Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Resident Evil characters, Capcom does. (this doesn't include the OC's that will be mentioned along the way.)

"Mr. Kennedy...uhh Leon?", Leon flinches upon breaking away from his own world, tilting his head up to see who called him, he sees his friend, it was Patrick, he must've stayed longer than when he is allowed, so he simply signals to the man in uniform that he will leave the premises soon after by patting the man's forearm twice, "I'll be leaving brother, sorry again.", and Patrick nodded, getting the sign before leaving, this was not a new occurrence, as Leon seems to forget about tracking the time unless his friend pulls him out to reality by a simple name call or anything that could catch his attention every time.

He was sitting on one of the desks of The White House Mess, after meeting up briefly with the President for a mission breakdown that he will be accomplishing tomorrow at noon like an hour ago, and he just decided to go sit on a chair like the usual that he does whenever he's called in and just simply scroll through his phone's social media app. It was just another normal day for Leon, nothing entirely special but the fact that he saw something someone shared online that he seemed to be so fixated on, he can't explain it- but it just caught his eye.

A user named quacklrbear posted a story of theirs a few weeks ago that went quite well by the amount of upvotes and replies, it was just another random post in the app that can be seen by just a quick refresh of the feed but it somehow seemed very familiar to Leon, like he knows this person by the way they word each sentence in a paragraph, like he had seen this in a letter before, but then again, there are millions of people who writes the same way so he brushes it off. He left a comment though, telling them to be strong in the situation they are facing right now, because he can't possibly share a story, one of the reasons being that he's a man and he's not a parent...at least not ever.

Checking the time at the top left of his home screen and it's displays 4:16 pm, Leon had done a lot today, he had met up with The Hound Wolf Squad in the morning for a few additional information here and there regarding the case, no actual field work was done either. It's like he's just there for emotional support and then he got formally dressed up to attend at the White House, he was messaged by Patrick yesterday to come by later than his usual schedule knowing that he's teamed up with Chris on another assignment, although to him, it was going so much slower than his preferred pace, it's been weeks and still nothing.

Going off topic, the morning back at Chris' department, he had heard his friend speaking with his sister outside the building, he undeniably eavesdropped over their conversation although he could only hear Chris and no voice of Claire, and despite giving up on finding her after that talk with Redfield.

"Hey sis, how are you doing?", Chris asks, Leon could see him smile despite the limited vision he has on the big man's face but he chuckled confirming the positive mood.

"Well you better be, knowing that you're 20 weeks in.", 20 weeks in? Leon doesn't have any idea on what that could've meant, and his curiosity got even worse after he heard that.

"Alright alright, I'll see you as soon as I can, take care of yourself and you know- them.", Chris then waited for his sister to hang up before putting down his phone, he turned back and that's where Leon stealthed himself out of Chris' line of sight, actively checking his phone just incase the man catches a glance on him being nearby, he was by the entrance, left a crack on the door for him to hear enough, and when he saw in the corner of his eye that Chris had passed him, he sighed of relief.

That memory had left him quite hanging by a thread, and so many questions popped into his mind, 20 weeks? Them? It didn't ring a bell in his head, and he is still worried about Claire. He finally decided to get out of the place though, now he is outside in the parking lot where his black sedan is parked, he didn't feel like bringing his big bike today so he brought his only owned car instead, unlocking the vehicle with his key button as he goes inside the driver seat, shutting the door beside him, he places the key into the ignition and the engine starts. Putting his hands on the steering wheel as he backed up from the parking space and he went on the road.

He had nothing else to do for any kind of work for the day, and he thought that it was still too early to go home so he decided to go to the nearest mall instead, pass some time to window shop or something, maybe buy a take out for dinner, he isn't certain yet but he'll decide when he get there. In about 19 minutes estimate, he arrived and parked his sedan just on the outside parking lot, before leaving the car though, he received a message, thinking it was just another work email, he ignored it and got out of his seat, slamming his car door and locking it, putting the keys inside his pocket, he pulled his hand out but his phone fell out and hits the concrete floor, he cursed quietly before bending his body to pick it up, and there he saw that the notification was not from work...it was from Claire.

"Claire.", He stood up mumbling her name, still couldn't believe what he is seeing so he rubbed his eyes and it was no doubt her, she had unblocked him, he didn't want to open the message just yet, thinking of some possible things she sent him but his body said otherwise as his finger unconsciously unlocks his phone and taps on the inbox.

Hi Leon,

It's been a while hasn't it? 20 weeks since- you know what...and If ever you want to...I think it's about time that we reconcile- just if you're comfortable enough to see me after what I did, I know I may not have the right to contact you now after leaving you like that- but it's not just me now, I have something really important to tell you, so come by my apartment anytime you want since I don't leave the place that much, I'll attach my address below...

Claire

Leon took a while to read it all again, not wanting to be mistaken as he didn't expect this at all, but he's been waiting for her to contact him. Just like what Chris told him, she will eventually let her guard down, all he had to do was wait, and he was right. He stood there on the same spot for minutes until he was able to recollect himself and grin joyfully like a little kid, that he forgot what exactly he was doing in the parking lot and remembered that he was outside a mall. He took time to look back at his phone and reply to her, there he realized that it was in fact an email from her and not a text message, so he tapped reply.

Hey Claire,

It's nice to finally hear from you, I've been waiting...and yes, I will be at your front door by tomorrow morning, so expect me to be there.

Leon

He hit send immediately, like he doesn't have tasks as an agent tomorrow, and why hadn't he thought of emailing her before? Anyways, he was just too ecstatic to let another second fly by, but he all he does is smile from ear to ear, he wanted to jump for joy right then and there but he didn't he would look like an idiot, until he forgot that she might've still hold a grudge against him despite her mail being positive, he would take it easy, he thought once he visits her, he also checked on whether Claire had also unblocked his number and she did. After a 10 minute span of recollecting himself, he finally went into the mall to grab the take out he's been contemplating about.

An hour of finding the right food in the food court, he sat on a desk in front of the fast food he chose to buy in as he quickly observes his surroundings trying to not overthink or linger around the thought of Claire, there he saw extended families enjoying their food from a distance, couples talking, kids running, friends laughing and many more people. But one particular group often catches his eye, and his stone heart always melts whenever he sees one, a seemingly happily married couple with kids, this time, a toddler daughter giggling at her parents and a baby in a stroller being cooed at by his mother. To Leon, he could see himself living a simple life like that, that is what he dreams of everytime he observes such people, they always seem so peaceful and in love, sure there may be imperfections behind it all, but who is really entirely perfect in this world? And in the reality he lives, he knew he won't ever get that, not when the woman he chose to love seems to not think of settling down as an option, always gone and untraceable and him chasing after her like an endless loop, but it's not just her, it's also him, from the start, he chose a dangerous profession...not like he had any other choice either, and those are the consequences.

Maybe perhaps in his wildest dreams he gets to feel like he lives like an ordinary guy who needs saving, rather than the other way around. As a child- he idolized superheroes, like any other kid his age and as he grew up he wanted to be like the police who guided him in his darkest times...the time his parents died, so he promised himself to be a policeman one day, that he would do everything to be one and be at least just half as good as the officer who saved him. Along the way to support himself, he would work part time as a waiter while studying, and he could say that it was all worth it at the time when he graduated and will be on his first duty in a week...but all of it crumbled as the zombie outbreak came to life and his dreams were once crushed.

The family that Leon had been observing was already leaving as the toddler held her father's hand and the mother pushed the stroller, they had walked towards him and he caught gazes with the family. The parents smiled at him as well as the little girl and he returned the gesture as they passed him.