Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I’m not gonna die tonight…

Leon was doing his best maneuvering through the forest; as careful as he could be to dodge the stumps, roots and debris as he practically tumbled down the hillside. It was a 16 minute drive from the gas station to the town line, and he was a little over halfway there when his car got totaled. He was within running distance by now, he was certain, but his legs were still aching without a clearing in sight and it was way too dark already. He would lose sight of the ground soon.

No way I’m dying tonight…

He spared a glance behind him, but with the uneven terrain and the shakiness of his breathing he could barely make out the shadows. God, how close was he now?

“Shit, shit, shit-” It didn’t matter how close, as long as Leon got back into town. It couldn’t be farther than six minutes, he was counting down since he’d taken off into the mountains, but he couldn’t turn from the trees behind him. Not until he heard the footsteps, the harsh crunching of leaves as the familiar boots came into view, and his heart sank into his stomach.

I’m not fucking dying…

He took off into another sprint, unsure if his legs could take it after going so long, but even as his muscles burned under his skin; head pounding against his skull and ankle fighting each step, he couldn’t stop. Not when the other was so close behind. Not when the moon crept through the trees for just a moment and Leon could see the mask as he jumped another log.

Three minutes max to the welcome sign, he recognized the trees, but if the masked- if he had also figured that out he wouldn't let Leon keep running for long. He’d have to make it in two.

He took as deep a breath as he could and picked up more speed, noting that the footsteps behind him did the same. If he hadn’t noticed how close they were by now, Leon’s running definitely gave it away. He was pretty sure he’d started crying at some point during his desperate trip through the forest; but he kept counting down as best he could, assuring himself that the town would be there when he hit zero. He would be fast enough.

I’m not gonna die tonight, damn it.

Chapter Text

“Ten minutes to shift!” Called a voice from down the hall. The cheerful mood of the waiting room was quickly dampened; vague grumblings, exchanged shift-times, and right on cue a flood of blue began packing up what little mess there was to return to work-as usual. Even the secretary shook her head in disappointment, clearing up her lunch from the reception desk. Leon turned from the door.

“Oh come on, no way you’re gonna pretend you didn’t hear her.” Claire laughed. He only shook his head. “Like I’m gonna go back on patrol when you’re never in town. You think I’m letting Chris have you all to himself?” He pushed back, resting comfortably against the doorway. He’d worry about getting in trouble when Claire wasn’t here; grinning all dumb and crooked, elbowing him in the shoulder hard enough to bruise. “Aww, you miss me that much? Jealous of all the time I’m spending away from you?”

“Your fault for moving so far away.” Leon conceded. They glanced at each other briefly, the statement a little more sincere than intended, but welcome regardless.

“You know, maybe if you talked to more girls it’d be less of a problem.” She teased, already grabbing her bag. They’d never been good at the serious stuff, so that was even more welcome. “Hey, I’m happy being single! How’s your boyfriend hunt going?” He pushed back. Claire frowned.

“It was just a tinder match.” Already a bad sign.

“Jesus, that rough?” He pressed again. She’d opened her mouth a few times, considering a couple excuses off the top of her head, but it was clear that below his sympathy was an insatiable curiosity into her love life he wasn’t willing to drop. She relaxed against the wall again.

“...Not my fault he knew Chris.”

“HE KNEW CHRIS!?” Leon shouted, quickly being muffled by Claire’s hand. A few of the officers turned to them, an older pair snickering in the back. “Oh my god- Yes, okay? He recognized him in a photo I showed and said he’d get his head bitten off if he tried.” She groaned, as if the embarrassment alone was painful to remember. “-Then he offered to call me a cab, and I got a bunch of texts from Chris saying ‘his friend told him everything’ and ‘I’m so irresponsible to meet him after two days of texting’ and blah, blah, blah.”

Leon slowly moved her hand from his mouth. She let it drop to her side, and he took it as the go ahead to keep talking at an indoor volume. “Definitely sounds like Chris.” He admitted, shaking his head. “Pretty sure he was thinking of killing me when I first pulled you over at that gas station.” Claire laughed, shrugging the bag strap over her shoulder. “Yeah, he was definitely plotting out where to dump your body.”

She paused.

“I don’t know, I just…I wish he would stop babying me all the time. I’m twenty-two now, I’m going to college, and yet every time I’m back here he’s treating me like I’m twelve again.” She sighed, slumping a bit more against the wall next to Leon as she let herself fall into a sitting position on the ground. “Maybe I should start looking outside of town.”

“You haven’t already? The campus is pretty far from here, so that’d fix the whole ‘knowing your brother’ problem.” He hummed, sincere if not a little amused by her sulking.

Claire pursed her lips, glancing to the statue in the center of the lobby. Leon tried to follow her gaze, unsure of what they were looking at. “Yeah, I know but…I was thinking of moving back after I graduate.”

Leon blinked. “Wait- back to Raccoon? Seriously?”

That was certainly news to him, but all she gave was a half-hearted snort. “You could be a bit more excited, you know.”

He shook his head quickly. “Hey, I didn’t mean it that way! Just that…hm.” He took a minute to piece together the right words, and Claire was patient enough to wait.

“Raccoon always felt too small for you, you know?” He finally settled on, sliding down to sit on the ground next to her. “You think so much bigger than the people here, and the rest of the world is way larger than you’re thinking…” He bites down on his cheek. “…You’d starve sitting around in this old neighbourhood.”

They both sat in that for a minute. He wanted Claire to stay of course, he loved hanging out with her, but her brother could play the bad cop well enough for the both of them when he found out. He should at least try to be a good friend about it.

She turned back to him, smiling. “You’re real honest, Leon.”

He smiled back. “I’d be a pretty shit cop if I wasn’t.” He wasn’t quite sure how sincere was too much in this situation, so he settled with putting a hand on her shoulder. He could be a little cheesy this once. “Don’t rush back here before you’re ready, okay?”

She laughed. “You got it-”

There was a quick knock against the wall next to them and they both immediately looked back towards the breakroom. Another female officer leaned against the doorway, raising an eyebrow. “Any chance you’re planning to come back to work today, Kennedy?”

Claire furrowed her brow. “Come on, Jill! I just got back and he misses me-”

“I do not-” He protested.

Jill sighed, her brow relaxing a bit when she turned to face Claire instead. Leon couldn’t help wishing he got that nice a look when he was in trouble with her. “Then you two can catch up all you want when he’s off the clock.” She replied flatly. “Or he could just skip, since he’s already ten minutes late to his shift.”

Leon jumped up. “You- Why didn’t you tell me I was late!?”

He quickly scrambled to pick up his holsters he’d unstrapped during the break. Jill grinned. “Get jogging and Marvin might not notice.” God, she was definitely enjoying this. He turned to Claire, buckles half done, and she waved him off. “Go! I’ll meet you by the front desk.”

Without more than a quick nod he raced down the stairs, vaulting over the poor receptionist’s desk as he bolted down the east hall.

Turns out buckling while running wasn’t too easy as he maneuvered past a few rattled officers, desperately working at his holster clasps. From the corner of his eye, he could see a crowd of them huddled into the press room, sorting paperwork amidst each other with worried glances.

A lot of guys for a Raccoon City case…

He barely avoided more cops funnelling out of the other end of the east office as he finally managed to stop his holster from falling. From there it was two more turns without any clasps to slow him and he pushed through the fire escape doors, breathing in the crisp fall air outside. Summer was coming to a close.

He hadn’t realized how smoggy it was in the city until he moved here, and he still found himself taking those deep breaths to remind him of it every time he went out.

He hopped down the fire escape two steps at a time, holding a hand over his eyes as he stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the station. Rays of sun previously blocked from the alley shone down over the city around him right on cue. It took him a minute to adjust to the brightness; then another to remember which direction his patrol actually was today.

“Stupid weekly rotations…”

He turned to the left, crossing his fingers, and started walking. Luckily he guessed right, and Marvin wasn’t too far from the corner, talking with someone by the convenience store. The older officer was quick to notice him. “Leon!” He called, giving a quick wave. He seemed to wrap up his conversation quickly after that, walking over to meet the rookie halfway.

“Took you a bit to get here, huh?” He hummed, resting his hands on his belt. “Valentine said you might not notice.” Leon admitted. Marvin smiled. “Oh, I don’t miss too much, I can assure you.” He leaned a bit closer. “Luckily I haven’t filled out any paperwork for this shift yet, so we’ll call it on time enough, yeah?”

God, Leon loved this job.

The two began their patrol, most of the regulars giving Marvin a wave or pausing to greet him. With how long he’d been working in Raccoon (at least eight years from the stories he’d heard) and his proud ‘Officer of the Month’ award he keeps by his desk, it was pretty clear that everyone in town really loves Marvin, but it made a lot of sense after working with him for this long.

Every time they went out there were at least three people saying hi, sometimes a catch-up or two with old friends, and once he’d even gotten a free umbrella during his patrol when they were hit by a surprise rainpour. He was also nice enough to share it with Leon, which only made him feel bad for being jealous about not getting one himself.

“It’s good to see you, Marv!”

“You too Mr. McAllister!” He called back, turning to Leon. “I’m thinking we can speed through patrol today, get us off fifteen minutes early if you don’t mind walking fast.” He was already moving a little faster himself, and Leon was quick to match so they were back in stride, nodding. “I can keep up.”

He didn’t even have to do these patrols being a lieutenant and all, but each Friday Marvin would sign up for the same route; giving the same hellos, chatting up with the same people, etc. Apparently, he’d always enjoyed the routine. When Leon had been told about it for the first time he worried that he could mess that up for Marvin by tagging along, but within a month he was smoothly implemented into the process and had grown to love the pattern just as much.

Specifically the next part of it.

Marvin paused, glancing over to the sandwich shop shoved between the large boutique and the rental building like he did every Friday. “You hungry, Leon?”

He quickly nodded back, having skipped a good amount of his lunch break chatting with Claire. Then Marvin smiled, fishing into his pouch for his wallet. God, Leon loved this job.

______________________________________________________________________________

“Hey, Marvin, can I ask you something?”

He paused, midway through a bite of his grilled chicken sandwich, and raised an eyebrow. He held up a finger as he finished chewing. “...Sure thing. What’s on your mind?”

“You don’t usually change things up on Fridays. Why’d you want to finish early?” He asked, fiddling with the crust on his turkey club. Marvin looked out towards the street from their table, setting down his sandwich and leaning back a bit in his chair. “You don’t have to answer; I was just curious, I guess.” Leon quickly added, adjusting in his own seat. The lieutenant shook his head. “I don’t mind, really. I’ve actually been itching to tell someone.”

Leon wasn’t hiding his curiosity well, apparently, because Marvin was laughing before he’d even started to answer. “It’s not that exciting, really! A few relatives drove into town on Wednesday, and they wanted to have a little get together to celebrate.” He took a quick sip of his coffee, and he seemed…brighter, somehow. “Knowing them the party’s going until at least six tomorrow, but I thought I could drop by early and surprise them. Not to mention that little Nia’s gonna be with a sitter for tonight so everyone can ‘cut loose’. I want to see her beforehand.”

Leon’s eyes widened. “Wait, your kid? Or-”

“No no, not mine.” Marvin chuckled. “My sister lived down in Stoneville for a bit, but she and her husband moved upstate a few years back. Had a daughter.” He sighed lightly. “I’ve only heard her through phone calls. She’s four now, so they felt comfortable taking her with them to visit…I don’t want to risk missing her, I guess.”

Marvin was still smiling, excited no doubt, but he was gripping the mug pretty tight; nail tapping quietly against the porcelain…he’d barely looked up since mentioning his niece. He wants to make a good impression, huh.

Without a second thought, Leon stood up from his seat. “Come on, then.”

Marvin blinked. “I- You haven't even finished your sandwich. There’s no rush to-” Leon shook his head, already wrapping it in one of the napkins. “If we relax we could finish fifteen minutes early.” He stuffed the sandwich into his pouch, looking back to Marvin. “But if we rush we could finish with twenty.” Marvin paused for a second, taking a minute to understand.

Then he gave another of his usual smiles and begrudgingly packed his own sandwich as well. “You’ve got me there, Leon.” He admitted, downing the last of his coffee and dropping a 20 on the table. “Let’s get going.”

______________________________________________________________________________

As the two turned back onto Ennerdale, the large RPD building looming above them, Marvin gestured for Leon to pause. “I’m just gonna have a chat with Chris so he knows we’ve wrapped up. You mind waiting here?”

“It’s fine.” He assured. “Not like I’d be much help convincing him.”

Marvin offered him a sympathetic look, but didn’t dispute it. It was well known around the precinct how much the two but heads. Instead he gave Leon a quick pat on the back and headed inside, leaving him to…watch the street? He didn’t have much of an idea what to do while he waited, so he settled for leaning on one of the fence posts and watching the cars. He wasn’t sure what he’d do until his shift ended either, since Claire was planning to drop by when he was supposed to be off duty. Maybe he’d text her once Marvin was back?

“Bet Chris would put me on overtime if he knew…” The idea was a little funny, Chris puffing smoke from his ears as he met up with Claire by the lobby. Still, it was probably for the best that he stayed unaware of their plans later. He didn’t particularly like Chris, but he really didn’t like angry Chris-

“…Sorry to bother you, but could you help me?”

He’s quickly yanked out of his thoughts by the voice, taking a half second longer than usual to catch up to the question. Right, he’s still in uniform.

Leon looked up from the street, then even higher to face the man in front of him…and it was as if everything hushed around them. A sudden shift in the breeze.

The guy was wide, boxy even, with broad shoulders masked in an already thick jacket. He was just tall enough that he overshadowed the sun’s light behind him, and for a split second as a car zipped by, blocking them from view, Leon couldn’t see much else but him. He was also holding a crumpled town map.

“I can’t figure out where Central Station is, but I’m pretty sure it's close by…”

His voice was slow, holding each word just a bit longer than comfortable. Like he wasn’t prepared for the question. Then he’d look down to the map. His hands would flex with each emphasis, jerkily pointing to the spots that confused him, and he’d look up with this…odd stare Leon couldn’t quite describe.

“Uhm- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I can find someone else-”

He quickly shook his head. “No no, I can help!” He assured, glancing down to the map. “Sorry- I’m, uh…I’m just a little distracted today.” Hopefully he could wrap this up quickly and save them both a longer awkward encounter. “Where’d you say you were headed?”

The man pointed to the RPD icon at the top of the map. “I’m looking for Central Station, but it’s not on here. Someone else said it’s by the police station.” He glanced back up again with that weird, glassy stare and Leon cleared his throat. “Pass me the map for a sec, I’ll walk you through it.”

He nodded quietly, and Leon carefully took the map from him. It was a bit ripped at the edges, folded in from some kind of spill, and as he ran his finger down Ennerdale towards the station it seemed the path stopped right at the street corner behind them. He gave an understanding sigh. “I see the problem. This map is only covering uptown Raccoon City.” He passed him back the map, reaching into his pouch. “You’re looking for downtown, behind us.” He grabbed one of the napkins from the sandwich place, skimming through a few of his pockets for a pen. The man seemed to understand what he was looking for and reached into his own jacket, pulling out a red one. He held it out quietly.

“Thanks, uh…”

“James.” He finished, and despite a name usually bringing a more casual shift, it almost goaded the tension. Not enough to breathe danger, but…like a line was crossed that you weren’t supposed to. The kind of thing you’d apologize for and avoid the next time speaking.

Leon took the pen and got to work scribbling. “…Okay, so you’re gonna skip the alley and turn left from here, which’ll lead you down towards city hall, yeah?” He glanced over to James for confirmation, who gave a stiff nod, leaning down a bit to watch him draw a shaky box to mark it. “Turn left again so you’re behind the station, then a right once you hit the big fork in the road halfway around.” He put an X down on the wrong side just to be sure James didn’t forget. He seemed a bit…spacey. “…Where’d you get that old map anyways?”

The larger man furrowed his brow, but otherwise remained still. “...Got it when I entered town.” He replied, voice clipped. Leon paused.

“Weird that you got one from there. They haven’t used these old things since the town merged.” He mused, unfolding the napkin a bit to continue his line over the crease. About halfway through the stroke he could see James reaching a hand out towards him just out of the corner of his eye, his hand instinctively pausing its work again. Waiting.

…But he only placed it on the fence behind them to lean a little closer, giving a small hum in response to the question, and Leon decided it was best to drop the subject. Not his problem James had an old map. “-Anyways, you turn right and keep going straight.“ He gave a little dab of the pen for emphasis and offered a tiny smile. “It’s at the end of the street. Can’t miss it.”

James glanced down to the crudely drawn map again, slowly taking it into his hands. “It’s close.” He pondered, trailing his finger over Leon’s drawings. It felt almost invasive as he dug into the lines, stopping with a harsh tap on the red dot. Then he looked up again. “…Could you lead me there?”

Leon looked over to the front doors of the station. Marvin was taking a bit, but he didn’t want him to wait up if he showed James the way.

Still…it wasn’t too far. He’d rather not get this guy lost with his scribbled map if he could help it.

“I guess I-”

“Got the okay from Chris!” Came a shout from the stairs. They both turned to Marvin as he made his way towards them, and James took a quick step back. “It took a bit to find him, but he said we’re good to go.” He announced, giving a pat to Leon’s shoulder. Then he turned to James. “Oh! Haven’t seen you around before, have I? I’m Lieutenant Marvin Branagh.” He held his hand out. If there was any discomfort as the two shook hands, he didn’t show it on his face.

“...James.”

Marvin smiled over to Leon. “Looks like you were hard at work while I was gone, eh rookie?” He teased. Leon looked over to James. “He was just looking for directions to Central Station, so I was gonna show him the way.” He replied. Marvin nodded, turning to James as well. “Well, that's in the direction of the car park, isn’t it? Why don’t I take you?”

James shook his head. “It’s fine. I have a map now.” He quickly pocketed the napkin, and Leon chose not to mention the contradiction as he left in the direction Leon had pointed him towards. Odd.

Marvin turned to Leon. “Well, I’m gonna head out now. You need a ride anywhere?” Leon smiled and shook his head. “I’m good, don’t worry. Gonna be meeting Claire around here in a bit, anyways.” He assured. That seemed to be enough for Marvin, and he gave Leon’s hair one more ruffle before heading off towards the parking lot. Leon didn’t let the smile drop until the lieutenant turned the corner, and he was already yanking his phone out of his pocket as he slipped into the station to drop off his uniform.

By the time he’d reached the locker rooms his gear was already half-off, and his phone barely managed two rings before Claire picked up.

“For someone who says he doesn’t miss me, calling during your shift is-“

“Shut up, I got off early.” He interrupted, yanking off his shirt and throwing it in the vague direction of his locker. “But more importantly, I just spoke to the weirdest guy-“ He heard a groan from the other end. “You couldn’t wait to meet him until I was there to pick you up? If he was cute it’d make up for prying into my date.”

“Did you miss the part where I said he was super weird? Trust me, he wasn’t gonna be your type.” He sighed, pulling on his jacket. “How about you take us out for drinks, and I give you the entire story to make up for it?” He didn't hear much over the phone for a bit. Just shuffling and the occasional clank. “You still there?”

“Just grabbing my keys. This had better be worth those drinks, Kennedy.”