Leon sighs as he shrugs a single shoulder up in defeat. "What intel?" I smile at him, glad we could finally get through, I notice Leon doesn't exactly smile back at me, but his eyes soften as he listens, glancing at me the whole time as I fidget with my ring.
It's only a few minutes later when I realise the ring I'm wearing is the same one Leon gave me a month before we broke up.
Fuck.
Chris and Rebecca give each other a subtle smile, glad to have finally gotten through to Leon, but I'm ready to leave. It's bad enough they dragged me into this mess with them, yet alone asking me to reunite with my ex. Feelings I tried to push down are arising so I keep quiet and cross my arms as Rebecca begins talking.
"Look, this shits spreading fast and amd thick." Chris states, as Leon sighs, as if he predicted it wasn't going to be easy.
"All of the researchers and staff at my university were infected." Rebecca chimes in, I notice her nervously toy with her jeans, I can't imagine how she must feel right now, once again seeing the undead. Then again, it's never been easy for any of us.
"This again, huh? And how were you pulled into this?" Leon finally asks me, his eyes full of concern.
I quickly come up with a half fake story, "They asked me to help kick ass if need be." Leon chuckles as I try to bite back a smile and fail, Rebecca smiles warmly at us, clearly knowing there's still a spark between Leon and I.
"It's like I'm stuck in a goddamn loop," Leon mutters, I nod and instinctively reach out for his hand, his head swivels to mine as I process what I'm doing, seconds later I pull back, staring at the floor in embarrassment.
"What's going on between you two?" Chris asks, he knows our history briefly but I don't think he gets it as much as Rebecca does.
"Nothing." I snap, great now it's my turn to be mad. There's a tense silence until Leon takes the attention away from me.
"You know that bomb that went off in DC, it was my mission to stop the terrorists." There's pain in Leon's voice, I can't bear it, I clench my fists to keep myself from grabbing his hand, instead I just listen along with the others. "We got to our rendezvous point, and some asshole ratted us out. The bomb went off and my whole unit, everyone, gone."
Rebecca blinks away unshed tears as Chris' jaw tightens. Fuck it, I reach up again and grab Leon's hand, uncaring about our past or future, all I know is he's upset and I know how to soothe him.
My thumb brushes the top of his hand as he clenches his fist. "I keep fighting, and fighting and fighting and instead of seeing and end to this shit it just keeps getting worse. This is what my life's supposed to be? Fighting the living dead and the bastards that make them?"
I shake my head as Leon looks at me. "What's the point of it all?"
Chris narrows his lips then grabs Rebecca's laptop, turning it around to show Leon. "Look, this is Glenn Arias, an arms dealer, his deals on the black market are so shady they landed him on a certain governments hit list. A smart bomb was dropped on his wedding, he lost his family and his wife, and now he's got a grudge."
Leon chews on his lip, "No wonder." He mutters, once again his eyes dart to the ring on my finger.
Chris doesn't comment, he just continues "After the attack he went underground, but now he's back with B.O.Ws and a score to settle. Here's the kicker, he said his products have targeting capabilities, from what I've seen, I believe him."
Leon's brows furrow as his head drops, "So you've got an arms dealer on one side, and on the other a government dropping bombs on weddings," he scoffs, "Who's the bad guy here?"
"Arias!" Chris snaps at Leon's tone, "and it's our mission to bring his ass down!"
"Your mission, not mine!" Leon snaps back. "God dammit Leon!" Chris shouts, slamming his fists down on the table.
Rebecca flinches, "Stop!" Seeing her like this makes me finally intervene.
"She's right, you both need to calm down, if you can't help, then don't, just know that our success relies on you." I sigh, glaring at Leon as Rebecca heads out of the room.
Chris watches her go, with a heavy sigh he goes to sit at a table across the room, leaving Leon and I to settle things. "Easy for you to say, I thought it was a group effort." Leon mumbles, narrowing his eyes as he clearly hints about our relationship.
"Don't be childish Leon, I'm not here for that," I mutter as I run a hand through my hair, "besides you're right, it was supposed to be a group effort, and it was me doing all the work whilst you drank our dates away, snuggling up with a bottle on the couch rather than in bed with me."
"It wasn't-" Leon begins, but I hold up to hand to interrupt him. "It was exactly like that, and even though I still love you, you haven't changed."
Leon's eyes widen, "You still love me? Explains the ring."
I blush at the accidental confession, then decice to stand up and walk away, but Leon stands with me and grabs my hand, pulling me back to him. "You don't know how much I wanted to hear that," he mumbles, "all the nights I wanted to come see you, I've missed you so much." He murmurs, letting out a shaky breath.
I open my mouth to speak but can't find words, instead I reach up and press a kiss to his cheek. "We'll speak more about this after you've helped us."
Leon laughs, "Great, now I've got no choice, well played sweetie." I smile as I breeze past Chris to go check on Rebecca outside, but she's not in the car park.
As soon as I step back inside the sound of gunfire fills the building. I grab my gun and rush inside, ducking behind a pillar as Chris shoots at something. Bullets whizz past as my eyes land on Leon, crouched behind a table, his eyes find mine as they widen.
"Stay there!" He shouts full of worry, I nod but peek around the corner to fire a few rounds.
Soon the gunfire stops and Chris rushes out of the shot up windows, I go to chase after him but Leon grabs me around my waist. "Where the hell were you? Are you hurt?" He demands.
I shake my head, wriggling around to face him. Seeing the anxiety in his blue eyes I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, his arms encirlce me as we hug tightly for a few seconds.
"Where's Rebecca?" I ask as Chris comes back looking pissed.
"Taken, they were Arias' men. I just need to get her back."
I nod, already letting go of Leon and reloading my gun. "There goes my vacation," Leon says shaking his head but grabbing my hand, "again."
I roll my eyes as we head back outside, checking to see if the staff are okay. Leon doesn't leave my side, as if he's worried I'll leave again.
Now isn't the time to tell him I'm planning on staying.