Claire admired her work, looking around the living room with her arms folded over her chest. It felt good to clean – she'd even wiped down the stove and cleaned the shower which had so desperately needed it. She wasn't the cleanest person before Raccoon City but maybe there was some good to come out of it.

"What do you think?" She smiled. "Looks pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah." Steve agreed. She even opened the windows for fresh air. He liked that the most. Well, aside from getting to watch Claire wiggle to the music as she cleaned, anyways. It seemed like they were both acclimating, bit by bit, every day. He was thankful.

A grumble from Claire's stomach made her flush a bit, clasping her hand to her stomach. She still wasn't exactly used to eating three square meals a day yet. "You hungry?"

"I could eat." Steve pulled the now nearly thawed peas from his ribs. "These need to go back too."

"Anything you're in the mood for?"

Steve gave a small smile like he'd been thinking about it. "Bacon?"

"You can't have just bacon for dinner." Claire rubbed her chin for a moment, thinking of what was still stocked in the fridge. "…how about a BLT?"

"BLT, extra bacon?" He smiled again and Claire laughed. She couldn't say no to that goofy, wide toothed grin.

-x-

The sun began to set, casting long shadows through the windows. She found herself growing anxious. When would Leon show up? What if he'd gotten tangled up at work and couldn't come to see her? She didn't want to seem too disappointed if he didn't show up.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door. Her skin prickled as her fingers worked to unlock the multiple locks. It had seemed excessive at first, but she'd grown to be comfortable with the extra security. She threw the door open, feeling her stomach flutter as the former cop stood before her. He held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a 6-pack of beer in the other.

"Hey."

"Hey. You're late." She teased, wiggling her finger at him playfully.

He smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that. Something came up with work, had to deal with it." He held out the flowers. "These are for you. Thought it would brighten up the place."

She took the flowers from him, bringing them to her nose and taking a deep sniff. She didn't know much about flowers, but they sure smelled good. "Thanks… I'm pretty sure I saw a vase under the sink. Come on in, I'll introduce you to Steve."

Steve's face fell as Claire returned to the room, the bouquet of pink and red flowers clutched in her hand. Resentment began to bubble up, bitter in his throat like bile. He said nothing, sizing up the brunette man slowly.

"Steve, this is Leon Kennedy." Claire stood at the foot of Steve's bed. "He's the one that contacted my brother and told him where we were."

Steve was silent for a long moment. He recognized the look in Claire's eyes as she turned to Leon. It was the same look she'd given him just before she'd kissed him. He sunk into his pillows.

"Hey." He muttered after a moment. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm going to get these in water. I'll be right back, Steve."

"I'll come with you, should put these in the fridge." Leon held up the beer.

Steve said nothing, glaring daggers at the back of Leon's head as he disappeared into the kitchen with Claire. He felt hot, and angry. He hadn't known Leon was so attractive – chiseled jaw, perfect hair. It was like a punch in the gut – no wonder Claire looked at him that way. It didn't matter how much he cared about her, there was always some other guy that was more attractive, stronger, smarter. He willed himself to disappear, sinking even further into his pillows.

In the kitchen, Claire dug the small glass vase she'd spotted while she was cleaning. She triumphantly held it up, filling it with cool water and dumping in the little plant food pack that came with it. She dropped the flowers into the water, admiring it for a moment. She rarely received flowers – usually from Chris for her birthday. She couldn't remember the last time a real guy had given her flowers. She set them on the center of the wood dining table.

They stared wordlessly at each other for a moment and Leon wrapped his arms around Claire, pulling her close. He was larger than her, bulkier. Warm, muscles hard through his t-shirt. She relaxed into him for a moment, eyes fluttering closed.

"I'm glad you're okay, Claire. When you emailed me from the island, I didn't know what was going to happen." His fingers brushed against her shoulder blade lightly.

Claire made a noise in her throat, swallowing hard and burying her face against Leon's chest. She could smell his cologne, sweet and fresh with notes of vanilla. She didn't remember him smelling this good in Raccoon City. She drew away after a particularly shaky breath, rubbing at her face. She didn't want to start crying again.

"Thanks for visiting."

"Of course, Claire." He smiled warmly.

There was another, much shorter moment of silence as they exchanged glances before Claire finally turned back to the living room. "We should check on Steve."

Much to Claire's disappointment, the boy had nuzzled into his pillows and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She couldn't help but frown, watching his chest rise and fall.

"…sorry, he's been sleeping a lot lately." She smiled weakly, turning to Leon. She didn't want to risk waking him up. Steve really needed his rest. "...maybe we should visit in the kitchen?"

Steve opened his eyes, one and then the other when he realized they were back in the other room. He felt sick to his stomach and couldn't bare looking at Leon's stupid face for any amount of time. He stared at the wall in front of him, listening intently as he heard the sound of a beer opening in the kitchen.

"Do you want one?" Leon asked, holding out the bottle to her. She hesitated. She still had Steve to take care of. She couldn't help him out of bed if he needed it if she were drunk. Not to mention the way she cried last night after a few beers. "You'll sleep better, I promise."

Claire blinked a few times. She wondered if that was why she'd slept well the previous night. "That's not healthy, is it?"

"No." Leon shrugged, opening a second beer and passing it to Claire. She took it, reading the label. She tasted it and wrinkled her nose a bit. He laughed. "I'm not going to make you drink it."

"It's fine. I'll drink it." She took another swallow as Leon sat across from her. "Is that why you brought beer? To help me sleep?"

Leon shrugged. "I wanted to bring you something other than just flowers. Felt…" He trailed off, as though trying to settle on the right word. "Too cheesy. Besides, who doesn't like catching up over a beer?"

"Yeah." Claire agreed. She peeled the label slightly, letting the scrap fall on the table beside her. "…How's Sherry?"

Something ghosted across Leon's face that made Claire furrow her brow. "I haven't seen her in a few weeks. She called me a few days ago, but we didn't get to talk much."

"Is she still under testing?" She asked, quietly. She'd hoped that things had changed since she'd left for Europe.

"Yeah. She is." Leon couldn't look Claire in the face. Part of him felt like he'd failed that little girl, even after doing everything feasible to keep her safe. "She's in good spirits, though. You can come visit with me next time I see her." He smiled softly. "She'd love that."

"I'd love that too." Claire mirrored his smile, weakly. "You'll keep me updated?"

"Of course, Claire." He leaned forward, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Thanks." She continued to peel the label of her beer off with her thumb. She didn't speak for another moment. "Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"What…was it like for you, after…" She trailed off, gathering her thoughts before rephrasing her question. "Did you have nightmares?"

"Oh yeah. The first week or so was... hard." He admitted, tapping his fingernails on the glass bottle. "I was sleeping for three, maybe four hours at night – if I was lucky. It got a little easier after that. I still get them, but not as much."

Claire sighed. She felt relieved and frustrated all at once. "I slept okay last night. I didn't dream, though. It was like, closing my eyes and opening them back up eight hours later."

Leon pointed a finger at her. "Did Rebecca give you those sleeping pills?"

"The white ones? Yeah. Last night was the first night that I tried them, but I had a few beers before, too. Honestly, I was thankful for the rest." She glanced up at Leon. "Did Chris tell you? They kept me in a tiny cell. Like what you see in old movies. Iron bars. Mildew. Two weeks. I thought I might die there." She couldn't stop herself, the words coming at a pace so quickly she was sure they were beginning to run together.

Leon brushed his fingers against her hand again, squeezing. "Claire, you're safe now. You don't have to stress about any 'could have' or 'what if' scenarios."

Claire cleared her throat, draining the last of her beer. She drew her hand away from Leon. "….yeah." She stood and fumbled in the fridge for a second drink, wanting the ache deep inside to stop. Even just for a while. She opened the second beer and took a swig before re-joining Leon at the table. She took the seat beside him this time. "Sorry. It's just like, running on loop, in my head."

"Claire, it's fine. I'm here for you. You have a lot of people here for you. The first handful of days are the worst, but you'll be okay. You're tough." He squeezed her shoulder this time.

Steve listened to every word from the living room. He should be the one comforting her. He should be the one bringing her flowers, taking care of her. But instead he was bedridden, relying on the girl to take care of everything for him. He felt tears spark behind his eyes – hot.

-x-

Claire's head held a dull pounding as she awoke the next morning, like her brain had swollen and was pressing against her scalp. She sighed, which only served to make it throb. Her memory of the night was spotty, the last thing she could clearly remember being hugging Leon goodnight.

She'd offered the spare bedroom to him, since it was empty. It was safer than him getting on the road after drinks. It made her feel…. safe, knowing Leon was under the same roof.

She flopped over onto her back, kicking herself for not drinking enough water. It had just been too easy to talk to Leon, and as the booze flowed, so did their conversation. They'd talked about Ada, about Raccoon City, about life after. Leon's new job, his new apartment. His love life – she was surprised to find out he was still single. He blamed it on work, but she wasn't so sure.

After a few moments of considering going back to sleep, she dragged herself out of bed. She needed to chug some water and maybe take some aspirin. She needed to check on Steve, too. Sure, he'd seemed to be sound asleep when she'd checked on him last, before stumbling to bed, but that meant he was probably awake now.

She paused in the kitchen, filling up a glass with cool water and swallowing it greedy gulps.

Claire felt a small pang of guilt as she came across Steve already awake in the living room. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so late…. Leon and I ended up losing track of time. We were up pretty late." She rubbed her temple lightly. "How do you feel?"

Steve sighed softly, folding his hands over his chest. He didn't even bother to look at her this time. "Still sore."

"Do you want breakfast? I can make eggs." She frowned. She knew Steve was acting weird, but couldn't pin down exactly why.

The redhead shrugged lightly. "Whatever. I'm not really hungry."

Claire's frown deepened and she sat beside him on the mattress. "What's up, Steve?"

His eyes flicked up to her finally. "You smell like alcohol."

She felt her face get red. "Sorry." She covered her mouth. "…Leon and I had a bit much to drink last night after you went to sleep."

Steve felt another pang of jealousy. He desperately wanted to change the subject. "Eggs sound good."

Claire tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Eggs and bacon?"

Another roll of his shoulders. "That's fine."

Claire studied his face for a moment, wishing he would tell her what was wrong. "Okay. Hang tight." She squeezed his arm lightly as she stood, disappearing into the kitchen.

She was in the middle of preparing breakfast as Leon emerged from the extra bedroom. She glanced at Leon as he passed her. "Hey, I'm making breakfast. Do you want scrambled eggs and bacon?"

"That sounds great, Claire." Leon stretched his arms over his head, causing his deep blue t-shirt to expose a bit of his stomach. "Thanks. I'm gonna grab a shower, if you don't mind."

"You know where it is." She flashed a quick smile at him, turning her attention to the stove.

Steve's eyes widened as Leon emerged from the back of the house. They followed him until the older man closed the door behind him. He could hardly hear the water running over the sound of his heart beating in his ears.

"Claire?" He called, the questions swirling inside his head.

"You okay?" She frowned, poking her head around the corner.

"….did Leon spend the night with you?" He asked softly.