whisper of dreams

An hour has passed since you went to get Leon from his office. The briefing Chris gave you was short and concise, only telling you the basics of the mission: human activity detected, probably civilians, somewhere near the heart of Raccoon City. The state of the subjects… Unknown. Your mission? To retrieve any survivors from the affected area and secure it. Since past missions here have been very critical and dangerous at times, Chris had kindly requested for Leon and you to accompany him.

You shiver when you look through the car window, seeing the run-down buildings again as you enter the city. You’re in the backseat of Leon’s black Porsche with Jason sitting right next to you. He’s looking out of the window as well while squeezing the fabric of his trousers, clearly as nervous as you are because of the uncertainty of what you may find this time. Chris and Leon are in the front of the car, Leon’s driving it as Chris is sitting next to him in the passenger seat, looking at the map and scanners on his phone. He sighs as he puts the phone on his lap before rubbing his eyes. Looking out of the window, he frowns before speaking. “This city just seems to get worse every time I see it.”

None of you react. Mainly because you’re all thinking the same thing, too impressed by the destruction the nuclear bomb brought about so many years ago. It’s awfully quiet inside the car except for the low rumbling of the engine. As it’s winter, the weather here is still gloomy and cloudy, preventing any real sunlight from breaking through, giving the whole city a dark, gray appearance.

Leon slows down the car as you reach a crossroads, turning his gaze towards Chris as he waits for further instructions. Chris inspects the road for a second before looking at his phone once more, his fingers gliding over the screen as he inspects the map. A second passes before he speaks. “Leon, turn right here. Hopefully, if we continue east, we’ll make it down Pine street without any trouble and then straight onto the highway. It’ll make it easier for us to reach the coordinates.”

Putting the car in gear, he turns the wheel before carefully driving down Pine Street, trying to avoid the pieces of rubble and abandoned cars on the way. Luckily enough, you make it to the end without any troubles, finding the on-ramp on your left to get onto the highway. Driving a little faster now, Leon follows it for a good fifteen minutes before Chris tells him to get off at the nearest exit.

“When you get off here, turn right then take the first left. We should reach it in a few minutes.”

As Leon drives onto a regular street again, your heartbeat starts to pick up, your stomach tightens getting closer to your destination. Naively enough, you hope you won't find anything horrifying once you get there. The last thing you wanna see are dead civilians, or worse, innocent people who are still alive but got infected.

After two minutes or so, Leon stops the car in the middle of the street. “We’re here.” He grumbles before looking at Chris. The broader man nods, taking his gaze away from the phone before looking up. “Indeed.”

When you look out the window, there isn’t anything weird about the location you’re in. Just a normal street with buildings lined up on each side. You see Jason look around as well, a confused look on his face, wondering if we’ve made it to the right place. “You sure this is it?” He asks, his voice reverberating through the silence.

“Sure as hell boy.” Chris answers before locking his phone and reaching for the car door handle. “Let’s go.”

Leon turns the car off, the roaring of the engine now brought back to complete silence. He takes the keys before looking in the rearview mirror. He finds your eyes first before opening his mouth. “You got everything? Are you ready?” The same words he always asks you before starting a mission. You nod before muttering a quick ‘yeah’, opening your own door. 

The four of you get out of the car. 

“Why did we have to take my car again?” Leon grumbles while you all gather at the trunk, opening it so you can get the last necessities you need. Chris chuckles beside you, slinging a large shotgun over his back. “Because your car is much faster than all the ridiculous pieces of scrap that we have back at the DSO. Since this is an urgent matter Kennedy…” He says before throwing him some ammo. “I didn’t want to waste any time.”

Leon sighs as he puts the ammo into his pocket. “Management is gonna kill me if I don’t bring this car back in one piece.” 

Chris looks at him with a devilish grin. “Well for someone like you, that seems to be a very difficult challenge.”

“Fuck off, Redfield.” Leon says, shaking his head while he puts his black gloves on.

“Are you two gonna start acting like a married couple now?” You tease, both of their heads now turning towards you as you stand there with a smirk on your face. Leon only chuckles, shaking his head, already knowing your sense of humor. Chris on the other hand looks at you like he hears you speak for the first time. “Is she always like this Leon?” He asks with a breathy laugh. 

“Oh she’s a sassy little thing. You better watch out.” He answers the question, sending you a quick wink. Chris laughs at Leon’s words. “Well then…” He says now directed to you. “Remind me to stay clear of you miss.”

You huff, straightening your back and trying to make yourself look taller, feeling confident. “You better. ‘Cause I’ll bite.” You joke with a grin.

Chris’s laugh is loud as he moves towards you, a large hand patting you on the shoulder while he clears his throat. “You got some spirit girl. I like that. I guess Kennedy has to hold you on a tight leash, no?”

Leon shakes his head, smiling at you fondly. “Trust me Chris, I couldn’t have wished for a better partner. At times she’s even better than I am. You should see her with a sniper rifle.”

You feel your insides getting warm at hearing his compliment from behind you. You turn around to lock eyes with him. “Well I can’t take all the credit. I have a very good teacher.” You say, returning his smile. Even in the dim gray light of the city, you can’t help noticing how gorgeous he looks today. Well of course he looks good everyday. But when he’s wearing his combat gear, the tight dark blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up, harness wrapped around his chest, black trousers which you find to be unnecessarily tight around the bottom… Well let’s just say this isn’t the first time you’ve fantasized about him. Your mind often filling itself with unholy thoughts of a sweaty shirtless Leon pressing himself against your naked torso. How you would imagine him telling you how good you are for him, talking you through it as he reaches for the top of his trousers, making quick work of the button and zipper, freeing himself out of his boxers, sliding away your panties before he-.

The clearing of a throat brings you out of your dreaming as you feel Jason getting closer behind you. He tries to join the conversation, brows furrowed, not liking all the male attention you’re getting. Especially not from Leon. He takes a step forward, worming himself between you and Chris before he speaks, a little nervous at first.

“A-And she’s good with other guns too. Always hitting the bullseye at the shooting range this one. No wonder she’s training rookies how to use a gun. She’s one of the best shooters out there.” He says, placing his hand on your lower back to send Leon a message without being too obvious. You however suddenly feel very uncomfortable to have him that close to you.

You wriggle yourself out of his grasp, your eyes falling on a larger weapon more at the back of the trunk. A flamethrower.

“Wow, you guys brought in the big guns. Sick!” You exclaim as you bend over to reach for it. Your eyes widen, feeling the heavy weight of the weapon, not picking it up yet, but sliding it over to you instead. You hear Chris chuckle from somewhere behind you. “Yeah well I feel like we can use all the help we can get.” 

When the flamethrower is close enough, you put one hand on the pressure tank and one on the leather grip of the firing shaft. You can’t wait to use this big boy.

Lifting it up into your arms, the weight of the weapon slightly brings you out of balance before you feel the hot breath of two people in your neck.

“Give it to me. You’re already carrying enough as it is.” Leon says on your left, putting his hand on your wrist. You hear the person on your right, Jason, scoff at his words. “Oh don’t bother Mr. Kennedy. I’ll carry it for her, since I’m younger you know.” 

You can feel his hand wrap around your other wrist while he says the words that are clearly meant to sting. Both men now give each other a dead stare as you look at their faces with a little disappointment, misinterpreting their intention. You guess they want the flamethrower just as much as you do. Shame, ‘cause you’ve been dying to use it. What you didn’t realize at that moment, was that Leon and Jason were not discussing who got to use the flamethrower first, but more about who got your attention the most. Both men trying to impress you as much as they individually could.

Chris takes the flamethrower out of your hands, sliding it over his back. “I hate to break it to you all, but I brought this weapon here for me. Not for someone else to use it.” He says smirking. The weapon looks much smaller in Chris’s hands. While you had to use almost half your strength to pick it up, it looks like a mere feather in his grasp.

Both Jason and Leon let go of your wrists. You sigh in disappointment. Man, Chris always gets the nice guns.

When you’re all geared up, Leon closes the trunk before joining the three of you. Chris, as always, gives you the instructions. “Right...” He says, picking up his phone again. “There should be an entrance to an old metro station around the corner if we go through this alley. The signal we picked up comes from somewhere underground, so we shall start there.”

A slight dread starts to fill your mind at the realization that you have to go underground again. The last time you did that in this city, it didn’t go very well. Leon must have seen the weariness on your face as you suddenly feel the warmth of his hand against your upper arm, almost not touching but still there, showing you some comfort. When both Chris and Jason start walking towards the alley, you look to your left, raising your head as you lock eyes with Leon. With the two other men now out of earshot, he leans in slightly closer. “It’s gonna be ok.” He whispers, his expression warm and comforting, showing you he’ll be there no matter what. You nod as you give him a grateful smile in return.

“Hey! You guys coming or what?” Jason shouts from a couple of feet away, making you break your eye contact with Leon. Following them you can see Jason send a hateful glance behind you when you pass him. You stop. “You got a problem?”

He drops the glare immediately, his gaze softening and eyes landing on your harsh ones. He shakes his head before muttering. “No, no, I’m fine. It’s ok.”

You drop it, your steps turning larger since Chris is already at the end of the alley. He looks at the three of you, noticing you’re all still far behind. He sighs in annoyance. “Come on ladies, we don’t have all day.”

He turns onto a new street before stopping at the beginning of a pair of stairs going down. You all stand next to him, looking down at the darkness that meets below. Memories of your first ever mission flash through your head, making your skin crawl and breath hitch. As no one’s looking forward to making their way down there, it’s awfully quiet all of a sudden. Compared to last time, there’s no horrid smell or frightening sounds coming from the darkness. After a few seconds of just standing there Chris speaks up again.

“Alright, let’s go down. Someone has to go in front of me since I’m not fast enough to react with the flamethrower on me.”

You’re already taking your gun out of its holster, pointing forward, being the first to make your way down the stairs. “I’ll go.”

Making your way down every step, you hear the heavier ones of Chris right behind you. Almost reaching the bottom, darkness slowly engulfing you, you notice Leon’s gun out of the corner of your eye as he has moved to be right next to you.

Always looking after you. Always the protector. Rarely letting you go first.

The stairs lead towards a short tunnel that ends in a much larger space you recognize to be the metro station. With all of your flashlights on you can see the debris lying on the platform and even on the tracks. Specks of dust fill the air, making it harder for you to breathe. Scanning the room for any threats you realize it’s clear.

Chris picks up his phone again, the object beeping from behind you. “The signal is sending us further down. We must move onto the tracks and into the tunnels.”

The four of you go forward, jumping onto the tracks and moving as a team, Leon and you at the front, Chris in the middle with the flamethrower and Jason at the end covering your backs. You all walk like that for a few minutes, nothing blocking your way thankfully. Once again it’s eerily quiet, the only sound being the crunching of footsteps on the pebble floor and your steady breathing. As the minutes pass, you hear high-pitched screeching in front of you. Not loud enough to belong to a human or an infected, but sounding more like something very small is making its way towards the four of you. You’re all on high alert, guns raised, flamethrower ready.

You gasp, seeing at least ten rats running over the train tracks, their screeching now louder as they pass you. Some are speeding as if they’re running for their lives, some seeking for help as one slips through your spread legs. You have to hold back a shriek to not startle any other creature that might be hiding. “Oh fuck this is nasty.” You whisper, seeing Leon kick a fat rat away as it tries to make its way up his trousers.

“The question is, what are they running from?” You hear Jason mumble from behind you.

Chris lets out a forced chuckle. “I guess we have quite the party waiting for us. Stay sharp.”

Your heartbeat quickens at the certainty of the promised threat lying ahead. You hate that your body still reacts like this. You’ve done this many times before with Leon on previous missions, fought enemies even bigger than you. But being back in the dark tunnels of Raccoon City makes your resolve crumble like never before.

You all continue your way for another fifteen minutes in complete silence. As time passes you question yourself ‘how do ordinary civilians make their way down here?’. Why would any normal person think it’s a good idea to come into these tunnels?

After almost two miles of walking underground you stumble upon a door on your right. The frame barely holds on anymore, still desperately trying to cover the opening. It fails, holding several holes. Passing it, you and Leon give it a suspicious look. Chris stops behind you. “Hold up. The signal is pointing this way.” He says, pointing at the half destroyed door. Jason moves towards it, carefully looking through one of the holes, pointing his flashlight. “Seems clear.” He says, taking a step back before looking at Chris. “With your permission sir.”

“Take it away.”

Jason lifts up his foot before pushing it against the door with full force. The frame gives away, falling on the ground. The four of you stay still for a couple of seconds, waiting to see if the sound of the door falling woke up something more than just a common rat. When you don’t hear anything, you let out a deep breath, realizing you’re safe for now.

Leaving the train tracks behind you, you don’t wait, being the first to step through the doorway. The rest is close behind you, following through a narrow hallway. The farther you go down it, the harder it feels for you to breathe. The air becomes thicker, dust and dirt filling it with something else you can’t quite put your finger on. When you take a few more steps, you’re suddenly hit by the pungent smell of rotting flesh. The stench fills your nostrils like a tidal wave. You thought you had gotten used to the particular smell, but this… This has you gagging all over again. Going off the quiet curses of the men behind you, you know they had smelled it as well. Doing the best you can to ignore the bad aroma, you keep your ears peeled, taking some slow and careful steps forward.

A deep rumbling roar sounds through the air, the noise halting you in your tracks. You see a room at the end of the hallway, the sound echoing through it, shaking you to the bone. Your eyes widen. That sounded anything but human. Didn’t even sound like an infected either. There’s something big at the end of the hallway waiting for you all. Something that hasn’t noticed your presence yet. Well you hope so at least.

A warm gloved hand is placed on your right shoulder. You turn your head, seeing Leon staring at you with a look that tells you to stay put. He pushes you slightly behind him before continuing his way, not wanting you to go in first, leading the team forward.

You stay close behind him upon reaching the end of the hallway, ready to help him if something were to jump at you both. The space you have reached seems to be an old storage room filled with hundreds of boxes stacked on top of each other. Some piles are more wobbly than others. Both of you cast your light around the room to check for the source of the noise from a few moments earlier.

You find nothing, just the eerie quietness and, apart from all the boxes, an empty room with a few stone pillars holding up the ceiling. Not very spacious but definitely big enough for something to hide in. There’s another doorway at the far end, the door also barely holding on like something or someone has tried to get through it. 

Leon takes a few careful steps into the room, pointing his flashlight around before bringing up his hand, motioning for you all to follow him. You do the same, gun raised, ready to shoot. But nothing jumps at you though. You’re almost halfway through the room now, the four of you checking behind every pile of boxes, only to find nothing. 

Leon turns into a small alcove on your left while you step forward to check the last few piles of boxes before reaching the doorway. Upon reaching the final corner, you can hear Chris and Jason rummaging through some stuff in the back. The boxes here are stacked up to the ceiling, making it a perfect hiding spot. And you are right.

Pointing your flashlight up, you see a huge shape at the far end. It doesn't look like anything you’ve ever seen before. You don’t even know what to make of it. It’s far from human but doesn’t look like an ordinary infected either. You recognize the legs of what once was a human, going up the waist and chest which are terribly malformed, skin torn apart, making way for its muscles and intestines. The head is gone, lodged into its chest as all the clothing has been ripped away from its body. It has grown larger than an average human, measuring up to be at least ten feet tall, making it barely fit underneath the ceiling. 

Two long thick tentacle-like limbs have protruded from the back, entirely made out of flesh and blood, the liquid dripping onto the floor as they softly swing at the pace of the creature's breathing.  

You hope feverously it hasn’t seen you yet with its back turned towards you. 

You’re quick to put up your fist, signaling to the others that they need to stop what they're doing. That there’s something dangerous ahead. You hope someone sees your message at least, since they’re all looking around. You begin taking a few steps back, getting out of the creature's sight in case it decides to turn around. 

“Wow sick, the entire Star Wars movie collection is in here…” 

Your eyes widen, gasping at the words that break the silence, ringing through the air so loud it almost makes you jump. You turn your head, eyes scanning for the source of the words. Your eyes fall onto Jason who’s still at the beginning of the room, bent over a rather large clear plastic box, a triumphant smile on his face. He picks up an old VHS tape, holding it like a trophy. Your blood turns cold, hearing a sharp grunt in front of you. Turning your head, your eyes settle on the creature again only to realize it has turned around in the split of a second. 

Whatever was left of the head becomes clearer to you now. Its face has completely morphed into the chest, only a few plucks of hair left as one enlarged red eye stares at you with a devilish look. Where the other eye has gone, you have no idea. The other smaller socket is completely empty except for a few mold-like tendrils moving out and reaching for the open air. Underneath the ripped off nose hangs its mouth, also enlarged with huge canine teeth protruding from the upper jaw.

It only takes a fraction of a second for you to realize you’re in some deep shit.

A deep loud roar rumbles out of its throat, the same roar you heard a few minutes before in the hallway. Only now it’s way louder. It leaps for you, its mouth agape, teeth bared and claws sharp, its muscled legs moving as fast as they can. Your first shot hits it right between the eyes. It doesn’t even feel it, only halting its stampede towards you for a small second, before resuming the hunt. 

Your second shot hits somewhere where the heart should be. But once again it doesn’t falter, almost like your shots do nothing but spur it on even further. You drop the handgun and grasp behind you for your shotgun, the creature taking its final leap towards you. You don’t have time to raise the weapon as a heavy body pushes you out of the way. Leon’s arms wrap around you, both falling to the ground, his body hitting first, taking the blow. The creature jumps past you, crashing into a few piles of boxes. It turns around a little disoriented before settling its eyes back on you. Roaring, it swings its arms, starting for you again.

Leon’s gunshot rings through the air as he aims for the creature. “Chris!”

You hear Chris’s heavy footsteps behind you. He aims the flamethrower, its light filling the room. A burst of fire hits the creature in its side. The flames engulf the entire torso as its loud screeching rings through your ears. After you’ve picked up your handgun, both you and Leon continue the firing assault. Jason joins the two of you, standing in the middle and firing his machine gun. 

The monster screams at all the ammo hitting its body, one tentacle sweeping through the air, making contact against Chris’s chest as he goes flying. His body hits a wall before he bends over on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

The tentacles move towards the three of you, the ends almost jaw-like, trying to grasp onto you and bite into your flesh. You shoot your shotgun at the one closest to you and Jason. It explodes in a blood mass while you see Leon chop off the end of the other tentacle. Slightly immobilised, the creature starts to rely more on its claws to kill you. 

Jumping towards you it raises both of its claws, leaving the chest unprotected. While you and Jason jump out of the way, Leon raises his own shotgun, aiming straight for the heart. With only him now facing the creature and most of the fire diminished, you reach for your machete and start sprinting. You use it as an advantage now its back is towards you, jumping as high as you can, you raise the machete before bringing it down and sheathing the blade into its back, taking it by surprise. The pointy end of the machete protrudes out of its chest. The creature throws its head back, roaring in agony. 

Leon does the same, taking his axe and slashing right into its eye. The screeching continues, blood pouring onto the ground as he takes the axe back before hitting it again and cutting the eye out. Meanwhile you pull your machete back, the tissue making a slimy noise as it's being torn apart. You swing the weapon towards the right claw, cutting the full arm off in one fluid motion. The limb falls to the ground before you stab the creature into its leg. You retake your hold on the machete to be able to start cutting the leg off, but you don’t get the chance. It turns around, the blade making a large cut instead as you take it back. Blindly swaying its last arm, you have to jump back, barely missing the sharp claw from cutting up your cheek. When you take some steps back, you see Jason coming from the right, running towards it. Raising his foot, a grunt leaves his lips, using all his power to punch it right in the chest. The impact forces the creature to stumble back and fall full force into the stone pillar right next to you. The impact of its weight causes the stone to break. A large crack goes straight through the middle of the pillar. The creature's body falls down against it as you stay back, pushing yourself against the door.

That’s when the inevitable happens, all in the matter of two seconds, too fast for any of you to react.

The pillar snaps in half, the stone falling onto the creature, parts of the ceiling coming down with it. A last cry leaves its throat as it gets buried beneath the rubble. A huge crack forms above you, running from the torn down pillar to the other one on your right. Tiny pieces of dust and rubble start to fall in your face, the room shaking as if an earthquake is taking over the city. Your breathing is rapid, hands shaking, almost dropping the machete. The pillar on your right breaks as well, creating more cracks on the ceiling. You’re quick to reach for the door behind you, realizing you have to act fast or you won’t make it. 

You hear Leon screaming your name as the ceiling starts to come down, large heavy blocks of concrete falling down as you push your body weight against the door with all your might. The frailty of the door makes it possible for you to break through it instantly. You hear the rubble falling behind you. You jump through the door when an insanely thick cloud of smoke engulfs you. You throw yourself onto the ground in a dark hallway you desperately hope is clear. Smaller pieces of rubble fall next to you. You place your hands on top of your head, trying to protect yourself as much as you can. Meanwhile you hear the desperate and terrified shouts from Leon as he sees you being sealed in like a tomb. 

Twenty seconds or so pass before the noise of falling rubble starts to quiet down, the hallway becoming completely silent. You’re coughing, your throat dry, trying to regain your breath. 

Even before you get the chance to push yourself up on your elbows and check the hallway for any threats, you hear the soft beep of the earpiece you have in. Leon’s voice rings over the radio, urgently calling your name.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt? Answer me!”

“I’m ok!” You manage to get out, picking up your flashlight. Its light casts a dark hue through the hallway, the air still thick with dust. You can barely see ten feet in front of you. A curse sounds through the radio as you hear Leon’s rapid breathing.

“Shit… Stay there! We’ll figure something out to get to you.”

Pointing the flashlight behind you, you can see the massive pile of debris blocking your way, making it impossible for you to get out. You stand up, brushing the dirt off you and trying to control your breathing as the dust is making it very hard for you to breathe. The panic takes over when you realize you’re stuck here. No way you’re ever getting through this huge barricade of rocks.

“Leon, there’s no way through." Your lower lip trembles saying the words.

Leon’s fast to react. “I’ll think of something. I’ll get you out of there even if I have to clear the way rock by rock.”

Chris’s voice rings through the radio now, calling your name. “It’s gonna be ok. I can see another way out on the map. You have to go down the hallway you’re in right now. Follow it until you reach the end. There should be a doorway on your right leading to a stairwell. Go up three flights of stairs and you should make it to the ground floor. Try to find the nearest exit and we’ll get to you as fast as we can, is that clear?” Even though his words are stern and firm you can still hear a faint tremble in his voice, like he’s worried about you too.

Another cough escapes you before answering. “Yes sir.”

When you start taking a few steps down the hallway you hear Leon’s voice again. “He’s right. There is another way up.” You hear him say, imagining him standing next to Chris, also looking at phone. “Do what Chris told you, find the stairs and get up as quickly as possible. I will be there, I promise. Just please try to not get into any trouble.”

A small hiccup escapes you before you clear your throat. “Me? Never.” You say with a soft chuckle as a way to show him that you’re tough, that he doesn’t have to worry all that much. The truth is that you’re starting to lose all that bravery by the minute. And to be fair? You’re terrified. No wonder actually because the last time you were in a situation like this, in a dark abandoned hallway alone in the depths of Raccoon City, you were almost killed. 

Sheathing your machete into its holder behind your back, you take out your handgun, raising it together with your flashlight as you take some careful steps forward.

The hallway is cold, the only sound being your footsteps, irregular breathing and the occasional splatter of drops of water hitting a puddle on the floor. You manage to make out the shape of a door a few feet ahead. Moving towards it you reach for the handle only to find it jammed. Standing in front of it, you take some steps back, almost touching the wall behind you before sprinting towards the door. You slightly turn your body so your shoulder makes contact with it first, throwing your whole body weight against it. The frame groans under your weight, the rusted hinges failing to hold on as you push the door down. Taking a deep breath, you’re immediately hit by the fresh clean air filling your lungs. In front of you, you see the beginning of the flight of stairs Chris spoke of. You refrain yourself from doing a little victory dance and start making your way up instead.

As the connection cuts out, Chris locks his phone again after giving you the instructions. He turns around, hurrying after Leon, who is already sprinting out of the room and back the way they came from. Jason follows closely behind, doing his best to keep up. An angry, frustrated expression twists his face as they leap back onto the train tracks, his breathing ragged as he spits out the words. 

“If anything happens to her, it’s your fault.”

A snort comes from behind him. 

“May I remind you, asshole, that you were the one who alerted the creature and slammed it into the pillar, causing half the room to collapse?” Chris snaps, his back still aching from when he hit the wall moments earlier. 

Leon doesn’t have the time or energy to argue with him, even though he desperately wants to. But not now. Not when your life is at stake. God, does he want to hit the guy... That stupid fucking idiot who separated you from him. 

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

The words echo relentlessly through his mind as he forces his legs to move even faster than before. 

As much as he hates Jason, he knows he’s right. It is his fault.

He should have protected you. He should have run to you when the ceiling collapsed, should have shoved you out of the way even if there wasn’t enough time. He should have dragged you to safety. Shielded your body with his own. Instead, you’re all alone out there to fend for yourself in a treacherous city. Who knows what you might run into? He shouldn’t have left you behind. But everything happened so fast. There had been no time to think. 

He’s already beating himself up for it. An immense feeling of guilt claws at him mercilessly, flooding his mind with image after image of what he might find when he reaches you. Scared, hurt… Dead.

Leon forces those thoughts away and pushes himself harder, his legs moving so fast that Jason and Chris struggle to keep up as they race through the metro tunnel. 

Finally reaching the ground floor, you try to regain your breath as you open the door with a giant zero on it. When you turn the metal knob you sigh in relief, finding it unlocked. You’re once again met by darkness as you enter the new hallway. Not that you had expected there to be electricity so you could turn a light on, but at least a small window so you had some daylight to make out the room better. Instead on your left, you can see the stairs going farther up leading towards the first floor. A second metal door stands at the end of the short hallway, at least ten feet high with iron chains running over it to lock it tightly.

You inspect the thick heavy chains, casting your light upon them. They’re impossible to break, at least with the equipment you have on you. You will need a chainsaw or something if you want to get through here. Your mind wanders to the possible reasons why these chains were used to lock the door. Was it to keep something out? Or rather to keep something in…? Maybe it was meant for that thing you killed a few minutes ago?

Your thoughts are cut short as you hear the last thing you’d ever expect in a horrid place like this. 

A child talking.

You perk your ears to make sure you hadn’t imagined it, pointing the flashlight towards the stairs going farther up. The sound comes from somewhere above you, a silent high-pitched voice that definitely doesn’t belong here. 

Leaving the door for what it is you make your way towards the stairs, taking careful steps, moving as quietly as possible. Your efforts are futile as one wooden board groans underneath your weight. You stop immediately, your eyes squeezed shut, waiting for anything to react to the noise you just made. 

Nothing. Just the sound of the child’s voice getting louder with every step. 

Arriving on the first floor, you’re met with two doors, one on each side of the hallway. The child’s voice has become clearer now. Gripping your gun more firmly, you hear it coming from the door on your right. Taking soundless steps towards it, you take a second to think of a plan. What will you do when there’s an actual child in there? 

You would save it of course. Check the room first and locate the child. Kill any possible threat that might try to hurt it and deliver him or her to the DSO. Where management could look for a suitable home. Taking in one final deep breath, you raise your foot and kick down the door, setting your plan in motion.

The plan goes straight down the drain as you’re blinded by the bright daylight. You have to refrain yourself from squeezing your eyes shut because of the loud groan and the sound of iron chains moving in front of you. Your view barely adjusts in time, making out the shape of a woman in her late thirties running towards you. Her shriek is loud as she reaches for you with a bloodied mouth and wide red eyes. 

An infected. 

You act out of instinct. Your finger pulls the trigger. The bullet lands right between the woman’s eyes, stopping her as her body falls to the ground with a loud thud.  

“Mama!”

The sharp scream of a child echoes through the air as you frantically look around the room to locate it. A little girl of about eight years old, no taller than 4 feet, comes from behind an old molded sofa. She runs past you, tears streaming down her face as she throws herself on the dead woman lying in front of you. 

“No… No mama! Wake up! Wake up mama!”

The child’s sobs shake you within as the reality of the moment starts to sink in. Your eyes fall onto the iron chain attached to the far wall next to the window. The end of it is wrapped around the infected’s chest, its full length seemingly too short to stretch throughout the whole room.

The girl takes hold of the shirt the infected is wearing, roughly shaking it, begging the woman to wake up again. How did a child end up in a place like this? Why did she cry over the death of an infected? Why did she call it ‘mama’? You feel like a piece of lead has been dropped in your stomach, immense amounts of sweat leaking from your pores, the room getting impossibly hot. Fuck. Don’t let it be true. Don’t say you killed her mother… Oh no. 

You take a step forward, your shaky hands still holding up the gun, scanning the room for any further threats. The girl’s curly hair bounces as she looks up at you, not liking that you’re getting closer to her. 

“You killed mama!”

You feel sick. This couldn’t be happening. This isn’t what you trained for. Killing a mother in front of her child is the last thing you ever wanted to do. It’s one of the cruelest crimes a person can ever commit. You’re a murderer. You robbed a child from its mother. You’re a monster.

You put the gun back into its holster to try and make yourself seem less dangerous. You raise your hands as a sign of surrender. The girl shrinks back, her sweet little cheeks wet from all the tears that come out of her blue puffy eyes. 

“I’m not gonna hurt you.” You say, trying to keep your hands from shaking.

The girl wipes her nose with the back of her hand. Her words are mixed with a few sobs as she speaks. “Mama said she was going to get better. She locked herself on the chain so she wouldn’t hurt me. Papa is still out there, looking for help. For something that can cure mama… But you ruined it!”

You shake your head. “Listen, I'm sorry… I can help you-”

“I want mama back!” The girl interrupts you.

“I know. I know. I…” You rack your brain for anything worthy to say. You realize that no matter what you say, nothing will erase the horrible deed you had done. No words will make the little girl trust you. “Shit… I uh, can help you find your dad? Reunite the two of you. How long has he been gone?”

“Three days." The girl sniffles. “But I don’t want your help. You’re a bad guy. You hurt people… You’re gonna hurt papa like you hurt mama.” She says, her eyes falling on the handgun hanging from your right hip, to the machete and shotgun secured on your back.

“No, I won’t… Please, that’s the last thing I ever wanna do. I only hurt bad people.”

“My mama wasn’t bad!” She screams again, looking down at the dead woman underneath her trembling hands. 

“No of course not but… You have to listen to me. I can help you.” You say, taking another step forward before kneeling down so your eye level with her. “I may not look like it, but I can get you out of here and bring you to a safe place. I can go look for your dad and bring the two of you together. I won’t hurt him, I promise on my life.”

“I wanna stay with mama.” She sobs.

“I know sweetheart, I know, but you won’t survive if you stay out here. The longer you stay, the more dangerous it will become. I can help you, please, you have to trust me to find your father.” Because of the enormous sense of guilt that’s clawing at you right now, finding the girl's father is your top priority. Next to guaranteeing her safety of course. She looks at you with uncertainty, trying to make up whether to trust you or not. Looking you over from head to toe, she sniffles before looking down at her mother again. After a few seconds she looks into your eyes. Her lips wobble as she speaks.

“Please find papa.”

“I will babygirl, don’t worry.” You say with determination. “You don’t happen to have a picture of him on you, do you? Can you maybe describe to me what he looks like?”

The girl's eyes widen, quickly reaching for something underneath her shirt. She takes out a silver amulet, the pendant heart-shaped, hanging from a silver chain around her neck. She opens it before holding it up towards you, the inside holding a picture of three people. Two of them you recognise: the girl herself, the dead mother lying at your feet and a man you think you have seen somewhere before but can’t quite remember when. 

The man looks to be in his early forties, dark black hair, blue eyes just like the girl’s, a stubble covering his jawline. The three of them looked like a happy little family. How the hell did they end up in this place? 

“What happened? How did you end up here?” You ask the girl while inspecting the picture better. Tears still run down her face as she answers.

“I was asleep in the car. I don’t know. When I woke up we were in this city and the car had broken down. Papa said we had to step out, look for shelter and try to make contact with the nearest police station. But papa’s phone didn’t work. He said it’d be better if we hid somewhere inside but… They were everywhere. Scary looking people with blood on them, screaming. They wanted to hurt us. They bit papa and mama…”

You hold your breath as she tells you the whole story.

“When we were in an old metro station, papa said that mama and I had to hide. That he was gonna find help for us. That he would come back. So mama and I got up here. We thought we would be safe but… She started to get sick, bound herself to this chain attached to the wall and told me to stay away from her. But I wasn’t gonna leave mama. I couldn’t…”

An old metro station? In this neighborhood? It surely can’t be the same one you were at a few minutes ago, right? Now you think about it, the father in the picture kind of looks like the face of the creature you had killed, its body now buried underneath the rubble… No you’re just imagining things, right? Could it be? Oh god please no. Don’t let it be true that you had just killed both of the girl's parents…

Looking away from the amulet, your gaze falls on the girl’s face again, a helpless expression covering it. You feel so sorry for her. Guilt is eating you alive even though you know there was no hope left for the parents anyway. 

“I’m so sorry to hear all of that. I promise you it’s gonna be-” Your words are cut short when your eyes fall on the girl’s forearms. Several bite marks cover her skin. Some are very faint, not enough to pierce through her skin while others left ugly looking marks. The blood from the wounds has already dried up.

“Who gave you these?” You ask her, a small tremor in your voice as you point to her arms.

“Mama did… She mumbled something that I guess meant ‘sorry’ but I couldn’t quite understand her. They hurt at first, but now I’m ok.” She says, rubbing her hands over them, like they’re just scratches that will heal over time.

You let out a silent gasp, squeezing your eyes shut. Putting your lips in a straight line, you turn your head to the side as you force the contents of your stomach back down. You have to do everything in your power to stay strong and to not let out a single tear. As much as you want to help this girl, you know the damage has already been done. There’s no future for her. The infection is probably already spreading in her body. You know what you have to do. But will you be capable?

“How uh… How long ago did she bite you?” You ask her.

“I don’t know. Sometime this morning? It’s been a while.” She says. It’s late afternoon now. Who knows how long it’ll take for her to turn.

“I feel very hot... I think I’m getting a fever. Is that bad?” She asks you while looking into your eyes. 

Your mouth hangs open, at loss for words. Fuck you have to act soon. You realize that this can’t go on for much longer. 

You’re trembling. Of all the threats being thrown at you, you had never expected you had to kill a child. That is the right decision right? To kill any infected and to prevent the infection from spreading further… Then why does it feel like you’re about to commit the greatest crime of your whole life? 

“Will you help me?” The girl looks at you innocently, still crying but finding a new source of hope in you. 

You nod before quickly rubbing your eyes as tears threaten to fall. “Yes… Yes I’ll help you.”

“What’s your name?” She asks. You tell her but deliberately don’t ask the same question back. Knowing the little girl’s name will make this so much harder for you. You look around the room for anything, or anyone to help you. But you’re on your own.

Fuck, what would Leon do in this situation? Would he kill this child? You think about the various lessons he’s taught you in the past: kill every infected you come across, no matter how hard or difficult it is. But this girl isn’t an infected yet. She’s still so young. She’s supposed to have a full life ahead of her. Not to have it ended by your hand right here, right now. You shake your head, realizing you can’t wait any longer. The longer you do that, the harder it’ll become.

“I’ll uh… I’ll go find your papa. You just… Stay here and be a good girl ok? I need you to turn around and hug your mama very tight and tell her how much you love her. Think you can do that?”

She nods at your words, her lips forming a little pout. “Uhuh.” She says before turning around and bending over her mama again. “You go look for papa right?” She sobs as you see her push her cheek against her mother’s chest, wrapping her arms around her tightly. 

You clear your throat, having to fight your own sobbing from coming through. Your hand wraps around the grip of your handgun, pulling it out of the holster and aiming it at the back of the girl's head. It’s fully loaded. You checked it when you came up the stairs a minute ago. Now it feels impossibly heavy. “Yes baby I will. Now you keep hugging your mother and don’t turn around ok?” 

She hums at your words. A few seconds pass before you hear her start whispering sweet words to her mother, of how much she loves her, of how much she misses her, of how sorry she was that she wasn’t able to save her. But her last sentence is what breaks you completely.

“It’s ok mama. Papa will be here soon. It’s gonna be ok.”

Papa won’t be here soon. Both he and his wife are now dead. And their little girl will follow suit. 

The gun is shaking in your hands as you move to stand up. Your finger slides over the trigger, readying yourself to take the shot. It will be clean. No mess, just the sound of the gun going off as her body falls to the ground. 

You hesitate, your whole body trembling, suddenly not knowing how to breathe anymore. This is horrible… A nightmare you want to wake up from as soon as possible. You’re crying now. Tears streaming down your cheeks, not able to hold back your emotions any longer. 

You can’t do this. You can’t kill an innocent person, not like this. Not without them even knowing why. She probably doesn’t even realize she’s sick. What the consequences are and what she’ll become… But Leon’s voice is strong in your head. This part of your training is rooted into you because it’s the essence of a DSO agent. Holding the gun more tightly, you try to man up. Your gunsight is entirely aimed at the top of her head as you move your finger to push the trigger.

You’re stopped by the sound of iron chains breaking and a door bursting open somewhere below you. Turning your head with wide eyes, you look towards the door, wondering if another threat had just run into the building. 

But it’s not what you had expected. Instead you hear hurried footsteps on the ground floor and a voice you recognise all too well shouting your name. Leon’s voice. He’s here. He has found you. 

“What…?”

Your head turns back at the sound of the little girl’s voice. She had raised her head when you weren’t looking, her eyes looking straight at you now and the gun you’re holding. Her bottom lip trembles, the rest of her body still as she looks at you with the utmost betrayal in her eyes.

You pull the trigger.

The gunshot is loud together with the yelp that escapes you. The girl falls down on top of her mother, her body limp, a large puddle of blood forming on the ground.

You drop your gun and take a step back. The harsh metal strikes the ground. Your hands are shaking as you bring them up to cover the sobs coming out of your mouth. Not holding back anymore, letting the tears fall freely. 

Leon’s voice rings through the air again as he shouts your name, an incredible urgency hidden in it before you hear the loud footsteps coming up the stairs. He reaches you within seconds. Stopping at the doorway, his eyes fall onto the terrible scene lying before you. You hear two other pairs of footsteps running up the stairs. Both Chris and Jason stop behind Leon as they also see what lies before them. Leon lets out an inaudible gasp before his eyes go towards you, quickly looking up and down your body to check for any injuries. His gaze catches yours, a look of confusion and compassion as he sees your teary eyes.

You remove your hands from your lips. “I… She was… The mother tried to kill me and… They were infected. I didn’t want to do this… I’m so sorry. Leon please, I’m so incredibly sorry.” You say completely sobbing now, moving your gaze away from his, unable to look him in the eyes, ashamed of what you have done.

You hear the creaking of the floorboards underneath Leon’s feet as he takes a few steps towards you. Opening his arms, he’s ready to embrace you into a comforting hug, to protect you from everything that has happened, to erase your mind if he can. He had never seen you so distraught like this before. You’re normally a very strong minded person, killing whatever and whoever comes in your way. But then he sees the lifeless body of the child lying on the ground and he realizes that whatever just happened, has broken you for good.

Putting his hand at the small of your back he pushes you against his chest. “Come here-“. He doesn’t get to finish the sentence as his body is forcefully pushed out of the way by Jason, who looks almost furious.

“Don’t touch her.” The latter says as Leon catches his footing. You stand between the two of them completely dumbfounded.

Leon’s expression changes in the split of a second, replacing the kind warmness for the harsh, irritated look he usually wears around Jason. Only now you can see his expression holds more anger, more frustration. His body language is hostile, involuntarily making himself look bigger towards the younger man, to look more dominant. He opens his mouth.

 “Say that again.“ You know he’s trying to stay calm but you can definitely hear the tremor in his voice. If looks could kill right now, Jason would be dead.

“You heard me. Lay one hand on her and you’ll regret it.” Jason says, his expression stern and determined.

Leon takes a few steps towards him, standing right next to you now. You can see something inside of him snap. All the build up frustration is enough after what happened back down in the metro station. How it was Jason who had triggered the monster’s attention so it would attack you. How it was Jason that had pushed the monster into the pillar, making the whole ceiling almost crash on top of you. He had almost managed to kill you. Twice.

Leon’s voice is low with an underlying threat to it, spitting out the next words. “Know your fucking place boy. Back off.”

Leon would never say something like that, often opting for a more civilized conversation. But it’s all coming together in his mind. The way Jason went behind his back to make a move on you, the events down in the metro station, Jason pushing him away from you just now… The boy has no idea what he’s bringing himself into by attacking Leon about the one thing that matters most. 

You.

Jason scoffs at Leon’s words, a foul laugh on his face, shaking his head, almost like he wants to tell Leon he should know better. It’s clearly not only Leon who deals with a lot of build frustration when it concerns you. Months of trying to make himself be seen, to do his best to earn your affection, only for you to be pining over a twenty year older man, who had nothing on him in his opinion. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed. How you’re always looking at Leon like a love sick puppy, trying to gain his attention and pleasing him in any way you could… It infuriates him. It angers him even more knowing that Leon returns your feelings. It’s obvious, the way he always puts himself in front of you when there’s any danger. The not so subtle glances he gives you when he thinks you’re not looking… He has to admit that Leon is very good at hiding it, he even had him fooled for a long time. But it’s clear as day. The old man is in love with you.

It’s disgusting. ‘Does he really think he has a chance with you?’, he thinks to himself. He chuckles before speaking. 

“I don’t think it’s me who has to back off man.” He shrugs. 

“Excuse me?” Leon says, his voice barely audible, almost like a whisper. 

Jason, in his turn, also takes a step forward with now barely any room left between the two of them. He looks down at Leon since he’s slightly taller, gritting his teeth before speaking up.

“Like I said, I think it’s you who has to know their place. You think I haven’t noticed huh? How you’re after her like a desperate stray dog.” He says while gesturing over to you. “How you’re so desperate for some fucking attention. You think it’s not noticeable how you ogle her all the time?”

You look from Jason to Leon, your mouth agape as you can’t believe what’s happening. A child was killed just a few minutes ago for fuck’s sake! Where is his head at? 

Leon stays stoic, not moving a single muscle, looking Jason dead in the eye. Inside of him there’s a turmoil of feelings, sadness for how you’re suffering but mostly anger because of the words that were thrown at him. Not necessarily because they offended him, but more so because they offended you. Like you're just an object he can have a say over while you're standing right here like you can’t speak for yourself. Jason speaks up again. His words directed at Leon, saying probably the most degrading thing you’ve ever heard about yourself.

“You do realize though that you’re way out of her league right? That she would never go for someone of your age? I can’t believe you actually thought you had a chance with her.” He huffs before continuing. “People fucking praise you for what you’ve done, but in reality you’re just and old pervert who seeks to get his dick wet and you’re desperately hoping for her to open her legs for you, isn’t that right? Well guess what, I’ll let you in on a little secret…”

You see Leon’s grip get impossibly tight around his gun, his knuckles turning white while he’s slightly starting to tremble with anger.

“Don’t fucking bother. I had her under me last night, her ass up and face down. You wanna know what it did for me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just one big disappointment. A pathetic bitch who I can't believe is capable of murdering a child.”

You had never expected Jason, the all so innocent Jason, to become one of the most disgusting people you’ve ever met. To have a personality that’s so horrible, you’re starting to doubt if you would actually save him if his life were on the line. This version of him feels incredibly furious but also defeated and humiliated at the same time. The cause? Being rejected by you for months on end, only to see you longing for someone else.

“Jason what the fuck!” You exclaim while sobbing. You never wanted to kill the little girl, but faith had decided for you. You had to do it, she was gone anyway. She didn’t deserve to get terribly ill and lose her mind until her only thought was how to kill and eat you as fast as possible. You weren't a murderer, were you?

Chris, who has been quiet all this time, lets out a huff of disbelief. “What the fuck did I miss?”

Jason averts his eyes from Leon and settles them on your tear-streaked face. For the first time you don’t see the hopeful loving glance he usually gives you. This time he looks at you like you’re a piece of filth, no better than all the criminals he has killed during previous missions. 

Before you realize it, he reaches his hand out for your neck. His expression is determined and cruel, signaling he wants to do nothing more but to hurt you. You gasp, willing your body into a defensive position to try and block his assault. But you don’t get the chance to. 

Leon finally snaps. In the split of a second he grabs Jason by the collar and pushes him against the nearest wall, just in time before he can lay a hand on you. Jason doesn’t stand a chance against the experienced agent. In no time, Leon has him in a lock hold against the wall, the muzzle of his handgun pressed against the underside of his chin. Jason’s eyes are wide as he lets out a choked breath at feeling the brute force of his opponent. Leon on the other hand has lost all control. A growl leaves his mouth while he bares his teeth, pushing back the hammer of the gun, ready to fire. Him wanting to hurt you is the final straw. No one touches you. No one. 

“Leon!” Both you and Chris shout in fear and surprise. He doesn’t seem to hear either of you, his attention fully focused on Jason, increasing his impossibly tight grip on him.

“You take back what you just said, and you apologize to her.” Leon growls in his face, replacing the muzzle of the gun now against Jason’s throat, pushing it hard against the skin, definitely leaving a bruise.  

“You think she wants you, you old fuck?” Jason manages to say with a gurgling voice. Leon’s only response is a grunt as he gives the younger man a hard shove, making his head hit the brick wall behind him.

“Fucking hell Kennedy, get a grip!” Chris shouts, reaching for Leon’s arms. “Let him go!”

You help him, racing towards Leon as well and grabbing his shoulders, pulling him away from Jason. It takes everything for you to help Jason out of Leon’s grasp. His hold is so incredibly strong, you wonder how Jason was even able to breathe in the first place. You manage to separate the two of them, the gun dropping. Air fills Jason’s lungs again while you feel Leon’s hard back muscles strain underneath your palms. Chris’s voice rings loud through your ears.

“I’ve got no idea what’s going on between the two of you…” He says looking between Leon and Jason. “And I don’t need to know. What I do need, is for both of you to forget about it and prioritise the mission! An innocent child just fucking died here!”

They’re both quiet. You only hear Leon’s rapid breathing as he looks down at his feet. Jason gives Leon and you a last disgusting glare before looking at Chris. He gives his superior a curt nod before taking his leave, bursting out of the room and down the stairs. As you watch him leave you can feel Chris’s gaze on you.

“And you two…” He starts. “I don’t know what it is between the two of you, but it needs to stop. You hear me?”

Leon only nods beside you, continuing to look anywhere else but at you or Chris. His temper now simmered down to a small lit fire. You nod as well, wiping the tears from your cheeks, clearing your throat. “Understood sir.”

The three of you leave the room, leaving the little girl with her mother in eternal peace. 

The four of you stay in Raccoon City for the night, as Chris wants to go on another search party for more survivors the next morning. He and Leon find a safe spot somewhere on the highest floor of an apartment building, an unsolicited balcony is attached to it giving you a perfect view of the city below. The entrance to the room gets sealed together with the door to the balcony, but still making it easy enough to unlock it if someone wants to get out. There was no room for talking. No one wanted to anyway. Not after what had just happened. 

You are all trying to find some material for a makeshift bed, pieces of cardboard, old curtains, carpet… Anything that’s softer than the hard ground beneath you. As the night falls, it doesn’t take long for both Chris and Jason to fall asleep. Their snoring an annoyingly loud ruckus in the room. Leon’s lying on his side, back towards you breathing softly and at ease, probably asleep. An hour has passed like that, but you haven’t been able to close your eyes for even a second. The events from today are haunting you, burned onto your retina. Images of the little girl’s tear-streaked face flash through your mind. The betrayal you saw in her eyes before you killed her is still clear as day. Silent tears fall down your cheeks and into your hair as you look up at the ceiling. You betrayed her. You took her trust and crushed it.

You can still hear Jason’s words running through your head like a mantra.

Capable of murdering a child. Capable of murdering a child. Capable of murdering a child.

Instead his words aren’t used to calm you down, they’re used to break you down. To make you question your whole identity and personality. This isn’t why you signed up to be a DSO agent all those months ago. You signed up to help the weak and innocent, to stop Umbrella from whatever they’re doing, for your own self improvement. It’s not like you had a life out of the DSO facility anyway.

After another hour of lying awake, turning over every now and then, you feel like you’re about to burst, the room completely suffocating you. You’re in need of some fresh air.

Standing up, you try to be as quiet as possible. Stepping over Chris’s sleeping figure you reach for the door that leads to the balcony, silently putting away the small barricade you had made before opening it. You look behind you at the three sleeping men. No one had woken up or noticed your little escape. A loud gurgling snore from Jason startles you for a second before you step out onto the balcony and close the door softly behind you. 

The fresh air flowing into your lungs feels like a relief as you place yourself at the edge of the small balcony. Sitting yourself down with your back against the wall, you look through the stone pillars of the railing, staring absently at what’s left of the dark city. 

The sound of the door opening surprises you, hearing someone get onto the balcony with you. The door closes again, heavy footsteps echoing through the night as the person moves towards you. You don’t have to look up to know who it is. Of course he wasn’t sleeping. He’s always there, watching like a hawk, protective and worried for your well-being. Leon moves to sit next to you against the wall, not yet saying anything as you’re quick to wipe the tears that fell from your eyes. 

“I’m fine.” You mumble. “Just had to get a moment for myself, that's all.”

He hasn’t talked to you ever since the incident with Jason, hasn’t even looked at you while searching for a shelter. You haven’t felt the need to talk to him either. Too embarrassed by the degrading things Jason had said. How he had made you seem like a cheap whore. How he had portrayed you like a cold blooded killer… Well that’s the last thing you want the person you like to think about you, right?

Still not looking at him, you listen to his calm breathing next to you, hearing him take in a deep breath, ready to talk. 

“I didn’t say you weren't, but you haven’t gotten any sleep since we got here, isn’t that right?”

Of course he notices everything… You huff while shrugging your shoulders. “It’s just been a hard day. Couldn’t sleep, that's all.”

Leon’s heart almost breaks at seeing how hard you’re trying to keep yourself from falling apart. How you’re so desperate to remain strong in front of him after the horrors you faced today. If only you’d look at him, he would tell you he’s always there for you, that you mustn't worry, that he understands the pain you’re in since he has had to do the same horrible things in the past. 

“You’ve been turning over for at least a hundred times without actually falling asleep. I think there’s more on your mind than that’s just been a hard day.” He says now with an utter softness to his voice. “Is it because of what happened to the girl?”

The question hangs in the air for a moment. You don’t know what to say, staring straight ahead. Your lips are slightly parted before you close them again, swallowing thickly. You gasp when you feel the soft nudge of his shoulder against your own and a warmness enveloping your hand. Your gaze falls to it, seeing Leon’s hand wrapped around yours, dwarfing it, rubbing his thumb in comforting circles. He speaks up again, his voice now a soft, warm whisper only meant for your ears, pouring the deepest meaning into his words.

“It’s ok, you can tell me.”

You finally look up at him, and when you do, it’s like you see him for the first time. He’s so very close, mere inches between you two. You feel the warmth of his breath on your face, see the emotion in his gorgeous blue eyes, the feeling of compassion as he gives your hand a comforting squeeze.

“You can trust me.” 

That’s when the first tear falls, all the way down your cheek, too fast and too urgent for you to hold back. He’s quick to catch it, his hand moving in a swift motion as his thumb touches your cheek. You pull away from his touch, almost like it burns you, and look down at your joined hands again, shaking your head. 

“I… I can’t.” You whisper.

Leon pulls slightly at your hand, motioning for you to look at him again. His voice is a little firmer this time. “You’re hurting yourself by keeping it all in. Remember what I told you a few months ago, after your first mission? To look for someone to talk to whenever you’re having a hard time. You always did it so perfectly, seeking me out when you needed to talk about something or complain about your day. But now it’s different. What changed huh? What made you close in on yourself like that, that you no longer want to talk to me? You can’t keep doing this or it’ll drive you mad.”

You’re trembling. Palms getting sweaty, moving to take your hand away from his. He doesn’t let you, tightening his grip, holding your hand more firmly now. There’s no escaping him, no matter how much you want to. You don’t want to tell him what happened today. Mostly out of fear that he would also think that you’re a monster, that you’re a selfish bitch like Jason had said. Secondly because you don’t want to think about it any more, though the events replay in your mind like a recurring video tape. If only you could stop thinking about something other than the betrayal in the little girl's eyes, you’d be grateful. 

“She…” You start, taking in a deep shaky breath. “The woman that was bound by the chain was the girl’s mother. She… She attacked me when I came in. I shot her, like she was just another infected. And you know that big mutated infected we walked into back at the metro station? He was the girl's father. He was out there, probably looking for some fucking cure to save his family, but he didn’t make it. The girl… She uh… Was bitten as well, by her own god damn mother. She was already getting sick when I shot her.”

The tears are pouring out of your eyes now, not holding back anymore, feeling your whole wall crumbling down in front of him.

“She looked at me with so much betrayal… The image is still burnt into my mind. I promised her I would find her dad for her. That I would reunite them… Instead I killed their whole family. All three of them.” 

You’re a sobbing mess. Squeezing your eyes shut and moving your face towards the opposite direction Leon is in. 

“Jason is right, I’m a fucking killer.”

Your hand is released from Leon’s grip and for a moment you think he’s gotten enough of you. That he’s so disgusted by you right now that he won’t even look at you. You’re wrong, because for the first time ever, you feel his two strong arms wrap around. He turns his body slightly so he’s able to push you against his chest, moving your head so your face is placed in the crook of his neck. You hold onto him, your hands gripping his shirt for dear life as you’re falling apart.

He holds you like a vice. Not once loosening his grip, softly rocking you back and forth, whispering sweet comforting words in your ear. That he’s got you. That it’s going to be ok. That he’s going to help you pull through it. His heart breaks at seeing you like this.

“Listen to me when I say this, you’re no killer. Jason is a piece of shit to make you think that. What you did today was so fucking brave. You took your responsibility and did what you had to do. I know very few agents who are capable of doing that. Those people, the family… They were innocent, yes, but they were also doomed. There was no way we could’ve saved them. You made the right choice. You put them out of their misery and gave them a worthy ending. That’s what any noble agent should do in a situation like that.”

“I feel so awful.” You sob into his neck. He moves one of his arms towards your neck, pulling your face backwards to now move his hand straight on your cheek. His palm feels warm against your skin as he rubs soothing circles. 

“I know… I know it does. But believe me when I say you’re gonna get through this. It will take some time, but you can do it. I know you can. You’re so fucking strong. My brave little soldier.”

Your lip trembles, eyes locked on each other as you desperately hold onto his shirt. “Leon, it hurts so bad.”

“Shit baby I know. It’s ok. Come here.” He doesn’t care anymore about his choice of words, pushing you back against him, wrapping his arms around you and trying to shield you from anything that’s trying to harm you.

You sob against his neck, voice cracking, speaking up again. “I never want to go through something like that again. Whatever happens in the future, I’m gonna do my very best to save everyone even if it is the last thing I do. Never again Leon. Never again.”

Leon stills at your last words, remembering very well the last time he said the exact same thing. Months ago on a previous mission, before he even knew you. He understood exactly the heavy meaning behind those words, having seen several men, women and children die himself.

He holds you like that for a long time, letting you cry for as long as you need, rocking you back and forth with a comforting hand rubbing your back. Minutes pass as you relish in his warmth. He, in his turn, breathes in your scent as it calms him down after the terrible events from today. Just this morning he was reading boring files on his computer and now he’s holding you in his arms. A lot has changed in just the span of a few hours. 

As the minutes pass and your sobbing lessens your mind finally registers the sweet pet name he had called you, ‘baby’. So innocent and small, it may not sound like anything special to other people. But it did to you. Because never ever has Leon Kennedy, the man you’ve been yearning for since that day in October, called you ‘baby’. Maybe he just said it because he was trying to comfort you? But when you continue to ponder about any possible reason other than the one you’re desperately hoping for, you notice the way he’s holding you.

How one arm is wrapped around your waist, pushing you as close to him as possible while the other arm is wrapped around the upper part of your body. His hand is carefully placed on the back of your head, gently caressing it, fingers intertwining with your hair. How he has his face nuzzled into it, breathing in your scent once again, closing his eyes, seemingly at peace. 

And then you remember the rest of it… How he had pushed you behind him when there was imminent danger. How he had thrown his body on top of yours to shield you from the mutated infected’s attack. How he had shouted your name in pure agony when the ceiling threatened to come down on top of you… All just a coincidence? Is he doing those things because he wants to be a good partner to you? Or is there something more? 

Then you remember the flowers he bought you yesterday for your birthday. You had never seen him do something like that for anyone else before, not even for Sherry…

Your body starts to get incredibly warm, suddenly all too aware of how hard you’re squeezing his shirt. Of how much of a mess your tears have made on his shoulder, leaving a large wet patch as you move your head up. He opens his eyes, feeling you make your way out of his grip. The cold air makes you shiver as you realize how warm and safe his embrace felt. You don’t look at him, standing up and walking towards the edge of the balcony, bending over slightly to grasp the railing. You rub at your eyes briefly, getting rid of any remaining tears. You hear him stand up behind you, searching and following you like he always has, and always will. 

How he’s after you like a desperate stray dog.

You hear Jason’s disgusting words again in the back of your head, your blood boiling as you feel Leon’s presence close behind you. His warm breath hits your neck, sending shivers down your spine. You can’t believe how Jason was capable of insulting and hurting someone as kind and brave as Leon. Who had done nothing but put himself behind everyone else just so he could save as many people as possible. You let out a shaky breath before speaking.

“I’m sorry Jason said all that crap to you Leon. You didn’t deserve that.” You sigh before turning around, looking up into his eyes. 

“He infuriates me so much, I just want to go punch him in the face.”

A warm chuckle comes out of Leon’s mouth, the left corner of his mouth turning slightly upwards. “Well you do have a talent for that. Poor dear Jonathan is probably still recovering from that punch you gave him a few months back.”

You scoff at hearing his pun, returning the same soft smile before shaking your head. “Yeah, well Jason has got the same thing coming for him. You can trust me on that.” You say with a determined look while also giving him a little wink. He’s quick to respond.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you really. You’ve got my permission, that’s for sure.” 

You both quietly laugh at his words as you hold onto the railing behind you. The calm wind flies through your hair, small clouds of air coming out of both of your mouths. His expression gets more serious all of a sudden, his brows furrowed and lips pressed into a straight line. The air around you shifts as you’re wondering if you might have done something wrong. 

“What’s wrong?”

He blinks at your question, taking in a deep breath before sighing loudly, not immediately responding. You frown. “Leon…?”

He looks like he’s in pain, avoiding your gaze, when instead he’s about to ask you a question that’s been bugging him for the past few hours. You see his Adam’s apple bop, his hand scratching the skin at the back of his neck. 

“You’re scratching your neck again…” 

“It’s a bad habit of mine.” He mumbles.

“Clearly…”

He lets go of his neck before dropping his hand to the side. Your eyes fall to it. You reach out, taking his hand in yours, forcing him to look into your eyes.

“What’s on your mind Leon, tell me please. If I have to tell you everything, you have to do the same with me.”

His expression softens at feeling your touch. Your words warm his insides as he feels a slight nervousness build up, replacing the anger that was there before. He doesn’t know how to ask you, scared that you will be offended by his question. But fuck he needs to know…

“Last night… After your outing with Sherry… Did you, did he…”

You see him stumble over his words as it becomes difficult for him to maintain eye contact. You give his hand another reassuring squeeze. He casts his eyes downwards. It seems to be the last encouragement he needs. A large breath leaves him before he speaks up again.

“Did he bed you?”

You feel like the air has been knocked straight out of you, not believing what he has asked you at first. Your mind wanders back to the filthy and degrading words Jason said about you just a few hours ago. That you let him use you for his own pleasure only to turn out to be a big disappointment. Does Leon believe that? Does he actually think you would give yourself to someone as shallow as Jason? That you were able to love someone other than Leon? How does he not notice the way you look at him? How faithful you are to him even though you’re not even together…

He looks up at your lack of response, seeing your parted lips and wide eyes, almost like he’s caught you with a dirty little secret. He takes your silence as a yes. He clenches his fists, involuntarily grasping your hand a little too tightly. He pulls you more towards him now, your free hand bracing yourself against his chest. Gone is his nervous demeanor from before, replaced with something more dominant, something feral. His eyes flicker in the moonlight, looking at you with a territorial gaze.

“Did he touch you?” He asks you more urgently.

His behavior surprises you. You never expected for him to be bothered that much by the idea of someone else having you. You quickly shake your head before letting out a startled breath. “No of course not! Do you really think I would let him use me like that? When I don’t love him?”

His eyes widen at your words. “You don’t?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Fuck, of course not Leon. I hate the guy. Even more so after today. I can’t believe you’re actually thinking that me having sex with him could be a possibility.”

His grip loosens, letting go of your hand, lips parting to let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t… Of course you would never do that. His words just… They just…” He says now a little embarrassed, averting his gaze, looking anywhere but at you.

“Got into your head?” You finish his sentence. He nods at hearing your words, swallowing thickly. “Yeah…” Another second passes. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you would-“

“It’s fine.” You interrupt him bluntly. He shuts up after that, partially angry at himself for fucking it up, but also partially happy that you don’t return Jason’s feelings. You don’t love him. That alone makes him sigh in relief.

Your mind wanders to the other things Jason had said during his discussion with Leon. Foul and hurtful things that are meant to humiliate him, but are also, in a fucked up way, very appealing to you. Does Leon really throw secret glances your way when you’re not looking? Has he been yearning for you just as much as you’ve been yearning for him? You don’t want to get your hopes up, but fuck it, you had to know as well.

“And what about the things Jason said about you huh? Are they true.” You say, fiddling your fingers.

He furrows his eyebrows, looking at you with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

Now it’s your turn to become embarrassed. You can feel your cheeks involuntarily growing hot, your palms sweaty, picking at your nails. How do you say this without sounding like a fool, or even worse, desperate? Racking your brain for the right words, you come up with something that’s semi acceptable. You really hope you have interpreted his signals correctly. You brace yourself, ready to be laughed at, ridiculed or maybe even thought to be stupid.

You clear your throat before speaking. “He said something along the lines of you really… liking me? More than just a partner or a good friend?”

Fuck that sounds way more stupid when you say it out loud. This was a bad idea. Is it too late to disappear? You break eye contact, your fingers suddenly becoming very interesting as you don’t want to see the weirded out look that would surely come onto his face.

It stays quiet for a few seconds, the only noise being both of your breathing and the cold January wind. You take his lack of response as a sign of rejection. It saddens you, not that you had expected anything else... Because what would someone as perfect as Leon see in a loser like you. He’s probably weirded out about the age difference as well, thinking you’re a desperate and pathetic woman who’s out of her mind to think someone like him would fall for her. You squeeze your eyes shut for a second, willing yourself to remain as unfazed as possible.

“Why do you ask?” He says before you shake your head.

“Forget I said that. I think I desperately need some sleep.” You say, making your way back to the door, playing it off like nothing happened. You just hope you’ll get a good night's sleep and that all of this will be forgotten by tomorrow.

A firm grip around your elbow stops you before you can reach the door. You quickly turn your head, seeing Leon’s intense eyes searching yours. He pulls you more towards him, turning you around so he’s now standing between you and the door. He looks at you like he’s not done with you yet. A fire ignites in his eyes as you do your best not to buckle at the knees. He looks so beautiful like this, more vulnerable and honest. You want nothing more than to run your fingers through his hair, caress his face and kiss him softly. 

He’s looking down to match your gaze, his height impressive as he towers over you. You brace yourself, seeing he’s about to speak.

“No, I don’t like you.” Your heart breaks as he whispers the words into the night. All the courage you had left falls to the pit of your stomach. Any hope you mustered goes down the drain. Your vision gets foggy, feeling the liquid starting to build at the corners of your eyes, tears you so desperately want to keep in.

“Well then…” You say, swallowing down your pride. “That’s good to know.” 

You try to turn around again, moving your arm to release it from Leon’s grasp. That makes his grip tighten even more. Guess you’re not gonna make it to the door any time soon. Pulling at your arm, he makes you turn around. Now facing him again, you refuse to look into his eyes, settling yours on his chest instead, which is eye level anyway. 

“I don’t like you, that’s true.” Damn, you think, he doesn’t have to repeat it like that. But you speak too soon, seeing his lips part again. 

“I do so much more than that…” He whispers. You had never looked at him as fast as you do now. Your eyebrows are furrowed, looking into his eyes. The look in them is honest and warm with a slight nervousness to it.

“What… What are you saying Leon?” You mumble, not sure where this is heading. 

He takes a deep breath before responding. “What I mean is… that I don’t just like you. My… My feelings for you go way beyond that.”

You shake your head at his words, a single tear running down your cheek. “Please… Leon, don’t say things you don’t mean.” Is this his way of making fun of you? What are the odds that he feels the same way about you as you feel about him? That’s just impossible. You find it cruel how he thinks he can just play with your mind right now. 

He takes an urgent step towards you, not letting you go for even a second. He reaches for your face, his thumb wiping away the falling tear. “But I do mean it.” 

It’s like you’re cemented in place, not able to do anything more than just breathing and taking in Leon’s presence. For a moment you’re only aware of his proximity, the warmth of his hand and the blue eyes that manage to pull you into them and make you feel like you’re drowning. His hand remains on your cheek, thumb caressing it, slow and meaningful. Your name falls from his lips like an erotic whisper, giving you goosebumps.

“For the past few months, I’ve been trying so damn hard to stay away from you. To get rid of these feelings I thought would be nothing more than something temporary plaguing my mind. But ever since that day in October, the more days passed, the harder it became for me to forget about you. To see you as just a colleague. Back then in the conservatory you didn’t treat me like I was your superior ‘the’ agent Leon Kennedy, but just as Leon… Like an ordinary man and not the fucking waremachine everyone expects me to be.

I thought that making you my partner for missions would ease my worrying for your safety, that I would be more at ease because you’re with me all the time. But instead it only got worse. I felt myself becoming responsible for you, thinking that if something were to happen to you, it would be my fault, and my fault only. When we got separated today and I saw you almost get crushed by the concrete ceiling, I… I felt my heart stop. I thought you had died for a second. It… It felt like I was dying with you. I’ve never felt more scared in my life than I did back then. You get annoyed sometimes when I don’t let you go off on your own during a mission, but the truth is that it’s because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything were to happen to you. It’s the reason I lashed out earlier today. When that asshole tried to wrap his hand around your neck, I saw red…

On the other hand, you’ve made me the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. Your smile, your kindness, your humor, it all brightens up the room when you walk in, making me forget what I was doing in the first place. Whenever you laugh it warms my heart. It makes me feel like I’m 20 years younger again. 

If only I had been younger and we were under different circumstances… Fuck you propably think I’m just an old creep… I would have… Maybe dared to make a move on you. I would’ve courted you more properly, you know? Take you out on a proper date, give you more than just a bouquet of flowers and treat you right. Not fucking confess I have feelings for you in this dump in Raccoon City. That’s not what you deserve. You deserve the whole wide world because that’s what you are to me. Everyday when I wake up you’re the first thought on my mind. When I go to sleep you manage to follow me into my dreams. I’m… I’m not just attracted to you anymore. This feeling is a need to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep with you every night.

A feeling I’ve been trying to suppress for months. It tortures me but I don’t want to give up on it. And fuck, I can’t… I can’t hold on any longer. You’re perfect. In every way, so god damn perfect. I’m… I’m in love with you. And I fervently hope that in some way you’ll return my feelings.

Of course, if you don’t feel the same way I will understand completely. I will leave you be and will only talk to you when it concerns the mission or anything work related. I do not wish to force myself onto you. The only thing I care about is your happiness, and if that happiness doesn’t include me I will respect that completely.”

He looks at you with the deepest love you’ve ever seen, tears brimming his eyes as he just poured his heart out to you. You feel like you're dreaming, your own cheeks wet from the tears that well up. Never had anyone spoken to you with so much love and warmth like you’re the only thing that mattered. Never had someone said the words ‘I love you’ to you and meant it. But with Leon you’re absolutely sure. He doesn’t care that you're younger than him. If anything, he’s more insecure about his own age and that you’re gonna find him too old to consider being an option. You shake your head inwardly at the stupidity of the situation. His heart has been yearning for you just as much as yours has been for him. The only thing bothering you is that no one could know about it. The DSO protocol: no dating,  no messing around and no feelings for another agent or you’re out.

“But Leon… We’re colleagues. The DSO will never approve of this…”

“Yes, but we…” He’s quick to react but stops when he sees your look of uncertainty. Swallowing the words he’s about to say, he closes his mouth and breaks eye contact, casting his gaze towards your intertwined hands. He breaks them apart, returning his hands back to his side as he swallows thickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. It won’t happen again.” He looks back at the door. “We should get some sleep like you said.”

He turns his back to you, slowly walking towards the door. No… No, no, no. To hell with the DSO protocol.

You take a large step towards him, grabbing onto his shoulder before turning him around to face you. His blue eyes are still sparkling from the tears he’s trying to hold back. He looks at you with a confused expression, lips slightly parted, wanting to ask you what’s going on. You beat him to it. Throwing everything aside, all the nervousness, the worrying and the fear of what might come. You reach for his face and place your hand on his cheek, softly caressing his stubble.

“Thank God I don’t give a damn about the protocol.”

You lean in, standing up on your tiptoes. Looking into his eyes one more time, you let your eyes flutter shut before connecting your lips with his.

The kiss is slow at first, barely any pressure as you’re holding your lips to his. For a second he doesn’t move, shocked at the sudden turn of events as he feels the soft caressing of your lips against his own. He only needs a moment to recompose before he’s moving, kissing you back with so much tenderness your knees almost buckle. You can feel his hand at the small of your back while the other goes towards your side, his thumb caressing your cheek as his fingers settle on your neck. Your own hands are placed on his chest, desperately holding on to his shirt for dear life, not trusting your own legs anymore. 

The kiss only lasts about five seconds before he withdraws. When you open your eyes, you see his are still closed. His lips are parted, hot air fanning your face as he breathes heavily. The kiss has the same effect on you. Trying to catch your breath, you’re starting to feel warm inside, realizing your dream is finally becoming reality.

And then his eyes open with a storm of emotions in them, love, fondness, happiness… 

“Are you sure you want this? That you want me?” He whispers, putting his forehead against yours.

You answer by reaching for his hand that’s hanging loosely at his side before giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Leon, I've been sure ever since you saved me back on that first mission. You say that you can’t stay away from me, that you have a strong need to protect me… Well I’ve been experiencing the exact same thing. This excruciating feeling of wanting someone but knowing you can never have them or that they may never want you because you’re so much younger… You say you’re scared for my safety but you have no idea how much I fear for your life whenever you put yourself in front of me in a dangerous situation. I want to protect you from any further horrors because you’ve had to go through those way too many times. I… I’ve kept these feelings to myself because the idea of someone so beautiful and perfect like you even considering inexperienced laughable me to be a catch sounded absurd. Hearing you say that you’ve been feeling the same way makes me the happiest I’ve ever been. So happy that I could almost burst because… I love you too Leon, so fucking much. The truth is that I’m just scared… Of what the future holds or of what people might say. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t… I need you Leon…”

“Oh baby as long as I’m breathing you’ll never have to lose me.” And then he kisses you again more fervently. 

He’s a bit more rough this time. His lips are warm against yours as they mold together. His hand at your back pushes you against his hard chest as you feel his hand at your neck slightly tighten. The hold he has you in is safe and intimate, making it clear he never wants to let you go. You don’t want to let go either. You kiss him with more need this time.

You feel the wet touch of his tongue against your lips asking for permission to enter. You grant it, opening your lips and accepting his tongue, a bit shy and insecure at first. Sure you had been with someone before, but that was years ago. The feeling of Leon’s lips on yours was nothing compared to that first time. 

Breaking the kiss to catch a breath, you leave your eyes closed. Meanwhile he looks at you like you hung the stars, softly caressing your cheek like you’re a fragile piece of porcelain. His thumb moves lower, grazing your bottom lip. Your eyes flutter open as his thumb lingers, dragging your lip slightly down to make you pout. The look you give him is one of wonder, longing and utter submission. He’s mesmerised, seeing how quickly you give yourself over to him, how you nuzzle into his hand like you belong there. When your eyes connect with his and he sees your willingness, how much you want him… Oh well, he's a goner. 

“Fuck me… “ He groans, turning you around, slowly pushing you against the nearest wall. He cages you in, pressing your body against his, making you feel every muscle, every movement, his warmth… He kisses you again with so much hunger, claiming your mouth with his tongue as you’re holding on for dear life. The temperature rises when you feel a hardness press against your lower belly all of a sudden. Slowly and carefully at first, not trying to startle you. You moan into his mouth when you realize he’s just as excited about you as you are about him. Your own wetness is slowly forming and dripping from your intimate hole, making a mess in your cotton underwear. You push yourself against him, signaling that you want this, want him. 

He groans into the kiss, your response spurting him on even further. He’s on cloud nine, having the woman he loves kissing him back. So willingly in his arms, rubbing yourself against his hardness. He had been starving for this, to feel you, to kiss you, to hold you… And now he’s finally getting all of it. God, there’s no going back for him after this. Not when he knows you want him so desperately. You're his, whether you like it or not.

“You’re mine.” His voice cracks as he breaks the kiss.

“Yours…” You manage to mumble out of breath. 

Fuck how did he get to so lucky with you. He’s thankful for whatever higher power thought him to be worthy to get a woman as gorgeous and perfect as you.

He gives you a slow kiss on the lips before moving towards your jawline, all the way down to your neck. He kisses the skin there, his teeth softly nipping at you. Moving his hand towards the neckline of your shirt, he pulls the fabric away and gives himself access to your collarbones. His other hand reaches for the back of your thigh, lifting it up to let it rest on his hip. That way he’s capable of rubbing himself even harder against your heat. You moan at the action, tilting your head back, letting his mouth work wonders against your neck.

You’re suddenly reminded of the presence of the two other men back inside, who you hope are still sleeping. 

“Leon…” You say through a low moan. His only answer is a deep groan in your ear.

“Leon we can’t… We should stop. Not here, when we’re not alone…”

He withdraws from your neck, interrupting you, a hungry and territorial look in his eyes. The haze of desire is still there, burning hot beneath the surface. “I don’t fucking care. I want to let that piece of shit know you’re mine. Show him who you belong to…”

His words do nothing to ease the amount of want you have for him. But there’s still one thing he’s forgetting.

“What about Chris? If he notices us, we’re done for. And after today… After what happened with Jason…” Your voice cracks slightly. “People are already going to talk.” 

He stills at that, jaw tightening instantly, eyes slightly wider now. At the mention of Jason, something dark flickers across Leon’s face again. His hand flexes at your thigh. 

“Fair point...” He exhales and rests his forehead against yours again, eyes falling shut briefly like he’s trying to gather himself.

“You know what the worst part is?” He mutters. You shake your head slightly.

“I spent months convincing myself this could never happen.” A humorless laugh escapes him. “Told myself I was too old, too damaged, too fucked up for you. Told myself that even if you ever felt the same, it wouldn’t matter because the DSO would destroy it before it even started.”

His thumb strokes slowly beneath your jaw.

“But the second I thought I lost you today…” He swallows. “None of it mattered anymore.”

Your chest aches painfully at the confession.

“Leon…”

“I mean it.” He says firmly, pulling back just enough to look you in the eyes. “If the world ended tomorrow, the only thing I’d regret is not telling you sooner.”

Emotion clogs your throat all over again.

“You really scared me today.” He admits softly. “When that ceiling came down… Christ.” His voice trembles. “I’ve lost people before. Too many. But you-“ He cuts himself off sharply, like the words hurt too much to say aloud. Your hand slides up to his cheek instinctively.

“You needn’t worry Leon. We’ll figure something out. I’m here.” You whisper.

His eyes close briefly at your touch.

“Yeah.” He breathes. “You are.” 

Another silence settles between you again, but this one feels different now. Softer. Intimate. Fragile in a way neither of you are used to. Then Leon suddenly huffs a quiet laugh against your lips.

“What is it?” You ask.

“You realize…” He murmurs. “That after all this buildup… Our first kiss happened on a freezing balcony in zombie-infested Raccoon City.”

Despite everything, a laugh escapes you too. Wet tears still cling to your lashes, but for the first time all night, your chest feels lighter.

“Wow…” You mumble. “You really know how to romance a girl, Kennedy.”

“There were supposed to be candles.” He says gravely. “Maybe some wine.”

You snort. His smile fades slowly after that, replaced with something unbearably tender as he studies your face like he’s memorizing it.

He releases your thigh before returning his hand to your waist, leaving a little more space between you. If only you were somewhere safer. Somewhere you wouldn’t have to worry about who might hear or see you. Somewhere he could truly have his way with you…

Connecting your gaze to his again, you drown in those blue pools filled with admiration, longing and love. Your noses brush together as he parts his lips, a trace of nervousness lingering in his voice. “So… You really don’t care about the age difference?”

You shake your head softly, smiling at him. “Not even a little. Leon, you’re everything I could ever want, no matter your age.”

For the first time in what feels like forever, he gives you a genuine smile, one so warm and full that it reaches all the way up to his ears. It’s so contagious, making your own smile grow wider in return. You lean forward and rub your nose gently against his before cupping his cheeks in both hands, your thumbs brushing over the rough stubble along his jaw. 

“I love you Leon.”

“And I love you sweetheart.” He whispers before capturing your lips in another kiss.

The two of you stay like that for a little longer, kissing each other under the starlit sky with all of Raccoon City to see it. Despite the horrible events that happened earlier that day, you fall asleep a few moments later with a peaceful and full heart. As you lie on your side you feel Leon’s strong arms wrap securely around, pushing your back against his chest while sleep slowly claims you both.

Thank you for reading! <3 Once again, I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors. Please feel free to comment or DM me so I can correct them.

If anyone's still interested, I will continue to write a part four, which would be the ending of this series. :)

Poppi xxx

The familiar smell of paperwork and ink fills your senses as you step through the doors that lead to the DSO offices. Being one of the most important places at the facility, the offices are situated on the highest floors. You’ve never had a problem with that. Until today. Your shoulders still ache from the mission as the muscles in your legs strain after the amount of stairs you just did. The mission earlier that day had taken its toll on you, and to your luck, the elevator was down as well.

Straightening your back, you try to catch your breath as you make your way to one of the head offices. Chris had convened an emergency meeting after the quick talk he had with Leon back at Raccoon City. To your surprise, he had demanded your presence as well.

So that’s where you are now, hurrying your footsteps after you’ve just left your harness at your own desk. As you walk through the corridors, you get bewildered looks from several staff members who had no idea what had happened to you.

A familiar face comes into your line of vision as you're walking. A woman in her forties, blond short hair, piercing blue eyes while supporting a radiant smile.

“Well shit girl, you look terrible.” Sherry Birkin laughs, her warm hand on your shoulder stopping you so she can look you up and down better.

“Well thanks Sherry. That’s very uplifting.” You chuckle in response. With you and Sherry being the only females in the building, you’ve gotten rather close over time. Both of you being a friend and confidant to each other.

You sigh as you continue your steps with Sherry now following right next to you. “I feel like I got run over by a truck.”

“How did it go?” Knowing it was your first ever mission, Sherry had been waiting impatiently for your return.

“What do you think?” You ask her while taking a turn to the left. The office you have to be at is at the far end of the hallway. A few people block your path, some of them carrying files while others make their way back to their own desk. As you squirm through them you hear Sherry chuckle next to you.

“Knowing you, this…” She says while looking you up and down. “…Could mean it either went really wrong or really well.”

You grin before looking at her. “Jonathan’s out.”

A gasp leaves her mouth, eyes wide and hand on her chest, feigning mock hurt. “No way…” A grin replaces her expression immediately as she moves closer, whispering so no one else will hear. “Thank God. Bet you’re not too upset about that.”

You hum before shaking your head. “You have no idea.” As you reach the end of the hallway, the closed door now in front of you, you stop to turn towards her. “Mr. Redfield has demanded I participate in an urgent meeting concerning the mission earlier today.”

Sherry’s eyes narrow slightly as she crosses her arms. “What the hell happened then?” You shake your head, moving your arm to reach for the door handle. “It’s a long story Sherry. I’ll tell you later. We must meet up tonight for dinner.”

She smiles. “I’ll hold you to it.” Before turning around. “Good luck in there with the big bad wolf.” She says, referring to Chris. You snort, showing her a toothy grin before turning the handle. “See you tonight Sherry.”

You hear her heels clicking behind you as she walks away. Opening the door, you’re almost blinded by the bright sunlight that fills the room. As you close it, you blink a few times to let your eyes adjust to the light. You step away from the door and take in the room.

A wooden desk is situated in the middle with a row of windows behind it, giving you a nice view of the city below. Two bookcases have been placed against the wall on the right, carrying various files and documents, with a printer next to it. An ugly painting from some unknown artist covers the wall on your left, a coffee machine underneath, situated on top of a small cabinet filled with bottles of liquor.

Four chairs are placed around the desk. Chris sits in one of them, his back towards the windows, elbows placed on the desk as he uses his hands to lean his head on. The other three chairs are placed on the other side of the desk. Two men are already sitting with only the chair in the middle being free, for what you’re guessing is meant for you. Their backs are towards you. The person on the left you recognize to be Jason Miller, one of the rookies from the other duo you saw today during the mission.

As you look to the chair on the right, you don’t need any time to recognize the person who’s sitting there, his shoulders and hair being a very recognizable feature. As your heart starts to beat a little faster you realize that even from behind, Leon Kennedy makes quite the impression.

You hear Chris clear his throat as he addresses you. “Thank you for joining us. Please, sit.” He waves his hand towards the empty chair. You move forward, grabbing the backrest of the chair before moving it slightly back. As you move down to take a seat, the faint scent of freshly washed linen fills your nose again. You recognise it to be Leon’s. You peak out of the corner of your eye as you slowly inspect him.

Just like you, he’s still filthy from before, both of your clothes and hair covered with dust and dirt as you’re in need of a hot shower. Leon gazes straight ahead, breathing controlled, as he seems to be concentrating on something through the window. His sleeves are still rolled up to the elbow, revealing his toned forearms, hairy with a few veins protruding from the skin. Sitting flat against the back of the chair, his legs are spread as he lets his hands rest on top of them. A black Hamilton watch is wrapped around his wrist, making you wonder about the scale of his net worth. Your heartbeat picks up at the proximity, making your palms sweat and knees shake. He probably doesn’t realize it, you think to yourself, but he looks so utterly manly. 

“Are you alright miss?” Chris’s voice breaks you out of your daydreaming. You feel caught like a deer in the headlights. A blush climbs up your cheeks as you clear your throat. “I’m perfect Mr. Redfield, thank you. Please continue.” You swallow thickly, praying to the gods above he hadn't noticed you staring. If so, he chose not to give it much thought due to his lack of reaction. 

“Very well…” He nods, eyes now fixating on you and Jason. “Congratulations you two. You’re the only ones who made it through the test today. You’ve probably noticed by now your fellow comrades have packed their bags and left the facility. Good. No time for weakness in a place like this.”

The man next to you, Jason, is awfully quiet, you think to yourself. As you turn your head to take a quick look at him, you notice the triumphant smile on his face. Not quite as cocky as you’ve seen men do many times before, but more honest and warm. Making you believe he’s happy with himself for making it this far in his training. He nods before speaking. “Thank you Mr. Redfield. I'm very happy to have pleased you today.”

Like he has heard that same sentence many times before, Chris waves his hand, mumbling a subtle ‘yeah yeah’ as he disregards his words. He starts again. “Mr. Kennedy and I have been going over your performances today. I have to admit, some were a bit worse than others…” He says as he looks at Jason to make a point, who in his turn looks down at his lap, probably remembering the things he has to work on. You hear Chris sigh before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is that we both want you to become a part of our team. At the DSO. As fully trained agents.”

You let out an inaudible gasp, the feeling of joy warming your insides as you feel the corners of your mouth curl up into a toothy grin. After three months of training, bravery and hard work, you have done it. 

“Now if none of you object, which I don’t believe you will, I will get you registered in our systems, make sure we have your banking information so that we can deposit your salary, get you a badge and what not… But most importantly you will be assigned to a partner. Someone who will be your ally through all further missions. Someone who you must trust, while they trust you in return. Forming a bond that has to go on for a long time.”

Looking back at Jason he says. “Mr. Miller, you have proven yourself worthy today. At some moments you were even able to impress me. Therefore I will give you the chance to become my field partner if you’d like.”

Not a second passes before the words spurt out of Jason’s mouth. “Yes! Yes, of course. That would be amazing.” He’s ecstatic, fidgeting in his seat like a child who’s being told you’re gonna get him some ice cream.

“Very well then. There seems to be a lot more bioterrorism in Raccoon City than we first thought, according to Leon here.” He says, nodding over to the man sitting next to you. “I would like to check the area some more, look for things we might have missed on previous runs. Kennedy’s team found a nest of infected back in the tunnels leading to one of the old Umbrella labs. I want to make sure there aren’t any nests left.”

You see Jason’s Adam's apple bob, the smile from before slowly fading away, replacing it with a more stern and serious expression. He seems a bit unsure about the idea, hesitant even, opening his mouth before quickly closing it again. You don’t blame him though. If you had to face another horde of infected, you’d be scared as well.

A few seconds pass. All eyes on Jason. The tension in the room rises as you’re waiting for his next move. For what his reaction will be. Like it’s just another way of Chris trying to test him, like he hasn’t already been through enough. 

Eventually you see him take in a deep breath as he sits straight, looking up to meet Chris’s gaze again. His eyes are clear and there’s more certainty in his voice as he speaks. “Seems like a good idea sir. You can count on me.” 

You admire his braveness, though sadly, this is what’s required from the two of you from now on during missions... No fear, no hesitation. You just have to jump into the unknown and hope for the best.

Chris gives him a small smile in return, acknowledging his bravery and perseverance despite the dangerous challenge that lies ahead. “Good man.” He says before reaching into one of the drawers to his right. He takes out a yellow colored file and slides it over the desk. “This file holds a grand map of Raccoon City. Well at least of what’s left of it. There’s still a few hours to the day. I suggest you use that time to look it over and try to memorize as much as you can. It will make it easier for you to navigate through the city. And don’t stay up late. I want to leave early in the morning. Preferably at dawn and I need a partner that’s well rested.”

“I’ll be ready sir.” Jason replies without thinking. You wonder how good of a night's sleep he’s actually going to get knowing what he might see tomorrow. You wouldn’t sleep very well, that’s for sure. You didn’t even sleep well last night and you had no idea what was going to happen today.

As Jason reaches out to grab the file you start to get a little curious about who your partner might be. If you’re given a say in it you’d prefer Sherry even though she’s already made it clear that she prefers an office job over fieldwork, saying she’s gotten a little too old for that. Nevertheless she would make an awesome partner as you know you two click very well.

“Who’s my partner going to be?”

The question hangs in the air for a second as the room goes awfully quiet. You see Chris’s eyes widen slightly, eyebrows raised as if he doesn’t want you to ask him that question. Almost like he wants to avoid it. He inhales sharply and straightens his posture, his index finger tapping on the wooden surface of his desk. Clearing his throat he looks more towards his left with unease, eyes landing on Leon, who seems to shift beside you. A breath coming out of his mouth he seemed to have been holding for a while.

You look at him, then back at Chris, then back at Leon, then back at Chris. Neither of the two speaks.

You’re starting to panic, an unpleasant feeling filling your stomach as you feel your breathing change and your heartbeat quicken. Outwardly you remain as calm and composed as you can be. Though inwardly, the anxiety is working overtime. Why aren’t they answering your question? Is it a bad sign? Are you not qualified enough? They're not going to kick you out after completing your training, will they? Or is it your partner? Can’t they find anyone who you’ll match with? Or worse... Is there no one who wants to work with you? Is it because you’re a woman? Do people still look at you like you’re a helpless little girl? Fuck no, you had earned your place here. They can’t kick you out.

The clearing of a throat stops your thoughts from spiraling even further. As you look towards the sound, you realize it’s Leon, who now also has his eyes focussed on you together with Chris. You brace yourself for the inevitable as Leon’s lips part before speaking.

“They partnered you up with who?” Sherry almost shouts in your face, repeating the same question for the third time, not wanting to believe your answer. The water in your glass shakes as she grips the table tightly by the edges, leaning forward to make sure she heard you correctly the other two times. The two plates of spaghetti are still hot between you two as you put your fork down again to let it cool down, your back straightening as you give her the same answer. 

“Leon S. Kennedy. The one and only.” You draw out, still not quite believing your own words yourself. It has been three hours since the meeting. Three hours of you reminiscing everything that was said. 

“I understand if it’s not what you had in mind but… After what happened today, I would appreciate it if you considered me to be your partner. Like I told you earlier, I’ve never met anyone who compliments me in my strategies as well as you do, like we weren’t trained separately but together. You had my back today as well as I had yours. You don’t have to join me and you're certainly not obliged, but… I would be open to it. If you’re not interested, we can always find someone more… suitable to your liking.”

Not much was said after Leon had spoken. You almost couldn’t. Never in your life would you have believed that ‘the’ Leon Kennedy, who had saved the world countless of times, would want you to be his partner. Out of all the agents at the DSO, he picks you. A new female agent.

You had agreed to his offer in semi shock, almost not daring to look into his eyes because of his intense staring. A few more formalities were had before Chris decided to end the meeting. You stood up quickly, eager to get out of the room as fast as possible. As you took urgent steps towards the door, you felt Leon’s burning stare on your back. You’d made quick work of the handle, twisting it, before fleeing. 

Back to where you are now, Sherry’s mouth has fallen open, the food forgotten as she shakes her head. “That’s not right. That’s… weird.”

You scoff at her words. “Wow, thanks a lot Sherry. Cheers.” 

She shakes her head again, quicker this time. “I don’t mean it like that. It’s just… odd. Leon hasn’t had a partner in ages. I don’t even think I’ve ever seen him with a partner really. He has always told me he didn’t want a partner, simply because he didn’t need one. That he’s better off on his own.”

You frown at the confession. “Then why choose me? Why offer me a position next to him if he has no need of me?”

“You tell me...” Sherry huffs, clearly out of ideas. A few seconds of silence pass before she throws you a cheeky grin and a wink. “Maybe his old age is catching up with him.”

You snort. “Sherry, you do know that he’s only nine years older than you right?”

“Sweetie I’m forty, Leon’s pushing fifty. That’s a big difference.”

You smile at her, feeling your cheeks grow slightly warm. “Yes, but… he’s not that old, just… middle aged.”

Sherry hums, picking up her fork and digging into her food. “Yeah, whatever. So, speaking of being old. You’re turning thirty in a few months. How does that feel?”

You groan. “Ok. Let’s drop the subject now shall we.”

You shake your head as she laughs. Looking down at your plate, you pick up your own fork, scooping up enough of spaghetti so your mouth will be full. Subtly avoiding her glance as you don’t feel like talking.

Her telling you Leon is being perceived as an old man makes you slightly insecure about your feelings towards him. You have a thing for him, that is clear. But what does that say about you? Are you a creep for being into older men? Is it wrong? Will people look at you weirdly if they find out? No man of that age has ever triggered your interest as much as Leon did though. So maybe you don’t have to worry about it. Maybe those stupid feelings will pass once you get to know him better. For all you know, he could be a prick.

You and Sherry chat some more after you both finish dinner. After a while you decide to call it a night, still in dying need of that hot shower. As you part ways, you make your way to your room located in the building connected to the one you’re at. All personal staff at the DSO were offered a room to stay in next to the facility. Free of charges while also having food provided for you. As you had nowhere else to go, you immediately signed up for one once you started three months ago.

You make your way up to the third floor, grateful that at least this elevator is still working. Taking tired steps through the hallway, you slide your key into the lock as you reach your room, quickly locking it behind you. Upon entering the small bathroom that’s connected to the room you almost sigh in relief at seeing the white tiled shower. You groan as you take off your clothes, the muscles in your shoulders still stiff as you lift your shirt over your head. The water is hot against your skin as you wash away all the dirt and dust you’d collected during the day. Staying underneath the hot stream after you’ve washed your hair, you let your mind wander for a bit as you enjoy the calmness. After a few minutes you turn off the tap and reach for a towel to dry yourself. Slipping into one of your comfortable pajamas, a plain grey T-shirt and bottoms decorated with sunflowers on them, you’re finally content.

Returning to the bedroom you move to the side to sit on the edge of the bed, looking for a few seconds at the picture of your deceased parents on the nightstand. You bent down to open the small cupboard, retrieving a very special treasure hidden inside. A bag of crisps, salt and pepper flavored. The little girl inside you jumps in victory at seeing the promised treat. You take the bag and make your way towards the door, stepping out into the hallway and locking it behind you again. You move towards the elevator, pushing the button as you wait for it to come up. Once the doors open, you step inside and push the number eight, the highest floor in the building. Yesterday, when your thoughts had run haywire, you had found a quiet and secluded spot there hidden behind a few empty bedchambers. A small conservatory, rid of any plants. Now it just seemed to be used as an attic to store stuff in. You sat there by yourself. Trying to get rid of the intrusive thoughts clouding your mind. Scared about the mission that would come the next day.

Letting your eyes fall upon the city, you loved the small lights still illuminating it in the dark. Many wouldn’t spare a glance but oh how beautiful it was to you, giving you peace and well deserved leisure. You had enjoyed your time up there, and told Sherry about it this morning. She had only huffed and said the room hadn’t been used in ages. That no one ever really goes up there anymore. All the more reason for you to go up there even more.

As you hear the bing of the elevator, you open up your bag of crisps. Sticking your nose in it first to fully inhale the glorious scent. Walking through the short hallway you reach the door of the conservatory in mere seconds, swiftly opening the door, which is always unlocked. 

You walk in and move towards the windows, not paying much thought to the faint light that’s already on in the far corner. Your eyes fall upon the city, several lights shining bright again, turning a soft smile on your face. You look down into the bag you’re holding and reach for one big piece. You almost want to drool when you see the seasoning on it. Liking your lips, you open your mouth wide and and push it in. You almost groan at the taste, your mouth full. The delicious, crunchy tas-

Light in the corner? 

Your eyes widen in the split of a second as you realize you’re not alone. Quickly turning around you look back at the far corner on the right. There, sitting on an old worn-out sofa, is Leon Kennedy, your new partner. 

Just like you he’s dressed in more comfortable clothing, a basic white T-shirt with some grey sweatpants. His hair is tousled. Wide blue eyes look at you through a pair of clear reading glasses. His mouth slightly agape like he had been caught doing something he’s not supposed to. As you look down you can see him holding a book in his hand and a pen in the other. His eyes are looking you up and down as well. Starting at your still damp hair. Moving further to the bag in your hand, to your waist, and last but not least to your sunflower bottoms. 

If the floor now miraculously opened up a hole, you would jump straight into it. You quickly swallow the food left in your mouth. This is fucking embarrasing. Not only did you interrupt him doing whatever it was he was doing, he also got to see you in the most ridiculous outfit you could have ever worn in front of him. You have to get out of here. Fast.

“I… Uh… Well… This is…Uh… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, I uh… Yes. Goodnight!”

Giving yourself a mental smack on the head you turn to the door with great haste, almost not running to at least keep some of your dignity. Thankfully you hadn’t bothered closing it when you came in, the exit now wide open. 

Before you even get the chance to reach for the handle and close the door behind you’re stopped by his hurried voice.

“Wait!” 

You almost trip over your own feet, holding yourself onto the door so you won’t fall. Your head turns towards him as your eyes meet his. An unsure look in them as he swallows thickly. Almost like he was a bit surprised by his own reaction. “You don’t have to leave. I just… didn’t expect any company.”

You let out a shaky breath, heart pumping as you hold onto your bag of crisps for dear life. “Sherry told me no one ever comes here.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing.” He replies immediately.

You try to look anywhere but at him as his gaze remains on you. For a moment none of you speak, the quietness almost suffocating as you try your very best not to faint. Eventually he looks down at the space next to him before returning his attention back to you.

“You can uh… sit here if you want.” He suggests nervously. 

The wrinkling of the plastic bag you’re holding fills the room as you take a step back, letting go of the handle. You take a step to move towards him but get stopped again.

“Close the door.” He insists. His tone is now a bit more certain and calm but with still an underlying uneasiness to it. You nod, not quite sure as to why you agree to locking yourself up here with him. As you close the door, you move towards the green sofa. Leon scoots a bit to the side, making more room for you. You carefully sit down, your back making contact with the soft cushioning as you feel the warmth of where he just sat start to seep through your clothes. 

It’s awkwardly quiet as you feel his stare on you while you’re trying to look anywhere but at him. You hear his breathing combined with a soft rustling noise as he scratches his stubble. His voice breaks the silence. “So how are you holding up? You know, after today.”

You turn your head and force yourself to meet his gaze, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “I’m ok. I guess.”

“You guess?”

You nod. “Yeah just… Still a little shaken up maybe.”

He hums, tilting his head slightly. ”I’d be surprised if you weren’t.” His lips turn into a small smile, a mischievous look into his eyes. “If you're just a ‘little’ shaken up after what happened today, I should just throw you to the infected more often. You know, there’s an Umbrella lab situated somewhere in the heart of Raccoon City that still needs to get cleared out. Tons of infected are in there. Vicious, horrendous creatures just like the ones you saw today.” He shrugs his shoulders. “If you’re interested, I could bring you there tomorrow. I think you’d have the place sweeped in a few hours.”

His eyes glow in the little light provided by the large floor lamp that’s standing next to the sofa. A look in them you recognize all too well. He’s testing you. Waiting to see if you will take the bait and continue in his made up nonsense. Continue lying. If there’s one thing you have learned during your training with Leon, it’s that he doesn’t like being lied to. And as much as you try to hide it right now and play dumb, he’s seeing right through you.

You break eye contact. Looking down at your hands, still tightly grasping the bag of crisps. You manage to open your lips but no words come out. Fuck. You had been good at mastering the ‘emotional’ side of your training. Days filled with learning how to lie, how to be mentally strong and how to mislead someone. More than good even. You had excelled at it. And now those stupid blue eyes manage to unarm you in seconds. It’s just because he’s not an enemy, you tell yourself.

Seeing the turmoil going on in your head, Leon realizes the events from today had affected you more than he thought. He leans a bit closer, his shoulder almost brushing yours as you feel his hot breath hitting your face now. The smell of toothpaste is still fresh. His voice is softer than before, almost whispering. “Hey, I’m just messing with you.”

You refrain from looking at him, unsettled by the effect he has on you while also still embarrassed that you’re sitting next to him in your pajamas. He sighs next to you, putting the book he’d been holding onto his lap. As he fiddles the pen in his hands, he takes his eyes away from you, looking straight towards the windows. A few seconds pass before you hear his voice again, more serious this time but still gentle. “The first night after a mission it’s always hard to find rest once you’ve seen the bioterrorism Umbrella has brought upon the world. I just want you to know that, as someone who has more experience on the matter, it’s never a good idea to keep your feelings bottled up like that. You need to find someone who you trust enough to confide in, to talk to.”

“Is that what you did after your first mission?”

Now looking at him, you see his Adam’s apple bob as he clenches jaw. After a second you realize how wrong you were for asking him that. You immediately feel guilty, knowing what he’s been through 28 years ago, the horror and destruction of Raccoon City probably still clear in his memory. Your lips tremble as you scurry your mind for something apologetic to say. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you that. Forget I said anything.”

He shakes his head, a few strands of hair falling in front of his face as he does so. “No, it’s fine. You uh… Probably already know the answer to that. The story is quite famous among the DSO.” Turning his body now so he’s facing you, you see a small hint of pain hidden in his eyes. He continues nonetheless. “I used to keep it all in. Didn’t talk to anyone for years. I thought I could handle it but… I was wrong.”

For the first time tonight you’re able to keep looking into his eyes. Despite the serious topic, still being drawn to the beauty they hold. The color is not just any blue, but more like the piercing cold on a freezing winter day. Holding a storm of different emotions in them, pain, suffering, loss… And something else. Something you’re not sure you can name.

“Tell me what’s going through your head. Tell me what you’re feeling.” He says.

“I…” You stop yourself. Unsure of the words that you’re going to say but still continuing. “I was… I was terrified back in those tunnels. When Jonathan left me… I thought I was going to die down there. Alone. The idea suffocates me.”

You can see his eyes soften at your words. Letting out a sigh, he probably recognizes the emotions you’re feeling.

He wants nothing more than to reach out and hold your hand right now. Seeing that look on your face, one of sadness, pain and still lingering shock, makes him frustrated to no end. He doesn’t want to see you like that. He knows what you’re going through and the kind of thoughts you’re having, ‘cause he’s been in similar situations many times himself. A strange feeling inside makes him want to guard you from that. To shield you from the horrors outside. He can’t stop the missions that are to follow but he can protect you as much as possible. 

He hates the way his heart speeds up when you’re near. Or the way his hands get clammy when you finally dare to look at him out of the corner of your eye. When you oh so shyly try to maintain eye contact with him. 

Your hair is down now, still damp from the shower you must have taken, thick locks cascading down your shoulders in soft waves. The smell of lavender combined with something sweet enters his nostrils, making him almost want to hum at the great scent you’re holding. Your little sunflower pajamas give little away from the shape of your legs. He sees you’re embarrassed by them. The way you're putting the plastic bag of crisps on your lap, trying to cover some of the pattern. He thinks it's cute. A beautiful contrast to how you act during the day. A strong soldier in the daytime and seemingly softer at night. 

“It’s normal to feel like that.” He says while nodding. “I would like to tell you it gets better over time. That you won’t feel like this again after a few more missions… But sadly it doesn’t. You might get a little unsensitized over time, but the feeling still lingers.” He can see the small hope left in your eyes starting to fade away. You once again break eye contact and look down at your hands in deep thought. It gnaws at his heartstrings that he has to tell you the harsh truth, but he can’t lie to you. Not even if he wants to. You have that effect on him annoyingly enough. And besides, you deserve to know the truth. 

You stay quiet after that, closing your eyes after a second. He racks his brain for anything comforting to say, only to come up with nothing. Nothing of any means anyway. So he does something without even fully realizing it.

You feel something warm wrap around your lower arm, slightly startling you. When you open your eyes you can see his calloused hand wrapped around it. His touch feeling almost like an electric pulse that seems to hold you in place and stops you from breathing. He feels so warm against your skin. His thumb rubbing soothing circles there. You realize his hands are much bigger than yours. Broader, nails clean cut, a few veins running over them… So fucking manly. His voice seems to bring you out of your stupor again.

“Hey, listen to me. I’m not gonna lie to you, you don’t deserve that.” You keep your gaze down, a bit to his disliking. You’re so shy at the wrong times. He sighs. “Look at me.” He says, not raising his voice but putting a bit more firmness behind it, more dominance. Receiving it as a demand, you lift your gaze up to meet his, mouth going dry as you meet his penetrating stare again. 

“The job that we do. It isn’t easy. It never is. Nor will it ever be. There will be days… Much worse than this one, when we don’t know if we’re gonna make it or not. Missions that will push us to our limits and make us lose our minds. But you need to realize that what we're doing is not for us, but for the world. For all the people who are too weak to defend themselves. To make this all a better place. And you need to know that at the end of the day, you’ll get to come back here. To your colleagues, to Sherry… You get to wash everything away, put a cute little pajama on and get in bed. You-”

“What if I’m not ok?” You suddenly speak, interrupting him, forgetting that he just called your pajamas cute. “What if I don’t make it back? What if… What if I die?”

“I’m not gonna let that happen” He replies within a heartbeat, his face serious and sincere. 

You let out a shaky breath. “Mr. Kennedy, I-”

“Please.” He says, interrupting you now. “Call me Leon. From now on I’m not just your superior anymore. If we’re to be partners I want you to call me by my first name."

You nod. “Ok. Leon then.” You say with an unsure smile. He returns it, his lips now turning into a soft smile as well. You clear your throat while remembering what you were trying to say. “ I appreciate that you’re trying to help me, but I’m scared of what is to come. What if the next mission I’m sent on freaks me out even more? What if I get so scared I fuck up next time like Jonathan did? You say you can prevent me from dying but you don’t know that. You can't fend off a bullet coming my way or keep twenty infected from jumping at me at the same time. What if this isn’t what I was meant to do and-”

“Hey hey none of that.” He says, turning his body so his front is facing you now completely, his book and pen sliding somewhere between you two. His other hand now goes up to your shoulder, placing it there, its warmth keeping you sane and grounded. “You won’t fuck up. You’re way more powerful than you think you are and it angers me that you don’t see it. That you’re so insecure about yourself. Today you’ve shown me your strength, your resilience and your courage. You have no idea how more powerful you are compared to other agents around here. So much more powerful, in fact, I am certain that this is definitely the place you belong at. And as for your safety? I take that very seriously. I will do everything in my power to protect you from any threats that we might face.”

His words give you a warm feeling inside, making you a little sentimental as well. No one has ever said something like that to you before. Ever since you lost your parents at a young age, you had to fend for yourself. No one ever cared enough for you like Leon seems to do now. On the other hand, you feel ashamed that you’re confessing everything to him like that. You’re supposed to be tough and not almost break down in front of an older agent who has seen it all happen. 

Not wanting to let out any tears, you swallow away your self-pity. Taking in a deep breath, you smile again as you try to lift up the mood.

“Well, consider me your new bodyguard from now on Leon. ‘Cause I’ll do my very best to protect you as well.”

He chuckles at your words as he lets you go, both of his hands returning to his lap. The atmosphere is becoming more relaxing. “I would expect nothing less of you.”

As you look down, your gaze falls upon the book lying between the two of you. Except it’s not just any book. Looking at it upside down you see a whole page filled with various squares lined up next to each other. A different line of squares crossing the other, and the other, and the other. A whole pattern like that throughout the whole page. Some squares are already holding a letter… He’s playing a crossword puzzle.

“A crossword puzzle?” You ask him curiously.

You see his eyes widen. Mouth slightly agape like he’d been caught in the act of doing something bad. A soft blush starts to make its way up towards his cheeks, making you chuckle. “Uh yeah I…” He says, hand going to the back of his neck, scratching it, something you recognize to be a nervous trait of his. “It’s nothing. Stupid even really. ‘T was just lying around here.” 

It wasn’t just lying around. He had bought it himself two days ago at a local store, but he wasn’t gonna tell you that.

You lean in, taking a better look at the page as you pick it up, leaving the bag of crisps on your lap. “I haven't often had the chance to play something like this. Is it difficult?”

For a second he doesn’t know what to say to that. He had expected you to laugh at him and find him to be an old weird man. Instead you show him interest? 

“It’s not difficult. Well at least some words aren’t. You have to find the words the sentences are describing here.” He says, pointing to the other page. Twenty sentences are listed from top to bottom. “When you find the word, you put every individual letter in one of the squares. You see the yellow squares over here?” You see him pointing towards a line of squares marked in yellow. You nod, signaling for him to continue.

“When you’ve got every word, all the squares on this line will be filled. telling you the main word you’re looking for. Once you find that, you win the game.”

“Well that seems to be fun to do on your own. You don’t have many yet though…” You say looking at him with a sly smile. 

He chuckles. “Well, I have only just started. May I remind you that it was you who walked in, disturbed my peace and prevented me from completing this.”

“You say that. For all I know you’ve been working on this for hours. These don’t seem very difficult.”

“Is that a challenge?” He daringly asks. You only laugh in response, looking at one of the descriptions. A question mark had been written next to it in pen, signaling Leon probably had no idea what the answer was. You read it. ‘Where do you find the patella joint?’ Well that’s easy.

“Kneecap.” 

“What?” Leon asks, a confused expression on his face when you turn to look at him. 

“The description here, number seven. ‘Where do you find the patella joint’. In your knee. It’s the kneecap.” You say as you reach for the pen, click it, and fill in the missing word.

For a moment he doesn’t say anything and looks at you a little bewildered. You return his gaze with a shy smile which seems to bring a reaction out of him. “You’re a smart one, aren’t ya?” He grins while letting out a breathy laugh.

“Oh no, I just… I mean, I try.” You say, as you can feel your own blush starting to form. You hate how much of an effect he has on you.

Looking down at the descriptions again you quickly look for another one to solve, a simple way to avoid answering his gaze. It doesn’t take long for you to find another unsolved one. ‘What is the largest planet in our solar system?’ Well that is easy again.

“Jupiter. Here, number eleven. The answer is Jupiter.” You say before filling in the little boxes. “And that one, number fifteen ‘What is the capital of Japan?’ that’s clearly Tokio. How did you not know that?” You smile as you give him a little nudge with your elbow.

“Hey, give me that. Can’t have you do all the hard work for me.” He chuckles while carefully taking the book out of your hands. He looks over the page once more, deciding which description he will take on next. He reads over number sixteen ‘What is the name of the process by which plants convert sunlight into food?’. He racks his brain looking for the correct answer. He knows what it is, he’s sure of it. He just can’t find the correct name. 

He’s in deep thought when all of a sudden the answer comes to him like a struck of lighting. He’s quick to reach for the second pen hidden in the pocket of his sweatpants. But not quick enough. As he wraps his hand around the pen, he sees your own hand entering his field of vision. Your delicate fingers hold your own pen as you move towards the boxes with the number sixteen next to it. You sneakily write the word ‘photosynthesis’ letter by letter. When you finish, you give him a quick glance, throwing him a wink.

“Gotta be quicker than that Kennedy.”

The look in his eyes turns more playful and teasing at hearing your words.

“I see…” He says, unable to hide the smirk coming onto his face. You’re playing with him. Challenging him. He likes that. Even though it’s just innocent. 

Well he can match that vibe of yours. Looking down at the page again, one description catches his attention. Something he’s sure you’ll never have the answer to. As he turns the page more to you now, he points his finger to the number nineteen. “Let’s see if you can find this one.” 

He sees your curious eyes following his finger. Once you see the sentence his finger lands on you mutter the words in a soft calm voice. Hoping that in some way it will make the answer pop up in your head, that it will make you think better. “ ‘What is the last name of the person who discovered penicillin?’ “ 

Your eyebrows are furrowed as he sees you think of an answer, looking at the words over and over again. He knows the answer, and he could tell you of course. But he just wants to give you a chance to find it yourself first. The way you’re slightly biting your lower lip while holding your breath, like the answer might come any faster, it’s very endearing to him. 

You look up at him, an unsure expression on your face as you speak. “Einstein?”

His warm chuckle rings through the room before he speaks. “No I’m sorry that’s not correct. Try again.”

Once again looking down at the page he sees you racking your brain for any possible scientist you’ve ever known. Sadly you come up with nothing and are forced to look back up at him defeated. You let out a long sigh. “I honestly have no idea.” 

He gives you a small smile in return. “That’s ok. I’ll give you a hint.” He turns on his pen and moves it towards the boxes next to the number nineteen. He writes the first letter of the name, an ‘F’ and waits, looking out of the corner of his eye in your direction as he waits for a reaction from you. You stay still, eyes focused on the pen he’s holding and the letter in the box. He decides to give you a bit more, writing the letter ‘L’. Still, nothing from you. As he writes the letter ‘E’ you suddenly shout the answer. Slightly startling him with your excitement. 

“Fleming!” 

Your hand covers your mouth immediately as you too are startled by your own loudness. A small giggle leaves your lips as you show him a toothy grin, your voice now more quiet and calm. “It’s Flemming right?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, it is. Well done.” He says while nodding and finishing the word on the page.

You move your back more against the sofa, arms wrapped around your waist as you’re still laughing. There’s that feeling again. The sound of your laugh warming his insides. A feeling he so desperately wants to get used to, but doesn't allow himself to. You’re so beautiful in your natural state, gorgeous hair, a clear face and eyes that start to become heavy as you’re starting to get tired. If only you’d met under different circumstances, if he’d been younger… Instead the two of you live in a whole other reality. Something that pains him deeply as he has wanted a normal life for as long as he can remember. 

You involuntarily lean more towards him. He sees it as a sign you’re starting to feel more comfortable around him. Good, he thinks to himself. The two of you will be spending a lot more time together than you’re used to. It’s important to start off slowly and create a strong bond after that.

That’s all this is, right? Creating a familiar bond with one another, strictly professional. That’s all the two of you need right now, right?

Then why doesn’t that feel enough for him? 

Feeling warm inside, your laughing quiets down as you suddenly realize you still have the bag of crisps on your lap. Reaching for it, you reopen it again and gesture the opening towards Leon. “You want some? It’s salt and pepper crisps. They’re very tasty.”

He looks inside the bag, taking in its contents before looking back up at you again. “I haven’t had many opportunities to buy a bag of these. I remember them to be quite tastefull.” He confesses almost shyly. Your heart breaks at the reality of him having to miss out on the normal things in life. Of having to live a life where you always have to be on guard. He didn’t deserve that.

You look down at the bag, then back to him. “Well then, enjoy. Take as much as you want.”

“You sure?”

"Positive. Please, I insist.” You say, almost pushing the bag under his nose. He chuckles at your persistence before reaching inside the bag and taking out one piece. When he puts it in his mouth you can hear the soft crunching as he eats it. Once he swallows it down, he nods at you. “This shit is good.” Before taking another one. 

You laugh at seeing his closed eyes as he softly groans at tasting the second piece. “I told you.” Taking a piece for yourself again, you look back down at the crossword puzzle you were doing. “So… You left any good ones for me?”

Chuckling at your words, he swallows down the food before looking into your eyes. “Oh there’s plenty more if you’re interested.”

“Hit me.”

And so the night continues with the two of you solving puzzle after puzzle. You do three pages in total as two hours pass, the clock almost striking eleven. You feel the fatigue starting to get the better of you, your eyes getting heavy as you force back down a yawn. You don’t want this night to end. You haven’t had a good time like this with someone in a long while. Except for that one time you and Sherry went on that dating app and judged every man that passed your screen. But that story is for another time.

“Are you tired?” Leon’s voice catches your attention. Opening your eyes a bit more as you face him, you see him already softly smiling at you. You return it immediately before answering. “Kind of yeah. It’s been a long day.”

“Of course. It’s time we both get some rest.” He says, closing the book full of crossword puzzles and putting the two pens back into his pocket. As much as you want tonight to continue, you can barely think anymore. The bag of crisps that you shared, lies empty at your feet now. As you bend down to pick it up, you see him stand up next to you. As you do the same you squeeze the bag into a small lump making it easier for you to throw it into the trash later.

Leon puts out the light in the corner, putting the two of you into darkness. You’re still able to see though as enough light is provided by the city outside. As you go first you hear his heavier footsteps behind you. Reaching for the handle, you open the door and step back out into the hallway. You make your way to the elevator at the far end, hearing Leon close the door of the conservatory behind you. As you reach the elevator you push the ‘up’ button and wait for it to come up. Having to come from the ground floor, you have to wait for a few seconds. As you hear the sharp ‘bing’ ring through the air, signaling the elevator has arrived, you feel Leon’s presence getting closer. Your heartbeat flutters once more as he stops behind you. Even though you had a good time solving the crossword puzzles and were able to get to know each other a little bit better, his presence still makes you nervous.

As the doors open, you can feel his hand carefully touching your lower back, softly nudging you forward, making your breath hitch. Walking into the elevator you hear him speak from behind you. “What floor are you staying on?” His other hand already moves towards the buttons against the wall.

“The third floor, thank you.” You say before he presses it. After that he lets his thumb move towards the letter two. “I’m one floor below.” He replies. You nod as the doors slowly close. 

Standing quietly next to each other you suddenly feel a bit awkward. What are you supposed to say to him when you step out of the elevator? ‘Goodnight Leon, sweet dreams?’ That’s ridiculous. He beats you to it, his voice a bit raspy due to the tiredness as he clears his throat. 

“I had a really nice time.” He says. “Normally I just sit there doing crossword puzzles by myself every other night. But tonight you made it more interesting for me, more fun. Thank you.” 

You force yourself to keep looking into his eyes. Your heartbeat going faster and faster as you see the sincerity behind them. The idea he had enjoyed spending time with you warms your insides and makes the little girl inside of you giggle. You’re not able to hide the shy smile that starts to form as the elevator slows down. 

“It’s no problem Leon. Honestly I came to the conservatory just to be by myself and enjoy my crisps.” You say laughing as he’s holding back a grin himself. “But I must confess that spending some free time with you has been very relaxing to me.”

One of his hands goes to the back of his neck again, scratching the skin there. “Yeah and uh… Thank you for not judging my little hobby. Most people will find it doesn’t suit my image.”

Him feeling embarrassed is the last thing you want, so you’re quick to reply as you shake your head. “I would never think of you weirdly just for having a normal hobby Leon. I admit crossword puzzles aren’t very popular but you showed me how fun they can be. Anyone who doesn’t see that is a moron."

He chuckles at your answer. “So you don’t find me old?”

You return his smile as you hear the elevator doors open. “Of course not. You’re in the prime of your life.” You grin, taking a few steps to move out. You turn around, placing a hand on one of the doors, preventing it from closing. “Thank you for tonight Leon.”

He takes a step towards you, putting his own hand on the door as well. “Hey uh… I was wondering… That maybe… We should do this again sometime. Only if you’re interested of course.”

Your heart flutters again as you realise what he’s asking. He wants to spend more time with you? You want nothing more than to say yes. But how do you do that without sounding over excited? 

You slowly nod before speaking. “Yes. Yes of course, we could do that. We’ll just uh… Meet again here tomorrow night?”

“We definitely should. Though I need you back at the office tomorrow morning. There are some things I’d like to discuss with you. Things that don’t sit right with me according to what happened today at Raccoon City. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, more with the fact that we don’t seem to know the city as well as we would like to.” He says with furrowed eyebrows.

“I’ll be there, don't worry.” You reply immediately. 

“I know you will. Anyway, get some rest for now. You’ve earned it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“See you tomorrow Leon… Goodnight.” You say as you take away your hand from the door. 

“Goodnight.” He says as he does the same.

You take a step back and turn around making your way down the hallway, not wanting to awkwardly watch him as the doors slide closed. When you dare to take a quick look back, you can see him still looking at you with his penetrating gaze. As the doors close, you let out a sigh you didn’t know you’d been holding. Reaching your room, you open the door before locking it behind you, making way for your bed. As your head hits the soft pillow, it doesn’t take long for a deep sleep to take over you. 

The days had grown noticeably colder as the months went by. The trees had lost all of their leaves, lakes and tiny little puddles on the road were frozen as the last remnants of a snowstorm still covered the streets. As it’s the middle of January now, nature has gone to sleep. Despite the horrid weather, business at the DSO facility is still running at full speed.

You sit at your desk, finishing up a report you were typing about your latest mission last week with Leon, containing lots of info about a small village you had been sent to back in Canada. Once again destroyed by the bioterrorism created by Umbrella. Chris always demanded a good summary of what had happened. As Leon wasn’t the computer type of guy, he kindly asked you to do the job. As there’s not much to do at the moment, you don’t mind at all.

Your fingers fly over the keyboard as you finish a paragraph about Leon and you clearing the village and rescuing the few survivors there were left. Your back hurts as you straighten it, due to your horrible posture you’re always sitting in. Looking at the date at the bottom of your computer screen, Saturday the 16th 12.25PM, you decide it’s time to get some lunch, your stomach already growling at the thought of the delicious paella they have in the cafeteria. 

Today is a special day for you. Not because you’re getting promoted or there’s a big mission you have to leave on. But it’s because today, thirty years ago, is the day when you were born. A happy day and also a sad one as you leave your youth behind forever. As it’s your first birthday at the DSO, you didn’t expect many people to remember. What you hadn’t expected though, is that no one would. Not even Leon.

You saw him this morning, wearing his usual black combat trousers and a blue T-shirt, as you both entered the building. He’d looked at you and bid you a good morning, starting off about an urgent meeting Chris had called him in for. Being already late, he’d sent you a soft smile, apologizing for leaving you so quickly and asking you to meet again at the conservatory like you’ve almost done every night since that day in October. Both of you couldn't get enough of your free time spent together doing crossword puzzles or just talking about both of your days. 

He hadn’t said anything about your birthday, which stung to be honest. But then… Did he even know it was your birthday? He knew Sherry’s at least, you heard him say that once. So did he forget it or was it just never brought to his attention? Leon knew everything though…

Ever since the two of you had that first night at the conservatory back in October, you had been yearning for him any chance you got. You’ve been on multiple missions together, some more dangerous than others, but you’d always made it back safe. He made sure of that. When he said he would take care of you and protect you he’d meant it. There wasn’t something you could do without him being aware of it. Every step you took, every threat coming your way, your every breath… He always saw it. And he was always there. Lingering like an itch you desperately had to scratch but never could, because it was unheard of and strictly forbidden by the DSO. A relationship between two agents would jeopardize the mission. For when the decision would come between choosing your partner's life and saving the world… you shamefully had to admit that you wouldn’t know what to choose.                                                                                                             

As you lock your computer and move to stand up, you suddenly hear a knock on the door of your small office. Your heart involuntarily starts to beat faster as you realize it could be Leon on the other side. Maybe he hasn’t forgotten your birthday after all. Your palms start to get sweaty as you quickly fix the collar of your white your shirt and fix a few wrinkles out of your skirt, clearing your throat so you won’t sound stupid as you speak. “Come in.”

The handle turns and the door opens. The small smile you were holding instantly drops as it is not Leon but Jason standing in the doorway. His black curly hair neatly styled as he’s wearing formal clothing, something you rarely see him in, a white shirt similar to yours and black suit trousers. Next to the dashing smile, he also carries a small black box in his hands, wrapped up with a red bow. 

Of course you could have expected Jason to surprise you. Ever since the two of you had officially become DSO agents, he had been making subtle advances towards you. It had started innocent and unnoticeable at first. Just a shy little wave whenever you would pass each other in the hallway, or the occasional help he offered when you were having a hard time looking up special information. A few weeks later, it had transformed into more noticeable actions like opening up the door for you, leaning closer whenever you would talk, stealing glances at you whenever he thought you weren’t looking, giving you compliments about your outfit even though you’re wearing your combat outfit most of the time. ‘Coincidentally’ being in the same place as you, wanting to sit with you during lunch… The list could go on and on. 

You feel bad because you can see the amount of time and effort he puts into trying to gain your attention. How much he does to make you notice him… It pains you because you just don’t feel the same way. Not at all. 

He starts off shyly, giving you a small wink as he speaks. “Hey, how are you doing?” He says, clearly trying to start some smalltalk. 

You nod before putting on your best fake smile, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I’m good. What about you?”

“Good. Good.” He says, before looking at the small box in his hands, turning it over as he speaks again. A slight tremor in his voice, giving away his nervousness despite his confident appearance. “So uhm… I noticed it’s your birthday today.”

You swallow before nodding again. “It is.”

“Well then, happy birthday.” He says as he turns the small box over to you. You take it, feeling the soft velvet texture in your hands. It has little to no weight to it, signaling the object inside must be either very small or very light.  “I hope you like it.”

You peel off the red bow before taking off the lid. Your eyes immediately fall on a shiny round object carefully placed on a red velvet cushion. As you look closer you can see it’s a bracelet, the golden band existing out of two separate golden parts twisted around each other as it goes around your wrist. A dainty craftwork you’re almost too scared to pick up. Your heart almost breaks as you see the small heart-shaped pendant connecting the two bands together in the middle. You swallow thickly feeling very nervous all of a sudden and unsure as to how you’re to react to this without hurting his feelings too much. No one has ever given you something like this before. It’s beautiful, very much so but... This bracelet is definitely not cheap. And you know he’s giving it to you for more reasons than to just congratulate you. It doesn’t feel right to keep it. You don’t want it.

“Jason… Wow… This is beautiful. It’s very kind of you but I can’t just accept this. It’s too much-“

“No no, it’s fine.” He moves to stand closer to you, making you feel uncomfortable. “You do your very best around here every single day. I figured you deserve a nice little present for once. It’s on me, really.” He says with that lovesick smile and hopeful eyes making you almost want to throw up. You’ve been on so many dangerous missions, have faced countless lethal enemies, but this you’re actually terrified of. If he’s a dick you wouldn’t be having any problems with turning him down, but the thing is that he’s actually a very decent person. Treating you as an equal and always being kind to the people around him. Which is why you can’t bring yourself to break his heart.

“This must have cost a fortune.” You mumble before looking into his eyes.

He shakes his head. “Nah don’t worry about it. I want to give you this. It’s worth it.” He assures you. 

“Yes… Well, I uh…”

“Do you have any plans tonight?” He interrupts you, the words almost bursting out of his mouth like he had been wanting to ask you that for a while. “I was wondering if… You know, ‘ ‘cause it’s your birthday, I could take you out some time?” Your eyes widen at the question. Your body stiff as a board as you break out in a sweat. Fuck, what do you say to that? 

He looks at you with those green sparkling eyes and hopeful smile, making you wonder how in the hell you’re going to worm your way out of this. Suddenly you realise why he’s so well dressed up, like he’s going to a fancy dinner. Because he believes he is, with you. He wants to take you out. You stand there speechless, mouth agape. This is not at all what you had planned for your birthday. You had expected a chill day and cozy evening, with Leon perhaps… Not that you had to fight for your life in an awkward romantic situation you hadn't asked for.

As he fiddles with his fingers he takes in a nervous breath before asking again. “So… What do you think? You wanna go for dinner maybe? I know this nice place down Lake Avenue-”

“Too bad pretty boy, she already has a date with me.” 

Praise the Lord for Sherry fucking Birkin.

Jason turns around, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. When you look over his shoulder you see Sherry standing in the doorway as Jason had left it wide open.

“You see…” She says as she enters your office. “...She and I have got a perfect little girls night planned. No boys allowed. So, I’m sorry Jason but maybe some other time. “

Jason looks a bit taken aback by Sherry’s bluntness. He turns around to look at you again, desperately hoping that what Sherry said was not true. You give him an apologetic smile doing the best you can to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry.” You feel bad, oh so terribly bad. “Still thank you for the gift though.” You say as if that could make it any better.

Jason stands between you and Sherry like a lost little puppy, embarrassed and disappointed. You can see him swallow thickly as his cheeks grow redder by the second. “Yes well uhm… Maybe some other time than?” He asks while casting his gaze back to you, some hope still left in his eyes.

“Yeah well, if our jobs ever allow it.” You say with an awkward laugh, not fully complying with his request and also making it clear to him again that there’s a no-dating policy around here. Sherry moves into the room, passing Jason to now stand next to you, also facing him. He takes that as his cue to leave. Nodding at your response, he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck. “Well happy birthday then.” 

“Thank you Jason, you have a good day.” You tell him. He gives you a small little wave before politely nodding to Sherry as he walks out of the room, leaving the two of you alone. You let out a breath you’d been holding for far too long, the tension leaving your body as you grab onto Sherry’s shoulder to steady yourself. Your eyes meet as you speak. “Fuck, thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Seems like I got you out of a sticky situation huh?” She says looking back at the door he just left through, a knowing look on her face. “Boy’s got it bad.”

“I’m not interested in him.” You say, shaking your head as your eyes lock again. “Sherry I beg you, you have to help me with this. Before I know it he’ll bring a ring next time and go on one knee.”

She laughs at your words before shaking her head. She takes your hand that’s on her shoulder and holds it between her own, softly rubbing it with a fake look of sincerity on her face. “If that were to happen I’ll be the first to object when you’re standing at the altar.”

You snatch your hand back and let out a huff. “Wow, thanks, what a relief.” You sarcastically say as you turn around, your eyes falling on the two photos on your desk. One holding an image of the four of you, the team: Chris, Jason, Leon and you. All standing next to each other, arms crossed. You’re the only one who's actually having a toothy grin. Chris on the far left holds his usual grumpy gaze as Jason stands next to him, a soft shy smile covering his face. Leon stands between Jason and you, showing a small confident smirk. The photo next to it holds an image of Sherry and you. Both of you holding a bowl of ice cream as you’re wearing the biggest grins while looking at the camera. 

“Oh c’mon, trust me. It’ll wear off. He’ll have forgotten you before you even know it.”

You look back at her as you chuckle. “He’s been doing this for months now Sherry. I doubt he’s ever gonna quit.” 

She sighs. “C’mon let’s go to the cafeteria, I’m hungry. And you need to get your mind off all this. It’s your birthday for goodness sake.” She grabs you by the shoulders and leads you out into the hallway. “Off you pop.” She turns off the light and closes the door behind her. You move against the wall as one the office people pass you with a huge pile of files. 

“Besides…” Sherry says while turning to you. “I really am taking you out tonight. That wasn’t just an excuse I came up with to save you back there. I made a reservation to go to that fancy restaurant you’ve been eying for a couple of weeks. Dinner’s on me.”

“What the hell Sherry, that place is expensive.”

“Hey, doesn’t matter. That’s what friends are for right? Look at it as my present to you.” She says as the two of you make your way to the elevator at the end of the hallway. 

“Yeah but even then… Are you sure you want to spend your whole evening with me? I think I’ll bore you with my stories from previous missions.”

She chuckles. “If anyone is gonna get bored by mission stories, it’s gonna be you. I’ve lived longer to gather a few good little gems.” 

You both laugh at her response as you get in the elevator, pushing the number zero before the doors close. It starts moving downwards, taking you both to the ground floor. You hear Sherry take in a deep breath next to you, a silent ‘oh’ coming from her lips as she remembers something she had been meaning to ask you.

“I almost forgot to ask. Who else came to congratulate you today huh? Did many people come to your office?”

You hold your breath for a second, not knowing how to react to her question. Should you tell her the truth? That no one came to see you? That no one wished you a happy birthday when you arrived this morning? Not even Leon? Doing that feels too embarrassing, so you decide to beat around the bush, giving her a small nod. “A couple yeah.”

“A couple?” She repeats. You hum, muttering a quick ‘yup’ before speed walking out of the elevator once you arrive. Hopefully you're fast enough so she doesn’t notice the small blush forming on your cheeks. As you hear her footsteps behind you, you turn right at the reception, making your way towards the cafeteria. Secretly you hope you might run into a certain someone… It’s been an eventful day so far, you think to yourself. Let’s see what the remaining couple of hours have in store for you.

Hours have passed as it’s now 5.21PM. Leon sits at the desk in his office, looking through a couple of files you had recovered during one of your previous missions in Raccoon City. You had been the one doing all the IT work and stealing the computer chip while he stood watch next to you. He figured, since you’ve been able to retrieve a chip so well on your first mission, he might as well leave that part to you. 

Sherry rummages through the pile of important documents Leon asked her to get. The sound of moving papers, though very silent, irritated him immensely. He hadn’t seen you today apart from this morning, which was very unusual for you both. Normally he would see you in the morning as you both arrive at work at the same time. He’d bump into you once or twice during the day, and you’d always have lunch together. Today however, Chris had stopped him from doing that. They’d been in meetings throughout the whole day. The situation in Raccoon City had gotten more and more out of hand since that day in October. More hordes were found. Dozens, if not hundreds, of infected roaming city, underground and in the few buildings that were still standing. They weren’t sure if you’d stepped on a hornet's nest that day. But there hasn’t been a quiet moment ever since, with a new problem arising everyday. Chris and Jason apparently had quite the adventure the day after, running into one infected after the other. They had seen enough as they locked down the whole city when they arrived back at the DSO.

Chris had demanded his presence today to talk about new strategies to clear the city and to find the source of these hectic events. They were both sure the city was clear a few months ago. That there was no source of life any more. They were wrong.

Someone must be behind this… Someone who ties to Umbrella or The Connections no doubt. Someone who seems to ‘farm’ infected just to release them into the wild. This unsettles Leon immensely, especially because this has been going on for a few months now without any answers. Jason and you were kept out of the whole commotion to keep the matter top secret, only including you in desperate times. To keep any troubling thoughts out of your mind. To keep you safe.

You… Fuck.

Ever since that first night you two spent at the conservatory he’d been a goner. Wanting, no, almost needing to see you as many times as he could. An indescribable urge to have you near him at all times even though he knew it was forbidden because of the risk it might endanger the mission. He tried to keep it as professional as possible, treating you like a lady, keeping his distance and respecting your boundaries. Your time spent together during the missions had created a very strong bond. Well for him at least. He had guided you through everything. Took it slow whenever the situation allowed it. Had shown you some extra small details about an agent’s work which couldn’t be taught back at the facility. He had taken his promise of taking care of you to heart, but with that came so much more…

Fuck did he have a hard time keeping his emotions under control when he was near you. Not necessarily emotions that were perverted, though they were there more than you can imagine. But what really got to him were the emotions of worry and fear. Fear for your life. Fear that you might get hurt and worrying he wouldn’t be able to help you if he wasn’t there. For failing you like he had before, of something happening to you just because he wasn’t looking. But most importantly… A fear of losing you. 

He had often tried to push his need for you far back into his mind, but had failed miserably. Every time he sees or hears you, he feels drawn like a moth to a flame. To his dismay you’re even haunting his dreams when he’s asleep. Building different kinds of images. Some more explicit than others... Images of you in his bed, hear down, nothing but a T-shirt and some panties on as he hugs you from behind, spooning and holding you as close as he can against his chest. Kissing your neck as he slowly caresses your belly, his hand finding its way underneath your shirt, slowly moving up as he reaches the swell of one of your breasts. All the while rubbing himself against you, his hardon against your behind. He hears you whimper, moaning his name as he slides his hand down lower…

A cold and disturbing feeling overwhelms him as he shoots up in the middle of the night. Eyes wide as he finds himself covered in sweat, bright awake. He’s panting heavily as he realizes it’s just another dream. Calming himself as he rubs his eyes, he reaches for the glass of cold water on the nightstand before taking a few big gulps. Fuck, what is he to do with you huh? 

He’s been wanting to see you all day. Instead he’s stuck looking through important files about Raccoon City he can’t seem to remain focused on. He is already looking forward to the evening, when you meet him up at the conservatory again. It’s like an unspoken agreement the two of you have, to spend each other's nights together. Nights full of playing games, eating snacks and talking. God, he needs it, especially today.

“So…” He hears Sherry start, still nose deep into the pile of files as she now sits in front of his desk. “...You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

He’s quick to discard her words, not thinking them to be of any importance as they must be about the case he’s working on. Having turned any possibility over and over. He huffs before speaking. “I’ve got everything under control Sherry, thank you.” 

The rummaging of papers stops as Sherry lifts her head, eyes now coming over his computer screen. She looks at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows, her gaze unreadable. “You’ve forgotten, haven’t you? 

Leon stops reading the file he’s currently working on, eyes now locking onto Sherry’s, seeing the small offense in them. Like he had made one of the biggest mistakes in his life. His heart starts to beat a little faster, a simple ‘what?’ coming out of his mouth. 

Sherry’s eyes widen like she can’t believe the stupidity of a man who works with someone every day to only forget their birthday. “Oh my god Leon you cannot be serious.”

“What did I do?” He asks, starting to get a little irritated and nervous as to what the hell he did wrong. Sherry shoves her chair back, standing up as she starts pacing back and forth, hands twisted in her short blond hair. The only thing she manages to get out is your name, throwing him a look that tells him if he doesn’t get the hint she’ll explode. 

Sadly he doesn’t. Instead he jumps up immediately at hearing the sound of your name. Suddenly he’s more focused than he was on that file a few seconds ago. He only heard your name and his senses were on high alert. 

“What about her? Is she ok?” He asks her, an urgency in his voice as he needs to know what’s wrong with you immediately. Sherry stops pacing as she turns to look him dead in the eye. “Oh for fucks sake Leon. It’s her birthday today! She’s turning thirty!”

That seems to knock all the air out of his lungs. His eyes turn wide. Your birthday? Today? Out of all the days Chris needs him to do shit, it’s on your birthday? How did he not know it’s your birthday? How could he have been so dumb to miss it. And he saw you this morning as well when you arrived and didn’t say anything. Fuck he’s such a loser. 

He has to see you. He has to make things right before you’ll start looking at him like you do at all the other men around here. At least you always look at him like he actually mattered, like you liked him. More than just partners even though he isn’t sure if he’s just imagining things.

After a second or two he manages to speak again. “Fuck Sherry. What do I do? Did she… Has she said anything about me?”

“No. But when I asked her if anyone wished her a happy birthday she seemed so vague about it. Now I know why. Poor girl probably hasn’t had anyone wish her a happy birthday if even you forgot. Thank God me and that Jason fellow were there to save the day.”

At the sound of his name, Leon’s ears perk up. “Jason wished her a happy birthday?”

Sherry hums. “Yup, and he gave her a fancy bracelet too. He even asked her out to dinner but she kindly declined. Boy’s got it in for her.”

Hearing how Jason has tried to make a move on you, makes his blood boil. The boy hardly dares to talk to you most of the time as you’re always working with Leon. And now, on the one day Chris needs him, he goes behind his back like a fucking coward. He’s trying to keep up appearances in front of Sherry so as to make it seem it doesn’t affect him all that much. But the frustration inside of him is growing. He should have known. Should have seen the secret glances he throws your way when he thinks nobody is looking. Joke’s on him really, because Leon sees everything when it comes to you, notices anyone who’s looking at you.

The boy’s been eyeing you up for weeks if not months now. Leon figured he’d be too shy to actually try something with someone as straightforward as you. He has to admit that Jason had proved himself time and time again to be a good agent. But he isn’t good for you, not exactly what you want. You need someone more confident. Someone who can take care of you and lead you through everything that’s thrown at you. Someone older, someone more like him… At least, that’s what Leon tells himself. 

“That sneaky bastard…” Are the only words coming out of his mouth.

Sherry’s quick to protest. “Hey, sneaky or not, at least he didn’t forget.”

To his great annoyance, he realizes she’s right. Fuck he has to set things right, and fast. Looking at the clock hanging on the wall he sees it’s already 5.24PM. He doesn’t have much time.

“She stops working at six right?” He says looking back at Sherry. She on her turn looks at the clock as well before nodding. “Yeah she does, I suggest you make haste if you still want to see her today.”

Leon nods before quickly bending over to turn off his computer. He grabs his keys as he reaches for his jacket hanging on the coat rack. He speed walks towards the door, turning to Sherry one last time before leaving. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that he throws the door open and races down the hallway towards the elevator. 

Sherry sighs before shaking her head. “Pfff men…”

Even though you’re in the building right now he still needs his coat and the keys of his car to go get you something. Something that can count as an excuse for his terrible behavior towards you today. The fact that Jason was there when he wasn’t, eats at him. Fuck he’s never done this before, not for anyone. He just wants to impress you.

Jumping into his black Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT he puts it in gear before getting off the parking lot. He makes his way towards a small flower shop a few blocks down, which he had noticed a few days prior. It may not be much but it’s all he can come up with right now. As he parks in front of it, he quickly gets out as he realizes it’s still open. He sighs in relief as he sees the closing time is 6.00PM. With it being 5.37 now, he quickly makes his way inside.

An elderly man is sitting behind the counter, turning a page as he’s reading a cooking magazine. He looks up at the sound of the bell chiming, signaling someone has entered. He closes the magazine and stands up from his chair, putting on a friendly smile.

“Good evening sir, how can I help you?” 

Leon puts his hands on the counter, clearing his throat as this is uncharted territory for him. “I uhm… Need a bouquet. Something nice... The cost doesn’t matter.”

The elderly man nods. “Very well sir, what did you have in mind?”

Leon can feel himself starting to slowly panic at that question. What does the man mean, ‘what do you have in mind’? Flowers…? Isn’t this a flower shop?

His hand finds the back of his neck again, awkwardly scratching the skin as it’s a nervous trait of his. “I don’t know. Something that looks good? Like, roses maybe? Fuck no, maybe that’s too much. I don’t know-”

The man raises his hands as a sign for Leon to stop talking. “Calm down son, I can’t follow if you’re rambling like that. Let’s start over ok? What’s the occasion?”

Leon sighs as he looks down at the counter. “A birthday.”

“And who is it for?”

Should he tell him the truth? Well, what harm will it do? The man doesn’t even know who the two of you are anyway. He looks the man in the eyes as he confesses. “A woman very dear to me.”

The man’s eyes widen before it’s replaced by a look of excitement. “Ah yes for a lady’s birthday, very well. I would suggest picking something very colorful, a mash-up of different kinds of flowers maybe? Do you have any in mind you want in the bouquet?”

Another question Leon doesn’t have the answer to. “I uhm… I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.” He feels embarrassed to admit he’s never bought flowers for someone before at the age of forty-nine. Instead of mocking him, the elderly man looks at him with a sympathetic look.

“No problem sir. Let me give you a tip then. If you don’t know what flowers to pick, you just need to look for the flowers that remind you of her. It’s as easy as that.”

“I don’t have much time. Can you help me?” Leon doesn’t usually ask for any help. But in this particular situation, when it concerns you, he can use all the help and advice he can get.

The elderly man gives Leon a warm smile. “Of course sir. I’ll go over some of my most popular flowers and you just have to tell me if you like them or not. Let’s start here.” He says before moving to the far left of his shop, pointing up at a large vase up on one of the shelves. In it are dozens of beautiful pink peonies. “Do you like these?”

Dread fills his shoes as he realizes he has to make some very important decisions in very little time. Wel fuck.

Sherry waits for you as you turn off your computer for the day. She’s already wearing her coat, purse slung over her shoulder, car key in hand. “I’m actually really looking forward to dinner, you know. That place has been hyped up online as an eleven out of ten. I’m curious to see what all the fuss is about.”

You chuckle. “That place better be good if it’s that expensive.”

You hear Sherry sigh as you move past her to get your own coat from the rack. “Oh c’mon I’ve already told you I don’t mind paying for it. I make more than enough.” She says as she reaches for the water bottle she had brought a few minutes ago. Taking a big gulp as you tie up your coat. “Yeah, but still-”

Your words are cut short when suddenly you hear heavy footsteps running in the hallway, getting closer to you. Before you even have time to think about what the hell is going on, two strong sturdy nocks are brought on your door. You look at Sherry with a questionable gaze. She brings up her shoulders with a look that tells you ‘I don’t know girl’ before putting the water bottle back to her lips. You take a step towards the door and reach for the handle. What you see next is most definitely the last thing you’d expected to see today. 

You gasp as you see Leon standing at your door panting heavily from the run he just did. In his hands is the biggest and most colorful bouquet you’ve ever seen, containing some garden roses, peonies, ranunculuses, daisies, but most importantly, a few sunflowers. As they made him think of your comfy pajama bottoms. His eyes search yours, mouth slightly agape as he looks over the coat you’re wearing. “Caught you just in time I see.”

Behind you, you hear water bursting out of Sherry’s mouth at the sight of Leon, making the two of you look her way. “Sherry are you alright?” You ask her. She uses her hand to cover her mouth as she quickly grabs a handkerchief out of her purse. She nods before turning her back to you. “Yeah yeah! Don’t mind me.”

When you look back at Leon you can see his cheeks having a faint pink glow. He probably didn’t expect Sherry to be here. He clears his throat before his eyes fall back onto you. “I’m sorry I’m late. It’s been a busy day. I uhm… Happy birthday.” He says as he gives you the flowers. You take them a bit apprehensively, not fully realizing yet that he had actually bought you flowers for your birthday. Not knowing how to react, you stand there speechless. Even when it’s something you had fantasized about many times before, it’s still unbelievable when it’s actually happening. Leon starts to panic inwardly at your lack of response. He has to do everything he can for his hand to remain at his side, so as not to scratch the back of his neck again.

“I hope you like them.” He says as he tries to remain somewhat confident. You look at him now, a blush of your own making its way up towards your cheeks as you open your mouth to speak. “Yes of course Leon. They’re so beautiful, thank you so much. You really shouldn’t have.”

“It’s your birthday. It’s the least I can do.” He quickly responds. And it’s true, if he had known sooner it’s your birthday he would have probably arranged something else, something that’s better than just a bouquet of flowers. He looks towards your coat again signaling you were about to leave. His eyes go higher, locking on your face. You’re smiling, a faint blush covering your cheeks as your eyes sparkle in the dim light provided by the hallway. Your hair is down, he notices. You never wear it down, only at night after you’ve just washed it. A brown hair clip is secured at the back of your head, keeping most of it out of your face as it creates a half up half down look. You’ve even taken the effort to put on some mascara, elongating your eyelashes and making them more profound. He stills. You never wear make-up.

“You look nice…” He manages to say. Did you get dressed up for someone? The thought of it makes his stomach churn. 

“Thank you.” You respond before looking at the bouquet in your arms again. “Well I better get these to my room first. Put them in a nice vase before we leave. No one has ever given me flowers before so this really means a lot to me.”

“It’s no problem.” He says. How has no one ever given you flowers before? If it was up to him, you would be bathing in them everyday. Leaving that aside, he opens his mouth to phrase the question that’s actually bothering him. “You’re going out?” He carefully asks, the back of his neck getting damp from sweating. 

You hum as you smile at him innocently. “Sherry’s taking me out to dinner, as a girls night.”

An immense sense of relief washes over him after you’ve said that, the tension leaving his body as he feels like he can breathe again. A soft chuckle escapes him as he feels his body relax more.  “I see… Well then, have a good time you two.”

He doesn’t know if he’d just embarrassed himself or done well by giving you flowers. And in front of Sherry as well. He groans inwardly. 

“We will, thank you” You reply. “I promise to keep these flowers alive for as long as possible.”

You both laugh at your joke before he looks at you with sincerity. “I’m sure you’ll take good care of them.” As he gives you another soft smile, you can see his eyes going somewhere higher above your head, falling on the person behind you. Sherry, who has been quiet this whole time, throws him a knowing look, which he takes as his cue to leave.

He clears throat again before averting his gaze back to you. “I uh… Should get going I think. Have a great evening you two.”

“Oh we will Leon, don’t worry.” Sherry finally speaks from behind you, a smirk on her face that you’re not able to see.

Leon awkwardly nods, taking a few steps into the hallway as he looks at your lit up face one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“At dawn like always.” You tell him while nodding. It stings when you see him turn around to make his leave. He gives you a small wave before making his way down the hallway again, leaving you and Sherry alone. You hear her walk up next to you as she lets out a chuckle.

“Wow, that’s quite the bouquet isn’t it?” 

“Yeah.” You say dreamily as you close your eyes before breathing in the smell of the flowers, taking in their amazing scent. You try to play it cool so as to not show Sherry how much this is making your heart flutter. You will cherish this moment for a very long time. Now you’re thinking about it, you’ll have to find a book big enough so you can put some of the flours between them to dry when they’re starting to wilt. That way you can keep them forever as a secret little memory just for you. 

When you open your eyes again, you notice Sherry looking at you with a soft smile. Almost like she understands the feelings you’re experiencing right now. Have you been caught? Does Sherry finally see through your facade after months of hiding your true feelings? 

“Sherry, I uh…” You try to say at a loss of words. Thankfully she interrupts you before you can say anything stupid. 

“C’mon birthday girl. Let’s go find a nice vase for those flowers so we can go eat. I’m starving.” She says as she places her hand on your back, nudging you out of the office and into the hallway. 

The next day, Sherry finds Leon back at his desk reading through a couple of files on his computer. His chin placed in the palm of his hand as he lets his head rest, brows furrowed, hair tousled as he once again reads through a paragraph that can’t give him any answers as to what is happening at Raccoon City. His ears perk up at the sound of a nock on the door before he sees Sherry walk in. He’s a little disappointed to see her come in by herself, having hoped you’d accompany her. Though you had told him a few hours ago you would be at the shooting range all day, showing five new rookies how to use a gun. 

He’d had a peaceful night, lying in bed, doing a crossword puzzle before falling asleep. It wasn’t the same without you though. He hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he used to when he played by himself. An hour or so had passed when he had decided to call it a night, grabbing the duvet to tuck himself in. 

Minutes passed, but sleep wouldn’t find him. His thoughts once again going towards you. You had looked so happy when he gave you the flowers. Your smile lighting up your face while also warming his heart. He had wanted nothing more than to see you happy. He thought about the fact that you and Sherry were going out for dinner. As he looked at the clock showing 01.34AM he wondered if you were back in your room already. He hoped so. It made him feel uneasy knowing you were still out late without his protection. Well at least you weren’t alone.

You had looked so beautiful, well you always do, but this time you were a bit done up. The belt of your coat wrapped around your waist as it hugged you in all the right places. Just a smidge of your skirt was visible underneath the coat, your legs covered in black tights as you wore a small heel on your feet. You were perfect. Oh what he wouldn’t give to be the one to take you out when you looked like that. He could only imagine what you looked like underneath the coat. And underneath your clothes as well… He hated himself for imagining what you looked like naked. He thought himself to be a piece of shit for betraying your trust like that. But he was only a man after all. It was only instinct. 

He thought of your smooth skin, beautiful with a few freckles here and there. Your thick hair down again as he’s finally able to run his fingers through it. Your narrow waist as it fans out to your wider hips. Even with clothing on he could see you had a beautiful figure. He had imagined kissing your collar bones while pressing your warm body against his own. Caressing your back as one hand moved towards the swell of your breasts. How you’d whimper for him as he touches you intimately. The look on your face as he touches your breast, down to your belly, going lower towards the one part of your body he desires most. 

Fuck he had needed a cold shower after that. The water almost freezing him as he tried to wash away all the sin.

It’s Sherry’s voice that breaks him out of his daydreaming.

“Earth to Leon Kennedy. Hello.” She says as she waves her hand in front of his face.

“Huh what?” He says, looking up to meet her gaze. He can see Sherry rolling her eyes. “I said, what the hell was that about last night?”

Leon’s eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”

Sherry moves closer now and goes to sit on the desk so she’s facing him completely. “Oh c’mon Leon, don’t play dumb."

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sherry is groaning now, fingers rubbing her eyes before smacking them against her thighs. “The flowers you gave her last night?”

He looks at her with an offended look. “Is there a problem with that?”

She moves a bit closer towards him, her voice dropping in volume as she’s now whispering even though the door is closed. “Be honest with me Leon. I’ve known you for twenty-eight years and I’ve never ever seen you get flowers for someone. Not even for me.”

He feels like a child who’s caught doing something they’re not supposed to. After months of hiding, stolen glances and secret rendez-vous’s at the conservatory he thought he’d been good at hiding his feelings to other people. He shrugs, discarding her words as it’s the only way he knows how to react at the moment. “So what, she does so much for me and she’s my partner during missions. The least I could do is show her some appreciation on her birthday.”

Sherry rolls her eyes while chuckling. “That is if you don’t forget about it.” Her words make Leon look down at his lap as he fidgets his fingers. She sighs again before continuing. “Leon… You and I both know you didn’t just give her those flowers to show you some appreciation. There’s something more than that, much more.”

He shakes his head as he stands up, mockingly laughing at her. “You’re dreaming Sherry. I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” He says before turning his back towards her, grabbing a paper file and putting it in the drawer next to his desk. Sherry huffs, jumping off the desk and moving towards him, grabbing his shoulder to make him look at her.

“For goodness sake Leon. I can see it when a man’s in love.”

He stops at those words. His eyes are wide as he slowly turns towards her. “What did you just say?”

She takes a deep breath before continuing. His attention now finally on her. “You’re in love with her. It’s as clear as day. I saw the look in your eyes yesterday and believe me when I say you’ve got it bad. You’ve hidden it so well you even had me fooled for a long time.”

He snorts at her observation. “You’re ridiculous."

She gives him a stern look after that. One that tells him that if he dares to deny what’s so clearly in front of her one more time, she’s gonna have an aneurysm. So much for trying to keep his dirty little secret to himself he thinks. 

“Doesn’t matter what I gave her. That sneaky prick gave her a golden bracelet. He’s young and I’m not. How am I to compete with that?” He confesses as it becomes difficult to keep eye contact. He can feel his cheeks getting warm, signaling the redness that’s starting to form.

Sherry feels for her good friend. He rarely honestly spoke of his feelings with her. To anyone actually. So when he does, she always tries her very best to make him feel better. “Leon, believe me when I say that bracelet means nothing to her. She only accepted it as a form of politeness and because he wouldn’t take no for an answer. You gave her something more valuable than all the gold in the world. After you left, the way she had looked at those flowers and smelled them… It was like you gave her the most precious thing in the world. She didn’t tell me and she tried to hide it but… That one unguarded look from her told me she feels exactly the same way as you feel about her, no matter what your age is.”

There’s a pause after that. The silence not being something that’s uncomfortable as the two of them have had difficult conversations before. A few seconds pass before a cheeky grin makes its way onto Sherry’s face. “You should ask her out.”

He looks at her like she has grown an extra head. “Sherry you know dating between field agents is not allowed around here.”

She shrugs. “Yeah but c’mon. Is that really gonna stop you? I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” She says before sending him a wink. As he hears her promise he suddenly realizes that if Sherry can see he’s harboring feelings towards you, maybe other people can as well. 

“Does anyone else know?” He asks her.

“No, of course not. Not because of me at least.”

He points his index finger towards her, not in a way to threaten her but to make something very clear. “Not a word of this to anyone Sherry. Especially not to her. I mean it.”

Both of them are interrupted at the sound of a knock on the door. Happy to change the subject, Leon walks towards it, ready to help whatever rookie happens to be standing on the other side. He swings it open, ready to grumble a tired ‘what?’. Instead he’s met by your kind eyes. You’re standing in front of him, all dressed into your combat outfit, harness on and guns secured. He hears Sherry behind him burst out in laughter.

Oblivious as to why she’s laughing, you look between the two of them a little confused, a frown edged on your face as you smile shyly. Feeling a little insecure, you wonder if maybe you’re the reason they’re laughing. Was your reaction to getting his flowers ridiculous yesterday? Did Sherry see your true feelings after all by the look on your face when he left? Has she told Leon and were they laughing at you? Is that why she’s here with him right now? 

As to not show them it’s affecting you, you decide to keep it cool as you question them. “What’s so funny? Did I miss something?” You say as you try to laugh it off. Leon on the other hand, hadn’t moved an inch since you’ve arrived, no humor on his face either. Instead he’s looking at you with the softest expression. His pupils are dilated, probably because he’s been looking at his computer screen for a few hours, you think. At the sound of Sherry’s laughter he’d quickly turned around, giving her a stern look before he returned his attention back to you.

As her laughter quiets down, she shakes her head at your question before clearing her throat. “No it’s nothing dear. Just an inside joke of mine. You needn’t worry.” She says while she gives you a sincere smile. Knowing how quickly you worry over even the smallest things. She’s thanking your anxiety for that. 

You give her a quick nod while giving her an unsure smile. Looking back at Leon, you bring your thoughts back to the task ahead, as to why you’ve come here. You look up, his eyes still fixed on you as you speak. “I’ve come to get you.”

Your words seem to awaken something in him. His eyes widen slightly, brows furrowed as he sees you’re serious. Looking down at your outfit and gear, you don’t look as if you’re going to have a nice peaceful office day. Your hair is also up into a French braid again, the way you always wear it during missions. He realizes in the split of a second that you’re about to leave the facility for the day.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, taking a step towards you. The soft and sweet man you know from the private gaming sessions, turns into the hard stern soldier everyone knows him to be. It’s no wonder that you find him attractive in both ways. As he stands more straight, you can see him buffing up his muscles without realizing it, looking taller, broader and more masculine which is almost impossible. Damn you have to get your mind out of the gutter or you’re going to start drooling in front of him.

You clear your throat before telling him. “Chris asked me to come get you. He needs us at an urgent meeting right now. Apparently our scanners have picked up on some human activity back at Raccoon City, probably civilians passing through even though the city is on lockdown. Chris wants us to accompany him as he and Jason are gonna check it out.”

The horrors of Raccoon City will follow him forever, he thinks to himself. Quickly grabbing his own harness from the chair next to the door, he ushers you into the hallway. His hand at the small of your back as he leads you towards Chris’s office. 

“Let’s go.”

Thank you for reading! <3 Once again, I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors. Please feel free to comment so I can correct them.

Also thank you so much for the kind response on part one. Many of you have requested a part two, so here it is! I felt like we needed a more fluffy chapter to make their bond grow more. For those of you who are interested, I will write a part three which will be way more action-driven. Just take in mind that writing these, takes a lot of time as I work full time and have a household to take care of.

Poppi xxx

Clouds fill the sky. Putting a dark shadow on the world, while the sun desperately tries to get through the thick cover. It’s faint light cascading on the run-down buildings, streets and everything that once was. The air is cold against your skin. The fresh autumnal morning air doing nothing to prevent the light blush that starts to form on your cheeks once you get out of the car. The cold nips at the top of your fingers, making you curl them into the palm of your hands. Even though it was only the start of October, it wouldn’t take long before winter would sweep the land into its stone-cold grasp. For that reason alone you slightly dread the days in the field that would soon, hopefully, follow. Never really liking the cold, you aimed for a warmer climate. That would be possible of course if your life had been different.

You stand in line with three other agents next to you. Men. Taller and broader than you, but not necessarily better. You’re all clad in a tight marine blue shirt, sleeves rolled up and a small zipper at the neckline. Due to the weather, yours is all the way up, concealing your chest. A pair of black combat trousers hug your thighs while boots in the same color are on your feet, making you stand firm and secure.

The harness around your chest carries the essentials. Handgun at your right side, shotgun and sniper rifle secure on your back. Two hand grenades hanging on your left just in case. The weight of a knife rests against your lower back. The blade is sharp, a machete, ready to chop a zombie's head off if necessary.

The men next to you wear similar assemblies. To your right there’s Jonathan. A twenty-five year old, six ft tall blond with an ego flying through the roof. Shotgun and sniper also on his back but instead of a knife, he carries a large stone hammer. The tip sharpened, making it easier to break one's skull. He has been in this program for just as long as you have, starting three months ago. 

The two men on your left, who you can’t even bother to remember the names of, have the same confidence as Jonathan. A smirk on their faces, like this first field job is going to be a piece of cake. They look slightly younger, twenty-two maybe twenty-three? You’re not sure. A few men in the other group that would come after you were twenty-six and twenty-seven. At the ‘ripe’ age of twenty-nine you’re the oldest one out of the rookies.

Standing before you are two more seasoned men. One incredibly broad, hair a dark brown almost grey at the sides, going by the name of Chris Redfield. At almost 6’1”his stance is wide, arms crossed, making his presence well known. He’s looking at us like any other teacher would. His brown eyes looking over his so called “students” with a straight face, while thinking to himself: “What the hell do these rookies think they’re doing here?”.

Next to him, slightly more behind, is his comrade. His hair, a dark blond streaked with a few grey strands signaling his age. Blue eyes focusing on the hand gun in his palm while putting in new ammo, not giving us as much attention. By 5’11” Leon S. Kennedy was not as broad as Mr. Redfield, but compared to him, he was definitely muscular as well. Biceps protruding and forearms showing off the few veins that peak from under his shirt.

The two of them had a well-known reputation. Both fought against any monstrosity the Umbrella corporation had thrown at them. Trying to protect the world from all evil.

They had trained you. Three months inside the DSO facility. Learning the basics from knowing how to reload a gun, to shooting one with perfect aim. Physical and emotional training, needed to defeat all enemies you would come across. Three months and eight trainees. All inexperienced rookies who wished to be full DSO agents, ready to kick some ass. Seven men and one woman. You.

Of course, being the only woman, which is very unseen in this line of work, you were often laughed at. Thought to be useless, weak and incompetent to get the job done. Well, we’ll see about that.

You’re quiet. Slowly analyzing the situation you’re in. Today is your first ever mission. As a trial of course. Three months of training had to lead somewhere. They had divided the group into two. The first group, with you in it, was brought to the outskirts of Raccoon city, driven in a van by Kennedy, Redfield in the passenger seat. The chanter in the car from your three other colleagues had been loud while you kept mostly to yourself. As you arrived at the scene, which seemed to be an open square with buildings surrounding you, you quickly got out of the car before anyone else. Already opening the trunk to get all your gear.

And that’s where we are now.

“Alright listen up.” You hear Chris say, making your ears perk up. “Your mission today will be simple, which is to retrieve some important information back from the old Umbrella labs that are situated below ground. You will be divided into two teams and each will be given a map. Your task is to bring the piece of information back to me. If you fail, you will be taken out of the program and you can pack your bags. Are we clear?”

You hear Jonathan next to you scoff, a silent “as if” slipping from his lips. Ever since the beginning of your training he has made it clear that he was the one who would be the next super-agent at the DSO. You already know now that a simple training, to retrieve information out of a lab, isn’t spectacular enough for him.

Chris’s eyes look us all up and down again before settling on you and Jonathan for a few seconds, then back to the two guys on your left. “Liam and Jason…” So those are their names. “… the two of you will be under my supervision.” Chris announces while walking over to them, handing them a phone with a map on it. “Leon, you take him and the girl” he continues, gesturing over to you. The girl…

“You need to take this mission seriously guys. This may look easy but you never know what could be lurking in this city. Especially underground. This is a necessary part of your training. Don’t take this lightly. You know what happens when you fail.” And with that he gestures to Liam and Jason to follow him, leaving you and Jonathan alone with Leon.

Leon's cold stare lingers on the both of you, sizing you up, almost like he is determining if the two of you are even worth his time. His gun is brought back into its holster, hanging at his right hip, before taking a phone out of his pocket similar to the one Chris gave to his own two rookies. “Take this.” He murmurs while outstretching his arm, waiting for one of you to take it.

Before you even get the chance to put a step forward, Jonathan beats you to it. Grabbing the phone out of Leon's grasp, he immediately starts to inspect the screen. Hastily looking over the map without including you. After a few seconds and a small huff from you, he looks up, eyes directed at Leon. “Is this a competition between the two teams? To see who finds the piece of information first?” The corners of his mouth slowly turn upwards. “Because I’ll beat them to it.”

The smirk that covers his face is so arrogant that you almost want to punch him in the face. You’re sure you could win a 1v1 fight against him. 

“It is not a competition in any way. You look for the piece of information that we want, you get it and get back out of there unscratched, together with your partner, is that clear?” Leon isn’t amused by Jonathan's confidence either. When he averts his gaze back to you, you can see the slight frown on his face soften just a smidge.

“Now…” he says, focused on you while pointing to your ear “… The little earpieces you have in do not only allow us to communicate with each other if necessary, but I will also be able to see your vitals while I keep an eye out for you during the mission.” 

“Wait, you’re not coming with us?” Jonathan speaks, a slight tremor in his voice if you hear correctly. Maybe even a little nervous? Anyway, it’s not enough to push him off the throne of pride in his head.

Leon looks back at him. “Who am I? Your babysitter? I’m not gonna hold your hand every time you have a mission. I think you’re old enough. You do know this is what you trained for right?”

You have to do your best to not let out the laugh that’s trying to burst out of your mouth. Your lips turning into a small smile instead that you desperately try to cover with your hand. 

You’ve always liked Leon, ever since the moment you met him back at DSO. Back when you were truly ‘a rookie’, having very little experience on the subject of being a special agent. Back then he had only greeted you with a firm handshake and a curt nod, murmuring a quick ‘nice to meet you’ as he quickly went on to greet the next rookie in line. But the way he carried himself and the way he was respectful towards others... Trying to help people when and wherever he could? It made you have a certain form of respect for the man.

It was also not difficult to notice that he’s very easy on the eye. The strong build, the sharp jawline, the stubble covering it… After three months of seeing him almost everyday, you'd grown a little crush for him. All innocent of course, because you knew very well the two of you could never be together. What would a successful and good looking DSO agent see in a twenty years younger and inexperienced ‘girl’? So you kept your silly feelings at bay, knowing it wasn’t worth the energy. 

All of that put aside now, you are a bit apprehensive about what Leon had just said to Jonathan… You have to admit, you’re a bit nervous being out there in the field with no experienced agent by your side if things were to go to shit. But you’re strong mentally, a good fighter and you’re brave. You can do this.

Jonathan, who of course isn’t impressed by Leon’s words, shoots right back. “And how do we…” he says, mockingly correcting what Leon had warned him about while pointing from himself to you “... know what we’re looking for? How are we supposed to know what kind of special information you guys need us to get?”

“You got a map. Use it.”

Jonathan steps forward. “That’s ridiculous. For all I know we could be out here until nightfall looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“Or until next week. That’s completely up to you.” Leon smirks, clearly having fun riling up the twenty-four year younger ‘boy’.

“You're insane, old man.” Jonathan spits back. 

You can see Leon’s eyebrow raise at those words. Seeming to unlock something within him and break through his usual more calm facade. Something that you’ve seen maybe once or twice during your training. Something that was a little bit more dominating… His jaw is clenched, teeth grinding before, in his turn, taking a step forward. Looking your colleague dead in the eye, smirk removed from his face with now a stern glare replacing it. 

“Watch it kid. I suggest you temper that tone of yours.” Another step closer. Not raising his voice, but keeping it cold and stern. “You don’t have to do this, you know. I don’t give a fuck if you drop out right now. What I do need to know though, is when you wish to go through with this, you will not fuck around. You will both protect each other while completing the mission. If your lives are at stake, you will do everything you can to get the two of you out of there. If you say yes to that, I, your superior, demand respect from you. Is that clear? You must learn your fucking. place. rookie.”

It went quiet next to you. No more words coming from Jonathan’s mouth.

When you turn to get a better look at him, you swear you see the dilemma in his eyes. Not knowing whether to punch Leon in the face or to restrain himself and go for the more civil option. 

Eventually he casts his gaze downwards, realizing he couldn’t keep going like that if he wanted to reach his goal at the DSO.

“Fine.”

Leon recognises the submission and decides to drop the subject. Point taken.

He takes a step back, arms crossed. "Alright, I suggest the two of you start off immediately. The day is short and you’ve got quite a lot of ground to cover. Use the time that you have.” Then before turning his back, his gaze lingers on you one more time. The look in his eyes sincere. “Take care.”

And with that, you and Jonathan are left to fend for yourselves in the harsh reality that is Raccoon city. It is so that even one hour later, you’re still trying to work out the map. That is, if Jonathan would give you a chance to look it over. 

You’ve had enough. You were constantly running in circles, covering the same places over and over again, which did nothing to ease your frustration with the man walking a few feet in front of you. It almost felt like the walls started to close in on you. So you decided to speak up. Thinking you’ve been patient enough. 

“You have no idea where we’re going, do you?”

He stops abruptly, making you almost walk straight into him. He turns his neck so fast, you’re almost certain he has broken it. “Excuse me?” 

You can see he’s trying to stay calm even though a fire is starting to ignite in his green eyes.

“You heard me. I don’t think you have even the slightest idea about where we are.”

A scoff falls from his lips, in deep contrast to the droplet of sweat coming down the side of his face. A sign of insecurity? Guess you’re right after all.  “Oh please, I have the map. I know exactly what I’m doing.” His arrogance shining through, even though you can see his facade slowly starting to break. So you continue.

“Jonathan, this is the second time we are going through this alley. There’s two possibilities. Either you don’t know where we’re going, or you love the scenery here so much you just had to see everything twice, some streets even thrice. And don’t tell me it’s the latter. I think it’s about time we switch things up and you give me a go at the map.”

“Oh please…” he replies, now fully facing you, trying to solve the matter in his favor. “You’re a girl. How could you be of any help right now? Do you even know how to read a map?” 

What is it with toxic men and their twisted ego’s? Their dying need to make women feel inferior? Never wanting to admit or even think about the idea that a woman could be right for once? Could be better? 

That’s the second time today you want to punch him in the face.

You step forward, pushing yourself up so you’re standing on the tips of your feet. Your hot breath hitting his face, mere inches from yours. “Watch a girl save your stupid ass.”

You snatch the phone out of his hand before he even has a chance to register what has happened. Pushing past him, you try to ignore the protests coming out of his mouth. Your fingers flying over the screen of the phone, finally getting a good look at the map. 

You’re not too far off from the way you need to go. The so-called entrance to the Umbrella labs underground being only a fifteen minute walk from here. How the hell did he miss that? 

“Give me the phone back.” Jonathan grumbles, his arm reaching around you. You’re faster though, already taking a few steps forward, making your way out of the alley and onto the main street, moving in the right direction.

“Just save your breath pretty boy. We’ll be there in no time.” You smile, picking up pace. You hear him right behind you, sighing like a toddler who hasn’t been given his way. 

After ten minutes or so, you reach a more secluded area of the city. The buildings looking even more run-down than before. The air suddenly so dense and foggy, you’re sure the entrance should be right around the corner. And you’re right. When you continue, you see multiple Umbrella posters plastered onto nearby fences, the red and white logo clearly recognisable. You grin, looking down at the map again, seeing that the entrance should be right ahead. 

“You know, I’m not one to apologize easily but… Seems like you were right after all.” 

You almost choke on your own spit at hearing the words Jonathan says from behind you. “Excuse me?” You stop, turning around to face him.

 “Yeah, I just…” He starts, stopping next to you “... guess I was kind of dick to you before? You got us right where we needed to go.”

You blink, not fully knowing how to react for a couple seconds. Does the all so mighty Jonathan actually want to apologize to you? Ever since you started training together 3 months ago he wouldn’t even spare you a second glance. And now he’s trying to be nice? 

“Uh... Yeah, whatever. Let’s keep going.” you reply, starting to feel a little awkward. 

You turn your back to him again, your steps firm as you continue your search. You hear hurried footsteps behind you, Jonathan now making his way right beside you.

“So I’ve been thinking…” Oh boy, he’s been thinking? What an achievement. “... You and I? We would be a great team together don’t you think?”

You turn your head, making eye contact with him before quickly averting your gaze once you see the tiny smirk plastered on his face. You don’t like where his insinuation is going. 

“Uh, maybe? I don’t know. What’s your point?”

His smirk grows wider at that. His steps curving slightly to the left, making his way closer to you. “Oh I’ve seen you, you know. Back at the DSO facility. You’re always by yourself, not making a fuss, doing exactly what dear Redfield and Kennedy ask of us. You’re always at the top of the class, doing your training like a good girl. You’re a natural. I figured, when this mission is over, you’d maybe want to consider becoming partners.”

You find his words creepy at the very least. And do you believe him? Has he actually been watching you these past 3 months? Or is this just his way of saving his ass so you won’t complain about him when you get back? 

“How could you be of any help to me? You couldn’t even read the map.” You scoff. 

You can feel his hand brushing against your underarm slightly. He’s so close now you can feel his hot breath hitting the side of your face. “I didn’t mean it in an agent kind of way, love.”

You stop again abruptly, looking at him like he’d just grown an extra head. “Excuse me?”

He’s laughing now, a disgusting rasp in his throat. “Oh come on, don’t play dumb. We’ve been at the DSO for three months now and you're the only female agent in training. You don’t mean to tell me no one else has ever made an offer like this to you?”

“What the hell are you implying?”

“I could show you a good time, you know? Have you take the edge off for once. I must say that I know my way around the female body very well, so you’d be in for a treat. I could please you just right. You won’t regret it. I can promise you that.”   

Not only is he trying to get on your good side to profit from it at the DSO, but he’s also trying to get in your pants. You just shake your head. Sadly this hadn’t been the first time a man had spoken to you like that. 

“You’re a pig.” You turn around, ignoring the excuses and promises pouring out of his mouth. You have better things to do than reprimanding a child.

What the two of you don’t know, is that a few streets back, Leon is following you. Not just following and checking your vitals, but also hearing every word that’s being said between you and Jonathan. A little detail the DSO keeps hidden, to see how rookies will react in these kinds of missions, not holding anything back while their superiors listen. And right now? Leon is very happy he’s able to do so. 

He finds Jonathan to be an inexperienced low life who thinks he’s got it all figured out. The way he talks to you makes his blood boil. Not necessarily because it’s you, but just of the way he speaks to a woman. Like you’re just a vessel for his pleasure.

He chuckles when you dismiss him so easily, not paying him much mind. He likes your spirit. You always thought he didn’t pay you much thought during training, but you were wrong. He knew who you were. Who didn’t to be honest? The only female field agent at the DSO. Doing your best at every training. Hitting your marks every time there was a shooting test. Often even better than the other male rookies. 

So yes, you had definitely triggered his interest. 

As you make your way through all the abandoned and burned down cars, you can see a large hole in the ground just a few feet up ahead. Bingo.

You reach it. A black hole, approximately six by six feet big, making its way down through the concrete. No sounds come from it, but the smell is undeniable. Rotting flesh.

Ok. You prepare yourself for a few zombies down there. It should be doable with your training and all the weapons you have on you, you tell yourself. Luckily you’re not alone.

You take a flare that’s attached to your belt before igniting it and letting it fall into the darkness. It falls down a few seconds, hitting a few metal objects in its way, before settling at the bottom. You can see a steep wall of concrete going down, followed by a half destroyed ladder that reaches the bottom. You don’t see or hear any infected. For all you know, there could be a rotting corpse down there. You’re not going to wait to find out.

“Let’s go.” you say before squatting, moving one leg into the hole. 

“Oh how how wait! You wanna go in there?” Jonathan grabs your shoulder. When you look back at him you can see the uncertainty in his expression. Gone is all the fun and excitement from before, replacing it with a certain form of fear. 

“And what else do you suggest?” you question him.

He starts looking around all of sudden. “Well… Maybe there’s another entrance. One that’s more safe than this one.”

“Nothing about our job is safe Jonathan. Look around you. Do you see another way in? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t. The map led us to this place right here.”

He doesn’t reply after that, just keeps looking at you with the same uncertainty as before.

“You coming or not?” 

His only reply is a curt nod, making you doubt if he actually means it or not. He squats next to you, letting go of your shoulder. You take that as your cue to keep going. You descend gently and slowly, one foot in front of the other down the steep concrete wall. Into the lion's den as they say. 

You try to make as little noise as possible, making your way down the ladder. Once you have reached the bottom, you take your flashlight so you can check your surroundings better. 

The room you’re in is small, also six by six feet. A long dark tunnel is connected to it. You can’t see anything more than a few feet ahead of you, the flare and flashlight only illuminating a small amount of the place. You see water further ahead, making the tunnel appear to be some kind of sewer, which explains the smell as well. 

Jonathan reaches the bottom next to you, frantically looking around, hand covering his nose. “What the fuck is this…”

You pick your gun from its holster, aiming it in front of you while also pointing your flashlight. You gesture for him to follow you. “Come on.”

You step into the tunnel. The water around your feet making your steps more heavy, while also producing a little too much sound for your liking. Behind you, you hear Jonathan pick up the flare. You turn around.

“Leave it so we can still see the entrance. Use your flashlight.”

He looks down again, a little frustrated with himself. “I didn’t bring one.”

You blink. “You didn’t bring one? Seriously?" A tiny shake of his head signaling no was your response. Jesus… Try going to war with someone like him. 

“How could you possibly-. You know what? Forget it. Let’s go.” You wish this day would be over very soon. 

The two of you continue through the tunnel, you at the front, him checking for any threats coming from behind, his gun now also drawn. The tunnel seems to bring you further down, a slight steep to your feet. It goes on for about two hundred feet until it separates into two new tunnels. One going left and one going right. You stop, trying to decide where to go from here. Jonathan bumps into you, not realising you had stopped. A whispered ‘sorry’ before an ‘oh fuck’ fell from his lips once he sees the split-up.

“What do we do now? What does the map say?” He asks, looking at you.

You take the phone again, your flashlight resting between your cheek and shoulder as you hold it in place. You see the thick yellow line bending to the right, signaling your way forward. As you put the device away again, you hear a low rumbling noise coming from the left. It’s far away though, a gurgling moaning sound that gets swallowed by the dark. You don’t have to ponder very long to realise what it is. You point your flashlight to the left, squinting your eyes, but you can't see anything.

“Thank God we don’t have to go in that direction.” You whisper while hearing Jonathan quietly agree behind you. You take that as your queue to continue your way right. 

After about fifteen minutes of following tunnels, coming onto new split-ups, going left and right, you have reached the end of the tunnel. A short type of stairs going up with a metal door at the end of it. That must be where the lab is. 

You grin in victory, ready to be done with this mission. You turn towards Jonathan, who’s inspecting the door with a certain nervousness. “You go up there and try unhinging the door. Look for any threats inside. I’ll cover you.” You tell him. He looks at you now, lips parted, clearly not wanting to but not deciding if he should fight you on it or not.

Eventually he nods, taking a few steps forward before going up the stairs, it steps creaking underneath his weight. You turn around, your gun pulled, ammo checked and flashlight up. You’re ready if anything dares to come closer. 

Jonathan reaches the door behind you. His shuffling and pacing before the small window making you curious to see what’s inside.

“You see anything?” You whisper, before he turns around to look at you. 

“No, it seems clear. It’s locked from inside though.” Another pause. “Let me get this door open.” He murmurs as he uses his elbow to break the glass. When that’s done, he puts his arm through it and reaches for the lock on the other side.

The twist of a lock is heard before the metal door screeches open. No sounds come from ahead of you, so you take a few steps back, gun still at the ready if necessary. You go up the stairs, turning around so you wouldn’t trip. Once you’re standing next to Jonathan at the top, you’re able to look into the room as well. 

The room contains several desks decorated with various kinds of test tubes. The contents unknown to you as a result of it not being your field of work. Paper documents are scattered on the floor with a few lab coats and plastic gloves here and there. At least you’re sure now that you’re in the right place. At the end of the room, you can see an ever bigger desk with a large computer on it, its screen almost measuring six by three feet. 

You’re the first to take some careful steps into the room, checking left and right for anything that might be out of the ordinary. Something that might look like the important piece of information the DSO needs. The air is cooler, more sterile than in the tunnels, but the awful stench remains. 

Leon follows everything on the small iPad in his hand, staying a few blocks away from the entrance. This is a job meant for the two of you, as training. He can not interfere. 

He can see you have reached the lab, your heartbeat quicker than normal as he checks your vitals. He listens to your steady breathing when you enter the room with your partner right behind you. Jonathan’s heartbeat however goes sky high, his breathing way more rapid than yours. Leon chuckles at the difference between you. The boy still has a lot more to learn. Compared to him you’re a natural. When a man and a woman go into the field together, you’d normally expect it to be the other way around. 

Back down, you can’t find anything lying around. So you decide to start with the computer. The piece of information has to be connected to it somehow. Looking down at the keyboard, you type incoherent words trying to get the computer to work since you don’t see an on-switch anywhere. 

You don’t have to try very long, the computer turning on at the first key you press. It’s not locked? How weird…

You take the mouse in your hand and go straight for the saved documents, searching for anything that might be valuable. And thank God you’re lucky. Various files were saved, starting from different kinds of chemicals to files about the test subjects they tried it out on. One particular folder takes your interest ‘The Connections Corporation’. You click it open.

Everything is in there. Their IP-adres, the people who carried out their work, reports from several top secret meetings… Guess you hit the jackpot. 

You know what you have to do. Bending down, you look underneath the desk searching for the actual computer instead of looking at the monitor. When you find the black object, you take out your machete as you try to get the lid off. When you do, you look for the computer chip, carefully detaching it from the rest so you can take it with you. 

You get back from under the desk. Your flashlight producing enough light so you can see it was still in good condition. As you go to put it in your pocket, Jonathan, who has been quiet all this time, steps up, snatching the computer chip out of your hand before putting it in his own pocket.

“I’ll keep this safe, thank you very much.” he cockily sneers.

Fed up with his childish behavior, you turn around, ready to give him a piece of mind. Who does think he is, letting you do all the work and then showing off after?

What you see next however makes your blood run cold and your breath hitch, quickly swallowing the words you were going to say before shouting something else. “Get down!”

He listens immediately, hearing the urgency in your voice. His body goes down by a fraction of a second before you raise your gun and shoot the zombie behind him right between its eyes, its body falling limp on the ground. 

Leon’s ears perk up as he hears the gunshot through the little earpieces, his eyes now focused on the screen of his iPad more than ever, his body on high alert. You’re not supposed to run into any infected. He and Chris had scouted the perimeter before dropping you guys here. It’s supposed to be safe. He can see the two dots on the screen signaling where you and Jonathan are standing, but there’s no sign of a third person on the screen.

You’re shaking, your breathing now rapid as you stare at the lifeless body on the ground before you. The first zombie you have ever seen and also your first kill. You take a few steps closer to inspect it more carefully. 

It’s the body of what once was a man, aged somewhere in his forties. It looks gaunt, caused by the lack of nutrition down here, its cheekbones pressing through its skin. Soulless, white eyes stare back at you, the skin between them torn by the shape of your bullet. Its jaw is what freaks you out the most, for it’s barely even there anymore. Half of it is still hanging from the upper part while the rest has been broken and torn off, smearing blood all over the neck, as the tongue hangs limply. That thing had been close enough to Jonathan to push him against the ground and kill him. How had he not heard something? How had you not heard something? If you hadn’t turned around…

The creature wears a labcoat, torn to pieces together with its shirt and trousers underneath. As you look better at the clothing, you start to realise one thing. Whatever kind of infected this thing was… It was already in this room before you first entered. 

“I… I thought you said this room was clear?” You manage to get the first words out of your mouth when turning to Jonathan. He hasn’t gotten up, still bending forward as you see him trying to wrap his head around what’d just happened. 

His lack of response angers you, so you take a step in his direction, now standing right before him as you make eye contact. “You hear me?” Now slightly raising your voice, still trying to be as quiet as possible. “Hey! Talk to me. You said this room was clear!”

His lips tremble when he speaks. “I… I did… It-it must’ve sneaked up on us back in the tunnels.”

“Bullshit.” You spit back. “I checked our backs right until we walked into this room and not once did I see or hear an infected. Look at his labcoat you fucking moron. He was in this room all this time!”

“I’m sorry. I tried- I really…”

“You could have gotten us both killed.” You silence him as you aim your flashlight around the room, going through it a bit more thoroughly, checking behind and underneath all the desks to make sure that one infected was the only one. 

When you finish your round, you step back towards Jonathan. “Look… Accidents happen. Just… Don’t let this happen again alright?” You try to sooth him while stretching out your hand, helping him stand up again. Once he’s standing you check your ammo, ready to make your way back out. The sooner the better. 

You only make it a few steps back towards the door, before you feel Jonathan grab your hand, stopping you. “That thing…” A tremor in his voice as he whispers “... It was so fucking close. If-if you hadn’t shot it down, I might have…” He can’t bring it in himself to finish that sentence. “Thank you. I’m so sorry I let you down” 

You gave him a soft smile. "Whatever. Let’s just go. I think we’ve both had enough of this place.”

As he agrees, you both make your way out of the lab and down the stairs again, starting back through the almost endless looking network of tunnels. 

Leon had moved considerably closer by now, being in the same street as the entrance you went through. There’s still no sign of any infected on his screen, so you both have to make it back without any problems.

You go in front of Jonathan as per usual, the water quietly sloshing around you, aiming your gun and flashlight straight ahead. To your relief, you don’t run into any more filthy bioweapons from Umbrella. Which is a godsend really.

Your optimism is short-lived though. WIth only a few more corners to pass, you suddenly stop as you see a figure standing about fifty feet ahead.  

Another infected stands right in the middle of the narrow tunnel, its back to you. Your previous gunshot must have alerted it. You curse under your breath, quickly putting your fist up as a silent motion for Jonathan to stop as well. You look at him, quickly bringing your index finger towards your lips as a sign for him to be quiet. He was already distracted though, eyes fixed on the thing that’s ahead of us.

You see him slowly reach for the gun that is hanging from his right hip. As you’re trying to be as quiet as possible, a gun isn’t the best option here. This has to be done as quietly as possible, to not attract any attention.

You quickly grab his arm to make him look at you, head turning as you make eye contact. You shake your head ‘no’, pushing his gun away, before taking your machete where it’s held at your lower back. You point towards his stone hammer, gesturing for him to do the same. 

Leon is getting more and more worried now. Why have the two of you stopped again? There’s nothing showing on his screen, nothing that should be in your way. The way back to the exit should be clear. 

You sign to Jonathan to stay put and for him to help you when things go wrong. A basic form of military sign language was part of your training back at the DSO.

As Jonathan nods, you take a deep breath before looking back at the creature before you. Thankfully it hasn’t noticed you yet. As you gather all your courage, you grip your machete tighter as you make your way towards it. 

It doesn’t make any sounds. It isn’t even moving, standing in the middle of the tunnel like a statue. The light of your flashlight and Jonathan's flare, not alarming it. Just like the one you’d killed back at the lab. Your heart almost pounding out of your chest as you near it, praying to every god above this would go well.

With only a few feet away, you can feel its rotting flesh starting to infiltrate your senses, almost wanting to gag at the repulsive smell. You take the last bits of distance in a hurry, raising your arm before sweeping it down with as much force you could manage. The blade makes contact with its neck, your cut clean, as in one full motion you’re able to cut its head off. The head falling to the side before the body tumbles into the water, the sound of the splash being something you could have avoided. Fuck.

As on cue, you hear a few gurgling moans coming from somewhere in front of you. You take some steps forward, seeing three infected coming from a nearby tunnel on the right that’s connected to yours. 

They’re different from the ones you’d seen before, more active and way louder. They seem way more aware of their surroundings too, your flashlight doing nothing to hide yourself as their heads all turn towards you, gaze feral, screeching, raising their arms while making their way to you. Shit.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by Jonathan either of course. His breathing uncontrollable as he shakes in his boots. “Fuck…” Clearly for him there’s no point in being quiet anymore “…fuck …we’re gonna die. We’re gonna fucking die!”

“No we’re not. Jonathan, man the fuck up. There’s three of them and there’s two of us, we can take them.” Why is it always you that has to encourage him?

The three infected have reached you within seconds, jaws snapping, out-stretched hands trying to get a hold of you. You dodge them and swing your foot into the chest of the first infected on your right, your strength enough to push him down, arms swaying. You don’t waste any time. Standing over it you lift your machete before swinging it down with all your might, planting the knife right into its skull, body going limp.

The reeking hot breath of the second infected tingles your neck. Before it has a chance you’re spinning on your heels, water splashing, as you swing your knife again, the blade finding home into its neck. Not enough to kill it but plenty to imbalance him. As blood seeps from the wound, you pull back your machete, foot kicking its chest so it goes down. You plan to do the same thing you did to the one before. Standing over it you raise your weapon again.

All of a sudden you feel an immense impact on your back, causing you to drop your flashlight and machete, your body being pushed harshly against the stone wall. You’re quick enough to turn around to prevent the flying hands from scratching you, instead grabbing the wrists and trying to pin them down. The third zombie that cages you in is enormous, towering over you by 6.6 feet, dwarfing you completely. Its broad chest and strong arms preventing you from getting away, its power momentarily too strong for your smaller frame. You grunt as you try to push it off, looking past it to see where Jonathan is.

He hasn’t moved yet, still standing a few feet back with his mouth agape, clearly in shock.

“Jonathan, don't just stand there! Help me out!” You shout, making him snap out of it.

He looks at you, then back at the infected on the ground, which is still moving, towards the infected that has you pinned against the wall. He’s shaking like a leaf.

“Jonathan!” Still no reaction.

You’re getting desperate now, almost screaming. “Jonathan please! Fucking shoot it!”

That seems to knock him out of his stupor. Sadly, not in the way you had hoped. Instead of picking up his gun and shooting the brute that holds you hostage, he passes you, almost jumping over the half dead infected lying on the ground. He looks at you almost in shame. “I-I’m sorry.” Are his last words before bolting, leaving you to die and taking the flare with him.

Leon is sprinting towards the entrance, throwing all protocol aside. Technically, he isn’t supposed to help, but fuck that.

Your heart drops to the pit of your stomach.

No, no, oh god no… The dread that fills you is almost enough to pull you down and lose the battle you’re having against the infected. But that can not happen. As long as you’re breathing you won’t go down without a fight. It’s just branded into you like that.

Think. Come on, think!

There isn’t anything around that can help you. You can’t reach for one of your guns either or you risk getting bitten. You have to use your body, your own strength, to get out of here somehow.

When an idea strikes your mind, you do a quick mental prayer, literally jumping into action, all in the matter of two seconds. Pushing your whole body up, using the wall behind you as leverage, you kick the infected right in its chest with both of your feet. The action causes it to take a few steps back, releasing you, giving you a second to recompose yourself. In the little time that you have, you reach for the shotgun hanging from your back, swinging it to your front so you can hold it better with two hands. A simple pistol shot isn’t gonna do the job you reckon.

You raise it, just in time, before the infected reaches for you again, its mouth open as it brings out a gurgling scream. You lift the shotgun right under its chin as you pull the trigger, not knowing what kind of damage it will cause.

The shot is loud. Its recoil pushes you back as you feel the pressure down to your core. The zombie’s face is blown off, blood and flesh splattering on the wall behind it, leaving only partial pieces of the head still standing. You almost gag as the body tips over, water splashing, mixing with blood as it makes contact with the ground. Pieces of brain and bone now scattered around it.

As you pant, you realize that the last infected, the one Jonathan had jumped over, was still alive. As you turn you see its body still wriggling in the water, face down. You pick up your machete again and make quick work of it. Pushing your foot down on its back you raise your weapon and bring it down with full force towards the wound you’d previously made. Flesh tearing and bone cracking as you end its life, fully decapitating it.

Meanwhile Leon has now reached the entrance to the tunnels, a weak Jonathan climbing out like the devil himself is after him. His gaze lifting as he hears the sound of running footsteps. “Mr. Kennedy…?”

Leon forcefully pushes him out of the way without a second glance, jumping straight into the darkness below, heart pounding and gun drawn, moving as fast as he could.

He almost flinches when the unmistakable sound of a gunshot reaches his ears, the loud noise reverberating through the tunnels. Dread filling his heart as he quickens his pace even more. He takes a detour to the right, knowing the tunnels better than anyone as he had gone through them countless times before on previous missions. He realizes you’re not too far away from the entrance. He just hopes he makes it in time before you get hurt.

You stand up straight again, legs slightly wobbly from the exertion you had to go through while also a bit shaken up. You had never seen an infected before and now you had killed 4 of them in the span of 30 minutes. All in your first ever mission as well. Would have been easier if your partner hadn’t left you behind though…

You would show him what you were made of once you got out of here. He would have to run if he wanted to avoid you killing him. That alone was a wonderful motivation for you to move forward.

Being under the assumption it’s finally over, you place your machete back on the straps at your back, before going to retrieve the flashlight lying on the ground a few feet ahead of you.

The splashing of water, moaning combined with screeching fills the air once more, making you stop dead in your tracks. Your eyes widen, not believing the things you’re hearing. You thought that had been it. That you’d get to walk out of here now unscratched. Oh boy were you wrong.

Five new infected turn around the same corner the previous three had come from, all equally disgusting and horrifying in their own way.

You abort mission, leaving your flashlight for what it is. It will only draw more attention. You duck into the nearest alcove on your left, knees touching the wet ground as you kneel down, sogging the material of your trousers. At least you think it’s an alcove... You don’t have time to check, as the infected are now standing in the middle of the tunnel. Your flashlight making sure you can still see their silhouettes in the dark.

You’re lucky enough to survive the attack of three infected all by yourself, but taking on five at the same time is impossible. You can take three of them, but not five… Not five.

There’s no way around them either. They’re blocking your path towards the exit completely. Keeping you hostage. Panic seeps through you again like a cold blanket. You have to think of an escape plan, and fast. The infected won’t be standing there forever. Hunting you down being their number one objective, to go after the noise they heard. They will follow the tunnel farther down in your direction and if one of them dares to look you way, you’re done for.

As you carefully peek around the corner you can see them already stumbling your way. You look behind you, pitch blackness greeting you like a meager solution. The alcove seems to be a narrow hallway of sorts, leading you to god knows where. You don’t have your flashlight on you either. You won’t be able to see a thing. Who knows what you might run into? And fighting something when you can’t see, is like walking up to the gallows. You have to get your flashlight back but that will risk you being seen.

You take another look around the corner. Luckily, they haven’t moved any closer. You figure that trying to fight the infected is your best shot at the moment. To get your flashlight quickly and use the dark hallway behind you as a plan B.

You reload your pistol and shotgun, getting yourself ready for what might be your last few minutes of being alive. Shotgun slung over your shoulder, pistol gripped tight in your right hand, you close your eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

You will try to get your flashlight first. After that your main goal is to hit as many headshots as possible. And if that goes wrong? You’re bolting.

A gloved hand suddenly covers your mouth, preventing the faint scream from escaping your lungs. At the same time a strong arm wraps around you, pulling you against a hard chest, preventing you from moving any further. Your gun falls to the ground, making too much noise for your liking.

Using your body you push back against the hard surface behind you, wriggling your arms as you try to get free. Your head is pushed back, hitting someone’s shoulder. As you try to look up, a familiar face comes into view, blue eyes meeting yours.

Leon releases your face, bringing his index finger towards his mouth, signaling for you to remain quiet. You quickly nod, a little perplexed as you realize he’s here. His grip around you making sure that you’re not just imagining things.

Moving around, he removes the arm that is slung around you and puts you behind him. As he slowly turns the corner he’s able to get a better look, seeing all the bloodshed you had caused, the infected slowly making its way towards you. He moves back, gesturing for you to come closer to him with his hand on your back so you’re squatting next to each other.

He communicates through sign language. Telling you to stay calm and to follow his lead, that everything is going to be alright. You believe him. With two agents against five infected the job will be more doable. When all of this is over, you have to think of a way to repay him. Repay him well.

Moving his hands he tells you his idea. The plan is to be stealthy and make as little of a mess as possible. Being the older and more experienced agent, he will move first with you right behind him. His axe and your machete at the ready. Before you turn the corner, he will throw a rock over the infected and into the other direction, trying to get their attention away from you. Then the two of you will move closer, each trying to take out one infected separately, two if you’re lucky. The rest will probably have to be done with a gun.

You sign back to the narrow tunnel behind you, to the way he came from. Wondering if that isn’t a better option than the danger that lies before you. Leon shakes his head as he brings up all ten fingers before pointing behind him. Your eyes widen, shock clearly visible on your face. Your hands start to tremble. There are ten more back there? Did he sneak past all of them? The thought makes you shiver.

Leon sees the worry in your expression. Quickly putting his hand on top of yours. He makes sure your eyes are back on him. Clear blue staring back at you, he whispers the words ‘we’re going to be ok’. The warmth of his voice feels like a warm blanket around you, emitting a protective and secure feeling. His hand touching yours, sending goosebumps up your whole body.

All of a sudden you realize how close the two of you are actually sitting. Your knees barely touching, his hot breath slightly caressing your face. For the fraction of a second, you allow yourself to admire him. The few strands of hair slightly covering his eyes. The few wrinkles there, around his nose and on his forehead, signaling his experience in life. The light stubble with a few grey strands going through it, down towards his neck. Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. Down to the broad and muscular pectorals. His arms are a piece of art on its own, the muscles under his shirt bulging as he’s preparing for the fight that’s about to come. He is… beautiful. You feel safe with him even though the situation isn’t very bright looking.

To not let him notice you staring, you quickly take your hand away from under his grasp, signing back that you agree with his plan. You put your gun back into its holster and reach once again for your machete, keeping it ready. Leon does the same, his axe now gripped tightly in his hand, the blade still shining in the faint light that is given. You look at him and curtly nod, signaling that you are ready.

He picks up a nearby rock that lies neglected in the water, putting it ready at his feet. Raising three fingers between you, he looks into your eyes, signaling he’s about to count down. Another nod from you is the last assurance he needs.

One. Two. Three.

The rock goes flying. Straight over the heads of the infected, colliding to the tunnel wall with a sharp loud thud. As on cue the five heads turn in the direction of the sound, giving you and Leon exactly the opening you need.

Leon moves first, stalking the first infected on the left. You’re right behind him, your eyes on the one next to it. The two of you move as quietly through the water as possible. The wrinkles betraying your position, thankfully not too obvious for the infected to notice. You try to be efficient, knowing you’re only given a handful of seconds before their attention will fall back to you.

Leon doesn’t turn to look back, feeling your presence now next to him.

Like the two of you had practiced it a million times before, you both jump at the exact same time. Both of your weapons hitting its mark as you attack from behind.

The two creatures don’t stand a chance. Both being beheaded at the same time. The sound of body parts falling brings the others out of their stupor, all of them turning to inspect what happened.

They don’t get much time to act. The one closest to you is forcefully pushed back against the wall as you kick it in its chest. Leon racing past you to take care of the other two.

The one you had pushed against the wall, recovers quickly. Its arms sway as it tries to hurt you with strong perseverance. You swing your machete, the tip aiming down as you impale it right in the chest. A sound something between a gasp and screech falls from its lips as you pull the blade back out. Aiming it, you swing again. This time chopping both of its arms off. You finish with something that’s starting to become your signature move. Blade slicing through its throat, vertebrae and neck. The head rolls into the water as the body slumps down against the wall.

Panting, you turn around, your gaze searching for Leon. He had downed the fourth infected. Now standing over it, foot placed on its chest, he gives the final blow. His axe planting itself into the skull, blood splattering everywhere as pieces of brain fall onto the ground.

Behind him you see the fifth infected taking advantage of Leon being distracted. Its mouth hanging open, blood already seeping out of it, as it starts for him, reaching for his neck. Leon being completely oblivious.

You don’t have time to scream or shout his name. You raise your machete instead before aiming. With a groan you throw it. The blade swinging through the air before sheeting itself into the neck of your target. The strength of your blow causes the infected to fall to the side. Wriggling in the water with a strangled groan leaving its bloodied mouth.

You reach it in no time. Taking your blade out of its neck before lifting your foot. Bringing it down with full force you break the skull, crushing the bone. Its brain is a mash up underneath your boot as you hear the bone crunch. You quickly pick up the flashlight as you look around. Feeling the adrenaline coursing through your body, awaiting a new threat. 

As your eyes fall upon Leon, you see him already looking at you, panting as well and eyes wide. A faint look of disbelief on his face, like he almost couldn’t understand how you’d killed the infected before he did.

“You… uh… Well done.” He nodded, casting his eyes to the ground. He takes his own flashlight out of his pocket before lighting it. Inhaling sharply through his nose, he takes a few steps forward, now standing directly next to you. He checks the way ahead before clearing his throat. “We need to get out of here.”

As on cue you hear an immense blast coming down the way you came from. The tunnels shake as dust and a few rocks come down from the ceiling. The two of you both bending over, Leon’s arm slightly hovering over you as a form of protection.

“What the…” you hear him whisper.

“Mr. Kennedy, what was that?” 

The next thing you know, multiple screeches and moans fill the area again. The sound coming exactly from where the huge blast had come from. Not just the screeching of four or five infected. No… There are more. Way more. It almost seems as if the blast from before had opened up a gate of some sorts. The gates of hell, freeing its most horrendous kind of demons. 

As you hear the thunder of footsteps and snarling getting closer, you realize this is not something the two of you can fight off on your own. Not even with all the guns you have on you. Leon seems to be sharing the same thought, quickly grabbing your arm and turning you around. “Run to the exit, now!”

You don’t have to be told twice. Aiming your flashlight to prevent yourself from falling down, you sprint through the tunnels. Leon right behind you. Occasionally looking behind him as he draws his gun. You do the same as you do not know what kind of surprises might still lie ahead. 

The snarls get louder behind you, signaling the infected’s proximity. They are faster than you, you realize. Way faster, even though they don’t see a thing in the dark. Must be some weird type of mutation Umbrella cooked up in one of their labs. 

As you round the final corner, you finally get to see the light of day. Literally. The hole in the concrete that you came through, being about two hundred feet up ahead. You run towards it as fast as you can. But sprinting slightly uphill with water to slow you down isn’t very ideal. Both Leon and you are having a hard time getting up.

You’re halfway when you look behind you. Seeing at least 6 infected rounding the corner you just passed yourself, with more to follow. You’re not as brave now as you were before, fear seeping into your bones again. Fear of not making it in time and having to die out here. “They’re getting closer!” 

Leon ceases his sprinting and turns around. “Go! I’m right behind you!” 

The first shot of his pistol rings through your ears as it hits its target. The one infected running at the front falling down, the rest crawling over its body like madmen. More shots follow as you hear Leon take out one after the other. 

You look back down once you reach the top and see Leon still shooting as fast as he can. As the infected get concerningly closer. You take out your sniper rifle, aiming down and looking through the scope. “Mr. Kennedy c’mon, I’ll cover you!” 

You wait as you analyze your targets. Waiting for the perfect shot as you don’t have as much ammo on you as you actually need for the rifle. You grin as three infected align perfectly. The red dot of your scope marking the first one's head. The other two running behind it. You take the shot. Your bullet bursting through their brains in one fluid motion, downing them in a mere second. Because of the silencer, your first shot is almost inaudible. But it does not go unnoticed by Leon as you hear him curse under his breath before turning.  

As he’s sprinting up towards you, you do everything in your power to make sure he gets up safe. Only needing a handful of seconds to down the first litter. Sniping is something you’ve excelled at ever since you started at the DSO. Being often told your sniper skills are better than anyone else's, you take immense pride in the skill. 

Well your training is definitely paying off now.

Leon reaches the top incredibly fast. Grabbing your hand he pushes you towards the ladder. “Hurry...” 

You swing your rifle onto your back before grabbing the metals bars and climbing up. You hear Leon fire a few more shots before following suit. Reaching the top, you lean against the steep concrete wall, regaining your balance before bending down. Your hand reaches for Leon’s as you try to help him up. His warm firm grasp embraces yours. With one strong tug you pull him up. 

Something counters your strength, Leon groaning as he’s being pulled down again. A loud curse escapes him. One of the infected has managed to gain up on him and grasp onto his lower leg. As it grabs him with both of its claws and tries to climb up, you know he’ll get bitten if you don’t act quickly. Freeing your pistol from its holster, you aim right between its dead eyes. Not hesitating as you pull the trigger. The blow causes the creature to fall back down, taking two others with him who were also trying to get up the ladder.

With Leon now free, you continue pulling him back up. As he gets up next to you on the concrete wall, you grasp for your shotgun again, aiming towards the next filthy infected that’s right behind him. You pull the trigger. The immense blast making it tumble back down in several pieces.

You hear Leon shout next to you. “There’s too many. Run!” 

Climbing up the steep wall, you hear the sharp clinging of metal next to you. You look back at Leon. The metal pin of the grenade he’s holding, being the source of the noise. You see him pull out the pin before throwing it carelessly behind him. He pushes you forward. “Go! Shit’s about to blow!” 

With a last look behind him, he throws the grenade back at the infected, before taking a final sprint. You see it land right at the bottom of the hole, at least twenty zombies now filling the area that you came from while some were climbing the ladder again. Leon wraps his arm around your middle and pushes you out of the tunnel as fast as he can. 

Finally reaching the top, the two of you climb out, leaving the evil darkness behind. Now running on the street you only manage a few more steps before your body is catapulted. As the bomb goes off behind you, you hear the deafening sound of rubble coming down. Shaking the asphalt below your feet. You fall on your front. Your arms wrap around your head to prevent yourself from getting hurt. Leon falls on top of you. His body now involuntarily protecting yours from any flying debris. 

After a few seconds the rumbling and screeching from the infected quiets down. You feel the pressure of Leon’s body slightly crushing you. The smell of sweat and dirt mixed with the smell of freshly washed linen fill your senses like a warm blanket that’s being wrapped around you. Oddly enough, you don’t mind his crushing weight. 

A few more moments pass before you feel him shift above you. Slowly lifting himself up as a groan falls from his lips. One hand positioned at your waist as the other holds himself up. You dare look up yourself.

Smoke fills the air, providing an even more thick and impenetrable fog than there already was. Pieces of rubble and dirt all scattered around the place. As you look back at the hole in the ground that you came through, you only see a big pile of debris left. What once was an entrance to one of the Umbrella labs had now caved in, taking the infected with it. The grenade had sealed them in like a tomb.

You feel Leon’s firm grip as he lifts you from the ground. Once back on your feet, you’re turned towards him. One hand still on your shoulder as he starts inspecting you from head to toe. Brows furrowed as he’s looking for any sign of injuries. “Are you alright?” He asks hurriedly, his gaze now coming up to meet yours. Searching your eyes to make sure you’re not hurt.

You nod, slightly nervous because of his touch. “I-I’m fine…” You say before looking at your feet. The intense eye contact a bit too demanding for you to hold. Looking back at the destroyed entrance you huff in approval. “Good thinking, throwing the grenade back there. I thought we were goners.” You joke, trying to lift up the mood. His hand leaves your shoulder as he quietly hums. Looking back at the pile of debris, a frown is edged on his face. Still cautious that anything might come through the rubble and attack you. You admire that about him, just as much as you find it very attractive.

“Mr. Kennedy…” He looks back at you. His gaze making you slightly weak in the knees. “… I- Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never made it out of there alive.” Your words seem to soften something inside of him. The frown on his face now slowly vanishing.

“No need to thank me really.” He says, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that. Chris and I, we checked the perimeter for any danger before you guys even came here. If… If I had known there were so many infected, I would have never sent you down there. I’m so sorry.” You see the regret in his eyes, the immense disappointment in himself for failing you like that. As your superior it is his responsibility to look after you and keep you safe during training. To adjust your tactics and give you tips in any way he can. He couldn’t even do that.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen?”

Your eyes widen as he shakes his head no. You suddenly realize what kind of catastrophe you had just avoided. Your whole mission was to just get the computer chip back from the lab and return without scratches. No zombies blocking your path whatsoever. No wonder Jonathan ran off like a pussy.

You see Leon having difficulty with the situation he had put you in. Not daring to meet your eyes, he averts his gaze to somewhere slightly above you. His shoulders a little bit tense, as his hand goes behind his neck to awkwardly start scratching at the skin. You feel bad for him... This man, who saved you when no one else did, did not deserve to feel this distraught. According to the many stories from his past missions when he was younger, he’d already felt enough of that.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty. No one can predict something as horrifying as what has just happened.” Your words are honest and warm as you try to gain his attention.

Leon curtly nods, looking for the way ahead. “Let’s go.” He mumbles before taking a few steps through the mist, discarding your words.

Having none of it, you quickly follow his steps. Reaching out to grab his lower arm, you make him turn, forcing him to lock eyes with you before saying your next words of truth. “Mr. Kennedy… Please believe me when I say it’s fine. Really. You did everything you could. If it weren’t for you I’d be dead.”

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be in this situation right now.” He grumbles, eyes cold.

“But I am.” You take a step closer before continuing. “And that’s not because of you, but because I chose to be here. I chose to become a DSO agent and to do this mission with you. I chose to step into that tunnel and continue the mission. If I wasn’t prepared to face any danger, I would have just dropped out of the program.”

Leon sighs before clenching his jaw, not very much convinced. “Still… I should have known.”

“But you didn’t. And that’s ok. Mistakes happen. Look, Jonathan didn’t check the lab for threats very well when we were down there and I still forgave him…”

You’re interrupted as Leon’s gaze fixates on something moving behind you. “Speaking of which…”

You turn around, a gasp escaping you. There, sitting on a withered metal bench, was none other than Jonathan. His hunched over form taking shape through the mist. He notices you at the exact same time. Eyes wide and mouth agape as he sees you’ve made it out alive with Leon standing right next to you.

You inhale sharply, eyes narrowing as you feel your head getting warm. You grind your teeth as he stands up. His lips forming a small smile, hand on his chest almost like he’s relieved. Like he forgot what he’d done to you. How he’d abandoned you. A strange feeling of rage flows through you, blood pumping through your veins as you march towards him. You roll up your sleeves before clenching your fist, holding it steady at your side. With only a few feet away, he opens his arms in mock gesture, inviting you in, believing you to be a dumb rookie agent. “Oh thank God, I was so worr-“

You don’t give him time to finish his sentence. Your fist colliding full force against his upper jaw, nose breaking as you give him the hardest punch you could muster. A cry, that sounds anything but manly, bursts from his lips. His body tumbling over as he falls to the side.

“Tell someone who actually gives a shit.” You snarl, desperately trying to stay calm before you do anything worse.

Blood seeps from his nose, his hand reaching for it as he inspects the damage. A look of dismay is thrown at you when he sees the blood coating his fingers. His eyes search for your superior. Leon, standing only a few feet behind you, who’s been watching you the whole time. He doesn’t interfere. You’ve earned it.

“Hey! You’re just letting her get away with this? You got nothing to say about that?” Jonathan says in disbelief. Voice raising as he throws the words at Leon. 

You have to do your very best to hold yourself back. Your hand itching to punch him again. You hear the sturdy footsteps of Leon’s boots behind you as he comes closer. Turning your head to see him stop right next to you, you notice the tiny smirk he’s holding. His eyes turn as cold as ice before fixating on Jonathan. “You’re out.”

Jonathan scrambles to get up as his brows furrow and his mouth falls open in shock. “What?”

Leon doesn’t miss a beat to repeat himself. “You’re out. When we get back to the DSO, you take your bags and leave.”

“What? Wait! No-no-no…” He panics, hand reaching inside his pocket, taking out the computer chip he had taken from you. “... I got the computer chip. The important piece of information you guys were searching for. I completed the mission!”

Leon chuckles while shaking his head, staying very calm. He takes the chip out of Jonathan’s grasp, collecting it in his own pocket. “You didn’t do shit kid.” He takes another step closer. Looking Jonathan dead in the eye. “You abandoned your partner in a situation where she needed you most. Running off like a little bitch you left her there to die. The number one rule in a partnership is you both complete a mission and leave no one behind. She-” he says while looking at you for a split second “-has more courage and intelligence in her than you could ever fathom. If it weren’t for her you’d be fucking dead. And that’s how you repay her?”

You see Jonathan’s Adam's apple bob. Probably swallowing the last remnants of pride he has left. A look of betrayal is shot at you. “You told him?”

As much as you want to reply, Leon beats you to it. “She didn’t have to tell me anything. I heard everything that was said between the two of you.”

As both you and Jonathan stare at him with a questioning look, he raises his hand and points towards the little earpiece. You chuckle as Jonathan curses. “Son of a bitch…”

You have to refrain yourself from laughing too hard. Instead your lips part as you smirk, staring back at Jonathan with a satisfied look on your face.

Leon grabs him by the shoulder and pushes him forward. “Now get back to the dropping site and after that I don’t want to see you ever again.”

A low grumble falls from Jonathan’s lips as he starts walking, shoulders slumped, his head bent down in shame. You and Leon follow suit. Just a few feet behind him. With the adrenaline slowly wearing off and your skin still sweaty, you start getting goosebumps. Even now with the sun at its highest peak, it’s still not enough to keep you warm.

“You ok?” A little bit startled by his question, you look back at Leon, his eyes already on you.

“Yeah…” You nod quickly, not wanting him to worry. “Just a little bit cold, that's all.”

He frowns at your words, gaze dropping towards your bare arms, seeing the hairs on your skin standing up. He moves a bit more towards you as you’re walking, dropping his voice a little so only you can hear him. “Just a little longer and we’ll be back at the car in no time. You can warm yourself up there.”

He doesn’t know why he tells you that. Why he says those words of comfort or why he suddenly feels the strange need to look after you. Is it because you’re a woman? Or is there something more? Something hidden. Something buried deeper within himself that he’s desperately trying to ignore.

When he’d found you back in the tunnels, he was impressed at how well you were able to hold yourself up. At how well your resilience was in the midst of danger. The massacre you had caused all by yourself was something on the level of more experienced and seasoned agents. The way you had moved and used your machete, like you had been doing it for years. The way the faint light of your flashlight had reflected the sweat on your pale skin. How your biceps, which were considerably smaller compared to his, had moved when you parried every attack. And don’t get him started on that precision kill you did with your sniper rifle. Killing three infected with just one shot? You had outdone yourself, immensely. It had triggered his attention.

And when you got up to punch Jonathan in the face? He hadn’t moved. On the contrary, he had found it very amusing. Seeing your smaller frame march up to him like a little pitbull before breaking his nose. He even found it a bit attractive as well, though he didn’t want to admit that to himself. You were twenty years younger for goodness sake. You probably thought he was an old creep you had to train with.

Despite his worrying, he can see your eyes soften at his words. A warm smile now covering your face that manages to shake something in him. You also lower your voice. “Thank you again Mr. Kennedy. For everything, really.”

He wants nothing more than to tell you that you can just call him by his first name. To be more familiar with him. But he’s your superior… He has to stay professional. So he answers in the best way he can. “It’s nothing. I’m glad I was there.” Offering you a warm smile in return, you continue your way back to the dropping point.

He feels guilty. So immensely guilty. There’s no way to describe it. He should have known better. Should have seen the bioterrorism pop up on the scanners when he and Chris had first scouted the area. Years of being in the field, facing danger and managing to survive every single day, years of training… and he’d still failed. Had failed you. He tells himself he’s no better than Jonathan. No better than the men at the DSO who think less of you just because you’re a woman. He doesn’t deserve your kind words and compassion. If anything he should be thankful you’re still looking at him with such respect.

With you walking slightly in front of him now, he lets his eyes wander to your smaller frame. Resting on your hair, slightly dirty from all the dust and debris, neatly woven into a French braid. A couple of strands have come loose, framing your face. The color of your hair is a pretty contrast to the dark navy blue of your shirt. As he looks up, he admires your youthful face. Adorning a few little freckles, mostly around your nose, with eyes that shine bright even in the darkest of places. The pale skin of your arms and neck, decorated with a few beauty marks here and there.

The black harness holding your weaponry is tight around your chest, showing off your slim figure and small waist. He notices the zipper of your shirt had come down a bit, revealing the sheen of sweat on your chest caused by all the exertion. A single drop running down, disappearing between the swell of your breasts. He lets his gaze drop lower. To the shape of your hips. To your machete that’s carefully placed above your gorgeous behind. The knife softly swaying from side to side with each step you take.

And when the grenade went off… When he lay on top of you… When he felt your warmth pushed against his crotch…

Jesus Christ.

“What do you think of me?”

“What?” Leon says, startled by your voice. He shakes his head, almost like waking up from a dream. Eyes coming back up to meet yours with a faint blush already starting to form.

“The mission…” You say. “How did I do?” Fuck. Focus Kennedy. Get your act together.

He clears his throat, swallowing the last bit of spit, his mouth going dry. “You uh… You were great. Amazing in fact.” Is that too much for him to say as your superior? Does it sound weird? A simple ok as Chris always says to the rookies won’t do you any justice. He can tell you the truth, right?

You look at him with these big doe-like eyes, almost knocking the air straight out of him. He has to admit it to himself. You are… beautiful.

“So… I passed then?” You question him. “Oh you did more than just pass.” He chuckles, keeping the double-sided meaning of that sentence as a joke to himself.

“What do you mean?”

He sighs. How do you not realize how good you are? “Let me put it this way. Out of all the agents back at the DSO… There aren’t many with as much resilience as you, who would have faced a horde of infected alone on their first ever mission. You held your own back there. Aiding me and complementing my strategies. Following my directions, moving the way I wanted you to, like you’ve been doing it for years. You’re the perfect partner I have missed for so long. So no, you didn’t just pass. If anything I would almost say you’re a full fletched agent who doesn’t need any more training.”

You stop dead in your tracks. “What are you saying Mr. Kennedy?”

“I’m saying that as far as I’m concerned, you have passed your training. Let me have a talk with Chris. Let’s see what I can do. Maybe… I could secure you a good position at the DSO. Give you security.”

You smile at him. “Thank you sir, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but… I don’t think an office job is really it for me.”

He returns your smile. “No… I don’t think it is. But I didn’t mean a position at the office. Sadly enough, it is clear you were made for the field.”

It should feel weird to have someone tell you you’re good at killing. That you’re ‘made’ to fulfil missions in very dangerous circumstances. Instead, his words feel like a compliment to you. A feeling that’s so refreshing after the various laughs and sneers from your fellow male DSO colleagues.

“Thank you Mr. Kennedy. For everything. I don’t know how I can repay you.”

“You never have to.”

After a small hour of walking, the three of you make it back to the dropping point. Chris and his two rookies are already waiting.

At the sight of Jonathan’s miserable expression and bloody nose, Chris’s smirk starts to form. “Well well well… Seems like the mission was a disaster after all. Where the hell have you been Kennedy? We already finished an hour ago.”

You huff, a little irritated by his remark. If only he knew how Jonathan got that broken nose. What you have been through…

Leon walks up to him. “Shut up Chris.” His gaze flickers to Jonathan then back to you. He lets it linger there for a second. Blue eyes demanding your attention. Sending shivers down your spine. There’s a message in them. One of certainty, of protection… of dominance. He sends you a comforting smile before looking back at Chris. His voice is deep and steady as he speaks.

“We need to talk.”

Thank you for reading. <3 I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors. Please feel free to comment so I can correct them.

Part two can be found here, part three here.