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You were more than happy being a teacher in Raccoon City.
Now that you had finally achieved your dream, the only thing you wanted was everything to flow perfectly, but there was a problem... a few, actually.
Your anxiety, your constant need for perfection and, of course, the strict routine you needed to have every single day.
However, the worst of all that was, with no doubt, everything related to socializing. It wasn't a problem for you to talk with your students or their parents, no: it was with the rest of the teachers and, especially, with Leon Kennedy.
You had no reason to be shy around him. He wasn't only the teacher of the other 2nd grade class, but also he started working at the school the very same year as you.
At first, you thought your relationship would be calm and strictly professional, but reality was far from that.
Leon was your complete opposite.
He was the definition of chaos walking. He radiated lots and lots of confidence, and definitely had that charm that made kids believe he was a real-life superhero. Sometimes it felt like that, tho.
Despite everything, and despite yourself, you tried your best to keep a strictly cordial relationship with him, but… it was impossible, really.
When you wanted to do a collaborative activity related to biodiversity, with perfectly structured exercises adapted to the curriculum, Leon would take your students out to the playground.
If you thought it would be a wonderful idea for your kids to write a short essay about Christmas, Leon would put on a movie because, according to him, “they’d have time to write later when they became messy and stupid teens.”
And, as if that wasn't enough, Leon had the annoying habit of calling to your classroom phone several times a day with ridiculous questions:
“Hello?” you answered as calmly as you could while continuing to supervise your students, who were coloring.
“Finally you dare answering me!” Leon shouted from the other end of the line. You rolled your eyes because you had answered on the first ring, as always. “Hey, I'm going straight to the point, so quick question… do our students need their parents permission to go out?”
“Go out? You mean going out... as recess? Lunch time?” you frowned.
“Yeah.”
“No, Leon, the kids don’t need authorization to go out to the playground during break. It’s mandatory,” you added pointedly.
“Awesome, thanks! By the way, did you know the hold music while you answer is super cute? You know, I thought you should know because it’s as cute as you and—”
You hung up before Leon could keep talking.
The next day, the same thing happened: Kennedy called just to ask whether necessary had one “c” or two. The day after that, to ask if the coffee in the teachers’ lounge was free, or if he had to pay for it.
He'd been working there for four years. He had to know it was free, especially since he was the teacher who had more coffees than any other.
It was never anything serious. There was never an emergency or anything like that. It was simply… Leon Kennedy asking you the stupidest questions in the world.
However, you always made an effort to answer the phone, trying to calm your anxiety while giving him a quick and convincing enough answer so he wouldn’t keep talking to you, only to hang up afterward as quickly as possible.
You were perfectly aware that you could ignore him, but the truth was that this sort of routine, one you had never consciously established, had become your favorite moments of the day.
And, for Leon, too.
Leon knew how you felt about him… and about any kind of interaction with any of your colleagues. He knew how shy you were and that, sometimes, talking to other people made you a little anxious.
He noticed it in concrete moments, like when you nervously played with a pink pen covered in butterflies and glitter every time you had to speak during staff meetings, or when, during the Christmas performance, and just before you went out onstage with Leon and both of your students, you excused yourself saying you felt like you were going to throw up… something that wasn’t entirely an excuse.
In Leon’s eyes, you were the brightest person he had ever known. The way you taught, how much you cared about your students, the way he caught you looking at him when you thought one was seeing you…
Leon knew that being so insistent could have the opposite effect on you, but as much as he wanted to take a step forward in your relationship and maybe be your friend, the last thing he wanted was to make you feel uncomfortable, or pressure you into something you didn’t want.
So one day, Leon decided it was best to stop calling you.
The first day Leon did that, you found strange that the phone didn’t ring. At first, you thought it was a good thing since you were more relaxed, but as the hours went by, you realized something was missing.
Someone.
The day felt endless, and your mood hit rock bottom. And, as if that wasn't enough, Art class turned into an absolute disaster. Worst of all is that, no matter how hard you tried to calm your anxiety and think of alternatives to calm your kids down as soon as possible, you didn’t know how to manage it.
It only took a few minutes of your students working on their own, making animals out of papier-mâché while you graded some math tests, for the classroom to turn into complete chaos.
You looked up and saw everything.
Paper strips everywhere. Hands were covered in glue, leaving sticky trails behind them. You even watched a container of blue paint fall to the floor and spread quickly.
The cherry on top was when, having no other choice, you decided to phone Leon to see if he could bring you a mop... only for you to find out the phone line seemed to stop working.
You sighed and looked toward the door that separated your classroom from your colleague’s, realizing you had no choice but to admit to yourself you needed help. Urgently.
Without saying anything to your students, and without taking your eyes off them either, you took a breath and shyly cracked the door open.
You saw Leon sitting on his desk, waving his hands around dramatically while his students stared at him, full focused, as he seemed to be telling them a story.
“So there I was… standing in front of a goat, after having lost my parents. And you know what happened next?” he says, pacing theatrically and opening his eyes wide.
“What happened, Mr. Kennedy?!” the children shouted.
“The goat ate the sandwich my mom had made for me for the trip.”
The classroom burst into laughter.
You couldn’t help it: you laughed too, stopping the moment the familiar wave of embarrassment washed over you at the thought of having to interrupt the class just to ask Leon for help.
You couldn’t walk in there like nothing was wrong, and—
“Well, well! Look, kids, we have a surprise guest!”
You went pale. The other seventeen second-grade students suddenly turned toward you, looking at you with huge smiles on their faces, as if they were staring at an alien.
Then they began chanting your name and quickly going over you to hug you, forcing you to step fully into the classroom.
Leon hopped down from the desk and walked toward you, arms crossed, wearing a smile that, if you were being completely honest with yourself, you'd missed a bit.
“What do I owe the pleasure, Miss?”
You clenched your fists, knowing you had no choice but to tell him.
“Well… I need your help,” you admitted softly.
Leon blinked. Completely caught off guard, he says nothing at first and, instead, turns to his students.
“Alright, buddies. I need you to be very good and very quiet for a moment while I help our favorite teacher, alright? I’ll be right next door, so if I hear even one scream, I’m taking away Friday snacks and movie time for a month. Deal?”
A collective gasp echoed throughout the classroom, but Leon didn’t need to say anything else. Immediately, all the kids returned to their seats, pulled out the children’s book you were reading together, and started reading.
To your surprise, not a single sound followed.
“You lead the way.”
You obeyed, but it was you who ended up inviting Leon into your classroom.
The moment he stepped inside, he was left speechless, his eyes slowly scanning the room from top to bottom.
“Wow…”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to say anything that I don't know already,” you sighed.
Leon turned toward you, trying not to laugh.
Of all the chaos, what shocked him the most was a child whose t-shirt was glued to his chair, completely covered in glue, and the fact that three desks were entirely coated in the same blue paint that had been on the floor. And, as if that wasn't enough, the stain you’d seen minutes earlier had not only spread across the floor, but also onto the clothes, faces, and hands of most of your students.
And then, just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, you noticed the worst part.
A group of girls was standing nearby, whispering to each other around the hamster cage you kept in the classroom… and it was empty.
“So…” Leon lowered his voice. “Tell me the hamster’s in the cage, sleeping, and not because he might have escaped…”
“Well, it seems he’s somewhere in the classroom,” you admitted, deeply embarrassed. “The problem is, I don’t know where, and there’s only half an hour left before the day ends…”
“Are you telling me there’s a fucking dwarf hamster running around and you don't know exactly where?”
“Are you going to help me or not?” you snapped, desperate, shooting Leon a deadly glare. “Look, Leon… there’s barely any time left before we have to leave, and if I don’t dismiss the kids exactly on time, and in the exact same condition they arrived, you know their parents are going to lose their minds…”
“Relax. No problem. Got it.”
You had no idea what was going through Leon’s head, and much less how he planned to help you. You tried to relax and give him a chance... even you didn't trust him.
But, to your surprise, he definitely did.
Leon divided the children into small groups and assigned them simple tasks: going to the bathroom to clean up, helping search for the class hamster (who was found almost immediately, curled up into a tiny ball beside a cabinet), and putting away the materials you had used that day.
And, as if that wasn't enough, he didn’t just take his own class, but also yours, out to the school exit when the bell rang so you wouldn’t have to face unwanted and dramatic questions from crazy parents wondering why their children looked like they’d just returned from a jungle expedition.
The bell signaling the end of the school day had rung half an hour ago, and you were fully aware that most of the teachers had already packed up and gone home.
Leon probably had too. Of course, he didn’t have to wait for you, you knew that, but he hadn’t even stopped by to tell you your students had made it safely back to their parents.
For a reason you understood all too well, that disappointed you a little.
You sigh, trying to push away those thoughts and expectations that shouldn’t matter that much. Instead, you focus on the pile of papers on your desk, the art supplies that still hadn’t been put in their place, and the paint that, no matter how hard you tried, you simply couldn’t get off the floor.
You take a deep breath, doing your best to calm yourself and start with the simplest task: putting away materials and picking up tiny scraps of paper from the floor.
“You know school’s over for today, right?”
You turn toward the door. Leon's leaning against it, arms crossed, his sleeves rolled up. He drops his backpack onto the floor and, without saying anything else, he walks over to sit next to you and to help you pick up the papers.
“I— I didn’t hear you come in,” you admit, surprised.
And I wasn’t expecting you to come back, you think to yourself.
“That’s because I’m stealthy like a ninja. Kiddos tell me that all the time,” he smiles, glancing sideways at you.
Leon continues working in silence, helping you arrange the classroom.
Thankfully, after a while you work together in complete silence, it's no longer the disaster it had been just an hour earlier. Now, the desks are neatly grouped in sets of five, classroom materials are finally in their places, and, to your surprise, the stains had disappeared completely.
“You should go home,” Leon says, standing up and offering you his hand so you could do the same. You accept it without hesitation.
“I just need to finish tidying this up a little bit more…”
“Or you could not,” he interrupts.
You let out a small laugh, the first carefree one of the day. You were nervous, and also exhausted. Leon'd noticed it.
“I want to make sure everything's perfect for tomorrow,” you admit, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.
“We managed not to kill a hamster with almost twenty kids running around and stopped the paint from reaching the walls, and you’re telling me you still want to make sure everything’s perfect for tomorrow?”
“Well… yes,” you reply, lowering your gaze as you nervously bite your lip.
“For God’s sake, how can you be so adorable…” Leon realizes what he had just said, and that it might make you uncomfortable, so he clears his throat and quickly corrects himself. “I mean... adorable in terms of your passion for teaching and all that… That’s what I meant, yeah...”
Stop fooling yourself and be honest with her, Leon.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s that, but…” you try to say, your cheeks turning completely red.
“Right, yeah, but... is there anything else can I help you with?” Leon asks, smiling.
“Excuse me?”
“I said if there's anything I can help you with,” he repeats more slowly.
“Well… honestly, there’s no need for you to—”
“I know,” Leon interrupts. “But I want to help.”
You stare at him. You were so used to helping others, but not to having help offered to you, so... this was kinds new to you.
“What’s left to do?” Leon insists gently, stepping a little closer but still keeping his distance.
“If you want, you can put the exams on the desk into those folders, the ones over there,” you finally say, giving up and pointing at said folders.
“Alright then, let’s get to it.”
“But really, Leon, you don’t have to—”
“If you tell me one more time that I don’t have to help you, I might have to punish you.”
You burst out laughing, a sound that felt like pure medicine to Leon. Your coworker couldn’t help but smile, and for the first time that day, you don't feel like a complete failure.
You work, again, in complete silence, letting time pass as you finished organizing everything. It takes longer than expected, but when you finally finish, you collapse into your chair and start checking your email in case a parent had decided to make your day even worse with a complaint.
To your surprise, the mailbox was empty.
What did surprise you, however, was Leon coming back to your class with two mugs of hot chocolate and a bag of candy... which, to your even greater surprise, were your favorites.
“Here,” he says, offering you one of the mugs as he sets the bag on the desk. “You were so focused that I didn’t want to interrupt by saying I was leaving. And, well… I also wanted to cheer you up a bit. Hope you like the not so big surprise.”
You thank him silently with a smile. As soon as you taste the chocolate, it feels like a real victory after a day as bittersweet as this one. At the same time, you close your laptop, put it into your bag, and you see that Leon has turned his chair to face you.
“Is something wrong?” you ask, worried, noticing that Leon's looking at you in a way that felt a little too… strange.
“Nothing. You’re just… you.”
“What do you mean with that?”
Leon clears his throat, not sure of what else to say.
Instead, he shakes his head and decides to take the step forward and do what he had promised himself ever since he started working with you: to try to get a little more closer with you.
“Tell me about your teaching philosophy,” he says finally.
“Excuse me?” you hesitate. You don't understand where these sudden, awkward changes of topic are coming from.
“Come on. I know you have one. You take this job too seriously to not have some kind of ritual or system to make sure everything turns out perfectly…”
“Except for today,” you reply.
Leon says nothing. He knows how much you would keep beating yourself up over it. So, instead, he takes a chocolate from the bag he’s brought you, unwraps it, and places it beside you.
You accept it with no complains, smiling back at him.
“Well… I guess I want them to feel safe,” you begin hesitantly. “I want them to know that no matter what happens, it’s okay to make mistakes or to fall short sometimes… That they know I’m there for whatever they need, and that they can become great people someday.”
“That’s incredible,” Leon says slowly, being impossible for him take his eyes off you.
“It’s not that big of a deal…”
“Of course it is,” he replies. “You care about them a lot, don’t you?”
“More than you could imagine…”
“It shows. A lot, actually.”
“Really?”
Leon nods, playing with his mug.
“You’re always the first one to arrive, and I swear you’re the last one to leave. You come up with the most original activities, and at the same time you try not to die in the process... although today was kind of the opposite,” you both laugh. “You want to be perfect for them and give them the very best version of yourself.”
“Is that a bad thing?” you ask cautiously, tensing up a little.
“Not at all,” Leon replies immediately. “But sometimes I think you should stop being so hard on yourself and let yourself be guided more by whatever… well, whatever flows naturally.”
You're about to tell him that was exactly what you're trying to do every single day, but he keeps talking:
“You’re a great teacher. You don’t have to prove that to anyone but yourself, okay?”
Something tightens in your chest.
You aren't used to hearing that kind of praises, and much less from a colleague.
Or maybe you've never allowed yourself to let anyone acknowledge your hard work because you've always thought it never had been, wasn’t, and never would be, enough.
You keep talking with Leon about a bit of everything, growing more comfortable with him as time goes by. The hours slip by, and among questions about how you both became teachers, what had motivated you enough to dedicate your lives to it, and how you had ended up in Raccoon City, it was suddenly 7pm.
You glance at the clock and immediately stood up. Nervous, you being taking your stuff in a hurry. Leon stands up too, worried about you.
“Is there something wrong?”
“I should go now…” you say as you grab your backpack and slung it over your shoulders. “I have to catch the bus before it gets too late. It’s the last one of the day and—”
“Wait,” Leon interrupts you. “You take the bus home?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“At this hour? This late?”
“I’ve been doing it ever since I moved here.”
“And no one’s offered to drive you home? Not even to carpool?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course it is,” he replies. “From now on, I’ll take you home.”
Your eyes widen, surprised by the proposal, and you start to feel a little nervous.
“Leon, really, there’s no need for you to—”
“I’m not going to argue with you,” he cuts you off. He grabs his backpack, takes your hand, and gently leads you out of the classroom.
“I don’t want to be a burden…” you admit, making sure everything was in order as you walk out the classroom.
“You think you’re a burden just because I want to take you home?” he asks, stopping in the middle of the hallway and looking at you. “I’d be a pretty shitty friend if I let you go home alone on the bus, especially this late with all those drunk pervs going around.”
Friend.
“Come on,” Kennedy says again. “It's okay to ask for help…”
Leon notices you're shivering, and not knowing whether it was from the cold or from nerves, he puts his jacket over your shoulders.
You don't say anything else until you reach his car. You keep quiet even even when you sat down inside after Leon opens the door for you and turns the heater up full blast.
“So…” Leon breaks the silence as he places his hands on the steering wheel. “Where am I taking you, Miss?”
“Do you want me to guide you the whole way?”
“Are you expecting me to magically know the route? Who do you think I am, Harry Potter?”
“Right, sorry…”
Embarrassed, and already starting to overthink whether Leon might be judging you, you limited yourself to giving him directions.
“The recently built area. I like it…”
Leon parks the car fifteen minutes later in a small empty spot in front of the apartment building where you live. Then, he turns toward you with a smile, resting his arm behind your seat.
“It’s really quiet,” you add. “Which is great when I have to grade papers or when I want to read.”
“Oh, so you’re one of those?” Leon asks teasingly.
“One of what?”
“One of those teachers who reads all the time.”
“Leon, we’re teachers. Of course I read all the time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I mean if you read for fun,” he corrects himself. “Do you read dirty books, or inspirational ones that tell you how to be the perfect teacher?”
You can't help but roll your eyes as you lightly hit his arm.
“I read for fun.”
“Which confirms that you totally read those filthy books where everyone’s having sex all the time…”
“They’re romance novels, Leon,” you correct him, pointedly ignoring him. “The last thing I read was a romance novel… with a bit of erotica. Happy?”
“I knew you were a hopeless romantic…”
“I don’t even know why I'm telling you this…” you mutter, hiding your face between your hands.
Leon wants to reply, joke around with you a little bit more, but he knows today had already been a lot for you. The truth is, it was enough for him that you’d felt comfortable with him, and above all, that you’d opened up to him a little more.
Silence settles between you again, but neither of you dare to say anything else. Not even you, despite having yawned a couple of times and desperately wanting to get home, crawl into bed, and skip dinner altogether, make any effort to get out of the car.
You don't know why you were so hesitant to leave. It should’ve been easy: thank Leon, say good night, get out of the car, go into your building without turning back to wait for him to drive away.
But… you decide to stay there, hands resting on your thighs, thinking about how safe and, especially, how happy you felt for the first time in a long time.
Leon doesn't say anything either. Instead, he focuses on the streetlights, glowing brighter and brighter, while his fingers drums softly against the leather of the steering wheel.
To both of your surprise, you're the one who finally broke the silence.
“Well… I felt really comfortable today,” you admit calmly.
Leon turns slightly toward you, his fingers still tapping on the wheel.
“I was thinking that maybe…” you continue. You swallow, trying not to let nerves or embarrassment take over you. “That, if you wanted… we could do this any other time…”
A playful smile forms on Leon’s lips.
“What exactly, organizing a class and try not to die in the process?”
“No,” you say softly. Then, you look at him, shyly. “I mean… hanging out. Together. Outside of school.”
That catches Leon completely off guard, but he can't stop a wide smile from spreading across his face.
He wasn't expecting you to say that, especially not after such a chaotic day.
“Wait…” he murmurs, trying to find the right words. “Are you telling me that… you want us to spend time together? With me? And not during school hours?”
You feel like you’re going to die of embarrassment. You’re nervous and somewhat regretful, but since you’ve already come this far… you’re not going to back out now.
You clutch your backpack tightly, as if it were some kind of shield, shifting nervously in your seat.
“I mean… I felt really comfortable with you today, and I thought maybe we could do it again. You know... have a coffee, go for a walk…”
Leon doesn’t say anything. He just stares at you, not recognizing you and, at the same time, delighted that, with a bit of his help, you might have stepped outside your comfort zone… even though right now, comfortable is definitely not how you feel.
“Forget what I just said…”
You bite your lip and lower your gaze, not wanting to look at him.
Leon, however, couldn’t be happier in that moment.
“No way. I like your idea. Actually, I’m more than happy with it. I really want to.”
His voice is way calmer now.
You dare to look at him. His blue eyes, your favorite color, even though they make you inexplicably nervous, the kind that leave you speechless, are now doing exactly that again, but for a completely different reason.
You feel a tightness in your chest, a warm one this time.
“Hey,” Leon says again, gently taking your chin and making you look at him. “Since, from what I can tell, you don’t mind spending time with me…”
“Leon, please don’t ruin this moment…”
You half-close your eyes, instinctively leaning toward Leon’s lips. He doesn’t hesitate to close the distance, joining you in a kiss.
At first it’s soft, as if you’re both making sure it’s really happening. The moment Leon feels you sigh against his lips, something inside him clicks into place. His hand, still resting on your chin, slides to your cheek, caressing it tenderly. His other hand moves to your waist, pulling you closer.
You allow yourself to give in, unbuckling your seatbelt and leaving yourself completely at his mercy.
The butterflies in your stomach make you feel more alive than ever, and they tell you that you can’t let this opportunity slip away.
When you pull apart, Leon rests his forehead against yours, eyes still closed, trying to catch his breath.
“Tell me you didn’t do this by mistake, or because of one of those excuses people come up with after…” you whisper, still confused by what just happened, unable to finish the sentence.
“If it is, I just hope you, Ms. Perfection, don’t mind. But no… it’s not.”
“Then… what now?” you ask, your breathing still uneven.
“I love the idea of us continuing to make out in my car like two teenagers, but I think it’s already pretty late and we have to get up early tomorrow, so I was thinking something else.”
You roll your eyes, pulling away slightly and smiling.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. What do you think?”
“What?”
“Tomorrow’s Thursday. We have to go to school. Did you forget?” Leon explains, as if you didn’t know exactly what he meant. The truth is… you had forgotten. You’d been convinced tomorrow was Saturday. “If I pick you up, you won’t have to wake up so early to catch the bus.”
Your heart skips a beat. Yes, it’s a simple offer, nothing extraordinary, but you feel it as something more…
As if Leon really wants something more with you.
As if you matter to Leon Kennedy.
You shake your head, reminding yourself that you’re just coworkers… coworkers who kissed, but nothing more.
Leon notices your hesitation, so he calmly leans in and leaves a short but tender kiss on your lips.
“I know I don’t have to do this,” he assures you softly, close to you. “But I want to.”
“Okay,” is all you manage to say.
Leon's smile lights up his face.
“Great, beautiful. I’ll see you here at seven-thirty tomorrow. I know it’s not the case, but I have to say it anyway: don’t be late.”
You can’t help laughing as you get out of the car. Then you walk toward the building door, hesitant but determined, for once in your life, to stop being so perfect.
“Good night, Leon,” you say softly. “And… thank you. For everything.”
“Sleep well. And don’t dream about hamsters and school disasters.”
“Don’t worry. I think tonight I’ll dream about a pretty nice blond guy. I have a feeling you know him, but… I’ll tell you tomorrow.”