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Leon hated this.
Actually, that’s a lie, a very small part of him was extremely amused.
But mostly he hated everything about this.
Leon and Luis had stepped into the ballroom from the storage closet like they belonged there, and sure enough, not a single person batted an eye.
The gathering was big when they entered, but as more and more guests arrived it became unbearably crowded. Each person was more flamboyant and each outfit was more extravagant than the last.
Leon eyed up as many party-goers as he could, trying his best to examine how they mingled and socialized with one another. How they held their drinks, when and what jokes they laughed at. It became an increasingly daunting task as the later the night got, the louder and drunker the guests got.
Leon and Luis were sent to search a large, expensive mansion owned by a Mr. Rupert Anderson, a millionaire who was apparently grasping onto life by the seams of his shirt.
On the surface he was just another old decrepit millionaire, but neither of the agents would be there if that was just the case. Unfortunately.
Mr. Rupert Anderson had been suspected of building a giant underground laboratory underneath his mansion in the mountainsides, housing a horde of sentient DNA that he intended on selling and reviving as glorified B.O.W.’s.
Because of course he was. What else do rich people do with their money?
And that’s exactly how Leon landed himself at the largest party he’s ever been to. Dressed to the nines in the most flowery dress he’s ever worn, nodding and smiling along with his fellow guests at whoever seemed to have the invisible talking stick. He tried his best to convince Hunnigan that he’d be useless- his social skills were notoriously bad- but she just told him to “smile and wave.”
Leon sipped at his free wine, eyes scanning the heads of the crowd. Neither him or Luis were on a time-crunch, but they needed to find the backdoor to the underground basement eventually
But Luis seemed to be enjoying himself. A lot.
Just behind Leon, Luis stood dead-centre in a circle of women, each one more doe-eyed than the last. Leon couldn’t hear what he was saying, but whatever it was, it was apparently the most interesting thing in the world to these women.
They’d chime in to ask for more, brushing his shoulders or nudging him on with their elbows. And Luis, ever the gentlemen, would oblige. He’d give them a smirk and a wink and he’d even lean in a little, speaking with his hands as if he was telling them a secret.
They’d giggle along too, almost as if they were on queue.
Leon hated it.
He couldn’t figure out why, but it made his stomach churn and his throat feel tight.
While Luis entertained the girls of the evening like it was his second language, Leon was struggling to even stand upright.
The bright lights of the chandelier overhead bouncing against the reflective floor made it hard for him to keep eye contact with whoever he was listening to drone on.
Admittedly, yeah, it was a little funny to watch how rich people acted around one another, but Leon wasn’t rich. Leon had no social status.
Faced with the realization that he was painfully out of place, Leon found himself feeling like he was in his 20’s again- constantly aware of his own skin and people’s eyes boring into them. A 20-something year old rookie cop doing his best, but never getting it right.
He hated it. But at least he knew why he hated it.
As the older, greying, curly moustache-having gentleman he was talking to turned to a waiter to order another wine, Leon took the opportunity to shoot a glance over his shoulder to Luis, who was grinning cheekily at a lady in a pink ruffle dress. His thumb was barely under her chin, but she was looking at Luis like he was the entire world.
Leon couldn’t take it anymore.
He hated this feeling in his gut and he hated not knowing why it was even there to begin with even more.
With a quick, mumbled “Excuse me,” Leon turned and made his way to Luis, ungraciously slipping past the circle of women to get his investigation partners’ attention. Luis looked up from the lady he was talking to.
“Ah! Sancho! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Sancho? What happened to Dulcinea?”
A pain of disappointment stabbed Leon’s chest. Why did he care?
“ I don’t care, actually,” he told himself.
“ I’m just being stupid.”
“Have you met Cecelia here by chance?”
So Luis was on a first-name basis with these women now? Well at least he’s quick with it.
“N-no, I haven’t…”
Leon was suddenly very aware that he didn't exactly have a reason for excusing himself to come over and talk to Luis. His brain went blank with things to think about.
The list of excuses he and Luis had come up with in the taxi on the way had conveniently slipped his mind.
But thank god, Luis took the lead.
“Are you feeling alright, Sancho? Your face looks rather flushed”
Suddenly the four girls had their full focus on him and Leon felt all too put on the spot.
But the perfect excuse popped into his brain right in the nick of time. He began to purposefully blink slowly.
“Oooh, I don’t think so, mate…”
Leon hated the word “mate,” but maybe it’d match Luis’ energy a little bit.
Not that he could ever come close to Luis’ energy.
Purposefully slurring his words, Leon hunched his shoulders a little
“Whaaat was in that wine, man?”
“Ah, Rosé? Hmm, I dunno, grapes? Tal vez?”
Leon didn’t realize that was supposed to be a joke until the girls started giggling. He tried his best to laugh along but he became uncharacteristically very aware of his crooked smile.
“I’ll getcha to a bathroom before you hurt yourself ay? Ladies, none of you perchance know where one might be…?”
“Oh! My fathers fancy restrooms are just behind those stairs with the gold tassels,” the girl apparently named Cecilia spoke up.
Luis and Leon looked at each other with a glint in their eyes. Leon tried his best to not be obvious.
“Your father..?”
“Mr. Rupert Anderson,” she chuckled, giving Luis a wink.
“He’d hate for me to be telling you where it is! But you get yourselves in all sorts of danger, don’t you?”
Luis just gave her a quick smile, clearly being able to sense Leon’s growing impatience.
“Well muchas gracias, Cecilia- I’ll come back to join you soon enough.”
Luis leaned down to peck a kiss on the top of her hand, and Leon felt actually a little bit sick.
It got even worse when the flirty Spaniard wrapped an arm around his waist, pressing Leon close to his side.
“ Come on, then, Dulcinea.” he whispered into his ear, low enough so only Leon could hear
“ Wouldn’t want you tripping over your feet, eh?”
All Leon could do was feverishly nod. His body suddenly felt like it was being electrified, and he was genuinely grateful he had Luis to lean on in the moment.
Waving away his suitors, Luis haphazardly led Leon to the staircase the girl had told them the bathroom was.
While they obviously didn't have a drawn-out map ready to go, Hunnigan had gained access to the underground pipe system the entire mansion was connected to, and concluded that the room was most likely connected to a bathroom or some other place where pipes wouldn’t be out-of-place.
An underground bunker filled with dangerous sentient DNA and god only knows what else was bound to need some air conditioning.
Safely out of the doe-eyed gazes of the crowd, Luis straightened himself up and wiped down his coat.
Leon couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at the loss of contact from his side as he haphazardly smoothed down his hair to regain some composure.
“So, what’s your plan now, yankee?”
Leon blinked up in surprise, his mind suddenly going blank. He realized he hadn’t thought this far ahead, his main goal was mostly just to get Luis’ attention. Not on himself or anything, though.
“M-My plan?”
“Yeah, whaddya have in mind for finding this snob's lair?”
Oh that’s right. The mission. That’s what they’re there for.
“O-Oh yeah, of course… I guess we could just waltz in or something..”
Leon mumbled his way through the sentence, doing his best not to make eye contact with Luis, who couldn’t hide his knowing smirk.
Underneath the large, spiraled staircase, Leon could finally drop the act and brush himself off, still missing the feeling of Luis’ arms around his waist.
Luis stood with his arms crossed, leaning on his left leg and tilting his head to the side slightly, examining the wall in front of them.
“Soooo… where’s the door?”
He gestured to the seemingly empty wall in front of them, adorned with gold trims and a fern-like pattern going in green and white order.
There were small grooves indented into the wall, and some of them felt a little off to Leon- like they hadn’t been measured apart properly.
He took a closer look, running his hands along the wall and pressing up against the groves until he felt one of them loosen. Peering in, he could see that there was a tiny hollow slit, and with the tips of his fingers he hooked the groove and gently pushed the wall inwards, to which it revealed a dark bathroom.
Luis flashed Leon a smile, making his heart flutter in a way he couldn’t quite place.
“Nice work, detective!” he praised, before opening his hands out and bowing a little, gesturing to the entrance.
“After you, I insist!”
“You just want me to protect you” Leon scoffed, feeling a little bit of his old self coming back.
He got hit with a sense of déjà vu, this wasn’t the first time Luis had insisted on Leon going first to protect him. Luis trusted him.
“Of course!” Luis smiled, “You’re my guardia privado, after all.”
With a playful scoff, Leon stepped foot into the bathroom… and undramatically flipped the light switch to reveal a Very Ordinary bathroom.
Not entirely ordinary though, to be fair, it was massive, the bathtub easily being the size of a poolside hot tub, and the shower had the most floor space Leon had ever seen a shower have in his life. The toilet presumably had its own entire blocked-off room, judging by the door on the other side.
The entire bathroom sparkled white, but Leon’s eyes were drawn to what was behind the shower: a dark, ominous drop-down staircase with seemingly no end.
He kept staring at it, trying to examine where it might lead. He didn't even notice Luis shutting the secret door behind him.
Or Luis approaching behind him.
“Can you imagine trying to have a shower with that right next to you?”
Leon almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Luis’ breath on his neck. He was inches away from him, and he’d be lying if his face wasn’t flushed pink.
“ Jesus Christ Luis- yeah, whatever, I guess that would be extremely ominous to shower beside- but don’t scare me like that!”
Luis just gave him a cheeky, toothy grin, clearly with zero remorse.
“But you scare so easily, hermoso!”
Luis was back with the pet names. That at least bought Leon a little comfort, but those feelings were quickly replaced when his mind reminded him of how easily and flawlessly Luis flirted- was he flirting? - with the lovely rich ladies earlier.
“ I bet he calls every woman he meets pet names like that,” he couldn’t help but think to himself.
He didn't mean to fall so deep into self-doubt, but it was like a poison. It crept up on his mind and stuck so easily. It reminded him of something he’d rather forget… a plague he’d rather never remember having inside of him.
Luis could sense Leon’s change in demeanor.
“Hey, cariño, I didn't actually upset you, did I-”
“No no, not at all.”
Leon was suspiciously quick to shut him down, but he turned to look at the rotting ladder to nowhere so he could hide his expression.
Luis was scarily good at reading expressions. He tried to ignore Luis’ comforting hand on his shoulder.
“I was just thinking….”
He paused for a moment to come up with a good excuse. And then realized something with a small sense of dread.
“I’m gonna have to get this dress off before I go down there”
Luis let out a laugh, but it felt a little forced and awkward.
“Aaawwwe, already? Are you that desperate to get it off? And here I was just starting to enjoy it…”
Leon did his best to ignore that.
“You’ve got the spare clothes, right?”
Leon was met with silence. He swiveled his head around to face Luis, who was looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.
“Spare clothes? I thought you picked those up in the taxi.”
Leon’s heart fell to his feet as he looked at Luis in horror, mouth agape and his breathing stopped completely. He was about to say something….
…When Luis revealed and held up the purse full of spare clothes he had hidden behind his back.
Leon was this close to killing him.
“ You asshole! ” He practically shouted, pushing Luis’ shoulders back as he snatched the purse out of his hands with vigor.
He tried to keep his expression angry and appalled, which he was very much so feeling , but it was hard when Luis was buckled over with pure laughter, holding his sides in glee as he struggled to keep himself upright, slipping on the bathroom tiles, his eyes were squeezed shut as he kept giggling to himself like it was the funniest thing in the entire universe.
His smile was way too contagious, and Leon found himself struggling to hold back his grin.
“ ¡Dios mío! D-dios mío- tu cara- La expresión de tu cara no tiene precio-”
Leon had to physically put his hand over his mouth to not join in Luis’ laughter, trying to maintain some dignity but by god could he not stop staring at Luis. Which in turn made him wanna laugh more.
But how could he not?
Luis was absolutely angelic when he laughed.
That sense of pure, unconditional joy was so painfully human in nature it made Leon feel a certain way he couldn’t put a pin on.
He found himself admiring everything about the way Luis laughed without abandon. The way his nose crinkled, the way the wrinkles around the edges of his mouth and under his eyes were exaggerated, the way you could see all of his teeth and the way his eyebrows scrunched together and the way his whole body joined in when he laughed.
Leon let himself enjoy the moment, for once.
This wasn’t the same, fabricated, flirtatious and well-crafted laughter he’d given the ladies on the dance floor. No, this was genuine.
At least, he hoped it was genuine.
He hoped the laughter he gave those women wasn’t the same he exposed to Leon.
But what if it was? What if Luis was this unconservative to every person, what if Leon wasn’t special, and this moment wasn’t anything special?
Leon hated this.
He hated the way his mind poisoned every good moment.
He hated the way he found himself over analyzing every interaction with Luis, he hated the fact that there was a small chance this was all just for show.
As Luis stood himself up, letting out the last of his giggles and wiping the tears from his eyes, Leon shuffled around in the bag, looking for his clothing, doing his best to ignore the thoughts that plagued his brain.
“What’s the hurry, cariño?” Luis teased, causing Leon’s face to unwantedly heat up.
“Want me to kiss that makeup off your face while you’re at it too, eh?”
Leon grumbled something inaudible as he hid his growing blush from Luis, throwing his high-heels behind him for the other man to catch.
“Don’t look.”
Leon’s voice was demanding but inside he was begging.
“I’m gonna get undressed.”
He caught a flash of.. genuine disappointment? on Luis’ face as he pouted, crossing his arms and diligently facing the wall.
“Awww whaaat? First you’re taking off the dress and now you won’t even let me look? hacer daño, bonito, hacer daño.”
Leon could feel his head beating faster inside his chest as he struggled to figure out how to maneuver the dress off of himself.
His corset hooks got caught on boxers and tugged the skirt down.
“Can I get a peek?”
“No.”
Leon felt his hands start to tremble as his breath quickened. Luis was just teasing, he told himself.
“Y’know what? I bet he does this to all the girls he hooks up with.”
As much as Leon tried to reason with his own mind, his heart wouldn’t stop fluttering with embarrassment in his chest.
If Leon was being truthful, he would kill to turn around and show himself off to Luis. Maybe even get him flustered by some miracle.
But he has pride to at least try to maintain.
But after what felt like an eternity, Leon still couldn’t reach his arms around to try and untie the strings of his corset, his arms restricted by the flouncy sleeves.
He knew there was only one option out but he hated the option out. He sighed in defeat.
“…Luis?”
“Yes, cariño?”
“……Can you help me, please.”
Leon didn't mean for his voice to sound so squeaky and quiet, and he prayed Luis wouldn’t take advantage of it…
But instead Luis simply strolled over without a word and began to unravel the strings in silence.
Leon could feel his throat tighter and his head both stop and go a million miles an hour at the same time as Luis got so close to him.
Again.
He was addicted to the feeling of his breath on his neck, the way he just wordlessly worked away, being so respectful and polite of Leon and looking away when the corset finally slipped off…
Leon could’ve sworn he fell in love right then and there. But of course, he didn't. That would be stupid. If that were the case, Leon was sure to be Luis’ nth suitor. He wasn’t special.
Leon was quick to recover his binder and tactical shirt.
He didn't want to mention it, but the dress’ low-cut gave him a fair amount of dysphoria the whole party. But he found that, with age and time, his dysphoria wasn’t even close to being nearly as bad as it was when he was a teen, and was very easy to ignore and manage.
And Luis, the ever respectful gentlemen, waited patiently without teasing for Leon to reclothe himself.
Once finished, he threw Luis the remaining spare clothes, which consisted of some more practical tactical gear and his iconic leather jacket that Leon couldn’t help but notice smelled like him.
He offered Luis the same courtesy and turned to stare at the wall, ignoring the fact that the idea of seeing Luis without clothes was insanely appealing to him.
Definitely didn't make his heart jump out of his chest.
Nope, not at all.
Once he heard the zip of Luis’ fly, he turned back around but was awkwardly met with a completely shirtless Luis.
The circuits in his brain malfunctioned for a good while.
Luis noticed this and took advantage of the moment.
“ ¿Te gusta lo que ves?” He showed off a little, jutting his hips out a little and putting his weight on one leg.
Leon would be lying to god if he said he didn't enjoy staring at Luis’ chest. His scars, his abs- Leon had to cough and cover his face, forcing himself to turn away before Luis could short-circuit him any longer.
All he got in reply was a soft laugh from Luis.
He forced himself to turn back to the target at hand, the weird, rotting ladder that led to a dark void.
“You first?”
Leon gave Luis a forced grin, and offered out his hand. Luis scoffed, but took it. Thankfully with a shirt and jacket back on.
“Gracias, bonito.”
Leon watched with a small sense of growing anxiety as Luis backed himself down the ladder, his grip on his partner's hand getting tighter until Luis was too far down to reach, and he had to let go. He waited until he heard Luis’ boots hit the floor at the bottom.
Afterwards, Leon made his way down the fence, grasping onto Luis’ hand once again as soon as he got close enough. His own boots hit the floor sooner than he had expected.
Turning around, the two men found that the ‘endless void’ was more of an illusion.
The walls were painted black to hide a long, equally unnerving hallway. The only lights were yellowed and flickering, spaced out enough that there were rows of darkness between them.
Leon had to squint to see the door at the end of the hallway. It was large, and looked air-tight. But from their distance not much else could be made out.
The hallway was, again, creepily long. It didn't help that the room smelled… Damp. Old.
The same smell you get from a retirement home room whose most recent resident had already passed.
Despite there being nothing indicating any danger, Leon still couldn’t help but feel uneasy. And of course, Luis picked up on that.
Luis gave Leon’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
He hadn’t even realized he was still holding on by the time he made it to the bottom.
“Stick close to me, eh, Dulcinea? I’ll protect you.”
Luis winked at him and Leon felt an odd sense of comfort wash over him.
Like for a second, he could genuinely believe that nothing would hurt him as long as Luis was by his side.
All he could do was nod as the two ventured down the hallway, walking side by side in silence as the only sound filling their ears was the deafening hum of the flickering lights.
As they walked in silence, Leon couldn’t help but stare occasionally at Luis’ face.
The way the orange-yellow lights crossed over his face to accentuate his most charming of features, the curve of the bridge of his nose, his low eyelids, the way his hair fell in such delicate and perfect curls… his big, long, fluffy eyelashes and his ever-constant resting smile…. His skin seemed to shine every time they passed directly under a light, setting his warm skin tone aglow. It was a weird moment to appreciate Luis’ beauty, Leon knew that, but the way they walked in sync, in complete silence, with Leon’s hand clasped against Luis’…..
Something clicked inside Leon’s brain.
Something that should’ve clicked a long, long time ago.
He realized something that really, really should not have been appropriate for the location they were in,
Leon was madly in love with Luis.
His heart dropped.
A sense of dread washed over him.
He felt his body numb at the realisation.
Luis could tell something was wrong. Of course he did. Of fucking course Luis knew there was something up. When didn’t he know?
He knew when Krauser showed up something was wrong.
He knew when the Plaga started to creep up into Leon’s brain that something was wrong.
He always knew.
“Leon, what’s-”
Fffffwwwwhoooooommmmm
Suddenly, all the shut off. Not in a sudden, instant flash, but with a slow, gradual dim. Accompanied by a noise that was so familiar yet was too difficult to name.
Leon instinctively grasped onto Luis’ hand tighter.
“Leo-”
“ Sssh”
Leon quickly shushed him, straining his ears to listen out for the party above to try and hear if the power had gone out upstairs too.
But all he could hear was the ringing in his ears.
“ Leon.”
Luis finally got his attention, his voice stern.
Leon couldn’t see him at all, barely even being able to make out the outline of his own hand in front of his face, let alone the person beside him.
He suddenly felt very, very claustrophobic in the darkness. He relied on Luis’ hand.
“ Leon, what’s going on with you?” Luis pried.
His voice was uncharacteristically serious, a genuine tone of concern laced it.
It reminded Leon of the way he spoke when he got stabbed. The way he was so certain he was going to bleed out on that dirty concrete with a knife in his back.
“I know somethings wrong, I- Dios Mío, I know it’s not exactly comfortable here but I can just tell there’s something more going on you’re not telling me.”
Maybe it was the unwanted realization he was in love.
Maybe it was the way Luis pried, Leon wasn’t used to people continuing to press his buttons when he gave them the cold shoulder.
Maybe it was the way his brain kept replaying the image of Luis flirting with those rich women in his mind, that same horrible feeling creeping up his brain.
Maybe it was the fact that he was unwantedly reminded of the day he almost lost Luis. The day he almost lost the man he’s come to realise he loves more than anything else in this horrible, unforgiving universe.
He hadn't felt so full of love since he was a rookie cop, completely unaware of the horrors his body was about to be put through.
But Leon snapped at Luis. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“ Just give it up, Luis!”
Leon shouted, ripping his hand out of his partners.
He immediately regretted it, the loss of contact meant the loss of any reassurance he once had in this dark hallway.
“Give what up, Leon?”
He could hear the hiss in Luis’ voice, but he never raised his tone.
Leon hated that. He hated that he loved that.
“ You know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t.” Luis growled, he could hear him stepping closer.
“Why don’t you let me know-”
“Stop acting like you care!” Leon shouted at him, holding himself like a scared child.
“I see how you acted around those women! I know how you act around everyone else!”
“I’m nothing special to you!! I’m just another toy for you to play with, right?!”
“You love watching me get embarrassed and you love to tease me but it means nothing at the end of the day!”
Leon knew he’d gone too far. But he didn't care.
His whole body shook and his eyes welled up with tears and he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“ Stop acting like you love me genuinely!!! ”
“Stop acting like you don’t just feel sorry for me, sorry that I’m just a poor, easy-to-tease rookie cop from Raccoon City-”
“I know you don’t ACTUALLY LOVE ME!!!”
Leon’s whole body shook.
He didn't even notice how fast his tears slipped down his face.
His nose was blocked and he was struggling to breathe.
His fists balled up and he wished now more than ever he didn't let go of Luis’ hand.
There was a few seconds of silence in the darkness before Luis finally spoke up.
“Oh, Leon..” he barely whispered.
Leon felt like he was going to burst out sobbing at how soft his voice was.
“I… I didn't know you thought I was-”
He paused, heavily considering what to say next.
Leon could hear him stepping closer.
Luis’ hand reached for Leon’s face. Somehow knowing where to find it in the dark.
He wiped away Leon’s tears.
“I’m… Cariño, if I knew you thought I was toying with you… I would’ve- I’m so sorry…” he whispered softly, and the guilt rising in Leon’s chest was enough to make him vomit.
Luis was far, far too gentle with him, holding his face like if he breathed too hard, it may shatter.
“N-no- no don’t b-be sorry-“ Leon choked on his words, shaking his head.
“I shouldn’t have yelled- I’m s-so sorry-”
“ Ssshhhh, don’t cry, mi amor…” Luis’ hand brushed away any remaining tears.
“ I've got you, ok?” And he was right. Luis’ other hand was resting on his shoulder. Leon could feel his breath against his face.
Luis let out a small chuckle, “Did you honestly think that all those times I was complimenting you, I was just teasing you?”
This made Leon smile and give a small, exhaled laugh.
“A-admittedly? Yeah, I couldn’t tell if you were flirting with me or not.”
Luis grinned, Leon couldn’t see it, obviously- he could just tell.
“You’re so estúpido, you know that, right?”
Leon nodded.
“You know I do love you, though, right? I think I loved you from the day I met you.”
“In a body bag?”
“Besides the point,” Luis lightheartedly scoffed.
“You put your entire life out on the line for me. You stuck by my side and you put up with all my antics, you listened to my story when I told it to you, cariño! You gave me the benefit of the doubt I didn't deserve. You gave me a second chance.”
Leon felt guilty for all the praise.
“That’s a lot coming from someone like you”
“Like mí?”
“Yeah. Sure, you’re attractive and you’re suave and you can flirt your way out of a grave- but you’re brave. You’re so, so much braver than I am. You have morals.. you’re just amazing, Luis.”
There was a moment of silence between them.
“You think I’m attractive?”
Leon burst out laughing, he could feel Luis’ body giggling along against his.
“Yeah, maybe I do.”
“Wanna show me just how attractive you think I am?”
“…In the dark?”
“Cobarde.”
Leon held his breath and closed his eyes, despite it not being necessary- he leaned in until….
Fffffffwwwwwwuuuuuummphhh!
Suddenly all the lights were back on.
Leon had to blink rapidly to save himself from a painful headache.
Luis was just inches away from his face.
He stared up at Leon through his eyelashes in a way that made Leon wanna stop breathing altogether.
Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when a sharp rattle echoed from the airtight door at the end.
It only rattled once, and went silent after, but it was a noise nonetheless.
It could have very easily been passed off as the wind if it wasn’t for the fact that they were underground.
Right. The mission. Forgot about that.
“G-guess we better take a look at that then-”
Leon was cut off when Luis’ hand returned to his face, pulling back towards his gaze. Leon gulped
“Why’d you stop?”
“B-because the doo-”
Leon was cut short when Luis closed the space between them with a kiss.
He blinked in surprise a couple times- trying to decipher what was going on in his blurry point of view.
But it didn’t take Leon very long to figure out it was his turn to close his eyes and lean into the kiss back.
He parted his mouth a little and tilted his head to the side, leaving Luis plenty of room to deepen the kiss if he so chose to.
Leon took this opportunity to reach his hands up and tangle them in Luis’ long, curly dark locks. He gently squeezed his hands, savoring the feeling of his hair in between his fingers, meanwhile Luis kept their chests close as he pulled him in by the waist.
Leon didn’t want this moment to end.
He’d never in his life been so vulnerable with somebody before.
It felt like the sun after a downpour of rain, warming his soul and leaving him desperate for more.
It probably also helped that Luis was just a good kisser too.
Luis brushed his blonde bangs out of his face and Leon giggled against his lips, knowing that his hair was probably getting in his lover's eyes.
When Luis stepped back, Leon gave out a little whine at the loss of contact- which just made Luis smile. Leon could stare at Luis and his smile all day if it was a possibility.
Luis opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a Ra-rattle! Ra-rattle! R-rattle! coming from the end of the hallway.
Both men instinctively whipped their heads around to face the noise, pulling out their guns to aim at the large metal door.
Leon’s hand still clasped Luis’.
They turned to face each other, and gave one another a little nod before walking forward.
They each pushed their body weight against the metal door, and surprisingly, it opened, guns aimed over their shoulders and body’s tense and ready to fight.
But when the door slowly swung open with a low groan, they weren’t met with a terrifying monster or super weapon.
Instead, they found themselves in what could only be described as the most stereotypical underground science basement ever.
The lights were a dull blue as they shined over tables and tables of old, dusty startup computers and plastic container bins filled to the brim with paperwork reaching right up to the ceiling.
There were about seven fold-up tables in the room, and each of them were more cluttered and filled with more cords and typewriters than the last.
Surprisingly, there was in fact a window. It led up to the surface and shone the moonlight down into the room, alongside a heavy breeze which was probably the cause for the rattling.
Dust seemed to hang heavy in the air as the main thing both men had their eyes on was dead front center: a table covered in moving, grotesque mounds of beating flesh and bacteria.
“So much for romance,” Leon noted.
Luis rolled his eyes,
“No offense cariño but you’ve chosen probably the worst place on earth to confess your love for me.”
Leon let out a fake gasp and whacked him, confidence suddenly filling his body again as his eyes quickly examined the room and found that there were no signs of danger. Y’know, besides the beating virus on the table. Gross.
“ You initiated that kiss, if I don’t recall.”
“Oye” Luis laughed, stepping closer to the examination table with less caution than he probably should have.
He tilted the one singular lamp that was aimed at the weird virus specimens and it seemed to stop beating at the harsh light.
“So what’s your plan, Yankee? Gonna call for backup? I don’t think us alone is gonna be enough to collect all this.” He waved his gun over the table, but was also referencing the entire room.
It was filled to the brim with the perfect evidence to convict the rich sad sod behind this operation to prison.
“I say we burn it” Leon mumbled, only half joking. “It’s too gross and dangerous to keep alive.”
“You can have my lighter,” Luis offered, referencing his ever-iconic lighter he was always playing with between his fingers.
“But, aye, shouldn’t we wait for-“
A loud, grotesque, wet screech filled the air as Leon instinctively covered his ears and hunched over.
Only seconds later did the glass from the window smash and shatter all over the floor, cutting into Leon’s boots.
When he looked up, he was faced with a giant, fleshy, beating creature that looked like a much larger version of the small bacteria mounds on the table. The head was scarily human.
It was that of an old man, with a wiry beard and a small mustache, his eyes were blown wide and his mouth open far too wide to be considered normal.
“Looks like we found our Rupert Anderson!” Luis shouted over the high-pitched screeching.
Leon expertly dodged out of the way of a large, clawed hand, bumping into Luis’ side as he fired his gun straight into the chest of the large beast, shots ringing in his ears.
Mr. Rupert, or what was left of him, turned to face Leon and locked its focus onto him. With one final loud screech, it used its third long, fleshy arm to just barely miss Leon by an inch.
All Leon cared about was Luis though, and turned around to make sure he was unharmed- smiling to himself when he saw the Spaniard was completely uninjured.
“ Leon, look out-!”
As he was distracted, Leon hadn’t noticed that this thing had a goddamn tail- and it whacked him straight across the stomach, launching him back-first into the wall behind him.
His head slammed the metal door, and he could feel his vision and head going blurry.
He could just make out the muffled cries of Luis as his gunshot rang in his ears….
Before Leon completely blacked out.
“ Leon? Earth to Leon? Are you there, Yankee?”
“Oh come on, love, we made it out- just wake up for me already…”
“Leon…?”
“Leon!!”
Leon was jolted awake and almost slammed his forehead against Luis’.
Gasping for air, he held his ribs in pain.
His eyes squeezed shut and his whole body felt like it was on fire.
But a quiet, gentle shushing and a hand running through his hair brought him back down to reality.
“Y-you’re awake! F-finally! Dios Mío, took ya long enough hey…”
Leon blinked his eyes a few times to try and regain his composure, but he wasn’t standing up.
Quite the opposite.
Luis was kneeling down, holding Leon bridal style in his arms, staring down at his lover with the biggest look of relief Leon had ever seen on anyone’s expression before.
As his vision slowly became clearer, he could make out the morning sky behind Luis.
The sun washed over his silhouette and the crown of his hair, making him look adjacent to an angel.
“W-where… what-”
“You’re alright, alright? You’re safe- hah, I feel like I’m running on pure adrenaline right now…”
Sure enough, when Leon looked around him, he found they were sitting in the large hedge maze that was planted behind the mansion.
The morning sun rose over the ocean as Leon could barely make out the small basement window that had been completely smashed they must’ve come out of.
Glass, blood and… other miscellaneous fluids were splattered across the garden.
And, conveniently, Luis was also covered head to toe in blood and some other fluids.
It was kinda gross. But also kind of attractive? Maybe Leon was just delirious.
“Eso fue una locura… Leon, y-you got knocked out by that giant monster thing and I panicked and just shot it straight in the eyeball- I know that’s not what they taught in basic training but- but I managed to kill Mr. Rupert- is that considered murder? I hope not, I feel lightheaded-”
Leon leaned up to give Luis the most unceremonious kiss of his entire life. Mostly to shut him up but also because he felt like he was going to explode with pride and love.
He didn't give himself time to breathe, so he had to let go pretty quickly, but Luis was panting and grinning like a teenage boy.
Sure, it might’ve been a bit gross to kiss somebody who was covered in unidentified fluids and blood, but Leon couldn’t care less.
“T-that was gross, Leon.”
“Don’t care. I love you” he panted back.
Luis leaned down to press a million more kisses across Leon’s face and lips, all the while grinning like an idiot.
“You finally got your dream, eh, Don Quixote? You saved your Dulcinea.”
Leon was referencing the way Luis had been holding him bridal-style this entire time, and in his mind he pictured Luis scooping him up and dramatically killing the beast to rush out and save a dying Leon in his arms.
“S-Sí, I suppose I did…”
Luis tried and failed to put on his suave, flirtatious persona, but he was too grateful to have Leon in his arms and safe to even care to try.
But back to reality, Leon realized the gravity of their situation, they were all alone in the middle of the mountains with a mansion full of people who were bound to have heard at least some of the fighting downstairs, and god only knows what profanities Luis would’ve shouted in Spanish.
Leon giggled to himself, thinking back to the women Luis so graciously flirted with at the beginning of the night. Oh, how scandalised they would be to see him now, covered in blood and feverishly kissing a man he’d just saved.
“L-Luis, what’re we gonna do now..? We can’t just walk home, and we don’t exactly have any spare clothes…”
Luis smiled and held up a walkie-talkie that was strapped to his wrist- he shook it triumphantly, grinning wildly,
“Bet you forgot about this baby, huh?”
“I did,” Leon smiled along. Luis’ smile was contagious.
“I used it to call Hunnigan for some helicopter backup or something government-y like that.”
“I’m sure a helicopter won’t be obvious.”
“What, with these rich cerdos? I would be surprised if they even batted an eye.”
As if like clockwork, the sound of a faraway helicopter droned in the distance, both men turned to face the sky as the silhouette of a chopper rose past the snow-peaked mountains and towards them in front of the sunset. It was picturesque.
Luis looked picturesque in front of the sunset.
“You look so handsome in front of the sunset,” Leon confessed.
Luis laughed, leaning down to kiss Leon once more.
“Eres aún más guapo como este, Leon.”
The two of them shared a million and one kisses as the helicopter drew closer and closer, eventually getting close enough to land and pick the both of them up.
Neither of them cared if anyone saw them kissing like this.
Neither of them cared about how tired or exhausted or covered in blood they were.
They had each other.
They had each other and they were never letting go again.