#slash ship

Today marked a milestone for Leon.  It was his first date.

Well, not the first date.  Just his first date with Ashley Graham.  He’d been on dates before, he even had a girlfriend once!  Before she… Leon winced at the memory.  Now was not the time to be thinking about that!

Tonight he was going on a date with Ashley and it was going to be the most perfect date imaginable.  Leon felt confident.  He’d been looking forward to this all week! 

Leon adjusted his collar as he glanced himself over in the mirror.  He had contemplated wearing a suit, but he figured he’d need all the funds he could scrounge up to take her out.  He opted instead for a blue button-down and his nicest pair of jeans.

I really need to go shopping…

He’d been in Raccoon City for a few months now and had barely taken the time to properly settle in.  Looking around his apartment, it was messy rather than ‘personalized’.  He spent too much time at work…  He should really clean up before Ashley came over.

Wait, what was he thinking?

It was the first date, it was not like anything would happen!  Not anything like that.  Leon’s cheeks flushed at the thought.  He was a young man, he couldn’t help having those thoughts on occasion, but Ashley deserved better than that!

“You got this,” Leon whispered to himself as he took a look in the mirror once more.  He had bought the button-down because he was told it brought out his eyes.  That was a good thing, right?  It would have to be.

I wonder what Ashley will wear… Probably something way out of Leon’s budget and class.  She always knew how to dress.  Leon hoped he wouldn’t look underdressed next to her, but he knew that was a losing battle.  How could he measure up to her fashion sense?

Leon turned to look at his clock.  6 PM.  He could pick up Ashley in about 15 minutes and then they’d find somewhere to go.

Unfortunately, the places Leon had called up were already booked, but they would be able to find something nice, right? He chewed his lip.  Of course they would.

—

6:20 PM

Leon took a breath as he stopped his Jeep’s engine.  He pulled down the mirror, glancing himself over and running a hand through his hair.  Usually he was pretty confident that it looked nice but right now he was getting all jittery.

He couldn’t stall any longer; he didn’t want to keep Ashley waiting.  He had said he’d be here at 6:30 and not 6:20.  Still, he hadn’t wanted to risk being late.

Shutting the mirror, he hopped out of the Jeep and made his way up to the apartment complex.

206…

Leon took the stairs up, wanting to give himself some more time to try and cool down his nerves.

206. Room 206.

He reached the top, making his way down.

201.

It had a wreath hanging on the front.

202.

This one was plain.  Blue, like the rest of the doors.

203.

It had a post-it note.  Leon didn’t pause to read what it said, but judging from a quick glance, the bold letters made it look like they were upset with a neighbor.

204.

Plain.

205.

Plain.

206.

Leon stopped in front of it, staring up at the number plate as if that would give him confidence.  There were fairy lights around the top.

Cute.  Of course Ashley would do that.

What was he so anxious about?  He’d been out with her multiple times before.  Well, that had been as friends…  But she had agreed to a date, for crying aloud!  There had to be at least some mutual feeling there.

I got this… Leon rubbed his nose before finally rapping on the door.

He was almost instantly greeted with a shout from the other side.

“Coming!”

Leon heard some rustling from beyond the door before footsteps rushed toward the entrance.  It swung open, and there Ashley stood with a cheery smile.

“Leon! Hey!” She sounded slightly out of breath and moved some of her hair out of her face.  She was wearing a black button-up corset top with a high-waist skirt with some sleek, knee-high black leather boots.

Leon felt his mouth go dry.  Oh fuck…  Maybe he shouldn’t have worn tight jeans.

“H-hey,” he grinned, cheeks already red as he realized he had been not-so-subtly checking her out.  If Ashley noticed, she didn’t let on. She looked as happy as ever. “You look, uh… amazing.  You look amazing,” Leon scratched the back of his neck as he suddenly couldn’t maintain eye contact with her.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Officer,” Ashley teased as she adjusted her purse and stepped out of the apartment, inviting herself to wrap her hand around his elbow.  “You clean up nicely.”

Officer.

Ashley didn’t know what that did to him.  Or maybe she did, and that’s why she liked saying it.

Leon sucked in a breath, steeling his nerves so he could look at her. “Thanks,” he lifted his arm so she could hold it easier as they walked.  From here he could almost look down her…

No, Leon! Bad, Leon!

His eyes shot straight forward, not letting himself fall for such temptations.  Ashley was a nice girl, she didn’t deserve him looking at her like a piece of meat.

It was also just unfortunate for him that she was really hot.

“So, uh, I didn’t exactly make a reservation…” Leon opened the passenger door for Ashley, holding her purse as she hopped in.  “But I’m sure we can find a nice place.  Anything fancy you like?”

“Fancy?” Ashley blinked, looking at him with momentary surprise.  “Well, I guess there is this restaurant down South Campbell…” she mused as Leon hopped into the driver’s side and started the engine.

“Yes ma’am!”

Yeah.  It was going to work out.

—

By the third restaurant, they still had yet to find a table.

Leon had wanted to pay, so he absolutely refused to accept Ashley’s offers.  Which… well, perhaps it had been a bit prideful of him looking back… She certainly had the funds to cover the both of them.  Meanwhile Leon almost went into cardiac arrest just walking into the restaurants.  He knew there was no way he was affording anything on those menus.

I should have just sucked it up and cleaned the dishes… Leon gripped the steering wheel.  This was pathetic.  He was being a horrible date right now!

Leon was just the kind of guy who wanted to take care of things, even if he knew Ashley could.  He had asked her on the date, so he saw it as his responsibility to pay for them.  A foolish bit of masculine pride was now snowballing into something that would ruin the date he’d been so eager for.  Ashley would probably never go out with him again.  He couldn’t even find them a nice place to eat!

“Leon.”

He flinched like a scolded puppy as she said his name.  Here it comes.  She’s gonna cancel the date and just go home and she’ll hate me and never go out with me again.  He couldn’t bear to meet her eyes right now.

“Why don’t we just go to the diner on Eastwood?”

Huh?

She wasn’t dumping him?

Leon perked up, turning to her with his big baby blues.  “But… I mean… It’s not very fancy…” He murmured, feeling a bit ashamed.

“Yeah?” Ashley tilted her head, looking confused.

“Don’t… Don’t you want to, I don’t know, eat somewhere nice? I mean you’re all dressed up and I promised—”

Ashley cut Leon off by reaching over to hold his hand, a gentle smile on her face.  “It doesn’t really matter to me where we go. I’m here because I wanted to be with you, silly.”

Oh.

Never before had Leon felt such a strong urge to kiss her.  And he had thought about kissing her a lot.

“I just…” Leon stuttered, unable to get any words out as he felt entranced by her soft green eyes.  In the evening light, they shone beautifully.  “...I wanted to spoil you.”

“And you still can!” Ashley squeezed his hand. “Besides, those places never serve enough food. It’s like a hundred dollars for barely a meal! I’d rather just go eat some burgers with you, yeah?”

Leon felt a smile fight its way onto his lips.  Ashley was always so optimistic, wasn’t she?  She knew just how to cheer him up.

It was cute.  She was terribly cute. That had been one of the first things Leon had noticed about her.  But right now, it was making Leon all hot and bothered.  If he was a weaker man, he’d have forgotten the diner and pounced on her right now.

Why was he acting like this?  It wasn’t like he had never felt this way before, but usually he was able to control himself… Maybe it was because this was the first time they had both been open about a romantic interest in each other?  Leon certainly enjoyed feeling that she liked him.  It was really easy for her to get him going, huh?

“Yeah.  Yeah, okay,” he squeezed her hand back with his tiny, lopsided smile.

Reluctantly, Leon removed his hand from hers and shifted the car into drive.  Dammit. Leon knew he needed to focus, but holding Ashley’s hand was sending his mind into overdrive.

It’s just handholding and you’re already acting like this…  Leon didn’t even want to think about how he would react if she actually kissed him.  He could feel heat creep up his face at the thought.

Bad! Bad Leon!  Leon scolded himself once more.  He had to focus on driving safely and not the incredibly cute girl next to him.

Happy thoughts.  Or, no, not happy thoughts.  Something that would distract him...  That’s what Leon needed right now.  Leon racked his brain for the most disgusting things he could think about.  He remembered as a kid that one time he was cleaning the pigsty after a rain and ended up getting rammed into the muck by a hog.  It took him at least a week to get the smell out.

It didn’t work.

No matter what he tried to conjure up, it didn’t distract him from Ashley sitting across the Jeep.

Tonight was going to be a long night.

—

Once they arrived at the diner, Leon parked and hopped out first to go open the door for Ashley and help her out too.

“You’re such a gentleman," she giggled as she took his hand, letting him practically pick her up and set her on the pavement.  Ashley then wasted no time wrapping herself around his arm again, using both of her own arms this time and clinging to his bicep.

Come on, Ashley,  Leon internally groaned.  Was she doing this on purpose?!

“I just like taking care of you,” Leon mumbled, feeling shy at his tiny confession as they walked up to the diner.

Ashley didn’t respond, but Leon noticed the way her cheeks went pink.  God, he loved it.

The diner was relatively quiet. The hostess led the two to a booth, and Ashley decided she wanted to slide in next to Leon.  She really wasn’t giving him any breathing room…

Not that Leon was annoyed.  No, the problem was that he liked it a bit too much.  He wanted to take things slow, to show he liked her for her and not the fact she was insanely beautiful.  Of course, he thought she was gorgeous, but that wasn’t the only reason he liked her!

She was sweet,  kind, the type of girl you would not expect to be so strong-willed.  She stood up for what she believed in, something Leon held in high value. Sure they were both a bit inexperienced, but she had a good heart.  Leon could tell that instantly.  She was not ashamed to love things wholeheartedly… People, too.

Leon had already known he was interested in her.  After all, she was a bright and intelligent woman.  Only recently did he realize that he was falling in love.  He was practically smitten with her, she could ask almost anything of him.  He just hoped that maybe she’d return those feelings…

“Hey, Leon, mind if I get dessert?” Ashley gave him a cheeky smile as she looked over the menu.  They had each ordered a burger, with a side of fries and two shakes.  Not very classy, but Ashley seemed excited regardless.

“Only if you promise to be a good girl,” Leon chuckled, seeing her mischievous smile.  He had known by now that she was plotting something when she grinned like that.  Which one did she want?  They weren’t too expensive, were they?  Leon didn’t check the dessert section, but they were always way too pricey for these types of places anyway.

Ashley’s face turned bright red.

“Er… Wait,” Leon realized what he said, his own face flushing. “I didn’t… I mean…” It just slipped out!

“I’ll be very good, Officer,” Ashley recovered quickly, leaning in to emphasize her words.

Officer.

Leon felt dizzy.

Too close!  She was way too close.  He could barely think with her looking at him like that.  And calling him that…

God I want to kiss her…

No! They were in public! 

Please kiss me…

Leon was practically begging with his eyes.  Please, please, please…  He wanted her to touch him so bad.  He didn’t care anymore that anyone could see.  He needed—

“You’re so easy to mess with!” Ashley slapped a hand on his back, jolting Leon out of his daze.

“Huh?”

“So, about that dessert,” Ashley quickly switched the subject as she picked the menu back up, making space between them both once more.  Damn.

“O-order whatever you want,” Leon’s voice was still slightly shaky, so he opted to take a drink of his soda.

“Awesome!”

Leon, pride in-tact, was able to cover both their meals with plenty to spare.  It wasn’t like Ashley would be impressed with his salary, but it didn’t matter.  Seeing her happy as they chatted and chowed down was enough to keep him content.

“Next time, I’m paying,” Ashley hummed as they walked back to the car.

Next time?

Leon lit up like a Christmas tree.

“I’ll keep you to that!”

After they both got inside the car, Leon moved to turn the key.

“Wait!”

Leon turned to Ashley, confused by her suddenness.

“Um… Can we just… talk for a bit?” Ashley blushed, her green eyes pleading.

Did he do something wrong?  Leon hid the surge of panic that struck his heart but nodded, taking his hand away from the ignition.

“Sure. What about?”

Ashley pondered for a moment, shrugging as she looked around the Jeep. “I… don’t know.  I just wanna chat with you some more," she mumbled and let her head roll to face him again.  “Just about anything.”

Leon felt his shoulders droop from relief at that.  Okay, she wasn’t mad.  Good.

He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he pondered.  He didn’t really know what to talk about that wouldn’t bore her…

“What was it like growing up? Like, on a farm and stuff.”

“Huh? Well, fine I suppose.  It got pretty boring after a while, but I guess that’s just ‘cuz I always had bigger plans,” Leon shrugged.  “When I was little I couldn’t really do much but by the time I was 10, I had lots of chores.  Tending the flock, cleaning stables, helping my pop with whatever project he needed… I was the only kid, and my parents were a bit older.” Leon paused, hesitating for only a second. “They’re adoptive.”

“You were adopted?”

“Yeah.  Never really knew my birth parents, but I just remember an officer…” His voice trailed off.  This was not light-hearted small talk.  “Anyway, I wanted to be a police officer ever since I was a kid.  So the farm life wasn’t really for me,” he grinned as he glanced over at her. “What about you?”

“Me? Way different than your upbringing, for sure," she smiled back, seeming to relax at the idle chatter.  “I don’t really remember having to lift much of a finger.  My dad’s a senator.  He wasn’t when I was young, but a couple years back he got elected.  Still, I guess we always had a good amount of money," she hummed. “I was also an only child, but living in the city… I guess it was easier to meet people.  Like at school.  Though, it was a private school, so most of them were rich kids. A little bit snobby at that.”

“Oh? They liked looking down on us ol’ regular folk?”

“Yeah. I guess.  It was New York so people were not exactly… the nicest.”

“Hey I’m walkin’ here!” Leon tried his best New Yorker accent, failing spectacularly.

“Oh come on! We don’t actually say that!” She shoved his shoulder at that as Leon laughed.  Despite Ashley’s feigned annoyance, she was laughing too.

Once the laughter died out, a peaceful silence took over the Jeep.  Ashley leaned back in her seat comfortably, looking over at Leon with a smile.

“Hey. Thanks for talking with me… I know it was probably kinda weird…”

“Not at all,” he reached over to gently take her hand, squeezing it like she had done for him when he was feeling down.  “You doin’ okay?”

“Huh?” She blinked, looking down at their hands and then his face. “Yeah! Yeah I was just… just wanted some more time, that’s all," she blushed, but didn’t look away from his eyes.

Leon held his breath as she met his gaze.   As an officer, he’d learned to analyze body language, facial expressions, eyes. Right now, Ashley’s eyes were begging him to kiss her, but…

What if I’m just projecting?

“I… I like spending time with you too,” he finally broke eye contact, turning to look out the front window instead.  Why is it so hot in here?

Ashley let out a sigh that sounded oddly like disappointment.  “Leon," she called, gently rubbing her thumb over his hand.

“Hm?” He still looked out the window.

“Would you just kiss me already?”

Huh.

Leon’s head whipped around to look at her.  Her cheeks were flushed, clearly doing her best to hide her embarrassment.

Ah.  She was just as nervous as him.

Oddly enough, that made Leon feel more relaxed.

“Yeah…” his voice was breathless as he nodded dumbly.  “Yeah, I can do that!”

How lame.

Leon had kissed girls before.  He’d been on dates before– he’d had a girlfriend before!.

He was thinking about Ashley.  How soft her pink lips looked… her rosy red cheeks against milky skin… soft, golden hair he wanted to run his hands through.

And Ashley had just given him permission to kiss her.

Suddenly, Leon felt like he was a teenager.  Like he’d never felt the touch of a woman before.

But he wanted to kiss her.  So bad.  He’d been waiting to do this all night.

Leon lifted his shaky hand to cup her cheek. Ashley leaned into his palm, not once breaking eye contact.  He traced his thumb over her lips.  They were just as soft as he had imagined.  Ashley shivered under his touch, finally letting her eyelashes fall shut as Leon leaned in.

Sweet.  She tasted sweet.  That was the first thing Leon noticed.  The chocolate from the cake she had ordered at the diner.

She had offered to share with Leon, but he had declined.  Now he was happy that he did.  He got to taste it on her lips instead.

Ashley pulled away, just barely, but enough to catch her breath.  Leon was breathing heavily, far more than he should have been from just one kiss.  Ashley always had taken his breath away.

The lizard part of Leon’s brain told him to kiss her again.  The rational part told him to wait, it was only the first date.

Leon listened to his lizard brain.

He cupped her face with both of his hands this time, letting one slip into her hair, and dove in for another kiss.  It took Ashley momentarily by surprise, but she shut her eyes and feverishly returned it.

“Ashley,” he gasped out against her lips, not relenting as he smothered her again.  This kiss was far more heated than the first, Leon’s brain was spinning as he nipped at her lips.  Soft… so soft…

His hands slipped from her hair, trailing their way down to her shoulders, then to her waist, pushing himself closer to her.  He was practically on top of her at this point.

“Fuck…” he groaned, tugging at her lip with his teeth.She whimpered from the feeling.

Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him flush against her and Leon had to put a hand on the door to keep himself from crushing her.

“Ashley,” he whined when she briefly pulled away to gasp for air, already feeling incredibly needy from the lack of contact.  He was quick to capture her lips again, too desperate to let her catch her breath.

Her skin practically burned against his own.  He felt almost feverish.  He didn’t care.  He needed to touch her right now.

Leon finally pulled away from her lips, moving to the side of her mouth, down her jaw, her neck, her collar bone… He kissed her whole way down and murmured her name like a mantra.

I need her so badly… He nipped at her collar bone, eyes trained on hers the whole time.

A smile tugged at Ashley’s lips, causing her to giggle despite her breathlessness.  

“Calm down!” Despite her words, she wasn’t stopping him.  In fact she ran her fingers through his hair, egging him on.

How could he calm down like this?

She was underneath him, so soft and pliant, and clearly willing.

“Fuck, you taste so good, Ash,” he cursed under his breath, voice whiny as he wrapped both his arms around her waist, his chin resting against her chest as his body pressed flush against her.  He needed to be close to her right now.

His hands pawed at her clothes, tugging as if he wanted to remove them.  He leaned up, nipping her lips again to pull her into a kiss but his eyes glanced elsewhere.

The back seat. That should be big enough…

The thought hit Leon like a bucket of cold water.

He yanked himself away from Ashley, using his arms to push himself up and realizing he had practically trapped her there.  What am I doing?!

Leon fumbled to sit back up, planting himself back in his seat and as far away from Ashley as he could.  He had promised himself he wouldn’t get carried away and he almost…  His face flushed in shame. He couldn’t even look at her right now.

“Leon?” Ashley called, her dopey grin fading into a look of confusion.  Her breathing was heavy and clothes disheveled as she sat up too, leaning closer to him.  “Is something wrong?”

Leon shook his head stiffly, beet red as he stared down at his hands.  He really shouldn’t have worn those tight jeans… There was no hiding this now.

“Then why did you—” Ashley paused and Leon wanted to melt into his carseat.  She saw it, he knew she did.  “Oh.”

“...Sorry,” he whispered meekly, shifting uncomfortably.  “I know I went a bit far—”

“Not at all!!” Ashley interrupted, shaking her head rapidly.  “I, um, it’s my fault anyway…” she scooted closer to him, but not close enough to touch.  “I’ve been teasing you all night on purpose, y’know…”

On purpose?

Leon lifted his head to face her, seeing Ashley’s sheepish smile as she had an apologetic look.

“Was it too much…?”

“No… No I, uh, you… You look great,” He blurted, not really knowing what to say. “I just… I don’t want to be the kinda guy to, y’know… Not on our first real date.” Leon looked down again, not able to look her in the eyes.

He was way too turned on for this right now.

He was trying to be genuine and honest but also looking at her messy state was doing things to his lizard brain again and if he didn’t get some distance and fast, he’d probably pounce on her again.

“But I was the one who instigated it,” Ashley reached over to gently take his hand into her own, coaxing Leon to look at her again.  “You’re not some guy who just wants me for my body, I know that much, Leon. I have faith in you and I’d like to…” Her voice trailed off.  Clearly, she was nervous about this too.  But she was still trying.

Still…

“No, Ash, I’m sorry,” he lifted his eyes to meet hers, shaking his head apologetically.  “It’s not that you’re not– that I don’t… I want you.  God, of course I do,” he took in a deep breath.  “But you deserve better than that.  I want to treat you better than that.” Leon squeezed her hand as emphasis.  “I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious I was a bit too into it,” he tried for a joke, his lips quirking up into a tiny smile.

Her lip pouted slightly, but she soon nodded and smiled back.  “It’s okay, I get it.  It’s just how you are.” Despite her words, she sighed.  “It’s cute.  I like it about you a lot but come on! You’re super hot, of course I get a bit eager,” Ashley feigned annoyance, clearly being playfully overdramatic because she shot him a grin afterward.

Leon chuckled, shaking his head as he turned to start the car.  “...Well, maybe next time.  If you’re a good girl,” he decided to throw in just one last tease, remembering how she blushed back in the diner.

“Leon! You can’t just–”

The engine roared to life, covering Ashley’s protests as Leon grinned to himself.  He didn’t let go of her hand this time.

Ashley let out a small laugh too, shaking her head in disbelief before leaning over to plant a kiss to his cheek.