you are my home - leslie withers x reader

chapter twenty three - glimpse of the past

the situation was only becoming more and more unreal. you thought about all the pain leslie went through, years of being tortured by that sick doctor. you talked to him quite a few times and yes, you felt uncomfortable when you were around him but you would have never guessed he would do something like that. and then cain... how could he betray you like that? he had always been nice to you and helped you when you didn't know what to do anymore. why would he team up with such a cruel man?
and what happened to him? did the monster get him or was he able to escape?
your mind was a complete mess and you tried to stop thinking about what happened and focus on the present.

you turned your head towards leslie. the silence between you made you uncomfortable so you decided to say something.
"leslie... thank you. without you i-" you didn't get to finish your sentence as leslie suddenly grabbed your face and pulled you in for a kiss.
you were shocked by this sudden gesture and your eyes widened. this wasn't his usual behaviour but the initial shock quickly turned into pleasure. you didn't know how much you craved this until now. he seemed to realise what he was doing and wanted to break the kiss, but you prevented him from it by putting your left hand on his cheek and softly kissed him back. his lips were cold and dry, an indication of what he went through. suddenly he pulled away and looked at you with wide eyes.
he opened his mouth and tried to say something but nothing came out.
he looked away from you.
"sorry... sorry... sorry..." he mumbled.
you put your hand on his cheek and made him look back at you.
"there's nothing you need to be sorry for," you said and smiled at him.
he didn't seem fully convinced but still nodded.
you were about to say something to reassure him when you heard an explosion in the distance.
"we should keep going... sebastian is alone out there and we need to find the hospital," you said.

leslie got up and offered you a hand. you took it with your uninjured hand and he pulled you up.
before you started walking, you looked back one last time at the direction you came from.
you really hoped it was the end and that you never had to see these people again...
you took leslie's hand and walked down the corridor to a door. it had a window in it and you could already see the city through it.
you were weirdly excited to get back outside as it felt like you had been trapped inside for an eternity.
but still... who knows what dangers may lurk behind that door.
you looked at leslie but he seemed to be completely lost in his own world so you grabbed the handle and opened the door.
the sun was shining and it was so bright that you had to blink a few times. you could hear the birds singing and smiled. it was such a normal thing, but to stand here together with leslie meant everything to you in that moment.
you stepped outside and found yourself in some kind of fenced area behind the building.
it looked pretty abandoned, weeds had grown through the concrete and some wooden boxes and trash were scattered around.
you felt someone tapping on your shoulder and turned around to see leslie pointing in the distance. you followed his finger and saw the beacon mental hospital. it seemed to be the only building that wasn't destroyed. how was that even possible?
"good work leslie!" you said.
his expression didn't change but you could see his eyes sparkle like he was proud to have helped you.
that was enough to make you smile.
"let's go," you said.
"we're gonna get out of this nightmare."

you climbed over the fence and made your way towards the hospital. after maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, leslie suddenly stopped when you reached a road intersection and looked at the street name sign.
he lowered his head and started shaking it.
"leslie...?" you came closer and heard him mumbling.
"home... home... home..."
he walked in the street and seemed to know exactly where he was going.
you followed him quietly as you were curious to know what he was looking for.
he went straight to a particular house and entered it. then he walked up the stairs and stopped in front of a door on the third floor.
slowly, you came up to him and looked at the name on the doorbell.
"withers..." you whispered.
you looked at leslie who seemed confused about why you two were here.
you didn't know much of his past and you became slightly nervous, you didn't want him to start panicking again and run away. he easily gets overwhelmed and you didn't know enough about what helps him to calm down in these situations. but while you were thinking about everything that could go wrong, leslie grabbed the door knob and opened the door.
"leslie, wait!" you whispered, scared to say something.
he carefully pushed the door away from him and waited a few seconds before entering the apartment.
you followed him inside and had a look around the room. most of the furniture and decorations were destroyed as it was probably the same with all houses in town.
leslie waddled to a room at the end of the corridor while you were looking at the wall.
some photos had fallen down to the floor and broke, the glass created a crunching noise underneath your feet.
one photo was still hanging on the wall and you took a closer look at it.
it was a family photo. mum, dad, a sweet teenage girl and a... young boy with white hair.
the similarity was too strong to be a coincidence. the boy in the photo was definitely leslie.
he looked so happy and light-hearted... what happened to him?