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New York, 2017 (Leon’s Perspective)
The door made an annoying beep as I walked in, to the left and right of me, doctors were vaccinating all the poor souls involved in the bio-terrorism attack. The relief on their faces could not be summed up in words, mother’s hugging their children, thankful that the whole ordeal was over.It was a silver lining seeing the smiles on their faces, knowing that in the next room, about a dozen coroners were carrying out their infected loved ones in body bags, only to be immediately delivered to an incinerator.That woman, Maria Gomez. The look in her eyes as I took her life is still imprinted in my mind, for some odd reason. Maybe it was the absolute rage her expression held. Being unable to continue on Arias legacy, if you could call it that, pissed her off something fierce. What can I say though, I have a knack for foiling evil plans. It wasn’t the same with Arias however, bastard always looked smug, even at the end.“ARGH!” A loud grunt from a corner of the room broke me from my thought and I rushed over to see a doctor struggling with a man who was rapidly turning.“It’s okay sir, let me just administer the vaccine.” The doctors words meant nothing as the mans rapid flailing knocked the syringe to the floor, shattering it.Dammit, of course they would send glass syringes.“Do we have another needle?” I asked calmly.“That was the last one!” The doctor had managed to break free from the man who was now clutching his chest, veins bulging through his skin. “There’s no more left!”Great… It just keeps getting better.“I… I don’t wanna die!” That poor bastard looked up at me, tears streaking down his face.“Steven! It’s okay, they will help you!” A woman next to him cried out.The guy I now know as Steven, turned his full attention to the doctor, his body twitching and his fearful face distorting to that of a familiar monstrous visage, his eyes glazing over with a milky sheen as he snarled.Well. Sorry Steven.Steven charged, the doctor screamed bracing for impact. Without hesitation, I pulled my gun and unloaded. More screams erupted from everyone else in the room as fragments of Steven’s skull, brain matter and blood splattered against the wall. He collapsed in a heap, in a pool of crimson.It was silent as I holstered my gun. The now shaken doctor turned to me and nodded. “Th-Thank you. You saved my life, Mr….” He paused.“Leon Kennedy.” I answered. “And don’t worry about it. Wouldn’t be the first time.”“Yes, of course.” He nodded again, still shaking. “It is your job after all.”“Steven...” That woman’s shaky voice cut through the almost dead air. I turned to see she ran over to Steven’s corpse. Holding it in her arms. Blood and brain tissue still dripped into the ever growing red puddle. “You… You killed him.” She looked up at me, eyes filled with sorrow.“I had to, he was infected and he destroyed the last of the vaccine. If I didn’t, we would have another biohazard and he wouldn’t have been the only one I had to kill.” I looked around the room at all the shocked faces before turning back to her. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”She held her dead loved one and turned away from me, softly sobbing. “Look at what happened to us.” She muttered and then focused back on me, a flicker of desperation in her eyes. “You’re some special agent right? You’re supposed to prevent these things from happening. How did this happen?!”My entire body froze.I…. I have been asked this before.
‘It’s okay Emma. Mommy’s sleeping… And I’m gonna put you to bed too.'
I wanted to say something. But, my voice caught in my throat.
‘Those monsters, look what they did to us… You’re a cop. You’re supposed to prevent this from happening! How could you have let this happen?! Huh?!’
Why? Why am I thinking about that gun shop owner in Raccoon City? All those years ago.I lowered my head, as her expression softened.“I’m sorry…. I shouldn’t say that. You couldn’t have predicted the future.” She said quietly. “Steven was my fiance, we were gonna get married next week.” Her voice began audibly trembling. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way either.”I nodded, then I left.NYPD met up with me outside. “Thanks Mr. Kennedy, we’ll take it from here.” Yeah, okay.“Mister?” I felt a tug at my jacket and looked down at a young girl.“Honey, what are you doing?” I glanced up to see that woman again…. Wait.“You said your name is Leon, right? Well, Mr. Leon.” I looked back down at the girl. “Thank you, for saving us. And sorry you had to kill my dad.”I could feel something inside me break, I’m not sure if it was my heart or what. Maybe it was my soul. I don’t care at this point.I need a drink.
1 month later, (Claire’s perspective)
“So, let me get this straight. You’re worried about Leon, so you pulled me away from my busy schedule to check up on him?” I sighed over the phone and chuckled. “Leon is a big boy Chris, he can handle himself.”“Claire, I speak from experience. I think there is something really wrong here. I mean, why would he still be in New York even though his mission there has been over for a whole month?” I could sense the frustration and concern in my brother’s voice. But, I didn’t think there should be anything too serious or troubling going on here. It’s not like Leon has been kidnapped and tortured.“Doesn’t he usually like to say he’s on vacation or something?” I shrugged.“Yes, when he wants to wallow in self misery and get plastered.” Chris let out an exasperated sigh. “Something happened on that mission. I mean, when I needed his help the last time, me and Rebecca found him after he went through an entire bottle of Jack Daniels. I wish I could have joined him on this case, but I got another job here at the BSAA that could put me in the bayou state in a couple months.”I tilted my head. “What was this mission anyway?”Chris took a deep breath, “I got word that one of Glen Arias’s associates was creating BOW’s with the A-virus he created. Arias was an arms dealer we took care of, known for selling weapons and BOW’s to the highest bidder. After his death a woman that worked with him, Maria Gomez wanted to get revenge of some sort. The BSAA was contacted about this biohazard outbreak in New York, mostly surrounding Arias abandoned hide out. This was after a great number of people began randomly going missing, starting with the homeless population. I was tied up with another case and I still am, so I asked for Leon to take care of it, since he was involved in the case with Arias. He was reluctant at first, but he agreed and took care of business. But, I haven’t heard from him since it was all wrapped up. And I got news from Hunnigan that he was still in New York.” Chris paused. “Claire, he seems so….. Tired? Of everything. I’m not sure how to describe it…. And my hands are tied here. Someone has to go check and see if he’s okay, he’s our friend, he’s kind of like family at this point.”The way Chris was making it out, Leon sounded like a pissed off, depressed drunk, on the verge of a mental breakdown. That didn’t sound like Leon at all. I remember Leon as the peppy rookie cop who was all for justice, and later as the strong federal agent who was determined to get rid of these viruses. The same man who gave me that pep talk after I thought TerraSave fucked up, telling me that what we were doing was good for humanity.I took in a deep breath. “So you want me to go to New York for a mental health check up?”“That’s essentially what I’m asking.” Chris replied back.I shook my head. “Do you know what hotel he’s staying at?”
New York, 3 days later, (Claire’s Perspective)
The Uber driver pulled up to a ritzy place and put the car in park. “This is it, miss. Have a good stay.”I scrutinized the building. Is Leon really spending that kind of money to stay in a fancy place like this? The place I’m staying at isn’t nearly this swanky.I nodded to my driver, gave a quick thank you and made my way in, it looked just as opulent inside as it did outside.It was late at night and I was pretty hungry. A part of me just wanted to find Leon, and then drag him down to their in hotel restaurant.I opted instead to just go to the restaurant before going off on my Leon hunting adventures. I got some weird looks, going to a fancy restaurant alone, but my growling stomach didn’t care.I scanned the restaurant to see if I can find that iconic Leon hair or a glimpse of that leather jacket he always wears. But, to no avail.Guess it’s time to check the front desk.“Excuse me.” I spoke up to get the attendants attention. He looked up and folded his hands.“Can I help you Miss?”“Well, I’m looking for someone.” I chuckled. “I was hoping you could help.”“I sure can. What’s this person’s name?”“Leon S. Kennedy.”He suddenly paused and rolled his eyes. “Yeah well, you wouldn’t be the first woman to visit this guy.” He muttered.“What’s that supposed to mean?” I narrowed my eyes. He ignored me and picked up the desk phone.“I’ll call him and see if he’s expecting visitors.”Wow. Okay. Rude.“Hello, Mr. Kennedy. You have someone here who wants to see you.” He cupped his hand over the receiver and threw a glare at me. “He says he’s not expecting visitors.”I glared back. “Tell him, it’s important.”He went back to the receiver. “She says it’s important. Yes, it’s another woman. You promise with this one we won’t get any noise complaints and you won’t break the bed?”My jaw dropped in shock as I heard an audible ‘Fuck you!’ on the other end. That was definitely Leon on the other line though.He rolled his eyes and continued. “Fine, I’ll send her up.” He hung up abruptly and turned around. He rummaged through some desk drawers before turning to me and handing me a key card. “He said, and I quote, ‘Whatever, send her up.’”“I see.” I said bluntly, grabbing the key card as he sat back down. “For the record, I have known Leon for years, he’s a real good friend. It’s nothing like what you’re thinking here.”He shook his head, “Yeah, that’s what every woman that’s come to visit him who he just reduces to a cock glove says.” He muttered under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.Big mistake.I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him out of his chair. The sudden fear in his eyes giving me great gratification. “You might want to watch what you say about a federal agent that works directly with the White House, especially around me. Now, would you like me to tell your manager what you said?”He shook his head vigorously. “No ma’am! My apologies! Enjoy your visit!” I threw him back in his chair and walked away. He gasped for breath and tried to compose himself as I made my way to the elevators.I looked at the key card, room 208. I looked up as the elevator dinged, the big red number at the top indicating that I was now on the second floor. The doors opened and I stepped out.Has Leon been that much of a nuisance, that he pissed off the staff that much?I walked down the eerily quiet hallway, slowly feeling dread creep into my chest for some reason.I sighed and paused for a moment in the hallway, why do I feel like this? I shook my head. It’s just Leon, it’s no big deal.I stood in front of the door that read ‘208’ across it. I took a deep breath and slid the card in until the green light flashed. Then I pushed open the door.It was completely dark inside, save for one light hanging over the kitchen table. I can barely make out that the figure sitting at said table, facing away from the door, is Leon.“The hell do you want?” He growled in a deep voice, not even turning to look at me. I peered in and saw a bottle of Jack Daniels sitting at the table, a glass next to it that was filled to the brim, his hand clutching that glass. “Is that you Helena? I told you to leave.”Helena, wasn’t that a co-worker or something? She works for the DSO too right? I was honestly too stunned to think straight.Jesus Christ Leon, what happened?He brought the full glass to his lips and gulped it down, sighing as he slammed it back down on the table. “Are you gonna answer me?” He continued as he refilled the glass.“… Leon?” Was all I could get out. Finally he turned to look at me, his hair falling in front of his face. I can’t make out the details of his expression in the darkness, but I knew he could tell, it was me.“Claire?” His voice softened. “It’s been a while. What are you doing here?”I stepped into the room and let the door close behind me. “We’ve been worrying about you.”He chuckled and turned back to his booze. As I made my way over, I saw his phone on the table next to him, light up. A text message, from Helena that read, ‘Leon, I’m still in town. You’re slave misses her Master.’ Okay…. Well. Another message, this time from Angela, I think I remember her. It read, ‘Hey, sweetheart, you should come visit. We’ll go diving again.’ Leon never explained what she meant by that, but I’m gonna figure at this point, it’s something naughty.Without even acknowledging the messages, he pocketed his phone, I said nothing and sat down at the table opposite of him.“Who the Hell is ‘We’?”“Me, Chris...” I trailed off.“Let Chris know, I’m fine. I’m on vacation.” He slid the glass over to me. “Need a drink?”I looked at the liquid in the glass and sighed. This… This was not the Leon I knew. Chris was right, something is so very wrong. I lifted the drink and took a couple of deep swigs. I winced a little, Jack Daniels tastes nasty straight up, like raw eggs. Needs to be mixed with Coke.“Leon, this is no vacation.” I leaned into the light to try and see him better, but I still couldn’t make out much in the yellow glow. “What’s going on?”“What’s going on?” He repeated, shaking his head. “I’m fucking exhausted, Claire.”“Is it because of the last mission you went on?”He glanced at me through the darkness. A sudden nervousness overtook me and I immediately shot back the rest of the whiskey and slammed the glass on the table. “How do you know about that?” He finally asked.“Chris told me. He said he wanted to help but he’s too caught up in a different case and he-.”“Of course he did.” Leon interrupted me with a dark chuckle.“Leon, he’s worried.”“Good for him.” Leon snorted.“I am too!” Leon went silent as I raised my voice. A long pause filled the now dead air.“You Redfield’s worry too much.” He growled in a low tone.“Tell me what happened.” I inquired.“You want to know what happened?”I nodded.“Did Chris tell you who Glen Arias was?”“He was an arms dealer right?”Leon shrugged and I can see a smirk cross his face in the darkness. “Wonderful, you have backstory.”He sighed. “One of the people who worked with him, Maria Gomez disappeared after Chris and I killed Arias. Turns out she held up in his abandoned hide out. Soon, NYPD started getting a bunch of missing person reports, it started with the homeless population, so no one paid attention. That is until entire families, women and children started to go missing. Not long after that, the police started getting reports of random assaults and murders committed by numerous people. Eye witnesses said those who committed these acts looked liked the people who went missing and that their victims would get up after a while, like they rose from the dead. So it didn’t take long to see this was an act of bioterrism. Incidents were mostly located in and around that abandoned hide out, so I went in with a team who had the vaccine we obtained from Arias after that case with Chris, in addition to the vaccine that Rebecca made.”He paused, lowering his head, and voice. “Gomez converted the whole hide out into a concentration camp of sorts. People were being tortured and turned into BOW’s then released back on the city. She wouldn’t come into custody quietly, so I had to kill her. Along with several other’s who she turned into monsters. People lost their friends, their family. We vaccinated as many as we could, but we ran out, eventually.” Leon paused, and despite how dark it was, I can see his eyes lock with mine. “A man, his name was Steven, looked at me while he was turning and said ‘I don’t wanna die’, and I had to kill him. He had a fiance, they were getting married next week. She had a daughter, who told me that she was sorry I had to kill her dad.” Leon shook his head, his hair falling back in his face.“Claire, I’m tired of this. I’m tired of having to deal with this same shit over, and over, and over again!” He paused. “I need to get out of this loop.”“So you’re just gonna continue to sit here and drink?” I gestured to the bottle.“I never make plans that far ahead.” In the dim light, I saw his hand reach over to an object resting on the table. “Or at least, that’s how it used to be. I made one plan though.” He inhaled sharply. “There’s only one way out of this.”My eyes widened as they adjusted to the environment, and I can tell what the object was. It was his gun. Underneath it was a note. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. I jumped out of my seat and so did he. My hand overlapped his and he clutched the gun tighter. His face was now in full view of the dim kitchen light. His piercing, blue eyes, staring daggers into my soul as he glared at me.My vision blurred as I felt hot tears sting my eyes and spill down my cheeks. “Leon. What were you planning here? What is this? Please… Please.” I stumbled over my words.His expression didn’t change as he spoke. “Claire, I think you should go now.” He spoke coldly.I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again. Lowering my head, I watched my tears form little puddles on the table as they fell from my face. The leather of his fingerless gloves squeaked as I squeezed his hand. No matter what, I would not let him pick that gun up.There was a long pause before I felt his hand move beneath mine. I bolted from the other side of the table and threw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. He stumbled back, letting go of the gun.Thank God. Thank. God.“What are you doing, Claire?”My body trembled as I sobbed openly, holding him even tighter, clinging to him. I couldn’t answer him, I would choke on my own voice if I did. I felt like, if I let him go, he would go back to that gun. He remained silent as I cried. Not once asking me to let go of him or shoving me away.After about a minute, I was finally able to talk.“What am I doing?” I swallowed hard, as I spoke into his chest. “What the fuck are you doing?”He didn’t answer me.I continued, my voice trembled. “Weren’t you the one who said we owed it to the ones who died alongside us to keep on living?”Once again, no response.“You were the one who told me that we were fighting the good fight. That we would scrub this virus from the face of the Earth.” I trailed off. “You told me one day, that we should meet again under normal circumstances. This isn’t normal.”He chuckled coolly. “All that was a long time ago, I don’t remember all that.”“What happened to you?”“People change Claire. That’s what happened.”“Well, I still believe that somewhere in there, that young and eager rookie cop still exists.”He sighed. “Maybe so, but whatever is left of him is dead.” He paused. “You should go now, Claire.”“No!” I nestled my head into the crook of his neck. “I will stay here the whole damn night if I have to.”“Claire...” He started to speak but just… Stopped, I felt his chest rise and fall as he took in a deep breath.“Leon. Let’s get through this…. Both of us.”There was a long pause, then the sound of shuffling as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt myself tremble at his touch. He buried his face in the top of my head, drawing in a long, shaky breath.A moment passed before I felt it. My hair, where his face was resting is wet. He’s crying. Just silently crying. My knuckles went white as I gripped his jacket. “I’m here for you.” I whispered.In response his hand rubbed my back, another trembling breath escaped him.Another moment passed.“Ya know...” He began to speak. “That last mission… It made me think back to Raccoon City… Where it all started. For the both of us.”I softly nodded.He sighed again and broke our embrace, I was a bit reluctant at first, but he wasn’t moving for his gun.Still, I was quick to tell him to put all the weapons he had on him, on the kitchen table. It took a bit of coaxing, but he did so. Two firearms, and a knife, in total.“Thank you, Leon.” I smiled at him. He nodded.“Okay.” I clapped my hands together. “So, where is the couch in this room? I told you I will stay the whole damn night, so I’m staying the whole damn night.”“There is no couch. And if there was, I would take the couch.” He said in a matter of fact way.“What?” I looked around the room as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Sure enough, no couch. Or even one of those big cozy chairs. “But, the question is why?”“I wanted a small room, so it’s just the hallway, this kitchen area and that door right there.” He gestured to the door next to the kitchen table. “Leads to the bedroom and bathroom.”“And no couch.” I muttered.“Nope.” He shook his head.“Sounds like a room built for some fanfiction scenario.” I chuckled to myself. (4th wall, anyone?) “Okay, well. Promise me you won’t touch those, while I’m gone.” I pointed to the weapons on the table.He gave me a curious look. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”I went and opened the bedroom door with a smile. “Don’t worry about it.” I gave him a wink as I closed it behind me and flicked on the bedroom light.“Claire? What are you doing in there?” He knocked on the door as I walked over to his haphazard suit case. Clothes were strewn about, all around it. I shrugged and quickly stripped down into my underwear and grabbed a white button up shirt.“Hang on.” I called back. I slipped it on and buttoned it up to the last button. It was way oversized on me, but comfy enough to sleep in. “Okay, you can come in.” I turned around with a smile, pulling the hair tie out of my hair and letting it fall. He opened the door and raised an eyebrow at me.“Why are you wearing my shirt?”I shrugged, “Well, I wasn’t going to sleep in my regular clothes.” I let the sleeves fall past my hands and vigorously flapped them at him.He smirked. “Good to know you wear black panties.”“Huh?!” I halted everything I was doing. “How do you?...” I trailed off.“White is pretty transparent. I see a lot more than just your underpants.”I can feel my face turning bright red and I wrapped my arms around my chest. I turned to my left. The bed, sanctuary. I dove in and pulled the covers up to my chin.“Claire, what are you doing?” He sighed asking the same question once more.I sat up, being sure to keep the covers above my chest. “Going to bed.”“Claire. You’re being a bit ridiculous. You don’t really need to stay here the whole night.”“I can, and I will.” I spoke adamantly. “I’m not leaving, until I know you will be okay. And no, you can’t just say you’re okay and expect me to leave.”He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “So where the hell am I supposed to sleep?”“Leon, this bed is big enough for the both of us.”He looked at me a look as if to say, ‘you’re joking right?’“Claire, what would your brother think?”“My brother isn’t here right now.” I winked.Leon paused for a minute, then shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. “Alright fine.” Was all he said before making his way to the bathroom, and pushing the door open.As he did, I took a moment to look around the bedroom. There was a dresser next to the wall, to my right, beside the bed. The opposite wall lead to the door to the bathroom. To my left was a window and a bedside desk. Sitting atop the desk was a lamp, it was on, kind of a waste of electricity. There was also a bottle of vodka and a shot glass, half the vodka was already gone. In addition, there was a box, I squinted my eyes, looking closer. Trojan Magnums, it was a box of condoms.Jesus Christ, I guess that guy at the front desk was really telling the truth. At least he’s being safe.I heard the sink running and I turned to see the bathroom door was partially open. Leon is washing his face.Something bright caught my eye on the bed’s metal frame and I turned around, it was red and looked like velvet. It was hand restraints, fastened to the head of the bed.“Good to know you’re into some kinky shit, Leon.” I heard the sound of a zipper and looked back to find the sound was his leather jacket.He’s getting undressed, I should look away…… I’m not looking away. Why am I not looking away?I continued to question the lack of respect for his privacy as I watching him take off his jacket and gloves, tossing them to the floor outside the bathroom door. That tight fitting, light blue spandex shirt left nothing to the imagination, it clung to each muscle. And now that shirt joins the pile outside the bathroom door, followed by his pants and everything else, except for a black pair of boxer briefs which really emphasize his great ass, among uh, other things.Jesus Christ, Leon Scott Kennedy.“Pick your jaw off the floor Claire.” He smirked as he left the bathroom.“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I huffed at him.I made the mistake of glancing down and realizing why he has magnum condoms specifically. I turned away, feeling my face getting warm.JESUS CHRIST, LEON SCOTT KENNEDY.“You sure you don’t want to leave? Like I said, you don’t have to stay here.”“I’m fine! This is fine!” I answered pretty damn quickly and abruptly.He chuckled softly. “You don’t sound ‘fine’.”I tugged at the restraints, trying the bring them into view, and to distract myself from his, um bulge. “What are these anyway?” I turned back to him.He shrugged. “Sometimes I like to be rough.”I sighed, this isn’t working. “Let’s just go to sleep.”He responded by walking over and turning off the bedroom light. I watched him approach the left side of the bed, silhouetted in the light of the desk lamp. He lifted the covers and slid in next to me.Okay. This is fine. I exhaled and relaxed a bit. But, the tension was back as I watched him pick up the bottle of vodka. I swiftly leaned over and threw my arms around him, resting my chin on his shoulder.“Leon, please. Let’s just go to sleep.” I spoke softly. I don’t want to see him drink anymore.I waited for a little bit, listening to the rhythm of his breathing. I gave a soft sigh of relief when he set the bottle down and wrapped his arms around me, patting my back gently and pulling me close.His skin is so soft, each one of his firm muscles feels like he was carved from granite, he feels so warm. My face is probably bright red, but I didn’t really care, I’m just glad he put down the bottle.“Thank you, Leon.” I smiled.“That was actually going to be for you.” He let go of me and softly nudged me back.Our eyes met.His gaze is soft.He has such pretty, sparkling, baby blue eyes.I gave a small smile.“Why is it for me?”“You seem pretty nervous.”I giggle. “Oh, I always get nervous around handsome man, like you.” I joked.A devilish smirk crossed his lips. “I noticed.”That’s when it set in with me that Leon is being, more than playful.“Have I ever told you, you’re beautiful?”“You have now.” I spoke in nearly a whisper, my heart beating out of my chest.His eyes were drifting down my body, and I realized, I don’t have the covers over me anymore. He can see everything, and he’s enjoying the view.“And you look really good in that shirt.” He continued.Maybe I should have had that shot. Liquid courage and all.Without a second thought, I lunged at the bottle. Grabbing it in one swift motion and taking deep gulps of the contents.He didn’t even flinch.Wow, this is strong stuff.I set it down, letting the full effects set in, it took me a minute to realize how dangerously close my chest was to his face, he glanced up at me and I jumped back.“Whoops.” I found myself giggling.Suddenly, I felt his hand against my back as he sat up, drawing closer to me.He paused, his face inches away from mine.“Feeling better?” His voice was dark and low.I nodded and leaned forward, touching my forehead to his. I felt him brush a strand of my hair away. The urge to sleep quickly dissipated as desire welled up inside me, my body feels so warm.Should we? Should I? I bit my lip.“Claire. What are we doing here?”“I dunno. What would my brother think?” I asked with a small smile.He didn’t answer, he swooped in and suddenly, his soft lips were pressed against mine.This man knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well.As soon as I felt his passionate kiss, he pulled back slightly. I gasped, coming back with him, wanting more. He smirked against my lips.“Your brother isn’t here right now.” His husky, low voice sent shivers down my spine.His hand reached over and turned the desk lamp off. His lips returning to mine, I heard him fiddling with the box on the desk before coming back and slipping one of the condoms into the front pocket of the shirt I was wearing.“Hold that for me.” He whispered between kisses.Next thing I know, he’s on top of me, pinning me beneath him. His hand slides into mine, and our fingers lace.He kisses me, even deeper now, his tongue sliding into my mouth and brushing against mine. Tastes like whiskey, but I find myself enjoying the taste more now than when I was actually drinking it.I wrap my legs around him, pinning him to me, enjoy the feeling of his muscular physique against my body.He breaks the kiss, biting my lower lip and dragging his teeth across as he does, letting out a low growl.“You make me feel alive.” He whispers to me before tracing soft kisses down my neck.I tremble only managing to softly say, “Oh God, Leon.”His teeth sink into my neck and his jaw clamps shut as he bites down, hard. Waves of stinging pain and warm pleasure course through me. I cry out, arching my back and writhing beneath him, he growls darkly again, but it quickly turns into a low moan, that’s the sexiest sound to have ever graced my ears. His hand releases mine and I wrap my arms around him, digging my nails into his back as his body grinds against mine. I ran my fingers through his soft hair, encouraging him to bite down harder. He obliged, I moan in ecstasy.His hand that was once holding mine, goes to my throat. His fingers wrapped around my neck and he squeezed.“Harder.” I gasped.He released his bite on my neck and pressed his lips to my ear.“Hey now, what’s the magic word?” He whispered breathlessly into my ear, my whole body shook.“Please...” I begged.His grip instantly became tighter.“Good girl, you know your manners.” His other hand had begun slowly unbuttoning the shirt. “That deserves a reward.” He positioned himself over me, his gaze locking with mine. God, the look he’s giving me told me all the things he wants to do to me.Then, all of a sudden, he abruptly stopped. He stopped everything. His gaze softened and he blinked a couple times. He had released his grip on my neck and propped himself over me, looking down. He closed his eyes and shook his head.“Leon. Is something wrong?” I questioned.“No…” He finally spoke. “Not like this. I can’t do this again. Not to you.”I can feel my sense coming back to me and realized the state I was in. “Ah...” Was all that came from my mouth.“Claire.” He continued. “Do you want to do this? Is this something you want to go through with?”“I mean… Maybe.” To be honest, I do. I want him to choke me while fucking me hard and deep but…. Just a few moments ago, I was clinging to him in tears, saying anything to prevent him from grabbing that gun, putting it to his head and pulling the trigger.Just a few moments ago, he was holding me and crying and now… Jesus Christ, what are we doing?It occurred to me, I still had my legs wrapped around him, I felt overwhelming shame wash over me as I released my hold on him. I believe he felt that same shame and that’s why he stopped.If it would have continued, we would have felt the both shame and guilt in the morning, perhaps even worse. We wouldn’t be able to look at each other the same way.“Maybe?” Leon shook his head. “Maybe isn’t a yes, Claire.” He lifted himself up and flopped down on his back next to me. “Besides, even if you said you wanted me to continue. I… I can’t do that to you. I don’t want you to become like Angela, or Helena, or Ada. You don’t deserve to be just another cheap thrill to me.” I turned my head to him. He was staring up at the ceiling, the anger and disappointment in his expression. It broke my heart. “Yeah, I would sometimes call them up. I don’t see Ada as often, but whenever we see each other, we always end up getting a hotel room. It was the same with Angela and Helena. We would meet up and go get a room. It was all just the same thing over and over again.” His lower lip trembled. “You’re such a good person Claire. You shouldn’t be reduced to another woman I can fuck, then want you gone the next day because I can’t handle looking at you. And they shouldn’t have been either, but they were. And I don’t want that for you.”He turned his head to me and our eyes met. “I want it to mean something you know, not feel empty and hallow, like you’re just there for me to cum in. Just to make me feel like I’m living for a few moments, a few moments of some sort of feigned happiness, that’s really just an escape. A way to cope.” He paused, gritting his teeth. “If we find ourselves in this situation again, I want it to be meaningful.” His hand overlapped mine. “I’m not even sure I know what I’m asking at this point.” I cupped his hand and our fingers laced. “Claire… I’m sorry.” His voice trembled.I smiled and shook my head. “No, I should have said something when you first kissed me, I know you would have stopped. I just think we got caught up in the moment. But it’s okay. It didn’t happen like it did with them.”“It’s because, ever since we met, you have a certain way about you, that just lights up the world. Even if the world is a hellscape where the dead are rising and trying to kill you. Even in the darkest times, you provide a warm, soft glow that makes me feel…. Happy. And I just… ” He clutched my hand. “God Claire…. Look at me. I’m pathetic.” He trembled as I watched a tear trickle down his cheek, averting his eyes away from me. I turned toward him and reached out with my free hand, placing it gently on his cheek, wiping that tear away with my thumb. His gaze came back to me, and he reached up and placed his hand over my own.“No, you’re not. You just need some help. You know that, I know that, and Chris does too. And that’s not a bad thing, especially after everything you have been through. Trust me, I had to talk to a therapist too.” I paused. “And I’m honestly flattered about what you said, about me, just now. That doesn’t sound like you see me as a friend though… That sounds like love.” Even in the dark, I can see his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “And… I think I feel the same way. Because no matter how much of a BOW slaying badass you become, I still see that sweet rookie cop, I met all those years ago, who encouraged me to never lose hope about finding my brother.” I thought for a moment. “Let’s grab a cup of coffee together, tomorrow. You and me, does that sound good to you?”Leon’s eyes sparkled and he nodded, and for the first time, in what felt like a long time, Leon actually smiled. The same way he did after we both survived what happened in Raccoon City.I smiled back at him. “Goodnight.”He closed his eyes. “Goodnight.”We both laid there in silence, listening to each other’s breathing, until we both drifted off into a deep slumber.I was brought back out of dream world by the movement next to me. I heard Leon stretch and yawn and figured he is just now waking up. I shifted as I heard him walk around the room, most likely getting dressed. I’ll just keep my eyes closed for a few moments, maybe 5 more minutes.I heard him stop at the bed and lean down. I felt his hand brush a strand of hair off my face. My eyes fluttered open and I turned to meet his gaze. His face was inches from my own. I smiled, lifted my head and gently placed my lips on his. Giving him a soft kiss.I pulled away and sighed. “So, did that feel like it meant something?”He smiled and nodded. “Good morning, Claire.”I sat up and he rose back to his feet.“So, how about we hit up the nearest coffee place?”Leon cleared his throat. “You wouldn’t happen to have a scarf would you?”He pulled out his phone and opened the front facing camera. I took one look and saw a massive, bite mark, shaped hickey. I shrugged, “And who’s fault is that?”“Yeah well.” He turned and showed me the scratches down his back.“At least those are easier to cover.” I giggled.“Okay, fine.” He turned back around. “But, seriously. Don’t tell Chris I gave you that. He’ll probably throw me in a dumpster for defiling his sister.”I laughed. “I’ll tell him I was attacked by a BOW.”“Well that’s even worse. Claire, why?” We shared a laugh until Leon’s phone buzzed.I looked at the screen, a text from Ada.‘Hey handsome. I miss tying you up and hearing you scream.’ Complete with a winky/kissy face emoji.Leon closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t do this anymore Claire, I need to tell her this needs to end.”I smiled and handed his phone back to him. “We’ll worry about that later. First coffee.”“If you ignore her she keeps texting.” He sighed.“Then let her.” I shrugged. “We can ignore it. I just want to see you happy.”“Heh.” He smiled again and shook his head. “Alright so, I know of a good place, just down the street.”