𝕃𝕖𝕠𝕟 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕕𝕪| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ/ ᴘʀᴇꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇꜱ

Fight or Flight| Preference

The crash of something loud has be reaching for my knife, already sweaty and panting I sit up in bed, my eyes scanning the unfamiliar hotel room until I finally remember that I'm on a mission, and that the sound I heard was the symphony of a thunderstorm raging outside.

I try to catch my breath, bringing my knees to my chest as I rock back and fourth, my mind drifts to the events of Raccoon City. The gunfire. The explosions. The death.

"Y/N?" My name is softly called at the door followed by a gentle knock. I hesitantly leave the bed and unlock the door to reveal Leon standing in the hallway, his eyes full of concern.

"Are you alright? I know you're not a fan of thunder..." He leads off, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

I nod, but Leon can see through my lie. I'm not okay, I'm around a minute away from bolting out of here and driving to another state just to get away from the unexpected booms of thunder that threaten my composure.

"Can I- can I come in?" Leon mumbles. My eyes widen in surprise only for a second before I move out of the way to let him in, he analyses the room, probably wondering why I haven't unpacked, why my room looks like I'm ready to leave. The truth is since Raccoon City I've never felt settled, I'm in a constant state of fight or flight, ready to throw a punch or run a mile at every sudden noise.

Leon perches in the seat next to the window, he reaches out and slides the curtain across a bit so he can watch the rain against the window, even though it's the middle of the night the lights outside shine bright, making the rain look eerie.

"I do the same." Leon murmurs quietly, it tales me a second to understand what he's saying until I look down at my hand still clutching the knife like a lifeline.

Embarrassed I throw it on the bed, running a hand through my damp hair as I slump on the edge. "At first I thought it was an explosion." I whisper.

Leon looks at me with understanding mixed with sympathy, "We're not the same people we were before, I don't think we ever will be."

I huff, jumping as another boom of thunder makes me jump. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

Leon gives me a small smile as he gets up and sits next to me, so slowly his hand covers mine as I look into his eyes. "It depends on what you do. You can be scared and do nothing, or you can use that fear and overcome it, we learn from the past."

I nod, turning back to face the window as Leon begins to stand up, but I grab his hand and pull him back. "Would you stay...please?"

Leon nods, sitting back down as we face the rain together.