RE: Inclination

A/N: Chapter breaks happen with the POV changes. I'm just as anxious to get the story onward, trust me. Interesting note. The beginning of this section was actually where I started the story originally, but I had to figure out the details of what was making Claire so angry, so that's where the first part came from. (45 pages later, we entered the original section of the story.) Other interesting stats: Currently the master document is 213 pages long. I hope everyone has a good Easter weekend (whether you celebrate or not, just enjoy the non-weekdays!).

May 2006

Not knowing which place Leon would actually be taking her, despite her attempts to steer him towards the tropical getaway, Claire had packed two suitcases. Not an overly large amount of luggage, but definitely more than she was accustomed to. Leon had text-messaged her instructions on their flight time, and appropriately, she was about to dial the taxi when he called.

"Claire."

"I was just about to call a taxi, you know. Why are you calling me?"

"Honestly, you need your own car," he said to her.

He sounded close, but she reasoned with herself that he always sounded close. "I happen to like my motorcycle, and besides… Not all of us are James Bond," she replied, teasing him lightly. Really, she was proud he had progressed so far since their first encounter in Raccoon City. She liked to think that she had a small part in that advancement, but she didn't flatter herself too much over it. Leon made his own luck, she found.

Thankfully he was horrible at making that luck with women the way he had been with his career, or she might not have her friend. Or at least not the vacation.

"I'm calling because I don't want you to take a taxi."

"Well if you want me at the airport…"

"Lock up and come downstairs. I'm sick of sitting in your horrid New Jersey weather."

Her heart sped up slightly, and she fumbled not to drop the phone. "Jeez," she said. "I'm coming."

He just chuckled. She hung up the phone and closed her bags. It was a breeze between the closing and her exit from the entrance. She was not surprised to see Leon leaning on a dark car, scowling slightly at the clouds. He crossed and took one of her suitcases, popped his trunk, and swung it in. It was as he was turning to take her other one that she caught the first sight of his face, it seemed. She swung suitcase number two into the trunk, and frowned. His face was pale, somewhat gaunt, and the gash he'd had was now an angry looking scar just starting to fade. If not for his color, he would look vastly improved from the last time when she'd seen him, almost two months ago in March, wasn't it?

"I see your killer good looks are returning swiftly," she teased, reaching up to slam the trunk. He made a non-committal noise at that. Claire pressed her lips together and reached over to give him a hug, threading her arms around him, and pulled him close. "Forced time off, huh?"

"Very," Leon said. He didn't hug back for a moment, but then he put one arm around her back. The other lifted and he pressed her head into the crook of his neck.

Whatever else, Claire thought, this was something he only accepted from her. She was relieved and a little startled to find that the same things she'd felt when he hugged her two months prior in his apartment were still true. Why she was startled, she didn't know. Leon had no reason to have changed. His arms would be the same… but the feeling didn't have to be the same, she guessed. But it was the same. Leon's embrace was warm and comfortable in a way that still surprised her to feel. He even smelled the same. He smelled a little different than she thought she remembered, but that could just be a faulty memory.

"Good to know I'm a requirement for this leave." She figured it was a good feeling, but there was nothing to say he got anything more than comfort from it. She reckoned she better not either.

"The only one," he said softly. Her heart sped up at hearing him say that. It was stupid. She tried to stop it, but the treacherous organ refused to listen. Claire gripped the back of his jacket tighter at that, afraid to pull away and let him see the faint blush to her cheeks. He leaned his cheek against her hair and breathed in a deep breath. "Lilac now?"

"Wisteria," she corrected softly.

"Appropriate," he replied in a matching tone. His fingers stroked her hair gently. "Let's get going," Leon said, "otherwise we'll miss the good plane."

"Warm, right?" Claire asked as he clicked another button, unlocking the doors. She rounded to hers, watching him.

"Yes, warm," Leon said. His eyes watched her closely, and to hide the blush, she got into the car.

Why was she blushing at Leon's look? What was different this time than the other times she'd seen him in the last seven or so years? She didn't know… it was just… different. Sliding into the seat in the car, she took her first look at it. The interior of the BMW was sleek, but somehow familiar. "Yours?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Mm," Leon confirmed, nodding as he started the engine. "Nothing wrong with a little door to door service?"

"You must have actually missed me."

"We only live four hours apart, Claire. It's almost cheaper than flying here," Leon said. He reached over and pulled her seat belt out in front of her. "Buckle up."

"Planning to run a lot of stop lights?" she asked, surprised at how his proximity made her heart race a little. It was annoying, almost. But then she looked at him, and he was familiar and relaxing. That was almost as annoying.

"I don't vacation much, forgive me for not knowing what's normal in this situation." He offered a smile that pulled at the scar on his cheek. "Sorry, I was trying to make this normal."

"It's alright," Claire said, leaning her head against the headrest. "I don't really do well with normal. You're good just like you are, Leon. Although your car definitely reminds me of Chris's."

Leon chuckled as he started the car, and Claire smiled a little. What was that smell that clung to him? She couldn't quite figure it out. As the car turned on, the radio came with it. She expected something loud… a blast of rock music like what had come on in the Comanche when they were in Washington, or maybe something poppy like what he had been humming under his breath incessantly in Orkney. She wasn't quite prepared for the jazz music that almost seemed to slide out of the speakers to fill the car.

He reacted to her surprise with a quick hand moving for the volume knob, but she brushed his hand aside. "Drive," she said. He put his hand back on the steering wheel for a moment, but a nervous twitch moved it down to the gear shift between them. "Who is this?" she asked.

"You can change it, if you want," Leon replied immediately.

"Who's song, Leon?"

"It's… Miles Davis," he said. His hand adjusted on the steering wheel, and as he pulled onto the highway that would take them to the airport, he shifted gears a little more forcefully. "Keeps me from speeding."

"Nothing to be upset about," Claire said, tipping her head to look out the window. "I never pictured you for listening to jazz music, but…"

"Well, not a ton, but…"

"Don't worry," she said in a tone she hoped was reassuring, "I'm not going to think of you any differently. Not all jazz music is for elevators."

He chuckled.

Claire smiled at that. Good. The next time he shifted, it was much less forcefully. She watched him from the corner of her eye for a moment, and then settled to turning her head to look at him fully. There wasn't any reason not to. "…yeah, I know."

"What?" Claire asked, blinking. She hadn't said anything. The song trailed out with the characteristic up-scale twinkle of the piano keys, and she shifted to look at him.

"Scar," Leon replied.

Oh, hell.

"Hadn't really noticed that, Mr. Bond."

"Bond?" Leon asked. Claire nodded, taking a minute to scratch her head and loosen her ponytail. "In what way am I like James Bond?"

"Tall, attractive Caucasian secret agent."

Leon snorted at that. "There's nothing secret about me being an agent," he retorted. "And-" Leon cut himself off, eyes trained on driving. He looked very cautious, but she thought he always looked fairly cautious when they were in a car together. The car slowed, traffic got tighter as they neared the airport. Leon had to downshift from fourth to second. He shook his head a little and gestured to his face.

"Look, why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Claire reached over and put a hand on his cheek, letting her fingertips trace his scar. "Sure, I notice the scar, but I don't care. You're still the same Leon, and I'm still happy to see you."

His hazel eyes turned to her, and for a moment she thought she saw doubt in them. The doubt melted away to relief. It must have been a rather… devastating blow to him, when he was cut. She wanted to ask, but… it had been so long ago that she thought it might be awkward. She should've asked before, in Washington, maybe. But no… they were fine. There had been better things to talk about then.

"Claire, I…" The taillights in front of them moved, and Leon turned his eyes back to the road from where he was looking. His lips seemed less strained, though. "Thanks."

"Of course," Claire replied. The timbre of his voice as he said it made her feel warm. It was strange. She hadn't realized she was so… so… helpful to Leon's mood before. He was always pushing towards their goal and…

She almost smacked herself. Goal? They were going on vacation, there was no goal. Maybe that was part of what was making this so awkward. They were friends, they were comrades, there was comfort… maybe even chemistry, but… Claire and Leon had very few normal situations to relate to one another in. Not that it should matter, considering. If they could trust one another with protecting each other's lives, each other's backs… there was nothing wrong with entrusting their thoughts and feelings, was there?

No. There wasn't. At least not for Claire. Even if she couldn't quite bring herself to say those things out loud, she did at least want to share them. She knew she could share them with Leon. He seemed to know and feel the same, or at least she hoped he did. She looked at his profile. He spared her a glance from the road ahead as he shifted again, and the corner of his lips turned in a slight smile.

He knew.

Or at least he was starting to get it.