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she didn’t want to still be in Washington but at least her hotel was nice.
Claire was sitting on the bed cross legged, hunched over her laptop writing up notes, though her attention was waning. words started to muddle together on the document resulting in Claire pushing her glasses up to her forehead, pinching the bridge of her nose, a curse muttered under her breath.
it was still bothering her; the way she and Leon had walked away from each other a few days ago. Claire was upset, rightly so, but she still regrets turning her back. they should’ve talked it out like adults, they should’ve gone to dinner. but they didn’t, so now it plagued Claire.
and she still wants that data chip.
with a frustrated groan, Claire’s attention returned to her laptop, though she closed the document she was writing and went to the Google search bar. her fingers hovered over the keys in hesitation before finally, rapidly typing in Leon Kennedy. she honestly didn’t expect much to pop up, working for the government doesn’t exactly equal extensive news articles. it all felt like secret service shit.
however a news article popped up as the top result; the president’s daughter Ashley Graham brought home at last.
Claire was aware Leon had just come back from some important mission but she hadn’t been informed of the extent. hell, why would she? it’s not Terrasave’s business and she never had a proper catch up with Leon.
she skimmed the article as she scrolled, her frown growing more and more prominent. seeing Leon receive all this praise wasn’t exactly improving her mood. she was still mad at him. even if that was childish.
after a second too long, Claire slammed her laptop shut a little too hard and got up from the bed, changing her position in the room to be staring out the window. she was fairly high up, plenty building surrounding the hotel. looked like the average concrete jungle. Claire couldn’t decide if she loved it or hated it right now. it depended on the day.
for a while, she just watched people, busses and cars pass by on the streets below, zoning out by the second. though she was startled back to reality as a man came into her sights. he looked like Leon; same hair, same shit he’d wear, but it wasn’t him. it took Claire a few seconds and squinting as she watched this man walk to figure out it was not Leon. her heart was torn between being grateful and being a little disappointed that it wasn’t Leon. it made her throat feel tight.
“fuck you.” she muttered under her breath, words she’d like to say to Leon’s face right now. turning away from the window she tossed her glasses which she had been holding onto the bed before her previously discarded laptop before hiding her face in her hands. “ruining my whole fucking life.” more words Claire would like to say to Leon.
Claire stayed like that for a while before her mobile phone ringing her startled her worse than the man on the street. she practically jumped, eyes wide as her head snapped to the direction her phone was in. her eyebrows furrowed after a second, frustrated a stupid phone ringing had startled her out of her thoughts so bad.
unknown number.
she picked up her phone just in time before the ringing stopped, answering it with a; “hello, this is Claire Redfield speaking."
“hey, Claire.”
her stomach dropped, immediately recognising the voice. the grip on her phone tightened, knuckles going white. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Claire… I was, uh… I feel really bad—“
“good.”
a sigh from the other end of the line. “I can’t stop thinking about the fact we just walked away from each other the other day. I actually want to catch up, Claire, I want to spend time with you.”
Claire gave a scoff of laughter. “right. should’ve thought about that before you denied me my basic rights, hm?”
“Claire, I don’t think it was ‘basic rights’. I was keeping you safe.”
“we could have this argument for hours, I’m not doing that.”
“… you’re still in Washington, right?”
“… maybe.”
“let me take you for a drink or something.. please. I want to talk, Red. I’ll… I’ll even bring the data chip.”
the intelligent part of Claire’s brain was telling her to hold her ground. and that he’s probably lying. but the heart wants what the heart wants.
“you’re lying.” she managed to bite out, a little bitterly, despite wanting to just say ‘yes’.
silence. Leon knew he couldn’t cement such a lie.
“I bet you destroyed it or something. fucking playing God. do you know what kind of an impact my exposé could’ve had? how selfish it was to treat me like a child and expect me to lie down and roll over while you made that big a decision for me?”
Leon deserved this. he accepted that. after a beat of silence a long sigh escaped him, just barely picking up on the phone line.
“I’d rather you yell at me in person.”
“… I don’t want to see you.” it was Claire’s turn to lie now. her heart betrayed her; yearning for any time with Leon that she could get. the two seem to go years without seeing each other these days, this kind of opportunity was far and few between.
she should just hang up. simple, effective, saved her ego from any hits it could take by giving in.
but she was only human. weak, even. she hated it. she stayed on the call, albeit silent.
“Claire, please.” oh how he sounded desperate… desperate for her company. Leon’s tone of voice almost unlocked something inside of Claire. made her mind drift to… places.. like what else she could make him plead for. “I’m leaving DC tomorrow…”
feeling heat rise to her cheeks she snapped out of it, her grip tightening on her phone again. “where?”
“how about that bar just off Rhode Ave and 14th Street? the little one, it’s not flashy.”
Claire very easily picked up on Leon’s tone of voice. he sounded so… uncharacteristically hopeful.
“the fucking dingy one?”
“would you rather go somewhere absolutely packed with drunk 21 year olds?”
“absolutely not.”
“then I’ll see you there. say… seven?”
“eight.” she needed some control.
“okay, yeah, eight works too.” a pause, though not long enough for Claire to speak. “thank you.”
“don’t thank me. who says I won’t give you a broken nose to remember tonight by?”
that got a chuckle out of Leon, something about the fact he couldn’t tell if she was dead serious or not was… weirdly endearing.
“I’ll take my chances.”
“fine. bye.” before Leon could get his niceties out, Claire hung up the call, tossing her phone onto the motel bed before letting herself fall face first against the duvet, groaning dramatically to herself.
she rolled over onto her back after a moment, running her hands down her face. “the fucking nerve. nice going, Claire, three steps back for feminism. giving in to a man who doesn’t deserve my time.” she muttered bitterly to herself as she just lay there, staring at the ceiling.
she could always just… not go. standing Leon up would humble him. then again, maybe he’d just drink himself into a stupor. Claire would never forgive herself if she woke up to a headline along the lines of ‘heavily intoxicated man victim to a hit and run in Washington DC, more news at 6’. an unlikely scenario, sure, but that fear would nag at Claire all night. she had no choice but to stay true to her word if she wanted a clear conscience.
—
“tell me about Spain.”
Claire sat opposite Leon in a booth towards the back of the bar, running her finger around the rim of her drink aimlessly. this was her 3rd drink, Claire had turned up half an hour early, she wasn’t sure she’d put up with Leon without some alcohol already in her system.
her initial plan had been to turn up, give Leon a good, strong ‘fuck you’ then be on her way but that clearly hadn’t happened.
“Spain? you keeping tabs on me, Red?” Leon asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back against his seat.
“no.” Claire answered with a sarcastic smile. “there are just news articles about it. people treating you like you’re a fucking national treasure..”
“that won’t last long. they’ll forget about me again in a month or so.” he shrugged, taking a swig of his whiskey. “that’s the way I like it. no attention.”
“you’re stalling. tell me about Spain.” Claire promoted again, her voice a little firmer.
Leon shifted slightly in his seat. thinking about that mission was still a little nerve wracking. a lot happened in such a short period of time, Leon was still getting new nightmares mixed in with his old Raccoon City ones.
“we were all infected. Ashley, Ada, myself—“
Claire cut him off, holding up a hand. “Ada? as in Ada from Raccoon City?”
Leon hesitated for a moment before nodding. touchy subject in one too many ways. “yeah. she survived Raccoon too… but anyway, we were all infected. felt fucking awful, I never want to feel like that again. Ashley was brave, though. she’s a good kid. wouldn’t have made it off that island without her.”
“mmm.” Claire hummed softly before taking a sip of her drink. “saw a picture of her, she looks sweet.”
“we also, uh… we had help from this guy called Luis. he…” Leon was fighting an internal battle, he hated thinking about Luis let alone talking about him. the thought triggered some sort of survivor's guilt. “he didn’t make it. but without him Ashley and I would be dead.”
for the first time tonight, Claire’s expression softened slightly with sympathy. not a mocking sympathy, a genuine one. “I’m sorry.”
Leon shrugged it off, waving a hand dismissively. not in a way to dismiss the death of a friend, rather a ‘I’d rather not relive this’ dismissal.
“so what’s up with you and Ada?”
Leon raised an eyebrow. “what do you mean?”
“I thought you had a thing going with her by the pointy end of Raccoon City.”
“no… no, we didn’t. nothing’s ‘up’ with us. I’d rather not chase the impossible.” Leon murmured, picking up his glass and leaning back against the booth while taking a drink.
“hm.” she hummed, mildly surprised. “shame. I thought you liked her.”
“… she used me, Claire, I didn’t like that very much. both times. besides, I have better options.” Leon caught himself before he could gesture towards Claire, it was almost a knee jerk reaction.
Claire noticed the way his fingers twitched. her gaze slowly drifted from the tabletop back up to his face, her expression almost… suspicious.
“what, like Angela?”
“no. no, no, hell no. she was nice n’ all but… no.”
Claire didn’t want to admit that made her feel.. good. it felt totally wrong wishing ill upon other women, wanting to keep them away from Leon because they’d never treat him the way Claire would. she could be selfish sometimes - only sometimes. she wasn’t proud of it either. too stubborn to talk to Leon, too bitter to let anybody else have him. it felt like a vicious cycle.
she downed the rest of her drink, getting an almost incredulous look out of Leon as her empty glass clinked back down on the table.
Leon could feel the tension in the air, could hear the ringing in his ears get louder despite the bustle of the bar around them. it made him shift uncomfortably in his seat.
“anyway, Spain.” he started again, clearly his throat. “it was a fucking cult. they praised this variant of the virus basically, some of the infected were still very… well, not human.. they were horrible monsters but they could still talk. and preach about Las Plagas.” Leon added, screwing his nose up a bit. “I think the worst part was seeing Ashley’s infection progress. she was so scared… I felt helpless sometimes. unable to truly comfort her..”
“sounds like how I felt with Sherry.” Claire replied, an all too knowing look in her eye. “it… it’s okay. I’m certain Ashley appreciates everything you did in your power. I mean, you got her out alive. that’s big.”
Leon shrugged, nodding slowly. “guess so.”
a silence fell over their booth, the hum of the bar almost fading away. Claire was just… looking at Leon, wanting her fire to come back, her anger towards him, anything. but all she could think about was how tired he looked, how much she’d missed those blue eyes. that rage that had filled her for days was nothing more than a pile of glowing embers now.
she hated Leon. he was a weak spot in her armour. a weak spot she didn’t truly want to mend.
suddenly the bar started feeling awfully claustrophobic, Claire could feel how sweaty her palms were getting.
“I need to use the bathroom.” with no further warning, Claire got up from the booth and made a beeline for the front door rather than the bathroom. she actually just wanted some fresh air but didn’t want Leon to follow her. not immediately.
Leon couldn’t even get an ‘okay’ in before she was out of sight. he sat there, confusion on his face. she’d gotten up so hastily.
-
she’d lied about where she was going. as soon as she set foot outside into the chill night air, Claire let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.
she sighed, crouching low to the ground and hiding her face in her hands, a groan escaping her after a moment. “jesus, pull it together, Claire.” she muttered to herself before standing up again, trying to shake off the feeling of whatever was wrong with her right now. she felt a little pathetic, now alone, out in the cold and the dark.
-
it didn’t take Leon long to deduct she wasn’t just in the bathroom. well, either she was somewhere else or she was hiding in the bathroom.
he tapped his fingers nervously against the table. on one hand, chasing after her could just make her more upset than she already was. on the other, Leon couldn’t just let her walk away again.
so he decided to find her. after looking confusedly around the bar, unintentionally getting the attention of a few drunk women, Leon finally checked outside only to find Claire leaning up against the cold bricks of the wall, the flame from her lighter illuminating her face.
“didn’t know you smoked.”
Leon’s voice startled Claire, her head snapping in his direction. her surprise faded fast, going back to lighting her cigarette.
“you live with Chris until you’re 18 and you pick up some habits.” she murmured with a shrug, trying to act like she didn’t want to talk. she did want to talk.
Leon just watched her in silence for a moment, watching her take a drag, then watching the smoke plume around her in the dim light. he very openly hated smoking, he couldn’t stand the smell, yet learning of this habit didn’t make Leon want Claire any less.
“brother of the year..”
he didn’t get a response, noticing how Claire was refusing to look at him. “are you okay? why’d you run off like that? I thought… I thought tonight wasn’t going so badly all things considering…” he finally asked, settling against the wall beside her, gaze still locked on her face.
“you’re making it painfully difficult to hate you.”
“… I don’t think I necessarily deserve hate just because I didn’t give you a data chip.”
Claire scowled slightly, shifting a step away from him. “I don’t care if it was unintentional or not, you took away my right to make a decision. it’s my safety on the line, not yours.”
“well, it’s kind of mine too.. if the government found out—“
“fuck your government! and fuck you too! I’m tired of being treated like a child. or-or like I can’t take care of myself. it’s fucking belittling!” there she goes, that pent up anger finally coming out. “I’m sick and tired of being told something’s too dangerous, or my life is on the line, or that I don’t have the experience. I’m tired, Leon!”
Leon had been rendered silent, swallowing hard as he stared down at his boots, contemplating how to respond. he felt like a naughty school boy or something. it was his turn to feel pathetic.
“you know I’d never make you feel like that intentionally.” he finally responded, albeit in a meek tone. “I don’t see you as too young or helpless. I just… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I’d given you that chip and it got you killed… I want to protect you.”
though his words were truthful and Claire knew deep down he never had any ill intent, that fire was still blazing inside of her.
“protect me? like you protected Sherry? now neither of us even know where the fuck she is. that’s your fault, you let them take her.”
“you were going to Europe, Claire! I wasn’t given a choice! as soon as they pitched training to me they promised to take Sherry somewhere safe where she could grow up, having a childhood.”
“I had to go to Europe, don’t try to pin this shit on me! Chris would be dead if I hadn’t gone. do you want me to lose him too? lose every single person in my life who means something to me?!”
“no, I don’t!” Leon raised his voice a bit too much, Claire’s energy was rubbing off on him. he needed to stop and take a breath. “I’ve been trying to track down Sherry but they've made it really hard. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything, Claire. I don’t mean to make bad choices— I never want to hurt you. do you know how much you mean to me?” his voice had softened, almost saddened, still avoiding looking at Claire.
Claire absentmindedly bit the inside of her cheek, not willing to back down. “not enough, clearly.” bitter words, words she knew were untrue deep down.
“Claire…” Leon finally raised his head, his gaze falling to her face, just barely lit by the bar’s neon sign and dim street lights, his tone almost disappointed. “Claire, you’re my world at this point. even when you’re not around. I’m scared as hell to admit that but…”
as an uncomfortable silence fell over them, Claire flicked her cigarette to the ground, crushing it under her boot, crossing her arms across her chest while purposely looking away from Leon.
she didn’t want this, she didn’t want Leon to care about her the way she cares about him. that made this whole thing harder.
“Claire, what are we even fighting about right now?” Leon broke the silence, his voice meek, defeated even. “I don’t want to fight with you. that’s the last thing I want…” an ‘I love you, Claire’ was on the tip of his tongue, yet it remained unspoken.
“I wish we were different people.”
Leon almost looked surprised to hear Claire speak again. part of him thought she might just walk away in silence.
“do you think we still would’ve met if the Raccoon City disaster didn’t happen?” an almost too simple question from Claire. too calm in what was a storm barely two minutes ago.
“… I’d hope so.”
an almost bitter chuckle sounded from Claire, shaking her head. “maybe in some alternative reality we’re happy together. some fuckin’ beautiful.. selfish reality.”
“‘together’?” Leon echoed before he could think any better.
Claire pretty much side-eyed him, nudging him a little too hard with her elbow. “don’t play dumb. I know we can both see it. i-it’s pathetic, honestly. neither of us have the balls to say it, huh?”
Leon pursed his lips in a straight line, furrowing his eyebrows slightly as he nodded.
“three drinks deep n’ I still can’t say it.” Claire muttered, a humourless, self deprecating chuckle sounding from her.
“okay, for the record, three drinks is not a lot.”
“yeah, maybe for you. fuckin’ alcoholic.”
“hey—“ that actually struck a nerve in Leon, a bit of fight boiling up in him but he almost immediately backed down, fists unclenching. he hung his head, an equally self deprecating laugh escaping Leon. “I don’t want to live like this, Claire. I don’t enjoy waking up the next morning after getting blackout.” he pinched the bridge of his nose before lifting his head again. “but the shit I’ve seen-? the shit we’ve seen? I can’t be alone with my thoughts. ever.”
“find company.”
“Claire, I don’t like talking to people—“
“surely 5 drinks in you’d start to be willing to talk to some pretty lady at the bar?” Claire ignored how it stung a little thinking about Leon in the company of other women. she shouldn’t; it’s a free country. they both had free will. but it still stung.
“I don’t know who you think I am, Red. that’s not me.” Leon turned his head to look at her when he spoke, his tone serious. he understood how some people may look at his lifestyle and assume he’s some kind of player, but he wasn’t. quite the opposite.
Claire squinted slightly, not entirely convinced. “seriously? you’re an attractive loner who’s never in one state for too long, sounds like the perfect meal for some tipsy hottie at the bar.”
Leon gave her a deadpan expression in response. “Claire, I’m gonna be real honest with you here. I haven’t slept with someone since I was with my ex.”
Claire raised an eyebrow. “like, a recent ex?”
“no.. like the girl who broke up with me the night I was meant to go to Raccoon City.” now that he was saying it out loud, it honestly felt embarrassing even though it shouldn’t have to.
“you’re joking.”
“no, I’m not! jesus, Claire, is that so hard to believe that I’m not some sleep-around dirtbag?” Leon almost laughed; at himself and at Claire’s surprise but he maintained his composure.
“it.. it’s just… y’know what, good for you. sounds like you’ve got a great fucking chastity belt on.”
that did get a breathless chuckle out of Leon. he wasn’t quite sure how to react. “I could truly give less of a fuck about other people. what can I say?”
“but you give a fuck about me.” Claire’s tone became more serious again, shooting him a pointed glance.
Leon couldn’t help sighing as he rolled his eyes. “obviously. I know it’s kind of… girly, but you’re my best friend, Claire. I wish I could see you every day, I wish we didn’t have these fucking jobs.” a pause, silence so loud Leon could hear the ringing in his ears again. “I miss you. most of the time. that’s why I was so excited to see you here in DC, that’s why I wanted to take you to dinner and-and… I don’t know. tell you how much I’ve missed you. how important you are to me. but then I fucked it up like I always do.”
Claire’s gaze dropped to her shoes again, her hands absentmindedly fiddling with the zipper of her jacket. “I could’ve acted differently too. given you a chance to… justify your decision. I was callous, I know that.”
Leon’s mouth hung open slightly, genuinely amazed Claire would even slightly paint herself in the wrong. she was so strong willed, she usually took a stance and stayed there no matter what. “did I just hear the Claire Redfield admit she was wrong?”
“you’re five seconds away from getting a broken nose tonight.” an empty threat no matter how serious she sounded.
“thank you.” Leon murmured, his gaze dropping to his feet as well. “for understanding my perspective.”
“I never said that—“
“I know. but you implied it. it’s okay, I won’t make you spell it out, your ego can’t handle that.”
though not a punch to the face, Leon did earn himself a fairly hard punch to the shoulder, a small “ow..” escaping him as he rubbed his shoulder.
“you know I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt you, Red… I couldn’t live with myself if I was the reason you fell into danger. or worse. if I’d given you that chip you’d have every target on your back possible… I can’t live in a world without you.”
Claire bit her lip, trying to ignore the way her eyes stung, tears threatening to well up. the thought of living in a reality where Leon was no longer around hurt to say the least, she understood that went both ways.
“I get it. it pains me to admit it but I probably would’ve done the same in your shoes…” Claire murmured.
that was oddly comforting to Leon, a faint smile tugging at his lips. he probably would’ve reacted the same in Claire’s shoes as well. they were alike in an awful lot of ways - but not too much. enough difference to make them compatible. individuality.
the silence that fell over them this time wasn’t uncomfortable, it was peaceful aside from the muffled noise of the bar inside. now stilled, not in any heightened mindset, the chill of the night air started to get to Claire. Leon couldn’t help but notice her shiver slightly, how she crossed her arms to keep her hands warm.
it didn’t take Leon long to wrap an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. “should’ve worn more layers.”
“I didn’t think I’d be standing out in the cold tonight. arguing, at that.” Claire murmured, a little dismissively. despite her mild attitude, she stayed right where she was, content.
a faint chuckle came from Leon. “when it’s us, something has to go wrong.”
“… I wish it wouldn’t.”
“me too.”
another silence befell them, not exactly uncomfortably but Claire could feel some tension again.
“so, what now?” her voice cut through the silence, turning her head slightly to look at Leon.
he opened his mouth to reply but no words came, a sigh escaping him after a moment. “I dunno. I’m leaving DC tomorrow, don’t have a fucking clue where they’re sending me next..”
“we’ll see each other again. eventually”
“I know, is that really the point though? I thought you meant ‘what now’ for us.”
“well… yeah.. you still answered my question. nothing is the answer. we’re too busy— for anything, for this.” Claire finally let her head rest against his shoulder, gesturing vaguely between the two of them with her hands. “it’s not gonna happen no matter how much we work on ourselves, our differences, what we want, our jobs... we really got into the wrong line of work, huh?” she added with a bleak laugh. “the only thing we can do is hope fate puts us in the right place at the right time occasionally… I miss you too, y'know?"
“you believe in fate?”
“no. not unless it’s to do with us.”
“poetic…”
Claire had been smiling softly, but that smile soon dropped, replaced with that melancholy in her eyes she’d gotten accustomed to seeing in the mirror. “we should probably go. I’m guessing you’ll need to be up early tomorrow.”
Leon visibly grimaced slightly, nodding. “yeah. maybe if I went back to your hotel I wouldn’t get rudely awoken at 5am.”
“I’m not having pity sex with you.” Claire dipped out from his embrace, walking backwards a few steps as she faced him with an almost cheeky smile. Leon hadn’t seen that look on her face since 1998.
Claire knew her demeanour was a major switch up but she didn’t want to part ways with Leon on a sour note again. she could continue to be upset in private; she didn’t know when the hell she’d see Leon again. this time was important to her.
“Claire, what?! that’s not—!” his cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke, frozen to the spot.
“asking to come back to my hotel room? tsk, tsk.” she clicked her tongue in mock disapproval.
“I was making a joke— even if I did go back with you I’d crash on the floor!” the line between jokes and seriousness with Claire had always been blurred for Leon. he liked that about her, unfortunately. kept him on his toes. though he didn’t love it in situations like this.
Claire couldn’t help but laugh, turning on her heels as she zipped up her jacket. “I’ll let you walk me back to my hotel but that’s it.”
Leon cleared his throat, straightening himself up before pushing off the wall, catching up to Claire. “you’re using me as a glorified guard dog.” he muttered, keeping pace with her down the sidewalk.
“god forbid I don’t want to walk alone at night down streets I hardly know.”
“… I didn’t say I minded being your guard dog.”
“good boy.”
“Claire—“ Leon shot her a look. “I think I preferred it when you were pissed at me..”
her cheeky smile faded to something a bit more melancholy, looking down at her boots as they walked. “I don’t want to split ways in a bad mood… again. I’d probably make myself sick overthinking it all. this is… better.”
“it’s not my ideal outcome.”
“mine neither.”
“if we met under normal circumstances you’d probably have a ring by now.” Leon mused with a humourless chuckle.
“you? you’re so far from the marriage type, Leon.”
“I’d be anything for you. hell, even a dad.”
a soft hum sounded from Claire, a very faint smile on her lips. “our alternative universe selves are living a good life, I guess.”
Leon look a prolonged look at her, taking in how the street lights caught her auburn hair, the way her face was illuminated, that almost sad smile, those beautiful eyes he could spend hours looking into.
“yeah.” he murmured, shoving his hands into his pockets. “should be us.”
“in another life.” Claire answered before stepping closer to Leon, linking her arm with his, leaning into him slightly as they continued down the street.
Leon didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away, he just let himself soak in her warmth, her company. this was all he was getting for god knows how long. Leon’s gaze remained on Claire, unintentionally relying on her to make sure he didn’t walk into a pole. she was more important, anyway.
‘I love you.’ ‘I want to be together, I want to love you every day.’ all words left unspoken, taking up space in Leon’s mind. they’d always take up space, he couldn’t quite care at this point. it was better than not feeling that love at all.
they certainly looked like a couple, walking arm in arm down the street. yet it was so much more complicated than that.
all Leon could do was appreciate this time. Claire as well. it’s what’s best for them both. Leon didn’t know it yet, but saying goodbye to Claire at her hotel was going to be one of the hardest things he’d done in a long time.
a rookie and his angel, torn apart by the hellscape of working against bioweapons.
maybe one day they can be something. be together. when fate allows it.