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Leon woke up in a cold sweat.
His body felt uncomfortably warm, yet too cold at the same time. His arms felt tender just by a simple brush of his fingers against them. His head felt heavy and like it was full of cotton, rendering him unable to think straight. No matter how much he tried to kick his mind into gear, his thoughts were slow and sluggish. His throat stung as he fell into a small coughing fit. His body was aching everywhere. This sickness was happening too often, and he didn’t know why.
He recalled reading in one of Luis’ journals about the ‘excruciating pain’ that would inflict onto the host when removing the plaga through radiation. Leon barely remembered the pain when it happened, he could only grasp bits of pieces through his memory of watching Ashley with pure fear in his eyes as she screamed, writhed, and thrashed during the procedure. Then the next thing he knew the world was spinning sideways and he had hit his shoulder and head hard on the tiled floor, and suddenly woke up in the same chair he had laid Ashley on.
He didn’t see anything else in Luis’ journal mentioning about lingering effects after the fact, but he had no other way of connecting this illness elsewhere. Maybe his nervous system was still compromised from the procedure and all of the trauma he’s gone through, but who knows at this point. The sickness comes and goes whenever it wants and when he least expects it. Some days he’s fine, then some days he’s completely bedridden. Sometimes when his mind wants to play tricks on him, he still sees and feels his veins turn black and spread everywhere with no way of controlling it, turning him into a panicked mess. He just wants it to end. His health hasn’t been the same since he and Ashley left that shit show of a place months ago. But when has his health or anything about him ever been the same or normal? It’s like the world was constantly against him and was telling him he didn’t deserve a damned break.
With immense effort, he fluttered his eyes open to the sun seeping through the gaps of the curtains from the window, forcing him to lift a hand to shield the light from his tired blue eyes. It took him a second to understand where he was or what was going on due to the brain fog. The sounds of birds chirping, distant sirens, and faint shuffling in his apartment sounded his ears all at once. Back then, he’d be content waking up to the noise. It used to be a way to keep him grounded, reminding him that he was lucky to still be alive, wake up, and experience something as simple as hearing a few birds sing. But today it was overwhelming and causing a headache to throb and worsen as the minutes went by. He groaned and whispered out a curse as he curled under the blanket, squeezing his eyes shut again, waiting for the pain and haziness to dissipate. He’s probably been sleeping in a little too long for his liking, but he can’t bring himself to get up anyway. He was so wrapped up in the discomfort that he didn’t realize someone had entered the room. He slowly opened his eyes again though, when he felt the bed dip down.
“You're finally awake,” Wesker reached with his thumb and index finger to remove the black shades from his eyes, looking down at Leon. “It’s almost noon. Are you feeling sick again?” He asked, his voice laced with a hint of worry—which was something that didn’t come very often from the blonde. It always made Leon’s heart skip a beat when Wesker showed genuine concern for him.
“Hi,” Leon answered, ignoring the rasp in his throat. He turned his head against the pillow to meet the older man’s eyes. He was wearing his usual dress shirt with a few buttons at the top left opened to reveal his collarbone, a tight vest that hugged his waist, and a pair of black slacks. His cologne was also making Leon’s head swim more than it already was, but in a good way in this instance at least. The man sitting next to him looked so stunning, it left him breathless every time he stared.
Happy to see Wesker, he shifted and tried to let out a smile, but it came out as a small, pained grimace. “And no I’m…okay,” Leon continued, “Just a little under the weather. I was just getting up though.” With aching arms, he bent his elbows to attempt to sit himself upright, only to feel a strong hand place on his chest, making him grunt as his back was pushed onto the mattress.
“Sweetie you know I don’t like it when you lie to me.” Wesker sighed, warning him gently yet firmly.
Despite his ill state, Leon couldn’t help but flush at the nickname. Wesker’s called him that plenty of times before, but no matter how much he hears it, it still turns him into a nervous mess.
Leon never thought he’d be on the receiving end of affection, let alone being in a relationship for that matter especially with his line of work and well—lack of experience. Him and Wesker had bumped into each other one day at a convenience store, and by bumped Leon meant that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and literally rammed straight into the other on accident. He apologized profusely while he tried to hopelessly wipe and dab off the now prominent coffee stain on Wesker’s shirt, but was stopped when a hand enclosed over Leon’s to stop from making the stain worse, causing the both of them to look at each other in the eye. Leon doesn't think he's met a man so attractive in his entire life until the moment they laid eyes on each other.
However, it didn't stop Leon from squirming under the blonde’s judging, intimidating gaze on him. Leon stuttered out one last apology and took the chance to offer to buy him coffee to make up for ruining his shirt. His mind was racing so much from that short interaction that he could feel and hear his heart thumping loudly against his ears. Much to Leon's surprise, Wesker gave a certain look that he couldn't pinpoint what it meant, and agreed to the offer.
They had hit it off ever since then, and continued to see each other more often than Leon expected. Leon was worried at first about his past and job getting in the way of their relationship, but he learned later that Wesker used to work for S.T.A.R.S with Chris and Jill around the same time Leon was training as a rookie officer for RPD. They were more connected than he had originally thought, which led him to be more open and vulnerable to Wesker about his experiences. Things happened so fast, and now they were happily living together.
Of course, with Ada being Ada, had contacted Leon out of nowhere to question him about Wesker—demanding to know how they knew each other and warned him that he shouldn’t trust him, as if he was supposed to just take her word for it. Leon was confused and slightly annoyed at first, but he couldn’t stop having second thoughts after that. It would’ve been stupid to bother asking how she even knew Wesker in the first place, since it’s impossible to get an answer out of her. However, when he thought on it, Wesker was really vague and closed off on the details whenever he spoke about his life during and after S.T.A.R.S. He'd also always make an excuse whenever Leon tried to push further about it, saying that it’s confidential and would be best if he didn’t know for his own ‘safety’. To which Leon found ridiculous since he was completely capable of taking care of himself.
To be honest, that alone should’ve set off alarm bells in his head long ago. Additionally, if Ada knew who Wesker was too, then that was already a red flag on its own. Maybe he was giving Wesker the benefit of the doubt a little too much, because it’s not like Leon wasn’t keeping some of his own secrets either. What if Ada was right and Wesker was working with the wrong people? Or doing something dangerous that Leon would resent him for? He just wished Ada explained her reasons more, but maybe she spared the details to protect herself too.
On the other hand, Leon was so tired and lonely after returning from the mission in Spain. He just wanted to rest, forget about everything for once, and seek a relationship he so desperately craved for. Meeting Wesker was one of the best things to have happened to him, and it felt cathartic to be able to talk about some of the things he's gone through without feeling afraid or judged. He needed this. He needed Wesker. The sensible part of him knew deep down that Wesker wasn't the most trustworthy person, but he's proven to still be so caring and loving towards him. That was enough for Leon that he'll take it for as long as it lasts, even if it might hurt him later.
“I’m promise I’m fine,” Leon closed his eyes when cool, slender fingers threaded through his hair, immediately giving him comfort. “You know it’s been like this. I can deal with it.”
“I’m sure you can honey, but not today. You look like shit and like you’re about to pass out,” Wesker said, chuckling when he earned a glare from Leon.
“But we agreed we’d go out today?” Leon had to suppress the whine and pout from escaping his lips. He’s been stuck inside for the entire week now and wanted to go on a date with Wesker, or even just get some fresh air. Then on days when Leon finally feels functional, Wesker ends up neglecting him and works for hours nonstop in his office. Some days Leon’s had to practically beg him to spend just a few hours together.
“Yeah well change of plans. We're staying home today,” Wesker concluded, leaving Leon no room to argue back. “Sit up. You need to some food in you,” Wesker reached over and placed one hand behind Leon’s back and the other on his waist, pushing him to finally sit upright against the bed frame.
Embarrassment instantly washed over Leon like a bucket of ice cold water. His illness made him so weak that he needed assistance to do something as simple as sitting up. He hates that he’s clearly not in the right state to leave bed. He's gotten better at enduring it, but even on days when he tries to go out while he's sick, he still has to take breaks at a nearby bench to rest, or cut the day short, or even has to ask Wesker to help walk him back home. Simple errand runs that wouldn't even take a quarter of his day can leave him knocked out for almost the whole night. In addition to that, he hasn't been able to consistently keep up with his workout routine and that made him feel even worse. While he still looked physically toned, it certainly didn't feel like he was with his arms constantly feeling frail and like jelly, making it difficult to hold or lift things for long. He was seriously irritated for not being able to do normal things without feeling dizzy and nauseous all the time.
“Try to eat as much as you can, then you can rest,” Wesker repeated took the tray of food he prepared from the end table and positioned it so it rested on Leon’s lap.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re just trying to get rid of me so you can go back to work?” Leon mumbled, picking up the spoon to eat, despite his stomach threatening to vomit it back out.
“No need to be like that. You know I’m only just worried about you.” Wesker leaned forward and pressed his lips on the younger man’s forehead. “Now can you be a good boy for me and try to finish your meal?”
Leon, with reddened cheeks, nodded silently and did his best to eat as much as he could, not wanting to disappoint the other. After managing to stomach down nearly half of it, Wesker gently guided a glass of water towards Leon’s lips to drink. After a couple sips, he lifted the tray and laid it back onto the end table, grabbing a yellow-colored folder before lifting the covers to climb into bed.
“What are you doing?” Leon blinked.
“What’s it look like I’m doing?” Wesker didn't look up as he casually turned the pages of the documents, reading through them intently. “I’m working.”
“O-Oh. I was just joking earlier. You don’t need to stay here or anything,” Leon shyly sneaked eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I understand you’re busy, and you were right anyway. I’m not feeling well at all and should probably just sleep for a while.”
Wesker, unbothered by Leon's rambling, hummed in response then extended his arm out as an invitation for the younger man to come closer.
“Uhm, okay then…” Leon slowly crawled closer until he could lay his head in the crook of Wesker’s shoulder. He felt himself melting when the same arm wrapped around him, the closeness like two pieces of a puzzle finally snapping together in place. Wesker’s chest rising up and down and the sound of papers turning was enough to lull Leon to a peaceful sleep.
The next time Leon woke up, he still felt incredibly sick. He had no idea how much time passed, furrowing his eyebrows as he slowly processed that he was still lying on Wesker’s chest with an arm still wrapped securely around him. He weakly tilted his head up, surprised to see the blonde fell asleep with him and was still sound asleep, his folder now abandoned and scattered on the floor.
Leon smiled and readjusted himself to cuddle as close as he could, eventually falling back asleep with the comfort that his boyfriend was getting some rest, and that Leon will get wake to up another day to being taken cared of.