leon kennedy||any reader||tw: blood, a little bit of an age gap (y/n's 18-24, leon's 27 & up).
he'd been coming to your 24-hour diner for half a year so far. it sounded like a long time in theory, but that time passed so fast when you were used to seeing him every night or early morning. it was the days he did not show up that passed by so painfully slowly. what else was painful, was that he could never seem to remember talking to you each night. that's just how sleep-deprived he was.
sometimes he would exclaim in a bout of clearness that he felt like he 'had met you before'. of course, he had, but he always seemed to act as if meeting you was simply a fever dream.
you were the only cashier working the late night/early morning shift. in this case, business was going slow at that time, and having another cashier being present would honestly be redundant... initially, before you even got the job, you had been hesitant at first to accept the position - in consideration of your sleep schedule - but you were the desperate college student that needed money. so, after some thought, you eventually accepted it. you were glad you had done so because having those sweet, flirty, or downright delirious conversations with him each night were certainly worth it.
it was also great that you had free time to work on assignments during the shift. no one else came at those odd times, only him.
"leon kennedy?" you called the order with a polite smile, pretending to glance about despite knowing full-well that there was no one else there except for the man. a head full of dirty blondish-brown hair stumbled into your line of sight and leaned against the counter, dipping his head slightly as a 'thank you'. his icy eyes were ringed with dark circles; his scleras a smidge bloodshot with tiredness. you always wondered what job he worked that tortured him so. "your order..."
his gaze drifted up to you and your grin widened slightly before your gaze drifted to his left cheekbone that was poking past his long side-swept bangs. "oh-!" you began to reach out, but stopped yourself halfway. your sights fixed on a small glistening cut. "c-can i get you a bandaid for that?" you inquired kindly.
leon's eyebrows furrowed a bit, bringing a shaky hand up to his cheek, then quickly pulling it away to see his fingers dotted with crimson. "huh..." he grumbled curiously, seemingly not comprehending where he had got it from exactly. he proceeded to whisper something harshly under his breath, possibly cursing himself for whatever happened, before letting out a little: "...sure." he offered you a lazy smile and an obedient nod, subsequently grabbing his food tray and turning away to his usual table.
as soon as his vision fell off of you, your lips formed a tight straight line, stifling a sigh. you had to admit that there was a part of you that was heavily irritated by the fact that - although there was still some strange familiarity that had rung on his face - he never fully recognized you in his half-asleep state.
you, then, ran to the back of the kitchen diner in search of these medical dressings, but it was a fast discovery in finding out that the diner had run out of bandaids for the kitchen staff. luckily though, you opened your work locker, finding your schoolbag, and producing a half-empty package of paw-patrol bandaids your roommate had taken from her baby brother back home.
you hummed a whimsical tune as you traveled your way back to the front, catching a peek at the older woman who was supposed to be cooking in the kitchen. she gave you a sweet, yet exhausted, look as she took a seat in a luminous neon orange chair, her beaded necklaces around her neck clicking with every major and minor movement she made...
you circled behind and around the counter, taking a few steps toward where leon was situated. as soon as you made eye contact with him, you greeted him with a small wave of your free hand.
at this, wrinkles clustered on his forehead as he raised his brows, confused. once he made note that i was approaching him, he put down his half-eaten fry and gave me his full attention. "hi?"
'he already forgot.'
"uh- i brought you a bandaid..." your lips created an awkward smirk, trying their best to hide away the deep emotions behind them, and held the colorful plaster out hesitantly. "...for your cheek."
realization spread across his face as leon smiled back, a low-toned laugh bubbling past his lips. "thanks." retrieving the patch from you, his calloused fingers brushed your smooth ones - his other hand being used currently as a rest for his cheek. "you actually... remind me of someone i know."
"that's crazy." you half-groaned bitterly, but leon seemed to not have picked up on that as he only chuckled as a response.
"yeah, it is." he nods, then faces the bandaid laying across his hand when he suddenly feels a panging sensation across his head. he rubs the hand he's using as support to lean his forehead against, and simultaneously has his thumb and middle finger massage his temples to rid away the ache. "agh... i really need a nap."
"you really do." you lightheartedly agree; you couldn't help all of the smiles that adorned your features every time you interacted with this man. everything he did enamored you.
after some time, the pain subsided and leon reassumed his last position with his head in his hand, staring up at you. he slipped the bandaid in between his two fingertips and held it up in the air. "could you, maybe, help me put this on? i can't see the..?"
"...paper cut!"
"paper cut." you giggled upon trying to finish his sentence, to only say the words at the same time. "yeah, i'll help you. it's not like i have anything better to do." you moved closer to stand at his side, snatching the bandaid back from his grasp. you opened it, crinkling up the wrapper, then removing the waxy paper covering the tacky part of the bandage onto his tray, alongside his straw paper wrapper.
"here." you mumbled lowly, concentration reading across your expression. he moved to where he was sitting halfway out of his booth, and you gently reached out a hand, tilting his jaw to the side. your heart jumped at the sound of his breath hitching from your touch and a mellow gaze drifting up to your face. you swallowed a thick gulp, promptly keeping your own eyes away from his and instead fixed on the mark that etched his skin (just like all the others that faintly littered his features). you cautiously placed the covering over his wound, patting the adhesive down. this caused him to wince very minutely, but enough for a frown to break out on my face worriedly.
"i'm sorry." you gasped lightly, tilting him up higher for a better angle at his face, but also falling out of his touch to avoid injuring him any further. "d-does it hurt?"
leon nodded his head side-to-side, and rather, he held up a hand so you would not leave his side. he folded his body in half, reaching downwards to search for something in his front pocket. when he pulled out his hand, there was something tiny in his palm.
you raised your eyebrows as soon as he flashed it to you. "a sticker?" it was just a cartoon of a cute, angry chicken clucking away.
"from a kid, a little while ago, that i used to..." he hesitated, leaning his head sideways against the back of his seat. "...babysit, from my work." he covered his prolonged pause by smiling sleepily.
you rolled your eyes, letting the corners of your mouth unconsciously curl up. of course... he is perfectly handsome, charming, and good with kids. but, of course, he could not even remember you! one of these days you would give him your number, you knew that to be true. you would laugh with him, and tell him about how he would come in every night and order practically the same thing and be so mentally fatigued that he could not even recall your face.
the same face he had called pretty so many times before... well, 'pretty', your ass!
he was plain gorgeous, even when he was delirious. you had no idea what he was doing flirting with you of all people.
"okay." you laughed, holding your hand out as he gently slipped the sticker from his palm to yours. "you better finish your dinner-breakfast and get out of here before you fall asleep on my table." you shifted your body away from him, but not before gifting him a wink.
leon, mid-yawn, chuckled lethargically, and when you retreated back behind the counter to work on an essay, he proceeded to pick up his burger to continue to stuff his mouth.
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"i want something different today."
you did a double take at the words that spilled past leon's lips. you swore you even felt your hand quiver from where you rested it on the edge of the counter.
"y-you... leon, do you remember me?"
you leaned over from your side of the counter, analyzing the 6'ft tall man's intricate and pretty features. "hm... it seems you're less sleep-deprived today." your opticals darted from the small scar under his left eye, the one you'd patched up with a medical dressing only about a week or so ago.
leon chuckled delicately, a pink blush flaunting his cheeks and ears as he pokes the center of your forehead to create a little bit of distance between the two of you. "y-y/n, right? i am sorry." he simpered bashfully, looking down at you with careful baby-blue eyes. "i-i'm always so out of it at 3 in the morning... especially after a 16-and-a-half-hour shift at work."
"geez, what even is your job?" your jaw slacks after hearing the work hours. 'and i thought i was tired!?'
"can't tell, darlin'." leon leaned away from the counter to scratch the back of his neck shyly. "if you don't mind me asking, but... h-how long have i been coming here? i can barely remember..." he trailed off, pupils dilating, but his eyelids contrastingly drooped as a somber gaze drifted down to his black rubber boots.
you tenderly touched his hand and his irises darted back onto you. he was alert in a way you had never seen before, and from that look, you suddenly took in a sharp breath of air. "a-about half a year ago from now, why?"
"because!" he shouts out, but realizing how dramatic he seems to be, he calms himself down with a few breaths and resumes to talking. "a-all my memories of you don't seem to be real. and i think i only have, like, four or five of them."
you chewed on your bottom lip disappointedly. your scrutiny bouncing from each of his blues. "i- um, leon... w-what would you like tonight?"
'think positively: i am still lucky enough to have him retain at least one memory from me.'
"hmm..." he scans my face for a couple of seconds, trying to read my emotions, until his eyes drift to the menu on the screens above my head. "...fried chicken and waffles?"
"with syrup?" you stilled under his heated scrutiny, fumbling as you typed in his order into the register.
"yes, ma'am." leon grinned, a small case of crow's feet appearing at the corner of his eyes, joyfully watching your fingers get to work. "and you."
"shut up." you groaned; he cackled.
...
that night, like many others, was like a hallucination, is how he'd described to you. you'd sat together chatting and conversing over a stack of waffles, with sticky syrup coating both of your messy hands. you'd reached out and touched his face, rambling on about the 'skincare benefits' that come from manuka honey, all while you dragged your thumb over the bridge of his nose and the deep sockets over and under his eyes. you'd learned things about him that his barely-conscious self had not bothered to unwillfully spill to you.
then, at the end of the late night/early day, he pulled you into a hug by the dip of your waist, staining your clothes. and, you'd leaned halfway back, reaching up with your semi-clean hands to cup his face. you could feel his heart beating against his chest, and you were sure he could feel yours.
then, you kissed him. the twinge of emotion on his face said that he was conflicted at first and you thought you'd done something wrong. you had prepared yourself to break away from him and dash into the back to cry to the nice hippie lady who made up the kitchen staff of these late-night shifts. but, alternatively, leon mercilessly pulled you to himself and planted a stiff kiss right on your lips. he chose not to tilt his head for a better angle, only squishing his nose flat against your cheek, and eliciting an uncontrollable cackle on your part. for a good amount of time, you felt right as if you were in heaven.
the only mistake you made that night was not asking for his phone number after he had left, because the very next night, he came in looking more disheveled than he ever did before... and you were back all the way to square one.
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when leon kennedy stumbled through those clear doors and the brass bell sound rang throughout the diner, you shot up excitedly from your spot on the ground, slamming your poor laptop shut. you'd raced to the counter, a wide grin already meeting your appearance...
...but your heart and smile dropped at the sight before you.
leon hauled himself from the door to not-even his normal booth, but the nearest one instead, and agonizingly slumped onto the table. your face scrunched as you slipped around the front and over to him.
"oh, dear..." you mumbled under your breath, sliding into the leather couch across from his. you stretched out a hand to the man, almost too afraid to touch him. "leon." you whispered just loud enough for him to hear you.
and he did: his cool-toned hair slid across his face as he lifted his head, squinting at you with a dull expression through straight strands of blonde. slowly he began to sit up properly, but his sight shifted to stare blankly at the table. again, you repeated his name softly, a heavy weight of realization settling itself in your chest. the youthful mask he wore had disappeared for the night. there was a glint of a sparkle at the inner corners of his puffy eyes as if he'd been crying. there were red cuts on his arms like he'd been thrown into something.
all of a sudden, leon's oculars widened significantly. "oh, god- why am i here?!" he toughly rubbed at his lids, immediately standing up to his feet, but his wavering posture made it clear that he would be tipping over any time soon. "i'm so sorry for bothering." he bowed his head in shame, but the move had shaken his vision up that he had to steady himself against the table. as soon as he came, he wanted to leave; but when he stood up, you did too. you raced around the edge of the table and latched onto leon's burly arms before he could take a harsh tumble.
"hey! look at me! snap out of it!" you maneuvered the man so that he was now sitting somewhat comfortably on top of the metal table, rather than digging his waist into it by leaning against the edge. "i need you to stay here so that i can patch you up." you nervously ogled to a smear of blood on his shirt for barely a moment before landing back onto leon.
he peered at you oddly hard; his own gaze foggy. it honestly seemed like he was looking at a stranger.
"p-please." your voice dry as you begged. your grip on his forearms loosened to flutter down to his fingertips, lightly playing with them.
leon took in a labored breath, a vague sense of recognition flickering across his off-put gaze. he squinted through the pain it elicited, being able to make out an unfinished question. "a-are you..?"
"y-yes! it's y/n..." you almost wailed out a cry of happiness, but you swallowed it down for your infatuation's well-being. "...n-now sit down, and let me help you. okay?"
leon allowed you to guide him back to where he'd been sitting, but then fixed his hands tightly around your wrists. "shit! i-i'm sorry, i'm sorry... i don't know where that came from." his eyes shut tightly and he bit his lips roughly as a result of his bewilderment, instantly releasing the grip on you.
"hey..." you ran a finger along his jawbone before grabbing his chin to look up at you, which he quickly did with half-hooded eyelids. "...you don't have to tell me about what's going on with you and your work right this moment, but you do need to let me help you. alright?"
his breath fanned your face as he lost himself in your features. he lifted a hand to comb a misplaced hair back behind your ears, before putting his own hands back on your arms, but this time, fragilely. "i love you." a fierce clarity burned in his gaze.
you smiled bitterly. "only if you remember it by tomorrow night."
leon's face became wary with a new level of awareness. "y/n, i... you can help me right now, but i-i can't stay with you here..." he clears his throat, rubbing affectionate circles at your wrists before pulling you further into his lap and deepening the half-hug the two of you were in. "...i might not be alive by tomorrow night."
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( notes: hi! i hope you like my first oneshot... ♥︎ i'm debating on making a part two to this, so if you'd like to see that, let me know! but for now, thanks for reading! )
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