Chapter Text
Oh shit…
Leon was missing.
One moment he'd been guiding the pack, Luis, Ashley, and yourself following close behind as you all navigated that dreaded, labyrinthine castle, but the next, he'd practically vanished without a trace, as if he'd been turned to dust and swept away by the wind.
He was gone . Plain and simple.
Lost was your partner, left to your own devices, a crucial piece of the puzzle rendered missing . You’d double checked up and down the hallways, upturning every corner as subtly as you could, not finding the slightest hint of where he could've run off. No signs, no leads, no Leon .
Bulky, brooding men didn't just vanish , did they?
The dimly lit halls did little to lighten the veil of unease that had settled upon your shoulders as you continued through the winding passages, and with your counterpart suddenly gone, you felt the added weight of your mission’s success added to your load, jumping at the slightest sound as you secured the corridor ahead, bursting into the room at the end of the hall, guns blazing, ready for combat. You searched the area top to bottom, triple checking — just in case, before finally waving for the duo behind you to follow inside, taking a long moment to catch your breaths as you flooded into the space, panting, doubled over.
Safe. You were finally safe.
For now…
“Everyone alright?” You asked, voice a bit shaky as your mind raced in circles, distracted, forcing yourself to rewind, to just think— where had Leon gone? How had he disappeared without anyone immediately noticing? You spun around, hand raising to cover your mouth as you silently filtered through your next logical actions.
Should you reach out to Hunnigan? No, she would have contacted you already if you had a signal. You had to go find him… but what about Ashley?
Speaking of, “Where’s Leon? Oh god, don't tell me—!”
Panic was evident in Ashley's tone once she'd finally realized one of her protectors was absent, the woman fidgeting with her necklace as she frantically turned around, as if she were worried the man was going to suddenly pop out of the shadows at any moment, only to have been changed into one of those horrific Ganados . You could see the faint tremble to her form, hear it in her voice, sighing lightly. Carefully, you made your way over to the flighty young blonde, taking her shaking hands in your own, offering her a small, yet determined grin. You couldn't let her sense your anxiety, despite its overwhelming presence, doing your best to suppress your fears in order to comfort her. She was the priority, after all.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m going back out to find him.” You gave her hands a light squeeze, her gaze softening at the simple gesture, nodding frantically, doing her best to put on a brave face for you. “Luis,” you said, turning to look at the Spaniard, who instantly perked at the sound of his name, “I'm counting on you to keep Ashley safe from harm. I need you to swear you’ll stay here and wait for me to track Leon down.”
The man flashed you a confident smirk, effortlessly reloading his handgun, going as far as to hold it up in a show of readiness. “We’ll be fine . Watch your back— and try bringing Prince Charming back in one piece, eh?”
You gave the man a single, confident nod, rushing towards the entrance, glancing at the pair over your shoulder one last time, before slipping out the door, flooded with worry as you scampered down the halls, determined to locate your partner.
Reaching down to your belt, you toyed with your radio as you surveyed the halls, adjusting it until you finally found Leon’s frequency, a hand lifting to your earpiece. Even if the attempt was futile, you had to at least try.
“Condor Two to Condor One, do you read me?”
As expected, your efforts were put to waste, waiting for a reply that would never come as you traversed through the castle, retracing your steps while taking special care to remain unseen, preferring to avoid taking on any enemies by your lonesome; not that you doubted your abilities or anything of the sort; truthfully, you worried for your ammunition, finding it rather lucky that stealth was your specialty as you creeped down the long passageways of that dreary castle, avoiding an impressive number of hostiles, in turn saving that much more supplies.
All was going well so far.
It wasn't long before you found yourself face to face with a large, unnecessarily heavy - looking wooden door at the end of the passageway you'd just turned down, taking a moment to peek out one of the windows on either side of the opening before you decided to barge right through, nerves alight.
A balcony sat before you, noticing figures standing by the far edge of the railing, a good enough distance from the entrance that you were confident you could sneak through without being seen. You took a deep breath, positioning yourself, before heaving with all your might, yanking open the bulky door, slipping past as soon as you could fit through the crack, making an effort to slowly guide it closed behind you, soundlessly slinking outside.
You scanned the area before you, instantly sighing with relief as you recognized the head of sandy-blond hair standing at the far end of the balcony, back turned towards the door. With a smile, you jogged closer, making your presence known with a friendly exclamation.
“Leon!”
The man visibly tensed at the sound of your voice, and you instantly slowed in response, your brows furrowing as he turned towards you, finally getting a good look at the figure dressed in red standing just behind him. All it took was one good look, and suddenly you realized , completely frozen in place— that had to be her.
Ada… A dead woman walking.
Just how long had it been since you'd heard her name?
You'd remembered the first late night Leon had knocked on the door of your dorm after a particularly gruesome day of training, sweat still dripping from his brow despite the hour, lips pulled in a pensive line. He had nearly collapsed into your arms, trembling like a leaf in the wind. You'd never seen him so exposed, so unwillingly vulnerable, treading with the utmost care as you held him close, listening as he unraveled his tangled thoughts, shakily whispering remnants of the past in your ear. He told you his reservations, how he was stuck in a single day from 1998, a horrific, barbaric experience that left him forever changed . You had listened, eyes wide as he recounted his experience, how the losses haunted him, how she haunted him. He blamed himself, mumblings of how he could have saved her, her name always fracturing on his tongue, as if he couldn't bear to speak it.
Ada Wong…
You did your best to comfort him, treating him with the utmost care in his time of need, holding the shattered pieces of his heart in your own two hands, uncaring of the way the shards cut you to shreds, ignoring the way your gut wrenched at the sound of another woman’s name on his lips.
He was your colleague, for goodness’ sake… he wasn't yours to love. You were simply helping him keep it together.
Night terrors frequented Leon, the man confiding in you from then on every time he awoke in a panic, always finding yourself welcoming him in, no matter the circumstances. It became a routine of sorts, almost eager to see him waiting at your door every night, reveling in the time spent together, spent learning this unobtainable man. Work had never allowed you to have any explicit relations, yet it was quite the task keeping your eyes from wandering during your spars, thankful for the days where it was cool enough for him to keep his shirt on while you trained, the only way you could truly focus. On the brief occasion, you swear you'd catch his gaze lingering, as well, drinking you in, only to turn away the moment you turned his way, always wondering if you were imagining things, furiously questioning if there was even a sliver of a possibility that you weren't .
In the end, it was nothing more than fleeting glances and an insatiable longing threatening to choke you out. Such was the nature of dancing along the tip of a double-edged blade.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Ashley?” Leon’s tone was low, taking a step towards you, before a sickening, demonic chanting erupted from behind, spinning on your heels as you came face to face with a horde of agitated cultists.
You’d been followed.
“Wow, looks like a party,” Leon hummed, pulling his pistol from its holster, your eyes flicking to Ada as she stepped forward, falling by his side with her handgun already drawn.
You couldn't help the smallest smile from tugging at your lips at the thrill of the fight before you, knowing you had nothing to fear with Leon nearby. Pulling out your own gun, you glanced over your shoulder, eyes locking with Leon’s own for the briefest of moments as you prepared for the fight ahead of you.
“Ready, partner?” You asked, still grinning.
“Ready.”
——————
With the final head sent rolling, you finally found a moment to catch your breath, panting as you glanced down at yourself, surprised to see you were practically unscathed, barely registering the gash on your arm as thick, hot blood trickled down your skin, watching the bodies before you bubble away to dust. It'd been a hard fight, endless waves of cultists filtering in after you — perhaps in hindsight it would have been an easier fight for you in the long run if you had simply picked off the enemies roaming the halls beforehand, but hey, you were alive, and that was all that mattered.
“That was a close call, Leon. We did good, though!” You turned to look at the man beside you, smiling softly. “Are you hurt—”
Your heart split in two right before your very eyes, met with a face full of the back of his head.
He… wasn't even looking at you?
Leon’s attention laid solely on Ada, back turned your way, as if you didn't even exist . He idly reloaded his pistol, slipping it back into its holster as he spoke.
“Ada, are you alright?”
The woman smiled fondly, as if amused by his question, tilting her head as she spoke. “Of course. You handled yourself well.”
And suddenly, you were invisible to the world, standing there by your lonesome, a hopeless, desolate shadow amidst the land of the living. It was as if you were see-through, and in that moment, truthfully, you wished you were, maybe then you wouldn't be paralyzed by such a twisting ache in your chest, a stabbing pain that refused to go away, no matter how desperately you willed it to. Your bottom lip trembled as your eyes bore into the back of Leon’s head, watching the way his hair shifted in the breeze, mouth full of cotton as he fussed over Ada, while you simply stood there— bleeding.
It occurred to you then, observing the pair before you; you would never be enough for Leon.
Never.
Because you weren't her.
You were foolish to try kindling a flame that had never even sparked. In the end, you only ever had yourself to blame.
Faltering, you let out the softest of sighs as you lowered your gaze, turning away before anyone could catch you staring at Leon like a kicked puppy, slipping off without another word. There was no point looking behind you, not when you were convinced his focus would only ever remain on the woman from the grave. Whatever reason he'd abandoned Ashley to meet up with Ada for was clearly too important for him to remember to give you — his partner — a heads-up, deciding to silently excuse yourself before you made an even bigger fool of yourself.
Walking away, you didn't see the way Leon’s gaze softened as he turned and watched you leave, your name falling from his lips, as light as a breeze, as soft as snow.
But you were already gone…