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You and Leon had been sent to an abandoned hospital that was being used as a cover for a secret bio weapon lab; however, somehow the lab had gotten word of your arrival before you had even entered the town, since the place was empty, only a few mutated animals and vials of who knows what remained. The two of you quickly collected the leftover samples and killed any possible dangers to the public, giving you some extra time before the helicopter would come to pick you both up. Leon suggested resting for a bit since there was so much time before your evacuation, and of course, you agreed since he was your superior. Plus, spending some time alone with him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
You found a decently sized storage room and settled on taking a break there, it seemed safe enough. Leon followed you in, His normal stoic and unreadable expression on his face as he scanned up and down the hall, in case anyone, or anything, was following you. He shuts the door, which closes with a loud slam, and seems to pause for a bit, almost like he was frozen in place. You call his name quietly, hearing his breath quicken.
"Leon...?"
He didn't respond; instead, he just stood there frozen with one hand on the doorknob and the other limp at his side. You started to worry, was this some kind of prank... or a joke to scare you or something? You walk to his side, trying to get a look at his face through his blonde hair.
His lips were parted as he breathed heavily, his eyes looked distant and almost empty as you stared at him, wondering what was wrong.
"Leon, what's wrong...?"
You asked, becoming nervous as you thought of all the possibilities of what could be going on. Was he infected with something? Is he in shock from something? Is he going mad?
Your worry only grew when he didn't respond for a second time; you knew you had to do something now. Your hand unconsciously placed itself on his shoulder, like you were being compelled to... comfort him?
"Can you hear me, Leon...?"
You spoke softly as your hand rested on him. He flinched slightly, but didn't react more than that. After a few moments of you contemplating what to do next, Leon began to mutter something
"I-I tried... I tried to save them..."
Everything suddenly clicked in your head as he spoke. The sudden freeze after the door slammed, his slight tremble, the flashback-like speech, it has to be some kind of PTSD or something. You had heard of some former agents having this issue, but imagining Leon, one of the strongest and calmest people you knew, having something like that is nearly impossible to think about.
Even though you had an idea of what was wrong, you didn't have any training to deal with an attack like this. You let your instincts take over and began to rub your palm over his shoulder gently and spoke to him as soothingly as you could.
"Leon... It's okay."
You felt so shallow, not even being able to comprehend what he's going through in the moment, and giving the most basic comfort to try and help. You had always felt so helpful during missions, helping Leon fight off monsters and whatever else came to attack the two of you, but now it was like you were a ghost, just watching him unravel.
He was almost gasping for air now, bent over compared to his normal soldier straight posture. You let your hand travel to the space between his shoulder blades, rubbing small circles into his muscular back as he straightened up out of instinct. His eyes were glazed with panic as you continued to comfort him as best as you could, but you could see the tears that rested in his eyes, threatening to spill over and reveal a more fragile part of himself that he would never want anyone to see.
"Just breathe, Leon... you're okay."
You tried your best to stay calm and speak with all the confidence you could, hoping it would calm Leon. He finally glanced at you, the fear in his glassy eyes showing before he suddenly grabbed your free arm, holding it with a strong but ununiform grip, which showed a sort of desperation in him. You paused for a moment, unsure of what he needed, but you grabbed his hand, holding it firmly, and took a small step closer to him so that your shoulder rested underneath his own. You support him a bit as he tries to calm himself down, and you can hear his exhausting attempts to slow his breathing.
"Good... you're okay, Leon."
You said quietly, not being able to look away from him, even in such a fragile state like this, his handsome features glared at you, making a feeling of guilt pool inside you. You shouldn't be thinking of how handsome he is while he's having such an awful time, it was wrong... right? You shook as many of those thoughts out of your head as you could, focusing on what Leon needed and how he was doing.
Leon's breathing had slowed a bit, and he was looking at you more often, which was a good sign that he was finally starting to calm down and get a hold of himself. He closed his eyes and rested the top of his head against the door, letting part of his body weight rest on top of your shoulder.
After a few more minutes of rubbing circles on his back and some comforting words, he seemed to be better and more conscious of you and his surroundings. He glanced at you with a weary and almost ashamed look on his face.
"I-I'm sorry."
Leon said, a bit breathlessly. You wondered what he could possibly be sorry for; it wasn't his fault that he had gone through so much, or that it had scarred him to this degree. You shook your head and rubbed your thumb over his knuckles while you spoke softly.
"Leon... you don't have to be sorry."
He didn't look at you; he was embarrassed that someone had seen him in such a weakened state. He hated feeling weak and vulnerable, especially with someone who was young like you.
"I just- it's stupid..."
He said in a quiet voice that you had never heard before. He sounded tired and a bit broken, like his normal, confident self had been stripped away.
"It's not Leon... I know that you've seen a lot, really."
He didn't know how much you really knew about him; he just assumed you had mostly skipped over the story in his file. He almost felt a bit of surprise that you seemed to care about him and what he had been through.
"I- yeah... I just don't like being seen like this. Like I'm weak or something..."
Leon spoke with a sigh, feeling the toll that the PTSD attack had taken on his body. He still felt a bit shaky, and of course, he was exhausted now.
"I don't mind... I know how strong you are, Leon..."
You mumbled a bit, and he smiled slightly, enjoying the subtle compliment, even though strong was the last thing he felt right now.
He slowly turns his back to the door, sliding down and sitting on the floor. He pulled you down with him, half forgetting that his hand was still intertwined with yours. You obliged and sat down closely beside him, feeling the soft, glowing heat of his body next to yours.
He spoke quietly again, pulling you back to everything that had just happened, and back to the feeling of his thumb rubbing over your hand.
"Thanks... for helping me and everything..."
He says in a tone that was sincere but also embarrassed, he obviously never wanted anyone to see him like that, but deep down inside, he was glad you were there to talk him down.
"Of course, Leon."
You matched his tone, quiet with an acknowledgement of how he must feel after basically having a breakdown in front of you.
He stared down at both of your hands, his thumb rubbing in a slow pattern as he sorted out his thoughts, finally speaking again after a while.
"I-I'm glad it was you... that I'm with right now."
You felt a rush of warmth spread through your face and body, knowing that was probably the most intimate thing Leon had ever said to you, and probably anyone in a long time.
You couldnt help but let a small smile show on your face, glancing at him and seeing him smiling weakly too.
"Me too..."
You admit quietly, the silence in the room felt like a calm, slow breeze, where neither of you had to explain anything anymore, and as you sat in the silence of the storage room with Leon, for the first time in a long time, he realized he felt safe.