People Can Change - Resident Evil Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Gift Exchange

Enough hours passed and now it was the time of night where most stores were closing. Most were closed anyways due to it being Christmas and Leon was standing in line at a gas station, holding several things he was hoping to buy for the next several days. Snacks, a case of beer, and various other small purchases such as batteries. When it was finally his turn, he stepped up to the register and began putting his wares onto the counter before reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet, anticipating that same statement every cashier has ever said to anyone buying alcohol.

"You got an ID on you?" The cashier asked as Leon opened his wallet and removed his driver's license from it before handing it over to the older man. The cashier looked at it for a couple seconds before chuckling to himself, allowing for Leon to put it way back inside his wallet.

"What's so funny?" Leon asked, confused by the man's sudden laughter. "I just saw that sticker you have on your license. You're involved with the government huh?"

"Yeah. Right now, I'm on paid leave. Just came back from an important mission a couple months ago and I got rewarded the holidays off for the rest of the year." Leon responded as the cashier finished ringing up all of the items Leon had brought to the counter.

"No shit? I wish they'd let us have holidays off here but noooo, gotta have us work out asses off in the blistering cold while everyone else is celebrating with their loved ones." The cashier said.

Meanwhile, Ada Wong was stepping through a jewelery store, glancing around at all of the shiny gold and diamond necklaces, bracelets and watches displayed in the glass cases spread out throughout the store. She saw a diamond watch that looked really nice, nice enough to be a gift for someone who cared about that kind of thing. Only problem is the price. Ada was wealthy of course, wealthy enough to buy this whole store ten times over if she felt like it, but today she was feeling a little risky. She reached into her purse and dug out a small paper clip before turning around to face away from the display case while her hands did all the work. As she was attempting to pick the lock on the display case, one of the jewelry store clerks noticed her awkward positioning and decided to check out what was happening, confronting her directly.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" The man asked as Ada smiled innocently, putting on a front that made her look less guilty than she actually was.

"Yes. My husband is out getting us some snacks for the rest of the night but I wanted to stop here to see if I could afford to buy him a watch for Christmas." She replied as the clerk put his hands together and gasped, showing that he was quite the eccentric type. "Oh that's wonderful! Here, let me see if I can help you come to a decision."

Ada shook her head quickly, trying to refuse the man's assistance. "No I don't think that'll be necessary. He should be here anytime to help pick one out."

"No no I insist. What's the fun in getting someone a gift if they already know what they're getting?" The clerk replied, being overly insistent in assisting the woman he had no idea was about to rob him blind. Just when he was taking a step towards Ada, the door to the store opened and in stepped Leon, eyeing down Ada and the clerk immediately. He smiled and stepped over towards the two of them, noticing some kind of issue taking place.

"Everything okay?" He asked as he stood beside Ada, trying to figure out what was happening. Little did he know what Ada's mind was gearing up for.

"Of course babe. This kind gentleman was just looking to help me find something nice. On second thought, I don't think I'm interested in buying anything. I feel like I'd need to take out a loan from the bank to compensate for these prices. Come on, we should be heading home. It's getting late." Ada said as she quickly wrapped her arm around Leon and quickly headed for the exit, practically dragging the man beside him outside of the jewelry store and into the parking lot before he finally decided to speak up.