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Leon hurt everywhere.
It was to be expected after the shitshow he’d just barely escaped. He was certain the machine almost killed him, he’d gotten lucky. Though his Plagas may have matured, it was still relatively young, maybe that’s what saved him in the end. But now, he was left in the silence of his room, sitting there solemnly in a wheelchair he didn’t need but knew made it easier on himself.
Atop his lap sat Krauser’s old beret, it wreaked of sweat and gunpowder, but he kind of liked it in a sort of sentimental way. His fingers twirled around the laces, tying them around his finger only to undo the weak knot. And he recalled the day he first saw Krauser wear it, though even back then he respected the man, he swiped it off his head just to try it on and give his best impression of the man he so adored.
He clutched the fabric cap to his chest, thumb gliding up and down the leather hemmed edge.
He stared quietly out the window for what seemed like hours, and he saw his own face in the reflection. Scars. So many scars lining his jaw. He gulped down the saliva forming in the back of his throat. It hurt with how dry his mouth was, the scent of blood still lingered in his nose, even after he’d bathed. He rolled forward slowly, pressing his hand to the glass. He didn’t look old enough to have as many scars as he did.
His mind began to wander back to that moment, never forgetting it, and it lingered in his mind like the parasite that’d temporarily called his body home. Even with a concussion, and ears ringing, he knew he had to beg if he wanted out of there. And he hated himself for it, but he didn’t regret it. Jack coulda killed him. He knew that. He knew that all too well with how aggressively they trained together. But he had a feeling the plagas wouldn’t have let his body die just yet, even if Jack snapped his neck. They were persistent little worms, and he had to give them credit, they were resilient bastards. But fuck were they hideous.
He peered down onto the streets below, admiring the view of the hustle and bustle of town, but nothing particularly exciting dragged his attention, not a plane in the clear sky.
The door creaked slowly open behind him, “Mister Kennedy, you have visitors.” a soft voice practically sang.
The door barely had a chance to shut before a pair of excited arms wrapped around him, squeezing him for all his life was worth. “Whoa, whoa, try not to kill now, we just got him back,” Jack's unmistakable voice scoffed playfully.
Sherry eased up, but never let go, “S-sorry, you had me worried sick… I-I thought I was all alone, for so long… I thought you were gone, and I rarely get to see Claire as it is, she was so worried about you, all of us were. I’m so glad you’re okay.” she spoke hurriedly, and finally let go, sitting on the edge of his bed behind him, giving him the chance to turn around.
And as he saw her for the first time in over a year, he smiled, “You’ve grown so much.”
“Had to happen some time,” she smiled. "Claire wanted to come, but she’s busy…”
“Terresave?” he cocked his head, leaning into the chair.
Sherry nodded, “You know her, always jumping from one place to the next. Whenever she’s in the area though, she always makes sure to stop by. You shoulda seen how sad she was when she came back from France, she bought this baguette, but when she finally went to cut it, it was as solid as a rock. Even as strong as she is, I swear that bread had her beat. There for a moment. But that didn’t last long.”
He smiled and glanced at the floor, “I wish I could’ve been there to see it in person.”
“I think you would’ve liked it…” she paused for a moment, “I’m so glad your back…” but a frown slowly creeped onto her lips, “The major said since your in no condition to work, that you might get discharged…
He nodded, “I… hope so.”
She cocked her brow, “And you’re okay with that.”
He bit his lip, thinking for a moment, “You’re old enough now that I think you deserve to know why I joined USSRATCOM. When… I signed on, I did it for you… there was no guarantee I’d get to see you often, but they promised they could keep you safe, they phrased it as if I had a choice, but the only other option would’ve been to silence me. It might’ve been more humane to just put me out of my misery then, but I wanted to see you again, even if only occasionally. I wanted to be someone you could come to if you ever needed someone to rely on… but I… couldn’t.”
She shook her head, hugging Leon again, this time much gentler, “It’s okay, Leon, you did the best you could.”
He grabbed around her softly, “Thank you.”
Slowly separating, she smiled, suddenly a chime rang throughout the room, “Oh, sorry, I have to take this.” she placed the garishly hot pink phone toward her ear, “Hello… yeah, I’ll be down soon,” She sighed as soon as she hung up, “I gotta go, work,” she rolled her eyes.
“Since when do you work?”
“Well, to keep me busy all this time, they’d been running tests on me, until they realized I’d make a better agent than a lab rat.” she sighed, “So I’m off to go train some more… but I’ll be back tomorrow to say hello,” she glared at the floor, “It was great seeing you again though.” she hugged him swiftly before darting out the door.
Krauser chuckled, “That’s gotta be the most excited I’ve ever seen her.”
He nodded, “You didn’t tell her-”
“I didn’t tell anyone, Leon… not even in my report.”
He stared at Krauser for a moment, mouth partially agape, “Even after all I did?”
He sighed, sitting down where Sherry had just sat, and he folded his hands together. “The last time I saw you, I felt ashamed of myself for what happened to you. I couldn’t protect you… and then, when you were going on your ‘last hurrah’ mission, I wanted to apologize… but when we got word your helicopter was shot down… I felt…”
He leaned foreword, wrapping his arms around Krauser, “Sorry I tried to kill you.”
Jack ruffled his hair, “I did a lot more damage to you than the few scratches you gave me.”
‘
He batted at Krauser, sitting back up. He reclined in the chair, kicking his feet up onto the bed, “God, that surgery was painful…”
“You can say that again,” he chuckled, “I’m just glad you survived it, that note Luis left us had me worried, especially for you.”
“I’m just glad I can still walk.” he laughed gently in his raspy voice.
“That too,” chuckled Krauser, “But I’d settle for you over your legs any day.”
Leon tore dead flesh from his lip, gnashing it to a pulp between his teeth as he thought, then promptly spat it out into a trashcan as soon as he noticed what he was doing, “They’re definitely gonna discharge me, right? Like, absolutely?”
“I’d hope so. If they were going to, for that little scratch last time.” He shook his head, “I’m just glad you’ll finally be able to leave this all behind.”
He glanced down, “Do you think we’ll ever get a chance again?” it was a simple question, but it’d been on his mind ever since the plagas died inside his body, he’d almost given up on it while he worked for Albert, but now…
Krauser pondered the thought for a bit, “Once you’re out of this place… I want you to go back home, and settle down for awhile, I know you have enough money in that bank account to never work another day in your life again… it’s about the only perk to working this shit show.” he sighed, “Settle down first is what I’m saying. And then we’ll see about it.”
He swallowed hard and rested his head against Krauser’s chest, “Thank you for saving me.”
Krauser cleared his throat, standing up to stretch out his back, “No problem…” stretching one arm over the other, he smiled at Leon, “You oughta get some rest while you can. Those eye bags aren’t gonna go away on their own.” he teased.
Leon bit his tongue and glared at Krauser, “Goofball.” Swatting at him with the red beret, Leon laughed and tackled Jack into the bed. Although he was way too light to pose any actual danger like this, sitting atop his lap.
Jack hugged Leon tightly, “Now sleep, or I’ll tell Sherry.”
Leon scoffed, “How dare!” he faked a gasp, but climbed off of Jack anyway. “Promise me you'll come visit again?”
“If they don’t send me out again, of course.”
Leon smiled, not wanting to wait another second, but he understood that Jack did have a job to get back to. He recalled how demanding they were, so he didn’t bust Jack’s balls too much, but he would make sure the next time they hung out would be a better experience. For both their sakes, the next time they met it’d be anything but boring. Maybe he might actually have fun for once?
As Krauser walked out the door though, Leon couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d just straddled Jack’s lap, with his bare ass hanging out. Fucking hospital gowns.