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“We’re here.”
The car slows to a stop just as they reach the forest edge, the trees giving way to sandy shores. The whir of the engine comes to an abrupt end, and in its place the muffled cacophony of the outdoors bleeds into the enclosed chamber.
The discordant tune of splashing waves. Soft, distant birdsong. Sounds so estranged from the city, where all the chaos often is, yet so blissfully soothing.
Leather rustles and creaks from the back, and Leon looks up into the rearview mirror to see the Tyrant’s stony face. His vacant silver gaze sweeps across the seaside landscape through the tinted windshield glass, seeming to absorb every little thing as if he were a child seeing the world for the first time.
Leon cracks a smile at him. While the van is big enough to accommodate the size and weight of a Tyrant, the space is still quite cramped for someone who’s over eight-foot-tall to move around in. Crouched over the driver’s seat, X takes up most of the space behind him, and he’s close enough that Leon swears he can feel his breath. Heat rushes up to Leon’s face without warning, and he clears his throat as he tries to ignore how the proximity is making his heart beat just a little faster.
“You ready to go, big guy?” he asks X with the straightest face he can manage, turning to face him. After a pause, silver eyes lock onto blue ones, and Leon has to steel himself not to falter under their piercing gaze. But whether or not X notices his small predicament is lost on Leon, those inhuman eyes devoid of any emotion, and X simply nods as he rumbles his agreement.
Leon steps out first, feeling the desperate need for air, and nature grants him the reprieve almost immediately. The sea breeze hits his face, pleasantly cold with the slightest ocean spray, and as he pushes the door close he takes a moment to bask in it. He only snaps out of his haze when he senses the van rattling from the weight shifting inside before the rear doors jerk open.
Leon briskly walks to the back so he could greet X. He has to crane his neck up just to look at his face, but it’s an exercise he’s used to. He has grown used to X’s presence, and ever since they got recruited by USSTRATCOM he has even found comfort in it — a familiar face in a sea of unfamiliar faces. It's bizarre how something that was once so terrifying is even capable of doing that, but everything about X is bizarre in the first place.
How could the product of a man-made experiment have this much sentience, this much free will? An old memory of a dark and drab place rises from the recesses of Leon’s mind, one reeking of death and terror and blood. He remembers the horrible sting of thorns, the imminent fear of being devoured, the loom of a thousand jagged teeth. He remembers drowning in his own blood, the terrifying sound of heavy footfalls, tolling his death knell at their approach. He remembers drawing a trail of crimson across the cold floor in his futile attempt to escape, the way his weak arms trembled as he reached for his gun and pointed it at the monster that should have crushed the life out of his body.
And yet here he was. Whole and in one piece. Staring up into the eyes of the same monster who has somehow become his best friend.
Funny how that topped the fucking apocalypse as the craziest thing to ever happen to him. Life is weird like that.
A stupid grin breaks out on Leon's face as he looks up at the behemoth. It’s refreshing to see X out in the open again, and not for work that essentially puts their lives on the line. The feds were not too keen on making X leave the premises, but Leon vehemently insisted that this was his and X’s prerogative, completely enraged by the fact that they were still treating X like a damn atomic bomb that needed to be contained. Three years of working for them, with their best researchers poking needles and collecting blood and running all sorts of tests almost every week without fail, essentially putting X under a microscope like he was nothing more than a research subject, and they still treat him like an object, a scientific monstrosity that should be rigorously kept from the public eye.
Some of the employees back at the facility have even warmed up to X, even if the majority of them are scientists who hold an eccentric fascination with him. They’re a strange bunch, to say the least, but they’re still friends if not allies, and that's something to be grateful for in a world where the odds were against a bioweapon existing to live.
And, by some miracle that could have been the sheer power of persuasion by a few prolific scientists, or perhaps the unyielding words of an esteemed senior officer, their little excursion was approved.
And now here they are, just the two of them. Just living and breathing in the moment.
X grunts inquisitively, the skin between the prominences where his eyebrows should be furrowing slightly. His eyes convey a genuine confusion, but that only makes a chuckle bubble up from Leon’s throat. All of a sudden, Leon feels so light, so full of mirth, the excitement of finally having even a second to get away from it all bursting inside his chest and fluttering all over it like butterflies.
Leon laughs, feeling giddy. “Sorry, it’s just… It’s been so long since we had time for ourselves like this. It’s like… It’s like being back in the apartment again. You know?”
The confusion in X’s eyes morphs into something almost tender, and a gravely noise rumbles deep from his throat. Leon softens.
The days back in the apartment had been uncertain times, but he can't help but look back on them fondly, not when this was their life now. Ever since they escaped Racoon City, it had always been just him and X. And yet a part of him always knew that he couldn't shape the future with his own hands, that one way or another their temporary sanctuary would come to an end, even if he’d wanted it to go on forever. Umbrella was a force to be reckoned with, and Leon could never know when they'd decide to strike again, at least not on his own. If he wanted X safe, he had to find a way to eliminate Umbrella and every other organization like them for good.
It was a Tuesday morning when Chris came, and with him an offer that would change everything. One that Leon couldn't possibly refuse.
Not when there’s a chance he’ll never see X again.
He ignores the pang in his heart at the memory, and he does his best to shake it off.
“Okay, enough stalling,” Leon says more to himself than to X, waving his hand dismissively. “We don’t have all day, do we? Let's go and enjoy the sea.”
X bobs his head, grunting his agreement, and there is almost a bounce in his step that tells Leon he’s just as excited for this as he is. For a titan of a man whose strength defies probably several laws of physics, X can just be too fucking adorable.
The sea breeze brushes pleasantly against Leon’s skin as they walk down the small slope, and a strong waft of seasalt assails his nostrils. He gazes far into the boundless sea, ended only by the horizon where the waves crest upwards to meet the sky, and he is hit by a sudden urge to just dive into the waves, to feel the sun on his face, to let the water envelope him from head to toe, rendering the outside world into nothing more than indistinct noises.
Being here feels like he’s at the edge of the world, just one reckless step away from all the chaos. For a moment Leon wonders if it would truly be worth it, after all they’ve achieved so far in their fight against Umbrella, after all the horrors he’s faced. When he turns to the sound of footsteps effectively muffled by the sand, and looks up to a face that betrays no emotion, into eyes that give little to no indication of the humanity hidden within them, he finds that he possibly couldn't. Not ever. Not when in the midst of all that horror there exists people he still holds dear. People he still wanted to protect. Nothing else has ever been more important to him.
And X… Well, X is the one he wanted to protect the most.
Leon looks back at the sea, and he is reminded of why they’re here in the first place. He smiles, content with the fact that he has finally made good on his promise.
There was almost a childlike naivete in the way X told him that he wanted to go to the sea, something that once seemed so far removed from the nature of X’s existence as a whole. But in Leon’s mind, X has always been a contradiction, and Leon believes that’s what sets him apart from all of Umbrella’s other creations.
Leon’s curiosity with X only kept growing over time, and he would sometimes ask X questions about himself out of the blue. Not necessarily about his past, but mostly the little things: his favorite food, his favorite time of the day, what kind of hobbies he’d like to pick up, his secret for learning sign language faster (eidetic memory aside). Stuff that would get Leon to know him better.
More often than not, Leon would learn something new about him.
One time, Leon had asked him in passing if there were places he wanted to go to if he could. He had posed the question without any expectation of an answer, but X had one anyway. Surprisingly enough, it’s a place that X associates closely with his roots.
Sheena Island. A piece of land off the coasts of Europe, and another Raccoon City. Another place struck down by Umbrella's acts of terrorism. A place now completely wiped off of the face of the earth. But it is also where X was born. Knowing X’s hatred towards his creators, and by extension the facility they locked him up in, Leon was initially confused.
But it isn't the cold, sterile laboratory that he missed, nor the four whitewashed walls of the cell they tried to keep him in. It isn't any of that, no.
It was the distant sounds of the sea.
The first time X was close enough to even hear it was the first time he thought of the world beyond the laboratory that contained him. He was on one of his trips within the facility, a few scientists and an escort of armed guards at his flank as they ushered him to his destination. They were in a hallway that was probably several floors above his own prison, and there, in one of the alcoves, was a tall window that peered right into the outside.
X said that he had never seen something so blue, so vibrant. So… alive .
He’d been painfully reminded of it in Raccoon City, back at the police station, where he was deployed to perform his sole task of eliminating all witnesses, but was otherwise engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse with a certain human that had managed to shoot off the microchip in his temple. The terror Leon had felt at the time seems so distant now, but he’d always wondered why the Tyrant would suddenly vacillate the second he finally had his target in his brutal grasp.
The reason, when X told him, was enough to make Leon’s heart skip a beat.
It seems that Leon’s eyes reminded X of what he saw through the window in Sheena Island, that piece of the outside world that he had often been wistful for.
Leon never knew he was weak to sappy stuff like that.
Despite himself, his face burns with a familiar heat. It’s so ridiculous how someone whose very existence was supposed to inspire fear and terror, someone who was a literal scourge of death, has suddenly become the object of his affections. Sometimes even Leon himself couldn't believe it, but the warmth he feels whenever X is near, the feeling of safety in being in X’s arms when the behemoth takes the liberty to just manhandle him, the way those pretty silver eyes can turn him into a puddle with just one look. If those things aren’t Leon falling in love, then he doesn't know what is.
Leon breathes in, and he closes his eyes as he allows the cold air to fill his lungs. When he turns back to X, he finds those beautiful eyes fixed on him, and Leon feels a shiver run down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold breeze.
Leon smiles up at X, willfully ignoring the beating drum inside his chest. The gust of wind blows the curtain of his bangs over his eyes, so he pushes it away with his fingers and tucks it behind his ear.
“How are you liking it? The sea, I mean. Does it compare to Sheena Island?” He asks, and if his voice comes out a little husky, he doesn't dwell on it.
X stares at him for a moment before turning his gaze back to the waves, seeming to fall into contemplation as he loses himself in their hypnotic cadence. Something about the sight fills Leon with so much adoration he almost ached with it.
X is and will always be precious to him. That's just the truth.
Leon is suddenly struck by the overwhelming urge to kiss him, to touch the odd grooves on his face. The desire to take him far from here and out of Umbrella’s reach, to let him see other places he has never been to before; to let him see the world without an evil organization at their tail and without the fear of ever losing their freedom. It’s a desire so strong it almost completely overtakes him, almost lets those feelings he’d been running away from burst out of his chest.
But Leon swallows it all back down. This trip isn't about him, and he doesn't want to spring one other thing on X that will probably just confuse him more than he already is.
Do Tyrants feel love? Can they ever feel that inexorable pull towards another person? Are they capable of reciprocating it?
Leon is as thrilled as he is daunted by the thought of finding out.
He is stripped from his thoughts by the weight of a massive hand on his shoulder, and when he looks up there is a look on X’s face he can't quite decipher.
And then, without ceremony, X goes down on his knees, putting him at eye-level. It stumps Leon enough that it renders him near-speechless, uttering no more than a cut-off syllable as he gawks at the sight of the Tyrant kneeling before him. How, despite his size and stature, the movement is still elegant and graceful.
It makes Leon’s heart race like crazy.
The hand on his shoulder suddenly shifts and moves to the side of Leon’s face, the touch so unexpectedly gentle that he's tempted to just lean into it. This hand that had once brought him fear and pain is now nothing but gentle, and warm, and caring. There is so much strength, so much power in it, capable of so many things other than murder and destruction. Capable of tenderness and nurturing; of resourcefulness and ingenuity. X’s hands have offered him safety and protection for more times than he could count, but they have also brought him reassurance and comfort.
But there's an emotion in X’s eyes that Leon can't quite read, something between pain and desperation. It's difficult to tell what has affected the Tyrant this much. Regardless, it seems like he wants to tell Leon something, so Leon remains still and patiently waits.
The water washes up against the hem of X’s trench coat, but X doesn't seem to pay it any mind. He brings the pad of his huge thumb against the skin below Leon’s eye, stroking it tenderly, and under the intensity of X’s gaze it's nearly enough to make Leon falter.
What happens next probably should have.
X leans in, their foreheads touching, their faces so close Leon can feel his breath. Leon’s breath catches, and his heart is suddenly so loud in his ears. He chances a look back up into a pair of captivating silver eyes, only to find them closed.
X releases a shaky grumble, and as Leon tries to distract himself from his frantic pulse, he realizes that the hand on his face is trembling. Concern immediately fills Leon, and he brings one of his own hands to X’s.
“Hey, big guy. What's come over you?” Leon asks softly into the small space between them. X simply sighs, his breaths still shaking, a small whine slipping in between.
Rarely has Leon seen the Tyrant this shaken. It was almost surreal the first time Leon saw him display any indication of emotion at all. He remembers that plant-infested greenhouse, how X had approached him with care as if he were a cornered animal. How X had tried to reassure him with nonaggressive noises until he finally lowered his gun, all the while trying to communicate with his eyes that he meant no harm, that he was only trying to help him.
And it was so strange at the time, the thought of a monster demonstrating agency in an act that's essentially the complete opposite of his primary purpose. So strange and unbelievable like the existence of X itself that Leon couldn't help but be captivated by it, to be caught in the abyss of his own morbid curiosity in the odds that there just might be an ounce of humanity underneath that terrifying exterior.
So Leon had let him, and on the other side he found X.
X, who likes keeping things neat and organized. X, who holds an irrational distaste for any manner of processed foods. X, who’s so smart and unexpectedly nimble with his hands. X, who’s far more caring than he himself will ever know.
Leon adores everything about him. And now as he trembles in Leon's arms, showing Leon his vulnerabilities, showing a side of him that only Leon has the privilege to, Leon can't help but be more endeared to him.
Regardless, the sight of the sea has triggered something in X, and Leon wonders if it has brought up awful memories. He realizes it was bound to, even if it’s probably the one good thing to happen to X during his time in that place. The notion fills Leon with sympathy, and without much thought, his thumb begins to rub small circles against X’s hand through tough leather in an attempt to comfort the giant. It succeeds at least in soothing the creases that have begun to form between his nonexistent brows and the skin on his temples.
After a few steadying breaths, X pulls back slightly, his eyes open once more, and with him the warmth that had enveloped Leon for a few wonderful seconds. Leon tries to chase it without realizing, and he holds himself back as soon as he does.
Leon gulps, staggered by the gravity of emotion now present in X’s gaze. There is certainly pain there, and he can't help the wave of guilt that rushes over him upon seeing it. He suddenly regrets ever bringing him here.
“Hey… Hey, it's alright. O-Or maybe it isn't…” Leon shakes his head as he gathers his thoughts. “Maybe this was a bad idea. It does remind you of that terrible place, after all. God, sorry. What was I thinking?”
Angry with himself, Leon looks away, as if he can redirect his frustration to the sand at his feet. But X nudges him back, lets him look back into those eyes that are glazed over with a mix of emotions that Leon can hardly pinpoint.
X grunts, and for the first time since they got here he speaks, taking his hand away from Leon, and the guilt in Leon's chest eases slightly.
It's not because of Umbrella.
“Then what’s troubling you?” Leon asks after a pause, suppressing the urge to just reach out for him.
X is the one to look away this time, his eyes on the horizon, and Leon feels like he's gone somewhere else again. The breeze blows against the shores relentlessly, and the cold begins to seep into Leon’s skin, making him shiver.
He already misses the warmth of X’s hand.
The waves surge and crash downwards in strokes of bubbling seafoam, and as the waters abandon the shores, so too does X come back to Leon.
Then X speaks, and the rest of the world falls away like sand.
And then it's just the two of them, like it had always been.
X speaks, and the sea mourns his past with him. The lack of love in his creation. The wickedness of his purpose.
It lets his pain and melancholy sink into its depths, and then it takes him far away from the shores. Far away from the world’s edge.
And then it takes him to Leon, who gazed upon him with his sea-blue eyes.
(And X’s beautiful silver ones gaze back.)
If you hadn't looked upon me that night, I never would have been X. If you hadn't looked upon me... I never would have had this.
I never would have had you.
Leon’s breath shudders.
Even if there's no other meaning to his declaration, the yearning inside him still burns. And it hurts, it hurts, it hurts .
Twenty-four years of living on this earth and Leon has never felt anything more visceral, more all-consuming than this yearning inside him. For a man whose sole existence defies nature itself, whose very nature and humanity has captivated Leon to the extent that he could no longer escape it.
He has no choice but to let it take him.
And so it does. He reaches his breaking point — the pain is too much, and his soul has been wanting that much-needed relief — and suddenly he finds himself inches away from X’s face, cupping his head in his comparatively small hands and kissing him with the fervor from all his pent-up yearning and desire.
X’s lips are stiff beneath his, but X is so warm, and this feels so right . Like he’s finally, finally coming to terms with the butterflies inside his chest. The burning in his heart.
Leon pulls back a few seconds later, releasing a shaking sigh. And then he laughs, out of breath, completely overwhelmed by the rush of emotions surging through him. He doesn't dare look up, afraid of the look he’ll find there. He just lets his emotions go, lets them dictate the next words that come out of his mouth.
“You make me sound like some kind of hero, when all I did was try to survive—”
X grumbles in protest, reaching a hand up to the side of his face once again, and Leon leans against the gloved palm.
You are, and to a fault. That's why I can never let you out of my sight, lest you do something reckless.
“Hey—”
But Leon doesn’t get any more words in edgewise as the Tyrant leans in again, bringing their foreheads together. A large hand makes its way to the small of Leon’s back, and Leon gasps softly as X pulls him almost flush with his much larger body.
Their eyes lock, and the intensity in those silver depths makes Leon melt. He licks his lips subconsciously, and he doesn't miss the way X’s eyes flick to his retreating tongue.
It lights a small fire deep inside him.
Being in X’s arms feels fucking incredible. So fucking perfect.
A massive thumb moves to caress his lips, and X is leaning the rest of the way in, closing the gap between them, and nothing else matters. They’re at the edge of the world, they're drifting in the waves and going with the tides, they're at the center of the apocalypse, they're in the comfort of Leon's apartment.
It doesn't matter where they are, because Leon is in X’s arms, and all he can feel is X’s all-encompassing, inhuman presence.
Leon grasps X’s gloved hand with his free one as they break the kiss, trying to anchor himself, to convince himself that this is real. Their heavy breaths mingle, and Leon revels in the warmth coming from X’s body that shields him from the cold breeze.
“I’d say I can take care of myself just fine—” X huffs, as if to demur Leon’s statement, and Leon becomes slightly indignant. “Hey, I know you saved my ass a lot of times already, but I’m trying to have some semblance of pride here.”
A shadow of a smirk appears in the corners of X’s lips, and Leon is tempted to roll his eyes.
“Smug bastard,” Leon murmurs, and X lets out a sound akin to a low laugh. Unable to help himself, Leon grins.
“But I do like the thought of a big scary Tyrant watching out for my back, as much as the thought of a big scary Tyrant doing some world-saving.” X hums, and Leon chuckles.
The hand on his face shifts, and then there are fingers tenderly caressing his cheekbone, just beside his eye.
And Leon sees it: a reflection of the adoration he feels in X’s eyes. And maybe calling it love is too much, but he still feels that pull, that attraction. A sense of reciprocation that makes him feel like he’s floating.
And Leon lets it take him away.
He smiles at X, letting that adoration wash over him.
“Yeah, I wouldn't mind that at all.”