𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓭𝔂| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 4

What Makes You Happy These Days?

AN: This one is very loosely based during the events of Infinite Darkness, when Leon's onboard the submarine with Jason and Shen May.

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Leon's POV:

It's hard to sleep in a tin can underwater, especially with the anxiety gnawing at me about our current mission and all the weird feelings stirring within me at the uncertainties. By now I should be used to the unpredictability and sureness that shit is going to hit the fan, but yet I'm not used to it. Not at all. Sighing I get up from where I've been sat on the edge of the bed for the last hour, I really should get some rest but then again I've had worse times where I've had to fight off passing out to get the job done. My boots echo as I explore the submarine, the hum of the machinery seems louder than it actually is, combined with the distant voices of the crew it almost feels isolating. I shrug off the worry, not needing it right now. Instead of going to bother the crew I beeline for the break room, hopefully I'll be able to find a nice mug of coffee to keep me afloat- so to speak.

I creep open the door, looking left and right as I scan the empty break room, only then do I relax that I'm alone and not intruding. I'm not sure where Jason and Shen May have gone off to, but it can't be far since we're all boxed in together. Silently I spoon some coffee into a chipped mug then boil some water, I tap my boot against the floor rhythmically as I wait, then just when he kettle has boiled two figures pad into the room, murmuring lowly to each other. Their eyes widen when they see me, so instead of saying something to make them feel awkward I just dip my head and finish making the coffee. I take it to the table in the corner, sitting nearest in the corner from habit rather than comfort. Jason and Shen May slide in opposite me, clearly just as restless as I am. The constant buzz from the overhead fluorescent light fills the room, all eyes are downcast as we all get lost in our thoughts, I'm sure as government agents we've all got enough trauma to keep us occupied.

The whole atmosphere feels heavy though, maybe it's just a two in the morning thing or maybe we've all just been through so much shit that this is the new normal. Jason breaks the silence first, only when my once steaming mug turns lukewarm. "You ever think about what made you happy before all of this?" He asks, still staring down at the table as if seeking the answer from it. My brows knit together, I'd expected some kind of icebreaker, but that wasn't the direction I was hoping for. I take a deep breath, thinking on his question. I'm only in my late twenties but it feels like I've lived through a lifetime, I was happy six or seven years ago when I thought my life was finally on track, but then Raccoon City happened. After that...

Shen May sighs, leaning back in her chair as she taps a manicured fingernail on the table. "Yeah, sometimes, but those memories feel like they happened so long ago, I'm not even sure they're from the same person." She huffs, then her brown eyes meet mine as I sip on my coffee. "What about you, Leon? What makes you happy these days? How do you handle all this?" Shen May tilts her head, Jason doesn't look at me but he moves his head as if listening for my response.

I think of happiness, instantly my mind goes to her. My lips unwillingly tilt upwards as I think about how to word the pure joy my woman brings me.

I could tell the agents about the first time I met Y/N, how it was raining and I wasn't looking where I was going because I was exhausted from just getting back from a mission overseas. I yawned, eyes closing as I continued to stumble down the streets, my duffel bag swinging in my hands and hair soaked from the downpour until I heard the most aggressive "fucking really?" come from in front of me. I stopped, cracking open an eye to see the most beautiful yet deadly woman cursing at her dropped keys on the pavement. She was trying to handle a bag, a coffee cup and an umbrella in her hands, and obviously failing miserably. I couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped me, but that earnt me the most frightening glare I'd ever received. I knew she'd be a handful from that moment onwards. After I'd insisted on helping her carry the umbrella and listening to her complaints of the 'shittiest day ever', the rain had gotten heavier. With both of us shoulder to shoulder she let me walk her home, both of us chatting away as if we'd known each other years and not minutes. I asked her on a date outside of her front door, and I was so lucky that she agreed.

I could also tell Jason and Shen May about mine and Y/N's first date. It was a disaster, of course. I was late picking her up because I'd yet again been called away on a mission a few cities over. I rushed back on my bike to her- a whole hour and a half late for our dinner reservation. Thankfully she didn't wait for me that long, and after half an hour she went home thinking I'd led her on. When I got back in town I headed straight for her place, knocking on the door with two boxes of pizza, a bottle of wine and some cupcakes (I had 'sorry' written on them) in my hands. She arched a brow as her lips twitched, then she let me in but suggested she picked the movie. We spent the whole night eating food and watching movie after movie, taking turns picking out our favourites as we laughed and nerded out over certain scenes. I didn't leave until late afternoon the next day, since watching movies wasn't all we did.

Y/N moved in with me only six months later, like the rest of our relationship it was chaotic and fun, our plans were completely thrown out of the window when we were moving her boxes into my apartment. It took all day, and when we were heaving the final boxes we heard a small noise. It was dark and cold that night, and Y/N being Y/N was desperate to find out what the noise was. We spent the better part of an hour searching the nearby alleyway to find the source of the mewling, that was when we found our kid. Terry, the scrawniest orange kitten I'd ever seen. He soon got fat from Y/N's care and the nights we spent knelt in the bathroom feeding him cat milk with a syringe. Y/N was a natural, however I always seemed to over or under do it. Terry became a part of our family, even though Y/N and the kitten had only just moved in, they settled in together so well.

In the mornings when I had to leave for work Y/N would cling to me, holding me close and kissing between my shoulder blades with her soft lips, begging me to stay for just "five more minutes". I could never resist, even if it meant rushing around getting ready, I would smile, turning around to pull her close to my chest and rest my chin on the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her. The scent of comfort and home. I'd always wish time would stand still during those mornings. Even more so in the evenings before a mission too, when we'd cook together, our laughter filling the kitchen as Terry weaves between our feet, his meows making himself part of our troupe.

I come back to the present, almost forgetting that I'm not with Y/N, I blink away the memories and reminder of what's waiting for me at home as I shrug up my shoulder to Jason and Shen May, that same dopey smile on my face. The two look at me expectantly as I answer. "My future wife, she's the one that makes me happy and keeps me going." I say simply, the love I have for her obvious in my voice.

The two agents exchange a look, the weight in the room lifting as I stand and set my empty mug on the side. "You're lucky." Jason mumbles, face softening for a second before he turns away from me. Shen May nods as I walk back to my room, knowing that Jason's words are more than true.