𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓭𝔂| 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟯

Beyond Duty| Request

AN: In this one the reader has asthma. I apologise for any inaccuracies or it not being specific enough, since there's obviously different ways asthma affects different people.  

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Before

It was truly fantastical how my life changed over the series of a week. On Tuesday I was just a normal citizen, who'd happened to visit a small village in Spain named Pueblo with a few friends. As soon as we got there I knew something was off, and not just because of the too many bear traps and dilapidated cottages, but the village itself was unusual. When my friends insisted on talking to the villagers to gain some information and maybe try and find a way to backtrack our hike it all went so, so wrong. The villagers took one look at us then began to try and attack us. All of my friends were captured, and then brutally killed in some kind of sacrificial way. The memories still haunt me even now. I, however, managed to escape their clutches, I bumped into a girl named Ashley and an older man named Leon. They both were on a mission to escape this place and get back to America. 

Thankfully, Leon was insistent on keeping me safe, and so over the course of a day and a night we all fought tooth and nail to survive and go home. We were successful, however my peace didn't last long when I got home. The government had heard that I knew about the experiments and the various viruses, and I became a threat to the secrets they kept from the country. Some of the agents went rogue, insisting that I should be 'forced' to keep quiet, which basically meant killing me. Leon was against this since we'd forged a bond in Spain, and eventually was assigned to protect me from those who wanted to make sure I couldn't ever speak about those horrors, which brings us to now...

Present

"Leon, I think there's someone following us." I mumble, hooking his arm around my own as we round the corner of the street. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle from the feeling of being watched, and by the way Leon tenses up I know he feels it to. His arm tightens around mine, tugging me closer to his body as we speed up our pace to get back home. At first I thought that I'd never settle with Leon constantly with me, but now it just feels right. 

"We're going underground, across the street there's a parking garage that we'll use to blind them for a minute, then we'll make a run for it, OK?" He smiles, acting as if nothing is wrong. I swallow, nodding as panic rises within me. I can already feel my lungs trying to get more oxygen in, a sure sign of an asthma attack incoming. I force myself to keep going despite the shortness of breath, Leon tugs me as we suddenly cut across the street, his hand moves to clamp over mine until he's dragging me faster than before. "Hurry." He mumbles. 

I gulp, wheezing now as we reach the parking garage entrance. Leon looks back at me, concern written all over his face before his blue eyes jump behind me. He curses under his breath, lips pursing. "You're gonna have to fight, aren't you?" I shakily say, gasping as Leon grunts in agreement. I hate watching the violence that now surrounds my life, but I'd rather see Leon punch a million dudes than have a knife or bullet plunged into my heart. It's pretty dark by the time we make it down the ramp and into the near empty garage, other than a few cars the space is wide open, which means we're vulnerable for attacks. Leon points to the dark corner near the ticket office, my silent protector always tries to keep me away from the fray. 

My chest tightens further as I run, crouching low and hiding myself just as our follower emerges down the ramp. Seconds later another three join him- they're all agents I've recognised before. "Come on, we don't have to do this-"

"Quit protecting that bitch and let us do our job Kennedy." 

"Okay, maybe we do." Leon finishes, brows drawing together in anger at the insult to me. He gets into position for a fight, fists clenching as he surveys the rogue agents surrounding him. My breaths come out as wheezes as I worry for him, but right now I need to be worried for myself. I'm having an asthma attack, so I pat my jeans to look for my inhaler, but it's not there. My eyes widen as anxiety and stress consume me, I've lost it, but then I remember only hours ago when I asked Leon to take care of it as I grabbed us lunch from the hot dog stand. Fuck!

I debate calling out his name, but that would only alert my presence, it turns out that it doesn't matter though because a coughing fit suddenly takes over me, causing me to slump down as my chest burns. I can't breathe. Leon's head swivels to me, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as he realises too that our situation just got worse. "Fight!" I shout, taking charge since we're running out of time. Leon immediately springs into action, it's all a blur as he kicks and ducks, avoiding being hit whilst throwing out a series of movements of his own. One agent grabs a gun to shoot me, and all I can do is stare until Leon launches forwards, knocking it just as the agent fires. I scream, but it's more of a yelp as my chest constricts, reaching its limit now. My heart races in time with Leon's punches, and slowly my vision begins to blur. 

"Leon!" I need my inha-" I cough, doubling over as my palms hit the concrete. The agents are relentless and have no compassion for me, they keep fighting Leon as he tries to block, attempting to get to me. Even though his life is on the line he's still trying to prioritise my health and safety. 

"Hang in there, I'm nearly done!" He calls out confidently, throwing out a harsh roundhouse kick. I blink, slumping back against the wall as I try to stay conscious and alive. "Y/N!" He shouts frantically, my eyes widen as he quickly grabs my inhaler from his pocket and throws it towards me. I crawl forwards, catching it just as hope was lost. With trembling hands I administer the life saving medication, inhaling it as my chest eases a little. I'm shaken and disorientated, but okay for now. I look up to see Leon running towards me, knees scraping across the floor as he kneels down and cups my cheeks with battered knuckles. "Sweetheart look at me, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" He commands, voice shaky as he watches me with a strange focus. 

I shake my head, seeing the bodies on the floor all bruised and possibly dead. Leon spares no glance at them, his eyes are on me.  "Thank you." I whisper with a smile, holding up the object that saved me. Leon licks his lips, nodding as his shoulder slump. His face softens as his thumbs brush my cheeks. 

"You don't have to thank me," he murmurs, his voice gentle and loving. "It's my job to keep you safe."

I huff a laugh, knowing we're both beyond professionalism. "Right." I reach out, placing my hand over his that's still on my face, then squeeze in reassurance. Silently and slowly Leon pulls back, only to link our fingers together in a quiet understanding. Right now is the safest I've ever felt, and it's all because of the man who'll risk everything for me. 

"Maybe I lied," Leon roughly says, swallowing deeply as he tugs me closer, "I might've been assigned to protect you but my feelings go way beyond duty, you're more to me than a job." He's never been good at nice words and knowing exactly what to say, but I've grown to love it. I smile, closing the distance between us with a short but tender kiss. 

Afterwards Leon helps me up, keeping our fingers linked as we rush out of the garage and back into the streets, this time our touches are more than safety- they're expressions of love.