Chapter Text
Leon took in a deep breath, feeling the crisp October air making his way to his lungs. It felt...good to be alive, at least better than he thought it would feel like. Leon never thought he would be alive, he had long made peace with the fact that this mission would be his last. He remembers the feeling of the Raccoon City sickness as it got worse, it felt wrong, he felt wrong, so very wrong. Sometimes he would dread waking up because of it.
Leon remembered that right before his mission he and his partner curled up in mission, they wept and cuddled and slept. The other almost refused to let Leon go, not wanting to lose another person. Leon couldn't blame them, he would've done the same.
But now the agent will be able to return home. And holy shit, he feels good, very tired but still really good. Leon vaguely wonders if it has something to do with Elpis, but he has a feeling that it's something to do with his weird ass biology finally kicking in because of Elpis.
He sighed as he touched the ring around his finger, fidgeting with it like a nervous child. He wants to get home to his one and only, it's bordering on desperation at this point. Either he can sweet talk the medic to let him go or just escape.
"S-So what now?" A timid voice asked beside him.
"Huh?" Leon quirks his head to the side, a thing he always does when he is confused.
"Elpis is set free," Grace began, "Victor and Zeno are dead, and the mission is over. So, what now?"
"We go home," Leon answered.
"I'm not in a hurry if I'm honest," Grace lightly chuckled, then sadly added, "you're, like, my only friend."
Leon lightly padded her on the shoulder and gave her a gentle smile. It wasn't easy being alone, Leon knew that pain all too well. Going home to an empty house after a tough mission would always tear someone apart mentally. Sometimes he would just waste time with fellow agents so he wouldn't go home and be alone with his thoughts.
But Leon wasn't alone anymore, he had someone at home who would come for him.
"I wish I could stay with you a bit longer, " Leon truthfully said, "but I have someone who is waiting for me at home."
That took Grace by surprise, her eyes widening slightly. "Really? I'm surprised if I'm being honest." Grace's eyes then widened at her own words as Leon started laughing his ass off. "Wait, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that!"
"It's fine," Leon managed to say between laughs. God it felt good to be able to laugh again.
"So you have a wife?" Grace asked as she tightened the blanket around her.
"Something like that," Leon vaguely answered and then said, "I best be off, someone at home might be waiting for me. Take care of yourself, okay?" Leon gently squeezed Grace's shoulder.
When Grace gave a nod that was Leon's cue to leave. As Leon walked away he tore off the black gloves currently on his hands. They felt contaminated, like the T-Virus was still lingering on them. Leon dropped them as he walked, grateful for them to be gone. His right ring finger felt more normal as he dug in his pocket and slid a silver band on it.
It was a bitch hiding this ring for 20 years, it was normally in his pocket or under a glove. The only person that knew about him being married was Claire because she pieced it together herself. Now Claire and his significant other are basically besties.
The only reason Leon and his special someone hid the marriage was because of work and life reasons. They both held very dangerous lives and it was just a precaution to make sure they were both safe. Though neither of them have any reason to not tell any of their friends or family.
Leon's bunch knew that he had someone though, didn't know the married part nor the person he was married to. His partner's case was just a case that no one in his group asked.
Leon shook his head as he used his other fingers to fiddle with the ring. The day he had to take if off for not job reasons broke him. When the virus reached his hand the metal was irritating, making him hold back a wince every time he moved his fingers.
But now he can wear the ring, he can go home, he can see his handsome husband's face again and they can do all the things they did before and more.
He doesn't even question how the Houndwolf Squad and their company managed to get his Porsche here, it didn't matter. What did matter was that it allowed him to immediately start his journey back home.
"Bout fucking time," he breathed happily as he started the engine and put his foot on the gas.
----
Leon put the keys into the lock of the door. Their home was a little cabin about an hour away from a small town. It was very nice for the both of them, especially since the other had passed the torch to his nephew. Leon was very happy about that because that meant his husband was able to stay home a lot more often. Sometimes he would do odd jobs around the little town out of boredom or to just get some pocket money while Leon was gone.
The very tired agent had driven almost 7 hours straight to get home. His bones ached and he felt like he would collapse. His body felt different, like something had changed. That didn't seem to help the fact that he was bone dead tired. If anything it just made him more tired.
It didn't help that the lights were off, meaning that the very man Leon was so very desperate to get home to wasn't even fucking here.
"Great," he mumbled as he opened the door. The cabin didn't feel warm when he wasn't here.
Leon unhappily sighed as he took off his boots, messily throwing them next to the door. Holy shit, he was cold. Why did Victor have to take his jacket?
Victor.
That name stung like a bee. He was a fucking weirdo and he stalked Grace for her entire life. So he is a weird, creepy, ugly, abnormal stalker. Plus that moment Victor and Leon shared while the agent was tied up was, for lack of words, uncomfortable.
Victor caressing Leon and touching his neck made him shiver. Even though Elpis purged him of all signs of viruses, it didn't purge the feeling of hands around his neck.
Normally Leon wouldn't be phased like this, but the fact that it seemed Victor wanted Leon was what made it more volatile. Asking if Leon was there for him, whispering in his ear with his hand around his throat and then touching Leon while he was tied up. It was gross.
Leon sighed as he shook his head, dismissing the thoughts before they got too dark. Victor was dead, and that was the end of it.
"Jesus fuck," Leon cursed, trying to fill the silence with talking, "I feel really gross." Leon contemplated taking a shower, he was really hungry and tired though. "Fuck, I'll take one tomorrow," Leon decided.
Leon made his way to the kitchen and noisily opened the fridge. Anything to keep the silence out. And what was in the fridge surprised him, it was Leon's favorite takeout. When Leon opened the container he was even surprised, it was chicken lo mein, it was the thing that he always ordered.
"That stupid oaf," Leon gently chuckled as he noticed it was also half empty. His husband ordered his usual food from his favorite takeout place because he missed Leon.
Well, missed is probably an understatement. Especially since the both of them had long accepted that Leon was going to die. But that isn't the point now, is it?
Leon haphazardly threw the container into the microwave, not caring because of how tired he was. He started to drift off until the loud sound of the microwave going off which caused him to nearly jump out of his skin.
Leon took out the container and immediately started to eat it, not caring about how hot it was. He was so fucking hungry. This dish felt like heaven on his tongue, Leon was happily scarfing it down.
When he was done, Leon left the container on the counter and decided to just throw the fork into the sink. A weirdly clean sink. When Leon thought about it, the cabin was weirdly clean. When Leon threw his shoes next to the door, the rest of the shoes were neatly put away. When Leon opened the microwave it was also clean.
"What the fuck," Leon whispered to himself. He understood though. Sometimes he would deal with the trauma and shock of missions and refused to drink; he would do small tasks to stop thinking. He remembers one time he took every book off of his three shelves and then organized them by color, size, and alphabetical order. It was a silly thing to do, but it helped him calm down and stop thinking. Maybe his husband cleaned the entire cabin to stop thinking. Now that the cabin was practically spotless he probably decided to busy himself with odd jobs.
Leon groaned as his side started to painfully throb. Leon just started to realize how much pain he was in. That seven hour drive didn't help, it seemed Elpis only gave him momentary peace, now that peace was starting to wear off.
"Fuck," Leon loudly cursed as his entire body started to be consumed in pain. Did he regret not seeing a medic? Not in the slightest.
But instead of being a bitch about it, Leon did the totally responsible thing and decided to journey up the stairs. He wasn't going to get painkillers, no, what he was doing was going to sleep all dirty and in pain.
The sound Leon made as he stopped leaning on the counter was a mixture of a hiss and a groan. Luckily the kitchen was close to the stairs. Good thing that the second floor wasn't even fully a second floor, it was really only a box that took up only half of what a second floor would be. It was just Leon's room and a bathroom.
Leon made it halfway up the stairs before he heard a voice from the bottom of the stairs.
"Leon?" The man below him asked, like he was scared and his prayers were going to be answered.
Holy shit, Leon's name had never sounded sweeter. "Dante," Leon breathed out, a stupidly big smile on his face.
"Holy shit," Dante cursed, practically running halfway up the stairs to meet Leon. "It's you, you're alive."
Dante didn't touch Leon though, acting as if Leon would disappear if they had contact.
Leon hummed instead of giving an actual word response. He started his trek up the stairs, beckoning Dante to follow him. The agent didn't need to know that the half-devil was following him, Dante had followed him through everything else.
Leon had opened the door to their bedroom and lazily made his way to their bed. He dragged his feet across the floor and dramatically fell onto the bed. Leon did whine when Dante turned on the light.
"For fucks sake," Leon hissed, trying to use a pillow to shield his face from the brutal assault known as light in his eyes.
Leon felt a dip in the bed right next to his torso. He begrudgingly took the pillow off of his face to stare at the face of the man he so dearly loved.
"Take your shirt off," Dante said.
"Really Dante?" Leon complained, "you seriously want to do that?" The pure audacity of telling Leon to do that.
"I want to make sure it's gone," Dante specified, his voice still sounding uncertain.
Leon sighed as he sat up, managing to barely hide any sounds or expressions of pain. Leon grabbed one sleeve of his shirt, raised that arm, and then proceeded to rip the shirt off of him. Leon heard a sharp intake of air from Dante as the agent's chest was visible.
Leon was battered and bruised, but if Dante was concerned about the front of his chest, he'll definitely freak out when he sees Leon's back. If anything, the Tyrant was the one that did the most damage to him.
"So?" Leon began to ask, quirking one of his eyebrows up, "Enjoy the view?"
"Not now," was all that Dante bothered to respond with as he started to drag his fingers across Leon's chest.
To be fair, this is the worst Leon has been in a long time. Leon hasn't been this roughed up in at least a decade. Plus with the T-Virus scare Dante was probably worrying himself sick, didn't help with his history of losing people.
There was a massive bruise that took up the entire center of his chest. It was an ugly one, made by the Mr. X wannabe obviously. Funny how Mr. X always finds a way to ruin his day.
"What did this?" Dante asked, barely grazing it with his fingers.
"A Tyrant punched me through the RPD wall. Y'know, Tyrant punching me and then throwing a missile at me really hurts," Leon answered like it was the most normal thing in the world. "And this one," Leon started, pointing to the injury on his side, "is when a massive ass spider threw me through a concrete wall. My back is also horribly fucked up because I kept landing on it."
"How are you so durable?" Dante was genuinely curious about this. Leon walks off injuries that would knock out most people. Even if he is a seasoned DSO Agent, everyone has their own limits. Leon's limit seems to be reached when he is on death's door. It was strange, very strange.
"Magic," Leon joked as Dante's fingers hit a sensitive spot. Leon hissed as Dante apologetically hushed him.
"You need a shower," the slightly older man commented.
"Unless you carry me there, I'm not going to get there," Leon informed him. This wasn't a joke, Leon was genuinely serious, his legs didn't want to work anymore. Good thing Dante loved carrying him.
"Since you asked so nicely," Dante finally joked, picking up Leon in bridal style.
It hurt, like, badly. But it didn't matter, the warmth and feeling of being held by Dante triumphed over any pain he felt. Leon leaned his head against Dante's, unfortunately, clothed chest.
The journey to the bathroom was a short one. Dante gently placed Leon in the toilet, abnormally careful and gentle. The white haired man turned on the shower and took off his iconic red coat and black shirt.
Leon managed to wiggle out of his pants and boxers without Dante's help. The other man attempted to help Leon get into the shower, but the agent refused.
As soon as they were both in the shower Leon melted against Dante. His head shoved against his husband's shoulder, it was a clear message about what Dante's job was.
"It was the T-Virus," Leon unexpectedly said.
"What?"
"It was the T-Virus," Leon stated again, "apparently all survivors of Raccoon City had it all of these years. It was just hidden and dormant."
"No wonder you smelled weird," Dante commented, "now you smell differently."
"Good," Leon hummed.
"How did you get rid of it?" Dante asked as he squirted some shampoo onto his hand.
"Elpis," Leon answered plainly, Dante didn't push for anything else.
When Leon's husband started to rub the shampoo into Leon's hair, Leon downright moaned. Leon's head getting rubbed or scratched was his secret weakness.
The agent closed his eyes as Dante gently lifted his head to rinse the shampoo out. It had been too long since these two were allowed to just exist, it was nice. Leon might demand leave after this, living a calm life for a bit sounds like a good idea.
"When I was in the RPD, I think I literally saw a walking piece of tofu," Leon chuckled.
Dante let out a laugh as he ran his conditioner-covered fingers through Leon's hair. The agent left out a very pleased hum.
Once the conditioner was rinsed out of his hair Leon was feeling much better. Leon was stupidly happy right now. He was in a hot shower with Dante, his husband is washing his hair for him, the shower feels very nice, and he is alive. What more could he possibly want?
Leon, wanting to repay the favor, washed Dante's hair. Dante did protest at first because he didn't want Leon hurting himself, but the white haired man shut up real quick when Leon's hands were in his hair.
When the shower water was turned off they both silently stepped out. Dante grabbed a towel and guided a very tired Leon back to their bedroom.
Leon was sat on the bed as Dante left the room to go grab a towel. The agent raised his hands and looked at them, all remnants of the Raccoon City Syndrome was gone. It wasn't here anymore. He was allowed to breathe without the worry of his lungs collapsing on him.
The white haired man came back into the room with a towel and walked towards Leon.
"You okay?" He asked while drying Leon's hair.
"Yeah, 'm just tired." Leon leaned against the towel, addicted to the feeling of his husband rubbing his head with it.
When Leon's hair was dry enough Dante started to rub the towel down Leon's body. Leon let out a small hiss of pain when the slice on his neck was nicked. Of course Dante clocked something was wrong almost immediately. The slice on Leon's neck was a bit too perfect.
"Who did this?" Dante questioned as he gently rubbed his thumb over Leon's neck.
"Scalpel, Victor," Leon replied, sounding a bit more disgusted than he intended. "I'll tell you more about him later."
Dante nodded as he continued to dry off Leon's aching body.
"I'm glad you're back. But hope you know you aren't going on any more suicide missions without me," Dante informed him. His words had the tone of a joke but they were laced with an underline of worried seriousness.
“Am I supposed to call you to my aid like my knight in shining armor?” Leon quipped.
Dante smirked as he threw the damp towel on the ground. “Should I get a full set of armor then?”
Leon laughed at that, “Shut up and get me some clothes.”
Dante frowned.
“I’ll wear your clothes,” Leon playfully smirked. It always worked.
Dante immediately turned his ass around and started digging through their shared dresser. He managed to throw a pair of black sweat pants and the singular blew shirt he owned at Leon. Dante himself wore grey pajama pants and one of the many red shirts he owned.
Leon let his half-devil partner help him get dressed, under any other circumstances he would've felt ashamed, but not with him, never with Dante.
When they were both dressed Leon dramatically flopped on the bed. Dante literally jumped onto the bed and landed besides Leon. The agent rolled over and put his head on his partner's chest. Dante’s arm curled protectively around the smaller man.
They spent a long time just existing with one another, listening to each other's breathing. For the first time in a long time Leon was genuinely happy to be alive. He was scared that he wouldn't be able to see Dante again, and now that they are together once again Leon felt at peace.
“Don't be surprised if Vergil randomly shows up tomorrow,” Dante suddenly said.
“What? Why?”
“He noticed I was a bit more depressed than usual and insisted on visiting me to make sure I don't do anything stupid.”
“Are you going to tell him about us?”
“I kind of have to now. At least I can rub it in his face that someone actually wanted to marry me.”
Leon’s lip formed a slight smile as he got himself further on top of Dante just to shove his face into Dante’s neck. His partner always smelled nice somehow. The taller man shoved his face in Leon’s hair and shut up.
“I missed you,” Leon said into Dante’s neck, “was afraid I wouldn't get to see you again.”
Dante squeezed Leon tighter. “Good thing you and your magic potion of a cure got you back to me.”
“I love you.” Leon kissed Dante’s neck to emphasize what he was saying.
“Love you too, angel.” Dante kissed the top of Leon’s head. “Go to sleep, Lee, you sound like you need it.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Leon joked, receiving a quiet chuckle from Dante.
Dante raised a hand and started to comb it through Leon’s hair, causing Leon to completely melt into him. Darkness was slowly consuming Leon. But this time it wasn't because the air was being strangled out of him, no. This time it was because he was finally back with the man he loved.