Work Text:
The moment you enter to the bookstore, you feel like home.
It could be the mix of vanilla and freshly brewed coffee you smell, or maybe it’s the soft instrumental music playing in the background, exactly the same one you usually hear at home when you spend hours and hours reading.
You’re so excited that you can’t help but squeeze tightly Leon’s hand.
“So…” Leon starts talking, not being able to stop looking at you. You’re completely absorbed, focusing on the walls, the shelves packed full of books surrounding you... “I think that's it. We’re finally at the bookstore,” he smiles, even though you’re not looking at him. “I think my job here is officially done.”
“Wait, what? No, no… stay with me,” you blurt out, stumbling over your own words. “So, you know… you get the full experience of being a reader's boyfriend, and I get to feel like I’m inside a romance novel… and all that stuff. You know...”
“Know exactly what, love?”
You roll your eyes. When you turn to look at him, he’s smiling. And way too much.
“Oh, come on…”
You take Leon's hand and head toward a nearby table stacked with romance books, the kind your boyfriend knows you absolutely love.
“Great,” he says. “You lead the way, Mrs. Bookworm…”
Leon watches you closely as you analyze everything in detail. How you pick up books and flip them over to read the synopsis. How you show them to him while saying things like “I really want to read this one” or “I already read this… in two days.”
And Leon knows everything you tell him. Of course he does.
Even if he’s not much of a reader himself and usually sticks to reading RPD reports or the occasional news article online, he knows your reading habits like the palm of his hand. He knows which exact books are on your wishlist, the last one you finished, the next one you’re planning to read, which one you had to DNF…
“No way!”
That book.
You see it out of the corner of your eye. It’s the book you’ve been wanting to buy for ages. The one you could’ve ordered online, but promised yourself three months ago you’d only buy it if you found it in a bookstore.
The small squeal you let out startles Leon, who rushes over to where you are, a little worried.
“Oh my god. Look how pretty it is, Leon!”
Leon glances at the cover.
The Risk, by S. T. Abby.
“Isn’t that the first book in that series you’ve been talking about a lot lately?” he asks. “The one you got really excited about when they announced they were making a series because they got the rights, or something like that?”
“That’s the one, yes!” you say, clearly thrilled. “God, I’ve wanted it for ages…”
“Before or after we started dating?” he smiles. You glance at him, which only makes him smile more. “Do you have now an hyperfixation on cops stories just because you’re dating one?”
“The main character is a killer,” you say, playing with the book in your hands. “A serial killer who kills… because she needs revenge. But yeah, there are also cops and that stuff…”
“So, a serial killer…” He raises an eyebrow. “And what about that FBI agent? Logan? I think that's his name?”
You stare at Leon, and your eyes wide, surprised.
“How do you—?”
“Come on, you’ve talked about the story a lot,” he says, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around you. “And you’ve also had FaceTime calls with your friends talking about the plot… Not to mention how much you've fangirled about that Logan…”
“Leon!”
“It looks like I’ve got competition, huh?” he says, pretending to be offended.
“No. Not even close. Don’t you dare think that,” you reply quickly, turning to face him. “I like you more. Way more. God, Leon... I love you. I can have fictional boyfriends, and trust me I have plenty,” you admit, smiling shyly, “but my real boyfriend beats all of them by far. Not many girls can say that, you know? You're... the perfect boyfriend. Really.”
Leon lowers his gaze, blushing, clearly embarrassed.
He doesn’t answer.
You feel shyness creeping in too after that confession. You wait for him to say something, anything, even if it's just a simple okay, but he keep quiet. Of course he does.
You sigh and try not to overthink about it. You try hard and to not assume it means something bad. You know Leon's shy, and that opening up emotionally isn't something easy for him.
You let it go and pretend to read the synopsis again, even though you know it by heart, just to avoid looking at him.
It’s the first time you’ve ever confessed your feelings to Leon. It’s nowhere near how you imagined doing it, but there’s something about it… that you like. You liked it, actually, even if it still makes you blush hard and be ashamed of yourself.
You bite your tongue, silently cursing yourself.
“Well…”
You clear your throat, forcing yourself to lift your head.
You’re surprised to find Leon already looking at you, though he drops his gaze to the book before looking back at you again.
What surprises you even more is that he speaks before you keep talking:
“Are you going to buy it?”
You stay quiet, thinking about an answer.
You can’t deny that you want to, but... it’s a limited edition, and honestly, too expensive. And you know that if you buy the first book in this edition, you’ll have to buy the other four in the same edition...
You work as a babysitter twenty hours a week, you sometimes help an elderly woman clean her house… and you also walk a few dogs. That's basically working to make ends meet and barely have money to pay for the rent of your apartment, so...
There’s no way you can afford those books, no matter how much you want them.
“I think I’ll but it in a couple of months when…”
You're about to put the book back on the table when, to your surprise, Leon grabs your wrist softly and then takes the book from your hands.
“What are you doing?” you ask, surprised and confused.
“Buying it for you,” he says casually as he heads straight for the register.
“No, no, Leon... Don’t you dare!” you rush to go after him, trying to take the book from his hands to put it back where it was. “Seriously, I’ll buy it myself once I’ve saved up a bit. You don’t have to—”
“Do you want it?”
You look away, playing with your hands nervously.
“Well… But...”
He takes your chin and gently forces you to look at him. Once again, that damn half-smile that drives you crazy is there, with those stupid lips of his slightly curved.
You swore he'd drive your crazy one day.
“Love, really, don’t lie to me. Do you want the book?” he asks again.
You nod, very shy.
“Great. Then let’s grab the rest of the series. I’m buying it for you.”
Your eyes widen.
Saying you’re surprised doesn’t even come close. And on top of that, guilt immediately starts creeping in.
“What?! Leon, no, seriously...”
You nearly trip trying to catch up with him to stop him from grabbing the rest of the books. It’s impossible: he already has them all. In those damn special editions you know are expensive.
“You can’t buy me five books just because—!”
“Oh, can’t I? Why not?”
“Because it’s too much money!” you shoot back.
Leon laughs and waves a hand at you, telling you not to worry.
You do worry, of course. Even if he’s not as tight on money as you are, his RPD salary isn’t exactly made for splurging on five books at once.
“Besides, you already spend way too much time around criminals, killers, and crazy people” you add. “I don’t think it’s a good idea that now you have to stand your girlfriend obsessing over the same stuff you work with. Not to mention how much you'll have to listen to me yap nonstop...”
“I have no problem with that, really,” he replies as he hands the books to the cashier, greeting her politely. “You know I’m very much happy to listen to you yapping about whatever you want.”
“Leon…” you mutter under your breath, finally giving up as you watch the woman scan the books.
Your stomach twists when you see the total climb to $85, but Leon doesn’t seem to be bothered at all. He pulls out his credit card and pays without hesitation, still chatting casually with the cashier.
All you do is take the paper bag with the books when Leon hands it to you, that fucking smile still on his face.
“I wish there were more boys like you, son,” the woman says to Leon, looking at both of you fondly. Then she turns to you. “And you, enjoy the books and your boyfriend. He’s one of the good ones. Don't let him go.”
You nod shyly as Leon says goodbye to her.
“You want me to carry it for you?” he offers, pointing at the bag.
“No, it’s fine—”
“Really, I don’t mind. But it’s ok, I get you want to carry it. I love it when you're this happy.”
He slips one hand into his pocket and places the other on your back, a little shyly, guiding you toward the exit. Once outside, he carefully wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you closer so you don’t bump into anyone on the crowded street as you walk back to his apartment.
You look at Leon and wonder how you could ever deserve someone so attentive, thoughtful, and so… perfect.
Moments like this are exactly why it’s sometimes hard to believe Leon Kennedy is really your boyfriend.
“Knowing you, I’m guessing you’re going to try to convince me to do a buddy read of the series with you,” he says. “Am I wrong?”
“You have to at least try to read them… please,” you say, grabbing his arm and pouting. Leon kisses your forehead. “I know you’ll fall in love with Logan. Or Lana. Or both.”
“The wonderful FBI agent and the amazing serial killer…”
“Avenger,” you correct him. “I already told you. She gets revenge on people who—”
“Are you about to spoil the book and still expect me to read it with you?”
“But that’s literally the beginning of the first book!” you protest.
You can’t help it but be excited. It's not only because Leon bought you all five books, but because he’s genuinely interested in them… and actually seems willing to read them with you. As... read. Leon, who never reads any of your books, but still seems interested about them.
Jesus.
He really looks like one of those book boyfriends.
“You know,” Leon says, “I’m kind of curious what it’s going to be like for you to read a book about things I deal with on a daily basis.”
“As far as I know, you haven’t dealt with a serial killer yet. Or have you... and you just didn’t tell me?”
“Are you a serial killer?”
“Leon!” you smack his arm.
“I’m kidding!” he says quickly, clearly amused. “But just promise me something: even if you read about that perfect agent, I’ll still be your favorite one.”
“Well…”
Leon stops abruptly, forcing you to stop too.
You look at him and see his brows furrowed and his arms crossed dramatically.
You know he’s doing it to make you laugh. Of course, it works.
“You’ll always be my favorite cop,” you admit, standing on your tiptoes to leave him a quick kiss on the lips. “And my favorite person in the whole world,” you add, taking his hand to start walking again.
“You know what?” Leon says. “I've been thinking for a while that you should write a book.”
“What?”
“I’m serious. You love writing, and honestly…” he hesitates. “As arrogant as this might sound, I think you’d write the main male character based on me.”
You laugh.
“Bold of you to assume I’m not already doing that.”
“You... What?”
“I didn’t mean to tell you yet since it was a bit of a surprise, but…”
“Wait, are you being serious? Or is this other one of your jokes?”
“Do you really think so?”
Leon goes quiet, processing it.
“Are you really writing a story… about me?”
You laugh again, take his hand, and lace your fingers with his as you lean against his chest.
“Oh, Leon… if you only knew how much I’ve talked about that story, that's about us, with my friends... I haven’t written much yet, and I’m not totally sure about the plot or if I'm good enough to write it, but…” you smile softly. “I think you might like it.”