Resident Evil Series Fan Fiction ❯ Tenebrae ❯ This Beautiful Collision ( Chapter 11 )

The bus was too shaky for him to get any sleep, so instead he rested the side of his head against the window, letting the chill from the glass seep through his hair. It felt good in contrast to the unpleasant heat inside the vehicle- he knew it wasn’t warm by any means outside, but he didn’t think that level of heating was necessary.

Still, his uncomfortable surroundings were preferable to his circumstances the previous few days. Upon his release from quarantine he had been shuttled off back to Agency headquarters for a very extensive second debriefing. He had also played catch up with all the happenings since his temporary incarceration. He always hated mincing words over conference room tables with the suits, and had been quite happy when he was finally allowed to go home.

He might have tacked on the month quarantine to his mental list of time he had hated but for a certain someone who had not only made it bearable, but often fun. Very fun. He wasn’t really all that enthused about being back in his apartment. He just wanted to see her again.

It would have to wait. She had been left with her father, and short of going through the Agency he didn’t really have any way to contact her. This was what caused that small knot of anxiety in his stomach to appear. She had promised she would get in touch with him once they were both out and back in D.C. but sometimes, mostly at night, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she’d just decide it had all been a mistake, and she’d be better off putting him behind her.

Yes, he thought, looking at himself in the window reflection. I am that insecure.

Washington D.C. rolled past his view in a grimy, monochromatic pastel. It could be a nice looking city, usually in the summer, but on this soggy fall evening the color was leeched from everything by the low cloud cover and it blended together into a concrete diorama, a grey freeze frame. It made him want to go back to sleep.

He reached into his jacket and fiddled with the earphones that hung out of an inside pocket. He had bought a little MP3 player at a Wal-Mart during one of the break periods during his debriefing, figuring he might use it on the trip back to D.C. Three hours of flight time and a half hour spent on the bus later and he had yet to listen to anything.

There was something to be said for silence.

The bus ground noisily into what he recognized as his neighborhood, a collection of apartment buildings that looked like what could only be described as upscale tenements. The blocky, uniform construction was nothing if not practical, discarding any aesthetically pleasing structural qualities for simple efficient design.

The bus stop was only a couple blocks from his building. He walked the way there in silent thought, the cold air burning the back of his throat.

The Agency always took care of his rent during his extended absences, as well as providing regular checks of the apartment on the off chance someone decided to seek revenge in one way or the other. Now that he was home again his safety was up to him, which was fine. The thought of other Agents inspecting his stuff didn’t appeal to him.

Upon inserting his key and opening the door, he immediately walked over to the thermostat and adjusted the heat. The air inside the apartment had grown cold and stale, and he was tempted to open a window though he knew it would solve one of those problems and exacerbate the other.

Throwing his jacket over a beat up old easy chair in one corner, he surveyed his domain with a critical eye. Still a mess, just the way he had left it. Now that he was no longer wallowing in self-pity, he’d have to clean up. A joyless task.

Sighing heavily, he began sorting things out.

Beer bottles- he’d just pile those in the sink for now. Porn mags- did he still need them? Hopefully not, but he’d stash them in his closet somewhere as a contingency plan if his worst fears were realized. His sheets needed to be washed, badly. He ripped them off the bed and piled them by the door.

Soon he was immersed in the menial task. Bottles were removed, various items put back into their rightful places, and the laundry pile near the door grew ever larger.

It took awhile, but eventually he was able to see his floor again by the time night had fallen. Standing up and stretching, he looked at the by now monstrous pile of laundry by the door with some measure of distaste. Hauling it all downstairs to the communal laundry room wasn’t his idea of a good time. In fact, he could think of few things he’d rather do less.

“Fuck it,†He muttered, his voice somewhat hoarse from a day of disuse. Stripping down to his underwear and tossing those clothes on top of the pile, he decided it could wait until tomorrow. Remembering that he didn’t have any sheets, he dug a blanket out of his closet and collapsed on the bed. It was a little scratchy and the pillow was definitely lacking a certain something in the absence of a pillowcase, but it would do for one night.

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep.

He awoke to a knock at his door.

Under different circumstances he might have found himself annoyed, but he was too pleasantly surprised at his comfortable surroundings to be angry.

Half blind with sleep, he groped on the floor until he found a shirt and pulled it over his head, stumbling his way over to the door. Prudence made him reach for the nightstand and grab his sidearm, just in case.

The view through the peephole was blurry, though whether it was because of his eyes or a lack of cleaning he wasn’t sure, and he couldn’t quite make out who it was. Sighing, he cracked open the door and peered cautiously at the man standing there.

“..Yes?â€

The man was a spook, complete with a dark suit, mirrored sunglasses and bad attitude. “Leon Kennedy?â€

Leon yawned, fervently hoping he wasn’t needed back at the Agency again. “That’s me.â€

“Your presence has been requested at the White House Mr. Kennedy, I’ve been sent to take you there.â€

Leon had a brief moment of panic as he considered possibility of being the first person to ever be deported for screwing the President’s daughter. At the very least, he’d be able to put his cleaning on hold. “I’ll need to get dressed.â€

“Just meet me out front when you’re ready Mr. Kennedy. We have a car for you.â€

And some cement shoes, Leon thought glumly as he closed the door.

The trip there passed by in a comfortable silence. Leon didn’t want to talk, and his driver didn’t want to listen. The radio was turned down low and occasionally the driver tapped his fingers with the tune, but that was the extent of the noise barring the hum of the vehicle. Leon rested his head against the cold window in a position of déjà vu. He didn’t know what lay in store for him, and he was still too tired to really think about it.

The White House was accessible through an underground garage, complete with some of the tightest security Leon had seen outside of a Code Black operation. He made a mental note not to leave anything lying around, knowing it would bring the whole place down on him hard.

He had taken a tour of the house once, when he had just moved to D.C. It was a little different off the velvet rope paths, though just as tidy and almost repressively opulent. Out of the corner of his eye mahogany desks, canopy beds and plush carpet flitted in and out of view through doorways as his escort shuttled him towards some unknown destination. The hallways felt heavy with history, and he couldn’t help but wonder who else had walked the same path as he.

At least one of those persons of important was identified when Ashley came bursting out of a door to fling herself onto him. He had a split second to decide how to catch her, his training proving its usefulness again as he deftly grabbed her hips and shifted her trajectory to avoid a worse impact.

Unfortunately he hadn’t compensated for the presence of the two secret servicemen who had accompanied him. In the confines of the hall they had stepped to the sides to allow room for Ashley’s kinetic idea of a reunion, and Leon’s foot caught on the shoe of the man to his right.

As he fell towards what was sure to be a painful terminus for his descent, he sincerely hoped she was wearing more than she had been the last time this had happened.

Ashley had dismissed the Secret Servicemen and swept him off to her room in bustle of chatter, talking about seemingly anything and everything that had happened since he had last seen her. He followed her in a bit of a daze, having forgotten what an assault on his senses she was. He tried to listen to what she was saying, but the soft skin of her hand that he held, her heavenly scent and the mesmerizing motions of her lips left little brainpower available for such an involved task.

“-Don’t you think?â€

Realizing she was asking him something he desperately cast about for a noncommittal answer. “Uh, I don’t know.â€

She frowned. “You don’t think it’s great to be back home?â€

He almost winced. “Uh no, I’m really glad to be back here. Finally got some sleep, you know.â€

“You weren’t listening to me at all were you,†She accused him.

Taking a chance, he decided honesty was the best policy. “Sorry. You’re a little distracting.â€

Her eyes softened immediately. She moved her grip upwards, wrapping herself around his arm. “Well, why don’t we talk about that,†She said softly.

Leon swallowed hard, looking around in case any Secret Servicemen still hovered nearby. “Talk about what?â€

Ashley sighed, releasing his arm and dragging him forward by the hand again. She seemed to be in something of a hurry and he wasn’t all that sure he was ready to meet the President, whose daughter he happened to be fucking. No, not fucking. That was too crude and didn’t come even close to what he felt existed between them. They had made love.

He doubted the President would be comforted by the distinction.

He was about to ask her where they were going when she stopped at a pair of solid looking double doors. Twisting the handles to open them, she practically pushed him into the room beyond then followed suit, closing and locking them behind her.

Leon paused to take stock of the place. The first thing that stood out above all others was the alarming amount of pale pink decorating the room. From the wallpaper to the bedspread, the soft color seemed to be everywhere. There was some white and blue scattered here and there but they seemed swallowed by the overwhelming pinkness.

The middle of the room was dominated by what seemed to him a huge bed, complete with superfluous canopy. He reasoned it probably seemed so large just in comparison to his, though he wouldn’t wonder if it wasn’t big by any standard. Two windows looked out onto the cultured green of the Whitehouse lawn and the walls were lined with bookshelves, dressers, night tables and the other accoutrements of bedrooms. There was a walk in closet he could see to his right and to his left was another door, which he figured must lead to a bathroom.

His scrutiny of his surroundings was rudely interrupted when Ashley spun him around to face her and promptly threw herself into his arms for the second time.

Leon stumbled backwards towards the bed, bracing himself. When his knees hit the edge he managed to lean forward enough that his momentum was halted and instead of ending up on his back he came to rest in a sitting position. Ashley had obviously not expected that and when he came to his abrupt halt her forehead slammed painfully into his chin.

“Ow! Leon!â€

“You jumped on me!†Leon defended himself. “Maybe if you’d give me a little advance warning now and then-“

Ashley ignored him, sitting up in his lap and pointing imperiously over his shoulder at the bed. “Lay us down.â€

He frowned suspiciously. “Why?â€

“Leon, I have some seriously pent up frustrations right now, so please just lay down!†She glared at him.

Leon gave in and scooted them backwards until he was sitting in the middle, then lay backwards to rest his head on one of the pillows. He had to admit it was a highly pleasant situation with her lying on top of him but he was still somewhat confused as to why they hadn’t gone to meet her parents yet.

“Ashley, not that I’m complaining about this or anything but I thought your father wanted to see me-“

She chose that moment to kiss him- hard. All brain functions concerning the President or anything otherwise ceased operation to concentrate on the sensation.

When they broke for air, Ashley brushed her hair aside and shrugged somewhat sheepishly. “We’re going to have dinner with my parents, they wanted to meet you.â€

“Then why are we-“

“They don’t know you’re here yet. I asked the Service to go get you early,†She said somewhat breathlessly, eyeing him with a mix of impatience and hunger.

“I didn’t know you could do that.â€

“I can.â€

Another furious kiss followed the exchange. Emerging gasping and not a little drunk on the feelings the kiss stirred in him, Leon gripped her more firmly around the waist and moved upward to sit against the headboard.

“Ashley,†He broke off as she made another lunge for his lips, deflecting her with his cheek. “Ashley-“

“What , Leon! Is the bed comfortable enough? Do you need more pillows? What is your problem?†She exploded.

Leon shrank back. He opened his mouth but couldn’t think of a response to defuse her.

“Here I am, sitting on top of you and we’re making out and you keep hitting the pause button! Do I need to get naked first, or was it the hospital gown you found so attractive? Is this a sudden onset of Bob Dole’s disease? Seriously Leon, what is your problem?â€

Now that, Leon felt, was going too far. Bob Dole had no place in this bedroom. “It’s just a little sudden,†He tried to explain.

“Sudden? Sudden!†She nearly screeched, clearly driven beyond the limits of frustration by what she saw as inexplicably reluctant behavior. “The first time was sudden, Leon. Do you not remember or something? For God’s sake, this should be routine by now! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to have sex. Do I need to walk you through it?â€

“There’s no need to be insulting.â€

“Then I ask again Leon, what is the problem?†Her tone had calmed and her eyes had taken a slightly worried cast as if something had occurred to her. “You’re.. You’re not having second thoughts, are you?â€

“What? God no,†He hastened to reassure her. “I thought you might be. That’s why I’m acting like this, I thought I was summoned to meet the President, and then I ended up in here and I don’t really know what’s going on.. And to be honest, I don’t really want to get caught by your parents in here with you. I want you, but I sort of need my job to keep feeding myself.â€

Ashley blew out a sigh of relief. “Okay good, so we’re still in love then, right?â€

“Right,†Leon affirmed, knowing it was the first time either of them had ever said ‘love’ but letting the moment pass. They both knew it, there would be time to affirm it later.

There was a pleasant warmth against his neck as Ashley rested her head there, leaning into him. “Why would you think I’d be having second thoughts?†She asked.

Leon struggled to properly phrase his feelings. “Well, it was the situation I guess. You know, the whole life saving thing. And the danger. Kind of a potent combination, right? I mean, I think it meant something to both of us, in Spain. But the quarantine- we were shoved into tight quarters together and I thought maybe after you got out back into the world you’d see you didn’t need me any more. Two people, in that sort of close confinement, that’s bound to spark something. I don’t know. I guess I just thought after we got out you’d leave that behind.†He looked down at her and started to continue when he noticed with some alarm that her eyes were narrowing dangerously again.

She sat back up and glared at him. “Is that what you think of me Leon? That I was just looking for an easy lay? ‘Oh, here I am in quarantine and look, here’s a penis handy I think I’ll sit on it’,†She mouthed sarcastically, assuming a vapid expression. “Why don’t you send me a bill Leon, I’ll put it with the rest. I would have gotten back to you sooner but I was too busy fucking the pizza delivery man.â€

“Alright, I get it,†Leon tried to backpedal from his mistake. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.â€

“I don’t just jump into bed with the first convenient guy Leon. I was under the impression that what happened in quarantine meant something.â€

“It did. I said I’m sorry, let’s just drop it okay. Obviously I was wrong.â€

“Very wrong,†She affirmed, but lay her head back down on his shoulder.

There was silence then, until Leon spoke his mind. “So where do we go from here?â€

“I don’t know.†Ashley straightened back up and shrugged with a cute flip of her hair. “But I know where to start..â€

Another series of heavy kissing followed. Ashley moaned into his mouth and ground into him rather inappropriately, and Leon felt the situation was become highly promising. He gradually shifted downwards until they were pleasantly horizontal, fully intent on spending the next several minutes in perpetual lip lock.

Their well laid plans came to an sudden halt when there was a knock at the door.

Ashley jerked herself upright, an apprehensive expression on her face. “Yeah?†She called at the doors, trying to calm her breathing enough to sound normal.

“Ashley, what are you doing?†It was a mans voice, deep and resonant.

“My father,†She whispered at Leon before turning her head back towards the door. “Reading. Why?â€

“Did you get a hold of Agent Kennedy?â€

“No,†She lied with no apparent trace of guilt. “Why?â€

“Your mother called his apartment and he wasn’t there.â€

“I’ll call his cellphone Dad.â€

“Okay, but do it soon so he can make it in time for dinner.â€

“I will.†She looked down at Leon. “Do you have a cellphone?â€

“In my other pants.â€

The sound of receding footsteps in the hallways told them her father had left and Ashley sighed in relief. “Now, where were we?†She murmured.

She leaned forward to pick up where she had left off and froze in mid action when another knock sounded at the door. Leon could almost hear her teeth grinding in frustration.

“Yes?†She yelled at the double doors, a slight edge to her voice.

It was a woman’s voice this time. “Ashley, did you ever call Mr. Kennedy?â€

Ashley briefly closed her eyes. “No, Mom.â€

“Well I called and he wasn’t there, I hope-“

“I know Mom, Dad told me. I’ll call his cell.â€

“Alright, but do it soon so he can make it in time for-“

“-Dinner, yes, I’m aware.†Ashley grated.

“There’s no need to get snappy young lady. I want you to take a shower and put on something nice before dinner.â€

“Mom, Leon’s seen me covered with blood,†Ashley rolled her eyes. “I really don’t think he’ll care if we go casual.â€

“He might not, but I do. Dinner’s at six, be ready then.â€

“I will Mom.â€

Again the footsteps retreated out of hearing range. Ashley sighed, reluctantly rolling off of Leon. “I guess we better take a shower.â€

“Right, I’ll need to find a suit or- We?â€

Ashley was already stripping off her clothes before his startled gaze. “My shower is quite a bit bigger than the one in quarantine. Besides, you don’t want to waste water do you? It’s more efficient this way.â€

“I sort of doubt that since I imagine the shower will take twice as long.â€

“Mmm, maybe even more.†She sounded quite pleased at the prospect. With two quick motions she dispensed with what was left of her clothing and stood birth naked for Leon’s perusal. She walked towards the bathroom door with a stride that would have been stately had it not involved so much ass wiggling. Leon took in the view for a moment before quickly following suit. Pausing, he kicked his clothes underneath her bed. A good Agent prepared for all eventualities.