Cleon

Cleon is the het ship between Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy from the Resident Evil fandom.

Resident Evil 2 (1998)

 * Claire A/Leon B

Claire arrives in Raccoon City and upon stopping to ask for information she is surprised to find the owner of Emmy’s, eating a person behind the counter. Intimidated by the zombie who has now noticed her, she tries to calm it down and retreat back, but discovers there are more of them outside, trying to attack her through the window. Claire’s only alternative is to go out the back door.

Meanwhile, Leon arrives in the city late for his first day as a rookie cop. He stops his car to investigate a body lying on the street on his way. As Leon approaches he is surprised by zombies coming from every direction. He points his gun at them when the corpse from the street wakes up to try to bite him. Leon starts firing, keeping distance and retreating to the alley behind him.

The door suddenly opens and Leon does not hesitate to point his gun directly at Claire, who is running from her own enemy inside. Taken by surprise, she yells at him not to shoot, though Leon orders her to get down. He shoots a zombie in the head, saving her life. He helps Claire to her feet and claims “it must be safer at the police station”. Together they run through the streets, where Leon spots a police car parked nearby.

In the car, Claire tries to understand what is going on, while Leon tries to tune in to the radio for help, with no answer. They soon introduce themselves, Leon saying it is his first day on the job and Claire saying she has to find her brother, Chris Redfield. Claire finds a gun in the glove compartment and Leon tells her to take it. Unnoticed in the backseat, a zombie wakes attempts to bite Leon’s shoulder. Leon loses control and the car slams against a wall, the zombie thrown through the windshield. Leon asks Claire if she is okay and she has energy enough to be sarcastic, but they do not have time for any further comment, as an unbridled truck was coming towards them.

Leon and Claire come out each on one side of the car at the exact moment of the impact, which is followed by a large explosion that separates them by the fire. They shout at each other and as soon as they are sure that they are okay, they agree to meet at the Racoon City Police Department.

Arriving at the police station, they would soon realize the place is also infested with zombies, other creatures and even more dangers. Exploring one of the upstairs halls, Claire sees a little girl being chased by a zombie and tries to follow her. Leon, who has just dealt with the monsters around, comes across the same girl, who mistakes him for a zombie because of his police uniform and escapes through a hole in the bottom of a sealed door.

As Leon is unable to follow her that way, he comes back down the hall where he finds Claire, also looking for her. They are happy to see each other again and Claire decides to keep looking for the girl, while Leon looks for a way to escape the city. He hands her a radio so they can keep in touch if they need help.

Although, Leon and Claire do not see each other until the end of the game, they still talk via the radio whenever something important occurs. Leon is extremely worried when Claire calls him and says she is leaving the RPD and talks about the passage in the sewers. At another point, Claire thinks about him when she got access to the police arsenal and leaves valuable resources behind for Leon to pick up later.

As they continue their separate ways, Claire tries to find a vaccine for the little girl, revealed to be named Sherry Birkin. Sherry was infected in the sewers by a B.O.W named William Birkin, her father. Leon is trying to find out what happened to the city, ending with he and Claire both in Umbrella’s underground laboratory.

After accidentally activating the self-destruct system in the fight against Mr. X, a B.O.W who has been stalking and killing any survivors of the outbreak, in the power room. Leon soon receives a radio call from Claire, who saw Leon entering the laboratory through one of the surveillance monitors and contacts him to ask to get Sherry out of the lab. Claire is counting on him and Leon runs to find Sherry in the security office room and carries her through the emergency elevator until he finds a deactivate train, their escape ride.

While Leon works to turn the power on to the train and fights Mr. X for the last time, Claire follows the instructions to create the vaccine and has her last battle with William. With time running fast, Leon starts the train just in time to see Claire go through the door. He waves to her and she runs towards him, but with everything collapsing around, they can not reach each other in time before the train enters the tunnel. Claire still manages to enter the next open car.

Leon and Claire look at each other with relief when she arrives at the car where he and Sherry are, but there is no time to say anything. The turbulence begins and hurls them to the ground, Leon uses his body to protect Sherry and they stay down waiting for the tremors to stop. Leon realizes Sherry is unconscious due to the infection and Claire gives her the antidote. They both wait with anticipation and concern until the young girl wakes up again.

With everything seemingly over and they can breathe easy again, Claire still needs to find her brother and Leon knows this fight was just the beginning. Claire and Sherry hug and Leon goes to be alone in the control room, but suddenly, new tremors reveal the train is under attack again. Leon goes to check and discovers William’s latest form taking over. Leon attacks him with everything he has and the self-destruct system is activated due to the biohazard, automatically closing all doors and locking Leon out and Claire and Sherry inside. They see each other through the glass door, desperate and not knowing what to do.

William begins mutating bigger and bigger, consuming everything in his path. Claire calls for Leon desperate when the monster breaks through the door where he should be. Leon climbs to the roof of the train to escape and reaches the control panel. Sherry uses the ventilation hole to get to the control panel and Claire grabs under the train to avoid being eaten by the creature.

Sherry does not know which button to press to stop the train, though Leon opens the roof hatch just in time to point to the right one. The train finally stops and Leon and Sherry get off together, but they do not see Claire anywhere. Leon call for her, terribly worried, as soon as she appears on the other side. They three reunite while the monster takes over the train completely and they have to run as far as possible before a large explosion hits and ends with William dead and destroyed once and for all.

It is a new dawn and they are sitting next to the tracks, tired, but happy to be safe and that everything ended well. Leon suddenly gets up saying they need to go, no time to waste, because it is up to them to end Umbrella.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

 * Claire A/Leon B

Claire stops at a gas station to use a payphone when she hears noise coming from inside of the station. Upon investigating, she discovers the undead and becomes overwhelmed with zombies coming at her. A man bursts through the front door, aiming a gun at her. Claire tells him not to shoot, and he tells her to get down, shooting a closing-in zombie from behind her. The man asks if she’s alright and Claire tells him yes, before thanking him. As more zombies shuffle towards them, the man takes notice of a police car parked out front and the two run for the vehicle, speeding off. Claire questions what is going on and he tells her that helpfully there will be answers at the police station, to which Claire asks if he is a cop. He says he is, before giving his name, Leon Kennedy, following with who she is, Claire tells him her name. After an awkward pause, Leon asks if Claire lives around here, to which Claire tells him no, as she is there looking for her brother, Chris Redfield. She follows this up with telling him that her brother is also a cop. Leon tells her “it’s a good thing they found each other.”

Leon and Claire head for the Raccoon City police station when they reach a roadblock. Zombies begin attacking the police cruiser and Claire suggests Leon backup when they notice an out of control semi-truck heading straight for them. With zombies pounding on the doors, Leon tells her to hold on as the truck hits, sliding into their car and lighting on fire. The impact sends Leon and Claire on opposite sides, with a leaking fuel exposition separating them. Leon immediately yells for Claire, asking if she is okay. She tells him she is alright when Leon realizes he is not safe where he is. He voices this to her and Claire tells him to go, that she will meet him at the station. In Leon B, Leon confirms he will be there too. As Leon enters the police station’s side gate, he comments to himself he hopes Claire made it there.

Inside the station, Claire meets Lieutenant Marvin Branagh, Leon’s superior, who calls her down, showing her surveillance video of Leon arriving to the courtyard gate. Claire heads for Leon, though upon a investigating a crashed helicopter that happened seconds prior she is distracted. Leon yells for her, only when he calls out her name does she turn around and the two exchange relieved smiles upon seeing each other. Claire makes her way down the stairs as Leon kicks at the locked gate separating the two. Claire jokes “they have to stop meeting like this,” and then tells him it is “good to see your face.” The crashed helicopter explodes over them and Claire notices zombies begin to shuffle from behind Leon. She tells him he “should get going,” before seeing them push harshly against the fence, she pleads with him to go as they are close to getting through the fence now. Leon leaves, not before telling Claire they are both going to make it.

Leon and Claire do not see each other for a long while that night, until the underground Umbrella facility they are in is in self-destruct, following the G-virus getting out. As Claire is attempting to get a train moving, Leon appears on a video feed telling Claire she needs to get out of there. Claire tells him she thinks all of them: him, her and Sherry Birkin, a young girl Claire saved, can make it and asks where he is. Their video feed keeps breaking up and Leon insists Claire not worry about him, just for her to get out of there. Claire makes more desperate attempts to reach Leon, though to no avail.

Claire and Sherry are on the train and heading for the exit. As the train is descending, another attaches to it. With the train in full motion, the carriage door slides open to reveal Leon running though. Leon exclaims Claire’s name, and in return so does Claire with Leon’s name, with a wide smile, telling him it is good to see him. Leon calls back to their time separated by the fence, telling her he told her they would both make it.

The back train car is attacked by the level 4 mutated William Birkin, Sherry’s father, having mutated again after Claire fought him previously that night. Leon goes to handle it, telling Claire to stay back to protect Sherry. As Leon is fighting William, Claire tells him they need to break off from the train car. Claire grabs Leon’s hand, leaving William to burn in a massive explosion.

By dawn, they are walking away from the city when Sherry asks if Leon and Claire are “like boyfriend and girlfriend,” to which Leon tells her no, that him and Claire had actually just met that night. Claire teases “that would have been one helluva first date.” Sherry soon points out a semi-truck coming their way, and thinks they might be able to give them a ride. Leon tells Claire to get Sherry out of there while he waits for the truck to come closer. The man in the truck flips Leon off as he drives past. With the potential danger out of the way, Claire and Sherry come back to Leon’s side. Leon reaches for Sherry’s left hand and Claire reaches for Sherry’s right - the three of them walk hand-in-hand, continuing down the road when Sherry happily proclaims Leon and Claire “can adopt her” and that they can get a puppy and parrot.

The Darkside Chronicles

 * Memories of a Lost City

This scenario re-tells the events of Resident Evil 2, where Leon and Claire have just arrived in Raccoon City when they learn that the city has been infested with zombies and other monsters. Working together side-by-side for almost the entire journey, hoping to find answers and discover Umbrella’s involvement in the ordeal. Leon and Claire share bonding experiences while surviving no matter the odds.

Degeneration
 Claire arrives in the city of Harvardville to participate in the Terra-Save protests against the new pharmaceutical company WilPharma and the Senator Ron Davis, when a new outbreak occurs at the airport and the entire perimeter is blocked to prevent the infection from spreading. Claire and other survivors manage to protect themselves, locking in the VIP lounge and calling for help.

Leon is the special agent sent by the government to rescue them and the senator. While waiting, the survivors hear a scream outside the room and Claire decides to go out and save whoever it was, only to be surprised by a flashlight and the a “get down” line when Leon show up to kill the surrounding zombies. Leon and Claire are surprised to find each other in this situation, though Leon helps her to get up and they hold hands for a few more seconds until the rest of the rescue team approaches.

The senator, not satisfied with the team sent to rescue them, criticizes Leon and his plan to escape through the lobby and Claire tries to show some support for the idea, explaining how the zombies are slow and easy to dodge, but the senator turns against her as well and Leon defends her by describing how she was prepared for the situation thanks to her previous experiences with zombies outbreaks.

While in high ground of the wing of the collapsed plane in the lobby, the agents fired to clear the path full of zombie and the senator runs to the exit, abandoning the others behind and knocking Rani, a little girl in Claire's company, into the middle of the zombies. Claire impulsively jumps to save her, even though she is unarmed. Leon sees her do this and tries to shoot the enemies, but a zombie jumps on him, pinning him to the ground. After a few seconds of tension and indecision on how to help her while dealing with his own danger, Leon ends up throwing his weapon to Claire which she catches with good reflex and kills all the zombies around her. When all enemies are defeated, Leon looks worried for her, though Claire has her full attention to Rani.

Claire and Rani climb back to the others; another agent takes Rani and Leon takes Claire’s hand to help her up. They share a look for a few moments before Rani comes to hug Claire and Claire gives the gun back to the Leon with a smile.

In a safe place, outside of the airport, Rani is crying for not reuniting with her aunt outside the quarantine and the senator makes a comment about not standing kids, to which makes Claire furious enough to slap him in the face, blaming him for the trauma Rani went through that night. Leon watches everything quietly while she goes to comfort the young girl.

After being vaccinated, Claire is taken by surprise to discover that WilPharma was responsible for producing the vaccine to control the recent infection, though Leon confirms the collaboration between the government and the company to prevent further outbreaks. The senator and the head researcher Frederic Downing, blame her and the protests of Terra-Save for having slowed the process of approving the use of the medicament, which facilitated the death of agents in this rescue mission.

Claire isolates herself in one of the medical tents, feeling guilty Terra-Save made things worse and Leon goes after her to remind her the real villains were the one who created, and now the one who used, the virus. Their lives changed forever because of Umbrella and promising her he would wipe out this virus from the face of the earth. Leon soothes her by saying she was not wrong in choosing the path to be a rescuer - something he could not be. Claire is touched and thanks him for his support.

While Leon goes to investigate a suspect with another agent, Downing invites Claire to the WilPharma base in the city, as a peace offering. During the tour she learns they had bought the G-virus on the black market to make a vaccine and that the senator was one of those responsible for the decision to exterminate Raccoon City back in 1998. Claire decides to call Leon to alert him, unfortunately the conversation is interrupted when a bomb explodes in the building, leaving Claire unconscious and Leon is uneasily when the call is abruptly cut.

Leon wanders through the quiet halls of what remains of the ruined building until he finds Claire hobbling. When he realizes she has a serious leg injury, he hurries to try to carry her out. Claire interrupts him by warning about the enemy and making him focus on the biohazard situation that was about to happen. Leon supports Claire while they walk, when they take an elevator and Leon kills all the zombies when the doors open.

Before taking separate paths, Leon asks Claire to try not to get killed and she winks at him wishing him the same as the elevator doors close again. He clicks a button, shaking his head with a sigh. Instead of going to the exit, Claire manages to go to the center control room, and helps Leon remotely in the final battle and discovers the fight was being recorded.

Learning Downing was the one responsible, manipulating everyone and using the recordings to sell the virus and vaccine to the terrorists, Leon and Claire surprise him at the meeting point pretending to be the contact while he waits to escape.

In the morning, after everything has been resolved and they are getting ready to go, Leon asks if Claire wants a helicopter ride, though she refuses saying she already has a car waiting for her - with Rani and her aunt. Leon says he hopes the next time they meet it will be in some place a little more normal, which Claire definitely agrees. They say goodbye, and Leon goes to the helicopter and Claire watches him leave with a soft smile, before then going on her own way.

Infinite Darkness
 In 2006, Claire is on location at the White House, wanting to speak with Press Secretary Spacer, unaware he was killed the previous night in an attack on White House grounds. She meets Leon there who is on his own assignment, looking for hackers who stole classified files. The two meet as Leon passes her by, she recognizes him, calling out his name, causing him to turn back around. Upon seeing it is Claire, he stops and asks what she is doing there. She tells him she is with representatives from the Penamstan’s provisional government. Leon questions this, with Claire claiming the US wants a military presences there. As she has his attention, she asks Leon if he could look at a drawing done by a child that depicts a zombie outbreak that had occurred six years prior in 2000. Claire notes it looks a lot like the Raccoon City incident that they both survived back in 1998. Leon does not comment on the drawing as he hears his fellow agent Jason, about getting back on schedule. Leon turns to leave Claire, not before telling her not to do anything stupid, while giving her a warm smile. As Leon departs, Claire is left standing alone, bewildered. Just before Leon leaves completely, Claire calls out to him one last time, commenting how his fancy outfit does not suit him, leading to Leon laughing a little.

Leon and Claire meet again undisclosed amount of time later in an underground bioweapon facility. Claire has been abducted under the orders of Secretary of Defense Wilson, while Leon, now partnered with agent Shenmei head for the same facility. Claire sees Leon first, calling out his name, however he does not hear her and she is unable to move due do her restraints binding her to a chair.

Jason, Shenmei’s former partner, refuses the inhibitors, thus turning into a B.O.W. With him having mutated, a safety precaution within the facility dumps acid into the massive room, slowly flooding it, destroying all other B.O.Ws and anything else that gets in its path. Claire manages to unbind herself before the acid dissolves the chair. Leon, in his own peril, nearly falls into the acid, though is able to land on a platform across from Claire. Claire calls out to him again, this time with Leon hearing her. As Leon sees Claire, without hesitation, he immediately rushes across the walkway to her aid, desperately reaching to take her hand. The two grab hands and Leon pulls her over to him, with Claire landing on top of him. As they catch their breath, Leon asks her if she is okay, and Claire replies she is, before also thanking him.

They stand up and begin to make their way for the surface, where they see Jason is also heading. Leon directs Claire to “keep him busy,” which Claire agrees to. Together they are able to keep Jason away with Claire operating the moving platforms and Leon using weapons against him.

Sometime later, Claire’s arm is in a sling after sustaining an injury during the fight against Jason. Leon asks how it is doing, with Claire replying it is “better,” though she had to sneak out of the hospital, by breaking a window and climbing down bed sheets. Leon questions this, calling back to when he told her not to do anything stupid. Claire claims she is only joking, before asking when Leon is going to stop treating her like a kid, leading to Leon saying “probably never” while smiling. The conversation leads to Claire asking about the chip that contained information about Jun See, a young man who was infected back in 2000, claiming she wants to make a copy of it and give it to all the newspapers. Leon’s face sinks as disappointment sets in as he thought Claire called him to go grab some dinner. Leon pulls out the chip, before slipping it back into his pocket, stating he can not. Claire is surprised and her own disappointment settles in when she asks why. When Leon does not answer, leaving Claire to ask if that is how it is going to be, Leon doing things his way, and Claire doing things her way. Leon can only nod in response, his heart sinking. With that, Claire leaves him, though not without calling back to what she said to him in the beginning, about his outfit not suiting him.

Death Island


Resident Evil 2 (1998)

 * Claire A/Leon B


 * Leon saves Claire from a zombie that was chasing her.
 * Leon holds out his hand to help Claire.
 * Leon askes if Claire is okay after the car accident.
 * Claire cries out concerned for Leon after the explosion that separated them.
 * Leon and Claire are happy to meet each other in the RPD.
 * Leon hands Claire a radio so they can keep in touch.
 * Claire thinks about leaving items behind in the arsenal, so Leon can take it later.
 * Leon is worried about Claire leaving the city through the sewers.
 * Leon worries about Claire still being in the lab while the self-destruct system is activated.
 * Leon holds out his hand for Claire to get on the train and she runs to him, but cannot make it in time.
 * Leon and Claire look at each other for a moment after she gets into the train.
 * Leon and Claire look at each other through the glass window of the door, trying desperately to open it.
 * Claire cried out concerned for Leon when Willian destroys the train car he was on.
 * Leon cried out concerned about Claire when he gets off the train and he does not see her anywhere.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

 * Claire A/Leon B


 * Leon saves Claire by shooting a zombie that snuck up behind her.
 * Claire looks at the burning car thinking, for a moment, that Leon is dead.
 * Leon calls for Claire on the other side of the rubble on fire asking if she is okay.
 * Claire pleads with Leon to leave right away as she sees zombies begin to shuffle from behind him.
 * In the police station, Claire leaves a note for Leon telling him not to worry about her and to warn him of the dangers within the station.
 * In the sewers, Claire leaves a note for Leon telling him that she is taking a “little detour,” though for him not to worry about her.
 * Leon begs Claire to leave him behind, as he thinks he will not be able to escape the lab in time.
 * Leon and Claire smile at each other when they met on the train.

The Darkside Chronicles

 * Memories of a Lost City


 * Leon sees Claire fighting and runs to kill the zombies around her.
 * Claire throws her knife to hit a zombie that snuck up on Leon from behind, which impresses him.
 * Leon soothes Claire about still having survivors in the city.
 * Leon kills zombies around Claire, giving cover while she is unconscious by an explosion.
 * Claire kills zombies around Leon, giving cover while he is unconscious by an explosion.
 * Leon does not want to split up to explore the police station. To him, it is better if they stick together.
 * Claire cries out in concern after Leon falls off the platform into the sewers.
 * Claire is worried about Leon after realizing he was shot in the shoulder.
 * Leon, worried after Claire fell off the platform, ran to see if she was okay and ended up being vulnerable to the enemy attack.
 * Leon is relieved to see that Claire is fine, after she fell off the platform.
 * Claire is concerned about Leon and his grief and wants to give him space, but he does not want to let her go alone because it is dangerous.
 * When Leon and Claire realize that Annette was dying, their eyes meet with sadness.

Degeneration

 * Leon saves Claire by shooting a zombie that snuck up behind her.
 * Leon and Claire hold hands for a moment when he helps her up.
 * While being attacked, Leon throws his gun to Claire who is surrounded by zombies so she can defend herself.
 * Leon helps Claire up.
 * Claire gives Leon back his gun.
 * Leon soothes Claire by saying she was not wrong to choose to be a rescuer, not a fighter like him.
 * Leon carries Claire to the elevator.
 * With their mission pulling them in separate directions, Leon asks Claire to try not to get killed and Claire winked at him.
 * Leon hopes they meet again in some place little more normal.

Infinite Darkness

 * Leon tells Claire not to do anything stupid, while giving her a warm smile.
 * Claire comments how Leon’s outfit does not suit him.
 * Without hesitation, Leon rushes to save Claire from dissolving in acid.
 * Leon pulls Claire to him, with Claire landing on top of him.
 * Leon asks Claire if she is okay.
 * Leon asks how Claire’s injured arm is doing.
 * Leon thought Claire wanted to go and get dinner.

Fanon
is a popular ship within the Resident Evil fandom. Leon and Claire were first introduced in the second installment of the series and they’ve been fan favorites for the past 20+ years, their relationship with each other being no different.

Following the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake, the ship regained love from new and older members of the fandom following the new content. In September 2020, the announcement of the episodic series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, that aired on Netflix in 2021, gathered the same hype for that the remake did back in 2019.

On AO3, has 680+ works in its romantic/het tag, and 130+ in its platonic/general tag.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Leon/Claire (Gameverse) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Leon/Claire (Movieverse) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Leon/Claire (Gameverse) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Leon/Claire (Movieverse) tag on FanFiction.net

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Trivia

 * Tsuyoshi Kanda, the producer of the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake, revealed in an interview in 2018 that the team wanted to try and “deepen the narrative experience and relationship between Leon and Claire” as well as the rest of its characters. This may explain why Leon and Claire’s scenes in the remake are less platonic and have more flirtatious undertones compared to original.
 * Leon and Claire appear together as survivors in the video game Dead by Daylight and as character skins/layered armors in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion.

Variations

 * Cladeon — the ship between Ada Wong, Leon and Claire
 * Clerry — the ship between Sherry Birkin, Leon and Claire