Chapter Twelve:
"Make sure you buckle up, my boy." Mrs. Kennedy was saying as she gave him a fierce hug and kiss on the cheek.
"I will mom…" Leon's voice was muffled as he was crushed by his mother's strength. She was probably a good five inches shorter than he but she was still his mother, damn it.
When her hold was released, Leon looked at her seriously, "Remember, if you guys ever need anything—anything—just give me a call. I'll be here like a shot."
"We'll be fine." She assured him. "We have Lalique and Lalaine to guard us, you know."
Leon turned to looked down at his two youngest sisters. Lalaine had her lips drawn up to one side in a look that would have made her attractive to most people but highly annoying to anyone who was a blood relation.
"I want a gun for Christmas." Lalaine told him bluntly. "Something bad-ass and police-edition only."
"Right, Lalaine. That'll happen." Leon told her.
"I'm serious, Leon. I have vermin to slaughter."
"Come on, kid." Leon said, ruffling her hair slightly. "Listen to your big brother, don't buy guns."
"Sure." Claire said, coming out of the house and giving them both a hug. "Become a bad-ass police officer who takes down pharmaceutical companies gone wrong and they give them to you for free."
Leon stared admiringly at Claire for a few moments before he shook his head. "Claire, I'm trying to teach the kids morals, for God's sake. You know? For a better America?"
"Then you can give lectures at my school when we get back." She looked like she was about to give him a quick peck on the lips but stopped when she seemed to remember who they were in front of. Instead she tapped her palm on his chest twice and headed off to say good-bye to Leon's mom and older sisters.
Lalique looked at Leon with one eyebrow raised, "You know, she doesn't have to hide it. We know you two have already slept together."
The blood in Leon's veins froze up for a moment or two, like a kid who has got his hand in the cookie jar when he knows it's going to ruin his dinner.
"Um…did Lanna…she um, said something to you?"
"No. But we are fifteen, you know." Lalaine replied pointedly.
Leon shook his head and rolled his eyes before he gave them each a hug and kiss on the forehead. "Take care of yourselves, I'll see you for the holidays."
"Remember, something bad-ass—" Lalaine began.
"And police edition only." Leon finished. "See you later, Mary-Kate, Ashley."
"Who?" Lalaine and Lalique replied in Olsen fashion.
"You know, the Olsen twins?" Leon prompted.
For probably the first time in their lives the two were silent.
"Oh. Oh!" Lalique interjected after a moment of thought. "Right, them."
Lalaine nodded before turning to her sister, "They're still alive?"
"I guess." Lalique replied. "See you, Leon."
"Right." He said with a laugh.
"Bye, Leon!" Leila replied with her ever cheerful smile and a hug.
"See you around, Leila."
The last to say good-bye to was Lanna. Damn, it didn't matter that they had made up somewhat the night before, it was always awkward around his older sister.
"Lanna." He said, giving her an almoststudent-to-sensei bow.
"Leon." She cocked her head.
They were stiff for only a moment before Lanna rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. "Don't be a stranger." She told him. "Call or write once in a blue moon."
"I will. Don't worry about that."
The ride back wasn't filled with the blurry tension of grief but rather with a different kind. The kind that two people have when for the better part of four years they had been denying any sexual attraction to each other and then finally got over it. Once they had gotten down the street and the whole, "Your family is really nice" and "Yeah, I'm going to miss them" bit was through, they fell silent.
Claire stared out the window and took a deep breath. The scent of Leon's aftershave filled her mind and she tried to shake herself off of it. She cast a quick glance to Leon's side and saw he was staring straight ahead. The highway was rid of the rush hour traffic and now they were smoothly sailing along but he still had the edgy look of someone racing along the L.A. freeway.
Feeling as though the silence would kill her, Claire reached over to turn on the radio. The first station was a smooth, easy listening show that was playing, "Making Love Outta Nothing at All" by Air Supply. She turned it. The next was a rock station doing an 80s flashback with Def Leppard's, "Pour Some Sugar on Me." As soon as the line, "I'm hot, sticky, sweet" was sung, Claire turned the station again. It wasn't any better on any of the other stations. Once Celine Dion came on with, "I Drove All Night" Leon took hold of her hand.
"Does it really make a difference?" he asked her. He put it back on the rock station and the DJ's low, raspy voice came on.
"…and that was Def Leppard with, 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' people…And you'll be hearing more of that coming up in the day because Def Leppard is our featured artist for the next 24 hours. Coming up right now we got one of my personal favourites—'Love Bites!'"
Leon turned the radio off. "You know, I love them—but I'm sensing we should talk."
"You think?" Claire said with an exhaled laugh.
Leon let out a forced chuckle and cleared his throat a couple of times. Claire stared down at her hands, which were on her lap, her fingers nervously dancing around her knees, a silent symphony more complex than the most enigmatic Beethoven concerto. She licked her lips before staring back up at Leon who she found was now looking her.
"What?" she asked softly.
"Nothing, I mean, I just thought you were going to say something." The briefest of cringes crossed Leon's face and she could almost hear him mentally berating himself.
"Okay." Claire said, taking a deep breath. "Leon…last night…how do you…I mean I'm…Look, I'm sorry if I…if you think I was easy last night or if, God, I don't even know what I'm saying—"
Leon interrupted, "Claire, you don't need to apologize. If anything, I should be the one to apologize."
Claire looked puzzled.
"I mean, you were only trying to help me out during a rough time and what did I do? I took advantage of you. I was only trying—"
"Leon? Leon! Wait, you didn't take advantage of me…" Claire had to take a pause to shake the surrealness of such a conversation from her. "I mean…it wasn't bad."
"No, it wasn't." Leon agreed. "It wasn't bad at all. I just don't know what it means."
Claire looked at him half-confused, half-taken aback. "Excuse me?"
Leon looked flustered before he continued, "No, I just mean that…God, I…are we still just friends or are we…are we something more?"
"You don't know?" Claire asked, her brow dipping down. "You think all friends do what we did?"
"Oh come on, quit making me sound like the stupid male—you were thinking the same thing."
Claire sighed. Leon was right. She had been.
"Well…" Claire said grudgingly after a while. "We could just forget about it."
"Forget about it?" This time Leon adopted the half- baffled, half-insulted tone.
"Yeah. Just pretend it was something that happened at a drunken Christmas party and forget it ever happened. That way we can still maintain that 'just friends' status if you want."
Leon noticed the slightly bitter tone she was using but he was feeling more than a little sour about what she was saying himself.
"Claire, we can't go back to being 'just friends.'"
Claire looked as if her stomach had just fallen 80 stories but she recovered and fired back with, "Why not?"
"Because we can't. Because I don't want to." Leon shot back with more preparedness than he ever had when it came to arguing with Claire. "I'm tired of being just friends with you... I want more."
"Then what's the problem?" Claire inquired.
"I don't know." Leon said, laughing between words. "They never mentioned how to deal with situations like this in any of my trainings."
Genuine laughter filled the Jeep and the tension was finally released. Leon wondered if life with such an intense, fiery woman would always be this erratic and whether he could handle it. At that moment he caught Claire's eye and the calm, cloudy gray seemed to be glowing just for him. Remembering all the nights after Umbrella, it was that duality of Claire, both her fierceness of manner and placidity he saw in her eyes, was what got him through the worst of it. He decided he could handle Claire…Hell, that wasn't it. He needed her.
Leon sighed, "I guess most of this conversation wouldn't have happened if I had just said this last night."
"Said what?" Claire asked.
Leon looked straight at her, "I love you."
Claire's opposition slowly melted and was replaced with a soft pink tinge that appeared on her cheeks. "I love you, too." She looked thoughtful. "You're right. If you had just said that last night, we both could have been spared this agony."
"Yeah well, I thought you already knew…because I have for the past four years." Leon paused then added, "Maybe longer."
A swoon passed through Claire but showed only in the languidness that came to her features. "I've been blind." She muttered and looked out the window then suddenly sat straight up. "Leon, Leon—the exit. The exit's coming up."
"Shit!" Leon grabbed hold of the wheel and jerked it to the right. A loud horn blasted from behind them and Leon quickly pulled into the next lane but slowed just enough so they wouldn't hit the car that was in front of them. They very nearly hit it though, because they received another angry bellow from that driver's horn. But they made their exit and that was the important thing.
Claire shut the door of the Jeep and stretched her legs out in front of her house. It was one day later and their journey was finally over, without any more threats to their lives.
"Holy crap!" Leon said suddenly. "I just remembered something."
"What?" Claire asked, looking over at him.
"I don't think I ever hung up the phone since Lanna called."
"One week ago?" Claire asked and Leon nodded. "Leon," she began.
"I know, I know, but I was so…I had a lot on my mind…do you think that will add onto my bill?"
"…No…" Claire told him and headed for her door to avoid the subject further.
"Are you serious?" he pressed.
"…No…" she replied and looked puzzled when her key wouldn't work. She wiggled the door knob and the door opened easily. "Leon, I could have sworn I locked the door before I left that day."
Leon frowned and moved Claire aside. "Let me check the place out." He stepped into the house and was aware that the place didn't have the heavy, stuffy feeling that a house that had been completely closed up for a week should have. He made his way through the living room and saw that there was a window open, a slight wind billowing the light, airy curtains.
The most minor of sounds came from the kitchen and Leon cautiously made his way toward it. Another scrape and scratch sounded as Leon rounded the corner and saw that the pantry door was ajar. Soundlessly, Leon moved to the dish rack by the sink and pulled out a large frying pan and a sleek knife. He pressed himself against the wall beside the pantry door and waited, the sound of his heartbeat heavy in his ears.
Footsteps signaled that whoever was in the house was coming out. The door opened and Leon saw a flash of a scraggly beard and angry eyes and he sent the pan flying across the stranger's face. A howl of pain escaped from the intruder but so did a pretty powerful roundhouse. Leon was thrown back a few feet but recovered enough to dodge the man who was running toward him. He sent the side of the frying pan into the small of the man's back and shoved his knee up into his stomach.
Those hits should have been enough to level the average bum off the street but this guy swung his fist around to hit Leon in his back and then kneed him in the back of his thigh.
"Shit." Leon muttered as his leg numbed from the hit. He saw the man's shadow on the ground, that he was going to slam his elbow into his spine…so Leon beat him to it. He threw himself into the man and slammed them both into the refrigerator. Once he got control of his footing, Leon jammed his elbow into the man's chest, his nose, then got hold of his neck, twisted him around and sent his elbow into the top of the man's head.
The stranger fell to his knees and Leon picked him up and ran both of them back into the pantry, slamming the man into the shelf containing canned foods and boxes of cereal. Amazingly, he still had both the frying pan and knife in his hands and he gave the man's chest a blow with the flat end of the pan and with his other hand pressed the handle of the knife into the man's Adam's apple.
As he pressed harder he saw the whites of the man's eyes redden…calm, cloudy gray eyes that suddenly looked very familiar.
"Damn…Chris?" He said, not yet loosening his hold.
"Hey Kennedy." The guy choked out, an amused expression in his eyes despite his present predicament.
Leon released the handle from his neck but kept the frying pan on his chest since it looked like he might fall over if something weren't bracing him.
"Damn it, Redfield. I didn't recognize you with the beard! You had me going there."
Chris let out an amazingly light-hearted scoff. "Me? You're the one who slammed my face with a frying pan and have me backed up against the wall with a knife to my throat."
"Yeah, but I just thought it would be romantic." Leon replied, releasing him. "I'm sorry, man."
"It's alright. I would say I should have called but I tried your apartment a few days before I arrived and the line was—and stayed--busy."
Leon wiped the sweat from his brow. "So…does this mean that you're…you're back?"
"For good?" Chris finished. "Possibly. It won't be long before news gets out about the damage we've done in Europe…and the papers will be digging up crap about all of us…but for now it's pretty safe for me to be here."
"Leon, what's happening?" Claire said, running into the pantry and taking hold of his arm. "Are you…?" her thought was never finished because once she saw her beard, slightly battered brother she froze.
"Oh my God…Chris?" she asked, touching his face. "Oh my God, is it really you?"
"Yeah, baby sister, I'm back. Ow—OW!" the last expressions resulted from the fierce hug Claire pulled him into.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" she demanded, her voice cracking and tears escaping her.
"I did try. I didn't call here but I tried Leon's place. It was busy."
"Yeah, that's my fault." Leon interrupted, looking sheepish.
Chris patted Claire's back a couple of times, the hug he was receiving somehow having a more powerful force than when Leon had him choked against the wall.
"So I came here and made myself at home for a few days. I was getting worried when I didn't see either of you."
"Leon's father died." Claire explained. "We both just kind of picked up and left."
Chris suddenly softened at the mention of a death in the family. Particularly a father. "Man, I am so sorry." He told Leon.
Leon shook his head. "I've had enough healing time."
Chris smiled and hugged Claire a little more. "Okay, I guess I'll forgive you for kicking my ass when you saw me."
"Leon?" Claire asked, looking at him.
"Hey, I thought he was an intruder. Besides, he looked pissed as hell when he came through the pantry." Leon defended.
Chris snorted. "I was angry because I had to cook again. Everything that I've made these past few days has been horrible. You know I can't cook for shit."
"Oh yeah, that's right."
Claire wiped her eyes. "Come on, let's get my boys bandaged and we'll celebrate Chris being back with steak." She paused, then turned to Chris. "For how long?"
Chris pursed his lips. "Don't worry, Claire. Long enough."
Leon could tell Claire would have liked a more concrete answer but so did Chris. As usually, the elder Redfield shook off the moment and covered it with humour. "So, you met Leon's family? Does he have sisters? Are they hot?"
"Don't even go there, Redfield." Leon said. "Or I'll give you more of the frying pan."
It didn't take long for Claire to make repairs on the scratches the two endured from their battle and after the steak was made they all shared horror stories of their lives for the past four years. Some were funny but others were just what they were: horror stories. By the time it was Leon's turn to tell about his father's funeral, he thought he would feel an intense sadness but he didn't. Oh, it hurt but somehow after saying goodbye to him and coming back home to see an old friend and Claire happy again, closure for everyone involved.
Sometimes that's all a person really needs.
Author's Note: Damn, it's been awhile. But I was going through my stories and I thought that this one could use a little closure. It's a story that is very close to my heart because most of the things that happened in it are true and closure for my own feelings finally came, so I figured it was time. Sorry if the fight scene in the kitchen seems a little out of place, I recently watched an underground action movie called Ong Bak: the Thai Warrior andit inspired me.I figured I would give a tribute to Tony Jaa.