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Snow was falling on the atrium area as Ingrid Hunnigan made her way from the dark interiors of the facility to to the underground employee parking garage. The little grassy area was a brief respite from the halogen lit, linoleum tiled government building, and if she looked up she could see the silvery moon peeking out from behind the dense snow clouds.
The light caught her glasses, blinding her briefly before she pushed them up and stopped to look up at the moon. It always stood out most on a stormy night, in those moments when it peeked through the gloom.
It made for a pretty good view—and thankfully, a fresh view that had nothing to do with the constant video feeds and text documents splashed across her computer in her office.
"Hey."
The greeting drew her attention to what she'd dismissed as a shadow. Leon Kennedy, leaning against a pillar out of the way, cigarette in hand.
"Well, Well, Mr. Kennedy. Killing your lungs on your off time from killing monsters?" Ingrid drawled playfully as she shifted to face him while still leaning on the edge of the wall.
"Yep." He blew out a stream of smoke and smiled at her– a grim smile like a slice of moonlight. "Didn't really have much else to be doing."
Ingrid was pretty sure that Kennedy had an apartment. Somewhere close to the facility. Paid for by the US government. Probably monitored by the US government, too. She was also pretty sure that he didn't have any particular guests to have over for Christmas Eve.
"Sounds like a lonely Christmas Eve, Kennedy," she tilted her head to the side in thought. "Mine's pretty lonely too."
"That's a shame. I wouldn't have guessed, Miss Hunnigan. I'd always imagined you'd be a pretty popular lady." He looked thoughtful, sucking in another long breath of smoke through his pink lips.
She wasn't 'unpopular' in the office, that was for sure. But she wasn't exactly blessed with a thriving social life, not since college. Government positions in highly secured facilities working with highly classified situations—it didn't exactly give you a lot of space to get out there and find common ground with the average populace, much less hit the club.
She smiled wryly, her glasses tipped down her nose. "You'd think that. If you're not doing anything, Kennedy—I've got a bottle of wine at my place that I've been meaning to break into."
"Is that so?" The grin returned. "Well, if you need somebody to get rid of a bottle of wine for you, you know I have a great disappearing act for one."
"I've heard all kinds of stories about your ability to make wine disappear," Ingrid laughed, pushing her dark hair from her face. "...and I'd get some company for Christmas Eve for the first time in around 3 years."
He dropped his cigarette on the icy grass and ground it out with his boot. "You know I can't say no to a lady in need. Not one who needs a wine bottle vanished, or some company for Christmas."
"I'm starting to see why they called you the hero of Raccoon City, Kennedy," Ingrid offered her arm. "Escort me to my car? I'll give you a lift."
He smelled like smoke—she never minded a bit of smoke even if it triggered her own wish for a cigarette—and he was certain to get drunk, but she couldn't help but like her agent in the field. Enough to hide some of his dalliances from strict protocol from his higher ups, even.
He linked his arm with hers, and the cold evening felt just a little warmer as he closed the distance between them.
Later, the moon had passed behind the clouds, but Ingrid's apartment was full of warmth and light. The first wine bottle had well and truly vanished, and Leon's smile had lost some of its smirking quality. They had moved from the kitchen to the living room where she'd plugged in some spare lights she'd halfheartedly pinned up the week before. More colorful light illuminated the room along with the warm buzz of alcohol inside her, and she flicked on the television and dropped herself near him on the couch with the remote.
"How much of a festive guy are you?"
"Festive?" he chuckled. His jacket was off, hung in the corner, and he was stripped to his shirt sleeves, his feet up on her coffee table. "I wish I could say more so, but my old man wasn't much of a holiday guy when I was a kid. So I never really got in the habit of celebrating."
"So I shouldn't bother asking if you want me to put on some cheesy holiday flick? No Grinches? No Peanuts?" she asked with an amused edge to her smile. "...or should I try to muster up enough cheer to inflict them on you while you're drunk?"
He smiled and waved his hand. "Inflict away! I wouldn't be unhappy to find out what I've been missing– especially if you have another bottle of wine somewhere for my magic trick's encore."
"An encore hmm? Planning on crashing on my couch then?" she flicked on the television and navigated the channels to see what might be on. "I'll see if I can scrounge something up—-it'd mean I had company for Christmas too~."
"What can I say, it's a comfy couch." He scooted a little closer to her. "And the company's good, too. But you better be careful, if you don't kick me out, I might get the wrong idea."
Ingrid's cheeks flushed just a little…she'd let her hair down from her bun, and had a few drinks—she'd let herself relax around him.
At this point, she wasn't sure what sort of 'wrong idea' could be gotten from such an obvious message. She rested her shoulder against him with a hum. "That'd be terrible, wouldn't it?"
"You tell me." Leon's flirting was as subtle as his sense of humor, it seemed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
She scoffed quietly, before settling against him and selecting 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. "I think I might be overstating how much of a disaster it'd be. A little."
Leon grinned his sly little grin. "How would you feel if I tested that?"
"I didn't take you for a scientist," Ingrid leaned towards him with an amused smile. "Alright, I'm interested in putting it to the test. Why not."
"Since I've got your permission." He chuckled and moved in quickly for a kiss, pressing his lips to hers– and clearly waiting for a reaction.
Ingrid briefly froze up—she expected him to be bold, but somehow he still took her by surprise—but she didn't pull away.
Instead, she leaned into him with a quiet hum and surprised him right back by deepening the kiss to the taste of red wine and peppermint candies.
Once she started kissing him back, all trace of his own stiffness and hesitation melted and he put his arms around her, sucking at her lips and tongue for a long moment before he let her go.
He gave her a coy look, and teased. "Why Miss Hunnigan, you're… beautiful."
Ingrid caught her breath, brushing her hair back and away from her face with a huff and a raise of her eyebrow. She was flushed—a little breathless too—but couldn't help the smile as she leaned against him again. "I am, it's about time you noticed that. You're alright to look at yourself."
"Me?" He chuckled. "I'm surprised you'd let a mangy stray like me in here. Surprised– and thrilled."
"I've always liked dogs," Ingrid's smile took on a teasing edge. "Maybe I think I can somewhat housebreak you."
"In that case, since you're letting me stay, I'll take my boots off while you scrounge up that bottle of wine. And then you can tell me all about this Grinch guy."
He stood up, and pulled her to her feet along with him, letting her fall against his chest.
Ingrid fell against his warm, strong chest—just as flushed warm as she was with the wine and the kiss—and looped an arm around him to steady herself.
"He's a green man who hates Christmas and commits a series of violent B&E's."
"Sounds like I'll need to get my old cuffs out and arrest him then." He grinned and pecked her on the cheek, dragging her toward the kitchen once she was steady on her feet.
If he was this affectionate after one bottle of wine, Ingrid could only imagine him after two. She laughed, leading him into the kitchen with a squeeze around his side.
"No, no. He learns his lesson after a massive cardiac failure, an—well. That's a spoiler. I'll let you experience it for yourself."
She leaned in and kissed his cheek as they passed the threshold. She couldn't help but be a little excited to find out.