No more tears - Leon Kennedy

Chapter 17

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞. 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐠𝐨."

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As his eyes—beautiful eyes—darted back and forth between mine and my lips, I had the distinct feeling I'd never manage to finish my sentence.

I sighed, pulling away to sit next to him, nervously crossing my arms as my expression betrayed my turbulent emotions. There was no point in going any further if I couldn't tell him what I wanted to say.

After several long seconds of staring blankly into space, I felt Leon's hands gently cover mine, carefully prying my clenched fingers apart.

"Don't hurt yourself over this."

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I suddenly didn't know where to look.

He'd just tried to comfort me when it was supposed to be the other way around. He was probably waiting for me to tell him how I felt, yet once again, he put me before himself.

When I raised my eyes to his and saw the unexpectedly tense expression on his face, my features mirrored his unease. Without thinking, my hand found its way to his shoulder. As soon as I touched him, his arm tensed slightly, as if the contact was unfamiliar.

He wasn't looking at me. Or rather, he wasn't anymore; he'd turned his gaze away, and I had no idea how to bring it back.

"Leon, look at me, please." I finally said, my voice much calmer than I'd anticipated. It seemed to surprise him, too, as he complied without hesitation.

"It's crazy, isn't it? If someone had told sixteen-year-old me that the man I'd follow to the ends of the earth was a blond John Wick capable of landing spectacular spinning kicks while laughing it off, I think I would've had a heart attack,"

He laughed too.

"Don't tell me that after nine years, you still think of me that way."

I shot him a playful glance, choosing to offer a tender look instead of an answer, and my other hand over his. 

Then hesitation seized me, and I wondered whether I should voice my doubt.

"Leon... During those seven years, did you meet someone el—"

He didn't let me finish. Without a hint of hesitation, he kissed me.

I didn't even try to pull away. I surrendered to his desire, too surprised and happy to react at first. When our lips finally parted, an odd stillness lingered between us. Our eyes met, and after a moment of hesitation, they remained locked.

"I would've waited my whole life for you if I had to."

As he finally pulled back slightly, his hand slid subtly along my shoulder, moving so slowly it made me avert my gaze in embarrassment for a moment. My mind couldn't focus on anything else than him.

"So, uh..." I stammered, feeling the heat muddling my thoughts.

I watched as he paused for a moment, then stood up with a visibly amused expression, clearly pleased with himself. His tone became more serious.