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Jon and Leon come into the dorms from the shooting range. Leon doesn’t stay here, but Jon does so he likes to chat a bit when they have a moment. Leon settles down in one of the chairs at the table. Leon notices a guitar collecting dust in the corner.
“Do you play guitar, Jon?” Leon asks.
“No. You ever played?” Jon asks.
Leon nods, “Yeah, I learned in high school. Dropped it around the time that I left the Academy.”
“Huh, I guess work really does get in the way of all of your hobbies,” Jon says. “You can take it, if you want. It belonged to Steve and he got a new one.”
Leon raises an eyebrow.
“Or don’t take it, Kennedy. I don’t care. I’ve never touched the thing since I don’t have the time to learn it.”
Jon walks into the attached kitchen and Leon leans back. “You ready for this assignment tomorrow?” Leon asks.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jon answers, “but at least we get to stop working early today.”
“Yeah, it’s great. Speaking of which, I’m gonna get going. Claire’ll be excited to see me.”
“Have fun, Lover Boy.”
Leon waits until Jon turns to flip him off. Jon returns the gesture as Leon’s heading toward the door. Leon double flips him off, then grabs the guitar and walks out. The drive back is uneventful and Leon’s thankful that the roads weren’t in the condition to drive his motorcycle since he was bringing something back with him. He climbs up the five flights of stairs to his apartment since the elevator is once again out of order. He unlocks the door, then opens it. He walks in and can’t immediately hear Claire, so he shuts the door quietly.
“Hey, I’m home!” Leon calls out, taking his coat off.
“Aww, you’re early,” Claire replies.
“Was that a complaint that I got home before seven?”
“No, I just wanted to finish this before you came back. It’s fine. How did you talk them into letting you back at… Five forty. What did you agree to?” Claire asks as she walks into the room.
Leon puts the guitar down, “I didn’t agree to anything. They decided to let us off early since the mission tomorrow is starting early in the morning.”
“Oh,” Claire sighs.
Leon wraps his arms around her and she returns the gesture. Leon kisses her forehead.
“How was your day, my love?” Leon asks.
“Alright. Much better now.”
Leon laughs.
“What’s with the guitar? It’s not for me, is it?”
“It is not. Jon was getting rid of it and I thought I might try to pick it back up.”
“Oh, did you used to play?”
Leon nods.
Claire smiles, “So talented, Mr. Kennedy.”
“Not as talented as you, Mrs. Redfield.” They kiss for a moment before Claire goes back into the kitchen, Leon trailing behind her. “What did you make?”
“That recipe that your mom gave me.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Claire must have noticed that the teasing is gone from his tone because she turns around. “It’s not too soon, is it? We can order something.”
Leon shakes his head, then wraps his arms around Claire’s midsection.
“No, it’s fine,” he says before putting his head on her shoulder. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“Maybe the dozen times we’ve been through hell together,” Claire says.
“Maybe,” Leon echoes.
“When does your mission start again?”
“Four am, so I have to be out of here by three twenty.”
Claire groans.
“I know.”
“We’re gonna be going to sleep early,” Claire says.
“Sounds nice.”
“You’re gonna have to play for me first.”
Leon laughs, “Maybe.”
Leon just stays attached to Claire until she finishes making dinner, even though she keeps complaining that he’s making it harder to move around. They eat dinner and Claire chats about how work went for her. Leon listens and smiles when she excitedly tells him about the relief mission that she’s going to be going on while he’s gone. When they’re done and Leon’s done the dishes, he gets changed.
He walks into their room and Claire’s waiting, with the guitar. He sighs as he takes it from her. He sits down on their bed and starts tuning it. Claire sits down and puts her hands in her lap, clearly excited. Leon finds himself smiling at the sight of that bright face. Once it’s tuned, it starts strumming the chords to Iris , which he messes up a bit before getting into the rhythm of it. Claire hums along and claps when he’s done.
“That was not good enough for applause,” Leon says. “I am rusty as hell.”
He leans the guitar against the wall, then gets under the covers. Claire joins him and rests against his chest. He wraps an arm around her.
“Did you ever sing?” Claire asks.
“Yeah, a long time ago,” Leon answers, running a hand through Claire’s hair.
“Why’d you stop?”
“Same reason I’ve stopped just about anything, trauma. Don’t really want to talk about it, it happened a long time ago.”
“I’m sure you’d sound wonderful.”
“Thank you, my love.”
She puts her head against his chest and he continues to run a hand through her hair, thinking about the last time that he sang. He quietly starts singing
Don’t Stop Believin'
and Claire perks up a little. Doesn’t pick her head up, but he felt her head move just enough that she could listen better. It doesn’t take long for Claire to fall asleep and Leon stops singing when she does. Matching her breathing with her presence, Leon falls asleep quickly, the same way he does every night he’s with her.