Five

Chris sat up as he heard Asia cough out water. He watched her open her eyes, his arm around her back while she struggled to gain consciousness.

"Hey. You okay?" he asked softly, searching her fluttering eyes. His shoulders relaxed as he saw her eyes focus in on him, a sign of comprehensiveness. He pushed a few strands of her hair away from her face.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she answered, using her arms to support her weight as she sat up, her hair dripping with excess water.

Chris' breath caught as she did, her face coming up only inches away from his. Even though she had been soaked in lake water, he could still smell the faint scent of her floral perfume. He had a sudden urge to dip his head and kiss her, noticing that neither of them had moved from their awkward position. The intensity of her nearness was tempting him to pull her even nearer to him and put his lips on hers, and he actually did it, using the arm that was still wrapped behind her back to draw her closer. For a long second he just stared into her eyes, hoping not to see any resistance as he closed the space between them and covered her mouth with his.

Her lips were warm and soft as he kissed her, despite the fact that she was unconscious not an hour ago. He was slightly surprised that she did not pull away as he deepened the kiss, moving his hand to the back of her head and pushing it towards him even harder. She seemed to stiffen a bit, but he felt her relax as her arms reached up and hung on his shoulders. Simultaneously, his other arm came up to her face, caressing her smooth features. She made a sound from the back of her throat, but still they did not let go.

Wow…this is—wow…

Chris felt so good, better than he had since before the Umbrella incident. He could feel Asia's warm breath on his neck as she exhaled deeply from her nose, sending a sensational chill down his spine. He wrapped his arms around her now, running it up and down her back.

I could kiss her forever—

—but forever was cut short when Asia gripped his shoulders and pushed him away, standing up and rushing out the door.

Leon carried the agent into the safe house. She was passed out, the blood from her wound seeping through her flimsy shirt. He did his best to put pressure on it, clamping his hand over it as he laid her on the mattress in one of the bedrooms. Chris had asked him to take care of her while he attends to Asia, the other agent, and he was more than happy to accept.

Leon knew that he had take her shirt off and dress her wound, but he felt really awkward on the thought of undressing a woman and also guilty for even having "thoughts"; she was a beautiful woman—her pale, porcelain face utterly striking with its gorgeous features, her satiny, black hair glinting in the faint light, her perfectly shaped body showing signs of a good physical endurance…

Stop it! You're letting her bleed to death with your hormonal fantasies! Snap out of it!

Leon shook his feelings away. He had to undress her, but that was fine because she would bleed like a cow if he did not take care of her wound. So, taking a deep breath, he pulled the shirt up and over her head, supporting her weight with one arm. He flinched slightly as he saw her half-naked body, lingering over her perfect, model-like physique…

You're doing it again…

He snapped his attention away from her body and focused on her bleeding shoulder. Her injury bled furiously as he removed his hand from the bullet wound, staining the sheets on the bed. He cleaned the wounded area with a large damp towel, pressing it against her skin as he quickly tore a clean strip of the bed sheet. Leon wrapped the strips around her shoulder, pulling it tight enough just to stop it from bleeding rapidly. Once her wound was dressed, Leon went out and searched for an extra pair of clothes.

He searched in all of the rooms, but came up empty-handed. Sighing, he went back to the room where he left the woman (he still did not know her name) and sat on the bed beside her. He pulled off his own shirt and, lifting her up, he slipped it over her head. He laid her back down.

As Leon observed the woman, he began to feel that she seemed like someone, somehow. She reminded him of someone he once knew, her physical appearance striking him as familiar. He looked at her beautiful face and flashes of another woman invaded his mind—

"Ada…" she mumbled in her sleep.

Leon tensed up, abruptly realizing that she did remind him of Ada. But who is she to her? He was suddenly anxious for her to wake up, the thought of her knowing Ada, in any way, killing him. However, she did not wake up any time soon, making Leon's eyelids fall heavy over his eyes and taking him into a deep sleep.

Asia pressed her mouth with the back of her hand as she ran out to the backyard. She felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes, threatening to pour out. She reached the metal railing and stopped.

"Asia!" she heard Chris call, jogging up behind her.

Oh, no, she thought, her heart racing. She panicked, having no explanations or defenses put up. She gripped the railing even tighter, her hands burning. Suddenly she felt Chris' hand touch her arm gently. She turned around and faced him.

"What?" she asked rather rudely, unaware of the tears that were streaming down her face.

Chris slowly reached up and ran his fingers across her cheek, wiping away her tears. She aggressively pushed his hand away.

"Please, leave me alone!" she cried, helplessly beating him with her fists as he held on to her tightly. "Let me go, Chris!" She wiggled free from his grasp and backed away. She felt her stomach tighten as she saw Chris' hurt expression.

"What's wrong?" he half-whispered. "Did I do something wrong?"

God, how can he be so damn insistent?

"Yes!" she croaked. "This! You and me and—" She stopped, more tears pouring out. "Just—leave me alone…please." She sank to the ground.

In a second, Chris was on his knees beside her, his hand on her shoulder. Asia gave up trying to fend him off, so she let him.

"Please tell me what's wrong," he said softly, a hint of hurting in his voice. "If it has something to do with what happened back there…I'm sorry, okay?"

Asia finally dared to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry, too, Chris…but…I really can't do this." She stood up. "Please understand." She turned and walked away, twisting the ring on her finger.

teeheehee. you see? the romance has kicked in. yup. i find it cheesey. but w/e hehehe. (it seems to be a little "unfitting", huh? hehehe. drama is something i write that always end up too--exaggerated, in my POV hehe) hmm..the pairings already seem obvious in this chapter, no? ok so if i get enough reviews i will post the next five chapters