𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞| ᴀ ʟᴇᴏɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ

5. Attic Conversations

With no way of getting out of here until morning and absolutely no sign of receiving help I can't stop the panic that suddenly floods through me, combined with the guilt of not being able to help Mr Fredricks, the still lingering fear of almost losing Leon to the licker, and the concern I have with every unanswered question. I've been holding myself together by a mere thread since we got here, trying to be the perfect agent that's expected of me, but I can't anymore. I realise now that whilst I may have passed all the tests and was welcomed by the government with open arms to join their security, I'm not capable of doing it for long periods of time. I'm not an agent, I'm a fraud. 

Leon doesn't look like he's in much of a better headspace. His eyes have been glued to the floor pretty much this whole time. We're both in bad shape, and I don't know what to do. I do know that this silence between us is deafening, and possibly breaking our relationship apart. Sure we've been through rocky periods, but this feels like a make or break situation. Near death experiences and battling a town of darkness can either split us apart or force us to feel more connected than ever. I lick my lips, unsure what to say to Leon, do I apologise again? Change the subject? Is it even right to crack a joke yet? Instead I settle for welcoming my fear with open arms. "Do you think they're down there?" I whisper, nodding to the door of the attic. Leon shrugs, but then we hear groans and the unmistakable sound of shuffling footsteps. I'm glad we didn't settle for napping upstairs and chose to come up here. "It seems like they're tracking us." I mumble, frowning. 

Leon frowns too, eyes flicking left and right as he thinks. "You could be right." He mumbles, now looking confused. 

"Do you think they're like the Plaga?" I ask, referring to the parasite that took hostage of a whole village in Spain, also known as Leon's worst mission to date. Leon shakes his head, both of us at least discussing this means our minds are occupied for a while. 

"No, they're too slow for that, and they haven't picked up the axes yet," He lightly jests, but there's some serious pain under the words, "I have a feeling they were put here, or an outbreak happened. I don't think any of this was some kind of accident." 

I nod in agreement, feeling sombre at the thought of these happy townspeople determined to stay put in a town that's crumbling, only for someone to come along and use them as, what, weapons? I sigh, leaning back against the wall and setting the photo album I was looking through previously on the floor. When I glance at Leon I see his eyes are on me. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, but then he tries again. "I'm sorry I keep snapping at you, this place seems to be bringing out the worst in me." I nod, for once not letting his mood at me slide, I've put up with it enough and at some point I've got to set some boundaries. 

"It's fine, I know this all reminds you of Spain, but I don't deserve to be your punchbag. I'm here with you, not against you. Even though you'd probably have gotten further without me." I mumble, toying with my clothes. 

"What? No way, I'd be dead without you here." Leon says with passion, "You were trying to tell me something back at that cinema, before the whole licker incident" He leads off, implying form me to finally talk. I purse my lips together, but I guess we've finally got time to talk and open up, and it's going to be a long night if we just stay quiet. 

"I-I don't think I want to be an agent anymore. I know I can hold my own and I'm smart, but there's a certain mentality to it, and I just don't have it. I love helping people, but maybe there's a different way I can do that, you know? I know you've got no choice, so it seems to selfish of me to want something else in life, but I can't stay in a job that's killing me before I'm dead. I love you, more than you could ever know, but watching all this stuff happen to you is gonna break me." I finish with a hiccup. Leon's eyes soften as he takes my hand in his, nodding in understanding. 

"I love you too baby," He smiles, "and I'm not mad or disappointed that you want out, I'm glad you'll be getting some peace of mind, I mean at least one of us has to stay sane to make this work, right?" He huffs a laugh, hand reaching out to wipe away a tear of mine, "No matter what we'll stick together, I promise." I lean towards him, my lips meeting his in a deep but slow kiss. Leon pulls me closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we sit side by side, somehow our bond has deepened, and I regret not opening up sooner. I grab the discarded photo album and continue flicking through it, this time with Leon peeking over my shoulder. 

"I bet you were a goofy kid." I smile. 

Leon grins, shrugging up a shoulder. "I didn't really mess around a lot. From a young age I was kinda nerdy, always reading and studying for the police academy." His voice is steady, as if talking about it helps him somehow. We keep looking at the photos and talking, learning more about each other until we reach the end. 

I slump against his shoulder, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm scared," I admit, "I don't know what's going to happen or how we're getting out of this mess."

"Me neither, but as long as you're by my side I'll keep fighting and will find a way to get us back home." Leon says with absolute certainty. I debate voicing my suspicions, but we've opened up so far, so what's a little more?

"We know there's more to this place then what meets the eye, but why wouldn't the government send in agents right away?"

Leon bites his lip, "Sometimes they don't always take people seriously."

I shake my head, a gnawing feeling telling me that's not the case here. "I feel like this is some kind of set up, I mean why deny for any other agents or specialists to come here but then Theodore suddenly requests for both of us to come? He asked for us by name Leon."

Leon raises his brows, now catching on to what I'm saying. "You think the government has something to do with all this?"

It's a second before I nod. "I know it sounds crazy, but what if they sent us here for a different reason? Like they either needed us out of the way at home...or they wanted us here, not to investigate but maybe to test us, or get us killed?"

Leon swallows, tensing up at the idea of his own government trying to hurt him after all he's done for them. I place a hand on his chest, scooting until I'm facing him. His arm tightens around me as if protecting me from the very idea. "I don't know, but we can't do anything about it now. See if you can get some sleep." 

"What about you?" I ask, frowning as he smiles down at me. 

"Don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

I yawn, as if my body now realises just how much I've put it through today. I lie on Leon's lap, head using his thighs as a pillow as his fingers begin playing with my hair, massaging the tension there until he lulls me into sleep.