Like the crazy things that you’ll do on a dare

The sky poured down in anger with every attempt to cleanse the world of the rising dead. It crashed into the glass panes of the police department and beat the boards of wood nailed against the frames.

Leon stayed holed up in the department. The lobby served as his only sanctuary.

Then a crash sounded a few rooms down the hall.

He grabbed his gun from its holster and rushed to the corridor. The window at the end laid shattered at its base.

Something broke in.

He silently stepped across the floor, checking rooms until he got to the very last one. He turned inside with his weapon raised.

Something grabbed it from the side and it was out of his grip faster than he could process. His weapon pointed back at him.

Then his eyes landed on you.

Head to toe in military grade gear. Hair loose from a bun you had pulled it back in hours ago, not bothering to fix in the heat of survival.

"Who are you?" He demanded—trying to sound even a little bit intimidating given the fact you held him at gunpoint.

You locked eyes with him and stayed quiet. Too busy in your assessment for any sign of a threat or even infection.

You were beautiful. Leon wasn't an idiot. He had eyes. But at the time it was the last thing he was thinking of.

After a moment of scrutinizing, you relented and let go of the hilt. It swung back and you grabbed the barrel, handing it back to him.

He wearily took it.

"I cleared out a few from the hoard out front. You're welcome," You said and went back to collecting the ammo you needed.

"That doesn't answer my question," Leon pressed.

You looked up from your scavenging, a small smile present. Leon shifted under your spark of amusement.

Even the smallest glimpse of a smile and it was instantly captivating. It blinded the horror of the day. You grinned with ease as if the undead weren't trying to break the doors down out front.

You straightened from your work and softly stepped in line with him. The assessment once again taking place.

"Your uniform," You noted and pushed at the vest. Leon instinctively stepped back, making you laugh. "It's not strapped on right. And judging by the way you hold a gun, I'm guessing... a rookie?"

Leon stared back at you. Uncertain and exposed.

You shook your head with your own perplexion. "What are you doing here?"

At that question, Leon stood taller. "Protecting anyone I can."

Your smile softened and a fondness grew in your invasive stare.

"I like that."

It was true and genuine. As was this interaction. Leon couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening, but he knew the feeling he had when near you. Vulnerable.

You ended the moment between you by turning back to your bag. You continued loading it up, sparing more now, knowing he would need it.

"Well, I just made a pit-stop to stock up on supplies. I'll be out of your hair in no time."

It took only a second and you were hauling your bag over your shoulder and passing him to the door. You stopped there for a second and turned back to him.

"It's Y/N," You answered his earlier question. "I'll be seeing you, Rookie."

Leon thought back on your first meeting many times. He didn't think he would ever see you again, but life had a way of taking him by surprise.

You were constant.

A never ending presence that gradually aligned into his life. And he was better for it. He knew that much.

You took your contracts from research companies. They tasked you in apprehending samples for them to contain and reverse the infection. Which is why the two of you found yourself regularly coming into contact.

The second time Leon saw you again, it was his first solo mission.

He had been trained endlessly by USSTRATCOM to be in perfect condition. Both mentally and physically. The softness to his complexion had hidden under constant stress and need to be better. To right the wrongs of all those he couldn't save.

That was the first thing you noticed when seeing him. Almost a year after the events of Raccoon City.

You saw him there. Dangling off the side of a cliff somewhere in the middle of the Amazons. He had secured a rope around the end of the shattered bridge. The very one connecting into an Umbrella bunker.

At first you just looked down to see what the pathetic wiggling form could be. Then it dawned on you.

You propped your leg up on the bride's edge and leaned on your knee. Your form exhibiting a calm state as if you had all the time in the world, while Leon very clearly did not.

"Hey, I know you!" You called down to him.

It immediately snapped his attention up. He glared past the harsh sun trying to make out your features from below.

"Y/N?"

You chuckled at his confusion. It was fair given you both were in the middle of nowhere. "Need a hand?"

Leon looked down, wondering if he could save his ego if he just dropped. He huffed at it not being a reasonable option and looked back up.

"I mean... if you're not busy. Wouldn't want to keep you from anything."

You smiled down with a hum of amusement. Slowly his own grin started to form.

When you finally pulled him to the top you helped him on his mission. It was still solo and still just as much his mission as yours. You separated on many accounts the further you went down into the bunker. He pulled his own weight and proved himself as the capable agent he had become.

You didn't need much proof. Just that answer in your first meeting was enough to know. He was a good agent. Above all else he was a good person.

The years grew and so did your friendship. You tagged along with him and the others on many occasions, blossoming those relationships in turn. Claire had offered you a position at TerraSave but it wasn't the right move for you. You were used to achieving your objective in your own way with your own rules.

Besides when a shady organization offered a contract to retrieve a virus, you were quick to find and deliver it to a trusted company.

In those particular instances you ran into one Ada Wong.

You didn't know much on Leon and Ada's relationship, but it was clear that they cared for each other. Which is why you never aimed to kill. And soon she did the same with you.

Ada Wong was a woman who earned respect. You admired her skill and her character. Despite it being morally grey, she took the path that helped Leon and saved those where she could. Sure it was still mainly for her own gain, but she knew the stakes when it mattered.

Which is why you weren't surprised when she offered her help on your latest mission.

Chris was not thrilled, he kept her at arms length and eyed her with a sniper lens in minds eye.

You watched at your high point from behind your own scope—all investigating the ruined base that promised new horrors to uncover.

You preferred staying behind to cover their backs. It also gave you a good advantage of assessing the group. Watching where there could be weakness. If someone was limping and concealing a wound. If someone was eyeing another out of distrust or fear for their safety. It was smart to gain as much as you could before the fight began.

Chris partnered with Jill while Claire went on her own. You shifted your scope between the designated teams on either ends of the base.

Then you panned over to the other two.

Leon had stuck with Ada to find their own way through the abandoned wreckage.

"All clear on the south enterence," You spoke into your earpiece.

"Copy," Leon responded.

You remembered where you and Chris had found him right before the mission started. In a bar, drowning his sorrows into the bottom of a glass and demanding another.

It wasn't the first time you found him there, unfortunately.

He sat at the bar, glaring down the counter with Chris pestering him in his ear—he stood over him, one hand braced on the bar.

"You can't keep doing this. We need you and what... you're getting drunk?"

Leon sluggishly looked up at him and out of defiance, lifted the glass to his lips and chugged it back.

Chris shook his head. He quickly grew tired of Leon's antics and stormed out, muttering something about him being impossible.

You usually left Leon to his own devices in this time, but seeing him there alone and completely hopeless... it unsettled you.

When you approached, Leon scoffed, clearly tipsy and looking for a fight. "What do you want?"

"Stand up," You ordered.

Leon lazily looked at you and rolled his eyes. He did as he was told, playing into your attempt to sober him up, knowing full well nothing would work on him.

He was wrong.

Because the second he stood up, you hugged him.

It knocked the air from his lungs. He hadn't been hugged in... well, a long time.

You locked you arms around his waist and pressed your chin on top of his shoulder. You squeezed hard to kick him out of his daze.

"You know, this is usually done with two people participating," You quipped.

He huffed a small hesitant chuckle then lowered his arms around you.

Again, you squeezed, just as a reminder that you were there.

When you pulled away, he was already looking down at you, waiting for maybe an explanation or whatever surprising thing you would do next.

Instead, you patted his chest and gave a smile.

"If staying here and getting drunk is what you want to do, then fine. But I'm going to follow Chris and help him as friends do. After, I'll find you and we can talk about any and everything you want. I'm here for you. Don't forget that."

That was the moment something shifted. Sure, you were friends, but Leon hadn't realized how much he had taken your relationship for granted at that time.

That was the moment he should have truly realized the extent of his feelings. However, he brushed it off and made a promise to see you for the good friend that you were.

He ended up following you out of the bar. Now, he kept track of you from afar, watching the glint of light from your rifle. Tuning back to Ada, she busied herself with gaining access to the building.

She wasn't much for talking.

"You're staring," She warned.

Leon continued to do so, following in your example of assessing everything in the moment to gain clues for the future. "I'm just thinking."

"How dangerous," Ada quipped. That familiar smirk present.

He tore his gaze and let it wander around the open cement floor overlooking the side of the base. They still failed in finding an entrance to descend into the facility. Every room was surface level and not promising much in their findings.

Ada sighed, feigning annoyance Leon's way. "What are you thinking, handsome?"

Leon took a moment to consider his words carefully. "We don't know what we are coming up against. What did your benefactors tell you?"

"Oh, so you think I'm lying?" She confirmed her own suspicion. "Like I said, I'm not told much."

"And if you were, would you tell me?"

Ada stood straighter and finally looked him in the eye. "Now, where's the fun in that?"

The moment between them was interrupted.

"Found an entry point on the western side." Claire's voice alerted through their earpiece.

From your point of view you watched Leon and Ada carefully. His demeanor tense but hopeful, while she continued the game of cat and mouse. Whatever their conversation was, Ada clearly won.

You stood and pressed your earpiece—commencing the next phase now that they had access.

"Copy. Heading to the structure."

A looming outlook stood on the cliffside overlooking the base below. It was your responsibility to clear it.

There wasn't much for you to do except investigate. A few stragglers here and there, but nothing overpowering that required more than your handgun.

You found a room devoted to communications. It focused mainly on messages coming in and out from external sources. But you were lucky to find a coded transcript from the base itself.

It looked as though they housed a strain of Las Plagas. You remember Leon coming in contact with it in Spain. A virus that completely controls and takes away free will. He still has nightmares from it.

This one seemed different. The virus transmitted through the mix of contaminated saliva in open wounds.

You catalogued the information and came upon the command room. Large windows gave view to the rocky cliffside and the crashing waves into the island shores. Clouds greyed over the sky and darkened the land.

The bay lead from the docks and crashed into a barricade, sealing it off from the open water.

Buttons blinked up at you from the console under your hands. One of them would release the lock and open the gates.

"Okay," You said to yourself, "Which of one of you is going to be nice and do what I want...?"

Your finger trailed over them until one read "Docking Bay". You pressed it and waited with anticipation.

In the distance, the waves broke through the growing gap between the barricades as it began to recede.

You pressed into your earpiece. "Gates are open—"

You would have finished if you weren't hurled full force against the window.

It shattered as you flew out and tumbled off the cliff edge, only managing to grab onto a root that dipped down into the open air.

"Y/N, copy." You heard Leon's order, but you were a little indisposed at the moment.

A growl reverberated up a hoarse throat and over the cliff's edge where you hung.

A mangled creature stared down at you. Its body covered in blemishes and growing bursts of skin. It changed in shades of green and yellow with angry red coating its body.

And teeth. Massive fangs took over its face. Well, not a face, more so a gaping hole with razors layered deep within it.

"Great," You exclaimed. You breath fell short from falling over a cliff and your arm strength being the only thing keeping you alive.

You pulled yourself up and scaled the large tangles of roots to the edge. Bullets wounded its side as you fired shot after shot. The blisters across its body burst with each impact.

It screamed out a piercing roar then reared its body back. Its limbs cracked and twitched as it grew and expanded. A third claw burst from its chest and latched onto you as you ascended from the roots.

It gripped around your throat, holding you up and high over the cliff.

Your hands grabbed the claw to brace for air.

It screamed. The sound shooting down your ears and quaking your eardrums.

"Y/N!" Leon yelled through your earpiece, challenging the scream of the monster.

You winced as it tightened its hold and started bringing you closer for a finishing bite.

On instinct you shot, but the magazine was empty. You dropped your gun and reached for your knife, lodging it deep within the wrist that held you.

It let loose a pained wail and tossed you over the cliff.

Your name screamed in your ear as you hit the water below.

──•••──

Leon shouted your name into the comms once more. Demanding—hoping—for a response, but nothing.

He and Ada had regrouped with the others in the lower levels of the facility. Completely blinded to the happenings above ground and the state of you.

The room they stood in was large and circular. Pillars lined a tiled mural decorating the ground. The picture depicted the purest human form. A creature with claws for hands. Fangs for teeth. An appetite for death. Just another fanatic cult trying to cleanse the world of the dirt they see.

Jill cocked her gun and crossed the mural to the exit. "I'm going to go get her."

"There's no point," Ada stopped her. "If she's dead, there is nothing you can do. If she's alive, she would want you to continue the mission."

Chris stepped forward, having enough of Ada as a whole. He stepped in line with her and glared down the mercenary.

"You just want us to continue for the virus. More people to sacrifice to get what you want," Chris accused. "Well that's not gonna happen—"

"Stand down, Redfield," Leon interjected, trying to diffuse the tension.

"She is using you," Chris declared, closing in on Leon. "She is using us! How can you not see that—?"

"Boys," Claire interrupted, all the heat of the argument now trained on her. "Stop arguing. Let's find the virus, then Y/N, and get the hell out of here."

Chris and Leon looked back to the other. They huffed, their differences still obvious and palpable. But they separated from it—agreeing that all time and effort shouldn't be wasted.

Leon looked up the stairs to the exit, contemplating whether or not he should bolt to your aide. But Claire was right. Get this over with then find you.

Jill moved the conversation along. "This is the last floor," She thought aloud and looked between the group. "Where would they have stored it?"

Ada looked at the ground where the mural gave view of a large tongue parting from the creature's teeth.

"My money is on the obvious."

Leon followed her eyes and quickly understood.

"Does anyone have a hammer?"

──•••──

Waves crashed into your body. They eased you down a well known path and onto the shore.

Wet sand lodged itself between your fingernails. It scattered across your skin and coated your hair.

You stood despite the exhaustion in you body. Your legs trembled and buckled under your weight but you could care less.

In fact you didn't care. Not about anything. Not about anyone.

Only the voices coming down far below the ground and echoing out of the sewer grate in the side of the building.

You had lost your earpiece and yet everything they said was clear as day. Heat radiated from their forms. You swore you could feel it. The chill of the ocean succumbed to the heat and encouraged you to seek it out.

As if an unholy presence blanketed your body and captured your senses, it whispered in your ear.

It was one thing to hear.

One thing to know.

One thing to do.

Spread.

──•••──

The answer to that earlier question was "no".

Leon kneeled down over the middle of the floor and hammered with the blunt edge of his hatchet.

The mural shattered on impact. Thick lines divided between the portrait and cracked in webs across the ground.

He pushed aside the shards of tile to give view to a metal case. It laid carefully placed in the ground, right below the monster's head.

Leon pulled it out. The others waited around him as he opened it.

Sure, enough, there it was. A tube of liquid that shunned the light and pressed its black substance against its confinements. It moved as if it was alive. Leon was certain that analyses wasn't far off.

He snapped the case closed and stood. He nodded to the others.

"Good," Ada said. "Now hand it over."

Leon frowned at the order.

Chris immediately raised his gun and honed in on Ada. "I knew it."

"Okay," Claire tried easing the uncomfortable situation. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Jill placed her hand on her holster, not withdrawing the weapon until she knew she absoutely needed to.

Ada abandoned her stare on Leon and casually lifted it to Chris. "You should listen to your sister, Redfield. I know you're all brawn, no brains, but I figured you had common sense."

The comment did not smooth things over.

Chris gritted his teeth behind his weapon, wishing he could shoot if it weren't for Leon.

All focus on the heavily charged situation diverted at the shuffling on the far end of the room. A tunnel to the left echoed sounds that broke through into the room.

You emerged from it.

"Y/N." Leon stepped forward but halted.

As you neared the light something was off.

Jill pulled her gun from her holster, weary to use it, but every instinct told her she would soon need it.

You stepped onto the end of the large circled mural.

The room held its breath.

Dripping wet and wide eyes doused in black. Thick black webs buried underneath your skin from head to toe. Like strings pulling you and forcing your body to move.

A deep cut resided along the side of your neck.

"No..."

Leon couldn't tell who had said it, but it was the same thought playing over in his own head.

Then you pulled your own gun and started shooting.

The others scattered as Leon used the metal case as a shield.

Every action was mechanical and well-thought out. Your body wasn't your own, but the virus used all of its skill and advantages.

And it seemed you had a lot more fight than they gave you credit for.

You abandoned your gun and ran at Leon as you neared.

He slammed the case forward, but you parried.

You grabbed his hand and twirled into his arm, grabbing his knife and stabbing him repeatedly in the side.

Leon grunted out in pain before kicking you back in the stomach.

Chris shot at your leg from where he stood. Your body reacted with inhuman speed and dodged at the last second.

Jill ran at you in hopes to subdue your infected form. She grabbed the back of your neck and with all your strength you threw her over your shoulder. You stomped on her chest—knocking all the wind from her lungs.

Before you could sink your teeth into her, Claire tackled you.

You rolled yourself on top and pushed forward with your teeth. Claire threw her arm up to cover your attack. You bit into the hard leather sleeve of her jacket—teeth failing against the material.

A hand grabbed your shoulder and tossed you back. It unfazed you as you rolled over to your next target.

Chris punched you hard in the jaw. You didn't react and advanced on him further. You used his arm as an anchor and swung youself up over his shoulders. Your legs locked around his neck with his arm pulled between them.

The two of you crashed to the ground, your legs only tightening. You were close to biting his wrist when a shot grazed your arm.

"Chris!" Claire had reached for Jill's gun on the floor and fired.

You left Chris in a heartbeat.

Leon grabbed onto his side, pain decorating his face as he raised his gun at you. The metal case dropped to his side.

Ada noticed.

You cocked your head as you stood, assessing him. It was nothing like you. Not in the way you usually did. A virus looked on from behind your eyes.

An easy host, your mind reasoned. Weakened and so close to joining you.

You rushed him and dodged the onslaught of bullets. They shot to maim. Which you used as an advantage.

You lowered your upper half and crashed under his arm into his side. He fell to the floor and you were on him.

Your teeth hovered just over his wound, ready to infect and bring him into this hell with you.

But your body suddenly stopped.

Leon's breathing shallowed as he looked up at you. Your lips were pealed over your teeth in want. Your brow clouded over your dark eyes in need. And yet, something in you refused.

Your whole body started to shake.

A pained cry burst from you as you shot yourself back from him.

You writhed on the ground. Pain blistered through you and deep within. The roots ran deep beneath the surface and everything in you tried pulling them out.

Your hands clawed and shook but your arms kept them close to your body. Trying to keep you from doing anymore harm.

Your screams shook the room.

Leon pulled himself to you and wrapped your body up in arms. You cried and pleaded. The words not forming except for "run".

Chris rushed to Leon's side and looked over your state.

"She's not going to be able to hold it off for long," He said.

You clawed into Leon's skin, breaking way to blood. Your body fought against you to lash out and spread everything you had. But you wouldn't let it. It was killing you.

"Chris," Jill called from the other side of the room.

The two men looked up to see Jill and Claire held at gunpoint by Ada. She held the briefcase in her other hand. She had began her ascent on the vast stairs at the front of the room.

"Ada!" Chris stood but stopped as she aimed at him.

She looked back to see you writhing in Leon's arms. Your head was thrown back over his shoulder in agony, back pressed to his chest. He whispered comforts in your ear with his arms wrapped tight around your arms. She watched the way he brushed your hair back from your face and held on to keep you stable. He looked at you with a complete devotion she had never seen in him before.

"You're right," Ada agreed. "She doesn't have long."

Leon caught Ada’s eye. His as stern as ever while her own gave way to a realization.

She looked back to Chris.

"The cure should be hidden in a concealed room to the right. You can either chase after me and have her die. Or let me leave and you can cure her."

"There's four of us and one of you," Claire reminded.

Ada smiled knowingly. "Not for long. Keep me here at a stand still and she'll be tearing our throats out in no time. Just a head start. That's all I ask."

"Chris," Leon warned. They would get the serum. Right now there was no point in risking your life. “Do it.”

Jill and Chris looked to one another before Chris relented.

"Fine."

Ada turned and left up the cement stairs. She escaped through the doors, only tuning back to close and lock them behind her.

Chris cussed and immediately jumped into action.

"Claire—" He began to order but she was quicker than him.

"On it."

Chris turned to Leon and you.

"Go," Leon said. "I got this covered."

Chris and Jill left to find an exit of their own. They ran back up the tunnel you emerged from, betting on an exit to the shore.

Claire returned only a moment later. A vial tight in her hands. She lowered herself in front of the two of you. She pushed the syringe into the side of your neck while Leon held you still.

He nodded to Claire. “It’s alright. Find Chris and Jill.”

She seemed hesitant for a moment, watching you with worry, but her efforts would be wasted here in wait. Claire agreed and ran to find her brother.

Leon looked back to you, his eyes never fully leaving you to begin with. You tremors worsened and your nails dug tighter into his arms. Blood seeped down his skin.

Suddenly, you lurched forward and expelled the contents of your stomach on the ground.

Leon leaned forward with you. He eased back his arms from their tight hold—still on you—but softer and gentle.

Your body heaved the virus from your system. Your arms shook as they supported you on the cold tile underneath.

After a second, you finally leaned back, pulling your knee up to rest your arm on it. Your head ached and dug into your hand.

Leon kept a firm hand on your leg while the other stayed on your back.

”Y/N?” He pushed for you to look at him, to give a sign that you were back. That you were alive and not in the next phase of this infection.

Your arms shook as you lifted your head sluggishly and attempted a small wave.

”Yep... I’m here.”

A heavy breath left him and he dived his head into your shoulder. His arms circled around you and pulled you close into his embrace.

You leaned into him with a heavy sigh of relief and comfort. A hand moved up to pat the back of his shoulder. Exhaustion consumed you but you tried to reciprocate nonetheless.

Leon parted from you and began worrying over your body. “How are you feeling?” He raised his hand to lift your chin even more. He tilted your face back and forth before you pulled away to ease his fears.

”I’m fine,” You reassured. “I feel like I have the worst hangover ever, but yeah… I’m okay.”

You started to stand and Leon was quick to join you. Your body halted halfway and he grabbed you before you could hit the ground. He swung your arm over his shoulder.

”Ready?”

You nodded, now finding the exhaustion has heavied your tongue.

”I got you,” Leon whispered. It was soft and comforting. It eased your body and allowed you to sink into him.

He took the first step forward to leave all of this behind you.

──•••──

The sun had burst through the clouds and lit the ocean before him. Leon squinted past the light as the two of you broke from the tunnel.

Your body hung off his shoulder and into him. Your steps dragged behind you with what little effort you had.

Leon hugged you closer into his side.

From the distance a boat emerged past the opened barriers. The others sped it just in front of you before Jill jumped off and grabbed you by the other side.

They hauled you to the boat and placed you down at the back.

Leon hopped in after you right as Chris took off from the shoreline.

You still held your head in your hand. Trying to block the light from your sensitive eyes. A deep pain throbbed behind your eyelids and pushed into your temples.

Jill sat beside you. She placed her hand on your shoulder to grab your attention.

You pulled your eyes from your hand and landed them on her.

“You alive?”

You chuckled, a welcoming sound compared to the snarls from before. “What, do I not look like it?”

Jill smiled. It was small but very much present in her relief. She pulled her hand from you and settled in next to you.

”Safe to say... you’ve been pulling your punches in sparring.”

At that you laughed, it was hoarse and shallow, but she was quick to join in with you.

The ride to the mainland took some time. Fortunately, your body started feeling much more like your own. The headache dulled to an insistent throb. Nothing painful. Annoying at best.

Leon had continued to scan you for the remainder of the passing time. He watched you fall asleep on Jill's shoulder and shiver from splashes of cold sea salt. If he had a jacket to lend you, he would offer it in a second.

When Chris docked the boat at the town's port, he was quick to offer you a helping hand. You smiled but ignored it, instead patting him on the shoulder as another reassurance you were okay.

And now he sat back in the bar from earlier. However, instead of sitting miserably alone, he was with his friends, celebrating another day of being alive.

You leaned on Chris' shoulder from where he sat. A long skirt swayed down your legs and at your feet. Leon rarely saw you in something so vulnerable. The colourful pattern from the local market was a stark contrast to your mission gear.

It suited you.

Music carried over the bar and across the floor of dancing patrons. The five of you sat between the bar and your own table. Occasionally swaying to the music and recalling the moments shared between one another over the years.

At the end of the bar the door opened. Leon happened to look over as it swung into the room, revealing the one person he didn't expect to make an appearance tonight.

Chris attempted to stand at the sight of Ada. Her heels clacked across the hard wood floors and her dress stayed tight to her body.

You slammed him back down in his seat, throwing Chis a warning glare.

He surrendered to your crude stare, making Jill chuckle from behind her beer.

You knew Leon needed this moment.

He stood from his stool and met her at the other end of the bar. Ada was wise not to venture to close to them. You doubted Chris would stay at bay with a simple look if she did.

Leon settled next to Ada. He leaned against the bar with all attention on her. Like it has always been. With her in his presence, he couldn't help himself.

"I didn't think you'd show up here."

Ada tossed a side glance to him. Her smile timid with a promise of danger behind it.

"I like keeping you guessing." She revealed a vile and placed it on the counter. The virus twirled and gushed in the small tube. "A parting gift," Ada clarified.

It was smaller from the bigger container he had seen. A sample from the original, he figured.

Leon pocketed it immediately.

"You say that like it's goodbye."

Ada stayed silent for a moment. Her eyes tracked to you. Leon followed her gaze, confused with what she was getting at.

"Maybe it should be," She said before turning to him.

Ada loved the game she played with him. She didn't have to toss her line out far to reel him in. He was always there. Always willing to be in her grasp with the smallest of hope she would hold onto him forever.

That was before she realized she was holding him back from something else. Or rather someone.

It was time to cut the line loose.

She nodded back to you.

You who was swaying with Claire on your shoulder. Her hand wrapped around her drink and cheeks blushed from the liquor. You held onto her, keeping her upright. Like you always did. With all of them. Especially Leon.

"Why stand here with me when you could be with her?"

Leon looked between the two of you. Hopelessly confused.

"What do you mean? It's Y/N. She's a friend."

Ada signed. She would have to be far more obvious. "But you could be more," She urged. "I saw the way you held her. You were terrified to lose her." Ada looked between his eyes, trying to find that same feeling from before. "She resisted a bio-weapon for you. And nearly died in the process."

She pulled back from the counter, leaving Leon to search for her meaning behind his eyes.

"We've had our fun, Handsome. But it isn't real. Y/N... she is. Don't take that for granted."

Leon stared after her as she left.

He felt as though he should mourn the loss of her presence, but that familiar feeling did not become present. If anything there was only relief. He was no longer tied to her.

He looked back to you and that's when he realized.

Leon had been blind for a long time.

───────────────•••───────────────

Note: Not sure when Part 2 will be out, but I definitely have more to write for this story.

Your hand tried to reach out for warmth but they refused to move. The harsh cloth beneath your skin scratched and itched.

A constant beeping to your left shortened your breath. It wouldn't stop.

You smelt the antiseptic air. It stung your nostrils and burrowed deep in your senses.

Your eyes couldn't open. They refused to lift away from the darkness to bask in the answers of the room.

The cold. The itch. The sound. The smell. The blindness. It was all too much at once. Your numbed nerves shot alive with a vengeance to experience everything it couldn't.

A low cry emitted past your sealed lips. It vibrated the tube down your throat.

You cried again, strangled and fighting for air.

Your fingers twitched. Your toes moved. Mobility slowly and heavily seeped back into your body.

You threw your arm up in the air to smack it closer to your chin. It landed across your chest before you tried wiggling it closer to your mouth. You pinched the tube between the side of your thumb and hand. Motor skills weren't working.

You yanked down and the tube started to dislodge from your throat.

When it finally sprang free, you cried harder. Your body felt so heavy. Your chest ached under the pressure of itself.

When your eyes finally peeled themselves open they were met with a white blur.

A sob wrecked your aching chest.

You couldn't see. You still couldn't see.

Light permitted past the blur but only by a fraction. The white obstructed everything.

You reached out again and turned to the beeping and slammed your hand into a cold machine. Another chill went down your spine. It screamed at you with faster beeps.

A rush of footsteps clamoured down the hall and through the doorway.

Then a set of several hands grabbed your limbs and tried holding you down.

You thrashed against their restraints and cried out incoherently. Words tried to break out from your throat but they tumbled off your tongue in gibberish.

"Agent L/N, please hold still. You have just woken from an induced coma. Everything is going to be confusing to you right now."

Coma...

The word wasn't registering.

Again, you tried to speak. This time reaching to your eyes that refused to see past the white.

A warm hand gently grabbed your own and set it down to your side.

"Temporary blindness is common. You haven't used your eyes in over a year. They need time to adjust."

You slowly settled back into the mattress. The hands still kept hold of you, but they were warm and firm.

You shivered again before a heavy warmth of fabric swaddled around you.

"Your body is trying to regulate its temperature. You were cold for a long time without feeling it. Give yourself time to recover."

The voice sounded familiar. A doctor. Someone you heard what seemed like a day ago.

The hands around you slowly retracted and left a chill in their absence. Your revelled in the heat of the blanket over you instead. You closed your eyes, conceding to the dark one last time, and gave into the heaviness of your body.

Sleep overcame you.

──•••──

When you woke your eyes stung.

They opened to the world as your vision slowly returned. A breath of relief shook you at the sight of the room finally coming into focus.

Around you were machines and tubes. A light came in from the window to your left just past the heart monitor. Its Incessant beeping now quieter from what you remembered.

Trembles still shot down your spine and twitched your limbs. Life had eased back into your body and now it celebrated with nerves firing on end.

When the last of the blurry vision dissipated you looked down your body. You could feel everything.

You tested the movement of your limbs once again. Still revelling in the feeling of the cotton sheets rubbing against your hands, your feet, your arms, your legs.

Not a single part was numb.

Tears pricked at the edge of your eyes and a soft shaky exhale followed.

An IV flowed through a tube from your arm and up to the fluids beside your cot. A golden liquid connected to the bag, letting out a steady drip.

The door to your room swung open, revealing a doctor as she made her way in.

"Agent L/N. It has been a while since we have seen each other."

She looked familiar but you couldn't place the feeling. You had met. You knew that much.

And the name she referred to you as... once again, familiar but distant.

She noticed your confusion and was quick to reassure you.

"Your memory might be a bit fuzzy for a little bit. You were in an induced coma to reverse the effects of an infection. The cure—Elpis—" She gestured to the supply of gold liquid. "Had to be administered through the process. This was ordered by Agent Kennedy."

Kennedy...

The name gave no shape or image of the person. The only thing you could recall was a feeling. A deep, overwhelming feeling. It bloomed from your heart and eased its way throughout you. Softening the tremors in your body and calming everything down.

You swallowed to speak and then attempted but nothing would come out.

"That is also common." The doctor stepped closer and patted your leg. "Don't push yourself. Let everything come back gradually. Rest up." She took notice of her tablet and tapped the screen awake. "You are scheduled for physiotherapy. I believe we will be focusing on your motor skills first."

She gave you a once over and checked the status of your condition from the several machines in the room.

Then she left.

──•••──

Motor skills recovery shifted to practiced mobility. Then from there you were taking your first steps. Your feet ached and your body seized up from your heels to the base of your spine in your first few attempts.

It had been maybe two months since you woke up.

And in that time you had your very first visitor.

Your hand clutched either side of the railings. One step after another and your feet slowly shuffled forward.

They were right about your memory needing time to recover. They gave you mental tests every day to encourage your mind to heal.

Your main goal was to rember him.

The mystery man named Kennedy.

Slowly his image formed over time and then the clarity of who and what he was to you. Each step forward was now a step closer to him.

An attendant kept close and monitored your progression. You knew it wasn't out of their own kindness to stay so close and reachable. You were still an experiment to the DSO. All those smiles and reassuring talks were nothing more than a facade to keep your morale up. You knew they really didn't care about you, only the results.

Finally, someone not faking their relief walked in.

At the sight of blonde hair, your heart stuttered, but then it slowed at seeing the familiar face.

"Sherry." You smiled as she approached—your warmth reflected in her.

She reached for you and carefully embraced you in her arms.

Not Leon but this was the next best thing.

You squeezed back as much as you were able to. Your body now gave you the proper warnings of over exertion and you felt them nearly every five minutes.

"I can't believe it's actually you." She breathed a breath of relief over your shoulder. Sherry had a knack for burrowing in hugs—trying to be as close as possible and hug as hard as she can. You missed it.

When she pulled back, the attendant excused themselves.

Sherry guided you back to your bed and pulled up a chair close to its side.

"How are you feeling? You're walking! That's a good sign."

She beamed up at you as you settled with your feet dangling over the side of the bed.

You nodded, out of breath just by walking the short distance. "It's progress," You agreed.

She placed her hand over your own. "It's more than just progress. It's amazing."

You smiled. A genuine one.

Her delight softened into slight concern. "I would have visited—we all would have visited sooner—but the DSO was adamant that only personnel involved in your recovery were allowed."

You nodded as you had already figured that.

"How is everyone? How are you? I haven't seen you in forever." You looked down at that thought and fidgeted with your dressing gown. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you and everyone—"

"Hey—Hey—Hey," Sherry cut you off and her hand enveloped your fidgeting hand further. "I know why you left."

You looked up at her understanding.

She shook her head. "I don't think I could have handled it any differently."

"I shouldn't have left."

"Maybe," She somewhat agreed. "But no one blamed you. To get away. To take on that new opportunity." She grew quieter and regret painted fresh across her face. "It is also our fault. We should have reached out more on our end—"

"No." You met her grip with your own and tightened your fingers around her hand. "Let's not do that. I'm alive." You smiled down at her. "I'm here now. Tell me everything."

She agreed, happy to repent for all past regrets by embracing the present.

Sherry went in great detail about the last decade. She was married to a man by the name of Jake. She tried to track you down to invite you to their elopement but as it was your job to disappear, it proved difficult. Leon and Claire were the only ones able to attend on short notice. She then went on to discuss everything. From Claire taking on the world at TerraSave and occasionally joining Chris and Jill's Hound Wolf Squad to Ingrid showing Sherry the ropes and taking her up the corporate ladder at the DSO.

Then she ended with the one person you couldn't stop thinking about.

"He's been distant over the last few years," Sherry sadly recalled. She had leaned up closer to the bed with her elbow propping her head up. "After you left, he wasn't exactly the same. He started drinking more. Him and his fiancee at the time got into more fights from what I could hear. He broke it off two years after you left..."

You sighed. It was all the opposite of what you were trying to do. With you out of the equation, you figured he would have thrived. You very clearly thought wrong.

"Yeah... I heard. Do you know what happened?"

Sherry shrugged. "I'm not too sure. After that he really started sinking into himself. He was still Leon... but there was something missing about him. It wasn't until recent that a particular light came back in him."

She not so discreetly nudged you at her words.

You chuckled but a soberness fell over you. "Where is he now?"

Sherry straightened slightly, now finding it difficult to meet your eye.

"Sher," You urged. "What is it?"

"Well," She started, bracing for your reaction with practiced calmness. "When he gave the unapproved order to take you in for testing... the DSO wasn't happy. He had to swing it so that it sounded like a decision based on research of the cure and its limits. To make it seem like you are the test subject, but Elpis is the true objective."

She scratched her brow, clearly still upset by what transpired.

"The DSO accepted the theory, but they knew it wasn't the reason he ordered it. They know your history. So... the DSO was going to add this to your debt. Another decade of service to make up for time and money to cure you."

She locked eyes with you.

"Leon wouldn't have that. So he took on your debt."

The beeping finally silenced. Everything around you silenced.

You broke your stare and dropped it to nothing. All focus stayed behind your eyes in the circling thoughts that emerged.

You swallowed back the nausea at realizing he was in their debt until the day he died. He would be under their service forever. The same trauma. The same horrors. Never a moment to rest.

"No..." Was all you could say. You were to weak to raise your voice. Those familiar trembles flowed back into your hands. You lightly shook your head. A dizziness overcame you. "No, I'm not—"

"Worth it?" Sherry finished. She wore a clear disdain for the thought. "Of course you are worth it. Especially to Leon. There is no blame here. There is no burden for you. For once accept it."

You blinked, confused by her passion, but moved all the same.

She squeezed your hand. "It was his decision. No one could have talked him out of it. Not like I tried to anyway."

She smiled and urged you to find your own. You relented and allowed his action to warm you heart instead of freeze it in fear. It was his decision. He did that for you. No one could have told him to do otherwise.

For once you did accept it, knowing very well you would have done the same.

──•••──

Sherry told you that Leon had been stationed out of Washington for the last year. To which she believed to be intentional. To keep him away from you and your progress so that he didn't impact the results.

Six months had passed overall.

You were up and walking and everything. Your precise reflexes you had accrued overtime were still absent, but it was like riding a bike they said. The muscle memory would return if you just gave it time.

And just like that you were discharged.

The experiment was a success. They didn't need you anymore. For anything.

You were completely free from the DSO.

When you were told everything was completed, it happened all too fast. There wasn't a moment to catch your breath as they ushered you out of the room and down the hall.

Out of their room. Off their floor. And out of their lives. In their eyes it was on to the next medical marvel. Some other experiment scheduled to commence right after you.

The only thing you carried out with you were the clothes on your back. They gave no personal belongings and you didn't come in with any.

You barely blinked and you were standing in the lobby of the DSO.

No ties behind you as you faced the exit.

The thought somewhat scared you. There was no longer any tether. Nothing to ground you. You were now completely on your own without an organization to back you up. They weren't the best but they did offer you structure. A foundation. You were without all of that.

No organization to keep you grounded. No infection to keep you focused.

You were just a person now.

You embraced the fear of that unknown and stepped out of the building. There were more sounds than you knew what to do with. Being in remote areas of the world for the last four years kept you in silence. The sound of a city was something you needed getting used to again.

There was no particular direction to go in—and that stumped you for a moment.

When you were considering tossing a coin, a voice called to you from your side

"Y/N."

You knew that voice. Extremely well. It had been in your head for the last decade.

You stole a second to yourself before turning to see him.

Leon stood on the sidewalk, close to his car as if he had been waiting.

Waiting for you.

He looked better than last you saw him. Which you only now realized was two years ago. For you only six months, but for him...

Can two years change a person? What if he regrets the decision to take on your debt? What if he regrets saving you?

What if he is hear to reject you?

Two years is a long time to think over an answer to your confession. He may have not heard you confess in the snow at his side, barely conscious, but he did hear everything in the elevator.

You can't be a coward any longer. You walked towards him and he did the same.

When he met you halfway it was as if you never spoke to begin with. He seemed inflicted by the same dilemma. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing.

You could have laughed if you weren't entranced by his eyes. Once again shielding themselves from you in a way that made your skin crawl.

But then they softened over you, allowing everything to show in them.

Two years of waiting and you were now here. Your skin was fuller around your eyes and warmed into its natural colour. Your eyes were bright again.

You were alive in front of him.

He met his arms around you. You caught yourself on the back of your heel and when realization hit, you quickly threw your arms around him.

His hold was tight and nearly unbearable. It made you smile at the feeling. You felt it. You felt him.

"I..." He tried. His face stayed buried in your neck and muffled his attempt.

You squeezed him back and closed your eyes. "We can wait on that."

"Okay." He gave a watery laugh and continued to relish in the embrace you shared.

You could have spent eternity in his arms, but then the sound of the city brought you back.

He pulled away but stayed close to you. So close you could feel the heat of his body seep into your own. His hands stayed closed around your hips, tensing every few seconds as a mental check that you were still there.

He cleared his throat and the water of his eyes dried only slightly.

"Did they... did they clear you?"

You nodded, still entirely focused on his features and the warmth in his gaze.

Leon looked uncertain, which was completely unlike him. He tried his best to cover it up but you knew him well. Even after all this time you still knew him.

He evaded your intense focus, something that warmed your heart and glittered your eyes with mirth. You were in awe at the effect you had on him.

You picked up your hand and cradled his cheek. The stoic facade immediately drained from him as he sought out the warmth in your hand. As if he couldn't refuse it, he leaned helplessly into you, the softest of breaths escaping him.

He closed his eyes and gently nuzzled into your hand. He huffed at his own antics—still feeling helplessly at your disposal. He revelled in it.

His smile was infectious, and when he opened his eyes, your own reflected in them.

His brow tensed a fraction. His eyes searched your own, trying to discern something from you.

"You have no idea what you do to me." His voice was soft and low, sending a welcoming shiver down your back.

"Leon... I—"

"I love you."

You stared up at him with your breath held.

"I loved you back then when I was too late to realize. And I have loved you through the last decade of wishing I asked you to stay."

Leon followed the bend of your arm up to your hand. He pulled it down from his cheek and kept it closed in his own in the small space between you.

"I'm sorry for trying to move on after you left. I'm sorry it took me two years of feeling miserable without you to finally realize. And I'm sorry that I'm only saying it now."

He squeezed your hand, trying to ground himself and shed off the fear.

"I had practiced a better, more rehearsed speech, but I... I need you to know now, when I should have told you a long time ago—"

"I love you," You finished for him.

Any fear in his confession vanished. It allowed for everything else to grow between you. No longer fear in the way. No longer a cowardice exit. The two of you finally tethered in the same time and same place.

By the same feeling.

Leon pressed in closer. His eyes followed the movement of his hand, tracing over your features. It tickled against your skin and warmed under its delicacy. His thumb smoothed down to your bottom lip.

They parted at his touch.

His breath finally fanned across your lips and cushioned your skin in ways you had only dreamed of.

Your lips chased the feeling and closed the distance.

He met your efforts and pulled himself closer in your embrace.

The warmth of his slanted lips bloomed across your own and moved in rhythm. He cradled you close in a promise of never letting you go.

When the two of you pulled back it was only by a fraction. His breath still intertwined with yours and his nose nudged at your own.

Light encompassed his eyes and reflected in his smile.

"Come on." He kept close to you, addicted to your lips and the simple feeling of you. "I owe you a date."

You both were late to confess. You both had fear to overcome. But now you both had the rest of your lives to make up for lost time.

With each breath from your body, you will always live and breathe your love for him.

───────────────•••───────────────

Note: Thanks for making it this far!

He refused to die without you staring into him like you always did. He would be damned if he closed his eyes and wasted away with the image of you ever so present beside him.

If this is his final moment, he has to know.

"Why did you leave me?"

A small, shuttered breath escaped you.

The desperation in his voice. The simple yearning in his eyes. All for you to answer a question that has been plaguing his mind for the last decade.

Why did you leave him? How could you leave him? Maybe you truly did take the easy way out. You thought it was for the best, to keep him in the dark of how you felt, for his happiness. The reality was you were escaping.

You should have told him.

The darkness had enveloped you. It blanketed the elevator in shadows with the faintest of glow from the emergency lights down the hall. The red continued to follow you up from the bottom of the chasm. Once again painting the pair of you in a shine of crimson.

You reached your hand up under the cover of the dark. Your body weighed it down in its own exhaustion and fought to lift it.

Leon met your efforts and guided it to the side of his face. He leaned in—his breath intertwining with yours. His hand closed around your own, pressing it deeply into his cheek.

The words were heavy and burdened you in a way that demanded to stay shacked. For so long you kept them buried and now they fled in fear of being feared.

Leon waited, patiently for you. Like he always did.

"I... I've been a coward for so long," You admitted finally, warming your heart up to the idea of finally letting go.

As simple as the words were, the feelings behind them continued to complicate and keep them hidden. You urged yourself to push forward. For Leon. For yourself. For all the years wasted in fear.

"It's always been you."

You words were small and shying away behind the tremble of your lip. Still, you were saying them. You couldn't look him in the eye, but you were here saying everything you wanted to back then.

"But then you got engaged. You were moving on in life and I guess I... leaving felt like the only thing to do. The right thing. I could let you be happy without me making things complicated. Because..."

You exhaled sharply, finding it in yourself to meet his eyes. They were obscured in darkness but the light in them was bright. His lips were parted and his breath was shallow. He dared not to emit a single sound in fear that it would break the moment between you.

"Because you would never see me the way I saw you."

He inhaled a sharp breath as if he had been drowning for a decade and only now had fresh air.

"Y/N..."

He used your name as an anchor. It was a desperate plea of relief you had never heard from him before. It beckoned you closer in its own yearning to be heard and met only by you.

Leon's hand lifted to your cheek and leaned in.

The answer to your confession was interrupted as floodlights broke over you.

A stark cold seeped in from overhead with a wind that rustled Leon's hair. He pulled you into his embrace, even if you couldn't feel the cold, he had to shield you and keep you close. A small shiver ran through him as he looked up at the rope shooting down from the hatch above.

He looked back to you, finally seeing you basked in the light. Worry clouded you and dampened your eyes. He kept his grip on you firm.

Knowing now more than anything he was never going to let you go.

In the distant ceiling, a familiar face blocked out the light.

"Need a lift?" Chris called from the hatch.

His eyes met yours once again.

You pushed aside the conversation, reminding yourself of what was important. Getting Leon out alive.

You nodded.

Leon followed your lead in focusing on the mission. He stood up with you still in his arms, legs dangling without any strength below you. You locked your arms around his neck as he moved you onto his back.

His hand stayed tight at your lower back, hesitant to let go.

He turned his head to you over his shoulder. "Hang on."

Leon began to ascend the rope with Chris' aid in pulling the two of you up.

When you finally reached the surface, lights continued to bare down around you and voices shouted from all sides.

A tight grip pulled your hair and threw you off Leon.

You heard his yell as your body hit the snow and rolled down the small hill. A weight slammed into your head as it met the boot of a soldier. You flipped yourself over on your front and looked up to see a DSO agent staring down at you. A mask covered his face and his weapon aimed directly at you.

"No!"

Leon's voice shouted from behind you.

He slid down the snowy edge and swatted the agent's barrel as it fired. The bullet shot past your head into the snow covered ground.

Leon blocked your body and remained a firm pillar between you and the agent. A hard glare kept the agent at bay, but you knew it wouldn't last long. He had his orders and you were still a target.

"Agent Kennedy," The agent addressed, "By order of the Division of Security Operations—"

"That order is cancelled."

Can he do that?

"Sir..." The agent looked between you and him. Clearly he wasn't sure himself. The agent straightened. "Yes, sir."

The agent left and when Leon was sure he wasn't going to turn back firing, he directed all attention to you. He assessed every ounce of you, leaving you to feel exposed and safe all in one moment.

"I'm okay."

Something softened in him at your words. He moved a now wet strand of your hair away from your eyes, his touch lingering and not bothering to move.

"Just checking," He said, softly.

Leon crouched over your body and lifted your arm behind his neck. He picked you up with ease, already moving to the extraction point.

You spotted Chris and Claire from afar. They passed off a man—Hanson—to DSO agents.

His head was bowed and faced the ground as they marched him forward. His hands bound behind his back with cuffs you hoped bit into his skin.

His head began to raise and slightly turn towards you. His glasses were askew across the bridge of his nose and they shimmered from snow reflecting in the lens. A small grin pulled at the edge of his cheek.

Something wasn't right.

The ground rumbled and quaked.

A heavy thrum radiated from the core of the earth. The sound bellowed its way up until the ground cracked and splintered.

Leon held you tighter to his body as he raced against the opening crevice below. You held onto him with your arms around his neck.

In the distance the citadel crumbled into itself and fell into the growing pit. Debris blanketed your surroundings and coated the air. Distant sounds of yelling and gunfire tossed your attention in every direction.

"Y/N! Leon!" You heard Chris yell out accompanied by Claire but you couldn't see them.

Their voices came from everywhere.

You continued to hold onto Leon, limp and helpless in his arms. You heard his breathing try to even out under the sudden stress of the situation. He calmed himself, focusing solely on getting you somewhere safe.

Gunfire shot past the two of you in a blind frenzy. An inhumane screech grated your ears and teased the agents in the haze of dust.

Bullets flew overhead and just when you thought they had missed—Leon grunted and fell forward, catching himself on his feet before hitting the ground.

"Leon." You raised your head from the crook of his neck and pressed your hand into his cheek.

His brow furrowed and his jaw tightened to hold back a wince.

"Put me down," You pleaded. You were nothing but a nuisance in his arms. He needed his hands free to defend himself.

He shook his head and continued forward past the pain in his back. "No, we're gonna make it."

You looked past Leon's head to see a massive silhouette thrashing at the air. It grew in size and before you could warn Leon, a claw broke through the haze and swatted the two of you.

You flew through the air at the impact with Leon's grip loosening.

You hit the snow a distance away. You shook away the pain in your head and looked up to see Leon laying motionless on the ground.

"Leon!" You screamed his name but he didn't move.

Your legs laid immobile behind you but your arms still worked. You clawed your body through the snow and pulled yourself closer and closer until you laid nearly over him.

His eyes were closed but his breathing was still present.

You shook him and repeatedly called his name.

Nothing.

The monster growled lowly from where it had hit you.

You rifled over Leon's body to find his weapons. A gun sat snug in his holster. You grabbed it and aimed it over Leon's body right at the beast that still coward in the dust.

Tears pricked at your eyes and streamed down your cheeks. Your heart thundered behind your ribs and echoed in your ears. You kept your eyes locked on the monstrous form in front of you.

It stepped closer before full on sprinting at you.

As its form broke through the haze you recognized the twisted face barreling towards you.

Hanson.

He transformed his body into one of his creations. A fail safe in case he was caught.

His claws pounded into the snow with each kick forward of his legs. His teeth bared against the dust and a guttural scream racked his body with the thrumming adrenaline behind it.

You shot repeatedly.

Not stopping and not moving as he neared you and Leon.

He crashed over Leon's body and grabbed a hold of you in his pounce. It flew you back into the snow with the beast now towering over you.

The gun clicked when you pulled the trigger. It was empty.

You dropped it and grabbed the knife on your belt. You looped your fingers through the brass knuckles attached at the hilt, and punched with all your might.

It knocked into Hanson's face, spraying blood against the white snow.

His claws deepened into your sides and bit a scream over your limp body. Before he could finish you off with the teeth protruding past his human face—you stabbed endlessly into his neck.

Hanson bit into your shoulder as his limp head fell into you.

You didn't stop.

You kept stabbing until your arm physically couldn't anymore. Blood seeped out of the spurts of his neck and doused you in its red.

Hanson's body stilled over you and slumped into death.

Your hand fell back with the knife still in hand. Your knuckles hit the snow. The blood slowly being washed away from the wet chill of the ground.

You grunted with effort as you pushed the dead body off of you.

You pulled yourself forward back to Leon and fully collapsed at his side.

Sharp breaths pained your lungs but served as a reminder. You were alive. You were alive next to Leon.

You turned your head in the snow to face him.

His eyes were still closed but his chest heaved with a strong breath.

Relief bubbled up your throat and broke through in a cry. You searched for his hand in the snow and when you found it you held on tight.

Your breath was harsh and ragged, but you couldn't go a moment longer without saying it—in fear that this was truly the last time you could.

"I love you."

The words cast over his unconscious form. Eyes still shut and body motionless. Then you felt the twitch of his fingers under your own.

They softly folded into yours and the smallest of squeezes wrapped around your hand.

A sign escaped you.

It was over.

You were alive.

Hanson was dead.

And you finally had Leon by your side.

──•••──

Chris and Claire were the ones to find you once the debris had settled. They flagged down the DSO agents and you were quickly escorted to the extraction zone.

They set you and Leon up, side by side, on stretchers in the chopper.

His damp hair was pushed back from his forehead as they set him up with an IV and an oxygen mask.

They tried to do the same for you but you waved them off. Instead, directing them to focus all their attention on Leon.

When you landed, they separated the two of you.

They whisked Leon off to surgery and you to a room in the medical wing of the DSO.

Chris and Claire were close behind you but agents stopped them before they could follow. You could barely hear the argument as they continued to push you away from them. Something about not being DSO personnel and not having clearance.

You would have put up a fight but the exhaustion in your body kept your mouth shut. Your eyes were having a hard time staying open.

It worsened when they opened the doors to your new room. Bright lights berated your eyes, forcing them to water and shut under their scrutiny.

They left you in that room for a few hours.

At least that's what it felt like. Your body couldn't sleep, but in that moment you sure wished you could. It vibrated in its exhaustion. All energy spent but still fighting to stay awake and aware.

When the door to your room finally did open, a group of medical personnel ushered you to examinations.

It was when you finally settled back in your room, after a series of tests, when someone actually spoke to you.

The doctor went through the multitude of problems they found.

"Malnourished, broken spine, sleep deprived—" The list continued to go on. At some point you stopped listening.

You knew you were a lost cause.

"Now, for treatment..."

Treatment? That didn't make sense.

You straightened yourself the best you could. Your head preened off the mattress to try and look at the clipboard she was reading from.

"Wait, wait, wait." The doctor looked up at your interruption. "Treatment doesn't make sense. I'm infected. I'm dying. My body doesn't even—"

She cut in before you could spiral.

"We have a cure for your infection that will reverse the effects, given of course, in small doses overtime. As for your body, the cure can aid in its recovery, but an induced coma is what will give your body the forced rest it needs."

You frowned. "Induced coma...? For how long?"

She looked down to her clipboard. "We estimate eighteen months."

Eighteen months? Estimated?

"This is an experimental procedure. We have not tested Elpis on a patient this far along in the infection. Everything we have concluded up until this point is purely conjecture."

You shook your head, still not believing that this was happening. The DSO was trying to heal you? Why?

"On whose order are you doing this?"

"Agent Leon S. Kennedy, is the one who ordered this trial. An experiment for the DSO to see the limits of Elpis."

A trial. An experiment. You held back a snort. You sometimes forgot how persuasive Leon coud be. He had to give the DSO something for them to help you.

You finally nodded, now understanding. Then the thought dawned on you. "When did he give the order? Is he awake?"

"That information is classified."

He was awake, you knew it.

He was okay. And maybe, just maybe, you would be too.

The doctor left after going over the procedure and what was to happen. You were to be given a steady dose of Elpis over the course of eighteen months while clinically induced.

And treatment was to begin immediately.

You found yourself looking up at the ceiling as medical professionals surrounded you. Your heart beat on the screen to your side and wires connected to you to every area of the room.

A sedative ran through a tube and entered your blood stream. You began to feel the effects. The soft demand for your body to finally succumb to its exhaustion. To finally let go and be free of all thoughts.

With your eyes closing to the world, your last thought was of him.

Of your Leon.

───────────────•••───────────────

Note: Thank you again to everyone who has read this far! Next chapter will be the end to this story. Thank you so much for all the love! <3

Hanson escaped and with it his briefcase of—no doubt—important research that could kickstart the virus once more.

You and Leon left the office from where you bandaged him. Still calling him an idiot for taking that bullet.

Now, he managed to rest on his left side albeit slightly stiff.

"Hanson left towards the western exit. I bet he's thinking of taking the sample with him—"

"Well he'll have Chris and Claire to deal with."

The two of you made your way back down the corridor from where you started. Leon followed blindly with the plan still forming in your head.

"Exactly," You agreed. "They can manage him while we complete our objective."

"And you're okay with that?" Leon questioned as he moved quickly with your strides.

It wasn't what you were expecting, that's for sure. You thought endlessly of what you would do to Hanson once you finally got to him.

That didn't matter now.

The only important thing was keeping Leon alive.

In your mind you would be going down with Hanson. Taking out the genius and the monster in one go. That was until Leon vowed to die with you if anything of the like happened.

So yeah that certainly changes things.

You nodded. "If it means we get out, then yes."

A small smile eased itself on his lips. You knew why. We, not just him. You both were getting out.

"And what exactly is the plan?"

You slowed your pace to also slow the inevitable. Behind the corner would lay the mass of infected that merged and tore at itself.

"Uhhhh... it's kind of a work in progress," You said and peaked around the corner to see the abomination against nature.

Leon's brow picked up at your focus. "And I'm guessing it has something to do with that," He said, nodding to the BOW.

"Yeah..."

The mass contorted and sludged in a heap of itself. Infected tried to crawl away but it was a ruthless predator. You watched a liquid of skin reach out from itself and indulge in the undead. It wore the faces of its prey, dissolving their bodies into its own. Faces of terror slowly faded deeper and deeper into it.

Leon stood close to peer around the same corner. His chest close to yours. He lifted his arm to lean it past your head against the wall.

You leaned back in thought— now chest to chest with Leon.

When you looked up, Leon was already staring back. His eyes canned your face. From the paleness of your skin to the discolouration under your jaw. He picked his hand up and gently moved your chin to see it clearer. His thumb grazed down from their to stroke the colour of red and purples taking over your neck.

Your lips parted, once again wishing to feel his touch through your numb skin.

Leon's stare lifted to your widened eyes. You felt his thumb press into the bottom of your lip. Very lightly, but enough pressure to know it was there.

All air left your lungs and with it every word on your tongue from moments before.

Leon noticed his sudden closeness and wandering hand. He cleared his throat and dropped it with his now shy gaze.

His brow tensed as if internally asking himself what the hell was that? His fleeting gaze met yours with sudden sincerity and determination.

"When we get out, I'm getting you that cure."

Your nod was delayed.

Not because you doubted him. It was from the absolute devotion you saw in his eye. You would have believed anything he told you in that moment.

But then reality truly did set in—and so did it's truth. You were sure Leon believed you could be cured. But at this point, with you being so close to the edge of death, you weren't certain even Elpis could save you.

Despite the doubt, those familiar feelings bloomed in your chest. The same feelings you ran from and have tried to push away for the last decade. They were becoming the only proof that your dying body could still feel something.

Leon pulled back fully, remembering himself and the situation.

"So, what's your play?"

You collected the fragment of thoughts circling in and out of your head. You mentally shook away the soft concern of his eyes and the travelling hand that wandered between you.

You had a job to do.

"From... from what I've read, it absorbs energy," You said, looking back to the BOW in question. "Even the infected have something left in them to give."

Leon crossed his arms in thought. "You want to guide it to the generator. Won't it blow immediately?"

"Well, if I am right, it can take up to an hour to fully digest and with that much power it should... explode."

"If you are right," Leon clarified.

You snapped a glare back to him. "It's the best I could think of on short notice."

He put his hands up in surrender. "Not saying anything on it, but if you're wrong we're dead."

You exhaled a deep breath.

"There is still a chance for you to leave."

His own glare formed between his brow—it darkened his eyes. He lightly shook his head and dropped it to lean in closer. To once again show everything in his eyes.

"It's you and me. I'm not going anywhere."

──•••──

He was probably regretting that decision now. At least you were.

You watched helplessly from the sidelines while Leon stood in the center of the room. His energy much more alive than yours, making him perfect bait.

The BOW seemed groggy. Not prone to attack unless something of value stood right next to it.

He looked back to you, somewhat defeated. "You sure this thing would even be interested in the generator?" He turned back to it. "Doesn't want much to do with me—"

As if he tempted fate, a fat and grotesque tentacle latched out from its body and wrapped around Leon's leg.

It tugged him harshly to the ground and pulled him closer.

You raced to the middle of the room and started firing at it. Leon matched your efforts and slashed a wide strike across its flesh with his hatchet.

The creature wailed and dropped Leon's leg.

You ran to him and helped him up as the BOW retreated. Only a moment was given to catch your breath.

The glob of flesh growled somewhere deep under its mass. It peeled itself up at the front, forming its own large mouth with teeth stolen from the undead it absorbed.

Its guttural scream shattered the air.

"I think it likes you now."

Leon pushed you forward as the two of you ran for your lives.

Another tentacle of melted skin lashed out from its body. It swiped at your legs and screamed in frustration at your refusal to be a meal.

The two of you dodged and jumped over the numerous tangles of flesh emerging from its body.

You shot through the entrance to the corridor and raced back down towards the generator.

The BOW was hot on your tail. It gripped the wall with its tentacles—throwing itself down the hall at insane speed.

The two of you broke out into the generator room and used either side of the door frame as your shield when it spilled out onto the platform.

It separated you and Leon, taking up the entire doorway with more to come.

It eased itself down from the platform and completely engulfed the generator on all sides.

It didn't explode right away, that's a good sign.

"Now!" Leon shouted.

You followed his direction and jumped to the level below to escape into the far exit. The two of you raced against the wandering flesh of undead. Leon pushed you through the exit doorway with him following closely behind.

You slammed the door closed, feeling the mass crash into the metal then sag back. The two of you barricaded it with your backs pushing into it.

"One hour," You repeated. "That's all the time we have to get to the surface-"

A familiar shriek of infected pierced the hallway. A herd of them travelled towards the chaos ensuing now behind you. Their black eyes glistened in the red lighting and their bruised hands reached out.

Leon shot at the first three in the front row. You grabbed the side of his body holster and tugged him down the corridor, guiding him as he kept all attention on the enemies behind you.

They started to growl from all directions. Their hunger now ready to be satisfied after waiting down here for so long.

After a series of turns and close encounters, the two of you burst through a pair of steel double doors that overlooked another large room with plummeting depths below. At the far end of the platform sat a cable car in wait.

You slammed your weight into the doors, keeping them closed. The undead rattled the hinges with each thrust of their bodies into the steel.

"I can hold it. Go!" You shouted to Leon.

He pushed himself from the door and raced up the grated stairs to the cable door. He pressed the button on the outside panel and kicked out the caged door at the mouth of its entrance.

It whirred to life and started to move up the cables.

"Y/N! Now!"

You pushed yourself against the doors one last time before bolting.

Behind you a hoard of undead screamed and broke down the metal doors. You watched in front of you, Leon hanging on the side of the cable car, his hand outstretched as far he could make it.

A gap now formed between the car and the platform.

You pushed your legs harder, hearing the infected screams gaining on you.

Against all better instincts, you didn't slow when you met the edge of the platform. You kicked off with all trust that your hand would find Leon's over the great abyss below you.

Time froze when you met the air.

Infected spilled over the edge behind you—some jumped with their own hopes of grabbing you.

Leon leaned as far out as he could, his hand angling with your falling body before he caught you.

A sound of relief escaped your lungs but then a heavy grip weighed around your ankle. You peered down at the infected helplessly holding onto you.

Leon used the doorframe to anchor his leg and pulled out his gun, aiming just past your ear. He held you back with all his weight and then fired.

The weight released from your foot, flying you forward up into Leon.

The cable car rattled with the slam of your bodies hitting its floor—you landing right on top of Leon

A persistent ringing deafened your left ear. Your head fogged over at the noise, not present enough to notice that you were literally on top of Leon Kennedy.

It was when his hands found your hips, that you started to regain your senses. The ringing slowly began to subside, replaced with the thump of blood rushing in you ear. You winced from the sound, your eyes shutting against the noise. Leon's hands moved from your hips up to your waist, gently squeezing to feel you there—alive and in his arms.

One hand slid to your cheek. His thumb brushed under your closed eyes, urging you to open them.

"Are you okay?"

The closeness of his voice is what opened them.

He was right under you, concern blinding him from the precarious position you found yourselves in.

His grip on you was tight. Tight enough that you could actually feel it in your condition.

You nodded and tried to move off him but his hold stayed. It had softened and gingerly stayed wrapped around you—to insist he wasn't done examining you. You grunted at his antics and fell back on your elbow just beside his head.

"Leon," You said, exasperated. "I'm okay. Now please let go. I doubt you want a corpse on top of you any longer."

"You're not a corpse."

You huffed, growing tired of this delusion. You pressed your cold hand to his cheek. "Does this feel like living skin?"

His hand caught it before you could slide it away. It engulfed over yours and pressed the cold skin closer into his cheek.

You watched, transfixed by his actions.

"To me you were dead for two years," He said, softly. "Now you're alive, breathing. If this is what coming back from the dead feels like, then I'm taking it."

Your head dropped to below his chin. A soft sigh of frustration escaped you. You pulled your hand free and stood, wobbling slightly in the moving cart.

Leon followed your lead and tracked your movements.

"You don't believe Elpis can cure you," He stated your thoughts aloud.

You remained turned away from him, trying to brace yourself for his infuriating denial.

"I know Elpis can cure me," You said, truthfully and slowly turned to face him. "It will take away the infection and make me... human again—"

"Then why are you fighting me—" Leon stepped towards you but you raised up your hand.

"I haven't eaten in two years," You started. "I haven't slept for half of that. Even if Elpis can take away every bit of this virus, what state will my body be in once it does?"

Leon's shoulders deflated. His eyes grew a familiar look of concern—a constant with him.

"What if it's a waste?" You finally asked.

You wanted an answer. You really did. You wanted Leon to smooth over your fears. To promise you a cure and a living body in the end. But you knew he couldn't guarantee that. He could not give you the hope you've been trying to find for two years.

Whatever Leon was going to say was cut short.

Because the pulley from above snapped.

You fell into him and crashed into the other side of the cart. It swayed on the front pulley against the cable that fought to stay intact.

Leon's head smacked into the metal siding and hissed at the pull of the bullet wound in his side. Your hand reached for the back of his head, trying to soften the impact, but you drew it back to see blood coat your fingers. You looked to his eyes. They blinked in and out of a daze.

"Leon, look at me," You ordered.

The cart continued to sway.

"Leon, please, we need to get up."

He tried to nod, but stilled at the pain throbbing in his head. He reached out and you grabbed his hand to haul him up, careful not to shake the cart more.

The second he stood his body fell into yours. It crashed the two of you into the wall—once the floor. His weight fully leaning on you and his head dipped into your shoulder.

You grabbed his head with both hands, softly angling it up to catch his eye. They blinked, confused.

"Shit."

"I'm okay, I can..." He trailed off and tried to stand straighter.

He caught himself on the wall behind you. His head still lulled and his eyes stayed shut for a second.

You held him by his waist to steady him while looking around to figure out a plan.

The entrance in the side was the only way out.

You moved out from under Leon's embrace while keeping a hold on him.

He followed your light steps to the side of the cart—only stopping when your movements swayed it too far.

You peered out of the entrance to see the platform not too far above you.

"If we climb on top of the cart we should be able to reach it," You said and turned to Leon.

He nodded, still unfocused, but trying his hardest to stay awake.

You stepped out of the cart, Leon's hands stayed on your body in support. His hand trailed from your waist to your hip and then the back of your thigh as you gently raised yourself on top of the cart.

His hand stayed on you until it fell out of reach.

You turned back to Leon after finding purchase on the top. You looked down at him, his body swayed with the cart and leaned against the frame.

You reached out your hand. "Come on. Leon, you gotta move."

He reached for your hand and just as you grabbed it the cart shuttered underneath you. The pulley hung on by sheer will, slowly breaking under the force and movement. A nasty screech of torn metal pierced the air and then it snapped.

You jumped from the top of the cart with Leon's hand tight in your own. The railing on the platform clanged against your hand as you grabbed it.

You looked back to see the cart plummeting into the depth of the abyss below you. Then your eyes tracked to Leon.

A sharp gasp clogged in your throat.

Leon's free arm dangled at an odd angle. Dislocated. It caught on the doorframe of the cart mid jump.

His eyes tried to stay open and peer up at you but his sights fell short. You were in and out of vision, staring in fear from above him.

Despite the situation, despite dangling above death, he smiled up at you. A dazed smile that took in only the beauty of the world around him and completely disregarded the horrors.

And his eyes stayed only on you.

"Leon," You grunted, trying to snap him out of it.

He winced at his arm and then at his side. The pull of his limb tore at his bandage around his waist. Blood collected behind the cloth and dribbled past into the dark chasm.

"I remember the first time we met," He said. His words were somewhat slurred. He gave no mind to his body hanging helplessly over a void.

The only anchor being your white knuckled grip around his hand.

You hissed at the pull in your arms. A pain deep enough for you to feel. They stretched between Leon and the railing. Your muscles weakened each second.

Meaning your body was close to giving out.

No.

You wouldn't let it.

"I remember seeing you and thinking... I am going to protect her for as long as I breathe."

His words weren't helping.

A whimper forced itself past your lips. You couldn't tell if it was from his words or the sheer frustration of being so close to freedom.

So close to getting him out of this alive.

"Drop me, Y/N."

"What!?"

You looked back down to see him staring forcefully back. There was no doubt in his eyes or any fear for that matter. Something in him came to terms with what you both already knew.

Your grip wasn't going to hold on much linger.

"No."

"Y/N—"

"Order me all you want but either we're both dying here or I am pulling us up. There is no other option."

Tears dripped past your cheek as you looked down.

"It's you and me," You repeated his words from earlier.

To prove your point you tightened your grip on his hand. You didn't bother to gauge his reaction—you had to act fast and now.

You had caught yourself on the lowest rung of the railing with another above it. If you could reach it, you would be enough of an anchor to hoist both of you up.

You kicked your legs in the air, trying to grapple them under the railing and between the platform. You foot snagged behind a metal bar. You shifted your knee to rest above the corner of the platform then—with every ounce of residing strength—released the railing and reached higher.

You let out a sign of relief and exhaustion once you grabbed it. A cry broke free as you pulled your body to the platform and used it as a support to tug Leon behind you.

His grip tightened in your hand and pushed himself from the railings further onto the platform.

The two of you collapsed on the platform, side by side. Both of your chest heaved in exhaustion. Your breaths coming in waves of shortness.

When you turned to him he was already looking at you.

Eyes light with awe and undying devotion.

You shoved him in the chest.

He fell back at it. "What the hell—"

"Don't," You started, anger brewing deep behind each word. "Don't you ever tell me to drop you. Never again." You flopped on your back, feeling the exertion finally getting to you. "Asshole."

He laughed.

The son of bitch laughed at your rage. You glared at him even though the sound of his laugh lit a streak of happiness in your chest. It had been so long since you have heard his laugh.

"Never again," He agreed. "Scout's honour."

Against your better judgement, you chuckled. It was light and soft, barely present, but he saw it and he relished in it.

The happiness was short lived.

Leon's side screamed at him in pain and his head cracked with a whip of pain against his temple. He dropped his weight to the platform, his own body fighting to stay awake.

"Leon."

You searched for him with your hand before forcing yourself to sit up. You crawled over to his limp body and urgently pressed your hands into his wound. It bled deeply into the platform below you and spilled past the grooves and holes that littered the metal.

"Hey—Hey—Hey, look at me. Eyes on me. We're not done yet."

His eyes wearily opened. "Just... taking a quick nap."

"I know you're old now, but you gotta get up."

He softly tsked at that. "You've gotten old too."

A rattle of dust and metal shook the facility. It snapped the remaining cables hanging over head and wounded the structure of metal beams around you.

The generator detonated.

"Up, old man. Now!" You shouted at him but he couldn't move.

Metal beams from above loosened upon impact. You pulled yourself from Leon to watch the facility around you beginning to crumble and deteriorate. A beam from above cracked and slowly began to timber over you.

You shielded Leon and braced for impact as it slammed into your spine. It knocked the wind out of your lungs and your body crashed into Leon's. He wrapped his arms around you and shielded your face into his neck.

His body jolted awake at your wail of pain.

He rolled the two of you over before lifting both of you up and rushing to the exit down the hall.

His body stumbled and wobbled over the metal floor. He dragged you with him, your legs stopped working, your back effectively broken.

You tried to move them but they felt phantom to your system. You arms looped around Leon's neck as he fell forward into steps.

The two of you crashed into the elevator. Leon dropped to his hand on the floor, the other still protectively wrapped around you.

He leaned against the wall and slammed the button to go up.

It didn't move.

"Shit," He cussed and looked around.

Above gave way to the rest of the shaft that merged into darkness the higher it went.

He looked back to you, collapsed into his side and doing the same thing as him. Trying to find a way out. Trying to find a plan.

It all stopped when he looked at you.

You realized his shift in attention and looked back.

He traced your face as if committing it to memory. You found yourself doing the same.

If this was the end, at least he would be the last thing you see.

You leaned your head in and he did the same. You rested your forehead against his, still not fully able to feel it but comforted in knowing he was there.

With the silence between you, the destruction of the facility could be heard in the distance.

In that moment he realized he couldn't die without knowing. If this really was the last time with you. The last time he would ever see your face. Your smile. Your eyes.

He had to know.

"Why did you leave me?"

───────────────•••───────────────

For the first year he tried. It must have been around the tenth cancelled plan when he stopped. When he realized that you were pushing him out.

Now you stared at the back of his head, following him down to the bottom of the facility.

It wasn't like old times. The two of you didn't find your rhythm. Fighting side by side was janky. There was no flow between your movements, only collision.

There were barely any words shared between the two of you.

You felt the words push to pass the end of your tongue, but you would swallow them back. Opting to stay complacent in the awkward silence.

Leon didn't seem to have much issue with it.

Those constant stares from before died the moment you left the observation tower. He kept his focus ahead of him and barely acknowledged your presence, save for a few instances in a fight.

You eyed the edge of your boots as they followed behind him. You rolled your neck, feeling it stiffen and seize with a pulse beneath the skin. All your muscles and joints were beginning to stiffen in the next stage of the infection. You rarely slept now, but when you did it took effort to stand and move.

It started with the absence of hunger and the expel of all contents in your system. It drained your features and faded your skin, forcing it to sink into your bones more and more. Then your body began to cool to the point that nothing could warm you. That wasn't a problem for long once your nerves stopped firing and your body went numb to all sensations except for pressure.

You recognized the stages of postmortem.

It was an odd and terrifying existence to be conscious while decomposing.

Leon stopped, forcing you to do the same.

He stared ahead into the other room.

You looked past him to see a group of infected doctors wobbling and gagging at the air.

When the facility shut down it trapped many doctors and patients in with it. The higher ups must not have considered them important enough to evacuate.

You came across a handful of them trying to escape with their research and find a way out. You always stopped them and it often resulted with a bullet for them and a few scrapes for you.

The room past Leon overlooked an area below with a sheet of glass separating from the experiments.

You could laugh at the irony of that, but you figured Leon wouldn't find you amusing right now.

Instead you shouldered past him without any preservation in mind.

He grabbed your arm and you pulled it free with no effort.

The undead screeched when seeing you step into their territory. Their teeth bared with fresh meet wedged between their gums. Blood reeked from their breath as they lunged at you.

You shot the first one down.

It fell to your feet but still fought for its hunger and bit at your ankles.

Leon yelled behind you but you ignored him.

It's not like you could get more infected.

You couldn't register the pain or the feeling other than the slight presence of something gnawing at your feet.

Leon slashed its head in with his hatchet as you continued to ignore your peril and walk further into the room.

Another swung itself towards you and you didn't care to dodge. It latched its teeth into your shoulder and you fired three shots to its gut. It fell back giving view to the third infected.

"Y/N!" You heard him yell your name but there wasn't much point in acknowledging the warning.

An infected in your blind spot charged at you and crashed the two of you to the ground.

Leon raced to pull it off of you but you kicked him back in the chest.

You can live with yourself being bit, but not him. And not by your own recklessness.

He cussed you out and forced himself back to you.

You were already standing by the time he found his bearings. The infected dead and laying where you were.

The last infected got its lab coat caught on a metal chair. It writhed in its restraint and fought hard for its meal.

You walked up to it unsheathed your blade all while Leon stood watching you, heaving from anger.

In this attempt you genuinely tried to avoid its teeth, but it dug them into your hand as you forced its head back. You sliced its exposed jugular and its mouth went slack.

Black ran down your fingers from the wound as you pulled back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

So much for first words after all this time.

You kept your focus on your knife and wiped it on your pant leg.

"Better me than you," You said.

Leon moved and grabbed your arm, effectively turning you to meet his glare.

"That could have been handled in under three minutes without injury."

The focus really should have been on his anger.

But you were weak.

Greedily, you took in the fervor of his glare. Even with it aimed at you it was the most emotion you had gotten out of him. The tension in his jaw and brow tugged a shadow over his features. It ignited the rage in his eyes and demanded attention.

Leon noticed your distant stare that mapped a path across his face. He frowned though the anger still persisted.

You dropped your stare to his lips, for once not caring or hiding this part of yourself from him. Being a dead woman walking had some perks. You wouldn't have to face the embarrassment of shamelessly admiring him for long.

When you reluctantly lifted your gaze back to his, he looked... taken aback. His lips had parted slightly and the furrow of his brow, still present, had softened from an intense perplexion.

"You have a human shield," You said, with your eyes now focused on his, "Be grateful."

You pulled away fully from him, leaving him to overcome his stunned state and soon follow behind you.

──•••──

His stare would have heated the back of your head if you could feel it. Ignoring him was the better option. If you didn't, it would open a whole conversation you were not ready for.

At the end of the walkway hung a cable car. Its doors stayed open with the panel on the side ready to be used.

The two of you settled into it on either side as you made your descent.

You caught Leon staring at your wounds from across the cart. They were difficult to ignore. The black substance invading your veins purged itself from the bites and stained your clothing. Which were also worse for wear.

A torn tank top and ruined tactical pants was your uniform for far too long.

You heard some movement before Leon crossed the cart over to you.

You looked up as he squatted in front of you and pulled out a roll of medical bandages. You pushed them back. The cold of your hand shocking the warmth in his as you did so.

"They're a waste on me," You tried to reason.

It didn't seem to work. Leon, much like back then, was still ever so stubborn.

He resisted your weak attempt to push them away and began doting on your wounds.

"Not to me it isn't," He muttered under his breath.

You didn't put up much of a fight as he wrapped it around your ankle. He then looked to the one on your shoulder and carefully moved the strap of your tank top to wrap it tightly against you.

His fingers traced over your skin and you barely managed to feel it. You wished you could have felt the warmth of his skin or the shiver down your spine at the simple feeling of him being so close and gentle.

But your body was turning into one not of your own.

His fingers fell down your arm and to your hand. He stared down as he wrapped the bite mark before holding it in both of his own. His thumb traced over your knuckles.

"You're freezing," He said, more to himself than to you.

You looked down as well to where your hands joined. Maybe if you thought hard enough you could feel the tenderness of his touch.

You shrugged off his comment. "Didn't notice."

Leon looked back to you and for the first time gave you everything in it. That familiar challenge presented itself once again. No hiding, no running away, only the two of you and everything you felt in that moment.

Your breath hitched.

You missed the way he used to look at you. So much vulnerability. So much trust. And you tried to give it back in return. Although now, it came with heavier meaning.

"You should have told me."

The emotions between you felt raw with the way he held your hand. He tighten his grip and you were thankful that you could at least feel that.

You swallowed back your nerves. "Like I told Chris—"

"I'm not Chris."

No, he certainly wasn't.

Leon pressed further. "We found Elpis. I could have—"

"Elpis is a finite resource," You said, shutting down any attempt to remedy your situation. Your own organization turned its back on you. They wouldn't give up their cure so easily. "They still haven't replicated it. They wouldn't waste it on me."

Leon frowned. "I could have helped. You should have reached out."

You shook your head. "We hadn't spoken in—"

"And why is that?"

It didn't come out as angry, more so fearful. Like he had wracked his head around the idea so many times and still couldn't come up with an answer. Which was part of the problem.

How could he not know by now? How could he not have guessed, just after committing to his girlfriend, the reason behind you leaving? Did he not see through you as well as you thought?

You closed your eyes and leaned your head back—just to escape, even for a moment, from this conversation.

Leon pulled your hand closer to him. "Look at me."

You were weak to his commands and did as he ordered.

"Why did you leave?"

Maybe it was selfish. Maybe it was justified. But you couldn't give him the answer either of you wanted. If you admitted it, if you spilled every bit of your secret to him, it wouldn't change anything.

You were still dying. You were still not coming back from this. You were still the girl he took in and watched turn from a civilian into a capable agent.

There was still no chance.

"You should know by now," is what you said instead.

The cart muffled its stop at the bottom of the facility. You stood from Leon who stared back, at first helpless, but then guarded and pulled away with same coldness from before.

It was for the best.

It will lessen the pain when the inevitable comes.

──•••──

The bottom of the facility was bleak.

The only lighting came from the emergency lights that cast a sheen of red across everything. From what you could tell, not many people came down here.

You heard the clashing of nails on concrete and the gurgle of cries before you could see them.

In the middle of the bottom laid many infected. All impaired from the fall down and dragging their helpless bodies across the ground in search of food. They clung to one another into a mass of wasting flesh.

Leon stepped carefully behind you, stomping heads that came too close. Whereas you did little to avoid or approach them.

You kicked off a pair of hands that trapped down your foot—you didn't bother ending any of their suffering. It would be coming soon enough.

As you stepped over another heap of flesh devoid of any mouth or teeth, Leon came at your side.

"Why are you here?"

If he couldn't get answers about you leaving, he at least wanted to know your reasoning for spending months in an abandoned facility. Especially in your condition with time not on your side.

He ignored that last train of thought despite it invading his thoughts one end.

Red light continued to fade in and out over the large area. It soaked you in darkness then gave you a moment to catch your footing when it returned.

You looked at Leon as the light circled back. It painted him in shades of bright red that haloed behind him.

You stopped walking and looked back at him. Fully facing and embracing the sight of him before you.

It felt stupid, but any moment to just have him in sight was worth the wasted time. To memorize him, especially now in this new age you hadn't seen before. He looked good. Tired. But good.

Leon continued to notice you lingering on him. He couldn't tell the reason behind it only that it locked him in place with this want—no need—to let you continue.

You regained your thoughts and the question he had asked. "The sample is a strain from the virus I have," You said and turned to continue walking forward. Leon fell in step with you. "The doctor, Hanson, he was the one that gave it to me before fleeing here with the last bit of it."

Leon considered your words and took a second to ask his next question. "Is this a mission for the greater good or revenge?"

"Both," You shrugged. "He had me for eleven months..."

This time Leon stopped the two of you. He gently grabbed your upper arm to encourage you to face him.

You did so with some resistance. He said nothing but his eyes implored you to say more. And you, being helpless to his stare, could do nothing but comply.

"He... never asked me any questions. It wasn't ever an interrogation. He didn't care where I came from or who I was. I was just another experiment... from the beginning."

At the time it was hard to figure out what the doctor wanted from you. It drove you insane that there was no end to his cruelty and no motivation behind it. But you realized that was his motivation. Hanson continued his study with the next best thing—that being the living and breathing agent that wandered into his grasp at the wrong time.

He considered you a success.

Despite the time limit he had given you, it was longer than any of his other patients. He held a special fondness for you. Forever now a display of his pure brilliance.

"What are you going to do when you find him?"

You tracked your eyes back up at him, not realizing they had dropped.

The next thing you said was with complete certainty.

"I'm going to kill him."

Leon nodded, figuring that was going to be your answer.

He gently dropped your arm not before letting it linger slightly as his hand fell.

You turned to keep moving but he stayed in place. You watched him clench his fist as he sometimes did in thought. From the way his brow worried over his eyes, he was thinking a great deal of things.

Your hand found his—shocking his eyes to soften and lift to yours. Whether it was from your freezing skin or sudden display of affection, you weren't sure. Either way, his fist relaxed and closed around your fingers. You tugged him.

"We need to keep moving."

He agreed and let you lead the way.

He found his own certainy in something. He wasn't going to leave you. He wasn't going to let you run from him. And he sure as hell was not going to let you die.

──•••──

The generator stood at the far end of the open room. The two of you stood on a platform overlooking the view below. You walked forward with the objective mind, passing an arch that separated from the hallway.

Just as you did metal doors closed behind you.

You whipped around and saw Leon through the pane of glass on the other side. His concern mirrored back at you. Then a man stepped out from a room. A briefcase in hand and a gun aimed right at Leon.

Leon drew his own gun and aimed at the man, his back now towards you.

"Hanson, I presume." Leon's words muffed behind the door.

The doctor felt pleased that he was becoming well known. It showed across his face and widened a smile you had seen in and out of consciousness. He noticed you behind the door and titled his head to get a better view.

Leon blocked his longing stare towards his favourite subject.

"She still has so much promise," Hanson remarked, avoiding Leon and seeing right through him to you. "Have you noticed the red and purple hue under her jaw? Livor mortis," He mused, as if talking to a class. "The third stage of post mortem—she really is quite fascinating."

You hated the way his eyes trailed over you from where he could see. The same awe and curiosity that left you dying on a table, starved and shaking.

You slammed your hand against the door. This was your fight, not Leon's. It should be you in there.

"You know her plan, don't you?" Hanson asked, now returning to Leon. "I have no doubt she let you in on the first part, but... how do you think she intended to detonate the generator?"

Leon's grip on his gun tightened.

"A signal from the surface would be too weak. Someone would have to be down here to make sure it goes off—"

Your fist hit the glass again. "Don't listen to him. Shoot, Leon!"

"You care for our sweet agent, don't you?"

You cringed at his pet name.

Leon stood still. Aimed and ready, but you could not fathom why he wasn't shooting. Was he actually listening to him?

Hanson continued, taking advantage of Leon's attention. "You wouldn't let her do something so—"

You slammed hard into the door and fell through the broken glass.

The doctor changed his aim and fired at you.

Leon grabbed you as you fell through the shards of glass and shielded you with his body. It immediately tensed around you.

"Until next we meet," Hanson said and stepped behind the second arch.

He pressed a button in his hand and another set of doors shielded him from the two of you. With a final smile towards you, he took off down the hallway.

You and Leon slid to the floor. His weight fully on you and your arms around him, cradling him. You fumbled your hands over him before your eyes caught on a patch of red blooming from his side. You pressed your hand over the bullet wound, earning a grunt from him.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Your eyes scanned around you and to your side you saw an office. The same one that Hanson had came from.

You stood up with little effort in your condition. Leon bit hard into his teeth, but aided where he could in moving the two of you to a safer area.

The office door slammed open as you rushed Leon in. You placed him on the floor with his back to some shelving units.

"Fuck—! Why would you do that? I could have taken it—"

"Is it true?" He gritted. "Is what he said true?"

You stood and searched the room in your haste. Fear overcame you, deafening you to his questions. In an opened drawer laid a med injector. You grabbed it and rushed over to where he rested. The injector released its contents into his bloodstream with a sigh.

Leon grabbed you to force your attention on him.

"Y/N! Is it true?"

It would have been easier if it was just anger in his eyes. The fear mixed with your own and for once your body simply gave out. You caught yourself on the shelving behind him. Your legs buckled from where you kneeled over his legs.

The emotions weighed your head down and the tears began to slip past your walls.

Leon's hand found your cheek and smeared the fallen tear into your skin. His palm lifted you to meet his eyes.

"I wasn't supposed to ever see you again," You admitted. "You had to ruin this. I can't die like that. Like this. Not as a monster. I..."

The muscle in your body weakened the more you shared your truth. Leon's arms closed around you and you fell into his chest.

Air escaped you from the weight of carrying this all alone. It stayed buried in the back of mind but you were scared. You were scared to die alone. Scared to die as a creature rather than yourself.

And of course, Leon came into your life just as you tried to make peace with it.

One if his hands found its way to your hair and combed his fingers over your scalp. The arm around your waist tightened and pulled you closer.

He buried his nose into your neck and closed his eyes. His breathing deepened and you found yourself matching his rhythm.

After a moment of staying in his arms, he finally spoke.

"You were planning on dying down here." It wasn't a question.

You softly nodded into his shoulder, not wanting to face him. But he pulled back. This time he captured your cheeks with both hands to keep you grounded and locked on him.

He allowed himself a second to take you in. Following in your example by stopping time to exist with the only view being you.

You couldn't feel the tears on your cheeks. Nor the stroke of his thumb under your eye. But you could feel everything from the way he looked at you.

It was different. New. He hadn't studied you so in depth before.

He then leaned closer. Close enough that you should have felt his breath on your lips. Close enough that his nose could have brushed yours.

"If you're dying down here. So am I."

You closed your eyes and rested your forehead into his. He accepted it and circled his hand to the back of your head, stroking your hair back as he did so.

After a moment, your eyes softly opened in thought and slowly you pulled back. Leon looked up to you, quizzical but still keeping you close.

You thought it over in your head. Your eyes looking off into space before returning to Leon's. He looked back in a silent question.

"I have an idea."

───────────────•••───────────────

The town you once lived in was calm and precious, untouched by the world. That day changed it. Now forever a stain on your memory and a crater in the earth.

"Just breathe," You said, to yourself again.

The hospital was far from your home town. And you were no longer that terrified girl.

The one who found a cop's pistol and used it on the officer when hunger outlasted his life.

The one who survived until the very end, barricaded in a store with cries and broken screams trying to claw themselves in.

The one who muffled her own cry at the sound of their bodies dropping.

When you forced yourself to open that door, you opened your life into an entirely new direction. Standing there, in the heat of a fight that started long before you, were two men.

Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy.

Names you would remember until the day you die.

Your breath began to silence with each beat of your heart. Your eyes darting between each creak and shift of the abandoned building you now found yourself in fifteen years later.

There was no reason to think of how it all started. Not now. Not when you were deployed hundreds of miles away from them. In your own mission, saving your own survivors, carrying out your own objective.

But they say life flashes before your eyes in your last moments. And very quickly, you realized that was the true start of your life.

The DSO had swarmed you in an instant. The two men running to your aid and grabbing you to steady the fear within you. It wasn't just fear. There was rage. One that the DSO graciously took advantage of.

The organization picked you up and dusted you off. Forced an ultimatum between servitude or a life sentence. It was an easy choice.

And then they assigned you to him.

Leon.

Even now, just the thought of him or his name, it both soothed and ignited a spark within you. And then pain flared somewhere in your chest. A gut wrenching reminder that you would never see him again.

You would never make amends.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

The act became increasingly difficult. But the tears flowed all the same. You bit into your teeth to ground yourself.

"Kid, you alright?"

"No," You said, aloud to the memory.

Leon had placed his hand on yours. The two of you sitting side by side on the bench in the DSO gym. He ran drills and pushed you past your limit. Always encouraging you to do better.

Collapsing on the bench right after was the only thing your body could handle. The drills and sparring exhausted your body, but it didn't stop your mind and the constant turmoil it enjoyed.

You had nodded, eyes still on the ground, but revelling in the feel of his hand on yours.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good."

He didn't buy it. He never did.

Leon knew you better than anyone. He took the time to learn you and understand how you worked—something no one else ever did.

"Nightmares?"

You had chuckled softly under your breath. He had a habit of just knowing. It was both infuriating and entirely impressive.

You nodded again, this time picking your eyes up to meet him.

He stared back with fierce intensity. He never shyed away from you and never gave you the benefit of hiding from him. He stared with full understanding and in turn, urged you to do the same.

So, you met his eyes, always. Never one to back down from his challenges and never missing an opportunity to catalogue every shade of his iris. Every twitch in his brow. Every inhale of his breath.

You fell for him fast.

You knew it but ignored it.

Leon became your rock and you the same for him. He sympathized with your situation. Being forced into this life and having to endure trauma after trauma was a quick ice breaker.

He was your closest friend and then he became your family. He let you put down your roots with no intention of digging them up.

Him and Chris made room for you in their lives and settled you in this found family with the others. Sherry you met as soon as you joined the DSO. Jill and Claire when Leon finally managed to schedule a time between everyone's schedules.

They welcomed you.

What life took away, it gave back a tenfold. Or rather Leon did.

Another tear slipped down your cheek and soaked your leg. Your head bowed over the bonds holding you to the chair.

A weak light lit your body from above. From your intel, the hospital was meant to be abandoned. The mission was to extract Umbrella information and save the remaining patients that you could.

Now you became one of them.

The time with Leon and the others grew from days to years. You lived through everything with him. Even his relationships.

When your feelings for him became harder to ignore, it was the same time Leon found himself a girlfriend.

The first one was hard, but you managed through it. You ignored his smiles at his phone during work. His soft voice behind the break room door for a quick check in with his love. Even seeing the two of them in public, holding hands, you made yourself scarce.

Even if it couldn't be you, you wanted him to be happy. And unfortunately, you were not much of an actor when it came to hiding anything from him. You couldn't let your heartbreak stop him from his happiness.

When they broke up it was a weight off your shoulders. It was a guilty feeling, but now you could have him to yourself, even if it was temporary.

That didn't last long because then he met her.

A woman far more grounded than you. Someone that in your eyes was perfect and very much deserving of the man you loved.

That hit you far harder.

Of course he would eventually find someone. It wouldn't be you. He was older. He didn't see you that way.

"What, you don't like her?"

You remember his question and the hurt behind his eyes. Again, you weren't much of an actress in front of him. Especially right after being told they were moving in together.

"No, no, I do. I guess... I wasn't expecting things to be moving so fast."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

And what did you mean by that? You weren't expecting him to settle down? To marry? To be with someone that he loved?

You gave a weak excuse to his question back then. One you honestly can't remember. And then you slowly faded.

When a position came up in a new location you jumped on it. You told Leon about your promotion and of course he was happy for you, but he could feel the shift start between you two.

He made you promise to stay in touch and of course you did not.

After the first year you cemented that wedge between you and cut yourself off from him.

You blamed it on the time difference. The demand of your job. The exhaustion of the day.

He got the message.

That was a eight years ago.

You heard from Claire two years later that Leon and his then fiancee broke up. She urged you to come back. She knew you and the feelings you tried to hide.

But you had already burned that bridge.

You felt your body begin to tremble under the restraints. The serum they pushed into your veins coursed a new path throughout your body. Nausea swept up you throat and coated you mouth. You bit your tongue to keep from yelling out.

The tile across from you screeched at the opening door.

You lightly raised your head just enough to see your captor. His name evaded your thoughts. This virus within you kept your mind clouded.

From what you could grasp at, you remembered him being a doctor that specialized in bio-chemistry. He also had a taste for the suffering of others.

Another big bad scientist trying to make their mark on the world.

The shtick was getting old. And of course only now did you find yourself on the other end of it.

"The DSO, right?" The doctor busied himself across the room. He tried to stay patient with himself despite the excitement of nerves ticking at his hands. "I haven't had the pleasure of making an Agent's acquaintance."

Acquaintance? I'd say we're on our third date judging by the restraints.

You pushed the small chuckle back. Even eight years later and you could still hear Leon's voice in your head.

"Something funny?"

The amusement left you and instead you decided to cut to the chase. "What's the plan? Kill me? Experiment on me? All the above?"

Your words grew a smile of wonder on his face. "Why so impatient? Scared are you?"

In truth, yes. But you weren't going to give him the satisfaction.

You attempted a shrug. "Bored more than anything."

He tutted. "Well... we can't have that."

And then he crossed the room. A syringe propped upright in his hand. His other reaching to close around your neck.

This is the part where you wished you could say you escaped. That you did something heroic. Something that Leon definitely would have done. But you were outnumbered with the weakness in your veins and the ambition of this doctor.

You didn't escape.

And it would be a long while before you do.

──•••──

2 Years Later

Leon leaned against the steel doorway to catch his breath. He rechecked his clip to assess the number of bullets he had left.

Two infected laid behind him. Their blood oozed from the bullet holes and their fingers twitched in the aftershock of death.

"Leon, you good?"

Chris jogged up beside him with Claire in tow.

"Yeah," He gritted, feeling the pull of his ribs. "Just not twenty-one anymore."

Chris snorted. "Tell me about it."

Claire scanned the room before joining their side. The facility that housed them travelled miles underground. It resided in a quaint village with a citadel that offered itself as the entrance to this lab.

The DSO sent Leon out with two objectives in mind: eliminate the target and apprehend the sample. However, they didn't give him details into who he was meant to find. The provided a blurred photograph, one that he memorized. A woman, from what he could gather, with the lower half of her face covered.

Chris and Claire happened to meet him in this remote village by chance. They were following their own lead on the new Umbrella activity.

"Maybe a rogue agent?" Claire pondered aloud as they made their way deeper into the lab. "Something isn't right about this one."

She was right and the two men couldn't ignore it. There was a strange feeling surrounding this mission. It didn't add up.

"Do we know if the target is attached to Umbrella?" Chris aimed his question to Leon.

The latter shook his head. "I was only given a photo and nothing else."

"Interesting."

No one liked the sound of that.

They made their way to a sealed door. It was vast in its radius with concealed wires travelling to the panel at its side.

Chris placed his hand on the cool metal.

"Don't think you can punch this one open," Leon quipped.

Chris ignored him except for a curt snort. He met Claire at the security panel and assessed the numbers in wait of being pushed. Claire produced a sheet of paper she snagged back in the Citadel. A note from one of the scientists with a code written in a rush.

She entered the numbers and air pushed from the door as it unsealed. It swung open with Leon at the center of its entrance.

Leon immediately aimed to fire.

In the center of the room stood the target with her gun aimed at a man now laying on the ground. A bullet square between the eyes.

Chris fired first, but the woman dodged.

She shot the door panel on her side and a shielded pane of metal began to descend from above.

Leon moved quickly and rolled into the room before it could close—leaving behind Claire and Chris.

The woman slammed Leon into the metal behind him. It loosened his grip on his gun and had it scatter across the floor.

Leon hit the woman in her gut, sending her back. He still couldn't get a good look at her. The bottom half of her face was still covered.

She moved quicker and swung her fist at his chin. He took the hit and grabbed at the mask covering her face.

She pushed him away when it began to slip.

With a new distance created, the two rushed to the floor in search of their discarded weapons.

Leon grabbed his gun and snapped to attention on his target.

His eyes found his target's face and the air escaped his lungs.

"Y/N?"

Standing before him, breathless and in pain, was... you.

Your name stopped you. How long has it been since you have heard your own name? And from his voice no less.

For the first time in this fight you finally looked at your assailant.

He looked different. Older from when you had last seen him. His hair now an ashen colour with streaks of silver. Stubble sculpted around the his jaw and peppered across his chin. The same lines across his forehead had deepened over time. Similar to the creases under his eyes that gave way to the years of exhaustion.

The only thing thats stayed the same were his eyes.

Those deep blue eyes. The same ones that you had stared into endlessly a lifetime before. The same ones that offered support and comfort after every fight with yourself or the world. The same ones that levelled you and kept you in place as they did now.

"Leon."

He mirrored your fervent stare. His eyes demanding answers to a thousand uncertain questions. He lowered his gun. Now thawing from the initial freeze of shock.

You did the same.

A bang from behind the metal wall nearly broke your focus on the other.

It bent under the force and finally gave way to reveal two other figures. The man entered with an air of smug following him.

"Broke that one down, didn't I?"

Chris.

It had been five years since you've seen him. The two of you crossed paths in another country, going about your own missions. He settled you under his wing the second he met you. He took you in like an older brother would.

When he followed Leon's gaze to you, his brow furrowed then settled.

"Y/N," He said it with certainty.

The sound of your name coming from your family after all these years hit you hard in your gut.

You opened your mouth to say something, anything, but Chris didn't need to hear it. He met your silence and wrapped you in his arms in an instant.

"I thought—we thought..." He didn't have to finish because you already knew. They thought you were dead.

And well... they weren't too far off.

Claire entered behind Chris, confused from the display of her big brother cradling someone. She looked to Leon for answers but his hard stare remained past her on the scene in front of him.

Chris finally pulled back to allow Claire to see who he was embracing.

Much like her brother, she rushed head first into your arms without a second thought. She pulled you in tight.

Chris called to Leon to join the reunion, but he didn't move. He couldn't. You were alive. You were there in front of him. You were breathing. You have been dead for two years and yet you stood right there.

Chris eyed Leon and his hesitance, but said nothing on it.

Claire pulled back but she kept her hands on you to keep you there. To keep you real.

You could see the shift in her eyes, from sadness to relief to hope and now to confusion.

Before she could begin her interrogation, a screech reverberated down the metal corridor.

It stilled the warm moment and froze it into focus.

A hoard of infected found their way to you.

"Safety hatch," You finally said.

You broke from Claire's embrace and led them to the other side of the room. It was larger than initially thought. A lifted platform stood in the middle with computers and notes circling around it. A single examination chair in the middle.

Your eyes lingered on it a moment too long.

You turned to catch Leon's eyes on you, but you brushed him off and pushed on.

Chris opened the hatch that led out onto a catwalk. It stood over a large vat with a fan of steel blades whirring at the bottom.

The others shivered at the cold air blasting from below, but you didn't. Not so much as a flinch. Leon noticed.

When you crossed to the other doorway it opened onto a metal platform hanging over a vast room. The depth below was unseen from where you stood and the wall across stretched far enough to squint. Conveyor belts and trollies hanging via pulleys were the only things that connected each side.

You were more or less on the outside of the facility with this expanse in between sections to ship valuables between them.

You had memorized this place in depth.

That familiar nausea bubbled up from your gut. You made for the railing and expelled whatever was left of your stomach. Which wasn't anything.

Your appetite was the first thing to go when it started. Now as you huffed over the railing you watched the black substance drip from your lips and to the bottom of the chasm.

Claire rushed to you but you waved her off.

You felt for the anomaly in your chest. Your body no longer gave signals of pain. Instead it acted out when something was wrong.

Their eyes stared in the back of your head as you finally stood. You turned just as you fished the bullet out of your chest.

It seemed Chris had a better aim than you remembered.

What a sight you must have been in that moment.

Alive after two years of being pronounced dead. On two feet after pulling a bullet out of your chest. And face pale with black substance smudged across your lips.

You were scared to look up and take in their horror, but you pushed yourself to do so.

The bullet dropped from your fingers. The only sound being it clanging against the metal platform.

There wasn't as much horror as there was devestation in their eyes. Now if anything you wished they would run away screaming.

Their eyes stayed on your chest where you pulled out the bullet. Thick veins of black had spread out from the wound and up towards your neck.

A heavy silence encompassed you.

Words stayed lodged in your throat. This wasn't a conversation you ever thought you would have. You weren't sure how to explain.

Claire stepped forward. "It's you isn't it," She said with a saddened certainty. You could make out the sheen growing in her eyes. "You are the target."

There was no point in denying it. You nodded and slowly the words began to untangle and allow you to try and explain.

"They weren't lying when they told you I died back at Redwood Hospital." It was hard to look at them so you dropped your gaze. "Our intel was corrupt and I was captured. They created this virus meant to make people invincible. But it didn't work. Instead it keeps someone alive until the virus takes you over completely."

When you finally did look up, you locked eyes with Leon.

"I was injected two years ago."

For the first time you couldn't see behind his eyes. You couldn't see the thoughts circling his head or the emotions he felt in that moment. He kept them guarded from you.

"You could have told us. We could have helped you." Chris stepped forward, diverting your attention.

You tried for a small smile to lighten the heavy news, but it did nothing. You placed your cold hand on his arm, wishing you could feel the warmth under his skin.

"I was dead as soon as I entered that hospital."

Chris shook his head and began to argue. "The DSO should have helped you—"

"No," You cut him off. Your voice held no anger, no exhaustion.

Just acceptance.

It made Leon sick.

"They had no reason to."

It was the hard truth but it was one you learned to accept. You heard about Leon and Sherry's infection. It all came to a head a few months ago from when you found out. In the exact time they discovered Elpis.

The difference, however, is that you are not Leon Kennedy.

You are, and always have been, an expendable agent. The DSO made sure to let you know that once you escaped and went to them for aid. You were, and still are, their puppet.

"Come on. We're close."

They didn't question you as you led them down the platform and entered a control room that stood in the center of the room.

It was meant to oversee the deliveries between each section, but in its abandonment it became a safe house for you.

They took in their surroundings.

Leon once again noting not a single can of food or bottle of water. It set his jaw.

Claire met you at your table filled with the buildings blueprints. "How long have you been down here?"

She tried to keep her question just between you two but you could tell the men were listening in.

"A few months."

You didn't mean to be short with her but the questions were starting to pile on to the point you weren't sure how to answer them.

She noticed your agitation so softly asked her next. "Why is the DSO after you?"

You couldn't help the scoff. "Let's just say... I'm well past my expiration date. They wanted me cleared before I detonate in public."

She looked as if she was going to say something else so you cut her off. You couldn't focus on the heartbreak consuming you. And her soft eyes and voice trying to coax you out of your acceptance of death was only making matters worse.

"You will find your sample if you follow this path west and then begin to travel down," You said as your finger traced the blueprints. "It's held in a vault but as long as two people have the key and turn it at the same time it should open no problem."

You pulled out the keys you managed to find a month ago and held it out to them.

Chris grabbed one and Claire the other. "Wow," He tried for a joke. "You really have been busy."

You looked out the corner of your eye to see Leon. He still continued to watch you. His expression still a mystery to you. He stayed uncharacteristically silent.

If everything was normal he would be talking your ear off. Bad jokes. Even stupider quips. His voice forever an anchor in these horrific situations you found yourselves in.

Then it dawned on you that maybe this was who he is now. All those years a part could have shaped him into this cold man without any feeling behind his eyes.

You looked back to your plans just to allow yourself a moment to breathe.

Just breathe.

"There is a generator on the other end that houses the power to the entire facility. If rigged and detonated it should take out the whole building."

Chris nodded in approval. "Good. Claire and I will find the sample. You and Leon head to the generator."

"No," You said, far too quickly. "I can manage on my own—"

"End of discussion," Chris finalized. He then placed his hand on your shoulder and lowered his voice. "I haven't given up on you. Survive this or else."

It would take an eon to argue with Chris when he set his mind on something. So, you didn't argue. You accepted his love and every bit of loyalty behind it.

"Okay," Was all you could say.

He and Claire left, not before she squeezed your hand.

The door shut behind them, leaving you and Leon alone.

The only difference now being you know. You know the curve of his smile, the light of his eyes, the sound of his laugh. No longer a static image for you to wonder about.

You carried a weight of him in your chest that refused to leave. It buckled your knees. Left you breathless at moments. Your heart had surrendered to him, but he wasn't there to pick it up.

That feeling that spread through you chest and captured your whole being stemmed into a hollowness. It grew with each passing day.

The basement no longer felt like a sanctuary. It now held fragmented memories of him. The desk that he used to lean on felt out of place without him there. Your shoulder felt cold to not have him looking over you. The hum of the vents were no match to the softness of his voice.

He had disappeared from your life, leaving behind only pieces.

You gave up on looking at your phone after the first month. Of course, he wasn't able to reach out, but something told you he wouldn't have even if he could.

You couldn't tell if you were being dramatic at his point. It was unsettling with how you left things and now those paranoid thoughts grew around you.

You made your way to your desk and plopped down into your chair with a heavy sigh. New reports were assigned and had to be done by the end of the week. You scanned them when your eyes widened.

The latest mission of recovered footage was of Leon.

You snapped to attention and loaded the footage on your computer in an instant. A new vigour of suspense riddled your body.

The video appeared on screen and you watched as he entered a hall and then left into another room. You scoured the footage to find the room he entered.

If I have the footage now the mission must be complete, you thought to yourself. And yet he still hasn't reached out...

That second thought deflated you. Nonetheless you continued your task in tracking him down.

The eighteenth camera finally gave you eyes on him. He had entered a lab much like ones you've seen in previous videos. But as soon as he entered the door shut behind him.

He had his gun aimed and ready.

Something flashed across the camera, blocking your view.

"Shit," You muttered under your breath.

The next thing you see is Leon on the ground.

And he wasn't getting up.

You shot up from the chair and pushed yourself closer to the screen. You skimmed through different angles of the room until finally you landed on a closer view.

You watched the creature that initially blocked you. It twisted with muscle and mucus unlike anything you had ever seen. Bones pierced out of its collar and up its neck. The beast was large and armed with its rabid teeth and deformed claws.

It was fast.

It swiped at Leon in the midst of his shooting.

He dodged the first swing, but it followed his momentum and clashed its boney tail into his abdomen.

Leon crashed into the sealed doors.

"No, no, no, no, no," You repeated the word endlessly.

You squinted through the pixelated screen to see a bone piercing out of his stomach. He held it and red stained his hands. His body caved in on itself and his head swayed.

The camera went black.

"No! You can't—Please..." You trailed off and looked through each and every recovered video you could find.

That was it.

You jumped from your desk and raced up the corridor to the elevators.

Is he dead? Is he alive? Is he okay?

Those worries circled your head as you found yourself in the elevator. The wait only intensified the fears. You held the closed door button the entire way up. Not sparing a second for anyone.

When the doors opened you darted off the lift but someone grabbed your arm.

Nigel.

"Ma'am, you can't just—"

You tore your arm out of his grip and followed the path that Sherry had led you down.

You burst through his office door only to be met with the dim light emitting through the closed blinds and...

Sherry?

She was packing up files and tidying his desk.

"Y/N?" She said, alarmed and noting your manic state.

Nigel finally caught up to you and tried to grab you again. You evaded him once more and started for Sherry.

"Is he okay? I saw it on the footage—He was attacked—He didn't get up—!"

"Ma'am, you need to come with me."

Sherry passed you and shot Nigel down with a cold stare. He made a move to argue but she slammed the door in his face before he could say anything more.

She then returned her attention to you. That cold glare gone and softened with concern. Her hands found your arms quickly to ground you. You body vibrated with anxiety.

"What did you see?" She asked calmly.

You felt like you were going insane.

Leon wasn't here. Sherry was grabbing files? Was she clearing out his desk? Was he dead?

Suddenly your breathing came all too fast and not quick enough.

That feeling of hollowness merged into a sharp fear the streaked down your spine in painful flashes. Your knees buckled and suddenly you were grabbing Sherry for support.

She took it in stride and gripped you tighter, gently guiding you through your breathing.

"In and out, Y/N. Just breathe with me."

Her words were soft and slowly she went through the motions of breathing with you. You urged your lungs to mimic her steady inhale and exhale.

Breathe.

You found your rhythm after several attempts of shaky breaths. The air felt clearer and your lungs not as constricted.

Your grip on her eased but she kept a firm handle on you.

"You saw Leon?"

You nodded, still recovering your breath.

"He's okay," Sherry reassured and rubbed your arms to calm down the nerves exploding on end. "He's okay."

At her words, relief flooded you in waves.

The jitters of your body calmed and your breathing finally returned with ease.

"He's okay?"

"Yes."

Sherry kept her eyes locked with yours. It was only when you finally let go of her that she softened her grip on you.

Her hands moved to your back and your shoulder, now guiding you to the leather sofa sat in front of a coffee table.

She sat you both down and gave a gentle squeeze to let you know she was there. She was listening.

You breathed out your final shaky breath.

"I saw him on the recovered footage. This monster attacked him. He was impaled and on the ground. I didn't see him get up."

Sherry nodded with your words. "He's okay. He's alive. When he completed the mission the DSO sent him on mandatory medical leave. I was retrieving some files for him because the man doesn't know how to take a break in peace." She chuckled lightly, but gauged your reaction.

In all honesty you weren't sure how to react. His mission was complete. He was alive. All that was a massive relief, but then another thought worried you.

"He didn't reach out to tell you?" Sherry asked.

You shook your head. The adrenaline and fear left your body exhausted in its aftermath. Your thoughts were racing but you forced it to slow and allow yourself a moment to think.

Another heavy sigh left you and you leaned back into the couch.

"Sorry... for barging in here."

Sherry smiled. "Hey, I get it. I would have done the same thing."

The two of you sat in silence with Sherry weighing her question carefully.

It wasn't long before she voiced it. "Did something happen between you two? I thought he looked a bit off before he left... but I figured it was just stress."

You internally groaned and closed your eyes. "I messed up," You stated truthfully. You didn't want to go into it further and Sherry sensed that.

Still she tried her best at easing your concerns.

"Leon can be a complicated person. He is actually rather sensitive," She said with a small laugh. "He tries to hide it, but when he opens up to people it can be difficult not to show. I'm sure whatever happened between you two can be solved. He's not the kind of person to leave things unresolved."

All you had the energy to do was nod. Sherry rubbed your shoulder again, trying to soften your worries and find understanding in her words.

You did understand, but the pain that accompanied that understanding was hard to ignore.

──•••──

Two weeks had passed since that moment with Sherry.

She made sure to reach out to you and keep you in the loop about Leon. Even took you out a few times to take your mind off of things. She became a quick and good friend that you were truly grateful for.

She said that Leon was due to return to work soon. At this point you weren't sure how you were going to approach him.

You realized soon after leaving Leon's office, you were angry.

Angry that he didn't hear you out three months ago. Angry that he didn't let you know he was on leave. Angry that he left you in the dark and was forced to assume the worst through a video.

You also knew all that anger was building up to shield you from your feelings. They were strong and only anger could keep you distracted from them.

This very early morning, you found yourself standing in wait on the subway. Lots of people were dispersed here and there. You kept to yourself with your headphones on, ignoring everything but your music.

That was an easy escape as of late.

You're standing out in the rain And I'm watching you through the window You got this effortless thing Everywhere that you go

With your eyes drifting over the cart of people, you mindlessly scanned to the other end of the subway. There was a bend in the track and curved the other end away from you.

As it straightened, a person moved in a spasm of jolts.

Another curve of the track and the cart evaded your sight again.

The air around you shallowed as you focused in on the strange sight from a far. Waiting for the track to straighten out agin.

The person was now on the floor. A very clear ring of people scrambling to the sides.

From where you stood it was difficult to see. People were pressing more into your cart and blocking your sight. You moved to see in between the gaps.

The person convulsed on the ground. Their arms stayed pinned to the ground but their hands twisted and grabbed for the air. Their head tilted up, searching for their breath to soothe their ailment.

You squinted.

Their veins were darkening. Up their exposed arms. Up their strained and reddening neck. Their eyes pierced open, squirming the crowd to shove themselves further away.

A scream startled from the other end of the cart.

You whipped your head around with everyone else.

Shit.

You threw yourself to the floor as someone flung themselves overhead. Another shrill scream came through your music.

Been all alone with a broken heart for so long It's the end of the night and I don't wanna go home Fucked up my plans, I was fine on my own It's the end of the night and I don't wanna go home

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit—

The doors opened at your stop and everyone booked it for the surface.

You started for the door but a thick boot kicked your jaw on the floor. Sharp pain emitted up your chin and into your ears. You did everything in your power to ignore the pain and shove yourself to the exit.

You broke through the doors onto the platform.

Chaos ensued.

From the top of the stairs more infected spilled out and threw their bodies at their prey.

They're coming from the surface.

You moved to run but quickly dodged a pair of hands grabbing for you. From there you avoided a thrash of hands and teeth between a pair in a locked struggle.

People slammed into you from all directions. There wasn't a clear path to follow. The platform was surrounded.

The subway behind you closed, shutting in infected and victims alike. Their hands beat against the glass to no avail.

Your feet forced a sprint. Your body ignoring the panic in your brain and realizing that standing around meant death.

The stairs on the other end of the platform were no better than your current predicament. But they weren't flooding with infected.

The stench of blood and decay overcame you and nausea threatened your stomach. Wailing and screams still muffled behind your headphones.

You dropped your bag and sprinted up the stairs. Moving quick and sharp against the onslaught of infected.

When you finally made it to the surface, matters did not improve.

The undead took over the city.

The DSO. That was your safest bet. But it was on the edge of the city and you were somewhere in the middle?

Your eyes darted around as your legs kept you moving, trying to find familiarity in where you were.

A shriek locked you feet in place.

Soulless eyes pinned you where you stood. The infected crouched themselves over a body. Its teeth still bit into the person. Tendons spilled from its twisted jaw. A sound emitted from the back of its throat, promising to lodge it into your own.

It started for you.

Your lungs had hollowed out by now as you raced through the streets to find sacntuary.

Fire blazed from your right and undead pillaged at your left.

Your feet gave way under you at a hand snatching your ankle. Your hands blocked your fall and turned you over.

The infected shrieked a war cry before lunging over your fallen body.

Its head burst in mid air.

Its blood splattered across your face and dripped down your neck. You turned around to see who your saviour was.

Of course.

No, I don't want to take my heart back I gave it away just like that I wanted to run, you brought me back I gave it away just like that

Your music carried Leon's presence forth as he reloaded his gun.

He hadn't looked up yet, but you made out every distinct feature. The way he carried himself. His set jaw. The focus in his eyes.

You were in his terrain. Now only another saved or dead victim for him to pass.

But then his gaze lifted and they settled over you.

The stoicism vanished. Fear overcame him and those soft eyes worried a level of concern you couldn't ignore.

"Y/N..." Your name came out breathless.

The moment between you shattered.

He reacted on instinct. Shooting the infected threatening to near either of your vicinity.

You finally pulled off your headphones with your moment of respite. The natural sounds of the end of the world startled you. It froze you for a moment. And only then could you hear your shallow and whimpered breaths.

A gloved hand firmly grabbed your upper arm. You whipped back to Leon.

"Stay behind me," His command was cold.

You did as he said and quickly he cleared a path to a cafe on the side of the street.

He forced the door open and pushed you in before following behind. He lead the two of you into the kitchen and barricaded the door.

You stood in place. Not sure what to do. Not sure how to help. You have seen these events countless times through a screen. You were ignorant to believe the same thing wouldn't happen to you.

The exhaustion of fear finally spent the energy in your legs. They wobbled and collapsed you in a chair.

Leon returned after scouting the perimeter. He held out a cloth he had found.

You looked up, confused.

"For the blood."

Oh.

You took the cloth and proceeded to wipe contents of infected off your skin.

The cloth fell limp in your lap, following the exhaustion of your arms. You looked up to see Leon analyzing you. His eyes traced over every part of you.

"Are you hurt?" His words were once again cold, but his question gave away his concern.

You looked down at your body, not sure if it had the energy to signal anything to you.

"I... I don't think so." Your voice came out quieter than you intended.

At the first sound of your voice in months, Leon's posture relaxed.

"Good," was all he said.

Another moment of awkward silence stretched between you.

"Are you okay?"

A steady tremor flooded your hands. You nodded, knowing full well your voice would betray you.

Leon seemed to catch on. He didn't say anything on it. Instead he offered his hand.

"We should keep moving."

──•••──

The two of you forged a path back to the DSO. The building now stood a block away.

Leon took down infected after infected. The action you would watch on screen held no comparison to the real thing.

He gave you a large knife from the cafe's kitchen. It came in handy far too many times. Being a worker at the DSO came with mandatory self-defence classes. It used to be a pain in the ass every year, now it was very much saving you in your time of need.

You clothes were now tattered and stained with splatters of blood. Whereas Leon remained in perfect condition. His leather jacket, you came to realize, was a very useful set of armour.

The two of you didn't say much. A heavy tension grew between you. Almost breaking when the other was in peril.

You kept watching Leon focus on you in those moment. A hard stare and a set line across his lips. Like he had many things to say and not enough time to say it all.

When the two you found yourselves in a juncture between several back alleyways, that was when you had enough pretending.

"Leon—"

"We're a few blocks from the DSO. It looks like the infected are sparse further out. Once you're in the building I'll head back to the centre to finish them off—"

"Leon," You said, again but now stern an devoid of any shake in your voice.

That snapped his attention to you.

"What are we doing?" You gestured vaguely with your knife. Its soaked end spilling across the pavement.

He looked between you and the knife. That infuriating brow still tense and set.

"I just told you—"

"No." Now you were pointing with the knife.

You couldn't tell if he was concerned from you tone or that he gave you a knife in the first place.

"Us." You emphasized. A harsh chuckle came from you before you could stop it. And honestly, you didn't want to stop the words that were begging to spill. "I haven't seen you in months. I thought you were dead and now you're barely talking to me at the end of the world."

He evaded your eyes and kept them on his gun. "End of the world is a bit much—"

"Leon."

You watched a turmoil spiral in his head. He shook it off. His eyes staying stern and focused on the task at hand.

"This isn't the place to talk—"

"No," You agreed. "No. It really isn't, but I would like to know that I made amends before I die from a fucking zombie."

He cautiously stepped forward, still weary of your knife. "You're not going to die—"

"That's not the point. I'm done pretending between us."

Now it was your turn to look away. For this first time in a long time you were going to be honest with yourself.

"It hurt not being noticed. By anyone at all."

You finally looked up at him and he stared back with an intensity that would usually force your gaze away. But now all this anger, this fear, everything finally made you stand your ground.

"I was scared," You admitted. "When you first started showing interest in me. In whatever this relationship is. I didn't think it was going to last because it never did with anyone else. I didn't want to get attached but—fuck... I failed miserably at that."

You still couldn't make out what he was feeling, but his stare locked with yours nonetheless.

"When you told me you were going away for a few months I tried to hide how I felt because..." You shrugged, not fully sure yourself. "Because I'm an idiot. And getting attached usually means I end up getting hurt."

A big breath escaped you. Feeling vulnerable and all around terrible at your admission. Wasn't honesty supposed to make you feel better?

Well, time for one more big truth.

"I'm... I'm in love with you, Leon."

Just as the words came out, the biggest shriek you had ever heard in your life started barreling down the alleyway.

Leon grabbed and pushed you behind him to dodge a thrash of long, gangly claws. His hands were firm and held you unbearably close to his side.

He fired several shots at this vast creature. Much like the one you saw on the recovered footage a week ago.

Great, you thought to yourself, perfect fucking timing.

"Y/N, run!" He spared a moment to look at you. His eyes filled with a new found fear. "Y/N—Please, run!"

Hesitation filled you for a moment but you knew you would be nothing but a burden in this fight. You cussed under your breath before agreeing and racing to the other end of the alley.

Escaping out of the back alleys, you saw the DSO in the distance.

Loud gunshots from Leon's gun, had your legs kicking harder than you ever had in your life.

You had to get help.

You slashed your way through a hoard of infected. All of which seemed to meet at the entrance of the DSO.

You were faster than them and swifter than their teeth with your knife.

The DSO held a perimeter just outside of the main entrance. You darted through the hungry undead.

An onslaught of bullets had you covering your head as you raced now blindly towards the brigade of DSO agents.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

A sharp and hot pain jolted up your abdomen. You looked up to see Harold racing out into the field of infected.

"Leon—" You pointed to the alley behind you and several agents made their way to the location.

Harold threw your arm over his shoulder and half carried you to safety inside the DSO.

Why was he dragging you?

Your thoughts suddenly became very sluggish and the pain didn't make any sense. Were your legs going numb?

Harold gently set you down against a pillar in the lobby.

You looked down—

"Don't—Don't—Don't—"

Too late. Too fucking late.

Blood dribbled out of the bullet hole in your stomach. It spilled across your lap and dampened your pants.

Another pair of hands were on you.

You slowly raised your sights to see Leon now hovering over you.

Good. He was okay.

His eyes travelled everywhere. Across your face, your legs, your arms, the wound in your stomach. Actually, he paid more attention to that than anything.

"How do I look?"

Your subtle attempt at humour fell on deaf ears. For the first time, in the months that you knew Leon, he didn't joke back. He didn't fill the worry with optimism like he usually did.

"Y/N keep your eyes on me." He looked back to Harold. "Medic?"

Harold shook his head, his own eyes filling with a certain sadness you had never seen in him before. "All out in the field."

"So..." You started, your throat suddenly very dry. "Not dying by a zombie, but a gunshot."

"Gunshot!?" He turned to Harold for clarity as he stripped himself of his leather coat.

"A DSO agent shot her."

An agent. You knew you were invisible, but damn.

"Which one?" His voice was oddly calm but an underlying anger enraged his voice.

He slipped his coat around your shoulders then laid you flat on the ground. A sharp groan emitted for your trembling lips at the sudden movement.

Leon pressed his hands firm into your stomach to stop the bleeding.

You screamed and instinctively hit his arm.

"I know, I know, baby, but you gotta let me."

You closed your eyes to focus on your breathing.

"Hey—Hey—Hey. Eyes on me. Eyes on me."

He repeated it until you obeyed, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Talk to me, Y/N."

You liked when he said your name. It gave butterflies and warmth and... pain. Fuck your stomach hurt.

You cleared your throat, trying for something but nothing came out.

"Get angry at me," Leon said. "I—I was a complete asshole. Tell me off. Please, sweetheart."

Right. You were angry at him.

"You didn't... You didn't tell me you went... on medical leave."

Medical leave... right? Or was it vacation? Your mind started spinning and with it your vision.

He nodded, rather aggressively. "Yeah—Yes! I shouldn't have done that. Tell me off. Yell at me. Scream at me."

Scream? At him? Why would you do that? He looked so beautiful hanging over you. His hair had fallen across his face, nearly blocking those blue eyes, filling you with so much love.

You loved him so much.

You were a coward for not telling him sooner.

Against the pain and the weak muscles, you reached your hand up. It hurt, but you had to feel his hair, his skin, the curves of his face.

Leon watched helplessly as you pushed back his hair and dropped them over his cheek bone. They were wet.

Why were they wet?

His eyes glistened and gingerly you wiped under them to catch the tears falling.

"Y/N. Don't do this to me."

So commanding, you thought to yourself. It made you smile.

Leon's eyes traced the curve of your smile and light in your eyes. No longer shy to his gaze. He wondered when you wouldn't look away from him and stare boldly into his own.

"I should have went down to that basement years ago," He said. His voice lightly shook. "The second I saw you I couldn't ignore you. I see you, Y/N. I see you everywhere. In everything. You're all I think about and have since the first day we met."

His head dropped to your chest and you missed his eyes. Your hand softly brushed at his hair. He looked up at you.

"Please... I—"

Then everything went black.

──•••──

Ow.

That was your first thought.

Like seriously. Ow.

Your eyes opened very slightly to the fluorescent light hanging overhead.

Ugh, was your second thought. You hate those lights.

Your hand reached out across the cot to feel the cotton blankets and the cotton fabric clinging around you. Hospital gown. Hospital bed. Hospital lights.

You tried your best glare up at them.

Well, safe to say you were in a hospital.

You moved slightly but hissed at the pain radiating from your stomach. Layers of bandages could be felt under your gown.

To your side you saw a vase of flowers. You squinted until your vision became clear. Harold and his wife had put them there. You smiled, noting they were your favourite.

It was difficult to move your neck. It being so stiff from sleeping for who knows how long.

You continued to reach out with your hands until your right one came across... hair?

You smoothed it out across the person's forehead. Ridges formed in the lines of their brow. Even in sleep. A small chuckle escaped as you peered down the best you could.

Leon.

THE Leon Kennedy.

He had moved the chair to be directly beside you. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and places on the edge of the bed with his head resting on them.

His brow was furrowed and set like usual.

You ran your thumb over the lines, trying to smooth them out. You brushed in between his brows and watched the lines fade. His head settled closer to the warmth of your hand.

Softly his eyes began to open.

And then they shot open.

He grabbed your hand, noticing in his half-asleep state that it was moving. Then his eyes snapped to yours. He moved faster than either of you could register.

Because then his lips were on yours.

You inhaled a breath of surprise but immediately melted into it. His lips were firm as they slotted against your own, as if this was a test to see that you were truly here, awake. Only when you moved yours lightly, did his soften and follow in the rhythm the two of you were setting.

His grip on your hand tightened and the other slid up your cheek and into your hair. Your lips parted at the feeling of his fingers dragging across your scalp. He met your parted lips with his own. His tongue smoothed over your lower lip in an ask.

You were quick to answer, but as you raised your other hand to cradle his head, a sharp pain invaded your moment.

Leon snatched himself back out of concern and then looked down to your covered wound. "Shit—Sorry. I didn't mean—I shouldn't have—"

You grabbed his collar and met his flustered words with a softer kiss. He silenced immediately and gingerly placed his hands back.

It was a nice change to see him stumbling over his words.

You broke a part after a moment. Leon still stayed close to you and softly brushed your hair behind your ear.

"You scared the hell out of me."

Your head lulled to the side in the bed. You revelled in the feel of his fingers tracing your features and memorizing the shape of your face.

You smiled lightly. "I had to get back at you."

He laughed and it looked like it had been a while since he did that.

Leon's fingers lowered from your face and instead wrapped both hands around your own. He pressed his lips into them. Savouring the warmth of your skin.

"What did I miss?" You asked. "And how long was I... asleep?"

"Three days," He answered into your skin, not allowing anything to tear him from your hand. "Everything is still getting cleaned up."

You gingerly covered your wound, feeling a small pull of pain. "Whoever that agent was... he is getting a hell of a fake identity."

"No need. I fired him."

You snapped your eyes to him. "Leon—!"

"He shot you," He defended. And honestly that was a pretty good reason.

You nodded sluggishly. "I guess he did shoot a civilian."

"Not just any civilian," Leon pressed.

Warmth spread up to your face.

He directed the attention back to you.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything—Shit, I need to get the nurse."

You giggled at his erratic state as he pulled himself from your hand to press the button at the side of your bed.

Leon stood back, but not too far, as the nurses did their routine check. When the doctor came in, Leon was standing and staring them down with every piece of information being shared about your condition.

No fatal organs were hit. Expected to recover over the next three months. Won't be discharged for the next two weeks.

Leon continued asking questions. Ones that seemed almost trivial, but you let him do so. Based on what you had seen of his office setting, he liked being in control. It looked as though it was his way of coping.

Sherry arrived after hearing you woke up. She brought you things from home and did everything in her power to make sure you were comfortable. It seemed as though the two of them were the same in intimidating the medical team at even a slight cause of discomfort on your end.

She left once visiting hours were winding down.

One nurse attempted to tell Leon, but that only resulted in a hard glare and an apologetic nurse.

You offered a sympathetic smile the entire time.

He never let you out of his grip if he could help it.

Your thumb smoothed over his knuckles and you watched that familiar softness return to his eyes.

"You know, I think I can manage on my own for a night. You need rest, Leon."

He shook his head. "I just want to be here with you, sweetheart."

Sweetheart. Baby. Those pet names came rushing back before you passed out. And now suddenly the words he had said. At the time it was hard to focus on them. Now you were slowly piecing them together.

Especially the last part. What was he going to say?

"Leon?"

He hummed in acknowledgment.

"What were you telling me before I passed out?"

It took him a second to understand what you were asking. Initially too caught up in the bliss of having you there in peace with him.

A soft smile widened his cheeks as he leaned in towards you. He brushed your hair back and you leaned into his hand as he did so.

"I was telling you how from the moment we met you caught my attention. How not a second has gone by where I don't think of you."

Your eyes locked and that warm, beautiful tension filled the space between you.

"That I'm in love with you."

You smiled back as he leaned in closer and pressed his lips to yours. It was soft and gentle unlike in the morning filled with desperation and need to show the other how they felt. This was certain and familiar. A seal of understanding between the two of you.

It was proof that this was constant with many more to come.

──•••──

Three months had passed and in that time the city had forgotten the outbreak. Well, nearly everyone. Those who had witnessed the outbreak unfortunately fell victim to it or were black-mailed, bribed, threatened. Again, you weren't too sure what that side of your organization did.

Harold raced to meet you at the entrance of the DSO building like usual. And as part of your consistent routine you gave him his muffin.

"So," He started with usual question. "Got a date tonight?"

At that question you caught the eye of an infamous agent across the lobby. Who looked to have been waiting for you. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a tailored suit. Those familiar soft eyes that settled over you.

"Actually, yes. I do."

Leon made his way to you in quick steps. He excused the two of you away from Harold who gave you a knowing smile.

You were lead to the back of the lobby between the elevators and the stairwell.

"I gotta get to work but I will see you in a bit for the Moscow case file."

You simpered a laugh at the code name he chose for your fake file.

"Yes, of course Agent Kennedy," You teased.

He leaned in a pressed a quick kiss to your lips. "I love you," He said as he began to part from you.

"I love you too," You smiled back as he kept his eyes on you until he physically couldn't anymore.

You shook your head at his antics but your smile only grew.

As you made your way down to the basement a thought dawned on you. You never needed anyone else's attention. Only his.

Having him see you was more than enough.

───────────────•••───────────────

Note: Sorry if this got cheesy lmao. Thanks for reading this far! This is the last part of the series. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! Thank you so much for all the love you have given to this story. As a writer, who hasn't shared her writing with others in a while, it means everything to me!

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