Another One Down

Leon Kennedy couldn't remember what it felt like to breathe. His chest hurt. As he stood there in front of the president accepting a medal for his bravery in the face of overwhelming danger he found that he couldn't force himself to drag in that much needed air. 
He was horrified to realize he couldn't hear a word the other man was saying. It was all the whispering of the monster that once controlled his body. He couldn't even return the handshake that was offered to him. All he could do was stand there as the audience watched him on a world stage. 

Rebecca Chambers leaned back in her chair and rubbed her face. "Turn that song off!" She shouted at her lab mate. It wasn't the first time he'd played a song that simply repeated, "The devil's gonna make me a free man..." 
The guilt was tearing at her and she couldn't stand it. Frustrated she shoved out of the chair and stomped to her car. So far the devil had done nothing but made matters worse. Not that she blamed him. 
She got into the drivers seat and checked her phone. She was sure the loss of Krauser was going to come back to bite her.

“You know, I had a goldfish that made that exact same expression while it was shitting.” The ceremony was over, the polite well wishers had moved on, and here she was, a part of his past talking to him like a man, not the hero the world insisted he was. Claire had told her brother she wouldn’t miss Leon’s big moment, not for anything. But seeing him up there on that stage, looking like he wished he was anywhere else, it ate away at her. “So? Can I see it?” She asked with a cheerful grin. “Or do I have to buy you dinner first?” There it was, that trademark Redfield devil may care grin. Claire hadn’t changed a bit, or so it seemed. But then, she hadn’t been sold into what was essentially slave labour to keep her friends and family safe.

There was no waiting message on Rebecca’s phone as she stared down at it. No voice Mail, no unread email. It would only be as she diverted her attention that the shrill sound of I kissed a girl and I liked it blared from the small device. Claire had changed her best friend’s ringtone without her realising it.

It took Leon a long moment to realize who was speaking. But when he did it was all too clear buy the joy that washed over his features. "Claire..." He whispered her name, his eyes searching her face as if he wanted to remember it. "Wait...huh?" It took another minute to process what she was saying and he was very nearly blushing. "Oh...sure..." He handed her the medal, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "I won't say no to dinner though." He admitted softly.

"Goddamn it." Rebecca muttered, making a quick grab for her phone. Her cheeks were flaming. Only Claire still managed to make her do that even when she was alone. "Dr. Chambers...How can I help you?" She answered cheerfully, even though she was feeling anything but.

Claire took the medal and turned it over in her slender fingers. “Huh… I thought it would be bigger.” She remarked, casting a quickly glance up at Leon from beneath her lashes as she smirked. “Medal of freedom, huh? Can see the headline now ‘rookie did good’.” She added before handing it back. “So why do you look like you had to shoot your dog?”

“Dr. Rebecca Chambers?” The voice on the other end of the line was female, though her tone lacked any inflection that would give away her intent for calling. “The Dr. Rebecca Chambers of Raccoon City? Lead researcher in the Umbrella left overs?”

Leon glanced around him, making sure that they were alone. "There were alot of dogs there." He said with a strange smile. "If you wanted to ask me on a date ma'am you don't have to try so hard." He added. "Did you say your name was Heather? How about we meet at the Steak house on Third, Heather. Nine o'clock?" Claire would know enough about Leon to know he hated steak. He also thought nine was a terrible time to eat. 
He gave her a steady stare, hoping she would read between the lines and simply meet him at his apartment. By the time they figured things out, the two of them would be lost in the city. They were good at that.

Rebecca made a face at the other woman's insinuation. "Sure...if that makes you happy." She sighed. "How can a loser lead researcher like myself be of service?" She asked, poking at a loose thread on her jeans.

Claire understood perfectly, she even pouted a little in case anyone were watching. “ it it’s so hard to get the hero all alone.” She remarked, winking at him playfully. “But I guess I can amuse myself until then.” She added, waving before walking off down the hall with a sway to her hips. Whoever Heather was meant to be to anyone watching, she apparently wanted Leon to want her. Outside Claire had found a piece of gum in the pocket of her deep pink leather jacket and was blowing rather large bubbles as she headed back to her motorcycle, her thoughts wandering to what had Leon so spooked.

“Loser? So you’re not the Rebecca Chambers working for the supposedly deceased Albert Wesker?” There it was, the change in tone that betrayed that this woman knew far more than she let on. When she had said his name, it’s was a mixture of both amusement and annoyance.

Leon's apartment was sparse. It was little more than a bed and a coffee machine. There was no television or works of art. Save the preserved and carefully folded uniform from Raccoon City he'd framed and placed on the wall there was nothing at all that would keep a human being sane. 
"What's wrong?" Leon laughed when he saw the way Claire was looking around. "You just hate how clean it is in here don't you?" He teased, giving her a gentle bump with his hip.

"Captain Albert Wesker is dead." Rebecca was quick to respond. She'd been ridiculed enough about her involvement with the man after Raccoon city to put up with any grief now. Never mind his return on Rockfort Island. Chris Redfield had been less than kind to her about it. He'd been sure she was working with the man when he'd abducted his sister. "Listen...I'm a damn good doctor and a hell of a researcher. So if that's what you're looking for then I'm who you're looking for. So. Can I help you or not?" She added thinly. It really had been a long day for her.

“Leon, this isn’t clean, it’s… clinical.” Claire responded, her sapphire eyes scanning the room. “How do you ever expect to pick up women with an apartment like this?” She added as she moved to the table that held the coffee machine, noting the the small handgun sitting next to it. “Or let me guess, Matilda is the only woman you let up here?” She teased as she traced a finger over the gun in question.

“Dead? Oh please, don’t peddle your little lies.” The was a somewhat bored sigh. “So what if I asked you about Las Plagas?” There was a pregnant pause, and the sound of a lighter flicking open, implying the other woman had just lit a cigarette.

"Actually, Matilda is new. Thank you." Leon teased. "Ladies please keep it civil. There is only so much of me to go around." He laughed. "We need to get out of here. I can't breathe in here." 

"Look. The Las Plagas threat...blah blah blah." Rebecca snorted. "Other than that I know nothing." She lied.

Claire’s usually playful expression turned serious when she heard the almost fearful tone to her friend’s voice. “Leon, what happened in Spain?” She breathed, slender fingers reaching out and squeezing his own. Raccoon City had changed both of them, and Rockford had nearly ruined her, but seeing the look in his eyes now, Claire knew whatever had happened to him in that village was so much worse.

“Never try to lie to a professional liar.” Rebecca’s called mused. “But thank you for the info. It’s good to know Wesker didn’t get his hands on what he wanted elsewhere.” That said, she hung up.

Leon turned to her, shaking his head. He offered her an odd smile. "You know, the usual. I went to an infected place. Some lady showed up. I rescued a girl. And I left." He shrugged. "Worst part was I didn't even get a post card. Or a tetanus shot." He suddenly took her by the arms and pulled her into a tight hug. "God you don't know how good it is to see you."He breathed into her hair. "I've missed you so much."

Rebecca sat in her car for what seemed like hours. Her mind was racing with thoughts and wonderings. All the way home she chewed on her thumb nail, a million ideas bouncing around over why Albert Wesker would want Las Plagas in the first place.

Claire had about a million things she wanted to ask Leon, but the moment he pulled her into that tight embrace they all melted away. He smelled good, and that made her smile as her cheek pressed to his chest and she wrapped her arms around him in return. “You do love to sweep those girls off their feet, Mr government agent.” She mused, though made no effort to pull out of his arms. They were stronger than she remembered. He’d been training hard.

By the time Rebecca returned home there was a package waiting for her. Inside was a singed looking blue bandana, several photos taken from the village Leon had infiltrated, and a small piece of what looked like amber. The note that accompanied the items simply read:

  The boy returned in one piece, as agreed. Gun really did rhyme with fun for that one.  
                                            -M

Leon held Claire as long as he dared to. He could breathe this way. She smelled like a wild summer rain mixed with strawberries. At least that hadn't changed.
"Don't leave me...not tonight..." He whispered in her hair. "We'll find a hotel. We can just talk....just don't go..."

Rebecca laughed until she was crying. She held everything close to her and closed her eyes. Her mysterious Merchant had come through. Thankfully Claire would never be the wiser.

Claire grinned, her slender fingers curling gently into the back of Leon’s jacket as she held him. “Why Agent Kennedy, what kind of girl do you think I am?” She teased. That break in his voice damn near killed her, Claire would never leave Leon alone in this kind of darkness.

Ada Wong sat in her sleek car across the street from Rebecca’s apartment, watching the other woman through a small set of binoculars. She had to be certain the small woman was telling the truth. Double crossing Albert Wesker was not something anyone usually walked away from, and for some reason she felt it in her gut that Rebecca Chambers knew more than she let on. When she saw the other woman open a box, then simply laugh like a loon, she sighed quietly and set the binoculars aside to glance at the laptop open on the seat next to her. On the screen were several recent photos of one Billy Coen. That was her next lead.

Leon was strangely quiet was he climbed onto the back of Claire's motorcycle. He didn't even protest the way she drove. Instead he slid his arms around her waist and enjoyed the moment. He didn't mind this. She was his Valkyrie warrior. Nothing could touch them here. 

Rebecca smiled as she laid back on the couch. She'd taken the box and carefully tucked it away in her safe under the floorboards. 
She couldn't wait to hear the entire tale of how Billy had managed to make sure Leon stayed alive. Not to mention made a decent amount of money off him as well. 
It wasn't the first time he'd done it. They'd been playing this rescue and coin game for years.

Claire smiled at the feel of those arms around her waist, a sign he trusted her, and more importantly… needed her. She didn’t take them to the hotel in the city they had agreed upon. She pushed the bike hard, instead driving them several hours away to her parent’s old cabin. It was secluded, quiet, and already had many happy memories there. It was exactly what she felt he needed, and had known the argument it would cause if she had asked first and tried to convince him to leave the city behind on such short notice. Claire just hoped Chris wasn’t out here fishing. She had eased up on the gas on the last mile or so leading to the cabin, breathing in the clean pine air before they arrived in the secluded clearing. It was only now she pulled up outside the cabin she nervously wondered if Leon would hate it here.

It was no more than an hour later when there was a knock at Rebecca’s door, the smell of Thai food filling the hallway outside. 
Thankfully, Ada had moved onto her next lead, though it by no means meant that she wasn’t going to be keeping tabs on little Becky Chambers.

Leon's brow furrowed for a long while as if he were fighting something inside himself. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he was smiling at her. "It's beautiful here." He told her. He took off his jacket as he turned to the lake, staring across it. "It's almost paradise."

Rebecca's button nose twitched and she launched herself to her feet. Her stomach rumbling. 
She didn't even think of who might be on the other side of the door as she yanked it open. She simply trusted she knew who it was.

Claire was leaning on her bike as she watched Leon, a smile tugging at her lips. “Sure is.” Though she wasn’t admiring the view. “But it can wait.” She added, finally pushing away from her bike and giving her arms and legs a good stretch. “I know for a fact there’s bottle, or two, of tequila inside. We can drink, and you can tell me all about your heroics.” Claire smiled again and patted Leon’s shoulder as she tried to draw his attention from the lake. 

“Hello stranger…” It was a voice that would likely invade Leon’s dreams for years to come, but Billy Coen was grinning as he teased Rebecca with his ‘Merchant’ persona. He was holding out a bag that contained the Thai food that Rebecca could smell, while the other held out a pink rose with plump, perfect petals.

"How about we just talk?" Leon asked as he turned back to her and allowed her to lead him and into the cabin. 
Several hours later the two of them were more then six shots in. For the first time in weeks Leon had forgotten about the horrors and his deep seated guilt. Instead he had Claire laughing until she snorted as he told her the stories of Ashley's attempts to flirt with him. 

Rebecca launched herself into his arms. "I was so worried." She breathed into his chest. "You're an idiot, you know that? You shouldn't keep giving into me like you do." She had so many things to tell him but in that moment all she could do was hold him.

“Oh come on! You’re telling me you weren’t even a little bit tempted?” Claire asked as she refilled their glasses with the amber liquid once more. “She’s kinda cute, and think of the perks of dating the presidents daughter.” She teased. They were lounged on a couch that had once been bright and over stuffed, but now it sagged a little and parts of the fabric were threadbare. It was clear that both Chris and Claire knew they needed a new one, but everything that sat in this cabin was all they had left of their parents now. “Who doesn’t want a desperate blonde?” She was smirking now, her sapphire eyes dancing as she watched Leon for a lingering moment before she downed the shot she had just poured.

“But you’re so… persuasive.” Bully chuckled, dropping the rose to save the Thai food and still hold Rebecca tightly. “But I wish you could’ve been there for some of it. I’m tellin’ ya Beck… if you could’ve seen the look on his face everytime the girl did something stupid. I swear, I thought he was going to shoot her himself at one point.” He was laughing again as he steered them back inside her apartment and kicked the door shut behind him. “There were times she looked at him like she was about to undress him where he stood. Just… don’t let that get back to Claire, alright? I think she would find herself in serious trouble.” He grinned once more and dropped a kiss to the tip of Rebecca’s button nose.

Leon was already shaking his head before Claire had even finished speaking. "Not even once." He said in an oddly sober tone. "Not with a single one of them." He reached across to touch her face for the first time. His rough thumb ran under her chin and lifted her head. Then he leaned closer, his lips touching hers. 
These long years without her had been hell. She would never know. As he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist, all he could do was try and savor every moment. It wouldn't last nearly long enough. 

Rebecca opened her eyes to a room that wasn't hers and yet so very familiar. She was quick to throw the silken black cover back and make her way down the short hallway. 
He was there. Just as she knew he'd been. Sitting in the darkness, staring out the window. It was as if he'd never disappeared. 
Her lips trembled. Her fingers shook. Her heart ached. But her mind reminded her that this was just a dream. This man had dropped her once he was done with her. He'd shot her in the chest and left her to die. He had never wanted her any more than her own parents had. All she had to do now was wake up.

Claire didn’t question Leon’s sudden desire for her. She had felt it for a long time, since the moment he first saved her life. But looking at his pattern over the years, she had figured he just enjoyed saving women from near death. Her slender hands held Leon’s face now, her bright sapphire eyes seeming to be memorising every inch of it knowing whatever was about to happen… would break her heart. The younger Redfield smiled anyway and stole further kisses, her fingers moving from his face and up into hair that felt just as wonderful as she always imagined.

But she wasn’t waking up. Yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as their owner turned his head. “Why are you so far away?” There it was, that deep, seductive voice that seemed to issue commands with every syllable. “Are you afraid of me, rookie?”

The two of them didn't get further than Leon removing Claire's shirt before the cabin door burst open. 
Chris Redfield stomped in, fishing gear jangling loudly from where it rested on his shoulder. "Claire, for fucks sake!" He groaned, dropping a cooler. "Can you warn a man next time?!"

Rebecca didn't move. "Shouldn't I be?" She finally whispered, pulling down Billy's shirt as much as she could. "Why are you here? Didn't your dog fetch your virus for you this time?"

“Chris?!” Claire shrieked her brother’s name, blindly groping for her shirt with one hand as the other made an attempt to cover herself up. “My bike is RIGHT outside! And why do I need to warn you? This is my cabin too!”

“Dog?” Wesker echoed, a smile Rebecca couldn’t yet see tugging at his lips. “Well yes, I suppose she can be somewhat tenacious… however, a dog implies loyalty.”

"Is that what I ran over?" Chris asked,moving back to the door. "Hey Jill! Stay out! The cabin is infected with naked mole rats!"
Leon groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes as he leaned back against the threadbare couch. "You know...I could... nobody would even know..." He muttered.

"She didn't give you the sample?" Rebecca asked, the phone call from the day before becoming clear. "Okay...so what does that have to do with me? You don't think she came to me...do you? I'm not that big or important on any scale. That said...you need to leave before my boyfriend wakes up."

“I wouldn’t even stop you.” Claire muttered in reply. It could’ve been any random guy she was with and she wouldn’t have cared, but the fact it was Leon made this whole situation that much worse. “If there is even one scratch on my baby I’m taking it out on your ass!” She shouted at her brother.

“Boyfriend?” The lamp beside the chair finally clicked on and Wesker leaned forward, taking a long look at Rebecca’s bare legs where they piled out from under a man’s shirt. “Does he know you dream about me?” He purred.

"Just you try!" Chris barked back. He was still in the door. One of the fishing poles had gotten caught on the on the screen door and he was cursing like a sailor at it. Leon got up from the couch and gently released him.  
"I had it." Chris grunted, yanking the rest of his gear through the door. 
Leon turned back to Claire with a grin. "I don't know about you but I feel better." He chuckled.

Rebecca shook her head. Denial was a terrible thing. "If you came here thinking I'm still that same naive girl that you took advantage of you have another thing coming." She said firmly. 
She should have been looking for a way to defend herself but this man still made her insides weak. She could do nothing but stand there. "I'm...glad you're alive..." She whispered, knowing he was using the long stretching silence to break her down.

Claire was scowling at her brother with her arms folded across her chest. “Not really, should’ve left the jerk dangling, only way that fishing would pole would ever have something on the end of it.” She remarked.
“It’s not about the catching, it’s the anticipation, right, you big doofus?” Jill had finally joined them, another crate of beer in her arms as she grinned up at her partner.

Rebecca only blinked, and suddenly Wesker was. I longer seated by the window, he was stood directly behind her. “I’ll bet you are…” He breathed, cool fingers sliding under the edge of Billy’s shirt against Rebecca’s smooth thighs. “However… I don’t think you were ever as innocent as you liked people to believe.” He breathed, touching his lips lightly against her throat.

Chris looked at Jill the way most people only dreamed of being looked at. She was the only one who could control the savage beast. "Anticipation." He purred, grabbing her with his free hand and pulling her in for a deep kiss. "I've already caught one." 
Leon was nearer to Claire now and pretending to gag. "So much for paradise." He teased, bumping her hip. "I should probably go anyway. Work schedule and all that."

"No thanks to you..." Rebecca breathed, her eyes fluttering closed. "What do you want, Wesker? Let's not pretend it's me."

“Did you just compare me to a stinky fish?” Jill asked, though she was looking up at her partner with the same look of adoration.
Claire sighed heavily when she saw her brother and Jill fawning over each other. “And he had the nerve to try and Shame us…” She muttered in frustration. “If you really have to go back, I’ll drive you.” Claire added, clearly it wasn’t something she wanted to do. All she wanted was to explore where that stolen kiss could have taken them.

“If I recall… you enjoy playing pretend.” Wesker breathed, his lips still lingering against Rebecca’s throat. “You only joined STARS to get a foothold into something bigger, don’t think I never knew.” He added, his fingers busy barely grazing the edge of her panties once the shirt was lifted high enough.