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Gravel crunched under tires as the car made its final turn onto the driveway, and Leon felt the tension in his shoulders finally, finally, relax.
The trees lining either side of the long driveway seemed to welcome him home, their steady and familiar presence providing a much needed balm on his overwrought nerves. The trees, and the land they stood on, had been the main selling point of this property. Quiet and sheltered, far enough away from any neighbours that it seemed almost isolated, but still decently close to the city and all its conveniences. The little house that the property came with had been a fixer-uper for sure, but Leon didn’t mind. It gave him something to do outside of work, and it gave Luis the opportunity to gawk shamelessly at him as he worked on various things around the house. It never ceased to be flattering, even after all these years, the way Luis looked at him.
A little smile tugged unbidden at the corners of his mouth then as he thought about his husband. It was still a bit foreign to him, having someone to come home to, but Leon had to admit that it was nice. Nice to have something to look forward to after all the bullshit, nice to have someone care about his safety. He knew he still had the tendency to throw himself into chaos without much regard for his own health, but thinking about the inevitable admonishments he would receive after he got home made him want to make a tiny bit more effort to not do that as often. Sherry had no doubt already tattled to Luis about all the less-than-advisable things he had been doing in Raccoon City, as usual.
The thought of Sherry, and how close it had gotten this time around, wiped the smile from his face. A phantom cough caught in the back of his throat, even though he knew the anti-viral serum had fully cleared the virus from his system. He remembered what it felt like to know that he was dying, the memory of coughing, choking on his own blood fresh and visceral in his mind. His only thought at the time had been on Grace, on getting her out, on destroying Elpis and ending Umbrella’s legacy once and for all. But now, in the clear-headed aftermath of all that adrenaline, a cold shiver ran down his back at the thought. He could have died down there. He would have, if not for Grace. He could almost see it, almost picture his own demise. Getting Grace of harm’s way, the platform collapsing beneath his feet, Zeno lazily blocking his feeble final attempts at attacking. Without Grace, Leon knew he would have ended up as another one of Raccoon City’s ghosts, buried and forgotten. Without the anti-viral serum, Sherry would have succumbed to her infection eventually as well. And Luis… Leon swallowed, watching his knuckles turn white as he gripped the steering wheel harder. Who would tell his husband then? Some nameless DSO agent, emotionlessly delivering the news?
With a little shake of his head, he forced the thought away. He made it out of there, he was no longer infected, and he was almost home.
The car rolled to a stop in front of the house at the end of the long driveway, and Leon got out. Up close, he could see wisps of smoke floating up from the chimney, and light shone out from behind the curtains, glowing warmly against the dimming sky. The whole scene radiated coziness so strongly that he felt a pang in his heart, drawing him forward. He was almost home. Just a few more steps, up the porch stairs and to the door.
The moment he stepped onto the front porch, loud barks rang out from inside the house, and even through the door he was able to hear a skittering of claws against hardwood floors. Leon grinned as he opened the door and was greeted by a frantically wagging tail and two large paws planted on his torso.
“Hi Ash, it’s good to see you too,” he laughed, pushing the dog away. When she tried to tackle him again, he quickly stepped forward across the threshold of the doorway and shut the door behind him. “Down, girl, no jumping.”
After a few moments of pets and scratches behind the ear in her favourite spot, Ash settled down and started her routine inspection of his person. Leon indulged her sniffing; she always had to inspect them every time they returned to the house, no matter how long they had been gone.
“Do I pass?”
Ash nudged at his leg and ambled away into the dining room, seemingly satisfied. Leon hung his coat up on the hooks behind the door, and turned around to find he was being scrutinized by another set of amber eyes. Tanya was perched on the back of the sofa, staring at him serenely. She unloafed herself and stretched when he approached, leaning into his hand when he reached out to pet her. She miaowed plaintively at him and bumped her head against his hand again.
“Yeah, sorry I’ve been gone for so long,” Leon said quietly, stroking her silky black fur again.
So now both of his pets had welcomed him home, but there was someone else distinctly missing. Leon felt that familiar panic for a brief, heartwrenching moment, the worry that never went away. It was only for a split second though, as his gaze caught on the cane casually against the wall. It was then he noticed the singing coming from the direction of the bathroom, making him smile again, heart settling back to a normal rhythm. Home.
A brief trip into the kitchen rewarded him with what he was looking for (a freshly baked tray of chocolate chip cookies) and he brought one with him back into the living room, sinking down onto the sofa with a contented sigh. The cookie was still a bit warm and extremely delicious, but everything that Luis baked always was. It had started out as a bit of a distraction for him, trying to find purpose again after years of working as a researcher, but over time Luis had perfected his craft. Nowadays, the baked goods he made were often donated to the local charities and bake sales. Leon was proud of the way his husband was known in their community as the best baker around. He was proud of Luis for a lot of things.
He sat there on the sofa in front of the fire, the cat curled up on the cushion beside him. It was only early October, too early for the fireplace to be lit for most folks. But after Spain and his injury, Luis always ran a bit cold. Once it dipped below 45⁰, he started to complain. Leon didn’t mind, even though he was what Luis called a “walking furnace”. Heating bills and extra firewood are a small price to pay for his husband’s comfort. Plus, there was the added benefit of getting Luis to latch onto him like a particularly aggressive octopus in the colder months. It was endearing, if a bit inconvenient at times.
After a while, he heard the water stop. The bathroom door opened with an accompanying cloud of steam, and there Luis stood, hair damp and clad only in a robe. Leon turned his head and watched as a wide smile brightened the other man’s face.
“Sancho! You’re home early. Thought you said you weren’t going to be back until later tonight?” Luis said lightly.
Leon got up from the sofa, earning himself an annoyed meow, and crossed the room in two steps.
“Debrief took less time than I expected. First time for everything, I guess.”
Then, finally, Luis was in his arms. He dropped his head to Luis’ shoulder and stood there for a long moment, just holding him. The solid, physical body in his embrace grounded him like nothing else could, anchoring him to the present moment. Not in his head, not lost in his memories - here, in this house that they made a home from together. Here, where it was finally safe. Leon buried his face deeper into the soft velvet of Luis’ robe, the texture almost heavenly on his much-abused skin. A deep inhale flooded his senses with the scent of his husband’s aftershave, relaxing him immediately. He moved his head slightly, just a few inches to the side, enough to press his lips to bare skin. Underneath him, Leon felt more than heard Luis laugh.
“Good to be home?”
Leon didn’t answer with words, just a quiet hum as he breathed in again. There it was. Underneath the aftershave was the scent of clean skin, still a bit damp from the shower, and underneath that was something deeply and uniquely Luis. Everything melted away then; the mission, his cuts and bruises, the bone-deep weariness. This was what home smelled like.
(A decade or so ago, the smell of cigarettes would have clung to his love like a coat as well. A part of Leon missed it sometimes, as it always reminded him of their first meeting, but he knew how hard it had been for Luis to quit. He had cited his health as the motivation, and they both pretended to not think about a Spanish mine and a knife to the back.)
Luis squirmed a little in his arms, laughing again but making no attempt to escape. “That tickles, you know,” he admonished. Leon felt a gentle hand run through his hair. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re about to start purring like a giant housecat.”
“Thought you called me a ‘golden retriever boyfriend’ to those girls at the bar the other day?” Leon mumbled into Luis’ neck.
“You can certainly be both, mi vida.” Luis said, the bright smile evident in his voice.
“Not boyfriend.”
“Hm? What’s that?”
Leon leaned back just enough to level a serious look at the other man. “Not boyfriend,” he said again, in what he knew Luis would call his ‘agent voice’, “husband.”
Comprehension dawned on Luis’ face and he grinned. “Of course.” He cupped both hands around Leon’s face and pulled him into a kiss. “My husband. Mi amor.”
Satisfied with that response, Leon dropped his head back down to Luis’ shoulder and closed his eyes. He felt Luis resume gently petting his hair.
“Want to talk about it?”
This, too, was routine. Every time he came home from a mission, Luis would ask this question. Most of the time, Leon didn’t. He didn’t want to burden his husband with the unspeakable horrors he witnessed, even though he knew Luis was more than capable of handling it.
“Just a regular Tuesday at the office.” Leon replied.
Just like all the times before, Luis didn’t push, and Leon loved him all the more for it. What has it been now, he thought to himself, almost thirty years? Thirty years of dealing with this bullshit.
(“Talk to someone about retiring, maybe? Surely you’ve done enough for the American government that that’s on the table soon.”
Leon had laughed humourlessly at that. “Fat chance. They’re not letting me walk away any time soon, not while I’m still useful. Doubt they would even if I’m in a body bag.”
He had watched the way Luis’ face fell, and hated himself immediately for saying it. But they both knew it was true.)
They ended back up on the couch, still holding each other. Between the two of them, Luis was usually the more physically affectionate one, taking any chance he had to touch Leon in some way. A brush of the hand here, an arm around the shoulders or waist there. The only time when that was reversed was when Leon came back from missions. It seemed almost driven by some unnameable desperation, the way he needed to touch Luis, to know for himself that Luis was still, really, there. Somehow, after a brief shuffle, Leon ended up on his back, head pillowed in Luis’ lap, who had gone back to stroking his hair. He tried not to think about the last time his hair was touched, and that line of thinking only brought his thoughts back to Grace.
He cleared his throat, and the hand stilled.
“There was a girl. Grace Ashcroft. An FBI analyst who got pulled into the mess, who turned out to be the key to the whole thing. At least, that’s what they believed. She was the one who got me out of there in the end. ”
An encouraging hum from above him, and Leon wondered when he had closed his eyes. The words somehow came easier to him like this.
“Had to go back to Raccoon City. It was…” he trailed off. What could he even say? How could he even begin to express the emotions that he felt being back where it had all started and ended for him? He remembered standing in the foyer of RPD, looking up at the statue. He remembered seeing the welcome banner, almost garish in its positivity. He remembered seeing Lieutenant Bragh’s desk and having to force down the wave of emotion that threatened to sweep him away.
“You were just a kid back then.” Luis said quietly, somberly.
Had he been? Leon remembered feeling terrified but still determined to help, to make a difference. That’s all he wanted back then. The rookie cop, first day on the job, thrust into a world of horrors. It was almost laughable now, how used to the monsters he had become. Just another awful thing to eliminate in a long line of awful things. But Raccoon City was different. Being back there was different.
“Yeah. I guess.”
Leon felt the hand in his hair move down the side of his neck and trace the skin there with gentle care. He opened his eyes in time to briefly catch a worried look on Luis’ face, right before he quickly tried to hide it. Leon raised his hand, placing his hand over his husband’s, and met his eyes.
“I’m okay.” he assured quietly.
“I know,” Luis said, just as softly, “But I had to see for myself.”
Leon wordlessly pulled the collar of his shirt down and tilted his head. He knew what Luis was searching for: any sign of the dark veins that had littered his skin the past months. He knew Luis had been increasingly worried as the blackness had only spread faster and faster, as it started to affect Leon more and more. The inevitable feelings of helplessness had been hard on both of them. It had led to many fights between them, Luis trying to get him to take a break or seek better medical attention, and Leon stubbornly maintaining that he was fine. Another phantom cough caught in his chest.
“I’m fine now, I promise.” Leon said again, pouring sincerity into every word.
Luis’ fingers stroked over his neck again, and Leon’s heart squeezed almost painfully as he watched the bright smile return to his husband’s face, all trace of worry gone.
“You better be.” Luis said lightly. “Our princesa has already scheduled the next book club meeting and she will kill you if you miss it again.”
Leon groaned, more or less performatively. “Seriously? When does she expect me to have the time to read?”
“Well then, you better get started now.” Luis snagged the novel from the coffee table and dropped it in Leon’s lap. “You wouldn’t want her to be disappointed in you, would you?”
“On one condition.” Leon brought the paperback book up to his face and squinted at it suspiciously (“Tales of a Forgotten Kingdom”), then past it up at Luis. “You make tiramisu for the book club meeting.”
“You drive a hard bargain, senor,” Luis laughed, leaning back into the soda. “But fine. I have a condition of my own, though.”
“Hm?”
“Bring this Grace along.”
Leon frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea? I’m not sure how much she’s going to want to be reminded of the shit she went through…”
“And that’s why it’s a great idea!” Luis said. “She can join the support group.”
That made Leon want to roll his eyes. The ‘support group’, as Luis called it, was in fact just mostly Ashley and Sherry talking about him behind his back. At least, that’s what he had gathered based on the many times he had walked into a room to find them giggling with each other. The support and friendship they provided each other, however, had been undeniably helpful after everything they had gone through. Luis had a point; Grace would probably benefit from having other people with similar experiences to talk to, especially other women.
“Alright,” he finally agreed, “I can’t promise that she’ll come, but I’ll ask.”
“Great! We have a deal then.” Luis grinned, grabbing his hand and shaking it. Leon did roll his eyes this time at his antics. “Now get to reading.”
“Now? Like this?”
Luis raised an eyebrow. “Are you going somewhere?”
Leon huffed and brought the open book up to his face to hide his smile. “Guess not, since some guy is holding me hostage on this couch.”
“Hostage? Me? No… Though Tanya on the other hand…”
A warm furry weight settled onto his legs and Luis laughed.
“She’s the real captor here. You know the rules, Leon, can’t move if a cat’s on you.”
Leon sighed dramatically. “Being conspired against in my own house, wow…” he muttered to himself. He lowered the book to shoot a look at the cat, who only gazed back at him looking immensely satisfied with herself. He sighed again. “Fine.” He shifted a bit to make himself comfortable again, and Luis went back to petting his hair. The fire continued to blaze merrily in the fireplace, and Tanya started to purr.
The book wasn’t half bad, as it turns out. He was actually starting to look forward to their next book club meeting.