#serennedy demon au

[thestayathomedragon]

Not me up at 11 pm on a Monday night writing about Luis coming to terms with surviving a cult not once, not twice, but three times.

Leon (me) is doing a bit of research to try and figure out how to help him.

My poor sweet babygirl. He needs all the support he can get.

[thestayathomedragon]

WIP Wednesday

“This isn’t my body.” Luis says, a haunted looked on his face.

Leon remains silent. He doesn’t know what to say or what not to say. Luis has been teetering on the edge of something for weeks now and Leon is so afraid that the slightest misstep will send the other man into the abyss.

"As long as neither of you go poking at it…"

“My body… it’s still back there… somewhere. This one I’m in… it’s not mine.”

“Hey, hey… d-don’t think about that.” Leon started.

“Where did you get it?” Luis’s eyes snapped up to pin Leon to the spot. Anything he’d been meaning to say forgotten.

“Luis…” Leon sighed frustrated, and Luis flinched. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Leon, but he had to know. “I don’t understand. What do you want me to say?”

Luis doesn’t know either. So, instead he describes what it feels like. Like ill-fitting clothes. Made for someone else. They cover you just fine, but they never feel right. The fabric is too loose in some places, too tight in others but no one else notices because it still looks the same. But they’re not the one that has to wear it. And the worst part is he can’t take it off. He’s stuck.

Leon apologizes but cause what else can he do?

Luis tells him it’s not his fault. Even though it very much is. That he understands. He really does.

“I missed you too.” He says but he doesn’t know how he knows that.

He doesn’t remember anything after the fight with Krauser besides looking up at Leon and pleading with him to tell him he was a good person and that he deserved to be missed. He’d wanted to ask him then, “Will you miss me? Will you think about me when I’m gone?”

The overwhelming feelings of failure, grief, and desperation practically smothering him.

Would he be forgotten? A ghost to the world. No one the wiser of the fact that he’d ever really existed. But at least to someone he might be worth giving a damn. Even if it was only on the anniversary of one of the worst days of his life, at least Leon might think of him from time to time.

But never in a million years, would Luis have dreamed that Leon would risk so much for someone like him.

“I thought about you every day for two years.”

Luis hid his face in his hands and sobbed. Leon didn’t hesitate to pull him close and held him as he cried.

He had tried so hard to just matter. To prove himself. To leave a mark on the world. Something to show that he had ever existed in the first place.

But maybe he didn’t need the world to remember him after all. Maybe It was better if they didn’t.

“I’m glad to be here with you, cariño. I promise. I’m not going anywhere.”

[thestayathomedragon]

.i'll.be.your.best.kept.secret.and.your.biggest.mistake.

Those eyes. How could he ever forget them. They had haunted him for so long after all. Those eyes had pleaded with him to listen, to believe, for an answer… He’d tried to forget them like he had the others. Tried to find the way at the bottom of glass after glass, then bottle after bottle. But these… he never had been able to forget no matter how much he drank. He had never dared to think too long about why that was.

But seeing them again now, he knew.

“A-are… are you in pain?”

“No.” A raspy voice, answered. It barely sounded like the man he’d known but he could understand why. “Solo... estoy cansado."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Bare shoulders shrugged in response, disturbing the sheet wrapped around them. “S’okay.”

Leon wanted to ask if he was warm enough. If he needed another blanket or anything. Anything to keep him talking. It had been so long since he’d heard this voice. That accent. At the time he had no idea how much he’d miss it. He cringed at the thought of how many times he’d told the man to shut up in his own frustration. He hadn’t dreamed he’d ever regret it.

Leon pushed a thick chunk of dark brown hair away from the man’s face and tucked it behind his ear. Something he’d been itching to do for hours as he sat and watched him sleep.

“This… is better.” Luis uttered, not seeming to mind that Leon had yet to move his hand away from his face.

Leon smiled softly at that, letting the warmth of the other man seep into him, down to the bone. It was definitely better.

“You hungry… or… thirsty? I can…”

“No… no just… stay. Please?”

“Yeah… of course.”

Leon was still in a state of wonder. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Luis for a moment since he’d carried him into his apartment.

“Leon?”

“Hmm?”

“How long… how long has it been?”

Leon stopped his absent petting then. “Since?”

“I died?”

======

“He’ll be tired for quite a bit. Maybe a bit hungry too. Re-building a body is difficult work. But he’ll be right as rain in no time.”

Leon looked down at the man in his arms, wrapped in nothing but his coat for modesty’s sake. Same dark hair, and long eyelashes, fanned against familiar brown skin. He almost missed that stupid jacket the man had worn like a second skin. But he could find him another. Anything he wanted.

“But you’ll find that this is your dear doctor, Luis Serra Navarro. Just as promised. Right down to the last freckle, he even has that rather unfortunate scar right there.” Gesturing to the faded old scar on Luis’s cheek. “The item should be delivered sometime tomorrow. There will also be instructions.” The creature smiled, unnaturally white teeth on display. “Farewell, Agent Kennedy. I doubt we’ll have reason to meet again.”

Leon merely grunted in reply and when next he looked up the man, the creature, was gone.

======

“What did you promise?” Luis’s voice was still slow and husky. His breathing still a bit labored but it was getting better by the moment.

Those blue eyes that hadn’t left Luis’s own the entire time finally looked away.

“You made a deal, no? What did you offer in return, cariño?”  

“N-nothing… nothing important.”

Luis closed his eyes, sighed. “Leon…”

“Nothing as important as you.” Leon said, eyes back on him. Stubborn and full of conviction.

“Leon…”

“No… No. I wanted to do this. You… you deserved another chance.”

I deserved another chance.

“And… it’s not even… it’s not even that big of a deal. I can just…”

“I was dead, Leon. I know that.” Luis paused then, inhaling sharply. Leon’s eyes widened, worried. “Y-you don’t just make a deal like that, and it be ‘no big deal’. You offered something… something that was important enough to be exchanged for a life… for a soul.” Luis whispered. “Not even to mention who you could have made such a deal with?”

Leon sighed and got up from the bed. “You should rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He’d watched him sleep for hours. Disbelief prevents him from even entertaining the thought of leaving his side. He looked so peaceful there sleeping. Just like he’d looked when Leon had been forced to leave him all that time ago. Alone in those mines. All hope for any semblance of a normal life once he left this place still there with him.

Leon hadn’t felt hope like that in so long. Not until that man, that creature, came back to him with someone in its arms. Someone Leon never thought he’d see again. Sleeping just as peacefully as he was now under his watchful eyes.  

======

“Here, we are Agent Kennedy. Just as promised.”

Leon just stared dumbfounded at the man that had just been placed into his arms.

“My apologies. I realize that I promised you seven minutes. Unfortunately, it seems our Dr. Serra isn’t the best company at the moment. Perhaps if...”

“No…” Leon had uttered. Eyes still only for the man in his arms. “H-he’s… he’s perfect.”

“Well, I do aim to please.” The creature chuckled. “Now, I’ll leave you to…”

“Deal.” Leon said before the creature could finish speaking.

“Now…” It started again.

“I’ll take the deal.”

“Ah… but you haven’t heard…”

“I said I’ll take the deal.” Leon said looking back up at the creature. Eyes of steel locked on them once again.

“Ah, very well.” It nodded, though Leon didn’t see any of it as his eyes were back on Luis. “If you insist. But you will still need to hear my terms…”

“And he’s mine then?” Leon said finally looking up at the thing dressed up like a human being.

“Yes of course. A deal is a deal is a deal.”

“Okay. Fine.” Leon whispered. “What do you want me to do?”

======

“THEY OWED ME!” Leon yelled, frustrated and fidgeting. The man ran his fingers through his hair agitated by the insistent questioning. “I’m sorry… but th-they owed you too. Luis… it wasn’t fair what… wh-what they did… to both of us!” Leon paused to take a moment to calm down. “But now it is. I took care of it. We’re even now. And I get to keep you this time.” Leon said, voice dropping just shy of whisper. “I get to have you back and you can…”

“But what did you promise, Leon?”  

Leon hissed in annoyance. “Luis… please just…”

“How many...”

“It doesn’t matter. They didn’t matter. It’s not like they didn’t deserve it!”

“But…”

“I took a job. That’s it. And job’s done, Luis. It’s over. He’s not going to come back for you… or me. A deal is a deal is a deal.”

Luis sighed. He still looked so tired. Leon could understand that. It had been a long time since they had last seen each other. All the way back in Spain. In those god forsaken mines. Luis had looked so tired then too. He was probably still pretty weak. He had hardly eaten anything.

“Hey, c’mere…” Leon said placing a hand on his shoulders and starting to guide him back to the sofa. “You should rest, Luis.”

The man didn’t fight but he didn’t look happy about it either.

“All I have done is rest for the past three days.” The man groused. “I’ve never been so tired.”

In fact, he looked adorably disgruntled sitting there in a borrowed pair of sweatpants and a shirt at least two sizes too big for him. His shaggy dark hair even more mussed from sleep. The sight had even begun to soften the blonde’s long ago hardened heart with a warmth in his chest he hadn’t felt in some time.

“Look,” Leon began after taking a seat next to the other man, “I can’t tell you the details. It’s… it’s part of the deal.” Leon said, shying away from those still questioning eyes. He hadn’t met anyone with eyes that color since. Gray. Must not be all that common. “I just don’t want you to think I don’t trust you. That I’m purposely hiding things from you. I don’t want to do that. I want to… I want to tell you everything.” Leon said, unbridled joy clear in those blue eyes before they turned serious again. “It’s just… I can’t but I need you to know that I would do it again, Luis. In a heartbeat. This isn’t your fault… It was my choice.”

“What if that’s what they wanted you to think?” Luis asked, looking at him with those same big, sorrowful eyes.

“I don’t care.” Leon said finally. To him it had been no different than any other mission he’d been sent on. Only this time… “It was worth it. We have another chance. You said you wanted to make amends, right? And now you can.”

Leon took Luis’s hands into his own, “This is what you wanted, isn’t it? For us to be together?” Leon gave a hopeful smile. “As partners?”

Luis looked back at him as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “You’re sure, Leon?”

“You trust me?”

“Joder,” Luis gave him a weary smile but finally nodded. “But I do.”

“Then that’s all you gotta do, partner.”  

Get you a man that looks at you like Agent Leon S.(o I killed a man or ten for you and I would do it again) Kennedy looks at Dr. Luis (My boyfriend made a deal with a demon to bring be back from the dead) Serra Navarro.

[thestayathomedragon]

Guess who's back...

i carved out a place in this world for two (but it's empty without you)

“You know, this number was only ever intended to be used for emergencies.” The voice on the other end had the nerve to sound annoyed.

“Some fucking emergency line. I’ve been calling you for two days!”

“I’ve been busy. You’re not the only human desperate enough to make a deal with the devil in order to get something they want, Agent Kennedy.”

Leon growled in frustration. He was pacing, the demon could tell. He was so easily railed. It was a wonder he had survived as long as he had in his line of work.

“Look. This is an emergency, asshole.” Leon hissed. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I’m sorry?”

Leon glanced at the closed bedroom door before continuing, “Luis, you bastard. What’s wrong with him?”

“Tch. I have no idea what you mean.”

“Oh, fuck you… I read that stupid fucking clause of yours in the contract.” Leon’s voice took on a mocking affect. “Please be advised that “the product” is provided “as-is” without any express or implied warranty of any kind. Luis? He’s the “product”, right?”

The agent had the nerve to sound disgusted. Even after what he’d agreed to in order to get his “product” in the first place and that was… interesting. And that was putting it kindly.

“Oh, so you did read it?” The demon perked up. “It’s about time. I worked hard on that. So, may I ask, if you did in fact read the fine print—Why it is you’re calling again?”

“I just fucking told you…”

“Yes, and you also just fucking told me that you read the fine print on the contract you signed, Agent Kennedy. So again, I ask you—Why is it that you are calling?”

Leon sighed, defeated. There was a pregnant pause before, “I… I need your help.”

There was an echoed silence on the other line. The man was afraid the demon bastard had hung up on him.

“H-hey… did you hear me?”

“Yes, of course… Go on please? You need my help…”

Leon grit his teeth and took a steadying breath. He looked again to the closed bedroom door. “Yeah. I need your help.” He took another breath, this one quieter. “Luis… he’s not doing well. I know you said… that you aren’t responsible for any… defects but… I’m not asking you to be responsible for anything. I just… I need to know how to… care for him… properly.”

“Are you asking me for relationship advice, Agent Kennedy?”

“What?! No! Of course, I’m not fucking asking you for… Look… Luis… He’s…” Leon’s voice cut off then. The demon could hear a quiet shutter of breath on the other line, like the man was on the verge of…

“He’s spacey.” Leon finally continued. “I swear I hear him forget to even fucking breathe sometimes. He’s… he’s… fucking miserable. He cries all the time. He thinks I don’t know. He hides from me… in the shower. He sleeps a lot… or at least he did at first. Lately, he’s been having these nightmares… terrible ones… It takes hours for me to calm him back down. He stopped sleeping altogether a couple days ago. I had to… um… slip him some of my sleeping pills to knock him out finally. They help me… uh… not dream. I was hoping they would do the same for him.”

All the fire in the Leon he’d first answered the phone for was gone. The voice he heard now on the other end sounded hollow and exhausted. The demon would usually take pleasure in hearing that the wish of the human who had traded him their immortal soul wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, but he’d always been a sucker for a bad romance, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d been pulling for these two. Once Leon’s luck finally ran out on a mission and Luis eventually killed himself because he couldn’t deal with the fact that his partner was gone, they would be a force to be reckoned with in Hell.   

He couldn’t wait but first… to sow a little good will…

“I’m sorry… I was under the impression that you were pleased with the results. What was it you said? ‘He’s perfect?’.”

Leon was quiet on the other end of the phone for a moment or two before his tired voice spoke up again. “And I meant that. It’s just… He’s just… needs help that I can’t give him.”

Oh, that must have been difficult for the stubborn bastard to admit.

“You love him dearly, don’t you?” The demon hummed. More like obsessed with the “idea of him” but he’d hold on to that little tidbit for now.

Leon didn’t respond verbally but his silence was more than enough of an answer. The dried ink of his signature on their contract was also a good indication as well.

“Leon… I can call you Leon, right?”

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

“I’m not exactly qualified to assist with you and your dear Dr. Serra’s predicament.”

“B-but…”

“Now… now… I didn’t say I wouldn’t try.”

Leon sighed in relief, about to speak again before the demon interrupted.

“Did you ever get help, Leon?”

“What?”

“Depression? PTSD? Anxiety? Well, I hate to break it to you handsome, but your Luis was already very much suffering from these disorders long before you met him.” The demon pressed on. “But you wouldn’t, would you? You only knew him for what? Three days? ”

The silence on the other end was once again damning.

“I get it. It’s hard to come to terms with, I’m sure. Surely, your lighthearted, ray of Spanish sunshine in the midst of arguably the darkest place on Earth at the time wasn’t just pretending he wasn’t in agony on the inside the whole time, right?” August chucked. “He weaseled his way into your cold, dead heart and you were hooked. You are only human after all. That’s the thing with love, isn’t it? Even in the darkest of circumstances it still persists. So fascinating. You only knew him for three days but you felt that you’d known him all your life and you were willing to do anything to hold on to him. But then… you lost him. And you were lost without him. Desperate…”

“This isn’t about me.” Leon hissed.

“I know… but… it may help you to understand your dear doctor.”

“I’m not like…” Leon started then stopped himself. “Look… he’s saying weird shit. He looks…”

“As if he’s been through Hell for the past two years?”

The sharp intake of breath on the other line was amusing, “Wha…”

“Oh, come now, Leon. You had to know that... Oh… you’re serious.” The bastard had the gall to laugh at him. “How are you this innocent?” He sighed. “Do you have any idea how expensive it is to buy a soul out of Hell?”

“Hell?” The man croaked.

“Yes, I mean I am a demon after all. You can call me August, by the way. You didn’t think I walked through the pearly gates to retrieve your love, did you?”

“I didn’t…”

“It’s not like your precious doctor was exactly qualified to end up anywhere else, darling. He’s got a lot of blood on his hands after all. But not to worry. He won’t remember any of it. That’s part of the deal. Think of it as a sort of NDA. Can’t have an escapee blabbering about the inner workings of Hell to anyone who would listen now can we. Plus, y’know they’d probably think he was a little… touched in the head don’t you think?”

“H-Hell?” Oh, he was really stuck on that part, huh?

“You really think I would have been able to get my hands on him had he ended up in Heaven? Honey, not even I have that kind of pull.” August snorted inelegantly. “Just because you believed his bullshit about wanting to change doesn’t mean the powers that be did. I know souls, my friend, and your boy’s was a lot darker than you want to believe. Though, I can certain understand why.”

“Fuck you.” Leon growled.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I get it. You two… are quite a pair. I can see why you’re so attached to him. Can’t feel too bad about all the people you’ve killed when your boyfriend’s record beats yours by the millions, now can you?”

August exhaled on the other end of the phone. He’d lit up a cigarette for this one, a vice he and Dr. Serra shared.

“Look, I knew you wouldn’t have wanted to have your little love doctor back if he was catatonic with psychological trauma from having spent the last 24 months being tortured in the down under for his numerous sins.  So, I made sure he didn’t remember. I mean… the barrier isn’t perfect, but it will hold as long as neither of you go picking at it.”

August could hear Leon’s quick, quiet breaths on the other end of the phone. This wouldn’t be the first time the demon had dealt with a human’s coming to terms with the fact that Hell was indeed real. It was always strange though seeing as at that point, August had long since made it known that he was an actual demon… from Hell.

Leon felt sick. He had been raised Catholic. He might have been a lapsed one now, but he knew about Heaven and Hell. And he knew how you ended up in either place. He didn’t want to think about what Luis had been put through before he’d been able to get to him.

“Like I said… you barely knew the guy a week… you didn’t really know him at all, my dear. But that doesn’t mean it can’t work, eh? You just have to put forth some effort.”

“Effort? You think I haven’t…”

“You haven’t even come to terms with your own shit, Leon. You’ve been ignoring it for years.” August snorted. “Decades, even. How do you even hope to help Luis through the literal Hell he’s experienced if you won’t deal with your own personal one?”

“I’m supposed to take relationship advise from a demon?”

“Did you not just beg me for my assistance?” August growled, his anger peaking. “I shouldn’t even have to bother with this! We had a deal. You signed a contract. You agreed to the terms… As… Is. Luis Serra Navarro was damaged goods long before Hell got its hands on him. You’re just lucky he’s in as good a shape as he is, honestly. Ungrateful…”

Leon sighed and August paused… a slow grin growing on his face.

“I… I’m sorry. Y-you’re right. I’m… sorry, okay?”

August could hear the sound of furniture creaking as the man dropped down on to it.

“What do you want?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What do you want from me to help him? I can’t exactly take him to a therapist when he’s supposed to have been dead for the past two years. And even if I could what is he supposed to tell them? Can’t even take him outside to at least get some sunlight and fresh air. He’s trapped here… It’s… it’s not ideal. He’s not… He’s… he’s withering here coped up like this. He’s been asking about Ashley. She’s the only other person he’s… He wants to see her but… There’s no way I can…” Leon’s voice cracked then, his frustration and grief seeping through the phone line. “I… I didn’t think… F-fuck…”

He had been more concerned with what he’d wanted. He didn’t even think about Luis. What he would want… What he would need. He’d been so desperately selfish. It was just that everyday it got worse. He could barely breathe…

A deal with a fucking demon. Hell? God. What had he done?

There was silence from the demon broker’s end this time and it was worrying. The last thing Leon needed was time for this guy to think.

“It will be okay, Leon. I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.”

Leon sighed and closed his eyes and took another steadying breath. He steeled himself then, ready for whatever else he’d have to give of himself to make this right. “Yeah, alright. Okay. Let’s talk business.”

“Wonderful!” August cheered. “Let’s!”

[thestayathomedragon]

Disclaimer: Please be advised that “the product” is provided “as-is” without any express or implied warranty of any kind. The seller is not responsible for any damages, direct or indirect, arising from the use of “the product”. By using “the product”, you are accepting any and all risks associated with its use. We are not responsible for any injury or damage related to the use of “the product.”

(and i’m like a storm on the horizon.)

“Luis?”

Leon found him just standing there in the kitchen unmoving, staring at the knife in his hand.

And it didn’t matter who you were, military trained or not, that was generally not a good thing.

“Hey, pal… You need a hand with anything?”

The last thing Luis said to Leon was that he was going to go and start working on dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary. Especially since Luis was basically hungry all the time now. Leon had been told that he would be for a while yet. Not that he had any clue how any of this was possible and honestly, he would be just fine never knowing. But apparently growing a new body was a lot of work after all and since Leon wasn’t exactly the greatest cook, the other man had taken on all of the cooking duties for the time being.

Things had been going well for the most part since Luis came back. Though, Leon couldn’t help but notice that Luis had seemed a little different than before. Leon had just chalked it up to the fact that the man had just come back from a two-year dirt nap. Not to mention the circumstances they had been in when they met. Domestic life was a lot different than running for your live form a horde of infected villagers. Luis was a little quieter than he’d been during their mad dash through the picturesque rural village of Valdelobos.

Though, as Leon knew well, trauma could do that to a guy. And well, death was the ultimate trauma a human being could experience.

The fact that Luis was speaking at all was more than a miracle. Leon hadn’t realized how much he had missed the other man’s deep, Spanish lilt until he heard it again for the first time in years.

Luis looked pretty much the same as when Leon had last seen him as well. Just as promised, the man didn’t look like he’d aged a day. There were slight differences like his hair. But nothing alarming. Luis’s once artfully mussed brunette locks were now a few inches past his shoulders. It was like his hair had continued to grow even after he was gone. It was a good look for him.

Leon thought that maybe with a little persuasion, he might be able to convince him to keep the length.

But for now, Luis kept it out of the way in a messy looking half bun.

Yet another thing, Leon didn’t even know he had the capacity to be into until he saw Luis walk out of their bathroom for the first time. Hair done up, and pale eyes wide because Leon had yet again scared the crap out of him by moving around the house like a cat. This was all according to Luis of course and said in very fast Spanish that Leon had been forced to replay in his head a few times before he realized that the other man had screamed at him before stomping off.

Leon thought he moved about just fine for a human, thank you.

Another change was that Luis was always cold now. Not that Leon would have had a clue that this was a new development if Luis hadn’t made it abundantly clear by whining about it at every opportunity. But Leon didn’t mind the whining. It was actually kind of cute seeing him walking around the house dressed in layers, especially since the only clothes the other man had right now were Leon’s. It was rare not to see the Spaniard with his hands wrapped around a mug of hot tea.

Another added benefit of Luis’s new affliction was that whenever Leon was near, he would practically pull him on top of him in order to leach Leon’s warmth. Let it be known that Leon was delighted by his new role as a human heating pad. It was actually nice to have someone in his life that actually sought out his touch for something other than sex for once.

There were other things as well. Stranger things.

Things like this…

The other man had yet to so much as acknowledge Leon’s existence, let alone respond to his question about whether he needed help with dinner or not.

He would often find Luis like this. Zoned out. Staring off into the distance, a blank expression on his face and a dull look to his eyes normally bright eyes. There were times when it would take longer than Leon felt comfortable with to snap him out of it.

The worst part though was that Luis would sometimes gasp for air like he had even stopped breathing and blink rapidly, like he was trying to reboot his brain or something. Like he was trying to remember how to be alive.

So sure, it got a little weird sometimes. But Leon could handle weird. Leon would handle all the weird it took until Luis felt right in his own body again. 

Leon would be as understanding as possible because while he knew trauma, he couldn’t say that he knew what it felt like to wake up naked in some dipshit U.S. Federal Agent’s arms after having been dead for the past two years.

“H-hey… Can you hear me, Baby?” Still nothing. Leon wasn’t even sure the other man was breathing… or blinking. Shit.

“Why don’t you let me do that, huh?” Leon said approaching the other man cautiously. Making sure to move as slowly as possible so as not to startle him. Luis might not have the training Leon had with knives, but he’d seen the damage the other man was capable of with one in of despite that. And though Leon would probably be able to disarm him without a problem, he had no desire to hurt him in the process either.

Any further consideration to the contrary was suddenly moot, because Luis turned to him, knife still in hand, freaking the shit of out Leon because now it was pointed at him.

Luis blinked finally. He looked like he was trying to remember why he was in the kitchen in the first place. Leon took the chance to reach for the knife, but Luis snatched it way before he could get his hand on it, the blade nearly cutting him.

“No. N-no… It’s fine.” Luis said, stepping away before turning back to slicing the vegetables patiently waiting on the cutting board. The other man kept his head down, wouldn’t look at him. Causing Leon to be hesitant to let go of his worry.

Turns out he’d been right not to a moment later.

“It was a knife, yes?” Luis said almost too quiet for Leon to make out.

 Leon had been thrown off by the question. “Huh?”

“It was a knife that did it, yes?” Luis asked, still not looking at him. Focused on the task of dicing tomatoes. “A knife… In my back?”

Oh.

Leon sighed but nodded the affirmative, his head drooping, chin to his chest. “Y-yeah. It… uh… It was a knife.”

Krauser’s knife.

“Ah,” Luis paused in between vegetables before continuing again, seemingly trying to form the right words. Leon noticed that Luis had been slower to translate things in his head since he’s been back. “It’s hard sometimes. To remember… that time. Uh… It’s still a bit… fuzzy?”

That made sense. Luis had lost so much blood that he had started going into shock by the time Leon had been able to return to his side.

Selfishly, Leon really didn’t want him to remember. It was bad enough that Leon could remember it clearly. He hadn’t been able to forget a second of it.

He should not have let Luis get so far ahead of him. He had berated himself every day for being so careless… for taking their luck up until that point for granted.

But instead of unloading that on Luis, Leon merely hummed and nodded in affirmation. Letting him know he understood what the other man had been trying to tell him.  

“It’s okay.” Leon said. “You shouldn’t have to.”

It had been a miracle to see Luis standing there after hearing that shot go off, the knife flinching in Jack’s hand. Leon had been so sure that Luis had already been gone by the time Krauser had shown up. He had been so dead set on avenging the other man that he hadn’t even considered that he might still be alive.

Instead, Leon found himself staring at Luis standing there, propped up against one of those crates, eyes hard and focused on that cowardly son of a bitch. His teeth stained with dark blood and gritted in pain but still his arm never wavered. His pistol remained trained on the still looming threat of Leon’s old mentor and partner. A man that had seemingly gone mad with what he perceived as ultimate power.

Leon had been struck dumb at the sight. Luis looked like had been running on pure spite alone, a look of fury and retribution on his face.

It had been pretty fucking bad ass sight to behold.

Leon could think that now, right? That Luis had been still so fearless even in his last moments. Leon could admire it for what it had been now that he had the other man back, right?

It didn’t make him creepy or insensitive, right? 

“You save my life.” Leon said softly.

“I… I don’t remember that.” Luis whispered, pausing in his work.

There was a moment of silence between them before Luis spoke up again.

“Was it cool?” He asked finally looking back up at Leon. “I mean…” He muttered something in Spanish that Leon didn’t catch before asking again, “Did I look cool?”

Leon was once again thrown off by the question but quickly recovered, laughing breathlessly. “Yeah. Y-yeah you were a total bad ass.” Leon nodded. “Coolest guy with a gun I’ve ever seen. Sent that son of a bitch packing.”

Luis gave him a lopsided grin at that before nodding and turning back to his cutting. “Guay.” 

“I… I uh…” Leon said finally feeling comfortable enough to approach the other man. Offering up his much-coveted warmth. “I killed him. Krauser… I mean.”

Luis didn’t stop working through the bell peppers, “I know.”

Leon sighed. He didn’t press to find out how the other man knew. Because it turned out there were a lot of things that Luis knew that Leon had wished he didn’t. Like just how he’d come back from a two-year-old death. He had been so worried when he’d realized what Leon had done.

Luis had been raised Catholic after all. Tucked away in a secluded village in the mountains of Spain, where there wasn’t a lot to pass the time except stories. And while Luis had been obsessed with his beloved Don Quixote among other fairy tales, his grandfather had also made sure Luis knew about the dangers of trusting wayward spirits and what happened to those that went against the word of God.

Luis knew all about demons and deals with devils and he hadn’t been pleased when Leon had finally admitted what he’d done.

The devils here on Earth were bad enough, he’d said. He’d shuddered to think what the ones below were truly capable of if crossed.

But as far as Leon was concerned, what was done was done. Leon had kept his part of the bargain. It had all worked out in the end.

“You… uh… you okay, about it?” Luis asked, sounding a bit awkward and hesitant. He’d even put the knife down. That was something at least.

Leon frowned at the question. He hadn’t expected it. It wasn’t often anyone asked him how he felt about anything. Least of all how he felt about killing anyone. It had been so long ago now—two years ago. How was he supposed to feel about it after so long? Should he still feel anything about it?

“Yeah… I’m okay.” He shrugged. “Bastard had it coming.”

Leon leaned against the other man and rested his chin on one of his shoulders while wrapping an arm around his waist. Holding him in a lazy hug, leaning most of his weight against the other man.

“Are you?” Leon asked.

“I’m sure you did what you had to.” Luis said. And Leon wasn’t sure how he felt about that answer. There was no feeling at all behind it. Not that he wanted to upset the other man. It just seemed to Leon that if anyone should feel anything about him killing Krauser it would be Luis. He’d just been told that the man who had murdered him in cold blood had been punished for what he’d done to him. That the man had been killed by a man that had cared and missed him so much that he’d made a deal with a demon to bring him back.

Leon wasn’t expecting a parade or anything. He didn’t even want a thank you. He just wanted to see something pass over the other man’s features and not just… nothing.

This wasn’t the man he’d known.

It almost felt like Luis didn’t care because maybe he had really believed that he had deserved the fate that had been handed to him.

“Not looking good, eh my friend? Mierda, realmente lo jodí de nuevo, ¿eh? Lo siento, León. Lo siento mucho…”

God, how he had wanted to him just stop talking then. Leon wasn’t even able to process that this might be the last time he heard Luis speak. He just needed Luis to conserve his strength. He needed him stay with him long enough for Leon to patch him up so he could get him the hell out of those damned mines.

Leon flinched like he had been burned when Luis handed him that key.

Leon didn’t need Luis’s key because he was going to get the man out of here. Luis would be there when he found Ashley. She would be expecting him. Then Luis would lead them to his lab and he would help them remove those fucking parasites just like he’d promised he would.

“I lead a pretty shitty life…”

And once upon a time, another version of Leon might have thought he had been right about that. But by then this version of Leon felt he understood Luis a lot better now. And this version of Leon though that this man hadn’t deserved all the fucked-up things that had happened to him.

Least of all, being stabbed in the back by a man that hadn’t even see him as a human being in the end.

“…And killing a few rats along the way. Easy work.”

The bastard.

But then again, the Major hadn’t quite been himself either then, had he?

Leon was brought back to the present by Luis squeezing the hand that was still resting against his stomach.

“You went away for a bit there, Sancho.” Luis said, though he’d gone back to his methodical chopping of tonight’s veggies. “You got something on your mind you want to share?”

“Yeah,” Leon said smiling softly. “I’m glad you’re here.”  He said finally letting the other man go so he could focus on the task he’d set out for himself.

“I could have ordered out you know.” Leon offered. Luis still looked tired, but he couldn’t convince the man to stay in bed a second longer it seemed.

“Eh, tomorrow maybe?” Luis shrugged, the collar of Leon’s old pt-shirt falling further down his shoulder.

They probably should get the man some clothes of his own at some point. Not that Leon wasn’t enjoying seeing the other man walking around in his clothes, he just couldn’t help but think that maybe having something of his own here would help him feel more comfortable. More settled.

Leon remembered how it felt to be shuffled around as a kid with hardly anything of his own to make whatever home he’d been placed in feel like his home.

But he also wasn’t sure how he felt about the prospect of taking Luis out in public either.

No one knew about Luis yet. And Leon was just selfish enough to keep it that way as long as he was able. As awful as it was to think of it that way, Leon was somewhat comforted by the fact that Luis wouldn’t have any family to come looking for him. That as far as the Spanish and U.S. governments were concerned Dr. Luis Serra Navarro had been killed two years ago during The Valdelobos Incident by former US operative Major Jack Krauser, a man who had faked his own death in order to defect to join the Los Illuminados cult.

And for now, Leon wanted to keep it that way. Now how Luis felt about that, Leon didn’t know and that selfish part of him didn’t really want to.

It certainly didn’t help that Leon had no clue how to even begin to broach the subject with Ashley. He had the feeling that she was suspicious of him the last time they spoke. She’d mention that he seemed… happier lately. Even going so far as to ask if he was seeing anyone.

Leon figured that she would be the first to know of course once they were ready. Luis had been asking about her after all. He remembered how the two of them had always asked about the other during Leon’s time with each of them back then. It was unfair how little time they had together. And even though now they had a chance to make up for lost time, Leon was still so afraid for the other man.

Luis had been considered a fugitive when he’d been declared deceased over two years ago. His body never recovered and yet another thing that had haunted Leon at night.

How would the world react to the ex-Umbrella scientist, and former Los Illuminados cult member suddenly returning from the dead?

Leon kind of regretted not addressing the issue of Luis’s ‘status’ in some clause or something in his agreement to get the man back. Especially, after the shit show of a assignment he’d been sent on in exchange for Luis’s new life.

Leon couldn’t find it in himself to regret it though. He would do it again a thousand times over if it meant he got to have this.

“I’d kill a hundred bastards like that for you, y’know?” Leon offered up the most innocently flirtation grin he could muster to the man in question.

Luis actually snorted and laughed at that. “Such a romantic you are, Cariño.”

The cutesy little nicknames were new too. Leon liked the way they sounded coming out of Luis’s mouth.

“Yup.” Leon said, “That’s me. I know what my man likes.”

“Oh dios mio estamos tan jodidos!” Luis said between giggles.

“That means you think I’m hot, right?”

“El más caliente. El diablo seguramente está celoso.” Luis had to fight to control his giggling.

It was nice hearing him laugh again. It brought the color back to his cheeks and mischievous light back to those wide eyes.

It was especially nice since Leon had spent the last couple of weeks balancing precariously between the elation of having the other man here and desperate fear that this was all some drunken hallucination.

Despite his lingering moments of dissociation and other minor issues, Luis was doing a lot better than when Leon had first gotten him back here. Every day he seemed more like the man Leon had spent the last two years trying desperately not to forget. To think that not that long ago, Leon had almost completely lost it when he realized that couldn’t quite remember the sound of the other man’s voice any more.

And now here they were with a second chance and Leon would be damned if he let anyone take it from them.

Devils be twice damned.

“You’ve gone off away from me again, querido.”

Leon was pulled out of his own head by the sound of that familiar voice, looking up to find the man watching him with a little smirk on his face and bit of mischief in those same haunting eyes… God, he had such pretty eyes. Leon never wanted to forget what they looked like.  

But instead of saying so, Leon merely shrugged in response. “No, uh… No, I’m still here.”

“You sure this time?” Luis’s little smirk widened. “Cause if you’re just going to keep hovering around me like some deranged mamá gallina then you can make yourself useful and pass me the actual chicken from the fridge.”

“Ha, ha. Smart ass.”

“Careful, Señor. Might start thinking you actually like~ me.”

The audacity of this man to even think such. As if the literal deal with the devil wasn’t proof enough.

I just want you guys to know that by reading this to the end you have agreed that you will not hold me responsible for the cavities you have incurred due to the teeth rooting fluff this devolved into. Also, Leon just seems like the kind of guy that would call his S.O. “Baby”. I cringed so hard writing that that I wanted to punch him but he’s so fucking earnest and cute. Like he really means it or some shit. I’ll let him have this. He’s been through a lot I suppose. Luis probably fucking likes it when he calls him that anyway, the fucking sap. Half dead bastard. Ugh.

[thestayathomedragon]

Maybe, Leon could forgive him for this one day too.

.cry a little/cry a lot.

He’s the first one off of the elevator.

“We’re finally out of that hellhole!”

He had to keep moving. The thought of those bugs was making his skin crawl. He shuddered to think about what his clothes were still stained with.

Behind him, he can hear Leon tut in annoyance.

Luis had always had a bad habit of running ahead with little thought for the consequences. A holdover from childhood. His abuelo had always had a hard time keeping up with him.

You think he would have learned his lesson by now.

“Luis! Hey, slow down man! Dammit.”

His abuelo had called him “pajarito” because he was always “chirping and fluttering” about.

But instead of slowing down, Luis laughed the laugh of a man who had just cheated death for the umpteenth time that day. And then the laugh of a man who had also just gotten railed within an inch of his life by a gorgeous American special agent. His own personal Prince Charming in the flesh.

And to think, he’d thought his constant flirting had gone over the other man’s head.

Surely, he was doing something right because to Luis it felt like his life was finally on an upswing. He felt giddy with this long-awaited bout of good fortune. At last, something good after this damned nightmare he’d been living for far too long.

“C’mon, Leon! Mantenerse al día conmigo! You can hear it, can’t you? The fresh air is practically calling our names!”

“Are you always like this?”

Luis snickered, “You’ll just have to try harder to wear me out next time, aye cowboy?”

Leon looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and could that be—fondness and shook his head at him. Luis paused to admire the man, the way his pale golden hair fell over his eyes. It was then that Luis realized that his grin was contagious, and it only made him want to tease Leon more. It was such a good look on the tough as nails special agent after all.

Luis took pride in the fact that he was the cause of it. So, he did what he always did at times like this—He pushed his luck.

He didn’t want to take his eyes off the other man. It was such a nice smile. He made a mental note to try and get him to do it more often.

Or maybe it was because Luis just wanted to be sure the other man was actually there. He wouldn’t put it past the universe to screw him over when he was so close to getting out of this place after over a year of planning. Only to find out that he’d finally lost it and he’d imagined all of this. And that his broken mind had created the other man from nothing but blind hope and desperation.

Luis couldn’t risk it.  

Perhaps that’s why he had been so focused on Leon. So focused that he hadn’t even considered that turning his back on the way forward was a bad idea.

“Because, mi cariño, we made it all this way… You know that means we’re almost…”

But then again…

Luis had spent a lot of time thinking about the man that he had become trying to pin point the moments he’d gone so wrong. Being alone for long periods of time afforded you quite the luxury of pondering how you ended up where you were in life.

As it turned out the answer was surprisingly much simpler than he would have expected.

He was just a reckless fool.

That was it. As simple as that.

And the world had gotten pretty damned good of reminding him of what happened to reckless fools named Luis Serra…

“We’re almost what?” Leon asked, bright blue eyes watching him, waiting for an answer.

But what had he even been meaning to say?

Any thought Luis might have had was punched out of him along with all the air in his lungs. An unknown force pushed him forward, sending him stumbling. Luis gasped in shock, eyes going wide.

The look on Leon’s face shifted slowly as he tried to make sense of what he was witnessing. It was now a mixture of confusion and for the first time since Luis had met him—fear.

Shit, shit, shit…

Luis tried to take in a lungful of air only to find it was like trying to breathe through a straw. There was something in his... He coughed and his mouth filled with the taste of iron. A sharp burn then a throbbing pain spread from his back throughout his chest.

His vision swam and his legs gave out. He couldn’t stop himself from falling.

“Luis!”

Oh, that didn’t sound so good. Leon actually sounded worried.

Luis didn’t even feel the impact of the ground, the pain in his chest taking precedence over anything else. He was panicking and it only made it more difficult for him to catch his breath. He sobbed as all of his strength seemingly bled out of him.

There was something in his back. Oh Dios. Había algo que sobresalía de su espalda.

He couldn’t lift his head anymore, everything hurt and every breath he was able to take was accompanied by another pathetic wheezing sob.

His eyes were filling with tears, blurring the ground in front of him but he could only just make out Leon’s legs. The other man was still just standing there. Frozen in place.

“Le…Leon…” His panic made it hard to think, to process anything but he somehow knew that there was standing over him.

“Long time, no see, rookie.”

He knew that voice.

Luis felt whatever had been in his back being pulled free. And that was a whole new wave of breathtaking agony causing him to whimper out loud and whine when he realized removing the object hadn’t really helped with his breathing. Every attempt still ended with a wet rasping exhale.

Anything going on outside Luis’s personal bubble of misery was muffled. But it was clear that Leon was currently having a difficult time with their uninvited guest. The same guest that had apparently speared him through the back and pierced his lung. Which would explain his difficulty breathing.

Luis groaned as he tried to lift himself up on arms that felt about as reliable as a pair of wet noodles, but he had to try. He had to get up and help Leon.

Vamos Luis. ¡Levántate, Luis!

It felt like hours before he was finally able to pull himself to the end of the platform that Leon had been flung from. He could see Leon below with that backstabbing hijo de puta doing his damnedest to slice his friend to pieces.

Krauser. Ese era el nombre de ese bastardo.

Saddler had brought the American on at some point a while ago and gave him authority over the island installation. He had since turned it into Los Illuminados’ own personal fortress.

Fuck that guy.

Luis hissed in pain but he had to get down there. So, with a strained growl of effort, Luis was able to pull himself over the edge. He fell in a pitiful heap with an excruciating thud that knocked what little air he had been able to gather in his lungs right back out again. He had also, unfortunately, landed on his ruined back. He didn’t even have it in him to scream about it and had to make do with a less dignified yelp instead.  

Vamos Luis. ¡Levántate, Luis!

He had to help Leon.

Luis begged God, he begged anyone who would listen to a pathetic half dead bastard like himself to help him. He just needed a little strength, then he could get to his feet, pick up his gun, aim and just pull the trigger.

Someone must have heard him and taken pity on him because he finally got his wish.

If Luis had been in better shape, he might have had the energy to brag about that ridiculous shot he’d just made but as soon as he was sure that the threat to his friend was gone, his body finally gave up on him.

Luis groaned and fell onto his ass. His Red 9 tumbled from his numb fingers and skidded across the floor.

God… Please… He grit his teeth against the pain. He was so tired.

But Leon was at his side again. His friend was safe. Thank God, or whoever had been listening, that it hadn’t all been for nothing.

“Luis!”

The Spaniard looked up at the other man, the edges of his vison was blurring but there was a light behind the other man’s head. With his blond hair and light eyes, in the glow Leon looked ethereal. Luis tried to take in as much as he could of this moment because something told him that this was as close to an angel as he was ever going to get.

“I’m not looking good, eh, my friend?”

“Don’t talk…” Leon’s voice wasn’t much more than a quiet rasp.

Luis might have been imagining it, but it almost sounded like Leon was on the verge of tears.

Was it bad that he wanted him to be? Did that make him an even worse person just because he wanted someone to give a damn that he was… he was… dying?

And he was dying. There was no doubt about it now. It was a bitter pill to swallow after everything he had just gone through with this man, but it was one he knew he more than deserved.  

He was going to die down here in these damned invested mines after all. Food for what was left of those accursed bugs. He’d laugh if he had the strength to.  

“Leon…”

“I said don’t talk, Luis! Here… I have to get this off of you.”

Luis’s head felt so heavy. He couldn’t hold it up anymore and it dropped forward. He realized that Leon was trying to unzip his jacket and lifted his hand to try and stop him.

It probably wasn’t a good thing that he couldn’t feel either of his legs anymore. It also probably wasn’t a good thing that he was starting to lose more feeling in his right arm. He had to make this quick. They didn’t have much time.

“Leon…” Luis laughed breathlessly. Apparently, he did have the energy. “N-not now, eh?”  Then gasped, “Don’t… Escúchame. Por favor, mi cariño.”

It also probably wasn’t a good thing that his words were starting to slur either.

“It’s not funny…” Leon uttered, and it was softest, saddest sound Luis had ever heard from him. It made his already broken heart break all over again in a way he didn’t think it still could and it squeezed painfully in his ruined chest. He was starting to rethink his position on hoping that Leon would mourn him when he was gone.

Maybe it actually was funny. Maybe it was just… What did they call it? Ah… Delicious irony.

Maybe there was a level of sorrow so deep that laughter was the only thing left for them now.

Dios Mio. He wasn’t even sure if he was speaking out loud anymore.

He had spent so long running away. From this village and everything he’d lost. Then from everything he’d helped create with Umbrella. All of that effort just to end up running right back where he’d started. Again, he was deep in a mess of his own making. The only difference being that it was now with Los Illuminados.

Was he doomed to always the same mistakes.

Maybe he really was insane. Maybe he had lost his mind a long time ago.

Maybe so, and now he was going to die here because of it.

But now…

Maybe there would at least be someone that would miss him when he was gone.

“Mierda, realmente lo jodí de nuevo, eh? Lo siento, León. Lo siento mucho…”

They were supposed to leave this place together. Find Ashley and…

“Here… take this. The key to my laboratory.”

The three of them. They had made a pact. They were partners and Luis had pledged his on his life to help them.

It seemed like his debt was coming due.

After handing Leon the key, he had just enough strength left to put one last cigarette to his lips.

You know those things will kill you.

“Go there and remove those damned parasites. Help… Ashley…”

Leon refused to keep it and instead insisted on giving it back to the man dying right in front of him. Oh, if only they had more time… “No. You should hold on to that. I’m gonna fix this, Luis. I’m gonna fix you up and then I’m gonna get you out of here. And we’ll both… we’ll both find Ashley. She’s gonna expect you to be there. What… What am I supposed to tell her?”

Oh.

He was crying.

Joder.

What had he done?

“Lo siento mi amor.”

“Stop fucking saying you’re…” Leon sounded like he was quietly choking on his own words. Maybe he should stop talking. He was just making it worse.

Doing what he did best, he supposed.

“I don’t need you to try and make me feel better, Luis. I just need you to stop talking so I can help you. And let me get this goddamned jacket off of you.” Leon was starting to panic and that felt more terrifying for some reason. More terrifying than the fact that every breath he exhaled made it harder to inhale a new one. Every breath he could catch felt like another knife to his lungs. He was suffocating on his own blood, and he knew there was nothing in Leon’s kit that could stop it. “I just need… I need…”

Luis hated seeing him like this. This man had helped him more than he would ever know. There was something so unfair about that.

The numbness had begun to creep down his left arm now. It wasn’t strong enough to hold on to his lighter anymore. So, it slipped from his tingling fingertips and clattered to the floor between his useless legs.

“Leon.” He struggled to push the words out. They were definitely slurring now. His heart squeezed tight in his chest in response to the sounds coming out of the other man. “La única forma en que puedes ayudarme ahora, querida, es tomando esta llave y ayudándome a encender mi último cigarrillo.”

It was getting more and more difficult to think. He couldn’t keep track of what language he was even speaking anymore.

He wasn’t surprised when the other man actually reached down, picked up the lighter and used it to light the end of the cigarette still dangling from his lip. The first inhale was enough to make Luis cry with some small bit of relief.  Of course, Leon would light his cigarette for him. He hadn’t let him down yet. Leon was a good man.

A much better man than Luis had ever deserved. Though somehow, he must have earned enough favor with some higher power, because if only for a little while, he’d had him.  

“Y’know, I lead a pretty shitty life…” He lifted his heavy head in order to look the other man eye one last time. He was unable to hold back the sob building in his chest when the other man reached up to wipe away the tears that had slipped from his blurry eyes. Though, there were just more of them to take their place. Luis was just too tired to try and hold them back anymore. “But now, eh?”

There must really be something wrong with him to think that this man was even beautiful while crying. Luis’s heart ached at the sight.

Maybe, Leon could forgive him for this one day too.

His head lulled back, unfocused eyes blinking slowly, “What do you think, Leon? People can change… Right?”

The last thing he knew of this world was the warmth of Leon’s hand in his.

“You were a fine knight, Don Quixote.”

[thestayathomedragon]

.tempest.in.a.teapot.

“Oh, there must be some deal we can come to, Agent Kennedy? Something you want, no?”

The agent didn’t waver in his stance, gun still trained on the creature before him. Eyes hard as steel. But the ancient creature had not withered under stare such in their long existence, they weren’t about to start now.

“Ah… Or is it… Someone?” A grim smile formed on the creature’s face, shark teeth on display. They seemed so pleased with themself. They hadn’t failed to notice the way the man tensed in response to that.

“Oh… there is someone isn’t there?” They chuckled. “Of course, of course! There always is. Life… hasn’t been kind, has it? I can sympathize, Agent Kennedy. Life… can be so unfair… and well ‘You know who’… well… he tends to turn a blind eye when it comes to rewarding his most faithful.”

Leon growled low in his throat at that, but still refused to take his eyes off the creature.

“Hm, but you aren’t so faithful anymore, huh?” They tilted their head at him.

“What do you want?” Leon hissed.

The man was used to dealing with other men, or the poor, wretched creatures those men became or created. He had never encountered anything like them before, they were sure. He had no idea what he was dealing with but still oh so deliciously defiant. The creature might have been impressed if he hadn’t seen it so many times before. That didn’t make it any less mouth-watering when they broke these kind, so they weren’t going to pass up an opportunity when it was so temptingly presented to him.

“Oh, I think you know.” They purred, “But… that’s not what’s important right now. What is important is who it is you want, Agent Kennedy.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” The man hissed.

This Agent Kennedy was unsurprisingly stubborn. It certainly helped that he was handsome in his way.  Blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin. If it wasn’t for the taint of death that hung around him like a shroud dimming his glow, they could have almost mistaken him for one of those self-righteous messengers he’d encountered one too many times. Oh, but no. This one was far more interesting than those things. But then again, they supposed it didn’t take much.

Still, they were half tempted to keep him for themself. But alas, there were other more pressing matters to attend to. They would make this quick.

“Oh, I know.” They chuckled. “But you do want someone. You don’t think I can hear how fast your heart is beating, Leon? You don’t think I can smell you? Oh, how much you want my words to be true. They are you know… I can’t lie. Not when it comes to this. A deal is a deal is a deal. I must keep my part of the bargain as long as you keep yours. Those are the rules, my boy.” They shrugged. “All you have to do is tell me… Who is that your heart desires so? Who is it that you miss so much that you’d be willing to let little ole me go on my merry way?”

“H-how… how am I supposed to believe…” Leon cut himself off.

“Ah…” The fact that the man had even bothered to consider the offer was all the opening they needed. “How about this? Tell me who it is. And I’ll give you seven minutes. Seven minutes with the one you miss so. And if you are satisfied then we make our deal, no?”

The man’s silence was damning.

“Here,” the creature said, hands raised approaching slowly. Leon’s arm shook just a bit, but he didn’t shoot. Not that it would matter, but no point in telling the man that though. The creature stepped around the pistol that had been set on it and leaned into the agent’s space. “It’s okay, Leon. It’s okay to take something back for yourself. The world has certainly taken more than its fair share from you, has it not?”

The fact that they had been allowed to get so close was thrilling. To be so close. It always felt this exhilarating. “I know what you’re thinking. What if it’s true? Only one way to find out.”

The creature was pleased when the man’s arm dropped. Grip on his gun weakening, body trembling as it fought against temptation.

“That’s it. Now… Just a name is all I need.” It whispered into the man’s ear. “And I’ll take care of the rest. Go on…”

Glassy blue eyes looked up at the creature from underneath a curtain of blond hair. Hurt and regret wafting off of him in waves. Saliva pooled in the creature’s mouth.  

“Who did this world take from you, hm?”

The man’s mouth opened but nothing came out…

The creature leaned in closer and tapped their ear. “Just a whisper is fine. I’ll hear it…”

The man whimpered in defeat and the creature closed its eyes in pure bliss at the sound of its triumph. They always made it so easy. The creature sometimes wondered if their maker even realized how easily his indifference toward his pets made them so susceptible to their kind.

But then again, things would be a lot different if he cared at all, wouldn’t it?

“L-Luis.” There, the agent, the man, Leon Kennedy croaked. And it was such a small, pathetic sound. They might have felt sorry for him if they had been capable. “Luis Serra.”

Of course. But the creature had known all along. There was no such thing as coincidence after all.

Still the choked off sob of shame his new customer released after was just the cherry on top.

[thestayathomedragon]

This thing has like two different 'verses living in it now. The "Luis is back because of some unique plaga infection he got as a kid" 'verse and the "Luis is back because Leon made a stupid deal with a devil" 'verse. I really need to come up with better names for these. This one is part of the latter.

you put the ‘fun’ into dysfunction.

Leon hadn’t known Luis very long before the man was taken from his life just as quickly as he’d entered it.

In fact, they had only just met. The first hours of their budding relationship were spent fighting for their and each other’s lives in arguably the worst place on Earth at the time.

Because by the time Leon had shown up in search of “Baby Eagle”, the once idyllic, if not a little backwater, birthplace of Luis Serra Navarro had been turned into a nightmare hellscape. All due to a rather virulent parasitic infection and the death cult that worshipped said ‘rather virulent parasitic infection’.

Leon couldn’t help but feel little sorry for the guy even if he had become a bit of a pain in his ass.

During his journey through the village, Leon slowly accumulated bits and pieces of the place’s history. This of course included bits and pieces of Luis’s history. Though, never enough to get a full picture of the man but more than enough to learn that Luis probably wasn’t as carefree as he tried to portray. Opportunities to talk were few and far between. But that really didn’t stop Luis from trying. And somehow it didn’t stop Leon from getting attached. As much as he tried to fight it at first, the man grew on him. No matter how irritated Leon got with him, Luis just seemed to take it in stride. He seemed to enjoy needling Leon just get a rise out of him.

And Leon knew he could be a little hot headed when the mood struck him. And Luis struck him. Over and over again.

It probably didn’t help that he was also fighting off a quickly advancing plaga infection at the time.

In a fit of frustration, Leon had snatched the other man up by the collar and asked him what his problem with him was.

Luis had actually looked confused and maybe just a little hurt. And that’s when Leon realized it. Down in the caves, after having spent almost an entire day in this place, he realized that Luis had probably spent days, weeks, years in this place.

How long had it been since he’d had another normal functioning human being to talk to? Someone he could trust that wouldn’t try to use or kill him at the first opportunity?  

Being the only person not currently being piloted by a giant arthropod (Yes, Luis taught him that word. And yes, shut up.) must have really sucked. Definitely not because of the ‘not being piloted by a giant arthropod’ part but more for the running and hiding for your life from locals that probably knew you back when you still wore diapers part.

Talk about traumatizing.

If Leon had been chased through Raccoon City by his old babysitter while wielding an axe at him, instead of a bunch of, though no less unfortunate, strangers, he would probably be a lot more fucked up than he already was.

Leon figured that Luis probably talked so much because he finally had someone to talk to.

From that point on, Leon went a bit easier on the guy. Which was a lot easier to do once he’d had the man’s suppressant in his system. And once he did, he found that the guy was actually pretty funny. And thoughtful. And a lot smarter than he initially let on. Maybe there was something to that ‘I’m the brains and you’re the brawn” comment. Luis was apparently some kind of genius after all. Formally, one of Umbrella’s finest according to Hunnigan’s files. And not that Leon wasn’t still wrestling with that revelation, but the guy was still surprisingly easy to like.

Not only that, but Luis was actually pretty competent in a fight. He’d saved Leon’s ass more times than the military trained special agent wanted to admit. Though, if he were the kind of man to keep count, and he was, he’s say he’d still saved the other man’s hide more. Nonetheless, Luis had more than earned his keep. The former cult scientist was always ready with extra ammo when Leon needed it. Where he kept all of it in that form fitting jacket of his, Leon had never figured out.

When their trek through the maze-like caverns of the mines ended up stretching out to over a day, they found themselves with a lot of down time surprisingly. He’s gotten a few more bits and pieces of Luis’s life practically handed to him. It was like the guy couldn’t stand the silence and Leon didn’t really have the heart to keep telling the guy to shut up anymore so he listened. Luis told him about the village before all of this. About his grandfather, the man in the picture he’d found at the cabin where they had first met, and the boy in the picture of course had been Luis.

“You were a blond?”

Luis chuckled, “When I was a kid, yes. It got a lot darker as I got older. My grandfather said my mother had been the same way.” He shrugged.

Leon could see it. The man’s hair still had a few strands here and there of dark golden hair.

He wasn’t sure why, but Leon started to share more of his own life in turn. It turned out that the two of them had more in common than they ever would have imagined. Too bad it was all the fucked-up shit.

Which included their own personal grievances with Umbrella. Though, they both danced around that shared trauma. It was a little too close to the surface still it seemed. But they had easily bonded over all the rest.

The other man’s company was a comfort in the too quiet hours they spent in those mines. As much as Leon tried to ignore it, he recognized that look that Luis got sometimes. He’d seen it in the mirror almost everyday for years now. It was so many things… too many things honestly, but the most prominent of those things was loneliness.

It was the first time Leon felt like someone could understand him. Luis had lost his entire family entirely too young as well and had been forced to fend for himself at a young age. Though Leon had experienced losing his own family as well, he had at least been lucky enough to be taken into the system. He never would have imagined he would have ever been grateful for his experiences in uncertainty of the foster care system until he realized Luis had not had that same option. Leon couldn’t imagine having to feed, clothe and house himself all his own as a preteen. The guy was actually a lot tougher than he looked as it turned out. And though Luis didn’t go into details at the time, he had hinted at having to do some things that he wasn’t exactly proud of to get by.

Leon didn’t push. A man had a right to his secrets. Leon certainly had plenty of his own he had no plans on sharing.

Instead of dwelling on his childhood, Luis chose to focus on his university years. Tucked away in some off shoot of the tunnels, hiding away from their pursuers before continuing their journey. Luis quietly detailed his experience as having to take jobs here and there to support himself while he attended school. Even with the stressors of having to do it all on his own, Luis had still been able to earn his Graduate degree and Doctorate by the time Leon was finishing up his police training. Luis had been hired on by Umbrella before the ink was even dry on his diploma.

“So, you really are some sort of super nerd then, huh?” Leon asked while smirking at the other man, feeling uncharacteristically playful toward his unexpected companion.

Luis had chuckled in response, his usual good nature still holding strong despite their current situation and the turns their conversation had taken. “I suppose so. Didn’t have time to waste. And you were some copper in a sleepy little American town.”

Leon’s smile waned a bit then but tried to keep up appearances. “I wouldn’t have exactly called it sleepy.” And left it at that, he was still trying to process, trying to make sense of what he’d read about Luis in Hunnigan’s report and what he’d learned of the man during their time together.

“I’m just trying to make myself feel better…”    

Maybe one of those things was quite a bit of guilt too.

Leon could admit that he might have started to like the guy more than a little bit by then. He told himself that he was just impressed with Luis’s spirit. That they man hadn’t just given up despite his dire circumstances. Leon could admire a man that who was willing to put in the work. To keep getting up after being knocked down over and over again.

He could definitely relate.

But it wasn’t like they were best friends or anything like that just because they had shared a few stories here and there. They were just two people forced together under extraordinary circumstances. Leon was more than familiar with this scenario.

Trauma bonds.

After Raccoon City he’d been shuffled off to a therapist who had talked about it with him more than once. Claire, Sherry… Marvin… Ada. They had come up in session more than once though not by name. Still, they had become some of the most important people in Leon’s life. People who he had gained through some of the worse times of his life. People he loved so fiercely that it scared him to think about sometimes. He’d already come to terms with the fact that Ashley was sure to join those ranks soon enough but now it seemed that Luis would now also be added to that list.

“What are your plans after all this?” Leon had asked the former cult scientist turned cult defector.

Luis had given him a little smile then, dark gray eyes glinting in the low light, the purple glow of the Merchant’s light reflecting off his skin making him look soft and otherworldly.

He hadn’t thought that far ahead, Luis had said then. And for the first time Leon thought that maybe Luis didn’t think he would make it out of this place. Even after fighting all this time on his own well before Leon had shown up. Leon thought that maybe the other man thought that there wasn’t any point in making plans.

Luis had thrown his lot in with Leon and Ashley instead of leaving on his own. Even now that he was free of his own plaga infection, Luis still chose to stay and risk his life to help them and because of that Leon decided then and there that he’d make sure Luis made it out this too.

If only yet another member of Leon’s fucked up trauma family hadn’t felt differently.

The last leg of their journey saw the two of them go on a quite frankly insane journey through the remainder of the mines, traveling by a barely controlled minecart. Luis’s idea. Leon had thought the man had finally lost what was left of his sanity to suggest something so ridiculous. But without any other idea of how they could travel the impossible terrain on foot and the fact that they were running out of time, Leon had quickly given in.

It had been a truly unique experience. The two of them had exchanged wild glances more than once during it. Luis cheering the other man on when he made a particularly impressive shot while they raced along the track while being pursued by infected minors and chainsaw wielding maniacs. The grin on Luis’s face was infectious. He’d even crowed that it was ��kinda fun.’

Leon might have agreed with the man a little at that point, but he’d kept it to himself. He had a feel that Luis might have figured it out anyway if the look on the other man’s face was any indication.

The last mad dash through the final bit of the mines on foot while fighting off a horde of man-sized bugs, had left both of them nearly mad with adrenaline. Neither of them able to believe that they made it through in one piece. Both of them grinning, high on their hard-won seemingly immortal status.

Leon was hesitant to admit it at the time but it felt… nice… not having to go through these horrors alone. To have someone there to watch his back. And well it helped that that someone wasn’t half bad to look at. He surprised himself with that thought and quickly pushed it aside. He really should know better by now.

Though all it took was that intrusive thought and one faulty elevator and things between them quickly skipped right on from ‘hesitant associates’, past the tentative bonds of a new friendship and careened just as wilding as their ‘trusty’ minecart into something else painfully familiar.

Leon wasn’t a stranger to ill-advised romantic entanglements. Ada may have been the first, but she certainly hadn’t been the last. Though, to be fair, romantic was probably a generous description for what took place in that elevator.

Leon wasn’t exactly that shy, rookie cop floored by a kiss from a beautiful FBI agent anymore.

If there was one thing his years of grueling military training and the deadly missions that followed had taught him, it was confidence in the body he had worked so hard on and well, that you didn’t turn down a hot Spanish scientists no matter what gender they happened to be. And you especially didn’t do it when you weren’t sure if either of you were going to make it out of this alive.

It could have been his last chance to get laid after all and Luis looked like he might have known a thing or two about getting laid.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed the way Luis looked at him sometimes. Especially since Leon had done his fair share of looking himself. It certainly hadn’t helped that Luis wasn’t exactly subtle about showing off the goods. Leon could blame it on the adrenaline rush. The heat of the moment. Any and all the excuses he needed to end up in Luis’s pants were welcome.  

So, as these sorts of things often do, one thing led to another, then another, then another other. The culmination of those another others being Leon pinning the other man against the nearest flat surface and fucking his brains out.

Afterwards, Leon remembered that there was definitely a reason that he at least tried not to mix business with pleasure.

He had this annoying habit of getting attached.

Though, to be fair, Leon was probably well on his way to ‘attached’ long before Luis shoved his hand down the front of his pants and his tongue down his throat.

What really surprised him, however, was how normal it all seemed afterward. How normal Luis had been about it.

This had become a bit of a problem.

Leon had finally come to terms with the fact that Dr. Luis Serra Navarro was not Dr. William Birkin. He wasn’t some evil, sociopathic, mad scientist trying to turn him into his next fucked up bio-engineered nightmare.

He was just some guy. Some insanely smart guy who had tried to do something good, failed and instead got caught up in some really fucked up shit… twice now. And now was doing what he could to make up for it while he still could.

Luis was just some extremely unlucky guy.

And Leon liked him.

He liked him a lot.

Leon thought that he might even miss him when this was all over with, and they had to go their separate ways.

Turns out he’d been right.

[thestayathomedragon]

Summary: This wonderful work of art inspired this. The last thing i needed was another resident evil pairing to obsess over when i already have too many WIPs in progress but here we are

death's in a double bed singing songs that could only catch the ear of the desperate

He’s awoken by the sound of coughing.

Wet and rattling.

He is already sitting up, gun in hand, so fast he feels dizzy.

There’s a small dot of red orange glowing in the dark just there. Something is off about it. Something other than the fact that it has no reason to be there.

It’s not illuminating anything. It’s just… there. The center of a black void.

He asks who’s there. He gets no response besides the small dot getting brighter but for just a moment.

He smells cigarette smoke.

He hears breathing, shallow, and watery sounding, labored.  

Gasps. More coughing.

Gurgling.

The pitter-patter of water hitting the hardwood floor.

Shambling steps. Clumsy and uncoordinated.

He threatens and the steps cease.

He squints in the dark. It… it can’t be… what… who he thinks it is.

But he would know that silhouette anywhere. Long legs, clad in skinny jeans, lean torso, and gangly arms, broad shoulders.

The smoking shadow doubles over, and gags. It almost startles him into pulling the trigger.

Great trigger discipline, Agent Kennedy.

The small red orange glow is lost to the floor.

The shadow is coughing up something that sounds like more water, it splatters on the floor at its feet.

It isn’t water.

He knows it without having to see it at all. He can smell it now. Pungent and coppery.

He swallows around the lump in his throat, eyesight blurring.

Long time no see, Sancho.