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The sound of wheels against gravel followed by the the blinding brightness of car headlights shining through the rickety blinds wasn’t enough to wake Luis from his slumber. He ignored the noises from outside the apartment building, assuming it to be somebody else below arriving home from a late-night shift at work and deciding to have no respect for their upstairs neighbors. Shuffling down further into his quilted blanket, Luis signed into the scratchy fabric of his- no, Leon’s- couch before letting his eyes flutter shut once more with a sigh. The lights from outside eventually turned off, and the low rumbling of cars disappeared- At first, Luis just assumed he had fallen asleep again- But he was proven wrong when the distant noises of somebody talking on the phone could be heard through the wall. Muffled, but still noticeable.
Luis groaned and rolled over. Which, much to his dismay; only aided in making his back pain worse.
Roughly around two months ago now, Luis had escaped what could only be described as the hellish landscape that he once called home, Valdelobos. Those days spent trapped and forced to work under Saddlers sadistic, iron fist were some of the worst in his life. Being forced to come face-to-face with his own man-made horrors, watching as the people he once loved, grew up with slowly morph into hideous shells of their former selves.
Life seemed bleak until Leon S. Kennedy showed up.
A handsome, blonde, utterly obvious American on a quest to save the President's daughter. He was cocky, quick-witted, and wore his heart on his sleeve.
What wasn’t there for Luis to fall head-over-heels for?
When Luis first met Leon, he assumed their journey together would end there- Save Ashley, return her back to her family, say goodbye to Leon and slink away into the darkness never to be heard of again. That was Luis’ plan.
Only his plan was foiled by a stab to the back. Literally. But some guy named Jack Krauser he had no idea about.
Luis had accepted his fate right then and there- his hands shaky and his vision blurry after saving Leon one last time, he was resigned to dying a coward.
But Leon somehow had some spare.. Herbs? in his pocket and forced Luis to chew them up. Effectively saving him and returning him back to America.
The months leading up to where Luis was now were…
Rocky. To say the least.
He’d been interrogated by the U.S government for his crimes against Umbrella more times than he cared to remember. Getting a stab to your back doesn’t help much, either; Luis was rendered paralyzed and completely unable to walk, let alone take care of himself. So, ever the gentleman, Leon had offered his home and subsequently his support to the man he should’ve had all right to hate.
The pair of them became close. Extremely close. Luis would oftentimes wake up in the night crying from pain- his back injuries causing consistent, 24/7 Chronic pain- begging for some kind of relief, and Leon would always be there without fail.
If Luis needed help getting dressed, washing his hair, making food for himself- Leon was always by his side without a hint of judgment. It was… Unusual to be looked after.
But, Luis grew to appreciate it.
Things weren’t always perfect, though… For example; a couple weeks ago, Luis had experienced the worst depressive episode of his life and had completely lost his appetite. Snapping at Leon and breaking various plates in the process, which only aided in making his back injuries more painful to the point where he could hardly move at all.
He had felt so, unbelievably, indescribably guilty for all of his actions, that at the time, he felt as though Leon would’ve been better off without him.
Leon disproved this, however. Many, many, many times…
And Luis wasn’t an idiot.
He knew he was in love with that dumb American.
But he was truly in no position to admit that to Leon; especially not when their relationship was so precious, so perfect and domestic that Luis sometimes felt like he was dreaming.
Besides, he still had no idea what the U.S government had in store for his future.
As much as he enjoyed living with Leon- Unexpectedly growing accustomed to having somebody always there in the mornings- Luis’ life had inadvertently become a very long waiting game for something he wasn’t even sure of.
Many-a government officials had already let him know just how thin the ice he was balancing himself on really was with every passing remark. Sometimes it was subtle- a little mention of where other surviving Umbrella employees were living here, a snide comment about how most of them were in prison there- but sometimes it was a lot more obvious.
Rather gutsy agents would gang up on Luis in hallways when he was alone, throwing jabs his way about just how unstable his current living situation was, and how he was only standing there in front of them based off of pure luck alone- But thankfully, Leon was never far behind. Like a terrifying guard dog, he would grab them by their shirt collars and chew them out like there was no tomorrow; practically spitting in their faces as he threatened them with his presence alone. Luis already got the hint that Leon ranked somewhat high on the weird, fucked-up government ladder based purely on the fact that he alone was sent to save Ashley- but it was shocking and weirdly charming to see in-person.
“ Gracias por salvarme, mí caballero blanco” Luis whispered as thanks, throwing his newfound Príncipe a characteristically toothy smile.
“Don’t sweat it,” Leon responded.
“Those assholes aren’t gonna bother you ever again, trust me”
And Leon was more than correct. After that, Luis had never had a bad experience with somebody trying to taunt him in the same vein ever again. To be fair, though; between his fluctuating mental state and Chronic Pain, Luis rarely ever visited the DSO buildings anymore anyways. Only daring to enter to either see the lovely Doctor Rebecca Chambers about his back injuries, or to drop in and say hi to Ashley, making sure she herself was doing well mentally.
That’s why Luis was in the position he was at that current moment; curled up half-asleep on a lazy summer evening, the sun having set earlier than his body was accustomed to, leaving him drowsy and defenseless. If somebody wanted to break into Leon’s apartment, he was basically powerless with just how sleepy he was.
Thankfully, though; the jangling of keys and the rattle of a doorknob was far too familiar for Luis to jump to that conclusion just yet. Before he could even get up to leave his comfortable spot on the couch, the sound of workboots clattering against the wooden tiles filled the air. A sure fire sign that Leon was home.
Luis sat up from his makeshift bed with a groan, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the heel of his palm- hair sticking up in every direction possible.
“ Mmmmmmyour’e home late, Leon…”
“Good morning to you too, sleeping beauty” Leon’s smile was evident in his voice, and Luis could just make out the smell of… Whiskey? Wafting through the door before Leon shut it behind him.
“How long ago did you fall asleep?”
“Uhhhhh…. hace diez minutos ? Why do you ask?” Luis stretched his arms out and yawned, cringing a little at the way his back clicked. Opening one eye, the Spaniard spotted Leon setting.. something down on the table with a weirdly lop-sided smile. How odd.
“Oh, just wonderin’. You seem real tired, that’s all”
“And you seem far too chipper” Luis noted, eyes squinting as he tried to examine Leon’s face further.
The blonde was acting… A little off. Usually, he came home absolutely exhausted and dead on his feet- but here he was, voice slurred and cheery and face flushed bright pink, looking otherwise completely normal. Luis couldn’t help but mentally note the way Leon was swaying his body side-to-side, almost as if he was-
Ooooooohhhhhh.
“Sancho… Have you been drinking?”
“ Whaaaaat? Nooooooo…..” Leon smiled up at him sheepishly through half-lidded eyes, his voice painfully unconvincing. Luis raised an eyebrow,
“Drinking and driving? Rather unusual for a squire like you, don’t you think?”
“I got a Taxi home. I’m not thaaat dumb” Leon pointed out the window, and sure enough when he pulled the blinds back, Luis was surprised to find that there was, in fact, a black Taxi sitting in their driveway.
Still, it was… Unusual to see Leon like this. When was the last time he saw him drunk, if ever? Luis yawned languidly in an attempt to keep his flirty composure,
“Well, what’s the special occasion? Don’t tell me the stress has killed you just yet”
Just as he said that, Leon gave him the biggest, most boyishly excited grin Luis had ever seen on a human being- the blonde pulled out a very expensive-looking bottle of whiskey from his shopping bag, already reaching to retrieve a glass.
Luis smiled back, “ Sanchooo….
“Looooeeeess……”
“Don’t mock me,” If Luis wasn’t so tired (And sore- Chronic pain does that to a guy) he would’ve gone up to give Leon a smack on the shoulder.
“Come on now, you’ve piqued my interest. What’s all this for? It’s rather romantic,” Luis wiggled his eyebrows, “Surely you’re not asking me out on a date already?”
Leon barked a laugh at his comment; already pouring the two of them a glass. Albeit with a wobbly hand and a particularly heavy poor.
But Luis was well-accustomed to handling a few rounds; after all, he didn't spend years in University studying biology just to come out a lightweight. He did have a very particular taste, however- Luis had to keep at least some of his dignity intact.
“Unless you wan’ it to be… But nooo, unfortunately, I’ve just got some good news”
Leon strolled over to Luis’ side languidly, hips swaying as he passed him the glass of chilled whiskey on ice before taking a seat back-first beside the brunette on the couch. Sighing loudly as he almost spilt his own expensive drink all over the leather.
Disastrous behavior aside, though… Luis was intrigued. Neither of them had gotten ‘ news ’ about anything- good or bad- since they first started living together. So by the time they both got situated, Luis was already dying to know.
“Come on, Sancho, don’t leave me hanging like this,” He pouted over the rim of his glass, watching Leon take a heavy sip from his own.
“You’ve got me wrapped around your finger. Now spill”
“ Fiiiiiiine if you insiiiist….” Leon waved his glass around and sighed, looking almost bored- as if to further tease Luis.
“ ‘s nothin’ special, honestly…. Just the fact that I got word today that you’re being granted ‘an official pardon from the President of the United States of America himseeelff for your ‘nvolvmemt with Umbrella on ‘The precedent of assisting in his daughter Ashley Graham’s rescue’ an’ other such fancy words..-“
Leon spilled this all out like he had rehearsed it. Which, judging by the sheepish, boyishly excited smile on his face- he probably had.
Luis’ jaw dropped and his eyes grew as wide as dinner plates the second Leon said those simple words. His heart skipped multiple beats and he had to keep replaying that sentence over and over and over again in his head-
‘Oh Díos mío, this can’t be happening- is this really happening? I must be dreaming. doesn’t feel real. I have GOT to be dreaming’
“Sancho… I- I don’t know what to say-“
Luis’ voice was shaky, excitement and disbelief gripping at his chest as his bottom lip trembled. He physically could not believe was Leon had just said.
Instead of trying to convey his utter relief in words, Luis instead opted to throw his arms around Leon’s neck and crush him in the biggest hug he could muster- almost spilling both of their whiskey glasses in the process.
If Luis could kiss him in that moment, he would have.
He tried to express at least some form of thanks in actual words, but all that came out were relieved babbles and pure laughter from both ends. Hugging each other in a wordless action of gratitude and relief.
Luis- The man who had dedicated the majority of his life to running- running from his mistakes, his actions, himself- never, ever saw a clear future for himself. He convinced himself he was dedicated to an early death; a life defined by the mistakes he would never be able to make up for. Domesticality and love seemed like a faraway dream for the majority of his life, yet here he was.
Being granted an official pardon to be a free man.
All thanks to Leon S. Kennedy.
“Geez, don’t thank me just yet!!” Leon managed to stammer out through his giggles, finally pushing Luis off of him to regain his breath.
“All those stuffy men in suits still mentioned something ‘bout you having to repay one way or another or somethin’. Like, community service, if I had tuh’ guess”
“I don’t care,” Luis smiled, unable to stop. He wanted to grab Leon’s face and kiss every inch of his skin; he was just that grateful and relieved.
“I’m just- Oh Dios mío, Leon, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you-“
“ Naaaaahhhh, don’t worry about me,” Leon smirked back at him, swirling around the whiskey in his glass before passing Luis’ own back to him.
“Let’s just enjoy tonight ‘n celebrate, yeah?”
Luis took his glass and clinked it with Leon’s.
“ Como desées, Mí Príncipe. I couldn’t think of anything better”
**
Luis was an expert at handling alcohol. Or at least, he thought he was an expert at handling alcohol. Years spent at miscellaneous parties he had broken into trying to swoon with handsome women and pretty men had trained him to be able to handle even the strongest whiskey thrown his way-
But when he saw Leon, oh boy did his confidence drop.
As their evening together grew later and later into the night, Luis was shocked to find Leon practically skulled down almost the entire bottle of alcohol- and it wasn’t a little bottle, either. Luis relegated himself to max maybe one or two glasses, wanting at least one of them semi-sober by the end of the night lest they break a plate or get a noise complaint. But Leon? Oh boy did that American know how to drink.
It was even more shocking considering the fact that he’d already come home a little tipsy, too; So by the time the moon was hanging high in the sky, Leon was the textbook definition of being ‘off his rocker’. He was a giggling, bubbling mess sitting next to Luis. Unable to sit still for even a moment and finding every little comment and throwaway line the brunette said- even if unintentional- absolutely hilarious.
Leon’s body swayed as he finished his final glass- not that he knew that yet, though. Neither of them did. They were too wound up in each other's company and the strong stench of alcohol to even notice that they were running low at all.
They laughed the night away and embraced each other's touch; and everytime Leon’s hands drunkenly explored places he would have never otherwise been brave enough to feel, Luis’ heart rate would quicken to a million miles per hour.
He prayed his crush on Leon wasn’t obvious.
And, hell, he thought he was doing a relatively good job- until he finally let one too many compliments slip.
“Cariño, if you keep grabbing my knee like that, I’ll start to think you’re trying to imply something here” Luis said, words slurring ever so slightly. He wasn’t even half as drunk as Leon was- evident by the way the blondes eyes were hooded over and his pupils were blown wide. Luis had to bite his lip to stop himself from sucking in a harsh breath when those pretty blue eyes of his met his own.
“ Luuuiiss… y’know I know what you’re sssayin’ everytime you call me those things, right….?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about” Luis shot him a wolfish grin- a half-hearted attempt at changing the conversation. But much to his dismay, his deflection had no effect.
In fact, it only encouraged Leon to lean in closer- when did he get so close in the first place?- Close enough for Luis to be able to smell the whiskey on his lips, to be able to see every little freckle that adorned his rounded cheeks.
Leon inspected him with a hum. Luis suddenly felt very, very exposed.
“Don’ lie to me. I know ‘nuff Ssssspanish tuh know what you’re sayin’”
“What am I saying then, Guapo?”
Luis’ time grew husky, almost unintentionally. Internally, he knew he shouldn’t be encouraging… whatever this was. Leon was drunk- probably drunk enough to not remember any of this by the morning.
But by God did Luis want to see where this would lead.
His brain told him no, but his aching, desperate heart was screaming for him to continue.
Leon leaned in even closer. His breath ghosting Luis’ lips.
“ Dear. Handsome. Beautiful..”
Leon’s eyes met his. Dark and hooded over from the alcohol.
“ Want me to keep going?”
Luis’ mouth went dry. He wasn’t used to this- this flirtatious, confident, forward side of Leon- it floored him in a way he had never been floored before.
“Leon, I- I don’t-“
“Y’know I’ve had a lil crush on you f’ a while right?”
Leon placed a hand on his knee, his eyes flickering between Luis’ eyes and lips. The man in question's heartbeat sped up and his head felt dizzy, the smell of alcohol making him feel more intoxicated than he already was.
“And I know you do too-“
“You’re drunk, Sancho,” Luis tried to deflect. A last-ditch effort to save his morality.
“And you’re about to say something you’ll regret”
“Drunk words are sober thoughts, doll”
Leon responded, smiling lazily.
“I don’t think that’s how the saying goes”
“It is now.”
Before Luis could even open his mouth to say anything-
A pair of warm lips were placed on his own.
Luis froze. His once warm body now growing ice cold at the realization that ‘ santa mierda Leon me esta besando.’
He’d be lying if he said this wasn’t somewhat a dream come true; although not quite in this same scenario, he often dreamed about what it would be like to kiss Leon right on the lips like he meant it. He imagined what they felt like, tasted like…
And despite his better judgment, Luis indulged himself. Slipping his hands up the sides of Leon’s face, he closed his eyes and let himself melt into the kiss; the taste of whiskey on his lips almost overcoming the feeling of just how good it felt to kiss Leon.
The two of them sat there for a while. Kissing each other like they were starved men. Which, at that point, they may as well have been.
Luis almost let himself completely go; fully ready to stay like this for the rest of the night…
Until he felt Leon’s hand slip higher up his thigh.
Luis was quick to break away from the kiss and grab at Leon’s wrist. Although his mind was hazy and euphoric from their shared moment together, he knew he could never live with himself if he had taken advantage of Leon sexually in a moment where he couldn’t fully consent like this.
“You’re drunk, Leon” Luis gently reminded him, feeling like he’d just kicked a lost puppy when a look of dissapoint plastered itself onto the blondes face.
“An’ you taste good”
“You can’t even think straight, let alone fuck straight.”
“But I caaaaannn...”
Leon whined, trying to grasp at Luis’ shoulders to bring him in for another kiss again.
“Just lemme take care of youuuu….”
It took multiple minutes, almost hours of back-and-fourth bantering between the two of them for Luis to finally convince Leon to go to bed goddamnit before joining him not long after.
After tucking Leon in under the sheets and giving his messy, blonde hair a light ruffle in lieu of a kiss goodnight, Luis resigned to sleeping on the couch.
In his half-drunken, sleepy mind, it was far more comfortable than the bed anyways. And besides, his blankets and pillows were already there from earlier. So what was there to loose?
Luis was asleep within seconds.
**
The next morning, Luis woke up not to the usual sound of alarm clocks going off followed by the loud beeping of car horns; but rather, the sound of somebody stomping down the hallway with heavy footsteps.
Luis sat up and immediately regretted it seconds later. His head was pounding and his hair was a wreck, and his usually only semi-aching body felt stiffer than a piece of concrete. He groaned loudly, running his hands through his curly locks before examining the mess in front of him.
A bottle of alcohol. Two glasses. Three suspiciously whiskey-smelling stains on the couch. What happened last night again…?
Oh yeah. That’s right.
Leon had kissed him. Drunk.
“ Goodmorning…..”
‘Speak of the devil..’
“Buenos días, Cariño..” Luis shot the blonde a smile as he entered the living room, looking like he felt a lot worse than the brunette. Leon was wrapped in his blanket, dragging his feet along the floor like they were made of stone and rubbing his eyebag-heavy eyes sleepily.
Leon looked as though he was having one of the worst hangovers of his life. Which was to be expected, but judging by just how much he managed to skull in a single evening..
Maybe this wasn’t such an irregular occurrence for Leon.
“How did you sleep?”
“ Bad.” Leon’s response was curt, and straight to the point as he sat down next to Luis with a loud sigh.
A best of silence fell over them before he began to speak,
“Hey, listen, ‘m sorry about last night.. I shouldn’t have come home already drunk like that-“
“It’s fine, Leon,” Luis smiled at him, a wave of relief washing over his body as he successfully avoided talking about their kiss. He prayed Leon didn’t remember it had ever happened at all.
“I don’t mind”
“No, it’s- it’s not fine” Leon frowned, curling in on himself a little.
“I haven’t… I haven’t mentioned it to you yet, cuz I figured, it’s not your job to worry, but.. I’ve been struggling with, y’know, alcohol issues ‘n stuff for a while, and I guess I’m just sorry that came through last night..”
“ Oh”
Was all Luis could respond with. His heart was stabbed with sympathy at the sight of Leon looking so down, and dejected.
“ Lo siento-“
“Don’t be sorry,” Leon gave him a soft smile, eyes a little droopy. “It’s not your fault. You had no idea”
“Still…”
“Don’t worry about it. It could’ve been a lot worse”
Leon laughed; but Luis felt his blood run cold.
Leon didn’t remember their kiss from last night.
“Hey, I didn’t do anything bad last night, did I? Like, I didn’t throw something expensive across the room or something?”
A lump formed in Luis’ throat. He could be honest; he could tell him that they kissed and Luis had been desperate to kiss Leon since they first met and it was one of the best kisses he had ever had in his entire life.
But…
His gut was telling him no. Especially after Leon had just opened up to him about his issues with alcohol; it just felt wrong.
“Nope”
Luis smiled, a little forcefully.
“Nothing that I can remember, at least.
Leon gave him a relieved sigh.
“Good. That’s good. I was worried for a second there, y’know”
“Yeah… Worried…”
**
“Do you think the walls will look alright if we keep them white? Or is that too basic?”
“Hmmmmm…” Luis leaned up from his hunched-over spot in front of the buckets of paint; turning to plant a kiss on the corner of Leon’s lips.
“I mean, it’s only a guest room, sí? Doesn’t need to be fancy, in my humble opinion”
“Yeah I guess you’re right..”
“I’m always right”
Luis smiled, flashing his teeth at Leon who just rolled his eyes and grabbed the sides of his face to pull him down for a proper kiss- the both of them choosing to conveniently ignore the paint left on Leon’s fingertips.
Refurbishing a brand-new house for the first time in a four-year relationship was bound to be a little messy, after all.
But Luis couldn’t think of anyone better to spend those four years with than Leon.
“Cariño, do you remember our first kiss?”
“Hmmmmm…” Leon cocked his head, thinking for a moment as Luis chewed his lip in anticipation.
“I don’t think so, why do you ask?”
“Wait, you seriously don’t?”
“No, why?? Should I???”
Luis barked a laugh; throwing his head back as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist pulling him closer to his body.
“Oh, Mí Guapo, I have something to admit to you…”
“Oh god, what is it?”
“Our first kiss was when you were blackout drunk. You didn’t even remember it in the morning”
“Shut up”
“I’m telling the truth!!”
“No you’re not!! I would have definitely remembered that!”
The two of them spent the next hour bantering and arguing as they continued to paint the walls of their new home- trying to win a nonexistent argument of who got the first kiss
“You can argue all you want, hermoso, but I remember it clear as day”
“Y’know what? Fine, whatever,” Leon pulled Luis down by the collar to plant a firm kiss on his lips before pulling away, smirking.
“You win.”