I'm floating on Cloud Nine (...kinda?)

"Is that you?"

The front door shut with its usual soft bang. Your keys meeting the hallway table with your bag tossed to the floor for a moment of relief, hands pushing up until your creaking bones let out a satisfying pop and the tension melted away along with your tired sigh.

"Yes!" You shouted back after a moment, sighing once more as your hand gently rubbed the back of your neck. "Who else would it be?"

You didn't hear your mother's reply, simply sunk down onto the first few steps of the staircase with another defeated noise and kicked off your work shoes, their thumps muffled by the enter way carpet.

Your eyes fell to the floor as your body slowly hunched into your knees, zeroing in on a stray piece of thread on the rug, twitching from a draft that flowed through the corridor and up the stairs. The world around you slowly melted away into nothing, your ears ringing while you continued to watch as the strand swayed in the subtle wind, your mind hypnotised by its movements. You felt numb, your fingertips tingling as slowly your vision began to blur-

"(Name)?"

You jolted at the feeling of a hand, head snapping to look at your mother stood over you, her shoulders jumping slightly your sudden reaction and taking a step back from your bubble.

"Jesus." She started, hand falling to her chest. "I was calling for you- are you okay?"

"Uh," You glanced back at the thread once more then shook your head to clear you rotten brain fog, standing back to your full height. "Yeah, fine, sorry."

The concern on her face wasn't missed, brows furrowing with lines of worry creasing her aged skin as she looked over you with that familiar spark of worry in her eye. A common occurrence nowadays, the more she saw the exhaustion that grew more apparent day by day. Like hideous black mold, the woman could only watch as a darkness spreads over your soul, eating away at what was once her child to leave only an unmotivated husk behind. A fear of losing you slowed bloomed in her chest, deep and aching as she watched you unfold in front of her very eyes.

It hurt more to you that you couldn't hide your emotions behind that old playful facade.

Your mother's hand moved to rest on your cheek, thumb rubbing the skin in an act of affection. "You sure?"

"Yeah, mum."

A moment of quiet passed. "How's about we order something for dinner? Sound good?"

You shrugged, moving to grab your bag once more. "Sure- I'm gonna go lie down."

"…okay."Her lips made contact with your cheek but you still didn't react. "I'll give you a call once it's here."

Then she watched you retreat up the stairs, the darkness slowly swallowing your form with each heavy step you took.

"…I love you." It wasn't a yell, but she said it loud enough for you to hear.

You grunted. "Love you too."

Your door clicked softly as you closed it behind you.

Your room was a mess.

Bed messy, clothes riddled on every surface imaginable with a bin bag bulging just by your door. The air felt stale, your body itching as you felt a sudden rushing of filthy air run over your skin and you scowled, tossing your bag alongside the black sack before settling onto your bed. The only cleaned furniture, simply because of overuse, you spent most of your days laid out under the sheets, way past noon scrolling on your phone with an inescapable boredom and overwhelming frustration from your body's refusal to move. Almost like you were a rat stuck in a glue trap, slowly rotting away in some forgotten cupboard as the flies laid nest in your corpse. Shame had seemed to make itself home in your gut, such a common occurrence, you had practically grown accustomed to its slimy feeling, your apathy almost palpable. What was the point of caring so much if if truly meant so little? No one else cared, so why did you need to? No point crying over spilt milk.

Your hand moved to your bedside table automatically, knocking an empty plastic bottle to the floor as you grasped for your console remote. The device powered on with its usual little noise.

'Whole lotta shit.' Was the only thing you could think when you scrolled through your games, face bored with a small irritated sigh. 'Might as well check the store'

And you did, still supporting that same blank face as you scrolled through the categories while muttering in distaste. Platformer? No. First person shooter? Nope. New promising RPG? What did they take your for? A mug? Your face slowly morphed into annoyance, tongue meeting the back of your teeth as you click in disappointment and spammed the back button.

"Shit, shit and more shit."

Oh well, you thought, maybe you could just sleep-

You paused, adjusting your controller's stick to the striking bold letters blaring just at the bottom of your screen.

Your eyes followed the typography curiously.

Now on Sale!

You read over the titles, zoning in on the collection of 'Resident Evil' currently covering the shop's page in heavy abundance: RE: Veronica, RE7 Biohazard- the list went on as your brows furrowed curiously.

Such a sale and for what?

You moved to the homepage once more, only just noticing the 'Games incoming' and the cover of Resident Evil Requiem staring back at you.

Oh, that was why.

You had forgotten about it, after remembering being so excited upon seeing that trailer only a few months ago. You excited rants had driven your friends up the wall and even your mum, not so well versed in her game lore, knew every little detail about it after you raving about it for weeks. How could you let it slip your mind? Ah, but then again, a lot of things had been slipping your mind recently- hadn't they? Cleaning your room, your basic hygiene, important dates like birthdays and anniversaries. You could still see your mother's face when she asked what you wanted to do for your birthday, looking so excited before you crushed it with a simple "That was today?"

You forced yourself to have dinner with her to make up for it, not really caring about anything else.

Didn't matter anyway.

You dragged a hand down your face, ending your sudden pity party with a heavy sigh as you stared at the game, you foot bouncing as your thoughts swam.

Should you? Did you really deserve a new game? There were so many you hadn't touched, waiting on your console and PC, virtually collecting dust. Did you need to buy a game that you might not even touch for days, weeks, months?

…

But you had been so excited for it. Yapped to your friends about it for ages before this sudden dark cloud had descended on you, maybe it couldn't hurt to buy it?

…or maybe you could built up to it?

You moved back to the sale, looking through the collection of older games- some simply needed to be downloaded from past purchases, leaving only a few others looking dirt cheap, barely a scratch off your current paycheck.

A Resident Evil marathon maybe?

If you could finish off the rest of the games, you could buy the newest- made sense?

Right?

'What the hell, sure'

Downloading it all took time, your slow WiFi translating to at least an hour of waiting, you doomscrolling on your phone until finally they were all complete and you stared at the screen with the smallest bit of excitement.

You moved your stick, hovering over RE0 Remake before your eyes slowly moved towards RE2, thumb unconsciously twitching. The face of Leon and Claire stared back at you, guns pointed towards the crowding zombie hoarding that lingered in the background, the title sitting just above their heads. One of your favourite games, the perfect mix of horror, comedy and tragedy with the amazing bonus of the hottest protagonists you had seen. Claire Redfield and Leon Scott Kennedey.

Not to say you didn't love the others, Rebecca had a special place in your heart, Chris and Jill were an unmatched duo.

But you couldn't deny, you wanted to see your favourite rookie.

See that stupid hope in his eyes, hear his stupid boy scout speeches about helping the innocent and taking down the bad guys.

Not to mention those stupid one liners that made you snicker and smile.

Without much more argument, you moved to the game and loaded up it's file, watching as the title screen loaded in and moving to the character selection screen, not holding a hint of hesitation when you selected Leon S Kennedy.

'Next time Claire, trust'

You inner simp deserved to have some fun once in a while.

The opening cutscene slowly began, watching the trucker bring his messy burger to his mouth as the radio played, describing the small hints of the oncoming nightmare that stalked through the streets of Raccoon City-

"(Name!)," Your mum's voice came from downstairs, louder than the cinematic playing on your telly. "Food's here! Come down!"

You let out a sigh. Your controller making contact with your bedside table as you pulled back your covers and moved to stand.

It was fine, you didn't have work the next day, you could just enjoy a long night of fighting zombies and listening to Leon S Kennedy's shitty little jokes and-

Your feet met…nothing.

No carpet, no dirty clothes, or scattered rubbish just- nothing.

Your heart leapt into your mouth.

"Wha-"

And your were falling.

In next few moments, you weren't sure what was happening. What way was down and what way was up, the world around you flew by as you continued to descend to- where? What? How? You expected to fall through the ceiling, to land in your living room below, to break a few bones and see your mother scream in horror but you were nowhere, falling through a pit of darkness with air rushing right at your terrified face.

Your bloody scream echoed.

"WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK-"

Your body naturally thrashed, arms flailing in an attempt to hinder or stomp your descent, kicking your legs wildly for frankly naught, your body had simply been kicked into overdrive and you were fighting for your life.

"Whatthefuckwhatthefuck- WHAT THE FUCK!!!"

After a moment of unsuccessful thrashing you ceased, star fishing your body hoping to slow down and trying to orientate yourself. What was even happening? How long had you been falling for? Where were you!? Questions piled and left unanswered when you noticed a pinprick at the bottom of this chasm, your pupils shrinking as you once again began to flail.

That must have been the bottom and you were very rapidly approaching said bottom, the sudden dot growing into a disk before it was a very obvious hole of light, shimmering.

"NO!" You shrieked, throwing your hands in front of you. "NONONO- WAITWAITWAIT-"

There were colours.

Multitude of colours, a spectrum of vibrant lights zooming past you and flashing as you continued to fall, your wide eyes reflecting the sudden beauty all around you. Like the expanse of space had formed right before your very eyes, stars shooting past you at light speeds leaving trails of dust in its wake; like supernovas bursting out and spreading to form nebula clouds that danced around your body, crashing together in an explosion of warping tones. You felt as if someone had shoved you into the tube of a kaleidoscope, geometric patterns dancing and shifting in an almost never ending vortex.

It was beautiful. Astonishingly so.

A serenity filled your being as you watched them, body becoming numb to the falling sensation and instead greeting the new odd feeling of weightlessness, like a bird soaring through the open skies, wings spread and beak held high as the winds guided its way. You were in a trance of awe, the earlier sound of air rushing past you slowly melting away and your hand out-stretched to dip into the abstruse lining, pulling away when it made your fingers buzz with an unknown feeling.

Were you dead?

This couldn't have been a dream if you could feel these sensations so clearly, so you must have been dead. But that couldn't be right- you weren't the picture of health but surely you hadn't been on deaths door? No signs, no warnings, you hadn't felt physically weird at all, but then what else could this be? Maybe an aneurysm? Maybe you were laid out on the floor, the life in your eyes slowly draining as your body gave you a patient and caring passing, tricking your mind into an amalgamation of beauty before you finally sighed that last heavy sigh.

You thought it would have been scarier-

'Finally, you're here.'

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere all at once, your body slightly tensing as you whipped your head around frantically, the colours seemingly pulsing at the sounds.

Where had that even come from? Who had said it? Had you just imagined-

'No time for panic' The words were sharp, impatient as 'it' spoke, the lights vibrating around you. 'You need to listen to me and you need to listen good'

"But who-"

'Shut up.'

You flinched, wrapping your arms around yourself at the unprecedented venom.

'As I said, we don't have time-'

The lights flickered, the beautiful enigma flickering violently before slowly it began to phase out, the lights dulling as the world around you began to slowly transform.

'No- For fuck's sake! Get back here-'

The colours had finally stopped and the voice quickly faded.

'(NAME)!'

You had lost yourself deeply in your earlier surroundings, so deep in fact, you had completely forgotten about how you were still plummeting towards possible death, the frantic voice fading out as your eyes focused on the blinking lights between the clouds-

CLOUDS!?

YOU WERE IN THE SKY?!

Your earlier screaming quickly resumed, as did your frantic and terrified flailing, resulting in stupid little jerks of your body as you tried to desperately latch onto the air around you. The clouds were gone now, the blinking lights of the city beneath drawing closer with the whistling of the wind, your impending doom only a minute or two away. If you weren't dead yet, you certainly were going to be soon, body descending quickly past the roofs of surrounding buildings and to the streets below. Your eyes finally zeroed in on the slab of pavement that your body was about to make contact with, your hands once again flying to cover your face as your screaming raised to the highest notch, throat sore.

Your eyes slammed shut.

…

…

Another ten seconds passed, your body still tensed in preparation before you finally peeked an eye open, moving your arms to stare at the…street, upright and empty. You blinked comically, looking down to see the pavement beneath your socked feet, confusion bubbling in your gut.

"But-" You patted your feet against the pavement, feeling the cold, wet concrete beneath. "How the fuck-"

You shivered suddenly, your body registering the biting cold and rain trickling down from the skies above that left you no mercy as it battered down on your form, your arms once again moving to hug yourself in an effort to keep yourself warm with teeth chattering. This wasn't just rainy day cold, this was seasonal cold, the gnashing jaws of frosty winds blowing against your quickening wet body, teeth clacking as you glanced around at the-

Holy fuck.

Destruction.

Complete and utter destruction.

Cars flipped, debris scattered through the street- you could see smoke and fires in both far and close distance, the sounds of screams permeating the air accompanied by a disaster siren, flashing of every kind of emergency services vehicle's strobes bouncing off the puddles and wet surfaces all around. You could also see people running, singles, duos, groups and families booking it it every direction as the panic ensued. You were too focused on your own being to notice the devastation you had fallen into: the screaming of the masses had been dulled out by the air and your heartbeat, the smoke and fires at the back of your mind, all you had seen was the fact you were about to die flashing in your eyes.

"…What the fuckkkkk…."

You swallowed, pushing back your body's freeze reaction to glance around.

Maybe you had actually died and gone to hell.

Yeah, maybe. Only thing you needed now was a horned devil with an intimidating pitchfork poking your arse and leading you towards the ring of hell you were assigned-

You heard it.

It was quiet at first, almost impossible to decipher before it got closer, your head turning to get a better chance to hear what exactly your ears had caught.

Groaning.

A collective groaning.

Human but…but also not. Something animalistic, something grotesque, it made a deep instinct within you turn tail and run while your body tensed, eyes fully snapping in the direction of the noises in the close distance.

Someone was stumbling. No, some-ones. A small group of people dragging their feet against the roads as they slowly appeared from the light mist, your eyes narrowing to take in the details of their forms. Jerky movements with soft growls, feet dragging against the road, your body unconsciously began to back away, as one word ran through your mind.

Zombies?

"There's no way."

The light of the fire illuminated them, the glazed over eyes and the bloody mouths, pale skin and variety of different wounds all of their mangled bodies.

"Oh my fucking- GOD-" You didn't wait a second longer, pushing your body into overdrive, your socked feet pounding against the wet pavement as you raced towards- anywhere that wasn't with them.

But they were everywhere, decorating the streets like weeds in a garden as you booked it, dodging the stalkers with as much precision as you could, not staying even a second longer to wait for them to react. Maybe luck was on your side, or maybe these zombies just weren't all that smart, but they didn't seem to even flinch at your appearance, simply standing in wait for their next meal with groans of undead pain. You weren't complaining, you were glad for once in your life you seemed to be invisible to the people around you.

Others weren't so lucky however, screaming as people were torn apart echoing through the streets all throughout the city. You only caught a glance when the sound of wailing from your right, a man begging for his life as he was dragged towards a staggering hoard by the ankles before you could even attempt a rescue, squelching and yells of pain melting together in a horrid symphony as you skidded and turned to duck into a darkened alley after a moment of horrified shock. You couldn't even process what had happened, you just had to run.

The alley wasn't much better, the sounds of the undead filtering through the quiet passage as you sprinted, leaving no time for the monsters to catch up the further you ran. The idea of you being chased tickled the back of your mind, that hot on your heels were gnashing bloodied teeth and cracked rotting claws desperate for your tender flesh. It kept you running, kept your adrenaline racing through your veins and allowed your body to push beyond it's limits and keep you on your feet, even when your muscles screamed from the strain and feet burned from your soggy socked feet slamming against the pavement.

You stumbled after bumping a dumpster, your focus cracked as your hands moved to clutch at the sudden pain blooming in your arm that slowed you to an eventual stop, eyes glancing around the small path as you tried to catch your breath.

Almost typical, dirtied with rubbish bags and random trash, muddy puddles spotted randomly up and down the alley and between a brick wall decorated with a plethora of beautiful graffiti that cursed bloodlines on some random towering building and the half stone half metal fence of fancy establishment, your back met the solid wall as you caught your breath. No zombies, only the distant echoes of the doomsday catching the frigid wind.

Your stomach churned wildly with your lunch, your hand flying to your mouth to hold back the vomit threatening to push past your lips and decorate the already dirty ground. Your heart beat to a point of pain, lungs shrinking and expanding with fingers tingling while your vision swam, the view of your feet beneath you swimming between blurs- you were panicking and you were panicking hard, your throat squeezing uncomfortably as you thought about the world around you falling into disarray with no real way to escape.

Had you really died? You had toyed with the idea earlier multiple times but the very real sensations rippling through your body had thrown you back into the notion. After all, if you had died, would you really be feeling such things? Feel your body shutting down in excessive fright, the throbbing in your feet from your sprinting and the rain still drizzling from the heavens above? But maybe you had died and gone to hell, after all, only an after life as cruel as the firey pits themselves would still make you suffer, even beyond death.

Hidden in an alley in a place you weren't truly sure was real, in almost overwhelming pain and pursued by the epitome of pestilence.

Were being punished for how you had lived? Did that mean a higher being existed? Did it mean your sins had been judged accordingly? Had you truly lived a life worthy of eternal suffering?

Battling with existential dread alongside an almost crippling panic attack, it took you another moment to register the sounds of shuffling once more, slow and dragging, your head snapping towards the mouth of the alley you had come down to see the darkened silhouettes. One, two, three- a gaggle of the undead were making their way towards your direction and dread seared across your gut, body leaping away from the wall and turning towards the other direction-

Dead end.

Fuck. How had you not noticed?

It was just your luck. Horror movie luck. Horror game luck. The perfect fucking luck that you had raced down the one alley with NO ESCAPE!!

A frantic glance yielded no weapons, no empty bottles within the rubbish or no spiked bat that you could only imagine would suddenly spawn in your time of need. You were alone, empty handed and with no way to escape.

Or at least, that's what you thought, until you glanced back towards the opposite wall and stared at the metal fencing. You weren't exactly sporty, not very athletic either, but you could probably manage to leap over into the, what look like, garden on the other side with the help of adrenaline running through your being. It looked easy enough, the half wall could even act as stepping stool to allow you to leap.

At the sound of another growl, you left assumptions to the air as you quickly ran and planted your feet against the cold stone, wrapping your hands around the finials of the cool steel and hoisted yourself up with a strong jump, being careful not to catch your sullied work uniform on anything as you collapsed into the bushes below, cushioning your fall. In spite of their scratching and clawing branches, with a swift tug you managed to stumble out and into the yard of the place, tugging out strays of bramble and stubborn leaves from your socks with small grunts of pain. You had just had to had fallen into this hellish landscape without your damn shoes, hadn't you?

You could still hear the monsters, their growling and their groans harmonising beyond the walls, like the buzzing of a fly by your ear in the night, it was all you could truly focus on, all that really existed outside of your little safety bubble of the premises you had impromptu trespassed into. The noise made your skin crawl, a shiver scuttling up the expanse of your spine while your arms moved to tuck themselves into your chest, bringing your shoulders up to your ears as you focused in on the sounds of destruction behind all the hideous wails: the sirens of emergency services from the previous crashed vehicles and now the crack of thunder nearby as the feeling of the rain became harder.

The worst of it had to be the silence though.

No more sounds of the fleeing survivors, no frantic footsteps, nor desperate yells, no signs of anyone other than the rotting living corpses that dragged their mangled bodies across the roads. A quiet massacre.

You took a moment to compose yourself, to blink away the distressed tears away from your face and turn your head to examine your surroundings. A short courtyard with neatly trimmed bushes, behind you a gated fence with a short fire exit and to your right, a longer pathway that lead towards once blocked archway, boarded shut, and another staircase descending down into god knows where, your hair standing on end as you made you way towards it. Past the blocked archway you could spot a large gate, not special in any form but towering nonetheless, with what you could only assume was the entrance to large building opposite, so close yet so far.

There was… something eerily familiar about this. Something locked in the back of your mind, collecting dust along with other lost memories in the vault of conscience, locked in a rotting crate. Maybe the crate would burst, splinters flying and lodging themselves into the walls of your mind as a reminder of what it was the further you explored, or maybe, just maybe, the crate would stay sealed, surrounded by silence and left to disappear in the darkness and eventually fade into nothingness. After all, this wasn't your world, the was for certain, Purgatory or hell, how could you remember a place you had never visited before?

In that moment, you couldn't find it within yourself to care much more. Stood at the top of the steps after a failed attempt at yanking at the boards of the blocked entryway, looking down to the flickering, white light and cringing at the thought of having to go down there, you decided that you would rather take the harder way than the potential death way and once more, climbed the steel fence. More awkward that the last, much slower too, but soon enough you were a few paces away from the entrance and-

Bodies.

Not many, but still enough. Some big, some smaller, piled onto one another like sandbags in the trenches, wrapped in white cloth and tied stiff- improvised body bags. You flinched, your previous power walk halting, throat bobbing as you swallowed the nervous ball of spit that had suddenly formed in its path, your chest curling uncomfortably.

You had seen a dead body before. Resting in a coffin, lid opened to allow those attending a small funeral to say their final goodbyes. You weren't terribly young but not older either, partnering your mother as she looked solemn down at the person within and whispered a final goodbye, your own goodbye in the form of a gentle parting kiss on their forehead before you stepped away with her to allow the process to continue. A family member, they had asked for cremation and you had sat outside in the beautiful garden as your mother had held witness to that final request. Then later, you attended the wake.

This was not the same.

The air stunk of death, of rot and decay. The body bags were bloodied, spots varying from little specs to considerable holes and you, in your tarnished work wear, just stood there with a gaping mouth unable to move. No sense of respect, no sense of privacy. It felt like you were intruding, stepping on people's toes, comparable to pushing your way off a crowded train and hitting every single person square in the chest as you did. Impolite didn't even begin to scratch the surface of what you felt, you wondered if this was grounds to the spirits of the dead to place a curse on your soul and haunt you for the rest of your, very potential in the grand scheme of things, short life.

What had to be worse, however, was the body laid sprawled on the stones. Donned in camo cargos and a yellow, armless fleece, a man was covered in blood, still wet from the precipitation and post suffering from both zombification and bullet holes, that you were smart enough to guess were the leading factor that lead to his permanent death.

However, you stilled shuffled, quickly, quietly, towards the doors. Not trusting the shell of the man to not stand once more and leap at you with teeth bared when your eyes focused on the mess of writing on the small sleeved dress shirt, body freezing in place.

S-T-A-R-S

S.T.A.R.S

That wasn't possible.

"…There's no way."

Finally, that rotting crate opened and you snapped towards the double doors of the building. There was no hesitation as you walked up those steps and there wasn't hesitation when you grasped that brass handle and yanked opened the brown oak door-

To stare at the beauty of Raccoon City Police Department.

The grand main hall, with polished marble flooring, welcoming you with the department's insignia painted into the floor followed by the large oak receptionist desk. Two large twinning staircases sitting adjacent to the towering goddess statue, with beautifully carved brown banisters that that wound up and over like ivy, partnering the columns that held both the arched roof and the skylights, allowing the moon's glow to shine down on the marble construct to create a daunting aspect with the goddess' already intimidating figure. On your left, the main reception and the West Office, to your right, the locked down East Office with the famous "Keep out!" sign taped to its shutter.

Your legs wobbled and you fell onto one of the many stretchers dotted around the place, holding your head as your vision swam from both terror and disbelief.

There really was no way. How could there be? Surely, by now, you must have had been having a very, very, very crazy dream. This wasn't possible, you couldn't be in the R.P.D- it didn't fucking exist. You could believe falling into hell but this- this was way too far. World hopping, isekaied, fucking truck-kun'd? Oh god, maybe you had been drugged, maybe your government's shit had caught up to you and that sip of water had worked had quite literally poisoned you and now you were freaked out on the floor of your room, drooling and in a daze.

Oh god, after holding it back for so long, maybe you really were about to be sick-

"Hey-"

You screamed, your body jolting violently from the sudden touch on your shoulder and throwing you back onto the floor below, shoulder slamming into the marble and eliciting a pained grunt. It was only a second you were laid there however, quickly pushing to your feet as you stumbled back, holding your arms out in some sort of semblance of defense. You weren't ready, you were terrified but you were not going down in this hell hole without a fight.

"Easy- easy!" Their hands flew up, flinching before one moved back to press down on their bloodied side with their face curled in pain. "I'm not one of those things."

Marvin Branagh. Paled, in pain and definitely on the fast track of becoming one of the T-Virus victims, but alive. In the flesh.

Real.

You promptly curled over and vomited, hands on your knees and tears rolling down your cheeks as you emptied your stomach over the dirty marble floor.

Marvin took a surprised step back.

You choked out a pathetic "Sorry" before your body heaved once more and forced more chunks out of your mouth.

You didn't see him hobble away, nor hear the sound of tearing before he was at your side and offering some tissue with his none bloodied hand, your fingers shaking as you took the offering gently.

"It's okay." He collapsed onto the same stretcher you had before, coughing from both strain and pain. "It's been a shit few days- not the worst thing that's happened, trust me."

You wiped your mouth and chin, quickly tossing the dirty paper into a biohazard bin just a few paces away, then followed suit and let your arse meet the floor, body leaned against the wood of the reception desk. It was a moment later that the man offered his hand to you.

"Marvin Branagh."

You grasped his palm firmly, giving it a polite shake. "(Full Name)."

"Good to see another survivor." He sighed, leaning back when you two released one another. "Wish it was under better circumstances."

Your head fell into your hands, the oncoming headache sharp as you tried to keep your frantic breathing under control and not spiral into a full blown panic attack.

Now certainly wasn't the time.

"How did you get here?" The words were gentle but curious. "Last time I checked, the roads are completely overrun by…well, you know."

You took another deep breath. "I jumped the fence by the fire escape."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

The man managed a laugh, grunting in pain when it disturbed his wound. "Impressive."

You knew what he was doing, trying to calm you down. He could very obviously see that you were falling apart at the seams and so close to unraveling. It was the end of times after all, you had a front row ticket to the end of Raccoon City, with beyond 4k resolution and surround sound so it was only natural to want to give in to the fear and let it consume your being.

But Marvin had been here, alone, for so long. Slowly wasting away, from both blood loss and the virus running through his veins, you couldn't just let him suffer in this tense silence in his final moments while you wailed like a disturbed baby.

So, you swallowed your fear and managed to show him a shaky smile. "Thanks, it will not happen again."

You both shared a quiet laugh, your eyes moving to zero in on the wound on his lower stomach before you finally pushed yourself back up to your feet and rubbed your arms, still feeling the affects of the cold rain outside.

You knew you couldn't stop his death, but you could at least help him.

"You have no shoes." He noted, looking down at your soggy socks when they squealed against the marble as you went for your search, the man pushing off the stretcher to follow you. "Where the hell did you come from, kid?"

An alternate reality apparently.

"Building caught on fire." Was your excuse. "Didn't have time so I just… ran outside."

Marvin nodded in understanding. "I have a spare pair in the office- I'll go grab them."

You rifled through some random medical boxes before you found what you needed, yanking out a small green med kit and opening to find all the supplies that you needed.

First bit of good luck, finally some balance.

"You got any allergies?"

The Lieutenant took a glance at what you were doing before shaking his head. "Kid, you don't-"

"I'm not arguing with you, Marvin." You snapped on the latex gloves, unraveling a roll of gauze and cutting up pieces with sterile scissors. "Now, you're not allergic to anything, yeah?"

"Only peanuts."

You rolled your eyes, gently pushing him down once he unbuttoned his marred uniform shirt.

"You a doctor?"

"Nah, just know first aid."

The man let out a huff. "Lucky me."

You cleaned the surrounding blood before you packed the wound, making sure to keep friendly conversation flowing as the man winced and hissed in pain, finishing with a covering pad and some extra few bandages after applying sufficient pressure. It was a little awkward, a little tense, but the end of your close worlds allowed you both to make careful jokes and ease the atmosphere that the apocalypse had brought on. After all, why did you need to be depressed in your possible last moments? Why not die with a smile, as Bruno and Gaga had put it.

You both went for the shoes next, forcing him to lean on your shoulder as you helped him limp towards the West Office and close the door carefully behind you. Just in case. You never knew what could have happened.

When you turned back, hearing the crack of Marvin opening his locker and going through his things, you finally got a glance at the star party streamers and all-too-famous blue banner-

'Welcome Leon' It read, your stomach fluttering with both disbelief and nerves when you quietly muttered to yourself.

"Bet you're gonna have a kick arse first day, huh, rookie?"

No one responded.

You turned.

And nearly slammed into someone's chest.

On instinct you went to apologise, mouth moving with the words "oh, sorry" on the tip of your tongue when you noticed the yellow, not the light blue of Marvin's uniform. Instead, it was the same exact yellow you had seen outside not too long ago, from the dead body of Brad Vickers rotting on the front path of Raccoon City Police Department, the printed R.P.D just above the left breast pocket. A yellow that should definitely had not currently been in your face, especially when the person who had been wearing that yellow was-

Your eyes snapped up to meet Brad's and not a moment later you fell back into Leon's locked desk, shuffling back against the wood as your wide eyes stared back at the supposed-to-be-dead man, his own eyes looking back at you with surprise, his mouth agape.

"Can you… see me?"

You couldn't respond.

"(Name)?!" Marvin had waddled quickly back to your side, looking down at you in concern. "What happened? You okay?"

You looked at him incredulously, then back towards Brad, still standing there, blocking the exit way back to the main hall and your main escape route.

Marvin followed your gaze, then narrowed his eyes. "Kid, what are you looking at?"

You wanted to scream, yank at your hair and yell at him in frustration. There, right there! The living dead guy! You mind screamed, body shaking from fear, but nothing came of it. You stayed frozen, still staring at the former S.T.A.R's member as slowly, he shook his head.

"He can't see me." You heard his voice, your saw his mouth move. "I'm dead."

…

Ah, well, that was just perfect, wasn't it?

Now you were seeing dead people.

Maybe you had gone to your friends home. Maybe they had offered you something to take the edge off. Maybe, after a continuos period of feeling like actual slop, you had agreed to try it in hopes that it would make you feel better.

And maybe, like the moron you were, you had muttered so confidently.

"This edible aint shit-"

And now you were here instead.

Your mouth gaped like a fish, brain trying to catch up with your lips. You wanted to say more, you wanted to yell, very loudly but Marvin's hand in front of your face stopped you, the officer staring down at you with sympathy.

"It's been a long few days." He started, yanking you back up when you took his hand. "Our bodies are working overtime to keep us alive, we're bound to start seeing things and that's okay."

You stared back at Brad, watching as he crossed his arms and stared at you right back.

Waiting, just like Marvin was.

"…Uh, yeah." You finally responded, swallowing your spit. "Yeah, sorry, I- I haven't really slept."

The lieutenant nodded his head in understanding.

"Me neither kid…" You felt him pat you on the back. "Found the shoes, lucky to find some spare socks too- let's get you changed and-"

There was a yell. Frantic, loud, muffled through the door of the West Office.

Marvin froze along with you, the both of your sharing a look of disbelief when another yell quickly followed after.

"God dammit!"

… You knew that voice.

"Quickly."

"Got it."

You practically burst through the office door, Marvin right on your heels as you raced over to the East Office shutter trying not to step on your earlier vomit. You knew what was happening, knew what you had to do as you bolted towards the body on the floor, kicking back and flailing in the grip on the zombie currently attached to his leg. You grabbed his hand firmly and yanked him away not a second later, stumbling back when you slipped in your still soggy socks, falling back once more with the 'stranger' falling into your chest just as Marvin finally managed to slam the the shutter back down, an explosion of brains and blood shooting out to hit all three of you.

Fuck. What a mess.

"…You okay?" You managed to ask after a moment, looking down at he man just as he looked up at you.

Short, dirty blonde hair tussled from the struggle, pale skin flushed a soft pink from exertion and light blue eyes staring deep into your own with an intensity that made your body shiver.

Leon S Kennedy panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah." He finally mustered, catching your eye. "Thanks."

Leon hadn't changed.

That was something that had come to your mind as you watched Leon wash his face in the bathroom sink, the warm, hanging light bleeding into the darkness of your bedroom along with the sound of the flowing sink that echoed silently against the porcelain sink. He was hunched over slightly, his hands running his face wash over the fair skin and causing the muscles of his shirtless back to ripple like disturbed water, shoulder blades moving in a familiar motion.

Beautiful was a word in your vocabulary to describe Leon, gorgeous, pretty were others, but you knew him well enough that he would scoff at the mention and reprimand you with those tired blue eyes for describing him so innocently. He was nowhere near the word, that was something he told you. Stained with blood that would never clear, harnessing guilt that he would never truly be free of and carrying the weight of the entire world on those strong shoulders.

It hurt you more than he knew that, that was how he viewed himself. A horrid tool used to inflict pain instead of solace in which he had yearned for in his youth. You wanted to tell him so much, to convince him that he was still the same pure hearted soul that you had gently gifted your heart to all those years ago- but why burden him with such words? You would simply love him with as much as your heart could give.

Just like you always had, even when he was that bright eyed boy in the academy, learning the ropes of police work with that spark of heroism in his eye. Leon wasn't naive, he wasn't blinded by the glory of what the masses made the job out to be- he was simply a man who wanted to do better, to help people like that officer who had saved him all those years ago.

You thought back to then.

To the room you were renting, to the bathroom that the both of you brushed your teeth in, that cute baby face staring at you through the mirror as you shared a beautiful silence, your head leaned into his chest. It was the weekend, he didn't need to stay in his dorm, so why force him to lay on a lumpy old mattress when he could share the sheets with you? What kind of partner would you have been to keep him from the comfort of your arms?

"Move over." You whined playfully, gently bumping his hip with your own as you readied to spit into the sink. "You're taking up the whole damn room, blondie."

"Jeez, babe, you're so sweet. I can't believe I'm so lucky to have someone like you."

"Don't sass me, Kennedy."

You saw his cheeky smile in the reflection. "I would never."

So handsome, he always had been, a part of you questioned how you had been so lucky to catch the attention of such a sweet and gentle man, even if he was what others would label a 'dork'.

You retaliated, gently digging your fingers into his sensitive side after you had finished your nightly routine, laughing when he let out a shriek of surprise and almost dropped the mouthwash all down his front.

"That's it."

You squealed, dodging his arms and diving towards the bedroom in an act of self preservation. Though Leon Scott Kennedy would not have that, not after being humiliated in his safe space- chasing after you with no effort and hauling you into his arms, you laughter jovial with your legs quickly out in surprise as he leaned down and blew a raspberry right into the crook of your neck.

"Leon!" You cried, running a hand through his hair before tugging. "Let me go- OH!"

He dropped you down onto the bed, climbing atop to continue his assault until you were nothing but tears and twitches, your laughter fizzling out to breathless giggles while trying to curl into a protective ball.

"You, dickhead." The words were a soft sigh, his nose gently nuzzling your weakest spot. "No more kisses for you."

"Woah, hey," Pulling away he towered over you, his hair making a slight halo around his head. "Don't you think that's a little cruel?"

You stuck your tongue out. "Serves you right, Officer, for abuse of power."

Leon's laugh made your stomach flutter with frantic butterflies, a flustered heat spreading over your face and down your neck as he looked down at you with affection that made your entire being shiver. It would almost be overwhelming, had it not been for the fact you haboured the same amount of love in that very moment, coursing through your veins and pumping through your heart.

You didn't know you could love someone so much.

"Well, can I appeal it in court?"

The blonde laid his weight onto your carefully, head resting carefully against your chest and your hand instinctively moved to massage his scalp.

"Of course, anything can be appealed in a court of law."

"Perfect, what do I need to do?"

You smiled.. "Tell me you love me."

And so did he. "I love you."

An abundance of fireworks burst within the confines of your chest, your skin tingling with sudden euphoria and your pupils grew as your brain repeated the words in a cherished loop.

You leaned down with no hesitation, as did he when he moved up to meet you, both your lips connecting in a moment of bliss that echoed through your entire being, dancing with the sentiment of worship that ran to the tips of your fingers to your toes. Your hands moved to run through his hair while his brought your body closer, pressing you against him as you kissed him like it was last: like his mouth was the air and you had been drowning, like you had prayed for a miracle and he was an angel sent from heaven to grant it.

"I love you too."

Your hands made contact with Leon's back.

You could feel the muscles tense as a knee-jerk reaction before immediately relaxing, Leon's sigh gentle as he let you wrap your arms around his strong waist and nuzzle your face into the warmth of his back, your lips gentle as they pressed against a new scar he had gained after a recent mission.

"Was wondering what you were doing." Leon's voice wasn't as light as it was 6 years ago, almost gruff, a little deeper than that bright eyed 21-year-old but- it still held a sweetness that caused your body to tingle with affection. "Felt you starin'"

You hummed. "Debating if I should bite those muscles you're rocking, Kennedy."

He let out a huff, cupping his hands with water and splashing himself.

Your index finger made soft circles in the middle of his chest, head leaned against his back and listening to his heart gently beat.

"You tired?"

The agent hummed, finally drying his face with his wash cloth and standing to his full height, waiting a moment to let you release him.

You could tell from the clipped answers that now wasn't the time. Leon was probably tired, had a long day dealing with sensitive paperwork and ignorant coworkers that made his brain turn to utter mush, the last thing he probably wanted was to banter with you in the dead of night. That was alright, you could handle the silence, as long as he stayed with you, let you hold him as you both drifted off into the sweet release of sleep- you would be okay to not speak with him.

You moved to turn off the light, darkness shrouding the two spaces, save for the gentle shine of the moon breaking between a small parting in the curtains that you used to lead you over to your shared bed.

It wasn't even a second later your world spun.

An involuntary yelp sped past your lips, legs heaving off the ground with arms shooting out to quickly wrap around your sudden captors shoulders. You were tensed similar to how he had been earlier, for a quick moment, unsure of what had just happened, before you finally relaxed into Leon's hold and let your head rest against his firm shoulder.

"Sorry," Voice soft, a kiss laid on your head even softer as he settled at the edge of the bed, still holding you close. "I… uh, today wasn't the best."

Your neutral expression turned into an understanding smile. "'s'okay, I get it."

"Still no way to treat you."

Your hand moved to pinch his cheek and tug, laughing when he let out a grunt and tried to pull away. "Oh Kennedy, you are such a sweetheart."

"Don't start."

"So kind, so sweet, my little angel."

"(Name)-"

You pressed a kiss to the cheek you had teased, letting your lips linger a second longer when you moved to stare into his eyes, your noses just inches away from each other.

His eyes were truly beautiful, even if they were haunted by a past that lurked in the corners of his mind, the blue like polished steel with pupils slightly enlarged as they stared back into your own.

"I love you." You whispered, pressing your hand to his chest to feel it's beat. "Want you to know that, you know, just in case you forgot."

You swore you felt his heart skip.

Leon slowly leant down, the both of you tilting your heads before letting your lips meet like they had hundreds of times before. Passionate but still holding a unique serenity that only he could conjure, his hand finding it's way to your head as he pushed your lips a little tighter together and your own arms wrapped firmly around his neck, the both of you falling back into the comfort of your bed.

"I love you too."

Leon hadn't really changed.