Chapter Text
It was one of the limited free days Leon had, and Claire wanted to spend it at a bar, trying to get him to socialize. She didn’t even ask him if he wanted to go out. She showed up and practically dragged Leon out of his apartment.
His plans to stay in and enjoy a cold beer: shattered.
They’re sitting at the bar with a glass of bourbon each.
"Don’t tell me we came all the way here to sit in silence," Claire says.
"You brought me here. I didn’t want to come." The blond takes a sip of his drink.
“You can at least try to look like you’re having fun”
Leon turns his head and flashes a nightmare-ish smile with all his teeth on display. His eyes are soulless and tired.
Claire sighs and looks around the bar. It’s a full house tonight; Many groups of people just having a good time and enjoying themselves. Looking at what’s on the TV or talking amongst themselves and having a couple of drinks.
"Would it kill you to just make some other friends? You have four in total!" Claire’s voice is filled with annoyance and frustration. She just wants her friend to get out of his shell. She knows he’s been going through things and maybe meeting somebody could help him.
"If you’re so desperate for friends, go on ahead. I just came here because you forced me to— I’m not going to just go up to a random person and start having a conversation with them”
Claire rolls her eyes, “Maybe you should” Claire sets her elbows on the table and her face in her palms.
“I won’t”
“I dare you to,” she says with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
It’s Leon’s turn to roll his eyes, "I’m not doing that" he interrupts.
“Go start up a conversation with the next person that walks in,"
Leon scoffs and raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what do I get if I do it?"
“I’ll give 50 bucks. And not just a quick hello, you've got to chat with them for at least ten minutes," she adds, with a playful challenge in her voice.
Leon thinks about it for a moment and takes another sip of his drink shaking his head.
“Then...” Claire pauses and looks around the bar once more, “I’ll buy your drinks for the rest of the night”
The offer is tempting. Leon ponders for a moment then finally gives in. This ought to make his night a bit more interesting at least.
“Sure”
The man finishes his drink. The two friends turn to look at the door, ready for somebody to walk through them.
The doors open five minutes later.
︵‿୨୧‿︵
You had a great day today. The interview for your new job as a federal agent went smoothly as butter. You couldn’t be happier, so to celebrate, you’re going to treat yourself to a couple of drinks. Celebrating alone can be awkward, and there are definitely other ways to do it alone, but you’ve been wanting to get out of the house for a while and get familiarized with the city.
You’re approaching the first bar you saw. The exterior is plain and simple, but it still looks nice. You notice many cars in the parking lot. There must be a lot of people in there. It is a Friday night after all.
You push the door open. The atmosphere is calming but chatter fills the bar. As you scan over the sea of people you notice two people staring at you: a woman with brown hair dressed in a red jacket and a man with blond-ish hair. They quickly turn around and start talking to each other.
You go take a seat at the bar— as far away as you can from the odd duo— and order yourself a beverage. You take out your phone from your jeans pocket and flip it open searching for your mother’s contact. You haven’t delivered the good news to her yet and you just can't contain the excitement anymore.
Somebody sits next to you. You don’t look at who it is, but your nostrils are invaded by a musky, leathery scent.
You put down the phone in front of you and turn to look in the opposite direction, at the TV displaying a random action movie. Suddenly feeling uneasy. You can call your mother later.
The stranger beside you clears their throat. You still look at the TV. He’s trying to call for the bartender, yeah.
You feel a tap on your shoulder and know you can’t keep ignoring whoever it is. You turn to look at them, not wanting to be rude.
It’s the same guy who was looking staring at you when you walked in. His hair is more of an ashy tone than what you noticed at first. What does he want with you?
He looks handsome up close. You pray he’s not trying to hit on you right now. You just want to celebrate in peace, then go home.
"Hello," the man beside you says. His voice is deep and raspy.
You greet him back, giving him an unsure smile.
"I’m Leon Kennedy." He extends his hand to you.
You look at it, then at his face. You grasp it firmly and shake it. "Nice to meet you, Leon." You also give him your name.
The bartender finally sets your drink in front of you. You thank her
Leon looks at your drink as you bring it closer.
"What did you get?" he asks.
"Oh, just a gin and tonic for a little celebration" You take a sip of the drink. The bitter and zesty flavour of the cocktail immediately takes over your taste buds.
Leon nods, his cool blue eyes fixed on yours. "What are you celebrating?"
You pause for a moment, unsure of how much to reveal to a stranger. But something about Leon's easy demeanour puts you at ease. "I just got hired for a new job"
"Congratulations," Leon says, giving you a warm smile.
"Thank you," you say quietly. You feel yourself relaxing into the conversation, enjoying his presence.
There’s a moment of silence. Neither of you says anything.
The bar is bustling with people chattering and laughing, but for a moment, it seems as if everything has gone quiet. You take in your surroundings, noticing the dim lighting and the clinking of glasses.
Leon clears his throat, breaking the silence.
"Sorry, I don’t usually just go up to strangers," he says, with a hint of a smile.
"It's okay. I'm a little nervous, to be honest. It's my first time celebrating alone."
Leon nods in understanding.
"You know, my friend dragged me out in an attempt to make me talk with other people. She said if I have a conversation with somebody for ten minutes she’ll pay for my drink. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have come to bother you"
You let out a little laugh. That’s fair; You’d do the same.
"And how much longer do you have?"
"Why, you don’t enjoy my company?" he grins.
You shrug and look down at your drink "It's not that; You seem like a good guy— You and your friend need to learn to stare at people more subtly though" You smile.
Leon smiles back. He looks nice when he smiles. He raises his wrist and glances at his watch.
"Got seven more minutes. Is there anything you want to know about me?"
You look at him, then around the bar, then back at him.
"Out of all the people here, what made you talk to me?"
"My friend and I agreed that I'll talk to the next person that walks in"
You nod and go back to staring at your drink.
A phone starts ringing. Leon searches through his pockets then takes out his phone and flips it open. He glances at whoever is calling and decides it’s not important. He closes the phone and sets it close to yours.
You want to ask who was that but decide you’re in no position to make such queries.
Your phones are close to each other and they look similar, too similar. Actually, you have the same model phone, the same colour as well.
"Did you grow up around here?"
You shake your head. "I just moved here, actually. Almost a week ago. How about you?”
"I’ve been living here for a few years now," he replies.
"Ah, so you’re practically a local," you say, taking another sip of your drink.
Leon chuckles. "I guess you could say that"
From there, the conversation flows smoothly between the two of you. You make a couple of jokes and you forget about time for a while.
As you finish your drink, Leon looks at his watch. "Wow, it’s already 11:34"
You nod, feeling a little disappointed that the night is coming to an end. He seems like a nice presence to be around.
"You better go back to your friend and claim those drinks," you say, smiling at him.
"You want me to leave already?"
"Well, I think it's time I go home. It was really nice talking to you, Leon"
"Likewise. Maybe we can do this again sometime?" he suggests.
You nod, trying not to sound too eager, "Maybe"
Both of you grab your phones and head out your separate ways, feeling a little disappointed that you didn’t think to ask for his number. But perhaps you could meet again...
︵‿୨୧‿︵
You ended up going to a club and staying there until 1 am. No stranger came to start chatting with you because their friend dared them to, disappointingly. You had such a great time with that Leon guy...
You just arrived at your apartment. Boxes that need to be opened and things that need to be organized are lying everywhere. A plate of cookies is sitting on the kitchen counter. They’re a gift from your next-door neighbour; a sweet old lady baked them as a housewarming gift.
Your phone starts buzzing. Shit, you forgot to call your mom!
You take it out of your pocket and glance at the ID.
Chris Redfield
You don’t remember ever saving somebody’s contact information under that name, and it certainly doesn’t sound like your mother’s name. Your thoughts immediately go to the bar and the phones.
Did you grab Leon's phone by mistake? They looked pretty similar but you graved your phone. The one next to— You grabbed Leon's phone. Great.
The phone is still buzzing in your hand. You debate if you should answer the call or not. It’s not your place to take calls meant for somebody else. But what if it’s Leon calling?
The buzzing stops.
You go to sit on the couch, staring at the phone in your hand. You flip open it and put your pin in. As you kind of expected, it doesn’t work. Why’d you even try it at all?
You type it in again. Nothing.
The clock displayed on the phone’s screen says it’s way past the time of calling hours. But you still type in your number in the emergency call option. You look at it. Should you call, or should you not call?
He could be sleeping at this hour like a normal person would. Or he’s like you and he’s debating whether he could contact you or not...
Your finger hovers above the call button. You press it by accident and silently curse yourself. It’s not too late to hang up and call in the morning.
The phone rings, and you think this is a stupid idea. You need to hang up and call in the morning at a reasonable hour.
The line goes silent. Has he picked up the phone? The noise that comes from the other end makes you think that, yes, he has picked up the phone.
"Hello?" He sounds like he just woke up. Did you just wake him up? You totally did.
You greet him and tell him who you are. "I’m sorry, did I wake you?"
"No, no!" There’s shuffling coming from the other end, like he got up from his bed, "I— Actually I was just about to call you”
No he wasn’t.
"I just wanted to say— Never mind. We can speak about it in the morning. I’m sorry for waking you up. Good night!"
Not even giving him a chance to say anything you close the phone. You slowly set it on the coffee table and walk towards your bedroom.
You fall onto your unmade bed and bury yourself in the pillows.
On the other side of the line, Leon is confused, phone at his ear, looking ahead at the darkness of his room. What did just happen?
Should he call back? What would he say if he did?
You did wake him up, but that wasn’t the issue.
He brings the phone in front of him and stares at it for a while and decides it’s too late now to call back. He’ll do it in the morning and he’ll be the one to make the call… if he could remember his own number.