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“I sincerely hope I’m not interrupting your-“ there’s a pause as the Spaniard takes a moment to assess what the blond is watching “-is this Grey’s Anatomy?”
Leon pointedly does not make eye contact, choosing instead to stare at the television. He licks his lips and hopes that Luis doesn’t catch the way his eye twitches. “It might be.”
“Oh,” Luis states simply, looking between Leon and the television. Luckily for everyone involved, a helpful commercial plays to let them both know of the marathon taking place. “Oh, you’re watching all-“
“Did you need something? I thought you were going out?”
Luis raises a hand to his chest like Leon’s words had physically harmed him, stumbling back for dramatic effect. “Amor, I don’t care about your terrible taste in daytime television!”
With an agitated huff, Leon turns off the television, interrupting a slightly concerning holiday coffee commercial. It wouldn’t be worth it to explain that it came on as he was mindlessly flipping through channels and his morbid curiosity needed to see what happened next. It especially wouldn’t help that it started two hours ago.
“Don’t let me interrupt, I only need but a moment of your time!”
“Spit it out.”
Luis rolls his eyes and drops his hands to his hips, fixing Leon with a look that suggested he fix his attitude. Leon, in response, holds his hands up in surrender and allows his face to fall from its familiar scowl into something (almost) relaxed.
“We were invited out this weekend. To some amusement park.” He doesn’t have to say who invited them, Leon already assumed Ashley has something to do with it.
“Did you already agree to this, or are you genuinely asking me?”
The slight pout of Luis’ lip is enough of an answer, and the blond sighs, bringing a hand up to rub his head.
“Allergic to fun, I know.”
“I’m not-“ Leon pauses, tone coming out a little harsher than he’d meant. “I’m not allergic to fun. I’m allergic to crowds, and noise, and heights.”
Luis looks like he has something to say to that, but keeps it to himself.
“It’s also freezing,” the blond continues. “Is anything even still open?”
“What’s the opposite of ‘early bird’? Late cat?” Luis waves his hand as if to dismiss the thought. “It’s the slow season, tickets are cheaper.”
Leon takes a deep breath, running a hand through his hair before looking up at Luis again. He could barely deny his partner of anything. When Ashley was involved? Forget it.
“What do they have there?”
The way Luis’ eyes light up is almost reward enough. “Rides, games, faire food,” the Spaniard lifts off on his fingers, watching the blond for any spark of interest. He gets one at the mention of food.
“So, like, turkey legs and funnel cake?”
Luis absolutely beams, reaching into his pocket for his phone. Maybe getting him his own phone was a mistake. Leon doesn’t have much time to object before he’s dialing, turning to walk out onto the balcony without much more notice. “Ash? You won’t believe who said yes.”
—
Of course it’s warm when the three travel to the amusement park. The time of year meant nothing, it seemed, as the three of them rode with the windows off of his Jeep. The weather had given him false hope with a chance of rain, like he would be so lucky. Ashley had called shotgun, and carefully navigated them with the help of printed out directions. The worst of it was the parking lot. Slow season his ass.
Ashley and Luis had already been making a game plan, strategically mapping out what rides to go on and when the best time to try some of the games would be.
“You know, I used to stand up on the gravitron,” Leon interrupts their scheming, a smile spreading at the wide eyes that turn back to him.
“What, sideways? While it’s spinning?” Ashley’s smile is wide, and her tone suggests she doesn’t believe him.
“Yeah, when I was younger. Mostly to impress girls.”
“So impressive,” Luis snorts. “A lost skill, I’m sure.”
“We’ll see.”
“Shut up,” Ashley laughs at the idea of it, “you’re gonna puke, you’re too old for stuff like that.”
First of all, rude. Unfortunately, though, she was probably right. If not due to his age, then due to the amount of abuse his body endured over the last several years, physical or otherwise.
“We should hit the big rides first, before we eat,” Ashley is right back to plotting, her pace quickening. Luis keeps up easily, and Leon is happy to keep a few paces behind as a third wheel. “Oh! We should make the ferris wheel our last ride, we can see everything all lit up!”
Leon feels a chill run through him, but he manages to keep his outward composure. He sees Luis glance back at him from where he walks a few steps ahead with Ashley, but whatever he’s thinking he doesn’t speak up about. Leon has a sinking suspicion that he knows something is up, but he seems to be sparing his pride. For now.
—
Carnival games are a scam and everyone knows it. Unless you’re Ashley Graham, in which case carnival games are very fun and easy to win.
Leon and Luis simply stand back and watch, again, as Ashley seemingly effortlessly tosses rings onto bottles, securing her another prize. Two more wins and she could trade in all her prizes for an aggressively oversized bear.
“This is a joke,” Luis’ statement is more of a question, and he turns to his partner after a moment of silence.
Leon simply shrugs, brow furrowed as he watches Ashley clean house. “Sure. Cue the laugh track.”
The Spaniard rolls his eyes, attention brought back to Ashley as she squeals with delight at another successful game.
“I think we should’ve given her a gun,” Luis teases as Ashley turns her attention back to the men. “ All this time she’s been so talented. Could’ve really used your help in Spain.”
“You two were perfectly capable! And you weren’t exactly throwing rings at people.”
“You ever heard the expression that ‘close only counts with hand grenades?”
“And horseshoes,” Leon interjects.
They both turn to face the blond, giving him a look that was a little too similar for his taste. They had to stop hanging out so often.
By the time Ashley wins the bear, she’s amassed a small gathering of people, all as equally impressed by her talents as the men she’s with. Blissfully, she ends up giving the large prize to a young child. Leon thinks it’s a little bittersweet for the poor parents, but at least they won’t have to carry it around with them.
Ashley and Luis skip on ahead to the last attraction before Leon can even suggest anything else. At least with them a few steps ahead they wouldn’t notice how anxious he was becoming.
—
Fear is a funny thing. With everything that he’s been through, Leon is almost a little surprised that there’s something out there that still bothers him. And yet, standing in line for a fucking carnival ride, he almost wishes for another apocalyptic scenario. Almost.
Ashley is none the wiser, swaying slightly in tune with whatever song is playing over the speakers. She mouths the chorus, occasionally pointing at one of the two men with feeling as she pretends to sing along.
Luis seems as unbothered as ever, trying to discretely smoke a cigarette despite the posted signs advising against it. He shakes his head with a smirk when Ashley points at him, but otherwise does his best to ignore the way she bops around as they wait.
From the corner of his eye, Leon catches Luis looking over at him. After a minute of it happening, he considers asking about it, but the Spaniard speaks up on his own.
“It looks like it only seats two, maybe Prince Charming can hold your bag?”
Ashley whips around to look at the ferris wheel, watching as people enter and exit the ride in sets of two. She pouts, and almost turns back to voice her complaint, but Leon’s luck runs dry a second time.
“Oh! Look, they had three in a car! We should be fine!” Ashley nods towards a group of people as they exit the ride, all bright smiles like they hadn’t just been dangling at a deadly distance off the ground.
Luis makes a noise of acknowledgment, dropping his cigarette to the ground and snuffing it out with his shoe. “Maybe-“
“Don’t,” Leon interrupts. “It’s fine. It’ll be fun.”
They look at him as though he grew a second head. Luis seems more concerned where Ashley just seems a little confused. Clearly, his tone wasn’t as convincing as he thought it would be.
Luis’ brow furrows, but before he can say anything else they’re being ushered forwards into the small metal car by some park attendant that doesn’t even look old enough to drink, let alone operate heavy machinery. They’re all going to die.
Did it matter that he watched three rotations of people get on and off safely? No. It actually increased his chances of death. This thing was sure to break down eventually, the odds just raised with every circle it spun. And now it was their turn and they were going to die.
“You okay?” Ashley snaps him out of his trance as she takes a seat in the car next to him. Luis slides in across from them. The whole layout is familiar, but not in a comforting way. In a way that put him back in fight or flight and reminded him that they were going to die.
“Peachy,” it comes out more harsh than he’d meant, but at least his voice didn’t crack. It takes every ounce of his focus to keep his face collected. He could self destruct internally, but he’d be damned if he lost his cool.
He doesn’t catch the small smirk that Luis pulls initially, but he feels his heart skip a beat when the Spaniard throws his weight back to jostle the car they’re in. Leon’s eyes snap up in a glare, but Luis only laughs a bit under his breath.
“Amor,” Luis moves his foot to cover one of Leon’s, “You can get off, we’ll go without you.”
Leon can’t even pretend to object before the ride is moving, and he grips the edge of his seat tightly as their car swings through its ascent.
Ashley starts to get the idea that something is up, and she seems genuinely concerned as she leans over towards the door of the car to look over the edge. More than likely, she had good intentions to call out to the rides operator and ask him to let them off, but the motion only causes the car to swing more.
“Stop!” Leon snaps, and he feels Luis press on his foot, snapping him back to reality. “Sorry, just. Stop moving. Please.”
The car raises a few feet, then stops to allow more people to cycle on and off.
“Oh my god,” Ashley finally seems to connect the dots as she watches the color drain from the blond’s face. “You’re scared of heights? You should’ve said something!”
Luis takes a very loud and exaggerated deep breath, leaning back and draping his arms along the back of his seat. How he’s so casual about dangling in the air is anyone’s guess. Still, seeing him so relaxed almost helps Leon settle. Almost.
“You’ve done much scarier things,” Ashley looks up at him, also seemingly unbothered by the fact that they were going to die.
“With both feet on the ground.”
“You saved my life, like, three times!”
“Not in the air!”
The car starts moving, and Leon sucks in a sharp breath. When it stops again, he releases it with an irritated huff.
“But you went on rollercoasters.”
“That’s different. It doesn’t stop.”
Luis snorts, looking out at the view. Ashley continues to talk about anything that comes into her head, and it doesn’t take long for Leon to catch on that she’s trying to distract him from the situation. He focuses on keeping his breathing steady, keeping his gaze mostly on the floor of their car to avoid seeing how high up they were.
The car starts and stops again. Very carefully, Ashley scoots closer to link their arms. Luis presses down on his foot again.
“I’m fine.”
“Then let go of the seat.”
Leon looks down at his hands, knuckles white against the metal of the bench they sit on. The car starts moving in again, slower now as the ride truly starts.
He doesn’t argue again, just lets Ashley start to ramble. Luis occasionally chimes in, pressing his foot down against Leon’s every so often. It’s grounding, almost enough to distract him from their ever impending deaths.
“What about the helicopter we took to get home?” Ashley had paused mid sentence when the thought had apparently crossed her mind.
“What about it?”
“You were fine on that?”
Leon offers as much of a shrug as his shoulders will allows while still white knuckling the seat. “It’s different.”
“Yeah, it’s higher up,” Luis chimes in helpfully.
Leon shoots him a look, Luis shoots him a wink.
Somehow, they’re brought back down to the ground, and not in a burning ball of metal. They managed to survive certain doom once again, and only at the cost of Leon’s pride and sanity.
Neither of the two mention how nervous Leon had been once they’re all safely out of the car. Instead, they each take a side of him and lead him towards the various food stalls. Ashley still has an arm linked with his, and Luis holds his opposite hand.
“See what I mean? We’re immune to bad things happening for a while. Especially you after your last mission!” Ashley takes the lead, pulling both men along after her.
Leon doesn’t comment, unwilling to jinx anything now that he was still alive. The only thing that made this whole experience worth it was the promise of faire food, and with his luck, he’d get food poisoning.
—
The wide eyed look that Ashley and Luis share would almost be funny, if not for the circumstance. The expression of “oh shit” has never been more clearly personified than just now on their faces. Leon looks past them at the food stall they’d stopped in front of.
The park is sold out of funnel cake.
—
The day ends with the three of them back in the apartment, and Leon is quick to kick off his shoes and make his way directly to the couch. Truthfully, he has half a mind to go right to bed, but after all that Ashley put up with today, he could stand to be social for a little while longer.
He drapes his arms over the back of the couch as he sits, letting his head fall back and his legs come up to rest atop the coffee table. Usually, Luis would have something to say to that, but he’s uncharacteristically quiet. Maybe he still feels guilty about the food situation.
Ashley follows him to the couch and plops down under the drape of his arm, setting the mug she’d picked up from the amusement park gift shop down by Leon’s feet. I Survived the Ferris Wheel is printed in big red letters. Leon considers kicking it off the table, but the thought of moving is more offensive than the mug at the moment.
Luis sits on the other side of him, throwing his legs up over both of their laps as he leans back against the arm of the couch. “So. Did we all have fun?”
Ashley tries to stifle a laugh.
“Oh yeah, another day in paradise over here.” Leon doesn’t bother to pick his head up as he speaks.
“We’ll make it up to you!” Ashley leans into his side, attempting to get comfortable under the two of them. “You can pick the fun idea next time.”
“He doesn’t know how to have fun,” Luis shifts his leg to nudge the other man’s stomach.
“I’ll let Buddy know you said that.”
“Who's Buddy?” Leon can feel Ashley’s eyes flicker between them without even having to look. Luis nudges him again, harder this time.
“You know, I don’t tell her everything, Sancho.”
“I do,” Leon smirks a bit. It’s not often he gets the upper hand in gossip with Ashley. “It’s Alex.”
“Oh, the threesome.” Ashley’s nonchalance makes the blond laugh, and he picks his head up in time to see Luis’ scowl.
“Relax,” Leon moves his arms down to pull Luis’ legs further onto his lap before the Spaniard can pull himself up.
“I’m surprised you guys don’t do that more,” Ashley shifts again, leaning back against the other arm of the couch, draping her legs over Luis’. Leon moves his arms to accommodate her as well.
“Well, he lives in another country,” the blond does his best to adjust himself under the combined weight of their legs. How he became the resident footrest escapes him.
“Not just with him,” Ashly rolls her eyes like it was an obvious statement.
“And why would we do that, princess?” Luis has gone from embarrassed to interested, maybe a little quicker than Leon would’ve liked.
“It just sounded like you guys enjoyed it! And you’re both hot, you get hit on all the time.”
Leon looks over at Luis, whose face goes from skeptical to thoughtful to optimistic pretty quickly. “They hit on you two, you mean.”
Luis snorts, “They hit on you, amor, you just don’t know it.”
“People don’t comment on how nice your hands are unless they’re flirting, Leon.” He turns back to look at Ashley, catching her shaking her head. “It’s a miracle you picked up on Luis’ hints when you did.”
“They weren’t hints, they were instructions” the Spaniard smiles, bringing a hand up to pat the blond's arm where it rests on his legs. “And you almost couldn’t read.”
“You know what, both of you can sleep on the couch, how about that?” Leon huffs in annoyance, but can’t do much more than that with two pairs of legs holding him down.
The two of them laugh at that, but let their teasing die down. Leon isn’t sure who flips on the television, but he doesn’t miss Luis’ smirk when Ashley catches sight of what’s on.
“Oh! I love Grey’s Anatomy!”
—
Snow is falling the next time they see Ashley. Holidays were usually a blur, not like they typically participated in much. One year they had been invited to a Redfield Thanksgiving at the insistence of Claire, but lately they prefer a low key holiday season. Until Ashley found out about it.
“Heights and girls. Anything else you’re afraid of that you’re not telling me, Sancho?” Luis leans casually against the door frame as he watches Leon finish getting dressed.
“When’s the last time you got excited to go to your old boss's house?”
“Like you’re not friends.”
“Yeah, but still.”
“Well,” Luis pauses, a smile spreading across his face. “There was this one time- I guess you could consider it ‘continued education’? Like a business meeting around the holidays one year. That was exciting for my team. Until we met these young, weird twins that upstaged us.”
Leon snorts at that, buttoning up his shirt and looking up at Luis to continue.
“Wanted to put the one kid in a trash can. Didn’t think it’d go over too well.”
“What a bully. I thought you liked kids,” Leon turns his attention to the mirror as he drapes a tie around his neck.
“When they’re not from The Shining maybe.”
“The kids in The Shining aren’t twins.”
“What if I choked you with that tie?”
Leon smirks as he looks back at Luis, enjoying the annoyed expression. “Then you can explain to Ashley why we skipped out on her holiday party.”
“No, she’d help me hide your body.”
Ashley, upon learning that the two men did not participate in any holiday cheer during the winter months, insisted (read: demanded) they both attend another of her parties. At least this time they wouldn’t be confused with pirates.
Leon couldn’t remember the last time he actually enjoyed a Christmas, and he was honestly surprised Luis hadn’t pushed for a tree in the apartment. Probably didn’t want to carry it up five flights of stairs. And string lights around it. Or decorate and undecorate. Why do people enjoy Christmas trees again?
The holidays were spent with the promise of not being interrupted for work, a marathon of Hallmark movies, and an abundance of Chinese food. Or at least, they were when Leon was living alone. His hands pause mid knot and his brows furrow at the thought of it.
“Forget how it goes?” Luis asks from the doorway.
“Do you want anything for Christmas?”
Luis’ brow furrows, and he hits Leon with a look that makes him think he maybe really messed up.
“It’s December twentieth.”
“No, I know, I just,” he paused dumbly. He, in fact, did not know.
“You didn’t seem into the holiday, I assumed you didn’t celebrate.” Luis still has a skeptical look to him, and it doesn’t make the blond any less nervous.
“I do. Well, I don’t. I mean, I could. If you wanted to.”
“And if I do want to? What then?”
Leon offers a shrug. What then? Great question! Then he had four days and exactly one favor to call in from the literal President of the United States to get his boyfriend the perfect Christmas gift.
Luis laughs lightly at whatever expression Leon must’ve had, pushing off of the door frame and stepping closer to him. He bats the blond’s hands away from his tie, undoing it so that he could start over.
“If I did want to celebrate,” he starts looping the tie around itself as he speaks, “I would say a vacation would be nice. Or a dog.”
“You want a dog?”
Luis shrugs, “It gets lonely here when you travel for work.” He finishes tying fairly quickly, and he smooths the fabric down against the other’s shirt. Taking a step back, Luis gives the blond a once over.
“Like what you see, Quixote?”
“You clean up nice, Sancho. But we’re going to be late if you let me look for too long.”
“Aren’t we always late?”
Luis meets his eyes with a quirk of his brow. “You really want me to choke you with that tie?”
“Do you really want a dog?”
Luis laughs, maybe a little harder than Leon intended with that joke, but it had the blond smiling none the less.
“Come on, amor. Let’s not keep our princess waiting.”
—
Luis smacks the nearly empty carton of cigarettes against the palm of his hand, looking absently out across the night. To his right, Ashley sits with one arm wrapped loosely around herself, the other raised to allow her to bite at her nails. The air they share is tense, to say the least.
Wracked with anxiety, Luis has already deep cleaned the apartment, twice, nearly broken the television when he couldn’t find anything to take his mind off of the current situation, and finally resorted to calling Ashley in for emotional support.
“He’s stupid.” Luis finally declares, pulling a cigarette from the carton and lighting it quickly. “Does he think he’s invincible?”
Ashley doesn’t respond, but that doesn’t stop Luis from talking.
“And the nerve of these people to not update us. You would think they would want you in the loop at the very least.”
“I don’t speak Spanish.” Ashley chimes in eventually, but Luis seems to ignore her.
He blows smoke aggressively at the sky like a curse. “And what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Just sit and hope that someone reaches out with good news? Or any news for that matter.” He turns to face Ashley now, gesturing with his hands more as he continues.
“I can’t understand you when you speak-“
“Intentionally keeping us in the dark like we weren’t involved in biowarfare already.” He takes a step towards her, but shakes his head and turns away. He starts pacing without even seeming to realize it. “I have a fucking doctorate in bioterroism don’t you think they could use my help? And you know what else-“
“Luis,” Ashely snaps him out of his trance. When she had stood up is anyone’s guess, but she’s suddenly in front of him with both hands on his shoulders. “I don’t. Speak. Spanish.”
The Spaniard blinks at her once, twice, and clears his throat. “Sorry,” he offers, in English this time, turning back to face over the balcony.
Ashley lets her hands fall to rest on the railing, standing close to the Spaniard and leaning into his side, “I’m worried too. But it’s Leon. I’m sure whatever he’s doing, he has everything under control.”
Luis appreciates the gesture, and throws an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. She’s just as worried about the blond as he is, surely, but she’s only seen Leon as the hero. Ashley wasn’t around to see Leon be human, and he’s confident that was intentional.
He’d see Leon take hits and get back up, sure, but he’d also seen the toll it took on him. There’s not enough herbs and spray in the world to keep everyone safe, and with the way the world was advancing? Who knows what exactly he could be up against.
The Spaniard takes another long drag from his cigarette, blowing smoke out with a low sigh. He gives Ashley a squeeze before letting his arm fall.
“You’re right,” he lies, lies well even, “this is why I wanted a damn dog in the first place.”
—
Leon loves hospitals.
Sure it’s too bright and smells like antiseptic, but he truly is never more rested than when he’s in a hospital. Could that be accredited to whatever they have pumping into him through his IV? He didn’t really have the capacity to know or care at the moment, actually.
He turns his head to take in his surroundings, blinking a bit to bring them into focus. Monitor, fluid line, call button, remote for the bed and the television. The room seems small. He’s likely not sharing it with anyone, but whether that’s a perk or a precaution is beyond him.
Turning his head the other way, he realizes he’s not as alone in the room as he initially thought. A dark haired man stands with his back turned to him, looking out the window. He’s fidgeting with something in his hands, and whatever it is makes this little clicking sound that causes Leon to groan. The other man turns around then and their eyes meet. Absently, Leon can hear the sound of his monitor speeding up.
Oh no, he’s hot.
“Welcome back, Sancho,” he smiles, but his eyes are tired. “You’re lucky. If you were in better shape I’d kick your ass.”
“Oh,” Leon nods lightly. This guy knows him.
“They said you might be a little foggy from your pain meds. How do you feel?” He walks around to the front of the hospital bed, removing a clipboard from the frame.
“Like a million bucks,” the blond shifts a bit to sit up a little straighter, as much as his body will allow.
“Mild concussion, that’s generous,” the brunette starts listing off, “cracked ribs, multiple contusions, abrasions, some burns. And somehow, you still got away with your pretty face unscathed.”
Leon can feel his face heat slightly at the compliment. Was this one of the doctors? Did he have a crush on his doctor?
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re surprised that I said you’re pretty.”
“Oh,” Leon nods again, and looks around the room for a moment before opting to just close his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not looking at you.”
The brunette laughs lightly at that, and Leon can hear him return the clipboard to its stand before he hears him walk around to stand at his bedside.
The bed dips slightly with the other man’s weight, and Leon opens his eyes again to find the other man sitting by his side. The monitor speeds up again, and this time the other man’s smile reaches his eyes.
“You know,” the blond starts, “I have a boyfriend, so whatever you’re playing at isn’t going to get very far.”
“Do you?” He opens his mouth like he wanted to say something else, then closes it again. His brow furrows in thought for a moment.
“Yeah. I hope they called him.”
“They did. He’ll be here when you wake up next.”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re mad that I have a boyfriend.”
The other man laughs again, and Leon barely registers that he’s taken his hand until he feels a small squeeze against it.
“Go back so sleep,” he leans in to press a kiss to Leon’s forehead.
The blond can feel his face heating again, but he’s surprised to find his eyes are too heavy to open again. Actually, this is fine. Hospital drugs rule.
“Yeah,” is what he means to say, he’s not exactly sure if it comes out as clearly as intended.
He feels his hand get squeezed again, feels the weight shifting off of his bed, and he can hear the other man walking across the room.
“Give him a few more hours, princess. He’s not all there yet,” the other man speaks to, presumably, someone new.
Leon is asleep again before he can hear their answer.
—
He’s woken next by something cold touching his chest, and he startles awake, one hand coming up to grab the wrist of his assailant. She lets out a startled yelp, and Leon blinks a few times to bring her into focus. He takes in her scrubs and her wide eyed shock to his reaction, and it takes another few seconds for him to process where he is.
“Sorry,” he releases the poor frazzled nurse quickly, and he feels pretty guilty when she takes a step back to compose herself.
“So much for ‘Prince Charming’,” a voice comes from his right, followed by a small snort.
Looking over, he almost immediately relaxes back into the bed. Ashley is sitting in a chair that looks like it belonged in the room, while Luis was standing in front of one that looked like he stole it from the nurse’s station. He’s tense, like he was about to pull Leon off of the nurse himself if he hadn’t come to his senses soon enough. That bodes well for his embarrassment.
“May I continue?” The nurse pulls his attention back, and Leon nods, turning to face straight ahead so that she could take his vitals or whatever. She’s quick to record whatever information she needs, but she fixes Luis with a sharp look before she leaves. “The doctors wanted me to remind you that this is a smoke free campus.”
Leon looks over in time to see Luis hold his hands up in surrender, and to see Ashley roll her eyes. The Spaniard waits until the nurse has been gone for a few moments before he goes over and shuts the door to the room.
“You’re looking better,” Ashley speaks up as she makes her way over to the blond.
He tries to sit up a little more, and it takes a significant effort not to wince at the way his body protests. “Feeling better,” he agrees.
She pulls him into a hug that’s only a little awkward with the position, and he pats her head reassuringly. “You had us worried sick.”
“Sorry,” is his only intelligent response. It makes her laugh, though, so that’s good for something.
She pulls back and shakes her head at him. “I have to make some calls. Do not let him smoke in here, they’re going to kick us out.”
“It was one time, and I’ve already apologized!”
Luis is shaking his head by the door, and he swats at Ashley as they pass each other to trade places by Leon’s bed. He waits for her to leave the room before he looks down to face his partner.
“Did you take the smoke detector out of the bathroom?”
“An alarm went off when I tried. I’m almost surprised you slept through it.”
“Rookie mistake,” Leon smiles up at him, Luis just shakes his head.
Luis isn’t as careful as Ashley when he leans in to embrace the blond, but he finds that he doesn’t exactly care. “I’m going to kill you if you ever pull that shit again.”
“At least you have faith in me to make it home for you to kill me.”
Luis snorts, shaking his head where it rests against Leon’s shoulder. The blond curls his fist into the back of his partner's shirt to pull him closer, but he’s met with a familiar texture.
“Is this my jacket?”
“One of them, yeah.” Luis pulls back reluctantly, straightening the dark leather to show off a bit.
“That’s cute. Did you miss me that much?”
“I have a boyfriend, ease up on the flirting, Sancho.”
Whatever expression he pulls makes the Spaniard laugh, though he’s not too sure what the joke is. He’s sure Luis would explain it later.
—
Leon is discharged later that day, and he’s only a little sad to be leaving. Back to the real world and out of hospital limbo, with the help of some aggressive amounts of ibuprofen. Ashley offers to help get him settled back at the apartment, but Luis assures her that he has everything under control.
They take the elevator up to their floor for the first time since Leon initially moved in, and Luis helps hold Leon steady as he kicks his shoes off by the front door.
“Did you redecorate?”
“No, just cleaned. Maybe reorganized a little.”
Leon hums as he releases his partner, making his way over to the couch. He falls heavily onto it with a small groan, bringing a hand up to run through his hair.
“Did I ever tell you that I love what you’ve done to this place?”
“You could stand to tell me more often.”
Luis makes a stop at the kitchen first for a few bottles of water, and from where he’s sitting, Leon can see him reach up to take the smoke detector off the ceiling. He stops again to open the balcony door before finally coming to sit with the blond. Normally, he would object to his partner smoking inside, but an exception can be made once and a while. He sets the bottles of water and the smoke detector on the coffee table before pulling his cigarettes from his back pocket.
“I got to ride a motorcycle,” Leon waits until Luis has pulled smoke before he speaks up, giving the Spaniard half a chance to settle in.
“I heard you blew up a highway.”
“I’ve also decided we can’t have a dog.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think I’m scared of them.”
Luis snorts, blowing smoke in the general direction of the balcony before looking back at his partner.
“Scared of dogs?”
“Dobermans, for sure. I think if it growls at me I’ll go into fight or flight.”
“You’re gonna shoot my dog?”
“That’s why we can’t have one!”
They’re both smiling, and Luis throws an arm up over the back of the couch. Leon leans into him easily.
“Maybe a cat?” Luis offers after a moment of thought.
“I’m allergic,” the response is sheepish, like he’s embarrassed of it. “My last girlfriend had a cat and it was the devil.”
Luis hums in acknowledgment, taking another breath of smoke and letting his arm fall down to rest around the blond’s shoulders. He seems tense, but Leon attributes that to his general stress over the whole situation.
“Maybe a vacation, then.”
“Vacation for sure,” he agrees easily.
“Or bring me with you next time.”
“Out of the question.”
“Because I’m not BSAA trained and certified?” Luis snaps, but shuts his mouth pretty quickly after that. He doesn’t look at Leon for a response. Scratch the stress thing, he’s mad.
“Are we gonna fight right now?”
“That’s your choice, Sancho.”
Leon’s brow furrows and he pulls back, despite his body’s protesting, to face Luis more fully on the couch. The Spaniard doesn’t move, just continues to look straight ahead, pulling his arm back up to rest on the couch to give him space to move.
“Spit it out.”
Luis shakes his head, his jaw tightening stubbornly.
“Whatever it is you’re wanting to say? Just say it.”
He’s still silent, but his brow furrows like he’s doing his best to hold it in. Behind his head, Leon can feel him clench and unclench his fist. He takes another hard pull from his cigarette.
“Luis.”
“Leon.” It comes out sharp and with literal smoke, the Spaniard finally looking over at the blond with narrowed eyes. It’s foreign to see him like this; they never fight, and Luis is always the easygoing one.
The blond has enough sense to him to keep his mouth shut, and he takes a deep breath in an attempt to compose his feelings and his face.
“Just say it,” he starts again after a moment. “Please.”
Luis takes a breath, short and irritated, but looks straight ahead again. “Do you think I wouldn’t be helpful?”
“No-“
“Did I not prove myself enough back in Spain? Did we not work well together?”
“We did-“
“Do you think I can’t handle myself out there, then?” Luis looks back to him then, curling his fist around his cigarette to extinguish it. He’s only seen him do that once before, when he was especially mad at something. There’s enough calluses on his hand that he likely didn’t even feel it, but the sight still sits uneasily in Leon’s gut. “Am I going to slow you down?”
“It’s different. Spain was different. There’s not room for mistakes with these things-“
“So it’s because I make mistakes?”
“It’s because I can’t protect you!” Leon finally snaps, turning to face the other more fully on the couch. “It’s hard enough watching my own back. I can’t- it’s a risk I’m not willing to take. If something happened to you and I wasn’t there-“
“Hey, idiot, how the fuck do you think I feel?” Luis has turned now too, gesturing to nothing as he speaks. Leon knows it’s bad when he switches back to Spanish. “You think it’s easy for me to just sit here and not know what’s happening? When or if you’re coming home?”
“No-“
“Especially when I know I could help you? You think it’s easy for me to watch you leave and not know if my next call from Ashley is going to be about you being dead?”
Leon sighs lightly at that. He knows the other man is right, and that he was being selfish in this whole mess. It didn’t change his stance on the matter, truthfully. There was no way he was letting Luis back out into the field. But he had a point, he knew more about the whole situation than anyone gave him credit for.
“Well?” Luis prompts after a moment of silence.
“You’re right. And I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” Luis seems to deflate a little at that, like he was expecting more resistance.
“I know it’s selfish. I just-“ he pauses, head bobbing light from side to side as he tries to find the right words. “It’s just you and Ash. That’s it. I can’t risk something bad happening to you because of me. Not when I fought so hard to get you here and keep you safe in the first place.”
Luis brings a hand up to rub his face and brush his hair back, taking a deep breath to collect his own thoughts. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“It’s shelved. We’ll talk about it later, if it comes up again.”
“Is it?”
“I just got you home, I’m not losing you over a fight so quickly. There will be time for that on vacation.”
“You won’t lose me, Quixote,” he shifts closer, back to where he was initially sitting, but stops there.
Luis gets the hint, and he seems to relax a bit as he moves back to throw an arm over Leon’s shoulder once more. The blond leans into the other, letting out a small sigh.
“Hey,” he speaks up again after a moment, looking up at the Spaniard from where his head rests against his shoulder. “I love you.”
He looks down at the blond, sighing lightly as the rest of his face softens. “Yeah, love you too. But you’re still a pain in the ass.”
Leon ignores the ache in his body as he reaches up to cup the other’s face, tipping his head up to kiss him. Luis leans into it, tilting his head slightly to make it easier. It starts slow, easy, sweet even. It turns heated quickly, with the stress and adrenaline of how much the really missed each other finally being brought to the surface.
Leon breaks the kiss for a moment, “You taste like smoke.”
“You taste like isoflurane.”
“What’s that?”
“Anesthesia.”
“You’re such a fucking nerd.”
Luis laughs lightly before pulling him back for another kiss. The way he flicks his tongue against his lip makes it seem like he doesn’t mind the taste too much. Leon lets him lead, opening up for him easily and leaning back to guide them down to a more comfortable angle, laying back against the couch.
Even from his position on top of him, Leon can feel how careful Luis is being. He’s got an arm on either side of the blond’s head, and he’s holding his weight up. He tugs at his partner’s (or rather, his own) jacket in an attempt to get him closer, but he doesn’t budge. The noise Leon makes could technically be classified as a whine, but he’ll never admit to that.
“I’m not gonna break.”
“You’re already broken, amor.”
Luis takes the opportunity to trail kisses down the blonds neck, infuriatingly gentle. Leon brushes a hand through his partner’s dark hair and tugs in an attempt to encourage something rougher, more normal for them, but he doesn’t get more than a grunt from the Spaniard. He goes so far as to rock his hips up, thankful for the fact that Luis wouldn’t be able to see the way he winced at the movement.
“Luis-“
“Leon,” a hand comes down from next to his head to push his hips down and keep them still. Even now, it’s less of a pin and more of a heavy suggestion with how light Luis’ touch is, “I spent the last two weeks thinking you would come home dead. Let me take my time enjoying you.”
He feels heat pool in his gut and in his face. Oh.
“Oh,” Leon nods lightly.
“Tell me to stop and I will,” Luis watched his face for a moment, an easy smile spread over his features. Finally, some normalcy.
Leon would go back and redo the last two weeks of fighting again if it meant Luis would keep looking at him like that. He nods again to acknowledge his words, hoping he looks less dazed than he feels. Blissfully, Luis returns to pressing kisses to the side of his neck, trailing his way down his throat until he has to tug his shirt down.
Luis pauses, pulling back to look down at the blond with a small hum. “Can you-“
“Please don’t make me lift my arms right now.”
“Do you like that shirt?”
“Do not. Rip my clothes.”
The Spaniard smirks, but settles for pushing the shirt up instead, exposing more skin. His smile falters slightly when he sees the discoloration decoration his torso, but he doesn’t give either of them much time to dwell on it before he’s leaning back in and trailing kisses down his stomach.
Leon can feel the other man unbuttoning his pants, and he tries to shift his hips to accommodate him as best he can. “Why am I the only one getting naked?”
“If I take off my clothes I’m going to fuck you,” Luis answers bluntly, pausing his decent downwards to make eye contact again.
“And?” Leon watches his partner's eyes go from surprised to something he can only classify as hungry in less than a second. He’d laugh if it wasn’t insanely hot.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I want it,” he assures, shifting more insistently to help Luis get his pants off.
The Spaniard is a little less careful in his haste to get their clothes off, but Leon doesn’t care. He grits his teeth to keep from showing how sore he really is. The way Luis rips his jacket and shirt off is a nice distraction.
The blond doesn’t get much time to stare before Luis is on top of him again, pressing himself a little closer this time as he captures his lips in another kiss. Leon can feel the strain in his arms and core from where he’s trying to keep from resting all of his body weight against him, and he rocks his hips up again to try and bring him even closer. It seems to work as Luis grinds his hips down against him with a low groan.
Leon reaches between them to pry his partners pants open, reaching in to find his dick already painfully hard. He squeezes and strokes as best he can with his limited space, his other hand coming up to hold the side of his face. Luis breaks the kiss with a small huff, rolling his hips into the touch.
Shifting his weight to one arm, he brings a hand up to Leon’s mouth, “Open.”
The blond opens his mouth and doesn’t have to wait long for Luis to stick two fingers in, pushing down against his tongue. He wraps his lips around them and sucks, giving the other’s cock a firm squeeze in tandem. The Spaniard curses under his breath as he pulls his fingers free with a wet pop, reaching between them to tease gently at Leon’s opening before pushing in.
“Didn’t even need the prep,” he comments absently, fingers pumping shallowly and stretching. He watches the other’s face still, ever the gentleman, for any sign of discomfort or hesitance.
“It’s the drugs.”
“Mmm, don’t say that.”
“It was hotter in my head.”
Luis snorts and shakes his head, pressing a quick kiss to the blonds lips before pulling back. His fingers pull out with a noise that would normally have Leon cringing, but he can’t find it in him to care at the moment. He watches as Luis shoves his pants down his thighs, and he can see when his patience runs out as he crawls back over the blond.
He’s careful to maneuver his partner’s legs on either side of his hips, giving him room to line himself up. He holds himself steady with one hand as he leans in again, caging Leon against the couch as he rolls his hips up. They both groan at the initial stretch, but soon enough Luis is bottomed out.
He pauses then, giving Leon a moment to adjust, seemingly content with just being close for the moment. He occupies his mouth with more kisses down the side of Leon’s neck, making the blond shiver under his touch.
Leon brings his hands up to Luis’ shoulders to keep him close, digging his nails into the skin lightly as he rolls his hips up. His body aches, but he’s surprised to find it all fades into a warm, almost comfortable burn with the way Luis fills him up.
“You can move.”
Luis just hums against his skin, and it takes him a moment to comply. Eventually, he’s rolling his hips in small waves that somehow seem to hit deeper each time. Leon curses under his breath, digging his nails in a little harder.
“Does it hurt?”
Leon shakes his head, but Luis abandons his neck with a sharp nip, pulling back to look down at the blond.
“Words, amor.”
“It’s good,” he assures him, rocking his hips up to meet the other with a sigh.
Luis kisses him again, and Leon almost jumps at the sensation of his fingers rubbing against his dick. He groans into the Spaniard’s mouth and pulls at his shoulders to try and convey yes, harder, more.
Luis’ back arches slightly under the burn of Leon’s nails, and he, blissfully, picks up the pace a bit. Leon loses track of time, lost in the haze somewhere between the heat pooling in his gut and the way Luis licks his way into his mouth.
He’s not sure when Luis started with the faster pace, but he’s grateful for it, pulling his knees up with minimal effort to bring him even deeper, closer, to just get more of him.
Luis, as gently as he can manage, snakes an arm behind Leon’s back, finally allowing his weight to rest atop the blond as he holds the other close. Leon, in turn, wraps his arms around the other man’s shoulders and breaks the kiss in favor of burying his face into his neck. He won’t last long like this, too pent up from, well, everything.
“You feel so good,” Luis mumbles against his ear. Leon is glad for the way he’s hiding his face, though he’s sure Luis can feel him blush. “You’re perfect. Let me make you feel good. Let me feel you.”
Leon curses under his breath, biting Luis’ shoulder to muffle the noise. He rocks his hips up against the others, against his hand, and it’s not too long after that he feels himself trembling as he comes.
Luis isn’t too far behind him, rocking his hips deep with a low moan, burying himself deep before he tenses, pulling the blond tighter against himself.
They both come down slowly, leisurely almost. Leon kisses the mark he left on the other’s shoulder, body relaxed under his partner. He’s so blissed out that he barely feels the ache of his body at the moment.
Luis moves to pull off of him, but Leon hugs him closer. “Not yet. Please.”
“Easy, amor. You’ve got me.”