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wisecrackingeric-2 · 1 year ago

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Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Summary: Set in an AU where Luis doesn’t die in RE4 and instead joins Leon in his missions, the two of them are sent on a mission to Spain, where they need to travel on horseback. Only problem? Leon doesn’t know how to ride horses. But Luis does, and he’s more than happy to teach him how.

Aka; Leon can’t ride horses so Luis teaches him how, and gay panic ensues. Some cute domestic dialog and humour at the end, too. Already established relationship.

Word Count: 10,000

Trigger Warnings: Discussions of Religious Trauma & Childhood Trauma, Implied Sexual Content (Nothing explicit, I try to keep it as mild as possible)

A/N: “Leon praisekink who”- my partner reading this

This entire fic is basically an Autism infodump about my special interest in horses LMAO. From the moment I saw Luis I thought to myself “oh yeah. That man was a horse boy”

Also quick warning for mentions of religious trauma and just general childhood trauma!! But this fic is 95% just silly flirting and fluffy romance with Leon being a flustered idiot. Sexual content is only ever implied

Also also sincerest apologies for any poor Spanish, I literally used Google for all of this CHBSHDNSXJ

((This can also be read as a sequel to my fic ‘I Don’t Care, I Love You’ https://archiveofourown.org/works/47597077 or as a stand-alone!!))

—

“ What?! Hunnigan, can’t you drop us off in, like, a helicopter or something??”

Government agent Leon S. Kennedy leaned over Hunnigans desk in shock and annoyance, while Ingrid just sifted through her papers silently, not even looking up to acknowledge Leon's overreaction.

Hunnigan had just unceremoniously given Leon his latest government-mandated mission: a trip to the middle-of-nowhere Spanish countryside, where even further beyond that lay an old, rundown farm. Apparently it was quite popular for locals to spread rumors and campfire stories about the place. But to the government and Leon’s dismay, it was also suspected to be housed to an underground group of rogue Spanish scientists; who were (again, heavily suspected- which to Leon meant basically confirmed) to be using its empty status as a testing chamber for the hundredth new strain of T-Virus. Even more delightful, people in the closest village were reported to be rapidly going missing and were last seen near the farmhouse. How fun.

“Leon, I think you’ll live” Hunnigan finally spoke, rolling her eyes. “It’s only a two-and-a-half day walk from the village you’ll be dropped off at”

“ Exactly, Ingrid! A two day walk!!” Leon said, throwing his arms around dramatically. “Can’t you give us even a Jeep?”

“Leon, a helicopter would be painfully obvious. And there’s no roads to the farm, it’s just empty fields”

Leon huffed, folding his arms and giving Ingrid a glare. Before he could speak up to complain more, though, she’d already shoved a pair of plane tickets and a stack of government documents against his chest. “You and Luis Sera will be leaving in three days. If you’re that worried about your poor old legs, you can have some extra cash to rent a couple of horses”

From behind Leon, a woman spoke up;

“ Oooooooooo , is Mr. Kennedy going on a mission with his boooyfrieeend??” Claire teased in a sing-song voice, mimicking the cadence of a schoolgirl. Leon just groaned and grumbled back a “shut up, Claire”, which caused her to giggle.

After saving Luis from a stab to the back- literally - he’d returned back to America from Spain as a wanted criminal for his involvement with Umbrella. But with enough bargaining (and near begging) from Leon, the president himself was kind enough to pardon Luis. Of coarse, he still had to face consequences; and was begrudgingly forced to work as an agent for the government. He agreed, but on one condition: He’d work with Leon on every mission.

At the time of finding out, Leon couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Luis would want to stay with him. It made his heart flutter and his face flush at the mere thought of it. But after confessing his love for Luis in an underground basement of a mansion (a long story for another day), the two of them became even more inseparable than before.

Luis always had a hand on Leon, and vice versa. There was never a moment where they weren’t together. Which did turn some heads at the office. And Claire obviously wasn’t an idiot.

“ Loo-ees and lee-oon sitting in a tree, k-i-s-“ Claire was rudely cut off when Leon threw his empty coffee cup at her lazily, which she caught in one hand without even having to look.

And so, three days later, Luis and Leon dragged their pre-prepared exhausted bodies back to Spain over a 13-hour flight. Which Leon felt was a bit cruel, but Luis was quick to point out ‘ we’re going back to where we met, mi amor! ’, of coarse that wasn’t exactly true, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Leon hated airports. But he hated them a little less with Luis by his side, consistently holding his hand and giving him small kisses on the cheek whenever he could. And getting stopped by the TSA for all his rings on his fingers. But that was besides the point.

By the time they’d landed in Spain, an escort car was awaiting the two of them- driving a few hours out of the city into the countryside gave the two men time to take a quick nap before they’d inevitably be thrown into another life-or-death situation. Luis took the opportunity to rest his head on Leon’s shoulder.

To both of their surprise, they weren’t dumped in the abandoned, half-dead wasteland of a village they were expecting: instead, Leon and Luis found themselves walking through probably the most picturesque, quaint little town they’d ever been in. It was situated on a small, rolling valley, with cobbled staircases and ramps dotted everywhere with clear roads and signs mapping out significant locations in the village. Each house felt unique; bright and colorful, most were painted a soft pastel color or, kept their natural brick and stone color- most houses had charming little chimneys and square windows, usually accompanied by some kind of vine or floral arrangement wrapping around the windowsill or creeping up the walls.

Convenience stores and bakeries were commonplace, and the whole place seemed to smell like vanilla and smoke.

Luis had his fingers interlocked with Leons’ as they strolled around the village, staring in awe at the quaint beauty of it all like starstruck tourists. They definitely looked the part at least, with comically oversized backpacks on filled with weaponry and supplies. The townspeople didn't have to know that, though. It was a far, far cry from the run-down village the two of them had first met in.

“Cariño, are we in a rush?” Luis asked, his eyes scanning over the appealing bakeries. “If not, we could perhaps stop and get some Ensaïmadas to eat? My treat” he winked.

As much as Leon would love nothing more than to nod and rush his partner over to the closest bakery to sit down to eat all afternoon with him, the sun was already high in the sky and realistically, he knew that were most likely on a timer. What with peoples lives possibly on the line and all. It took all of Leon’s mental strength to shake his head, “We probably are, unfortunately.” Noticing the small, tired look of disappointment on Luis’ face, Leon leaned over to give him an apologetic peck on the cheek. “I’ll make it up to you when we get home, promise”

Luis just playfully scoffed and rolled his eyes, “What? With those cheap American bakeries? Next time we’re in Spain, I’ll treat you to some real caro español la cena, bonito”

Thirty odd minutes later, Leon found himself at the bottom of the village valley leaning against a wooden fence-post, his head lulled to the side as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the afternoon sun.

Hunnigan was right, the fence backed into what felt like a never-ending sea of long, grassy fieldlands; the overgrown golden grass swayed gently in the wind, stretching on for miles onto the horizon. Leon could just barely make out some large windmills in the distance.

Luis had told Leon to wait at the gate that was supposedly their starting point for making their way to the abandoned farmhouse, telling Leon, quote; ‘ stay right there Guapo, I’ll go grab something that’ll make our trip a lot more bearable’

Leon hoped it wasn’t bakery food. As good as it sounded right about now, he didn't wanna start hiking through long grass with a stomach full of sugar.

A figure walking down the cobblestone ramps caught his attention- he couldn’t make out the details of the man with the sun in his eyes, but he could see they were leading along two horses at the shoulders, and could hear the iconic sound of their hooves clip-. Leon realized he was coming towards him, and as soon as he covered his eyes with his hands to block out the sunlight, he realized it was Luis; smiling at him as he held up the reigns to show Leon clearer.

“Oi! Yankee! Look who I found!” Luis’ grin was wide as he stopped the horses in front of him, looking very proud of himself.

Leon couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief wash over him; clearly Hunnigan had been merciful enough to give them some spare cash to rent some horses.

The one on the left that Luis was handing Leon was a dark bay, almost back color. It’s mane was short and shaggy, and despite its rounded young-looking face it was actually pretty big. The horse on the right was similar in stature, but was an off-white color, and had dark gray speckles splattered along its coat. Both horses were fully tacked up in possibly the most detailed tack Leon had ever seen. Not that he’d seen much horse tack in his life, to be fair, or paid much attention to them.

“…Luis, where did you find horses ?” Leon asked, a tiny bit of him expecting Luis to answer with an ‘I stole them’.

“I saw a small ranch on our way in!” He grinned, looking very proud of himself. “Hunnigan gave me some extra cash, so I asked the lady at the counter very nicely for the finest corcel they had”

Leon shot him a glare, “you flirted with the ranch worker?”

Luis gave him a fake gasp in response “what, me? Flirting? estoy dolido!” Leon thought for a moment he was being serious, but when he turned to see Luis fighting back his giggles, he knew his partner was truly being sarcastic. That lifted a little bit of the imaginary pressure off of his chest.

Leon extended a very wary hand to the horses nose- feeling a bit awkward, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to treat it like meeting a new dog or not. He hadn't exactly been around many horses in his life. Luis must’ve picked up on it, too.

“Don’t be scared cariño, he doesn’t bite” he teased, clearly already well-acquainted with his own steed as its giant head was resting against Luis’ shoulder, looking as if it was about to fall asleep with him scratching its forehead. Leon could feel the warm breath of his horse on his palm as it gave him a curious look. Was that a curious look? Horses didn't really have much… expression to them. But Leon took it not biting his hand off as a sign to go ahead and give its nose a wary scratch.

“Yours’ name is Oso, and mines Flicka” Luis handed Leon the reigns, adjusting his own before pulling out the stirrups from under the flaps.

“Are your stirrups long enough?”

Leon blinked at him, giving him a classic deer-in-headlights look. While Luis was expertly adjusting straps and pieces of leather here and there, Leon just stood there like an idiot; he’s had absolutely zero experience with horses, and no clue how to even ride a horse. Let alone ‘check the stirrups’ to see if they were ‘long enough’.

When Luis didn't hear an answer, he turned around and gave Leon a knowing smile, his hands on his hips as he tilted his head to the side a little.

“You don’t know how to check, do you, cariño?”

He didn't know why, but Leon found himself stammering over his words the second he was put on the spot- if it was anyone else, he would’ve snapped back a witty remark in seconds. But Luis had some kind of superpower to turn his brain to mush and make his face beat up the second he held any sort of power over Leon.

To make matters worse, Luis made a little ‘ tut tut tut’ clicking noise with his tongue, shaking his head, he moved over to Leon’s side, their shoulders pressed against one another’s. Leon suddenly felt very exposed beside him, like they were meeting for the first time again. As if they haven’t literally spent hours at a time cuddled up to one another naked under the sheets. That was just the charm of Luis Sera, he supposed.

“Here,” Luis pulled out the stirrup from under the horses saddle, his voice somewhat low and husky as he murmured into Leon’s ear; clearly enjoying this.

“Just pull them tight and measure them against your arm, they should be the same length”

Luis ran a hand down Leon’s forearm, stretching it out to check if it matched the length of the stirrups. Leon wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, or if Luis was being extra slow and careful with caressing his arm. He silently thanked a god he doesn’t believe in when Luis stepped back to help pull down the stirrups on the other side.

“Need a hand up?” Luis teased, already gathering the reigns on his own horse.

“N-no, thanks,” Leon said, stammering over his own words. The last thing he needed right now was a hand on his knee. Or any more ‘help’ from Luis, for that matter.

‘ Goddamn you and your stupid pretty face, Luis’

Shrugging, the Spaniard was quick to slip a foot in the stirrups and swing his legs over, and Leon couldn’t help but note to himself how naturally Luis took to being on a horse. ‘ Maybe he’s done this before? ’ He thought to himself, eyeing up the way he positioned himself in the saddle with his legs bent expertly on the horses side. He looked far too comfortable to have only done this once or twice, at least to Leon. Who, very ungraciously, grabbed into the front of the saddle and hauled himself up the horse; hearing it let out a grunt of annoyance as he slid his over each side as gently as he could. Leon tried to copy the way Luis held onto his reigns; but he ended up just balling them up in a fist. Which surely wasn’t the correct way to hold them. Also, Was he sitting too far back? Leon didn't feel quite comfortable in the saddle, but he also didn't want to shuffle forward and bother Oso more.

And plus, If Luis actually was more knowledgeable with horses than he was letting on, Leon didn't want to look stupid in front of him.

“You ready to go, Yankee?” Luis called out from just ahead of him, already walking forward. But before Leon could respond, Luis turned around and gave him a half-knowing smile.

“…muñeco, why do you look nervous?”

“I’m not nervous” Leon retorted back, suddenly becoming aware of the way his face was beating up. His- probably inaccurate- grip on the reigns tightened. He turned away from Luis’ eye context, but the other man just turned his horse to walk closer beside him. Luis leaned ever so slightly over his horses side, just enough to break into Leon’s personal space. He looked up at him through his eyelashes,

“Don’t lie to me, muñeco”

“I’m not”

Leon totally was.

He wanted to turn away and cover his face with his hands so so badly, but neither of them wanted to be the first to break eye contact. Even if it meant Leon had to endure his face feeling like it was on fire.

Luis’ eyes drifted up and down Leon’s body; the blonde could almost see the gears turning in that pretty head of his as he examined him, humming quietly to break the awkward silence.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Luis met his lovers eyes again, giving him that crooked smirk that broke Leon every time without fail.

“You don’t know how to ride, do you, cariño?”

Ah, there it was. Luis caught him red-handed. Leon had never even been on a horse before, and this bastard could tell. His silence was enough confirmation for Luis to give him a lop-sided smirk. Leon could hear him whisper something along the lines of ‘ que harias sin mí?’ Under his breath, before he slipped off of his horse and made his way around to Leon’s side, all the while the blonde tried (and failed) to collect his scattered brain and save at least some of his dignity

“W-wait you don’t have to get off-“

“But how else am I gonna show you how to ride?”

Luis gave him an ‘innocent’ look up at him, and something about seeing the handsome man below him, staring up at him through his long fringe made Leon’s whole body heat up and tense. He had to suck in a breath when, even worse, Luis slipped his hands up his calf and thigh; Leon wanted to just die right then and there. He wanted to bury himself in a hole and never have to talk to anyone ever again. He just prayed that Luis didn't notice his (probably inappropriate) reaction.

“Can’t believe Hunnigan sent you out here without knowing how to even ride a horse” Luis gave an exaggerated sigh.

“Can you feel the horses shoulder? You should have your legs sitting just behind there”

All Leon can do is nod like an idiot, wanting so badly to pull his leg away from Luis’ hand, which was very gradually sliding further up as he positioned it behind the horses’ shoulder. But at the same time, Leon was thoroughly disappointed when Luis inevitably took his hand off of his thigh to cross his arms and inspect his posture.

“Now this is gonna feel really weird, but you should only have just the toes of your shoes in the stirrups. Then put as much weight in your heels as you can”

Oh yeah. Luis was actually teaching him how to sit properly. Leon forgot about that. As he was ordered to, Leon moved his foot so just his toes were sitting in the stirrups and he put as much

pressure down on his heels as he could; Luis was right, it did feel odd. He wanted to instinctively slip the rest of his foot back in and flatten it out.

“Point your heels down even more”

Leon did as he was told

“Even more”

“I feel like you’re just messing with me now”

Luis let out a loud, genuine laugh, clearly amused by Leons’ characteristic grumbling. His laugh was so, painfully contagious, Leon had a hard time biting down his own smile.

“I told you it was gonna feel weird!”

“But this just feels like my foots gonna fall out,” Leon complained in response, earning a little tut-tut from Luis.

“confía en mi, bonita, you don’t want a broken heel from this trip, I don’t think that’ll help our odds in the field”

Leon just had to trust that Luis knew what he was doing as he pointed his heels down even further, earning a satisfied nod from Luis.

“Good boy”

Oooooooohhhhhh there it was again. Leon was seriously considering jumping off the horse head-first with his badly his heart started hammering in his chest. He didn't even wanna acknowledge his jeans at this point.

“Now I’m gonna need your hands, muñeco,” Leon dutifully nodded as Luis leaned over to clasp his hands over his partners knuckles’. Leon just prayed he couldn’t feel his hands shaking- the blonde felt a little silly and embarrassed, in all honestly. They’ve held hands a million-and-one times before, why was now suddenly any different??

Giving a little hum of approval, Luis turned Leons’ wrists over so his thumbs were facing the sky. “Have your thumb resting on top of the reigns, and the rest of your fingers around it. Imagine you’re holding a bottle,” he instructed, and Leon moved to rest his hands like he was giving somebody a thumbs-up.

“Like this?”

“Sí,” Luis nodded, before sliding his hands up Leon’s forearms. Leon internally cursed himself for jolting a little in his seat.

“Remember amor, these are your steering wheels; don’t let go of them to hold onto the mane or the saddle,” with his free hand, Luis demonstrated fisting up a bit of the mane in his hand before letting go to pat the pommel of the saddle. Leon did his very best to ignore how close his hand was to his crotch.

“Trust me, if your horse spooks and you go flying, your saddle isn’t gonna do much to save you. You’ll just slip off”

“Gee, thanks for the reassurance” Leon grumbled back, finally gaining enough courage to snap back a witty response. At least he hoped it sounded confident.

“I’m just being honest” Luis laughed, giving his thigh a little pat. “Now, your reigns look short enough, but if for whatever reason you need them shorter, just slide your hands down the leather and adjust them however you want, muy bien? You should always be able to feel at least a little bit of tension in the reigns”

Leon nodded, tugging his reigns ever so slightly, noting that his horse didn't seem to mind; it’s ears were laid back, looking relaxed, if not a little sleepy.

“Now, give Oso a little squeeze with your heels”

A little confused, Leon did as he was told, and was surprised to find that Oso started walking forward; if not very, very slowly. He felt almost sleepy in his movements, and Leon let out a little noise of surprise. He was far too focused on the feeling of Luis’ hands on his legs to remember that, oh yeah, he was meant to be riding the horse. And it was gonna move. Obviously.

Luis began to walk alongside him, not that it was very difficult to keep up with his sleepy horse. “See why I asked you to put your heels down now, amor?”

“Y-yeah,” Leon stammered, shifting in his seat to get comfortable. He wasn’t quite used to the feeling of the horse moving underneath him yet. “I didn't think that’s how you made a horse, uh, go”

“I still can’t believe Hunnigan sent you out here with zero knowledge on how to ride a horse” Luis shook his head, kicking rocks as he continued to walk alongside Leon, who gave his horse another squeeze with his heels to at least speed it up a little. “Yeah, well, it’s not like they cover horseback-riding in military training”

“Maybe they should,” Luis have gave a playful wink,

“But then that’d mean you wouldn’t have me as your teacher”

“How dreadful” Leon scoffed. But he was right, he much preferred getting taught by Luis than some uptight military officer.

“Now, if you wanna get your horse to move to either side, just open your arms out, like you’re opening a door for somebody”

Sure enough, when Leon did as he was told, the horse moved to the right; almost as if it was following his hand instinctively. He couldn’t help but smile at his success a little, and turned his horse to the left to show off a little circle for Luis, which earned him a congratulatory clap.

“Sí!! You’re a natural, Leon!”

“T-Thanks,” Leon smiled to himself, swinging his legs a little like he was a kid again. He liked being praised by Luis, it felt a lot better than any kind of begrudging compliment given by the military officers back home.

“Now, if you wanna stop, just puuuull back your reigns close to your chest, and give them a little squeeze. If Oso doesn’t stop on que, just shorten your reigns up”

Luckily for Leon, Oso stopped right on que, directly in front of Luis, who was already giving the big horse a congratulatory scratch on the forehead.

“And those are your basics!”

“Those were just the basics!? ” Leon groaned dramatically.

“Don’t complain, bonito, we’ll be here all day if you do”

Luis was right, as much as he was uh…. Enjoying the other man’s ‘lesson’, they were on a tight schedule. The sun was already hanging high in the sky, and if they wanted to set up camp at the halfway point, they’d have to leave sooner or later

“Speaking of, we’re probably not gonna get anywhere by just walking” Luis pointed out, almost reading Leon’s mind. He was right, as grateful as Leon was to not have to walk the whole way, these horses walking speeds weren’t any better than his own legs. In fact, he reckoned he could probably walk faster than both Oso and Flicka combined. They seemed very…. Sleepy

“I’ll try to be quick, but ah.. I think you know better than anyone I like to take my time” Luis batted his eyelashes with a faux innocence, shrugging his shoulders and lifting his hand up to place it under his chin, clearly trying to get a reaction out of Kennedy. No shot. Leon was ready to stay stoic in the face of his flirting, even if he could feel his stomach churn a little.

“J-j-just get in with it then.”

‘ Very smooth, Leon’

“Fine, but you’re no fun” Luis fake-pouted. “I’ll get you to start with a walk, but while you’re at it, try standing up in your stirrups and balance. And don’t hold onto the mane or the saddle, remember”

Weird request, Leon thought to himself, but he did so anyways. It was weird, usually he prided himself in being actually relatively balanced for his size, but the movement underneath him made Leon wanted to instinctively reach his hands down and lean on the horses neck for support. But he didn't, and instead kept his eyes in between Oso’s ears, focusing entirely on continuing to move forward or turning in a half-circle every so often. Suddenly the way his feet were positioned in the stirrups made a whole lot more sense; his heels kept his legs a lot more balanced than if he had his whole foot in.

“Now, this part I can’t really… show you, you’ve just gotta feel it”

“ Great,” Leon mumbled under his breath, hoping Luis didn't hear.

“Can you feel your horses gait? It should be a one-two-one-two pattern”

It took him a second of focusing to try and decipher what Luis meant, but he figured out he was probably talking about the horses stride. Sure enough, when he counted the moment each hoof hit and lifted off the ground, he could feel that signature ‘ one-two-one-two ’ stride Luis was talking about. It reminded him a bit of jogging, except obviously, double the legs. He listened out for the clip-clop-clip-clop sound of the hooves, it was a much better indicator than trying to figure out the horses’ stride by pure instinct.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got it!” Leon shouted out, turning around again in another half-circle.

Luis smiled, “great! Now try sitting and standing up and down to the beat”

That was infinitely trickier than just standing up in the stirrups. Each time he sat back down, Leon found himself struggling even more to get up without getting unbalanced- and then he wanted to hold onto the horses mane for support once he was actually standing, and by the time Leon would finally balance himself up, the stride had already switched and he had to sit back down again. Not to mention, it was getting increasingly difficult to focus on holding the reigns correctly, or keeping his legs behind the shoulders. And he was only in a walk still.

“Need a hand?” Luis offered out his hand to Leon, walking alongside the horse as the blonde struggled to get the trick right.

“Would that be cheating?”

“Not if it’s helping”

Leon thought for a couple seconds before taking Luis’ hand; and something about the way he smiled up at him, walking underneath Leon’s usual point of view…

It made him feel….

Interesting.

Maybe he wanted to see Luis underneath him more. Maybe he just wanted Luis to praise him like this more often. Maybe this was just a sign Leon needed to get laid more often. Who knows.

But one things for certain is that Leon was not going to forget this image anytime soon. He wished he had a camera, or some way to take a picture of Luis; he looked perfect to Leon, his hair in loose curls with that stupid toothy grin on his face Leon loved so much. He made a mental note to buy a new camera for next time they traveled.

“Ready to try trotting?”

All Leon nodded, not daring to speak as he turned all of his once broken focus back to the task at hand, taking this ‘lesson’ very seriously.

“Just give him another squeeze with your heels and he’ll be off. Just sit up and down, you’ll be fine. I’ve got your hand if you need me, cariño”

With just a little bit of contact in his heels, Oso was off. Suddenly that ‘ one-two-one-two’ pattern became a lot more exaggerated as the horse rolled forward, picking up its legs and the pace in the process. Leon felt like he was being thrown up-and-down, struggling quite a bit to not bounce around in his saddle. It was a lot easier to stand up and sit back down like this, though, now that he had a clearer moment to sit back down and back up again. Leon almost copied the horses motions with his own, sitting up when the horse moved up, and sitting back down when the horse moved down. At least that’s how it felt.

Luis was jogging alongside him now, hand barely on his knuckles as he gave a laugh of approval, whipping his long hair out of his eyes. “¡sí Sí! lo estás haciendo increíble amor!” He shouted over the rising wind. “¡sigue adelante, lo estás haciendo genial!”

Leon couldn’t help but smile, a wave of confidence rushing through him at Luis’ praise. He tried his best to keep looking forward at the imaginary road in front of him, but he couldn’t help but steal a look from Luis everytime he turned an imaginary corner. God he wanted to lean over and kiss that man so badly.

“Do you think you can go any faster?”

“ Faster?!” Leon snorted, shortening up his reigns a bit in preparation.

“I can try!”

“Good enough for me!”

Leon gave his horse a very nervous squeeze again, and he was off; the trot became bouncier and harder to sit, but Leon was actually doing it. He turned in a large circle, just to impress Luis, who had since fallen behind and was getting ready to mount his own horse.

Leon slowed down when he noticed Luis waving him over, shouting something over the now almost whipping wind, eventually coming back to a walk to meet him at the gate again, his heart thrumming with adrenaline. He noticed Luis was turned around, grabbing something out of his backpack on the grass.

“I can’t believe I forgot about this until now, but look what the lady at the stables gave me for free!”

Leon’s jaw dropped in a look of comedically disappointed shock when Luis pulled out a cowboy hat from his backpack, grinning like a madman

Of coarse Luis got a goddamn cowboy hat for free.

“Luis you got a cowboy hat?!”

“Whaaat you don’t like it?” He cuddled the hat closer to his chest, almost looking a little disappointed if it wasn’t for big smile on his face

“I despise it” Leon was lying. He actually loved it, it was just so corny and so very Luis that he wouldn’t let the Spaniard get away with it. It was actually a very beautiful hat, with encrusted diamonds on either side, accompanying the dark mahogany-coloured stains, Leon was actually a little jealous of the hat. Just a little.

“You should go back to that poor lady and give it back, it clearly doesn’t suit you” Leon bantered playfully

“ Doesn’t suit me? ¡Díos Mío! You hurt me!” Leon grabbed his heart in a dramatic show of pain, leaning his head back to shake the hair out of his eyes for extra emphasis. He slipped the cowboy hat on, too, for good measure.

“I can think of a lot more ways to hurt you”

Leon….

Did not mean for that to come out sounding sexual.

And of coarse, that meant Luis caught onto it.

“ Oh?” He raises an eyebrow, walking closer to Leon’s side.

“Maybe you’d like to see me with it on in a different position?”

Luis’ hand left his chest to sneak up Leon’s thigh, just ghosting the fabric of his jeans ever so slightly.

Leon completely forgot how to breathe in that moment. Or speak, for that matter. All he could do was stare right back into Luis’ gray eyes, which were staring right up at him through his eyelashes, underneath the wide brim of his hat, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Well mí amor… you know what they say about saving horses.”

Leon snapped out his teenage-boy brain for a moment to be completely confused. Huh??

“What… what do people say about saving horses??”

Luis bit his lip, smiling, giving the brim of his hat a condescending flick.

“Well, to save a horse…”

Before Leon knew what was happening, Luis had leaned up on his toes to snake a hand around the back of Leon’s neck, pulling him down closer to Luis’ height, and closed the gap between them to indulge himself in a kiss.

Leon didn't need to think twice about returning the kiss, immediately taking his hands off the reigns to slip his fingers into Luis’ long dark locks; grasping at them to bring his lover closer, tilting his head to the side so he had better access to his mouth. Luis returned the favor, squeezing a little at the short hair on the back of his neck he had his hand around. Leon sighed into it the kiss, feeling Luis’ eyelashes flutter against the skin of his cheek as Leon inhaled the smell of old leather and cigarettes. Luis always tasted like tobacco. Two years ago, he would’ve cringed at the idea of kissing somebody who smoked. Now he kisses Luis like the man was his only lifeline.

Unfortunately, though; Luis inevitably pulled back from the kiss, earning a little whine from Leon he didn't mean to slip out.

“…You ride a cowboy”

Ooooooooohh . That made a lot more sense.

Still, though, it caught Leon off-guard regardless. He stumbled over his words, trying to scold, thank and tease Luis all at the same time while his brain turned into mush trying to process all

The words at once. The imagery of “ riding a cowboy ” was unwantedly stuck in his brain now. Not that he minded very much.

Maybe he would like to see Luis with the cowboy hat on more often.

When all that came out were little squeaks of noise, Luis gave him a heart-melting smile, before taking off the cowboy hat to set it atop of Leon’s head; taking the time to brush his blonde fringe out of his eyes.

“You look very gorgeous with that hat on, muñeco”

Leon didn't bother to hide his blush this time, readjusting his hat to sit more comfortably, slightly tilted down. “You think so?”

“I know so”

The two men just sat there, staring up and down at each other for what felt like an eternity; neither one wanting to break eye contact, lest they let go of the moment they shared together.

But… they also had to get moving sooner or later. And Luis took the fall and gave a little awkward cough, turning around to do the walk of shame back to his own horse; it was Leons’ turn to giggle now, watching his lover swing his legs over the white mare and adjust himself in the saddle.

“You alright there, Don Quixote?” Leon called out, the wind suddenly picking up again as he had to raise his voice. This got Luis’ attention clearly, as shot back a very genuine smile at the tiny reference. He always loved it when Leon made little references here and there to the novel he knew off by heart. And was especially fond of when he called him ‘Don Quixote’

“¡Sí, Mí amor!” Luis yelled back over the wind, already beginning to trot past the gate and into the never-ending sea of golden grass.

“Let us save the Princess Dulcinea!”

“Lead the way” Leon smiled, following Luis past the gate- feeling a little bit like they’d just crossed the point of no return, chasing the sunset to whatever perilous dangers they had to face next. For a few moments, Leon could forget about the fact that they were about to face a group of possibly very dangerous scientists, with god knows what kind of supernatural virus bioweapons at their disposal.

For a few moments, Leon could just enjoy the way Luis’ hair blew in the wind, tangling and encasing his handsome face as the pair of them trotted through the long, yellowed grass. Cold wind nipping at their ears and noses as the sounds of their horses’ hooves thumped against the soil, leaving behind a trail of flattened grass in their wake.

Maybe an hour or so had passed before the wind finally decided to die down. The quaint Spanish town behind them growing smaller and smaller, Leon felt the familiar pull of anxiety grip his chest. He was very used to the feeling by now, watching as his only escape back to normalcy fall away into the horizon line. He shook his head, cowboy hat still somehow surviving the wind. It was hard to look forward; the grass surrounding them was almost reflective against the sun, almost glowing a golden hue as it stretched on for miles- it literally looked like an ocean, with the way every blade swayed in motion against any small breeze whatsoever. When a particularly strong gust would come through, it would send a ripple through the grass- almost looking like waves as it passes by the horses legs. It was long. Too; easily tickling Leon’s calf’s.

Oso and Flicka kept an even trotting pace- never far behind one or the other, if not always by the same side. Which Leon was grateful for, it meant he could always be almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Luis; he could spend the time getting into a rhythmic trot staring at his lovers pretty features- his hair, his nose, his skin- as Luis’ eyes scanned the horizon nonchalantly, constantly with a relaxed smile on his face. The sound of the horses hoofbeats synchronizing would be enough to lull Leon to sleep, if he weren’t in the situation he was in. He could really go for a nap right about now. His legs were growing tired from having to stand and sit repeatedly, and the beating afternoon sun was making him sleepy and warm.

Another twenty odd minutes pass, and as precisely according to plans the two men pass by their first windmill; it’s clearly old, wood tattered and worn, creaking with every turn. Luis looked absolutely delighted to see the windmills, though; pointing to them excitedly like a little kid, turning back to Leon as if to confirm he was seeing them, too.

“¡mirar! Windmills!!” He smiled from ear-to-ear

“It’s just like in Don Quixote!”

Leon couldn’t help but smile back at his enthusiasm. “Do you think our horses match, too?”

“Alas, no, Don Quixote had a mule as his steed,” Luis answered back, eyeing up the second windmill they passed. “He thought it was a white stallion. And Sancho had a little pony, if I remember correctly”

“Your horse is a bit of a white stallion, though”

“ Hah!” Luis leaned down to give his horse a big pat on the neck, earning a satisfied snort from Flicka. Leon followed suit, ruffling up his horses’ mane a little.

“These windmills look a lot like the ones back at my old village, though,” Luis changed the subject as they passed under the shadow of the third windmill.

“They were old, too. I don’t think anyone took very good care of them”

Leon was happy to start talking again; the hour of silence was slowly getting to him. Plus, he never turned down the opportunity to learn about Luis’ childhood. Neither of them had…. An ideal upbringing. That much was obvious. But where Leon became closed off and sheltered, Luis seemed to bloom the second he was out in the real world.

“Slightly off-topic, but how do you know so much about horses…?” Leon inquired, careful with his wording when it came to anything about Luis’ past.

“Did your Grandfather own some, or…?”

“Sí, we had some horses grazing on the property our little cottage was in,” Luis started. Leon remembered that cottage; tattered and burnt down, he remembered finding various bits and pieces of Luis’ past in the rubble. At the time, he didn't think to carry any of it back with him. But now he wished he did.

“In fact, the one my Grandfather used to let me ride looked a whole lot like Flicka,” Luis absentmindedly patted his horses neck again, staring out at the horizon, seemingly lost in thought as he didn't even acknowledge the fourth windmill.

“There were plenty of horses around, though, they were our only transport around the village, so it was kind of impossible for me to not know how to ride, y’know?”

“You guys rode horses around?? What, you didn't have cars or anything?” Leon snorted, trying to sound lighthearted. “Did you grow up in a cult or something?”

“Actually amor, yea, I did”

Oops.

Leon forgot about that. He internally cursed himself every swear under the sun as he should not have forgotten that Luis Did in fact grow up in a real-life cult goddamnit!!!! Leon tried to save himself, his mind reeling with every apology imaginable

“I- I- I- I-I’m s-so sorry-“

“Nono you’re fine cariño!!” Luis assured him with a playful laugh, clearly picking up on the fact that Leon just thought he’d just completely fucked up their relationship permanently “you didint say anything wrong!”

“I feel like I should’ve remembered that, though…” he mumbled under his breath, hoping Luis didn't hear him.

“It’s weird, I don’t mind talking about… that with you as much as I thought I would,” Luis began slowly, also seeming to be careful with his wording.

“I think maybe it’s… because you get me, y’know?”

Leon knew. He didint need to answer with anything, he just knew.

He hadn’t talked about it very deeply witn Luis, but he’d opened up about his traumatic childhood a little in the past. A good portion of it was repressed, though; and he wondered if it was the same for Luis. He couldn’t help but notice some definite religious trauma underneath his suave persona- the way he talked about his experiences with the Spanish church like it was a horrible memory was ever familiar to Leon. But he also noticed Luis hadn’t been entirely shut off from his faith like Leon had; throwing up the Sign of the cross everytime they charged into battle, or the cross chain necklace he hung around his neck- Leon highly doubted he was still a religious man, but old habits die hard.

“My village felt so isolated from the rest of the world when I was a child. I never knew life could look so..”

“Beautiful?”

“..Yeah,” Luis turned his attention back to Leon, breaking away from his gaze over the horizon. For a split second, Leon couldn’t help but wonder if Luis was talking about him.

“I still feel fond about the little things from when I was little, though. I remember my Grandfather used to show me how to fish on weekends, and he used to take me horse-and-carriage riding up to the church on Sundays.”

Leon let him talk, enjoying the way a familiar smile crept up on his face.

“Sometimes he’d let me use his old TV, and I’d just spend hours watching those Vienna Lipizzaners, hell, I used to imagine myself being one of the riders, all dressed up like Don Quixote riding off into the sunset to save his Dulcinea”

Leon laughed at the image of a baby Luis, laying down in front of a rickety old TV like he was watching cartoons after school.

“You were a ‘Horse Boy’?” Leon teased him. “That must’ve been hilarious ”

“Sí,” Luis giggles along, breaking out of his own memories for a moment.

“But I grew up as a girl, so it was a lot less awkward”

“Oh yeah, uh, me too” Leon corrected himself. It weird to think that at some point in his life, Luis presented as a girl; he couldn’t even begin to imagine the beautiful man riding the horse beside him to look any other way than he did now.

“Just Trans things, I guess”

“Truly,” Luis smiled, still staring into Leon’s eyes as they passed by the sixth and final windmill.

Leon didn't notice it at first, too focused on his lovers face; but Luis had reached out his arm, offering his hand for Leon to take. He gladly did. Even if it was a bit awkward trotting along beside him.

“I’m… I’m very glad I found you, amor. I’m not sure how we managed it… but I’m so so very grateful we found each other.”

Leon could easily give a whole speech about how he should be the grateful one; how finding Leon in that dirty, zombie-infested village while desperately searching for Ashley, and narrowly saving him from that stab to the back from Krauser was easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the best thing that had ever happened in Leon’s life.

But Luis already knew that.

So he just squeezed his hand tighter.

“Me too… I know I don’t say it a lot, but I’m dead serious when I say you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me”

Leon could’ve sworn he saw tears welling up in Luis’ eyes, but before he could take the time to check if he was right or not, Luis leaned over his horse to give Leon another kiss. Leon leaned over his side, too, hopefully making the distance between them a little easier to manage.

The kiss this time was a lot less intimate, with Leon finding himself kissing Luis’ teeth half the time as the Spaniard struggled to bite down a smile; and when Luis smiled, Leon was never too far behind. He tried to nip playfully at his lovers bottom lip, scolding him for not being able to keep his grin down- but it was hard to stay balanced as the horses suddenly seemed to want to do everything in their power to throw the two of them off each other. Shaking their manes out and snorting, eventually the two men had to break apart as their horses drifted off to the side.

They were both a giggling mess at the comedy of it all.

“You’re an awful kisser on horseback, cariño”

Leon gasped dramatically, grabbing his hat to keep it from loosening “Ex- scuuuse me, but I didn't think I’d have to practice kissing on a horse to get your seal of approval!”

Luis threw his head back into the wind and laughed, kicking his horse along to speed up; Leon didn't even notice at first he was trying to run away from him before he was already far ahead

“ Oi!!! Get back here!!” He yelled out, hoping Luis could hear him over the rising wind.

“ You’ll just have to catch me!”

Leon was nervous to speed up, cautiously giving his horse another squeeze with his heels or two to just barely pick up the pace- thankfully, Luis slowed down for him, but was still just out of reach. He turned around to meet Leon’s gaze,

“Do you wanna skip the cantering lesson and go straight into a gallop, cariño?”

‘No, actually, not at all’ was what Leon wanted to say back. He was already nervous speeding up in a trot, and he had seen videos of people galloping on a horse before. If he was already struggling to keep balance now, it was highly likely that in a gallop he’d just slip off into the tall grass and never be seen again.

But…. Also, his legs were getting very tired. Riding turned out to be a lot more work than he was expecting. Any relief for his poor muscles would be welcomed.

And, plus… how could he say no to that face? Luis had a hopeful smile, waiting expectantly for his answer.

“…Uh, yeah, sure, I’m down to..” Leon hesitated for a moment, weighing up his options.

“But what if I slip off?”

“Then I’ll be there to catch you,” Luis responded.

Somehow, Leon didn't think that’d be realistic. But the mental image of his lover turning a sharp corner to dramatically save him from instant-death was very appealing.

And he trusted Luis. With every fiber of his being.

“Then tell me what I need to do”

Luis’ smile somehow widened, “attaboy!”

Leon forgot how nice it was to be praised by Luis. He would do any and every dangerous stunt under the sun if it meant hearing him say that again.

“Now, remember what I said about never letting go of the reigns?

“…yeah?” Leon was already getting anxious.

“Forget that. Actually, that’s a lie; keep holding onto your reigns. Just grab onto a part of the mane, too”

Leon did as he was told, grasping a fist of hair gently in his hands

“OK, now what?”

“Stand up out of your seat and lean forward, but not so much that you’re falling over Oso’s neck, just enough to be in a bit of a two-point position”

Luis demonstrated on his own horse, sitting up out of the saddle and leaning forward so that his back was laid out flat. It took Leon a couple tries, with his routinely falling back into his seat; but eventually, he found himself copying the two-point to the best of his abilities. It definitely took the pressure off of his legs, weirdly enough, giving them a well-needed relief.

“It’ll be easier to hold once we’re off!” Luis shouted backwards, his horse already switching gaits from a trot to a slow canter, waiting for Leon to catch up.

After waiting a couple moments to catch his breath, Leon finally sucks up his anxiety and kicks his horse along to move it into a trot. It was almost as if Oso read his mind, because in just a matter of seconds, the two pairs of riders were flying across the yellowed grass fields.

Luis was right; it was a lot easier to hold his position. Leon held onto the horses mane a little tighter instinctively, trying his best to not look down at the rushing ground underneath him, instead focusing on the sound of the horses’ heavy hooves hitting the soil. After realizing that he was not, in fact, actively slipping off the horse; Leon found himself actually enjoying this a lot more than he’d expected.

Leon was even brave enough to take one of his hands off of the horses neck to grab onto his slipping hat, laughing to himself as fringe blocked his vision every so often. It reminded him of speeding on his motorcycle, a bit, but a lot more.. freeing? That sounded cheesy.

Leon turned his head to see how Luis was holding up; and just as expected, his partner was giddy with glee. He even had one of his arms out to catch the wind, just smiling and laughing to himself as he galloped off in his own world.

Leon felt like he was in a corny horse-girl movie, off to save his fathers ranch on the black stallion he tamed with his ‘magical bond’. But he couldn’t care less. Not when Luis looked so gorgeous in the sun, his skin almost glowing and his long dark locks getting tangled and thrown back around his shoulders. Leon could stare at Luis’ body all day, the way his jacket he never seemed to take off hugged his chest and shoulders and hips perfectly. The gold floral accents occasionally glinting in the sun.

Leon could get used to this.

The two of them arrived at their designated Resting Point far sooner than they’d expected to, even on horseback. It was signaled with a long, fluorescent orange flag stabbed into the ground- another agent must’ve previously scouted the area for the safest place for the two of them to rest without danger. Despite their early arrival, though, the sun was still just beginning to set. And with no light pollution or city skylines in the way to full the glow, it almost blinded Luis while they struggled set up their makeshift tent; Leon offering his hat as sacrifice for the poor man’s eyes. The yellow grass didn't help much, either, it’s flaxen feel reflecting off the suns rays.

Eventually, the two men managed to flatten out enough grass to successfully pin up their tent. They only had one, but one was enough. Luis tied the horses off to one of their spare poles with a lead rope he had in his saddlebag, and took the liberty of un-tacking them both (mostly cuz Leon didn't know how). They both gave their respective horses lots of pats on the neck and scratches on the forehead, earning them a loud, heavy sigh. Oso was especially tired, grunting loudly as he rolled onto his side into the long grass- almost squashing Leon in the process. Luis, of coarse, laughed first and helped him up second.

They spent the early hours of that evening mulling over maps and coming up with strategies, sharpening weapons and making sure their guns weren’t jammed and could successfully reload. As the hours went past, the sun started to sink over the grass horizon. The windmills they’d passed earlier only now being tiny dots in the distance.

Leon cooked the both of them as decent of a dinner as he could with the supplies he was given- Luke-warm baked beans on toast. Leon was used to the gross food he was given on missions at this point, but still complained nonetheless. Luis complained alongside him, dramatically describing him all the better meals he could make with just their flimsy cooking pot and a makeshift fire. They ended up just snacking on the candy Luis had stolen off of the plane on the flight in after dinner.

Leon absentmindedly braided his sleeping horses mane as he watched Luis smoke, the sun now gone from the sky, leaving behind the most gorgeous pink-and-purple sea of clouds, the dim cooking fire being their only source of light, aside from the occasional flame from Luis’ lighter. They shared conversations over cigarettes; or at least, Luis did. Leon liked to just rest his head on his partners shoulders, watching the smoke from Luis’ mouth rise up into the air in coils and eventually dissipate. It was oddly beautiful.

Luis was beautiful.

Leon let Luis talk for as long as he wanted to. Occasionally joining in, or giving him a little him to reassure him he was still listening.

Eventually dusk turned to evening, and Leon had taken to laying in Luis lap; his hand running through the blondes hair, massaging his scalp and carding the strands out of his eyes. Leon was close to falling asleep just right then and there; feeling every one of Luis’ rings against his scalp, listening to his lover quietly sing a Spanish lullaby he did not recognise.

Eventually, it got completely dark, and the stars came out, as if they were shining just for the two of them. Leon was lucky enough to be able to experience seeing the milky away and hundreds of thousands of constellations in a remote area like this before, but it never got old.

He wondered to himself if Luis ever looked up at the same stars he did when they were younger.

“…Aaaaand that one’s called the Roosevelts belt”

“ Uh-huh. And that one?” Leon pointed up to a constellation that was very clearly the Great Bear, aka Ursa Major.

Leon knew Luis knew absolutely Jack-crap about constellations or star patterns. Leon had to learn the basics in his military training, but that didn't mean he actually remembered them at all.

Luis wanted to be ‘romantic’ and name as many stars as he could, just like in those old black-and-white Spanish romance movies. But instead of actually guessing the stars’ names, he just made them up on the spot.

“Uh…. The Monty Python,” Luis spat out, clearly making it up that very second.

Leon burst out laughing, slapping his shoulder playfully “Luis that’s a comedy group!”

“ No no es, tonto, it’s a very real constellation . Everyone knows about it,” he tried to make a serious face but to no avail. Even in the darkness, his smile was obvious.

“What do you think it is, then, muñeco?”

“That’s Ursa Major,” Leon said, matter-of-factly

“We had to memorize it in training, in case we ever got lost in the dark, or if we didn't have a compass on hand”

Luis just mocked Leon, clearly having been caught in his lies with a “ mimimimi oooooo look at meeee I know the the names of staaaarss”

Leon fell back into his lap in hysterics, trying and failing to whack Luis in the face to shut him up (gently, of coarse). “You are such a sore looser!!”

“It’s not my fault you’re a…. Uh..” as Luis tried to find an adequate insult to throw back, Leon reached up and swung his arms around the back of his neck, pulling Luis back down into the grass with him.

They laid there for a few seconds, everytime they tried to stop laughing they’d see each others face and just start laughing all over again. It had to have taken them a good few seconds before they caught their breathes again, their laughs eventually slowing down.

Staring up at the stars, neither of them wanted to leave each others sides. Sharing the occasional kiss on the cheek, they knew they had to go inside soon; the fire was already starting to dim.

“…Could you point out any more constellations? For me?”

Luis asked, his voice shy and genuine as his thumb was running over Leon’s palm.

He smiled, “I’m not very good at it, but… sure”

“I don’t mind. I just want to hear you talk”

They stayed like that for easily another hour. Only retreating back to their tents and warm sleeping bags once the cold had started to make Leon sneeze.

They curled up to one another, as close as they humanly could; if it wasn’t for the fact that the sleeping bags were tiny, they would’ve easily slept in the same one.

Leon could feel Luis kissing the tip of his cold nose. He was huddled against him, fists right up to his chin as he tried to stay warm, and he could feel Luis wrap his legs over his underneath the sleeping bags.

Leon was juuust about to fall asleep, seconds away when…

“Leon, do you think Ashley ever had a Horse-Girl phase?”

Leon involuntarily burst out cackling at the totally random question Luis just shot out of nowhere

“ D-do I- what???” He tried to ask in between giggles. Even in the darkness, he could tell Luis was grinning

“I dunno! I just thought of it now!! Ashley just seems like she’d have a Horse-Girl phase y’know??”

“Luis, Ashley spent a majority of her childhood as a boy before she got to transition, so I don’t think she would’ve had a Horse-Boy phase. But I’m sure you could ask her”

Leon could only just barely make out Luis’ wide-eyed shocked expression through the darkness

“ Ashley’s Trans??”

“You didn't know?!?! Luis !!” The two of them completely devolved into shocked giggled, unable to form cohesive sentences

“ Díos mío it feels like everyone I meet is Trans!!”

“Maybe you’ve got sixth sense for it” Leon teased. Luis paused for a moment and Leon hoped that meant he was going back to sleep; Leon was tired dangit.

“… I still think Ashley had a Horse-Girl phase-“

“Go to sleep Luis!!”

59 notes · View notes

trans-luis-serra-navarro · 1 year ago

Note

TELL ME ABOUT TRANS LUIS!!! I WANT HIM TO BE TRANS SO BAD! (Also he has a giant neon sign over his head that says gay, this man reeks of homosexual)

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE OMG HEYYYYY HIIIIIII HELLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I’m SOOOOOO sorry this took so long I had SO MANY THOUGHTS!!!!! I plan on SOMEDAY Doing Like. A properly credited and researched document on why I think Luis is trans so this post is more or less kind of a tl;dr rather than a super proper read?????????? And ofc obligatory ‘this is just my own reading and personal interpretation if you disagree please just keep your opinion to yourself!!!!!’

Also this isn’t proofread like. At ALL so please ignore any sentences that seem wonky or weird HDBEHENDUDJX

ALSO also I do NOT give permission for this post to be screenshotted or reposted ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!! No part of this!! Don’t steal!!

Trigger warning for just general mentions of transphobia, religious transphobia and also I talk the death statistics for trans people near the end, so please keep that in mind when reading!!

Ok so, I’m gonna try and put this as chronologically as possible BXBSHDNSHDND but starting at the beginning from when Luis was little there’s already a few things we can pick up on

Luis has a pretty unorthodox family; his mum died when he was little and his dad left so he had to be raised by his Grandfather, and, ask any Trans person around you and they’ll tell you it’s oftentimes the people in their lives who weren’t their direct parents who decided to pick them up and raise them and accept them as they truly are- I feel like you could probably read this with Luis’ grandfather if you really wanted to, too. From what we can TEEEEEEELLL Luis held his grandfather and the memory of him very near and dear to his heart (ie referencing him in conversation, saying ‘not again’ when the medicine burns in seperate ways etc) so you could probably guess that maybe Luis’ grandfather was a surprisingly accepting figure in Luis’ life!!!!!

Which would also line up with the little we know about him- their house was somewhat far away from the rest of the village and from what the notes about him read, his grandfather was a bit of an outcast????? It seemed like the only person who checked in on him regularly was Bitorez- once again, another positive male figure in Luis’ life that he could theoretically look up to and admire.

AND we know that Luis’ grandfather encouraged his love for science and biology- something that prooooobably would’ve been frowned upon in a super conservative catholic glorified cult. So already, Luis and his Grandfather are a bit unorthodox in the setting they live in.

Then we cut to Don Quixote; obviously there’s a LOT to dissect about Luis and his love for that book, and it’s pretty common knowledge how,,,,,,,,, g a y that book is HXNEHENEUDIX like MAAAAAANY-a historians have already pointed that out I don’t need to beat a dead horse but ask literally any trans person around you and they’ll tell you about how they had a fascination with like,, Warrior Cats or Animorphs or Percy Jackson or Peter Pan growing up only to find out they were trans later. Trans kids are pretty drawn to books with unlikely protagonists who don’t fit the usual stereotypes and go on adventures with a whacky misfit family they formed by themselves- and Don Quixote kiiiiiiiiiiiinda falls under that pattern????? It’s a REALLY weird book and I wanna get into why later but it wouldn’t be shocking to assume that Luis probably grasped onto that idea of finding love and acceptance even though he was weird and unusual and he too could go on chivalrous adventures and do good in the world and be loved for who he is (I’ve kinda gone into this before and I plan on going into it again I’ll tag you in that post!!!!)

There’s also something to note about the fact that none of the village notes reference Luis by his first name. Luis is apparently a very “strong and masculine” name so if we ARE going off of the assumption that Luis is trans (which like,,. Duh HDNEHENDHS) then we can probably assume he picked that name for himself

It’s also pretty notable to note (hah) that like,,,,,, just in general, a lot of kids who grow up in a super religious environment just. Turn out gay and trans. I dunno why. I dunno what’s the exact statistic for that but like. Cmon. We’ve all seen it. We all know it right

Then huzzah! Luis’ Grabdfather dies!!! How sweet of him!!!!! /s obviously but Luis takes his death as an opportunity to run from home- again, something that’s sadly quite common amongst younger trans people it seems. When you loose your only support at home, and suddenly that home becomes unsafe, oftentimes the only solution is to run.

Now I’ve talked MUUUUUUCH more in depth about it in this post but considering the fact that Luis was probably a young teenager, an immigrant from the middle of nowhere, and had zero family or support- there’s a less than zero chance that he probably would have stumbled across the queer community one way or another. See, all throughout the 20th century, the queer and poc/immigrant communities were VERY intertwined- now I am WHITE AS ALL HELL so their history isn’t something I’m able to speak on with any amount of grace as actual people of colour could, so I’ll keep this breif and also if I’ve misrepresented anything PLEEEEAAASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME

Basically, like I said- the communities were very intertwined. They’d help each other and were sometimes seen as like the same circle of people when it came to what they were fighting for. All throughout history, this comes up time and time again- which is why I can only assume that Luis, a young person of colour having come from basically the middle of nowhere, would most likely find solace and a place in both communities- and would ABSOLUTELY have explored his gender and sexuality because of it. Even if he WAS cis there’s no way he wouldn’t have at least dabbled in a bit of the ol gender exploration every now and then

((Also, VEEEERY important to note that yes although trans and poc history are very intertwined they are still very seperate histories. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to not erase poc voices from this discussion when talking about this aspect of history- listen to your poc friends first and foremost before all else))

It’s also probably good to note that a few universities around that time were pretty notoriously open about being queer-friendly but we have no clue what exact university in Europe Luis would have gone to but idk we can probably guess he fooled around with some men and women HANSYWNEYENDUCJX

Then we cut to umbrella. I and a few other people have gone into how umbrella would have most likely groomed a young Luis into being excited to work with them and willing via offering him a place to stay, a college degree, a stable life etc etc but there’s also a sense of horror there when you take into account they could’ve offered him the ability to medically transition. Something that was NOT easy or very safe to do at the time. And plus this is resident evil so we can only guess what magical hoodicky they would’ve gotten to do that GDBEYWNDYDJ

From what we can tell, luis honestly enjoyed his time with umbrella!!!! He seemed to be friends with his coworkers and he was proud of the work he was doing (Yknow, before he would have found out it was all a lie and was going to kill millions HXBEHENEH) and honestly isn’t that every trans persons dream????? To have a job where you’re accepted and can feel safe at??????? To have friends who can accept you???????? It just makes what all went down all the more heartbreaking to me if we DO view him in the lens of being a trans character!!!!!!!!!

And then, of course, for the second time in his life; everything comes crumbling down. I’ve done seperate analysis on this and I plan on doing another cuz what I’m about to mention just hits,,,,,,,, S O O O O close to home to me, but when everything in his life gets destroyed AGAIN;

Luis chooses to go back to Valdelobos.

And isn’t that just so devastating?????? Because we as humans ALL do that- when life gets so bad and so intense we have no clue what to do, we all wanna turn to our parents or our childhood homes and get a hug and that feeling of nostalgia and safety from when we were kids that we missed.

But ask any other trans person and they’ll tell you that a lot of the time, that’s not what you’re gonna get; and that’s what happened to Luis. He went home, hoping- BEGGING- for some kind of support from the nightmares he just went through, only to be thrown straight into another one. Los Illuminados had been taken over and reverted his childhood home into something totally unrecognisable and forced him to work for them or else he’d literally be tortured. And isn’t that just,,,,, made all the more depressing when you look at it from a trans angle????

In this case scenario, when a lot of Trans people are forced to return to unsafe homes- they’re forced to push down their identity for their own safety. And reading that in Luis is just all the more devastating

And then there’s the whole thing where Luis literally SELF SURGICALLY REMOVED THE LAS PLAGAS FROM HIMSELF????????? WHY DONT MORE PEOPLE TALK ABT HOW TRAUMATISING THAT MUSTVE BEEN????????????? I know @/katabay made an INCREDIBLE post going into a religious reading on this and how I’m Don Quixote Alonso himself preforms an excorsism on himself and it’s weirdly erotic?????? And how that translates to Luis’ Plagas removal- they also made INCREDIBLE art go check it out- but throughout history there are a LOT of poems made by “”””women who want to be men”””” (aka trans men) who were religious at some point and describe the sensation of binding or getting top surgery to that of having an exorcism (this was mostly done to convince local churches that Hey no it was totally cool actually just let us get gender affirming care pretty pretty please) so, y’know,,,, maybe that meme that Luis showing Leon is scar was actually him coming out as trans wasn’t that far off HEBWYENXUXJXJDNC

And there’s also just the whole fact that he was a scientist that plays into this, too- Catholicism, specifically the hardcore Catholicism that Luis grew up with, absolutely HATES science. And the fact that Valdelobos seemed to be permanantly stuck in this 18th century cult-like state only confirms that they probably would have been anti-medicine, too; not only adding onto Luis’ guilt but also making him a prestigious scientist all the more impressive. Imagery that Luis is shown with (like that lil casket he carried around in seperate ways filled with the suppressants Ada needed) is often used by people in cults similar to Valdelobos to prove that ‘oh science is the devil!!!’ Etc, and y’know what else is related to science????

Medically transitioning babey!!!!!! A lot of the times hardcore religious people, again in similar cults to Valdelobos, use terms like ‘mutulating’ to describe medically transitioning and use already devil-associated imagery like science and modern medicine to hammer home that hatred of trans people (also obligatory not all religious people are like this in fact MOST religious people aren’t like this I’m talking specifically situations like the Gloriavale cult etc etc)

So like,,,,, again, that whole meme that Luis made his own testosterone wouldn’t be too far off BXNSHENDHDNX

But then we get some light at the end of this very depressing tunnel HXNSHENDUJ;

Leon, Ada and Ashley

Now from here on out I’m gonna get into some more like,,, CHARACTER dissection so I figured here would be the best place to put this HDBEYENEUS; Luis fits ALL the stereotypes of a stealth queer person during his time period. Like,, you know the song Gay or European????? Yeah that isn’t a joke that’s a real rhing European queer and trans men did to basically hide the fact that they were queer. It’s like. The oldest trick in the book. Which is why it’s SOOOOOO funny to me when I see Reddit dudebros going “errrrrmm actually Luis isn’t gay it’s just his Spanish charm!!” LIKE DUDE. YOUVE FALLEN FOR T H E TRICK. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A BIRD USING THEIR TAIL FEATHERS TO DISTRACT A PREDATOR.

And also Spain in general just has a very long and very beautiful Queer and Trans history- obviously it’d be way too much to fit into this one post but I highly reccomend just,,,, looking it up for yourself. Queer people have always been around :))

Ok ok, back to Leon- I plan on someday taking apart and dissecting EEEEEEEEEVERY interaction between them cuz it’s just. It’s all SO GAY. But in general, Luis treats Leon SO much differently than Ashley and Ada but in a good way!!!!!

Luis isn’t afraid to be open around Leon. He isn’t afraid to be flamboyant and jokey and flirt with him- and hell, he probably did enjoy that chain scene HXNEHENEUDJDJ he isn’t afraid to be more vulnerable and just generally what you wouldn’t consider a stereotypical “manly-man;” he doesn’t conform to western societies of stereotypical masculinity, and he isn’t afraid to show that around Leon.

He’s open with Leon- he’s vulnerable and he very openly CARES about Leon. He truly wears his heart on his sleeve and this is for a MULTITUDE of different reasons but I think a big part of it is not just because he’s genuienly attracted to Leon but because leon is a shining example of a chivalrous knight to him

I and many others have gone into this further; but when Luis first met Leon in that body bag, it probably honestly WAS like he was meeting his very own Don Quixote for the first time. He was probably a shining example of everything he wanted to be; brave, kind, never makes mistakes- and again I’ve gone into this further but this truly does play into his character and his very noble quest for redemption and forgiveness a lot and viewing this from a Trans angle just gives that quest SO much more power

Capcom does their best to make Leon out to be a super strong manly-man and @highball66 has gone into some of Leon’s own queer coding, but I think Luis also sees through this. He sees through his macho dudebro masculinity and he sees a genuine and kind human being underneath; just as Leon had done for him. Leon is everything Luis wants to be in a man- just like his grandfather and probably countless male figures in his life before him. So he’s not afraid to open up to Leon; he isn’t held back by that expectation of toxic masculinity because he wasn’t raised that way.

And he’s the EXACT SAME with Ada and Ashley too!!!!!!!! He CARES about Ada! He’s CONSTANTLY looking out for her and giving her the benefit of the doubt and he’s always so polite and kind around her!!!!!!!! Like yeah he puts on the front of being a ladies-man but again like SOOO many others before me have mentioned that’s probably just a safety front!!!!!! He wears his heart on his sleeve around Ada and Ashley, too- he’s always SO polite around her I feel like not enough people point that out????? He offered his hand out for her to take before inspecting the blood, he’s always asking for permission before he touches her etc he’s so nice people don’t give him enough credit for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And theeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnn it aaaaaaaaalll comes crashing down when he diiiiiieeeeeeessss,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

It’s pretty important to note that Luis is killed by Krauser; and again, other people have gone into Leon and Krausers queer relationship coding a lot better than I have, but it’s pretty interesting to note that Luis was killed by the guy who pretty much encapsulates all forms of toxic masculinity (again, that meme that everyone jokes about that Krauser killed Luis cuz he was jealous of Leon’s new boyfriend might not be far off HXHWHDUXHSH)

Luis uses his final breath to save Leon- to save the man who has shown him forgiveness and empathy and love for the first time in god knows how long. He opens his heart up to Leon in his final moments; he does one last ‘such a loss to the ladies of the world eh?’ As a last-ditch effort to try and convince Leon that he tooooooootally isn’t queer you guys and to try and hold onto that sense of normality; but he drops that act immedietly after Leon shows him that he’s taking this seriously

He opens up to Leon and admits that he led a pretty shitty life. He spills his heart out to Leon and asks him if people can change. And I’ve said rhis before and I’ll say it again; this is Luis looking for some kind of confirmation. Some kind of forgiveness and some way of saying that Yes his life DID mean something- that people CAN change and CAN be loved like he loved Leon and Leon loved him. And, hell, if we’re REEEEEAALY tryna stretch here (which I mean this whole post is tbh HXBSHSNEHDNSHD) you could even read this as Luis asking for somebody to accept him as he truly is, and see past the facade of a super flamboyant cis straight man. It’s not a stretch to say this moment is him looking and hoping that Leon can see through his past actions and see the beautiful human being underneath- so it wouldn’t be crazy to view it under a queer light either

Then, of course, Leon says that iconic line; you were a fine knight, Don Quixote. Confirming to Luis that he WAS like the chivalrous knight he always looked up to when he was little. Not just for his bravery and confidence; but also for his exploration of gender and non conformity in his sexuality. Leon confirms that for him in his final moments.

Then of course there’s the nature of his death; the fact that he dies below his childhood village is pretty telling to me.

Now this is where I’m gonna get into some depressing statistics, so readers beware, but unfortunately, there is a good chunk of trans people who will die in their childhood homes for many reasons. There’s been a good chunk of trans people all throughout history who have lived long, full lives but still were buried in their childhood homes and towns under their dead name or under the gender they were assigned to at birth. It’s depressing and there really is no making light of it- which is why Luis dying in the village he grew up in and tried so desperately to escape from hits so hard to me.

• Now HOPEFULLY obviously I am N O T comparing Luis’ death to actual real trans people’s deaths. But as somebody who HAS lost trans friends to suicide, the manner of his death absolutely REMINDS me of that and thus hits home harder for me. Go give your trans friends a hug, basically

But on the bright side, at least he didn’t die alone. He had Leon; he had somebody who could, theoretically, show the world who he truly was and remember him by his true name and nature. Luis won’t be totally forgotten underground; he’ll have Leon and Ashley and Ada ro remember the man he truly was just like how many, many trans people who have passed away will have friends and loved ones who will remember them for who they truly are.

Now I don’t wanna end this whole analysis on such a depressing note so I’ll add this at the end; I genuienly think that even if you DONT headcannon Luis as Trans, adding that element to his character not only enriches his already INCREDIBLY well written story but also just generally means the world to trans people in real life, too

Like,,,,, I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again; seeing a character who is so genuinely confident in themselves, so open about their emotions and their identity and who holds themselves in a way that isn’t stereotypically “masculine”- that honestly hits so much closer to home than any other trans headcannon ever has. I’ve gone into detail about how much Luis as a character means to me, but seriously, reading him from this angle lowkey makes me want to cry with how much it means to me HDBEHENEHDJX

Luis is a Beautifully written character who shows the best and worst in all of us humans- who shows that we all just want to love and be loved and be forgiven and given the opportunity to change. All trans people deserve that, too; we all deserve the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest.

Even if you want to comment ‘ErM weLl CapCoM woUlD nEVeR hAvE a TrAns ChaRaCTeR-“ does it really matter???? Does it matter if a character has a canon label slapped onto them, if people can already analyse that character from their own perspective and find deep meaning in that themselves????? Is a character who is canonically queer any more meaningful than a character who isn’t????? I don’t think so, cuz clearly, myself and many, many others find solace and comfort and relatability in the fine knight that is Luis Serra

And finally; André Peña, Luis Serra’s voice actor, has been VERY vocal about his support for trans people and has even said he absolutely 100% believes that Luis would believe in trans rights- so suck it transphobes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luis is for US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#I won’t put this in the main tags cuz I’m cautious of transphobes biting my ass but if anyone wants to add onto the conversation or-#-correct anything I might’ve said that’s incorrect PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m not relifious #I was never raised religious and I’m white as a ghost so anybody else’s input is greatly appreciated!!!!!!#luisposting #trans #important #serennedy #luis serra #luis sera

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