Serennedy Ship Week 2023!!

The noise startled both men, and they quieted as the old elevator rattled and shook, the noise echoing through the mines. Thankfully, the elevator car kept moving up.

Finally, Luis sighed. “Look, I don't know what to tell you. I came back to this village to get away from my past mistakes, and only got roped into another disaster instead. It's my fault that Las Plagas evolved this far. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes. No.” Leon groaned and pushed off the wall, away from Luis. “I don’t know.”

That was a lie: Leon knew exactly what he wanted to hear. He wanted Luis to laugh at the accusations and say that he had nothing to do with the parasite. That he regretted his time at Umbrella and had changed after it, and was now just an unfortunate bystander who hadn’t spent the last few days lying in Leon’s face.

Of course, Leon’s life was never that simple.

“You know, you aren’t making this very easy,” Luis said.

“You’re the one who lied to me,” Leon shot back. “If you wanted easy, you should’ve been honest from the start.”

Luis snorted. “You would not have hesitated to shoot me on sight if you knew the full extent of my actions.”

“Then why even tell me now?” Leon snapped.

When Luis’ reply didn’t come immediately, Leon turned back to look at the man and saw an uncharacteristically somber expression on his face.

“Maybe I'm tired of living a shitty life,” Luis simply said.

Leon knew he should push more. He should yell at Luis and probably arrest him for putting countless lives in danger; God knows Luis seemed to think he deserved it.

“Why did you leave Umbrella?” Leon asked instead.

“Oh, we are returning to sin number one?” Luis said, then sighed. “I was young and reckless and Umbrella had unlimited resources and no pesky ethical code to follow. And so, my team researched parasites: what could possibly go wrong, right?” Luis’ mouth quirked up in a self-deprecating smile. “After an entire city was infected with Umbrella's cannibal virus and a bioweapon I helped create was set loose to wreak havoc, well, let's just say burying my head in the sand was no longer an option.”

No. No no no no—

“Raccoon City,” Leon breathed. “That was you.”

Luis winced. “Not all of it, technically, but… yes. Some of that blood is on my hands.”

Leon’s head was spinning. One of the few friends he'd made in the years following the worst night of his life, someone he’d even started entertaining the thought of building something with once this was all over, also had a hand in the incident that broke Leon in the first place.

Leon really should have known as soon as Hunnigan said the words Umbrella scientist.

“But I thought…” Leon said, desperate to make sense of everything. “What about the Birkins?”

Luis looked up in surprise. “The Birkins' pet project was the G-strain, not the regular T-virus or NE-alpha parasite. But you sure know a lot of very classified information.”

“Because I was there,” Leon said. He swallowed. “My first and last day as a cop, at Raccoon City PD. Conveniently located right above a secret Umbrella research facility.”

Luis stared at him wide-eyed. “And that's why they have you working for the government. Anyone who had seen the events would need to be kept under control, especially if they knew about the lab.”

Leon blinked; he knew Luis was a scientist, but it still caught him off guard how quickly he’d deduced the right conclusion.

Luis' face fell as the realization set in. ”That's what's wrong with you. You wanted to be a policeman to help people, yet you were forced into being a killing machine. They didn't give you an option, eh?”

That's what's wrong with you. The words cut deep, at the dark place inside Leon that he thought he’d buried six years ago.

“Is death an option?” Leon weakly joked.

“Oh, mi amor—ehm, amigo,” Luis quickly corrected himself.

But Leon had caught the slip-up, and it was like the metaphorical knife lodged deep inside twisted in the wound. He hadn’t known how much he'd miss the ridiculous Spanish pet names before they were taken away from him. 

“I know you probably won't believe me, but I am sorry,” Luis said. “If not directly responsible, I still played a part in the two worst events of your life.”

Leon nodded. He wondered what it said about him that his first instinct—after wanting to throw a predictable punch—was to say you're also one of the best things to happen in my life, so it evens out.

The elevator ground to a halt, then, their destination reached. They were finally close to the surface, yet Leon still felt like he was suffocating—not from the stale air of the mines, but from the thick tension between them.

“I wish you’d told me all this before we…” Leon trailed off.

Luis smiled that sad smile again. “I'll add it to my long list of regrets.”

Leon watched Luis sigh and walk out of the elevator, straightening his shoulders and forcing a spring into his step. 

“No matter, we have a princess to rescue!” Luis said, his voice that familiar mix of humor and teasing, like he was happy to pretend their conversation never happened.

Luckily for him, Leon didn’t like leaving things unfinished.

“Luis, wait.”

Before Luis could react, Leon grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against a wall of crates next to the elevator. For a heartbeat, they simply stared at each other, the tension crackling between them.

And then, when Luis didn’t protest, Leon leaned in and unceremoniously shoved his tongue down Luis’ throat.

Luis immediately moaned into the kiss and grabbed Leon’s shoulder straps to pull him closer, and that reassured Leon more than any empty promises could. After everything that had happened, Luis still trusted him with this; he let Leon manhandle him against the splintering crates and allowed Leon’s lips and tongue to take whatever he wanted.

Even if everything else had been a lie, there was no faking the attraction between them: the way Luis melted under his touch, the way Leon’s heart beat frantically in his chest, and the way they desperately clung to each other was all so very real. 

Luis’ hands slid up to wrap around Leon’s neck and a teasing tongue caressed Leon’s own, coaxing a deep groan out of the agent. Impatient hands pulled Leon closer and when he obliged, Luis sighed happily into the kiss, like there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

And that was the gist of it, wasn’t it? Luis had had plenty of opportunities to escape the cult while Leon mowed down ganados with gunfire and explosives. Yet he’d stayed right by Leon’s side, adamant on helping him and Ashley escape this rotten village.

Conflicting emotions raged within Leon and he stamped them down in favor of slanting his mouth against Luis' to deepen the kiss further, hands moving down from Luis’ shoulders to grip his narrow waist over the leather jacket. When Luis hummed in approval and arched into him, Leon wanted nothing more than to rut against him until they both forgot what they’d even been arguing about in the first place.

Unfortunately, they had more important things to get to than making out while Leon suffered an internal moral dilemma. When Leon reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, both men were panting for breath and Luis was blinking rapidly, like he could scarcely believe that had happened.

“I have to say, that was not what I was expecting,” Luis said.

Leon hesitated; there was so much he still wanted to talk about, but this was neither the time nor the place. The Plaga was raging inside Leon, slowly killing him, and Ashley couldn't be faring any better.

“I don't know what you expect me to do with all that information,” Leon said. “I’m… still pretty pissed off—”

“Understandable.”

“But I don't hate you. Even though I probably should.” Leon sighed. “I just… I've lost too many people.” He gripped Luis' jacket tight over his waist, hopefully conveying the meaning of I can't lose you too.

Luis laughed, the sound fake and ugly. “Oh amigo, there is no future for me. Even if I somehow make it out of this shithole, there are now two governments who want me out of the picture. And I doubt anyone will believe that I only wanted to help people, since not even you—"

Luis closed his eyes and took a breath and Leon resisted the urge to shake him, to force the whole story out of Luis and beg him to at least try to make Leon understand his past decisions.

When Luis opened his eyes and looked at Leon, his gaze was hollow. Leon had seen that look many times before; like a soldier who knew he would not be returning from the war, but who wanted to make every bullet count nonetheless.

"My story is one of hubris, and it does not have a happy ending," Luis said with bone-chilling certainty. "Best case scenario, I'll be behind bars for the rest of my life. Worst case—”

“No,” Leon said, hands balling into fists by Luis’ sides. “I won't let that happen. I'll get you out, you and Ashley, and—and I'll vouch for you, and the president…”

“Ha!” A bark of laughter came from behind them and Leon startled and stepped back. “Oh rookie, just as dumb as the day they brought you in.”

Leon recognized that voice, but there was no way…

"Who's there!?" Leon called, positioning himself in front of Luis. "Show yourself!"

In a blur of movement, none other than Major Krauser, Leon's mentor of four years and presumed dead for two, jumped down from a support beam overhead and landed neatly on his feet.

“You really think the government cares about one soldier? Or even a dozen?” Krauser said. “We’re expendable to them. You think good ol' POTUS would ever care what you have to say? Don’t make me laugh.”

For a brief moment, Leon considered that he was dreaming or having some sort of Plaga-induced hallucination. Even if Krauser was somehow miraculously alive, there was no reason for him to be here, in some rural Spanish village and crashing Leon’s solo mission.

“Cat got your tongue, rookie?” Krauser grinned, showing teeth. “Or did you lose it down your whore's throat?”

“Oye, rude,” Luis muttered. “This whore has a name, you know.”

Luis’ voice pulled Leon back to the present. Clearly this wasn't a hallucination if the Spaniard was sassing Krauser back.

“Major,” Leon said as levelly as he could manage. “What's going on? You were declared KIA two years ago."

“Fucking hell, you really are clueless,” Krauser sneered. “Four years of training with the best and you're still just a blue-eyed little kid. I should've offed you when I had the chance; would've been easy to make it look like an accident.”

The puzzle pieces started clicking into place in Leon’s head: blacked-out documents and the fact that Krauser's body had never been found. Modern military weapons scattered around an old Spanish village. Ashley’s kidnapping under the nose of some of the best agents in the world.

It had all been Krauser.

“I’m doing you a favor, really.” Krauser grinned, shifting his posture in an all-too familiar way. “Putting a weak, useless animal out of its misery.”

Just as Krauser surged forward, Leon reached for his gun—only he was too slow. In one lightning-quick move, Krauser’s knife was pressed to Leon’s throat and an arm restrained him from behind.

“Leon!” Luis yelled, pulling his pistol.

“Rookie mistake,'' Krauser ground out in Leon's ear, backing up and using him as a human shield. “A knife is always faster.”

“Luis, run!” Leon grit out, struggling against the hold. “I’ve got this!”

“I wouldn't do that,” Krauser said, now addressing Luis. “Unless you wanna see the pretty boy's throat slit.”

Leon felt the tip of the knife break skin and a drop of blood run down his throat. Luis’ grip faltered on his pistol, but he was making no move to escape.

“What are you doing? Go! Get the hell out of here!” Leon yelled.

After the conversation they'd just had, there was no telling what Luis would do. Men prepared to be sent to the gallows rarely made rational decisions, especially when the lives of their friends were concerned.

“What do you want, yanqui?” Luis' voice was surprisingly calm as he addressed Krauser.

“Just recovering stolen goods,” Krauser spat. “Hand over the amber.”

“Major, you don't have to do this!” Leon tried. “Snap out of it! If it's the parasite—”

“Shut up, brat!” Krauser elbowed Leon sharply in the spine and he bit back a pained grunt.

“Okay!” Luis said. He reached into his jacket and held something in his hand: a test tube glimmering with orange. “You want this, yes? I give it to you, and he goes unharmed.”

“Smart boy.” Krauser was smirking. “See, Leon? Smart boys know when they're outmatched.”

“Respectfully, Major, fuck you!” Leon kicked at Krauser, but only managed to hit his knee pad.

“Then here,” Luis said. He rolled over the tube, until it stopped at Krauser’s combat boots.

Without warning, Leon was thrown across the room and made impact with the cliff wall next to the elevator they’d just arrived in. He cursed as his shoulder took the brunt of the hit but quickly scrambled to right himself on the rocky floor.

“That's it, alright,” Krauser said, clinking his knife against the test tube now in his hands. Then he grinned, in a pure sadistic glee that made the hairs on Leon’s neck stand up. “Good thing our deal was only for his life.”

In one fluid move Leon had seen countless times before, Krauser threw his knife with impossible speed, and Leon only needed to see a shimmer of metal to know that it was heading straight for Luis' jugular.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The knife sailed through the air, too fast for Leon to warn Luis or throw himself in the way, and soon it would land in Luis' throat with a sickening squelch—

A shot rang out and with a clang of metal meeting metal, the knife embedded itself into a nearby crate instead.

Stunned silent, Leon stared at Luis: still with his pistol in hand, eyes wide in shock. Abruptly, Leon remembered their time at the shooting gallery and how good of a shot Luis actually was. Since he’d already had his pistol drawn, he must have acted purely on reflex to deflect the knife.

Leon looked back at Krauser while reaching for his own combat knife, anticipating a follow-up attack, but the former Major was already gone.

Knowing the immediate danger was over, Leon allowed himself to sag back against the cave wall in relief.

“Well, that was something,” Luis said, walking closer while glancing over his shoulder, pistol still in hand. “Are you alright, cariño?”

The casual endearment was like a warm caress after being dunked in ice water. Leon barked out a somewhat hysterical laugh, giddy with adrenaline and the pure absurdity of the situation,

“Yeah,” Leon said once he'd composed himself, meeting Luis' quizzical gaze. “I'm okay.”

Luis raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard on the stone?"

"I'm sure," Leon said. “Just processing all the shit that went down."

“Fair enough.” Luis sat himself down next to Leon, then turned to him with a grin. “Did you see that shot!?”

Luis gestured at Krauser’s knife with a trembling hand and his smile had a manic edge to it. It looked like Leon wasn't the only one dealing with adrenaline jitters.

Leon smiled. “It was a nice shot.”

“Oh, a compliment? And a smile?” Luis teased. “I'll never let you live this down, Prince Charming.”

Leon huffed a dry chuckle, reveling in the familiar banter. “Don't get too used to it.”

“I, ehm.” Instead of a witty retort, Luis took a few pointed breaths, making Leon snap back to attention. “I actually think that you pulling me back to kiss me stupid just saved me from certain death,” Luis eventually said.

He had a point: Krauser had clearly been lying in ambush for them. He could have easily killed Leon had he wanted to, yet it was obvious that Luis and the tube—the amber?—had been his target.

“I need a smoke,” Luis announced.

Leon watched Luis’ trembling fingers procure a cigarette and then fumble with the lighter, dropping it on the ground with a soft curse.

Leon grabbed the lighter before Luis could. Even if he didn’t normally approve of smoking, a near-death encounter surely warranted an exception.

“Let me,” Leon murmured.

Luis nodded and leaned in. Leon flicked the lighter and held the flame steady, and soon Luis was dragging his first shaky inhale of nicotine.

“That’s better,” Luis said. “Much better.”

Leon placed the lighter back in Luis' still trembling hand and closed his fingers around it. He stamped down on the worry over seeing the man so obviously rattled: Luis being shaky with adrenaline was infinitely better than his throat gurgling as he choked on his own blood.

“I’m glad you're okay,” Leon said.

Luis grinned around his cigarette. “Come now, I can't leave my Sancho to save the princess alone. That would make a terrible story.”

Despite his attempted nonchalance, Luis intertwined their fingers around the lighter and squeezed, hard enough to almost hurt. Leon squeezed back; a silent I'm here. We're alright.

“The story needs its Don Quixote,” Leon agreed.

Luis laughed, and even if it was a little forced, it seemed like he was returning to himself. 

“And here I thought my references were flying right over your head,” Luis teased.

“Maybe there's more to me than just the trauma,” Leon said.

Luis smiled fondly. “Mi vida, you are so much more than a handsome face and great ass…kicking skills.” 

Luis winked and Leon huffed a laugh before getting to his feet.

“Come on,” Leon said, extending a hand. “Smoke break's over.”

Luis sighed but took the offered hand and let Leon pull him up. “Mierda, I nearly died and two minutes is all the break I get? You wound me, querido.”

Leon hesitated. “You could wait with the merchant—”

“Psht, I was only joking." Luis waved off the concern. “I have to protect my squire from the giants.”

The sentiment made Leon smile. Luis arched an eyebrow in response, before pointedly snuffing out his cigarette on the rock and looking up through his lashes. 

Not able to resist the obvious invitation, Leon leaned in—

And his communicator rang. Fantastic.

“Leon,” Ada's voice came through. “Still in one piece? Good.”

Of course she'd cracked his comms frequency. Of course she was checking in now, when Leon had fought through hell and back and been double-crossed more times than he cared to remember.

“What the hell, Ada!?” Leon snapped. 

Both Luis startling next to him and the tense silence from the other end spoke volumes of how uncharacteristic it was for Leon to lose his temper like this. At least with her.

“You're working with Krauser!? He's delusional, Ada—whatever your employer's claiming, he's fucking lost it. He even tried to kill Luis!” Leon said.

Ada was silent for a beat, then calmly asked, “What?”

Luis' chin came to rest on Leon's shoulder, speaking into the earpiece. “Holá, bonita,” Luis said. “A little bump in the road: the former Major just tried to murder me, but he settled for the Plaga sample. Since he has the amber, I assume this means our deal is over.”

“Murder—” Ada said. “Leon, put Serra on the line.”

Leon obediently handed his earpiece over, trying to ignore how easily he was going along with her request.

Luis put some distance between them and listened to Ada while nodding along whatever she was saying. Then, “Do not yell at me!” Luis exclaimed, gesticulating wildly even though Ada couldn't see him. “He would have killed us both! And trust me, I am very interested in curing our prince, but I can't do that while dead, hm?”

With that, Luis held the communicator out to Leon with a sardonic smile. “It's for you.”

"A bump in the road, huh?” Leon said, placing the device in his ear.

"Krauser is nothing but a means to an end that forgot his place," Ada said even more icily than usual, and Leon could hear the distinct cock of a gun. "Your girl is being held at the clocktower."

With that, the line cut out as Ada disappeared in her typical fashion. At least she'd provided them with new intel.

Luis nudged Leon's side and smirked. “Women, eh?”

Leon snorted. “Don't let her hear you say that.”

“She seems awfully fond of you,” Luis said. “For a heartless mercenary, anyway.”

“Yeah, well, jury says I've got shitty taste in women.” Leon paused, then added, “And men, apparently.”

Luis' smile widened into a grin, not seeming to take any offense. “And boy, does that work in my favor.” He clapped a hand on Leon’s shoulder. “Now come, Sancho, the princess awaits!”

“Not so fast,” Leon said, brushing off the hand. “You can tell me all about your little deal with Ada while we walk.”

“Ah, mierda.” Luis scratched his neck, smiling sheepishly. “You see, when I was planning my escape and had no idea that I would find a very strong, very beautiful American agent to protect me—”

Leon rolled his eyes and nudged Luis to make him start walking, already strapping in for a long and needlessly complicated story.