Chapter Text
"Hey, scooch over there, I'm trying to fit in here." Sherry said, facing the blonde man who would soon be sitting at her left on the light grey coloured couch in front of her.
"Secret password?" Leon stared back at her, a pretentious grin on his face.
"Secret password is: you're kinda old to be asking anyone for secret passwords and we've already stalled, like, twenty minutes of the movie because we were too busy with the POPCORN." Sherry retorted quickly, with a mixed look of seriousness and sarcasm aimed at Leon.
"Wow. Ok then, big girl. Just don't complain if we end up crushing ya, we're kinda narrow here." Leon chuckled, moving as most as he could to the left.
Sherry quickly sat herself between the two, resting her legs on the footstool. She handed the big tub of popcorn that were in her hands to the red-haired who sat at her left and began looking for the remote, groping for it everywhere on the couch.
"Lookin' for this?" Leon showed her the remote she was looking for, shaking it lightly.
"You should really consider buying a new couch." Sherry said, taking the remote from his hands.
"Hey, what are we watching, anyway?" Claire asked, chewing on some popcorn, passing the tub aside.
"Eh, I have no clue." Leon shrugged, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the tub, stuffing them in his mouth. "What you're thinking on putting, Sherry?" he asked, his voice a bit muffled from the chewing.
"I dunno. This IS kinda easier when everyone knows what they want to watch." Sherry answered. "And PLEASE, try not to eat all of that, at least not until I put something on."
"Hey, no promises." Leon said, passing the tub back to Claire. "But hey, I'll promise you this: I won't be the one to eat the last popcorn. If I do, you both get twenty bucks, on me."
"Hey, just look at ya? Confident, isn't he, Sherry?" Claire responded, gazing at Leon with a smirk.
Again and naturally, she took her hand to the tub, grabbing more popcorn. A bit more than what she got the last time though, as she was determined on winning that money from Leon's little challenge.
"Let him have his confidence, soon enough we'll be twenty bucks richer. That's fair enough." the blonde lady chuckled alongside Claire while Leon shook his head, making no efforts on hiding the smile that emerged on his face.
While Claire chewed on her snack, she allowed herself to get lost in her own thoughts for a little while. She loved these little moments they spent together. To her, it meant the world. All of the nightmares, the stress, the frustrations and other inconveniences given by life itself became insignificant when they were together.
And she was DEFINITELY not the only one who felt this way.
Regardless of anything, when they were together, they were complete. They were happy. And that's all that matters. Hell, all that ever mattered.
"Hey, Claire? Anyone home?" Leon asked with a raised brow, eyes focused on Claire, his left hand invading her field of view, waving gently.
"Huh?" Claire jumped a bit and quickly faced Leon, finally away from her own thoughts. "Uh- sorry, what's up?"
"I'm asking you?" Leon answered. "You gonna hand me that bucket any soon?"
"Oh- yeah, sure. My bad, I was just wondering what was I going to spend on with those twenty bucks." Claire giggled. "Here." she gave Leon the tub back.
"Hey, careful. You know what they say Claire, pride comes before the fall." Leon chuckled. "Or whatever. Something lile that."
"Yeah, right, right, right, now quiet, both of you. I'm putting on a horror movie, I don't care. I'm done browsing this."
"Horror? Really? Wasn't there anything worse for you to put on?" Claire questioned, a sarcastic smirk on her face.
"Eh, let's give it a break. We don't even know what we wanna see anyway. Besides most these movies aren't even good, they're gems to laugh at. That's two for the price of one in my book." Leon said.
"Yeah, you better not complain. If you wanted something different, you guys could've put it yourselves. Funny how once a movie is on the screen, everyone suddently got ideas." Sherry said with a fake bothered look. "And gimme that too."
Sherry quickly took the bucket from Leon's hands and filled her own, readjusting herself on the couch and placing the tub on her lap, her eyes trailing over to the TV screen that now played the intro of a horror movie.
Sounds of screaming and chainsaws came from the TV and resonated through the apartment, followed by laughter and popcorn being crunched down. The three of them were having the time of their lives as they made fun of the questionable choices that were constantly made by the main characters, choices that often lead to an easily avoidable tragedy. For them, it was quite fun watching a badly animated and cliché movie try to replicate horrors that were quite casual in their lives. The people making these movies... they really didn't know any better, did they?
Regardless, to those three, there was nothing better than to be aware late in the night enjoying each other's company, sharing a popcorn tub and laughing at a corny horror movie. Time passed normally, but for them, it just froze.
Maybe they even felt like they were the last ones on Earth, and in a sense, that could be deemed true. At that time, in that place, there were only the three of them, enjoying every moment together.
Some more time passed and the film came to an end. While the credits rolled, Sherry rubbed her eyes gently with her arms as to not smear grease on her face, Claire yawned and stretched her body, already sore from too much sitting and Leon felt a bit sleepy too, distracting himself by playing with the bucket that was on his lap deciding to pick the single last popcorn that was left in the tub, placing it in his mouth.
The last popcorn.
Last.
Leon realized that the little sucker he just chomped on was the last popcorn that was left in the whole tub, and immediately started to rethink his whole life decisions for a moment. He looked discreetly at the girls, still playing around with the bucket. Sherry looked like she was fighting for her life in an attempt to stay awake and Claire divided her gaze between the television and the ceiling, her hands behind her head for support and crossed feet moving slowly from one side to another.
Maybe they forgot, he thought to himself. But then again, what were the chances that they forgot when there was just one single popcorn left in that huge tub? Yeah, I got set up.
"Guess that's it guys, I'm going to bed, I'm about to pass out here. But hey, it was fun." Sherry broke the silence, placing her hands on her thighs and setting her feet on the cold marble floor.
"Quite too fun, for someone looking for a bad joke to laugh at. What an awful movie." Claire said with a faint smile, her eyes lingering on the ceiling.
"These films sometimes feel like they're straight out of a fever dream. Truth be told, I've had nightmares that were higher quality than this shit." Leon said, leaning over to his left and setting the tub on the floor right beside the couch, still trying to figure out who had him beat.
"Well, that's it then."
Sherry spoke again, letting out a yawn and getting herself on her feet, taking a moment to stretch. Then, she made her way towards the kitchen, where she would wash her hands and drink a cup of water before going to bed.
Meanwhile, Leon and Claire were still on the couch, both had not yet decided to get up. Leon looked her way and analyzed her for a moment. He had figured that she was quieter than usual, and this was odd of her.
"Tired?" Leon questioned, his eyes trailing on her face.
"Hm-" Claire lowered her head and looked in Leon's direction, removing her hands from the back of her head and lowering her arms, readjusting herself on the couch. "Ah, yes, lil' bit. How bout you?" she asked back, smiling at him.
"Eh, I'm thinking it's time to hit the sack too." ele respondeu. "You alright?"
"Me? O-of course, why wouldn't I be?" Claire looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"I don't know, just feeling you're a little off today. Might be just my imagination. But if there's anything you wanna get off your chest, I'm your guy, Claire. Always."
"Ah... Well... I know, Leon. I'm okay. Just... it's really good being with you. A-and Sherry. Always is. I'm just thinking about it. But thanks for asking." she smiled at him, feeling herself blush a little bit. "Thank you for taking care of me."
"Hey, don't thank me for that. How could I not care?" he said, holding her gaze, feeling himself blush a little bit too.
They stared at each other for a brief moment until they finally got enough courage to break contact and stand up.
"Guess I'll go get myself settled."
"Yeah, I'll go freshen up too." Leon replied. "Damn, my ass is sore."
Claire giggled at Leon's disturbance and headed towards the hallway behind the couch.
"Good night, Leon." she looked behind and smiled at Leon, who smiled back and waved at her. "Oh, and good night, Sherry!" she exclaimed so that Sherry could hear all the way from the kitchen.
"Good night Claire!" Sherry shouted back, leaving the kitchen and walking to her right, back into the living room.
Glancing at the hallway, she caught a quick glimpse of Claire, who had just entered her bedroom in the first door to the left. She then redirected her eyes towards Leon, facing him with a grin on her face.
"What?" Leon gave her a puzzled look, his lips forming a smile as he tried to figure out what was her deal.
"Cute." Sherry answered. "You guys' talk. The kitchen is right there, you know. I got pretty good hearing too."
"Yeah, so?" Leon asked again, folding his arms.
"And we love you too, old man." Sherry chuckled. "Thanks for having us over tonight."
"Hey, you know I only keep the best companies."
"That's veeeery arguable. But I guess some exceptions could be made."
"Gee, thanks." Leon lowered his arms. "Well, good night, little girl. Try not to stay up too late, hear?"
Sherry giggled and motioned her body towards the corridor.
"Ok, I'll try, 'dad'." she replied sarcastically. "Oh, and don't forget to pay up tomorrow." she looked behind and winked at Leon, firing him a thumbs up.
He laughed and watched Sherry for a beat as she disappeared from his eyes into the door at the right side of the corridor. He then made his own way towards the second and last door to the left where his own bedroom was located. He closed the door and, right after, stripped himself off of the jeans he was wearing as well as removing the blue shirt he had on him, walking towards the bathroom.
Just about a few minutes later, Leon left the bathroom after taking care of a few hygiene pendencies and freshening himself up, hot steam escaping into the bedroom accompanied by his slim figure. He then hung up the wet towel on the door and headed straight to the closet right beside the bathroom, picking up a black t-shirt alongside a pair of white boxer shorts to wear as pajamas. Just dressed, Leon looked at his bed for a bit, stretching his arms.
Before going to bed, he decided to stop by the kitchen first to drink a glass of water. On his way there, he noticed that Claire's door was half open, redirecting his glance to the light that came out of the kitchen, lightly illuminating a bit of the dark living room.
He placed a hand on the frame, pulling himself close to the door, looking inside the room. He didn't scan for long though as his eyes settled almost immediately on Claire who leaned on the counter, a mug on her hands. She looked like she had just finished showering too, her short hair presenting a wet aspect, auburn strands glistening.
"Thirsty?" Leon approached, folding his arms and leaning his shoulder towards the door frame for support.
Claire lowered the white mug from her sight, Leon's figure taking its place in her view.
"A little bit." she answered, facing him with a smile.
"'Course not." he chuckled. "Whatcha having?"
Leon moved inside the room, walking past Claire and fetching an empty glass of water. He opened the fridge, grabbing hold of a jug full of water, filling his cup.
"Hot chocolate. Want some?" Claire offered.
"No, I'm good." Leon said, taking a sip of his water. "Don't feel like sleeping?"
"Not really. How about you?" Claire questioned, a cheerful expression on her face. "Don't YOU feel like sleeping?"
"Eh, I'm more of a night guy, you know it."
"Riiight." Claire held his gaze. "So, you wanna do something?" she looked away for a bit, quickly setting her mug down on the sink and turning back to face Leon.
"Like what?" Leon asked. "We kinda don't have much to do at this time of the night, unless you wanna watch more movies. We might wake Sherry up too." he rambled, pointing towards the microwave next to the fridge.
The appliance marked 2:56 A.M.
Claire glanced at the microwave but quickly looked back at Leon, not able to see what time it was from that angle.
"I dunno. Do you... Hmm..." she shrugged a bit, looking up at the ceiling. "You... you wanna dance?"
Leon stared at Claire with a raised brow, wide eyed. He wasn't waiting for such a request.
"You... Wanna dance? Now?" he held Claire's gaze, a wide smile forming on his lips. "Really?" He asked again, taking one more sip of the water in his cup.
"Hmm... yeah." Claire folded her arms.
"Why?"
"Hey, why not? It's something to do... But if you rather keep stalling with that water there just so we keep talking, fine by me." she smirked and winked at Leon, noticing a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, this water's cold." He chuckled, looking back at Claire. "Can't drink it all at once." he digressed.
"Uuuuh-huh. That's totally it." She answered sarcastically. "So, wanna dance?"
Leon lowered the glass, shrugging.
"Hey, if you want to. But be warned that I don't dance all that often." he answered, taking one last sip from his glass and placing it on the counter.
"Hey, it's fine, I haven't danced for quite a while now. And I have never really been any good at it." She moved away from the counter, offering Leon her hand. "C'mon."
Leon held Claire's hand and both made their way towards the door, Leon shutting off the light in their way. They proceeded towards the living room, guiding themselves in the dark with help of the pale moon light that shined through some large curtains at the far end of the room.
"Hey, how about there?"
Leon took the lead, guiding Claire towards the courtains. He slid them aside, revealing a hidden balcony. Neither small or too big, enough space for both of them to move around freely without worrying on stumbling.
"Yeah, this is nice. " Claire responded, nodding her head slightly in approval.
Leon then placed a hand on one of the large glass panels, sliding it to the side and making way to the balcony. He then moved some chairs to the corner, in a place where he felt like they wouldn't need, offering his hand back to Claire.
"Come, let's dance before we freeze our asses in this cold." he said, smiling at her.
"Hey, I like a little breeze."
Claire gave Leon her hand, who pulled her towards him. She took a brief moment to scan her eyes around the city, spotting a few cars that passed by at that time and some other buildings around them.
"Wonder if in any of these buildings there are some dumbasses like us?" Claire giggled, watching as one of the lights from one of the rooms of the building she watched were turned off.
"Guess it's just us. Doubt there are a lot of good-for-nothing bums like us dancing on a balcony at this time of the night." Leon answered with a sarcastic tone. "How about a little song?" he asked.
"Nah, we're here already, if I go back inside for my phone I'll wanna stay. Also better not wake up Sherry... or the neighbors." Claire responded. "Just, hold me and let's get this on already."
Leon wrapped his right arm around Claire's lower back, his hand gently resting on her hip. She, however, held his shoulder with her right hand, extending her left arm so her left hand could meet with Leon's hand. Their fingers intertwined, and then, they finally began dancing.
In rythmic and smooth moves, they moved around the balcony calmly and steadily, keeping themselves one close to the other. Claire closed her eyes, enjoyed the heat swap between their bodies and letting the estabilished connection between them guide her as that moment stole her from reality slowly, almost forgetting the world around them.
Leon, on the other hand, kept his eyes open, taking lead and control of the rythm so that Claire could focus on solely enjoying their dance. He could barely take his eyes off of her, the pale light of the moon resting and illuminating her features, accentuating the smile that was on her face. The breeze slowly carried her hair around, red strands flowing freely in the wind.
The mere sight of Claire's face left Leon speechless. He couldn't deal with how beautiful she looked, couldn't express with words how incredible she was at that moment. He certainly wouldn't ruin the fun by trying either, so he just kept dancing, keeping her close, feeling every fiber of her being, watching over her every move.
They were one at that point.
They kept dancing for quite some time under the beautiful, clear and starry sky, both coated in the light of the moon. The sensation they shared of being in paradise in each other's arms, was greater than reality itself. Both were lost in their own little worlds, but, both of them existed in each of them.
As time went by, some clouds took over the sky, engulfing good part of the stars as well as occluding the natural light of the great satellite, darkness taking over most of the environment. Subsequently, the cold also aggravated, slowly becoming quite an inconvenience.
"Hey, C-Claire?"
Claire took some time to snap out of her trance, slowly opening her lids, her blurry vision becoming clearer at each blink, icy breeze hitting her slightly watery eyes, causing her to regain her attention to the world around her faster. She looked down and pressed her lids closed for a moment before looking up again and meeting Leon's gaze, a slight smile forming on her face as she met his eyes.
"Hey."
"L-let's head back inside if it's ok with you." he responded, giving Claire a tired smile. "I'm afraid I'll turn into a popsicle soon the way it's cold out here... I'm not exactly dressed for this."
"Oh, s-sure thing." she said, immediately.
She gently pulled away from Leon and led the way, walking back inside the flat. Leon arrived right behind and tried to slide the panel to the left, closing the path to the slab and leaving the cold behind.
"Hey, thanks for letting us head back." he chuckled. "The way you were enjoying it, a bit more and I'd have frozen to death."
"Yeah, I was starting to get cold too, unfortunately. But it was fun indeed, I'll let you have that."
"That was." Leon folded his arms, rubbing the palm of his hands against his biceps in an attempt to create a bit more of natural heat. "But hey, talking about freezing to death, if I had to go out like that, wouldn't mind one bit if it was dancing with you."
"Y'know something? Me too." Claire smiled, blushing at the compliment. "You're kinda too good at this, we might have to stop ya."
"Hey, I know basics only. Nothing much." he swatted at her, looking away from her for a moment.
"Haha, yeah, suuuure."
Claire walked towards Leon, coming to a stop right in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking up so she could meet his gaze.
"I'm being serious..." he muttered, a smile forming on his lips as he slid his arms around her hips, pulling her even closer.
"Well... you won't mind teaching me then." she chuckled.
"You're the boss."
They held each other's gazes for a while, silence rapidly taking over the room.
"Leon...?"
"Yeah?"
"..."
She stared at him, lips slightly trembling.
"Claire?"
"...kiss me?"
Leon blushed slightly at Claire's request, a spontaneous smile etched on his face.
"You didn't have to ask."
He pulled Claire closer, leaning into her, his lips coming closer and closer. Claire tilted her face slightly to the right, Leon doing the same, until their lips finally met. Claire's soft, warm lips invited Leon's rougher lips, which immediately responded.
It was everything they wanted.
Both closed their eyes, once again getting lost in the moment with each other, just savoring every second of that kiss. Claire held Leon tighter, he reciprocating her action, both of them doing their darnedest to keep their feet on the ground, their minds already in heaven.
They then finally worked up the courage to part ways, even though it was against their wishes. Both with their faces slightly flushed, one stared at the other, smiling, and soon that look turned into a tight hug. Leon rested his head on Claire's as she rested hers on Leon's chest, both of them shifting a little out of place from the strength of their embrace.
"Thanks." Claire whispered to Leon.
"For what? I should be thanking you." Leon replied, smiling.
"For loving every minute of it." Claire said, also with a smile on her face, her eyes closed.
She pulled away from Leon slowly, meeting his eyes once more.
"I think it's time for me to get some sleep." Claire rubbed her eyes gently, letting out a yawn.
"Good, then I guess I will too."
They walked down the corridor, Claire coming to her door and gently pushing it inwards.
"Good night, Leon." Claire said, looking one last time at Leon. As usual, with a smile. "Sleep well."
"Goodnight Claire. See you in the morning." Leon said, returning the smile, arriving at his own door. "Sweet dreams."
Claire laughed and walked into her room, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor at the sound of a closing door. Soon after, Leon walked into his own room, closing the door and heading towards his bed. He threw himself onto the bed, letting out a tired sigh. He readjusted himself on the bed, covering himself with his blanket and staring at the ceiling for a brief moment, closing his eyes shortly afterwards, a smile forming on his face.
Eh, today wasn't so bad, huh?
Leon thought about the day for a while, each moment in his head like a replay. There weren't many days he could really live without being under constant stress every minute and bad things happening every moment, but when those days did come, it was only fair that he managed to truly enjoy them. With each moment of the day he remembered, he got closer to sleep, little by little his thoughts fading away, darkness and silence taking over with the onset of sleep.
And then,
At last,
Peace.