ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ (ᴸᵉᵒⁿ ᴷᵉⁿⁿᵉᵈʸ ˣ ᴿᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ)

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 13

Nikola sat hunched over on the floor, scribbling away in her notebook. She nervously bit her lips, her hands so sweaty that the pencil almost slipped from her grasp constantly. The wrinkled skin, more wrinkles here and there, she knew there excactly how many there were.
The glasses were angular and must have been uncomfortable... the reflection of light in the lenses. They were so thick, the old man must have been as blind as a mole. The thin lips stretched into a frightening grin. Behind them, teeth, crooked, plagued by various diseases, and yellow. The face of God?
No. Absolutely not.

"What do we do next?" Leon suddenly asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"I... let's just keep going," she replied, attempting to slowly stand up. But she collapsed under the pain that shot through her body as soon as she tried to support her weight with her body. With a grimace of pain, she clung to the desk in this small room.

"Are you okay?" Leon asked, concerned, wanting to help. "No, I'm fine, just got up too quickly," she said, forcing herself to straighten up and stand properly. Even a smile was forced uncertainly across her lips. "That didn't look like 'quick' to me," Leon remarked. Now she smiled briefly. Yeah, who was she kidding? "Well, what do you want me to say?", she admitted and looked down her body. "Maybe you could accept a little help somewhen, how about starting with that", Leon said and Nikolas gaze drifted up until she stopped at his face. She didn't say a thing. She knew he was right about that. But admitting that? No, never.

She looked around, and at the foot of the stairs, she noticed the firing pin that must have come from her beloved gun when it was torn into a thousand pieces, after millions of kilos of stone had crashed down on it. "We're dead down there, I need a weapon before we go," she sighed and began to scrutinize the room carefully, searching for some kind of weapon.

"Hey Nikola," Leon began, and she looked over her shoulder at him. He stood there, holding out something metallic to her. "I found this, but I really didn't want to give it to you. But now I guss I have no other chance now that you need it.." he said, examining the gun again. Nikola now smiled broadly and reached for it, but Leon withdrew his hand, along with the pistol, and Nikola grasped at thin air. "What's wrong?" she asked indignantly. "This is a Desert Eagle..., it's special and built differently from conventional weapons," he explained, looking at her. "The recoil is very strong."
"Before I can hand you the gun, I have to at least show you how you handle it" He added.

"It can't be that hard," said Nikola, reaching for the pistol again. "Ah- no, I swear, you'll break your wrists if you're inexperienced," he replied. He tried to approach her, but Nikola backed away. "What's this about?" she asked skeptically, crossing her arms. "Just trust me once..." he pleaded slowly. Nikola rolled her eyes. He approached her again, very cautiously, as if she would punch him again within the next movement, just like back then.

He put his hands on her hips and turned her slightly askew. "This way, you'll better absorb the recoil, with your whole body..." he said absentmindedly, observing her posture. "Yeah, that should do it."

"The important thing is just to maintain this sideways stable stance when you shoot, okay?" he said. Nikola glanced at Leon, her gaze a mix of skepticism and resistance. She fixed him with a look that seemed to convey she neither needed nor wanted his help. Yet, she paused as he began to explain the handling to her, watching him closely, her expression a blend of hesitation and reluctance. After he still fixed some things about her posture he stood up again and gently placed his hands on Nikola's clasped ones, softly urging her to relax.

Nikola's eyes narrowed slightly as she resisted the impulse to reject his help. However, his calm confidence and the warm touch of his hands gradually made her relent.

With a sigh, Nikola relaxed her hands, allowing Leon to guide them, patiently positioning her fingers on the grip of the Desert Eagle. It felt strange to be so dependent on his guidance, but she couldn't deny the relief of losing herself in his touch.

"That's better," Leon murmured softly, his voice a gentle echo in the silence of the room. "Just relax and let me take care of the rest."

Nikola nodded curtly, unable to say anything as she slowly opened up to the fact that she didn't have to handle everything on her own. It was a liberating feeling to simply let go and rely on someone else, especially when that someone was Leon.

Maybe it wasn't soo bad to be taught. If she was honest, she really didnt know her way around with this stupid old gun. She could call herself lucky anyways that Leon knew stuff about this gun. Maybe she could even learn something from him, like how to accept help or something...

What was she thinking??

She felt a pang of unease as she caught herself entertaining these cheesy thoughts. She hated that he made her think about stuff like this.

Leon stood behind Nikola, his hands calmly resting on her hands as she focused intently on the Desert Eagle in front of her. His fingers gently traced over her wrists, adjusting the position of her fingers on the trigger and guiding her hands to find the proper grip to control the recoil.

"See, just like this... Make sure the fingers don't touch the barrel to avoid injuries from heat.", he said and gently placed her fingers away from the barrel.
"The arms should be slightly bent with the elbows pointing slightly outwards...-"
Nikola did what he told her to.

"Yes, youre doing good. This just creates a stable position so you can absorb the recoil better"

"And now when you shoot you just push the gun forward and keep it stable", He finished, holding her arms forward still.

Nikola focused on the gun before her, he was right the gun was a bit different from the way it's built than the usual one she also had trained with. She felt his breath on her neck, his steady voice encouraging her.

As Leon guided her, he suddenly noticed how small Nikola was compared to him. It was the first time he truly became aware of this , and for a moment, his thoughts drifted away from the gun to her. How graceful she looked, how focused and determined she was to learn this . Almost cute. A smile crossed his lips. His eyes innocently fell to her hip. He absentmindedly placed his hands on her sides, adjusting her slightly, knowing full well he didn't need to do so.
In his mind, images formed: her pale, soft skin, her small figure, her naturally skeptical and bitchy expression. She remained an irritating know-it-all. Even while looking this good.
Oh how he wanted to...

"Is this the right way?", Nikola asked. "Uhm.. Yes. Excactly!", he said and felt nervous.
It was as if she had caught him in the act of harboring hopes and fantasies. Their relationship was complicated. Probably because she was difficult... But there wasn't nothing between them even if they act like it. Sometimes she was a huge asshole but on the other hand... She probably feels the same about him. Yes, he knew she felt the same way but somehow they didn't get anywhere.

He focused back on answering her questions.

"That's good, Nikola," he finally said as she continued to refine her stance. "You're doing really well. Focus on your target and breathe steadily. The rest will come."

"Should I try shooting for once?", she asked and looked over her shoulder directly into his eyes.
"I don't know you're gonna waste a bullet, maybe you'll need that one down there", he objected slowly.
"No I always hit what I aim at", she said confidently and smiled. "Alright whatever you say Mrs", he answered and let go of her.

"Show me what you've learned"