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Leon couldn’t find James. Shouting at him in the hotel room was a stupid decision and now he was nowhere to be seen. At least he was able to catch Laura before she ran off too far this time, but now they were left to wander and look for any trace of James. The two had already managed to trek all the way back to town with no signs of him yet. He most likely took the boat back considering it wasn’t at the dock outside the hotel. For all Leon knew he had already left, and their search was pointless. It didn’t hurt to try though.
Laura watched from a bench as Leon searched the park. It was one of the last places to check before heading up the trail to the graveyard, and he was clearly starting to get uneasy.
“Why are we even looking for him? He killed Mary.” The agent turned his head to her, stopping in his tracks.
“Because….” Leon’s mouth was left agape as he reconsidered what he was going to say. “Because I don’t trust him by himself. Something about the way he’s been acting this whole time feels like he doesn’t care about if he’s harmed. Which is worrying.” That was only half of the reason. He wanted to apologize. James was clearly spiraling the worst in that hotel room and all Leon did was make it worse. That… endearingly idiotic blonde didn’t deserve to feel like more of a monster just because Leon couldn’t shut his big mouth.
“I guess that makes sense.” The girl says as she looks down at a bug crawling on the bench. Leon shivers at the sight of it before hearing something heavy hit the lake behind him.
“The hell was that!?” He turned, fully expecting to see something horrific in the water struggling towards them. It was somehow worse. The last of the car disappeared into the water as he watched in terror. There was no one else here. It had to be James. A jacket and shoes were quickly discarded as Leon stood on top of the railing separating them from the water.
“What are you doing???” Laura quickly got up and ran over to him. He looked down at her with a hint of panic in his eyes.
“I'm going to go get whoever was in that out of there. Come meet me on whatever shore I swim up to and don’t wander off. Please.” She didn’t have time to answer before he threw himself into the water.
The car had landed fairly far from them, but Leon trusted his endurance. Being on a time limit only heightened the adrenaline, making it easier to ignore the ache in all his muscles. He felt the entire swim over. This was partially his fault. If he had stuck with James instead of yelling at him things would be alright. Instead, here he was, staring down at the murky water of Toluca Lake hoping to see a glimpse of the car. The sun reflected against something down there and he immediately dove. Yep, there it was.
Leon could hear his heart beating in his ears as he did his best to calmly descend. The driver's side window was open, which he was thankful for. Getting cut up by glass wasn’t exactly what he wanted in this probably germ infested water. He got a firm grip on James’ green jacket as soon as he could and pulled him out of the window. The blonde was unconscious. A bad sign. The way to the surface felt much longer as he dragged the taller man with him. How he was going to bring him to land before he drowned in his own lungs was something Leon was concerned about.
Breaking the surface of the water, Leon gasped for air. The burning in his lungs persisted as he breathed heavily and swam towards the nearest shore. The adrenaline was starting to fade and exhaustion was hitting him like a truck from his eventful day but he kept going. James was going to live.
The blonde was dragged onto the sand before Leon threw his gloves off and fell onto his knees next to him. He calmed his breathing as he began performing CPR, feeling somewhat at ease now they were out of the water. Now all he needed was James’ body to cooperate. A sigh of relief escaped him when the other started coughing water up after a few rounds of compressions. Leon quickly turned him onto his side so the water didn’t go back into his face. He patted James’ back as he hacked and coughed, spitting up water in the process.
The two sat there in silence for a moment. James was struggling to wrap his head around what exactly happened as his brain rebooted. Oh right. He drove his car into the lake. He turned to Leon who was trying to look less disheveled as he fixed his hair.
“Why did you save me…?” Leon stares at him, speechless. A bewildered expression appears on his face as he stands up.
“Because you were going to die!?” He huffs and holds his hand out for James. He takes the offer and stands, stumbling from light-headedness. Leon took a deep breath and waited a moment before continuing. He shouldn’t be that harsh about it. “You don’t deserve to die, James. I know you believe that you do and me snapping at you in the hotel room didn’t help. I apologize for that.”
“I took away someone’s life. She had longer to live. I was selfish and just wanted my life back. It was awful seeing her suffering every day, but that doesn’t excuse what I did. I deserve to be at the bottom of the lake.” James swayed a bit as he spoke, something Leon had noticed he did frequently.
“James…. From what I’ve seen today, in probably some of the most tense moments of your life, you’ve only shown you’re a great guy. I know what you did wasn’t out of malice. You thought it was the right thing to do. It may not have been, and you have to live with that guilt for the rest of your life, but this shithole has already tortured you for it. I’d honestly call this place hell.” A nervous, quiet chuckle came out of Leon.
“Well I won’t argue with that.” That seemed to get a weak smile out of him. “I just don’t know if I can keep living like this. Knowing I did that.”
“It will get easier, I promise. I don’t know how it will or what you’ll find to let yourself live in some peace, that's all up to you, but I believe you can find your peace. The feeling will always be there of course. It will just be easier for you to accept it. If that makes any sense…” Leon had become highly aware of how cold he was now. Clothes sticking uncomfortably to his skin and his hair still sopping wet. The blonde stared at him for a moment, his expression hard to read.
“That does make sense. And to be honest… I think I may already be finding my peace.” His tone softened as he looked Leon in the eyes. Oh. The agent flushed as James came closer to him. All he was expecting was a hug, not the tender kiss he was met with. Not that he was complaining. It felt nice. It’d been so long since someone kissed him like this, like they meant it. Leon reciprocated, but the other pulled away soon after.
“Sorry, I should have asked first.” James mumbled as he took a step back. He invaded Leon’s personal space without warning.
“It’s alright, the feelings mutual.” Leon is beaming, contradicting his calm tone. “Just remember for next time.” A quick peck is planted on James’ cheek before the agent motions for him to follow him off of the shore. They head towards Laura, who’s patiently waiting on a sidewalk for them. Leon lags behind, letting himself get lost in his thoughts. Just for a moment. James was going to be okay. He was going to recover. If Leon got to help him through that, even for just a while, that would be enough for him. This tall mess of a man had found the way into his heart, and Leon was going to make sure he was safe.