Chapter Text
September 30th, 1998
Leon, Claire, and Sherry had been walking along the highway for quite some time now, and Sherry was starting to grow tired.
“I’m not sure if I can walk much longer…” Sherry stated.
“Here, Sherry.” Leon said, before proceeding to pick Sherry up and placed her on his shoulders, which Sherry thanked him for before leaning her head against his shoulder. Claire noticed a wince that Leon gave when he did that. “Leon, are you okay?” Claire asked in a concerned tone.
Leon softened his face and put a smile back on.
“Never better. Just a little tired from the last several hours.”
Claire kept looking at him for a few moments in doubt, but eventually relented.
“Should we just diverge from this highway and go in another direction? It doesn’t seem like there’s anything along this road…”
“If I remember my map correctly, there should be a motel coming up soon.” Leon replied.
“You had a map of Raccoon City and its surrounding areas? And memorized it?” Claire questioned in surprise.
“Sure did. Before I arrived on my first day for… this… I got a map to scope everything out and make myself familiar with the area. You know, to see which areas might need help or to see which ones were vulnerable from any criminal gangs.”
Claire looked at him in astonishment before chuckling. “You really are such a boyscout,” she teased, “but it also shows that you care, and I like that about you. Can’t say the same for some other police officers..” She stated, thinking back on her encounter with the police chief.
“Thanks, Claire.”
Claire later looked at Leon and couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
There he was, with Sherry on his back soundly sleeping.
‘No wonder Sherry wants him to adopt her.’ She thought.
Claire then examined Leon’s face, and she had to admit, Leon was really hot. From the moment she met him, she always found him attractive, but with all the zombies around them, and the constant danger they faced in the last several hours, she didn’t have the opportunity to properly admire him. Now that she did have the opportunity, she took full advantage of it. His hair glowed in the sunlight, and it looked golden, which matched his heart. He had saved her multiple times, and now is carrying a 12 year old girl on his back while clearly very tired. His face was soft but still masculine. And that jawline… Claire had never seen a better looking jawline. She then lowered her eyes to his body. While the uniform covered most of his body(unfortunately), she was still able to deduce that he was a very fit young man. His bare arm on his left side showed some of the lean muscle he had, and the veins on his forearm were tempting her to reach out her hand and touch them. Claire was barely able to resist.
However, the bandages on his arm took her out of her trance, and before she could think much of it, she noticed he was turning his head in her direction. She quickly averted his gaze and chastised herself for ogling him.
Leon looked over at Claire, noticing that she had averted his gaze away from his pretty quickly, which confused him, but as he looked at Claire, he also couldn’t help but admire her beauty. From the moment he met her, Leon found Claire incredibly attractive, but circumstances then didn’t allow him to really think in that. Now that they were seemingly in the clear, Leon took the chance to look her over. Her hair was beautiful, and the color was a mix of brunette and auburn, which fascinated him. He looked at her face, and admired how soft and creamy her skin looked. Her neck also looked soft. He then lowered his gaze to her upper body, and admired her slender but fit arms which were fully revealed in that black tank top she was currently wearing. He then took a guilty glance over at her breasts, noticing that they were pretty supple, but then immediately averted his gaze and chastised himself for staring.
‘Idiot! We just survived a zombie apocalypse and the first thing you’re doing is ogling a woman you met less than 24 hours ago? I hope she didn’t notice and thinks I’m a creep…’
Unbeknownst to him, she did notice him starting at her, but she surprisingly felt… flattered. It was good to know the attraction was mutual, and she liked that a man as attractive as him apparently found her attractive as well.
A few minutes later, Leon noticed a building in the distance.
“Look! That must be the motel!” He said as he pointed in that direction.
Claire looked where he pointed at, and sure enough, it looked what appeared to be a motel. She then decided to wake up Sherry to inform her.
“Hey Sherry.” Claire nudged her shoulder. Sherry woke up, and Claire continued, “We found a motel. We’ll all be able to get some rest!”
“Really? That’s great, Claire!”
“Yup, and it’s all thanks to Leon over here! He had a map of Raccoon City and remembered that there was a motel around here.”
“Wow! That’s amazing! You’re awesome Leon!” Sherry remarked.
“He sure is.” Claire added, while softy smiling at Leon, making him blush in return.
As they approached the motel, they were a bit apprehensive, considering Raccoon City still wasn’t that far away. But as they entered the motel and saw a person, a live one, at the front desk, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The trio reached the front desk, where they saw a middle aged man. He appeared to be bored, which made sense since the motel was in the middle of nowhere. Leon did notice a couple cars outside, so there probably were a couple people inside the motel. The man then greeted them.
“Welcome to the-“ The man must’ve immediately noticed the stench in the three of them, because he reached for a tissue and covered his nose with it. “Welcome to the motel, can I help you kids with something?”
“Yes, sir, we’d like to book two rooms, each with a bath, if possible.” Leon stated.
“That seems like a good idea.” The man remarked, “but unfortunately, we only have one room available. It has two beds, and it has a bath that will probably need maintenance once you guys are done with it.”
Leon looked over at Claire regarding the one room situation. He knows that they have no choice but to stay in one room together, but he wants to make sure Claire is okay with that first. Claire nodded at him, and he told the man that he was fine with the one room. Claire then got out her wallet to pay, but Leon stopped her and insisted that he pay. Claire reluctantly agreed. They were handed keys to their room, until Leon remarked that if they were going to shower, they needed new clothes. Fortunately, the motel had a gift shop, and the trio got clothes for themselves. As they approached their room, Claire noticed snacks on vending machines.
“Look, there’s snacks over there. I bet we’re all craving some much needed food after that long walk huh?”
“Absolutely Claire!” Sherry beamed.
“You’re darn right Claire.” Leon agreed
As Leon began to take out his wallet once again, Claire stopped him.
“There’s no way I’m letting you pay again.”
“It’s no big deal Claire. I can-“
“You already paid for our room and the clothes from the gift shop. Just let me pay for these snacks alright?”
Leon sighed before conceding.
“Alright.”
As Claire got all the snacks she could get, which included chips, chocolate bars, water bottles, she also noticed a bag of pop tarts.
“There’s also a box of pop tarts here. One is Cookies and Creme and the other is Fudge Sundae. Which flavor do you guys want?”
“I like Cookies and Crème” Leon replied.
“I like Fudge Sundae!” Sherry stated.
“Fudge Sundae it is then!” Claire remarked.
Claire noticed the disappointed look Leon had, and made a teasing remark, “Sorry Leon, girls rule, boys drool.”
“Yeah!” Sherry agreed.
“Of course.” Leon chuckled.
Once they got all their snacks, they immediately began drinking their water bottles, as well as eating some of the snacks. They all made a noise of relief as they enjoyed the first meals they have had in almost 24 hours. The trio made sure to not eat too much though, as they knew this motel was a temporary stop.
Once they finished eating, they finally headed towards their room. When they reached the door, Leon and Claire became a little tense, still a bit shaken from all the zombies and creatures they came across recently. Leon and Claire told Sherry to stay back, looked at each other, before nodding and opening the room to scan it. Once the coast was clear, they breathed a sigh of relief and told Sherry to come in. As she walked in, Claire sarcastically remarked, “Home sweet home!”
Sherry, eager to relieve her legs from their soreness, flopped on the bed to rest.
“Hey! No getting on the bed until you’re cleaned up, little miss!” Claire said with her hands on her hips.
“Yes ma’am.” Sherry said with a groan.
Leon was amused by the sight, and his thoughts wondered. ‘ Claire is acting like a mom to Sherry right now. I guess it makes sense that Sherry wants Claire to adopt her.’
“Hey Leon, what are those bandages on your shoulder?” Sherry asked.
Leon, taken aback by her question, came up with a quick way to lie.
“Uh… well unfortunately while I was down at the lab, some random scientist mistakingly thought I was infected and he shot me in the shoulder. It’s barely a flesh wound; it’s no big deal.”
“Oh. I’m sorry about that Leon.” Sherry replied.
Leon turned his gaze to Claire, who had a questioning look in her eye, as if she knew there was more to his answer. However, she did not ask any questions.
“Sherry, you shower first, so you can have your much needed rest as soon as possible.” Leon stated.
“Alright. Thanks Leon.”
As Sherry entered the bathroom and closed it, Leon and Claire remained alone in the room.
“So how are you holding up?” Claire asked Leon.
“Oh, you know, just… surviving.” Leon said with a soft smile.
Claire smiled back, understanding the reference.
“I can’t believe we just survived that. Many times… I thought I was going to die.”
“Me too. I never would’ve expected to be able to get through all that on my first day, yet I somehow did. But you did promise that we’d both get though this didn’t you?”
Claire gave a weak smile. “I did. And I’m so glad we made it Leon. I’m so glad you made it. When the lab was collapsing, I… I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”
“I was worried for you too Claire. I didn’t want to lose another person I cared about.”
Claire’s heart warmed when he considered her someone he cared about, but she also noticed that he mentioned what appeared to be another survivor.
“There was another survivor?”
“Just a couple. Especially one… but none of them made it.” Leon said as he looked down and his hair covered his face, before continuing, “You know, it’s kind of ironic. I’m supposed to be a police officer, save those in need and everything, and yet, everyone I came across died or turned into one of them. Some police officer I am.”
Claire reached over and grabbed his hand.
“It wasn’t your fault Leon. It was a miracle anyone even survived. I don’t think any police officer, or anyone for that matter, would’ve been able to save everyone in Raccoon City. You did the best you could.” Claire said as she soothingly rubbed his hand, before continuing, “And you’re wrong. Not everyone you came across died. You saved me Leon. And you saved Sherry. I won’t ever be able to repay you for that. You’re a good person Leon. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.” Claire said as she grabbed his chin and made him look back up at her.
The intimate touch pulled at Leon’s heartstrings, and her words relieved the guilt he was feeling. Not completely, but it helped.
“Thank you, Claire. Thank you so much.”
“Anytime rookie.”
“Rookie? Is that what you’re calling me now?” Leon said with a small chuckle.
“Maybe. What are you going to about it, officer?” Claire said sarcastically.
“I”ll give you a warning for now, Miss Redfield.” The two then shared a small laugh.
“Looks like you’ll need that shoulder fixed.” Claire said, looking over at his bandage-covered shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ll try to fix it when I shower after you.”
“I think you’re going to need some help with that Leon. I can’t imagine fixing that with one arm. And I think you should get yourself cleaned up before me.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind bathing in colder water…”
“I’m sure. Besides, Sherry is probably going to need some help drying her hair or getting ready to go to sleep. I need to be there for her. You go first, Leon.”
“But-“
“No if’s and’s or but’s, you understand?”
“Yes ma’am.”
As Sherry came out of the door, she gave a loud sigh of relief.
“It feels so good to be clean again.”
“I bet it does, Sherry.” Claire replied.
“Claire, can you help dry my hair? I usually know how to, but with how dirty it was, I want to make sure everything is fine with it.”
“Of course, Sherry.”
“Looks like you’re up next Rookie. Let me know if you need help with the shoulder.”
“Okay, I’ll leave the door slightly open so I can call you if I need anything.” Leon said as he entered the bathroom.
Claire froze as he said that.
‘He.. He’s going to leave the door slightly open while he… showers ? I don’t mind that…Stop it, Claire. You’re overthinking it. He’s only doing that because you offered to help him fix his shoulder.’
“Should we get started Claire?” Sherry asked, bringing Claire out of her thoughts.
Claire began to dry Sherry’s hair, and then Sherry spoke up.
“Thank you so much, Claire.”
Claire, confused, asked, “Huh? What for?”
“When we were in the elevator underground, you told me to save my thanks until we got out of there. Well, now that we’ve been out of there for a while, I noticed that I haven’t thanked you yet. So… thank you for being so nice to me… for helping me.”
“Oh Sherry… there’s no need to thank me. I just did what any human being should’ve done in that situation. And you should be proud of yourself, Sherry. You’re so strong.”
“I’m strong? But you’re the one who took down all those zombies…”
“Strength isn’t just physical, Sherry, it’s also mental. Even when you were on the verge of death, you never panicked. I’m so proud of you, Sherry. And I’m sure your parents would say the same if they were here.”
Sherry was on the brink of tears, before proceeding to thank Claire again with a hug. Claire, initially taken aback by the affection, hugged her back just as affectionately. Claire took full advantage of the moment. Ever since her parents died around the time she was around Sherry’s age, she wasn’t used to having much physical affection, so moments like these reminded her of the way her parents used to hug her. Not to mention this hug felt special because she saw a lot of herself in Sherry.
‘Perhaps that’s why our bond is so strong’ Claire thought
She knows what it’s like to lose your parents at such a young age, and she wants to do everything in her power to make sure Sherry is able to get through her tragic loss in the best way possible.
‘Hang in there Sherry, I- Leon and I, will do everything in our power to give you the love and care you have always wanted in your life. I promise you, we won’t let you down.’
Once the two separated, she decided it was time for Sherry to go to bed.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Claire began tucking Sherry into bed, hoping that the poor girl would be able to get a good night’s rest.
Leon had looked at himself in the mirror for what seemed like hours now. He couldn’t recognize the man in the reflection. His face was covered in bruises, dirt, and who knows what else, and his eyes seemed darker and more lifeless than he had ever seen them.
Taking out his badge and looking at the young man in it, the difference was night and day. The Leon that was on the badge had a big smile on his face, and had that innocent look in his eyes that had become stripped from him in the last 24 hours. If only that Leon knew what would await him in his first day… The badge meant nothing now. It belongs in a mausoleum. For all he cares, it died along with Raccoon City.
Not to mention the voices he kept hearing… of Marvin, of the gunshop owner and his poor daughter, and of… Ada. He remembered each of their last words to him, and it sounded like he was back in Raccoon City, watching them die.
‘Save yourself. It’s too late, Leon. I tried, but I couldn’t stop it. It’s on you now.’
‘Just go… Just give us some privacy.’
‘Take care of yourself, Leon.’
Leons breathing began picking up, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t stop the voices.
‘I won’t let you down Marvin’ Those words haunted Leon. He had promised Marvin that he wouldn’t let him down, but it seems he did.
‘You’re a cop! You’re supposed to know something! How did this happen?!’
Leon closed his eyes shut to try to shut out the voices, only to be back in the police station. In the West Office. Leon saw the sign that said ‘Welcome Leon.’ What would’ve been his fellow police partners made that sign for him. They even had a fun game made for him to unlock his desk.
‘And I repaid them by blowing their brains out.’ Leon thought darkly. Every zombie he had killed was a human being, they were people. Each of them had families. He had no choice, but it still hurt like hell.
Leon shook his head before he got any worse, and opened his eyes to see that same reflection of himself staring back at him. In the corner of the mirror, he swore he saw a woman in a red dress.
‘Ada?!’
He turned around only to find no-one there. Leon knew he was beginning to go crazy, and he closed his eyes again to try to regain some focus. All he wanted to do was be back at home, oblivious to the idea of zombies, monsters, and experiments. Looking forward to being the best cop he can possibly be in order to prevent people from suffering similar tragedies he had suffered as a child. But Leon knew that day would never come again. What happened in Raccoon City changed him forever, and it seemed that all of it was for the worse. What purpose did he have left in life now? For years, his only purpose was to become a police officer and be there for people the same way that police officer had saved his life all those years ago. But Leon realized, he is not like the officer that saved him all those years ago. Unlike him, Leon didn’t save anyone…
‘You saved me Leon. And you saved Sherry. I won’t ever be able to repay you for that. You’re a good person Leon. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.’
Claire’s words echoed in his head again, and it opened his eyes, both figuratively and literally. He still had Claire and Sherry. The only other survivors of the hellhole he had escaped. He took a peek through the small opening of the bathroom door, and saw a sight that completely warmed his heart.
There, the two girls were, embraced in a tight hug, and in that moment, Leon realized… maybe he does have a purpose in life left. Maybe… despite all the terrible things Raccoon City brought him, it also brought him something special. While he may never have another chance to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer, he does have this chance of starting a second chapter with Claire and Sherry. And he is not going to waste it.
‘Claire, Sherry, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe. I promise. ’
Notes:
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As always, kudos are appreciated. If you have any feedback or criticism, you’re more than welcome to let me know in the comments. Like I said, I plan on releasing a new chapter every 3-4 days, so be on the lookout.
Chapter 2
Summary:
Claire begins worrying about why Leon hasn’t begun showering yet, fearing the worst. But it turns out, she had nothing to fear.
As Leon finishes showering, he calls Claire for help in treating his wound. While Claire treats his wound, the two bond and become vulnerable with each other, while also building sexual tension that becomes unresolved.
Notes:
Hey guys! Here’s chapter 2. It was originally going to be longer, but I cut it due to the fact it was probably going to drag on for too long, and the part I cut was just such a rapid tonal shift compared to the rest of the chapter. Good news is that it means you guys are going to get Chapter 3 tomorrow!
Anyways, here’s Chapter 2. The beginning part is a bit spicy, but it has nothing to do with smut whatsoever. It’s just Claire admiring Leon a bit too much lol. This chapter has plenty of fluff and hurt/comfort, so I hope you guys enjoy it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As Claire tucked Sherry into bed and fell asleep, she noticed that Leon had not turned on the shower the whole time she had been drying Sherry’s hair. Claire, confused and worried, thought of what do next.
‘He still hasn’t showered. It’s already been several minutes since he entered the bathroom… I need to make sure he’s okay.’
As she approached the bathroom door, a dreadful thought overtook her mind which made her freeze.
‘Did… Leon get infected and he’s just now turning? Is that why he still hasn’t showered?’
Claire refused to believe that. There is no way that was a possibility. Leon never mentioned getting bit. Unless the disease also spread through wounds? Especially ones as deep as bullet wounds…
‘No no… NO! Leon is NOT infected! And if… if- if he is, I… I won’t kill him! I can’t! He’s… He’s too good of a human being. He’s been so good to me. To Sherry.’
‘It’s what he’d want.’ A part of her thought. While Claire didn’t deny that, she refused to jump to any conclusions until she saw his state for herself.
She took a big gulp and approached the door. Before taking a look through the small opening, she closed her eyes and pleaded that he was okay.
‘Please Leon, please… please be okay.’
She had her eyes closed for a moment more, before opening them and taking a look through the small opening.
What she saw was probably the biggest relief she had felt in the last 24 hours, which is saying a lot. There, Leon was, alive and well, reaching over to turn on the shower. Claire let out a deep sigh of relief, and smiled widely.
‘Thank God he’s okay. Sure damn took him a long time to start showering though!’
Just as Claire was going to tease him on how he barely decided to begin showering, she became immediately tense and her breath caught in her throat. Leon had just begun taking his clothes off. Leon. was. undressing. right. in. front. of. her. First, he took his body armor, gloves, and knee pads off. Then came his holster and belt. As he began unbuttoning his police uniform shirt, Claire contemplated on what to do next.
‘What the hell am I doing? I’m peeking like a pervert! I should let him undress in peace and respect his privacy…’
‘Well… someone needs to look out for him while he’s injured right? What if.. while undressing… he falls and I’m not there to catch him? Yeah! After all, it was his idea to leave a small opening in the door so you can check on him. Okay Claire, you’re only peeking because you want to make sure he’s okay. Nothing more, nothing less.’
As Leon took off his shirt, revealing his upper body, Claire doubted that she was only peeking to make sure he was okay. She unashamedly began checking out his upper body, admiring his lean muscles. The uniform had hidden quite a bit of his muscle, so it was nice for Claire to see what he was really hiding underneath that fancy uniform of his. His biceps were defined, his forearms had veins she wanted to touch so badly, and his chest was broad and was the kind of chest she’d like to lean her head against. As Leon began unbuttoning his uniform pants, Claire’s heart stopped.
‘He’s taking off his pants! Claire, get your head out of your ass and back away from the door!’
‘Actually… what if he’s injured from the legs as well and he’s trying to hide it from me? I have to make sure his lower body is okay as well, or he’s going to collapse on the way to our next stop! And… I’ve been wondering what he’s been hiding underneath those fancy pockets…’
Leon lowered his pants, revealing navy blue boxer briefs.
‘Fuck’ Claire thought. Boxer briefs were one of her biggest weaknesses, and now that she knew that an attractive man as Leon was wearing them underneath his uniform, it made it all the better. As Leon stepped out of his pants, Claire nearly fainted. There, Leon was, naked save for the boxer briefs he was wearing. She began ogling his bare legs, admiring the view of his leg muscles… and to make sure his legs didn’t have any major wounds on them of course. She had never seen a more beautiful sight than the one she was presented with, and she was convinced Leon was the most handsome man in the world. As he turned around, Claire also noticed that he had a nice ass. It didn’t help that those boxer briefs he was wearing were tight and accentuated it. As he began putting his hands on the waistband of his underwear to lower them, only then did Claire finally get her head out of her ass and she pulled herself away from the door and immediately began working on catching her breath.
‘What have I done?’ Claire thought. She watched Leon undress. She saw Leon in his underwear. It was an amazing sight, don’t get her wrong, but she should know better. She immediately began chastising herself.
‘You pervert! You almost watched him undress down to nothing because you couldn’t control yourself! Oh my gosh… I’m a creep. I’m no better than a horny teenage girl’ Claire didn’t realize that she technically still was a teenage girl, at least for a few more months.
Claire shook her head and stood there with her arms crossed, finding things in the room, anything, to distract her from the shame she felt.
As Leon entered the shower and warm water began pouring over him, he took a deep sigh of relief. It felt good to be wet with something that wasn’t blood or whatever the hell was in those sewers down there. He took the bar of soap and began scrubbing all over his body. Especially his shoulder. The bandages Ada had put on him were already getting old, so he needed to change them as soon as possible before the wound gets infected. It’s a good thing he also got a first aid kit from the gift shop.
Leon did not want to take too long showering though. He wanted to still leave Claire plenty of hot water when she began showering; that’s the least she deserved. As Leon finished showering, he wrapped a towel around his waist, and began to work on treating his shoulder. However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t do it himself.
Claire had heard the shower head turn off, so she assumed Leon was done showering. A couple minutes later, she swore he heard Leon make a couple annoyed noises, so she put her head closer to the door.
“Shit!” She heard Leon loudly whisper.
“Leon?” Claire asked as she lightly knocked on the door.
“Do you need any help in there?”
“I think I got it, I just need to- ah damn it!”
“It sounds like you need help, Leon.”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes, please.”
As Claire walked in, she saw Leon with a towel wrapped around his waist, which would’ve caught her attention if it wasn’t for the giant, nasty wound on his left shoulder.
“Jesus Christ Leon, that does not look like a flesh wound to me.”
“Yeah… I just- I didn’t want you guys to worry.”
“Well now you’ve made me even more worried.”
“I know… I’m sorry.”
“Look, just sit on the toilet and let me take care of it. Wouldn’t want to go through all that just to die by sepsis right?”
“Hehe… right.”
Leon sat on the toilet, as Claire began getting everything ready. Once that was done, she approached Leon and carefully examined his wound.
“Although it looks nasty, it doesn’t like it’s infected. The wound isn’t too red, and it doesn’t look swollen. Which surprises me considering you were down in the sewers.”
“I guess I’m a lucky guy.”
“You told us that you got this wound because you got shot by a scientist that mistakingly thought you were a zombie… but that’s not the whole story, is it?”
Leon looked at Claire and sighed. Sherry wasn’t around right now so he supposed he can tell Claire the whole story.
“No, it’s not the whole story. I was with a survivor I encountered in the parking lot. A woman. Her name was Ada. At first, I thought she was an FBI agent.”
This was Claire’s first story of another survivor other than themselves, so she listened intently.
“When we were down there, Annette found us and she tried to shoot Ada. I jumped in front of her and took the bullet. Annette was suspicious of Ada because she thought she was a fake FBI agent who was trying to steal a virus and sell it to the highest bidder. At first, I didn’t believe her because I trusted Ada, I really did, but it turned out to be true. But yeah, that’s how I got this bullet wound.”
Claire pondered his words for a moment.
‘Seems like Leon really trusted this Ada… How did Leon find out that she was lying?’
“And… what happened to Ada?”
She noticed Leon become tense, and then she remembered what Leon had told her earlier in the day, which is that everyone he came across died. Claire immediately began regretting pressing more on the issue.
“I’m sorry Leon. I shouldn’t have asked that. If you don’t want to answer that, it’s fi-“
“No no it’s okay. I feel more than comfortable enough with you that I can share it.”
Claire’s heart fluttered at that statement, happy to know she had a positive effect on him in his time of hardship.
“I came across Anette again, and she told me of who Ada truly was. I couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t. Ada had saved my life, multiple times. Her story seemed plausible, and there was no reason for her to lie, especially in a situation as serious as the one we were in in Raccoon City.” Leon said, before continuing.
“But I was blinded by my feelings. Ada… had used… clever tactics to manipulate me into trusting her.” Claire’s eyebrows slightly raised at that, and she didn’t need to guess what he meant by that. She couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy, even though her and Leon were just friends… right? Claire mentally shook her head and continued listening to Leon.
“But the way Annette had described who Ada was and what she was going to do, and in detail… it didn’t seem like she was lying. I still didn’t fully believe her, but I knew I had to confront Ada about this.”
Claire didn’t want to think about what happened next. If her gut is right and Ada didn’t survive, did Leon have to… kill her? That’s not something Leon would do, at least based on Claire’s experience with him. Nevertheless, she waited to hear the full story before jumping to any conclusions.
“So I confronted Ada. As soon as I brought up what Annette said about her, she drew her gun on me. That.. was all I needed to know to confirm that Anette was telling the truth. I drew my gun as well, and she ordered me to hand over the virus sample. I… listen, Claire, what I did next might sound dumb and extremely naive to you, but I dropped my gun and asked her to shoot me if she really wanted to get the sample.”
Claire’s eyes widened and she gave a disappointing look towards Leon, but said nothing.
‘What happened next though? I assume Ada took the shot, but Leon is alive, so…..’
“And it turns out, she didn’t take the shot. She dropped her gun, but as soon as that happened, Annette came from behind and shot Ada in the shoulder. We were both on a bridge, and right when Ada got shot, the whole underground laboratory began falling apart so the bridge started collapsing. She then…” Leon paused to calm down his breathing as it started picking up. Claire responded by placing a hand on his good shoulder. Leon became comforted by the contact, and after a minute of trying to calm down, he continued.
“She then fell. But I caught her. However, the bridge continued collapsing further and further. I swear Claire, I did used all my strength to try to pick her up, but each time the bridge further collapsed, my grip on her loosened. Eventually, it loosened to the point that I lost my grip and she…” Leon said as he paused once again.
“She fell to her death. And the sample along with her. The last thing she told me was to take care of myself…”
Claire immediately began sympathizing with Leon. She can’t imagine how he felt being betrayed by someone he deeply trusted, and then watching her die as he tried and failed to save her. The fact that Leon tried everything in his power to save someone who betrayed him in the worst possible way only showed just how much of a good person he was, and Claire was just astonished by how much her admiration for Leon went up each time she talked to him.
“Even though Ada didn’t seem to be working for good people, I still don’t think she was a bad person. She could’ve killed me, but she didn’t. I don’t know Claire, I really don’t. Not that it matters now though, she’s dead.” Leon finished, as his eyes began to start slightly watering.
Claire immediately began comforting him. Leon had gone though so much, and a good person such as him didn’t deserve to face all that suffering alone. She cupped his cheek, which caused Leon’s eyes to widen.
“I’m so sorry that happened Leon. You didn’t deserve any of that. If you ever need to talk about it more, or if you need to talk about anything, just know that I’ll be here for you, okay?”
Leon’s hand grabbed Claire’s hand that was cupping his cheek, and he smiled. Probably the most genuine smile she had ever seen, and Claire couldn’t help but find it extremely adorable.
“Thank you, Claire. You’re the best.”
“I’m the best? Without you, I would’ve been eaten by that zombie at the gas station, and I’d still be walking in the middle of nowhere.”
“And without you, I’d still be stuck in the underground laboratory. And… I’d probably be wallowing in self-pity way more than I am right now…” Leon said.
“Well.. let’s just say we’ve both done a lot for each other and have saved each other’s asses. Deal?” Claire said as she held out her hand.
“Deal.” Leon said as he shook her hand.
Claire got the anti-septic, poured it liberally onto the hand cloth, and began positioning it over Leon’s wound.
“This might sting a little…” she warned.
Claire applied the anti-septic on the wound, and Leon immediately winced and made a groan of pain.
“I’m sorry. Do you want me to stop for a bit?”
“More like that’ll sting a lot… But yeah, I’m good. Keep going.”
“Ok…” Claire said as she continued applying the anti-septic over the wound. Once it was sufficiently clean and disinfected, her hand trailed away from his shoulder, tracing the cloth over the shadows of his collarbone, then further down. Down onto his chest, and then she took a sneak peek down towards his abs, while still holding the cloth against his chest. Leon’s abs were a thing of beauty, and she licked her lips at the sight. Then, she took a guilty glance even lower towards his navel, tracing it with her eyes until it reached the edge of his towel. That v-line of his was so hot, and she wished he didn’t have the towel on so she could see the full extent of the line. And… to see something else.
Claire mentally cleared her head, and looked back at Leon, who was looking right back at her with a curious look in his eye.
With how close Claire was, Leon could admire her beautiful face.
‘She might just be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Those blue eyes of hers are just so… nice. And those lips…’ Leon thought as his eyes lowered to her lips, while the two remained looking at each other intently. ‘Her lips look so soft. Christ, she really is such a beautiful woman…’
‘She was checking me out. Does that mean the attraction is mutual? Is she actually into me? No, you’re overthinking it Leon.’
Claire broke the silence by informing Leon that she was finished applying the anti-septic. Leon was brought out of his trance, and let out a sigh of relief. As Claire went to get the new bandages from the first aid kit, the only thing her kind can think of was the awkward tension that arose between them, and had arisen between them ever since they escaped Raccoon City.
‘He was clearly checking me out. His gaze even lowered to my lips… Is the interest mutual? No no Claire. This is just trauma bonding that’s going on between the two of us.’ Claire heavily doubted the last part, but she didn’t want to think on it any longer, so she went back to Leon and began reapplying the new bandage. They still remained silent the whole time. Claire could see in the corner of her eye that Leon was looking at her intently, but Claire didn’t mind.
She finished applying the bandage, and she might’ve let her hand rub along his shoulder and chest for a little too long; definitely more than what was necessary.
“Thank you, Claire. I really appreciate what you just did for me.”
“There’s no need to thank me Leon. It was my pleasure.”
Leon smiled at her, before noticing a wound on her lip.
“Jesus Christ, Claire, what happened to your lip?” Leon said as he reached over and rubbed the wound on her lip with his fingers. As soon as he did that, Claire jumped at the intimate contact, and Leon immediately pulled his hand back like if it had been accidentally placed on a stove.
“I’m so sorry Claire. I- I don’t know that I was thinking. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have touched you there without your consent, and I’m really sorry…”
‘Crap! He probably feels really guilty right now… I need to reassure him that it’s alright.’
“No worries Leon. It’s no big deal.” She said as she placed a hand on his thigh. Now Leon was the one that kind of jumped at the contact, and Claire pulled her hand away immediately.
“Woah. S-sorry about that. It was an accident. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah don’t sweat it.” Leon responded.
The two looked at each other before letting out a laugh at how awkward the situation was.
“I guess we can’t keep our hands to ourselves huh?” Leon stated.
“I guess so. For somehow making it through certain death and figuring out puzzles, we sure are being really clumsy right now.” Claire responded. Leon gave a small chuckle at that.
“Anyways, I got this wound in my lip from the police chief.”
Leon’s eyes widened. “Chief Irons? Why would he do that to you?” He asked, confused as to why the police chief would ever harm an innocent young woman when the city is being overrun by the living dead.
“That’s what I thought too. I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I found out that’s he’s a complete asshole. He pointed a gun at me and threatened to kill me if I didn’t follow his orders.”
“What the fuck? That is no way a police chief, let alone a police officer, should act.”
Claire nodded her head in agreement, before continuing. “He made Sherry tie my my hands behind my back, and then whacked my face with his gun, which is how I got this wound on my lip.” Claire finished as she pointed to the wound on her lip.
“That pig probably thought a young girl like myself wouldn’t be able to escape, but my brother taught me well. I noticed a shard of glass on the floor and then positioned myself so that I can break my hands free.”
“Damn, that’s impressive Claire. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get out of that situation.” Leon said, looking at her in astonishment.
“I’m sure you would’ve been able to get out of that situation, Leon. You’re a smart guy.”
“Thanks, Claire.” Leon said
“Alright well, I’ll leave you to your shower. I made sure to not take too long showering, so that you could still have plenty of hot water yourself. You deserve it more than anybody.”
“Leon, you didn’t have to do that… but thanks. That’s really sweet of you.” That last sentence made Leon blush, and he proceeded to leave the bathroom and close the door behind him.
Claire took a look at herself in the mirror, and couldn’t recognize herself. The 19 year old girl that was there barely 24 hours ago seemed to have been replaced by this bloody, dirty, and hardened woman who went through hell. But despite this, she could still see herself underneath all the blood and grime. She was still Claire Redfield, the 19 year old college girl. But she’s not sure if she’ll ever go back to college with how life-changing this event was for her. Umbrella is likely sending agents to search for any survivors, and if they found out she was one of the survivors, she might have to be on the run for the rest of her life.
Claire’s fists clenched at the thought of always being on the run. She wanted to provide security towards Sherry, who seemed to have been deprived of that her entire childhood.
Claire shook her head and decided to think positive, instead of being negative and pessimistic. She already had expected enough depressing moments enough in the last 24 hours, and she did not need to engage in more of that.
Claire turned on the shower and got ready to finally rid herself of the stench. Claire took off her black tank top, before removing her gray undershirt underneath. She winced at how sticky both pieces of clothing were, no doubt due to all the blood, sewage, and God knows what else that was on them. She then proceeded to take off her belt and gun holster, before unbuttoning her jeans and removing them, stepping out of them and kicking them to the side with her feet. Once her bra and underwear were gone, she stepped into the shower, and let out a groan of satisfaction at the hot water that poured down her body. The feeling of all the disgusting things leaving her body, as well as her hair becoming less sticky, made Claire feel like she was in paradise. The hot water surprisingly lasted for nearly the whole time she showered, which was shocking considering two people had showered before her. Leon must’ve really gone the distance to ensure Claire lots of time soaking in the hot water.
‘That boy is something else.’ Claire thought as she smiled.
Claire finished showering, and put on fresh clothes, which consisted of a red t shirt and dark grey sweatpants. They felt so nice and refreshing for her after being stuck in dirty clothes for the whole day.
As Claire stepped out of the bathroom, she found Leon laying down in his bed, dressed in a blue t shirt and gray sweatpants, and he looked to be reading a comic book that was in the motel room.
Leon noticed that Claire had come out of the bathroom, and as he was about to greet her, he was struck by the sight of Claire with her hair down. The sight of Claire with her hair down mesmerized him, and it was like he was seeing an angel. The wet hair only helped to make her all the more attractive.
“What?” Claire said, as she brought him out of his trance.
“Huh? Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just that… You- You look really pretty with your hair down.” Leon said as he blushed.
Claire in turn also blushed at his compliment.
“Thank you.” Claire said.
She noticed that he was still awake.
“Why haven’t you gone to sleep?” Claire asked.
“Just wanted to make sure you’d be alright before heading to bed.”
“I only took a shower, Leon.” Claire said as she chuckled. “I’m not going to die in there.”
“I know that. I just wanted to make sure, that’s all.”
Claire’s heart fluttered at that statement. How many times had he made her heart flutter in the past 24 hours?
“Well I appreciate that, Leon. Should we head to bed now?”
Leon agreed and the two went to their respective beds. Claire laid down next to Sherry, and Leon laid down in his own bed.
“Good night, Claire.” Claire heard Leon whisper.
“G’night, Leon.”
About an hour had passed and the two found out that they just couldn’t sleep. Claire couldn’t fall asleep at all, still wondering whether the note that her brother left was truly his, and she grew tense with the fear that Umbrella agents would show up at their door at any moment. Leon had nearly reached the point of sleep, but each time he was startled by visions of Raccoon City.
Eventually, he did fall asleep, but what happened next…
To be continued.
Notes:
Hope you guys enjoyed it!
Just out of curiosity, is the chapter length fine with you guys? Is it too long? Too short? Please let me know in the comments if you can since I’m a bit conflicted about the chapter length.
Like I said, Chapter 3 is coming tomorrow, so get ready for that. It’s going to be a pretty mind-boggling chapter, that’s all I’m going to say hehe.
Chapter 3: Cure for Nightmares
Summary:
Leon suffers a horrific nightmare of Raccoon City, and nearly loses himself in the process. Luckily, Claire is there to save him.
The two then share an emotional moment of vulnerability and comfort, before taking their bond to the next level.
Notes:
As promised, here’s Chapter 3. I’m going to add a trigger warning at the end of the note, because the nightmare section of this chapter is pretty disturbing. I even got a bit scared while writing it and reading it over…
But I hope you guys like the part after the nightmare. For those of you that enjoy hurt/comfort, vulnerability, and wholesomeness, I think you’ll really like it ;)
T/W: Severe PTSD-induced nightmare sequence. Descriptions of anxiety attacks, as well as descriptions of graphic and disturbing events.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Leon had finally fallen asleep, only to be back at Raccoon City.
He was in the main hall, and he was wearing his police uniform. What immediately came to his attention was that the main hall was surprisingly.. clean? It did not look the way he remembered it.
Not to mention… the main hall was filled with people…
Actual, living people.
Leon observed as officers had drinks, worked on the computers, and came in and out of the doors around the hall.
A few cops greeted him as they saw him.
“Oh look, it’s the rookie.”
“Good evening, rookie. Late start, huh?”
“Did you come out of middle school with that hair, kid?”
“That must be the new kid in town.”
Leon swore he recognized some of the people that were talking to him right now. And then he realized… some of these people were ones he had killed… as zombies…
‘What the hell?’ Leon thought as he became bewildered by the situation.
This… This wasn’t how he remembered the Main Hall. He wishes it was how he remembered it, he really does. There’s nothing more he would’ve liked than to arrive at Raccoon City and be greeted by officers teasing him, rather than having those same officers trying to eat him.
“Rookie, over here!” Leon was taken out of his thoughts by a voice. He recognized that voice.
It sounded like… Marvin.
He followed where the voice came from and sure enough, Marvin was there, sitting down in a chair facing him. Leon noticed that Marvin looked to be in perfect condition. He had no wound on his abdomen, which was strange…
“Marvin? I thought- I thought you were-“
“That’s Lieutenant for you, rookie. I got something to show you. It’s something every officer must know on their first day. Come over here.”
Leon walked over to where Marvin was, and suddenly the lights of the main hall flickered off for about a second, which startled Leon.
When they came back on… the entire main hall was empty.
Gone were the people. Gone was the liveliness of the room, replaced by an eery silence.
Marvin was still in the chair, but his back was turned to Leon. Additionally, Leon noticed that the main hall had suddenly become a lot dirtier, mirroring the way it looked when Leon was actually there.
Not to mention… there was a strange noise echoing in the room. It sounded like a drop of liquid hitting the floor.
While it could’ve been water leaking, it sounded extremely similar to the blood drops he had heard in the police station when roaming the empty halls.
Leon became a bit uneasy and creeped out by what was happening. It was Deja vu all over again.
As he continued walking forward, he asked Marvin, “What the hell just happened, Lieutenant? Where’d everyone go?”
There was no response from Marvin. He still had his back turned to Leon. Leon noticed what appeared to be blood dripping out of the right side of the chair. The main hall had become so silent that the sound of the blood drops crashing against the floor echoed across the room.
“Lieutenant, are you alright?”
All Leon heard in response was a wheeze, and then a low growl…
Leon grew even more uneasy, but he approached closer.
“Marvin, is everything o-“
A loud guttural yell filled the main hall.
Before Leon could finish his sentence, he was startled by Marvin suddenly turning around and charging at him. Leon fell back due to how shocked he was, and as he looked up at Marvin, he realized that it wasn’t Marvin. Well, it was, but the zombie version of Marvin. Leon narrowly dodged Marvin’s attempts to bite him, before pushing Marvin off and getting up to run away.
Leon ran towards the west office, opening the door and slamming it shut behind him as he closed his eyes.
He worked on catching his breath, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a sight that utterly bewildered him. The West Office was in perfect condition, the lights were on, and… police officers were there. Even stranger, the police officers cheered when Leon entered the room. One of them even had a party blower which they used to celebrate Leon’s arrival. Leon heard one say, “Welcome Leon!” while pointing up. Leon looked to where the officer pointed.. and he saw the ‘Welcome Leon’ sign there…
The realization of what this was dawned on Leon. These were his partners. These were the people he was supposed to greet and be introduced with. These were the people whose names he was supposed to memorize.
One of the officers approached him with a smile on his face and handed him a note.
“You’re Leon, right? We have a very special first assignment for you, rookie. Take a look at what I just handed you.”
Leon looked down at the note, and began staring at it for what seemed like forever upon realizing what the note was.
It was the exact same note he had found in the West office.
It was titled Rookie’s First Assignment, and it gave him instructions on how to unlock the desk. The only thing missing from this note was the blood and Marvin’s additional note.
Leon looked up at his fellow officers in the room again, and they were all smiling at him. One joked if Leon thought the assignment was too hard for him.
“Is the assignment too hard for you, Rookie? All you have to do is ask for our names and memorize them, dude. We’re not asking you to bust the mafia.” Laughter filled the room, as Leon looked back down on the note. What he saw gave him chills. The note was back to the way it was as he remembered it. Blood filled the note, followed by Marvin’s chilling final log:
‘Be glad you’re not here, Rookie.’
Leon began to get nauseous, as laughter and teasing remarks towards him filled the room. He fought the urge to throw up at what he was experiencing, and looked back up at his fellow partners.
“You guys… You guys are- You guys are dead. I’m- I’m sorry I let you down. All of you. Maybe if I had arrived on time… I would’ve been able to save you guys.”
As he finished his sentence, each and every one of their smiles faded away.
They now had serious expressions on their face, all the while staring intently at Leon.
Leon became extremely uneasy under their gaze. He began sweating profusely, and his hands started shaking.
‘Leon?’ Leon had heard a muffled voice say to him. It sounded like… Claire.
Before Leon could ponder it any further, the lights flickered off, and the room went completely dark.
The room became silent.
Fear began overtaking Leon’s body so he took out his flashlight but when he did, the West Office was in the exact same condition it was when he actually came across it in reality. Only this time… where all of his police partners stood seconds ago, it was now replaced by their dead zombified corpses… laying on the floor. Some had limbs missing, and others’ faces were nearly unrecognizable due to how mutilated it was. Leon fell to his knees and nearly threw up at the sight. He looked up at the ‘Welcome Leon’ sign, and back to the corpses of what could’ve been his friends, and he began silently crying.
Leon didn’t want to be here anymore. His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to pop out of his chest. Every attempt get his breathing under control took a massive effort.
He got up to head towards the back exit of the office, until he was suddenly startled by the wall breaking.
And there it was.
The tall man in the trench-coat was there again, as he stepped out of the debris. Fear completely overtook Leon, as the tall man’s lifeless eyes stared right back at his. Leon turned around and ran in fear.
And then there was a loud screech coming from the ceiling.
He recognized that sound. It was a licker, but before he could react he was pushed back by the licker’s tongue strike.
‘Leon?!’ Leon heard that voice again. Only it was much louder and clearer. It was Claire.
But as soon as he was going to question it further; giant, strong hands gripped his throat and picked him up. The man in the trenchcoat had picked him up and began choking Leon. Leon tried to fight back to no avail. He used his arms to try to punch the the man, but it didn’t work. His legs began frantically moving in his attempt to free himself, but nothing worked.
Leon couldn’t breathe. He could feel his vision start getting darker and darker… and the last thing he heard was Claire screaming his name.
Claire was frantically trying to wake Leon up as much as she can without waking up Sherry. This all started when she had been laying down on the bed, and began hearing Leon breathing heavily. And then he began breathing quickly as well, so she had gotten up and approached his bed to check on him, He seemed to have been in distress, and when he began sweating profusely and his hands started shaking, she nudged his good shoulder and called his name to no avail. His condition only grew worse from there. He began shaking, like the kind of shaking that comes when you’re afraid. His mouth contorted like he had wanted to throw up.
Claire called his name again, louder, but he still didn’t wake up. Claire was at a loss at what to do. She didn’t want to risk waking up Sherry, but she decided she might have to at this point. The disturbing sight she witnessed next sealed that decision. Leon looked like he was choking. He made wheezing noises, and his legs were frantically shaking. She couldn’t let this go on any longer. Claire nudged him with all her might and yelled his name.
“LEON!”
Leon finally woke up, and when he did, his eyes were wide open and he jumped up, nearly hitting Claire in the process.
He was breathing heavily, and he quickly reached over to the drawer next to the bed to get his gun. Then he started scanning the room like a madman.
Claire did her best to calm him down.
“Leon. Hey, Leon. It’s me. It’s Claire.”
He was still scanning the room and pointing the gun in every corner of the room. Claire then grabbed his chin, which startled him, but it brought him out of his trance and she made him look at her.
“It’s okay, Leon. It’s me, Claire. You’re safe.” Claire said as she cupped his cheek. She noticed that he had the look of a crazy person in his eyes, which made Claire uneasy, but she was determined to soothe Leon from his apparent nightmare.
Leon stared at her for a few more seconds while blinking heavily. Once he finally realized that he was no longer in Raccoon City, he let out a deep sigh of relief and fell back into the pillow on his bed. Sherry was surprisingly still asleep.
“Oh my god.” Leon began, while still breathing a bit heavily.
“I’m sorry, Claire. I don’t know what I was doing. I was just- I was… I had-“ Leon couldn’t finish the sentence.
“You had a nightmare?” Claire asked?
Leon nodded his head.
“Did… did it have to do with Raccoon City?” Claire asked.
Leon shook in fear, similar to the way a child would if they were being yelled at by their parents.
That was the last thing Claire wanted. She did not want to make Leon scared. She wanted to comfort him and help him through this.
She reached over and grabbed his hand, as she said, “You don’t have to tell me about it, Leon. Just know that I’m here for you.”
Leon looked at Claire, and she could tell that he was trying his hardest to not break down. He kept twisting his head in an effort to try to block out the emotions that were threatening to seep through. It was sad to see. A part of her felt that Leon was afraid that she would judge him if he began breaking down, which is exactly what Leon thought.
‘I can’t let her see me cry. I’m a man. I have to be strong for them. How is she supposed to rely on me if I break down over a nightmare?’
But as seconds passed, Leon’s resolve to contain his emotions kept faltering. His eyes began watering, and no matter how hard he tried to squint them away, they still remained in the corner of his eyes.
Claire decided to risk it, hoping that it would work. She could tell that he was losing himself, and needed help. She cupped both of his cheeks with her palms, which surprised Leon as he stared at her, before proceeding to bring his head towards her chest. Leon did not resist, but appeared to be frozen.
She then whispered sweet words of encouragement towards him in a soft voice.
“It’s okay, Leon. You’ve been so strong for Sherry and I. But you don’t have to hold back now. Let it go.”
As she finished her words, she felt Leon become tense, and she felt her shirt start getting wet. Leon started crying against her chest, the sounds being muffled. Claire mentally let out a sigh of relief, happy that she was able to get Leon to let out the emotions he was holding back from his nightmare.
As Leon continued crying, he wrapped her arms around her back, as a sign for Claire to not let go.
Claire never even considered letting go. She was willing to hold him in her arms for the rest of the night if it meant healing Leon even a bit from his trauma. Claire made this known by placing her hand over his hair and gently rubbing it back and forth. This seemed to have an immediate effect on Leon as he relaxed, and she could tell that he was becoming less and less tense.
“Shhh…. It’s okay, Leon. I’m here for you. You’re not alone.” Claire whispered.
Eventually, the tears stopped, and Leon got himself out of her embrace. His eyes were a bit puffy from all the tears, but he gave Claire a warm smile full of gratitude.
“Thank you, Claire. Thank you so much. I think you really took away all the pain I was feeling from that nightmare…”
Claire smiled at that fact.
“Like I said, there’s no need to thank me, Leon. Anything for my hero.”
Leon let out a small chuckle at that.
“Claire… I’m not the only one that went through the hell in Raccoon City. You went through it too… so if you ever need help, or if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be here for you. I promise. I don’t think I can ever repay you for what you just did, and have done for me in the last 24 hours, but I’ll do my best to make up for it.”
Claire’s heart swelled at his statement, and she moved forward to embrace him in a tight hug.
“Thank you, Leon. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” Claire said.
Leon was a bit taken aback by the hug, but enthusiastically reciprocated it.
There, in a warm embrace, were two survivors of Raccoon City. A 21 year old rookie cop who had been looking forward to his first day, and a 19 year old college girl who had been searching for her brother. Both were very young, and had no right going what they went through in Raccoon City, let alone making it out alive.
But they did.
They saved each other’s life, many times. An unbreakable bond had grown between the two, one that will surely remain strong for the rest of their lives.
As the two broke the hug, they looked at each other warmly.
‘He’s so handsome…’
‘She’s so beautiful…’
The two drew closer, and Leon caught Claire’s eyes looking at his lips. He drew even closer as a response. His face was mere inches away from hers. Claire’s face became as red as her lucky jacket as she noticed how close they were. Did they really want to take that next step? They had barely met each other the day prior, and they were on the run. It didn’t seem like an ideal relationship to start. But then she recognized that she had never met a man as good or as selfless as Leon, except maybe for her brother, Chris. Leon was the kind of man you’d meet once in a lifetime, and with the strong bond the two had developed in the span of merely 24 hours, she’d be crazy to think that this wasn’t the man of her dreams.
Claire drew closer and closer, until her lips grazed against his.
‘It’s now or never, Redfield.’ Claire thought to herself.
She pressed her lips against his, relishing in the immediate feeling of how smooth they were.
Leon froze, unsure of what to do, but before he knew it, he began kissing her back, immediately relishing in how soft her lips were, even with the wound on it.
The two continued engaging in their sweet kiss, and it was like time had stopped for the two of them.
For the first time in 24 hours, they no longer had thoughts of Raccoon City. They no longer had thoughts of zombies or monsters. They no longer had thoughts of being on the run, or worrying that Umbrella would come looking for them. Right now, the only thing they could think of was each other. A sweet moment of serenity in the midst of the chaos that had occurred in the last 24 hours.
But eventually, time began moving again.
The two broke their kiss, and looked at each other deeply.
“You okay?” Claire asked Leon, to ensure he was well enough to go back to back to sleep.
“I am now. Thanks to you.” Claire smiled and began heading back to her bed. As she laid on it, she faced Leon, only to see that Leon was also laying down on his bed, facing her. The two held another gaze for a while before giving each other an affectionate smile. Leon and Claire then both rolled over and began heading to sleep.
Claire somehow managed to actually fall asleep this time.
And when Leon fell asleep, he slept peacefully without any nightmares.
Notes:
Aren’t Leon and Claire the most wholesome couple?
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Chapter 4 will release around 3-4 days from now, and it’s going to return to the family feels tone of the first chapter considering Sherry has been asleep for the last two chapters lol. And you might see Leon offering some comfort to Claire in a similar way Claire did for Leon in this chapter…
Chapter 4
Summary:
Leon and Claire discuss what they are to each other after the events of last night, while simultaneously figuring out where to go from the motel they were stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Later on, Leon, Claire, and Sherry learn of a shocking revelation regarding Raccoon City…
Notes:
Hey guys! Here is Chapter 4, and I hope you guys enjoy it. For those of you who really know the lore of Resident Evil, I think you’re really going to like a certain section of the chapter. And for those of you who were missing the family feels of Leon, Claire, and Sherry in the last two chapters; don’t worry! This chapter goes back to that :) Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
October 1st, 1998
Leon woke up after peacefully sleeping the entire night. He looked to his right to make sure nothing had happened to Claire and Sherry, and was relieved when both Sherry and Claire were still asleep. He smiled at the fact that they were getting their well deserved sleep.
He then remembered the events of last night. He had a terrible nightmare, and then Claire had comforted him in the sweetest way possible. And then… he kissed her. Or did she kiss him first? He doesn’t remember, but he does remember that they kissed each other. He rubbed his lips with his fingers, and smiled. He had actually kissed Claire Redfield.
He took a look at Claire’s sleeping form, and was mesmerized by it.
‘How many times have I been mesmerized by her beauty?’ Leon thought. He loved the way Claire looked right now. She had a peaceful look on her face, and with her hair down, a lot of her brunette-auburn locks spilled down her temple. Leon fought the urge to move them behind her ear.
Claire then began stirring, and as she fluttered her eyes open, Leon thought she looked cute. Leon greeted her as she woke up.
“Good morning.” He said with a smile.
“Morning.” Claire responded, followed by a yawn, which Leon thought was also cute. Claire looked around the room, before noticing that Sherry was still asleep beside her.
“She’s still asleep?” Claire whispered to Leon.
Leon nodded his head.
“Ever since I woke up. Which wasn’t that long ago.”
Right as he whispered that, Sherry began stirring, and she began waking up. As Sherry woke up, Claire teased her.
“Good morning sleepyhead.”
“Mmmornin…” Sherry said groggily, to which Claire and Leon met out a small laugh.
Leon took a look at the clock, noticing that it was almost noon.
“I think the right words might be ‘good afternoon.’” Leon said.
Claire and Sherry looked at him in confusion before he motioned towards the clock. Claire and Sherry looked at the clock and had stunned faces.
“Holy shit… I think this is the latest I’ve ever woken up…” Claire said.
“It sure is for me.” Sherry chimed in.
“I take it we all slept well then, girls?” Leon asked, to which Claire and Sherry nodded their heads.
“I need to use the bathroom…” Sherry stated before heading to the bathroom, leaving Leon and Claire alone in the room.
An awkward silence arose between them, due to their ordeal last night. Leon decided to be the one to break the silence.
“Look Claire, about last night…”
Claire became visibly nervous, which slightly worried Leon, but he continued, as he lowered his head. That was NOT what he should’ve done, because Claire took that as a sign of regret on his part.
‘He’s lowering his head. No.. please don’t tell me…’
“I just wanted to say that… that…”
“That it was a mistake made in the heat of the moment?” Claire questioned.
Leon was extremely confused at her statement, and when he looked up, she could tell Claire was becoming very emotional.
“Look Leon, I’m sorry I kissed you without permission last night. I didn’t ask to see if it was mutual, so if you want to just stay as friends… that’s- that’s… that’s okay.” Claire said as her voice started shaking a little.
Leon was completely shocked at the fact that Claire was thinking like this, because that was the opposite of what he thought of their ordeal last night.
‘Is that what she thought it was? A mistake she committed? I kissed her back… didn’t I?And does she think I only see her as a friend? Because I’m willing to be more than that’ While Leon was in deep thinking, he hadn’t considered that he was being silent the whole time, further making the tension worse for Claire.
‘I knew it. I was overthinking it. I thought he was into me, but how could he be? How could a man as handsome and as perfect as him be into a girl like me who’s a tomboy and still has baby fat left in her face? With his looks, he can get any girl he wants. Stupid Claire, you should’ve known better.’
Leon focused his attention back on Claire and noticed that her eyes began slightly watering, before she put her head down. He decided that instead of thinking like an idiot, he should just go and tell her how he feels about her right away.
Leon went to her bed and sat next to her, before reaching with his hand to wipe a stray tear away from her face. Claire’s head remained down, so Leon told her how he felt right then and there.
“Claire, what happened last night was not a mistake, and please don’t ever think that. While it may have been done in the heat of the moment, I do not regret that kiss one bit. And do you know why? Because I want to be more than just friends with you.”
Claire raised her head back up to him again, and she had a look of surprise on her eyes.
Leon then continued, “Claire, ever since I met you, I’ve always thought you were beautiful. That beautiful hair of yours, your blue eyes, your soft creamy skin, that gorgeous smile of yours… All of those things left me mesmerized…”
Claire couldn’t believe she was hearing. She mesmerized Leon Scott Kennedy? A man as handsome as Leon Scott Kennedy was mesmerized by her?!
“But most importantly, I saw what a good person you were. I saw how brave you were. I saw how you took care of a scared 12 year old girl and saved her life. I saw how you were more than willing to fight that monster in the train to keep Sherry and I safe.”
“I guess… what I’m trying to say Claire, is- is that, you’re the bravest and most beautiful and most perfect girl I have ever met in my life, and I want to get to know you more, not just as friends. If that’s fine with you, of course.”
Claire was stunned by his confession, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She reached out with her hand and cupped his cheek.
“Leon, I- I don’t know that to say… except that I feel the same way about you. You saved my life, multiple times. You reminded me to never lose hope on finding my brother. Leon, you might just be the best man I have ever met. Sherry and I are so lucky to have met you that night. I’m so lucky to have met you that night.” Claire finishes, as her thumb brushes lightly over his bottom lip.
Now Leon was the one stunned. While he saw her up close yesterday, the room was kind of dark. Now that it was daytime, he had a clear view of her face up close, and wow. She was breathtaking. Leon couldn’t believe that he found a woman with a good heart and good looks.
“I’m the one who’s lucky.” Leon states, as he turns his face to press a kiss against the inside of her hand, relishing in how soft it felt, just like her lips. He then turns to look at her, delighted at the fact that her face was flushed red at his gentleness. He then cupped her cheek in turn, rubbing against the incredibly soft skin, and mapping out perfect features of her face with his thumb. All the while he began getting closer and closer to her.
Once their noses touched, they began looking at each other deeply. Leon then pressed his lips to hers, being the one to initiate kiss this time, and Claire responded back in earnest. Their kiss was sweet and gentle, just like their kiss last night. Claire wrapped her arms behind his neck, and Leon responded by wrapping his arms around her mid section. The kiss continued, before they eventually broke apart to catch their breath. As they looked at each other, both flashed a content smile at each other, and Claire rubbed her hand up and down behind his neck.
“So… are we a thing now, you and I?”
“I think the kiss pretty much gave that away, silly.” Claire teased him.
Leon chuckled, before proceeding to kiss her again. They were so into their kiss that they hardly noticed the noise of the sink running, and the door opening.
Their kiss was becoming more and more passionate, until a gasp broke their silence. They turned their head to see where it was coming from, and saw Sherry at the bathroom doorway with a shocked look on her face.
“I thought you guys said you weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend!” She said while pointing a finger at them.
“Sherry!” They both said in unison. Leon and Claire looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They both knew they couldn’t find a way around this, so they decided there was no point in lying to Sherry.
“Well… we weren’t, when you asked us yesterday morning.” Leon said, before continuing, “but we are now.”
Sherry looked at them before sporting a huge grin.
“I had hoped you guys would get together.”
“Yeah well, you weren’t necessarily trying to hide it, Sherry.” Claire said.
“So… when did you guys become boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Uh….” Leon and Claire both said in unison.
“Like… a few seconds ago?” Leon answered.
Sherry blinked her eyes for a bit before answering him. “Oh…. okay.”
The three stood there in an awkward silence, before Claire spoke up.
“Okay well, we should probably eat some breakfast. All we have is snacks though. We’re going to need to go somewhere a lot more sophisticated than this shitty motel if we’re going to want to eat healthy. And it would need to be today or tomorrow.”
“But where?” Leon asked.
“Thats what I’m trying to figure out…”
Sherry listened as the two adults tried figuring out where to go. And then she remembered what she told Claire in the train station back in Raccoon City.
“So what’s the first thing you wanna do when we get out of here?” Claire had asked her.
“I want to see where you live.”
“… I have no idea where the closest motel could be. The map I memorized of Raccoon City and its outskirts didn’t extend much farther than where we are now.” Leon said.
“Damn it…” Claire responded.
“Claire?” Sherry spoke up.
“What is it, Sherry?”
“Remember when you asked me what I wanted to do when I got out of here? Well, I said that I wanted to see where you live. So why don’t we go there?”
Claire had completely forgotten that her apartment was an option. It didn’t seem like a bad idea… She had food and supplies there, and her roommate would be nice enough to welcome Leon and Sherry with open arms… She also had a computer there that she could use to further investigate Chris’ disappearance and his note he had left in the S.T.A.R.S. office.
“That actually seems like a good idea, Sherry. The thing is… I don’t know the way back to my apartment. Not from this motel in the middle of nowhere, at least.”
Leon then came up with an idea.
“If… If I were to somehow secure a map from the motel manager, would you be able to know where to go?”
“I guess I would. I’m not very good at reading maps though. Nor using them for travel…”
“Leave that to me.” Leon said.
“So do we have a plan?” Sherry asked.
“I suppose we do, Sherry. Thank you. If you hadn’t come up with that idea, we’d probably be stuck here for a while.” Claire remarked.
“Indeed. I’d say that this time, you became our hero, Sherry.” Leon said as he lightly patted Sherry’s head, which made her giggle.
After the three ate their breakfast, if you can call it that, Leon headed downstairs to secure a map.
As Leon approached the motel manager they had seen earlier, he was about to greet him, until the manager spoke up.
“Hey kid, did you hear that noise in the morning? Like around dawn?”
‘Noise?’ Leon thought. Surely he can’t be referring to… zombies. Leon became tense, but tried not to worry too much.
“N- No. What was this noise?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know. It sounded like a faint explosion, I think. But what was really strange is the shaking that followed after. It was almost like an earthquake, but a pretty powerful one that lasted like two seconds.”
Leon was confused by what the man described. ‘The noise of an explosion, and he described what sounded like a shockwave? I’m surprised we didn’t feel it.’
“No sir, we somehow didn’t wake up to that.”
“Well at least you guys got a good night’s sleep. And it happened like seven hours ago, so it was probably nothing to worry about. Anyways, how can I help you?”
“Right. I wanted to ask if you had a map available? Specifically, a detailed map of the Mid-West? We’re trying to find our way back home, but we’re a bit lost here.”
“You are asking… for a map of the entire Mid-West? That’s a first… but you’re in luck, kid. I have a map that is exactly that. Here.”
The man handed Leon the map, and Leon was estatic to see that it was indeed a very detailed map of the Mid-West.
“Wow! Thank you, sir! Looks like we’ll finally be able to find a way back home.” Leon said as he headed back towards the room. Along the way, he noticed a poster that basically stated that taxis came here once a week to pick up guests.
‘Why the hell would taxis come to a motel in the middle of nowhere?’ Leon thought.
As he entered the room, he flashed the map towards Claire.
Claire smiled in response.
“Nicely done, rookie.”
Leon laid down the map on his bed, and began examining it. Claire went over to his bed, and also took a look at it.
“What’s the name of your college, Claire?”
Claire gave him the name of her college.
“Hmm…. Okay, I’ll see if I can find it.”
“I’m boreddd.” Sherry spoke up.
Claire looked at Sherry, and then thought of something to keep her entertained, before noticing the giant TV in the center of the room. How had she not noticed that before?
“Let me go put some TV on for Sherry while you read this map. After all, you’ve shown that you’re a very good map reader, Mr. Indiana Jones.” Claire teased.
“Does that mean you’ll be my wife, Ms. Marion Ravenwood?” Leon responded with a smirk on his face.
Claire somehow managed to blush even darker than the color of her lucky jacket, before proceeding to take off in a hurry towards putting some TV on for Sherry.
Leon let out a small chuckle at that.
As Claire got the remote for the TV, Sherry noticed how red Claire was.
“Claire, are you alright? You’re really red…”
“She’s living up to her last name.” Leon joked from his bed.
Sherry let out a big laugh, as Claire became annoyed at Leon’s remark.
“You! You just focus on that map of yours, rookie. Or I’ll eat the rest of your Cheetos.”
Leon froze and decided he’d stop teasing Claire.
“Roger that, Claire.” Leon responded as he focused his full attention on the map.
“Look, Sherry, I’m just red because… it’s a little bit hot, you know? All this heat…”
“It’s October, Claire.” Sherry replied.
“Oh! Right… well I’m just really sensitive to heat.”
“I think your face is red because of Leon.”
“Now where did you get that from, Sherry? Because that’s a complete lie.”
“Sure it is, Claire.”
Claire made a huff of annoyance before beginning to turn on the TV. Just as she was about to ask Sherry what she’d like to watch, the 12 year old girl made another sly remark.
“Claire is getting flustered by Leeoonnn” Sherry said in a sing song voice, followed by a smug grin when she saw Claire prove her point and become even redder.
Claire had enough of Sherry’s teasing. “You speak one more word of Leon and that’ll mean no TV for you, got it little miss?”
Sherry instantly dropped her smug grin.
“Yes ma’am.”
Claire shook her head while giving a small smile.
‘Kids these days… Shit, now I sound like an old woman!’
A couple minutes passed before Leon called Claire over. She went to his bed, and he pointed out where her college was.
“Your college is right here. If we take this path…” Leon said as he trailed his finger along highways and roads, “we should get there in about an hour, instead of two hours going the ordinary way. While this road is usually a very busy road due to the fact it leads straight to Raccoon City, it has become empty ever since there were news headlines about a sickness in Raccoon City. Everyone has avoided this road because they do not want to go to Raccoon City, and as for traffic going the other way, there used to be a lot due to people leaving the city, but with the state the city is in… that shouldn’t be a problem because not many people are going to come out of Raccoon City.”
Claire was struck by how articulate Leon was, before shaking her head in amusement.
“Nice work, Indiana Jones. Looks like we got a plan.” Claire said before the realization dawned on her. How the hell would they get out of here if they didn’t have transportation?!
“Leon… we don’t have a car.”
Leon froze. They didn’t have any transportation. How were they supposed to travel? Walking? Claire’s apartment was not particularly close, so walking was not an option.
“Shit! I didn’t think of that…”
“I say we rob a car that’s parked outside the motel.” Claire stated.
Leon looked up at her in shock, that was not what he was expecting her to say.
Claire noticed the look Leon gave her. “What? Do you have any other ideas? I know that may not be the ideal thing to do, especially for someone like you, but we have no other choice.”
Leon was still hesitant. While he acknowledged that Claire made a very good point, the thought of robbing someone’s car just didn’t seem right to him. He may have no other choice though… And then he remembered the poster he saw in the motel. Taxis come to this motel once a week to pick guests up.
“I have an idea, Claire.”
“I’m listening.” Claire said as she crossed her arms.
“I saw a poster that said that taxis come here once a week to pick guests up. I can ask the motel manager to see if there are any coming soon.”
“A motel… that has taxis coming in? Are you sure about this, Leon? Even if it’s a real thing, what if there aren’t any coming for days?”
Leon was silent for a bit. She brought up a good point.
“… Then… I’ll figure it out. Trust me.”
“Leon-“ Claire was cut off by Leon kissing her. As he broke the kiss, Claire was left flustered.
“I need you to trust me, Claire. I promise I’ll figure something out. Do you trust me?”
“I- I do.” Claire responded.
Leon smiled at her, before giving her a kiss on the cheek, and leaving downstairs.
As the motel manager noticed him, he teased Leon.
“So what is it now? A map to El Dorado?”
“No, this time it’s transportation.” Leon responded.
“Transportation?”
“Yes, sir. I saw a poster that said that taxis come here to pick up guests. I assume this is true right?”
“Yes, taxis come here occasionally and take my guests into the more populated areas. It’s a very strange thing for a motel to have, but incidents of a psychotic cult lurking in the Arklay Mountains targeting hikers, and even eating them in some reports, led a lot of the hikers who escaped to come over here. At some point, the motel was full. None of them had cars, and they were in the middle of nowhere, so I used the opportunity to get some cash. I contacted my brother who is a key member of a taxi company in a nearby town, and asked him if he could send taxi drivers to pick up hikers. He agreed, and that’s how we got it now. Hikers kept showing up here considering it’s the closest motel to the Arklay mountains. There was… one instance where a non-hiker showed up. It was a man with blond hair and sunglasses. A very strange fellow, and he looked like he had survived death itself. He wasn’t here for very long, and left mysteriously, though I’m pretty sure he stole a car that was outside. Anyways, eventually hikers turned into Raccoon City civilians showing up here trying to escape whatever the hell has been going on in Raccoon City for the last couple weeks. I assume they didn’t want to deal with the traffic jam.”
Leon now understood why the motel had taxis, and made his request to the man.
“Can you call a Taxi to come pick us up today? Or at least tomorrow?”
“They’re not scheduled to come here until next week. But surely you guys can wait.”
“We can’t. Look, sir, I wish we could explain, but we really need to be heading home. We had… an accident… and we haven’t been able to eat anything substantial for the last couple days. Please, sir, is there anyway you can tell them to pick us up today?”
The man let out a sigh.
“I can try, kid. You’re lucky my brother works over there.”
Leon thanked him profusely.
“But it’s going to cost you. And it won’t be cheap. You’ll be paying me to do this favor for you, and you’ll also be paying me to pay them to send a taxi to go out of its schedule to pick three people up in the middle of nowhere.”
“I understand.” Leon said.
Leon paid the man the money, which certainly wasn’t cheap, and the man made the phone call towards the taxi company. Leon grew nervous as it seemed like the taxi company was reluctant to send a taxi over here, based on the motel manager’s responses. But eventually, the motel manager hung up and informed him that a taxi would be here in 3 hours.
Leon lit up with joy and once again thanked the man profusely before heading back to the room to inform Claire and Sherry of the very good news.
As he opened the room, he noticed that Claire and Sherry were eagerly awaiting his arrival, and looked a bit nervous. The TV was still on.
“Good news, girls, a taxi is coming to pick us up in 3 hours.”
Sherry let out a sigh of relief, while Claire threw her head back and loudly let out a noise of relief.
“Leon Kennedy, you truly are something else.” Claire said as she looked at Leon.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by the loud noise of the TV. It was making that sound of whenever there is an emergency. The trio looked at the TV, to see the words, ‘Emergency Broadcast System’ right in the center of the TV. The eery noise continued, and Sherry began getting scared by it, so Claire hugged her and held her close while they watched to see what was going on. Finally, the noise stopped.
“We interrupt this program. This is a national emergency. Reports indicate that the United States launched a nuclear attack on the mid-western town of Raccoon City, completely destroying it. An attack like this is unprecedented, and when the President was reached for clarification, he stated that the presence of a new and deadly viral outbreak threatened the security of the nation, and thus the city was destroyed to prevent further spread. Additional reports suggest this attack came around some time in the early morning. No further details are known at this point.”
Leon, Claire, and Sherry stood there shocked. They couldn’t believe what was happening. Had… Had the United States just destroyed a big town, killing thousands of innocent people in the process?
Sherry was the one to break the silence.
“So… the city is gone?” Sherry asked as she began crying.
Claire comforted Sherry and held her even tighter.
“It- It is, Sherry. I’m so sorry. But we’re here for you. Leon and I. And we’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe. We promise.” Claire stated, as Sherry began crying harder into Claire’s chest.
“We promise, Sherry.” Leon chimed in.
Claire herself was on the verge of tears, but she remained strong for Sherry. Leon noticed this, but said nothing.
Leon never thought that the government would ever go so far. While he was naive, he was also aware that the government did a lot of shady things. But… nuking their own town which had 100,000 innocent Americans? He never saw that coming. His heart went out to everyone that was still in the city. While he didn’t come across any survivors that made it other than himself and Claire/Sherry; in a town as big as Raccoon City, there surely would’ve been other survivors. And if they didn’t get a chance to escape, they’re now dead.
The thought made Leon feel an immense amount of guilt. Was it not his duty as a police officer to protect the city and look for any survivors? That was yet another duty he failed. But Leon, remembering Claire’s words, shook his head.
‘No Leon, you can’t think like this. It’ll only make things worse.’
Eventually, Sherry stopped crying, but excused herself to the bathroom, leaving Leon and Claire alone in the room again.
Claire spoke up in a broken voice.
“Sherry just lost her home. Her only home. I wanted to… I wanted her to recapture some of her childhood. Her whole life, she hasn’t been able to just be a kid. But now that’s gone. With her witnessing her hometown get destroyed, she’ll never be able to live a real childhood ever again.” Claire said as she began breaking down.
“It’s not all gone, Claire.” Leon said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “We can get her new things. Better things. We can be the family she never had, and provide her with the home she always wishes she had. The past does not define our future.”
“You really think we can be the family she never had? I’m just a 19 year old college girl… I don’t think she has that much trust in me…” Claire said as she began crying. Leon responded by pulling her to his chest and hugging her, just like he did for her last night.
Claire, feeling the warm and strength of his chest, began feeling at ease, but most importantly: safe. Claire began to snuggle against his chest hard and Leon responded by holding her tightly; a sign that he would never let go of holding her in his arms unless she told him to.
“You’re wrong, Claire. She sees you as much more than that. You went out of your way to save her life, risking yours in the process, multiple times. In the midst of a literal zombie apocalypse. Can you think of any 19 year old girl that would do that?” Claire shook her head against his chest as she continued crying.
“Claire, you might call me crazy for this, but she sees you as the mother she always wishes she had.”
Claire looked up at Leon in utter surprise.
“I saw the way you two hugged last night. The look she had when she was hugging you was one I can only describe as happiness and gratefulness. Like… a child with her mother. And trust me, I can tell when an orphaned kid is genuinely happy…”“ Claire, you are her light in a world that has been full of darkness for her. If there’s anyone capable of providing a new home for her that will allow her to enjoy her childhood, it’s you, Claire.”
Claire’s eyes began watering once again, this time not in sadness, but in relief that she found a man, a boyfriend, as good of a person as Leon. Leon made her go from feeling insecure, worried sick, and sad, to feeling hopeful, safe, and happy in the span of mere minutes.
“I know this has been hard for you, Claire. And I know it may seem a bit overwhelming to be tasked with providing a new home and family for Sherry, but just know this: You’re not alone. I will help you in every step of the way, I promise. If you need anything, or want to talk about anything, please don’t ever hesitate to tell me. I will always be here for you, Claire. Because I… I-“ Leon chose his next words carefully, “I care about you. So much.” Leon said, as he finished the statement with a kiss to her forehead, which made Claire even more relaxed and safe. The two continued hugging, before they eventually broke apart.
“Thank you, Leon. Thank you so much.” Claire said.
“There’s no need to thank me, Claire, especially for what you did for me last night.”
Claire smiled at that before noticing that her hair had become a little messy and had begun covering her face. Just as she was about fix her hair, Leon reached over and moved a few hair strands away from her face and tucked them behind her ear.
“There we go, that’s better. Don’t want the most beautiful face in the world to be hidden eh?” Leon said.
Claire let out a small laugh while deeply blushing, while she reached to go hug him again. And for the first time since they left the city, she felt optimistic about the future.
They had a cab coming to pick them up and take them back to her apartment. She had a boyfriend as loving and as caring as Leon, who was more than willing to help her provide safety and security for Sherry.
For once, the future didn’t look so gloomy.
Notes:
Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed it. The next two chapters are going to be filled with fluff and wholesomeness, and I recommend taking advantage of that…
P.S. For those of you wondering if there will be smut, check the new tags I added if you haven’t already ;)
Chapter 5
Summary:
Leon, Claire, and Sherry finally arrive at Claire’s apartment, where they are welcomed by Claire’s roommate. The trio then go on adventures such as eating and shopping, all the while acting like a happy family.
Leon and Claire continue to increase their sexual tension, and finally decide to go on their long awaited date.
Notes:
For those celebrating, I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Eve!
Man, the struggles of being a writer on AO3 is that the concepts you come up with in your head on how much you can fit in a chapter do not translate whatsoever when you actually write it… Once again, I thought I was going to fit what is now going to be Chapter 6 into Chapter 5. But that means you guys will get Chapter 6 on Thursday, and Chapter 7 on Saturday. Chapter 7 will be the long awaited smut chapter ;)
Don’t quote me though. Delays can happen, but my intended timeframe is the one above.
Note: The references to the Lion King: Part 2 in this chapter are not referring to the recent live action one that came out this year. It’s referring to the original animated one that came out in October of 1998.(just to clear up any confusion.)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As the taxi was due to arrive any minute now, Leon and Claire got everything ready. Their snacks, their guns, etc. Claire tied her back up in its traditional ponytail style. As the trio waited, they spoke amongst each other.
“Well I know one thing for sure” Claire began. “As soon as we arrive at our apartment, we’re going to start heading towards the closest fast food restaurant.”
“You’re damn right we are. Going nearly two days with only eating snacks from a cheap motel? That drives anyone crazy.” Leon responded.
“There’s a McDonald’s right next to my apartment, thank God.”
“Ooooh I’m going to want the happy meal! I’ve heard they’re giving out toys in the Happy Meals for the new Lion King movie coming out!” Sherry spoke up.
“We’ll get you a Happy Meal then, Sherry. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll get a toy of Simba or of Nala.” Leon responded.
“I also hope I get a toy of Kiara! She’s sooo cute!”
“We’ll also get you a Happy Meal, Leon.” Claire teased, which made Sherry laugh.
“Very funny.”
As they heard the taxi arrive, the trio packed things up and headed outside. On the way there, Leon thanked the motel manager for all of his help. The trio then approached the taxi cab, and Sherry was the first to enter the car.
Just as Claire was about to enter, she turned around and faced Leon.
“Thank you, Leon. For this. Without you, we would still be stuck in this motel; I owe you big time.”
“You owe me nothing, Claire. Everything I’ve done for you and Sherry; I’ve done from my own heart.” Leon said as he cupped her cheek. Claire then responded by pulling him into a kiss, unaware that they still had a taxi driver waiting for them.
“Get a room, you two.” They heard the taxi driver speak up. “Or better yet, get in the car because I’m on the clock.”
Leon and Claire the entered the backseat with Sherry, and the driver asked them where they were going. Leon gave him the address of Claire’s apartment, as well as the street it was in.
“That seems a little far. But you guys are in the middle of nowhere, so I guess it makes sense. Buckle up, because it’s probably going to be a 2 hour drive.”
“Actually, sir…” Leon spoke. “We were wondering if you could take this path here.”Leon took out the map and explained the intended path towards Claire’s apartment. “The roads are empty right now, due to the news regarding Raccoon City… and because of that, it should only take an hour. You did say you were on the clock weren’t you?”
The taxi driver looked the path over, contemplating what to do. “Alright, kid. I suppose that makes sense. But if you’re wrong, that’s going to cost you big time.”
As the taxi driver began driving them towards Claire’s apartment, the trio let out a huge sigh of relief. They were finally going to head somewhere secure, and somewhere permanent.
‘Wow. I’ll be home in about an hour. I’ll actually be home! And it’s all thanks to Leon.’ Claire thought as she looked at Leon, who was looking outside the window. Claire leaned her head on his shoulder, and that caught Leon by surprise. He looked over at Claire saw her looking at him with a smile on her face. He smiled back, and proceeded to lean his head on her head. Little did he know, that simple action of his caused Claire to get butterflies in her stomach. What he did next further enhanced that feeling. He interlaced his fingers with hers, and Claire looked down at the sight of their hands together. She smiled at the sight.
‘I had a feeling he would be the affectionate type. Not that I’m complaining.’
Leon, in turn, also enjoyed the sweet moment. He looked down at their interlocked hands, and took the sight as a sign of what they were. They had both gone through so much suffering, but they will always be there for one another. What caused them great suffering also caused them to form a strong bond with each other, and they were going to do whatever it takes to make it through their next chapter in life, together.
Leon continued admiring the sight of their interlocked hands, as well as the softness of Claire’s hair against his head, until he moved his gaze towards the left. There, he saw Sherry with a huge grin of satisfaction on her face. She then made a heart symbol with her hands, which made Leon slightly roll his eyes before smiling.
While Sherry drew her gaze away from the young couple and towards the window, Leon took the opportunity to inhale the scent of Claire’s hair. The scent was intoxicating to Leon, in a very good way. Claire’s hair smelled incredible, and Leon fought the urge to inhale it throughout the whole ride.
Like Leon predicted, the path he instructed the taxi driver to take was mostly empty. As they entered the city, Leon and Claire were a bit overwhelmed at seeing a city full of live human beings, instead of undead hordes.
Eventually, they arrived at Claire’s apartment.
As soon as Claire caught sight of her apartment through the car window, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
‘Finally… I’m home. We’re home.’
The taxi dropped them off right outside Claire’s apartment, and as they got out of the car, Claire remarked, “Here’s my apartment guys. Let’s see if my roommate is in there.”
Claire proceeded to approach the door and ring the doorbell, with Leon and Sherry right behind her. It took a while before the door opened, followed by a loud gasp.
“Claire?! You’re alive! Oh my god, I was worried you didn’t make it!” Claire’s roommate said as she pulled Claire in for a tight hug.
Claire hugged her back just as tight.
“I was worried I wouldn’t make it either. Thank God I did though…”
As the two broke the hug, Claire introduced Leon and Claire.
“These are the two survivors I met, Leon and Sherry.”
Elza walked past Claire and introduced herself to Sherry and Leon, starting with Sherry first. That’s Sherry, a lost little girl I met while Raccoon City was falling apart…” Claire briefly explained, sparing the more personal details. “
“Hi Sherry, I’m Elza. Elza Walker. Nice to meet you!”
Sherry, still shy with strangers, gave a timid response. “H-hi miss, nice to meet you t-too.”
Elza couldn’t blame the girl for her shyness, so she approached Leon next.
“And what do we have here?” Elza said as she looked Leon over. Claire let out a huff of annoyance.
“That’s Leon, a… another survivor I met in Raccoon City.” Claire wanted to say police officer, but she didn’t want Leon to feel guilty or uncomfortable. “He saved my life.”
Elza looked at Leon in surprise. “Did you now? Well that’s really nice of you.” Elza said, before continuing, “Nice to meet you Leon.” Elza stated as he extended her hand.
“Nice to meet you too, Elza.” Leon said as he shook her hand. “And for the record, Claire saved my life as well.”
Elza looked over at Claire in surprise, as she saw Claire avert her eyes and slightly blush. Elza took note of that, but before she could say anything, Claire spoke up.
“We should probably head in now. I think we’ve been outside long enough.”
“Of course, come in!” Claire, Leon, and Sherry walked into the apartment, immediately relishing in the warmth it provided.
Leon noticed that it was a modest apartment. The living room was right there when you entered, and it was decently sized.
“So, Claire, looks like you’re a hero now huh? Saving two people’s lives.” Elza told Claire.
“It was nothing…” Claire responded.
“Really? Because I caught you blushing when I mentioned that you saved Leon’s life over here.”
“That’s because Leon and Claire are boyfriend and girlfriend.” Sherry said matter-of-factly.
“Sherry!”
“What? You weren’t going to hide your relationship from your friend right? Friends aren’t meant to lie to each other… at least that’s what I was taught.”
“That’s completely right, Sherry.” Elza chimed in. “Besides, you weren’t going to fool me for long, Claire. With a man as good-looking as him, it wouldn’t take long before you’re unable to resist kissing him.”
Leon blushed as he heard those words.
“You’re a lucky girl, Claire. A lot of us dream of having a boy as handsome as him.”
“I think I’m the one who’s lucky… A lot of guys dream of having a girl as pretty as Claire…” Leon responded.
“Awww, and isn’t he sweet? This one is a keeper, Claire. Trust me.” Elza told Claire.
Claire blushed, while mentally agreeing with her enthusiastically.
‘You’re damn right he is.’
“Anyways, why don’t you introduce them to our apartment? I’m sure they’d like to know where they’re going to stay.”
“Right. Okay Leon, Sherry. This is the living room. It has a TV, which I know you appreciate, Sherry.” Claire then led them over to the kitchen.
“This is the kitchen. Elza likes cooking here, but I’m not really a big fan of cooking…”
“Oh don’t lie to them, Claire. You love cooking. She says she doesn’t, and then I hear her humming songs while she’s cooking food.” Leon and Sherry both giggled at that.
“The part you don’t like, Claire, is cleaning up afterwards. If I had a dollar for the amount of times this girl left the stove covered in food particles, I’d be a millionaire.”
“Wow, Elza. Really embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend here.” Leon responded by patting Claire on the shoulder, before she continued her tour of the apartment.
They then reached Claire’s room. “This is my room. Sherry, this will also serve as your room.”
Sherry’s eyes lit up.
“Really?!”
“Of course! What, you really think I’d make you sleep on the couch? Never. In fact, you could go lay down on the bed to see how comfortable it is. It’s definitely a lot more comfortable than the cheap motel bed we were in, I promise you that.”
Sherry then jumped on Claire’s bed, and immediately made a sigh of relief at how warm and soft the bed felt. She then flopped completely on her back, and started spreading her arms and legs on the bed back and forth in a star motion, until she remained splayed on the bed.
Both Leon and Claire’s heart warmed at Sherry’s clear enjoyment of being somewhere comfortable, and Claire felt proud that she was able to give that to Sherry.
“As for you, Leon. You’ll use the guest room that is usually reserved for my brother whenever he come visits me. Let me show you where it is.”
Claire led Leon over to the guest room down the hallway.
“Okay Leon, this room is only used for whenever Chris visits me, but considering you’re a very special guest,” Claire said as she wrapped her hands around his arm, “you can use it.” Claire said, before proceeding to kiss him on the cheek.
Leon blushed, before thanking her.
“Th-thanks, Claire.”
“Don’t mention it, rookie. By the way, you and Sherry are going to need new clothes. I’m going to have to take Sherry shopping since I don’t have any clothes for little girls here, but as for you, you can try out the clothes my brother sometimes leaves here. But that’s for later. Right now, let’s eat! Isn’t that right, Sherry?” Claire said in a loud voice across the hallway.
“Right on, Claire. I’m hungry.”
Leon’s stomach growled at the thought of eating actual food.
“It seems Leon over here also agrees.” Claire stated as she patted Leon’s stomach. Leon shivered at Claire’s touch, but did not mind it one bit.
The trio began exiting the building, before Claire asked if she could borrow Elsa’s keys to her car, explaining that she lost her bike in Raccoon City. Elza obliged, and the trio headed on their way to the McDonald’s close to Claire’s apartment. As Claire drove them over there, Leon noticed a diner. It was a modest diner. Not something too simple like a fast food restaurant, but not something too fancy either.
‘Perfect for a first date.’ Leon thought, before chastising himself for thinking too far ahead.
‘Woah Leon, slow it down, man. We can’t just leave Sherry alone while we go on a date. Plus, she still has to look for her brother. Speaking of which, I haven’t asked her if she found out anything about her brother while she was in Raccoon City. She briefly mentioned a note that Chris left, but didn’t elaborate. Now is not the time though.’
The trio arrived at the McDonald’s. They couldn’t help but salivate as they saw customers eating their burgers and fries in their tables. Leon ordered a Big Mac with large fries and a soda, Claire ordered a quarter pounder with large fries and a soda, and of course, they ordered a Happy Meal for Sherry.
They then got their bags from the counter, and quickly headed over to the table. Claire ripped the bag open, which caused some people in the nearby table to look at them in confusion. Leon quickly did damage control.
“Sorry, she’s just a little hungry…”
Leon, Claire, and Sherry then got their meals from their bags and immediately started diving in. Well, at least Leon and Claire. Claire, especially. She was diving into her meal as if she had been starving for an entire week. Sherry, on the other hand, began slowly opening the Happy Meal to see what toy she got from the Lion King, hoping it was Kiara. Leon had already finished nearly half of his burger within seconds, while Claire had finished 3/4ths of her burger within seconds. They were suddenly interrupted by Sherry’s surprised noise. They looked over at Sherry, and saw that her eyes were beaming with joy.
“I got Kiara!” Sherry said excitedly as she brought the toy to her cheek and began nuzzling against it.
Both Leon and Claire’s hearts warmed at the sight. This is what they wanted to provide for Sherry. Genuine happiness.
‘She looks so… carefree right now. As if the last 48 hours didn’t happen. And that’s good. I don’t want her to mourn or wallow in self-pity for years like I did when I lost my parents…’ Claire thought.
“Isn’t she so cute, guys?” Sherry said while motioning towards the toy she had.
“She indeed is, Sherry.” Claire responded.
“No argument from me there, Sherry. Lion cubs are indeed very cute.” Leon chimed in.
“Speaking of which, did you know that lion means “leon” in Spanish?” Claire asked Leon.
“No way!” Sherry stated.
Leon, remembering the Spanish classes he took in high school, chuckled.
“I did. I was slightly teased for it when we first found out.” Leon said, before asking Claire a fun question.
“Say, Claire, what’s cuter? The lion in Sherry’s hand or the Leon in front of you.”
“Come on Leon, take a look at how cute Kiara looks. It’s obviously her that is the cuter one.” Claire responded, and Sherry emphasized that by once again nuzzling the toy against her cheek.
Leon did not complain at her answer, finding the toy very cute.
Until he heard Claire lean over and whisper something in his ear.
“It’s obviously you that is the cuter one.”
The tone in which she whispered that sent chills down his spine. Claire pulled back and gave him a sly smirk.
‘Man, this girl is going to be the death of me…’ Leon thought.
The trio finished their meals, and headed back towards the apartment. It was already getting a little late.
They then arrived at Claire’s apartment, and were greeted by Claire’s roommate once again.
They relaxed there for a while, mostly having conversations, until it got a bit late.
“Alright, Sherry, it’s getting a little late. Let’s get you to bed.” Claire spoke up.
“Do we have to?”
“Yes, we do.” Claire said in a stern motherly voice.
Sherry made a noise of disapproval but obliged.
Claire tucked Sherry into bed, before realizing that she has to change Leon’s bandages.
She called Leon over, and led him to the bathroom. There was a first aid kit in the bathroom.
“Okay Leon, take off your shirt and sit on the toilet.”
“What, am I undergoing a strip search? Not that I’m complaining…”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Good one, rookie.”
As Leon took off his shirt, Claire was able to unabashedly stare at Leon’s upper body without trying to hide it, now that they were a couple. Claire loved Leon’s body. Sure, it may not be her dream body. Leon was still a little too lean, and he could use some more muscle and definition in some parts of his body, but he was only 21. He still had a lot of time to grow more muscle. She continued trailing her eyes down until she reached his happy trail. God, she really wanted to see the full extent of it.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Leon clearing his throat and making a sly remark.
“You just gonna stare all day or will you change my bandage? Whichever one is fine with me, if I’m being honest.”
Claire then pushed him onto the toilet, which made Leon gasp, as she sarcastically threatened him.
“That’s the second time you’ve made a sly remark, rookie. Do it again for the third time, and I might just make you change your own bandage, got it?”
“Yes ma’am.” Leon said while gulping loudly.
Claire shook her head in amusement before proceeding to check the bandage on his left shoulder. It looked nowhere near as dirty as it did yesterday, and she was relieved that was the case. As she carefully removed the bandage, she saw that the wound had actually significantly improved.
“Wow, your wound has actually gotten a lot better! Still has a long ways to go before it’s fully healed, but you’re making good progress.”
“I guess you have that magic touch, Claire.”
Claire chuckled in response, “I guess I do.”
As Claire got up to throw away the bandage, she took in the sight of Leon sitting there, shirtless. She couldn’t but feel a pit of desire pooling up in her belly, so she figured she’d get a bit frisky with him.
As Claire got the fresh bandages, she “accidentally” dropped another object from the sink cabinet. Leon’s breath caught in his throat as he saw Claire bend down and pick it up, giving him a nice view of her ass.
Damn, Claire had a nice ass. Leon never got a chance to admire her ass because he never really got a view of it, but now that he did, he was mesmerized by it.
‘Man, she really has a nice ass… I wonder what it looks like underneath those sweatpants… Woah, chill out, Leon.’
What Claire did next made it impossible for Leon to chill out, though. As Claire picked the object up and placed it back on the sink, she approached Leon and straddled him on the toilet. Leon froze at the contact of their hips pressed together.
“Claire… what are you doing?” Leon asked, as he sounded out of breath.
“What? It’s just easier to apply your bandage from this position.” Claire lied. But as Claire saw that Leon was getting out of breath and he began sweating, she wanted to make sure that he was comfortable. She would never do anything to him without his consent.
“Is it fine with you? It’s okay if it isn’t…” Claire said in a now serious and worried tone.
“Yeah!” Leon said a bit too quickly. “Yeah.. it most definitely is… I’m just a little flustered, that’s all. It’s not everyday that the sexiest woman alive straddles your lap…”
Claire blushed and became slightly aroused at his words. That was the first time he had referred to her as ‘sexy’ instead of the usual ‘beautiful’ or ‘pretty.’ And she very much appreciated it.
Claire finished applying the new bandages on his shoulder. “There we go, good as new.”
The two then looked at each other, before proceeding to clash their lips together.
This kiss started off a little sweet, but quickly turned into a kiss of passion.
Claire ran her hands over his bare arms and chest, relishing in how strong they felt.
Leon, on the other hand, was struggling to not get too excited. The last thing he wanted to do was have Claire ask what was poking her. But Leon also ran his hands along Claire’s back, mentally wishing her shirt was off so that he can feel her bare skin. The kiss continued and grew even more heated, as Leon trailed his hands from her spine to her waist. He then remembered the view he had of her ass a couple minutes ago, and couldn’t resist the urge to reach lower and see how it feels for himself. So he moved his hands lower to her ass, feeling it for a brief moment before squeezing it.
Claire let out a gasp and kind of jumped at his actions. Leon immediately pulled back his hands, broke the kiss, and apologized profusely.
“I’m sorry! Oh my gosh… I’m so sorry, Claire. I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have touched you there without your consent… Once again, I’m so-“ He was cut off by Claire kissing him for a bit, before she pulled back and told him, “It’s okay, I liked it.”
Leon looked at her in shock before he smiled, and she crashed her lips against his again. They remained sitting on the toilet, with Claire on Leon’s lap, kissing each other passionately.
Eventually, they both pulled away from the kiss to get some air.
“We should…” Leon began. “We should probably head to sleep now.”
Claire nodded her head and got off of him.
As the couple walked out of the bathroom, Leon headed to the guest room, and Claire headed to her room with Sherry. Just as she was about to enter, she remembered Leon’s trouble sleeping last night, and the nightmare that followed, so she decided to give him something that might make him fall asleep.
She headed over to the guest room and slightly opened it.
“Claire?” Leon whispered from the bed.
“Can I come in?”
“Uh… yeah. Sure.” Leon said a bit anxiously.
Claire opened the door and entered the room. She sat down on the bed facing him, before asking him, “Are you good for the night?”
Leon was a bit confused at her question, before realizing what she meant by that.
“Oh. Um… yeah, I should be fine. Thanks for asking, by the way. I really appreciate it.”
Claire could sense that he was still a little uneasy so she grabbed the back of his neck with her hand and pulled him in for a sweet kiss. It lasted for a while, before they broke apart.
“Hopefully that’ll make you sleep a little better.”
“Hehe. I’m sure it will. Thanks, Claire.”
Just as Claire turned around and was about to leave, she felt Leon pull her arm and crash his lips against hers. As they broke, Leon said, “Hopefully that’ll make you sleep a little better too.”
Claire smiled at him, before leaving the room. As she opened the door and was about to close it behind her, she bid Leon his goodnight.
“Goodnight, Leon.”
“G’night, Claire.”
The next day, Leon woke up. He stretched his arms and yawned, before he lay back on the bed, feeling how comfortable it was. Eventually, he got up and opened the door to his room. As he stepped out of his room, he bumped into Claire in the hallway, which initially startled both of them, before relaxing when they realized who they bumped into.
“Good morning, Claire.”
“Morning.”
As they stepped into the living room, Leon asked, “Are we the only ones up?”
“Yeah, I think so. Elza might wake up soon though. And if Sherry’s sleeping habits the other day are anything to go by, she probably won’t be up until tomorrow.”
Leon chuckled at that. The two then sat on the couch together.
“Did you sleep well?” Claire asked Leon.
“Yeah. Yeah, I actually did. Looks like your magic kiss last night worked. How about you?”
“I also slept well.” Claire responded, before continuing, “Looks like your magic kiss worked as well.”
They both chuckled, and then slowly began putting their faces closer to each other.
Just as Leon and Claire were about to kiss, they were interrupted by a little girl’s voice.
“ Leon and Claire sitting on a tree…” Sherry remarked in a sing song voice. Elza was standing right next to her, her face clearly one of amusement.
Leon and Claire both rolled their eyes at Sherry’s antics.
“Considering you two lovebirds can’t help but be close to each other all the time, why don’t you guys go on a date?” Elza asked.
“Yeah!” Sherry agreed enthusiastically.
“A date?” Leon and Claire both said in unison, which made Sherry laugh. Claire pondered it for a bit.
‘A date with Leon… I’d love that. But I can’t just leave Sherry alone here. Plus, I still have use the computer to see if I can find anything regarding Chris…’
“I’d love that, Elza. But we can’t just leave Sherry here. And-“
“Sherry can stay with me while you two go out.” Elza interrupted. As she noticed the uneasy look on Leon and Claire’s faces, she continued, “I’ll keep my phone with me at all times. And I’ll give you guys my spare phone so that I can call you in case anything happens. What do you think, Sherry?”
“I think that’s a great idea, Elza.”
Claire didn’t think that plan was a bad idea, but there was still the issue of her brother.
“Even so, Elza. I still have to find my brother. I got information from a note I found on Raccoon City that could lead me to him. I’m going to have to use the computer we have here to see if I can find anything.”
“Oh, about that…” Elza replied. Claire looked at her in confusion.
“The computer kind of broke down while you were gone. I took it to the shop the other day, and it should be fixed in a few days.”
“The computer broke down?!?! How did that happen?”
“I don’t know! I tried turning it on, but it just wouldn’t turn on. It was charged and everything.”
“Damn it…” Claire thought as she lowered her head.
Leon then wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
“We’ll find your brother, Claire, I promise.” Claire looked at Leon in gratitude. Sherry then chimed in.
“Don’t worry, Claire. We’ll all help you find him. And that’s a promise.”
Claire sighed, before saying, “Well I guess we could wait a few days then.”
“So does that mean you and Leon are going to go on your date?” Sherry asked.
Claire rolled her eyes at Sherry’s insistence, while Leon shook his head and chuckled in amusement.
“Yes, Sherry. We’ll go on our date. But first, I need to buy you some clothes. We can’t have you wearing what we bought you from the gift shop, can we? I’ll take you shopping right now.”
“Nice!” Sherry said, excited to go out with Claire.
“In the meantime, Leon. Try on my brother’s clothes.”
“Alright.”
Claire followed Leon to his room, before warning him, “I must warn you, though, Chris is a very big man, so don’t be surprised if it’s a little bit big for you.”
As Claire got dressed to go out, she heard Leon call her name.
She went to his room, only to find Leon standing there with a shirt that was clearly way too oversized for him.
“Saying his clothes might be a little bit big for me was the understatement of the century. Are you sure your brother isn’t a bodybuilder?”
Claire laughed at Leon’s comment, as well as the sight of him in Chris’ shirt.
“He’s not a bodybuilder, but like I told you, he’s a big dude. Sometimes I feel like he can punch a boulder.”
“But you know what that means…” Leon looked at her in confusion when she said that.
“You’re just going to have to go shopping with us, rookie!”
Leon, Claire, and Sherry entered a store which had mostly clothes, but other essentials as well.
As the trio walked through the aisles, Sherry noticed a very appealing pajama.
“Claire, can I get these? Please?” Sherry asked excitedly.
It was some pink pajamas with white polar bears decorating the pants, as well as a giant polar bear in the center of the shirt, who appeared to be nuzzling its cub.
‘It does indeed look cute…’ Claire thought.
“Yeah, I’ll buy you that, Sherry.”
“Thanks, Claire!”
Claire bought her other clothes as well. The excitement Sherry had seeing all the clothes the store had to offer for girls her age warmed Claire’s heart. Claire did not have this opportunity when she was a 12 year old orphan, so she was glad she could give Sherry what she herself was never given.
“Leon, could you grab that shirt for me up there?” Sherry said as she pointed towards the shirt that it was in a rather high section.
“Of course, Sherry.” Leon said as he began to work on getting that shirt for Sherry.
Sherry then pulled Claire over and giggled. Claire was confused by this, before Sherry told her something which also made Claire smile.
“Sherry, you naughty girl. But sure, I’ll help you. Come on.”
As Leon got the shirt for Sherry, he turned around and noticed that they were gone. Leon became confused before he called out their names.
“Over here, Leon!” He heard Claire and Sherry call out in unison from the other aisle.
Leon walked over to the other aisle. “What are you two girls doing over ther-“ As Leon turned the corner, he was blasted by a bunch of wind, which made him wince and close his eyes. As he cleared his vision once the wind stopped, he saw Sherry holding a leaf blower with Claire right behind her guiding Sherry’s arms. The two then giggled.
“What the hell, guys?”
“Sorry, Leon, we just thought it’d be fun to prank you.” Sherry said.
“Yeah, and it looks like we got you good. Isn’t that right, Sherry?” Claire said as she extended a high five towards Sherry. Sherry giggled excitedly before high fiving Claire.
Although Leon was annoyed by the prank, he smiled at the sweet sight of the two girls enjoying their moment.
Unbeknownst to him, Claire was already plotting another prank. She took a look at the section of women’s racy underwear, before smiling and excusing herself for a moment.
As they reached the men’s section, Claire began examining which clothes would look good on her boyfriend, and she came across a really nice looking set.
“Hey Leon, over here!”
“What is it, Claire?”
“I think you’d look really good in that set over there…”
Leon took a look at the set she was pointing at, and he had to admit, it did look good.
“Yeah, it does look good.” Leon noticed the price was a little expensive though… but if it was only for one set, it should be fine-
“Oooh and that set over there would also look good on you.” Clare said as she pointed towards another set of men’s clothing that was certainly not cheap.
“Ok, Claire, I think we should be more careful with how we spe-“
“Wow those jeans over there would really suit you.”
“Claire-“
“And this polo shirt over here? Mmmm, it’d look fine on you.”
‘God help me.’ Leon thought.
Leon approached the changing rooms with a stack of clothes in his arms, while Claire walked contently on his right side, and Sherry walked with a smile on his left.
As they reached the changing rooms, Sherry went first. She tried on her outfits, loving each and every single one. She eagerly tried on her pink pajamas, and when she exited the curtain to show it off to Leon and Claire, they complimented her.
“Those PJ’s look so cute, Sherry!” Claire remarked.
“So spiffy, Sherry!” Leon chimed in.
Sherry smiled at their compliments, and soon enough, Leon was up next to try on his clothes. He tried each and every single one at Claire’s insistence, with Claire giving her teasing and flirty remarks each time, all the while complimenting how good he looked. All in a PG manner, of course. She was aware that they were in the presence of a child.
But as soon as Sherry asked to use the restroom, which was thankfully right outside the changing room and was in Claire’s sight, she initiated her prank on Leon. Because her prank was NOT meant for children to see.
As soon as Leon said he was ready for the next outfit, Claire took out the article of clothing that was at the center of her prank, and handed it to Leon.
“Here, Leon. Try this one. Just reach your arm out, you don’t have to look at it until you’re about to try it on. Trust me, you’ll look amazing in it…”
Leon grabbed the article of clothing from Claire through the curtain, and Claire began holding her laughter in as she waited for the moment for Leon to realize what he had in his hands.
“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!” Leon yelled from behind the curtain.
Claire burst into a fit of laughter.
She had given him a lace blue thong that she got from the woman’s racy underwear section.
On the drive back to the apartment, Sherry was smiling widely, and Claire also had a huge smile on her face due to how much fun she had getting outfits for Sherry, seeing how hot Leon looked in the outfits he tried on, and of course, the pranks she had played on Leon. Leon, on the other hand, was not too happy with being on the receiving end of two pranks. Claire noticed this.
“Come on Leon, cheer up a bit.”
“I feel violated.”
“Oh come on. Don’t exaggerate, rookie.”
Leon still had a stern look on his face.
“How about I make it up to you by agreeing to go on a date with you later today?” Claire stated.
Leon’s eyes lit up and he looked at Claire.
“R-really?”
Claire nodded her head in response.
“But I haven’t even asked you out yet…”
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
Leon smiled in response, before proceeding to ask Claire out on a date.
“Claire, would you like to go out on a date with me later today? There’s a diner near the McDonald’s we went to that looks like the perfect spot for a first date.”
“Once again, you have a sharp eye for details and things that make my life better.” Claire said, before continuing, “But I’d love to, Leon.” Claire said. The two then shared a quick kiss, and when they separated, they once again heard the voice of a little girl teasing them.
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G” Sherry began singing, continuing the rhyme she started from earlier in the day. “First comes love, then comes marriage…”
Leon and Claire rolled their eyes. Sometimes, Sherry could really be an annoying brat.
But she was their annoying brat. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Notes:
This trio is something else. And isn’t it an AO3 custom to make Claire’s roommate Elza Walker?
Thank you guys for reading. As always, kudos are appreciated, as well as comments. I really want to make the story of this work in the best way I can possibly make it, so if you guys have any feedback or criticism, please let me know in the comments.
For example, I added lines to distinguish parts of the story where there’s a story transition and/or a time skip. Is this fine with you guys or do you prefer no lines? I only ask since I’m still relatively new to writing fics, and am trying to figure things out to make sure the structure of the story is cohesive for you guys.And like I said, take advantage of these wholesome fluff chapters. Because after Chapter 7/8… things start getting a little more serious…
Chapter 6
Summary:
Leon and Claire finally go on their first date, laughing and teasing each other throughout the date.
Sexual tension between the couple rises higher than ever, as they engage in a passionate make out session.
After; Leon, Claire, and Sherry go to a carnival, where they engage in very wholesome and fun activities.
Chapter Text
As they arrived back at the apartment and relaxed for a bit, Leon and Claire decided that it was time to go on their long awaited date.
However, Claire still seemed worried about leaving Sherry alone, even if she wouldn’t technically be alone. She’d be here with Elza, but still…
“Are you sure you’ll be okay without us?” Claire asked Sherry.
“For the hundredth time, Claire, I’ll be fine. Elza will call you guys if anything happens.”
“And trust me, Claire, the phone rings loud whenever you get a call, so even if you and Leon are distracted making out, you’ll still hear it.” Elza then chimed in.
Claire hesitated for a moment, before she relented.
“Alright, fine.”
Leon then spoke up. “Good news is that the diner is closer to us than the McDonald’s was, and the McDonalds was like a 7 minute drive from here. So if anything does happen, we won’t be half an hour away.”
That reassured Claire.
“Okay then… I should probably go get changed for our date then. You should do the same, rookie. I got you a lot of nice clothes, so I can’t wait to see you in them for our date.” Claire said as she winked at Leon.
As Leon began getting dressed for his date with Claire, deliberately putting on the set of clothes that she enjoyed seeing on him the most when he was in the changing room, he felt excited about his date with his girlfriend.
‘Wow I’m actually going to go on a date with Claire Redfield. Should I act more flirty and romantic with her or should I just be myself? I hope she likes the food of the diner… it would be really awkward if she didn’t…’
Leon was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a stumble coming from Claire’s room, as well as a noise of pain she emitted.
‘Shit! She’s in trouble!’ Leon rushed over to Claire’s room and opened the door.
“Claire, is everything alr-“ He paused as he took in the sight.
Claire was there, clad in her bra and panties.
She jumped as he entered while letting out a girlish squeal.
But Leon was entranced at the sight of her basically naked.
‘So this is what she looks like underneath those clothes… Fuck… she looks so sexy’
Leon thought as his eyes roamed her virtually bare body. Not to mention, her bra and underwear was black, his favorite color on a woman.
‘Those black bra and panties match against her pale skin so well…’
He didn’t get a chance to ogle her for long though, as he brought his gaze back up to her face, and saw her fiercely blushing.
“Oh my god. I-I’m… I’msorry!” Leon said as he quickly dashed out of the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes, while trying to catch his breath. And then he looked down and noticed…
Oh no…
He had a boner. The mere sight of Claire in her underwear for about 7 seconds was enough to give him an erection , and he quickly went to his room to try to find a way to relieve it, without resorting to doing something inappropriate.
Somehow, he was able to get his dick under control, until he heard Claire call him over.
‘Oh no…’ Leon thought. ‘She’s going to kill me…’
He exited his room and walked over to Claire’s room, only to see her standing already there, fully dressed as she had light blue jeans, black boots, a dark grey shirt, and her signature red jacket.
‘Wow, she looks beautiful…’ Leon thought.
“How do I look?” Claire asked a bit nervously.
“You look incredible, Claire. You always look incredible, but today, you look even more incredible.”
Claire blushed at his words, before examining him for herself, seeing that he was wearing the best set of clothes she had bought him. It consisted of a blue trucker jacket with a tan polo shirt underneath, and some light blue jeans to top it off.
“You don’t look bad yourself either.” She complimented him.
Leon smiled at her, before apologizing for walking in on her and ogling her.
“Look Claire, about what happened a couple minutes ago…” Right as Leon began his sentence, he felt Claire’s finger cover his lips, and she led him into her bedroom with her hand.
As the couple entered, Claire spoke up, “You don’t have to apologize, Leon.”
“But I do. I opened your door without knocking, and I stared at you in your underwear like a creep.”
“Yeah… about that…” Claire thought as she remembered what she did a couple days ago while he was undressing for his shower.
Leon stood there confused at her words.
“I can’t really judge you for ogling me, Leon. Considering I… I- *sigh* I also ogled you while you were getting undressed for your shower in that motel we were in. So I’d say we’re even now.”
Leon was surprised at this. And then he remembered that he had left a small opening in the bathroom door when he showered.
‘She must’ve peeked on me through there…’
“Oh… I- I didn’t know that…”
“I’m sorry I peeked on you that day. We weren’t a couple yet, so I had no right to do that.”
“Nah it’s alright, Claire. Don’t beat yourself over it.”
Claire smiled at his words, before Leon continued.
“Let’s put that incident and this incident aside, and let’s focus on the present. Because right now…” Leon said as he extended his hand to her. “I got a hot date with my gorgeous girlfriend over here.” He finished with a smirk. Claire returned the smirk, and took his hand, as the couple walked out of the room hand in hand.
As they entered the living room, they said their goodbyes to Sherry and Elza, with Claire reminding Sherry and Elza to call them if anything happened. Leon and Claire then headed out the door, as they heard Sherry call out, “Have fun out there guys!”
“Just don’t have too much fun!” Elza added, which made the couple blush.
As they approached the car, Leon held the door open for Claire, and she appreciated his chivalry.
“Such a gentleman.”
While on the way to the diner, Claire noticed that Leon was sweating, and his hands were a little wet on the steering wheel.
“Leon, relax. It’s just a date.”
“I know. I just- I want to make it the best first date for you without screwing anything up.”
Claire grabbed his shoulder. “You won’t screw anything up, trust me. Just be yourself. I lo- I like you for who you are, Leon. As long as you do that, I’m sure the date will be just fine.”
Leon smiled at her, and immediately began relaxing at her words.
After the short drive, the two arrived at the diner, and Leon continued his chivalrous acts by holding the door open for Claire as they walked in.
Claire quite liked how the diner looked. It wasn’t too basic like a fast food restaurant, but it wasn’t too overwhelming. It was the perfect balance needed for a first date.
“Looks like you chose the right place, rookie.”
“You like it?”
Claire nodded her head.
“Nice! That’s good…”
As the two sat down in a modest table, they were handed the menu by a waitress. Claire looked over the menu and liked the options that they were offering. The two ordered their food, and while they waited, Leon thought now was the opportunity to break the ice.
“Say, Claire, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? I know we’ve grown very close, but we still don’t know much about each other’s interests.”
Claire was a little stunned at the realization that he was right.
“Yeah, you’re actually right… Well, what do you want to know?”
“Anything. Hobbies, interests…”
“Well that certainly narrows it down.”
Leon scoffed and then thought of something more specific to ask.
“Let’s start with this: What does Claire Redfield enjoy doing?”
“I really like motorcycles. I like exercising. I like playing volleyball. I like fireworks, even though I’ve never really seen many in person. I like learning how to defend myself and shoot guns from my brother… I also like lock picking things.”
“You know how to lock pick?!”
“Sure do! A woman by the name of Jill Valentine, who’s a close friend of my brother, taught me how to lock pick. I learned pretty quick, but then again, I had an amazing teacher. They call Jill the master of unlocking things.”
“Wow. Thats incredible, Claire! I have no idea how to lock pick, and I feel like I’d still have no idea how to lock pick even if I was taught…”
“One of these days, I’ll teach you, rookie. Sound good?”
“Now that you’ve told me your interests, what were you studying in college? I assume your interests coincided with what you were studying.”
“I was studying engineering.”
“Ah that makes sense. You did say you really liked motorcycles.”
“I could spend an entire day at a motorcycle shop admiring how they look, how they operate, how they ride, etc. Unfortunately, I lost my motorcycle back in Raccoon City… which fucking sucks, because I saved a lot of money to buy it.” Claire said as she slightly clenched her fist.
Leon then reached over and gently grabbed her hand, which made her instantly stop clenching her fist.
“It’s okay, Claire. I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity to get another motorcycle.”
Claire appreciated Leon’s enthusiasm, but she thought she’d tease him.
“Does that mean you’re gonna buy a new one for me? Gee, thanks Leon!”
“I didn’t say that… but if you’d like I can buy you one… I’ll just have to check the prices…”
Claire was shocked that Leon didn’t understand her sarcasm, but more so shocked that she had such an influence over him to the point that he was willing to consider buying her a new motorcycle.
“I’m just joking, you knucklehead. Ever heard of sarcasm? Jeez… I really do have you wrapped around my finger, don’t I?” Claire giggled.
Leon blushed and looked away in shame.
“Anyways, let’s get back to our conversation. What’s your favorite movie?”
“Alien. It’s such a good movie, and Sigourney Weaver is so badass as Ripley. She really inspired girls like me to embrace our toughness and not be ashamed of it.”
“Well that’s nice. I’m glad things are changing. It really is a good film, and Ripley is indeed such a badass character.”
“And what’s your favorite movie?” Claire asked, curious to see Leon’s taste in movies.
“Mine? It’d have to be Star Wars. It was so revolutionary, and the effects are absolutely insane for it being a 1977 movie. And come on, isn’t Darth Vader like the best villain ever?”
“He is. Wow, I just noticed that our favorite movies are of the same genre…” Claire pointed out.
“That’s right. Science fiction.”
“What are your thoughts on the new Star Wars movie coming out next year?” Claire asked, hoping to see him get excited.
She noticed Leon immediately get very excited.
“I’m glad you asked, Claire. I’m super excited. Everyone has wanted to know the story of how Anakin fell to the dark side, how the Jedi Order looked before they were wiped out, and how Obi Wan was as a young Jedi Knight. You know, it’s crazy that…”
Claire sat there bewildered as Leon began going off about Star Wars lore. Even though he was rambling, Claire couldn’t help but smile. She liked that Leon was comfortable enough with her to show off his goofy side.
“…And that new villain’s double-bladed lightsaber?! Are you kidding me?! That’s so cool! I can’t wait to see it in action! I wonder if his lightsaber has two Kyber crystals, or if it’s just one really long Kyber crys-“
“You are such a nerd, rookie.” Claire interrupted.
Leon leaned his head down in shame before Claire tilted his chin up and deeply kissed him. As they broke, Claire said in a sweet tone, “but I love that about you.”
Leon blushed deeply at the kiss and her words.
‘L-love? Did she say love? Slow it down, Leon. You’re overthinking it.’
“What’s your favorite color?” Leon asked.
Claire stared at him blankly.
“Oh, that’s right… I don’t have to ask.” Leon said while pointing to her jacket.
“What’s yours?”
“Blue.”
“Ah so I got the right color thong for you earlier today!” Claire laughed.
Leon froze, remembering that prank.
“I’d rather erase that from my memory…”
“Anyways, enough about me, let’s talk about you. I want to get to know my sweet rookie more. What does Leon Kennedy enjoy doing?”
“I like a lot of things. I grew up playing soccer, so I like that sport. I like going to the gym. I like watching boxing fights. I like playing video games. I especially like playing Mario Kart…”
“No way!” Claire interrupted. “You like playing Mario Kart too?”
“Who doesn’t?” Leon said while chuckling. “It’s a classic.”
“I bet I could beat you in a race, rookie.”
“In your dreams, Redfield.”
The two shared a laugh before Leon continued speaking about his interests.
“I like going out. I like reading superhero comic books. I like cooking, believe it or not. And…” Leon paused before he said his next words. “I like girls who have blue eyes and are tomboys. And who have ponytails.”Leon said teasingly.
Claire blushed in response.
“And I like tough girls who blush whenever I compliment them.”
“Oh shut up, you sap.”
“Make me, Redfield.”
Claire leaned over and kissed him deeply, hoping that would shut him up.
The food arrived, and they began eating.
“Wow, this food is actually pretty good!” Claire remarked.
“Yeah, it actuallly is! Looks like my instincts were right.”
As the two finished eating and cleaned themselves up, Leon noticed some food that was in the corner of her mouth.
“Claire, you got a little something in the corner of your mouth.”
Claire reached over and quickly tried to wipe it off to no avail.
“Here, let me.” Leon said as he reached over with his thumb and gently wiped the food particles away from the corner of her mouth.
“There we go. Good as new.”
Claire got flustered at his sweetness.
As Leon got out his wallet, Claire stopped him.
“You don’t have to pay for the meal, Leon…”
“But I want to. Come on, Claire, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for the first date? Especially when I have a girlfriend as perfect as you…”
Claire once again got flustered by his words, and obliged to let him pay. Leon also made sure to leave a tip for the waitress.
As the couple began walking out of the restaurant, Claire slipped on a large chunk of food that was left on the floor. She fell back and closed her eyes to brace for the impact, only to be caught midair by Leon with his hands around her upper body.
Claire opened her eyes, only to see Leon’s blue eyes staring right back at hers. He looked worried and relieved at the same time.
“You okay?” Leon asked in a tender voice.
“Yeah. Thanks to you.”
Claire swore somebody put magnets on their lips, because their lips connected once again.
They forgot they were in a public restaurant though.
Leon and Claire had their kiss broken by wolf whistles coming from the customers, as well as by some remarks made from other customers.
“Aren’t they a cute couple?”
“Good to know chivalry is still alive these days.”
“Ah young romance… how I miss it…”
The two got visibly shy under the wolf whistles and remarks of the customers so Leon lifted her back up so that she was standing straight, and they walked hand in hand out of the restaurant, all the while they heard clapping noises and cheers from behind them.
Leon once again opened the car door for Claire to enter, and then got in the car himself.
“So…” Leon began nervously. “How was the date?” Leon said as his hands started getting a little shaky. He then felt Claire’s soft palm clasp the top of his hand, and he immediately stopped shaking, relaxing under her gentle touch.
“I absolutely loved it, Leon. We got to know each other more, we laughed and had fun, we teased each other, and you even served as my knight in shining armor when you saved me from falling. Thank you for making our first date such a wonderful one, Leon.”
Leon smiled. “It was my pleasure, Claire.” As Leon turned on the car and waited for it to warm up, he spoke to Claire once again.
“So would you say it was one helluva first date?”
Claire understood that reference and rolled her eyes.
Leon drove them back to their apartment, talking freely along the way. As they entered the apartment, they were relieved to see Sherry there, safe and sound with Elza.
As soon as Sherry noticed them, she lit up with excitement.
“How did it go guys?”
“It went well, Sherry. Really well, thanks to Leon.”
Leon and Claire began talking like a couple and Claire inadvertently led him to her room.
Leon noticed this, and made a remark.
“Woah, I think this is the first time I’ve actually been in your room…”
“What do you think?” Claire said as she began feeling a bit insecure, her back to his.
“I know it might not look like a woman’s room, and it’s not exactly as clean as one either…” Claire continued.
Leon then came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I think it looks great, Claire. It’s your room.” Leon said as he kissed her cheek.
As Leon leaned his head against hers, he noticed a photo in the corner of her room. It was a man, a woman, a young teenage boy, and a little girl. The little girl looked a whole lot like Claire. And then Leon realized… that must be a photo of Claire with her family.
“Is.. is that a photo of you and your family?”
Claire looked to where he was pointing at, and confirmed it.
“Yeah… that’s me with Chris and my parents. That was taken when I was 8, a year before my parents died…”
Leon separated from her in shock.
“Your parents died?”
Claire nodded her head, as she looked down in sadness.
“I’m so sorry, Claire. No one deserves to go through that as a child… if you don’t want to talk about it anymore, that’s completely fine.”
“N-no, it’s okay Leon. I feel comfortable enough to talk to you about it.”
Leon then interlocked his hand with hers, a sign that he was here for her.
“I… I grew up like any normal little girl did. I was taken to the park, I played with Barbie dolls, I dressed up for Halloween each year, and my brother and I loved messing with each other. You know, the usual sibling quarrels.” Claire chuckled, remembering the fun memories she had with Chris.
“My parents were humble people. They worked blue collar jobs, but most importantly, they were always there for me. I remember my dad coming into my room to comfort me when I was scared of a loud thunderstorm, and I remember my mom encouraging me that I can be anything that I set my mind to…”
“But then everything changed when my parents…” Claire began shaking and breathing heavy. Leon held her hands tighter, and rubbed her back with his other hand. “…when my parents died. The day I found out they died, I was devastated, but I was even more shocked. How is a 9 year old girl supposed to react when being told that her parents are dead?”
“Chris was also devastated, and he somehow felt responsible for their deaths, which never made sense to me even to this day. He had to quickly mature as a 16 year old boy and turn into my only guardian. This caused a stressful environment. Due to him taking care of me, as well as him mourning our parents, he started failing classes, to the point that he had to drop out of school. He had to work low-paying jobs just to provide for me, and there were some days I didn’t see him until late at night, as he was working overtime to make more money. Because of these circumstances, I didn’t get to enjoy my teenage years. While girls my age were going to prom, doing sleepovers, getting boyfriends, and going out for dinner nights, I was alone at home and had to fend for myself whenever Chris couldn’t be there. Maybe that’s how I got my toughness; I’m not sure.”
“But even though I didn’t get to enjoy my teens, I am still thankful for my brother, and always will be. He was there for me at my worst moment. He held me for hours while I cried over the death of our parents. And the few times he had any free time, instead of using it to go out with his friends or go to the shooting range to try out his favorite guns, he instead used it to take me to the zoo, to the town fair, or to the movie theater.”
‘Chris sounds like a really good brother… No wonder she has been so driven to find him…’
“Which is why… I have to find him. I can’t bear the thought of losing him… I- I just can’t. I already lost my parents. I don’t want to lose him as w-well.” Claire said as tears started flowing down her cheeks.
Leon cupped her cheeks with both of his hands, wiped the tears off of them, and promised her: “You’re not going to lose your brother, Claire. We will find him, I promise. You’re not alone. I will do everything I can to help you find him. Whatever it takes. I swear it.”
Claire looked at him, and she was awe-strucken. She had no idea what she did to deserve a boyfriend as good as Leon. He was always willing to help her and comfort her, and Claire hoped she didn’t die in Raccoon City and was just dreaming a paradise where she had the perfect boyfriend. Eventually, this admiration of him grew into a desire for him, and she pulled him into a kiss, passionate and fierce. Claire slipped her tongue into his mouth, making Leon let out a moan in reaction.
God, she wanted to hear more of those sounds.
She continued kissing Leon while walking forward until the back of his legs hit the bed. Claire then broke the kiss, and pushed him onto the bed. As soon as he landed on the bed, Claire wasted no time in straddling him, and then continued their heated kiss.
This time, Leon was the one that inserted his tongue into her mouth, and Claire moaned. Leon loved that noise from her, and he wanted to hear it more. As he explored her mouth with his tongue, Claire decided that two can play that game and used her tongue to wrestle with his.
As this happened, Leon noticed that he was now granted “privileges” to touching her ass while they made out, so he took full advantage of it. He lowered his hands from her waist to her ass, and squeezed at the flesh which was unfortunately covered by her jeans. Nevertheless, he still felt how big and juicy it was, and he squeezed it eagerly.
Although it seems that Leon had grown too eager, though, as he developed an erection that caught the attention of Claire. She broke the kiss and looked to see what was poking her.
“What’s that poking m-“ Claire stopped her words as she saw a huge bulge protruding from Leon’s jeans.
‘So that’s what men get when they’re turned on by women… I didn’t believe it until I actually saw it.’
Leon, embarrassed, covered himself, and mistakenly thought he should apologized.
“I’m sorry! I- I got too excited. I’ll try to keep it under control next ti-“
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Leon. When that happens, it means I’m turning you on, right? In which case, I’m flattered.” Claire finished with a wink.
Leon looked at her, shocked at first, but then he smiled and pulled her back in for a kiss.
Claire was getting tired of just making out, and she wanted to take it to the next step. She needed to take it to the next step. Claire began taking advantage of the reaction that he had, and she grinded herself against his erection over and over again. This caused Leon to let out a moan at how pleasurable it felt. Claire grinned at his reaction and continued the grinding. Leon wasn’t one to stay idle though.
‘Two can play that game.’ Leon thought, as he thrusted his hips up against her clothed center. Claire let out a moan at the feeling of his clothed erection thrusting against her, and Leon grinned at her reaction.
Claire, however, also began getting tired of the teasing. She needed Leon out of those sexy clothes of his. Now. Claire grabbed the bottom of his shirt and began pulling it up, and Leon raised his arms to help her pull it off of him. As she took his shirt off, Claire ran her hands all over his chest before kissing him once again. Leon, in turn, also wanted Claire out of her clothes, so he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began pulling it up. Claire raised her arms to help him take it off. Her shirt was halfway to being taken off of her before they heard a knock at the door. They instantly stopped what they were doing. And Claire took a big gulp before responding.
“Y-yeah?”
“Hey, Claire. It’s Elza. Sherry wants to ask you something. I think you’ll like it. And I think Leon will like it. Speaking of which…where is he?”
Claire and Leon looked at each other nervously.
“He’s… in his room.”
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I saw his room empty on the way here… He’s in there with you, isn’t he?”
“Look, Elza.” Claire began, clearly annoyed. “Tell Sherry we- I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”
“… Okay, Claire.” Elza said, but they heard her faint laugh through the door as she walked away.
“Sorry about that…” Claire told Leon as she got off of him.
“Don’t sweat it.” Leon said as he began putting his shirt back on. Once they straightened themselves out, they headed towards the living room to see what Sherry wanted.
“What is it, Sherry?” Claire asked Sherry.
“I was asking Elza if there any fun events we could go to, and she mentioned that there were two carnivals in the town that we can attend!”
“Really?” Claire said looking at Elza for confirmation. “Well, even though I’ve gone out twice today, I suppose we have the energy to go out one more time, right Leon?”
“Right on, Claire.”
“Wow, thanks guys!” Sherry began. “I never really got the chance to go to a carnival as a kid… so I really appreciate you guys agreeing to take me to one.”
Claire then kneeled down to Sherry’s level and put her hands on Sherry’s shoulders.
“Sherry, we’re going to make sure you enjoy the carnival to its fullest. You’re going to have so much fun, trust me.”
Sherry then began getting tears in her eyes and she hugged Claire tightly, while Claire reciprocated it just as tight.
“Thank you, Claire.”
“So which one will we go to?” Claire asked.
“I’d say go to the one near the Blockbuster. That one is more oriented towards kids like Sherry. The other one can be used for other occasions.”
‘Such as a second date with Claire…’ Leon thought.
“You don’t want to go with us, Elza?” Claire asked her.
Elza shook her head.
“Nah, this is a moment for the three of you. Besides, someone has to watch over the house.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure, Claire. Maybe another day we can go, but not now.”
With that, the trio headed out and drove towards the carnival.
On the way to the carnival, Leon and Claire witnessed a cute moment with Sherry.
“And now, let’s rewind it back slightly to the song that had all of you struck in awe three years ago…” The radio began stating, before it began playing ‘Fantasy’ by Mariah Carey.
“Ooooh I love this song!” Sherry had stated, getting visibly excited while the opening beat played.
Leon and Claire looked at her in amusement. And then they became even more amused when she began singing the entire song’s lyrics.
“Oh, when you walk by every night
Talking sweet and looking fine
I get kinda hectic inside
Mmm, baby I'm so into you
Darling, if you only knew
All the things that flow through my mind
But it's just a sweet sweet fantasy baby
When I close my eyes
You come and you take me
It's so deep in my daydreams
But it's just a sweet, sweet fantasy baby”
Leon and Claire both looked at each other and let out a chuckle at Sherry’s singing.
‘She’s actually a good singer…” Claire thought.
‘This reminds me of that one scene from the Rush Hour movie I saw in theaters a couple weeks ago…’ Leon thought.
As the trio arrived at the carnival, Sherry brought up something that she thought was important.
“Guys, I really want to capture this moment permanently. Do you have any cameras?”
Leon and Claire wished they did, but they didn’t.
“I’m sorry, Sherry, but I don’t have a camera.”
“Me neither.”
“Awww, well that sucks…”
Leon noticed that Sherry looked a little sad, so Leon looked around the block to see if any stores were selling cameras. After all, there were a lot of stores near the carnival. He then noticed a store that was selling Polaroid cameras.
“Looks like hope is not yet lost, Sherry.” Leon said as he motioned towards the store.
“No way! Thanks, Leon! But… aren’t Polaroid cameras a little old-fashioned nowadays?”
Leon shrugged his shoulders. “They might be, but they still work. And even better, they print out a hard copy of the photo almost immediately after, which new cameras don’t do. You wanted to capture the moment permanently, right? I’d say getting a hard copy is the easiest way to do that.”
“I suppose you’re right, Leon.”
“Ok, girls. Stay here while I go buy us that camera.”
Leon bought the camera… as well as some other essentials he might be needing down the road…
“Say Claire, why haven’t you slept with Leon?”
Claire’s eyes widened. What the hell did Sherry just ask?!
“Sherry!” Claire said in an embarrassed tone.
“What? Isn’t that what couples do? You’ve already slept with me for the past couple of days…”
‘Oh.’ Claire thought. ‘ That’s what she meant by that… Well of course that’s what she meant by that, Claire! What kind of sick mind do you have to think a 12 year old knows anything about sex?!’
Claire cleared her throat, and her head, before she responded to Sherry. “I wouldn’t want to leave you alone, Sherry…”
“I’ll be fine. Trust me. Besides, I know you want to cuddle with Leon. Don’t deny it. I saw how you laid your head against his shoulder on the taxi over here yesterday.”
“Yes, Sherry, I’d like to cuddle with Leon. But I need you to make sure you’re okay with sleeping alone.”
“I’m sure, Claire.”
As Leon returned with the camera, Sherry and Claire looked at him with joy.
“Nicely done, rookie.” Claire stated.
“How about I try out this camera on you guys first? Come on, girls.” Leon said as he motioned them to pose for a picture.
As they got into position, with Sherry wrapping her arms around Claire’s waist, and Claire wrapping one arm across Sherry’s shoulder, Leon took the photo.
As Leon took the photo, they waited a couple seconds for the Polaroid to print out the photo, and when it did, they stood there reveling in how sweet the photo looked.
“Wow…” Sherry said as she looked at the photo of her and Claire.
“I know, right?” Claire stated, before continuing, “but we’ll have way better opportunities to take photos at the carnival. Come on guys, the carnival is waiting!”
Leon and Sherry chuckled as they followed Claire towards the carnival.
Claire giggled excitedly, as they reached the center of the carnival.
“So, guys, where should we start?”
“Oooh, I know!” Sherry said excitedly.
The rest of the day was easily the funnest day each of the three survivors had in a long time.
“How the hell are you so good at this, Sherry?” Claire asked Sherry as she began effortlessly climbing the Crazy Ladder Climb.
“I’m young!” Sherry stated, before teasing the couple. “Unlike you two old-timers.”
“Since when we were considered old?” Claire said, dumbfounded as she looked at Leon, who was on the verge of falling off the ladder at any moment.
“I have no idea, Claire.”
Leon was struggling the most out of the three, and he eventually fell.
Claire herself was not doing too well either. She had barely reached past the halfway point of the ladder climb, and Sherry was already about to reach the top.
“Come on, Claire. It’s just climbing. You climbed a lot of ladders in Raccoon City…” Claire whispered to herself.
“Say, Claire.” Claire looked over at Sherry, and was shocked to see her one climb away from winning the game. “Seeing as you’re struggling so much, how about this: If you make it to the top, I’ll let you win.”
Sherry was clearly teasing Claire.
“Since when did you act so high and mighty, little miss?” Claire retorted.
“Since I saw a 12 year old easily beat a 19 year old and a 21 year old in a simple climbing game.”
“Ouch.” Leon said from where he was.
“Just you wait, Sherry! I’ll make it to the top, and you’ll be eating your wor- AAH!” Claire fell, and with that, Sherry made the final climb and won the game.
She then jumped down from where she was, and gloated her win.
“Sorry, Leon. Sorry, Claire. Better luck next time.”
Claire made a huff of annoyance at that.
“A 12 year old just beat us at a climbing game, Claire.”
“I can’t believe it either, Leon.”
“Oh look, a dodgeball game. Don’t see that too often at carnivals.” Leon said as they approached the dodgeball game. The game was simple, one person of a group enters the open area there, and they try to dodge their friends’ attempts to hit them with the ball. There were 20 soft balls in shelves outside the area, so surviving would be tough.
As the trio were next in line, Leon spoke up.
“Alright, who’s going to go-“ Leon was suddenly pushed into the open area by Claire.
“Well of course it’s going to be you, rookie!” Claire remarked.
“Hey! We didnt even-“ Leon was then interrupted by a ball coming his way from Sherry, which he dodged, but it still startled him.
“Oops! Sorry about that, Leon.” Sherry said sarcastically.
“Sherry! That is no way to-“ Leon was then interrupted by another ball coming from Claire, which he also narrowly dodged.
“You better get busy moving, Twinkle-toes.” Claire remarked, as she had another ball already ready in her hands. Sherry also had another ball in her hands. The two girls had a crazed look in their eyes, as if they really wanted to get him.
“Oh shit…” Leon said nervously.
“So how does driving feel, Sherry?” Claire asked as she sat next to Sherry in the bumper car.
“It feels amazing, Claire! It makes me want to learn to drive already.”
“Slow down, kiddo. You still got a long ways to go before you’re ready for that.” Claire chuckled.
Leon then chimed in.
“But based on how you’re driving right now, I’d say you have a bright future as a driver, Sherry!” Leon said as he drifted around the open square they were in with his own bumper car.
“You are absolutely right, Leon.” Claire agreed.
Sherry smiled brightly.
The trio then headed to a show that was being held in the carnival center. But considering they weren’t in the front, it was a bit hard for Sherry to see, being a 12 year old girl and all. Leon could sense her frustration, so he decided to help.
“Need a better view Sherry?”
“Yes please.”
“Alrighty. Come on, up and at em.” Leon said as he picked Sherry up and planted her on his shoulders.
Sherry let out a gasp as she immediately noticed the better view he had.
“Better?” Leon asked.
“Way better. Thanks, Leon!”
Leon smiled and looked over at Claire, who had a warm smile on her lips.
‘A great boyfriend, and a great father figure. What can’t this precious boy do?’ Claire thought.
As Claire stepped forward and took a look at Sherry, she noticed that Sherry’s eyes were glowing. Not just figuratively from happiness and joy, but literally as the lights from the carnival show reflected in her pupils. Claire took a photo of Sherry on Leon’s shoulders with the Polaroid camera, and she prayed she’d never forget the sight.
As the trio finally finished their long day at the carnival, they noticed that they never got the chance to take a photo of the three of them together. Leon quickly tried to find someone who would take that photo for them, before coming across a couple who looked to be in their late forties.
“Excuse me, sir. Ma’am. I was wondering if you could take a photo of the three of us? If you are willing to, of course. We’d really appreciate it.”
“Sure, kid.” The man said as he took the Polaroid camera from Leon.
“Ah, Polaroid cameras. Takes me back to the old days in the 70s…” The man said before he held the camera up.
Leon, Claire, and Sherry then stood there posing for the camera. Sherry stood in front of Leon and Claire, and had a wide smile on her face of pure happiness, while Leon had one hand on her shoulder and Claire had her hand on the other shoulder. Claire tilted her head to lean against Leon’s, and both of them had a very content smile because of that.
“Aren’t they cute, Frank?” The woman asked her husband.
“They sure are, darling.” The man said as he took the photo. He then took more photos of them.
As the man handed Leon the Polaroid camera back, he told Leon, “You have a beautiful family, kid. Take care of them.”
Leon looked at the man in appreciation for the kind words, and promised to do just that.
“I will.”
Leon, Claire, and Sherry waited for the photo to shoot out, and when it did, they all remained silent. Not because they didn’t like the photo, but because the photo was so… precious.
There, stood three survivors who went though hell, but because they had each other, they were all smiling contently. They were each other’s cure for their trauma.
Leon especially, felt a lot of joy and gratitude looking at the photo. His eyes began slightly watering as he took it in. This photo meant everything to him. Because in that photo, was his world. Claire and Sherry were his world. His new family. And, remembering the promise he made to them the night after Raccoon City, he once again swore to always protect them.
‘Claire, Sherry, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe. I promise.’
Chapter 7
Notes:
Smut is present in the chapter. For those not interested in reading smut, there are headings in bold and in all caps to signify when the smut begins and when it ends.
This is going to be the last chapter where a substantial amount of fluff will be present. Things are going to start picking up real quick after this.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Leon, Claire, and Sherry returned to the apartment with a huge smile on their faces. Each of them had gotten a photo of the three of them, and they planned to always keep that photo somewhere where they would never lose it. Leon decided to go put it in his backpack that he had bought when they went shopping earlier. A backpack had always served as a good place to store things for him, so he knew he wouldn’t lose it in there.
As everyone in the apartment went to bed, Leon flopped onto his bed. It had been a long day. He had gone shopping with Claire and Sherry, and then went on his first date with Claire, and then finally went to the carnival with Sherry and Claire. But he enjoyed every single one of those occasions. It felt like he was living the childhood he never got to have, and he couldn’t be more thankful to Claire and Sherry for it.
Leon began to close his eyes and get ready to sleep, until he heard the door to his room open. Leon became a little startled, and quickly sat up. However, he immediately relaxed once he realized it was Claire.
“Claire… do you need anything?”
Leon noticed that Claire looked a little nervous, and that in turn made him nervous as well.
“Um…” Claire started, as she struggled to find what to say. “Look Leon, what I’m about to ask might sound weird, so I need you to promise that you won’t judge me.”
Leon then got up from the bed and clasped her hand with his. “I promise.”
That gave Claire the confidence to say what she wanted to ask, and she took a deep sigh before she said it.
“C-Can I spend the night here? With you?”
Leon was caught off guard. That was not what he was expecting her to say. But he promised her he would not judge, and to be fair, he actually really liked her offer. The thought of spending the night with Claire by his side on the bed both excited and relieved him, and not in a sexual way.
“Yeah, of course, Claire.”
“But… what about Sherry?”
Claire chuckled before answering him. “It was her idea in the first place. She told me she’d be fine sleeping alone.”
Leon then smiled and motioned to the bed.
“So then, shall we head to bed now, Claire?”
Claire smiled. “Yeah, I think that’d be a really good idea.”
The couple headed to the bed and laid down on it. As they laid down next to each other, they laid there a bit awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
“Uh… should we… you know… cuddle?” Claire asked.
“Oh! Yeah, we probably should.”
“Ok…” Claire began. “What position should we cuddle in?”
“Uh…” Leon said, dumbfounded.
“Maybe with my leg over yours? Or…” Claire paused, having no idea what to do. “You know what… maybe this was a mistake, Leon. Maybe-“
Leon then gently pulled her into his arms so that her head was positioned against his chest, and his arm was wrapped behind her back and shoulder.
Claire was initially shocked for a second, but then immediately melted into his embrace, reveling in how strong and secure his chest felt.
“Is- is this a good position?” Leon asked nervously.
“Definitely.” Claire responded as she laid an arm across his abdomen.
Leon’s heart warmed at her simple action, and he pressed a kiss to her head as he pulled the sheets over them with his unoccupied arm.
Claire felt so safe in his arms, and the kiss to her head was the cherry on top. Claire decided to repay Leon by kissing his chest, and she got giddy when she felt his heart skip a beat in reaction.
“Good night, Claire.”
“G’night, Leon.”
The two then went to sleep with a very happy smile on their faces. Furthermore, they would find out in the morning that it was perhaps the best sleep they ever had in their lives.
Leon then woke up, and the first thing he noticed was that he felt a lot warmer than he usually did. And not in the bad way where you start sweating either. In the good way, where the warmth provides you the much needed comfort. And then Leon felt someone snuggling against him, and he remembered that he had slept with Claire by his side. Leon smiled, and then he felt Claire turn her head from where it was in his chest, and she looked at him while also smiling herself. She looked to be wide awake.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” Claire told Leon.
“Mornin” Leon replied a little groggily.
“How’d you sleep?” Claire asked Leon.
“That might’ve been the best sleep I ever had. And it’s all because you were here in my arms.”
“That was probably the best sleep I ever had as well. And it’s all because I had the best pillow anyone can have.” Claire said as she nuzzled her head against his chest.
The couple continued snuggling and cuddling, before Claire tapped his chest and began to sit up.
“How about I make you some pancakes as a reward for that date you gave me last night?”
“I’d love me some pancakes… but dates aren’t meant to be repaid…”
“Then… how about I make you some pancakes in reward for everything you’ve done for me?”
“I’d like that, Claire. I thought you said you weren’t the biggest fan of cooking though?”
Claire then kissed Leon, and as they separated, she said, “For you, I can make an exception.”
She then flashed Leon a smile and got off the bed.
“I can help you if you want.” Leon said as he struggled to get out of bed.
“You still look a bit tired, sleepyhead. Why don’t you rest a little more? Especially considering the pancakes might take a while.”
“Okay.”
Claire left to go make him some pancakes, and Leon fell back asleep.
Leon woke up to a loud noise coming from the front door.
It had sounded like… the front door was busted open…
Leon then heard something that instantly put him on alert.
“LEON!” He heard Claire and Sherry scream in unison.
Leon quickly ran out of his bedroom and into the living room, only to find what appeared to be multiple government soldiers restraining Claire and Sherry. They had already handcuffed Sherry, and were on the verge of handcuffing Claire despite her attempts to resist.
Leon tried to move but couldn’t? Why couldn’t he move? It’s like he was frozen in a standing position.
“Leon… please… save us.” He heard Claire say. Her eyes and Sherry’s eyes looked to be pleading with Leon.
He then saw what appeared to be a government agent in shades turn his attention to Leon.
“There’s the other survivor. Secure him.” The agent said, before Leon felt two soldiers come up from behind suddenly and started dragging him towards the back of the house.
He tried to resist but couldn’t, and the last thing he saw were Claire and Sherry’s pleading faces.
Leon then sat up from his bed and started huffing a bit harshly.
‘What the hell was that? Oh no… Claire! Sherry!’
Just as Leon was about to rush to the living room, he heard Claire call him over.
“Leon, the pancakes are ready!”
Leon let out a sigh of relief.
‘What a strange nightmare…’
Two days later…
It was around noon, and Leon and Claire were cuddling on the couch while watching TV.
Elza then entered the living room.
“Good news, Claire. I got a call from the shop, and they told me your computer will be ready to pick up tomorrow!”
“Really? That’s great! I’ll finally be able to have an idea of where my brother is…” She then felt Leon hold her closer.
“And I’ll be here to help you every step of the way, Claire.” Claire looked at Leon warmly, before kissing him.
As they kissed, they heard Elza clear her throat.
“I don’t want to interrupt this sweet moment between you two lovebirds, but considering today is the last day you guys will have any free time, how about going on a second date?”
Claire and Leon looked at each other, before Claire responded.
“That… seems like a good idea, Elza. But… this is a bit quick. I doubt Leon even knows where to take me…”
“Actually…” Leon spoke up. “I do. Remember that other carnival Elza mentioned? We could go to that one for our second date…” Leon said, before becoming a bit unsure. “Unless it’d be too similar to the carnival we went to with Sherry a couple days ago… I could try and think of something else-“
“No, Leon.” Claire interrupted, before continuing. “The carnival is fine with me. Especially considering I didn’t get to go to many carnivals as a kid…”
Leon held her hand warmly, and the two then decided to get ready to go out for their second date.
Leon wore a brown jacket with a black t-shirt underneath, as well as some blue jeans.
Claire wore something that greatly resembled what she wore when he had first met her. She had on her signature red jacket(of course), a dark grey t-shirt underneath, navy blue jeans, and brown biker boots.
They complimented each other on their looks, before heading out. Before heading out, Claire made sure to remind Elza and Sherry to call them if anything happened.
As they drove to the carnival, Leon spoke up.
“So… do you think you’ll find anything on your brother’s whereabouts tomorrow?”
“It might take a couple days to get an idea of where he is… but I hope so. Chris mentioned going on vacation to Europe, but that just sounds strange and unlike him. I’d have to read the note again for other details.” Claire said, before continuing, “But that’s for tomorrow. Today, let’s enjoy this last moment of serenity that we’re going to have for the next few days.”
Leon smiled. “Alright.”
The couple arrived at the new carnival, and one thing they immediately noticed was that this carnival had a Halloween theme to it, which made sense, considering they were already in October.
“Looks like they also have a horror attraction. You see that over there?” Leon pointed.
Claire looked to where Leon was pointing, and also noticed the horror attraction.
“I’d say let’s start with that first. Whaddya say, rookie?”
“I’d say that’s a fine idea, Claire. Just don’t get scared.”
“Yeah right.” Claire scoffed.
As they entered the horror attraction, they saw that people had horrified looks on their faces as they came out.
“Damn.” Leon began. “This must be a really scary attraction then.”
“After what we’ve been through, I doubt anything will really scare us.” Claire added as she shrugged her shoulders.
True to Claire’s word, nothing really scared them as they walked through the horror attraction. After seeing literal zombies, pale giants in trenchcoats, and mutated monsters, it was hard for them to be scared by skeletons, witches, Michael Myers, or Jason Voorhees.
There was one jump scare that kind of got them when Ghostface came out of the corner and charged at them with a fake knife. Leon and Claire, still not getting over the times they were similarly jumped by a zombie when they turned a corner, reached for their guns at their side simultaneously. Only to find that they didn’t have their guns on them, obviously. The man in the Ghostface costume teased them for it.
“What, you two think you have guns on your hips? We got dumb and dumber over here. But hey, at least you’re smarter than most people in horror movies.”
Leon and Claire rolled their eyes and slightly chuckled, before continuing on to the next section.
As they reached the next section of the attraction, clowns popped up out of nowhere, and Claire let out a frightened girlish squeal and wrapped her arms around Leon’s neck, while simultaneously also burying her face in Leon’s neck.
Leon held her to comfort her, but also decided to tease her a little bit.
“Claire, are you afraid of clowns?”
“No…” Claire mumbled against his neck.
“Then why are you holding on to me like this?”
“Because…” Claire began, trying to figure out what to say next. “…I like the feeling of your neck?” Claire wasn’t necessarily lying when she said that.
Leon now saw that Claire didn’t want to admit that she was scared of clowns, which was fine by him. He was more than happy to be her knight in shining armor and hold her while he protected her from the evil clowns. He emphasized this by picking her up and carrying her bridal style. Claire yelped as she was lifted, but immediately settled into the comfort of his arms and neck.
Leon allowed Claire to remain in her spot on his neck throughout the whole clown section, and once they finally passed it, Leon reassured her they were gone.
“Alright, Claire. The clown section is over. No more clowns.”
Claire looked up, and sure enough, there were no more clowns. She untangled herself from his neck, and Leon let her down on her own feet. Claire felt a bit ashamed, but also content that Leon didn’t judge her for it.
“Thanks, Leon.”
“Don’t mention it.” Leon responded.
They finished walking through the horror attraction, and once they got out, they decided to have fun and play some carnival games that weren’t available in the other carnival they went to with Sherry.
The first game they played was tub toss. The game was simple. They were given ten tennis sized balls, and they had to throw it onto a bucket that was kind of tilted in a way that makes it hard for the ball to stay inside when you throw it in.
Claire went first. She didn’t seem to have much success, as she would throw it too hard, and as she got frustrated when she wasn’t landing many, she would throw it even harder, making it worse for her. She ended up only landing three of the ten balls she was given.
Leon was next, and he had much better success than Claire. Leon was patient, carefully throwing the ball into the bucket. He missed the first couple shots, but as he saw each ball came closer to staying inside the bucket the more coordinated he threw it, he eventually got the hang of it, and landed the rest of his shots. He ended up looking eight out of the ten balls he was given. Claire stood there bewildered, but then huffed in annoyance at being beaten so dominantly.
Leon and Claire began walking hand in hand through the carnival, looking for other games to play, before Claire spotted Whac-a-Mole.
“Look, Leon! Whac-a-mole!” Claire said as she ran towards the line, pulling Leon with her by the hand. Leon couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle.
As they were about to be next in line, Claire smirked at Leon and teased him.
“This game is very appealing to me. After we had to go through all that patience and coordination bullshit in the last game, this is refreshing. I think it’s going to be a rough game for you, rookie.”
Leon merely scoffed while replying, “We’ll see, Redfield.”
The couple took their respective toy mallet in their hands, and began getting ready to whack the mole that popped out of the holes. As the game began, Leon noticed that Claire was spot on about how good she’d be at the game.
Claire was whacking the shit out of each and every single mole that came out of the holes.
Claire didn’t miss a single mole that came out of the hole. The manner in which she was using the mallet clearly demonstrated that she was letting out all of her frustration from the last game. Whereas in Tub Toss, her aggressiveness was the death of her and she had had to restrain herself; here she could let loose.
Leon couldn’t keep up with Claire. While he was landing pretty accurately as well, he occasionally missed some moles. In the end, Claire won by a comfortable margin.
Leon was shocked. Claire had beaten him at Whac-a-Mole. And in a pretty dominant fashion as well.
“Damn, dude, I can’t believe you lost to a girl at this game…” The man in charge of the game told Leon.
This appeared to have angered Claire, as she confronted him.
“Hey! What’s wrong with losing to a girl at Whac-a-Mole?” Claire said sternly with a scowl on her face.
“N-nothing, miss.” The man replied, intimidated by Claire’s fiery demeanor.
Leon looked at Claire in awe.
‘Remind me not to anger Claire…’
As the couple went on other rides in the carnival, particularly admiring the shot the carnival had taken of them holding their hands up on the rollercoaster, they eventually reached another game.
It was Duck Shoot, a game that probably nobody else in the carnival would do better at than them, given their shooting experience in Raccoon City. What really caught Claire’s attention though was the prize. It was a motorcycle helmet. An actual motorcycle helmet!
‘No way! This will save me a lot of money…’ Claire thought.
It looked like Leon had his eyes on another prize though.
“No way… Darth Maul’s double bladed lightsaber?! I definitely got to get me one of those.”
“Well keep dreaming, Leon. Because I’m getting my helmet.”
“Not unless I beat you and get my lightsaber.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“It is.”
Claire looked at him and slightly nudged him on his good shoulder.
“It’s on then, rookie.”
The game was simple enough. They each faced a wall that was covered with ducks, and they had one minute to shoot as many ducks as they can. Hitting a duck counted as one point, while knocking a duck over with your shot counted as two points.
Claire’s strategy was to go with quantity over quality. The man in charge of the game told them that knocking a duck over would be difficult, so she thought that quickly hitting ducks would secure enough 1 pointers for her to win the game in 60 seconds.
Leon’s strategy was to go with quality over quantity. While he may struggle at first, since he’d try to figure out how to knock the ducks; once he’d get the hang of it, he’d quickly rack up many 2 pointers, enough to have more points by the time the game ends.
As they started, Claire quickly began racking up points. Her accuracy was near perfect. Leon, on the other hand, tried to figure out how to knock the ducks over. He tried shooting the duck in the head, but that didn’t work. As he began falling behind, Claire taunted him.
“Keep up, rookie!”
Leon then tried shooting the duck in the corner of its shoulder, and that knocked the duck down. He then quickly began doing the same for the other ducks, and as Claire noticed how quickly Leon was catching up in the points, she tried targeting the ducks in the spots where she’d get double points. However, Claire was desperate and was kind of panic shooting as she saw how quickly Leon was catching up to her, and as a result, was unable to knock down the ducks when she shot them.
Leon saw that Claire was struggling, and decided to taunt her in turn.
“Don’t worry, Claire. Even if you lose, it’s a win-win… I get my lightsaber, and you learn from my example and get better next time you play this.”
“How is that a win for me?” Claire asked, bewildered by his analogy.
Leon simply laughed in response.
A few seconds later, the game ended, and Leon had beat Claire on points.
“Looks I win, Redfield.”
“Aww dammit… I really wanted that motorcycle bike helmet…”
“Sucks to be a loser.” Leon said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Claire crossed her arms in annoyance as the prize owner proceeded to get Leon’s prize. Leon then looked at Claire and winked.
Claire became confused by that. Was he trying to rub in his win even further? That seemed a little too far…
What Claire heard next though, completely surprised her.
“Actually sir, give me that motorcycle helmet instead.”
‘No way…’ Claire thought.
Claire couldn’t believe it, and she gave Leon a look of disbelief.
“Remember I told you it’d be a win-win for us? This is what I actually meant by that.”
Claire became overwhelmed with emotion. Claire couldn’t believe Leon was giving up his prize so that he can give her the prize she wanted. She was filled with immense gratitude. But she also felt a bit ashamed that she was going to receive a prize that she didn’t deserve, due to the fact that she lost. And that just didn’t sit right with her.
“Leon… you don’t have to do this. You won fair and square… I know you’re trying to be a good boyfriend, but if you want to get your prize, you can-“
“I’m doing this because I want to, Claire. Besides, a dumb lightsaber is not as important as a motorcycle helmet, which clearly means a lot to you, especially considering you lost your last one.”
As the man handed Leon the helmet, Leon decided he’d spoil Claire even further.
“Why don’t you try it on? I bet you miss the feeling of wearing these. Here.”
Claire got the helmet from Leon, and put it on. She let out a sigh of satisfaction at the feeling of being in one of these helmets again.
“So, how is it?” She heard Leon speak up.
“It feels darn amazing to be in one of these bad boys again.”
“That’s good.” Leon laughed.
Claire was then taken aback as Leon lifted up the visor of her helmet, and looked at her deeply.
“You look cute like that.” Leon chuckled. “It really showcases your wonderful blue eyes.”
The young couple spent a little more time in the carnival, before deciding it was time to head back.
As Leon and Claire exited the carnival, he noticed two shady looking cars in the carnival’s parking lot. One was a sedan, and the other was a SUV. Both of them were all black, and the windows were… extremely tinted. To the point that you couldn’t see anything inside the car at all…
Leon thought it was really strange, but then again, it was a strange world, so he didn’t think much of it. Especially when he had his hot girlfriend cuddling up to him by his side as they walked back towards the car.
They arrived back at the apartment, and Sherry immediately took note of the helmet Claire had in her hands.
“Woah… where’d you get that helmet, Claire?”
“Leon…beat me in a game at the carnival, but instead of getting the prize he wanted, he instead decided to give me the prize I wanted… which was this helmet.”
“Awww, you’re so sweet, Leon!” Sherry complimented Leon.
Leon rubbed the back of his head a little shyly, never really enjoying being on the receiving end of compliments. He did appreciate them though.
Later, Claire and Leon were playing Uno on the table, when Elza spoke up.
“Sherry wants me to take her to the park. You know, before it gets too late.”
“Oh, okay. We’ll go with you then.”
“That’s not necessary, Claire.” Sherry said as she approached Claire.
“What?” Claire asked, confused. “We can’t just let you go out there alone, or without us, at least.”
“I’ll be fine, Claire. Trust me. Elza told me it’s a five minute walk; less than one minute if you go running. If anything happens, we’ll call you and you guys will arrive on time.”
Claire looked at Leon, who also looked a little uneasy.
“Besides, it gives you guys time to do boyfriend and girlfriend things in private. Like kissing or cuddling without worrying about me or Elza teasing you guys. You guys haven’t had the chance to do that, since whenever you go out, you’re in public, and when you’re home, Elza and I are here.”
Claire hesitated, before reluctantly agreeing.
“We’ll be back before sunset!” Elza told Claire, which meant they’d be back in about two hours.
The young couple were left alone in the apartment for the first time as Sherry and Elza left. For some reason, the tension got higher, knowing that they were alone. They both fidgeted in their seat as they tried to resist their hormones’ urge to jump on each other.
Eventually, Claire spoke up.
“Leon… thanks once again for the helmet. I wish I could repay you some way…”
“Like I said, Claire, you owe me nothing. Everything I’ve done for you; I’ve done from my own heart.”
Claire smiled warmly at him.
“But…” Leon began. “I suppose you can give me a quick kiss.”
Claire rolled her eyes before proceeding to do just that. As she pecked his lips, she found that she was intoxicated to the feel of his lips, so she continued the kiss even deeper, making Leon let out a noise of surprise before kissing her back just as eagerly.
As they broke for air, Leon spoke.
“…M- maybe one more?”
Claire once again leaned forward, but right as she was about to kiss him, she pulled away and stood up.
Leon looked at her, confused and frustrated that he didn’t get his kiss.
“You want me, rookie? Come and get me.” Claire said in a playful tone as she proceeded to run away from him.
Leon chased after her, realizing that Claire was pretty fast. She evaded him in the living room, and even made him slip when she faked going to the left and then actually went to the right.
But Leon was a determined man. He chased her down the hall, and then Claire opened the door to her room.
Leon was able to get inside Claire’s room before she closed the door on him, and he gently tackled her onto the carpet floor. They play wrestled, but eventually, it ended with Leon on top of Claire, pinning her arms above her head. They laughed freely at the game chase they had just played, but once they stopped laughing, they looked at each other and realized the position they were in.
*SMUT STARTS HERE*
Leon was on top of Claire, and his clothed dick was pressing right against her clothed center. Leon took a big gulp at the feeling, and Claire resisted the urge to kiss his throat as she saw his adam’s apple bob as he gulped. Their hormones were attacking in full force now, and they found themselves defenseless as they gave in and crashed their lips against each other. They began making out on the floor with passion, and soon enough, kissing turned into something more. Leon began dry humping her, thrusting his clothed erection between her legs, and Claire moaned at the feeling. Leon then broke the kiss and decided to kiss the pale smooth column of her neck, which caused Claire to let out a loud gasp. Claire found she was sensitive at the neck, as Leon continued kissing it. Eventually, he pulled away to look at her.
“Should…” Leon began in a husky voice, which caused Claire to get wet at hearing such a different tone of voice from him.
“Should we take this to the bed?” Leon asked, and Claire nodded her head in response.
Claire then yelped as Leon picked her up, causing her to instinctually wrap her legs around his waist and her arms behind his neck. Leon carried her to the bed and set her down on it, before closing the door to the room and locking it for good measure. Leon then began climbing on top of her and kissing her.
As they kissed, Claire trailed her hands down to the bottom of his black t shirt, and began pulling it up. Leon lifted his arms to help her pull it off, and she threw it to the side.
Now that they were alone, Leon thought he’d finished what he had started a couple days prior. Leon grabbed her dark grey t shirt and began pulling it up and took it off of her, revealing a black bra.
‘Score.’ Leon thought, as he admired the contrast of the black cloth against her pale skin. Leon then kissed her neck once again, and trailed his kisses down to her collarbones, and eventually to her cleavage. As Leon was doing this, Claire couldn’t help but get excited in anticipation of what was to come. But then she remembered… they didn’t have any condoms.
“Leon…”
Leon stopped his kisses and looked up at her.
“Yeah?”
“We don’t have any.. you know… condoms…”
Claire began getting disappointed as she said that. She really wanted this with Leon, but she couldn’t risk getting pregnant, especially in the circumstances they were in now.
But what Claire witnessed next shocked Claire, and reinforced her belief that Leon truly is something else.
Leon had pulled out a condom pack from his pocket.
Claire was extremely relieved, but was also curious as to how he got it.
“Where did you get those?” Claire said as she chuckled slightly.
“Remember when I went to the store to get the Polaroid camera outside the carnival? Well, I also noticed that they were selling condoms, so I took advantage of it…” Leon said, before he started getting nervous. “Not because I wanted to pressure you into sex or anything! I just wanted to make sure-“
Leon was silenced by a finger on his lips.
“I get it, Leon. Better to be prepared, right?”
Leon smiled back at her.
“Right.” Leon said as he put the condom pack to the side. For now.
They kissed once again, until Claire’s insecurity began getting the better of her.
‘How do I tell him I’m a virgin? He’s probably had sex before…’
“Leon…” Claire said as she broke the kiss. “I- I’ve never done this.”
“Me neither.” Leon replied.
Claire was shocked at his confession.
“Really? With your looks, you’re a virgin?”
“Yeah… I guess I just didn’t have time for it. You know… with all the studying I had to do to graduate from the police academy. Plus, I’m kind of shy with women…”
Claire then smiled. “Well, I guess that just makes it less awkward for the both of us. Y’know, since we both have never done it. Although… I probably am a virgin because I wasn’t too attractive… Considering I’m not that feminine of a woman and all…”
Leon then cupped her cheek in response, and said to her in the sweetest tone: “Claire, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. And I mean it.” Leon began, before continuing in a more husky voice, “How about I prove that to you?”
His words at the end, and the tone in which he said them, sent chills down her spine, and she nodded her head in response. Leon continued kissing down her cleavage, and then to her milky stomach.
God, her stomach was so perfect. It was so flat and toned, but also so incredibly soft. He kissed her stomach for a few seconds before trailing his kisses down until he reached the waistband of her pants. He looked up at her for permission to remove them, and she nodded her head.
Leon unbuttoned her jeans, and then began pulling them down her legs all the way, throwing them behind him on the floor somewhere.
As he took in the sight of her on the bed, clad in just her underwear, he was completely mesmerized.
Claire had the sexiest pair of legs he had ever seen on a woman. They were slim, toned, long, pale, and looked incredibly smooth. He had always wondered what her legs looked like underneath those tight jeans of hers, and now that he finally got to see what they looked like, he was not disappointed one bit.
‘Perfect’ is the word Leon used to describe Claire’s legs.
He noticed that she was also wearing black panties to match her bra, which further increased his arousal.
Leon began kissing up Claire’s bare leg, worshipping them as he made his way up to her upper thigh. Just as he was about to do the same with her other leg, he was pulled up and swiftly flipped over, now being the one on bottom as Claire straddled him.
“I want to see you without your jeans, too.” Claire stated as she began reaching for the button in his jeans. Before she unbuttoned them, she looked at Leon for permission, smiling as he eagerly nodded his head.
Claire unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down his legs until they were completely off of him, as they joined her jeans on the bedroom floor.
Claire admired the sight of him in just his underwear, as she took in his entire body. He was clearly as fit as she was, evident by how lean his body was. Plus, he was wearing black boxer briefs, which made her feral. After all, boxer briefs on a man was her weakness.
Claire proceeded to kiss his neck, and Leon let out a gasp as she did that.
‘Looks like I’m not the only one with a sensitive neck.’ Claire thought with a smile.
She kissed his Adam’s apple, and then proceeded to run her hands all over his broad chest before kissing it. She trailed her kisses down to his abs, and reveled in how strong they felt. She placed a kiss on each ab square that he had, as she proceeded lower.
Leon looked down at her the whole time she was doing that, and noticed that her cleavage looked really enticing from the angle she was in. Leon felt a desire to see what those breasts of hers actually looked like, so he flipped her over so that he was on top once again.
Leon once again trailed his kisses down to her cleavage but instead of trailing them down further, he remained kissing her cleavage. Leon then asked for permission to take her bra off.
“Can I…” Leon said as he lightly gripped her bra.
Claire became a little apprehensive, but shyly nodded her head. Leon reached behind her to unclasp her bra, and Claire assisted him by slightly lifting her upper body. But as Leon tried and kept failing to unclasp the bra, he asked Claire for help.
“I… uh… don’t know how to take it off… Can you help?”
Claire slightly chuckled and reached behind to unclasp her bra.
As the bra was unclasped, Leon did the rest and slowly took it off of her.
What he saw next reassured him that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
Claire’s breasts were perfect(something he realized applied to other parts of her body as well…). They were not too big and not too small. They were the perkiest set of breasts he had ever seen on a woman. Not that he saw any in person, but much like any other horny teenage boy, he saw and admired magazines of topless women. He had been entranced by their breasts, but none of them compared to Claire’s.
As Leon was deep in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed that he had been silent the whole time, which worried Claire and made her feel like he didn’t find her breasts attractive. Leon saw that Claire had a look of sadness in her eyes.
As Claire moved her hands to cover her breasts, Leon grabbed them midway, and reassured her.
“Your breasts are gorgeous, Claire.”
“R-really?” Claire said, shocked and still a little unsure. Leon sensed this and reassured her more.
“Yes, really.” Leon said, before beginning to do something that would make sure Claire understood that her breasts were perfect. Leon lowered his hands to her breasts and began fondling them gently. Claire let out a gasp at the strange sensation. As Leon saw how her breast swayed with the movement of his hands, he couldn’t help but want more. He lowered his head to one of her breasts, before proceeding to take it in his mouth.
Claire’s back arched at that action, as she let out a moan of pleasure. Leon, however, was worried that he had hurt her. He immediately pulled his mouth off of her breast.
“Claire! Are you okay?! Did I hurt you?”
Claire quickly shook her head.
“N-no. Keep doing what you were doing… please…”
Leon looked at her a little longer, stunned that she was enthusiastic to continue, before he followed her orders and brought his mouth to her breast once again.
Claire placed a hand in his head to keep him there, and as she continued to lightly moan as he sucked on her breast, Claire found that she loved it. Not just the physical sensation of it, but also the mental aspect.
A couple minutes prior, Claire was worried that Leon had found her breasts unattractive. But now that Leon was eagerly sucking on her breast, Claire enjoyed the fact that she was proven wrong, and that Leon did in fact find her breasts attractive.
Eventually, Leon pulled off of her breast with a pop, before trailing his kisses down. As he reached her black panties and grabbed the waistband, he looked up at her and asked for permission. He knew that this was the most intimate part of her body, and he wanted to make sure she was comfortable enough with exposing herself to him.
Claire began slightly sweating from how nervous she was, but also couldn’t help but get wet at the thought of Leon buried between her legs, so she nodded her head, giving him permission to pull her panties off.
Leon slowly pulled her panties off all the way, as they fell to the floor of the room. Claire instinctually closed her legs as she was now completely exposed, but as she saw Leon look at her in a reassuring way, she opened her legs and exposed herself to him. Leon was overwhelmed at the sight of her wet center. The first thing he noticed was that she was really wet, which he had heard was a sign of female arousal. The next thing he noticed was that… this was a woman’s genitalia. He had never seen one, at all, so as he was face to face with Claire’s, he was bewildered by just how different her vagina was from his… well… from his dick. But that initial curiosity quickly turned into arousal and desire, as he became very attracted to Claire’s wet core. Leon then remembered that he shouldn’t think too much or Claire would get worried, so he lifted his head up from between her legs, and praised her.
“You’re gorgeous, Claire.”
Claire blushed perhaps the darkest shade of red he had ever seen from her, which made Leon smile.
Wanting to pleasure her, Leon asked for permission to touch it, and Claire nodded her head. He ran his fingers over her center, as he felt how wet she truly was. He also noticed that Claire was lightly gasping at his touch. Leon didn’t really know what he was doing though, being his first time and all, so even though it felt good to Claire, she recognized that she needed to guide him.
She reached down and took his hand, and explained all of her pleasure spots to him.
“Down there…” Claire said as she guided his hand near the bottom of her vagina, “is the vaginal opening. This is where you can- you know… finger it… and do… other things…” Leon didn’t have to guess what she meant by those last two words, as he felt his cock twitch in excitement beneath his boxer briefs.
Claire then began getting nervous as she contemplated how Leon would react to the concept of clitoral stimulation. She had heard from her friends that their boyfriends weren’t really interested in stimulating their clit, and would often only do so in a half-assed way, due to them preferring to focus solely on the vaginal opening.
‘But Leon is no average guy… He’s the best man I’ve ever met…’ Claire thought to herself, and she felt more confident to explain clitoral stimulation to him now.
“And this…” Claire said as she guided his hand upwards to her clit, “is the clitoris. Leon, just so you know…” Claire began as she started getting a little nervous, but continued, “Most women can’t come from just penetrating the vaginal hole. We require you guys to stimulate the clit up here in order to achieve orgasm.”
“Really? I didn’t know that…” Leon said as he was a bit shocked at that revelation, but then he spoke a bit more confidently. “Good to know though. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind for later on.” Leon finished as he winked at her.
Claire mentally let out a sigh of relief in her head, and also celebrated.
‘Leon, you really are the best boyfriend any girl can have…’
Leon proceeded to touch her once more, this time inserting a finger into her wet core, as Claire let out a moan at that. He pumped his finger in and out of her, reveling in how wet she felt, as well as how warm her insides felt whenever he pumped his finger in. As he saw Claire was enjoying it, he decided to insert a second one, and he loved the noise of pleasure Claire made when he did that. He continued fingering her for a bit more, before remembering what he had told her about the clit. He withdrew his fingers from her, which made her let out a whine, before it immediately turned into a semi-loud moan as he began touching her clit. As soon as Leon touched her clit, he noticed that Claire’s hips jumped up from the sheer pleasure of it. He held them down with one hand while working to fondle her clit with his thumb. Claire began writhing at the intense pleasure, and Leon felt happy that he was able to bring his girlfriend such high amounts of pleasure. But Leon had also heard, from locker room talk, that women liked when men used their mouth to pleasure them, so Leon did just that. While Leon continued stroking her clit, he licked a stripe up her pussy with his tongue, and Claire’s eyes widened at the realization that Leon had begun eating her out.
Leon Kennedy was eating her out.
She felt like she was in a dream, and god, she didn’t want to wake up from this dream.
Not to mention, she was getting close to finishing. Really close. The mere thought of Leon taking care of her pussy in such a careful but also lustful way was causing her to feel things.
Leon continued licking stripes up her vagina, but soon came up with the clever idea of also applying some of that pleasure to her clit. As Leon began licking her clit, Claire’s eyes widened even more and she looked down to see Leon Kennedy himself buried between her legs, looking up at her with a sexy look in his eyes.
Claire came at the sight , and her thighs clamped around his head. She let out a loud moan, and was grateful that they were the only ones in the house.
As she came down from her high, she looked down once again and saw Leon looking back at her with a smile. As he moved to be closer to her face, she noticed that he still had his boxer briefs on. Even worse, there was a bulge that was threatening to rip through the fabric.
‘I should make him feel good too.’ Claire thought, before flipping them over and straddling him.
“How about I return the favor?” Claire asked him, and Leon felt his dick twitch at her words. Claire also felt it, and it only made her more eager to see what he was packing.
Leon quickly and eagerly nodded his head, making Claire let out a small chuckle.
She ran her hands over the bulge covered by his boxer briefs, enjoying the noises that came out of Leon as she did that. When Claire grabbed the waistband of his boxer briefs, she felt Leon suck in a breath. As she looked up, he looked extremely nervous.
‘Will…. Will she like it? Will it be too small for her?’ Leon thought nervously.
“Can I?” Claire asked Leon for permission to take off his underwear. Leon nodded his head in response.
As she pulled down his underwear, she immediately noticed that his penis flopped and nearly hit her on the face, which made her pause for a brief moment, before regaining her composure and pulling down his underwear the rest of the way off. Now that his final article of clothing joined the rest of theirs in the floor, the young couple were both now completely naked.
Leon fought the urge to cover himself and closed his eyes as he braced for Claire’s reaction to his cock.
Claire, like Leon, was taken aback by how different the male genitalia was to hers, and she titled her head in curiosity as she looked at Leon’s dick. She had an idea of what they looked like, but in person was something else. It appeared to be fully erect, and some sort of liquid was leaking out from the tip. She noticed a long vein that extended from near the tip to the base. And, even though she had no other dick to compare it to, Leon looked like he was big. Not too big to the point that it looks frightening, but he certainly wasn’t a small guy. Claire felt a desire pool low in her belly for Leon’s penis, because even though the concept and description of a penis always seemed strange to her, she found that she loved Leon’s.
As Leon opened his eyes after a while and noticed Claire still staring at it, he believed that she was disappointed by it, and went to cover himself. However, Claire stopped his arms midway, and took a page out of his book when he had comforted her.
“You’re gorgeous, Leon.”
Leon smiled widely at her, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
What Claire was about to do next though, would bring him immense amounts of relief.
Claire reached her hand out to his penis, and just as she was about to take it in her hand, she asked for his consent.
Leon enthusiastically gave her his consent, and she wrapped a hand around his penis. Leon let out a loud moan as she did that, reveling in how soft her hands felt around his erection. The reality of the situation only made him more aroused.
Claire Redfield had her hand on his dick.
The thought of it, combined by the initial touch of her incredibly soft hand on his erection, was enough to nearly make him come.
As Claire had her hand around it, she figured she should take it to the next level. Unlike Leon, she wasn’t completely oblivious on to how to pleasure the opposite gender, even though she had never actually done it. Claire began stroking his penis up and down, and she smirked as he let out a loud gasp of pure pleasure. As she moved her hand up and down on his cock, his hips began bucking up in reaction, and she used her other hand to hold them down. Claire then took inspiration from Leon and decided she’d do something that would truly make him see stars.
After getting a handjob from Claire for merely 20 seconds, Leon could feel that an orgasm was approaching. But he was left hanging as she pulled her hand back. Leon let out a whine and looked down, only to see Claire take him into her mouth. Much like Claire predicted, Leon did indeed see stars. Leon threw his head back into the pillow and unabashedly began gasping and moaning in immense pleasure as he felt how warm her mouth was around his dick.
Claire had not taken him all the way in, as this was her first time giving a blowjob and she didn’t want to accidentally choke. Nevertheless, based on Leon’s reaction, she seemed to be doing a good job. As she began to bob her head up and down, she didn’t know what to do with her teeth, and this showed as when her teeth grazed his penis, he let out a noise of pain.
She quickly pulled off of him and apologized.
“I’m sorry… Are you okay?”
Leon, noticing how worried she looked, as well as how disappointed she looked with herself, reassured her.
“Yeah… just be careful with your teeth, alright? You’re doing great Claire. You’re doing so fucking great…”
Claire smiled and got her confidence back. As she took him into her mouth and continued her blowjob, Leon felt that as much as he tried to stave off his coming orgasm, it was becoming harder and harder as the seconds went by. Eventually, after only 20 seconds of receiving a blowjob, Leon felt his balls tighten up, signaling that he was about to come.
Oh no…
Leon had to get Claire off of him, now before it was too late.
“Claire, stop!”
Claire immediately pulled off of him, worried that she messed up.
“Did I do something wrong? Did- Did I hurt you? Im sor-“
“No.” Leon interrupted her. “No, quite the opposite in fact. I was about to… you know…” Leon said with a breathless laugh.
“Oh!” Claire was shocked to hear this, and not in a bad way. She… had brought Leon to the brink of orgasm in less than a minute?
‘Damn… He must be really attracted to me…’
“I know, it’s kind of embarrassing…” Leon said with a little bit of shame.
Claire responded by cupping his cheek. “Don’t be embarrassed, Leon. It’s your first time. Of course you’re going to be overwhelmed. For me personally, I feel proud knowing that I made you almost come so quick.”
Leon, relieved by her words, reached up and kissed her, and as they kissed, he flipped them over one last time so that he was on top of her.
“Should we… you know… get started?” Leon asked as they broke the kiss.
Claire, a little nervous but also excited, nodded her head.
“Are you sure, Claire? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… I don’t want to pressure you into having sex with me…”
“I want this, Leon. I want this with you, because you’re so incredible.”
Leon was taken aback by her praise, before reaching over to the drawer and opening the pack of condoms to take one out. He rolled the condom over his penis, and looked at her for further confirmation.
Claire responded by eagerly spreading her legs for him, showing that she was willing and wanted to do this with him.
As he settled in between her legs, Leon wanted to clarify a few things with Claire.
“Claire, I just want to let you know… If you ever feel uncomfortable while we do this, to the point that you want to stop; please, tell me to stop and I promise you, I will stop. Please don’t feel pressured to continue having sex with me just because we already started it; I want to make sure you feel safe and comfortable throughout the whole thing.”
Claire couldn’t believe how sweet he was being right now. Leon really prioritized her safety over everything, and that made her heart flutter.
“Leon… you are so… I- I don’t know what to say. I’m so lucky to have you.” Claire said, before pulling him in for a kiss. As they broke, Leon felt the same way.
“And I’m so lucky to have you, Claire.”
Leon began lining up his penis with her wet core, and, with an encouraging nod from Claire, began to push in and penetrate her.
Claire immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders for support, as the stretch of the penetration caused her to feel a little pain and a burning sensation. Not as much pain as she thought it would be though, and she credited that to Leon. Nevertheless, Claire needed to adjust to the stretch, but it seems Leon was one step ahead of her.
“Are you okay, Claire? Do you need time?”
Claire nodded her head in response.
“Yeah… just… don’t move and give me a little bit of time to adjust…”
Leon responded by kissing her forehead, while proceeding to promise to do just that.
“Take all the time you need, Claire. I won’t move until you tell me to. I promise.”
As she took in his words, Claire wondered how she’d managed to find a man this beautiful and real to lose her virginity to.
Leon, on the other hand, was struggling to not come right then and there. Claire felt incredible . He had always heard that being inside a woman felt nice, but the real thing made that sound like an understatement. She was incredibly warm, and so tight, and Leon did everything in his power to stop his primal instincts from taking over, which were telling him to thrust into her over and over again.
Eventually, Claire felt that she was good enough to let him continue, so she nodded her head at him.
“Okay… you can push in all the way now. Just take it slow.”
“Of course.” Leon pushed in little by little, until he was all the way inside her. Claire gasped at the feeling, but also began feeling content as the pleasure started coming in.
When she was ready to have him thrust, she told him, and Leon began moving.
He slowly began pulling his cock out of her, until it was nearly out, and then gently thrusted it back into her slowly.
“God, Claire… you’re so tight…”
Claire blushed deeply at his words, relieved to know that this felt really good for him too. As he continued this rhythm, Claire gasped in pleasure as she began to love the feeling of being made full by him. Her love of this moment was only reinforced by the noises he was making on top of her. His face was scrunched, and his eyes were closed, as he let out groans of pleasure at the feeling of being inside her. The groans he let out were music to her ears, and the moans she let out was music to his ears.
Eventually, Claire adjusted enough to be good with increasing the pace.
“Harder… faster…” She mewled.
Leon responded by doing just that, while also being mindful to not go too hard and hurt her.
He increased his pace little by little, until he reached a pace and rhythm that made her start moaning out loud.
“That! Just like that! Don’t stop!” Claire moaned out loud.
Leon kept that pace and rhythm, and continued thrusting into her, relishing in the sweet moans she let out in reaction.
Unfortunately though, Leon found that he was unable to resist the coming wave. Her warmness, her tightness, the way her face was contorted in pleasure, and those vocal moans she let out in ecstasy, proved to be too much for him. Leon let out a loud groan as he came, thrusting his hips all the way in as he did so.
As she saw Leon come down from his high and lie down on top of her, she soothingly rubbed his back and hair for a bit, before using one hand to stroke her own clit so that she can come as well. Leon, ever the quick study, noticed this and began stroking her clit himself before she could reach it. Claire felt a jolt of electricity go up her body, as she began moaning out in pleasure. Her moans got louder and louder as she approached her release. The feeling of him stimulating her clit, as well as the feeling of him still inside her, was enough to make her come herself. Claire arched her back as she came one last time.
*SMUT ENDS HERE*
The young couple layed there, sweaty and completely exhausted from their first time. Leon gently pulled out of her and got up to throw away the condom. As he turned around and saw her on the bed, she extended his arms out, a sign that she wanted to cuddle with him. Fortunately for her, Leon had the same idea, and he eagerly joined her on the bed once again. The young couple began cuddling and snuggling together until they reached a comfortable position.
Leon and Claire were both satisfied with each other, especially considering it was both their first time.
For Leon, seeing this side of Claire in bed was intoxicating, and the way she felt as he was inside her was like paradise. He loved the feeling of becoming one with her, both figuratively and literally.
For Claire, she was grateful that Leon had been so gentle with her for her first time, and she loved the feeling of being made full by him. Just like Leon, she also loved the feeling of becoming one with him, both figuratively and literally.
As the young couple continued cuddling, they savored the moment because tomorrow… they would have to focus all their attention on finding Claire’s brother.
But that was for tomorrow. Right now, they took advantage of the sweet moment of serenity, and they prayed they’d never forget this intimate moment with each other.
Notes:
Sorry if the smut had a lot of pauses in between the spicy moments… Considering it was their first time, I wanted there to be more dialogue and awkwardness. But for the next smut(that’s right, there is more smut(s) coming in this fic), that won’t be the case.
If you guys have any feedback or criticism regarding the chapter, you’re more than welcome to let me know in the comments :)
Chapter 8
Summary:
Claire, with the help of Leon, Elza, and Sherry, begins to search for clues that will lead her to her brother.
As Claire finds Chris’ possible whereabouts, she also finds that she may have to leave her newfound family to go rescue what’s left of her old family…
Notes:
And now we transition into the angst part of the fanfic!
Enjoy the last feeling of normalcy in this chapter. Because starting next chapter… it’s going to come crashing downhill.
Note: Smut is present in the chapter. Headings are placed in bold and in all caps to signify when it starts and when it ends.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Claire was relieved as she picked up the computer from the shop. She was finally going to be able to look for clues as to where her brother is. And even better; Leon, Sherry, and Elza had promised that they were going to help her in every step of the way.
She arrived back at the apartment, to find Sherry, Leon, and Elza playing Uno. She noticed Elza and Sherry look at each other with a smirk, as if they were plotting something.
“Draw four, Leon!” Elza stated as she placed down a +4 card in the table.
Leon sat there dumbfounded.
“What? But it’s Sherry’s turn ne-“
“And make that double!” Sherry giggled as she placed down another +4 card on the table.
“Damn guys… give a poor guy a break…” Leon said as he nervously chuckled and drew 8 cards.
They were brought out of their game by Claire chuckling in amusement.
“Bad luck huh, rookie?” Claire told Leon.
Leon smiled at her, before noticing the computer Claire had on her hands.
“Ah, you got the computer. Do you need help setting it up?”
The four worked on setting the computer up. Leon, Claire, and Elza did most of the work, but they let Sherry do the final part, which was connecting the chord to the outlet in the wall.
“Open sesame!” Sherry said as she connected the chord.
Leon and Claire shared a smile of amusement before they saw the computer start running.
Claire let out a sigh of relief as she saw the computer was indeed fixed. They then began to get to work on finding Chris.
Claire took out the note that Chris had left her.
“This is the note Chris left me.” Claire told Leon. “I’m going to read it again, and see if I can find any clues.”
Claire then began reading the letter out loud, searching for any hidden intel in it.
“To my bestest S.T.A.R.S. buds,” Claire began.
“How are you all doing in that drab, old station? Hanging in there against old Irons? Me? I just got back from a date with a hot chick. Bet you can guess what we got up to under her extra-large umbrella.
Europe is amazing. One month is in no way enough to even scratch the surface. Maybe I'll extend my vacation for another six months.
Barry, don't you even think of coming to join me. Wouldn't want to make all the cute girls cry, yeah? So you just leave the babes to me.
Jill, if Claire contacts you, please let her know I'm OK.”
Claire examined the letter as she finished reading it, and then huffed in annoyance.
“Nope, still can’t find any clues. Why don’t you read it for yourself, Leon?” Claire said as she handed the letter to Leon.
Leon read the letter and tried to look for any clues, but much like Claire, he couldn’t find anything.
“I’m sorry, Claire. I can’t find anything either.” Leon told her as he handed the letter back to Claire.
“We’ll keep trying though. If we have to read it all day and night, that’s what we’ll do.” Leon promised her.
Claire gave a smile of gratitude to Leon, before laying her head on her arms which were on the desk.
“You said the letter sounded a bit strange?” What do you mean by that? Is Chris not the kind of guy to go on vacations?” Leon asked.
“That, and just the way he’s describing his ‘adventures in Europe.’ Chris is a pretty serious guy, and he hardly makes any jokes like he did in the letter.”
Leon then spoke up. “Not to mention his apparent whereabouts are hard to find. ‘Europe’ is a huge area, and he didn’t even mention what spots in Europe he could possibly be in.”
“Yeah, if he was to at least say the city he was in, I might have a chance to look something up… I don’t know Leon…. I’m just so frustrated that even with a letter from him, and with this computer, I still haven’t found a thing that could lead me to him.” Claire said as she let out a loud sigh of frustration and sadness.
Leon then came up from behind her and tilted her chin up with his hands. “We’ll figure something out, Claire. Besides, we only just started. I’m sure we’ll find something before the day is over.” Leon finished as he gave her a quick peck on the lips.
Claire smiled at that, before sighing once again and looking at the letter.
‘How are you all doing in that drab, old station? Hanging in there against old Irons? Me? I just got back from a date with a hot chick. Bet you can guess what we got up to under her extra-large umbrella.’
‘Wait a minute…’ Claire thought as she straightened herself on the chair and held the letter up.
‘Bet you can guess what we got up to under her extra-large… umbrella… UMBRELLA!’
“Leon, I think I got it!”
“Really?!” Leon looked to where Claire was pointing on the letter, noticing that her finger was on the word: umbrella.
“I always thought this line about ‘her umbrella’ was strange, but now I now why… I think…” Claire said, before continuing. “What if… Chris used the word umbrella… to secretly inform Jill and Barry that he was in Europe trying to figure out a way to take down or expose Umbrella?”
“Oh my god…” Claire raised her hands to cover her forehead as a realization dawned on her. “That’s why Chris was so cryptic. He couldn’t outright tell Jill and Barry that he was going to Europe to dig up some corrupt businesses Umbrella was doing there, because Chief Irons was working with Umbrella scientist William Birkin to cover up any shady experiments, as well as fire officers who looked too much into the orphanage’s true purpose.”
“How’d you find that out?” Leon asked.
“I went into the chief’s office and saw some hidden letters that he had. Some of them were from William Birkin and the letters instructed Irons to keep Umbrella’s true business a secret, and to deal with any officers who came close to exposing Umbrella. If Chris wrote a letter that explicitly stated his intentions, then there’s a chance Irons would’ve caught wind of it and endanger his friends. So now I know where Chris is and what’s he’s doing. He left Raccoon City to try to dig up some dirt he might find on Umbrella in Europe. Chances are, he’s probably close to an Umbrella facility in Europe.”
Leon looked at Claire in awe, astonished by how Claire was able to figure the clue out and piece everything together.
“Wow, Claire. You’re amazing. Figuring this stuff out and everything.”
Claire smirked at Leon. “Now you know how I feel when you are being all Mr. Smartypants.”
“I guess I do hehe.” Leon laughed.
Claire still had a problem though. There were quite a few Umbrella facilities in Europe, and she didn’t know which one Chris was trying to investigate.
“I still don’t know where exactly Chris is though… He is for sure near an Umbrella facility in Europe, but there’s quite a few and not all of them are close together.”
“Leave that to me, Claire.” Leon spoke up.
Claire looked at him in curiosity. “You think you can figure out which one he’s at?”
“I… believe I can. Especially with that new Google search engine thing that was created around a month ago.”
Claire looked at him in shock. Did Leon actually know how to use whatever that was? She had heard in her campus that the Google search engine would be so revolutionary in helping people find information, but she had no idea how it worked.
“You know to use the Google search engine?” Claire asked.
Leon nodded his head. “Yeah. In one of my last days at the police academy, we were introduced to it. Our superiors told us that knowing how to use it might be key in receiving some intel regarding some gang or regarding ongoing investigations that required more information. Of course, they warned us to not rely too much on it, since it is a new invention and the information we find may not be accurate, but if we needed any additional information regarding an investigation, for example, we were allowed to use it.”
“I see… So how are you going to use it to find the whereabouts of my brother?”
“I’ll see if I can find any information or sources/reports regarding Umbrella facilities in Europe that have been “temporarily closed for maintenance” or have received stricter security measures. Ada told me that when a company like Umbrella does that, it’s because they’re trying to hide something important, or they’re aware that their facility is at threat of being breached or spied on. Claire, is your brother a good spy?”
“I mean, he knows some stealth tactics, being in S.T.A.R.S. and all, but he’s stubborn and the temper he has sometimes makes him act rashful and reckless.”
“Ah, so he’s just like his sister?” Leon snickered.
As Leon saw Claire give him a scowl, he put his hands up in surrender.
“I’m joking, babe, I’m joking.” Leon quickly clarified.
“Anyways; so chances are his actions and snooping around in Europe have probably drawn the attention of Umbrella?” Claire asked.
“Right.” Leon stated, before continuing. “Which is why I’m going to check to see if any Umbrella facilities in Europe have been temporarily closed for maintenance or if they have received stronger security measures.” Leon said, before he paused and realized what this meant.
Was Claire going to leave to Europe to find her brother? He supposed that was what she was clearly implying, but still… the thought of Claire leaving to Europe and potentially infiltrating an Umbrella facility frightened him. Not to mention that if Umbrella was looking for them, chances are she’d probably get caught in the airport.
He decided to confront Claire on what she was going to do once she found out where Chris was.
“Claire… what are you going to do when we find where your brother might be?”
Claire froze. She had really hoped that he wouldn’t ask that. Not yet, at least. Because even though the answer may have been obvious, she had never explicitly told him what she was going to do.
“I… I’m going to l-leave to go find him. Alone.”
“Alone?! Claire, it’s not safe for you to go to Europe alone when Umbrella might be on to you.”
“And was it safe for me to go to Raccoon City alone when the city was suffering from a ‘serious viral outbreak’ as they described it in the news?” Claire retorted.
Leon remained silent, not knowing what to say.
“Leon… I can’t drag you guys into this. I especially can’t drag Sherry into this. She needs to be somewhere safe and secure. I wish you could go with me, but you have to stay here to take care of Sherry.”
“I get that, Claire. But… but… you’re only going to go find your brother right? Using the location of the Umbrella facility he might be looking into, you’re just going to search around that area for him? You’re not planning on actually infiltrating any Umbrella facility, are you?”
Claire loudly gulped as she mentally prepared for his reaction to what she was going to say next.
“If I find that he is infilitrating an Umbrella facility, he’s going to need all the help he can get.”
Leon couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Are you crazy, Claire?!” He began, slightly raising his voice. “An empty Umbrella facility nearly killed us, and now you think you can take on an active one that is probably full of guards armed with machine guns?!”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO, LEON?! ABANDON THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE LEFT?!” She yelled at him angrily.
She immediately regretted yelling at him though, as she saw Leon’s face soften and be filled with regret and shame at himself.
“I’m sorry, Leon…” Claire said as she apologized, this time in a soft tone. “I just… I need you to understand that Chris is all I have left. Remember I told you the story of he took care of me after my parents died, and how he was there for me in the worst time of my life? That’s why I have to find and rescue him, whatever it takes. I owe him that, for everything he has done for me.”
They were then startled as Sherry opened the room and spoke nervously.
“Is everything okay? I heard Claire yell like she was angry…”
Claire froze. She was screwed. She couldn’t come up with anything that she could use to lie to Sherry about why she yelled.
Luckily, Leon was one step ahead and quickly defused the situation.
“Yeah, everything is okay, Sherry. It’s just that, Claire and I were talking about the carnival we all went to the other day, and when she asked where I kept that Polaroid photo I got of the three of us; I, like the idiot that I am, jokingly told her that I lost it. This caused Claire to get angry at me, and rightfully so. We all know how much that photo means to her, to you, to me; to all of us.” Claire was astonished at how quickly Leon was able to come up with the lie, and a believable one at that. “But everything is fine now.” Leon continued. “I clarified that it was a stupid joke I made, and she’s calm now. Right, Claire?”
Claire then spoke up. “Right. Sorry about that, Sherry.” She said as she weakly smiled at Sherry.
Sherry looked at them for a few more moments, and the young couple worried that Sherry saw through their lie.
But then Sherry’s posture relaxed, and she spoke.
“Oh… well, that’s good to know. I’ll… go back to watching TV now.” Sherry said as she left the room and closed the door.
Claire let out a sigh of relief, grateful to Leon for defusing the situation before it got worse, and then she heard him speak up.
“I’m the one who should be sorry Claire…” Claire looked at him shocked. She had yelled at him, and he was sorry?
“I… I should’ve realized where you were coming from, especially after you told me the story of how your brother always took care of you when your parents died… I shouldn’t have judged you for being willing to do whatever it takes to save him… and I’m sorry for that.”
Claire’s heart warmed at his words, and she approached him, before proceeding to cup his cheek.
“Leon… you truly are an amazing human being. And once again, I’m sorry for yelling at you.” Claire said, as she then connected her lips against his and engaged in a sweet kiss with him.
As they broke, Claire spoke to him again.
“Leon… I need you to trust me in this decision. Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” Leon said wholeheartedly. “I… I just want to make sure you come back home safe… I… I can’t bear t-the thought of l- losing you.” Leon said as his voice began to get shaky.
Claire pulled him in for a tight hug in return. “You won’t lose me, Leon. I promise.”
The young couple stood there, holding each other tightly as if their lives depended on it.
Eventually, they withdrew from each other, and Leon spoke up.
“I… I should get to work on finding the facilities then. I’d… probably recommend spending some time with Sherry. I don’t imagine she’ll take you leaving well, so it’d be best to spend as much time with her as possible.”
Claire pondered his words. ‘Sherry… it’s going to break my heart when I’m eventually going to have to tell her that I need to leave… But I’ll be back for her. I’ll promise her that…’
Claire nodded her head at him and proceeded to leave the room while Leon used the Google search engine to find Chris’ whereabouts.
Claire entered the living room, and saw Sherry watching TV. She saw that Sherry was watching Teletubbies, which she found pretty cute.
“Whatcha watching, Sherry?”
“Teletubbies.” Sherry answered excitedly as she was entranced by the episode.
“Oh that’s nice. Can I sit down and watch it with you?”
“Sure, Claire!” Sherry said as she made room for her.
Claire sat down next to her, and instantly Sherry began to cuddle up next to Claire, laying her head on her shoulder. Claire’s heart warmed at the sight and she wrapped an arm around Sherry to hold her in response. Claire took the opportunity to take advantage of the situation, considering this might be one of the last times she gets to relax with Sherry for a while. Claire was brought out of her trance as Sherry asked a question.
“Pinky is so cute. Don’t you agree, Claire?”
Claire looked up at the screen, and assumed Pinky was the pink teletubby. The teletubby had her outfit covered in pink, and she had a little heart antenna at the top of her head, which Claire thought was kind of cute.
“She indeed is, Sherry.”
“I know right? She’s so pretty. I love how pink she is, and I love the heart she has at the top of her head, it’s so cute.”
Claire simply smiled and chuckled in amusement. “Is that so? Well maybe one of these days, Leon can buy you a toy of Pinky. What do you think?”
Claire then cursed herself as she said that. Claire specifically singled herself out when she said “Leon” instead of “we.” She hoped Sherry didn’t notice…
Thankfully, Sherry didn’t notice. “Really?! Thanks, Claire. I’d love to have a toy of her.”
“And I have no doubt Leon will oblige you, Sherry.”
The two remained sitting there for a while watching Teletubbies, until Sherry spoke up.
“Claire.. I’m glad you and Leon weren’t actually arguing when I walked in… It’s just that…”
Claire noticed that Sherry’s voice was beginning to get shaky, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears, so she held Sherry tighter.
“It’s just that… whenever my mom and dad were home with me, which wasn’t often, they would constantly argue all the time. I don’t know what they’d argue about, but they’d yell at each other and… it really saddened me… which is why… w-when I heard you y-yelling… it made me scared because I feared you and Leon were also starting to get m-mad at each other… and that’s why I entered the room to check… because I didn’t want you guys to become like my parents…”
Sherry then broke down into tears, and Claire immediately comforted her.
“Sherry… I’m sorry to hear that. No child deserves an environment like that…”Claire said, before continuing, “Trust me, Leon and I lo- care about each other so much, to the point that we would never truly be angry at each other. I’m so lucky to have him as my boyfriend, and he’s told me multiple times that he’s so lucky to have me as his girlfriend. We always make sure to do our best to give you the childhood you never got to have. That’s why we took you to the carnival and played those fun games with you.”
Sherry weakly smiled at the recent memories of her time at the carnival. She felt free and so comfortable with Leon and Claire in a way she had never felt with her parents. She then heard Claire finish, “Trust me, Sherry, we would never put you in the environment you went through during your childhood. I promise.” Claire said as she held Sherry’s smaller hand in her own.
Sherry began to cry tears of joy, and she buried her face in Claire’s chest while hugging her tightly.
“Thank you Claire. Thank you so much.”
A couple hours later, Sherry had gotten so comfortable in Claire’s embrace that she began drifting asleep. Claire rubbed her head to help her fall asleep, until she heard Leon calling her.
‘Damn it, why now? It must be something important to do with Chris though.’
“I’m sorry, Sherry. Leon is calling me.”
“Mmmhmmm…” Sherry mumbled. Claire lightly chuckled, and proceeded to head to where Leon was.
“Find anything?” Claire said as she entered the room.
“I did.” Leon began. “I have managed to pinpoint three Umbrella facilities that are likely to be the ones your brother is trying to infiltrate. Madrid, Vienna, and Paris. Those are the three cities where the Umbrella facilities there have either temporality closed for maintenance or have increased punishments for unauthorized entry.”
“That’s great, Leon! Now I have an idea of where to actually look for him…” She then heard Leon sigh in frustration, and that confused her.
“Is something wrong? You managed to figure out the three cities he might be in a continent with hundreds of cities.” Claire chuckled.
“Those 3 cities aren’t exactly close to each other… and I’d rather not have you taking flights or trips to each of those cities… it’ll increase the chances of you getting caught…”
“So… what are you suggesting, Leon?”
Leon let out another sigh of frustration as he shook his head in disappointment.
“I don’t know, Claire… I wish I could find some way to tell you which city your brother is in exactly…”
Claire saw that Leon was clearly stressing out over being unable to find the specific city where Chris might be in, so she decided to help him in some way. She thought on how to help him, until she came up with an idea.
“Well… you did mention that Ada made you go through classified Umbrella files to locate the G-Virus… did you find anything in those files that related to these three facilities?”
Leon paused at her words. He felt like he remembered reading something about a laboratory in Europe that required maximum security. He began digging into his memories deeply, closing and squinting his eyes to try to remember. He was in deep thought for a while, and then he remembered it. A file that stated something along the lines of:
‘Maximum security authorized in Laboratory P. Intelligence heavily suggests an attempt at a security breach in the building. Potential suspects include a S.T.A.R.S. member from Raccoon City, who we have yet to identify. Lord Spencer has authorized any and all means to find and track down the suspects, which we have begun doing here at the Paris Laboratory.’
“Paris!” Leon said out loud as he shot up from his chair.
“What?” Claire responded, confused.
Leon then chuckled in relief. “You just lit a lightbulb in my head, Claire. I do indeed remember coming across a file that stated that a laboratory in Europe was maximizing its security to look for suspects who were highly likely to be infiltrating them. The laboratory in question was in Paris. Furthermore, it stated that one of the suspects potentially included a S.T.A.R.S. member…”
Claire’s eyes lit up. “That must be where Chris is then! Oh my god, thank you Leon, thank you thank you!” She said as she hugged him so hard that he fell to the floor, burying her face in his chest as she cried tears of joy.
Leon was taken aback at first, before he hugged her back just as hard.
“When do you want me to book you the plane tickets to Paris?”
“Right now would be best.”
Leon looked at her a bit shocked, and also a bit sad as that meant Claire would leave soon. She then put a hand in his shoulder to comfort him.
“I know… but I have to find him as soon as possible. If that file you found is anything to go by, he could be in danger of getting caught by Umbrella… which is why I have to leave the earliest I can.”
Leon emphasized with her, acknowledging that Chris would very well be in danger as they speak.
“I understand, Claire. I’ll book the tickets right now then.”
Claire then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you, Leon.”
“Ok, Claire. I got your ticket to Paris. The earliest flight was in 2 days from now. Well… more like one day. Considering it’s m already night time right now, and the flight is in the morning after this one, you really only have one day and a couple hours.”
“I see…”
“We’re going to have to get you a disguise, just to make sure you’re not recognized by anyone who might be working with Umbrella… I’d probably recommend a wig with a different hair color to yours, as well as some contacts to change your eye color. I’m not sure where to get those things though…”
“Leave that to Elza. She has a friend who works as a makeup and hair stylist. I’m sure she can take me tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Leon then asked something that reminded Claire of the painful thing she’d have to do.
“…When are you going to tell Sherry?”
“I- I don’t know. Definitely not today. Maybe tomorrow in the evening? No… that’d be too late for her… *sigh* I’ll tell her first thing in the morning tomorrow. I just hope she doesn’t take it too hard…”
“Well, we should probably head to bed now. Let me check if Sherry is asleep in the living room.”
“I’ll go with you.” Leon added.
As Claire and Leon entered the living room to find Sherry asleep on the couch, Claire smiled and proceeded to turn off the TV. She then turned around, and saw a sight that completely warmed her heart.
Leon had walked up to Sherry, and then proceeded to gently lift her off the couch, so as to not wake her up.
Leon, still carrying her with the utmost care in the world, proceeded to take Sherry to her room. Claire took in the sight of Sherry in Leon’s arms, and it reminded her of a dad carrying his sleepy daughter to bed. She followed him to her room, and then watched as Leon gently laid Sherry down on the bed, before proceeding to carefully cover her with the sheets and the blanket.
Claire’s heart fluttered at how caring and father-like Leon was with Sherry right now, and she couldn’t help but think that Leon would make a great dad one day.
Claire woke up the next day, and proceeded to tell Elza her plans of leaving, which initially shocked Elza, but she then reluctantly understood.
The hard part was going to be Sherry. As Leon and Claire cuddled in their room, they heard Sherry walk by and give them a sleepy good morning.
“Good morninggg” Sherry said groggily.
“Morning, Sherry.” Leon replied, trying his hardest to hide the nervousness in his tone.
“G-good morning, Sherry.” Claire said anxiously.
They then heard Sherry sit on the couch and start watching her favorite morning programs.
A few minutes later, Leon could sense that Claire was becoming very nervous and slightly shaking, so he asked, “Do you want to wait until later on to tell her or?”
Claire contemplated his words for a bit, before shaking her head.
“N-no, I’ll… I’ll go tell her right n-now.” Claire said as she got up to go to the living room, with Leon following right behind her.
Claire entered the living room with Leon at her side, as Sherry greeted her.
“Oh hey Claire! I was just about to go looking for you. I wanted to ask… can you take me to go watch the new Lion King movie that comes out in a couple of weeks? You can take Leon and Elza too! You know how much I love Kiara… so it’d really mean the world to me if I get to watch the movie with you and Leon by my side…”
Claire’s heart broke as she heard those words. It took every single ounce of her strength to avoid breaking down and crying right then and there.
“Sherry… can we talk? It’s something important…”
Sherry noticed Claire was acting very serious, so she dropped her smile and turned off the TV.
“Oh… okay then. What do you want to talk about, Claire?”
Claire braced herself and mentally asked for the strength and courage to endure the consequences of what she was going to say next.
“I… I’m going to need to leave for a while, Sherry.”
Sherry’s eyes widened, and she had a look of shock and disbelief in her face. Claire really contemplated changing her mind on leaving to Europe when she saw the look on Sherry’s face, but in the end, she didn’t.
“W-why? What- what do you mean you’re going to- going to l-leave?” Sherry said as tears began to well up in her eyes.
Claire couldn’t bring herself to look at Sherry’s sad and heartbroken face, so she said her next words while looking down at the floor.
“I need to look for my brother. I found out where he might be, and I’m going to leave in tomorrow morning to go looking for him.”
Claire then heard Sherry begin to start sniffling.
“Claire… p-please tell me you’re lying. Please t-tell me this is just a joke…”
Claire shook her head at that, and proceeded to hug Sherry tightly.
“I’m not lying, Sherry… I’m… Im sorry.”
Sherry then began to bawl, as she tried to plead with Claire.
“Please Claire… please don’t go… I don’t w-want you to go. I don’t want you to l-leave. Please, Claire. Please…”
Claire had a broken look in her eye as she continued hugging Sherry. It pained her greatly to tell Sherry this.
“Sherry…” Claire began in a shaky voice as her own eyes started sheddding tears. “I’ll come back. I promise.”
Sherry then continued bawling as she hugged Claire, and Leon couldn’t help but let out a few tears of his own at the sight. He can’t imagine the pain both Claire and Sherry are feeling right now.
As Sherry eventually broke the hug, she asked Claire in a broken voice, “Do you pinky promise that you’ll come back?” Sherry asked as she extended her pinky out.
Claire gave a weak smile as she interlaced her pinky with Sherry’s.
“I pinky promise, Sherry.”
A couple hours later, Elza took Claire to the beauty shop to get a wig and contacts. Elza and Claire debated which color of wig to use, before deciding that blonde would really distinguish Claire from her “normal” look. They also decided on getting green eye contacts to cover her blue eyes.
As they returned to the apartment later on, they saw Leon working hard on something.
“What are you working on, Leon?” Claire asked.
“I’m just working on making you a fake passport.”
Claire stood there shocked.
“You know how to make a fake passport?!”
“Not quite. In the academy, we learned the tactics people use to forge identification, in order to distinguish them from actual identification, so I figured I’d use some of that knowledge to make a fake passport for you. After all, security has never really been all that high in airports, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get away with it.”
That’s not very cop-like of you.” Claire teased Leon.
“I’d do anything to ensure your safety, Claire.”
Claire blushed, as Leon continued.
“The only thing I need now is your photo. You got the disguise, right?”
“Yup, and Elza managed to borrow her friend’s camera.”
“Ok then, we should probably take a photo of you in the disguise now.”
Claire, with Elsa’s help, put on the blonde wig, which consisted of a choppy bob hairstyle. She then put on her green eye contacts.
Once she was ready, Elza took the photo.
Sherry, although still sad, tried to lighten up her mood by making a joke.
“Welcome to the blond club, Claire.” She said as she hugged Leon’s waist to emphasize that.
Claire and Elza proceeded to laugh, and Leon rubbed the back of his head while he chuckled.
“Well… I would hardly consider myself a blonde.” Leon said.
Claire took off her disguise and placed it into her duffel bag, as Leon spoke with Elza regarding the photo she took on the camera.
“Ok… I’m going to go to the computer shop down the street and work on finishing this passport.”
“Don’t get caught.” Claire told him.
“I won’t.”
By the time it was night, Leon had finished making the fake passport for Claire, and Claire was packing up to leave. She made sure to play a few games of Uno with Sherry before she started packing up, which she noticed eased the pain in Sherry’s heart.
Eventually, Claire was pretty much ready to leave. She just needed a few more things to pack, which Leon would help her with. As it was now time for everyone to head to bed, Sherry asked an important question.
“Will I see you in the morning?”
Claire sighed, before responding.
“I’m sorry, Sherry, but no, you won’t see me. My flight leaves early in the morning.”
“Oh… okay…” Sherry said as she was on the verge of tears, and Claire responded by comforting her.
She kneeled down to Sherry’s level, and put her hands on her shoulders.
“Sherry, you are the strongest girl I have ever met, and I’m so proud of you. The fact that you were able to still find joy after everything you went through in Raccoon City will never cease to amaze me.” Claire began, before continuing, “Though I’m going to leave, Sherry, I promise you that I’ll be back. And who knows? I might be back soon enough that I’ll be able to watch the new Lion King movie with you and Leon.” Claire said as she lightly nudged Sherry’s shoulder. Sherry gave a weak laugh at that, before asking one final thing.
“Claire… Just promise me that you will be safe while you’re looking for your brother.”
“I promise, Sherry.”
Sherry then proceeded to pull Claire into a bone-crushing hug, and Claire hugged her back just as tightly.
Claire then said goodbye to Elza.
“Elza, make sure Leon and Sherry don’t do anything reckless, okay? Keep an eye on them.”
“I’ll keep two eyes on them, Claire. And you should keep an eye out for yourself. They need you, Claire. So just be careful.” Elza said, before hugging Claire.
Claire accompanied Sherry to her bed, and held her in her arms to help her fall asleep. Once Sherry was asleep for a while, Claire got off the bed to go finish packing up with Leon in his room. Before she left, she gave Sherry a kiss on the forehead, as she knew it might be the last time she sees Sherry for a while…
Claire finished packing up with Leon, who double checked to make sure she had packed everything she needed. Once they were sure, Leon spoke.
“Claire… I know I’ve said this a hundred times by now, but please be safe in Europe… I… I can’t imagine losing you too after I lost everyone in Raccoon City…” Leon said shakily.
Claire then cupped his cheek, and reassured him.
“You won’t lose me, Leon. I promise.”
The young couple then kissed passionately, and Leon made sure to savor the kiss because it’d be the last one he’d get from her for a while.
“I’m going to miss those sweet kisses of yours…” Leon said as he lightly chuckled.
He then noticed Claire’s demeanor change, her blue eyes looking at him deeply.
“Then how about I give you something that you’ll never forget?” Claire said in a seductive voice.
*SMUT STARTS HERE*
Her voice sent chills down his spine, and before he knew it, he was pushed onto the bed by Claire, who proceeded to straddle him and crash her lips against his.
She grinded against his member, noticing that it had already started to get erected. She then eagerly kissed all over his face, wanting to admire that handsome face of his before she left. As she trailed her kisses down to his neck, she sucked on the skin there, which made Leon let out a loud gasp.
Claire’s hands eagerly trailed down to his shirt, and as she began to pull it up, Leon stopped her and sat up.
“You- You want to do this now? Elza and Sherry are sleeping though.”
Claire then whispered something in his ear which made his dick twitch in his pants.
“Then we’re just going to have to keep our voices down.” Claire said, before pushing him back onto the bed, and proceeded to take off Leon’s shirt.
Claire kissed all over Leon’s upper body, as Leon lightly groaned at the feeling. Claire then reached the waistband of his sweatpants and began tugging them down his legs, throwing them behind her as she got them off of him completely. Leon then tried to flip them over so that he can undress Claire as well, but Claire resisted and remained on top. Leon looked at her in shock, and then moaned as Claire started massaging the bulge in his boxer briefs.
Claire proceeded to do that for a while, before grabbing the waistband of his boxer briefs. She tugged his underwear down his legs, throwing them behind her as they landed on the floor.
Now Leon lay there completely naked while Claire was still fully clothed. Leon once again tried to sit up so that he could undress Claire, but Claire seemed to be wanting to take charge tonight as she proceeded to straddle his hips, grinding against his bare cock. Leon let out moans as he felt his bare cock rub against her jeans, with every movement her hips made. The friction of his cock against her jeans was driving him crazy, and he wanted nothing more than to feel her bare center against it. Eventually, Claire stopped her grinding, and moved her hand down his chest until she reached his erect length, which was already leaking pre-cum. She took his cock in her hand and began stroking it, as she intently watched Leon’s face, eager to see the effect she had on him. She was proud to see that Leon’s eyes rolled back into his head, as he began moaning.
“Does that feel good, Leon?” Claire asked.
“Yesss…. It feels so good, Claire.” Claire smirked at that, and then proceeded to increase her pace, now eagerly stroking his cock with her hand. Leon began moaning louder, before Claire placed her hand over his mouth. Leon looked at her with wide eyes.
“Shhh…” Claire told him. “Don’t want to wake them up, do you?”
Leon continued to let out muffled moans as Claire gave him a handjob, before she released her hand from his cock, and then made her way down his body. Leon’s hands tore at the sheets as he felt her take him into her mouth. Now knowing what she had to do, Claire eagerly sucked on his dick, as she drove Leon crazy with pleasure.
Leon was shocked at Claire’s actions. The blowjob he had received from her before was really good, but this was absolutely incredible. It wasn’t long before he felt himself about to come.
Claire heard Leon say something, which was muffled by her hand, so she moved her hand to the side, only to hear Leon say: “Claire! I’m… I’m going to-MMMM!”
Claire covered his mouth with her hand again, and proceeded to bob her head up and down his cock even faster.
Leon let out a surprised noise to see that she had no intention of pulling off, and he saw stars as he came.
Leon let out a high pitched moan as he came inside Claire’s mouth, and Claire made sure to swallow every last drop.
She then looked up to see Leon completely dazed from what she did to him, and she smirked at the sight.
As Leon was left lying there dazed from his intense orgasm, Claire used the opportunity to get off the bed and stand to take her clothes off, but first she took off her hair tie, releasing her hair from its ponytail as it cascaded down her shoulders.
Leon propped himself up on his elbows as Claire took off her shirt, revealing a grey bra. She proceeded to take that off as well, exposing her breasts to him.
Claire then unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down her legs, stepping out of them as they hit the floor, leaving her standing there in just her grey panties.
While Leon wanted to be the one to undress Claire, it seems Claire wanted to do it herself, not that he was complaining.
As she pulled her underwear down her legs, finally as nude as he was, she climbed back on the bed and pushed Leon onto his back while straddling him. Leon tried to flip them over so that he can return the favor, but Claire stopped him.
“No, Leon. Tonight is about you.” She began, before continuing. “Can you go for one more?” While Leon usually needed time in between ograsming to go for another, the sight of a naked Claire straddling him, as well as the thought of this being the last chance he has to be inside of her for a while, made him become fully hard again. Leon nodded her head, as Claire proceeded to reach to to the side and grab a condom from the drawer and roll it over his cock.
As she lined her entrance up with his erection, she told Leon:
“Bucke in, Leon, because I’m going to give you the best ride of your life.”
They both then let out a moan as she sank herself down onto his cock. Claire gave herself time to adjust, as she still wasn’t fully used to the feeling of being penetrated by something as big as Leon’s dick. She engaged in a passionate kiss with Leon as she waited. But once she adjusted, she broke the kiss, and began to ride Leon with passion. The muscles in her legs proved to be useful, as she used their strength to bounce on his cock over and over again. Leon saw the way her perky pale breasts bounced as she rode him, as well as the way she was letting out sweet moans as she moved on top of him, and it sent immense amounts of pleasure throughout Leon’s entire body.
As Claire did as she promised and gave him the best ride of his life, Leon had his head to the side and his eyes closed due to how much pleasure he was feeling, but Claire wanted to see him unravel and wanted to see the effects of her ministrations on his face. So with a gentle but firm grip on his jaw, she turned his head so that he could look at her, and Leon let out a surprised gasp as his eyes opened wide to see her staring intently at him.
“Look at me, Leon.”
Leon did as he was told and looked at Claire, although sometimes he would barely have glimpses of her as his eyes would roll up due to the pleasure he was feeling.
They both moaned as Claire continued moving above him, her pace somehow never slowing down.
Shortly after, Leon felt that he was about to come, and Claire must’ve sensed this, as she began riding him even faster and harder.
Leon came, his back arching violently, as he let out a moan. Seeing Leon unravel and completely lose himself was enough to bring Claire over the edge, as she reached down to stroke her clit and moved her hips harshly one last time. She came just as hard herself, her juices spilling out of her and onto his lower abdomen.
*SMUT ENDS HERE*
She fell onto his chest, reveling in how strong it felt as she snuggled herself against it.
As she lifted her hips off him, she looked at Leon lying down in the bed, his breathing heavy and his face red from exhaustion at what Claire did to him. Claire figured that she left Leon too tired to move, so she pulled the condom out of his penis herself and threw it in the trash can. She then joined Leon on the bed, and the two began cuddling in the closest and most intimate position, while holding each other tightly, knowing that in a few hours, they would be separated for who knows how long.
Eventually, while still in a tight embrace with each other, Leon and Claire fell asleep.
Claire woke up and turned her head back to look at Leon, saddened that this would be the last time she would see him for a while. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before slowly getting out of bed so as to not wake him, unknowingly dragging the sheets off of him as she did so. She picked up her clothes from the floor and got changed into her underwear, navy blue jeans, and black t-shirt. She put her boots and socks on, and then got her duffel bag.
She made sure everything was in her bag, including the disguise, and with that she was ready to leave. She took one last look at Leon on the bed and noticed that the sheets were completely off him, leaving him naked and exposed on the bed. She took the sheets and covered his nude form with them, before leaning into his face and moving one of his bangs away from his eye so that she could see his entire face. She wanted one last opportunity to memorize every inch of his beautiful face, and when she eventually did, she gently kissed him on the forehead before proceeding to warmly press her lips against his.
Claire reluctantly pulled away from his lips, and thought it would only be right if she at least left Leon’s room clean. She grabbed his clothes that were on the floor, and neatly folded them on the side of the bed that was empty. Claire then proceeded to grab her red jacket from the wall, putting it on. Before she left the room, she took one last look at Leon.
‘Leon, please take care of Sherry while I’m gone. And take care of yourself. I’ll be back, I promise.’
As she continued looking at Leon, her eyes began getting watery at the feeling of being without him for the next few weeks or possibly months. So, with one last look at him, she turned around and left the room, officially leaving to begin the search for her brother.
Notes:
Ok guys, I must warn you: The story is going to get REALLY dark from this point on. We’re talking HEAVY angst, attempted suicide, and threats of child experimentation. If you know the lore, you know why this is the case. I added tags that will give you an idea of what the rest of the story will look like, so be sure to check them out.
Anyways, thank you all so much for reading!
Chapter 9
Summary:
A devastating tragedy befalls Leon and Sherry.
Leon is then forced to make a tough choice which leaves him broken.
Notes:
Please read the new tags I added, because this is the chapter where everything goes to shit and the story gets much darker. But I’ll add a trigger warning as well.
The ending of this chapter is also very heartbreaking, so buckle in.
T/W: Threats of Child Experimentation, as well as graphic description of said child experimentation threat.
Chapter Text
Leon woke up, immediately noticing that he felt a bit colder than usual. And it wasn’t because he was naked under the sheets. It was because Claire, his girlfriend, was gone.
He sat up and began to have his head in his hands as he let out a loud sigh.
Claire was gone. And who knows when she would come back?
Leon remained sitting on the bed with his head in his hands for a while, as began to process it. He had already begun to worry sick. What if she was caught in the airport? What if the flight didn’t make it to Paris? And even if those two things didn’t happen, she still planned on infiltrating an Umbrella facility if she found that Chris was located there. The thought of her taking on an active Umbrella facility by herself frightened him, and he began shaking in fear, before he remembered Claire’s words to him:
“Leon… I need you to trust me in this decision. Do you trust me?”
“You won’t lose me, Leon. I promise.”
Leon trusted her with his life, so he relaxed, and had faith that everything would be alright with her.
As he let out one final sigh, he got up and began to put his clothes on, which he noticed Claire had neatly folded on the side of the bed. As he exited his room, he noticed Sherry already awake in the living room, which was out of character for her, as she was usually the last one to wake up. What she said next explained why she was up so early.
“Claire… she’s gone, isn’t she?” Sherry asked shakily.
“Yeah… she left early in the morning while I was asleep…”
Leon saw that Sherry began to sniffle so he went to comfort her.
“Sherry… everything will be alright, I promise.” Leon then hugged her to his abdomen. Sherry immediately settled into his embrace and hugged his abdomen tightly.
“I’m going to miss her, Leon… I’m going to miss her so much.” Sherry said as she held onto Leon as if she were going to fall if she let go.
Leon responded by hugging her tighter and soothingly rubbing her head with his hand.
“I know… I’m going to miss her too.”
Sherry kept herself in his embrace for a while, before she eventually pulled away.
“Leon… can you take me to the park?”
One week later…
Leon noticed that Sherry used going to the park as a way to cope with Claire’s absence. Nearly everyday, Sherry would ask Leon if he could take her to the park, and he obliged her each time without complaint. His theory was that Sherry didn’t feel too comfortable being in the house for too long due to remembering it the way it was when Claire was there, and now that she was gone, Sherry felt a void in the house, which is why she would ask Leon to take her to the park.
Leon quite enjoyed taking Sherry to the park though, as it would allow the two to bond even closer than before. For example, sometimes, while Sherry was on the swing, she’d ask Leon to give her a push so she could go faster and higher. It warmed Leon’s heart to see her make excited sounds as she flew through the air in the swing thanks to the pushes he would give the swing she was on.
“How are you doing, Sherry?” Leon asked as he greeted her in the kitchen.
“I’m doing good.” Sherry responded as she stood there, contemplating what to eat for breakfast.
“Say, Leon… can you put the toy I got of Kiara in your backpack? I… I had Claire put it in her backpack because I tend to lose things easily, but now that she’s… gone… I was wondering if you could put in your backpack for me?”
“Yeah, of course Sherry. I’ll make sure to do that in a bit.”
“Thanks, Leon.”
Leon then saw Sherry open the cabinet and grab a cereal box.
“Do you want me to make you some eggs and sausage instead, Sherry? That’ll make you more energized than eating cereal.”
“Okay, just make sure they come out good.”
“I’ll sure as hell try my hardest, Sherry.” Leon chuckled.
As Leon was cooking the eggs, he figured he’d do something fun for Sherry. She said she had wanted the eggs to be done in an omelette, so he took advantage of that.
“Sherry, want to see something cool? Look.”
Sherry looked up from the kitchen table, and then made a sound of astonishment as Leon flipped the omelette in the air and back into the pan.
“No way!”
“Cool, right?”
Sherry nodded her head excitedly in response.
“And I can do it even higher… check this out.”
Leon then proceeded to throw the omelette in the air even higher, before it landed back on the pan successfully.
Sherry sat there, struck in awe, before she proceeded clapping.
“Bravo, Leon! You’re amazing!”
Leon then gave a bow to her, which made Sherry laugh.
“Can… Can I try it?” Sherry asked in curiosity.
Although Leon would’ve loved to let her try it, Sherry had no experience flipping omelettes, and it’d probably fall.
“I’m sorry, Sherry, but if you do it, it’ll probably fall to the floor. Don’t want to ruin your omelette now, do you?”
Sherry then looked at him with puppy eyes and began pleading in the sweetest voice.
“Come on, Leon. Pleeasee?”
The puppy eyes she was using on him, as well as the fact that he wanted to do anything to cheer her up, made him give in.
“Alright… but I’ll guide you.” Leon sighed.
Sherry had the pan in her hand as Leon was watching right next to her, while also holding Sherry’s arm to guide her.
“Ok Sherry, remember, don’t use too much force, alright? Just enough to lift the plate off the pan.”
“Got it, Leon.”
“Ok, ready?”
Sherry nodded her head.
“1… 2… 3!” Sherry, with the help of Leon, lifted the omelette off the pan slightly, and, to her delight, landed it right back on the pan successfully.
“Wow! I actually did it!” Sherry said excitedly.
“Look at you, Sherry! Way to go!” Leon beamed as he extended a high five to her. Sherry eagerly high fived him, before thanking him profusely for letting her try it.
“Thank you so much, Leon!” Sherry said as she hugged Leon.
“Anytime, Sherry.” He said as patted her head.
Sherry then grew even more confident. “Say, Leon… I think I can do it flip it as high as you did in your last attempt.”
“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, little miss…”
Later that day, Leon took her to the park, and as he entered the park with Sherry, he looked to the side… only to see the two black cars again… the ones with completely tinted windows. He had seen them when he left the carnival with Claire, and now he saw those two exact same cars again.
‘What the hell…’
Before he could ponder it any further, though, he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Sherry gasping.
She had immediately noticed a new swing that was added in the spot she usually played in.
“Look, Leon! They replaced the old swing with a brand new one. It probably feels and works better!” She said as she excitedly began running towards the swing.
“Careful, Sherry!” There’s rocks on the- SHERRY!” Leon yelled as he saw Sherry trip on a rock and land on the floor. Sherry let out a cry of pain, and Leon immediately rushed to her side.
“Leon… is it o-okay… is it bleeding?” Sherry said in a panicked voice.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Sherry. You just lightly fell; it’s nothing serious, trust me. Where does it hurt? So I can check the wound…”
“The pain is coming from my left knee… I don’t want to look at it…” Sherry closed her eyes.
Leon gently grabbed her leg and positioned it so that he could have a good look of her left knee. Sure enough, there was a wound. It was nothing serious, but it was a slightly open scrape that was bleeding a little, so Leon began taking out his first aid kit that he always had on him.
As Leon reached for the first aid kit, he froze as he saw what happened next.
Sherry’s wound had begun healing at a rapid pace. Within a couple seconds, the open scrape had closed and her knee had come back to the way it was. No bruise, no scar, nothing. It’s as if nothing had happened to her knee.
Leon remained there, shocked as he witnessed something he never thought was even possible, which was saying a lot considering his experiences in Raccoon City.
‘What in the absolute world just happened? Sherry just… healed like nothing…. Did she always have this? Or did this come from Raccoon City?’
Leon didn’t come across Sherry in Raccoon City until they met on the train, so he didn’t have the knowledge Claire had.
“Is… is my knee okay?” Leon was brought out of his trance as Sherry asked that.
He looked up at her, and after trying his best to hide a huge gulp, he weakly smiled at her.
“Y-yeah! Everything is fine with your knee, Sherry. No bleeding, no nothing. Consider yourself a lucky girl.”
Sherry looked at her knee, and was relieved to see it fine.
Leon, quickly wanting to distract himself from what he had just witnessed, spoke to Sherry.
“Now that we made sure everything is fine, how about we try that swing you were talking about?” Leon extended his hand to Sherry.
Sherry became excited once again, and eagerly took his hand in response.
“Okay, Leon!”
From a small distance, two agents observed the Raccoon City survivors they were looking for, and plotted their next move.
“That’s them. Inform Mr. Benford, and tell him we have confirmed that the suspects we have been observing are indeed the Raccoon City survivors. Be sure to give him the address of their apartment, as well. Once he gets everything ready, we’ll move in.”
Leon watched in contentment as Sherry flew through the air at even greater speeds than before with the new swing that was added to the park.
Eventually though, Sherry stopped, and this confused Leon.
“Is something wrong, Sherry?”
“Claire… she’s still not back… it’s been a week…”
Leon then held Sherry’s shoulder to comfort her. “Have faith, Sherry. Remember I told you Claire has been emailing me everyday on her status since she left?”
The first thing Leon did when he woke up every morning was to go on the computer and check for Claire’s emails. He wanted- no, he needed to make sure she was safe. Thankfully, Claire sent him emails everyday. The first one was about how she made it though airport security here and over there when she landed, and then the next couple emails were about how her search for Chris was going, as well as taking in the sights of Paris the few moments that she was able to. She mentioned how she wished she could’ve tried the delicious looking crepes they were selling on the streets, but couldn’t due to wanting to focus on finding her brother.
‘Might be an idea down the line to take her to a restaurant that sells crepes…’
Recently, Claire had emailed him saying that she had found a highly plausible location as to where Chris was, and that she was going to find him soon. She didn’t explicitly mention what the location was, but he figured that she didn’t need to tell him everything.
What slightly worried Leon was that he had received no email from her today in the morning, but he figured she was just busy searching for her brother, which made sense.
He then brought his attention back to Sherry, and continued where he left off.
“Every single day, she has told me that she’s doing just fine.”
“I- I know, but still…”
Leon could sense that Sherry was still a bit sad.
“Sherry.. Claire promised us that she’d be back right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“And when has she ever let you down?”
“…never.” Sherry responded.
“Then she will be back!” Leon said in a positive tone, trying to cheer Sherry up, and it seemed to do the trick, as she went back to swinging.
Three days later…
Things were starting to REALLY worry Leon.
Claire had not sent him an email in the last four days. Surely if she had found a positive location on Chris and moved in on it, she wouldn’t have taken so long to rescue him, right? Their ordeal in Raccoon City took less than 12 hours, so Leon figured 96 hours was more than enough time for Claire to find Chris and email him that she was safe.
Leon sat there looking at the computer with his head in his hands.
‘What if… Umbrella caught her while she tried to infiltrate their facility, and they captured her?’
Leon began to sweat as he started to panic at the thought.
‘Or even worse, what if Umbrella guards killed her as soon as they spotted her?’
Leon stood up and stumbled back as his breathing got out of control. He was struggling to calm his breathing down, and his heart felt like it was going to rip out of his chest from how fast it was beating.
‘No no… NOO!! CLAIRE IS NOT DEAD! SHE CAN’T BE!’ Leon thought as he continued to struggle to maintain his composure.
‘I… I… I love her…’ Leon began. ‘And I can’t afford to lose her. I can’t…’
Eventually, Leon calmed down enough to get his breathing under control. He went to the kitchen to grab a drink of water to calm down his nerves. He was then interrupted by Elza walking into the kitchen.
“How have you been holding up, Leon?”
“I’ve been… alright. Thanks for asking, Elza.” Leon said as he weakly smiled at her.
“I’m glad to hear that, Leon. Just know that if you need anything… like if you want to take Sherry somewhere, I’ll be here to help you.”
Leon nodded his head at her and thanked her once again.
“Anyways…” Elza began. “I was wondering if you could take this gallon of milk to the neighbor? She told me that she needed some, and I was wondering if you could go deliver it to her. Considering you’re a strong man and everything.” Elsa said as she laughed.
“Sure, Elza, I can do that.”
Leon delivered the gallon to the neighbor, who thanked him profusely. Perhaps for a little too long though, as it was several minutes before she ended the conversation and sent Leon on his way back home. As Leon approached the apartment, he noticed those same two black cars again.
No… this time, there were several of them. Parked right outside the apartment. Leon began to fear the worst. Had Umbrella finally tracked them down and were looking to eliminate him and Sherry?
What he heard next confirmed that fear. A child’s scream came from inside the apartment.
“SHERRY!!” Leon yelled as he ran as fast as he can. He sprinted up the stairs to the apartment before slamming the door open, only to be greeted by the sight of Elza unconscious on the living room floor. There was no damage done to her, so he assumed she was tazed, but what Leon heard next truly disturbed him.
“MMMMMMM!!!” He heard the muffled cries of Sherry coming from her room, and he sprinted towards the room… only to be met by another sight that would haunt him forever.
There, Sherry was, with a piece of tape over her mouth, as tears rained down her face. Restrained by multiple soldiers as they held her down, and she looked at Leon pleadingly to save her.
Leon was about to do just that before he was struck in the back by multiple hard objects, as he fell to the floor.
“This is the other survivor! Secure him!”
Before he could react, he was pinned down by multiple soldiers. He was now at eye center level with Sherry, who continued to make muffled cries through the duct tape on her mouth. The look in her eyes was one he never wanted to see in her. He was supposed to protect her, he was supposed to give her the childhood she never had. He was supposed to ease her pain, not strengthen it like…. like this.
Leon tried resisting out of the soldiers’ hold on him, to no avail.
“Let me go, you psychotic motherfuckers!”
“You must be Leon.” He heard a voice say.
Leon followed where the voice came from, and noticed a man in a suit.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I work for the government. And I have been tasked with tracking you down in order to secure intel from you regarding the Raccoon City incident. You were there, weren’t you?”
Leon refused to answer him.
“Men, release him.” He heard the man say.
The soldiers then released their hold on him, and just as Leon was about to rush to save Sherry, the man spoke up.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Mr. Kennedy.”
Leon then noticed multiple soldiers in the room pointing their guns at him, and he sighed in frustration as he clenched his fist.
“What do you want?” Leon asked darkly.
“All we want is information regarding the Raccoon City incident. The United States must know everything that occurred in Raccoon City, for the purpose of ensuring a safe and secure future for the world.”
Leon hesitated. He couldn’t share the details with this man. The details included Claire, and he’d rather die than have them find out about her and track her down as well. Plus, after Ada’s masquerade as a FBI agent, he wasn’t sure these people actually worked for the government. But if they let Shery go… he may be willing to spare some details.
“Let Sherry go… and I’ll tell you what I know about the incident.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Mr. Kennedy.”
“Why the hell not?!” Leon said angrily, making the soldiers get ready to fire their guns at him, before the man motioned them to lower their weapons. He then spoke to Leon.
“Ms. Birkin is a valuable asset to us.”
Leon’s eyes widened. ‘Asset?!?!’
“She’ll be staying with us.”
Sherry then let out a loud muffled cry, and quickly began shaking her head. The man’s words, as well as the disturbing sight of Sherry, caused Leon to lose control.
He drew his fist to punch the man, but before it landed, he felt something hard connect with the back of his head, and his world turned black.
“SHERRY!” Leon yelled as he woke up, only to find himself in a room. It looked like it was some kind of interrogation room, and he noticed two guards were behind him. He also realized that his hands were cuffed.
“Welcome back, Mr. Kennedy.”
Leon looked forward, only to see the man in the suit again. There were also another man next to him wearing a suit.
“Where’s Sherry?!” Leon asked.
“We’ll get to that in a minute. In the meantime, I think we should introduce ourselves to you. I’m Agent Adam Benford, and this here is my colleague, Derek C. Simmons.”
“We spent a lot of time tracking you down, Mr. Kennedy.” Simmons told him with a smirk on his face, before continuing, “To finally have you in our grasp is equivalent to a predator catching its prey after a long hunt.”
Leon did not like the tone and demeanor of Simmons. While Benford seemed to just be professional and all business, Simmons had a sadistic look in his eye which frightened Leon.
“Now, let’s continue where we left off.”Benford spoke up.
”You were in Raccoon City. Tell us everything you know.”
Leon lingered on his question for a bit, before he began to feel a bit brave.
“Fuck you and your questions. I’m not going to answer anything until I see for myself that Sherry is safe.”
Leon’s face was then roughly shoved onto the table by Simmons as the man warned him.
“And like we told you, boy, we’ll get to that in a moment. All I can tell you is that she is unharmed and is somewhere secure. That might change for the worse if you continue acting like a little shit and refuse to answer our questions. Is that understood?”
Leon said nothing, and Simmons pressed his face even harder into the table, making Leon let out a groan of pain.
“I said: is that understood?”
“…Yes.” Leon reluctantly said.
“Good.” Simmons then released him.
“Forgive my colleague here, you’ll find that he has quite a temper.” Leon heard Benford say.
“Mr. Kennedy, perhaps going straight into Raccoon City is overwhelming for you, so let me break the ice first.” Benford continued as he took out pages from a folder that he had on the table.
“You are Leon Scott Kennedy, correct?”
Leon nodded his head.
“You were born in 1977 to a family struggling with crime. As a result, you were orphaned as a child at the age of 9.” Leon winced as Benford recalled the traumatic moment of his childhood.
“…You then graduated from high school, where you were at the top of your class. From there, you went to the police academy to become a cop. Much like in high school, you graduated at the top of your class from the police academy too.”
“And if you’re so smart, you’d realize complying with our orders is what’s best for you and the girl.” Simmons added.
Leon looked at Simmons with disgust. Who did this guy think he was to threaten an innocent 12 year old girl?
Benford then continued, “Your first day as a police officer was scheduled for September 29, 1998. Mr. Kennedy, is everything we have on file accurate?”
Leon nodded his head once again. “Yes, it is.”
“Great. Now that we know each other, I will once again ask that you tell us everything you know about the Raccoon City incident.” Leon remained silent, as he was hesitant to give any information that might endanger him, Sherry, or Claire.
“We know you were there. There’s no use in denying it.”
“And remember I warned you what would happen to poor little Ms. Birkin if you refused to answer our questions.” Simmons chimed in.
At Simmons’ threat, Leon sighed and gave in.
Leon told them everything that happened in Raccoon. How he got there, what happened at the station, in the sewers, in the underground laboratory, what kind of creatures he saw, etc. What he left out was Claire. He did not need them looking for Claire as well, so he altered his account of the story by saying he was the one that found Sherry and rescued her.
“I see… it seems Umbrella allowed things to spiral out of control more than we imagined. Deploying Tyrants into the city to presumably eradicate any survivors?”Benford asked himself in slight shock, before he continued, “You are sure the G-Virus was lost in the laboratory?”
“I saw it fall to the depths, and a few minutes later, the lab blew up. So it’s safe to say it was destroyed.”
Benford continued looking at Leon, as if some doubt still lingered on his face, before speaking.
“Okay. Well, Mr. Kennedy, thank you for answering our questions. The information you provided us will greatly help us in the fight against bioterrorism.”
Leon let out a sigh of relief.
“So can I go see Sherry now?”
“Not so fast, kid.” Simmons stated.
Leon looked at Simmons in confusion and a bit of anger.
“Why not?! I did what you asked. I answered all of your questions!”
“Not all of them.” Benford spoke up. “I have another question. Well, it’s more like a request. Come, follow us.” Benford then motioned to the guards in the room, and they proceeded to release Leon from his handcuffs.
“What are you going to request of me?”
Simmons smirked at him. “You’ll see.”
That worried Leon. What were they going to ask of him? He thought all they wanted was information about the Raccoon City incident, and then they’d set him and Sherry free. What more could they possibly want?
“Mr. Kennedy, if you follow us and hear the request we have of you, I will allow you to see Ms. Birkin.” Benford told him.
That caught Leon’s attention. He wanted nothing more than to see Sherry. The poor girl was probably frightened and traumatized from the incident that occurred at the apartment. If Leon were to see her, he’d comfort her, and his presence alone would put Sherry at ease. He did wonder what their plans with her were though…
“And will she be set free?”
Simmons then laughed. “You really think we’re just going to let such a high value asset like her walk off scott free? You really are naive.”
‘Why the fuck do they keep calling her an asset?! What do they want with her?’
Leon was about to retort, before Benford reassured him.
“Mr. Kennedy, hear us out. I believe you may very well like our proposition, and if all goes smooth, you may get what you wish for regarding Sherry.”
That made Leon comply. He’d do anything to ensure Sherry’s safety. It’s the least he could give her.
“Alright, I’ll go with you guys.”
Leon followed them out of the room and down some hall. He then remembered what they did with Elza…
“Is Elza safe?”
“Who the fuck is Elza?” Simmons responded.
“The woman in the apartment that was with us…” Leon said in annoyance. “You guys didn’t kidnap her too, did you? She has nothing to do wi-“
“Rest assured, she is safe. She was not the one we were looking for, so we didn’t take her with us.” Benford clarified.
“We sure as shit did leave a solider in the house, though. You know, to threaten her into never speaking about what she just witnessed.” Simmons chuckled.
Leon was stung at the fact that Elza was probably threatened by an intimidating soldier when she woke up, but he was at least glad that she was safe. But Leon couldn’t help but fall back into that guilt-like mindset he had post-Raccoon City. For him, it wasn’t a coincidence that the moment Claire left and Leon became in charge, Elza and Sherry both came under attack, and he failed to protect them…
‘I’m glad I’m not a police officer anymore… I would’ve done a terrible job…’ Leon thought solemnly.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. As guards opened the doors for them, Leon walked in and noticed that the room was kinda big. But what was really big was the screen they had at the end of the room. It showed a map of the world, as well as some big red dots all over certain parts of it.
“Here we are, Mr. Kennedy. Now, let’s get down to business. What would you say if we told you that Raccoon City was just one incident, and that other incidents have, or will will occur, similar to it?” Benford asked him.
Leon looked at Benford in shock. Other incidents like the one in Raccoon City have happened? He hoped none of them had the death toll Raccoon City had…
“I’d tell you that you have to stop them at all cost. The… the amount of lives rather lost in Raccoon City due to the T-Virus was unnecessary… and tragic.” Leon responded, remembering how innocents, such as the gunshop owner’s daughter, had died because of Umbrella’s corruption and greed.
“Exactly. Take a look at the screen. You see all those red dots? Those are all areas where Bio Organic Weapons, or BOWs as we call them, are very likely to be in activity. There are many here in the United States, in Europe, in Africa. Hell, there is even intel suggesting there may be one active in Antarctica.”
Leon couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There were that many more of these… BOWs… active in the world?
“And even worse…” Leon heard Benford continue. “We have no precedent for this. This is a new enemy that we have never fought before in the history of mankind. Which is why it’s crucial that we figure out ways to fight them and eliminate them… or enlist the help of people who already have encountered and defeated them.”
That last sentence put Leon on full alert, and made his heart skip a beat.
“What… what are you guys suggesting exactly?”
“Leon, the future of the world is at stake. These BOWs are numerous, and as long as they’re out there, there will always be the risk of another incident like Raccoon City happening again. It would be of great help to us if you were to enlist in our services as an agent, and help combat these BOWs with us.”
Leon pondered his words.
‘I… I don’t want to join the government. Their business is too shady and morally grey, and that’s just not the kind of place for me. I want to help raise Sherry, and I want to grow closer to Claire. Joining the government will not help me achieve those two things.’
“I- I’m sorry, sir. But I have to refuse. Government business is not for me, and you’ll find that I might be a detriment rather than a benefit to you guys.”
“I would hardly consider fighting and killing a Tyrant a detriment, Leon. Please consider the bigger picture here.”
“I’ve considered it. And I’ve decided that… I refuse to enter your services.”
Benford then looked a little uneasy, and Leon noticed that he made a quick glance towards Simmons, before bringing his attention back to Leon.
“Leon, this is the last time I’ll offer you this proposition. For your sake, I heavily suggest at least considering it. Joining our organization can result in a better tomorrow. Not just for your fellow Americans, but for the whole world.”
Leon hesitated for a bit. Leon had wanted to help people ever since he was a child, and if his knowledge can help prevent another Raccoon City from happening, it might not be a bad idea to help them. Enlisting in the government was still a very high demand though, so he asked an important question. “How long will I have to be in the government’s service?”
“For as long as we need you to be.”
That sealed Leon’s decision. He may be naive, but he wasn’t dumb enough to not realize that a statement like that from a government official meant that they’d use him indefinitely.
“Then I refuse. I’m sorry, sir. I have to take care of Sherry. She’s had enough absent father-figures in her life already. Therefore… I think it’s best if we go our separate ways and take Sherry and I back to the apartment.”
Benford looked at him with a disappointing look his eye, before he heavily sighed.
“Very well.” Benford stated before leaving. Leon noticed Benford nod at Simmons before he left, which confused Leon.
As Benford left, Simmons informed Leon that their business was done.
“Alright, Leon. Thank you for providing us with vital information. You’re free to go now. I will have my men arrange transportation to take you back to that apartment we found you in.”
Leon then turned around and headed to the door to leave, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw that their ordeal was done.
“It’s a shame poor little Sherry will remain in a lab for the rest of her life…”
Leon froze at Simmons’ words.
‘What did he just say?’
Leon turned around and stared at Simmons in shock.
“…what?”
Simmons then chuckled. “Come on, Mr. Kennedy. You didn’t really think we’d just let you walk off into the sunset with the little girl in your hand now did you?” “Sherry… has a unique gift. You’ve seen it yourself, according to our spies. She has the ability to heal at extraordinary rates that far exceed those of normal humans.”
Leon’s heart skipped a beat as he hoped Simmons wouldn’t imply what Leon was fearing the most.
“Therefore… why shouldn’t we use all means necessary to try to figure out how to use this gift of hers for the rest of us?”
Leon fought the urge to throw up when Simmons said that.
He then walked up to Simmons and asked him in the darkest tone he had ever heard from himself: “You would experiment on a fucking 12 year old girl?”
“If by “experiment,” you mean figure out a cure that can save people’s lives, then yes.” Simmons responded, before continuing.
“It shouldn’t be too hard… We permanently place her in a laboratory where we will conduct daily tests on her that range from simple blood samples, to injections of things such as viruses to fully test whether her gift also heals diseases. That may be uncomfortable for her, but luckily, she’ll have no say. If she resists, we simply force her down by tying her to the test bed, and continue the experimentation as planned. If we require her to eat certain foods and she refuses, then it’s simple: we’ll force feed her.”
Leon threw up on the floor as he heard all of the disturbing things they’d do to Sherry. This Simmons was a monster, he had no doubt of that.
“Or…” Leon heard Simmons say.
“You enlist in our services, and Sherry gets transferred over to a safe, secure, and much more comfortable place where she won’t be surrounded by needles all the time. It’s your choice, Leon. Me? I’m fine with either choice you make.”
Leon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had never thought a human being could be this psychotic.
‘If I don’t join them, they’ll conduct inhumane experiments on Sherry and make her a lab rat… How could they do something so cruel to a 12 year old girl? Sherry. never. hurt. anyone. She is innocent, and yet her fate will be worse than death if I refuse to join them.’
Leon then began to try to plead to the man. He got on his knees and clasped his hands together as he looked up at Simmons.
“Please, sir, I’m begging you. Sherry is just a child. She lost her parents in Raccoon City and nearly died herself. I’m all that she has left. Please, don’t do this to a 12 year old girl. It will leave her traumatized and will forever leave a scar in her heart that won’t heal.”
“Well it’s a good thing I don’t give a fuck.” Simmons responded bluntly.
Leon winced at Simmon’s words.
“You will not convince me to release her, so choose: Refuse to join, and we’ll make Sherry a lab rat for the rest of her life; or join us and she will be transferred somewhere safe and secure where she won’t be poked by needles every waking hour while she’s strapped to a table. Make your choice, boy. That’s a good look on you by the way. On your knees for us. That’ll be exactly how you must act when you join us.”
Leon now knew that he had no choice but to join them. He wasn’t going to make Sherry suffer. If he has to be a slave to the government to ensure that, then so be it. But he still had to make one more thing clear.
“If I join, you promise you won’t experiment on Sherry?”
“Nowhere near the extent as if you don’t join.”
Leon then began to get furious and stood up.
“YOU’RE FUCKING TELLING ME THAT YOU’LL STILL EXPERIMENT ON HER EVEN IF I JOIN?!” Leon yelled angrily.
“WATCH YOUR TONE, BOY! OR ELSE SHERRY’S FATE WILL BE THE SAME REGARDLESS IF YOU JOIN!” Simmons yelled at him, before sighing and continuing. “We’ll still require blood samples from her. But that will be the full extent of our “experiments” on her, mark my words. It’ll unfortunately postpone our progress on getting a cure using her gift, but that’s a sacrifice Benford is willing to make if it means getting you to join us. Let me be abundantly clear, Leon. If you join, Sherry will be transferred to an estate where she will have her own room to sleep in, her own toys to play with, a TV to watch her favorite cartoons, and we’ll have a teacher there to homeschool her.”
‘But she’ll be all alone… without me… and without Claire.’
‘But the alternative is putting her through something far worse, and I’ll never be able to live with myself if I do that.’
“Mr. Kennedy, for the last time, do you accept our proposition?”
‘It seems never to be about what I would wish to do; it is about what I must do.’
Leon then said the next words that would shackle him to the government for the rest of his life.
“…I do.”
Simmons then smiled. “I’m glad we came to an understanding. Took you long enough. Let me go get the paperwork ready.”
As Simmons went to the other side of the room to get what Leon would have to sign, Leon stood there, mentally drained.
‘How am I going to explain this to Sherry? How am I going to explain this to Claire? If Claire even is still alive…’ Leon thought as he remembered that Claire had gone AWOL for a while now.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Simmons tapping the table with a clipboard he had.
“You awake, kid? Come over here and sign your end of this… deal we made.” Simmons chuckled.
Leon walked over and Simmons handed him the pages of their “deal.”
“Sorry if it seems a little rushed, we didn’t have much time to make it. Everything we discussed is in there, just so you know we’re not trying to trick you.”
True to Simmons’ word, everything they had discussed was written in the pages. Leon specifically looked for where it stated that Sherry would be in a comfortable estate and have her own room and everything, and was glad to know it was featured in the pages.
As Leon got to the end, Simmons spoke up.
“Read the section above the signature.”
As Leon read the section, he realized it was a pledge he had to give the U.S. government of his loyalty and service.
“Read it out loud, boy.”
Lean sighed and then read it out loud.
“I, Leon Scott Kennedy, do solemnly swear to enlist myself in the services of the government of the United States of America, in order to combat and end bioterrorism in the world. I pledge to remain loyal and enlisted to my superiors until they no longer require my services.”
‘Which will be never.’ Leon thought darkly, before continuing. “I therefore sign this agreement, and consent to all the pacts and propositions present in the contract.” Leon said as he finished reading it out loud.
“Here you go.” Simmons handed Leon a pen.
Leon took the pen with shaky hands, and brought it to where he needed to sign. He hesitated, as he knew that as soon as he signed, his life would change forever. He would no longer be his own person, and his relationship with Claire would probably be over as they would undoubtedly not let him hang out with her or maybe even communicate with her. But he had to ensure Sherry’s safety. He promised Claire that he would protect her, and while this was far from what he imagined as “protecting,” it was the best he could do.
‘For Sherry.’ Leon said to himself as he proceeded to sign away his life to the government.
As Leon set the pen down, he felt his chest tighten as he realized what he had just done. He was now officially a slave to the United States government. Potentially for the rest of his life.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Mr Kennedy.” Simmons remarked with a smug grin.
Leon looked at Simmons with pure rage, wanting nothing more than to strangle him, but he resisted the urge. Simmons proceeded to tap his ear, as Leon noticed that he had an earpiece.
“Bravo team, initiate Protocol A. Secure the asset and take her to the estate in Washington.” Leon heard Simmons say in the comms on his ear.
‘Asset? No… Sherry?!’
“What the hell was that?”
“Ah, I must’ve forgotten to tell you the part that comes after the deal. I just ordered my men to secure Ms. Birkin and take her to the estate she will be in.” Simmons saw the shocked look in Leon’s eyes and smirked.
“If you’re fast enough, you can reach her first and say your goodbyes to her. My men will get there in 10 minutes. She’s on the first floor, in Room C-“
Leon immediately sprinted out of the room as soon as he heard where Sherry was.
Leon ran down the stairs as fast as he could, jumping over the last few steps to make it to the lower floor each time. As he reached the first floor, he proceeded to frantically look for Room C.
‘Come on… Come on! Where the fuck is Room C?!’
Leon eventually located Room C and slammed the door open to find Sherry there, sitting down in a chair as she jumped due to how loud he had opened the door. Once she noticed it was just him, she let out tears of joy.
“Leon!” Sherry yelled in relief as she crashed into him for a hug.
“Sherry… Thank God you’re safe…” Leon hugged her back just as tightly.
As they hugged, Sherry spoke up.
“I-I thought they… you know…” Sherry said as she continued crying.
Leon didn’t have to guess what Sherry was implying. She was scared that she had lost him, but Leon reassured her.
“It’s okay, Sherry. I’m here. All they did was ask me some questions…” Leon told the half-truth to her.
“Me too. They asked me about my parents and about what happened in Raccoon City…”
Leon then got worried, hoping that Sherry didn’t mention Claire to them.
“You didn’t tell them about Claire, right?” Leon asked shakily.
Sherry shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
Leon then let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. We have to make sure what happened to us doesn’t happen to her. Before she left, I told her to remove all photos she had of herself from the apartment in case Umbrella came and searched it, so I think Claire should be in the clear…”
As Leon looked at the clock in the room, he knew he had little time before Simmons’ men would arrive, so he proceeded to muster up the courage to tell Sherry what was going to happen from this point on.
But what Sherry said next broke his heart.
“Leon, I’m so glad they let you come. Now that you answered their questions, we can finally go back to the apartment and wait for Claire to return. There’s still time for us to watch the Lion King movie in theaters!”
Sherry felt Leon’s heartrate pick up, noticed his silence, and looked up to see him with a broken look on his face. She began to get worried in fear.
“You are taking me back home, right? Right, Leon?” Sherry asked as her voice panicked and got shaky.
‘Don’t make me do this, Sherry. Don’t make me tell you what I’m about to tell you.’
“Leon?! You’re taking me home, right?!” Sherry questioned as she began to shake him when she noticed his continued silence.
‘I’m sorry, Sherry. Hopefully one day, you can forgive me for this. I won’t blame you if you never do.’
Leon then mustered up the courage to tell her the truth.
“Sherry…” Leon began while trying to control his breathing as he fought the urge to cry.
He then said the words that broke Sherry completely.
“I’m not taking you home. You’re to be taken to an estate in Washington where you will have your own room. I’m sorry, Sherry.”
Sherry had a look of heartbreak in her face, and Leon cursed himself.
“What do you mean they’re taking me? I thought all they wanted was for us to answer their questions? Are… are you going to come with me?”
Leon shook his head, and Sherry began to breakdown.
“Leon… please don’t do this to me. I already lost Claire, I can’t lose you too…” Sherry said as she started crying.
“I’m sorry, Sherry. I truly am. I tried my hardest to convince them to let you go, I really did.”
Sherry then went into denial.
“Leon… you’re a smart g-guy. You always have a P-Plan B. You have a Plan B for t-this right? You wouldn’t just let them t-take me, would you?” Leon remained silent, and Sherry began to cry even harder. “Leon? L-Leon? Oh my god… Leon, no… Why? What do they want with me?”
”They… Look, Sherry, they gave me two options. Either they let me go and they… e-experiment on you… or I join them and they take you to an estate. I’m sorry, Sherry, but I had no choice…”
Sherry was shocked as she heard that. They… had planned to experiment on her?
The door was then slammed open, and Sherry became frightened as she saw armed soldiers approach her. She once again crashed into Leon’s arms as some sort of protection, and then began pleading with him.
“I don’t want to go… I don’t want to go… Please, Leon. Please… Don’t let them take me.” Leon couldn’t help but instinctually wrap his arms around her protectively as he saw the soldiers approach her.
“You must be Mr. Kennedy. We have received orders from Mr. Simmons to retrieve Birkin and take her to her estate. Now let her go, and we’ll handle the rest.”
Leon simply held her tighter in response as she let out panicked cries at the soldier’s words.
The captain then spoke up.
“Mr. Kennedy, don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. Let her go, and no harm will be done to you.”
Sherry shook her head on Leon’s chest as she once again pleaded with Leon.
“Don’t let them take me, Leon… Please don’t…”
Leon continued to refuse to let her go. He couldn’t lose another person he cared about. He already lost his fellow police officers, he lost Marvin, he lost Ada. He wouldn’t let Sherry slip from his grasp like Ada did. This time, it had to be different.
The soldiers lost their patience with Leon as they drew their guns on him. Sherry flinched in his hold as she heard that.
“Mr. Kennedy! You will release the girl now, or we’ll have no choice but to shoot you! That’s an order!”
Sherry then let out a muffled scream of fear into his chest as she heard the soldier’s chilling warning.
Leon still didn’t let go of Sherry. If he let her go, everything he and Claire worked for would’ve been for nothing. If he let her go, he would damn her to a life of suffering and loneliness. He wasn’t going to do that. He couldn’t. He promised Claire that he would protect Sherry. He had promised Sherry that everything would be alright. He couldn’t break that promise like he broke his promise to Marvin when he promised him he’d save the city. Leon continued holding Sherry tighter as she bawled into his chest.
‘NO! I won’t let her slip from my grasp like Ada did!’
“MR. KENNEDY! YOU WILL RELEASE THE GIRL THIS VERY MOMENT, OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU AND TAKE HER FOR OURSELVES!”
Leon still didn’t release Sherry from his embrace. He couldn’t. But as he saw that the soldiers got ready to fire at him, he had no choice.
Just like what happened with Ada, Sherry slipped from his grasp.
“LEON! NOOO!” Sherry screamed as she was dragged away by soldiers.
She kicked her feet and tried to wiggle her arms away from the grasp the soldiers had on her, to no avail.
“LEON DO SOMETHING! Please…” Sherry cried as she looked at him pleadingly with tears running down her cheeks.
Leon remained there, turning his face away from hers to spare himself some pain.
But the damage had been done.
Like Ada, like Marvin, like everyone else he came across in Raccoon City, he failed to save Sherry.
The last thing he heard before they took her was Sherry’s chilling scream of his name.
“LEON!!!”
Chapter 10: Broken
Notes:
T/W: Suicidal Thoughts, Disturbing Nightmare and Hallucination sequence, Attempted Suicide
Chapter Text
Leon had nothing left to live for.
What did he do to deserve this?
More importantly, what did an innocent 12 year old girl do to deserve being forcefully dragged by soldiers as she cried out for help?
Leon’s mind was infested with these thoughts as he held on to the sink with a tight grip, his head down in shame and in anger.
The events that occurred a couple days ago had left a giant wound in Leon’s heart. A couple weeks ago, he was providing the best life he possibly could for Sherry by taking her to the carnival. He vividly remembered the joyful laughter she let out, only for it to be replaced by her screaming cries for help. Leon shook his head to try to shake her cries away.
And to add further salt to the wound, Simmons revealed to him that it was his idea to destroy Raccoon City with a missile, with the bastard chuckling as he revealed it to Leon.
‘Now I’m working for the people who destroyed the city I was meant to protect.’ Leon thought darkly.
He continued looking down in shame and anger, but eventually, Leon looked up to see his reflection in the mirror, before he jumped back as he saw something which startled him.
He saw what looked like himself in the mirror, but… it wasn’t him. The Leon he saw in the mirror was completely far gone and had a dark look in his eye
Leon knew he was going crazy when he heard his reflection in the mirror speak.
“Leon… do you remember what it was that you said and promised to Claire and Sherry the first night after Raccoon City? Say it.”
Leon thought back on what he was talking about, and remembered what he meant by that.
‘ Claire, Sherry, I’ll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe. I promise .’ Leon had said to himself in his mind that night. Leon grew uneasy and was unwilling to say those words out loud, knowing how things turned out in the end.
But his reflection refused to let Leon get away with it.
“Say it…”
Leon shook his head as he continued to refuse to say it. He didn’t want to be reminded of another one of his failures.
“SAYIT!”
Those loud words startled Leon, and with great reluctance, he repeated those words out loud.
“Claire, Sherry, I’ll d- do everything in my power to keep you guys sa- safe. I pr-promise.” Leon’s hand covered his forehead as he began shaking in reaction to those words of his.
“Yet another promise you broke, Leon. You couldn’t even keep two people safe. And yet, you wanted to be a cop? It seems that even without the nuke and T-Virus, everyone in Raccoon City would’ve died considering how much of a failure you are when it comes to saving people.”
Leon shuddered as he heard those words. He couldn’t help but think that they were true.
Every. single. word.
“Marvin’s dead. Ada’s dead.”
“Shut up…”
“Sherry is now a pawn who has been brutally placed in what is virtually solitary confinement. Claire, for all we know, is dead. You sent her to her doom by booking that flight to Paris.”
“Shut up!”
“Everywhere you go, chaos and calamity ensue. Everyone you care about, dies”.
“Maybe you should die next, Leon. To prevent anyone else from suffering under your watch.”
“SHUT UP!!” Leon looked at the mirror, only to find that deformed version of him gone. It was his normal reflection again. Leon clenched his fists hard, as he realized he was going crazy. He felt like it was the first night after Raccoon City all over again, where he suffered that disturbing nightmare before Claire brought him out of it and saved him.
But Claire wasn’t here.
He had no one to pull him out of the darkness and into the light this time around.
What had really got to him was the thing his reflection had told him.
‘Maybe you should die next, Leon. To prevent anyone else from suffering under your watch.’ It greatly affected Leon, not because he was angered anyone would even suggest that, but because…. it was true. And that terrified Leon.
Why is it that Ada seemed to be handling herself just fine before Leon decided to follow her and join her mission?
Why is it that, as soon as Claire left the apartment, and he became in charge, Sherry came under danger and he failed to protect her?
Claire had managed to save Sherry multiple times through the hellhole of Raccoon City, and yet, he couldn’t even save Sherry once.
Leon began to get angry with himself as he remembered how Sherry pleaded with him when she was dragged away by soldiers.
“LEON DO SOMETHING! Please…” That last word sounded more like if it came from a place of hurt rather than fear. Like Sherry was hurt at the fact that Leon, who she saw like a father, was actually willing to let soldiers take her.
Leon began clenching his fists so hard, that it was starting to draw blood.
He imagined where Sherry was right now. He saw a 12 year old girl silently crying in her empty room, as a scientist began to work on extracting blood from her. He then heard Sherry’s voice utter something.
“Leon… where are you?”
At that, Leon collapsed in pure guilt and began sobbing as he saw what he brought upon Sherry.
Once the tears stopped after a while, he stood up and began pacing back and forth across the room, clearly trying to contain an outburst. He settled on kneeling and clasping his hands together on the cheap bed Simmons and Benford had given him.
He began hearing voices that haunted his memory.
“I don’t want to go… I don’t want to go… Please, Leon. Please… Don’t let them take me.”
Leon’s breathing began picking up, as he began sniffling at the fact that Sherry had pleaded with him to save her.
“Don’t let them take me, Leon… Please don’t…”
He began breathing harshly, but it sounded like aggression now instead of sadness.
The guilt was starting to turn into anger. Anger at himself. Anger at the fact that he had broken his promise to her:
“Sherry… everything will be alright, I promise.”
Leon let out a loud yell of pure rage as he flipped the bed over. He put his hands against the wall to try to calm himself, but he found that he couldn’t.
‘Why can’t I ever keep a fucking promise?!’
Leon began punching the wall over and over, wishing it was his own face.
‘Why do I bring harm to everyone I care about?! Why do I fail everytime I try to be a hero?!’
Leon continued to furiously punch the wall, as his hands bled.
Eventually, the punches stopped.
‘I’m not a hero… I should’ve learned that a long time ago. I’m a poor excuse of a human being, who should’ve died with my parents 12 years ago.’
Leon collapsed from the exhaustion of his outburst, and as he fell back, he felt like he was being pulled down to where he belonged: Hell.
And that’s what he got.
Leon woke up, only to find himself outside. There were woods surrounding him, and as he looked to his right, he saw a massive building. But as he cleared his eyes, he noticed the building had the Umbrella logo. And next to it… were the words: ‘Paris laboratory.’
“CLAIRE!!!” Leon slammed the door open, only to find himself in the main hall of the police department again. Just like in his nightmare he had , it was lively with actual living people in it.
“Hello, Leon. I have something to give you, for all the hard work you have done in your first month as a cop.” An alive Marvin spoke.
Leon shook his head and continued running. He had to save Claire, not engage with these ghosts.
“Leon! Where are you going?” He heard Marvin yell, but Leon didn’t care. He slammed the door open at the end of the main hall open, only to find himself in the West Office, being greeted by a multitude of officers. Worst of all, there was no door, so Leon was stuck there.
“There is the officer of the month!” He heard a cop say.
‘Officer of the month?’ Leon was confused.
Then he heard Marvin come up from behind him and hand him an award.
“Before you ran off, rookie, I was going to tell that you’ve been awarded officer of the month! You have done an incredible job as an officer in your first month of October, saving countless people’s lives..”
‘Whoever is in charge of this hallucination is playing a sick joke on me.’ Leon thought. This was clearly meant to mock him for the failure he has done in reality, and for the countless lives that have been ruined on his watch in the past month.
“And if you flip the award to the other side, we even included your photo!”
Leon flipped the award, and saw… a disturbing photo of himself. He was in his uniform, but it was all messy and covered with blood. His face had bruises, and he had a serious but broken look on his face.
Leon looked back up, only to see that Marvin and his fellow officers were now covered with blood, or with missing limbs. What was even more disturbing is that they were still fully human. They began laughing in apparent joy at Leon, and their laughter sent chills down his spine. He had enough. He needed to find Claire. If he had to break through the wall to get out of here, so be it. Leon charged at the wall with his shoulder and then jumped, the force of it allowing him to break through the wall.
‘Thank God…’ Leon was finally back in the Paris laboratory. But that brief relief quickly turned into panic, as he realized he needed to find Claire.
“Claire!” He yelled to see if she would answer, but there was silence. He then saw a young woman with a ponytail right behind a door entrance.
“Claire?” The woman turned around, ran, and opened the door before slamming it shut.
“CLAIRE!! It’s me!” Leon said as he began chasing the woman who he thought was Claire. He opened the door she had entered, to see that she was nowhere in sight.
“CLAIRE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!…. Claire…”
He couldn’t find Claire, and he began getting tired from sprinting all over the facility.
Leon then saw a door open, and braced himself, before he saw Simmons himself walk out.
‘What the fuck is he doing here?!’
“If you want to see your girlfriend that we’ve been keeping a secret, she’s over there.” Simmons pointed to the door on his right.
‘A secret? What… what does he mean?’
Leon, however, was focused on finding Claire, so the threw that thought away and sprinted towards the door Simmons had pointed at.
He slammed it open…
and saw Claire… limp on the floor as bullet wounds marked her entire body.
“No… No…” Leon thought as he fell to his knees at the sight.
He crawled to where Claire was, and to put his ear to her chest to try to feel a heartbeat.
But there was none.
“CLAIRE!!!!!” Leon cried out, as it echoed through the entire building multiple times over.
Leon sobbed harder than he ever had over Claire’s corpse.
“Please… please tell me this isn’t real… I can’t do this without you…”
He was then startled as he felt Claire’s hand quickly grasp his.
“Claire?” Leon looked to see that Claire’s eyes were widen open and staring at him.
“Why did you send me to my death, Leon?” He heard Claire say in a weak voice.
Leon looked at her in shock, not knowing what to say.
“Go back to Raccoon City, Leon. Face what you’ve been trying to avoid this whole time.” Claire continued staring at him without even blinking.
“What-“ Leon was caught off guard as Claire crashed her cold lips against his, and it seems it was a kiss of death as he felt his consciousness start to fade…
Leon’s consciousness returned as he stood up from the floor… and noticed he was back in Raccoon City. In the empty and dark halls of the police department.
Suddenly, Leon felt a sharp pain in his chest, and in his shoulder. But it wasn’t any ordinary pain. The pain on his chest felt both like claws scratching him and a powerful fist punching him, while the pain in his shoulder was equivalent to when he was shot by Annette.
And then he realized… the memories and events of Raccoon City had begun flooding through him.
He began limping across the dark halls, stumbling against the wall continuously as he felt he had lost all of his balance.
He felt the scratches of the lickers’s claws. He felt the heavy punch the man in the trench coat had landed against his chest. He felt the bullet go through his shoulder. Most of all, he once again felt the agony of the whole situation as a city once filled with life, became filled with the undead.
“The pain… oh my god…”
Not just the physical pain, but the mental pain of witnessing the undead, of seeing officers being eaten alive and mutilated at their torso, all came crashing down on Leon, and he felt that pain the exact same way he did when he was in Raccoon City.
It proved to be too much for Leon as he collapsed back onto the floor… Or so he thought. He had actually collapsed back onto a test bed, and as he looked around him, he noticed the silhouette of Ada in the shadows.
“The pain is difficult, isn’t it, Leon?” Ada came out of the shadows as she stared at him.
“Ada?” Leon asked in confusion.
“You deserve that pain after letting me fall. After letting all of us die.”
Leon looked at her bewildered.
“Us?”
Leon blinked and when he opened his eyes again, Ada was surrounded by people he came across in Raccoon City. It was Ada, Marvin, the gunshop owner with his daughter, the police officer that he witnsssd being eaten alive in the gas station, and the police officer he couldn’t pull through the fire safety door.
Leon fell out of the table in shock, before proceeding to look at them once again.
They all had looks of anger and contempt on their faces. They were showing their contempt at him.
“Rookie, I told you to save the city. That was my dying wish to you. And how did you repay me? By abandoning the city and working for the people who blew it to hell.”
Leon shook his head at Marvin in denial.
“Marvin… I- I did all I could…”
“You did all you could and yet you couldn’t even save your fellow officers from dying?” One of the police officers spoke up.
Leon looked away in shame.
“If you had truly given it your all, maybe my daughter would still be alive!” Leon turned his head to see the gunshop owner carrying his dead daughter in his arms. She had a zombified look, and there was a large bullet hole in her head.
Leon couldn’t take this anymore. Everything he had tried to forget and move on from had returned, and for Leon, his instincts weren’t fight or flight, it was just flight.
Leon ran, until he heard the angered yells of those behind him.
“DON’T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR FAILURE LEON!”
“ACCEPT THAT YOU LET US DOWN!”
“YOU LET EVERYONE DOWN!”
Leon continued running but nearly slipped as he saw that they were appearing right in front of him.
“Stop running away, Leon!” Ada yelled as she approached him. Leon pushed her away as he ran only to be met by Marvin now charging at him.
“You let us die!” Leon pushed him away too, until his vision became distorted as he saw all of them begin charging at him.
“YOU LET US DIE!” They all yelled in unison, their voices full of hate.
Leon began to close his eyes as he continued running forward.
“YOU PROMISED TO HELP US!”
Leon shook his head as his tears fell behind him, all the while sprinting forward with the intention of escaping this hell-hole.
Leon then crashed into something hard and fell. As he looked up, he noticed it was a door that said: ‘Exit’
He slammed the door open… and what he saw next made his blood run cold.
He saw himself on the 2nd floor of the library with a noose around his head, as he proceeded to jump. Leon saw himself begin to violently twitch as he hung himself.
Leon became horrified at what he saw, and then he heard Ada’s voice behind him.
“Maybe that’s what you should do, Leon. To prevent any more innocents from dying under your watch.”
Leon stared at her with wide eyes, and then back at his now limp body hanging from the balcony.
It was too much.
He started feeling dizzy, and eventually collapsed as he fell unconscious.
Leon woke up in his bedroom, back where he was before this… nightmare of his had started.
Leon let out a sigh of relief, and got up.
Right when Leon got up, he noticed Ada’s limp body on the floor of his bedroom.
He jumped back, and upon closer look, there was no one there.
“Why did you let me slip, Leon?”
Leon shook his head and turned around, only to see Marvin in a chair, on the verge of death as he had a hand on his injured abdomen that was bleeding profusely. But just like Ada, as Leon looked closer, there was no one there.
“Where were you when the police force needed you the most, Leon?”
Leon fell to his knees as his breathing got too out of control. He proceeded to close his eyes and cover his ears, but that didn’t help.
The muffled cries of Sherry when she was pinned down by the soldiers rang through his ears, and even through his closed eyes, he saw her frightened face as tears rained down from her eyes.
He then heard Sherry’s cry of his name as she was dragged by the soldiers.
“LEON!!”
Leon started shedding tears, as he was devastated at the pain he had brought Sherry by letting her slip from his grasp.
He continued sitting on the bedroom floor, crying as he had his head down, until he felt someone tap his shoulder.
“Leon?” He heard a voice say. He looked up and nearly fell on his back as he saw it was Sherry.
“Sherry?! What are you doing here?!” Leon asked in complete shock. What was she doing here? He thought Simmons had sent her to the estate…
As he took a close look at Sherry, something felt… off.
Her face was somehow… more mature? It didn’t have the bubbly child-like look it usually had. It reminded him of the night after Raccoon City, when he had compared the bubbly face he had on his badge to the broken face he had in the mirror as he saw himself. least. Had the traumatizing incident a couple days ago stripped all of her innocence away?
But what really frightened Leon… was the look on her eyes. They seemed broken, lifeless, hurt. And as Leon took a closer look, they seemed… angry?
“Why did you let them take me, Leon?” Sherry asked in a dark tone he had never heard from her. He couldn’t help but start sweating as he saw this new side of her, a side he never knew even existed.
“I told you, Sherry… I had no choice.” Leon told her shakily.
“Did you have no choice? Or is that just something you’re using as an excuse to not take responsibility for your failure?”
Leon looked at her in shock as she said that word.
Sherry continued staring at him with cold eyes.
“That’s right, Leon. You’re a failure. I thought you were going to be the dad I never had. But now, you make me wish I had my actual dad with me. At least he embraced that he was a monster and turned into one to prove it, unlike you who is trying to hide it.”
Leon couldn’t believe what he he was hearing. Had… had they really broken Sherry that much? He never imagined the Sherry he knew would say anything like that.
“Sherry… you don’t mean that…”
Sherry ignored him as she brought up Claire.
“Claire was a far better protector than you. Aren’t you supposed to be a cop, Leon? Didn’t you graduate at the top of your class? And yet, you still couldn’t even save a 12 year old girl!”
Leon flinched at her words.
‘She’s right. Everything she said is absolutely right.’
“Sherry… you’re right. I’m not Claire, and I never will be. She would’ve taken care of you far better than I did…”
“Then why did you let Claire leave? Didn’t you know THAT I NEEDED HER?!” Leon fell back in fear. Her tone in that last sentence sounded like it had gone up a thousand octaves. It didn’t sound like Sherry. Her voice sounded straight out of a horror movie. It’s as if something malevolent had possessed her which made her start speaking in a deep and vengeful voice.
“AND NOW…” Sherry continued in that voice, “she’s dead…” Sherry said in her normal voice.
Leon’s whole body stiffened as he heard that.
“W-what?”
Sherry looked up at him with pure rage in her eyes, before taking out a photo from her side and shoving it in his hands.
Leon looked down at the photo, and his heart dropped.
It was a photo of Claire’s limp body on the floor. Just like in his dream, she had bullet wounds all over her body.
“Claire… no… I loved her.”
“You loved her so much that you sent her on a journey that you knew would’ve killed her?”
Leon felt an immense amount of regret and guilt as he took in Sherry’s words.
‘I should’ve convinced her to stay. I should’ve continued being the best boyfriend I can possibly be for her. Then, she would’ve been surrounded by her newfound family.
‘Instead, I led her to die, all alone, with no one to comfort her in her final moments.’
Leon took one last look at the photo before tearing it and throwing it to the side in anger.
He looked back at Sherry and fell back once again as he saw something that was truly disturbing. Her eyes had gone completely black. Her pupils, sclera, irises; everything had turned black. And then he noticed that other people were in the room as well.
‘Oh no…’
It was them.
It was Ada, Marvin, the gunshop owner, all standing there in the bathroom as they too had their eyes all black.
“Do you feel fear, Leon?” Sherry asked him in a dark tone as the void of her black eyes stared at him.
“That is nothing compared to the fear I had when you let those soldiers take me.” Sherry remarked as the people behind her started closing in on him.
They continued right where they left off in his nightmare.
“YOU PROMISED TO HELP US!”
He covered his ears, but that only made their voices louder.
He closed his eyes, only to be flashed by vivid images of Marvin’s rotten corpse, Ada’s limp body in the depths of the laboratory, a scientist extracting blood from Sherry as she cried out at the pain… and of Claire’s dead body being zipped up in a body bag by Umbrella guards.
“Get out of my head…”
“You let us die.!”
“Get out of my head!”
“YOU FAILED US LEON!” They all yelled in unison.
Leon had enough.
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!”
Leon uncovered his ears and opened his eyes, only to find no one there.
No Sherry, no Marvin, no Ada.
Just himself alone in the bathroom.
He couldn’t take it anymore. As he noticed the gun in his drawer, he ran to it like a madman and quickly loaded a bullet into the magazine.
He looked at the gun for a moment, before bringing it to his head as he remembered Ada’s words.
“Maybe that’s what you should do, Leon.” referring to his hanged body, “To prevent any more innocents from dying under your watch.”
She was right. They were all right. He had failed everyone he cared about. Everywhere he goes, calamity and tragedy ensue. Killing himself would benefit the world, and would save lives.
‘My life, to save many others.’ Leon thought darkly as he put his finger on the trigger.
But Leon still felt conflict, and he became angry at this.
“DO IT! Stop being a coward and take the fucking shot!” He argued with himself.
This inner conflict began to affect his balance as he began tripping and crashing into the wall all over his room, all the while his finger shook violently on the trigger.
He eventually hit his backpack, and Leon cursed at himself as he turned around to see what he crashed into.
His finger on the trigger loosened as he saw what fell from the backpack.
It was… the Polaroid photo he had taken at the carnival, with Claire and Sherry.
Leon immediately felt the conflict take over as he pulled his finger away from the trigger, but still holding the gun, as he crouched to pick up the photo.
He took a closer look at the photo, and even through the cold void that was present in his heart, he felt it warm at the sight of the photo.
In the photo, Sherry stood in front of Leon and Claire, and had a wide smile on her face of pure happiness, while Leon had one hand on her shoulder and Claire had her hand on the other shoulder. Claire tilted her head to lean against Leon’s, and both of them had a very content smile that signified happiness… and love.
Leon couldn’t help but begin crying as he saw his world in the photo.
‘Is taking your life really worth them losing someone they care about? Someone they love?’ A voice said. Leon wasn’t sure if it was his sub-consciousness or his guardian angel.
‘How would Sherry react if she found out you killed yourself? How would Claire react?’
Leon’s heart broke as he imagined the pain it would bring Claire and Sherry if they found out Leon had committed suicide. Sherry would lose her only father figure, and Claire would blame herself for his death, which in turn, might cause her to go down the same path he is currently going through.
Leon became horrified at the thought of Claire contemplating suicide due to the immense guilt she would feel regarding Leon’s own suicide.
‘I know you think you’re going to save lives with what you want to do, Leon. But think on the consequences. Their lives will be completely destroyed if you die. Is that you what you want? For their lives to be worse than they already are?’
Leon quickly shook his head.
‘No… but they probably hate me now. Sherry is heartbroken that I let her be taken, and once Claire finds out about what happened to Sherry kn my watch, she’ll never forgive me.’
Leon winced at the fact that the two people he loved probably harbored nothing but hatred for him now.
‘They love you, Leon. More than you realize.’
But Leon wasn’t sure if they still loved him.
‘If you still doubt that, close your eyes.’
Leon closed his eyes… and then heard the sound of a little girl laughing freely.
He opened his eyes, and he was back at the carnival. He took a look at where the voice came from and saw Sherry pulling himself and Claire by the hands as she dragged them to a ride she wanted to go on.
“Sherry, slow down a little, will ya?” He heard himself say
“Yeah, it’s like you’re trying to rip our arms off! The ride isn’t going anywhere!” Claire added.
“Aw come on guys, don’t tell me two adults are scared of going on a fun ride? We got to get there, before the line fills up!” Sherry beamed as she continued pulling Leon and Claire by the hands.
Leon and Claire then looked at each other nervously, before smiling at each other and proceeding to laugh at the whole situation.
Leon, even in his broken state, couldn’t help but smile at the sight. That day had been one of the funnest days in his entire life. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was still in the carnival, but he was at the light show now.
To his side, he saw himself, Sherry, and Claire in the crowd. Sherry appeared to have a look of frustration in her face, as she wasn’t tall enough to actually see the light show.
“Need a better view Sherry?”
“Yes please.”
“Alrighty. Come on, up and at em.” Leon said as he picked Sherry up and planted her on his shoulders.
Sherry let out a gasp as she immediately noticed the better view he had.
“Better?” Leon asked.
“Way better. Thanks, Leon!”
Leon took a closer look at the faces of Sherry and Claire, and noticed that they were looking at him with… gratitude?
Claire was looking at him with a proud smile on her face as she saw him carrying Sherry on his shoulders, and then proceeded to close her eyes in relief.
Sherry was not watching the light show, instead looking down at Leon from her position on his shoulders, as she too had the same look Claire had in her face.
Leon hadn’t noticed this when he was there because he was just looking at the show, but now he realized…
Claire and Sherry were both looking at him with pure contentment, and their eyes were full of gratitude.
‘For what, though?’ Leon thought.
‘Is the answer not obvious? They were in gratitude of you.’
‘Me? Why me?’
‘You were their light when their world had turned to darkness. You led them home. You single-handedly transformed the pain of their tormented lives into one of love as they entered a new chapter in their lives with you.’
He looked back at Claire and Sherry looking at him, and once again, even through the cold void in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel it warm when he looked at their faces that were full of content and gratitude, now that he knew why they were like that.
‘I know you like to focus on all the bad things that have happened in your life. But please, Leon. Think about all the good that has happened in your life. You have made so many good memories in the past few weeks, and now you want to throw all that away?’
Leon didn’t know how to respond.
‘Leon, for once, focus on what you still have, not on what you lost.’
Leon sighed and began to close his eyes, as he tried to focus.
Now; instead of horrific memories flooding his mind, all the pleasant and happy memories flooded his mind.
He remembered carrying Sherry on her shoulders in the highway when she was tired.
He remembered the first kiss he had with Claire, where time felt like it had stopped.
He remembered the joy the three had as they went on the rides in the carnival park and lifted their hands in the air.
He remembered the intimate moments with Claire. Their nights of passion, the feeling of becoming one with her, the look of love and gratitude she had on her face when he made love to her.
He then started hearing voices of the past. But this time, instead of it being the voices of those he had lost, it was the voices of those he still had left.
‘’Wow! That’s amazing! You’re awesome Leon!’ Sherry remarked.
‘He sure is.’ Claire added
‘Leon… you are so… I- I don’t know what to say. I’m so lucky to have you.’
Leon began crying harder as his resolve to kill himself began quickly weakening.
‘You saved me Leon. And you saved Sherry. I won’t ever be able to repay you for that. You’re a good person Leon. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.’
Leon opened his eyes to see Claire and Sherry there in his room, with concerned looks in their eyes. He also realized that they were both crying.
“Leon…” Claire began. “Please don’t do it…”
“I don’t want to lose you, Leon…” Sherry struggled to control the tears in her eyes.
The next thing that was said; was in unison by the both of them.
“We need you, Leon.”
At that, Leon dropped the gun in his hands.
He took a look at the photo once again, and realized that he couldn’t inflict more emotional pain on them. He was going to continue fighting for them until the bitter end.
“Claire, Sherry,.. I… I choose to live for you guys. I swear it.”
Leon, now filled with determination, headed over to his computer to check if there were any emails from Claire.
Sure enough, there was an email from her, sent 10 minutes ago.
It seems Leon still had something left to live for…
Chapter 11
Summary:
Leon finds out Claire is in danger and tries to figure out a way to rescue her with the limited options that he has…
Leon then begins training, and meets Major Krauser, who puts him through brutal training exercises.
Notes:
Four more chapters to go guys!(including this one). I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far… I always make sure that I develop the best story I can possibly make for you guys, so I hope I’ve been doing that.
Anyways, here’s Chapter 11. It’s a bit long. The second half of this chapter has a lot of action, so for any of you who were hoping the story would contain action at one point, you’re going to get that in this chapter. And you’re also going to get action for Chapters 12 and 13 as well. Just letting you guys know.
T/W: Graphic depictions of blood and violence.
Chapter Text
Claire was in danger.
The email she had sent him was not good news:
‘Leon, I know what I’m about to tell you might scare you and make you run off for me, but please, read the whole email first. I got captured by Umbrella and was taken to an island, I think. I’m only able to communicate with you now because I escaped from the cell they put me in, and managed to sneak my way around into accessing one of their computers. While accessing the computer, I found that Umbrella has been tracking my brother 24/7. Leon… I’m stuck on this island. I’ve been handling myself well, but I need you to locate Chris and tell him that his sister is in danger. Here, I’ll give you his coordinates and my coordinates… That should be it. But wait… you’re taking care of Sherry…’ Leon felt shame as he read that part of the email. ‘I guess try to figure something out Leon… and fast…
Claire.’
Leon was overwhelmed at this information. His worst fears had been realized. Claire was captured in the Paris laboratory, and she’s in grave danger. Guilt started creeping into him, before he remembered from earlier that guilt is not going to help him save Claire. He needed to act fast.
But… how?
Sure, he has Chris’ coordinates, but he can’t leave this training facility. Security is tight 24/7, and even if he were to escape, Simmons would probably hurt Sherry upon realizing that he(Leon) left the training facility. Asking Simmons for help is a pipe dream. Benford seems more reasonable, but even he wouldn’t allow Leon to leave and go find someone. Especially when Leon just joined their organization.
Leon sat in the chair with his head in his hands, trying to figure out a way to locate or even contact Chris.
‘Wait a minute… contact…’
The word ‘contact’ seemed to light a bulb in Leon’s mind, and then he realized that only Claire had tried to contact Chris.
If… Chris was busy trying to dig up dirt on Jmbrella in Europe… is it possible he was purposefully avoiding Claire’s emails/phone calls to not drag her into the whole Umbrella fiasco, in order to keep her safe? If Chris wrote a cryptic letter to his teammates in S.T.A.R.S, then he would’ve surely been even more cryptic with someone as close to him as Claire.
‘But if I were to contact him, and tell him that his sister is in grave danger, would he respond?’
Leon contemplated this, before deciding that he had no other choice. He couldn’t leave this facility, and he couldn’t ask his superiors for help or permeation to leave, so he decided he’d email Chris. He thanked his very good memory, as he remembered Claire trying to email Chris one time back in the apartment, and he was able to get a good look at Chris’ email then.
He prepared to send an email to Chris, and figured he’d be very straightforward with both the title of the email and what it contained.
‘Your sister Claire is in grave danger.’ Leon titled the email, hoping it would draw his attention.
‘Chris Redfield, I am Leon Kennedy, a friend of Claire’s, as well as a person who survived Raccoon City and escaped it with her. Look, Chris, your sister is in danger. She told me this herself via email. In her effort for try to find you, she got caught by Umbrella and is being held in an island. Here are her coordinates so you can rescue her: ……
I know it might seem hard for you to trust a stranger who just randomly emailed you, but believe me, I am telling you the truth. It didn’t sound like she had much time left when she sent me the email… so please believe me when I say that your sister needs you.
Leon Kennedy’
Leon sent the email and then stood up, alternating between pacing back and forth across the room, or laying down in his bed and throwing a small ball in the air.
Leon was restless for around 20 minutes, before he saw the computer screen light up with a notification. He rushed to it and saw that the notification was from Chris himself. He opened it, and then read it.
‘I don’t know who you are, but I’ll take your word for it. Not because I necessarily trust you, but because my sister is all that I have left. I will head to those coordinates as soon as possible. But if I find out you’re lying… I will track you down, and it’s going to be a rough night for you.’
Leon let out a huge sigh of relief, as he saw that his theory was right and that Chris was going to go rescue Claire. The thought of Claire being in danger still troubled him though, which explained why he wouldn’t be able to get much sleep that night.
The next day…
Leon woke up early after only sleeping a couple hours, and mentally prepared himself for what was to come. Today would be the first day of training. Simmons had warned him that the training would be the most brutal training he had ever received, and Leon believed him.
Leon headed to the drill sergeant’s office, and introduced himself.
“Who the hell are you? We don’t accept high schoolers here, kid.” The drill sergeant looked him up and down.
“Forgive me, sir, but I am Leon Scott Kennedy. Agent Benford requested that I receive special training from one of your soldiers?”
“Ah yes, I remember. So you’re the new kid in town huh? You sure as hell do look like a kid. You think you’re up for this?”
“I’m ready to receive any special training in order to serve my country, sir.” Leon lied.
“Thats the spirit. Well first things first, you need to get dressed into proper clothes, and they need to give you a make-over.” The drill sergeant chuckled.
“Head over to the barracks in the east side of the camp. They’ll make sure you look like a man.”
Leon headed to the barracks in the east side, as he took in the atmosphere of the military camp. There were soldiers in the shooting range, others running, while some teased him as he walked by.
“Who the fuck is this pop star-looking guy?”
“Didn’t know they allowed prepubescent boys in the military…”
“Remember kid, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell!’”
Leon simply shook his head at their remarks, trying his best to ignore them. As he passed by the special forces section of the camp, he noticed that they were all just blankly staring at him. No teasing remarks, no weird looks towards him, nothing. It’s as if they had no emotion on their faces while they stared at him. Leon couldn’t help but feel a bit creeped out, wondering if those guys were actual robots.
He eventually reached the barracks, where the guard asked him to say who he was and what his businesss was there.
“I’m Leon Scott Kennedy, a trainee under Agent Benford. The drill sergeant sent me to get a make-over here, and to change into the clothes I’ll need.”
“Ah so you’re the rookie. We’ve been expecting you. You may pass.” The guard said as he moved to the side. Leon entered the building and was greeted by the quartermaster in a room that he noticed had a barber in it.
“Here he is, boys. Benford’s protege. Try not to laugh at his haircut.” Everybody in the room proceeded to laugh at Leon while pointing to his haircut as he stepped in. Leon simply rolled his eyes.
“You know what, boys? I was thinking that, instead of giving him a normal buzz cut like any other trainee, we should let him keep his hair! Let him be made fun of by the other soldiers; hopefully that’ll turn him into a man.” Everybody agreed with the quartermaster, and he proceeded to give Leon his clothes. “Change into these clothes, rookie. By the way, who did you get assigned to?”
Leon took the clothes and responded. “Some guy by the name of Major Krauser, I believe?”
The whole room went silent when Leon said that. Leon noticed that some of them had their eyes wide.
“Uh… is there something I should know?”
The whole room then let out a nervous laughter, as one person spoke up.
“Nothing, dude! Krauser is one of the nicest guys in the camp, and we were just shocked that someone like you was assigned to him. We figured they’d give you someone more strict.”
Something felt off about the guy’s response, but Leon didn’t think much of it.
“Alright. Well, that’s good to know.” Leon walked over to the changing room, not noticing everybody in the room trying to hold their laughter in.
Once he was dressed, he headed back to the drill sergeant, who directed him towards the camp’s headquarters to meet with Benford and Simmons.
As he entered the headquarters, Simmons immediately noticed Leon still had his hair.
“Why the fuck do you still have that hideous haircut? It irritates me.”
“The quartermaster told me it’d be better if I kept it, so that other trainees can make fun of me for it.“
“Well I guess that’s a better alternative!” Simmons laughed.
“Leon, are you ready for your first day of training?” Benford spoke up.
“I am, sir…”
“Great, I hope you used the computer we gave you to say what you needed to say to your friends or extended family, because from this point on, you won’t have much free time. I shall introduce you to Major Krauser. But before that…”
What Benford said next made Leon’s heart race faster than it ever had.
“Our intel suggests there was another survivor with you and Sherry. A young woman. She left for mysterious reasons before our spies could confirm that you guys were indeed the Raccoon City suspects. Simmons wanted to confront you about it when we first interrogated you, but I thought it would be a bit overwhelming for you. We were trying to recruit you after all. But now that you’re with us, and loyal to us, tell us everything you know about the other survivor.”
‘Over my dead body.’ Leon was not going to let them take Claire as well. He didn’t want her to suffer what he went through with Simmons and Benford. He didn’t want her to become a slave to the government for the rest of her life.
“There was no other survivor. Your spies must be misunderstood, because from the beginning, it was only me and Sherry.”
“Bullshit!” Simmons marched up to Leon.
“We know there was another survivor. For your sake, I hope you tell us about her.”
“And like I said, your spies must’ve gotten confused, because there was no other survivor.”
Simmons then roughly grabbed him by his shirt.
“Do not fuck with us, kid! We know you were with another survivor! If you want to walk out of this building alive, you will tell us who she is, and where she ran off to! We have evidence from our spies of her existence, Leon!”
“Then it seems America’s spies have really fallen off since the Cold War ended, because there is no other survivor!”
Just as Simmons was about to beat the information out of him, Benford stopped him.
“Derek, that’s enough!”
Simmons stopped and turned around to stare at Benford in shock.
“He’s lying to us! You know this. Why are you letting him off the hook?!”
“Derek, you will let him go immediately, I won’t ask again.” The guards in the room started approaching Simmons, and at that, he let Leon go.
“As you wish.” Simmons grunted.
Benford then walked up to Leon.
“She must’ve meant a lot for you to continue denying her existence, Leon.”
Leon’s heart dropped as Benford said that. Having them find out about Claire would be painful enough, but if they found out about his feelings for her, they’d use her to get what they wanted out of him.
“Remember: she is a Raccoon city survivor. Her knowledge and assistance will help us deal with BOW’s who threaten the security of billions of innocents around the world. It would be very selfish of you to deny her existence, Leon.”
“I get that, sir. I truly do. If there really was another survivor, I’d make sure to tell you, because you are right; we need all the survivors we can get. The thing is, there’s no other survivor.”
Benford then let out a huge sigh.
“Do not make us take drastic measures again, Leon.”
Leon then began to get frustrated at the whole situation.
“Then throw me in prison! Beat me until I’m a cripple! Torture me! Work me to death! Hell, threaten to deploy me to one of those BOW sites in that map of yours! I STILL won’t admit that she exists, BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER SURVIVOR!”
“THAT’S ENOUGH, BOY!” Simmons yelled in rage, before aggressively chuckling.
“I’m about to show you something that will bring her existence to the light.”
Leon felt chills down his spine as Simmons said that. It felt awfully similar to what he had heard him say in that nightmare he had yesterday: ‘If you want to see your girlfriend that we’ve been keeping a secret…’
Just as Simmons was about to reach for something in the drawer of the table, Benford spoke up.
“Very well, Leon. We believe you.”
Both Leon and Simmons stood there puzzled as they heard Benford’s words.
“What?!” Simmons let out harshly.
“It seems Leon might be right. Besides, it wouldn’t be too shocking. Our spies have been wrong before, especially since the Soviet Union fell.”
Benford then gave Simmons a glance, that signified him to stop questioning Leon. Simmons reluctantly complied.
Leon, on the other hand, let out a huge sigh of relief in his head. He honestly had a lot of doubt that he would’ve convinced them that there was no other survivor, but it seems that he somehow did.
‘I think…’ Leon was still confused at Benford’s sudden turn-around.
“Anyways, Leon, you have a busy day of training ahead of you. Let’s not waste any time. I’ll introduce you to Major Krauser. Follow me.”
As Leon began following Benford, he took a glance back at Simmons, who had a look of pure rage and frustration in his eyes as he stared at Leon.
“Come on, sissies! It’s my last day training you ladies and you still can’t condition yourselves to do 100 pushups without fucking collapsing?!”
Leon watched as a very buff man, who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties and was wearing a beret hat, chastised a group of men who were on the floor doing pushups.
“Major Krauser.” Krauser turned his head to see Benford and Leon.
“Ah, Agent Benford. What brings you here? Have you brought the rookie I am supposed to train?”
“I have, Krauser. And I expect you to divert all your attention and resources towards training him to be the best agent he possibly can be.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Benford, I got it covered. Besides, anything beats training the pussies I’ve been with for the last month.” Krauser gestured towards the group who were still doing pushups on the ground.
“Anyways, where’s the rookie? I thought you said you brought him?”
‘Huh?’ Leon thought, confused.
“This is the rookie, Krauser.” Benford pointed towards Leon, and as Krauser took a look at Leon, he let out a condescending laugh.
“This is your supposed protege, Agent Benford? The one who survived Raccoon City?” Krauser let out another laugh as he almost fell to his knees.
“I was expecting to see a man, not a 14 year old twink who looks like he belongs in a boyband with that haircut.”
‘Douchebag.’ Leon already didn’t like this guy he was assigned to. ‘Didn’t the guys over at the quartermaster’s barracks tell me that Krauser is one of the nicest guys in the camp?’
“Rest assured, Krauser, Leon here will do what he is told. If he survived Raccoon City, he is ready for the training.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Krauser then looked at Leon once again. “I can’t believe you survived Raccoon City, rookie. But looks can be deceiving. So come, show me what you got.”
Leon followed Krauser until they reached a secluded area in the camp, with Benford folllwing behind them.
“Ok, rookie. I’m Major Krauser, and I’m going to be the person responsible for overseeing your training. That’s all you need to know about me. If you disobey my orders, I will fuck you up. If you look at me like I am a piece of shit, I will gouge out your eyeballs. Understood?”
“Y-yes, sir.” Leon said nervously.
“And don’t call me sir. Call me Major, or Major Krauser.”
“Got it, Major.”
“Let me go over your profile…” Krauser said as Benford handed him his files which were in a folder. He noticed that Benford rolled his eyes when Krauser had said that.
‘What? Shouldn’t he already know the person he’s supposed to train beforehand?’
“Your birthdate is 1985, correct?”
Leon looked at him confused, before correcting him.
“No, it’s 1977.”
“Oh, my mistake.”
“You were born in Stonewall, correct?”
Leon could see what Krauser was trying to do now and mentally rolled his eyes. It’s something Leon had gotten used to since high school due to his hairstyle and boyish appearance. He corrected Krauser on where he was born, but Krauser continued teasing him.
“Are you sure about that? You sure look like you come from Stonewall, but very well.”
As Krauser continued looking at his files, he then looked up at Leon in surprise.
“Ahh graduated at the top of your police academy class huh? No wonder you call him your protege, Agent Benford. I expect your shooting accuracy to be elite then, rookie.”
As Krauser finished going over Leon’s files, he closed the folder and handed it back to Benford.
“Alright, rookie. Let’s go over what you’re going to do for your first day. But before I tell you that, let me remind you that this role you enlisted for…”
‘I didn’t enlist. I was blackmailed under threat of an innocent 12 year old girl becoming a guinea pig.’
“… is no ordinary role. We’re training you to fight creatures the likes of which this Earth has never seen before. The mammoths and sabertooth tigers our cavemen ancestors fought don’t have shit on BOW’s. Which is why the training I’m going to give you will also be unconventional.”
‘Great…’ Leon didn’t like the sound of this training he was going to receive.
“So let’s get started. You ready?
‘Not that I have a choice…’
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Ok, today we’re going to start off easy. You will give me 100 pushups in less than 2 minutes, and you will give me 2 miles in less than 12 minutes. I will not accept anything less than that.”
Leon looked at him with wide eyes. That was what Krauser consider easy?!
“From there, I want you to do a training course. It will consist of you trying to avoid live gunfire, while using your environment to try to get to the end of the course as soon as possible.”
‘LIVE gunfire, is this guy insane?!’
“Which part of the training is easy, though?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, where’d you get the pussy, Agent Benford?”
“Man, fuck you!” Leon lost his cool.
“There we go! You’re going to need that energy to do this course. That’s the only reason I didn’t kick the shit out of you for cursing at me.”
Leon continued looking at him, both shocked and uneasy as he was starting to figure out that training under Krauser was not going to be easy. Far from it.
“Well, what are you waiting for, rookie? Halloween? Get on the floor and give me 100 push-ups right now!”
Leon immediately went to the floor and began doing pushups. When he reached 50 pushups, he paused to catch his breath, but Krauser wasn’t having it.
Leon grunted and went back to doing the pushups. When he reached 90 he felt like he was about to collapse.
“10 more reps, no matter what.” Krauser told him.
Leon managed to barely do 10 more and completed the 100 pushups test. He had done it in 1 minute and 50 seconds, meaning that he passed.
“That was good, but I’ve seen better. Now give me 2 miles.”
Leon let out a shocked gasp as he heard that.
“Major, I just did 100 pushups… I think I need a break first…”
“Does this look like an office job to you, rookie? There are no breaks here! Do you understand?”
“Yes, Major.”
“Then get your ass running right now.”
Leon got up and began to ran.
‘Two miles in 12 minutes? This guy is out of his mind.’ Leon ran the two miles, unsure if he could do what was being instructed to him, but he tried his hardest. When he was told by Krauser that he had finished the two miles, Leon collapsed in the ground as he tried to catch his breathing.
“Congratulations, rookie. You managed to do 2 miles in under 12 minutes. You were 10 seconds away from failing though.” Krauser showed the time in his stopwatch timer to Leon, who huffed as he saw that he had nearly failed.
“Consider yourself a lucky man, rookie.”
‘I’m far from lucky…’
“Alright, rookie, here’s the training course.” Krauser led him to a huge area that Leon didn’t even know existed in the camp.
“The task is pretty simple, I want you get to the end of the training course in under 3 minutes. Like I said, there will be a solider firing live machine gun rounds at you, so you’ll have to crawl when he does that. While he’s reloading, you get up and run through obstacles and spaces where you can jump. So, you ready?”
“I…” Leon was uneasy, but as he saw Krauser shoot him a glare, he sighed. “Yes, Major.”
“Enter the course then, rookie.”
“Leon, the key is to staying calm under pressure. If you do that, you won’t have problems.” Benford spoke up.
“And you won’t get your head shot off.” Krauser chimed in.
Leon entered the training course, and he noticed that the path ahead was mostly straight. There were crates, and also some paths that needed to be bumped over to cross, and there was a tall ladder at the end.
“Ready, set, and… go!”
Leon began crawling through the path as he heard LMG shots fire right above his head. Leon struggled to maintain his composure as he heard bullets go right over his head over and over. While he experienced the horrors of Raccoon City, he never really experienced what it was like to have someone shoot so many bullets towards you.
“Those are live rounds, rookie. If you pick your head up, you will get fucked up!”
Leon grunted as he continued crawling, when he suddenly heard an explosion next to him.
“What the fuck!” Leon jumped slightly, only to feel a bullet graze his hair. He immediately went back into the prone position as he felt his heart skip a beat.
“IF YOU PICK YOUR HEAD UP, YOU WILL GET FUCKED UP!” Krauser repeated, before continuing, “I’m throwing grenades next to you, rookie. Don’t worry, they shouldn’t be able to hit you. Key word is shouldn’t.” Krauser laughed.
Leon began panting as he was overwhelmed by the constant gunfire over his head, as well as the explosions that went off next to him. When he heard the LMG stop, he got up and began running. He chose to run around the sealed areas instead of jumping over the crates or barrels, much to Krauser’s anger.
“What the fuck are you doing, rookie?! You’re supposed to jump over them! If you run around them, you’re just wasting time!”
Leon let out a groan of frustration, before trying his hardest to jump over the crates and barrels. He found that he wasn’t flexible enough, considering the barrels were pretty high, and he was very slow to get over it. He had barely gone over two obstacles, before he heard the LMG start to fire again. He went prone and went back to crawling.
“I’ve seen toddlers crawl faster than you, rookie! Damn!”
It would be a while before Leon got to the ladder at the end, but eventually, he did.
However, he had completely failed the goal of doing it in under three minutes. It took him a whopping 6 minutes and a half to complete the course.
“Rookie, what the fuck was that?” Krauser glared at him.
“I’m sorry, Major. I was just overwhelmed.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You went through Raccoon City and you were overwhelmed by this? Agent Benford, are you sure this kid was in Raccoon City?”
“Yes, Krauser. But it seems Leon still has a lot of room to improve, which is why I trust that you will provide him with the best training possible. Anyways, I’ve seen enough. Leon, you’ve shown that you have heart and the endurance, but you have much to learn.” Benford then left, leaving Leon and Krauser there.
“What- What did I do wrong, Major? Just so I can know what to improve…”
“What didn’t you do wrong is the better question… Well, first things first, we need to beat the pussy out of you. You were crawling like an old man out there, while shaking like a kid in the dark. Secondly, we need to give you some stretches to make you more flexible. You shouldn’t stop, and then climb over the barrels; it should be one seamless motion. Here, take a look.”
Leon was then astonished as he saw Krauser run through the course, not even slowing his pace even once as he jumped over the obstacles while running.
Krauser then turned to Leon.
“You see? That’s how it’s done. Understood?”
“Yes, Major.”
“Alright. Let’s take you somewhere where you’ll have more sucess. I hope.”
Leon and Krauser approached a shooting range, before Krauser handed him a pistol.
“If you graduated at the top of the police academy, then I expect you to headshot each stationary target in front of you.”
Leon began to work on doing just that. There were eight targets, and there were 8 bullets in the pistol, so Leon had to make each shot count. Leon, excelling in shooting at the academy, and only improving due to Raccoon City, managed to land eight headshots without missing a single one.
“Not bad, rookie. But that’s what I expected of you. The question is… can you shoot them moving?” Krause then activated a button, and Leon saw that the targets had begun moving. Some were moving left to right and others were moving forward and back. They were slow, but it still looked challenging.
“Zombies move slowly, and you need to shoot them in the head to kill them, right? So, do what you did for the stationary targets and apply it to these moving targets now. Eight headshots.”
Leon still managed to find success considering the targets moved slow, but it was still a bit difficult to shoot them in the head considering it was such a small part of the body. In the end, he landed five headshots, and 3 body shots.
“Hmph. Not terrible, but we need to do this over and over again until you land all eight right on the head. Once you’ve mastered this, you can go on to the next level.” Krauser activated another button, which made the targets move much faster.
Leon was taken aback at how fast the targets moved in the next level, and questioned where or not he would ever be able to do it.
“With time, you will, rookie.”
“What did they teach you about hand to hand combat, rookie?”
“Not much, if I’m being honest. Most of that stuff was only taught to S.T.A.R.S members.”
“How unfortunate.” Krauser remarked. “While you might question why you would ever need to learn hand to hand combat to fight BOWs, you’ll need to realize that it’s not just BOWs that you’re going to fight. You might fight Umbrella guards, or mercenaries. And if you guys run out of ammo, I need you to be the one that comes out on top in a fist fight, rookie. Show me a punch.”
Leon threw a punch, and right when he threw it, Krauser shook his head while covering his face with his hands.
“Dear lord, rookie. You weren’t lying when you said you weren’t taught hand to hand combat. I can see your punch coming from a mile away. Do you know why?”
Leon shook his head.
“Throw your punch again. And stop when I tell you to.”
Leon drew his fist back- “STOOP!”
Leon stood there confused, before Krauser explained to him what he did wrong.
“Look at your fist. You see? You draw back your fist and then punch forward, and that is not optimal. It’s called a telegraphed punch. The moment I see you draw your fist back, I already know you’re going to punch. Here, let me show you. Do that again. Punch me.”
Leon tried to punch Krauser, but as soon as he drew his fist back, he was hit by a Krauser’s jab. The speed of Krauser’s jab was something else. He never even saw it coming.
“How- how did you hit me so fast?”
“Because I didn’t pull back my fist before throwing the jab. I launched it from where it was, and used the momentum of my hips moving and my foot pivoting to give it the force it needed to be a powerful shot. Let me show you how it’s done.”
Krause spent the next half hour teaching Leon how to throw a punch properly, and when Leon seemed to have an idea of how to punch properly, Krauser spoke up.
“Alright kid, you seem to have gotten the idea of it. You still have a long ways to go, though. So don’t get too dazzled. Anyways, let me show you the styles you need to learn in order to know how to fight. By any chance, do you watch UFC?”
“What, the cage fighting sport?”
“Yeah. It may seem like a street fight brawl, which it kind of is for the most part, but when they get actual martial artists to fight, it’s a beauty to watch. Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, Judo, Karate, wrestling… All of those are used in the UFC, and you’re going to need to learn those martial arts if you want to walk out of a fist fight alive, rookie.”
Krauser spent the next hour and a half reaching Leon things such as the Muay Thai clinch, karate kicks such as the spinning heel kick, as well as teaching him to defend a takedown. “Taught” is a strong word, considering Leon was still far from mastering those things.
At the end of the session, Leon was exhausted and he fell to the floor.
“Get up, rookie.”
Leon reluctantly got up, before Krauser informed him of his final task for the day.
“Alright, rookie. You are near the end of your first training session. I got to say, I don’t think you did terrible, but you’re still missing something. You’re missing that spark that truly makes someone a solider. I haven’t seen it, and if I don’t see it, I will deem you unfit for combat. Now, you may want that, but Simmons might retaliate by being more strict with that 12 year old girl of yours.”
Leon froze as he heard Krauser mention Sherry.
“What, you really think I didn’t read your file before I met you? I know all about you, Leon Scott Kennedy. And I know the circumstances that brought you here. Which is why it’s best that you show me that you can have the mindset of a soldier.” Krauser began to get into a fighting stance.
“Fight me, rookie.”
‘He has to be joking…’
But as Leon looked closer, he noticed that Krauser was being serious.
“Major… I- I can barely stand.”
“Death does not wait for you to be ready!” Krauser launched a front kick towards Leon’s abdomen which dropped him.
“You think a BOW is going to wait for you to recover before it attacks you?!” Krauser launched another kick towards Leon’s stomach on the ground as he tried to get up.
“Let me make it abundantly clear, rookie. Here, you are in Hell.” Krauser launched yet another kick towards Leon’s head, which Leon barely managed to catch.
‘I’ve already been there, Krauser.’
“There we go.” Krauser said as Leon caught his kick. Krauser managed to snatch his leg back from Leon’s grasp effortlessly, as Leon stood back up.
“Show me what you got, rookie.”
Leon launched a cross towards Krauser, but before it even came close to landing, he was countered by a 1-2(jab-cross) from Krauser which stunned him.
“You’re still pulling the hand back before you punch, rookie. You’re not going to land on me at all if you keep doing that.”
Leon let out a noise of frustration before Krauser charged at him. Leon blocked some shots while moving back, before a light push from Krauser made him fall to the floor.
“Keeping your feet together while moving backwards makes your balance vulnerable. I simply pushed you and you fell because of that.”
Leon got back up and tried to land combos on Krauser, only to see him slip, roll, or block them easily.
He then noticed Krauser back up, and he took that as a sign that he had Krauser on the ropes. Just as he began to charge forward, he was hit by a head kick which made his vision flash for a bit as he fell to the floor. Leon could feel his ears ringing, and he felt dizzy as he laid on the floor. He then saw Krauser above him.
“Headkicks require distance to land. You didn’t even land a punch on me. So what the fuck made you decide to charge on me when I backed up? You should’ve realized that I was setting up a kick. Now get your ass back up, rookie.”
Leon let out a groan as he got back up but fell midway.
“Jeez. Raccoon City police officers are so pathetic. No wonder the police department in Raccoon City fell so easily.” Krauser remarked.
Leon glared at him in anger.
“Did I hit a nerve? You going to do something about it, pussy?”
Leon shot back up and began charging at Krauser, throwing his punches with much more intensity, but he still couldn’t land a single punch. Krauser began fighting back, landing combo after combo on Leon. However, Leon noticed that Krauser was throwing the same two combos. He would hit him with a 1-2, and then hit him with a left body uppercut before going upstairs with a left hook. Leon braced himself for the oncoming combo, and when Krauser landed the 1-2, Leon figured he’d take the upcoming body shot in order to land a right hook of his own. As Krauser threw the body uppercut, Leon threw the right hook, which Krauser barely managed to block.
He then smirked at Leon.
“Good, rookie. You noticed a pattern with my combos, and capitalized on it. Maybe you’re not so incompetent after all.”
Their fight continued once again, but no matter what Leon did, Krauser continued to dominate him. A devastating combo nearly knocked Leon unconscious. Leon threw a right hook, only for Krauser to roll under it and counter with a left hook, before hitting Leon with a right hook, and finishing it off with an uppercut. The left hook put Leon on wobbly legs, the right hook made Leon fall, and the uppercut landed while he was falling. The end result was him being slumped on the ground.
“Is that all, rookie? I thought you had more in you. It’s your first day though, so I’ll let it pas-“ Krauser saw Leon begin to get up again, and smirked.
“That’s the spirit.”
Leon had no more strength for offense, so he was on the backfoot the whole time. It wasn’t long before Krauser closed the distance and got him in a Muay Thai clinch, landing knee after knee to Leon’s body in the clinch, before finishing it off with a spinning elbow to Leon’s dome. Leon limply fell to the floor once again, and was virtually unconscious.
“Good fight, rookie. You ate a lot of shots that I thought would’ve knocked out you out cold. You sure have a chin on you. Now let’s get you to the hospital. I’ll call the doctor.”
As Leon saw Krauser turn around, he couldn’t help but feel useless and humiliated. The same way he felt in Raccoon City, and the same way he felt when Sherry was taken. So, with the last bit of his strength, Leon got up once again.
“Major, our fight isn’t over.”
Krauser paused, turned around, and for the first time, Leon noticed that Krauser had a look of shock on his face as he saw Leon still standing after that beating.
He continued staring at Leon, before shaking his head and letting out a smile that resembled… a smile of pride?
“You got heart, kid. Looks like you’ll be a fine solider after all… But I think it’s past your bedtime now.”
The last thing Leon remembered before his world went black was charging forward and then being hit in the face by a jumping spinning back kick.
1 week later…
Krauser continued training Leon. He gave Leon daily stretches to do so that he can learn to jump over obstacles while running and complete the training course under three minutes. He helped Leon improve his shooting, to the point that, in the span of merely 3 days, Leon was able to land eight headshots on the moving targets. But despite Leon’s apparent success, Krauser still felt that Leon was lacking something. Krauser had told him that he saw a glimpse of it when they fought, but that he hadn’t seen it since then.
Leon had no idea what Krauser was talking about. He was greatly improving in nearly every aspect of his training, so why was Krauser pressuring him to “embrace his manhood” or “let go of the pussy inside him?”
That day, Leon arrived at training before Krauser, which was a first. A couple minutes later, Krauser arrived in a truck, which was also a first.
Krauser pulled up next to him, and got out of the truck.
“Good afternoon, rookie. Actually, more like good evening.”
“Good evening, Major Krauser. I was actually going to ask about that. Is there a reason why we’re meeting so late? I know you said it’s because you wanted me to prepare myself physically and mentally for a tough task I’d have today… but what exactly is this tough task?”
“Good question, rookie.” Krauser smirked at him. “The tough task in question is you fighting a champion to the death.” Krauser revealed bluntly.
Leon stood there shocked with widened eyes. He was going to fight… to the death?
“…what?”
“I am going to transport you to an area where you will fight a prisoner. A very nasty prisoner. He was charged and found guilty of a first degree murder. A murder of an innocent, by the way. As for why I’m referring to him as a champion, he is known for getting in brawls with other inmates, where he has knocked them all out unconscious. He is undefeated, but don’t let that scare you, rookie. He may be a really good brawler, but he’s just that. A brawler. He does not have the technique I have shown you in the last week. I’m confident you’ll be able to beat him in a fight to the death.”
Leon remained puzzled, and grew extremely uneasy at the thought of fighting another live human being to the death.
“Major… I’m not sure how I feel about beating a man to death… it seems cruel.”
After Raccoon City, Leon began to appreciate human life a lot more.
“This man is a murderer, rookie. Do not spare any sympathy for him.”
“It’s not about sympathy, Major… It’s just that I… I- I don’t know how I feel about taking human life, especially after Raccoon City. Coming across human life in Raccoon City felt like a blessing. Killing a zombie that used to be human brought me great pain, knowing that it was someone that was a parent or a loved one of someone else. Killing an actual human being will feel a lot worse, especially knowing that human survival is under threat from the BOWs, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live with myself if I-“
“Spare me the sob story, rookie.” Krauser interrupted. “You will fight him to death because I told you to, and that’s that.”
Leon grew frustrated, and he began getting a little bold.
“And if I say I don’t want to be your personal gladiator?”
Krauser chuckled. “Then Agent Benford will be very angry with you… and with Sherry.”
Leon couldn’t take this anymore. They essentially had him as their puppet, and anytime he didn’t want to do something, they’d threaten Sherry, thereby forcing him into doing something he didn’t want to do. In this case, beating another man to death was what he had to do to ensure Sherry’s safety.
“Fuck my life, man. Fuck my life.” Leon said as he got in the truck.
“It’s only going to get worse, rookie, trust me.”
They arrived at a clearing outside the training facility, and began waiting for the prisoner to arrive. Leon noticed that they had made a giant circle with obstacles surrounding it, along with two very small entrances.
Eventually, a FBI swat truck arrived and SWAT members began exiting the truck with assault rifles in their hands as they pointed towards the back of the truck. One soldier opened the truck, and Leon felt his heart drop as he saw the prisoner step out.
He was huge. He easily dwarfed Leon in terms of mass, and although he didn’t have the physique of a bodybuilder, he certainly wasn’t far from having the physique of one. The man was bald and had a disgruntled look on his face.
“Thats who you’ll be fighting, rookie.” Krauser brought Leon out of his thoughts. As the prisoner was let out of his chains and handcuffs, and stepped into the circle, Krauser wished good luck to Leon.
“Good luck, rookie. Remember, keep your distance and use the karate blitz I taught you to move in and out quickly.”
Leon did NOT want to fight this guy. He felt fear creep up every vein in his body, and he began to try to find a way out of this.
“Major, with all due respect, that guy is twice my size. If he gets a hold of me, I’m screwed! I can’t fight him! I’ll die!”
“Are you fucking kidding me, rookie? I’ve seen eunuchs with more balls than you! Now get your ass over there and fuck him up!” Krauser pushed Leon into the circle, and as Leon looked back, he saw that Krauser covered the entrance(or exit in Leon’s case) with an obstacle. Leon turned around and began trembling as he saw the man was pacing back and forth, clearly eager to beat the shit out of Leon.
“Well look what we have here. A pretty boy…” The man let out a sadistic smirk.
Leon, still shaken by fear, continued to try to find a way out.
“Look man, I’m being forced to fight you, and I’m sure you’re being forced to fight me. Let’s not let them get what they want. I don’t want to fight you.”
Leon’s attempt to dissuade the man had no effect, as the prisoner simply chuckled.
“Yeah well… if I looked like you, I wouldn’t want to fight me neither.” The prisoner then proceeded to get in a fighting stance.
Leon let out a huge gulp and reluctantly did the same. He was sweating so much that some of the sweat drops fell down his jaw and to the floor.
“And…. Fight!” Krauser yelled out.
The man instantly began charging at Leon and threw a cross, which Leon managed to block but was still pushed back as he let out a gasp at the man’s sheer strength. Now realizing he had to fight, Leon took Krauser’s advice. Defensively, keep his distance to avoid the man’s strikes, and utilize the jab to keep the prisoner at bay and away from him. Offensively, use the karate blitz to quickly close the distance and catch him with a strike, before immediately pulling back to create distance and to prevent the prisoner from countering. No matter what, Leon could not go toe to toe with this guy. The prisoner was a brawler, and trading shots with him in the pocket would certainly cause Leon to get knocked out.
Leon implemented this advice, but he still had trouble fighting. He would slip or roll the punches the man threw at him because they were all telegraphed, but no matter how many times Leon tried to circle around the man to get away, the man would follow him like a predator stalking his prey. The pressure the man was putting on Leon always kept him alert, and he had no moment to recompose himself.
Despite this, Leon was tagging the prisoner with his jab. Krauser told him that an un-telegraphed jab is something an untrained opponent would have a hard time dodging due to how fast it would be, and this seemed to be the case in the fight, as the man couldn’t dodge or even block Leon’s jab.
The man decided to switch things up, so he faked an overhand and then dove for Leon’s legs in an effort to take him down. Leon, using the takedown defense Krauser taught him, sprawled and managed to defend the man’s takedown, before letting go and backing away from the man.
“Good sprawl, rookie.” Krause spoke up, before continuing, “But you had a chance to land some good elbows on his spine or on his ribs. I don’t know why you chose to back away, but whatever.”
‘Elbow his spine?!’
Krauser had told him that elbows were one of the most powerful shots any man could land, so the thought of potentially breaking the man’s ribs or even his spine with his elbows frightened Leon. Unfortunately, Leon contemplated Krauser’s words too much as the man managed to land a right hook on Leon’s face, which staggered Leon and caused some blood to drip from his mouth.
The man then laughed at Leon, and teased him.
“Is that all you got, pretty boy?”
Leon hated being called that. He glared at the prisoner, before proceeding to land a right cross on the man’s temple, which also caused the man’s mouth to start dripping blood. As the prisoner turned his face back to Leon, Leon saw the man’s face turn into a zombie for a moment, with blood dripping out of his pale mouth. Leon shuddered as he saw the disturbing sight, and then saw a punch coming towards his face, which he narrowly dodged.
They continued their fight, but Leon was still shaken by that brief hallucination he had, and he couldn’t bring himself to go all out because of it.
Krauser noticed that Leon was pulling his punches. And this frustrated him, as he knew Leon was capable of showing heart and having the grit to knock someone out. He showed this when he fought Krauser, but he wasn’t showing any of that right now. Either due to fear or reluctance, Krauser didn’t know. But that was going to get Leon killed. Once the prisoner knew he can take a shot to give one, it would be game over for Leon.
“You’re not going to gain his respect by hitting him with pitter patter shots, rookie. And you’re definitely not going to knock him out.”
Leon grunted in annoyance and started adding more pop to his shots. However, he was still subconsciously holding back, and it wasn’t long before the prisoner noticed this as well. When Leon threw a jab and then a cross, the man moved forward as Leon’s cross hit his face and used the close distance to land a devastating right hook on Leon’s temple. Leon wobbled at the sheer strength of the punch, and began getting dizzy.
Unfortunately, this meant his defense was compromised. The man proceeded to close the distance now that Leon’s jab wasn’t keeping him at bay, and proceeded to hit Leon with devastating combos in the pocket, which was the last place Leon wanted to be. A cross from the man broke Leon’s nose as he cried out in pain and held his nose to see that it was pouring out blood like a faucet. Leon decided that he had enough of this, and ran to the obstacle surrounding the fight area to jump over it and flee. But Krasuer intercepted Leon just as he reached the exit and kicked Leon in the face, making Leon stumble back to the center of the circle.
Krauser looked at Leon disappointingly, before chastising him, “Coward. Facing your fears would’ve been far less painful.”
‘Facing your fears would’ve been far less painful.’
Raccoon City.
The moment Leon heard those words, he immediately applied them to his failure in Raccoon City, but before he could process those insulting words, the prisoner turned Leon around to face him, before hitting Leon in the body with lethal uppercuts. Leon swore one of his ribs broke from those shots. A left hook to his eye caused a great deal of pain to Leon’s orbital bone. As the man continued landing more shots, he began to get tired, so with one final uppercut to Leon’s chin, he sent Leon flying backwards as he fell to the ground. The man paused to recompose himself and catch his breath. Leon lied there, virtually knocked unconscious as he was beaten to a pulp.
Krauser examined Leon on the ground, noticing that he had a swollen eye that was turning black, a completely broken nose that wouldn’t stop bleeding, and a big gash in his left temple that nearly covered the entire left side of his face in blood.
But above all else, Krauser saw that Leon had given up. Leon’s eyes were beginning to let out tear drops, and he had a look of defeat on his face. And this angered Krauser, who proceeded to chastise Leon.
“How pathetic. You truly are a disgrace, rookie.”
Leon closed his eyes at his words while he let out a sniffle. But what Krauser said next would make Leon’s eyes open wide.
“No wonder they took Sherry. Maybe if you weren’t such a pathetic coward, you could’ve saved her.”
‘Sherry…’ Leon began to hear her disturbing cries once again, and her pleas to save her.
‘You could’ve saved her…’
Those words had a big effect on Leon. Rage began to overtake Leon’s mind. He got back up to see the prisoner- no. It was Simmons approaching him, at least for a second in Leon’s mind. Leon completely lost it as rage had completely overtaken his mind now. Right when the big prisoner was about to land the final blow on him, Leon rolled the punch and landed a devastating right hook of his own. That staggered the prisoner, and it seemed to have broken his jaw. The prisoner was taken aback, considering none of Leon’s prior punches were even close to being this powerful. Even Krauser’s eyes widened a bit at the sudden change in Leon’s demeanor.
Leon began to go on the offensive, charging in and quickly blitzing the man, while effortlessly dodging any counters the man threw.
Leon landed a 1-2 followed by a roundhouse head kick which staggered the man. Taking advantage of this, Leon grabbed a hold of the back of the man’s head and held him in a Thai clinch, before proceeding to land vicious knees on the man’s body, surely breaking a few ribs.
But that wasn’t enough for Leon.
Something inside of him wanted to make the man suffer greatly, so he angled the prisoner’s head so he can land knee after knee on the man’s face, before picking the prisoner up and suplexing him into the crates that were on the edge of the circle. Krauser watched with astonishment as he saw Leon somehow pick up a man twice his size and slam him into the ground.
Leon then looked at Krauser.
“You want me to kill him, Major?! FINE! I’LL FUCKING KILL HIM!”
Leon then proceeded to get on top of the man, pinning his arms with his knees, and rained down punch after punch on the man’s face. The punches were vicious, quick, and brutal. Krauser had never seen such speed and force from a rookie agent in training before.
Leon let out all his pent up rage on the man beneath him. He imagined it was Simmons’ face that he was caving in. That bastard had taken everything from him. He threatened to experiment on Sherry… how dare he threaten to experiment on a 12 year old girl?! Leon continued to punch the man as he let out a guttural yell. Even when the man’s face had become completely bloody from Leon’s onslaught, Leon didn’t let up. Krauser wanted a killing machine? Fine, he’ll get one.
Leon’s pace never slowed down. The power in his punches never wavered. The intense look on his face never softened.
And then, Krauser pulled him off.
“I SAID THAT’S ENOUGH, ROOKIE!”
Leon looked at Krauser with an irritated face, before looking at the man he had beaten to a pulp, and immediately, the rage went away, as it became replaced by guilt.
Leon had rearranged the man’s face. There was not a single spot on the man’s face that wasn’t bloody, and Leon noticed that the man’s nose was completely twisted in a way he hadn’t even thought possible. Leon also noticed some teeth on the floor next to him. One of his eyes was unrecognizable due to how swollen it was. The other eye looked like it was on the verge of popping out of the eye socket.
Leon couldn’t help but think that the man’s face resembled… a zombie from Raccoon City.
Leon collapsed on his knees as he realized what he had done, and took a look at his own hands. They were full of the other man’s blood, and his knuckles had blood pouring out of them due to how hard he was punching the man.
‘Oh my god. Did… did I just kill another human being? No… no no! Please tell me I didn’t just kill him.’
Leon threw up on the floor, before his breathing began to pick up as he feared he had just murdered somebody.
“If you’re wondering whether you killed him, kid, you didn’t.”
Leon breathing began going back to normal once he heard that.
“You sure as shit fucked him up though. I don’t think he’ll ever be the same after this. He’s probably going to need plastic surgery and a really expensive appointment to the dentist.”
Leon shivered at the realization that he had permanently damaged a man’s face. He couldn’t help but sniffle a bit. He had no idea why he acted the way he did. It’s as if something had possessed him and completely taken over his body. He sniffled once again, this time even harder.
He then heard Krauser get up, and Leon flinched as he began worrying that Krauser would chastise him for crying over a training session. Or even worse, Krauser would beat him in order to beat the “pussy” out of him. He braced himself for Krauser’s onslaught, before feeling a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Krauser extending his hand to him.
“Come on, Leon. Let’s go somewhere a bit more private… Docs, get the prisoner to a hospital. And pass me a first aid kit to treat the rookie. He looks like he needs it…”
Leon was sitting next to a campfire Krauser had made. He had bandages on both of his hands. Krauser was unusually nice enough to bandage one hand for Leon while instructing him how to do so, before he let Leon bandage the other hand himself.
“Here, rookie.”
Leon looked at Krauser only to see him offering a water bottle.
“You looked like you were thirsty. Anybody would be after a fight like that.”
Leon took the water bottle from Krauser’s hands and eagerly began drinking it, nearly finishing it in one sip.
Krauser lightly chuckled as he saw Leon nearly down a water bottle, before sitting down next to the campfire across from Leon.
“Trust me, kid, I know that feeling of drinking refreshing water after being thirsty for so long. It’s as if for a brief moment, water becomes the best drink in the world.”
Leon couldn’t help but agree with Krauser, as he finished the water bottle in his second sip. What he saw Krauser do next stunned him.
“Here, take mine.” Krauser offered him his water bottle.
“Are- Are you sure, Major?” Leon was bewildered by Krauser’s sudden… kindness?
“I don’t need water right now. Now take it before I drink it myself just to spite you.”
As Leon began drinking the water bottle, he heard Krauser speak up.
“What you did back there… the way your demeanor changed… the only way I can describe it is pure rage. Anger was flowing through your veins the second I made that comment about the little girl.”
Leon flinched as he remembered Krauser’s words that made him flip out and lose control.
“You have something truly special in you. I knew it from the start. I just didn’t know how to get you to activate it. I saw a glimpse of it when you kept getting back up after that beating I gave you, but I never saw it again after that. I find that a man resorts to his primal instincts in times when his life is in danger, which is why I decided on making you fight to the death. When I saw that you had given up, I resorted to bringing up your past. Do you know why, rookie?”
Leon shook his head.
“When we fought and I saw you get back up from a beating that would’ve knocked any other man unconscious, I theorized that this latent power in you came from your past. No man ever goes through what you did without developing a beast inside of him. All that pain… all that trauma… it awakens something inside of you. Something primal. Something that scares the living hell out of you. Something that makes you want to keep it at bay at all cost.”
Leon pondered his words for a moment, before realizing that Krauser was right. While the recent events of Raccoon City and Sherry’s abduction brought him great pain and sadness, it also brought him anger. Anger at himself for failing those he cared about. And apparently, it caused a beast to grow inside of him, since Leon never could’ve imagined doing what he did to that prisoner prior to Raccoon City. But at the same time… Leon felt ashamed that he couldn’t control himself. What he had done abandoned every principle he had. He was taught to show mercy even to those who wronged you. Not to continue beating a defenseless man to death while he was already unconscious.
“I don’t like what I did back there, and I don’t like how I let my anger blind me to the point that I nearly beat another human being to death.”
“Yeah… that’s how it usually goes the first time you kill somebody… not that you killed him of course. But believe it or not, even I was like that the first time I killed somebody up close.”
Leon shot him a doubtful look, unable to believe that Krauser was ever as timid as Leon.
“I know it seems crazy, right? Considering how solider-like I am. But it’s true. I wasn’t proud of my first kill either. I was in Desert Storm, back in 1991. Around the same age you were.” Krauser began.
“You probably read the headlines about how there wasn’t much death or action in the Gulf War on our side, which was true for the most part, until we reached Kuwait City. A large tank battle ensued, and the sound of constant shells firing frightened me.”
Leon couldn’t help but tilt his head in curiosity. Even Krauser felt fear from the sounds of simple combat at one point?
“When my platoon asked someone to scope out the entrance to the airport, I immediately volunteered, wanting to get away from the sound as soon as possible. I couldn’t handle it any longer. The shells were loud. Way too loud. It felt like it was going to hit me considering how close it sounded. But anyways, I went to the entrance, only to be ambushed by an enemy soldier with a knife. He caught me off guard and tackled me. I was afraid as I saw him on top of me, clearly intending to kill me as he thrust the knife into my chest, before I caught it mid-way. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes as he continued to try to push the knife down. I saw a man who looked like his only goal in life was to kill me. So my primal instinct to survive activated and I reversed the position, snatching the knife and thrusting it down to his throat after a bit of resistance. When he was dead, I realized that… I had just killed a man, up close. Sniping and shooting someone from afar is different than doing it up close. As I saw his lifeless eyes, and the blood on my hands, I too began silently crying. And that’s why I didn’t judge you for shedding some tears, Leon.”
Leon looked at Krauser intently as he heard his story, and he realized that… even the toughest soldiers were once like him.
“It took me a bit to get over it, but once I did, the justification was fairly simple. The enemy is here to kill you. What are you supposed to do? Let them kill you? No, survival is our most basic instinct, and I find that if you have some demons inside of you, that instinct is even stronger. You don’t just make it through; you become a survivor. A true one, that would be the last man standing in an apocalypse.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Don’t be ashamed of what you did, kid. This anger of yours is your gift. Never let it go. Because what it caused you to do is exactly what I need from you. It’s like I saw a boy rise up and turn into a soldier bred for war.”
Leon mentally winced at those last words. Leon feared he was losing himself in the training. He feared that eventually, the monster would take over and he’d become just like Krauser. It broke his heart to imagine that one day, Sherry and Claire would look at him in fear, instead of looking at him in relief and safety.
“But tell me, where does this anger come from? It’s clear that it comes from your recent past, but I want you to tell me for yourself.”
Leon sighed, before explaining it to Krauser.
“I feel angry at the fact that everyone I’ve cared about has been taken from me one way or another, and they’ve all been taken from me when I was there. With them. I could’ve saved them. I was supposed to save them. But I was too weak. Too scared. Because of me, they’re either six feet under or suffering. And that eats at me everyday.” Leon clenched his fist tightly.
“So this anger comes from your guilt… I see. You feel responsible for what happened in Raccoon City and the aftermath?”
Leon nodded his head, before continuing, “But my anger outweighs my guilt.”
“Good. If you focused too much on your guilt, you’d turn into a fragile man wallowing in self-pity.”
‘Or into a man who almost kills himself…’ Leon thought darkly.
“I can’t say that I don’t feel for you, kid. And I can also say that you might be taking the blame for too much. A lot of things that happened in Raccoon City were out of your control. The little girl’s abduction was out of your control. What, you think you would’ve been able to take out multiple trained and armed government soldiers at once?”
“…No…” Leon sighed, before he threw his head back in frustration.
“A lot of times…” Krauser began. “we feel like a hero from those comic books. Thinking that we can take on the entire world. Believing that nothing could possibly happen to our loved ones as long as we’re there protecting them. But then we realize… we’re just a mortal man. We feel powerless, and we feel worthless as reality comes crashing down on us.” Krauser then sighed.
“It’s a hard path. Life, that is. You can spend your entire life doing good for other people, but the one time someone dies or suffers on your watch, you think of yourself as a monster, and all the good you have done is completely discarded.”
Leon put his head down and dwelled on Krauser’s words. He once again couldn’t help but agree with Krauser. Leon had done so many good things for people his entire life. Hell, he even did good things for Claire and Sherry. But he never recognized the good things he had done in his life until he was on the verge of killing himself.
“Listen, rookie… you should realize that some things are just out of your control. It sucks, but it’s the truth. If we were able to have everything in our control, then there’d be no such thing as struggle or hardship in the world. But there is, and all we have to decide, is what to do about it. We can mope and be angry about it, or we can make the best of the time and opportunity that is given to us.”
Leon was sincerely struck by his words, and as he was about to thank Krauser for healing the guilt in his heart, Krauser spoke up once again.
“But… that will make you soft, won’t it? If your anger makes you the soldier I need you to be, and if that anger comes from your guilt, I can’t have you removing your guilt. So I’ll hit you with the harsh truth: What happened in Raccoon City was your fault. It was your first day as a police officer, and you failed miserably. As a police officer, you were entrusted to protect the people of Raccoon City. You should’ve given your life trying to find any other survivors. Instead, you fled the city like a coward, and watched as the government blowed the city to hell, killing any potential survivors. You might think I’m being harsh, Leon. Hell, you’re probably thinking of strangling me right now. But that’s the reality of being a soldier. “Peace” is a lie, both in the world and within us. If you have peace or love in your heart as a soldier, then you have weakness. You want to stop losing the people you care about? Then cut them off from your life, so you’ll have nothing left to lose. And a man who has nothing to lose is the most dangerous kind of man. The world is cruel, and the only way to survive in it is by being even more cruel. Embrace the monster inside of you, rookie. That’s the only way you’ll survive in the business you’re about to enter. That’s the way it is. You can either complain about it like a little bitch, or you can accept it and embrace the chaos this world brings.”
Krauser then stood up.
“Get yourself checked into the camp’s hospital. I’ll give you tomorrow as a day off for you to recover. In the meantime, reflect on what I told you, rookie.”
Leon sat there emotionless as Krauser left, in the same boat he was on before the conversation had started. Leon feared he was losing himself, and he feared that eventually, he would become unrecognizable to Claire and Sherry.
Chapter 12
Summary:
Leon attempts to convince Benford and Simmons to let him see Sherry…
Later, Leon continues his training with Krauser, learning how to engage in knife combat.
Notes:
A good part of this chapter is pretty emotional, so get ready for that.
I took a lot of inspiration from the RE4 remake when making the knife training in this chapter, especially from the opening cutscene of the game where we actually see Krauser train Leon.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Leon spent the rest of the night in the hospital as he recovered. While he lay in the hospital bed, Leon couldn’t help but miss seeing Sherry and Claire. The week he was with them was the best week of his entire life. And now, not long after, he is going through one of the worst weeks of his entire life…
‘It’s so strange how life passes so quickly… One day you can be having the best time of your life, while the next day it can be the worst day of your life…’ Leon reflected on how things had changed so much in the last month. Barely a month ago, he had no idea zombies existed, and he was a simple rookie who had just graduated from the academy. Now, he’s working for the United States government to be a top secret agent for them.
Leon sighed as he lay there, wishing he could find a way to have some of his old life back before he was dragged into this mess by Benford and Simmons.
A thought came to Leon’s mind, although it may as well have been a pipe dream. Sherry’s estate is somewhere in Washington DC, and Leon’s camp is also near Washington DC. Surely it wouldn’t be too hard to ask permission to visit Sherry?
‘They won’t let me out of here though, not until I complete my training, and Benford mentioned that training an agent takes around 6 months before they’re ready to be deployed.’
Leon had only been in this camp for a little more than a week, and he had already begun to get tired of it. How was he going to last six more months? But that was nothing compared to Sherry, who would be stuck in her estate for who knows how long. Leon imagined how lonely she was, and how much she was probably missing having Leon and Claire by her side, taking her shopping or taking her to carnivals. The thought brought pain upon Leon, as he tried to figure out a way to see her.
‘I… I definitely can’t ask Simmons… but if I ask Benford, would he let me see her? I don’t care if I have to be taken in chains to her estate just so they could make sure I don’t step out of line. I just want to see Sherry and make sure she’s okay. Because even though Simmons gave me his word that she would be relatively comfortable, it’s Simmons. Simmons is a treacherous and manipulative person who can’t be trusted.’
Leon decided that he’d use the day off he had tomorrow to ask Benford if he can visit Sherry. He’d do everything in his power to convince Benford to let him visit Sherry.
Once Leon was discharged from the hospital the next day, he went to the camp’s headquarters and opened the door.
He saw Benford filling out paperwork on his desk, while Simmons was in a secluded area finishing up a call with someone.
Once Leon caught Benford’s attention, he greeted him.
“Ah, Leon. Krauser told me you had the day off today. And to my delight, he told me that you performed very well yesterday.”
‘If you consider nearly beating someone to death performing well, then sure.’
“So, what brings you here? We didn’t summon you; is there something you need?”
Simmons then approached Leon and greeted him.
“Ah, Krauser’s bitch graces us with his presence. What do you want, boy?”
Leon shook his head at Simmons’ remarks before bringing his attention back to Benford.
“I’d like to make a request, sir…”
“A request?” Benford had a confused look in his face. “You just joined us, Leon. You’re hardly in any position to make requests. But I’m willing to hear you out if the request isn’t something ridiculous.”
‘Shit…’ Leon looked at Benford nervously, before sighing and rolling the dice.
“I’d like to visit Sherry, sir.”
Both Benford and Simmons had looks of disbelief in their faces, before Simmons let out a huge laugh.
“Kid, I knew you were naive, but this is on a whole other level!” Simmons continued laughing. “Why the fuck would we let you leave this camp and visit Sherry when you’ve barely been here for only a week?”
As Leon was about to respond, Benford chimed in.
“He’s right, Leon. Your request is… irregular, to say the least. You’re telling us that you want to leave this camp that you’ve been assigned to stay in for the next six months, and you want to visit a high profile asset of ours? I’m sorry, Leon, but you’re asking for too much.”
Simmons then scolded Leon. “You have no right to even dare ask for something like that from us, Leon. What have you done to even consider stepping foot out of this camp?”
Leon took offense to that. What had he done? Leon had undergone brutal training from Krauser, and showed up on time every single day. With the exception of fighting to the death with a huge prisoner(which is another thing Leon did for them), he had never questioned Krauser’s orders.
“What have I done? I’ve done everything that has been asked of me! I gave up my life to you guys. I let soldiers drag Sherry away to a life of loneliness. I obeyed every single one of Krauser’s commands. I nearly died yesterday trying to please you guys!”
“All of which are things you are expected to do, kid. Don’t act like you figured out the cure to cancer, or have brought world peace. You simply did what you are expected to do as a soldier.”
‘I wish it really was you yesterday instead of the prisoner I fought, motherfucker.’ Leon thought darkly.
“Leon, what Simmons is trying to say is that you can’t expect to allow us to appeal to you when you’ve barely just joined our organization. It’s equivalent to going on a vacation after only working one week at your job. Do you understand?”
Leon then grunted in annoyance. “Yes, sir… but can you at least tell me how Sherry has been doing?”
“Oh trust me… she’s doing just fine…” Simmons chuckled.
Leon lost his cool as he heard Simmons chuckle and say that in a very mocking way.
“IS SHE OR IS SHE NOT DOING FINE?! STOP PLAYING GAMES WITH ME!”
Simmons’ smirk instantly dropped from his face as he became serious.
Guards proceeded to approach Leon, before Benford motioned them to halt.
Simmons let out a huge sigh. “No one is playing games with you, Mr. Kennedy. But if we were to play games with you, there’d be some interesting ones that we could play.” Simmons then began walking up to him.
“Like making you stay in this camp forever, or throwing you in prison so the inmates can have their way with you, or throwing little Sherry in a laboratory so we could really experiment on her.” Simmons then stared at Leon intently, before continuing, “But we choose to play a different game, a much more… peaceful game. So calm down, and play along with us.”
Leon knew Simmons wasn’t joking with those threats, especially the last one with Sherry, so Leon controlled his hatred for Simmons and began to cool down.
“I just want to know if Sherry is doing alright.”
“And like I told you, kid. Sherry is doing fine.” Simmons said in a more serious and sincere tone this time. “Unless our word means nothing to you now?”
“Leon…” Benford chimed in. “I can assure you that Sherry has been well taken care of. I swear it.”
Leon trusted Benford’s word much more than Simmons’, but he still felt uneasy.
“I believe you, sir. But what harm would it do if I visit her? We’re both in the outskirts of Washington DC.”
“Letting you out of this camp is a security threat, boy. I don’t want you exposing us to the media. Besides, who’s to say you won’t try to break Sherry out of her estate once you get there?” Simmons glared at him.
Leon couldn’t believe Simmons’ logic. Did he think Leon was the damn Terminator? How the hell would he break Sherry out of a heavily guarded building?
“Why would I risk Sherry’s well-being by ratting out to the media? And as for you saying I’d try to break Sherry out… I thought the United States government had the best security in the world? I guess you guys really let yourselves go ever since it became the world’s only superpower…”
Benford stood up from his chair when Leon said that.
“Our security is the best in the world, Mr. Kennedy. Do not ever doubt that.” Benford remarked.
“I’m sure it is, sir. Which is why there shouldn’t be any risk in allowing me to visit Sherry, right? You guys can have guards watch me the whole time on the way there, when I’m actually there, and on the way back. Do what you need to do to minimize a security threat. I just want to see Sherry again.”
Benford contemplated Leon’s proposition, while Simmons continued to reprimand Leon.
“You have really grown bold ever since you started training with Krauser, Leon. I’ll make sure to tell him to humble you with a good beating in your next training session.”
Leon looked at Simmons nervously, before bringing his attention to Benford when he spoke up.
“Alright, Leon. You seem to have convinced me enough to let you see Sherry. I’ll arrange a meeting between you two as soon as possible. Chances are it’ll probably be tomorrow in the morning.”
Simmons shook his head as Leon let out a huge smile. He was actually going to see Sherry again! His presence alone would bring joy to Sherry’s world, especially after they parted in unfortunate terms the last time they saw each other…
“Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!”
“Don’t be too dazzled, Leon. Remember that you serve us. So by having us do this favor from you, I expect you to follow Krauser’s command without question, and excel in every aspect of your training from here on out. Fail to do so, and this will be the last time you see Sherry.” Benford clarified.
Leon gulped in response.
Later that day, Leon sat in the chair of his room, constantly refreshing his emails to see if anything new had come from Claire or Chris. He was worried sick for Claire. The fact that she could be in a life threatening spot this very moment devastated Leon, and he really hoped Chris had found her by now. It’s been a week since he messaged him, and he was starting to get worried.
‘Relax, Leon. For Chris to arrive and then rescue Claire from that island, and then get out of there probably took days. It’s been a week though… I can’t help but feel restless… I’ll wait another week. It’s possible that Chris and Claire are trying to avoid Umbrella by lying low and haven’t been able to access a computer because of that.’
‘At least I hope that’s the case… Please, Claire, make it out of there safe…’
The next day…
Leon woke up in the morning, eager to see Sherry again. Benford had informed him to meet him in the exit of the camp, so Leon headed there.
Benford greeted Leon as he saw him.
“Good morning, Leon.”
“Good morning, sir. I just want to take the chance to thank you again-“
“Spare the thanks, Leon. I don’t want you getting all tender hearted on me. You are a trainee who is training to become a deadly agent, never forget that.”
Leon dropped the smile and obeyed his wishes.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Leon then saw Benford motion to a group of soldiers.
“Men.” The soldiers proceeded to surround Leon and handcuff him.
“Sir?!” Leon panicked.
“Relax, Leon. It’s just a security measure. You’re not in trouble or anything, so long as you don’t do anything stupid.”
Leon began to calm down once he heard that. As long as he would still be able to see Sherry, he didn’t care what they did as a security measure.
He was transported to the back of a truck, before it began driving off towards Sherry’s destination.
Leon was escorted out of the truck and into the entrance of a large estate. It was gated, but most importantly, Leon noticed it was heavily guarded . There were four heavily armed soldiers at the gate, who proceeded to question what their business was here.
“What business do you have here?”
“We are here on Agent Benford’s orders. His trainee, Leon Scott Kennedy, was granted permission to see the asset.”
The captain then flashed Benford’s security clearance card, and at that, Leon was allowed inside the estate. Leon noticed that it was quite a big house that Simmons had for Sherry, before solemnly remembering that they still needed daily blood tests from Sherry, which meant that there was probably a laboratory in the house as well.
Leon shook his head at the thought as the soldiers guided him inside the building, still hand-cuffed as he entered it.
“The asset is upstairs. Follow us.”
As Leon began going up the stairs, he grew nervous as he realized he was going to see Sherry in a couple minutes. Sure, he was happy and excited to see her again… but… what if she didn’t feel the same way? What if she hated him after he let her be taken by a group of soldiers who forcefully dragged her away? He had explained to her that the alternative was her being experimented on, but everything happened so quick, and she is only a 12 year old girl. To have all of that suddenly revealed to you and then see soldiers busting down the door armed with assault rifles was certainly overwhelming and traumatizing to her.
‘I won’t blame her if she hates me…’
They arrived right outside Sherry’s room, and two soldiers got in front of Leon, pointing their guns at him, while the captain worked to get his handcuffs off.
Once they were off, the captain informed him of the time he had.
“Mr. Benford gave you 30 minutes. As soon as those 30 minutes are over, we will enter the room and bring you back to camp. Understood?”
Leon nodded his head.
The captain then opened the door for him.
Leon let out a big gulp and sighed in nervousness before he entered Sherry’s room.
The first thing he noticed was that Sherry’s room was pretty big. It had a big bed that was there right when you entered. But the most disturbing thing Leon noticed was a camera in the corner of the room. Those bastards had cameras in her room?! Could they not at least respect her privacy?!
Leon shook his head and looked to his left, only to see Sherry there, standing in pink pajamas with a toy in her hand. Her mouth was wide open in shock as she dropped the toy. And then she spoke.
“L-Leon?”
Leon gulped again, waiting for her to start yelling at him at any moment now.
But what he got from her was the opposite.
“LEON!” Sherry yelled in joy as she ran up to him with tears in her eyes. She crashed into him and hugged him tightly.
Leon, having gone a while without any physical affection, immediately hugged her back just as tight.
“Hey, Sherry. It’s so good to see you… I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Sherry continued crying tears of joy against his abdomen, before she pulled back, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up at him.
“I’m so glad to see you too, Leon. I thought I was seeing things when you first entered, but you’re actually here! I can’t believe it!”
Leon warmly smiled at her.
‘She’s alive. She’s safe. She’s not in a laboratory being experimented on, and now she’s a lot more happy considering I’m here. Thank God…’
“I can’t believe it myself either, Sherry…”
“So, how have you been Sherry?” Leon wanted to make sure they weren’t hurting Sherry in any way possible.
“I’m doing… alright. It really sucks being here all alone, without anyone to play with or go to the park with… But at least they gave me a lot of toys to play with. Including some Barbie dolls!” Sherry showed off a blonde haired doll to Leon, that he noticed looked very similar to her, and Leon chuckled in amusement.
“Very cute, Sherry.”
“By the way Leon, any news from Cl-“
“Wow Sherry!” Leon interrupted loudly. “Is that a lightsaber behind you?! I got to check that out.” As Leon got the lightsaber and showed it off to Sherry next to him, he quickly whispered in her ear: “There are cameras in the room, Sherry, and they could be listening to us. We can’t mention Claire, for her own safety.”
Leon then spoke in a loud voice again.
“Did you ask for this lightsaber?”
Sherry nodded her head, not at that question, but at Leon’s statement regarding Claire, and Leon was grateful that Sherry understood and subtly showed that.
“Have they been treating you well?” While Sherry seemed to be doing well, he wanted to hear it from herself.
“For the most part, yeah.”
Leon scrunched his eyebrows. ‘For the most part?!’
“They leave me alone for most of the day, letting me play with my toys and watch my favorite cartoons on the TV they provided me. Just recently, a teacher arrived to homeschool me. She’s really nice, and I’m grateful for that.”
Leon mentally sighed in relief as he heard Sherry’s side.
“But…” Leon’s heart began to pick up again. “Everyday… they… take my blood. And it frightens me how soldiers just bust into my room while a doctor walks in. They then immediately tell me that they need to extract my blood now, and that they can’t wait any longer. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing. They put me in a chair, sometimes a little roughly, and then the doctor gets to work on extracting my blood. It hurts, Leon. He does it way too rough, and when I ask him to do it a bit more gentle, he just ignores me. But… other than that… everything is fine here…”
Leon’s heart broke as he heard Sherry say that. Everyday, Sherry had to deal with soldiers busting into her room as if she was a criminal warlord who was being raided, and then they harshly extracted blood from her, causing her pain. No 12 year old girl deserved to live a life like that. Leon then realized that Sherry was still suffering, even with the deal he had made.
‘I brought this upon her. I let them take her.’
Leon fell back on his butt as regret overwhelmed him.
“Leon?!” Sherry looked concerned for him.
‘Don’t pity me, Sherry. Please don’t.’
With a shaky voice, Leon began speaking.
“I’m sorry I brought this upon you, Sherry.” Leon was on the verge of breaking down, and he was trying his hardest to fight back the tears.” I’m sorry that you have to suffer be-because I couldn’t s-save you.” Leon found that he couldn’t prevent breaking down, as he said the next words while sobbing: “I’m sorry for everything!”
Leon had his head down and began sobbing hard.
Sherry couldn’t help but let out a few tears of her own as she saw Leon sitting on the floor sobbing. She immediately decided she’d comfort him. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders the best she could with her small reach.
“Leon, please don’t cry…”
Leon continued sniffling.
“Leon… don’t blame yourself for this. It wasn’t your fault.”
“But it was, Sherry. I could’ve- could’ve saved you. I let them take you while you were pleading for me to not let them take you. Please, Sherry, don’t try to cheer me up. If you really do hate me and just don’t want to hurt my feelings, please do so. Because I don’t blame you at all if you hate me.”
Sherry was stunned as she heard Leon say that. Hate him? How could she ever hate the man who saved her life? The man who carried her on his back, the man who took her to the carnival, the man who took her to the park every single day without complaint. The man who comforted her and held her in his arms to help her sleep when Claire had left.
“Leon… do you really think I hate you?” Leon paused for a bit, and then shrugged his shoulders.
Sherry then got in front of him and gave him a bone crushing hug, as Leon’s eyes widened.
“I don’t hate you, Leon. Far from it. You and- You are the most important person in my life. Leon… you’re an incredible human being.” Leon was taken aback as she heard her say that.
“In the span of two weeks, you managed to be a better father to me than my actual dad ever was in 12 years. And I’ll never be able to repay you for that. Leon… you transformed the pain I endured in Raccoon City into something good. Because of you, I was able to laugh again, to have fun again, and to be genuinely happy again. And like I said, I’ll never be able to repay you for that. I’m so lucky to have met you.”
Leon sat there in the confines of her hug, stunned as she heard Sherry’s confession. And then he heard the voice of his sub-consciousness/guardian angel speak again.
‘See, Leon? Like I told you, Sherry and Claire love you, more than you realize.’
Hearing those words, as well as Sherry’s, Leon hugged Sherry back and proceeded to thank her.
“Thank you, Sherry. Thank you. I don’t deserve you…”
Sherry was the one to pat his head this time, as she reassured him.
“Don’t say that, Leon. What you don’t deserve is for you to be angry with yourself. You’re a good man, Leon. Never forget that.”
Leon smiled at her words as they continued hugging.
“Wow, you made this, Sherry?” Sherry had shown Leon the dream-house she had made, and she smiled at his reaction.
“Sure did, and if you look over here, you can see other two dream houses I built!”
He took a look at the other two dream houses , smiling in pride as he saw how carefully Sherry built them and added cute accessories to them. One of the houses caught his eye though. It had something strangely… familiar.
As Leon took a closer look at the dream house, he noticed something that both warmed his heart and broke it. In the middle of the house, was a blonde Ken with a blue shirt, a little girl with blonde hair, and… a brunette woman with a red jacket…
Leon fought the tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes as he saw that Sherry had tried to replicate him and Claire with her, like the old times. He didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, he felt it was so cute that Sherry thought of them even in the circumstances she was in, but on the other hand, it made him heartbroken as he remembered what was taken away from Sherry. Sherry lost her old parents, and now, she had lost her new parents as well. But Leon scolded himself for saying that last line.
‘No, she didn’t lose us. Sherry’s right. I can’t afford to be angry with myself. I’m still here, and I’m sure Claire is still here. She hasn’t lost her new parents. One day… we’ll rescue her-‘
“Leon? Is everything alright?”
Leon cleared his throat. “Yeah! I was just really impressed by the dream houses you built here Sherry! You really are a smart and talented girl.”
Sherry beamed under his compliments and let out a shy giggle. “Thanks, Leon. I.. I wanted to build another one that they got me. It’s super huge and would look really nice! But it’s too hard for me to build…”
Leon came up with an idea that would allow the two to engage in some fun activities like the old days.
“Really? Well, why don’t you show me it and I’ll see if I can help you build it?”
Sherry’s eyes widen in surprise. “Really?!”
Leon nodded his head.
“Wow, thanks Leon! It’s over here. Sherry led him to a box in the corner of her room, and noticed that the dream house in the cover of the house was indeed very big. It was a three story house with a spiral slide, a large patio, and even a small park with a pool at the front.
“You weren’t kidding when you said it would be hard to build Sherry…” Leon said in a fake tone of extreme worry, implying that he wouldn’t be able to build it.
Sherry looked up at him concerned, until Leon patted her head.
“The good thing is that I like a challenge.” Leon smirked at her, and Sherry immediately smiled and then giggled at Leon’s small prank. She watched as Leon got the instructions manual.
“Hmmm… alright. It might be a little tough, but it’s definitely doable. Whaddya say, Sherry, ready to build this awesome dream house of yours?” Leon extended his fist out for a fist bump.
“Heck yeah!” Sherry enthusiastically fist bumped him.
Right as they were about to begin building it, the room shot open as the captain entered the room, with two soldiers next to him pointing their guns at Leon.
Sherry’s eyes widened and she began to have a panic attack. It was just like when they took her from Leon. Her heart began beating up at an intense pace, and she breathlessly let out whimper after whimper as she crashed herself into Leon’s chest.
“They’re here again, Leon! They’re here to take me!” Sherry began harshly whimpering into his chest as she sniffled shakily.
Leon immediately began to comfort her.
“Sherry, they’re not here for you. They’re just here to pick me up and take me back to where I’m stationed.”
Leon noticed that Sherry was still breathing harshly against his chest.
“Sherry… Sherry, look at me.” She looked up at him with complete fear in her eyes, and Leon was crushed to see her like that.
“I promise you, they are only here for me. You’re safe. They’re not here for you. Right, captain?”
The captain then spoke up.
“Mr. Kennedy speaks the truth, Miss Birkin. We’re not here for you. We’re only here because his time with you is up and he needs to go back to his training.”
“You see, Sherry? They’re not going to take you.”
Sherry immediately relaxed and then withdrew from him, feeling a little bit of shame.
“Sorry about that…”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Sherry.”
Leon smiled at her, before saying his goodbyes.
“I got to go, Sherry. It meant the world for me to be able to see you again. I mean it. Take care of yourself.” Leon stood up, before Sherry asked something.
“Will you come visit me again?”
Leon sighed. “I- I don’t know, Sherry. My superiors didnt clarify whether or not this would be a one time thing.” Sherry tilted her head down in sadness, before she felt Leon’s finger tilt her chin back up.
“But I’ll do everything in my power to convince them to let me visit you again. I swear it.”
Sherry smiled weakly, before saying goodbye to him with a strong hug. When the Captain cleared his throat, they broke, and Leon started heading towards the exit of the room.
“Leon!”
Leon turned around only to see Sherry crashing into his abdomen as she hugged him tightly once again. Leon hugged her back just as tightly, before he saw Sherry look up at him.
“I just want to let you know… No matter what you do, or what you did, I could never hate you, Leon. Ever. You will always be someone that I cherish in my life.”
Leon’s eyes began watering at her words, before he chuckled as he saw what she said next.
“I pinky promise.” She extended her pinky out to Leon, and Leon responded by interlacing his pinky with hers.
They briefly hugged, and then Leon said his final goodbyes to her once again.
“Take care, Sherry. Hopefully I’ll be able to see you soon. And if I do… I’ll help you build that Barbie Dream House.” Leon winked at her, and Sherry giggled in response.
Leon approached the soldiers, as they proceeded to handcuff him once again and began to lead him out of the room.
He took one last look at Sherry, only to see her with a concerned look in her eye, no doubt due to the sight of him in handcuffs. Leon gave her a reassuring smile, and he was glad to see her relax as a result. Leon exited the room and then let out a sigh, thankful that everything went well with her.
‘Sherry… hang in there… I’ll get you out of here one day… I promise.’
“Where the fuck have you been, rookie?” Krauser angrily glared at Leon as he arrived late to training.
“I’m sorry for my tardiness, Major.”
“Sorry isn’t good enough, rookie. I gave you strict orders to arrive on time. I was told that you were somehow allowed to leave the camp, but Simmons, being the cryptic motherfucker that he is, simply told me that Benford had made a reckless decision and then left without elaborating. So I’ll ask again: Where. have. you. been.”
Leon saw the furious look in Krauser’s face and nervously explained to him where he was.
“I… I, with Agent Benford’s permission of course, w-went to go visit Sherry. I just- I felt that she was lonely or depressed being all alone in that big house, so I thought it’d be nice to comfort her… that’s all.”
Leon saw Krauser’s face soften significantly as he told him that, but he still had a serious look on his face.
“I see…” Krauser stood there for a moment.
“Well, I hope seeing her didn’t make you get all soft, rookie. Because today, I’m going to need you to focus due to the fact that I’m going to teach you something new.”
Leon tilted his head in curiosity.
“Something new, Major?”
“Yes. I’m going to teach you how to fight with a knife. Come, follow me.”
As they walked, Leon noticed a group of soldiers roughly shoving a man in handcuffs.
“Good riddance.” Krauser spat out in a very deep tone, which was surprising considering his voice was already deep.
“What did he do, Major?” Leon inquired.
“That piece of shit was a captain. Key word is was. You know what he did? He abandoned his entire squad to save his own ass. Left them to die.” Krauser looked at Leon with an intensity in his eyes that Leon had never seen before.
“There’s a lot of things that make me angry, rookie. But the one thing that really pisses me off is whenever a so called ‘leader’ abandons their men. You get on my nerves, rookie, but even I would never leave you for dead to save my own ass. Only the lowest of the low do that to their fellow comrades.” Krauser began clenching his fist hard.
Leon agreed with Krauser, but he didn’t want to get on Krauser’s nerves, so he chose the safest option.
“Th-thank you, Major. It means a lot to me that you’d never leave me for dead, even to save your own life.”
“Huh… it’s not as heavy as I thought, Major.” Leon held the combat knife he was given.
“They can’t be too heavy, rookie. Or else how are we supposed to use them with the swiftness and speed needed to properly kill someone?”
Leon mentally winced at those last words.
“Have you ever used a combat knife, rookie?”
“A little bit. In Raccoon City. I was able to take out a couple zombies with a knife when my ammo was low.”
“Then you should have a basic understanding of how they work. However, using a knife to take out a slow moving zombie is completely different compared to when you use it against someone who also knows how to use it. I’m going to teach you the basics of knife combat right now, and then, we’ll do a light knife spar.”
Leon got tense at the thought of engaging in another spar with Krauser.
“Of course, Major. But… aren’t combat knives sharp? I don’t want there to be a cut or an accident or anything…”
“Key word is light spar, rookie. Besides, you’re going to have to get a cut so you’re not crying like a girl when you actually get cut by a knife in a real fight. Understood?”
“Y-yes, major.”
Krauser spent the next two hours teaching Leon how to use a knife. He specifically taught him the importance of blocking and parrying.
“Block my strike the way I showed you.”
Krauser proceeded to launch a strike towards Leon with his knife, who managed to block it, although the force of Krauser’s strike made him back up a little.
“Good, rookie. But you see how you backed up and how your hands also got a bit unsteady as you blocked? There are times when you can’t afford to do that, because your opponent will capitalize on it. Continue working out your arms and legs with the workouts I gave you and you’ll get a stronger base so you don’t back up everytime you block. But, in the meantime, I can show you something else. It’s called parrying.”
“Parrying?” Leon questioned.
“Yes. Parrying is the ideal way to counter a knife strike. It requires very good timing, which is why it’s hard, but let me show you how it’s done. Strike me, rookie.”
Leon struck Krauser with his knife, and right as it was about to land on Krauser, he suddenly brought up his knife, and with strong force, parried his attack in an upwards direction. Leon felt to the floor from the sheer force of Krauser’s parry. He looked up at Krauser in shock, wondering how Krauser managed to even do that.
“See why parrying is the ideal way to defend a strike? What I did was wait until your knife got really close, and then I raised my knife up and thrusted it in an upwards diagonal direction towards your knife, which countered your strike and even made you fall. The reason it’s so hard to do is because you have to wait until the knife comes really close to hitting you. Many trainees become worried about that and parry prematurely as a result.”
Leon understood the concept, and also understood why it was so hard to learn.
“Now get up. I want you to try it for yourself.”
It would take a lot of trial and error before Leon managed to do somewhat of a perfect parry.
“Not bad, rookie. But it’s still far from what it should look like. Anyways, I think you’re ready for our spar now. Get into position.”
Leon got into position with a combat knife in his hands as he began sweating profusely.
Krauser must’ve noticed this, as he told Leon, “Don’t wet your panties, rookie. I’ll go easy on you, and I’ll try to avoid doing perfect parries.”
“Now, are you ready?” Leon nodded his head, and saw Krauser approach him. He threw a quick strike which cut Leon in the forearm. Leon let out a noise of pain as he saw that the cut started bleeding. He then noticed Krauser throw an overhead strike, which Leon barely managed to block.
“Eyes up, rookie.”
Krauser then threw another overhead strike, which Leon dodged by moving to the right, and then ducked under Krauser’s horizontal strike, before proceeding to throw a strike towards Krauser’s body, which Krauser caught with his free left hand, while simultaneously pushing the knife on his right hand towards Leon who managed to block it with his palm over Krauser’s fist.
“Nice one, rookie.” Krauser pushed Leon away, and Leon threw another strike towards Krauser, this time towards his head, which Krauser once again caught with his left hand. And before Leon knew it, Krauser had his knife on Leon’s throat. Krauser was much faster with his right hand this time around, and Leon was once again shocked with the speed.
“Not so nice. I could slit your throat at any moment, you know?” Krauser once again pushed Leon away and went on the offensive.
Leon’s body and even his cheek were riddled with cuts that were bleeding from all the strikes he couldn’t block, so Leon decided to focus as much as he possibly could. He managed to block four consecutive strikes from Krauser, but the fifth one nearly knocked his knife away. Krauser was throwing his strikes with more force now. Krauser threw the sixth strike, which Leon used to block with both hands on the knife handle so as to prevent his knife from being knocked away. Unfortunately, this left Leon open. Krauser proceeded to land a left hook on Leon’s face with his free hand. Leon staggered and looked at Krauser in shock.
“The knife is not the only thing you can use in a knife-fight, as weird as that sounds.”
The fight continued, and now that Leon had gotten the hang of it, he managed to block most of Krauser’s strikes. He didn’t block them good, and some sent him staggering, but the important part is that the blade didn’t hit him.
Once Krauser signaled that the fight was over, he assessed Leon, who was sitting down on the floor, panting and exhausted from the spar.
“Decent, rookie. You started off terrible but got better as the fight went on. You managed to block most of my strikes at the end, which is something no other trainee has done in their first, or even second spar with me. I was going easy though, so don’t try me in an actual fight because I’ll slit your throat in less than a second.”
Leon gulped.
“Anyways, improvement is the best sign in a trainee. And don’t worry about the cuts, I specifically avoided targeting any arteries or weak spots, and the cuts I gave you were shallow.”
Leon let out a sigh of relief.
“Let me give you a few tips now, rookie. Get up.”
Leon got up with a groan of annoyance.
“Tip #1: Knives are faster than guns. Here, put this gun in your pocket.” Krauser threw a pistol at Leon, who proceeded to put it in his pocket. Krauser then backed up several feet.
“Whenever you want, reach for your gun as fast as you can and aim it at me.”
‘He’s several feet away… does he really think he can reach me in time?’
Leon waited a bit, and then quickly reached for his gun, but before he could even get it out of his pocket, Krauser already had a knife to his throat. Leon looked at Krauser with wide eyes, wondering how the hell Krauser managed to close the distance so quick.
“See? Knives are faster.”
“Tip #2: If you find yourself being choked by a big guy, and you don’t have a gun, reach for your knife and stab them in the arm. DO NOT stab them in the forearm or bicep. There’s too much bone and muscle there for it to have any effect. Where in the arm do you stab them, you may ask? Right here, rookie.” Krauser trailed his hand over the point between the forearm and bicep, where blood usually gets extracted in a blood test.
“This is called the antecubital fossa; it’s very sensitive. If you can’t stab them in the neck or head because you can’t reach, stab them there and you will be out of their grasp.”
“Tip #3: Flick your wrist if your opponent is pinning down your arm. Here, let me show you.”
Leon got into position.
“Strike your knife at me, rookie.” Leon did as he was told. Krauser blocked it with his knife, and then used his free hand to grab Leon’s arm.
“When your opponent does this, it means they’re going to quickly use their left hand to pull your arm back, and their right hand to thrust forward . The force of the two will bend your arm in an uncomfortable position, thereby allowing them to strike you. So, to counter it, immediately flick your wrist to send the knife towards your opposite hand and strike them. Try it, rookie.”
Leon flicked his wrist with all of his strength, but it only managed to reach halfway towards his left hand before it fell to the floor. He tried it again and it was even worse.
“You don’t have enough wrist strength right now, but keep up those wrist exercises I’ve been giving you, and eventually, you will be.”
“Final Tip: If someone charges at you with a knife and you don’t have one, do this.” Krauser threw his knife away, and then told Leon to strike him with his knife.
Leon engaged Krauser with an overhand knife strike, before Krauser did a boxing slip to the left while simultaneously putting both of his hands on Leon’s arm. He then bent Leon’s arm backwards towards his back in a harsh way, which made Leon let out a groan of pain. Krauser then straightened Leon’s arm out in front of him, before pushing Leon’s wrist and arm back towards him. Leon looked down and saw the knife an inch away from his body.
“In a real fight, I’d bend your arm even harder until it breaks, and I’d stab you in the liver or lung with the knife. Those two spots are the most fatal places to get stabbed in the upper body.”
“You know how to fight one man, but you might find that you’ll need to fight several. Because eventually, we’ll send you on solo missions, rookie. And you might find yourself cornered by a group of men. Which is why…” Krauser did a hand motion, and then three unarmed soldiers approached Leon from behind. Leon turned around and flinched as he saw them right behind him.
“…you will fight these three soldiers. I’ll show you how to fight multiple men. Take a look.” Leon watched as Krauser fought and beat three men, all the while he gave him tips on how to fight multiple opponents.
Once he finished, he gestured to Leon.
“Your turn, rookie.”
Leon grew uneasy, but did as he was told. After all, Benford had told him that needed to follow Krauser’s command and excel in his training or else he’d never see Sherry again. And he wasn’t going to let that happen.
No. Matter. What.
“On a technical level, you did terrible, rookie.” Krauser remarked as he saw the bruises on Leon’s face. “But… you had heart and showed the grit of a true soldier, and that is more important to me. For now, at least.”
Leon sighed but kept his head up, as Krauser addressed him once again.
“Not to mention that in every other area, you are improving greatly. Avoid reverting back to being the pussy twink you were when I first met you… and you may turn out to be a fine agent after all.”
A few months later, Krauser’s prediction turned out to be true…
To be continued…
Notes:
Two more chapters to go!
To clarify, I took a lot of inspiration from the knife combat mechanics in the RE4 Remake when writing the knife training session. I’m not an expert in knife combat by any means, so what Krauser is teaching Leon in this chapter is probably inaccurate lol.
Chapter 13
Summary:
Four months later, Leon is deemed ready to become an agent. He takes his final grueling test which pushes him to the limit both physically and mentally.
Notes:
Second to last chapter!! I can’t believe I’m almost finished with the story already… but I hope you guys have been enjoying it.
This chapter is action-packed, so get ready to be entertained.
P.S. This chapter ends in a pretty crazy way… that’s all I’m going to say.
Chapter Text
February 1999
Four months. Four months of brutal training virtually everyday had turned Leon into the soldier Krauser and Benford needed him to be. Leon was excelling in every aspect of training. Shooting, fighting, knife combat, training courses, you name it. On top of that, Krauser found that Leon was his best trainee yet.
Training wasn’t the only thing that was on Leon’s mind in the last four months, however. Around early November, he had received an email from Claire, much to his delight. She had informed him that Chris had arrived to her spot, and together, they escaped the base they were in and managed to flee with their lives intact. Leon had let out probably the biggest sigh of his entire life when he had heard this, and was beyond happy to know that his girlfriend was safe. Claire had then informed him that Chris wanted her to lie low, so as to avoid Umbrella’s watchful eye, and that whenever the coast was clear, she’d inform Leon and visit him.
Leon braced himself everyday for Claire’s message saying she was ready to visit him and Sherry. He didn’t want to tell her what happened to Sherry over email, it just didn’t feel right. But eventually, when she would be ready to visit, he’d have to tell her, and his heart broke at the thought of how Claire would react to the fact that Sherry was abducted by the U.S. government.
Leon also couldn’t help but wonder how Claire would react to the current version of him. He was no longer the innocent rookie she knew. Krauser had made sure to strip him of all innocence. Leon was colder, and the only times he smiled or laughed was when he would visit Sherry, which was once a month.
‘I think the only new change she’ll like is the muscles I have obtained in these four months.’ Leon joked darkly.
Leon’s current training session had him using crates of cover while slowly approaching a target that had an LMG placed on a platform. Each time the soldier on the LMG would have to reload, that’s when he’d use the opportunity to move to closer to the objective, and he’d do that by jumping over obstacles or sliding underneath them. Once the target was close to finishing reloading, Leon would have to decide whether to stay behind the crate he was currently in, or move on to the next set of crates if he had enough time. The target had a bulletproof shield encased around him, so shooting him while he reloaded was not an option.
His goal was to reach the last crate, and once the target was reloading, he’d rush to the stairs leading to the platform and “take him out” from the side. The target had a bulletproof vest considering this was training, so killing him was not actually possible.
“My my, rookie. You’re a far cry from the pussy you were four months ago who tried to run around obstacles instead of jumping over them.” Krauser observed as Leon seamlessly jumped and slid under obstacles the way Krauser taught him.
As he finally reached the last crate between him and the target, Leon noticed the distance between the crate and the target was far. Very far. Even if Leon ran as fast as he could, he doubt he’d make it. He’d get shot on the way there.
“What are you waiting for, rookie?” Krauser yelled at him.
“Major, the distance is too great! I won’t be able to make it!”
“Then run as if your life depends on it, because it sure as shit does now!”
Leon cursed under his breath and began running as fast as he could towards the platform stairs while the target reloaded. Even though Leon was running very fast, he had only made it halfway across the distance, and the man was about to finish reloading his gun. Leon thought fast. He scanned his surroundings, before noticing a crate hanging by a wire right above the target. Very high above, so if he shot it, the target would have plenty of time to move out of the way. Leon, using all the training he had learned over the last four months in accuracy, aimed at the hook and shot it. The shot fortunately hit, and the crate came crashing down on the soldier, who moved away just in time.
Leon quickly got up the platform stairs and pointed his gun at the soldier who was still on the floor and had his hands up the moment he noticed Leon pointing a gun at him.
“Don’t try anything stupid.” As Leon said that, he heard Krauser signal that the session was over. Krauser then approached Leon and assessed him.
“Very good, rookie. You realized you couldn’t make it across, so instead of standing there like a deer in the headlights, you used your surroundings and noticed something that would help you complete your objective. All in the span of a couple seconds too, which is even more impressive. You’re getting closer and closer to being ready to become an official agent.”
“I have to ask though, why didn’t you shoot the target? That was one of your objectives.”
Leon shrugged his shoulders. “He was already out of there and defenseless when he barely managed to dodge the crate coming down on him. I didn’t see any need to shoot him while he was on the floor, especially considering bullets hurt a lot even if you have a bulletproof vest on.”
Krauser simply chuckled in amusement. “Even after all these months, you’re still merciful. But fair enough. Anyways, let’s get going to the next training session.” Krauser motioned Leon to follow him.
As they walked through the camp, they came across three unarmed soldiers.
“Hey!” One of the soldiers spoke up as he approached Leon.
“You’re Leon, right?” Leon didn’t notice Krauser backing away.
“Yeah… why?” The soldier suddenly threw a punch towards Leon, which he barely managed to block.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Leon was both angry and confused at the unprovoked punch, until he heard Krauser speak up from afar.
“Looks like they want to fight you, rookie. I may or may not have arranged for this to happen.”
Leon then saw the three soldiers get into a fighting stance, and Leon did the same.
“Give me a heads up next time, will ya, Major?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Krauser chuckled. “Now let’s see what you’re made of. Fight them.”
Leon began using the distance management and angles he was taught to make sure he always had eyes on each of his opponents. No matter what, he could not let one out of his sight, or even worse, get behind him. He also did lateral movements to ensure he wouldn’t be caught in a circle surrounded by them, and so none of them would be able to hit him at the same time.
Once Leon was able to implement his footwork and make his way around so that the three soldiers were each behind each other in a straight line, Leon got to work on the offensive. He quickly launched a powerful side kick which sent the first one flying to the ground, while he got the next guy in a Thai clinch and worked to rain down knee after knee on the man’s face. Krauser had told him that each punch he threw would have to be with the intent to knock out, to get an opponent out of there as soon as possible. That way, he’d deal with one less opponent. However, before he could begin kneeing the man he had in a clinch, the third opponent began to charge at Leon. Leon responded by front kicking him while still holding the guy he had in a clinch. Once he saw that the front kick pushed the man away, and the other soldier had just barely started getting up from his side kick, Leon quickly landed hard knees on the man’s face in the clinch, quickly knocking him out as he fell to the floor.
Now he only had two opponents left.
Leon used his footwork once again to try to get the two soldiers in an optimal position where it’d be safe to attack, until one of them made a move Leon was not expecting. One of the soldiers dove for his legs in an effort to take him down. Leon defended the man’s takedown by sprawling, before noticing the other soldier charging at him.
Oh no.
They were planning to have one soldier punch him hard while he was busy defending the takedown, and the force of the punch would weaken his base, thereby allowing him to be taken down. Being on the ground was the worst place to be in a fight against multiple opponents, so Leon had to act fast.
Leon decided on backing away from the sprawl, but as he did, the punch was already too close to block and landed directly on his face. Leon got pushed back from the force, and as he regained his senses, he noticed that the two men surrounded him. One was in front of him, and the other was circling behind him.
‘Shit.’
He was now encircled by the two men. In this situation, Krauser had told him that the best thing to do would be to keep them away using fast side kicks, and waiting for a counter to to present itself. So Leon did just that. But eventually, they figured him out. As Leon threw his sidekick at one, the other would punch him at the same time. Even when Leon noticed this and tried to counter, the time it took to turn his body towards the other solider and launch a counter was too slow.
But Leon, ever the quick study, had one last counter in mind…
He side kicked the man, and as soon as it landed, he did a spinning elbow in the direction behind him, hoping it would hit the other incoming soldier. Thankfully, it did, and the man fell to the floor, stunned and clearly out of it.
Now, only one soldier remained.
He then heard Krauser speak up.
“Not bad, rookie. Let’s switch gears now.”
Leon was confused by Krauser’s words, until he saw the remaining soldier with a combat knife in his hands as he tried to strike him. Leon barely managed to take out his own knife and block the man’s strike just in time.
He got into the stance he uses in a knife fight, and quickly began charging.
Krauser watched from a distance, eager to measure how much Leon had improved in knife combat. He didn’t expect Leon to win, considering he was going up against a corporal. Krauser knew the corporal. The corporal was no expert in knife combat, but he was certainly still adequately skilled with a knife, definitely more so than Leon was. Therefore, Krauser figured that if Leon put up a decent fight, he’d congratulate him instead of chastising him for losing.
Leon engaged the corporal, as their blades clashed and clashed. In one instance, their blades remained clashed, and Leon used the opportunity to headbutt the man, which slightly disoriented him. Leon used the opportunity to go on the offensive, but got countered by a feint strike to the head, before the knife quickly slashed across his abdomen. Leon winched at the pain, but remained in position.
The corporal went on the offensive, but Leon blocked every strike. In the last strike, Leon managed to somehow land a perfect parry, which sent the corporal stumbling back.
Krauser’s eyes widened in shock as he saw this. Was Leon… actually going to beat a corporal in a knife-fight? Landing perfect parties was hard enough on its own, but on a person that should be more skilled than you? Leon shouldn’t have been able to do that, but he just did.
‘This rookie is truly something special’
Leon took advantage of the corporal stumbling back and began going on the offensive. He began throwing strike after strike on the corporal, who backed up as Leon was becoming too fast for him to counter. He did manage to slash Leon’s right tricep, but Leon’s adrenaline hardly made him react to that. Eventually, the corporal saw a huge opening and blocked Leon’s knife with his and then put his free hand on Leon’s right arm. Leon, knowing what he was about to do, quickly flicked his wrist so that the knife could go to the left hand. He did this successfully, and then struck the man with the knife on his left hand, who just barely managed to back out of the way. Leon proceeded to throw an overhead strike, and as the blades clashed, he let go of the knife as it fell back onto his dominant hand. The corporal must’ve not seen this coming, as he was then slashed across the stomach by Leon’s knife, now back in his right hand. The corporal staggered back once again, and Leon proceeded to completely unload on him.
Krauser saw Leon go on the offensive, and watched as blades crashed together in rapid succession. Leon’s speed in which he threw his strikes was unparalleled, and Krauser had never seen a faster trainee in his entire life.
Due to Leon’s immense speed, he managed to land strikes to the corporal’s shoulder and to his leg. The corporal let out a yell of frustration as he saw he was about to lose the fight. Leon himself appeared to be too eager though, as he began throwing caution out of the wind. The corporal took advantage of this, as when Leon overextended a strike, the man caught Leon’s arm in between his armpit, and then pulled back Leon’s wrist. The result was Leon losing his knife, but the corporal must’ve pulled too hard as he staggered back once again. Leon had to think quick while he had time, as he had been disarmed while the corporal still had his knife.
As the corporal seized the opportunity of his opponent being disarmed, he rushed in wildly with an overhead strike. Leon, heeding his training, did a boxing slip to the left while simultaneously putting both of his hands on the man’s arm. He then bent the corporal’s arm backwards towards his back until it broke, which made the man let out a yell of pain. Leon then straightened the corporal’s arm out in front of him, before pushing the man’s wrist and arm back towards him, successfully stabbing the man on the right side of his body.
The corporal looked down in shock at the realization that he had been stabbed, and therefore defeated, by a trainee. He looked back up at Leon, who told him:
“2 inches to the left, and it would’ve been your liver. Be thankful it wasn’t.”
Leon then pulled the knife back, which wasn’t hard considering he made sure to make the stab very shallow, and then watched as the corporal fell to his knees.
From a distance, Krauser had a shocked look on his face. When Leon had been disarmed, he thought the fight was over. But Leon somehow managed to find a way to win even while disarmed. Not only that, he won against a corporal. It was at this point that Krauser knew Leon was ready for the final test. If he can beat a corporal, he does not need to stay any longer at boot camp.
Leon sat down from exhaustion, heavily sweating and bleeding from his abdomen which had been slashed in the fight. Luckily, it only seemed to be a flesh wound. Leon then saw Krauser approach him, and what Krauser told him next stunned Leon.
“Rookie… for the first time, I’ll say out loud that I am shocked by your performance. And not because it was a dogshit performance, but because it was the best performance I had ever seen by any trainee, ever.”
Leon blinked a few times, certain that he was hearing things. Had Major Krauser actually congratulated him?
‘Wow. If Krauser is complimenting me this hard, I must’ve really done something incredible.‘
“That’s enough training for the day. Go rest. You’ve earned it, for once. I’ll get the corporal to the hospital.”
Krauser entered the headquarters to inform Benford of Leon’s huge success.
Benford looked up to see Krauser enter, and greeted him.
“Krauser. I must say that your visit is unexpected. What do you ne-“
“The rookie is ready to take the final test.”
Benford was taken aback as he heard this.
“Did you just say that Leon is ready to take the final test? 2 whole months before he is scheduled to actually take it?”
Krauser nodded his head.
“Yes, sir. He has excelled in every aspect of his training, and his skills far exceed any other trainees who have also been here for four months or more. He even appears to have exceeded some of our higher ranked troops…”
Benford’s eyebrows raised in curiosity as he heard that.
“What do you mean?”
“Sir, he managed to defeat one of our corporals in knife combat.”
Benford dropped the pen he was holding as his eyes widened.
“That… that shouldn’t be possible…”
Krause nodded his head in agreement. “I know, that’s what I thought as well when I first witnessed it. Even I wasn’t able to do that when I had the same amount of training as Leon…”
“But Krauser, you are aware that the final test is heavily unconventional, right? Nothing in his training can truly prepare him for what will await him there. Leon may not be ready for that yet. And mentally, he may not be prepared for the memories the test may bring back from his recent past…”
“Trust me, Agent Benford. He is ready. You know how strict I am with my trainees. If I tell you a trainee is ready, then he is ready. You were right about him, sir. He truly is gifted.”
Benford looked at him for a while longer, before he sighed.
“Very well. I will get everything ready for the simulation. It will take 3 days, so inform him of that.”
Krause nodded and headed off to Leon’s room.
Leon entered his room, and the first thing he did was go on his computer to check if there was any email from Claire informing him that she was ready to visit. Like in the past 3 months, there was no email from her saying that, so Leon sighed and stood up from his chair. He had been allowed out of training early, so he figured he’d get a head start on his workout. Today was pull day, so he approached his pull up bar and proceeded to do pull-ups. Leon had grown numb to just lying around and doing nothing. The vigorous training he had received in the four months had made him a very active person, and as a result, if he wasn’t sleeping, he never really lied down on his bed. He much preferred to workout the whole time he was in his room.
As he was working out, he heard a knock. Confused, Leon opened the door only to see Krauser.
“Major Krauser? Did something happen?”
Krauser then said something that shocked Leon.
“Benford and I decided that you are ready to get out of here, rookie, which is why you will take the final test in 3 days. You will have tomorrow and the day after that off to prepare.”
Leon blinked as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He still had two months left, at least that’s what he thought, but it seemed Benford and Krauser had already deemed him fit.
“Oh… alright… Thank you, Major. May I ask… why do we have to wait three days? Not that I’m complaining, but usually things don’t take that long around here…”
“Good question, rookie. And that’s because your final test will be no ordinary one. It’s a specific kind of test that the United States has never conducted before.”
Leon tilted his head in curiosity, wondering what it could possibly be about.
“And the reason it’s never been conducted before… is because the test will have you facing BOW’s.”
Leon froze as he said that. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
‘Did… did he just say that I’m going to be fighting BOW’s? BO-fucking-W’s?’
“You’re bluffing…”
“Does it look like I’m bluffing, rookie?” Krauser glared.
“…no…” Leon began, before continuing, “I’m just wondering how the hell you guys managed to snatch BOW’s and contain them in some way for them to be used in a training exercise…”
“Does it surprise you that the United States government has very effective clandestine methods to retrieve vital assets?” Krauser asked.
“…Again, no.”
“Well there you have it then, rookie. The BOW’s in question are T-Virus zombies… and maybe some other things…”
‘Fuck.’ Leon couldn’t imagine what else he’d have to face in this final training test of his.
“So be prepared, rookie. Because while I believe you are ready, giving anything less than your 100 percent towards preparing for your final test will mean certain death for you.”
“I’ll make sure to prepare in the best way I can then, Major.”
“Good. I’ll leave you to it then. See you in 3 days.” Krauser closed the door and left.
“Can’t wait.” Leon sighed.
3 days later…
Leon was in a truck alongside Krauser as they drove towards the area for the final training session.
“So… are you excited to potentially get out of boot camp, rookie?”
“I’m kicking my feet in anticipation.” Leon remarked.
“Very funny. Now cut the bullshit and speak plainly.”
Leon sighed. “I… I guess it’s just another duty I have to do for the United States government. I don’t really have any emotions or personal feelings about it.”
“Then we’ve really turned you into a solider, rookie.”
Leon looked out the window solemnly as he heard that.
‘Am I losing myself? Four months ago, I feared turning into an emotionless soldier and losing all of my humanity… is that what I am now?’
Leon virtually never smiled or laughed in the past four months. All he had known was that he had to train to become the best agent he could possibly be, and that he had to follow orders without question for Sherry’s well-being.
Leon began worrying that whenever he would see Claire again, he would never be able to let go of being “Leon, the soldier.” And he feared that more than anything. He wanted to be “Leon, the sweet boyfriend” with her, but he’s felt nothing in the past few months. He’s become numb to any emotion, and even memories of his past don’t bring him much joy, because he knows that time has passed.
‘Maybe Claire deserves someone better than me… She doesn’t deserve to be with an an emotionless guy who won’t laugh with her or even be able to be human with her. Because the sweet rookie she knew… is gone.’
Leon winced at those final words of his, contemplating whether he actually meant them or not.
He was then interrupted by the truck stopping and Krauser speaking up.
“We’re here, rookie.”
They stepped out of the truck, and Leon observed that they were in a forest, but there was no training facility in sight.
“Uh… Major? Where am I going to train?”
“You’ll see. Just wait for Agent Benford to arrive. He’ll be here any moment.
A couple seconds later, Benford arrived in a black SUV with special forces soldiers next to him. They appeared to have leaf blowers in their hands.
“Leon. Krauser. Good to see you two are here already. Let’s not waste any time. Follow me.”
Leon followed him to a very dense area in the forest, where there was no trail or road or anything. The area was so dense that the sunlight hardly shined there.
Eventually, they reached a dead end, judging by the heavy amount of vegetation and leaves that blocked the path they were heading straight towards.
However, the soldiers then got out the leaf blowers and proceeded to blow the leaves out of the dead end, revealing a bunker door.
“This bunker is where you will take your final test, Leon. Don’t let the small entrance fool you. Underground, there is a massive complex that is used for both research and training. Indeed, some special forces such as the Green Berets, Delta Force, and the Navy SEALS have conducted training sessions here.”
“Including me, rookie.” Krauser spoke up.
Benford then approached the scanner next to the bunker door, and flashed his security clearance card at it, turning it green and allowing the bunker door to open, revealing an elevator.
As they took the elevator down, Krauser spoke to Leon.
“Once we reach the bottom, you’re going to see just how big this place really is.”
‘They’re really making this place out to be something special… let’s see if that’s true.’ Leon then reached the bottom and froze as he saw that Benford and Krauser weren’t kidding. This place was huge.
“Told you, rookie.”
“We’ve been expanding this place just for you, Leon. We’ve built containments to hold the BOW’s we’ve retrieved. Expansion was completed around 2 weeks ago, and everything is ready for your final test.”
Leon looked at the place in awe, noting that it was even bigger than Umbrella’s underground laboratory in Raccoon City.
“We should get going now. Follow me, Leon. We will take you to the spot where you will get everything ready.”
Leon followed Benford across the massive underground complex, until they reached a large room that had multiple tables and an elevator at the end of it that looked fresh and new.
“Here it is. That elevator at the end will take you to the starting point of your training session. And in the tables, is the gear we’ll provide you for it.”
Leon observed the gear on the table, noticing a pistol, a flashlight, a combat knife, a shotgun, a single grenade, and other accessories.
“Jesus, sir… Am I going to fight in World War 3 or something?”
“With what you’re going fight down there, you might prefer fighting in World War 3.” Krauser stated.
Leon grew a little uneasy, but began readying up. Once he was ready, Benford addressed him for the final time.
“Good luck, Leon. We’re counting on you. Krauser says you are ready, and I’m inclined to believe so as well. If all goes well, I will go to the White House and speak directly with the president in person to inform him of your success. This is your opportunity to prove your worth to your country.”
“And one more thing, Leon. The presence of BOW’s might-“
“I’ll handle that, Agent Benford.” Krauser interrupted.
Agent Benford looked at him for a while, before nodding.
“Very well. Let me get the elevator running.”
Benford approached the scanner and flashed his card at it, which allowed the elevator doors to open.
Leon sighed before approaching the elevator doors. As he approached it, he noticed Krauser following behind him.
“I’m going to accompany you down there, rookie. I have some words for you that might help you prevent being overwhelmed at what you’ll see down there.”
As they entered the elevator, Benford addressed Leon one last time.
“Good luck, Leon.”
Krauser then closed the elevator doors, and proceeded to press the button.
Once they reached their spot and the elevator doors opened, Leon stepped out and noticed that they were in an area that had a lot of tight corridors and hallways. He couldn’t help but notice that it eerily resembled… the Racoon City police department.
He was brought out of his trance by Krauser.
“This place brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
Leon nodded his head.
“Disturbing memories?”
Leon slowly nodded his head once again.
“We specifically made it that way so that this test can truly push you to the limit. You might find that this training simulation may be more mental than it is physical.” Krauser then proceeded to place his hand on Leon’s shoulder.
“All that trauma… all that pain… is going to come crashing down on you. At times, it might be too much to handle. But remember what I told you, Leon. Embrace the beast inside of you. Embrace those demons, and your will and instinct to survive will become stronger than you ever imagined. Everything I’ve been teaching you has been done with the intent of making you cold-hearted enough to withstand any mental pain or PTSD triggers.”
Krauser then looked at Leon intently.
“In the past four months, I have killed the rookie cop you were and watched as a hardened soldier took his place. For your sake, keep the rookie cop buried if you want to get through this in one piece.”
Leon had a storm of thoughts trying to infest his mind when Krauser said that, but he pushed them away and nodded his head at Krauser.
Krauser went back to the elevator, and before he left, he informed Leon: “I’ll be communicating with you throughout the simulation using the speakers. I won’t give you any advice, but I’ll assess how you approach each challenge thrown at you. Wait for my signal to start. Good luck, rookie.”
With that, Krauser left, leaving Leon alone.
Leon began breathing a little heavily, as he couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous.
He then heard Krauser announce the commencement of the simulation.
“Fear is something that haunts us. It can cause us to freeze and become overtaken by it. But for those of us who have seen what we have seen, rookie… it activates our most primal instinct: survival.”
The lights of the training area were then shut completely off, which caused Leon to flinch. It was Raccoon City all over again.
“Move out and draw fire, soldier.”
Leon sighed and then drew his pistol and his flashlight, beginning to take his final test that would push him to the limit both physically and mentally.
Leon walked through the dark corridors, until he heard a wheeze that brought him back to September 30th.
It was a zombie.
He pointed his flashlight in the direction of the noise and saw a zombie charging at him. Leon had a moment of hesitation, as the traumatic memories of Raccoon City invaded his mind, before he threw them away and shot the zombie in the head, making it fall to the floor. Leon made sure the zombie was dead, and proceeded going forward.
He then heard a louder wheeze this time.
No… three wheezes….
There were multiple zombies this time around. His flashlight illuminated the three frightening figures in front of him, much closer than he thought they were, as they all charged at him. Leon used his speed to his advantage, quickly shooting two in the head. As the third got too close to him, Leon rolled backwards and shot the third in the head from a crouched position. With three bullets, he managed to kill three zombies, all in the span of a couple seconds.
“Not bad, rookie. But that’s what I expected from you.” Krauser’s voice spoke up.
Leon walked through the tight hallways, before noticing an upcoming corridor on the left with light.
As Leon turned the corner, an armored zombie that was waiting there charged at him and grabbed him. Leon quickly got out of its grasp easily, and began pointing his gun towards the zombie’s head to shoot at it, before noticing an entire horde of zombies coming from right behind the armored zombie. They were walking pretty fast too, and Leon had to act now. Leon quickly thought of what to do. He can run, but those zombies will eventually catch up. Leon looked down and noticed a grenade on the armored zombie’s vest, and came up with an idea.
He reached down and pulled the pin on the grenade while making sure the grenade itself remained attached to the armored zombie’s vest, and then front kicked the zombie towards the horde of undead. It seems Leon’s leg workouts had paid off, because his kick sent the zombie flying towards the horde, and immediately after, the grenade exploded, killing all of the zombies within the horde.
“Nicely done, rookie. You assessed the situation and were able to take advantage of the environment. If you hadn’t done that, those zombies would’ve eventually caught up to you.”
Leon let out a sigh of relief as he continued walking down the corridor. He reached a door and opened it, only to see a zombie lunging at him. He shot it right before it was able to do that, and then heard another zombie behind him, very close. Way too close. It’d be too risky to turn and point the gun to shoot.
‘Knives are faster than guns, rookie.’ He remembered the tip Krauser had given him.
Leon quickly took out his knife and turned to thrust it behind him. Judging by how the knife impaled the zombie’s open mouth, Leon managed to narrowly avoid a bite.
‘I guess Krauser was right after all…’
Leon eventually reached some kind of boiler room-looking area. It was surrounded by walls until near the end, where there were four glass windows in the shapes of a door. At the end, there was a security door that appeared to be locked. A zombie was also there at the exit, and Leon shot it in the head.
As soon as the sound of the bullet echoed through the room, he heard a loud screech.
No, multiple screeches.
The screeches were coming from behind the glass. It sounded strangely familiar…
Leon was startled as the glass broke, before his heart began racing as he saw what came out of it.
It was a licker.
The other glass windows also broke, and then he saw three other lickers pop out.
Leon quickly switched to his shotgun, remembering how durable lickers were.
He pointed his shotgun at it, before freezing as he took in the sight of their disturbing figure. Their skinless form, and their bare brains just sticking out on their head, brought back terrible memories from that day.
Leon was able to snap out of his trance just in time to dodge a licker’s tongue. Leon began to work on quickly shooting lickers with his 8 round shotgun. With four shots, he was able to kill 2.
As he brought his attention to the last two, he noticed that they both jumped on him at the same time. Leon barely managed to dive back in time to avoid it. Leon thought that their simultaneous attack was a coincidence, so he aimed his shotgun at one licker, before it jumped on him once again. Leon pulled the trigger, but right before he did, he was struck on the shoulder by the other licker’s sharp claws. He still managed to pull the trigger and shoot the licker that initially jumped on him, but due to being attacked by the other licker while doing so, his shot hit a weak spot and the licker quickly recovered. Leon stumbled back as he held his shoulder in pain.
But the two lickers didn’t let up.
They simultaneously jumped on him again, and Leon rolled to the side to dodge their attack. Leon continued doing this, until he noticed something. The lickers jumped in each other’s direction whenever they would attack, which would mean that for a split second, one licker was right behind the other in the air.
Leon quickly devised a plan to kill two birds with one stone. He managed to avoid the lickers until he got into a position where one licker was on his left and the other on his right. He waited for them to jump on him, and the moment they did, Leon dived backwards and shot as soon as he saw the lickers cross each other in the air. The result was the first licker falling to the floor limp, while the other still survived due to being hit last. It had just barely survived though, as it was trying to get up. Leon figured that he shouldn’t waste another shotgun round and instead shot the licker twice in the head with his pistol, thereby killing it.
Krauser spoke up once again.
“Very impressive, rookie. Timing it so you can kill two fast moving enemies with one bullet? I know some sergeants that wouldn’t even be able to do that.”
Leon panted as the adrenaline began to wear off. He held his right shoulder and groaned in pain from the claw marks.
“No time to rest, soldier. You have another objective.”
The security door at the exit then opened.
Leon let out a huff and proceeded to head through it.
This was strange.
Leon was in a sewer-like area, similar to the one he had saved Ada’s life in, and the corridors were surrounded by pipes. Some pipes were specifically pointing out towards Leon’s direction, which he found strange. There were also munitions crates surrounding the area.
Leon continued walking forward, until he was startled by the wall breaking.
Leon’s heart dropped as he saw that came out of it.
It was another one of those trench coat things. Tyrants, as Benford called them.
Leon froze as he remembered his last encounter with them. It was in the nightmare he had immediately after Raccoon City, and as he saw the lifeless eyes of the tyrant, he felt like he was back in that nightmare of his, being choked to death by the tyrant.
Leon fell back on his butt in fear, as his breathing began picking up quick. However, remembering Krauser’s words, he snapped out of it and got back up only to see the Tyrant close the distance and land a punch on him. The punch sent him stumbling back to the floor, and caused him to spit out blood. As Leon looked up, he saw the Tyrant lift his foot up to stomp on Leon. Leon rolled to the side just in time, shivering as the force of the stomp caused a crack on the floor.
Leon, recalling that they were weak to headshots with a shotgun, shot it in the head twice, before realizing that he had forgot to reload his clip. The two shots were not enough to stun the Tyrant, as it proceeded to reach for Leon’s neck with an open palm. Leon rolled out of the way, took out his pistol, and targeted the tall man’s head. Most of his shots were ineffective, until one hit it in the eye, which caused the Tyrant to stumble, and then charge suddenly with insane speed. Leon barely managed to roll out of the way of the Tyrant’s charge, as he saw it crash headfirst into the wall.
Leon used the opportunity of the stunned Tyrant to reload his shotgun, and once he did, he unloaded on the giant’s head. After four shots to the head caused the Tyrant to fall on one knee, Leon took out a grenade, backed up, pulled the pin, and after two seconds, threw it directly at the Tyrant’s face. Right when it was a couple inches away from the Tyrant’s head, the grenade exploded.
As the smoke cleared, he saw the Tyrant on the floor, limp and presumably dead. Leon wanted to make sure though, so he poked the body with the barrel of his shotgun, and saw it remain limp.
Leon breathed a sigh of relief, but his breath got caught in his throat as the tyrant suddenly grabbed Leon’s neck and lifted him up. Leon looked at the tyrant’s charred face with wide eyes, as fear ran through his entire body. The man then began choking him, and Leon felt he was in that nightmare again. He began panicking, until he heard Krauser’s words:
‘Fear is something that haunts us. It can cause us to freeze and become overtaken by it. But for those of us who have seen what we have seen, rookie… it activates our most primal instinct…’
‘Survival.’ Leon said in his mind, and decided he wouldn’t let this son of a bitch choke him to death.
He quickly began figuring out ways to get out of the tyrant’s grasp. And then he remembered that he had a combat knife. Leon couldn’t stab the tyrant in the neck; the tyrant’s reach was too long. So Leon decided on stabbing the man in the arm. He knew stabbing a knife in the man’s forearm or bicep wouldn’t do any good, considering how much muscle was in those areas. But Krauser mentioned that the point between the forearm and bicep, the antecubital fossa, was very sensitive. So Leon took out his knife, raised it high at a diangular angle to give the strike more momentum and force, and fiercely stabbed the tyrant in that area, fully planting the knife through the tyrant. Sure enough, the tyrant staggered and his arm unconsciously let go of Leon. Leon’s shotgun and pistol fell on the floor, but as he reached for it, the Tyant stomped on the shotgun, breaking it, and then proceeded to stomp on Leon.
Leon crawled back out of the way just in time and then began running.
Shit! His knife was still stuck in the man’s arm, and his guns were on the floor behind the tyrant. Leon looked around quickly as the giant man approached him, before noticing a pipe that was sticking out in his direction.
Leon ran towards the pipe and got behind it. Leon didn’t have any tools, so he decided to elbow the pipe. If this was him four months ago, he would’ve quit after the first elbow struck the pipe. But he had conditioned his elbows to withstand severe damage in the last four months. He elbowed the pipe, as the tyrant got closer and closer. Leon let out a yell of frustration as he continued elbowing it harder and harder.
The tyrant was a couple feet away now.
Leon elbowed it hard and the pipe looked like it was about to break.
The tyrant reached out his arm in an attempt to strangle Leon.
But right as he did that, Leon landed a final elbow on the pipe, as it sprayed out some kind of gas that hit the tyrant right on the face.
The tyrant fell on one knee, and Leon used the opportunity to duck under the gas and around the tall man to retrieve his guns. His shotgun was broken, but he still had his pistols. He picked it up and as he turned around, he saw the tyrant recovered and stomping towards Leon. With no shotgun, Leon couldn’t possibly stun the giant man, but he came up with another idea.
He shot the tyrant in the eye, and just like the first time, it made a groan of pain, before it began charging towards Leon. Leon dodged the charge by rolling to the side. It was now confirmed that whenever he shot the tyrant in the eye, it would charge towards him. Leon looked around the area to see if there’s anywhere he could lead the tyrant to that would kill it.
His eyes quickly darted to the boxes of C4 in the corner of the room, and he smirked. He now had a plan.
He led the tyrant to where he wanted it to be, and then he shot it in the other eye. As expected, the tyrant responded by charging at him. Leon slid out of the way to create more distance between him and the tyrant, and the tyrant crashed into the wall right next to the C4.
As the tyrant drew itself away from the wall it crashed into, Leon’s voice filled the room.
“Nice one, dumbass.” Leon told the tyrant, before shooting the crates of C4, causing a huge explosion which completely disintegrated the tall man. Leon himself was sent stumbling back from the explosion.
As the smoke cleared, he saw the tyrant’s body virtually disintegrated, and he let out a huge sigh of relief.
He then heard clapping through a speaker.
“Incredible work, rookie. For the first time, I’ll actually say that I’m proud of you.”
A combat knife then fell at Leon’s feet, and he picked it up in confusion.
‘Who the hell threw this knife here?’
He then heard Krauser’s voice again, but it sounded much closer.
“Good job taking out the BOW’s, rookie. But remember I told you that it wasn’t just BOW’s that you were going to fight as an agent?”
Right as Leon heard Krauser finish that sentence, Krauser himself appeared out of nowhere and threw a strike at Leon with his knife. Leon blocked a few before one hit him in his tricep. Leon let out a small noise of pain, before rolling out of the way of Krauser’s next strike. As Leon looked back, he noticed Krauser was gone.
“Cat and mouse, my favorite game.” He heard Krauser announce.
Leon walked around, knife tightly gripped in his hands as he waited Krauser to pop out any moment now. He eventually reached a door, and carefully opened it in case Krauser was on the other side. He opened the door, only to find the next area empty.
Leon let out a sigh of frustration.
“Where are you, Major?” He whispered to himself.
“Here.”
Leon looked behind him and saw Krauser slash at him, as Leon barely managed to block it. The two engaged in a knife fight, but even though Leon held his own much better than he had ever done before, he was still nowhere near Krauser’s level. With a slash across Leon’s abdomen that stunned him, Krauser side kicked Leon and sent him falling onto the floor.
Leon looked up only to see Krauser jumping towards him, intending to stab him on the floor. Leon rolled to the side and attempted to slash Krauser’s heel. Krauser barely managed to block it with his knife a mere inch before it struck him.
“Almost got me there, rookie. But almost isn’t good enough.”
Leon got up and proceeded to run away to figure out a better place to engage Krauser. Krauser was too fast for Leon to take out his gun and shoot him in his bulletproof vest, so Leon decided to flee until he found a better opportunity.
“You can run but you can’t hide!” Krauser’s yell echoed behind him.
Leon ran across the facility, until a spot caught his eye.
Krauser tracked Leon until he saw him approaching a dead end.
Krauser smirked and jumped down several feet away from Leon.
“You’re cornered, rookie.”
He then saw Leon flash a smirk.
“Actually, I’m not.” Leon threw his knife high above Krauser’s position towards a rope, and Krauser looked above him as large crates were about to come crashing down on him. Krauser managed to move out of the way just in time, and then, to Leon’s surprise, he flashed a smile of pride.
“Well played, rookie. Well played.” Krauser sheathed his knife back. “I managed to dodge it, which means I still would’ve killed you, but 99 percent of people wouldn’t have been able to dodge that, so I’d say you pass this exercise.”
What Leon heard next made his eyes grow wide in relief.
“And… you pass the whole test. Isn’t that right, Agent Benford?” Krauser said the last sentence loudly, and Leon watched as all of the lights of the facility were turned completely on, fully illuminating where they were. Leon then saw Benford on top of a descending platform as he started clapping.
“Right you are, Krauser.” As the platform descended, Benford approached Leon and congratulated him.
“You passed the simulation with flying colors, Leon. You truly are the best trainee Krauser and I have ever seen. Which is why…” Benford then placed his hand on Leon’s shoulder.
“I hereby declare you, Leon Scott Kennedy, an official agent of the United States government. Congratulations, Agent Kennedy.”
Benford and Krauser then started clapping, and Leon managed to put on the best fake smile of gratitude he could possibly put on.
‘Agent Kennedy, huh? That’s probably what Claire is going to start referring to me as when she realizes how much her boyfriend has changed…’
“Thank you, Agent Benford. It’s a-“ Leon was going to say ‘it’s an honor’ but even he couldn’t bring himself to say that, so he instead said: “It’s a lot of blood and sweat that I had to shed to pass this simulation, which is why…” Leon turned to Krauser. “I’d also like to thank you, Major Krauser. Your training and advice, especially, helped me to pass this test.”
Krauser simply smirked at him. “It was a pleasure to train you, rookie. For the most part, at least. You still have much to learn when it comes to the idea of “right and wrong,” but you’re getting there. Just don’t act like this is the end, rookie. Because now, you’re going to be deployed on missions, and much like in this simulation, I won’t be able to help you. At times, you’ll even be all alone. But I have faith in you, Leon.” Krauser lightly smiled at Leon.
Benford then spoke up.
“Major Krauser will take you back to the camp so you can get patched up in the hospital. In five days, you’ll be able to finally leave the camp and head to your apartment that we got you in Washington DC. In the meantime, I’ll make sure to send word to my agents to pack up the stuff in your old apartment and take it to your new one.”
“Now… if you excuse me, gentlemen, I must head to the White House to inform the president of Agent Kennedy’s recent success. I’ll see you later, Leon. Krauser.”
Two days later…
Leon finished his workout and then checked his computer to see if there were any emails from Claire. Leon’s heart stopped as he saw an email from Claire titled: ‘Will finally be able to see you again!’
With a shaky finger, Leon clicked on the email to open it.
He then read Claire’s email:
‘Hey Leon!
Oh my gosh, I can’t contain my excitement for what I’m about to say next, but I’m finally going to be able to visit you and Sherry again! I have waited months for Chris, Jill, and Barry to give me the green light to leave the safehouse we’ve been staying at. But now that we seem to be out of Umbrella’s radar, I’m free to visit you guys. I’ve missed you and Sherry so much, Leon, and I can’t wait to see you guys again. I’ve especially missed your warm touch, your cheeky jokes, your cuddles, your kisses, and something else of yours… hehe.
Anyways, I’m going to arrive at the airport tomorrow at around 3:00pm, and from there I’ll take a taxi to visit you guys in Elza’s apartment. Or you can pick me up. Just let me know ahead of time. And tell Sherry about this too. I can’t imagine how that poor girl has felt going four months without seeing me… But the good thing is that she’ll finally be able to see me again! I’m going to give her a big hug when I see her. Once again, I can’t wait to see you guys tomorrow!
Xoxo, Claire’
“Shit… shit shit SHIT!” Leon yelled.
He was happy that Claire was out of Umbrella’s grasp, don’t get him wrong, but couldn’t she have waited 3 more days to visit? That way, he wouldn’t need to ask permission from Benford to visit her, since he’d be in his own apartment and would be out of this forsaken camp.
Not to mention… there was still the issue of telling her the truth about what happened to Sherry…
Leon had his head in his hands as he feared how Claire would react to the truth. Even if he didn’t tell her, she’d find out because she’s going to visit her apartment tomorrow. Claire will be heartbroken and devastated at the truth. And Leon hates that he is the one that is going to cause her to feel that way.
Before he could worrry about that though, he had to worry about getting out of this camp. How the hell is he going to ask permission to leave the camp when he’s scheduled to leave in three days? Benford will be suspicious and will no doubt refuse to let Leon leave.
Leon thought on what to do, and then came up with an idea.
He would make up a lie to them, and the lie would go like this: Leon will tell them that he’s had a girlfriend since way before Racoon City, and that even though he said goodbye to her through email four months ago; recently, she has emailed Leon saying that she feels depressed without him, and that she’s in a dark place. He will also make sure to inform them that his girlfriend told him that she needs to see him now… before it’s too late. Leon will use this as the reason for him wanting to leave the camp tomorrow, saying that he just wants to comfort his girlfriend and then officially break things off with her in person.
Leon went over his plan in his head and figured that he had no other better ideas, so he headed to the camp’s headquarters, where he was greeted by the guard.
“Agent Kennedy… what business do you have here? They haven’t called you in for anything…”
“I’d just like to talk to Benford about something important.”
“Ah, very well, then. Come on in.”
Leon breathed a sigh of relief, until he froze at the guard’s next words.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Benford is still in Washington DC. He’s going to remain there for a few more days. But Simmons is inside, so you can tell him instead.”
‘Fuck… FUCK!’ Leon’s plan was ruined. Simmons is NEVER going to allow Leon to leave this camp prematurely. But he has no choice. He needs to be there with Claire tomorrow. He doesn’t want her to arrive at the apartment and have Elza tell her the truth about what happened. He needs to be the one to tell her, and he needs to be there to comfort her when she finds out. It’s the least he owes her.
“Th-thank you for informing me. I’ll make sure to ask Simmons instead.”
Leon entered the room and saw Simmons standing there next to his desk. As Simmons noticed Leon, he greeted him.
“Ah if it isn’t the man of the hour. Hello, Leon. Or should I call you: Agent Kennedy?” Simmons snickered.
“Hello, sir.” Leon gulped loudly, hoping that Simmons didn’t notice.
“I heard that you passed your final test, and that you were deemed ready to become an agent two months before it’s usually done. And I have to say, I’m honestly impressed. So congrats, kid. Now you’ll just have to deal with us constantly calling you and sending you off to missions. Life doesn’t get much easier when you leave this camp in three days, Leon. Anyways, why are you here? We didn’t call for you.”
Leon gulped again, before initiating his plan.
“I’d like to make a request, sir.”
“A request? What, you want to see Sherry again? You just saw her less than two weeks ago, kid. But… I guess I can arrange it… only because you did a good job the other day though. Do NOT expect this to be a common thing I do for you.”
“N-no, Mr. Simmons. I’d like to make another request.”
Simmons then tilted his head in curiosity.
“Really, now? That’s a surprise. But go on.”
Leon panicked as he said his next words.
“Sir, I need to reveal something to you guys that I’ve been keeping a secret..”
“Well, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, but out with it.”
Leon proceeded to enact his lie.
“I… I have a girlfriend. I’ve been with her for around 3 years now. I last saw her before I left for Raccoon City. Even though I was able to say my goodbyes to her via email on that computer Benford provided for me, I just… it didn’t feel right. And it seems it didn’t feel right for her either, because she emailed me today saying that she has become depressed without me, and is in a very dark place. She told me that she needed to see me now before things got worse… which is why I can’t wait three more days. Sir, I loved her with all my heart. And I’d rather say goodbye to the person I loved more than anything in the world, in a meaningful way…”
Leon noticed that Simmmons was blankly staring at him.
“Which is why I’d like to ask permission if I could go see her tomorrow and give her my proper final goodbyes. I know that I have to break things off with her. I can’t serve you guys if I have distractions, but being unable to say goodbye to her is a distraction in itself, so if I can go see her tomorrow, it wouldn’t just benefit me, but the entire organization.”
Simmons continued blankly staring at him, before he started chuckling in a really strange way. He had only chuckled like that when he was going to… use Sherry to get him to do what he wanted…
“A girlfriend, huh? You’re saying that you want to leave this place and have us book you a flight to wherever the hell she is?”
“I know it’s bad on my side that I didn’t inform you of her existence beforehand, and I’m sorry for that, but I really need to see her tomorrow before she does anything to herself…”
“I understand, Leon. So, to get this straight, you want to see your girlfriend, right?”
“Yes, sir, I’d really appreciate it if you gave me that opportunity.”
Simmons began to aggressively chuckle, and the next thing he said caused Leon’s world to spiral out of control.
“And why would I let you see Claire Redfield?”
Chapter 14: Epilogue
Notes:
The epilogue is finally here.
The previous chapter ended on a crazy cliff hanger and shocking plot twist, but in hindsight, it wasn’t really all that crazy or shocking when I read it over and took into account external factors.
Anyways, here’s the conclusion to the story!
Note: Smut is present in the chapter. There are headings in bold and in all caps to signify when the smut begins and when it ends.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“And why would I let you see Claire Redfield?”
Leon’s world fell apart as he heard those words. His heart felt like it stopped beating entirely.
How?… How did Simmons know Claire was his girlfriend?
‘That… that shouldn’t be possible… IT SHOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE!!’
Leon fought the urge to collapse to the floor. He could feel the incoming panic attack that he was trying his hardest to keep at bay.
‘Simmons knows… Oh God… What is he going to do to Claire?…’
“What’s the matter, Leon? Cat got your tongue?” Simmons’ words brought Leon back to reality.
Leon looked at Simmons and figured he’d try to his best to deny the existence of Claire Redfield, however futile that may be at this point.
“I… I don’t know who you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of a Claire Redfield in my entire life.”
Simmons then began chuckling. “Come on, Leon… I think we both know that’s not true.”
“It IS true.” Leon growled. “I don’t know anything about a Claire Redfield.”
Simmons then began lightly laughing, and it gradually became louder and louder until he his laughs echoed throughout the room.
Leon became irritated at Simmons’ sadisitic laugh. “What the hell are you laughing about?”
Simmons smirked at Leon and turned around to head his desk, before proceeding to reach for something in the drawer.
“I’m just happy that Benford isn’t here this time to stop me from showing you something that will bring her existence to the light.”
Leon, remembering the conversation they had about this all those months ago, began stomping towards Simmons, until he felt a photo land on his feet.
Leon’s eyes widened and he froze as he saw the photo.
It was a photo of him and Claire, hand in hand as they walked out of the carnival.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to invade your guys’ sweet moment…” Simmons teased Leon.
Leon fell to his knees and grabbed the photo in his hands. He looked it at with wide eyes, before using one last ditch effort to save Claire.
“That’s… my girlfriend and I. Her name isn’t Claire Redfield.”
“Oh but of course, Leon. I believe you… if it wasn’t for this pretty photo right here.”
Leon saw another photo land next to him, and it was a file of Claire, with her name underneath her photo. Leon’s head felt like it was about to explode as he realized there was nothing he could do to prevent Claire’s existence from being known.
Simmons now knew who Claire was, and he knew she was his girlfriend.
Leon held both photos as his hands began violently shaking in fear and in anguish.
“Claire Claire Claire…” Simmons remarked in a sing song voice. “Your girlfriend that you’ve been trying to hide from us from the start. I must admit, you two are a cute couple. Awww just look at the way she cuddles up to you in the photo, ain’t that swell? It’s a shame you inadvertently allowed us to now officially recruit her into our service.”
Leon lost it when he heard that. He shot up in pure rage and grabbed Simmons by the shirt.
“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH FUCKING THING TO HER!”
Simmons smiled as he saw how angry and vengeful Leon’s eyes were as they stared at his.
“I knew you weren’t as innocent as you make yourself out to be. But be careful, Leon. Don’t want to get shot and make your precious Claire a widow now do you?”
Leon watched as the guards in the room approached him with their assault rifles pointed directly at him. He brought his attention back to Simmons, and as he saw his smug face, every fiber of Leon’s being yearned to put an end to that wretched man’s life.
“I see it in your eyes. You want to to kill me, don’t you? Go ahead. Do it, Leon. Or is the mighty Agent Kennedy too weak to do it?”
Leon’s hands shook violently on Simmons’ shirt as he resisted the urge to put them around Simmon’s neck and strangle him to death.
Eventually, Leon relented and let go of Simmons. The guards approached Leon with handcuffs, before Simmons motioned them to halt.
“Damn it. If you killed me, you would’ve joined me in Hell and Sherry would finally be truly experimented on. Plus, Claire would’ve taken your spot as Benford’s agent.”
Leon mentally thanked himself for being able to resist the urge to murder Simmons.
“Now, where were we… Oh, that’s right. The cat’s out of the bag now. Claire Redfield is a survivor of Raccoon City, and she is your girlfriend. What a perfect way to get what we want from you. Anyways, you’re going to meet her tomorrow, right? A part of me really wants to make you set her up and allow us to kidnap her, but I’ll be merciful.”
“Merciful? You think what you’re doing is merciful?! You are a sadistic bastard who enjoys making innocents suffer.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself. You know, if you weren’t an agent, you’d make for a great journalist. It’d certainly be better than your failed career as a cop. But like I was saying, I’ll be merciful. I order you, Agent Kennedy, to tell us where you two lovebirds will meet tomorrow, and from there, I’ll send a team to ambush her. That way, you don’t have blood on your hands. That’s an order, Leon. Now tell me where she is.”
“No.” Leon refused.
“No? Did you just refuse an order? I should send your ass to prison. The inmates will have a fun time with you, that’s for sure.” Simmons snickered. “But I’d rather be even more cruel…”
Simmons began to aggressively chuckle.
“You will tell me where you will meet Claire, or your precious Sherry will be dragged out of her estate and will be permanently placed in a laboratory, where she rightfully belongs.”
Leon felt like his whole world was coming down crashing on him as he heard that. He was faced with a decision where no one won. If he told him where Claire was going to meet him, they’d kidnap her and probably torture her for information. If he refused to tell him where Claire was going to meet him, they’d turn Sherry into a guinea pig.
“Fuck… Fuck! Fuck Fuck FUCK!!!” Leon hit the floor with a hard punch as he realized that no matter what, he’d have to cause immense pain to one of the two most important people in his life.
‘Wait a minute.’
Leon remembered that Benford was Simmons’ superior. Simmons can’t make these decisions without Benford’s approval, right?
“You can’t do that. You don’t have Agent Benford’s permission.”
Simmons scowled as Leon said that.
“He is hardly my superior, boy. He is just an agent with slightly more authority than me. And you should be thanking him. When he ‘believed’ you when you said there was no other Racoon City survivor, I confronted him about it, and he told me he let you off the hook because he feared your feelings for that Claire of yours would cause you to slip from our control. He feared that if we forced you to acknowledge Miss Redfield’s existence, you’d go crazy and try something really stupid to damage the organization. Benford compromises to make sure you stay loyal to us, Leon, and to keep you from getting yourself locked up or killed. But I have no such weaknesses. Besides, you’re wrong, I actually can do whatever I want without his permission. And I’ll tell you why. Before Benford left two days ago, he told me something along the lines of: ‘Derek, I’m going to be leaving to the White House for a few days. I leave you in charge of the camp, and any ordeals that happen within it.’”
“What you are requesting is an ordeal, so I’m in charge of it. Which means… you will do as I ask. Or everything and everyone you love… will suffer.”
Leon’s breathing began getting out of control.
“Now tell me where you will meet her, Leon. We must recruit her.”
‘NEVER!!’ Leon would rather die than have Claire go through what he has gone through.
Leon thought of what to do, and came up with an idea.
“You can’t recruit her. She’s not as easy to work with or manipulate as I am. Simmons, she is reckless and has a much bigger temper than I do. And because of that, she will not be a reliable as I am. She will refuse to join no matter what.”
“Then I’ll threaten her to join under threat of experimenting on Sherry.”
Leon made a frustrated noise.
“That’s not the point, Simmons! She’s going to try to kill you if she joins, and if she doesn’t, she’s going to try to kill whoever tries to kidnap her! What I’m trying to say is that her anger and hatred once she finds out how sick you really are is going to cause her to be reckless, and she’s going to try to kill you. Or even worse, she will publicize and expose the organization behind everyone’s back.”
“Then I will kill her, boy! Simple as that!”
“Don’t you see how folly that is? Why waste time and resources trying to recruit her when you’re probably going to have to kill her in the end? Even you must realize that it’d be a waste of time to try to recruit Claire Redfield. And do you know why? Because even if you do manage to recruit her, you’ll NEVER have her loyalty, and she’ll most certainly be a huge security risk. You don’t want to deal with the world seeing your secrets now, do you?”
Simmons stood there, pondering Leon’s words.
Eventually, he sighed.
“Ok, boy, you may have convinced me of how folly it is to try to recruit Miss Redfield. Which means the solution now is for you to email her that you have broken up with her.”
“I… can’t do that, sir.”
“Why the hell not, boy?!”
“Because she still thinks Sherry and I are in that apartment you kidnapped us in! She will be heading there tomorrow. Once she finds out that apartment is empty, and eventually convinces her rommmate to tell her what happened to Sherry, she is going to flip out and probably tell every news media of your nefarious actions. Which is why I have to go visit her.”
“And what will you being there change?”
“I can convince her to remain silent.”
“Oh fuck off, rookie!” Simmons turned his back to Leon and planted his hands on the desk.
Leon saw Simmons shake his head constantly, before speaking up.
“You really expect me to believe you? How do I know you’re not going to visit her and rat out to the media together?”
“Because I know that if I do that, you’ll place Sherry in a laboratory for the rest of her life! And I don’t want that! And neither would Claire.”
Simmons continued having his back to Leon, as he anxiously tapped the desk with his fingers.
Eventually, the tapping stopped, and he turned around to Leon.
“You are one lucky son of a bitch, Leon.”
Simmons then sighed.
“I grant you permission to visit that little girlfriend of yours, alone. So long as you convince her to keep her mouth shut.”
Leon breathed a sigh of relief, before Simmons spoke up again.
“But…” Simmons glared at Leon. “Let me make a few things clear. First, I will increase the security at Sherry’s estate tenfold, and Sherry will be taken somewhere more discreet in the estate. The security will be so tight, that even the fucking CIA themselves won’t be able to breach it.”
‘Great.’ Leon thought. It’s not like he was even planning on trying to breach the estate. He knew he had nowhere near the ability or planning to carry that out… yet.
“Secondly…” Simmons then approached Leon.
“If I read a news headline that says that we have BOW’s in containment, or that we are abducting children… Sherry will die.” Leon’s heart froze as Simmons said that.
“If you and Claire decide to be heroes and try to breach the estate… she will die.”
‘What a monster… what an absolute disgrace of a human being.’
“Do those terms make you realize the severe consequences of ratting us out or trying to be heroes?”
‘Fuck you.’
“They do.”
“They do what? Address me properly, boy.”
Leon clenched his fist.
“They do… sir.”
“That’s better. Now leave.”
Leon eagerly left, before he was stopped by Simmmons once again.
“Oh, and Leon?”
Leon slowly turned around.
“What?”
“Your insolence and this whole fiasco with your girlfriend just now must not go unpunished. You kept a secret from us and then weaseled your way into getting what you want. That will cause you severe punishment.”
Leon sighed. ‘What will he have me do? Have Krauser beat me up? Have me clean the stalls for a month? Keep me in boot camp for more weeks?’
But as Leon heard what Simmons said next, those punishments all seemed light in comparison.
“Which is why… I hereby prohibit you from visiting Sherry indefinitely.”
Leon’s blood ran cold when he heard that.
‘What did I do to deserve this?’
“You will no longer be allowed to see Sherry. And I’m sure even Benford will agree with this decision.”
‘I’m cursed; that’s the only explanation for this hell I’m living in.’
‘Sherry will now be alone. There will be no one to comfort her. No one to make her laugh, to make her smile, to make her feel happy.’
“Is that understood?”
Leon slowly nodded his head.
Simmons then gestured to his ear, and Leon wanted so bad to kill this monster right then and there.
“Yes… sir.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
Leon gladly left the room, his fists clenched so hard that they started bleeding.
Leon emailed Claire telling her that he’d pick her up at the airport tomorrow, and the following day, Leon took a flight towards Chicago.
When he arrived, he took a taxi to her apartment, and as he exited the taxi and stood in front of the apartment, Leon couldn’t help but feel that he was standing in front of a mausoleum.
Leon then heard the distant echoes of the past.
“So is it safe to say I’m the winner of today considering I beat you guys in nearly every game at the carnival?” Leon looked to his right and saw the apparitions of himself, Claire, and Sherry exiting the car.
“Yes Sherry…” Leon and Claire muttered in annoyance.
“Yippee! But seriously, today was one of the funnest days I ever had, so thank you guys so much for taking me!”
“Is that so, Sherry? Well, the good news is that Leon and I will continue taking you to these fun places for many more days to come. Right, Leon?”
“Right on, Claire. If you ever need something from us, Sherry, just tell us and we’ll be right here for you.”
Leon winced as he heard the apparition of himself say those words.
“Really? Oh my god… you guys are seriously the best… thank you so much…” Sherry proceeded to envelop both Leon and Claire in a tight hug, as they reciprocated it.
Leon watched the apparition with mournful eyes, knowing that time has passed, and it’s possible they’ll never be able to be together like that again. In that moment, Sherry had two parental figures to take care of her, to bring joy to her dark world, to have fun with her, and now… she had no-one. Especially now that Leon was… prohibited from visiting Sherry.
Leon blinked, and just like that, the apparition was gone. Leon shook his head and wiped a stray tear from his eye as he approached the apartment door.
He knocked, and waited a few second before the door opened. Elza opened the door and then gasped as she saw that it was Leon.
“Leon?! Is- is that you? Oh my god…”
Elza pulled him in a for a hug, and Leon immediately froze at the contact. The last time he has felt a hug was so long ago, and he didn’t know what to do or feel as he was hugged by Elza.
“I know you sent me the email four months ago saying you were alright, but I was worried that those government bastards were forcing you to say that.”
‘They pretty much were.’
Elza eventually broke the hug and motioned Leon to enter the apartment.
As Leon entered the apartment, he stiffened as he took in the sight of the house that had contained some of the best memories he ever had. But that was all ruined the day they took Sherry.
Leon took a look at the kitchen, noticing a cup of cofeee in the table, before he looked back and saw another apparition. It was him, Claire, and Sherry playing Uno on the living room table. They were laughing freely as they placed cards one after the other, and Leon so wished he could have at least one of those days back…
“So Leon… how have you been?”
Leon was brought out of his trance by Elza’s words. He turned to look at her, and then looked back at the living room table, only to find it empty.
He looked back at Elza, and after so many months of being forced to speak professionally with his superiors and being verbally harassed constantly by Major Krauser, Leon found it hard to have a normal conversation with a regular person.
“…what?” was all Leon managed to say in response.
“I said how have you been? I haven’t seen you in over four months! Are you alright? Is Sherry alright? I really hope for government has been treating you guys well… they have, right? I-“
“Look, Elza.” Leon interrupted. “I really wish I had the time to answer all of your questions, but unfortunately, I don’t. I’m here because I have to tell you something very important.”
Elza looked at Leon in confusion, as she noticed how much his demeanor had changed. He was nowhere near as outgoing and warm as he usually had been. He seemed much more closed off and serious and kind of cold… She then realized he was probably like that because of what the government did to him, and she felt sad for Leon.
“Oh… okay, Leon. What do you want to tell me?”
Leon sighed, before saying, “Claire is going to come visit today.” He saw Elza with a shocked look on her face, and as she opened her mouth to speak, Leon interrupted and spoke first, not wanting to waste any time.
“She’s going to arrive at the airport in about three hours. Look, Elza… she has no idea the government came and took Sherry and I. Which is why… when she comes, I need you to please let me handle speaking to her and telling her the truth.”
“Oh my god, Leon…. Claire is coming today and she doesn’t know about what happened? I can’t imagine the reaction that poor girl is going to have when she finds out the truth.”
“That’s why I need you to let me handle it. She is going to freak out, and I have to she there to comfort her… and also stop her from doing anything reckless.”
“I understand, Leon. The thing is… I’m actually going to be leaving right now.”
Leon looked at her, confused.
“What?”
“Yeah… I’m going on a vacation to clear my mind after what I… witnessed… that day.”
Leon felt sad for her, realizing that the ordeal that day had traumatized her as well.
“I’ve been saving up money… and my flight leaves in about two hours. I’m almost done packing up, so I’m probably going to leave here in about 30 minutes. So you don’t have to worry about me stepping aside while you tell Claire the truth.”
“Thank you for letting me know, Elza.”
Elza watched as Leon stood there with a blank look on his face, clearly not knowing what to say next.
“Alright then, Leon. I’ll finish packing up and then I’ll wait for a taxi to pick me up.”
Leon nodded his head, before remembering that he had told Claire that he was going to pick her up.
“Oh and Elza? Can I borrow your car to go pick Claire up at the airport?”
“Sure, Leon. Just make sure you don’t crash it.” Elza said with a smirk, hoping the joke would get a smile or chuckle out of Leon. It surely would’ve made the Leon she knew smile.
But instead, Leon continued having a serious face, and simply stated in a monotone voice: “Thanks.”
Leon stood there in the living room, pacing back and forth, until he heard the muffled cries of a little girl coming from Claire’s room.
He immediately paused, and then began approaching the room, only to find nobody inside. He sighed as he realized he was still losing his mind. But it didn’t really bother him too much. He had gotten used to the nightmares, the hallucinations, and the voices that plagued his mind in the last four months. The most important part was not losing his mind to the point that it would cause him to… take his own life. Which fortunately, it did not.
Claire made a huge sigh of relief as the plane landed.
She was finally home.
Which meant… she’s finally going to be able to see Leon and Sherry again! Oh how she missed those two in her life. Four months without them felt like four decades, and everytime she slept, she missed the feeling of Leon’s arms wrapped around her and keeping her warm.
Once she exited the plane and got her stuff, she let out another sigh of relief.
‘Leon… Sherry… I kept my promise to you guys. I came back, safe and sound. Thank God…’
After going through another near death situation in Rockfort Island and in the Antarctic base, Claire was happy that she’d finally be able to relax and spend fun time with the people she cares about.
Leon had told her that he’d wait for her at the airport exit so she headed there excitedly, clearly eager to see her boyfriend again.
Once Claire reached the exit, she started searching for him, her eyes moving quickly.
Once she found him, due to his distinct haircut, she let out a squeal of excitement and ran towards him.
“LEON!!” She yelled in pure happiness as she extended her arms out.
Leon turned around when he heard that, and there she was. His girlfriend running towards him, with an immensely happy look in her eyes.
“Claire!” Leon felt Claire crash into his arms as she hugged him tighter than she ever had before. Leon was still not used to the affectionate touch, but as he took in Claire’s presence and breathed in the wonderful scent of her hair, he relaxed and reciprocated the hug.
Claire began letting out small tears of joy as she took in the familiar warmth and scent of Leon, greatly missing it in the past fourth months.
“Leon… you’re here. You’re actually here! Oh my gosh… I thought I would never see you again after I got captured!”
Leon began gently rubbing her hair to comfort her, before giving it a small kiss.
“I’m here, Claire. It’s me. I’m so glad you’re safe, Claire… You have no idea how much it means to me to see your face again after so long…”
Claire smiled at that and buried her head more in his shoulder, loving how strong and secure it felt.
After what felt like hours, Claire separated from the hug and looked Leon up and down. His hair was slightly longer, and his face looked… different? He had a more mature look, which Claire wasn’t complaining about. It was a welcome change; it’s just not one that she was expecting to see in the span of four months.
And holy shit.
Leon was much more muscular than the last time he saw her. Even though she couldn’t see his full body(unfortunately) she could see that his forearms had stronger veins popping out, and even both of his biceps each had a vein running along it. She wanted nothing more than to run her fingers along that bicep vein of his. Through the fabric of his tight t-shirt, she could see how much more broad his chest was.
Speaking of which, how the hell was he not cold?! They were still in the winter, and she imagined she’d be freezing if it weren’t for her jacket.
Through the fabric of his jeans, she could tell that his legs also looked like they had gotten bigger, which she very much appreciated. No offense to him, but Leon’s legs before looked like he would sometimes skip leg day. Now though… she could tell he hadn’t skipped a single leg day.
But despite how much more muscular he was, he still maintained his lean frame. And Claire appreciated that. She didn’t really like men who were big bulky dudes.
Claire stopped ogling Leon and looked up at him with a mischievous smirk.
“Damn, Leon… you look like an absolute snack with those new muscles of yours. Did you get a gym membership while I was gone or what?”
“Something like that…”
“I can tell. You’ve really grown Leon…” Claire pressed her hand against his abdomen, and was able to feel how much stronger it had become since they last saw each other.
“Mmmm… you must be rocking a six pack under this tight shirt of yours, Leon… because I can feel the abs even through the shirt. Not that I’m complaining though, I like it.” Claire shot him a wink, but then got confused as she saw him with a serious face.
That was strange… whenever she gave him a flirtatious comment, he’d either get flustered or make a fliratatious comment back at her; he’d never just be silent with a blank expression on his face…
Right as Claire was about to question why he had the long face, she heard him speak up.
“We should… probably head to the car now.”
Claire lit up as she knew what that meant.
‘Home… I’m going home! I can’t wait to give Sherry a big hug!”
“Hell yeah!” Claire grabbed Leon’s hand.
“Lead the way, handsome.”
Leon led Claire to Elza’s car, and once they were inside it, Claire let out an excited noise.
“I can’t wait to see Sherry again… I’ve missed that little girl so much…”
Leon winced as he heard those words, hoping Claire didn’t notice.
On the drive to the apartment, Claire noticed that Leon had no music playing, which was a first for him.
“Mind if I play some music, rookie ?”
Leon’s face suddenly shot towards her which startled Claire.
“What did you just call me?” He asked in a… tone she had never heard from him. He was looking at her intently with a stare that was as if he had seen a ghost.
Claire looked at him confused and a little bit nervous as she saw he was gripping the steering wheel pretty tightly. Thankfully, they were at a red light.
“Uh… I called you rookie? Isn’t that what I sometimes refer to you as?”
It took a couple seconds, but Leon immediately relaxed and then profusely apologized.
“I’m really sorry about that, Claire… l just- I don’t know what got in me…”
Claire put her hand on his leg and soothingly rubbed it.
“It’s okay, Leon. Don’t worry about it. You’re probably just overwhelmed from seeing me after so long, and after I emailed you I was in a near-death situation…”
“Yeah… probably.” Leon lied.
“So can I play some music?”
Leon simply nodded his head.
“How has Sherry been by the way?”
Leon froze.
‘Crap… Crap! Am I gong to have to tell her here? Now? While I’m driving?’
“Let me guess, she’s probably asked to go the carnival like a thousand times now huh? She really loves that place. Not that I blame her. That day at the carnival was really fun, don’t you agree, Leon?”
“Yeah…”
“And now, we’re both going to be able to go with her again! It’s going to be like a family reunited…”
Leon’s blood ran cold when she said that.
‘I’m sorry, Claire. I’m sorry for what I’m going to have to tell you. I won’t blame you if you decide to hate me. Maybe it’s what I deserve…’
“…and with that new body of yours, we’ll see if you’ll be able to last without us hitting you in that dodgeball game, Twinkle-toes.” Claire nudged his shoulder, only to see no reaction from him.
‘This is starting to get weird… why is he acting so strange? It’s like if he’s… an entirely different person.’
Claire decided to confront Leon about it.
“Leon, what’s the matte-“ Claire was interrupted as she saw her apartment again. Her eyes lit up as she saw her home for the first time in over four months, and she let out a gasp of excitement as she realized that she had made it back to her home, safe and sound. Just like she said she would.
“Leon! We’re here!”
As soon as Leon parked the car, Claire slammed the car door open and began knocking on the apartment door.
“Claire, wait!”
“Sherry! Elza! I’m home! It’s me, Claire!”
Leon quickly caught up to her and took out the keys. His hand stalled as he positioned the key on the door handle.
“What are you waiting for, silly? Open the door!” Claire began jumping in anticipation, and Leon sighed as he unlocked the door.
‘And so it begins. Claire… be strong… please.’
As soon as Leon opened the door, Claire ran inside.
“Sherry! It’s Claire! I’m here! Just like I promised you, ay? Now come here so I can give you a big hug!”
Claire stood in the living room for about 10 seconds… and all she heard was… silence.
There was no one in the house.
‘No… it couldn’t be…’
Claire immediately began thinking back to how weird Leon had acted the whole time since she arrived… and a terrible thought started creeping up her mind. One she refused to believe.
‘No… it can’t be… IT CAN’T BE!!’
Claire turned around, only to see Leon standing there, with a look of sadness in his eyes. And as she looked closer… a look of guilt.
“Leon… where’s Sherry?”
Leon gulped before saying the words that would absolutely break Claire.
“Claire… Sherry was abducted by the United States government.”
Claire’s world shattered as she heard those words.
Sherry had been abducted.
The one thing she didn’t want to happen, happened.
Claire began breathing uncontrollably as she let out a few hiccups of shock and anguish.
She had promised Sherry that she’d be back for her. She had promised…
Claire began hearing the words that would now haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Sherry…” Claire began in a shaky voice as her own eyes started shedding tears. “I’ll come back. I promise.”
Claire fell to her knees on the living room floor as the pain was too much. She felt her hands shake frantically.
“Though I’m going to leave, Sherry, I promise you that I’ll be back. And who knows? I might be back soon enough that I’ll be able to watch the new Lion King movie with you and Leon!”
Claire began sobbing violently as she realized she had broken her promise to Sherry.
“No… No… NOOOOO!!” Claire cried out in anguish as she sobbed harder than she ever had in her entire life.
Leon’s heart broke at the sight of Claire competently devastated from finding out the truth, so he approached her to comfort her.
But as soon as he placed her hand on his shoulder, she flipped out and started beating her fists on his chest, her sorrow misplaced by her anger.
“You! How could you let this happen to her?! You told me you’d take care of her! You promised!”
Leon gripped her wrists to stop her outburst, but she kept trying to resist.
“I did all I could, Claire! I swear to you, I tried my hardest to save her! But it was multiple armed soldiers who broke in to the apartment! I did everything I could to stop them, but they knocked me out and kidnapped me too! Please, Claire. Believe me when I tell you that I tried my hardest to save Sherry… I really did…”
Once Claire heard that, she stopped resisting and collapsed onto his chest as she continued to violently sob.
“I promised her I was going to come back. I promised her… I promised.” She sobbed against his shirt.
Leon’s eyes began getting wet as he saw her break down, and he wrapped his arms around her to comfort her through this moment of sorrow she was going through.
“I promised…” He heard Claire say again as the tears didn’t stop. And that broke Leon. He wanted nothing more than to ease her pain, so he picked her up in his arms and sat down on the sofa. From there, he cradled her to his chest, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly as if she was afraid she’d lose him too. He began to use one hand to gently rub her head. Being in his strong embrace, as well as feeling his hand gently soothe her, was enough to help comfort her, as soon enough, the tears turned into sniffles.
Once the tears stopped after a while, Leon began moving.
Claire panicked and let out muffled cries of fear as she continued to cling on to him, clearly afraid of being alone and without his embrace which was soothing her through the pain.
Leon’s heart once again broke as he saw just how badly this whole ordeal had affected her.
“Claire… I’m not going anywhere. I’m just taking us to the bed where it will be more comfortable.”
Claire immediately stopped her panicked cries, and then nodded her head against his chest.
Leon proceeded to pick her up bridal style and then laid down on the bed with her. Claire continued holding on to Leon tightly, and Leon had no problem with that. If she wanted him to keep holding her for the rest of the day, he’d do it without question.
Eventually, Claire pulled her head up from his chest and asked in the weakest voice he had ever heard from her.
“W-when did th-they, you know…”
Leon knew she didn’t need to finish her sentence to make him understand what she was trying to ask.
“A little more than a week after you left. They came and kidnapped both of us. They wanted information about Raccoon City…”
She then noticed Leon start sighing in a sad way, before he said in a tone that was full of guilt and regret:
“I’m sorry, Claire. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save her… I’m sorry I broke my promise to you.”
Claire couldn’t believe it. He was apologizing? She was the one that left them in the first place!
“No, Leon! Don’t apologize! Please… I am the one at fault here. Maybe if I hadn’t gone off to Europe, we could’ve saved Sherry…”
“Claire… it’s not your fault. You had to go save your brother. He’s the only family you have left. Besides, even if you didn’t go, nothing would’ve changed. They still would’ve arrived, and we would be powerless against a whole squadron of armed soldiers.”
Claire contemplated his words, realizing that he was probably right, but she still couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“Where… Where is she being kept now?”
“At an estate. She has her own room and everything.”
“Well at least she’s not in a cell. And what did they do with you? Or even worse, what did they do to you…” Claire suspected that the reason for Leon’s cold and closed off personality was because of what they did to him, and she closed her eyes tightly as she tried to avoid thinking about what they did to him to make him so different and less open.
“They ‘asked’ me to join their organization whose missions was to combat these creatures we saw in Raccoon City. BOW’s, as they call them. And… I accepted.”
Claire looked at him in shock as she found out Leon had joined the government.
“Why would you do that, Leon? Why would you give your life away to the government?”
“Because the alternative was them experimenting on Sherry and making her a lab rat.”
Claire nearly choked on her breath as she heard that.
“…what? What do you mean?”
She felt Leon get tense as he paused for a bit.
“I- I initially refused to join them, but then they threatened that if I didn’t join them…they’d place Sherry in a laboratory for the rest of her life… and experiment on her in the most cruel ways possible.”
Claire fought the urge to throw up as Leon said that. She began to wonder if his superiors were even human. Because they sounded like they were monsters who are worthless pieces of trash.
“So I had no choice but to join them. Claire, I hope you understand why I did that… but if you don’t… I completely get it.” Leon titled his head down in shame before Claire brought it back up and cupped his cheek.
“Leon… I’m so sorry you had to be put through that. I wish I could’ve been there to hold you in my arms and comfort you. And just for the record, I completely understand why you ‘joined’ them. You had no other choice, and it’s all because of those sick, twisted bastards…”
Claire felt her anger build up, before she questioned why they would even want to… experiment… on Sherry.
“But… Why- why would they try to e-experiment on Sherry?”
“She… has a unique ability. She can heal from wounds much much faster than any normal human can. I saw it for myself when she had a gash on her knee that healed within seconds. One of my superiors wanted to experiment on her to try to create a cure that would replicate Sherry’s ability. But the things they wanted to do to her… oh my god… I’d rather spare you the details, Claire, because it’s going to make you throw up. And even now… they still take daily blood tests from her. That’s the most that they do to her, but Sherry has told me that it hurts and those bastards don’t even care.”
Claire’s anger began returning full force as she wanted nothing more than to hunt down those that abducted Sherry and give them all a slow, painful death.
“They’re animals, Leon…” He felt Claire clench her fist hard.
“They’re fucking animals! I hope each of them suffer a fate worse than death, and I hope they rot in hell!”
Leon witnesssed Claire shaking from her rage, before she hurriedly got off the bed and started stomping away towards the front door.
“I need to inform the public of the evil things they’ve been doing to Sherry.”
Leon’s eyes widened as he immediately set out to stop her, remembering what Simmons had told him.
“No, Claire!” Leon grabbed her wrist gently but firmly.
“Why the hell not?!” She tried to get her wrist out of his grasp, but Leon held it in place.
“If you tell the public or the media, they’ll kill her. My superior explicitly told me this himself.”
Claire’s eyes widened in shock. If she had any doubt regarding whether or not Leon’s superiors were human, she had no doubt now. They were monsters who have no heart or soul.
“Then… then…” Claire separately began figuring out ways to save Sherry. “Then I’ll tell Chris and Jill to form a squad to help us rescue her! They’re S.T.A.R.S! They should be able to save Sherry!”
“Claire, please listen to me.” Leon pleaded, before continuing, “I’ve been to her estate. It is heavily guarded . There is armed security and cameras everywhere. It’s impossible to break in and rescue her, especially after my superior told me that if we even tried rescuing her… they’d kill her immediately. I’m sorry, Claire, but for now, we have no choice but to remain silent and stay put.”
Claire looked down on the floor, clearly contemplating Leon’s words, before she let out a yell of frustration.
“DAMN IT!!”
Claire then gradually relaxed, and Leon let go of her wrist. She began hugging Leon and signaled him to continue cuddling in the bed where they left off.
“Will I ever be able to see her again?” Claire asked weakly as she laid her head against his chest.
Leon sighed while holding her closer, already working on comforting her beforehand for what he was about to say next.
“To be honest… I… I don’t know. They used to let me visit her once a month, but because I requested permission to visit you, they… they prohibited me from ever visiting Sherry again.”
Claire felt guilt creep up every bone in her body again as she heard that.
‘Oh my god… what have I put this poor boy through? He was forced to sell his soul to the government forever, he’s probably undergone brutal training, and now he can’t even visit someone important in his life…’
“Leon… I’m so sorry. If you ever need me to comfort you… please tell me and I’ll hold you in my arms immediately. You’re such a good man, Leon. You didn’t deserve for any of that to happened to you.” Claire gave him a sweet kiss on the forehead.
“Th-thanks, Claire.”
“How long are you going to be able to be here with me? You said you had to get permission to visit me, so I assume you’re going to have to go back to them eventually…”
Leon closed his eyes as he gave himself the strength to tell her how much little time they had given him.
“Three days. Including today. They saw that as merciful considering their original plan was to have me set you up and betray you so that they could kidnap you as well. But I would never allow that to happen. Ever. Which is why I convinced them otherwise.”
Claire tensed and fought the urge to break down as she saw realized how much little time she had to spend with Leon.
‘Three days. Three damn days. Three days is supposed to make up for four months of not seeing each other?’
“Leon, you have to figure out a way to push back against your superiors. It seems like they’re treating you as their slave instead of as their agent.”
“That’s… kind of how it is, Claire. I follow their orders to ensure Sherry’s safety and your safety.”
“You’re telling me you just follow their orders blindly?”
“It’s my duty, Claire. They tell me to do a task and I perform it without question. I follow their orders like any soldier would.” Leon said with a robotic voice and expressionless eyes. Claire’s heart broke as she saw the effects of the government’s training on him. No doubt they beat him or tortured him into making him obedient and submissive to their will.
And now that his old personality and warmness and innocence had been stripped from him, what they put him through must’ve made him lose all sense of humanity, and she cursed the government for turning the sweet boy she knew into a cold man who found it difficult to smile or laugh.
But nevertheless, in her heart, she still believed that the sweet rookie was in there somewhere, and she’d do everything possible to make that rookie reveal itself. After all, if he was willing to push back against his superiors’ initial plan for her, thereby refusing their orders, and even managed to convince them to let him visit her, then he surely wasn’t always obedient to them, especially when it mattered.
And that was the most important part.
Even as Leon comforted her and assured her what happened wasn’t her fault, Claire still couldn’t help but feel ashamed at herself, and soon enough, that shame turned into insecurity. She felt more insecure right now than she had ever felt in her entire life.
Did Leon actually resent her for leaving and he’s just trying to cheer her up? Is that another reason as to why he has been so emotionally distant?
‘I don’t want him to feel like he has to continue being with me…’
Claire cleared her throat.
“L-Leon?”
“Yeah?”
“I- I know that now that you’re a government agent at all, you’re not going to have much free time, and you’re probably not going to see me often, so… if you want to break things off with me, that’s fine. After all, with all the stress that’s going to come with your new job, you’re probably going to want the company of other women… and… that’s understandable…”
Leon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Why would he ever leave her? She was all that he had left.
“Claire?” Leon noticed that Claire was avoiding his gaze.
“Claire, look at me, please.”
Claire reluctantly looked at him, and he recognized that look in her eyes. It was the same look she had when she thought their first kiss was a mistake. When she thought he was too good for her. Only this time, it was much worse.
Leon cupped her cheek to comfort her.
“Claire, why would I ever breakup with you? You’re an amazing woman, and the best girlfriend any guy could ask for. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. You’re compassionate, you’re strong, you’re courageous, and you have an incredible heart. You have given me the strength to keep going so many times, and believed in me even when I couldn’t. You were there for me in my lowest moments. Why would I leave you for other random women who won’t offer me anything but fleeting pleasure?”
Claire couldn’t possibly believe what she was hearing. Deep down, she knew Leon was being genuine about how he felt about her, but the guilty part of her didn’t want to accept that.
“Leon, you don’t have to say all those things just to comfort me… After all, I left you when you needed me, and because of that, you suffered so much…. Me coming back also caused your superiors to prohibit you from visiting Sherry…”
Claire put her head down in shame, before Leon titled it back up.
“Like I told you, Claire. It wasn’t your fault. Nothing would’ve changed if you had stayed. Please don’t continue to blame yourself for it; I know what kind of dark places it can lead you to…”
“Why are you so quick to forgive me, Leon? Why are you so kind and such a good person? I don’t deserve any of that, so why do you continue to put yourself on the line for me?” Claire began crying as she finished, wondering how Leon could continue to cherish her after all that had been done to him because she left.
“Because I… because I… I…” Leon contemplated whether he should say what he was about to say next, but figured it was now or never.
“Because I love you, Claire.”
Claire looked at him in shock, her eyes wide.
Did… did Leon just say that he loved her?
“W-what?”
“I said… I love you, Claire.”
Claire’s eyes began watering again at his confession, as she couldn’t believe that a man as good as Leon actually loved her. The way he had said that with a tone and voice full of emotion and love for her was completely different from how he had spoken ever since she had arrived. It’s as if… the agent he had become was gone, and the sweet innocent rookie had returned.
“I love you so much, Claire. You are the most precious gem to me in the whole world. It’s because of you that I keep going. It’s because of you that I’m still here…” He then brought her hand to his heart.
“It’s because of you that the sweet rookie is still in here.”
Claire now began bawling as she realized how much she meant to him, and she crashed her lips against his in gratitude. Gratitude in the fact that she had the best and most perfect boyfriend in the entire world.
The young couple continued kissing passionately, and when they broke, Claire figured she’d also confess her true feelings for him.
“Leon… I…” Claire gently cupped his cheek as she saw the curious look on his beautiful face. “I love you too. So damn much.”
She saw Leon smile wide. The first genuine smile she had seen on him since she arrived, and it’s as if the rookie she fell in love with had come back.
She saw his eyes began leaking tears, before he pulled her in for a tight hug.
“Thank you, Claire.” He whispered against her ear. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means for me to hear you say that…”
Claire warmly smiled and began rubbing his hair with her fingers, and she felt her heart flutter as she heard him let out a sweet innocent noise of appreciation when she did that.
‘I love her so much…’
‘I love him so much…’
Leon and Claire both agreed that if they only had 3 days to be together, then they’d make good use of it. The first day would be a time for mourning and comfort, but the next day, they were both of the same opinion that they should do everything possible to to try to find something positive in the midst of the negative events they had endured.
Leon made Claire her favorite breakfast in the morning, and from there, they played a couple fun games of Uno.
Later in the afternoon, the decided on going on a walk across the city, taking in the sights and simply enjoying each other’s company as much as they could before he’d have to leave.
As they walked through the streets, Claire noticed that a lot of women were trying to hit on Leon. Not that she blamed them, but Leon belonged to her. First come, first served. She was happy to see that Leon would always make it clear that he was taken, and that he was hers. He’d do this by simply telling them that he already had a girlfriend, and then emphasize it by interlocking Claire’s hand with his.
Even though Claire never once doubted Leon’s loyalty to her, she was glad that Leon went the distance in making it clear to everyone that he was taken, and that he was hers.
As they continued walking hand-in-hand, they came across a fan demonstration. As Leon looked closer, it was a Star Wars demonstration.
It was a guy in a Darth Maul make-up, costume, and he even had the lightsaber. He was finishing up a staged lightsaber duel with a guy dressed as Obi-Wan.
The Darth Maul cosplayer then addressed the crowd.
“3 more months until the next Star Wars movie comes out! Who’s excited?!” The crowd then roared in excitement, before the man continued.
“I can’t wait to see it. For me, I have so so many theories. Are we finally going to find out if Obi Wan is a clone who’s called Obi wan because his clone designation was OB-1? Oh and are we going to see…” The man started rambling off on popular Star Wars theories, and then Leon felt Claire nudge his shoulder.
“I think we just came across the only guy in the world that is a bigger Star Wars nerd than you.” She snickered.
Leon laughed. An actual genuine laugh. That was the first time she had heard him laugh since she left, and now she knew for sure that… the sweet rookie she fell in love with is still inside of him.
Claire grabbed Leon’s chin and proceeded to give him a sweet kiss on the cheek, before whispering: “I knew my rookie was still in there.”
Claire’s heart warmed as she saw Leon give her a look of immense gratitude, and instead of the cold eyes she had been seeing, she saw warmth return to his eyes. It made her extremely happy to realize that she was the one that was allowing him to feel human again.
After spending some time at a diner, the young couple returned home, where they cuddled on the couch as they watched TV.
Claire began worrying about her future and what her place was in all this.
“I…I don’t know if I have it in me to continue fighting on the frontlines.” Claire said as she rested her head against Leon’s chest on the couch.
“I’ve seen so much, and all that fighting has only brought me misery and pain. I’m just a 19 year old girl who’s going to be turning 20 in a couple of months. I shouldn’t be fighting for my life in near-death situations, and I shouldn’t be watching innocent people turn into mutated monsters…”
Leon gently rubbed her arms back and forth to soothe her as he empathized with her.
“The only times I ever felt proud and happy while fighting those creatures was whenever I would save and help Sherry. I get really happy and content with myself whenever I help people out of desperate situations; I just wish I could continue to do something like that. I want to help people out of the mess that Umbrella has caused, but I don’t know how to do that. Chris and Jill are thinking of creating something to combat these creatures head on, but I’d prefer to help people who are caught in the aftermath. Cleaning things up and making sure the people who have suffered are taken care of is just as important as fighting zombies and monsters. After all, we’ve seen what happens to cities when there’s no-one there to help clean things up…” Claire solemnly remembered how she felt when she learned that the government had destroyed its very own city to cover up the existence of zombies and BOW’s.
“You’re absolutely right, Claire. The people I work for could probably care less about what happens to the people in the area we fight BOW’s in. As soon as we eliminate the BOW’s, they’d leave the people to suffer in the aftermath. It shows just how wonderful your heart is that you’re willing to be involved in making sure everyone is safe and taken care of even after the job is supposedly ‘done.’ You’re an amazing human being, Claire. Never forget that.” Leon warmly smiled at her, and Claire smiled back in gratitude.
On the last day they had together, the young couple went ice skating, before having a picnic at the local park. As it got dark, they began stargazing together.
Leon and Claire leaned back on the blankets they had brought, and held hands as they saw the beautiful stars in the sky. As a shooting star passed, Claire let out a squeal of excitement.
“Look, Leon! A shooting star! Quick, make a wish!”
Leon chuckled in amusement before quickly thinking on what wish to make. It didn’t take long for him to decide on his wish.
“I wish for us to find peace and tranquility in this moment of distress, so that even when it seems like all hope is lost, we never give up and continue fighting for what’s right.” Claire looked at him with eyes of admiration, before she blushed as she heard what he said next.
“I wish that we stick together and continue to grow in our love for each other.” Leon brought her hand up, which was interlocked with his, and gave it a sweet kiss. Claire blushed heavily, and then Leon brought her lips to his. Claire passionately kissed him back as her heart was filled with love for this wonderful man that she was lucky enough to have as her boyfriend.
As they broke the kiss, Claire still had a huge blush on her face, and she cracked a light joke.
“That… was two wishes though…”
Leon chuckled in response before kissing her once again.
As the young couple sat kissing underneath the stars, a second shooting star passed while they shared their sweet intimate moment of love.
On their way back to the apartment, the tension was high. As Leon exited the car, he looked at Claire intently to see that she was also looking at him intently. Without even speaking a word to each other, they knew what the other wanted. They hadn’t really thought of having sex in the prior days, due to all the tragedy they had to go through, as well as the fact that they just wanted to enjoy each other’s company in a sweet way. But now that it was the last night, and therefore the last opportunity to make love with each other, both Leon and Claire figured that they’d take advantage of that.
*SMUT STARTS HERE*
Once he opened the door for her to let her in, he closed it and made sure to lock it. As soon as Claire turned around she felt his lips eagerly crash against hers, and Claire reciprocated with the same amount of eagerness. The kiss initially started off as passionate, but eventually became a hungry one as tongues met. Leon reached for her red jacket and pulled it off of her as it fell to the floor. Claire then took off her hair tie, letting her hair cascade down her shoulders, before she placed her hands on his biceps as she kissed him. She let out a small moan of contentment as she felt the strong muscle underneath her hands.
Leon trailed his hands down from her back until they reached her ass, which he squeezed greedily.
However, the two thought it’d be best to head to the bedroom, so Leon, using the grip he had on her ass, effortlessly picked her up. Claire responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms behind his neck as he carried her to her bedroom, all the while never breaking their kiss.
Once they reached her bed, Leon gently laid her down on it, before climbing on top of her.
He continued kissing her, before trailing his kisses down to her neck, eagerly sucking on the pale column there.
Leon then trailed his kisses down, before grabbing the waistband of her black t-shirt and pulling her shirt up and off of her. Leon let out a groan of pleasure as he saw the pale skin of her upper body exposed. As Leon kissed in between her breasts and kissed her toned stomach, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of contentment.
“You’re so beautiful, Claire…”
Claire blushed at his sweet words, before she saw him reach towards her back in an effort to take off her black bra. She lifted her upper body up and reached behind to help him, until she realized that Leon didn’t need assistance as he effortlessly unclipped her bra and took it off of her.
The second her pale breasts were revealed to him, Leon eagerly began sucking on one like a newborn, while fondling the other with his hand.
Claire bit her lip as pleasure began going through her and as she felt herself getting wet from his actions.
Leon brought his attention to her other breast and also sucked on it. The light moan of pure pleasure that he let out made Claire smile in pride, knowing that he loved her body so much.
Leon eventually trailed his kisses down her toned stomach, giving it a couple hungry licks, before he reached her navy blue jeans. Leon quickly unbuttoned her jeans and began tugging them down her legs, throwing them behind him as he got them off of her completely.
Claire, realizing that she was almost naked while he had not taken a single article of clothing off, sat up and tried to flip them over, only to be held in place by Leon as he remained on top. Claire looked at him in shock, before she felt his hands trail over her wet center through the final article of clothing she had on. Claire let out a moan as he teased her, raising her hips, clearly wanting more. Leon continued fondling her wet core through her black panties, relishing in how soaked they were, before grabbing the waistband and tugging her underwear down her legs, throwing them behind him as they landed on the floor.
Now Claire lay there completely naked while Leon was still fully clothed. Claire once again sat up to get him out of those pesky clothes of his, but Leon settled in between her legs and gently pushed her back down.
He slowly brought his head down until it was between her legs, and then spread her legs so that he could have room to work.
Claire blushed deeply as he did that, and she felt herself dripping in anticipation of what was to come.
Leon brought his head down to her wet center and licked a long stripe from the bottom all the way to her clit, relishing in the taste of her wet core.
Claire let out a loud gasp of pleasure as she spread her legs even more to allow him further access.
He alternated between between hungrily licking at her clit and applying gentle suction with his mouth. Claire began moaning louder, as her toes curled from the vast amounts of pleasure she was feeling.
Leon then inserted two fingers into her wet core, and Claire loudly gasped as she felt even more euphoria, due to the fact that both her entrance and clit were being played with. She began biting her lip as she tried to stifle her moans.
What Leon did next, though, made that impossible.
Claire had noticed that Leon’s fingers were moving inside of her and curling, as if they were searching for something. It felt good, don’t get her wrong, but she didn’t understand why-
Oh god.
Claire’s eyes widened and saw stars as his fingers hit a spot inside of her that she didn’t even know existed. All she knew was that she immediately started feeling immense amounts of pleasure, and she began loudly moaning unabashedly as he hit that spot with his fingers over and over again, all the while continuing to lap at her clit with his tongue. She tore at the sheets with her fingers as her pleasure increased and increased, until it hit a breaking point. With a loud moan, Claire arched her back and came hard. Easily the hardest she had ever come.
Claire was left lying dazed, her legs shaking as Leon sat up and began quickly undressing. She weakly propped herself on her elbows and watched with half-lidded eyes as he took off his t-shirt, his jeans, and his boxer briefs. Once he was as bare as she was, she took in the sight of his naked body.
There was no doubt in her mind that Leon had the perfect body she could ask for in a man.
His body resembled a Greek statue with how defined each of his muscles were.
His chest was broad, and his six pack…
Oh god… his six pack…
His abs had become much more defined than before, which was an impressive feat in its own right, and she could see the sweat on each ab as she fought the urge to lick it off of him.
His waist and legs looked powerful, and Claire couldn’t wait to wrap her legs around that powerful lower body of his.
And finally, she noticed his cock, half-erect and already leaking precum just for her, which made her lick her lips at the sight.
However, she noticed a large cut on his stomach, as well as some claw marks on his right shoulder, but before she could question them, her breath hitched in her throat as she saw him reach over to the drawer and grab a condom. Claire’s energy left her and she fell back onto the bed as she wasn’t able to prop herself on her elbows any longer.
Leon stroked his length to the sight of Claire lying on his bed, naked and completely spent, until he was ready. He rolled the condom over his penis and waited until Claire came down fully from her orgasm. Once he saw that she had recovered, he settled in between her spread legs and lined up his penis with her wet hole.
Claire let out a low moan as he penetrated her, missing the feeling of being made full by him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on tight as he pushed in all the way.
Once she gave him the go ahead, Leon pulled out nearly all the way before thrusting back into her addictive heat. From there, he set a fast pace. Not too fast to hurt her, but fast enough that it made Claire writhe underneath him.
Claire couldn’t help but let out moan after moan as he vigorously thrusted into her. She squeezed his strong back muscles underneath her hands, and wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, as she looked up at him and saw the blissed out look he had in his face. The small groans he was letting out as he moved above her was also a welcome sound.
Leon kept his rhythm, and that made her moan as each thrust was done perfectly.
Claire brought her hands away from his strong back and began clawing at the sheets with her nails as she felt immense amounts of pleasure.
What Leon did next caused her stomach to flutter.
Leon reached for her hand, and then interlaced his fingers with hers. He then stilled his movements and looked at her, and whispered in the sweetest tone she had ever heard from him: “I love you, Claire.”
Claire felt tears began to leak out of her eyes, and as she looked at his eyes that radiated pure love, she found that she wanted to carve every inch of his handsome face into her memory before they were forced to be separated. She brought her hands up to his face and began to trace his features with her fingers, mapping out the sharp lines of his jaw and his soft lips. She moved one hair bang away from his eye so that she could stare into both of his blue irises, before she responded back.
“I- I love you too, Leon. So much.”
She saw Leon let out a smile of gratitude, before he went back to work on eagerly thrusting in between her legs.
Claire moaned as she writhed on the bed from the movement of his thrusts. She realized that he must’ve improved his cardio, because he never slowed down or signaled that he was close to cumming, even though she could tell by the look on his face that he was immensely enjoying it as well.
Claire couldn’t help but test just how much Leon could put her through.
“Harder… faster… please…” Claire mewled with a needy moan.
Leon then began adding more force and speed to his thrusts, making the bed get shaky. Claire moaned loudly as she felt Leon pound into her over and over again.
Leon enjoyed the sight of Claire unraveling beneath him, and as he saw her perky breasts bounce from the force of his thrusts, he couldn’t resist taking one into her mouth and eagerly began sucking on it as he continued pounding into her.
Claire let out a loud gasp as she saw him bring his warm mouth around her breast, and she felt like she was in another world with how good he was making her feel right now.
Claire didn’t want it to end. She wanted to stay here forever. With him buried inside her, and the two relishing in the pleasure they were experiencing that made them feel like there was no worry in the world.
But eventually, it was too much.
“Leon!” She moaned. “Leon! I’m so close-“
Leon brought their interlocked hands above Claire’s head, caging her in with the muscles of his arms, and then kissed her passionately once more. All the while angling his hips to find that spot of hers. Once he did, she broke the kiss and let out a loud moan as she came, her back arching violently before she shook from the force of her orgasm.
The sight of Claire unraveling beneath him, as well as her wet center clamping around his cock as she came, was enough to bring Leon to the edge. With one final thrust, he came and let out a groan at the euphoric feeling.
*SMUT ENDS HERE*
Leon collapsed on her gently, noticing that her legs were quite shaky. Once he recovered, he pulled out, and then enveloped Claire in his arms as he rolled to the side.
He held her tightly, as Claire quickly and eagerly snuggled closer to him, relishing at the fact that, after everything she went through in the past four months, she finally felt safe. Here. In his arms.
But as she laid her head against his chest, she couldn’t help but realize that they’d soon be separated from each other once again for who knows how long. Her heart broke as she couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Leon again.
Leon felt his chest get wet, before noticing that Claire had begun crying against his chest. He didn’t question it, already knowing what she was sad about. He only responded by holding her tighter and stroking her head softly, letting her know that he was still here. Claire continued crying as he held her tightly through the pain.
Once she was good enough to speak, she said in a weak whisper: “What happens next?”
“We keep moving forward. We keep fighting. And one day…” Leon tilted Claire’s chin up so that he could look at her.
“This will all be over. I will be free from the government’s grasp, and Sherry will be back with us, safe and sound.”
Claire sobbed again, before she asked another question.
“Do you- do you really believe that?”
“With every fiber of my being. Claire, I promise you, the day will come when Sherry is back with us.”
Claire gave him a huge smile of gratitude as he said that, and the amount of conviction in which he said that made her believe him fully.
“But until that day comes… we’ll keep fighting. We’ll never let this darkness consume us, because we know that if we keep going even when it seems like all hope is lost… eventually, the light at the end of the tunnel will clear out all the darkness.”
Leon then held Claire even closer, and Claire snuggled more tightly to him as she possibly could.
“I love you, Leon. So. damn. much.”
“I love you too, Claire. More than anything else in the world.”
The events of Raccoon City, as well as the tragedy that transpired afterwards, left a giant scar in both Leon and Claire’s heart.
One that would probably never heal.
But… they had each other. And that’s all they needed to overcome this darkness that had taken over their lives.
“We’ll stop it. Whatever it takes. Long as we stick together, we’ll be fine.”
Leon’s words as he, Claire, and Sherry had walked down the highway all those months ago echoed in both of their ears, and they figured he was right.
Without Claire, who knows if Leon would be still be here right now.
And without Leon… who knows if Claire would ever have been able to smile again after the heartbreaking revelation regarding Sherry.
The young couple were thankful they found each other that horrendous day. Because while they found horrors no one should ever witness… they also found love that day.
It was a simple spark, but one that grew to the huge flame that served as their only light in their path of darkness right now.
As the two survivors, two parental figures, and two lovers laid there on the bed, holding each other tightly in an intimate way, they truly believed in their hearts that one day…
This would all be over.
Notes:
Well that’s a wrap to the fic! I hope you guys enjoyed it. This fic was a prequel to another multi chapter Cleon fic I wrote back in August, but this is definitely the last time I’ll write a multi-chapter fanfic. And the reason for that is because post RE2R Cleon is my favorite kind of Cleon, and I don’t have the same passion to write multiple chapters for any other Cleon era. I did initially plan on adding one-shot continuations to the series, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do that now.
I don’t think I’ll write any one-shot continuations because… to be honest… I’m not all that proud of the way this story came out. Sorry if what I’m about to say next is harsh. When I wrote the chapters, I thought I was writing a really good story, but when I posted the chapter(s) and read them over and also took into account some external factors, I noticed some jarring flaws in the writing. For example, a lot of the writing in the early chapters contains a good amount of “Leon/Claire said” after the dialogue ends, and it gets really repetitive at times. I fixed it around Chapter 9, but it might’ve been too little too late. Speaking of repetition, I noticed that a good amount of my non-dialogue writing can be repetitive and have the same word usage/sentence structure, and it’s also a bit basic. The smut in Chapter 7 especially felt really weird to me when I read it over. The dialogue in that smut didn’t feel as natural as I thought it would be imo. Whether or not I write any one shot continuations really depends on the feedback I get(if any).
But I don’t want to be too negative in the final notes, so I’ll think positive for the rest of it. Thank you guys so much for reading, I really appreciate each and every single one of you. Especially those of you who expressed how much you loved the story; you guys are awesome. As always, kudos are immensely appreciated; and so are comments as they help me see another perspective of the story other than mine, and they also help me see what I did wrong and what I did right. But of course, if you simply choose to read the story and leave it at that; that’s completely fine as well.
I’m glad I was able to finish the story for you all. Take care guys🙂
Chapter 15: EXTRA CHAPTER: Cleon Smut Fanart
Notes:
Hey guys, so this isn’t a new chapter in terms of storytelling; I just added an additional chapter to show off the incredible fanart a very talented artist made for me on Patreon! It’s based off of Leon and Claire’s smut in Chapter 7 of this fic, and as you can see, it’s very beautiful. The sunlight majestically illuminating their bodies, the way their hands are interlocked; it’s all so cute and wholesome. And it’s also a bit spicy of course hehe.
But yeah, the artist who made this was AlamusPrime, you can check out her Patreon of the same name since she’s currently taking commissions to draw anything related to Resident Evil! So if you guys want her to draw you any Cleon fanart of your desire, check out her Patreon and you’ll pay a certain amount depending on the quality you ask for.
She’s also responsible for making the very incredible fancomic called “Another Dawn”! I’m sure you guys have heard of it or seen of it, and if you haven’t, I HIGHLY recommended checking it out, since it’s also a Cleon story set after the RE2 Remake, and it’s full of pages that has this same art style and quality.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy viewing this fanart, and have a wonderful day!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Notes:
P.S. I’m not sure if any of you got the references in the posters in Claire’s room, but if you didn’t, I highly recommend researching them since it reveals a lot about Claire’s character and how she’s a badass fiery tomboy.
redbluevil on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Dec 2024 07:33AM UTC
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