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The faint sizzling in the air, accompanied by the smell of warm food, was such a comforting way to start her morning. Stirring from her cozy spot in bed, she opened her tired eyes with a yawn followed by a stretch, propping herself up on her elbows. She’d stayed up far too late last night, yapping Leon’s ear off to her heart's content. It was a miracle she was up so early; normally, she’d sleep in on her off days, catching up on the hours her previous missions had taken from her, but with the smell of breakfast, she couldn't miss out on that.
Sherry flopped back down in the comfort of her blanket—she’d get up in a little bit.
She glanced out the window beside her, and the steadily rising sun shone through a sheet of light grey clouds. She adored these kinds of mornings. The ones where nobody expected anything from her, and she could simply exist. It reminded her of when she was a kid, waking up on the weekends before anyone else, tiptoeing her way to the kitchen to make herself breakfast and watching cartoons in front of the TV.
She could hear her mother's voice still, ‘Sherry, you better not spill anything on my new carpet.’ She said it so often it was practically part of her routine. She wished she had more little moments like that with her mother; those memories were now blurs that would come into focus ever so often. She only had so many moments to look back on, with her parents always being out of the house, starting from as far back as she could remember.
One always stuck out, always the first one she thought of when she reminisced too hard. Her eighth birthday, waking up early to her mum and dad in the kitchen together, the rare occasion they weren’t bickering with each other or creating the next killing machine in a lab. Just them together, like any other married couple, while she watched from the corner. She could remember every little detail of that morning, the chocolate pancakes cooking on the stovetop, the perfume her mother always wore, the muffled pitter-patter of her socked feet stopping to watch from the wall.
It was probably the best from her childhood that she could remember.
She couldn’t help but tear up; It made her sad to know she had missed more experiences by being forced to grow up so quickly—forced to fill the role her parents couldn’t. She sighed, wiping her glossy ears with a sniff. Dwelling on the past would only upset her before she gave the day a chance.
She looked at her phone—8 AM on the dot. She slowly sat up. Stretching once more before her sad departure from her bed, she made her way down the hall, taking soft steps into the kitchen. There stood Leon, back to the entryway while he faced the stovetop, bacon sizzling in the hot pan in front of him. His dark blue tank hung loosely on him, obvious that he’d bought the wrong size and was too stubborn to exchange it.
He turned, hearing Sherry’s footsteps, his tired eyes meeting hers with a soft smile. “You’re up early.” His voice was low and tired, like he hadn't been up for long himself. “Says you.” She replied sarcastically—a trait he knew she’d picked up from him—pulling a huff of a laugh from his nose. “There’s coffee, if you need something to balance out your cup of sugar.”
The mention of coffee caught her attention before she could even register his remark, already making her way to the cupboard holding the mugs. She giggled as she noticed, setting the light blue mug on the counter.
“Okay, mister ‘dark-like-my-soul’, and how do you suppose the correct way to drink coffee is?”
“Usually with your mouth.” She didn’t even need to look at him to see the smirk on his face; her sense of humour fit his jokes nearly perfectly. “Oh, shut up.” Leon couldn’t help but laugh at her response—a true, honest laugh. As she rolled out the drawer for a spoon to scoop her, maybe too much sugar, she couldn’t help but think back to the last time she truly heard Leon laugh.
Sherry knew he’d struggled in the past; she’d struggled herself before, too. After all the world’s thrown at them, they still managed to keep that little sliver of humanity, through shitty jokes and early morning breakfast. It brought a warmth to her heart, a determination that it would always, at some point, get better afterwards.
She poured the coffee into the mug, steam wafting up in the air, Leon hummed behind her. “Have you heard from Claire? Said she’s in town this week.” He chimed in as Sherry stirred in the sugar to dissolve. “Yeah, she messaged me last night, actually. We should all get out. It’s been a little while since we’ve all gotten out together.” Leon hummed in response, nodding along; the knob of the stove clicked as he turned the heat off.
“Like a family reunion, go out and get lunch maybe?” She nodded, turning back to him and leaning on the counter as he moved the bacon from the hot pan to a plate on top of paper towels. “Or we can go on a shopping spree, your treat.” She ended with a giggle, pushing herself off the counter to make her way to the fridge for creamer. Leon couldn’t help but huff another laugh. “Yeah, and a new car to go with it?”
“Didn’t think about that, but since you’re offering..” She trailed off mischievously, as if she were genuinely considering it, leaving a smile on her face.
“You’re crazy, kid,” Leon responded, moving the used pan to a cool burner, opening the microwave to retrieve a plate of still-warm pancakes after.
“D’aw, but you love me.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
It was fascinating to her how Leon still managed to retain that gentleness in himself; how the stone-cold, killing machine of a field agent was so much more under that front. It made her think back to Raccoon City, before they were permanently wrapped up in all this mess, having finally escaped the hellish city that was keeping the three of them captive.
How young they all were, how carefree and oblivious to what the days ahead of them would bring.
She was just young enough not to really understand what was happening around her, and luckily, she was well enough protected from the creatures that trailed after them—remembering how she held each of their hands in hers, swinging her arms up and down with a skip in her step.
Even after losing both her parents that night, she gained the closest to family she’d get. She was brought back to the present, Leon moving the warm breakfast to the table. She followed after him, watching as he placed the last plate down, turning to hug him.
“Thanks for letting me stay over,” She mumbled, her head resting against Leon’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her in return. “I know we see each other nearly every day at work, but.. It’s different like this.”
“Anytime, Sher-bear.” There was that gentleness in his voice; the one he was so sure he’d lost all those years ago.
But not for her—never for her.