CONTENT WARNINGS: slight angst, death, Gore, and more.
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The car pulls up in front of your parents' hotel. That's right. They own a whole hotel. And a rich one, too. You all live in the penthouse on the top two floors. You move to step out of the car, but Leon stops you quickly, shaking his head.
"Don't. I'll get out first. Make sure it's safe. You stay here." He speaks, and you nod, leaning back in your seat. You watch as Leon exits the car, looking around the area with his gun held out, making sure the area was safe enough for you to come out.
You get out when he nods at you, quickly making your way over to him as he leads you inside the hotel. He keeps his gun held high, using his flashlight as the sun was starting to set and the room grew darker.
"Come, we'll take the elevator. It's direct. No unnecessary fight along the way." You speak, tugging on his jacket, making him turn to you and nod. You lead him to the hidden elevator behind the front desk. You move to press the button when Leon quickly stops you, stepping forward with his gun before clicking the button, watching the elevator doors with high alert.
The two of you watch as the doors open slowly, almost in slow motion. The creak echoes through the empty area, and you can tell that Leon is feeling the same stressful tension you are. When the door finally opens fully to reveal nothing, you both let out the small breaths you didn't know you were holding.
"C'mon, let's not make this any longer than it needs to be." He speaks, leading you into the elevator, lowering his gun as the doors close behind you.
You don't need to press any buttons as the elevator went directly to the penthouse, slowly moving up along each floor. The silence in the enclosed box was comfortable but filled with a lot of thoughts. Your mind was moving at a million miles per second, and it was starting to feel like the walls were shrinking in on you.
Screams echoing through your mind, Lola's bloodied and pained face scarred into your mind. You couldn't pull it from your brain. Every time you close your eyes, even just a blink, your brain will flash the newly made memories through your mind like a movie at its fasted speed.
Leon spots you shuffle and shift, playing with your fingers as your eyebrows furrow in pain.
"Are you alright?" He asks, kicking himself lightly as he realizes he'd never thought to ask before now, then again. It was a stupid ass question anyway. You're obviously not okay. No one would be after what you went through.
But, he watches as you place on a mask, smiling up at him lightly and nodding.
"I'm alright. Just shaken up." You speak, and Leon would've believed it if he wouldn't have known what you went through. Deciding not to push it further in case he upsets you, he nods, moving to face the front as the elevator nears the floor.
He softly grabs your waist, pulling you behind him and your furrowed eyebrows loosen at the gesture, your trust in him growing. He lifts his gun with one hand, the other in front of you, to make sure you stay behind before the doors open.
You're met with a dark and empty hall that leads right to the open plan living room and kitchen. Leon moves his hand to grab out his torch before looking your way.
"Do you know if anyone was here?"
You shake your head. "We have a maid and chef, but she's usually gone by now, and I don't know if he came today." You speak, and Leon nods, keeping his gun up just in case.
You both slowly inch down the hall, entering the living room and looking around. The light from outside left the room in a dim shade. You let your eyes adjust to the dark room, looking around. You could see almost everything, not clearly, but you could see the silhouettes and shadows.
It was completely silent. So silent that you could hear eachothers slow breaths. Both you and Leon listen out for anything, and he quickly stops when you hear the sound of flesh gushing. That's definitely a sound you didn't like. It sounded like someone had chopped up a body, threw the softest parts in a bowl, sprinkled it with some extra guts and blood, and started mashing it with their hands. It was well and truly the most disgusting thing you've ever heard in your life.
Leon slowly walked into the kitchen area as that was where the sounds were coming from, slowly walking around the island. You follow behind him, looking over his shoulder before gasping lightly as you spot the maid on the floor, her legs missing.
"Monica." You whisper. She was basically your mother. The emotional support you needed that your real mother wasn't available to offer. She helped you with your homework and sneaked you an extra cookie from the cookie jar that was hidden on the top shelf. She was there your whole childhood. Seeing her like this was heartbreaking.
Her head snaps towards you, making you jump, and Leon shoots it down almost immediately, the gun shots screeching through the room.
Leon looks at you, his eyes soft, checking you for any sign of harm.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
You nod, staring down at the corpse, unable to tear your eyes away from her. Leon seems to notice because he quickly steps in front of you, placing his gun back in his waistband. He leans down so that your eyes connect with his instead of the dead maid.
You blink a few times, your breaths slow, but shaky, staring into Leon's eyes, tilting your head as you notice that there was a spec of green swimming in the blue. You smile softly, even in the dim room. You could still see his gorgeous eyes.
Your smile falters when you spot a shadow looming from behind Leon.
"Look out!" You scream, pushing him out the way, the zombie tackling you to the ground making you yell and kick, trying to get it off of you. You hear a loud bang before the zombie collapses on top of you, making you scream at the heavy feeling. It's quickly pulled off of you, and you're pulled up to your feet.
"You idiot! What were you thinking?!" Leon yells, looking over your body with a harsh frown on his face. "Why did you push me?! Do you know how reckless you were just now?! You could've died y/n!" He continues to look over your body, spotting nothing but a few bruises.
You flinch at the angry tone in his voice, making him step back slightly, his gaze softening.
"I'm sorry, Leon. I wasn't thinking, I just saw it and didn't know what else to do. I didn't want you to get hurt, I'm sorry." You whisper, looking down at your former chef as he lay dead on the ground, a bullet hole between his eyes.
Leon sighs, shaking his head softly. He felt bad for yelling, but you shouldn't have done what you did. He doesn't know what he would do if you died. Leon's eyes widen slightly as the thought crosses his mind. This was foreign to him... he's never felt that way about any of his other missions.
Leon steps forward. "Y/n, I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around, okay? So don't try to push me out of the way. I appreciate you saving me, but I would've had it under control." He speaks, and you nod, making him sigh and rub his temple.
"That was all of them, right?"
You nod.
Leon nods back before jutting his head to the side. "C'mon, let's go get you washed and changed. We'll leave for the farm in the morning when, hopefully, everything has died down a little." He speaks, and you nod before walking off to your room, Leon following behind just in case.
When you make it to your room, you grab out some more comfortable clothes from your closet and drawers before turning to Leon.
"I'm going to have a shower. Feel free to do whatever until I'm out." You mutter, and Leon nods before watching you walk off into the bathroom.
While you're in the shower, Leon uses this time to look around and get to know you a little more. He spots a record player in the corner of your room, vinyls scattered along the fluffy rug that's laid out in the same area. His eyes shift over to your dresser, spotting a photo of what looks like younger you clutching a small teddy bear in your right arm, a bright smile on your face as you hold up your left arm to show a bright pink cast, a small blonde girl with a sad, tear stained face, holding up her left arm with a matching blue cast. Leon chuckles lightly to himself at the sight. Only you would be smiling at a broken arm.
He walks around the room some more, looking over the different books you had, laid out on a shelf, seeming to have a taste for romance. Leon let's his eyes trail to your bed, the sheets messy and pillows scattered, showing that you'd either been in the rush this morning or you just couldn't be bothered making it.
Something else catches his eye on your bed, making him step forward and grab it. He flips it over to get a better look, and a soft smile covers his face as he realizes it was a teddy bear. The same one you were holding in the photo. You must have had it since you were a child and kept it all this time, even sleeping with it still.
"Cute." He mumbles before flinching as the door to the bathroom opens once more, his head snapping in the direction spotting you standing there, a towel wrapped around your body making him help lightly as he alerts his eyes away from you.
"I see you've met Bear." You speak, stepping forward with a tiny smile making Leon frown and look at the teddy bear.
"Bear?"
"That's his name. Little me didn't know any other names except my own, so I called it what it was, haven't changed it since." You shrug, and he chuckles before placing it back on your bed neatly, making your smile widen slightly.
"I'll uh, I'll let you get changed." He mutters, and you nod before he slowly exits the room, closing the door softly behind him.
You get changed into the clothes you chose, looking around the room as you do so, but instantly regretting it as you spot the photo of you and Lola the day after you broke your arms. You smile softly, walking over to the frame and picking it up, looking over the photo, memories flashing through your mind.
Your laughter and Lola's cries echo in the back of your mind. She was so mad at you for making her chase the lizard. Lola was a lefty. Having her dominant hand broken was like the end of the world for Lola because even at the young age, the girl loved to write and organize plans for herself, and without her writing hand, she was unable to do that.
You walk over to your bed, bringing the photo with you as you sit down, a frown falling upon your face. You couldn't help but blame yourself for what happened. If she hadn't pushed you out of the way, she would be alive and fine right now. The zombie was coming for you. Not her. She didn't have to die.
She didn't have to turn into one of those... things.
The door softly opens from behind you, and you flinch, quickly wiping the tears that found a way to sneak past your eyes before turning to meet Leon's gaze.
Leon tilts his head lightly, stepping forward as he lets the situation sink into his mind. You were upset. And based on the photo you were holding, that was the main reason. Leon wasn't very good at talking. He usually just did what he thought was right, no words needed. But this was much more difficult than any other mission he's ever been on. This involved talking.
"Are you... okay?" I asks, wincing slightly at the same stupid question he asked in the car. You're obviously not okay. You're crying. And Leon's never said this to anyone before, and he probably never will... But you look pretty when you cry.
But just like the car trip, he watches you place a mask upon your gorgeous face, Blanding a fake ass smile in there and nodding to him.
"I'm fine. Leon, look." You gesture to yourself, forcing his eyes to look over your body. Not that Leon minded. "Only a few bruises. They'll fade." You shrug, and Leon lets out a huff, shaking his head. He couldn't tell if you were trying to shrug off the subject or if you were just plain dumb... probably just shrugging off the subject. But your answer was not the one he was seeking.
Leon lets out a small breath, sitting on the edge of the bed next to you, placing his hand on your shoulder. "Y/n..." He mutters. "That's not what I meant."
You clench your jaw, not wanting to talk about it yet. It was too fresh in your mind. Shaking your head and shrugging him off. "I'll be fine. It'll go away."
Leon shakes his head.
"No. It won't." He mumbles, looking down at the ground. "The scars on your body will fade over time, but the ones in here?" He brings and finger up and pokes your temple softly.
"Those don't go away as easy." He whispers, and you look up at him, letting his soft eyes melt into your brain, getting the best of you. And before you know it, you're letting out soft sobs in front of him.
"It was my fault." You whisper, looking down at the photo, tears dropping along the glass protecting the picture behind. "I couldn't save her."
Leon furrows his eyebrows in sadness, watching you become completely and absolutely vulnerable in front of him. You were fragile. Only a few things needed to be said and done, and you'd break. Different from the mask you keep on for the media to see. They see a strong, independent woman who needs nothing but herself and can think and act without any help at all.
But Leon sees different. Leon sees a broken little girl hidden inside of a great warrior. A woman who was afraid to make connections with people because she's worried they'll never show emotions like her parents. A woman who was just as scared as any other person in the world. A woman who forces herself to push through things that she doesn't always want to do. You're stronger than him. And he envys it.
Leon quickly brings you into his chest, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and shushing you softly.
"It was coming for me. She didn't have to die." You whisper, and Leon softly brushes his fingers through your hair. He's never done this before. The whole comfort thing. But he's seen enough movies to know a little bit of how it's done. Right now, he was acting on instinct, though he didn't mind the feeling of you in his arms.
"It wasn't your fault, Y/n. There was nothing you could've done." He whispers, placing his chin on the top of your head, allowing you to cry into his shirt, not giving a shit about the material that was starting to get wet.
You stay silent, just crying in Leon's arms, allowing him to hold you as you shake from both fear and sadness. You don't know why you trusted Leon to hold you like this. You weren't really a tocuhy person, not even Lola was allowed to hug you. But this... this felt right.
Leon feels your sobs die down to soft breaths, and before he knows it, you've fallen asleep against his arms. Leon smiles softly, holding you for a little while longer so you fall into a deeper sleep before placing you down like a balloon on a pile of needles, careful not to wake you up.
He pulls the covers over your body, grabbing the teddy bear and placing it closer to your side with a soft smile. He watches you snuggle yourself deeper into the comfort of your bed before slowly sitting on the ground next to you, deciding to stay just in case you wake up scared or another zombie decides to come.
He leans against your bed, facing the door as he checks his handgun using one hand, the other hand relaxing behind him on the bed close to you. Right then and there, Leon decides that you're his number one priority. Now and after he accomplishes his assignment. Because he'll be damned if he doesn't stay with toy after all of this. Not after the way you've made him feel.