Russian Roulette
Leon x Buddy (Resident Evil: Damnation)
Chapter 1 - in ruins
The day was a strangely mild one despite the winter having already bared its teeth at the Republic. Casualties caused by hypothermia weren't a rare but a common thing. So common that even the corpses – black and blue from frostbite – were ignored by the adults walking by while children stopped to take a look at the now motionless bodies. They stared and carefully touched the hardened skin with the tip of a branch so thin that one couldn't help being reminded of a human or animal bone; one that had been gnawed at till only its very essence remained. And amongst all those hectic passerbys who didn't even spare a second to take notice of their surroundings, a sturdy man in a wheelchair defied the continuous stream of movement. Even though the people who passed him by threw annoyed glances at him as if to say that he was simply being a nuisance to all of them, he didn't give way and instead sometimes even responded to their gazes with an equally or even more intimidating one. "J.D…." The name nothing more than a whisper, fading before it had even escaped his lips. Memories flooding in, images appearing that over time had lost their colors and shapes; details simply a tale to the exhausted mind. It felt heavy. The body that once was able to move by itself had been worn down with time; not even a trace left of its past agility. With a deep groan his hands – each clutching one silvern wheel – started to move the chair. An annoyingly squeaky noise escaped the metal while he steadily approached the portal in front of him. Its size as well as its pompous reliefs emerging from the cold, already brittle stone could make one feel intimidated by its grandness and as to honor that the man entered the building with his head lowered, his eyes closed. Behind those lids images kept reappearing, haunting him with their sheer vividness. Oh, how often he wished for it to be real. Those familiar voices calling out to him: "Sasha!" It was too late though. Reality had already formed, the past lost to the hands of death.
Sasha, the name he was used to being called by despite it differing from the one his parents had given him. Even now after all this time he still couldn't shake off the heartwrenching pain that befell him whenever those memories resurfaced. In the back of his mind the past was still alive, lurking like a beast that is waiting for the prey to let its guard down. And if he was honest, he'd have to admit that right now he was more vulnerable than ever. The weeks and months after that one incident had crawled by annoyingly slowly. Each second seemed to echo in his head when the hands of the clock moved further. Just like this to him the very concept of time became harder to grasp. Even now his every move felt amazingly heavy. It reminded him of how one swam against the current of a stream. In his case it might as well have been time itself; the time that had corroded his body. Still he kept moving forward, relentlessly, his wheels producing an odd metallic sound as they turned. One glance at them made one notice a shiny silver object dangling from one of the armrests, a black leather cord attached to it. Sometimes the man's eyes shifted to the left wheel occasionally resting his gaze on the flask that reminded him of another important part of his past. More than just a part…it was the very reason for him being able to breathe at this very moment. If it wasn't for that person, he wouldn't even feel how the cold air stinged in his dry throat. He also would have been spared the unpleasant shaking of the chair as the wheels hit the pebbles blocking the way to the altar. It all laid in ruins; the building as well as the country. Everything they fought for had turned into nothing more than those pieces of stone, burying the bodies of once beloved. With this thought in mind he let out a long sigh, his eyes slowly lifting. The sad gaze directed at the steal-colored sky, he silently whispered "J.D…" This one single word, this one name took him away into a not so distant past. But before he could dive into the recurring memories of that time again, a clear familiar deep voice violently cut through the silence and effectively interrupted his train of thoughts. "This doesn't make much of a sightseeing attraction anymore, does it? Unless…" By that time the man in the wheelchair had opened his eyes that had remained closed in reminiscence just a moment ago. This gave him the chance to confront the unexpected visitor who had entered the now abandoned church; or to be more precise: what was left of it.
At first it was difficult to make out the stranger's face due to the insufficient light falling through the cracks of the walls. Despite the open space that the now missing roof had left, it was hard to identify the person at the gate just by examining his features. With one hand shielding the golden eyes from the dim light, Sasha's gaze was focused on the entrant. "…isn't it kind of inconvenient, Buddy?" He jerked at the sudden realization that his thoughts had filtered out the other's words, leaving him with only this little piece of information. Could it even be called that? "Hey." Another moment of surprise as he felt a hand touch his weary shoulder. "Swallowed your tongue along with your legs?" The oh-so-familiar grin forming on the rough face raised a smile on his. "America didn't want you, either?" he replied slightly amused. It was a welcome change to his dull daily routine to encounter someone he knew from the still dark days. Even now the fog on the Republic hadn't lifted, but at least there was difference. And no matter how marginal it was to everyone else, he was determined to cling onto hope; the hope the man in front of him had granted Sasha. And just like always that very man gave him nothing more than a brief answer.
"Vacation." was the only word that escaped his lips as his eyes wandered from the bottom of Sasha's body to the top, examining it in the process. A little bit of concern crept into the usually stoic face. Bending a little forward while his knees followed the same motion the American asked "You ok?" One could easily notice the slightly wrinkled brows and so did Sasha. He softly pushed the other away to create some distance between them. The last thing he wanted or needed was pity. So the man swiftly answered "I am." hoping for the other to not inquire any further. And he wasn't disappointed. His hands raised the blond took a step back, the eyes carefully scanning the floor beneath him. Filled with boulders and pieces of stone he tried not to trip as well as he could. "Sorry." With that word he turned around, heading for the heavily decorated gate. And he would have surely left if the word "Wait!" hadn't been emitted from Buddy's mouth. Hesitatingly the American stopped his very movement, his right foot even slightly floating in midair before slowly placing it on the ground. He patiently waited for maybe a following command to be uttered. But as minutes passed by silently, he assumed that it would not happen. With an awry smile the blond finally turned around, approaching the man in the wheelchair. "What is it?" Silence yet again. Growing impatient he already considered leaving as Buddy finally raised his voice again. "I can't call you American forever, can I?" Sasha's face was adorned with a crooked smile, similar to the one the one opposite of him displayed. But that one grew even wider at the uttered question. "Leon. Leon S. Kennedy. Nice to meet you in a more pleasant way now." "Pleasure's all mine." One could read in both faces just how amusing it was to both of them to hear themselves exchange such "normal" words now. Just a simple introduction, sentences indicating a reunion. Hands were shaken and a bond remade. Just moments later silence descended once again. The first to break it was Leon. In his so ever nonchalant manner he started with "I won't be here long, but…maybe we'll meet again." "In front of the altar again?" Buddy responded, snickering. "Maybe. I've got sins to confess." He flashed another one of those awkward smiles. This time though in his eyes a hidden sorrow could no longer conceal itself. One that Sasha understood so well like no other. Nodding silently was all he could do, because he knew just how shallow comforting words would sound. And just like that, they stood there, side by side, silently taking in the image of a ruin depicting the fall of a country; one they had experienced first-hand.
"Goodbye." Was the last word the two men shared as they parted ways another time at the same place they had about one year ago. Clenching his fist, Buddy could still feel some of the warmth that remained from the other man's touch just moments ago. "Leon…" The name still seemed unreal when he said it out loud, but he was glad. Glad for having found a piece of his past that hadn't been broken yet and he would make sure to not let it be.