Chapter Text
Chris had spent the late summer months filing papers and passing around parking tickets, it was a low blow. His suspension from S.T.A.R.S proved to be difficult due to the lack of action, but at least Jill was along for the ride. Jill, believing she found a lead linking the increasing distribution of Raccoon City’s infamous drug, T, to the pharmaceutical company Umbrella, convinced Chris to help her investigate. The rising drug issues had placed Raccoon on the map with a bitter taste, yet what surprised Chris the most was the final task he was assigned towards the end of suspension.
From what he read about Leon S. Kennedy, he assumed he would meet an eager young cop; yet the rookie’s tardiness seemed to prove him wrong. Dusk settled upon the Raccoon City skyline, and Chris decided to remove himself from the front desk, turning towards the windowless west office.
“Redfield!” shouted a familiar, stern voice. He turned to see Chief Irons, towering over the RPD lobby atop the second floor balcony.
“How can I help you sir?” he responded. Internally, Chris preferred to avoid the head of the police department. His suspension unfortunately increased the amount of interactions between the two.
“Where’s the new toy?” Irons questioned.
“I’m not sure sir, he was supposed to be here around an hour ago. We planned a few welcome activities but most of the men don’t seem to want to wait around much longer.”
“You’re the only one required to wait for him, it should only be you, Kennedy, and Branagh on tonight’s shift. Let the other officers know they aren’t required to wait. I’m off for the night, let the rookie know I want a word with him in the morning.” Irons proceeded to hurriedly step back into the door behind him. “Yes sir.” Chris sighed as he turned to open the door decorated with a plain blue spade. The sunlight from the front door reflected off of the gold outlining, causing Chris to squint as he stepped into the artificially lit room.
His vision cleared to reveal his fellow officers packing up for the night. He approached his desk right beside Leon’s, the draft from the air vent fluttered his papers along with the blue and yellow sign above him which read “WELCOME LEON”. He expressed quick goodbyes to the retreating officers, then continued to indulge in his paper work for the next hour.
“Try not to be too hard on him.” interrupted a voice. Chris lifted his head to see Lieutenant Marvin Branagh taking a seat at the desk across from him.
“I won’t, it’s just his cupcake is getting stale.” Chris replied, sending a brief glance towards the chocolate pastry atop a small plate on the rookie’s desk.
“Nobody’s perfect Chris, it’s probably an honest mistake. It’s your turn to take the front desk.” In response, Chris stood and stretched his arms above his head. He glanced at the overhead clock which read a little past 9:00pm. After maneuvering from one desk to another, there was a solid half hour of silence until the glass doors of the station creaked open.
…
Leon pulled up to the gas station on the outskirts of Raccoon City in his worn down jeep, already annoyed because he’s at least an hour late to his first day at work. Not only did he wake up late, but with a massive hangover. He hadn't necessarily planned to jump the gun and move, but the moment he got the news that his application was accepted, he was on the road. The night before wasn’t much better, he wasn’t drinking that much to celebrate. His girlfriend broke up with him, and he wanted to forget his final moments in that miserable town. He pulled into the gas station with too much on his mind, thinking over his plans as he grabbed the green gas pump and inserted it into the gas tank. Leon didn’t necessarily have a plan, his entire goal was to get out of his home town and never look back. He would need to look for motels and places to eat, as well as-
“Don’t touch me asshole!” interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see a woman with bright brownish-reddish hair and a very distinguishable red leather jacket. The girl looked no older than twenty, dim lighting inside the gas station making it difficult to examine any specific features. The older man at the register held a tight grip on her wrist, while she was visibly struggling to pull away in the empty store. Leon steadily rushed into the store, his presence causing the elderly cashier to quickly pull away.
“Everything ok babe?” Leon asked. The woman’s expression changed from annoyance, anger, then realization in the span of a second.
“Oh! Yes honey, I forgot what drink you asked me to buy.” Her tone was obvious enough to give them away to any person who can recognize bad acting. Apparently this didn’t apply to senile cashiers in the middle of nowhere.
“Just a coke, I’ll go grab it.” He approaches the dimly lit refrigerator, taking one of the brown bottles off the shelf and returning to the register. He places the bottle next to the girl’s drink, a can of Red-bull.
“How much will that be, sir?” asks Leon. The cashier gives him a dirty look.
“$2.35.” was the response. Leon pulled out his wallet, fishing out a five dollar bill then placing it on the counter.
“Keep the change.” Leon takes both drinks, gesturing to the younger woman to follow him out the door. As soon as he felt the rain, the young woman cracked open her can and began to speak.
“RPD?” she asked.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“I saw the badge in your wallet. I plan on stopping by the police station to say hi to my brother before returning back to my dorm.”
“I’m on my way there as well, it’s my first day and I’m a little late.”
“What time were you supposed to be there?”
“Around six.”
“Jesus! It’s almost 8:30! Thanks for the help back there.” she pauses, then adds, “And the drink.”
“Of course. Glad I could help.” he extends his hand. “The name’s Leon.”
“A pleasure,” she responds enthusiastically. Jokingly, she bows then proceeds to return the handshake. “Claire Redfield. Thank you for your service officer.”
Leon chuckles, “Why of course ma’am, I’ll see you at the station?”
“Ew, don’t call me ma’am. But yes, I hope to see you there.”
Taking one last sip of her drink, she hops onto the shiny red bike conveniently parked in front of the trash can. After tossing the can in she props the helmet on her heading, the engine roaring as she starts up the bike. With one final salute, she backs away and turns back onto the open road. Smiling to himself, Leon walks back to his Jeep. Despite the shit show of a day he’s had, he was grateful to make a new friend. Unfortunately, he was now drenched and there was no way he would be dry enough by the time he reached the station. He doubted appearances would lessen the penalty for his tardiness.
—
Leon was grateful for the empty parking lot, finding himself pulling up to a familiar red motorcycle and parking next to it. As he was stepping out of the car, a familiar voice overcame the pounding rain.
“Leon!” Claire shouted as she walked back towards him. Leon brushed his damp blond hair away from his face and smiled. “Fancy meeting you here,” he replied.
“You caught me just as I was about to walk in.”
“They sure have an interesting taste in architecture.”
“My brother says it used to be a museum. When he first started he got all kinds of lost in there. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Claire says as she begins walking towards the front doors. Leon rushes forward and takes the door handle before she could reach it.
“Ladies first,” he says with a smirk. The playful tone barely reached Claire’s ears over the heavy rain. He pushes the doors open while she responds with an eye roll. She struts right in with Leon right behind her.