𝑬𝑳𝑺𝑰𝑬

📂 MASTERLISTS ︱Resident Evil Masterlist ︱Dad Leon Kennedy Masterlist ︱DILF Leon Kennedy Masterlist ︱9 Days To Requiem Event Masterlist ︱Girl Dad Anthology Masterlist ︱BEYOND PROTECTION Series Masterlist

💬 WRITING GUIDELINES ✹ Fandoms I write for: Resident Evil (mostly), Formula 1 and Marvel ✹ I post fics, headcanons and series, both canon and AU ✹ Requests are open for any of the fandoms mentioned previously. However, I have the right to deny your request if I'm not comfortable with it ▶ You can send me your requests here ✹ DOs: All types of SFW and NSFW (unless mentioned in NOT DOs). Mostly x reader (female/gn) fics but there will also be posts about OC ✹ NOT DOs: Non-con, dub-con, incest of any kind, hybrid, heavy sexual practices. Reader/OC that are minors (no matter if it’s platonic) ✹ English isn't my first language so I apologize for any mistakes you might read in my works (feel free to correct me always doing it respectfully)

As you were getting closer to the ranch, you realised that somehow nothing had changed, but at the same time, it all did. 

A wave of familiarity settles in your chest, comforting and painfully bittersweet all at once.

Ben, your boyfriend, kills the engine, though his hands remain tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.

"You know, this is your last chance to run away."

He joked, not even looking at you. However, something deep down told you he wasn't really joking.

You let out a quiet, shy laugh, before pushing the door open. Slinging an oversized backpack higher onto your shoulder, she step out of the car.

"The way you're talking seems like I'm about to go to prison," you tease, your voice dripping with dry sarcasm. "Thought I was just starting a new job."

"Considering how urgently Claire called you, and how fast you said yes..." Ben replies, finally turning to face you. "Kinda sounded like someone was about to die."

The faint smile on his lips disappears almost immediately.

"Call me when you're done. I'll be at your parents'."

You don't answer right away. You keep your expression carefully neutral, just like he does.

Silence settles between you both until you finally give him a small nod. He returns it, and you lean through the open window to press a soft kiss against his lips.

Ben's hand comes up to cradle your jaw, silently asking for a much deeper kiss but to his surprise, and your very own, you pull away almost instantly.

You need to breathe.

"Wow," Ben's tone sharpens. "Seems like now you have a hard time showing your boyfriend you love him," his eyes narrow. "Is there a problem?"

"No. Of course not."

The words come out way too quickly, scrambling to cover the mistake you knew you'd just made.

"I'm just... nervous. You know: the new job, meeting everyone again after years just chatting..." you force a smile. "These things happen when you leave your whole life behind and decide to start over again... once again."

"Did you leave me behind too?"

You silently count to ten. 

The last thing you wanted was to start an argument. Specially, not standing at the entrance of the one and only Redfield Ranch, the place that was like home for you during many years.

"I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"

That's all you say.

You don't even bother looking back to see whether Ben was still watching you. You try not to think about that and quicken your pace, letting yourself soak in the spirit of the ranch you'd missed way more than you'd ever dared to admit during your years in New York.

The scent of dry grass and sun-warmed wood. The heat of the afternoon sun against your skin. The stables in the distance, looking way better than your remembered...

You're so lost in your own world that you don't stop until you see Claire who, honestly... looked as if she was someone else.

There's no sign of her worn-out jeans, boots, or those cropped t-shirts of hers. Instead, she looks quite professional, clearly trying to be someone she really isn't. Instead, she's wearing a crisp white button-down neatly tucked into tailored trousers that fit her perfectly, paired, somehow, with spotless white Converse.

Even her hair's neatly tied back instead of being its usual mess.

Is running the ranch by herself now that Chris was Cedar Creek's mayor really affecting her that much?

The younger Redfield lifts a hand to catch your attention, still pretty distracted that barely even notice.

"Hey, you, in here!"

Hearing your name, you hurry the last few steps between you only for Claire to wrap you in a hug the moment you were about to say hi.

"Took you long enough," the redhead mumbles without letting you go. "I get that coming back's a bit of a shock and everything... but really? It's not like you haven't seen the ranch in pictures or during our video calls."

"I'm coming from New York," you laugh. "Things are... just a little different there compared to Cedar Creek."

You glance around once again.

"I guess I'm just excited to be back home after a long time."

Claire pulls back just enough to look at your face, though she still refuses to let you go.

"You look good."

You raise an eyebrow.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment or a warning?"

"A little more of a warning, to be honest," Claire admitts without hesitation. "You sure you're okay? Did something happen on the trip? You look... I wouldn't say pale, but..."

You shake your head immediately.

It wasn't what'd happened during the trip. Actually, it's everything that'd happened before it, and everything that'd been happening for way longer than you dared to admit.

All the thoughts that couldn't escape from your head. 

The endless cycle you've spent nearly two years trying, and definitely failing, to break.

"I'm tired, it's just that. It was a long trip," you simply said. "Ben thought we'd save money coming by car, so we barely slept."

The moment Claire hears Ben's name and saw how your expression shifts, she quietly takes a couple of steps backward.

Her gaze drifts toward the car, still parked outside the ranch, and toward the man she recognizes from every picture you've posted online.

"Are you in a hurry?" Claire asks. You frown and shake your head, asking her why. "Your boyfriend's still sitting there."

She points to the car.

"Oh..." you look over your shoulder. "He's probably just trying to find my parents' bar on Google Maps. He's never been here before, and with the pride he has, I'm sure he'd rather get lost than ask one of some locals for directions."

Claire gives Ben a polite nod, who doesn't even bother returning it.

Trying not to let you notice the irritation she's feeling and that flashes across her face, Claire gently takes your hand and starts leading you inside the ranch.

"Come on. I'll give you the tour before we both lose our minds."

"I literally just got here, Claire. Don't you think we should—"

"Exactly," Claire cuts in. "I desperately need to vent to someone after spending my entire day buried in paperwork. If someone'd told me I'd end up running this ranch full-time just because I had the brilliant idea of convincing Chris to take part in the elections..." she groans dramatically. "I should've sold my part to Chris years ago, I'm telling you."

Claire keeps talking about how much her life's changed... even though it'd only been a month while you walk side by side, her talking nonstop while you just listen to everything:

"That's the storage barn," Claire points toward a large building without slowing down. "We built it not long after you left because Chris decided expanding the stables was a fantastic idea," she gestures to her right. "And, over there, is living hell: my office," she sighs. "Don't dare going unless you're ready to listen to me venting for hours. Jill usually leaves the second she hears me start complaining."

"I'll take notes on that," you smile. "No talking to Claire during office hours."

Claire arches an eyebrow.

"What? You don't want me talking to you after work either?"

"Depends," she shrugs. "You have no idea how miserable I've been. I've cried more and slept way less this past month than I did during my entire time at college."

You round the corner near the main house, which barely looks like one anymore.

Claire gradually slows her pace and stops, you matching her steps until you're both standing on the front porch.

"I'm sorry."

Claire speaks so suddenly that you blink in surprise.

"Oh? Why is that so?"

"I mean... I'm terribly sorry for calling you like it was some kind of life-or-death emergency. I mean..." Claire sighs. "Technically, it kinda is, but still..."

You shrug, trying to brush it off even you know quite well how serious this topic is to your friend.

"Don't worry about it, really," you smile reassuringly. "Besides, I already told you: Ben and I'd already been thinking about changing our lives a bit, and..." another small shrug. "You know me. I believe in fate and all that stuff you love making fun of."

"Changing your lives a bit, huh?" Claire arches an eyebrow.

"Yeah. You know... Leaving the chaos of New York behind and finally being able to breathe again, as stupid as it sounds"

"Even if that means giving up a very well-paid job as an equine veterinary specialist to become a two-for-one trainer and vet in the middle of nowhere?" Claire snorts. "Not to mention the absolutely terrible salary."

You chuckle under your breath and nod.

"The last few years made me realize I'd rather have peace of mind than money."

Claire lets out a quiet laugh.

"So... Guess you're going back to the bar too, right?" she asks.

"Yeah," your voice softens. "My parents could use a little help from me," she hesitated. "And, honestly..." your shrug once again, "it feels, somehow, comforting, like I'm stepping back into my comfort zone, specially after..."

Your lower your gaze, starting to twist your fingers almost automatically, nervously. 

The words stay still in your throat.

"The point is I'm happy to be back," you keep talking, a bit more shyly and ashamed of admitting that out loud. "I'm pretty happy to have this... lifestyle, or whatever you want to call it, again."

Claire smirks.

For a few seconds, you have the feeling your friend wants to say something else... but, thankfully, she didn't. 

Instead, Claire simply nods and leads you toward the wooden bench on the porch. You sit down while Claire leans against one of the columns, folding her arms. 

"Okay. So... here's the thing."

She pauses and takes a deep breath, which makes your pay even more attention.

"We're running out of money."

Another pause, this one even more uncomfortable.

"It's not just that the budget's tight," Claire lets out a sarcastic laugh. "The thing is that, if I screw up again with anything, I'll probably have to declare bankruptcy and sell the ranch for a dollar."

You stand up immediately, moving to lean against the column in front of her.

"I've been thinking about different options of what we can do to make things better," she continues. "I haven't talked to Rowan about any of them yet, but—"

"Wait," you blink. You lean forward, eyes wide open. "Rowan? You mean that Rowan?"

"Come on, don't start. You just came. We're not doing this."

"Claire, if it's that Rowan—" 

You insist, making Claire roll her eyes, desperation taking over her.

"Yes, it's that Rowan," she confirms. "Long story short, it was all Barry's idea, but I honestly don't feel like explaining anything else right now. It's being... Well, an interesting experience, to say the least."

You open your mouth to press her a bit more, then think better of it. If you were in her position and instead of Rowan, they were talking about—

"Yeah. Sure. No worries," you simply reply in a whisper, a bit ashamed.

"The point is that we need to focus on whatever we can do to... save the ranch," Claire keeps going, sighing once again. "We need better training and harder routines without putting too much pressure on them. Honeybee and Chestnut have to perform at their absolute best if we want to get something out of this."

"And if it works?"

You already know the answer, but still feel like asking. You competed for years yourself and won way too many competitions. You plan was to keep doing that until you were old enough to stop riding horses, but New York and an internship that could change your life, in the best way possible, ended up catching your attention. 

"The prizes will probably help us get back on our feet," Claire shrugged. "You know how this goes way better than me, Vi. I don't even know why you're asking."

"And if it doesn't?" you ask again, quickly and desperate.

"You know that answer too."

Claire gives you a tired smile.

"We lose even more by trying. Taking into account travel expenses, transporting the horses, accommodation... Competing isn't exactly cheap, and we're not exactly comfortable with money right now... but I think the risk is worth it."

"Everything'll work out," it's all you can say, offering her a small smile.

"You always say that," Claire shakes her head. "I hate how optimistic you are."

"I know," you smile a little wider. "But somebody has to be."

The confidence in your voice does absolutely nothing to hide the knot of anxiety still twisting in your stomach.

"I get why you're scared," you continue talking. "I know that not being sure of something and what'll happen is terrifying. But you know what? Things always find a way of working themselves out."

Claire sighs.

"We're lucky Leon's helping us."

The second those words leave her mouth, and the moment she watches every trace of color drain from your face, she knows she'd made a mistake.

Claire really fucked up.

"What Leon are you talking about?" your ask, too quickly and quite in shock.

"Kennedy. Come on: what other Leon could it be?"

She's right, of course. Who else could it be? It's not that many people were named Leon. Specially, not in Cedar Creek.

You nod slowly, mentally cursing yourself for asking such a stupid question.

The anxiety that's been simmering in your stomach way before you arrived at the ranch suddenly becomes almost unbearable. You even feel the need to throw up, having to take a few deep breaths to not let yourself get worse.

"Right..."

You force a weak smile that makes Claire's expression shift.

"Look..." she begans talking carefully, rubbing the back of her neck. "I know you two have history. And, whatever happened... I still don't really know why the two of you suddenly stopped speaking."

"Stopped speaking?" your repeat, unable to keep the edge out of your voice. "Listen, if it'd been that simple—"

"I get it, okay? That's what I mean..." Claire sighs. "Or maybe I don't, but you're adults who I know can handle this whole situation of working together no matter how close you were."

She looks quite uncomfortable, which makes you quite uncomfortable as well.

"Anyway," Claire keeps talking, snapping you out of your thoughts. "If you're okay with it, you'll handle the morning training sessions. Leon has most of his sheriff duties during mornings, and since you'll be helping at your parents' bar, probably your afternoons will be busier, while his afternoons are a lot more flexible," she looks at you. "I mean, if you're okay with it, I made that whole schedule without even talking to you both before."

You give a small nod. You can't seem to find your voice, but your body language spoke for yourself.

Claire notices, of course.

"You okay?" she asks once again. 

All you can do is nod. Claire doesn't push, even she knows you're lying. All she does is stepping away from the column and wrap her arms around you again. This time you barely return it, feeling even a bit uncomfortable.

"I'll leave you so you can have time for yourself and wander around here," Claire says. "I have to find Rowan. I want to talk to her about the fundraising festival I've been thinking about."

You manage to show her faint smile.

"Good luck with that. And with her."

The younger Redfield nods. Before heading inside, she takes a couple of steps back.

"I'm really glad you're here," she says to you. "And... I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Leon. I definitely should've."

The nervous knot in your stomach climbs straight to your chest.

"Yeah. Me too," is all you manage to say.

Claire nods once again before disappearing inside the house, closing the door behind her.

Left alone, you find yourself drowning in a thousand intrusive thoughts, not being quite sure of what to do next until you remember the reason why you left your whole life behind.

The horses.

Helping Claire save the ranch.

Making sure neither she nor Chris lost the last piece of their family's legacy.

You head toward the stables without even thinking, though your heartbeat pushes your feet a little faster than you'd have liked. Every few seconds, your eyes dart around, expecting to run into someone.

Leon.

You stop in front of the stable doors, closed for some reason you can't quite understand. Without giving it a second thought, you brace one shoulder against one of them and push.

The heavy wooden door wings open with more ease than you remembered from your teenage years, when you spent hours and hours there doing absolutely everything you could.

The moment you step inside, the scent of fresh hay, damp earth, and wood shavings rushes over you and, with it, come all the memories you'd forgotten you still carried with you.

The amount of afternoons spent laughing while trying to brush a stubborn mare that insisted on wandering away every five seconds. 

The little pony Chris adopted shortly after Sebastian, his son, was born, and how they thought it'd be a great idea to put an absurdly oversized pair of fake sunglasses on him.

The picture you took of Chris and Leon standing proudly beside him, and how Claire then insisted that you and Leon better had a photo taken too even all you could do was scolding them for laughing at the poor animal.

You remember how you felt when Leon swept you off your feet, carrying you in bridal style as if you'd just gotten married, and how you'd felt an insane amount of butterflies fluttering inside your stomach that now are pure mixed feelings that raise your anxiety.

You force yourself to walk farther into the stable, putting all those memories aside before they could become something more than just another knife twisting in your chest.

A soft whinny pulled her attention to the right.

A chestnut horse, way too calm, stood inside one of the stalls, ears flicking curiously as he lifted his head.

"Well, look who we have in here..." you murmur, walking over slowly, your smile growing bigger. "Long time no see, Chestnut."

The horse bobs his head, as if he's recognizing an old friend, before stretching his neck toward you. You rest your forearms against the stall door and gently stroke his muzzle.

"You have no idea how happy I'm to see you," you smile. "Great thing the two of us already know each other," you scratch beneath his jaw, which your remembered the horse loves. "You're going to make my job a whole lot easier. Bet Ada's too."

Chestnut answers with a loud snort, and you choose to take that as an agreement.

You step away from him and slowly scan the stable again, looking for the other horse you know almost as well as you know yourself.

"Where are you hiding, Honeybee?" you mutter, looking for Jill's mare.

"Guess you're still as impatient as ever."

That voice makes you freeze.

"We're going to have to work on that, sweetheart."

You don't need to turn around to know who it was but still, you do.

Leon stands at the opposite end of the stable, near the entrance, sunlight pouring in behind him. He has one hand resting against the doorframe, while the other gently strokes Honeybee's neck as she nudges him insistently with her muzzle, almost as if trying to tell him an intruder's arrived.

That, of course, catches Leon's attention.

He looks up and, after a long time, he feels a relief he can't quite explain.

A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

"Pure instinct," you think while doing exactly the same as him: smiling as you haven't done in a long, long time.

The second you realize you're doing that, you immediately lower your head, heat rising to your cheeks.

Neither of you move or speak until the sheriff clears his throat, making you look back up immediately, your eyes finding each other again.

"Hi," he says.

"Hey..."

Silence settles between you once again, though this time it feels way much heavier.

Leon lets out a sigh and looks away for a moment, trying to come up with something to say to his best friend.

"Former best friend", he forces to remind himself, considering how things ended between you, all because of him.

"It's been a while," it's all Kennedy can say.

Your lips part before you hesitate. What are you even supposed to say to that?

You know Leon, really know him, and you're sure that there isn't an ounce of sarcasm hidden in his words.

"Yeah..." you let out an awkward laugh. "I could say the same thing. How long's it been now? Six years?"

Leon laughs quietly, that bittersweet feeling taking over him.

He rubs the back of his neck, trying not to get more nervous and letting silence settle between you once again. He doesn't know what else he can say to you, so he focuses on leading Honeybee into her stall, stealing occasional glances toward you, still standing right beside Chestnut.

Before he can even stop it from coming, the memory crashes into him.

His graduation from the police academy. That ridiculously long ceremony in where he was forced to shake more hands in a single afternoon than he had in the rest of his life combined.

He remembered watching you laughing with Claire, while Chris excitedly told him you'd been accepted into an internship at one of New York's best equine veterinary clinics.

The same application Leon'd helped you fill out, and the same internship that'd take you away in just a couple of weeks. Funny enough, the same weeks he thought about asking you to go on vacation and, finally, confess his feelings to you.

Leon swallows hard, dragging himself back to the present.

"How've you been?" is all he says.

You take your time to answer, carefully deciding what you should tell him and what you shouldn't.

"I've been... Good, I guess. Bussy," you smile faintly. "New York is..." she searched for the right word. "Stressful. Between you and I... it's quite overrated."

Leon smiles.

"You've always been a Cedar Creek girl. I guess that, no matter how far you go, you always find a way back home."

"And what about you?" you ask quickly, refusing to dwell on his words.

"Busy as well," he shrugs. "If you'd told me two years ago I'd leave RPD to become a full-time sheriff here... Not to mention that now, apparently, I'm spending half my life around horses again, just like when we were teens," he adds, his smile widening. "Hopefully, this time it'll be a little less chaotic considering we're only training them."

That earns a laugh from you. A real one.

Leon rests his arms on a bale of hay before hoisting himself up to sit on top of it.

Without even thinking, he holds out a hand toward you, the exact same gesture he's made countless times when you were teenagers.

You simply shake her head, politely refusing. Leon's hand lingeres in the air for the briefest moment before he quietly lets it fall.

"I've heard things have been going great for you," he says, leaning forward with his hands clasped loosely between his knees.

Your expression changes instantly, which doesn't surprise Leon.

Of course, Leon knows what your life's been, just as you know exactly how his has been after you went your separate ways.

"Sure..." he says after not getting a reply. A brief silence follows before he dares to speak again. "So..." he rubs the back of his neck. "I've been wondering something ever since Claire told me you were coming back." 

Leon's eyes find yours, and you swear you feel the same way as when you were 16 and deep down for him. 

"What makes someone like you leave a place like this, get the opportunity of her life at one of the best veterinary clinics in New York, and then choose to come back to a shitty town that barely has any future for young people like us?"

Once again, you know there isn't a trace of malice behind his question, just mere concern. But, deep down, there's something inside you that makes you think otherwise.

A lump forms in your throat while you force yourself to stop thinking bad about Leon.

You know all too well that, no matter the way your story ended, Leon still cares about you, and there's no bad blood between you.

"Claire called," you answer calmly, not letting your feelings take over your. "It felt a good opportunity to come back," you offer a small smile. "I get to help her, Chris, and also my parents. You know I'll always be one call away from the people who need me."

"I know that first hand, yeah."

"I also missed my parents," you add quickly, refusing to let another heavy silence settle between you. "And Ben wanted us to slow our lives down a little, so we thought it'd be nice to move somewhere quieter," you force a smile after saying that. "So... I guess stars just aligned."

You know Leon well enough to notice the subtle shift in his expression the moment you mentioned her boyfriend. It's that subtle that most people never would've caught it, but you do. 

You let out a sigh, not sure whether that makes you uncomfortable or disappointed.

Leon, of course, knows who Ben is, all thanks to your social media. For the past year and a half, he's watched your photos appear every few weeks, all of them of perfect dates you seemed to brag about in perfectly written captions.

Yet, somehow, he couldn't quite explain why your smile seemed a little dimmer every time you posted a new photo. And not to mention the light in your eyes... The dark circles beneath them... 

He shouldn't have noticed anything, but it was your light fading away as time went by.

Leon forces himself to stop overthinking about a relationship that isn't his and he had no idea about. He steps down from the hay bale and goes straight to Honeybee, who immediately nudges his arm the moment he reaches her.

Leon smiles faintly and begins stroking her forehead.

You notice the tension settling in his jaw and shoulders, as well as how, so out of nowhere,  he seems incapable of looking at you again.

"I should get going," you say, a bit overwhelmed, plastering on a smile. "I still have to get familiar with everything again. And I should probably go over to Claire's to talk about the contract," she added.

Excuses. Every single one of them are simply stupid excuses so that you can get out of there as soon as possible, and Leon knows it.

"Yeah," he simply says, looking up at you immediately. "Of course. No worries."

He clears his throat, cursing himself for not knowing how to keep the conversation alive.

When you realize his attention's drifted back to the mere, you turn back toward the doors before you dare to open your mouth and say something you don't want to.

"Y/N?"

You just turn your head enough to look back at him over your shoulder.

"I'm really glad you're back home." 

Leon's voice's quiet and honest, which makes everything feel way worse.

"I've missed having you around."

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