RE: Inclination

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing. I was very amused at what "Seto Takahashi" said about RE fics making them want to get a Desert Eagle and a Harley. Mmmm… Harley. (That comes later.)

May 2006

It was entirely possible, she knew, that Leon might not want her in the same way she wanted him. The careful, subtle hints she'd been dropping didn't seem to be making much of an impact. Not that it mattered. They'd be on vacation for what… two weeks? She was off for a month, but spending even half of that with Leon was better than the alternative.

She could only make so many grilled cheese sandwiches and wash the dishes so often. Eventually she'd go stir crazy.

At the hotel, she wondered how great last minute reservations could be. She tensed, wondering if Leon had gotten them separate rooms or one together… And then her heart staggered a beat. Did she want to share a room with Leon?

Her eyes strayed to the length of him. He was wearing a leather jacket over a faded outfit of non-descript t-shirt and jeans. Why he had on the leather jacket was beyond her, but even with it on she could take a minute to admire him. Being a secret agent had helped Leon age well, she thought. Not that other men aged particularly poorly, but…

The jeans were a little relaxed, but even so they couldn't really hide the toned strength of his… legs! Claire chided herself, turning her head away, almost by force. It was a bad sign if she was already checking out Leon's ass on the first day, before they were even checked in to the hotel.

His ass had always been there, why was she just noticing it?

"Don't tell me you got sunburn from the cab to the door," Leon said as he turned, holding a key card.

A single key card.

The thing was somehow very reminiscent. How many times had she spent how long looking for one or another color of those? How often had it been just at her fingertips and then she'd gotten through a door only to come upon the foul smell of rotting corpse…

Unbidden, a shiver came to her spine, and she tried to hide it. Leon was either being very forgiving, or he was paying more attention to something else. Claire pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. It was best to do this, to let her senses register that there was nothing in the air around her abnormal, nothing that was going to lurch and open its mouth for her neck.

She pressed her eyes shut, hoping to dispel the fear that was threatening. Somehow it still threatened, no matter what she did. There was always a moment of panic that could happen. The scent of the air changed a little. She smelled cool, clean leather, and that infuriating scent that Leon refused to give a name to. Her mind latched onto that curiosity, and the flashback drifted away from her. Claire opened her eyes. How did he do that? How did the scent of him push everything bad from her mind?

Leon was inspecting her face. His expression was kind, understanding. Claire pressed her lips together again. It was so unusual for anyone to offer her any kind of support… at least like that. Leon knew her so well. He knew what she would be remembering, he remembered what she was remembering. And he still smiled. And he still laughed. And he went to work and did it again and again.

He lifted a hand to touch her cheek, and Claire unexpectedly felt like crying. She fought down the urge, even though it made her throat feel a little raw to do so. "Or is it sunstroke?" Leon asked in a soft voice. His breath brushed her face, and she found a chuckle. "You look a little pale."

"Of course not," Claire said, feeling silly about the whole thing. He was amazingly good at taking care of her. It would be annoying if… it wasn't annoying.

Leon smiled at her, hair falling in his eyes, and she wondered, again, what had caused this change. His hazel eyes were the same as they had been… were they hazel or were they that strange… gray thing. Some people's eyes shifted between blue and green, didn't they?

"Are you coming?" Leon prompted, turning towards the elevators. A bell boy approached him to try and take their luggage, but he shook his head, giving the young man a pointed look as he did so.

Claire could chuckle at that, but she didn't. She had the same hang up about carrying her own luggage. It was something about wanting to know what she had, and not having to struggle with someone to get it back. Somehow, Leon was exempt from this particular bit of survior's OCD. She followed Leon to the elevator, and he pressed the button.

In the cab, he set the bags down, but she barely noticed. Instead she was focused on him. The two of them were the only people in the elevator, and the shiny walls showed their images back to her. Leon's shoulder was barely six inches from hers. He was leaning against the railing lightly, his shoulders against the smooth wall of the elevator cab.

He looked relaxed.

It made her feel safe.

Thank goodness, Claire thought to herself as they headed up the elevator to the hotel room, remembering that he'd only taken one room key card. A part of her was hopeful, but another part knew that two rooms would be unnecessary. With anyone other than Leon, there was a certain amount of… space required. But when it was just the two of them, too much space wouldn't be good for either of them. They were comfortable together. Unlike with… she tried not to think of his name, even then, but unlike with her ex, Leon's presence was reassuring. He kept away the nightmares, now that she no longer slept with a hunting knife handy. And in that situation, in the current situation, too much space was bad. At one point she'd tried renting a house, and it just paranoid her. Too much open space, too many deep shadows.

Leon let them into the room, and she followed, not remembering passing down the hall or the number outside the door. He deposited their bags on the low dresser that was a staple in hotels everywhere. It was normal, it felt nice.

The room had two beds, after all, but they were in the same room. Across from the door there were windows that let in warm sunlight, and a sliding door that looked like it went out onto a balcony. Claire flopped on the bed closest the window while Leon rummaged in his bag, taking some things out of his pockets. She stretched out, enjoying the warmth of the sun, and closed her eyes.

Robert's smiling face swam in her vision.

She scowled.

It wasn't until he sat on the bed that she knew Leon had moved closer. With her eyes closed, his weight shifted the mattress just about the same time she could smell that curious mixture of clean, leather, and the unnamed scent of either his cologne or aftershave. Somehow she figured it was aftershave. She really didn't picture Leon as the type for cologne.

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

"What makes you think I want to talk about it?" Claire asked, opening her eyes. She was somewhat surprised to find Leon was leaning over her, one arm planted on the bed, his face looking down at her. His hazel eyes were brightened by the sun, and somehow his complexion didn't look as pale as it had in the Newark Airport. "What's it anyway?"

"You came blindly halfway across the world with me, I think that means something."

"Maybe it just means I wanted to see you," Claire said, turning her head away from the window. It was the truth, and because it was the truth, it was easier to tell than a lie. He would probably chuckle at it, it was the usual response when she said things like that.

"Well that makes me glad." There was no chuckle.

She turned her eyes to look at his face, but she could only see part of it. Leon was looking away, out the window. "Leon…"

"You slept the whole plane ride. Let's get out of this room."

She bit her lip at that. He was so close she could pinpoint what the clean smell he gave off was. Detergent. Or maybe fabric softener. Leon must have done his laundry recently. It was soothing, and she took a deep breath of the scent, trying not to be too obvious. Relaxation stroked its fingers against her tenseness, almost like fingertips rubbing the palm of her hand gently. Like his had done on the plane ride. Her heartbeat sped up in response. "You invited me halfway across the planet," she said softly, "there must be some reason for that."

"I told you that already."

Hesitantly, she reached up and took the edge of his jacket in her hands. The zipper was surprisingly cool against the skin of her palms. He looked down at her when she did that. "Not to my satisfaction."

Leon's lips parted, and he started to say something, but stopped himself. He tried to look away, but she tugged on his jacket firmly enough to bring his eyes back to her. He reached up to brush at her temple, still not meeting her eyes, and she frowned. What was he avoiding?

"Maybe… when I don't see you… I get worried you're in danger," he said hesitantly.

She wanted to ask something, to ask him why, or for more information, but he looked at her then. Really looked at her. He met her eyes with his and she felt her breath catch in her throat. No, that wasn't all there was to his answer. But she wouldn't get it out of him just then. She had two weeks of the vacation to get it out of him, and…

Leon's face moved so slowly she almost didn't notice when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

Claire did notice that her heart stopped for a full minute before it began to hammer in her chest violently. Claire noticed that her hand gripped his jacket and she pulled herself up and into the kiss. She noticed that, and then she felt his hand curve around her neck. It was warm. His hand was deliciously warm and…

He pulled away, licking his lips. His hand stayed at her neck, her hands gripped his jacket. "You've… just…"

"Don't you dare," she breathed. She knew what he was going to say. His eyebrows lifted slightly. "Don't you dare bring him up after you just kissed me like that."

Leon's lips tilted in that little smile they had, the one that did the least to move the scar on his cheek. He glanced down at her, and she thought he had a smart remark, but his lips pressed to hers again, and she stopped thinking. He was firm and warm, and her arms found their way around his back.

It felt so right that she felt tears stinging her eyes.

He chuckled softly as he pulled away, and she glared at him, letting go of his jacket with one hand to rub at her eyes. "What?"

"If you're crying now, it's a good thing I didn't slip you any tongue," he said, stroking her cheek with a thumb.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"Claire," Leon said, expression and tone sobering.

"You… you sound to serious, Leon," she replied, turning to look at the wall again. She kept one hand holding the front of his jacket. It was almost childlike, gripping his clothing like that, but she knew if she did, he wouldn't go anywhere. He would stay, no matter what was pre-occupying him. He'd done as much after Raccoon… how could she forget that?

Did it just slip her mind? The two months she'd spent glued to Leon? He had been a gentleman, of course, but there was no denying that she'd been almost obsessed about not loosing sight of him or Sherry, all through October of that year. And while Sherry could escape her by sleeping, Leon she simply would not leave alone. She had numerous reasons to hover over him. His wound, asking where the guns were, asking about food, did they have enough gas?

She hadn't even let him go to the bathroom, for the first two weeks after they'd made it out. The three of them smelled terrible, which was probably why the hotel staff left them alone. Claire didn't mind, so long as she could see everyone and know that they were all safe. Every time Leon started to strip his shirt off and head for the shower, she'd grabbed onto the edge of his undershirt.

Her reaction with Chris after they lost their parents had been similar, but her brother's manner of responding was to shrug her off and order her not to follow him into the bathroom. If Chris had any idea how paranoid doing that had made her about his safety, maybe he would have acted differently. But no, that would make him a different person.

Leon's reaction was what she really needed.

Claire couldn't recall, in that instant, if Leon had sighed when he did it, but if he did, it wasn't an angry noise, just a resigned one. He would pull his shirt back on, and offer her a small smile. It almost cracked the needy part of Claire to see him stay with her, and she'd cried more than once, she knew. Leon's reaction was the same, despite whether she cried or not. He put an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. 'If I can't shower, you have to deal with it,' he'd murmur into her hair.

Eventually her paranoia had soothed and they all got to take a shower. She was amazed at how nice it was to be clean, after two weeks of not bathing. But it wasn't something that was more important than feeling close to the people she cared about. She could go through a lot, she found, to know that sort of comfort. Leon's patience, his reassurance, had secured him in her mind. At the time she thought it was his safety she could feel sure of. Claire spent Thanksgiving with him and Sherry, and after she fell asleep in the diner booth, Leon had asked when she was leaving.

That had surprised her, of course, but he wasn't stupid, of course.

It occurred to Claire, lying on the hotel bed and holding onto the front of his jacket like she was, that it wasn't Leon's safety that had been affirmed to her, or his person in her thoughts. It was her heart he'd made a home in with his actions. She just hadn't been able to understand it then.

And now… now his expression was clouded and he was looking firmly at her collarbone. In another moment, she might accuse him of staring at her breasts, but there was something different to the slant of his lips.

What was with him?

He made a noise she hadn't heard before, and shifted, leaning her down against the mattress, and stroked her cheek a bit more. Her heart did a little flip-flop that she knew he noticed, and Claire felt herself blushing slightly at. "I suppose I'll have to work on that then. I am on vacation."

Leon's other hand found her hairline and Claire tipped her head back as his chest pressed her against the bed. "Tell me this isn't why you brought me along," she said softly, unwilling to trust that… that he felt more than… That what he wanted was what he'd said about feeling normal… just like she did. Maybe that was why he was flipping back and forth between his reactions. Regardless, it felt good. No matter what else, there was that. She slid her arms around him to keep from getting them trapped against him.

"I brought you because you're the only person I always want to see," Leon said softly. "This is just a bonus."

His lips found her throat and she gripped the back of his jacket. It felt good. Leon felt good. His lips, his arms… her heart was hammering, and she felt a little faint. Probably a good thing she was lying down.

"You need to eat something," she said softly as his lips wandered down her throat. "Leon…" His eyes looked up at her face, and he leaned back enough to meet her eyes. His eyes changed, she saw it clearly. He started to pull back, but she tightened her arms around him. "Don't you dare," she said. "I'm jetlagged, and you're underweight… so we should get something to eat. It doesn't mean I haven't wanted this."

Her face turned dark red. She knew that it did. She pressed her lips together and stared at him. He had to understand this, had to get it. She knew she didn't entirely understand it. She was so ready to be close to him, but… not if it meant just like that. There had to be something there… something more, and…

His eyes met hers, and she saw his withdrawal leave them. He just watched her, after a moment. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry…?"

"You're right," he breathed. "I… guess I'm rushing. I mean… I should've said something before, I just…"

"I've known for a long time, Leon." His eyebrows lifted when she said that. "You're bad with women." He chuckled slightly. "I don't mean… this part…" she said, blushing slightly when he lifted a brow at her correction. "With relationships. With knowing when to-"

"Thanks, I know that."

She continued as though he hadn't interrupted her at all. "But when you look at me, I don't know how to say it… I've always kind of… known."

"Known what? That I wanted you?" he sounded a little bitter. He looked away without pulling from her arms.

Claire lifted a hand to his cheek, pressing over the scar that was new, and he lifted his eyes to hers again from where he had turned them with his angry phrase. Was he mad that he was obvious? "That you cared." He looked surprised again. "You always look out for me, but you always look so pained when we have to part. I…"

He shifted, moving closer, and his lips pressed to hers again. Claire felt his arm slide under her back, pulling her to him. She settled in his grip, pressing into the kiss. He hadn't told her she was wrong. He hadn't said she was imagining things. He hadn't brushed off what she said. If Leon was anything, it was truthful. If she were wrong, he'd say so. He'd tell her what it was, if it wasn't that.

There was only the breath that passed between them in the kiss, no negative words. Just reinforcement. Respectful care. The warm feeling of Leon's lips on hers, a sensation that made her wonder why they hadn't done this before.

He pulled back a little, just enough to talk, his hair still brushing her face. "You're right though," he said, "I should eat."

*