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“So how was the conference?” Vee leaned in towards Tina, tickling the unimpressed baby’s belly in hopes of eliciting any sort of response.
Her—their—six-months-old bundle of joy. A surprise, really, who caused them some stressful months after the pregnancy test showed positive. A miracle, all things considered, and a rather annoyed one at the moment. Christina’s face scrunched into a familiar frown, as if contemplating the woman’s sanity. That was an expression she learned from her dad.
Claire watched a small drop of water make its way down her glass and drop onto her hand. “The usual. People talked. Some of them talked a lot.”
“And you left her with him? For a whole week?”
“He is her father, Vee. Who else was I supposed to leave her with?”
“I’m sorry, he just never struck me as particularly… Fatherly.”
The vein at her temple began throbbing. She loved her friend, but Vee was a drug best taken in small doses. The woman had an annoying habit of sticking her nose into things where it didn’t belong. She meant well; that was her saving grace, that, her dependability, and unwavering loyalty. She was the only one who out of all her college friends who didn’t stop looking for Claire after she, to their knowledge, went missing in Raccoon City. Unfortunately, her fiancé had broken up with her over text a couple weeks ago, so her view of men and their dependability was at the moment rather warped.
“You met him once, at our wedding,” Claire said measuredly.
“Because whenever I come over, he’s never around! Seriously. Is he a secret agent or something? I get that security consultants need to travel, but isn’t this a little too much?” The woman huffed and began stirring her coffee. “I just never thought you’d be okay with someone like that.”
Claire didn’t, either. But after Alcatraz, one thing led to another and here she was, sipping decaf coffee and swallowing her gut reaction to rip Vee another hole in front of her daughter. For now.
Your friend, and she means well, she repeated to herself. Even if she doesn't know what she's talking about.
And how could she? BOWs might be a common knowledge now, but that didn't mean that Leon's NDA was null and void. He could tell her things, the DSO thought that even beneficial with regards to his mental health, but the general population? That's what Public Relations is for. However, all Vee saw was a man jetting off and doing God knows what for weeks, same as the one who had told her he got someone else pregnant and then dumped her.
Her phone pinged with an incoming message, barely audible over Vee’s rant that she wasn’t really paying attention to as she read the text (the organization was rather archaic about the types of communication they allowed their agents in private life), her lips pulling upwards.
“Here’s your chance, then.”
“Wait, what?”
Claire stood up to look around, fresh rivulets of sweat trickling down her back; it was promising to be another hot day in a row of uncomfortably hot days. The man standing under the clock, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and long brown trousers, didn’t really seem bothered by the heat, however. His ability to tolerate temperatures above 80 Fahrenheit was something she was envious of; Redfields weren’t made for the summer.
“Leon!” she called out, waving so that the man could see them better over the passing group of tourists. When he moved, it was with purpose, and the people parted in front of him as if they ran into an invisible wall. The expression he usually wore as “Leon the professional” usually bled into that of “Leon the civilian”. The furrowed brows and the clenched jaw gave him headaches and often led to people misreading him and starting off on the wrong foot. An all around unfortunate resting face.
But in this case, it was probably the blood trickling freely down his cheek. Still, her heart fluttered when his eyes caught sight of her and the muscles around them relaxed.
“Hey you.”
She twined her arms around his cool (how? is he more a lizard than a human?) neck and pulled him in for a kiss, welcoming the way his stubble scratched her skin. “Hey. You got a little something on your face,” she said, pulling out a baby wipe. “Did you come straight from work?”
“Yeah.”
So they let him shower and gave him a change of clothes. That’s something. At least they were sure that it was nothing infectious, else they’d be talking through a microphone built into a glass.
Leon looked past her, his sight landing on her friend who shrunk back in her seat a little.
“You remember Vee?”
“Sure,” he said in a tone which she knew meant ‘not a clue’. “Good to see you again.”
To her credit, Vee straightened up, her face not betraying any of the emotions she shared with Claire just moments ago. “Same. How have you been?”
But she already lost him; his eyes zeroed in on Christina, who was wistfully swinging her fists.
“There she is,” he said, scooping Tina out of the stroller. “Have you been good for mommy?”
Tina laughed, grabbing a fistful of his hair as he brought their foreheads together, graying blonde hair against ginger. Years and weariness seemed to melt away from him, his smile finally unclouding. Leon exhaled a shuddering breath, listening to Christina blabbing away, her tiny hands patting him on the cheeks. Claire’s heart churned at the sight, afraid that even the smallest sound out of her could break the ritual. Just what sort of wringer did those bastards at the DSO put him through now? He told her about the deal he had made to save Sherry’s life; a deal permanent, ending only with his or her death, unbeknownst to the younger woman. The DSO was no USSTRATCOM, or so she was told, but with the top brass still mostly in place, that was one thing that had not changed; and it was unlikely they were going to let their star employee walk away just like that. They both knew that when they decided to give the relationship a try. At least after Christina was born, as a sign of their goodwill, they assigned Leon only to ops taking place on home soil.
Ops that still ran the risk of him returning in a box. Or worse.
But he made it back—this time, a cynical part of her said—and was looking at Tina as if this was his first time holding her. The man who had used to be so careful about presentation and how he carried himself, every bit professional until they were finally alone, was now making silly faces at his daughter just to see her smile, out in the open. A dam burst in him when the nurse at last placed Christina into his trembling arms, and he never walled it back up. That was also the first time she had seen him cry. He had posted himself by her bedside like an anxious Malinois after that. She had to get Chris to take him home to get some rest.
“What do you say? Should we let mommy enjoy her day while we go on an adventure?” he asked as he carefully lowered Tina back into the stroller.
“Just be home by six.”
“I know.” He bent down and pressed a kiss onto Claire’s head. “Have fun.”
“You too.”
“Say goodbye to mommy, princess,” Leon said, but Tina only pursed her lips—a sign of discontent. She babbled something only she could understand, reaching her hands towards the man. Sometimes, just sometimes Claire was envious of the bond the two shared; she was pretty sure Christina liked her, but she loved Leon. Although, if Chris’s stories could be believed, she had used to be also something of a daddy’s girl until the age of three, after which point her brother was the most exciting person in the world. Her mom had to wait six years for her turn. Not that she loved any one of them less, of course.
“You let them go just like that?” Vee asked incredulously.
“Whyever not? He is her father.”
“Yes, but you didn’t even ask where they are going? And was that blood on his face?”
“He’s got sensitive skin,” she said. It was really more of a hiss.
“What if something happens?”
Her patience popped like a balloon. “I appreciate your concern, Vee, but that’s my husband you are talking about, who is a good man. You can think whatever you want about him, but I don’t want to hear any of it.”
The woman sputtered, spilling some of her drink on her bag. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“She’s the safest she can be with him by her side,” Claire said as she watched the pair stop at a crossing. Leon leaned in, speaking words she couldn’t understand, then waved at Claire. It earned him some curious glances, but Tina giggled.
“If you say so.” She sounded not at all convinced, but that was all right; Claire had nothing to prove.
“I do.”