#gatheringstars: claire

[redactar]

“Not that bad huh? Say that to me without flinching.” //Claire :3c

@gatheringstars

"It's not--"

He wilted under her scrutinizing gaze. He looked like roadkill brought in by an overenthusiastic cat. How he'd gotten out from under the piercing eyes of medical was a real mystery. Claire wasn't so easy to shirk off. She had her arms crossed in front of her, giving him the knowing look, as if she had been a fly on the wall at the end of his assignment. He'd insisted he could drive a few miles, or more than a few miles, to get home.

He was fine. It was just a few broken ribs. No one could do anything about that.

"I'm not going to the hospital," he said, almost petulant. Leon looked at her through his bangs. "It really isn't that bad. Nothing some sleep can't fix, anyway."

[redactar]

[ DINNER ]: having learned that the receiver has had a difficult time lately, sender arrives at their door with their favorite dinner and drinks. // Claire @gatheringstars

@gatheringstars

She was the last person he wanted to see at his doorstep, and the only person he wanted to see all at the same time. He wasn't expecting her, having dodged text messages with vague "cant talk right now" and emails with "they have me running around, be back soon". All instead of the jealousy reeked what do you want to talk with me for, Claire, focus on your new boyfriend. Move on without me like you should. He had more self control than that, and it wasn't her fault she caught them on her doorstep when he'd tried to surprise her.

He was glad he didn't, because she wouldn't be here right now.

There was nothing he could do to cover up the waxen paleness of his skin, or the gauntness of his cheeks, or the darkened circles under his eyes. He hadn't even bothered to make himself look all that presentable, clearly having gotten out of bed only to get the door. As if suddenly self conscious, he took a hand through his unusually messy waves.

It was two months after Spain, and he had gone on three different assignments since. She must have gotten in contact with Hunnigan, who had insisted someone have her number for when he just couldn't answer the phone.

He was finally on furlough for a few weeks (hopefully).

The smell of Chinese take out made him both curious and vaguely nauseated. He couldn't remember the last time he had something that wasn't crackers, toast or plain eggs. He had been in and out of the hospital lately, still sick from Spain and everything else on top.

"Hey," Leon said, a little smile quirking his lips as he stepped aside. "Did I miss your call?"

His usually spotless apartment was a bit of a mess. Not quite a depression den, but give or take another week like this and it might be. The small dining table still had the remnants of his last attempt at breakfast and lunch. Leon cleared the two plates into the sink with the three cups and various cutlery. He would get to it. He would get to it when he didn't feel like a run over pile of dog shit.

"Sorry about the mess." Leon shrugged, didn't have a lie. "I'm not feeling too well."

[redactar]

Does Leon prefer the sound of the ocean or the quiet of the mountains? What would you say is his natural environment? What feels like home to him?

@treatwounds // send raive hc questions

He likes the sound of the ocean. And he's definitely a city kid.

That said, Leon's been so many places and has felt so displaced everywhere, that I wouldn't say anything really feels like home anymore. That doesn't really exist. He has his house in DC and his condo in NYC, but they're not really home in that sense of the word. They're places he lives. DC might be the closest thing to it, because he's been there long enough to know it well, but at the same time, he could pick up and go in a heartbeat.

Home is... Claire, grinning at him from across the couch as she tells him they're going to build the best midnight couch fort ever and watch stupid romcoms and eat greasy, greasy pizza. It's sitting quietly with Hunnigan in the office as he types up the last of his report and nudges her in the shoulder as he gets up to leave and tells her not to work too late, you're going to have to move in, soon. It's a living room in a house that no longer has the same owner, a little girl screeching as he grabs her and tosses her over his shoulder even tho his ribs still ache; the moment he freezes when an older man catches them through the hallway entrance and he says, 'Permission to evac?' and with a snort, the man rolling his eyes, 'Permission granted.' The little girl wiggling, eyes wide, "Not fair! You're supposed to be on my side!"

@antiibow // @gatheringstars

[redactar]

　　　　A voicemail would appear in his inbox some weeks later, no missed call or anything. It was from Sarsi. She didn't want to do this over text, but also didn't think she could handle the anxiety of having it ring with the possibility he might actually answer. She was simultaneously high as a kite and a little bit tipsy from the nearly empty bottle of wine in her hand, but through her own sheer will power managed to keep it out of her voice as she spoke into the phone. Her emotions were the only thing that leaked out on occasion with the shake of her voice or a small sniff.

　　　　"Hey, Leon, it's Sarsi. I uh... hope you're doing okay. At least better than when we talked last time... I'm uh... I'm okay. Just been thinking about how we left things, and uh... I wanted to apologize for both my outburst and for pushing things like I did. It wasn't my place to ask you anything, and I am so sorry. I uh..." She sniffed and it went silent for a few seconds as she muted herself to let out a sob and cough before coming back to the message, her voice trembling. "I miss you... I hope we can still be friends, but um... if you'd rather just forget I even exist, I get that. I really do. I... Regardless, whatever you decide, I hope you find happiness, Leon. You deserve that much, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. So um... yeah... good-bye..."

@gatheringstars

After she left, Leon had done the very typical thing and gotten drunk off a bottle of expensive whiskey Claire had purchased some New Year's Eve. He'd gone to work the day after with a raging hangover and definitely couldn't look Ingrid in the eye.

There were only a handful of reasons Leon ever got so stupidly drunk, and at least two of them were relationship problems.

Which he didn't have, because he and Sarsi had not been anything.

So, instead of calling and apologizing for his shitty behavior like Claire had told him to, he avoided the whole thing altogether. Sarsi didn't text him or call him and that was for the best. She didn't need him weighing her down.

Only it was hard to forget she existed when he realized he'd been spending the majority of his free time with her. Claire had laughed at him. And then he was too busy to worry about his personal life anyway.

He got the message a few days late. Leon was on a short medical leave after a lab raid. No major injuries, but enough to keep him out of commission for a few days doing paperwork.

Good job, Kennedy. You're the one who should be apologizing. This is the shit you do to people. You make them feel like crap just because you do. This is why she's better off without you to fuck things up like this.

[Text: S; 9:30pm]: hey I got your message

[Text: S; 9:36pm]: you didn't do anything wrong, I fucked up. I'm sorry.

[Text: S; 9:35pm]: sorry I'm busy or I'd call instead

[Text: S; 9:38pm]: I'm going to busy for a while but... you've got my number, Sarsi.

[redactar]

Perma semi hiatus notice: I'll be here when I'm here, otherwise if you have it you can catch me on discord

This is an indie heavily headcanon based leon s kennedy rp blog. multi-fandom & oc friendly, exclusive & private. by raive. Previously known as deadfuture.

Please read about and rules for more info. Browse through the headcanons as well, here is an important headcanon list you can start with.

Best way to interact is to send a meme or like a starter/plotting/whatever call.

Exclusives: Ethan Winters: @dilffactory, Sheva Alomar, @antiibow , Claire Redfield @gatheringstars

you can also find me on: multfandom multimuse @tragedyloved .  Sha.ggy Roge,rs @fasmophobic fantasy ocs: @edeioninkina, @thanedai. @jastfaer, and an.akin sk.ywalker @astranovus

[redactar]

“You deserve to feel safe. And happy.” //Sarsi

@gatheringstars // for those who've been hurt starters

It's 3am and he's been crying.

It happens a lot more often than most would expect. To the vast majority of people, Leon is cool, and aloof. The kind who doesn't let anything bother him and brushes off most criticism. They expect the jaded comments, the jabs and the sarcastic quips. That's just how he is. Leon's complaints are a joke, to be brushed off with a roll of the eyes. At the end of the day, he will always do what is asked of him. He is a duty bound, dog of the government, as he says, in that half joking manner.

It comes at a price. There was only so much someone could take over the years, and as he had been told, he'd done enough, hadn't he?

He reaches Claire's voicemail and manages to keep his voice steady enough to just say he was checking in, sorry it's so late, I didn't realize the time. She would know he was lying.

He calls Sarsi with the intention of pretending to be drunk, or something, but he ends up spitting out the truth when she picks up anyway, Hey, I'm...sorry, I know it's late, but I'm having a really bad night and I could use a distraction if you're up for it?

She's always too nice, of course. After all the stupid shit he had said, she shouldn't have played along. Leon would have called someone else, but there was no one else to call.

He swallows around the lump in his throat when she trails off through some story and pauses.

"Do I?" Leon says, and doesn't know how to explain all the things he's done and all the things he hates himself for. "I don't feel like that'll ever be the case. Not anymore."

[redactar]

[ JOIN ]:          sender follows the emotionally unsettled receiver out of a crowded party and into a secluded space to check on their well-being. //Sarsi :)

@gatheringstars

Leon had lived his life trading out clubs and rooftop parties for guns and shooting monsters. Instead of spending his twenties getting drunk with some friends, he had traded punches in the gym of the Anti Umbrella Pursuit and Investigations Team base or shot moving paper people at the shooting range. He had gone to the occasional bar with one or two of his teammates that didn’t entirely hate him and never let himself get out of hand. Because he couldn’t. He had to be vigilant, and on top of things, and never, ever let himself slip. Especially not as the youngest member of the team with zero military experience and all of them were waiting for him to trip up. 

There had been Claire, of course. Whenever he had time off to spend in their shared apartment, she would try to get him out. She would try to inject a little normal into his life where there was none to be had. A coffee date here. A little get together there. Movies with a not-so-crazy club after. Come on, Leon, we need to have fun sometimes. He’d been twenty-two, then twenty-three, and twenty-four. And twenty-four had seen an end to the fun and games. The rare outings became Leon secluded in his small studio apartment, before he decided he could spend a little more money on something nicer. It became midnight runs to the 24 hour 7-Eleven for snacks, and the liquor store for booze, because those days he’d really almost fallen off the deep end. 

Time moved on. Leon decided he was okay with being alone. He’d been alone for a long time anyway, and he could deal with it. He didn’t need to prove anything. He had enough excitement in his job. He could enjoy the quiet solitude a day off afforded. 

And then he met Sarsi.

He wasn’t sure how she talked him into going to a club. It had been years. He was twenty-nine, turning fifty. Yet, there was something about her smile, the infectious height of her laugh, the sway of her hips. It was in the teasing and the, what do you mean you don’t go to parties? and, you have to try this just once, I promise. Only it wasn’t just once. Despite all of Leon’s assertions to the contrary, in the year and a half they had known each other he’d grown more than a little attached to her friendship. It was fun and easy and brought none of the stress to his life that everything else did. Even Claire, though he’d never tell her that. 

Sarsi always seemed so excited to bring him along. Maybe because it looked like he never had any fun (true), or maybe it was just because she liked him as arm candy. He certainly liked her as arm candy, and the sex was always good after, even if he had to take a minute to compose himself. 

The music was loud, the smell of alcohol thick, mingling with the sickly sweet odor of someone(s) smoking pot. He’d caught a few people with baggies of molly sneaking off to the bathrooms under the flashing strobe lights. It was crowded and hot under the lights, in between gyrating bodies. Leon nursed a cup of overpriced rum and coke, attention shifting back and forth from the exit to the random faces of strangers as they milled about. He was on the second week of his furlough after having spent several days in the middle of nowhere that turned into another hell hole he had to escape from. Maybe he’d cracked a little after this one since they hadn’t called him back in yet. 

The outing was supposed to be fun, but he couldn’t seem to turn off his brain. He flinched for the third time at the DJ’s annoying alarm sound. Sarsi had disappeared with a friend to the bathroom. He’d held up well so far, flashing smiles when he needed, cracking a joke here and there. He was pretty sure Sarsi had noticed he was getting quiet, more twitchy. She’d given him a look. Leon knew he had to suck it up. Only someone bumped him and the cup spilled and suddenly he was grabbing the collar of some asshole’s shirt who thought bumping into Leon was Leon’s fault. 

He was quick to let go. The strobe lights went off again, painting the club goers in black and white shades and it looked a lot like his flashlight passing over zombie faces. The chaos of reaching hands and twisting bodies. The fucking horn went off again, and Leon shoved passed everyone. It was suddenly way too hot and he needed air. Behind him, he heard the sound of his name in a music lull and ignored it. 

It took too long to get the hell outside. Too many people muttering. annoyed, what the hell is your problem. The emergency exit led out into a back alley and the rush of cool air hit him like a slap in the face. Surprisingly, no one was lingering around smoking. Leon sucked in a sharp breath that sounded a lot more like a wheeze. He hadn’t even realized he was breathing so hard. The hammering in his chest was at a mile a second. The floor tipped. Leon steadied himself on the brick wall, trying to focus on the feel of it under his hand, on the music he could still hear from inside the club, the copper-stink of the alley. The strobe lighting was still at the back of his mind. The flashlight on a rotted corpse face. The reaching hands through windows. Someone’s head exploding and a centipede creature crawling up and out. His chest hurt, another harsh gasp. The emergency door opened and he turned, expression panicked and wide eyed. Sarsi, a little taken aback. Leon held his breath, gaze darting away from her down the alley. Looking for escape.

“H-hey,” he stammered around the choking feeling in his lungs. “S-s-s...I’ll b-b-be b-back inna’minute. N-needed...” Air, he wanted to say, which was hilarious, really, because he couldn’t breathe. “M’fine.”

[redactar]

Aerith coming in with a friendly hug

@gatheringstars

Oh, he must look like garbage if the flower shop owner is trying to cheer him up.

"Hey, hey, I'm fine. I'm alright--see?" Leon flashed a very unconvincing smile; but he was trying at least. "What'll really make me happy is if you help me put together one of those huge bouquets for Claire."