-7:53 PM, Claire and Leon's Jeep-

Leon tapped the driver's window half-heartedly, only using the knocking knuckle of his forefinger. It's not as if he needed to announce his presence. He felt a lump take form in his throat, growing larger the longer he locked eyes with Claire. Despite the less than pleasant circumstances, she was inundated with a tinge of sympathy for him, like one would feel for a stray dog stuck out in the cold. She pressed down on the power window switch, their stare's unwavering as they waited on the whirring of the window to fade as it sunk into the door. Leon bent slightly at the knees, figuring the click of the window stopping at the end of the track would serve as his cue to speak up.

*Click*

Before he could get a word out, Claire cut him off.

"Leon...just get in the car." Sooner than she could turn down the volume on the radio, he was at the passenger side door. Leon tried to open the door in vain, giving it an extra pull to signal it wouldn't open. It took her a second or two to remember she had locked the car earlier. "Oh yeah", she muttered under her breath and reached for the lock.

*Click*

"Claire...". Leon entered the car and fumbled around in the seat trying to get comfortable, not daring to break eye contact for a second time. Neither had any clue how to even begin the conversation. Both of their hearts were beating rapidly, locked in a marathon sprint against one another's. Leon had felt confident leaving the apartment, thinking he could somehow count on his lucky stars to make everything right. That all went out the window as his mind conjured up the millions of ways it could go completely south. How would he explain himself, explain it to Sherry if he didn't come back with Claire, or explain to her that he didn't bring...

"Sherry, where is she?!" Claire interrogated, breaking the silence, her hand now fixed on the door handle.

"She's fine! The doors locked... She knows where we're at." It seemed to fall on deaf ears, and she began to push the door open. Leon reached his hand for her arm, being mindful not to squeeze this time around.

"Just wait..." His touch and inflection disarmed her. He didn't come off as angry, but rather...genuine, desperate too. She really didn't want to bring this mess back upstairs. Now that Leon wasn't with Sherry, she just wanted it all to end, if only for her sake. She paused and sighed, slowly closing the door as she turned towards to Leon.

"How'd you know I was still here?"

"Your gun...you left without it."

"Yeah, I know..." She struggled to find the words to follow up with. She'd by lying if she said it wasn't a sweet gesture. She shifted her gaze to the floor.

"Claire, listen..." He hesitated over his words, taking care to choose the least worse option he could perceive. It was going better than expected, but nowhere near how he had hoped. Maybe dissapointing Sherry was the only real choice he had. He wrapped his hand around the door handle. "I'm not gonna' stop you, but don't leave without your gun. Just wait here..."

He would've been halfway out the door if Claire hadn't caught him by his wrist. "No... you don't have to."

Leon, still convinced he was resigned to the fate he decided was his to bear, asked "Do you want mine then?". Leon patted his waistband, suprised to find his gun wasn't with him either.

She thought she made her intentions rather clear, her hand still grasping his wrist. She clasped both of her hands around Leon's left, hoping to soften the incoming bluntness. She sighed, "I'm staying, alright?"

Hearing that...feeling her hands...it was music to his ears, her words the melody and her touch the rhythmn. He took a deep breath and eased back into his seat, mirroring Claire as he brought his right hand into the fold. The relief coaxed him into admitting, "Thank God, cause' I don't have mine either".

He had hoped it would add some much needed humor to the situation, but instead he felt Claire's grip tighten over his hands. He studied her expression, awestruck at what lied before him, the amber glow from the streetlight contrasting wonderfully with the blue of her eyes. He would've found himself drowning in the blue if he hadn't taken notice of her pupils enlarging, as if they were parting the shimmering sea he saw in her irises. He understood what her expression was conveying, remembering his training at the police academy. Whether it was gauging a suspect's reaction to a question, or conducting a field sobriety test...reading pupils was a part of being a cop. He couldn't help but begin to envision himself clad in his R.P.D. uniform...

After hearing Leon didn't have his handgun on him, Claire grew nervous. It was bad enough Sherry was by herself but now they were outside, alone together and unarmed. She knew they were only a few hundred feet away from their apartment, but she dreaded that feeling of vulernability so, so much. She had fixed her gaze unto Leon's, hoping to find even just a hint of reassurance. And she did find it, at least at first. After he had revealed that, his expression found itself landed somewhere between perturbed and amused, and it was stuck like that. His otherwise delicate features now looked stunningly masculine shaded by the darkness of the car, the amber light tracing a halo-like glow along the outline of his straw blonde hair. Her heart began to melt, finding the very sight of him absolutely adorable in every possible way. In him she saw...home, a home away from home, the home she always wanted, the one she needed. And just as soon as she began to appreciate it, the halo-glow faded away, his expression now vacant as he tightened his hold on her hands

Claire shook their interlocked hands, rousing Leon out of his stupor.

"We should really get going.", Claire said breaking the silence yet again. It took Leon took a moment to recollect himself.

"Yeah...good idea." She wiggled her fingers in an effort to free herself of the kitschy bouquet of hands they had made together. Leon held his grip firm, bringing her closer to him.

"Before we get inside...I wanna say sorry. For not listening to you and being weird about...everything. I'm sorry..."

She wanted to fall through the seat and sink into the floor. She could tell he was trying as hard as he could from his expression, his tone of voice. It was sincere, and he absolutely meant what he said. She savored the sentiment, knowing how much he did care. He was so close to getting it too. She didn't mind the little act, understanding the place he was coming from...literally. More than anything, it was the drinking. He didn't drink every night, but it was becoming more and more common. He never acted much different, only becoming the slightest bit listless. But the color, it would seem to fade from his eyes, maybe just obscured by the slight droop of his eyelids. She'd always be able to smell it on his breath, taste it with his kisses. It worried her deeply, but she couldn't find within herself to talk to him about it. At least until earlier today. It's what started the whole argument in the first place. It seems so silly, but he had left a pair of pants on the bathroom floor. She picked them up, and they wreaked of spilt liquor. She brought it up to him, and it blew up from there...it really was a mess. He didn't seem to get it however. She didn't want to leave him hanging thinking he it all figured out and under control, but the timing could not have been worse.

"Come here." Leon said in an affectionate tone, pulling Claire in even closer, kissing her on the forehead. A slight smile grew on her face not because it was sweet of him, but that familar smell of cheap whiskey...it wasn't there. She had expected him to have snuck a shot or two from the bottle in his not-so-secret hiding place above the fridge. She found herself curious. She didn't smell it, but she really couldn't be certain he hadn't. It was difficult to get a good read of his face with the lack of light. "One way to find out..." she thought to herself as she tried to muffle a sharp exhale. She affixed her eyes onto Leon's, now pulling him in close to her. She craned her head ever so slightly, and he gladly took the hint. They locked lips, Claire pressing against his much harder than he was. It caught him off guard, especially the way she had worked her tongue into his mouth. He couldn't believe his luck, this could not have possibly gone any better as far as he was concerned. Just as he began to press into the kiss to match hers, she pulled way. She was now smiling ear to ear, satisfied with what she had found out. She was so satisfied she gave Leon an affectionate peck on the forehead, returning the favor and lulling him into sprouting a surprised grin. He felt on top on the world, even if his expression tried to humble him.

"What was that?" Leon asked with a titter

"You looked like you could use one too." He was off the hook, at least for right now. Besides, Sherry... "We should get going."

"Yeah..." he nodded in agreement. "See you outside."

*To Be Continued*