PROMPT 1: RED & BLUE

Summary: Claire thought Leon is pretty.

# not beta read #Post-Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness


Leon still remembered when she commented on how he dressed.

'That outfit doesn't suit you.'

After that statement was thrown at him, he became ultimately self-conscious of what he wore. He knew exactly what she meant. It was not literal but that is how his life came to be. It tweaked him to be aware of what he wears, especially whenever she was around him. And sometimes he just wanted her to be involved as much as can be in his life matters. Because she mattered.

After their fateful farewell in front of the White House, he tried many times to make peace with her. He knew Claire was a sensible woman; she was completely well-versed in their line of work which did not provide them the privilege to have things in their way. That perhaps was the reason she favored the truce over malice; or maybe at least that is what he thought.

The best part came from this situation was they agreed to keep in touch with each other more regularly so that conflicted decisions like this would be accepted with rational discourse; rather than a blow that was bound to divide them. Thankfully, their friendship mended.

When he got the notice that she was in the city, work-related, he tried his best to finish his pending work in the morning so that he could at least get the evening clear. Therefore, hastily he texted asking if she had the time to spare for him. It was not a surprise when she replied yes. Although she was only available after three in the afternoon; he cheekily replied with

-I take whatever you can offer, baby.-

He such a simpleton, laughed to himself. Claire only replied with a barfing emoji, mimicking a vomit expression. Between skimming the jackets at one of the clothing racks, he was grinning remembering that exchange.

"What so funny that gets you grinning like an idiot there, Kennedy? Stop wasting time and pick one.", said Claire in frustration.

They had been circulating a few shops to get him a new jacket for his limited wardrobe and yet he still could not pick one. He had been denying several choices from previous outlets and now it was starting to get on Claire's nerves.

She grabbed one of the jackets from the rack and brought it in his direction; trying to imagine him wearing the jacket. Then, she shook her head, put it back, and went through another rack. He sure took his sweet time (and hers) in choosing one, or maybe he just loved spending time with her.

He ignored the first comment by her and answered, "I don't know. That's why I ask you to come with me."

"I didn't know that shopping clothes with you can be a pain in the ass. You are even worse than the girls."

"And you know that's one of my many charms." He smirked and winked at her.

"Did he just wink at us after that commentary? Unbelievable.", said Claire, looking at the shop attendant. The young woman smiled awkwardly, at the same time trying her best to keep her face unperturbed by the exchange between her two customers.

She went through another rack as Leon started making his way toward her. "You like leather, right?"

He hummed in approval, arriving next to her. She brought out another jacket and splayed it on his chest. Her mouth pouted, thinking. Cute.

iShe retrieved the jacket back and said, "Take off the jacket you wearing." Eyebrows raised, he gave a questioning look.

"To try this." Claire snickered and shook her head. Already taken off the hanger, she passed the jacket to Leon. He exchanged the jacket and obediently did what he had been told. He noticed the young shop attendant fidgeting at where she standing.

"Not bad." Arms folded, she nodded in approval.

Leon asked, "Yes? Really?"

She pulled him to stand in front of the mirror. "See yourself."

"Comfy too." He wiggled his shoulder, did a stretching motion, and moved around his arms.

"Suitable for you when on the field?", asked Claire.

He nodded, "Yup."

She gave a double tap on his back and said, "Good, good." She walked around him, something in her head. "But you got blacks already."

He shifted his gaze to Claire and said, "Maybe I should get a red one. Like you."

She turned to him with a disapproving look. "I know you think you're hot, but you're not THAT hot."

"What?", said Leon in disbelief.

Then Claire asked the shop attendant, "Any other color than black? With the same size."

"Let me check with the inventory first." The young woman answered and swiftly carried out the task given to her.

"So if you think red is hot, do you think yourself hot?", asked Leon. He raised his eyebrows, a smirk plastered on his face as he fished her answer.

She tried to dodge the question by answering, "Hot is not the subject to measure someone's physical appeal."

He retorted, "Yeah, it is. And you're the one who said it first."

She replied to him in exasperation, "I'm just using the term by the general population."

Confused, he studied. He recognized the irritation coming from her, yet completely knew it was not about him. She tried to conceal them but he could see right through her.

"Okay, what going on?"

He only got a nonchalant shrug from her. So he continued asking in a serious tone, "Am I having a little pieces and bits of your morning meeting?"

She let out a long sigh and apologized, "I'm sorry, Leon." His gaze still rested on her. She explained, "They sank us. They questioned us on every motion we made. And it's exhausting. They kept pushing the verdict, but in fact, time went by and the people were suffering. Children suffered the most."

Leon pitied her. He knew exactly how those higher-ups could be. This was about the ceased supplies of the humanitarian aid that she told him earlier. Claire had been working around this issue for months now; so understandable that she was frustrated.

He reached out her hand and gave a gentle squeeze, "I'm so sorry, Claire. I hope bringing you here doesn't stress you even more."

Looking at him, she shook her head. "No. It's okay, at least it takes my mind off from work. Even just for a moment."

He offered his infamous charming smile, feeling satisfied by her answer. "And you know what, I'll not give up.", added Claire, there was determination in her voice.

That's my girl. His smile became wider, "For any consolation, I'm buying you dinner tonight. What do you want? Steak? Lobster? Anything you want."

Claire let out a hearty laugh, "Thank you, Leon."

Their interaction was interrupted with, "Er… We have blue. Same size." They both turned to the shop attendant. Claire broke off their holding hands and took the jacket from the shop attendant.

She smiled brightly and turned to Leon, urging him to try.

"Blue?" His face flashed with uncertainty.

"This definitely looks good on you. When we first met you wore blue."

"That's the uniform, Claire." When he sluggishly took off the black leather jacket he was wearing, she reached out helping him take it off and put the blue leather jacket on him.

She responded, "No, no. You wore blue when we met at the gas station."

She remembers. He was ecstatic and couldn't believe that she still remembered. He stared at her with admiration. Claire never ceased to amaze him.

"Look! It matches your eyes too. You look pretty." Claire chimed in contentment.

He turned to her with a ludicrous look. I looked pretty. Then he looked back at the reflection of himself in the mirror. Claire stood behind him; both hands holding his arm on each side respectively, her head peeking at his left side.

"It's not so bad. Blue.", said Leon.

She nodded a few times with glimmering eyes. She was biting her lower lip and keeping a smile on her face. Her demeanor looked childish but he thought otherwise. Cute. A ringing sound from her cell phone interrupted him with his thoughts. She let go of her holding to his arms and excused herself.

He zipped the jacket and stuffed his hands into the pockets. Turning side to side, he gave a convincing look. Claire's right.

"I think your girlfriend's right. You look good in blue." He didn't notice that the shop attendant was still there with them.

He made a reply without correcting her, "You think so too?". The young woman nodded sheepishly.

"I guess I'm taking this one with me." He took off the jacket and handed it to the shop attendant to bag.

Claire's cherry voice popped, "So, you take the blue?"

"Yes."

His short answer made her squeal in delight, as she passed his jacket that he originally wore. It felt good that he was somehow able to bring a little happiness to her.

"Okay. Let's go get dinner."

They both walked to the cash register. He asked, "Who called?"

"It's Chris. He just let me know that he's sorry he couldn't see me while I was here. I said it okay 'cause I got you instead."

He smirked, feeling proud. He handed his card to make the purchase and asked her, "Earlier you said it matches my eyes and I look pretty. Is that you trying to say that I'm pretty?"

Her lips formed a thin smile at his query. She just looked at him, who retrieved the paper bag and his card without giving him any reply.

Leon added, "Is that one of what the general population perceives on someone's physical appeal or it's just your own interpretation?"

Claire burst into laughing as she hooked her hand to Leon's arm and they both exited the shop. And when he failed to receive her reply, he just joined her hearty laugh.


Notes:

It's my first time taking part in such event #cleonweek #cleontb . And I hope I got the prompt right.