Resident Evil 2: Moondrop Blood (Leon Kennedy x OC)

{•Chapter Two•}

A/n: Picture is of Gwen because I can't draw to save my life and wanted to give y'all a visual of what Gwen looks like. Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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"You're the rookie?!" Gwen unconsciously yelled out in surprise.

Leon couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "Guess no one told you, huh?"

"No!" The archivist walked down the stairwell. "They kept teasing me about the new rookie and wouldn't give me their name. It was so frustrating. I would've never guessed it was you."

"How long has it been, Gwen?" The blonde asked.

The young woman swatted his arm, causing him to wince. "Two whole years and no phone call!" Gwen crossed her arms, eyes narrowed in a sharp glare. "I thought we were friends, Leon."

"We still are friends. I'm sorry for not answering your calls and not even trying to reach you. It's just-"

"Ah!" Gwen promptly stopped him. "I don't wanna hear it. It's just... I'm glad you're here. It's good to see you're alright." Without hesitating, she wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug.

Leon was taken aback at Gwen's sudden show of affection and hesitated for a brief second before reciprocating the hug. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. "In all honesty, I never thought I'd see you again."

Gwen pulled back a little. "Really? Why's that?"

"Well..." Leon started. "I thought you'd hate me and would never forgive me for leaving. But, I was wrong. When did you move to Raccoon City?"

"Roughly a year and a half ago. Got a job as an archivist here and been working here since. What're the odds we'd reunite during this shitshow." Gwen pulled away and smiled at her best friend. "I heard about the message Chief Irons sent you over the phone. If I were you, I'd have stayed away."

"If I did, this meeting wouldn't be happening," he replied.

"Well," she sighed contently. "I'm glad you went against your superior."

"So am I." Leon's smile grew, but it faltered slightly when he remembered why he was here. Pulling out the journal, he showed it to Gwen. "Marvin said you could help me. We need to find a way to access this secret passageway."

The woman's smile fell when she recognized the sketch. "Where... Where did you get this from?"

"An officer. I... I tried to help him, but I was too late," Leon frowned melancholically.

"It belonged to Elliot. He showed me this sketch a couple hours ago and said this was our way out of the station." Gwen gently took the journal from Leon's grasp and stared down at the sketch dismally. "He said we need three medallions to gain access to the passageway below the goddess statue. When he told me, I refused to go along with him. I was... scared. Maybe... Maybe if I had gone with him, he wouldn't be dead."

"Hey," Leon gently called out to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Gwen."

"I know, but... I still feel a little responsible for his death. Anyway," the archivist wiped away a single, stray tear from her cheek as she flipped to a different page. "These three statues must be where the medallions are located. I know where the lion and unicorn statues are, but not the maiden one."

"I saw the lion statue in the main hall. Where's the unicorn statue?"

"Through that door," Gwen said, pointing to the door to her left. "Unfortunately, it's locked from the other side. I had to lock it a few days ago when a couple of corpses meandered in here while I was organizing."