SAVEGUARD ⟼ leon s. kennedy

xlvii. dumb blonde

ｌｅｏｎ

Leon has slept a total of five hours these past three days.

Three days ago he had to be strong enough for both himself and you, and leave.

He had left you with just a kiss on the forehead that lingered for way longer than it should have.

You had left him feeling like a part of him will forever be irreparably broken.

He knew he had to be strong all of his life, stronger than some people have to be in five lifetimes, but he would have never guessed that he possessed this type of strength; one that shattered him down to his very core.

The lack of sleep isn't ideal. It never is, because it fucks up most of his days, but starting a new mission when everything inside of him is broken is going to be difficult.

He's at the BSAA stationed just outside the city, the only one not yet infiltrated by Veltro. Chris and Jill are back from retrieving the voice recorders from the sunken ship, and even though it's been a couple of days since they returned, they're still recovering.

Leon read the case files. Jack Norman—the leader of Veltro—hadn't just disappeared. He had injected himself with many doses of T-Abyss, building up immunity. It had turned him into a mutated mess, and Chris and Jill had to take care of him, risking their lives yet again.

"Leon, you hearing me?" O'Brian says, tapping the table with two fingers. "Eyes up here. You're already late on this mission."

Leon nods. "Sorry. Just thinking about Norman."

"What about him?"

"Nothing special. Why was he hiding away in a sunken ship so long. How did he manage to live with so little oxygen in that room."

"Don't think too hard about it," O'Brian sighs. "You know none of this shit ever makes logical sense."

Leon is about to agree, when the door into the large meeting room swings open, and in walk in Keith and Quint.

"Yo it's Condor One in the flesh," Keith says, nudging Quint. He walks up to Leon and sets a large Styrofoam cup of coffee in front of him. "You look like you need this more than I do."

"Thanks. You're Jackass right?" Leon asks him, the smell of coffee instantly perking him up.

"Nope, I'm the one and only Grinder," Keith says. "That bald motherfucker over there is Jackass."

Leon suppress a smile. "You two saved our life. I never thanked you."

Quint pats him so hard on the back Leon doubles over. "Don't mention it, man. We're here to help your ass again."

"Good timing, I was just about to leave," Leon says.

"It's a goddamn shame Jessica turned out to be a double agent. I always liked her," Keith sighs.

"You just liked her tits," Quint says, plopping himself down opposite Leon.

"For your information, I'm actually an ass man," Keith replies, sitting next to Quint. "What about you, Leon? What's your poison?"

Leon doesn't know whether to laugh or tell them off. Are these two always so... Casual? He stares at O'Brian, expecting him to cut the banter short.

Instead, O'Brian says something that makes Leon want to cringe. "I'm old-school. Breasts all the way," O'Brian laughs.