𝑳𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒚| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 2

Drawing You Closer

AN: This is another request which I've tried to follow, but I did change a few minor details.
Features Vendetta Leon.
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Leon POV:

The harsh cold of the morgue is nothing compared to the absolute numbness that takes over when I finally see all of the black body bags. Once these bodies were alive, fighting alongside me and expecting to go home at the end of the day. But now they're here. Dead. And I'm still alive.

I keep my head up, staring straight ahead and focused on paying my respects, until I spot one body bag open slightly. I stop, frozen to the spot, wondering why I keep fighting when this is and has always been the end result. There's never any saving anybody, it's always ended in death and chaos. Breaking the silence ahead of me one body bag suddenly thrashes, deathly groaning echoes and I don't even think at this point. Grabbing the gun from the back of my jeans I point and shoot more times than I need to. It falls with a thud, stilling and once again I'm alone.

I always have been.

Why do I keep going?

My phone rings, after a few moments I pull it out and see my wife is calling me. A sarcastic huff falls from my lips. I guess the universe really does work in weird ways.

Reader POV:

I'm sat on the sofa watching some Disney movie whilst my seven year old daughter is perched between my legs on the floor, drawing on some paper I got from Leon's office earlier. She's humming to the music as she goes, lost in her own world. I smile down, watching her. She reminds me a lot like Leon, not just her beautiful blue eyes, but the way she's so focused and determined.

I pull out my phone, seeing the time and that Leon should've been home by now. I decide to call him, my mind already thinking of a million different scenarios. I wait, my daughter turns to me and I give her a thumbs up, she nods and goes back to her work as my knee begins to bounce. Come on Leon.

Finally, he picks up.

"What?"

I raise my brows. "Hey, are you alright? Will you be coming home soon to help me but D/N to bed?" I ask, but all I get is a low grunt in reply, followed by;

"I'll be back soon."

With that he hangs up. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to be okay for our daughter's sake, now isn't the time for me to throw a fit or breakdown because he snapped at me. Besides, he's allowed to have bad days, even if they are coming more and more frequently.

"Is daddy coming so I can show him my picture?" Our daughter asks me softly, biting her lip as she holds up her art. It's of all of us, happy and in front of the house, there's even a dog next to us and a sun in the corner.

"Yeah sweetie, he'll be home before bedtime. You can show him that beautiful picture and we'll stick it on the fridge." I lie, hoping Leon doesn't make me look like a fool.

He pushes it. I skip dinner and only feed our daughter, then mere hours after she's putting her pyjamas on ready for bed. At this point I'm biting my nails, knowing Leon's alive is a bonus, but not knowing what's up with him has my nerves frayed. I'm just about to put our girl to bed when Leon finally comes home, looking heavy with emotion and carrying a suspicious brown bag that rattles. He walks past me without a 'hello' and sets the bag on counter as our girl comes rushing in, holding up her art.

"Daddy! Look what I made for you!" She excitedly says.

Leon doesn't even look at it. He pats her head, then hums. Her face falls, she looks genuinely crestfallen and my worry turns to anger. I don't snap though, not yet. "Come on sweetie, let's get you to bed. Go brush your teeth whilst I talk to daddy." I softly say, smiling encouragingly at her. She nods, eyes watery.

As soon as she's gone I round on Leon, crossing my arms. "You could've tried to at least look at her picture!" I hiss, "What's gotten into you?"

Leon stares at me, but internally he's worlds away. Without a word he breezes past me, heading to the bathroom. I shake my head, then pick up the parenting for both of us.

Leon gives me the silent treatment until bedtime. I wake up alone, and already know this routine. Leon's had a nightmare, but instead of waking me up like he used to, he's gone to deal with it on his own. Considering how he's been acting today I'm guessing something really bad has happened, but I'll never know until I get it out of him. Silently I pad to the kitchen, where I find Leon leaning against the kitchen counter, glass of amber liquid in hand and a near empty bottle beside him.

My concern grows. "Leon, talk to me. Don't shut me out on this." I try, walking to him and placing my arm over his. He shakes me off, downing his drink and pouring another. I purse my lips together in annoyance, I feel so helpless and confused. "Please, tell me what's going on, I can't help you if you don't talk. You never used to be like this."

That last sentence riles him up. His shoulders stiffen as he meets my eyes, then with deliberate slowness he downs his drink once more. My anger rises, "Stop wallowing in yourself, just spit it out and be done with it," he goes to walk past me but I grab his arm, "You're being a coward."

Leon immediately spins around, hand out as if he's going to slap me. I flinch, then milliseconds later he completely stills. We both are practically statues, until my eyes follow his hand to see he was actually going to grab another bottle of alcohol from the shelf behind me.

When my eyes meet his own, I see they're wide and full of emotion.

Betrayal. Shock. Fear. Guilt.

Tears fill my eyes as he slowly, so slowly, lowers his hand and sets his glass aside. I'm shaking like a leaf, gripping the counter behind me so hard my nails hurt. Leon hesitates, then steps forward and wraps his arms around me, smelling faintly of cigarettes and strongly of drink. I notice he's shaking too, as he repeatedly whispers "I'm so sorry," mixed with "I'd never hurt you, you're safe with me. Fuck, let's sit you down."

He guides me to the sofa, where I all but fall down with Leon beside me, cuddling me to his chest as I cry. Eventually when the tears stop he pulls away, then gently links our fingers together. I sniffle, weak and weary. He reaches out, a shaky hand brushes my drying tears as he begins to tell me about his day. About his team. About their deaths. About his guilt. About how some didn't stay dead, and that even in the morgue they still haunt him.

I'm quiet through it all, squeezing his ringed hand when he needs me. Nodding as he talks and opens up to me. I try to understand, but still..."I wished you'd opened up sooner. I've been so worried about you, and I know you've got a habit of handling things on your own, but I get so scared for you, I haven't even eaten today from feeling so sick. Let me and
D/N support you, please stop trying to deal with it all on your own."

Leon nods, both of us coming to an understanding together. I feel a little relieved, and don't flinch when Leon presses a small kiss to my lips. "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll be a better father to our little girl, and I'll be a better husband to you. I'll start by cooking you something, yeah?" Leon murmurs.

I smile, looking at the time. "It's three in the morning, it's too late to cook. Just make some cup noodles, okay?" I softly say. Leon nods, kissing my head then disappearing for a few minutes then he comes back with steaming noodles in hand for both of us.

We sit together, snuggled and devouring our food quickly until Leon pulls out our daughters drawing from his pocket. He stares at it as I finish my meal, then I set the empty pot aside and climb into Leon's lap, wrapping my arms around his neck as his own hand snakes around my middle.

"I want our life to be like this drawing, I want us to all be happy and not have to worry about each other all the damn time. I swear I'll be the man you both deserve, it might take a some time, but I promise I'll give you everything I have to not let you down again."

"You never let us down Leon, you just forgot that you can lean on us too." I whisper, pressing my palm over his heart, forgiving him completely and having absolute faith in him. He turns to look down at me, stroking my back as I rest my head against his chest, kissing his throat as he's quiet once more. I glance up a minute later to see his eyes are closed, and he's holding the drawing to his chest with one hand, his breaths becoming even.