Chapter Text
You looked at the clock yet again, actually it was the third time in the hour you felt your head start to turn towards the soft illuminated light on your nightstand. When your eyes met with the clock, the numbers read 1:47am.
It was the only light in your bedroom, and the only noise came from the hard pitter patter of rain outside mixed with the soft purring in your lap from your black cat, Mittens. You stroked his soft black fur waiting as time went on.
Leon Kennedy was a man of many talents, but your husband being on time coming home from a mission? That was next to impossible. You understood why, after all you never minded his job. You knew what you were getting into when you originally met him after his mission in Spain.
After getting close you understood the severity of his work, and you supported him. In fact, why he chose you still baffled your mind. You weren’t some agent, you never even had an interest in law enforcement jobs, hell you barely knew how to use a gun. No, you were just a normal person--well as normal as normal could be--in a world where monsters were a reality.
At first the thing connecting you to Leon initially was that fact you were from Raccoon City before the incident. Later came the shared interests and similarities over awkward first dates. You smiled to yourself, you could remember each of those dates vividly, and yet the one that would always stick out was when Leon took you to a cat adoption event after a few drinks at breakfast…The cats seemed to love him, they--like you-- were drawn to him. Seeing him with at least eight cats of all shapes and sizes sitting in his lap while he had the grumpiest look he’s ever given was engraved in your memory.
Hence why you had the cat currently in your lap. Leon had liked Mittens the best because of the cat’s, and I quote, “white paws that made him look like he was wearing mittens.” Leon was cute when he wanted to be, and you loved that about him. That and his witty jokes all the time.
You sighed and gently gathered the cat within your arms as you got out of bed. Wearing nothing but a white nightgown you felt a chill run down your spine due to the storm, so brewing a cup of tea seemed like a lovely way to relax and finally get some sleep. You made your way towards the bedroom light near the door, only to realize the power was out when you flipped the switch. When you looked behind you the soft glow of the clock was out too.
Your brows furrowed in annoyance as you grabbed a flashlight in your nightstand drawer. “Mittens you’re coming with me to fix the breaker…” You mumbled to black fur in your arms as if you were expecting him to respond back.
While it wasn’t a mansion, it was quite large for a house. Bigger than any place you had ever lived in. You and Leon slept in the master bedroom upstairs. There were a few more rooms upstairs that included the room you were currently in, a bathroom connecting it, a guest room, and a shared office for both you and Leon. Downstairs had a very large kitchen (something you insisted on when Leon and you bought the house), a connecting living room, a second bathroom, and a garage with a laundry room.
There was also the door to the basement which was where you were headed now. Just thinking about the damp cold room filled you with dread, you absolutely hated to go down there. Leon didn’t seem to mind at all, he had turned the basement into a weapons hub with a variety of guns and melee weapons when you two first moved in. Now that you two were older he used it as a way to stay in shape.
Standing in front of the wooden door you trembled, however having Mittens with you made you put on some fake bravado that you could make it to the breaker. The one issue were the stairs leading down would be pitch black-- besides your flashlight-- since you couldn’t turn on the light.
Step-by-step you descended down the stairs holding onto the railing for dear life with one hand, and white knuckling the small flashlight in the other. One wrong step and you would be tumbling with a very angry cat in your arms. When you managed to make it down on the cement floor, you saw the red light illuminating from the breaker. While it was at least some light you thought it looked horrifying.
You slowly crept your way to the breaker and started to flip it up when Mitten squirmed in your arms hissing. You dropped the cat so he landed softly on the floor and noticed his tail was puffed out and stood defensively.
“Hey, you’re okay--” You started to comfort the cat when you felt it: a solid hand on your shoulder and your name being called.
Without thinking you let out a screech, dropping you flashlight, and twisted your stance and cocked your arm back ready to punch whatever was touching you.
“Hold on!” His gruff voice said.
You dropped your arm, “Holy shit,” You gasped, “Leon, you can’t just sneak up on me like that!”
“I called your name when I entered the basement, you really didn’t hear me come in?” He questioned.
You rolled your eyes, “Sorry I was a bit preoccupied with not having a heart attack in here.”
A corner of his lips tilted up giving you a smirk that gave you goosebumps. Leon reached behind you to finally turn the breaker back on. You heard the hum of the electrical box and knew it was working again.
Leon bent down to pick up the flashlight to turn it off and place it in a tool box on a shelf. He grabbed your hand and led you back to the main floor of the living room, “You should be sleeping by now, why are you in the basement instead of bed?”
You squeezed his hand softly, “I wanted to wait for you.”
Finishing the last of the stairs Leon gathered you into the living room and let go of your hand only to embrace you. His hands wrapped behind your back and kept them steady there and he looked down into your eyes. He said your name softly as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead in which you gracefully accepted.
“I thought I told you to not wait up for me, it makes me happy you do believe me. But, you need your sleep…” He trailed off and reached a hand up to fix the white strap of your nightgown, his eyes drifted to the rest of the gown as if transfixed on your attire.
You nodded, “Sometimes it’s easier to fall asleep when you’re here. The nightmares are bearable then.” You knew Leon understood what you meant. You were there during the Raccoon City incident. You remember how it started, how you watched your mother become a monster, how your father was so deluded into wanting to fix her. You knew then it would never happen, you knew he would die trying. You were 19 when the outbreak started, when you watched your mother devour your father, and when you left Raccoon City, the only home you’ve ever known.
Having Leon understand personally what you went through and vice versa made your heart flutter. Having Leon do something about it-- despite how he got to work for the DSO-- all while you did nothing made your stomach flip in turn. Leon was genuinely a good man who wanted to make a difference, and you couldn’t make any difference.
“You’re so much stronger than you think, I’ve told you that a thousand times, and I’ll tell you it again for the rest of our lives.” He responded coolly.
You smirked, “The rest of our lives? You sound like you’re still the 29-year-old I met after Spain.”
His blue eyes widened, “Are you calling me old?” He faked a gasp.
You chuckled and hit his chest playfully, “Me? Never. I would never call the Leon Scott Kennedy old.”
“My age may be 49, but I can still do a mean backflip you know.” Leon grumbled.
The two of you chuckled for half a heartbeat and then silence filled the air. It was the kind of silence that reminded you of a calm before a storm. A silence that would grow and gnaw at you if you didn’t speak about it.
“Can I see your hand?” You mumbled.
Leon didn’t answer but unwound himself from the embrace to lead you towards the kitchen without a word.
Leon lifted you up-- making you squeal-- onto the kitchen counter and left briefly to prepare a steaming mug of peppermint tea for you while you waited. The sweet smell filled the kitchen making you smile as he worked.
When he finished he stood in front of you naturally spreading your thighs apart allowing him to come closer. He placed the mug beside you on the counter and set his hand on top of your thighs. You looked down to see his left hand flipped up and his wedding ring in place where it should be.
The infection…it was gone. The ugly mass of black seemed to have just vanished as if he never had the T-Virus at all. “My god, Leon.. How is this possible? You found a cure in Elbridge?”
He shook his head, “Raccoon City, actually.”
You paused to take a deep breath. “You went back?”
“I had to, an FBI agent was mixed into this mess. My original mission was to investigate the strand of outbreak in Elbridge, but I had to help her.”
You nodded at this, you understood his nature; he would never leave someone vulnerable behind.
“Her involvement led me back to Raccoon City. From there we discovered an underground facility.” He continued.
Your brows furrowed, “Wasn’t Raccoon City destroyed?”
“Not all of it, apparently.”
“But you managed to find a cure?” You paused, “What about Sherry?”
“She’s getting cured as we speak.” Leon leaned down to kiss your cheek. “We don’t have to worry anymore.”
Your cheeks were beginning to hurt with how much you had been grinning. Leon hadn’t been infected for long, and while he was strong you knew there would be no way to survive that. You could have lost him, lost everything you two created. Your lives, marriage, a secure safe place, and someone to call home.
You didn’t even realize you were crying until Leon wiped at your cheeks under your eyes. “Hey, hey, why are you crying?” Leon asked, his voice soft.
“I’m not.” Your stubborn nature would never admit to it.
Leon rolled his eyes and chuckled. He pressed his lips against your tear soaked face as if he were trying to kiss them away. When he was proud of his work there, he moved on to your nose, then forehead. Never your lips though, which you so desperately craved.
The rest of the night went on with sips of peppermint tear and details into what happened over the past couple days: Leon explained more about what he had gone through, how he had found the cure through Elpis, and just how involved the FBI agent was. Grace reminded you of someone like Sherry. He became more than just a protector, Leon genuinely cared for these girls as if he raised them himself. On top of that Grace now had Emily to take care of, you were positive you and Leon would be making visits to check in on the girls.
“She reminded me of…me. Well when I was still a rookie all those years ago.” Leon had said when he was explaining more about Grace. “I couldn’t leave her defenseless, I also couldn’t force her to not help me in the underground facility. She was willing to do anything to help in any way.”
It wasn’t until the sky turned into a pale gray instead of the blackness of night and your constant yawning that Leon suggested you finally get some rest. He gathered your form in his arms and you swore he took the stairs two steps at a time. He opened the bedroom door and placed you within the warm white down of the big bed right next to your cat that seem to be waiting for you two. However Leon didn’t get in with you right away.
You could feel the crease between your brows, as Leon instead sat next to your side at the edge of the bed. He reached his hand up to your face and cradled your cheek against his palm.
“You need to sleep, I need to shower.” He answered automatically as if reading your thoughts.
You grinned, “I could use a shower too, you know…”
Leon laughed and stroked your cheek with his thumb, “That would be great, but I don’t think you can even stand on your own two legs right now. You need to sleep, it's already 5 in the morning.”
“Maybe I’ll get that shower tomorrow.” You shrugged.
He bent down close to your face, so close your lips were inches apart, “Believe me,” you could feel his breath on your lips, “I would strip you right now and drag you with me into that shower, but when I see you need sleep I’m not going to deny you it to fulfill my own selfish desires. Besides…”
Your eyes narrowed, “What?”
“Don’t be mad, but we both know how grumpy you are when you are sleep deprived.”
You bursted out with a loud laugh making Leon grin, while you hated to admit it, he was right on that front.
When the laugh died down you lifted yourself up so you were sitting and wrapped both arms around Leon’s neck. “Okay fine, I’ll sleep, you shower. But you’ll come back to me as soon as possible, yeah?”
Leon nodded and placed his hands on your hips, “And I promise I won’t be late this time,” He said, simply reaching down to press his lips against yours.