he talking about, it couldn't be her.

Seeing she wasn't saying anything, and he'd shocked her, he continued. "Kat…I know there is something between us. I feel it and I think you do to." He spoke. "I know we've almost kissed, twice." He put a hand to his chest. "My heart used to race like crazy around you. Like that adolescent rush of excitement at seeing your crush. But it slows down now whenever I'm around you. I feel relaxed, at ease with you. And it's gotta be the same with you." He looked down not wanting her to see the hope in his eyes, then he thought he should be honest and open at this time and looked back up into her eyes. "You relax around me. I've seen how on edge you are around, nearly everyone. Sure, you relax some around the others, but strangers? You are so tight it's like you're expecting an attack and are looking for an exit." He pointed out. "I'm finding I'm like that too." He nodded thinking about how he was always looking for the next attack.

"But with you, I feel like I don't have to be as on edge. I know you can take care of yourself, that we'd be a team if we were attacked." He paused to breath, realizing he was rambling. "But when you are in danger, it feels like I'm losing something inside. Or something breaking. You almost drowned, hell your heart stopped, and you weren't breathing. I thought for a moment, that I'd lose you. I thought about what would happen if I did. What the hell would I tell Rose or Sherry? What the hell would I do?" He looked at the dirt, feeling tears in his eyes at the frightful memory. "That…that is what scares me now. So, I know I'm feeling something strong. And it's for you and only you."

Kat swallowed. He was right. Completely right. How can she deny or doubt him now? It took a lot to say and even admit all that.

"I…after this is all over, I want to try." Leon told her and looked at her stormy eyes. "To try and see what happens. But I won't push you on it." He told her, not wanting to push her. "Just know that I am here when you're ready."

Kat looked down at her bare feet, a few tears slipping free before stopping from the cold air of the wind on the lake. Her feet were numb from the water. Turing a bit blue. But she couldn't think about that. She could only think about his words. He was right about it all. Everything he said that he felt was the same as her.

"My…my heart raced too…and slowed as well." She closed her eyes. "When you're with me…I feel safe. Less like danger will come. More like danger thinks twice before messing with us." She opened her eyes, looking out at the water. "I-I just need to think this through. What this all implies. For life, our-our jobs and…everything else." She looked at him, seeing he was more relaxed than before. "There will be some ground rules if we do take this forward. Whatever this is anyway…"

Leon smiled softly and nodded. "Take your time. You're right about what this could do to our jobs."

A horn blew loudly just then. They both jolted and looked in the direction of its call.

"Warning horn?" Leon asked.

"Trinity. They'll be here soon." Kat voiced and pulled her socks and boots back on. "Go check with Lara. I'll be right behind you."

He nodded and jumped up. "We'll talk again after."

Kat nodded.