Leon S. Kennedy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
governmentninja) wrote2006-07-28 06:21 pm
governmentninja) wrote2006-07-28 06:21 pm
Entry tags:
It's always the little things...
Leon had been having a rather quiet day thus far. He didn't do much, other than look up places that rent out jetskis and ask for prices, which left him a lot of time to think. Far too much time, honestly.
Currently, between his three sisters, Leon has 11 nieces and nephews, with a 12th on the way. Half of them he hadn't seen in a number of years, and the other half, he's never so much as laid eyes on. There was also probably a legion of brats spawned by his cousins to add to that number. He had never really given it much thought before, but ever since helping Claire babysit Tammie the other day, he had started to wonder what those kids were like right now. The fact that he didn't know, at all, was really eating at him.
Sure, he knew all their names, birthdays, and what not. He still sent out cards for appropriate holidays, but that only does so much. The older ones, who were 10, 9, 8 and 8 might remember him, and maybe hearing from him might mean something. But for the younger kids, most of whom probably can't even read the cards anyway, it's not like they'll care. Their Uncle Leon is just urban legend, or worse, a complete stranger. It's not like he's there to see them grow up, to talk to them, to play with them, to teach them proper choke holds, to cook for them, to babysit them.
He had to wonder how it was he got so utterly sheered off from the rest of his family. He understood why they didn't want him to become a cop, he wasn't the least bit insensitive to their pain. The death of his father hurt him too just as much as it did them. It was really their insistence that he was wrong about what he was doing and should quit that bothered him the most, though. He couldn't understand that.
Being a cop, well, federal agent now, was a dangerous job, yes, but it was an honest job, it was an honorable job. It was also a job Leon was that damn good at. And no matter how much pain it brought him, how much pressure it put him under, he still loved it, and wouldn't quit for anything. Not even for them.
He's not a self-righteous kind of guy, he doesn't care about being right or winning an argument. But don't tell him he's wrong when he knows he's not. He's a rather flexible guy, but he won't bend on that. And they won't bend from their stance. After a few major battles, though, it settled into a cold war.
When it comes to his family, though, he'd settle for a peace agreement. At least some kind of cease fire. Just for them to agree to disagree. They don't like his job? That's cool, just get over it and shut the fuck up about it already. For a moment, he actually thought about shouting that to his mother and the rest of his family (like he'd ever have the nuts to say that to them), then chuckled as he envisioned the next days headlines.
Leon S. Kennedy, "Big Damn Hero", Savagely Beaten to Death By A 67-Year-Old Irish Woman
Tyrants? *Yawn* Ganados? Whatever. His mother when she was ticked off? That was something he sure as hell didn't want to run up against.
Anyhow...
All joking aside, he was still feeling like crap about the whole thing. He didn't talk to Claire about it, because he doesn't talk to Claire about his family. She never pressed him on it, and he couldn't bring himself to say "hey girl with only one living relative, come listen to me bitch about my large family whom I don't talk to because we're too busy being stubborn assholes". There was also no one else in his circle of friends with whom he felt comfortable enough to talk about this.
Still, just trying to ignore it was doing him no good. So maybe it was time he did something about it.
He went outside the beach house, bringing a pen, a pad, and his phone with him. He didn't wander far off, just sat in a chair out back, as he wasn't trying to avoid Claire, per se, but he did want some measure of privacy at the moment. He flipped the phone open and started punching in numbers, then changed his mind and erased it. He started entering a different set of numbers and hit enter.
He put the phone to his ear and waited, and when whomever picked up on the other end, he smiled. "Evenin' Lass." Yeah, Leon had called his sister Erin, and he grinned as he heard her response.
"Yeah, I know you only got that phone a few weeks ago... Tch, I'm Secret Agent Man, remember? ...Oh, shut up, I'm your little brother. It's not that creepy. But if you really want to be weirded out, just give me a minute to pull up your credit card statements from the last few months." He had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing.
"Oh, too late. I'm staring at them right now. And... hnn... You have a couple of charges here that need some explaining." Actually, he was looking at the ocean under the afternoon sun. And if it was afternoon in Hawaii, it must be late evening back on the east coast.
Finally, after too much awkwardness from the other end of the phone, he started chuckling for a bit. "Relax, I was just kidding. I'm not at work right now, I'm on vacation... No, if I got shot I would be on a desk job. This is an actual, you know, vacation. I do take one occasionally."
He shrugged in response to whatever was asked next, even though that doesn't work well over the phone. "Nah, I'm in Hawaii, just relaxing on the beach with my girlfriend. It's-- ...yes, I said girlfriend." He practically facepalmed right there. He never did tell anyone in his family that he was in a relationship now. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know... he just never talked to them. And given the high-pitched squeeing that came through the receiver, he might have wanted to keep his mouth shut.
"Yeah, it's serious."SERIOUS BUSINESSHe sat there looking bored for a moment while he listened, then grinned and shook his head. "Would you stop acting like you're in High School? I know it's been a while since the last time I was in a relationship..." Since his first year of college, actually "...but calm down. All that squealing is giving me a headache."
He rolled his eyes a little and tilted his head in a 'yeah, yeah, whatever' fashion. "Fine, I'll tell you all about her, just shut up for a minute. ...Good.
Now, where to begin? "...I told you about that girl I met in Raccoon City? ...Um, no, not her--" Did Leon sound just a wee bit bitter there? "--the other one. ...Yeah, her, Claire.
"Well, about a year ago, maybe, she and I ran into each other again. We starting hanging out and then... uh..." What's a discreet way of saying 'we got fear gassed and slept together? Oh, yeah, there is none. "...one thing sort of led to another, and we started dating. ...Since the end of October."
Leon blinked. That was a good question. "Well, it's not like we talked all that long last time, and a certain other subject came up before I could mention her. That other subject a bit of a conversation killer..." There was a silence between them, punctuating Leon's point, which he just had to point out. "Yeah, see? Told ya."
He let out a sigh. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something... about the kids. ...How are they?" He nodded and 'mmhmm'ed a bit. "That's good. I'm glad they're safe." He ran a hand through his hair. Why was asking a simple question suddenly so hard. "Could you... tell me about them? Like, what they're like, and what not? I mean, I haven't seen them in so long... I--
"Yeah, I miss them... I miss all you guys. ...yeah, yeah. I know. I know But can we not have that particular conversation right now?" He sighed in relief at the answer. "Thank you."
What followed next was a pleasant hour long talk. Well, mostly listening for Leon, as he was updated on his nieces, nephews, their parents, and a good chunk of his family. He took a good number of notes, so he can remember who was into what stuff, and all of that. It was a bit emotional for him, since there was a constant bitter thought of I should know all of this. I should be there... and I would be there, if only you'd let me., but he kept his feelings in check.
At the end of that, his sister asked him something that made him chuckle a bit. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Claire wasn't around before answering. "Uh, no. I love Claire, but she and I aren't going to start a family any time soon." He chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, I know my birthday's next month. What's your point?" He smirked "Yeah, and those who are pushing forty should not throw stones, especially if they're aiming for us still 20-somethings."
He listened again for another moment, then took another look around to make sure he was still alone. "Well... I don't think a wedding will be soon soon in these parts, but if it happens, then it's definitely not as far off as the maybe kids." He kind of smiled a bit at that thought, but the voice on the phone broke him out of his daydream.
"Hmmm? ...Oh, yeah, I'll let you go." He snerked "Yeah, whatever, cockbite -- assmuncher -- fucktard -- dickholster..." He grinned "What can I say, my girlfriend is a very bad influence on me. 'Swhy I love her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love you too.
"Bye."
After he hung up the phone, he continued to sit outside for a while.
((Open-ish scene))
Currently, between his three sisters, Leon has 11 nieces and nephews, with a 12th on the way. Half of them he hadn't seen in a number of years, and the other half, he's never so much as laid eyes on. There was also probably a legion of brats spawned by his cousins to add to that number. He had never really given it much thought before, but ever since helping Claire babysit Tammie the other day, he had started to wonder what those kids were like right now. The fact that he didn't know, at all, was really eating at him.
Sure, he knew all their names, birthdays, and what not. He still sent out cards for appropriate holidays, but that only does so much. The older ones, who were 10, 9, 8 and 8 might remember him, and maybe hearing from him might mean something. But for the younger kids, most of whom probably can't even read the cards anyway, it's not like they'll care. Their Uncle Leon is just urban legend, or worse, a complete stranger. It's not like he's there to see them grow up, to talk to them, to play with them, to teach them proper choke holds, to cook for them, to babysit them.
He had to wonder how it was he got so utterly sheered off from the rest of his family. He understood why they didn't want him to become a cop, he wasn't the least bit insensitive to their pain. The death of his father hurt him too just as much as it did them. It was really their insistence that he was wrong about what he was doing and should quit that bothered him the most, though. He couldn't understand that.
Being a cop, well, federal agent now, was a dangerous job, yes, but it was an honest job, it was an honorable job. It was also a job Leon was that damn good at. And no matter how much pain it brought him, how much pressure it put him under, he still loved it, and wouldn't quit for anything. Not even for them.
He's not a self-righteous kind of guy, he doesn't care about being right or winning an argument. But don't tell him he's wrong when he knows he's not. He's a rather flexible guy, but he won't bend on that. And they won't bend from their stance. After a few major battles, though, it settled into a cold war.
When it comes to his family, though, he'd settle for a peace agreement. At least some kind of cease fire. Just for them to agree to disagree. They don't like his job? That's cool, just get over it and shut the fuck up about it already. For a moment, he actually thought about shouting that to his mother and the rest of his family (like he'd ever have the nuts to say that to them), then chuckled as he envisioned the next days headlines.
Tyrants? *Yawn* Ganados? Whatever. His mother when she was ticked off? That was something he sure as hell didn't want to run up against.
Anyhow...
All joking aside, he was still feeling like crap about the whole thing. He didn't talk to Claire about it, because he doesn't talk to Claire about his family. She never pressed him on it, and he couldn't bring himself to say "hey girl with only one living relative, come listen to me bitch about my large family whom I don't talk to because we're too busy being stubborn assholes". There was also no one else in his circle of friends with whom he felt comfortable enough to talk about this.
Still, just trying to ignore it was doing him no good. So maybe it was time he did something about it.
He went outside the beach house, bringing a pen, a pad, and his phone with him. He didn't wander far off, just sat in a chair out back, as he wasn't trying to avoid Claire, per se, but he did want some measure of privacy at the moment. He flipped the phone open and started punching in numbers, then changed his mind and erased it. He started entering a different set of numbers and hit enter.
He put the phone to his ear and waited, and when whomever picked up on the other end, he smiled. "Evenin' Lass." Yeah, Leon had called his sister Erin, and he grinned as he heard her response.
"Yeah, I know you only got that phone a few weeks ago... Tch, I'm Secret Agent Man, remember? ...Oh, shut up, I'm your little brother. It's not that creepy. But if you really want to be weirded out, just give me a minute to pull up your credit card statements from the last few months." He had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing.
"Oh, too late. I'm staring at them right now. And... hnn... You have a couple of charges here that need some explaining." Actually, he was looking at the ocean under the afternoon sun. And if it was afternoon in Hawaii, it must be late evening back on the east coast.
Finally, after too much awkwardness from the other end of the phone, he started chuckling for a bit. "Relax, I was just kidding. I'm not at work right now, I'm on vacation... No, if I got shot I would be on a desk job. This is an actual, you know, vacation. I do take one occasionally."
He shrugged in response to whatever was asked next, even though that doesn't work well over the phone. "Nah, I'm in Hawaii, just relaxing on the beach with my girlfriend. It's-- ...yes, I said girlfriend." He practically facepalmed right there. He never did tell anyone in his family that he was in a relationship now. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know... he just never talked to them. And given the high-pitched squeeing that came through the receiver, he might have wanted to keep his mouth shut.
"Yeah, it's serious."
He rolled his eyes a little and tilted his head in a 'yeah, yeah, whatever' fashion. "Fine, I'll tell you all about her, just shut up for a minute. ...Good.
Now, where to begin? "...I told you about that girl I met in Raccoon City? ...Um, no, not her--" Did Leon sound just a wee bit bitter there? "--the other one. ...Yeah, her, Claire.
"Well, about a year ago, maybe, she and I ran into each other again. We starting hanging out and then... uh..." What's a discreet way of saying 'we got fear gassed and slept together? Oh, yeah, there is none. "...one thing sort of led to another, and we started dating. ...Since the end of October."
Leon blinked. That was a good question. "Well, it's not like we talked all that long last time, and a certain other subject came up before I could mention her. That other subject a bit of a conversation killer..." There was a silence between them, punctuating Leon's point, which he just had to point out. "Yeah, see? Told ya."
He let out a sigh. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something... about the kids. ...How are they?" He nodded and 'mmhmm'ed a bit. "That's good. I'm glad they're safe." He ran a hand through his hair. Why was asking a simple question suddenly so hard. "Could you... tell me about them? Like, what they're like, and what not? I mean, I haven't seen them in so long... I--
"Yeah, I miss them... I miss all you guys. ...yeah, yeah. I know. I know But can we not have that particular conversation right now?" He sighed in relief at the answer. "Thank you."
What followed next was a pleasant hour long talk. Well, mostly listening for Leon, as he was updated on his nieces, nephews, their parents, and a good chunk of his family. He took a good number of notes, so he can remember who was into what stuff, and all of that. It was a bit emotional for him, since there was a constant bitter thought of I should know all of this. I should be there... and I would be there, if only you'd let me., but he kept his feelings in check.
At the end of that, his sister asked him something that made him chuckle a bit. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Claire wasn't around before answering. "Uh, no. I love Claire, but she and I aren't going to start a family any time soon." He chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, I know my birthday's next month. What's your point?" He smirked "Yeah, and those who are pushing forty should not throw stones, especially if they're aiming for us still 20-somethings."
He listened again for another moment, then took another look around to make sure he was still alone. "Well... I don't think a wedding will be soon soon in these parts, but if it happens, then it's definitely not as far off as the maybe kids." He kind of smiled a bit at that thought, but the voice on the phone broke him out of his daydream.
"Hmmm? ...Oh, yeah, I'll let you go." He snerked "Yeah, whatever, cockbite -- assmuncher -- fucktard -- dickholster..." He grinned "What can I say, my girlfriend is a very bad influence on me. 'Swhy I love her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love you too.
"Bye."
After he hung up the phone, he continued to sit outside for a while.
((Open-ish scene))
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"Well... we were never really close growing up. When I was born, Kay was five, Erin was eight and Meg was ten, so there was always this big age gap between me and them. Erin was the one I got along the best with, as she was always the nurturing type. Meg was a total Daddy's girl, so she hated me with a passion. And Kayleigh was just... girly. I mean dolls and princesses and her room was this horrific pink color." He shook his head. "She and I never really had any kind of common ground. Though all of us eventually learned to adjust to each other.
"Since we all never really hung out, I used to learn about them by going through their stuff, or by spying on them, among other things..." he chuckled a bit. "If you were to ask them, they'd tell you that when I was a kid, I was, and I quote, 'the kindest, sweetest, most well behaved demon spawn ever to crawl out of the pits of hell.'"
He grinned, but the grin quickly faded. "Nowadays... we don't talk much." If at all. But he won't go into that.
"But they're all married now. Meg has three kids, is about to drop a fourth, and teaches 4th grade. Erin has five kids... she just had twins in... January? Yeah, January. She works as a veterinarian. And Kayleigh has three kids and is a paralegal."
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"...wow," she said finally. "Twelve nieces and nephews?" She shook her head. "It's hard for me to even imagine that."
She paused for a second, then decided to go ahead and say it. "Why don't you talk to them much?"
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When she asked her question, though, Leon sighed and dropped his head. This wasn't something he wanted to think about, let alone talk about. "Long story...", his standard answer to this question, though he rubbed his chin, mulling over whether or not he should say more.
It was a weird moment. He'd was willing to tell her, but this was a painful subject for him, so he wasn't about to just dive into it.
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She eventually realized that she had no idea at all and settled for just wiping her face off, then giving herself a minute under the shower station just off the porch.
Claire came back towards Leon and started reapplying her sunblock. She wanted to know, but she didn't want to know so badly that she'd force a delicate issue.
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"My father was a good man. Smart, kind, respectful, respected. My mother was a good woman. Kind, loving, but dear god you never wanted to get on her bad side." He chuckled ruefully. "We weren't the perfect american family, not by a long shot. We had our fights, we had our problems, but... things were still good."
He was silent for another long moment. "Then when my dad died..." He stopped, not because of any kind of emotion, but he needs to search for the words. "...it was like... something broke in our family." He shrugged. That was the best way he could describe it. "And we couldn't fix it. I can't fix it.
"I tried to, you know? I just... couldn't fix it. I knew I couldn't make things right again. How could I? Someone we all loved died, there was no making that right. But I thought things could be better again. I tried--" He stopped suddenly, more out of trying to contain raw emotion than anything else.
He leaned forward and stared at the ground again. His entire posture seemed to tense up, and he had the look of a man who is not going to cry by sheer stubborn force of will alone.
Once he managed to beat that river of emotion he started again. "I tried... and I failed. Miserably. It seemed like everything I did only made things worse. And eventually I just... ended up on the outside looking in."
He just shook his head, and went back to staring a hole in the ground.
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There was nothing to really say to that, or if there was, she didn't know what it was.
As Leon finished speaking, she put one hand on his back and rubbed it, but remained quiet.
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Eventually he regained his composure and leaned back. He finally looked over at Claire. "So... yeah. We don't talk much."
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Claire found herself, again, without much of anything to say. There wasn't much of anything to say.
She kept one hand on his back and laid her head on his shoulder.
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A moment later, he asks, "How come you never asked about this before?"
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"But you're at least on good terms with Erin, right?"
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"Well, I guess, so long as we avoid talking about certain things."
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In the back of his mind, he did want her to meet them, and for them to meet her and Sherry... but the last thing he'd want is for her to get dragged into the middle of a really nasty mess.
"Doubtful. My 'Big Damn Heroing' is one of those things..." He's not saying 'no', but it's hard to talk about him and not talk about that at the same time.
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"Wait, so... you protect the President, you're a big damn hero, you're pretty much near the top of your chosen field, and that's their prob--?"
She thought hard for a second, then it strikes her.
"Oh. Because your dad was a cop?"
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"He got by three bullets, right to the chest. Semi-jacketed, high velocity .45 caliber rounds, fired from about fifteen feet away, tore right through his vest like it was paper.
"The doctors tried, but..." He shrugged, indicating the obvious 'there was nothing they could do'.
"He died seven hours later."
Granted, she didn't really need to know these details, but he felt he needed to tell her.
"It wasn't the first time he got hurt on the job..." though obviously the last. "Not that he was reckless, but he was a cop, it came with the territory. We always managed to deal with it, to deal with the fear of what could have happened, and to get past it, but..."
He shook his head.
"You should've seen them the first time I came home after Raccoon City. They were convinced it was an omen, a sign that I should quit and go be a guidance counselor, or something. They nearly exploded when I told them I had joined STRATCOM..."
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Claire looked at Leon and tilted her head, trying to imagine him as a guidance counselor. It was nearly impossible to imagine him as one of the faintly ridiculous people who'd been counselors at her school; they were all faded somehow, like they'd spent so much time working on kids' careers that they'd never put any thought into their own.
"I don't know, Leon," she said, bringing herself back from her own imagination. "If these were just, you know, your friends or something, I know just what I'd say... but they're your family."
Claire isn't the kind of person who can write off blood relatives, either. Some people can; she can't.
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"I know... and I love them all dearly. That'll never change. But I can't keep fighting with them." He sounded more exhausted by the idea of going yet another round with them than anything.
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She gave him a hug from the side. Claire was grateful to finally have an answer to a question she'd never really gotten around to asking, but saying it out loud sounded stupid. So instead, she just hugged him.