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Thunder rumbled outside of their dingy apartment. Lightning flashed what felt like every few seconds, making sleep unbearable once Leon S. Kennedy had been rudely awakened by its rattling.
Now he hides tucked away in the bathroom, a heavy quilt Luis insisted they needed thrown over his shoulders and the lights turned on. He was too afraid to sleep.
Leon has survived horrors beyond one’s imagination. He’s seen things that people shouldn’t have to see, and here he was, spending a sleepless night over a thunderstorm. It was pathetic. Claire probably wasn’t scared of storms. She was stronger than him.
Lightning flashed three times outside through the blinds. A few moments later the distant growls of thunder followed. Leon shuddered and leaned further back into the corner he had situated himself in.
He should be stronger than this. He should be braver than this. When he had gotten picked up by STRATCOM and dumped into boot camp, he was able to suppress his fear then. The thought of being humiliated by his unit was worse than what a storm could ever do.
Another flash of lightning lit up the dark sky outside. It was bright enough for it to affect Leon’s vision even with the bathroom lights on. Leon tensed, knowing what was about to come next. Twenty-seconds later the thunder followed, its explosive growls rattling the building and making Leon flinch and his breath hitch.
God, he was so fucking tired but he couldn’t will himself to sleep. Especially not after that. He just wanted to go back to bed with Luis but he didn’t want to risk waking the other man up.
Just wait it out. You’ve been through worse.
So he waited; sitting on the cold tile floor of his bathroom with the quilt wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Each flash of lightning made him tense and each clap of thunder shook him awake.
An hour had passed and the storm still wasn’t letting up. Another crack of thunder shook the building. Its ferocity was enough to pull a quiet whimper from the battered agent.
The violent nature of the thunder was enough to wake anyone out of their sleep, because the next thing Leon knew the bathroom door was opening and a half-asleep Luis was stumbling through the doorway.
“¿Mi vida? Estás aquí?”
He looked around for a second before eventually spotting Leon tucked in the corner. He blinked, not expecting to find his lover there. “Leon?”
The man in question felt heat rise to his face. How humiliating. Having his own boyfriend find him huddled in the corner like a child was less than ideal. Leon turned his head so that his bangs could hopefully hide the shame rising on his face.
“Sorry. Um,” Leon cleared his throat. “I got, uh, scared. Sorry.” He shook his head and started to get up. “Let’s just go back to bed, I’m sorr-“
“Oye, no,” Luis hurried forward before Leon could stand up and crouched to his height. “Deja de disculparte.”
He gently cupped Leon’s face who almost immediately sank into his touch. Luis angled his head so he could see his lover’s exhausted face. “Mi Leon… is it the storm?”
After a moment of hesitance Leon nodded. His gaze flicked away from Luis’ every few seconds. Being so open and vulnerable, especially in front of others, was almost as frightening as the storm outside.
Luis’ eyes softened. He brushed Leon’s cheeks with his thumbs in a comforting manner to soothe him. “Is there anything I can do?”
Leon shrugged helplessly. “I dunno.” He paused before leaning the weight of his head into the Spaniard’s hands. “‘M tired.”
“I am sure you are.” Luis agreed, his voice soft. More thunder rumbled outside, causing his gaze to advert briefly to the window.
“How about we go back to bed, hm?” He lifted his hand and brushed a fringe of Leon’s hair out of his eyes.
Leon blinked slow. The idea of crawling back into bed with Luis was tempting. It was warm there and safe, if he let it be, but the pelting rain and flashes of lightning kept him still.
“I don’t…” He hesitated. “I don’t want to see the lightning.”
Luis’ lips curled into a soft frown. “The lightning, huh?” He paused, that brilliant brain of his visibly thinking up something. “Wait here.”
With a soft grunt of effort Luis stands up and walks out of the bathroom, leaving Leon alone with his thoughts again. He pulled the quilt around himself tighter and stared off at nothing ahead of him. He couldn’t help but wonder what Luis was planning. He knew they had some eye masks stuffed in the closet somewhere from when Ashley got Luis a spa kit for Christmas, but Leon was dead set on not having to wear one of those. They were not only uncomfortable but also activated his fight or flight from not being able to see, automatically giving him a disadvantage if something were to happen in the middle of the night.
A few minutes later Luis comes back in the bathroom and crouches down again to take Leon’s hands. “You ready, Prince Charming?”
Leon can’t help but let out a soft huff at the nickname before letting Luis pull him up. When he walks out of the bathroom he at first can’t tell what Luis changed, but then he realizes that there’s a blanket hanging from the window in their room, acting like a blackout curtain to block the flashes of light.
“Oh.” He blinks, then feels sheepish at the treatment. “You didn’t have to do that, Luis. I could’ve handled it.” He heats Luis scoff behind him before the click of the light switch being turned off.
“You said you were scared of the lightning so I fixed it. Now let’s get to bed.”
Leon rolled his eyes but followed suit, throwing the quilt over his side of the bed as an extra layer of weight before getting under the blankets and curling into Luis side, resting his head on his chest.
The next crash of thunder came, causing Leon to shiver involuntarily. Luis took the hand that was resting on his stomach and squeezed Leon’s with it, tilting his head to kiss the blonde’s forehead.
“I wish I could do something to fix that.” Luis said softly, tracing small patterns into Leon’s shoulder in a comforting manner. Leon shrugged. “You can’t fix everything.”
A few seconds later the lightning came, but it was significantly darker than it was before the blanket got put over the window.
Leon presses his face into Luis’ collarbone. “Thank you.”
He didn’t have to look to know Luis was smiling. He could feel it and hear it when he spoke. “You do not have to thank me, Leon. I would do anything for you if it meant that you were safe.”
They shared their goodnight’s and I love you’s, and for the first time in a very long time, Leon slept peacefully through the storm.