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"Do you like One Direction?"
He ignores her for about five seconds. When his brain finally registers that Grace just asked him a question directly, he turns to look at her. Grace is already watching him with wide, curious eyes, licking her lips, waiting for his answer. He can see a small spark of excitement in her that, honestly, makes him want to smile.
"What are you talking about?" he has to ask, worried that in these few minutes they've been trapped together, she might have started to lose her mind.
"You know, One Direction, the boy band," she says, really hoping that would elicit a positive response. "What Makes You Beautiful. Harry Styles. Zayn."
"I don't—I don't listen to that kind of music."
She looks a little disappointed.
Grace is younger than him, by many years, but it's only now that he's really taking the time to notice. He now sees clearly her enthusiastic eyes, her cheeks still plump with baby fat, her youthful tastes that differ from everything he identifies with now.
"Oh. Okay." She remains thoughtful for a moment, until she speaks again when Leon least expects it. "So, what kind of music do you like?"
Leon shakes his head. "I don't really listen to music," he answers carefully. He knows that's the least expected answer, but the most honest one he has.
Obviously, Grace looks surprised. But with that, she finally drops the subject, and they both fall into a brief silence. Leon can only think about how much his back and legs hurt, a small scratch a licker left still healing on his left arm. Everything hurts, but the important thing is that they're okay. That Grace is okay.
It's at that moment that he hears another sound coming from Grace.
"Going out tonight..." Leon turns around more quickly than the first time, waiting for her to finish her sentence. And then he realizes that she's not talking to him. "Changes into something red."
Grace is singing, the last thing he thought would happen tonight. Now he truly thinks the poor woman is losing her mind, but he doesn't say anything, he just lets her be. He lets her sing, because they probably won't get out of this night alive.
"Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress. Everything she's never had, she's showing off..."
Grace continues gently, her voice slightly hoarse from all the screaming and crying she's done in the last few hours, but she's not bad. Leon lets his body lean back on his elbow, trying to relax as he listens to her entertain herself. Grace's gaze is lost somewhere in front of her.
What had she said? Something about changing into something red? Her mother not liking her dress? Mouth twisted into a smile, his mind takes him back to an event in the past, many, many years ago. A certain redhead putting on a short, tight dress that left nothing to the imagination, her older brother trying to change her mind about her outfit. But she had always been too stubborn, even with her brother. Especially with him.
Driving too fast, moon is breaking through her hair
Damn it. Claire. His small smile vanished from his lips as quickly as it appeared when he thought of that name and the strong woman who carried it with pride. At that moment, he was grateful that it was dark, except for the little light their flashlights provided, so Grace couldn't see the shadow that had fallen over him.
What would Claire be doing right now? Was she okay? Was she still waiting for an answer, constantly on the phone with Sherry to make sure Leon is going to save them all?
She's heading for something that she won't forget.
Having no regrets is all that she really wants.
Claire had surprised him. For the first time in her life, she had listened to him and stayed behind, when before she would have run after him. He liked to think that she did it to make sure Leon was safe, but he knew her too well not to believe that what she really wanted to make sure of was that the cure had been found. Claire had always been too independent to leave her life in someone else's hands, even if it was in the hands of the friend who had been loving her for years.
We're only getting older, baby.
And I've been thinking about it lately.
Does it ever drive you crazy?
Just how fast the night changes
Had so many years really passed? That fateful night, right here in Raccoon City, he had met one of the most important women in his life, if not the most important one at the moment.
Claire had dazzled him, not only with her undeniable beauty, but also with her ferocity, tenacity, and strong personality, which she already displayed at the tender age of nineteen. He had realized all of this in the few minutes they spent driving in that police car into the city, though he wouldn't have considered it then, but rather much later, when they were no longer teenagers and were forced to become a pair of adults carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, after being betrayed once again by the beautiful dark-haired woman who had stolen his heart that night.
Everything that you've ever dreamed of
Disappearing when you wake up
Lately, he constantly wondered what would've happened if the trailer hadn't crashed into their vehicle and they hadn't been separated by the explosion. They would've gone into the police station together, they would've met Marvin, perhaps they would've escaped faster. They both would've run into Ada—no, they would've run into Sherry. They would've saved little Sherry together, yes.
But there's nothing to be afraid of.
The three of them would've gotten out of there without having to go down to the NEST beneath the city. Sherry wouldn't have been infected, and she'd now be a normal woman, living her normal life, perhaps already married with a couple of children.
Would Claire and Leon have gotten married then?
Would they have had children?
Even when the night changes
It will never change me and you
He clings to that dream, he has for a long time. But more than clinging to a life far removed from his own, he clings to the idea of the woman with whom he could've spent it, with whom he still has a chance to spend it.
Chasing it tonight, doubts are running around her head
Although he doesn't want her to have any doubts. He wants her to dream the same as him. But does she?
Do you have the same dream as me, Claire?
He's waiting, hides behind a cigarette
He's afraid to know the answer, perhaps that's why he's postponed the question for so long, since the last time he saw her suffering, infected on Alcatraz Island.
Heart is beating loud and she doesn't want it to stop
And he regrets it so much. The worst answer he could've gotten would've been no, and he preferred not to hear it rather than be rejected, like the damn coward he'd always been in front of her and her feelings.
Perhaps if he hadn't been so obsessed with Ada from the beginning, this point in the story would've been very different.
Moving too fast, moon is lighting up her skin
She's falling, doesn't even know it yet
At that moment, Claire had loved him, she had loved him so much that she had suffered too much for him.
Having no regrets is all that she really wants
And he hadn't realized it until it was too late and he had finally lost her.
We're only getting older, baby
Until he had become old enough to look back and really notice all the things he had messed up.
And I've been thinking about it lately
Thinking about everything he could have done differently to never have lost Claire's feelings.
Does it ever drive you crazy?
Thinking of all the possible ways to apologize to her and win her back.
Just how fast the night changes
Because he could win her back, right? He still had a chance, didn't he?
Everything that you've ever dreamed of
He was going to get out of here. He was going to go to her apartment himself and give her the Elpis, and she would be so grateful that she would gladly fall into his arms, and he could hold her there. He could easily hold her for eternity.
Disappearing when you wake up
But that wasn't going to happen. There really was no way out of here. He and Grace would die without ever seeing the light of day again.
But there's nothing to be afraid of
And then Claire would die too.
Even when the night changes
She would die without knowing that Leon had loved her so deeply.
It will never change me and you.
She would die without knowing that Leon had died the same way, but with a broken heart for not having been able to save her.
She would never know about the odyssey of going to ARK, about everything he saw at the hospital, at the RPD. He would never be able to tell her about the damned giant spider he killed with his bare hands, and he would never see the shivers run through her body and her giggles as she imagined the creature. He would never be able to introduce her to Grace.
Going out tonight, changes into something red
He'd never see her red hair again, nor her beautiful blue eyes. He'd never see her again in that gorgeous, daring red dress that captivated him and that he fantasized about so constantly.
Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress
And if he died, he was sure that Chris would pull him out of hell only to kill him a second time.
Reminds her of the missing piece of innocence she lost
That's when Grace falls silent. Leon reacts immediately to the silence, about to ask her to continue singing.
"Why are you crying?" Grace asks him with a serious face.
Leon raises a hand to his cheek, feeling the moisture welling in his eyes. He got too carried away.
He quickly wipes away the remaining tears, trying not to make a big deal of it.
"That's a really sad song."
Grace raises an eyebrow. No, it isn't, but she decides not to contradict him. Leon had enough in his mind, she didn't want him to feel embarrassed over something as normal as shedding a few tears. He had every right to; after all, they were both sitting on their graves.
"Can you keep singing?"
Grace gives a lopsided, embarrassed smile.
"Do you like Taylor Swift?"
"Okay. I think that's enough, Grace."
Fortunately, it's at that moment that the Hound Wolf Squad descends the ropes.
***
When they are finally outside, safe and sound, after a long day of thinking they were going to die, Leon allows himself a peaceful smile while looking at Grace's hopeful face as she realizes that Emily can be saved.
"Leon, wait!" Grace's shout makes him stop immediately and retrace the few steps he'd taken away from her to finally get out of there, imagining that she still has doubts about the little girl's rescue. "When we were down there... Why were you crying?" she asks, surprising him. "Did you really think we were going to die, or does One Direction make you this emotional?" Grace puts a small, amused smile on her lips.
Leon chuckles, looking away.
"I realized I have a second chance to do things right," he replies, shrugging. That seems to give her even more questions than before. Leon laughs again. "Next time we see each other, I'll tell you a long story. Take care, Grace," he finally says, gently bumping the blonde's slender arm with his fist.
Grace smiles at him.
"You too, Leon. Good luck."
Leon nods, grateful. Although she doesn't know exactly why she's wishing him good luck, it's a kind gesture.
Finally, he turns and walks toward the waiting chopper, placing on his finger the silver ring that's been with him for the past few years, a ring whose sentimental value few people know.
He boards with a clear objective in mind.
Even if the night changes, he will see Claire Redfield one more time, and from that moment on, they will never change again.