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During a moment that Leon and Luis aren’t being actively hunted, they take a few minutes to breathe. They find a secluded and unoccupied room and lock the door behind them. Crossing the room, Luis takes his jacket off and drapes it over the back of a rickety wooden chair that he then sits in while Leon busies himself with reloading his guns and checking his supplies. When he has nothing else that requires his attention, he becomes hyper aware of the edge of fatigue that has set in. Realizing that he’s no use to anyone if he can’t perform, he sits in the other chair, opposite to Luis.
They’ve only known each other a few days and although he found him infuriating at first, Leon is in disbelief at his growing attachment to Luis. How can a man he’s only known for such a short time already make life feel better and less… suffocating?
He innocuously fishes for information by asking Luis, “Do you know what you’re going to do when this is all over?”
“By this, do you mean the hellish landscape we’ve been living in the past few days?” Luis asks, looking over at Leon with an amused smile tugging at his lips.
“I wouldn’t call it hellish. More… nightmare inducing.” Leon smiles. He doesn’t think he’s smiled more than with Luis by his side.
Luis lets out an soft “ha!” that he follows with a shrug. “I’m unsure. I’m considered an enemy of the state for my previous affiliation with Umbrella. But I’d like to come back to the US. Who knows? Maybe it’ll all work out and I’ll find myself a nice teaching job there.”
Leon raises his eyebrows in disbelief. “Teach? As in kids?”
Luis laughs. “No, at a university. Although college students are like adult children. But not the little ones. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Leon responds flippantly. He’s always found it very difficult to talk about his feelings. It’s both uncomfortable and foreign, so he doesn’t tell Luis, “I don’t want to lose touch after this like I have with almost everyone else. I don’t want to lose… you.”
He stands, changing the subject. “We should get moving.”
Luis follows suit, pulling his jacket over his shoulders once more. “Cualquier cosa por ti.”
Luis gets stabbed, sacrificing himself to keep Leon safe and Leon feels a cloud of despair hanging over him. Luis wobbles where he stands before sinking to the floor. Without the threat of Krauser demanding his attention, Leon rushes to Luis’ side.
“Hey, I don’t get a thank you?” Luis asks with a weak smile.
Leon tries to find the words, but his throat feels tight and it’s like he loses the ability to speak.
Luis rifles around in his jacket pockets, pulling out a cigarette and his engraved lighter. With the cigarette between his lips he tries setting it alight, but the damned lighter isn’t working. Actually, his fingers are hardly working.
“Do me a favor, would you?” Luis asks, glancing up at Leon and back down to his lighter.
Leon’s expression is pinched and his voice firm when he says “No.”
“¡Pero qué coño! You’re going to deny a dying man’s last request?” Luis asks, mildly annoyed.
Leon stands up and starts searching the surrounding area, suddenly determined that Luis isn’t dying here. Not because of him.
“You’re not dying.” Leon responds, digging through a crate.
“Sure feels like it. But if you want to play god, be my guest.” Luis says, sentence punctuated by a cough that sprays blood.
Leon finds what he needs. Green and red herbs, a couple cans of first aid spray. He carries his small bounty over to Luis.
“Chew these.” Leon says, handing Luis the herbs.
Luis, the trooper that he is does as Leon says. While he does that, Leon as gently as he can, removes his ornate leather jacket and then his shirt. In different circumstances, Leon thinks the sight of him shirtless might be distracting. But now he hardly notices, only focused on one thing. And that’s the stab wound in Luis’ back and preventing his dying as a result.
“You should buy me dinner first before you undress me, hermoso.” Luis jokes.
Leon glances at him only to quickly look away at the glazed over look in his brown eyes, his lids looking weighed down by sandbags.
“I will. Swallow half the herbs, spit out the rest.” Leon says, holding out his hand.
There’s a pregnant pause before Luis speaks. “In your hand?”
“Yes. Come on.” Leon sighs.
Luis does as he asks and spits half the wad of herbs into Leon’s waiting hand, swallowing the rest with a grimace. Leon then packs the stab wound at Luis’ back with the herbs, making sure to really get them in there. Luis winces painfully in response. If he thought that was bad, Leon sincerely apologizes for what comes next as he sprays over the wound with two cans of first aid spray.
“¡Joder!” Luis hisses a quiet curse in response, body instinctively pulling away from the source of the pain. Leon moves with him.
“Sorry. Sorry, I know it hurts.” Leon murmurs sympathetically in response.
The blood slows. It doesn’t stop, but Leon tears Luis’ shirt and knots it tightly around his chest, applying a firm pressure to the stab wound on his back.
Although his expression is a grimace of pain, he seems a little more awake which brings Leon mild relief.
“It’s not a lot, but it should hopefully do the trick until we get you to a doctor.”
Luis can’t help but notice the determined set of Leon’s brow, the small frown on his lips. “I didn’t know you cared about me that much.” He confesses, utterly honest and utterly serious.
A small smile graces Leon’s lips as he says, “Yeah, I guess I’ve gotten used to having you around.”
They wait a few minutes before Leon encourages Luis to stand. In an ideal world, they wouldn’t rush it, but they still need to get Ashley, cure both her and Leon, and still get the hell out of here. They’re on a time crunch, to say the least.
Luis gives it a valiant effort before his legs give out on him.
“I can’t. Just leave me, I’ll find you.” He says, voice dripping with frustration.
Leon adamantly refuses. “Here, I’ll help you.”
Luis is reluctant. He tries to get Leon to go without him. He’s deadweight, he’ll slow him down, but Leon stubbornly doesn’t move an inch. So with his help, Luis stands and with each agonizing step, they’re one step closer to getting out of here.
They find Ashley, only she’s unconscious and in the grips of Krauser with Ramon standing close by. Leon gingerly leaves Luis in the shadowy hallway, telling him to stay put and stay quiet.
Ramon taunts Leon, tells him to give into the plaga just like the girl soon will. Leon’s so fucking tired of the talking and the taunts and he just wants to get out of here with Ashley and Luis and be done with the mission. So he shoots him, which only serves to make him mutate and attack Leon in blind fury.
After killing him, Leon goes back to Luis whose eyes are closed, propped up against the wall.
Worry closes in on Leon’s chest and he sharply whispers, “Luis?”
Luis’ eyes open and he smiles weakly at Leon. “I’m just resting my eyes, Sancho.”
“We gotta go. I’ve got you.” Leon says, voice tinged with relief.
Together they find Ashley once more and immediately after injecting her unconscious form with the last dose of suppressants, Leon’s vision goes spotty.
“Not now,” he says, more to himself than Luis. His vision goes black and he crumples to the floor.
He doesn’t know how long he’s out for before he comes to. Feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder, he looks up to see Ashley, awake and staring at him with a soft, appreciative smile. At least she’s looking better.
“Luis told me you saved me.” She says.
“He has a habit of doing that.” Luis interjects from across the room.
Turning his head to look at him, Leon observes how some of the color’s returned to his face and he seems more alert. That’s good, they both look better. Meanwhile he feels worse for wear.
“Thank you.” Ashley continues.
Leon stands and says, “Don’t thank me yet. I still have to get you out of here. And Dr. Serra still has to cure us.”
Ashley frowns stubbornly. “Well, I’m still thanking you. Whether you like it or not.”
Leon can’t help but laugh. “Come on.” Turning to Luis, he asks, “Are you good to walk?”
“Feeling better by the minute.”
His face betrays him though, judging by the pained grimace as he stands on his feet. Leon reaches out for him but Luis waves him off. “You worry about our girl there. I can keep up.”
Still, Leon and Ashley slow their pace so Luis doesn’t lag behind as he guides them on the location of his former lab.
Things can never go smoothly though and they’re ambushed. Luis manages to shoot two of the followers, but it’s still not enough to prevent Ashley from getting captured.
On their way after her, they’re caught by Krauser. Leon tells Luis to run, but he determinedly stands his ground.
“I already saved your ass from him once. I’m not leaving you behind.” Luis responds almost angrily.
Neither of them escape unscathed. Luis’ stab wound opens up again, saturating the remnants of his shirt with crimson. Never mind the fresh aches and gashes and cuts.
Leon unties the shirt and sprays the wound again with first aid spray before covering it once more. He gives the rest of Luis’ injuries the same treatment.
“Now it’s your turn.” Luis says.
Leon looks down at himself and the blood dripping from a gash on his forearm. Then the superficial scrapes on his palms from the stone and gravel. The small cut on his chest, shirt torn slightly from the graze of the knife. He didn’t notice any of these things until now, functioning on adrenaline and autopilot. Leon wordlessly nods his assent and lets Luis spray his wounds.
Luis huffs an amused breath of air. “You didn’t even flinch.”
“I’m used to it.”
Together they march on and find Ashley at the stone alter. Her skin is ashen and black veins starkly contrast against it. Leon works on waking her up so they can get out of there, but they’re not quick enough. Saddler comes for them, bringing dozens of his followers along with him. But Ada appears, seemingly out of nowhere to provide cover fire. It’s enough for them to get away and Leon mentally thanks her for the assist.
“We need to hurry, there’s not much time left.” Luis says urgently.
They move as fast as they can through the stone caverns, but Luis is still recovering, Ashley is barely on her feet as it is, and Leon isn’t doing much better.
There’s this skull crushing pressure inside his head, and he’s having frequent visions now, the parasite inside of him connected to the hive mind. To Saddler. And when he’s not having visions, he’s seeing stars and on the verge of passing out again. Luis gets them to the safety of his lab and Leon somewhat clumsily sets Ashley into the operating chair and straps her in with the laser positioned above.
Luis settles into a chair behind some controls, bringing the machine to life. He looks over to Leon, sat on the floor with his eyes closed and his skin worryingly pale with black veins streaking across.
“Leon you…” Luis starts, voice worried but quiet below the loud hum of the machine coming online.
Leon shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me”, he bites out.
His hands are balled in tight fists as he experiences a pain unlike any other. It feels like something is inside of him, trying to get out. Like this body isn’t his own. He refuses to think about it further, partially because he doesn’t want to think about if he doesn’t get cured in time. And partially because it hurts to think.
Ashley’s eyes jolt open as she screams in agony as the laser breaks up the parasite inside of her. Leon wishes he could comfort her somehow, but he can barely keep himself together at the moment.
At least Luis tries. Leon focuses on the sound of his voice as he empathetically says, “It’s almost over Ashley. You’ll be cured soon.”
It’s not much longer before the machine goes quiet and Ashley does too.
“Is she okay?” Leon asks, audibly concerned by her lack of screaming.
“She will be. And so will you because it’s your turn.” Luis says, moving to unstrap Ashley from the chair.
Leon tries to stand to help him before his vision goes black and he passes out.
When he wakes up, he’s in the chair, but not strapped in.
“You had us worried. How’re you feeling?” Luis asks.
Leon groans. His body aches and his skin burns where the laser shone on him. “Like shit. But better.”
“That’s good. You were on the verge of not making it. But now that you both are cured, we can all get the hell out of here.”
As soon as he stands up, Leon’s stomach rolls and he dry heaves. He can’t remember the last time he ate, so all that comes up is bile.
“You’re a government agent and you can’t handle a little laser and a parasite? What a wuss.” Ashley teases, attempting to lighten his spirits.
“You’re one to talk. I wasn’t the one screaming the entire time.” Leon quips back.
Ashley laughs, says, “Yeah, but you were unconscious.”
“Oye, will you two stop bickering? A guy gets rid of some parasites for you and it’s suddenly like you have a new lease on life.” Luis sounds like he’s chastising them, and to an extent he is. But Leon can hear the amusement in his voice.
It brings a different kind of ache to his chest and he can’t help but think about how he’s going to miss the two of them when this is all over. They’re both good for him in different, but similar ways, bringing out his better qualities. But he’s so used to losing touch with the people he meets, especially on missions, that he can’t fathom the idea that they’d stay in contact.
“Let’s get out of here already.” Leon says, pushing the thought out of his head.
“You read my mind. Come on, Princess Dulcinea, we’re leaving.” Luis responds.
They’re almost home free when Leon spots Ada, bound and at the will of Saddler. They wouldn’t have made it this far without her help and Leon just doesn’t have it in him to leave her. So he tells Luis to keep Ashley safe.
After Saddler is dead and the ground is beginning to crumble beneath their feet, Ada says, “You look like you could use a ride.”
Leon smiles appreciatively. “Thank you.”
The four of them make it out with barely enough time before most of the island goes up in flames.
“Hey, Leon?” Luis asks, face illuminated by the brilliant orange glow of the sunset.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to get dinner?”
Leon can’t help his smile. He responds with, “Yeah. But let’s get you patched up first.”