Work Text:
Leon awoke with a tightness in his chest and a shakiness in his frame. It had been a while since he’d dreamed of Spain, but it didn’t surprise him. Spain was the most recurring of his nightmares, only followed closely by Tall Oaks and occasionally Raccoon City.
Chris was still sound asleep next to him, and Leon tried to use the sound of his partner’s breathing to ground himself. Flashes of his dream still haunted him, though, the phantom sound of chainsaws and the more he tried to even his breathing, the more he thought about the painful feeling of the Plagas writhing inside him and latching onto his spine.
After failing to ground himself for several long minutes, Leon gave up and dragged himself out of bed. He moved carefully and quietly so he didn’t disturb Chris. The other man didn’t need to be burdened with Leon’s weaknesses.
Chris would scoff at that if Leon ever voiced that thought out loud to him and would insist that helping him wasn’t a burden. But Chris had enough to deal with, his own traumas; he didn’t need to be woken up every time Leon had a nightmare about something long in the past.
He found himself wandering into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge but as he went to open the bottle, he hesitated. He could picture Chris’s disappointed look perfectly, the sad puppy look Leon still didn’t know how the man managed to pull off with all those muscles of his.
With a sigh, he set the beer on the counter and left the kitchen. While dragging himself out of bed had helped a little bit, Leon still felt like he was teetering on the edge of a full-on panic attack. As a last-ditch effort to ground himself, he stepped out on the balcony of the apartment.
The cold night air helped him focus on something else. He sat down on the wooden floor with his back to the large window rather than in the two lounge seats there. He shut his eyes and let the ambient sounds of the city below soothe him.
Leon didn’t know how long he sat there by himself, but eventually he heard the sliding glass door open and someone slip out. He didn’t open his eyes until a blanket was draped over his shoulders, and he met the worried eyes of Chris. Chris smiled gently at him and murmured, “I’m not taking care of your ass if you get sick after sitting out here without a coat or a blanket.”
Leon huffed and rolled his eyes. Rather than going back inside, Chris sat next to him, a second blanket drawn around himself. He didn’t say anything else, just let them sit in silence. After a few minutes, Leon lay his head on Chris’s shoulder. Taking this for the invitation that it was, Chris asked quietly, “Spain again?”
Leon hummed an affirmation but didn’t say anything. Chris made a wounded sound and wrapped his arm around Leon and pulled him close. He let himself be moved and settled into Chris’s side easily. He appreciated that the other didn’t ask why he hadn’t woken him up because he already knew Leon’s answer, and no amount of reassurances that he wasn’t a bother would change it.
They sat there awhile until Leon started shivering, even curled up against Chris’s furnace of a self. Chris huffed a laugh and said, “Alright, c’mon, let’s get you out of the cold and back into bed.”
Leon let himself be helped up from the ground and escorted back inside without a word. He still hadn’t opened up about his nightmare, and Chris didn’t pry, which Leon loved him dearly for. Chris climbed back into bed first, opening his arms in invitation for Leon to settle into them, which he did so without hesitation.
He tucked his head under Chris’s chin and sighed in contentment when Chris’s arms settled around him. He felt Chris kiss the top of his head before he drifted off with little effort. He would talk about the nightmare in the morning. When the sun has chased the shadows of the past away for a new day. For now, he would enjoy the warmth and contentment that always came when both of them were safe at home and not in the middle of some godforsaken BOW hellhole. They were home.