Author's Note: -Waves- Hola everyone; Laurin here. Anyways, this little ficlet is for my friend, Doylie, seeing as though today is her birthday. We don't /exactly/ talk much, but when we do, it's almost always about Cleon. Anyways, hope you enjoy, Doylie! Happy birthday!

Some Place Normal

"Say, Leon? Are you in Washington today? I'm working on a small case there and was wondering…."

Claire Redfield closed her eyes as memories of the past month swept across her mind. How long has it been since she had last seen him; six or seven years, she figured, but who was really counting? It had been so unexpected when his voice barked at her to get down, and then played the hero card once again. It was always like that with them, though. Leon, being who he was, would save her life and then extend his hand, offering that charming smile to her as if saving her tail was nothing.

But that's what Leon S. Kennedy did best; save lives. After all, he was a rookie cop when they had first met. Then, several years later, he was a well known government agent turned black op. Still, despite his huge success, he was still the same Leon she had met years before. Shaking her head, Claire tucked a piece of her loose hair behind her ear. No, that wasn't right; this Leon was a bit more sullen from sight of bloodshed. It didn't bother her, though. Claire was always a cheerful person, but after that hellish night in Raccoon, she often found herself sulking. Still, she pressed on, just like everyone who had been exposed to the virus did.

Beside her, the phone buzzed loudly on the hotel room's desk, snapping her out of her thoughts. A slow, genuine smile painted across Claire's face as her blue eyes scanned the caller I.D.—Leon.

"Hello," she answered, pressing the phone against her ear with her shoulder, hands reaching for the thick material of her curtains. "And what brings this surprise?"

A throaty chuckle was heard from the other side of the phone, "You never change, Redfield. I was just calling to see how you were." This statement didn't surprise the younger Redfield in the slightest. Sometimes they wouldn't speak for three or four months, but one of them would call the other and there wouldn't be any awkward silences in the conversation. Light shone into the room as Claire pulled back the thick material covering the large window and smiled.

"Actually, Leon, I was wondering what you're doing. I'm in Washington at the moment, and was wondering—"

He interrupted her question, "What hotel? I'll pick you up and we can go grab coffee or something."

A smile broke out on Claire's face once more because of the man on the other line, "Why, Mr. Kennedy, who says I wanted to hang out with you?"

"Just a feeling," he retorted lightly, listening as Claire laughed whole-heartedly at his reply.

"Well," Claire slipped on her shoes, "I'm at the St. Mark's. Meet me downstairs in the lobby."

There was a mumble of a reply and a click, signaling that Leon had hung up and was picking her up in a short amount of time. Claire walked into the bathroom and quickly tied her hair up, leaving her bangs to fall into their place of the side of her cheekbones. Every other hairstyle was too much for the young Redfield to manage, which is why she wore the same style since her childhood. Once she was done freshening herself up, Claire walked down the stairs of the hotel and grinned at the sight of the leather jacket.

"Hello Mr. Kennedy," she said smoothly, trying her best to contain a fit of laughter as Leon turned around, surprised look to his handsome face. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as a friendly 'hello' hug.

"Do you know where we're going?" His amber eyes slid across her face as if drinking in her features. Sure, they had seen each other not but twenty or so days ago, but it wasn't like they had the chance to sit down and communicate with each other.

Claire thought to herself for a moment and shrugged her shoulders, playfully punching Leon in the arm, "You're the one who lives here, Mr. Big shot Field Agent."

"Barely here most of the time," Leon corrected and held open the golden door for Claire, who thanked him as she passed by. The younger Redfield stopped at the sight of his car and whirled around, lifting a thin, red eyebrow. "What," Leon questioned, unlocking the car and opening the passenger's side for his company.

"A BMW, Leon? Do you even use it that often," questioned Claire as she slid into the leather seats, noting how new everything smelt.

"Only when I'm trying to impress someone," Claire blushed at this and turned her face away, not wanting the government agent to see the red stain across her cheeks. He didn't notice it, thankfully, and drove off. She didn't know how to explain it, but that night during Harvardville brought up feelings that Claire had thought quelled along the years. The two of them made mild conversation, obviously happy to be in each other's presence. Without a warning, Leon pulled into a small café minutes later, parking the car and turning off the engine. He turned to Claire, offering a tiny smile, and jerked his head in the direction of the quaint eatery, "Does this look alright to you?"

Claire could barely contain her smile, "Perfect, Leon. Thank-you." They walked inside together, arms brushing against the fabric of the other's clothing, before they took a seat by the window facing the street.

"I'm glad you called me," Claire admitted, eyes darting to Leon's face. The waitress passed them by, asking what they wanted. Before Claire had a chance to answer her, Leon piped up from his seat.

"Two decaf, vanilla lattes—one with a honey twist," he looked over at Claire and smiled, leaning back into his seat. "That is what you wanted, right?"

She couldn't help but smile, "You know me too well, Mr. Kennedy."

The waitress walked off, leaving the two friends to converse pleasantly. It seemed as though they didn't have anything to run out of, topic-wise. However, Claire realized she brought up a sore subject when mentioning Angela, the pretty blond S.R.T. member whom had worked with them just a month prior to their current meeting.

"So…did you two even date a bit," Claire asked softly, watching as Leon's wince smoothed out into his normal, confident expression.

He nodded, "We talked for a bit, after I left. However, it just wasn't working. Turns out that, after you deal with all the zombies and viruses, there isn't much to talk about."

"Ah," Claire replied, allowing a small silence to coat the air between them. She thanked the waitress once receiving her coffee and took a sip; face lighting up as the warm liquid entered her mouth.

"Besides," Leon continued, watching Claire's face with an intense look, "that day at Harvardville made me realize that there was someone else who I have affection for."

This didn't surprise Claire. She had known about the pretty spy—Ada Wong—before, but she couldn't understand why Leon still held on to that memory shared from seven years ago. "Really," she teased, placing her warm beverage down, "and who might that be?"

A pensive expression crossed Leon's face for a moment or two before exhaling, "Claire, uh, how long do you have until you have to leave Washington?"

Shaking her head lightly, Claire bit back a laugh. Of course, it was just like Leon to change the subject once he grew too uncomfortable. "In a week or so," she replied easily, taking another sip from her cup, "why?"

A thin silence ebbed once more into their casual conversation before Leon spoke up once more, "Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"Sure, a nice, friendly outing would be nic—"

Leon's amber eyes met her baby blues, taking her back for a moment or two, "Not as friends, Claire. I care for you too much to ever consider you just a friend. Harvardville made me realize a lot of things, but the most important one was how much I didn't want to lose you."

This time, Claire didn't try to hide the blush from her face. Leon was so unpredictable sometimes it scared her, "Oh, I…."

"Never mind," Leon quickly added, eyelids closing over his eyes for a moment, "I shouldn't have said anything."

Claire deadpanned a bit, whacking Leon's hand from across the table, "You didn't let me finish. I would love to go to dinner with you tomorrow night as more than friends."

Grinning widely, Leon nodded and quickly finished off his drink, "Do you want to go somewhere?"

Nodding, Claire left her coffee where it was and stood up, leaving the café hand in hand with Leon S. Kennedy.

Through all the chaos and friction, the two somehow met. Perhaps there was such a thing called fate.