He stood at the altar, dressed in his best silver tux, thumb rubbing absent circles over the simple band of the engagement ring you had gifted him. The guests blurred together into a sea of smiling faces, but he barely registered them.

He wasn't nervous…at least, that's what he'd been telling himself.

Then the music changed.

The entire room rose to its feet.

Leon finally looked up.

And there you were.

For a moment his mind simply…stopped.

You looked impossibly beautiful—not in the distant, untouchable way magazines tried to define beauty, but in the painfully familiar way that stole the air from his lungs. It was you with the same smile that greeted him after bad days. The same eyes that always found him across crowded rooms.

Leon felt something in his chest crack open.

With every step you take the reality of what was happening is sinking into him.

This is real, you're real. So real in fact that he was marrying you.

For the first time in a long while his eyes stung, tears were quickly filling the edge of his sight before he could even know what to do.

He tried to blink the tears away.

Don't cry.

Come on Kennedy, pull yourself together.

But the thought kept echoing louder than the music.

They're really, really marrying stupid ol’ me.

His throat tightened.

Leon is not in any sense lucky—well one could surmise he was unluckily lucky---but how did his luck get this good?

How in the hells did he manage to get this right?

How did he pull all the right cards to lead to this point?

It didn't make sense.

Not to him.

He knew the plenty of mistakes he'd made. The missions that had hollowed him out. The nights he'd come home exhausted, carrying ghosts he could never quite explain.

He knew every flaw.

Every scar.

Every reason someone should've decided loving him was too difficult.

Yet there you are.

Walking toward him with the kind of smile that made it seem as though choosing him had never been a question.

His chest ached.

There had to be a mistake.

Some irrational part of him almost expected someone to interrupt the ceremony.

“Sorry, wrong groom.”

“There's been a mix-up.”

Because surely—surely this couldn't really be happening to him.

You reached the front.

Now, standing a foot away from him.

Leon gaze landed on your glimmering eyes…

And whatever composure he'd managed to hold onto completely disappeared.

“Hi there.” You smile so effortlessly like you’re merely taking a calm stroll in the park.

“H-Hi.” 

Brilliant, he stuttered.

The man who walked out a zombie infested city fucking stuttered.

Just great, months of planning and the first thing that went out of his mouth was a stuttered Hi.

A tiny laugh escaped your painted lips.

Well…at least one of yous find this amusing.

“I…” He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling seventeen instead of thirty-something—great he also forgot how old he was. “You look…”

His stupid brain abandoned him.

He cleared his throat to save him some grace.

“You look pretty.”

Your smile widened.

“Just pretty?”

His face warmed instantly.

Oh you little devil. Your partner was having a brain malfunction yet here you are enjoying every bit of it.

“No, that's not—I mean…” He stopped himself, shutting his eyes for half a second, laughing at himself. Once he pulled himself together he looked at you once again. “You look absolutely stunning.”

This time it seemed you were the one being flustered.

“Thank you, you look quite dashing yourself.”

Leon laughed again, softer this time.

“I just wasn't prepared for what you could actually do to me.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I forgot how to talk.”

A few quiet chuckles rippled through the front rows.

Leon didn't even notice.

His whole world had narrowed to the person standing inches away.

“I'm delighted I could stunt The Leon Kennedy.”

Leon shook his head, amused by your statement.

“Not everyday someone can do so.” He held out his hand. “Ready to marry me, partner?”

You threaded your fingers around his. 

“I walked the aisle, would be pretty awkward if I’m not.”

Leon scoffed, “It's a bit unfair. Here I am on the verge of crying, and here you are, swagger and all.”

“Verge? Honey, I already see a tear track.”

“Damn.” He sniffled, laughing at himself. “I know.”

The officiant smiled knowingly, clearly willing to give them another minute. There'd been one too many times he’d witnessed couples clearly despise each other during their ceremony. Witnessing the exchange in front o him was a breath of fresh air.