FOREVER, PRETTY BOY → leon kennedy ✔

seven

CHAPTER SEVEN
what makes a home.

...

When Lucky opened her eyes, she was home.

"Weird." She murmured, shaking her head gently. "I... was on a mission." Or... so I thought, I guess.

Lucky looked around. She was sat at her kitchen table, and the room was just as she'd left it. That was such a strange dream... I thought I got to see--

There was a loud bang from upstairs, making Lucky jump. She reached for her gun, but her hand grazed a soft fabric instead. She was clad in joggers and a hoodie, definitely not the tactical combat outfit she'd been wearing just earlier. Her weapons were nowhere to be seen.

Lucky rose to her feet and hurried to the utensil drawer, where she knew she kept really big knives. With a weapon in her hand, Lucky felt ready to face whatever was upstairs. She already knew the quiet, squeak-less spots in her staircase, allowing her to move up completely silently. When she made it upstairs, her room was the first on her right. The door was open and, with a quick look, she determined nothing was in there.

The next door across was a closet stacked with extra blankets and various other extra items.

There was the upstairs bathroom, which was different. In the toothbrush holder, three extra brushes glared at her. Perhaps she'd forgotten to throw the old ones away.

The last door was... not how she remembered it, either. What was supposed to be a guest room seemed like it was no longer, as the door was decorated with stickers of various designs, from cartoony spaceships and stars to trees and bugs. Two names were wildly stuck on, letters wobbly and uneven. Inside, she could hear laughter and all the fear inside her died away. She set the knife to the side, knowing she was safe, and reached for the doorknob.

The old wood creaked as it swung inwards, revealing a room filled with smiles and glee.

She knew she only recognized one person inside, but a big part of her knew the other two already.

The names and stickers and laughter suddenly made sense.

This was a kid's room, and Leon was sprawled out on the floor as the kids ran around him in circles. The trio noticed the door opened and all stopped, the kid's eyes going wide.

"Mommy!"

Shock was like an icy claw digging deep into Lucky, chilling her right to the core. Her hands began to shake as the kids ran towards her with giant smiles. One, then two, she caught them as they jumped at her, and lifted them into the air. She was still shaken, but the warmth and familiarity of this moment was easing her initial shock away. She propped the kids on her hips as a smile finally worked itself onto her face.

A family.

Leon sat back on his hands, gazing up at her with nothing but adoration in his eyes. Before she could ask, he spoke up.

"So... is this what you always hoped for?"

The question was odd, like an outsider looking in had asked it. Lucky's eyebrows drew together in confusion towards the man.

"Of course it is, as long as it's with you."

Lucky wouldn't have said anything if she knew it was going to prompt this dream to end, but the world began to fade as soon as the words left her lips. They were true, of course, but she desperately wished to never leave the perfect moment.

She had seen her dream come true, and now it was dissolving around her.

Leon seemed to notice her panic because he let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. "Give it time, Lucky. We're not going anywhere."

She couldn't speak anymore, though she wanted to. The room was mostly faded away, and it took only a few more seconds for Leon to vanish into the black.

Of course, something like that could only be dream.

...

Lucky woke up for the second time, and this time she was in an environment that made sense to her. The escape pod was dark around her, conserving as much energy as possible on their way back to the United States, so her eyes took a moment to adjust.

She shifted, blinking, and realized her head was resting on something that wasn't exactly pillow material. In fact, it was a pretty shitty pillow. When she looked over and saw Leon, it made sense.

"Good morning." He faced her, smiling, and Lucky tried not to get lost in those icy blues. She instead reached up and touched his hair, admiring the gorgeous shades of brown that danced in the low light. The kids from her dream had the exact shade.

His breath hitched and Lucky smiled.

"Looks like someone needs a brush--"

"Hey!" He gasped, dramatic, and Lucky laughed. She sat up fully, letting her laughter dissolve into a yawn.

Then, Lucky shrugged. "It's okay, I'm sure we both look a little worse for wear. Near-death experiences tend to do that." She then turned to face the front, where Shen Mei was, and fought to ignore the claustrophobicness of that tiny pod. "So, how far out are we?"

Shen Mei shrugged, not bothering to look at the ravenette. "Half an hour, maybe. It's nearly noon."

"I was out that long?"

"Well, we haven't gotten good sleep in at least a full day, and you got even less since you couldn't manage it in the sub. So, I believe it isn't too concerning." Shen Mei shot Lucky a sly grin, making her roll her eyes.

"Helpful, thanks." She rose to her feet, forcing her knees not to shake, and moved to the controls. Leon wasn't far behind. "So... how are we going to deal with Wilson and Jason? Both seem like hefty opponents."

"Jason first," Leon stated, sure of it, "We can always expose Wilson when the president and everyone else attending are safe. Jason is the biggest current threat."

He was right, so the girls agreed and the plan was fleshed out minutes later. Having worked in very similar situations before, Leon and Lucky worked together near flawlessly... as long as they got along. Now that tensions weren't high, their bond really became clear.

Shen Mei swore she was listening, but she couldn't entirely focus. She watched the pair work, listened to how their plans flowed together or built off the other. They were great alone, but seemingly unstoppable together... and she couldn't help but see herself and Jason.

She hoped she could save him from himself so they could feel like that.

An unbreakable bond, built on shared experience. Love seconded to nothing, it was all she wanted.

"If we can, let's try not to kill Jason... please."