Work Text:
He doesn't have time for Leon, when the guy turns up at his encampment less than a week after the whole new Raccoon scandal. Leon looks beat up and tired but has come to offer his blood, since he's now the sole source of Elpis left. He's been giving blood non stop since the incident but it hasn't stopped him coming directly to Chris to offer the samples, knowing how much good they could do in the hands of the captain.
All he asks for is five minutes in return, looking a little hollow and on edge, staying a few steps back from everyone except Chris and seeming as though whatever trauma he's been through lately has stuck to him like a second skin. It was bad, this time. That's all Chris is certain of. Still, he looks around his tent at the setup, the maps, the other members of his squad waiting for him to issue orders, the battle plans ready for him to look over.
“This is a bad time.” He says, immediately regretting it when he watches the way Leon drops his eyes and takes a step back.
“Sure,” Leon smiles. “Some other time.”
Chris watches him leave for the medical bay to start the latest round of blood draws and feels some ache in his chest at how Leon's shoulders hunch in, how he's visibly not okay to someone who knows him as well as Chris does. A squad member hands him a folder stuffed with files and usb sticks then, though, and his attention is swept away.
X
Four hours later Chris makes his way down over to the med bay, scanning for Leon. The folder had been a full report and the drives had contained every bit of camera footage they'd been able to glean from the care home, anything still working in Raccoon, and the ARK. He'd seen it all – just how bad Leon had suffered, how close he'd been to death, how determined he'd been to save who he could before he died. All the trauma of his first round at the police station had come back to haunt him and he'd faced it all bravely, even when he'd been all but crawling up the steps in the lab, coughing blood, clawing his way towards Elpis to try and stop it falling into the wrong hands. When Leon had collapsed beside the lab door and lost consciousness for a while Chris had just stared, eyes on the blood trickling down Leon's chin and the pained expression on his face even in sleep – the black bruising crawling up half his handsome face and the thick gloves hiding more of the same on his hands.
It had been more than just a bad one. It had almost been the death of Leon Kennedy, and Chris hadn't realised how much that would affect him.
He reaches the quiet, dimly lit med bay and finds the object of his searching in one of the private rooms off from the main tent, which is deserted at this time of night. Leon is laying on a cot with his eyes closed, a plaster on his inner arm surrounded by dozens of puncture marks and bruising. He has a drip hooked up to his other arm and he's sleeping uneasily, heavy bags under his eyes. Chris stares for a while freely, taking in every inch of this man they almost lost, the man who managed to get into ARK where everyone else had failed. The man who, fittingly, was now a walking antiviral. Three times Leon had almost died from being infected by these things and it felt right that he should be the one to never be able to be infected by them again.
When he takes a step into the room Leon's eyes flash open and he sits up before he's even fully awake, gun out and raised in a steady hand. Chris raises his own hands slowly, letting Leon fully wake up and lower the Requiem, whispering out a quiet apology and shuddering. One hand scrubs at his face for a moment to wake himself up before he reaches down and nips the drip out of his arm so that he can sit up on the edge of the bed, looking up at his visitor and forcing a smile.
“Still jumpy, sorry. What time is it?” Leon asks, running a hand through his hair and looking gorgeous as ever.
“After 3. You good?” Chris asks, stepping closer and noticing that Leon's shoulders curl in a little at his proximity, a tiny movement but a sign that Chris is now part of 'everyone else', and that Leon doesn't seem to want any of them too close yet.
“Yeah, just dizzy. You'd think I'd get a steak dinner in exchange for all this blood but they said the drip was more efficient. Protein bars on a plane for breakfast again, what a life.” He sighs and gets up wearily, closing his eyes for a long moment against the dizziness. “I should get going, there's still a list of organizations literally out for my blood that I gotta visit. I'll tell Claire you said hi if I see her, TerraSave is on the list somewhere.” He sighs, making to walk past Chris but pausing when the older man blocks his path.
“Wait. You still need to rest, I just got the footage. I saw some of what you went through.” Chris frowns, watching the way Leon sighs.
“No rest for the wicked.” He shrugs. “Besides, the sooner I get through the list, the sooner I can have some downtime.” He looks away then, a little ashamed of his next words. “I...I need it this time. This one was rough.”
“I know.” Chris tells him gently. “What did you need me for, before?” He asks, taking a step closer because Leon looks vulnerable right now and Chris just wants to protect him. He doesn't expect the way Leon takes a step back, away from him, and flushes. The laugh he gives is ragged, as though it hurts to force it out.
“A hug.” He admits, sheepish. “Sorry. I was just... still jittery, I thought it might calm me down. I'm okay now, I got some sleep and gave myself a talking to. I'm a fuckin' idiot, flying halfway across the world to cling to someone when they're busy just because it's safe. You're doing so much, you have your whole team around you and you're tryna save people, you don't have time to pat some needy old bastard on the head and tell him he's okay. Jesus Christ, I realise how ridiculous that is now.” He laughs raggedly again, looking up with his pale eyes full of shame. “Don't tell Claire about this, okay? She'll laugh at me and I know I deserve it but let me off this time, yeah?” He turns away, his next forced laugh coming out closer to a sob and his hand shaking when he reaches for the gun on the nightstand to slide it neatly into its holster. “Fucking hell, what a week.” He hunches over a little then, covering his eyes with his hands, and Chris can see his shoulders shudder hard before he can pull himself together. “One day I'll get that vacation.”
“You...” Chris looks down at one of his oldest friends, vulnerable and hurting, back to him as he tries to compose himself like a wounded animal. “You came all the way here because you wanted a hug?” He asks softly, realising that Leon could have given blood at countless other BSAA locations around the world, not just the one he happened to be at.
“Don't remind me, it sounds incredibly lame when you say it out loud. In my head it was a completely rational thing to do when I felt...like I was feeling.” He shivers again. “I'm okay now.” He insists, straightening up. “I'm good.” He sounds like he's trying to convince himself as he goes back to gathering his meagre belongings, still keeping his eyes averted.
“You wanted comfort and I was too busy for you.” Chris murmurs sadly, watching Leon, who pauses and looks up at him in surprise, those gorgeous eyes a little damp.
“I was being an idiot. You're trying to save people. I know you're out here working your ass off, you don't have time for trivial shit like this.” Leon rasps. “I won't ever do this again, I promise you. I don't usually go where I'm not needed, I won't just turn up like this and expect you to pay attention to some stupid shit, I'll keep it together. I'm sorry, Chris. I won't pull this crap again, you don't need to worry.” He has a concerned look in his eyes at Chris' lack of expression, taking a tentative step closer. “How, uh, how mad're you about this?”
The voice he asks that in is ragged and anxious, as though Chris matters far more to him than Chris himself had ever realised. It's a shock to know that Leon is this quietly distressed, but when he thinks about it, Leon doesn't have many people and he's the outsider even amongst the group he does have. The idea that he felt so alone and upset and in need of comfort that he'd flown all the way out just for Chris to be there to ground him hurts, and Chris takes the final step between them, watching a flicker of apprehension cross Leon's face before huge arms wrap around him.
“Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm not mad at all, my face is just like that. I wish I'd known that was what you needed, I wouldn't have brushed you off if I'd known.” Chris murmurs against Leon's hair, holding him tight and feeling the way Leon gives a full body shudder in his arms, hesitating for a moment before clinging to him and burying his forehead against the huge shoulder he's pressed into. The tenseness drains slowly out of him and Leon droops in his arms, melting into him and giving a shaky breath.
“Christ.” Leon breathes, closing his eyes. “That's the good shit. Everyone always said you gave the best hugs, I always wondered if it was true.” He gives a breathless, exhausted laugh. “I'm still sorry. This was a dumb thing to fly out here and disturb you for. Works like a charm, though.”
Chris can feel the shape of Leon against him, pressing as close as he's able, warm and alive and clinging to him. He cups the back of Leon's head and holds him there, wrapped up and safe, and gently moves them to sit on the edge of the cot without letting Leon go.
“I'm here. Any time you need me I'm here. You matter, Leon. You're not just some weapon, or some cure, or a government agent. You're my friend, you're important to me. More important than all this. It's all okay now. You're safe, everyone is safe. You're okay.” He leans down and kisses Leon's hair, the movement feeling like it's what he needs to do. Leon sighs softly and leans back a little, tilting his head up to look at Chris with a little more light in his tired eyes.
“Always feels like everything is gonna be alright when you're around.” Leon murmurs, eyes fluttering closed when Chris tilts his head up by the hand in the back of his hair and kisses him, catching those well-shaped lips in something gentle and comforting. Leon responds easily, sighing into it and murmuring happily.
“Everything is gonna be alright.” Chris tells him, absolutely certain.