mine - leon kennedy.
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~ You made a rebel of a careless mans careful daughter, you are the best thing that’s ever been mine. ~
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Song · 2010 · Duration 3:50
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- you and leon have been together for over a year now, yet you are unsure whether your love is worth fighting for any longer. based off of the song by taylor swift of the same name :)
- rookie!leon, re2!leon, hurt/comfort, angst, young love, happy ending, fluff
- idk how many words :P it’s roughly 3000- aka my most ambitious piece yet!
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Your apartment was dark when you got home. You flicked on the light, dropping your bag at your feet. Fuck, you were exhausted. You’d been working overtime at a local collage diner- Your boyfriend, Leon, attending the Police academy on the other side of town. The both of you combined were barely making ends meet. And although you’d fantasised about your futures together, made promises between kisses and told secrets beneath blankets of stars, you felt as if you had nothing figured out. As if you didn’t know what you were fighting for any longer.
Walking into your cramped kitchen, you looked to the counter. The bills were left, discarded and piling up.
Was all this worth it? Was it worth deserting your small town, your family, your home, for this? For the monotony of hours on your feet, for the mundanity of earning a degree you didn’t even care for?
Everything felt quiet. The gentle thrum of the city sounded from beyond, cars trudging along the city streets, the occasional yell echoing from drunken bar patrons to another. But everything else was silent. Deserted. As you padded toward your bedroom, you weren’t shocked to find it empty, clothes strewn across the floor and flowing out of the dresser drawers.
Falling back on your bed, your head hit the pillow, the mattress beneath your body plush, tempting.
What was it again? You considered as your eyes fluttered shut. What was it you had fought so hard for?
~
It had been a warm summers evening, the inner-city park rife with the sounds of laughter and life. You had felt similarly to the children running around, flying their kites and playing with their friends. Carefree.
You miss that feeling, in hindsight. That overwhelming sense of naivety and contentment that came with being young, that came with knowing nothing of the world and its dark truths. But as Leon’s fingers brushed against yours, nerves caught in your throat, in your heart, you had been brought back to the horrifying reality you faced. That you were falling for the man beside you, hard and fast, and there was nothing you could do to stop it.
And so you had looked away- Shoving down the trepidation building in your chest. Because he was there, walking alongside you, and as the sun began to set, you only kept your eyes on him. An Anchor. This golden boy, who for some reason, was giving you a chance.
It had taken some time to find the perfect spot. Yet, he and you found yourselves sitting upon the grass, Leon leant back on his elbows, your own legs crossed and hands sat within your lap. He looked so comfortable despite his evident jittering. Despite the stolen glances he served your way.
So why had you been so frozen? So unconfident, so terrified?
”What’s on your mind?” Leon asked, the warm glow of the suns final dregs illuminating his hair, his youthful face.
You had pursed your lips, looking out to the lake. To the city lights that kissed it’s rippling waters.
“I just…” You had whispered, head lulling forward in consideration, looking down at the grass you sat upon. “I am just scared that- That none of this is real. It’s too good-“ She looked to Leon, saw the confusion across his features. “This,” You supplied, as if in explanation. “It’s just too good to be true, Leon.”
He had sat up suddenly, every flicker of hurt and concern internally felt displayed across his boyish features, his jaw soft, his cheeks flush with a slight sunburn.
“I- I,” He’d stammered, arms slung over his knees, “I don’t understand- What do you mean?” Leon leaned toward you, his voice just below a whisper. “This is everything I could have hoped for and more, shit, I mean, it is too good to be true. That doesn’t mean it won’t last, though…”
You smiled sweetly, having appreciated his sentiment, his boy-scout sense of inherent goodness despite it all. You couldn’t tell him of your parents, of all the boyfriends your mother had brought home once their relationship was officially through.
Couldn’t tell of all the love you’d watched collapse beneath your very fingers. beneath the very weight of your existence, a burden, a child invading it’s own parents lives.
So you simply nodded, looking back out to the water. “I guess you’re right,” You had murmured.
And that's when his hand had hovered over your shoulder. When you had looked back, seeing the blinding hope in his blue eyes. You couldn’t help but melt beneath his stare, beneath his eventual touch as his arm fell around your shoulder- Your shield, your truth and home.
“I know this is new, I know you're scared,” He said, head close to yours. You could feel the heat of his skin, the scent of it. “But I don’t think you realise how crazy I am about you. I don’t think you realise what I would sacrifice to have you in my life, forever.”
You’d listened to his words. Absorbed them as you looked away, needing a moment to catch your breath.
“-What do you say?” He said amidst the silence, “Who says we can’t be brave? I know you're careful, you consider things and think them through.” His fingers grazed your chin, the touch gentle, reverent. He brought your head to face him entire. “But I don’t want to wait around anymore. I don’t want to be left wondering what might have been. So why don’t we give this a try- Give us a try.”
You had looked up to him, his fingers still notched beneath your chin, the pad of this thumb stroking feather light circles across your skin. All you could do was nod. Allow your heart to soar, it’s wings made of love- it’s fuel possibility.
Nodding, you had bitten your lip. “That sounds good. That sounds really good.”
And with the kind of tenderness only a lovestruck Rookie such as Leon Kennedy could muster, he leaned in, lips colliding with yours in an exhilarating rush of ecstasy. His skin was soft, his touch gentle. It was as you two were the only people in the park, the only people beneath the rising moon and its companion stars. And as if time had stopped for you, just you- as you pulled away, you could see the entire world in his eyes, your future painted in the hue of his eyes, his skin and hair.
And for what seemed to be the first time in your life, you had the faith. The desire to believe.
So where had that trust, that unabashed love gone? And how could you get it back?
~
The months after that point were a whirr, wrapped in a cocoon of trust gained and first moments savoured. It was beautiful. It was foolish. And yet, you wouldn’t have traded a single second of it for the world. Leon began at the Police Academy, and you had begun your first year of college, applying for any minimum wage job that would take you. And yet as swift as the Summer had come, so did Fall and Winter, the biting cold satiated by Leon's touch, by the fabric of his thick jumpers and the duvet of his bed.
He’d even let you have a drawer in his dresser.
And before you knew it, you were going home for Christmas break, for the coming Spring. But despite visiting home- It was Leon you gravitated toward.
It was Leon you had chosen.
And so when you sat in the apartment you shared together, the summer heat nothing short of sweltering, you didn’t care that you were both sweaty. Didn’t care that your dinner- Shitty takeaway- Was propped up on moving boxes, your couch strewn with useless odds and ends, blankets and bags of belongings.
As long as Leon was there, smiling down at you as you laid your head on his chest, you didn’t care. The only thing in the world that mattered were his fingers running through your hair, his laughter turning your house into a home.
For a moment, you were silent, breathing deep as you stared out the window of your home together. Leon pressed a kiss to your shoulder, head above yours as you laid on your side next to him.
It was his voice that broke the silence.
“What is it, that scared you so much in the beginning?” Leon asked, slow and self-conscious.
You watched as cars a handful of stories down whirred past, a kaleidoscope of colour amidst sunset.
“I don’t know,” You begin, pensive. “No one in my life- Up until I had met you- Had known how to display true love or affection. I had no examples to base off of, no rulebook to guide me.” You roll onto your back, looking up at Leon. At the whisper of tears lining his duct. “But then I met you.”
~
You hadn’t fallen asleep with the covers over your body or your shoes off your feet. And yet there you were, laid with a thick quilt over your skin, feet exposed and frozen beneath the touch of the coming winter.
Sitting up, you look around. The apartment still seemed vacant. Yet as you looked at the alarm clock beside you, you figured it would be impossible for Leon to not be home unless he was burying his head in work- in training and briefings.
You wanted to support him. Wanted to tell him to chase his dreams, his heart the compass that was bound to bring some kind of justice, some kind of good into the world.
But what had happened to you? To the promise of a love worth fighting for?
”Hey,” You whispered from the door of your bedroom, watching as Leon stood by the kitchen sink, drying dishes. The muscles of his back worked, having developed since his time in the academy. You were starting to watch that boy you had once known become a man- And the most selfish parts of you hated him for it. For growing up. For being hardened by the realities of life.
He looked back at you. Smiled, and returned to his task. “You overwork yourself again?”
”I’m always overworking myself,” You said back in an instant, the blanket around your shoulders suddenly suffocating. Too hot, too much.
You watched Leon pause. Put down the cup he was drying down.
“You should take some time off, a few days, maybe.” He suggested, tense.
Walking toward him, you reached into the cupboard to grab a glass, “Yeah, and if I stop working, we can’t get groceries-“
”-I just cleaned that!” Leon exclaimed, the words tumbling out too fast for him to take them back. All he could do was stare at you, slightly sorrowful, slightly exasperated.
You looked to him, jaw set. “Is there something going on?”
He remained silent. The question hung in the air, potent.
“What has happened to you, Leon?” You accused, voice dipping low. “What happened to us, Leon? You had begged for me to be brave, to fight, and look at us now,” Gesturing to the clock above the entertainment unit, your arms slumped, exhausted, diminished. “It’s 2:30 in the fucking morning, and you can’t even bare come to bed with me? I thought we were something worth fighting for. Ironic that it ended up being me so willing to do so.”
Dropping the blanket from your around your shoulders- The place where Leons arm should have been, you slid on a pair of shoes, front door slamming behind you. You had left him, a wounded dog, beaten and down.
It was done. It was over. You knew it, and he probably did too.
Taking the stairs two at a time, you found yourself leaving the apartment building, walking aimlessly. You shivered. Tears welled, falling down your cheeks in rivulets. You had no key. No plan. Nothing.
And as you looked back, for your reason, your world, your anchor- all you were met with was the grey slate of the street side. The streetlights cast an overwhelming glare on the sidewalk, it paining your eyes.
Everything was slipping right out of your hands- Including Leon. Including the man who had once begged you to be brave, to believe.
And as if carried by the winds of fate, Leon emerged from the apartment building, eyes glistening with tears of guilt- of genuine pain and regret. You steeled yourself. Did not allow yourself to melt beneath the look of the man you loved so.
”I- I,” Leon stammered, words caught. It was weirdly nostalgic, to see him flickering with hurt, with confusion. But this time, an explanation didn’t come. No declarations of commitment and bravery came- Only four, simple words. “I am, so, sorry.”
You swallowed back a retort. Swallowed back your tears and your anger.
Stepping forward, one, two paces, you faced him entire. Bared all the sadness and turmoil you had been burying for the last months across your face.
“Leon, I love you, so, much,” You whispered, arms folded over your chest as if they would thaw your freezing heart. “It was you who taught me what love was, what loyalty was, companionship… All of it. It was you.” You stepped forward one final time, leaving less than a metre between you both. “And now it’s you who is breaking my heart.”
You couldn’t bare the way his face crumpled beneath the weight of your words- Your truth. But you bit your quivering lip and continued.
“So are you going to fight for me? For us? Because if I lose you…” You shuddered at the thought, the cold nipping at your skin as it yearned for his touch. “Because if I lose you- I, I…”
You couldn’t bare say the rest. Couldn't bare the thought of him saying goodbye. And yet, you stood, bracing yourself for it. For the inevitable.
He shook his head, lip quivering, “I will never leave you, I will never, ever, leave you…“
The world froze upon it’s axis, and in that very moment, it was only he and you, his blue eyes boring into your own. And you couldn’t help but fall apart, Leon’s strong arms collecting you, his touch true, a salve to the pain you felt. Kissing the top of your head, your hair, your forehead, Leon circled his hand upon your back. You couldn’t hold back your surprise. Your relief. Your hurt.
“I am so sorry- I am so sorry I have hurt you, that I have made you feel this way,” He said, voice breaking as he looked down to you, eyes meeting your own. “I am so sorry that… That I made you question my love for you. I think… I think I lost sight of us- Of myself, and that is not your fault.”
He pressed another tender kiss to your forehead, holding your head in his hands as if you were the most precious object in the world. His one desire. His true love.
“Let me make this up to you.” Pulling back, he allowed you to see him. All of him. All the sorrow, the regret, the sudden waves of understanding. “Let me show you that I am willing to fight. That I am willing to be brave- No matter what.”
You nodded, his arm slung around your waist as he began to guide you back into your apartment, into your home. Your head met his shoulder, the beat of his heart, the scent of his skin enough. More than enough.
“Do you remember that night we were sitting by the water?” You began, voice quiet as he opened the door to your apartment. When he nodded gently, closing the door behind you, you continued. “And it was the first time you put your arm around me. The first time we had touched, properly.” You look up to him, the hallway light warm and low. “And I was so scared. I was petrified- Scared that it wasn’t going to last, those first moments of true, unbridled love. I had always expected it to disappear.”
Brushing away the hair that hung across his eye, you looked up to him. Saw the truth in his gaze. The devotion.
“And despite it all, despite needing to be taught how to trust, I stayed.” You whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. He tasted the exact same way he had the first time- Like home. Like meaning and purpose. You pulled away, cupping his cheek with your hand and swirling tiny circles across the plane of his skin with your thumb. He leaned into the touch, a small smile playing at his lips as his eyes fluttered shut. “So thank you for trusting,” You say. “Thank you for also being as brave as I had been, once upon a time. You are everything to me, Leon. You are everything.”
He looked to you now, cheeks flush with warmth, with affection and joy.
“You are the best things that ever been mine,” He responded, voice a vow, the most gentle of declarations. “And I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”
