SAVEGUARD ⟼ leon s. kennedy

xlv. past relics

He steps into the kitchen with just his towel around his hips. He can't deal with this bullshit again. Not this early. Not today.

Not ever, to be honest.

His loyal stash of alcohol is there waiting for him, without any judgement or prejudice. It's only eight in the morning, but fuck it, his mind needs this.

As he chugs whiskey straight from the bottle, and as he's wiping his lips, he catches sight of the little orange pill bottle.

"Now there's an idea," he whispers to himself, and before he can stop himself, he swallows of the smooth pills and washes it down with more whiskey.

Time to catch up on the sleep he lost last night.

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ｌｅｏｎ
３ｐｍ

Leon opens his eyes and sees Chris across from him on the couch.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes," Chris chuckles.

Leon jolts upwards, his injuries groaning in pain. "What the fuck?" He looks down, half expecting to still be in his towel. Thankfully, sober Leon had the common sense to get dressed before passing out.

"Calm down," Chris laughs. "I just got here, like five minutes ago."

"Why the hell were you watching me sleep?" Leon shakes his head to get the sleep out of his head, but his movements are sluggish. He hopes he isn't slurring his words.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kennedy," Chris replies, switching the TV off. "I helped myself to a glass of whiskey, though. From the little that was left."

Leon rolls his neck, trying to work out the kinks. He had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position. "I forgot you had a key to this place. Although we agreed emergencies only."

"I called your phone multiple times, and rang the bell non-stop. My emergency radar was going off."

Leon sits back down, his heart still a little jumpy from the rude awakening. "So, got any updates for me?"

"How are you feeling? Let's start from there." Chris eyes him up.

Leon sighs. The man is a fucking walking lie-detector, so he needs to tread carefully. "Much better. Got my movement back. Been stretching."

"Oh have you now?" Chris smirks, his smile not really giving anything away. "Some of that with Clementine?"

The name forms a rock in Leon's gut. "No." He hopes Chris isn't about to interrogate him about the whole thing, because he just cannot deal with that right now. "I get my stitches out in a few days. Recovery went better than I hoped."

Chris studies him for a second, and then nods once. "That's great to hear, man."

Relief fills Leon. "Updates?"

"Well, O'Brian is dispatching Jill and I to the Queen Dido tomorrow. It's risky but our last chance at getting that son of a bitch Lansdale where he belongs. Our only chance at avenging Parker."

Leon nods tightly, and waits for him to continue.

Chris sighs, his eyes getting darker. "O'Brian doesn't want any loose ends, which means we cannot let Jessica's trail get cold. She's an accomplice of Lansdale's, and on top of that, there's Parker's murder. First degree. And the attempted murder of a DSO agent. You."