I did NOT enjoy writing this chapter, I couldn't get the dialogue right and in the end I had to re-do the whole thing twice xD, which is why it took me so long to write it (cuz I kept procrastinating), but now I'm satisfied ! It'll mostly be about feels and fluff this time round, before we delve back into more "serious" stuff. Enjoy !


Chapter 14. The Simple Pleasures of Life

This is what normal feels like, Leon thought as Ashley slept with her head over his shoulder, an arm slung across his chest. With everything that had happened since Raccoon City and after, he'd forgotten the sensation. It was comfort, warmth, happiness, and most importantly, peace – something he didn't think he would've ever experienced again.

But he also felt guilty. Guilty, because he was literally cuddling the person he'd been charged to rescue and protect. Because for a split second, he had allowed his fear to overwhelm him, and the thought of stopping Ashley from working with Derek Simmons had dared to cross his mind. Shame rippled through his being. It wasn't his choice to make – not then or now, no matter how scared he was of losing her.

But more than that, his fear made him feel…pathetic. Weak. This is why you didn't mix personal feelings and work together – especially not in this type of profession, but the truth was that Leon hadn't had much of a choice. He had tried to stay in control, unemotional, but Ashley had swept into his heart like a tidal wave, and continued to do so every single day. Keeping his walls up was near impossible now. One of her smiles, or the sound of her laughter – even more so her touch, was more than enough to undo him.

"Hmm…"

Leon peered down at Ashley, ready to spring into action if she was having a nightmare…but her face was as relaxed and content as before. He brushed back a strand of hair from the bridge of her nose. He could understand people who wished for nothing more than the comforting routines of daily life. No monsters out to get you, no paranoia as you looked over your shoulder, just…waking up in the morning, kissing that special person, and beginning their day with them.

Is that what Ashley meant to him ? Glancing at her sleeping features – as if the answer to his question was there, Leon's heartbeat accelerated at the sight.

I better get up. He started sliding his arm out before he could think further on it. He was confused enough as it was, and besides…breakfast wasn't going to make itself. Ashley had assured him she didn't need him to make it for her every day, but his response was that he didn't mind – something he, himself, hadn't expected, but it had become a habit for him at this point. He liked it, because the task kept his mind busy, which is exactly what he needed at the moment.

Ashley felt more than rested the next time her eyes opened. She stretched like a cat, groaning at the pleasurable feeling before going limp once more. Her nap had been blissfully dreamless, lacking the strange visions that would've otherwise ruined her morning. To make it even better, Leon had confessed he felt something more than friendship for her, and – shockingly, didn't want to ignore his feelings, or pretend nothing had happened between them. Even with the rude awakening she'd had, involving Simmons and her following nervous breakdown, all felt right in the world.

Well, except for her grumbling stomach, and the fact that Leon had disappeared to the other side of his small apartment. Without further ado, she stepped out of bed and into the living room.

As soon as she did, her nose was assaulted with the smell of cooked food, making her mouth salivate. As she had expected, Leon was standing in the kitchen – donned in his apron, but that's not what made her eyes bulge in shock.

The kitchen bar was filled with various dishes, some of them looking like they were made for breakfast, like the eggs and oatmeal, while others, like pasta and pesto sauce, seemed more for lunch. "Leon !" Ashley exclaimed in shock. "What did you do ?" There were so many things to eat.

He laughed at her expression. "Well, you've been sleeping for a while." It's true; the clock on the wall said it was almost noon. "Besides, I didn't have anything better to do."

Ashley scoffed as she took a seat. "You're telling me you cooked us a buffet because you were bored ? Maybe you should be bored more often."

He shook his head, the movement accompanied by a smile. He was smiling so much more now. He sat next to her, their arms brushing. "I wouldn't call it that."

"I would. I think you've found your calling, Leon." She said seriously as she took a bite of sunny-side-up egg. Some days ago he'd claimed to have burned four of them before managing to make a good one, but they were perfect now.

"What, as a breakfast cook ?" He chuckled, filling his own plate of food.

"Yeah ! And I could be your sous-chef." Ashley grinned at him, but Leon smirked.

"I thought you wanted to be my partner, Agent Graham ?"

It was her turn to laugh this time, recalling the day she'd daydreamed about fighting the bad guys and saving the day at Leon's side. "It does sound more exciting, huh ?"

"I don't know…the simple pleasures of life are pretty appealing, too." He replied, abruptly serious. Ashley turned to look at him – only to find his own gaze already on her, unreadable.

"Do you wish you could have a normal life ?"

He turned away as he mulled her words. She could almost see his thought process as the resolve formed on his face. "No. I wouldn't choose any other life than the one I have right now. But I think, when you've been through hell and seen enough of it – anyone would dream of having some normalcy, even if it's just a passing thought."

"Yeah, that makes sense. But…what if you had a choice ?"

Leon shook his head. "I would still choose the same. Because at the end of the day, I want to save as many people as I can – and it's what I do best, anyway."

Ashley loved him a little more then. "This is why I want to stop Derek Simmons." She blurted out.

Leon frowned, whether at the sudden change of topic or the man himself, she didn't know. "What do you mean ?"

She flushed, chewing at her lip in hesitation. Her heart did a flip as she noticed his gaze zeroing on her mouth, and the words spilled out of her. "You're a good person, Leon. You make me want to be strong and brave, and you inspire me to fight back." Her words seemed to distract him from her mouth, eyebrows rising at her admission. "I want to be more like you."

There was a moment of dumbstruck silence when Leon finally said, "You're a lot braver than me, these days."

Of all the things she had expected him to say, this wasn't it. "Why do you say that ?"

He laughed without humor. "For me, facing monsters is a thousand times easier than facing what I feel. And when it comes to losing you ? I'm…" He hesitated, letting the beginning of his sentence trail into silence.

But Ashley didn't need words to understand what he was trying to convey. "I get it. I feel the same way about you."

He arched a brow at this. "I'm not the one who has the obsessive attention of a psycho scientist on me."

"Thanks for the reminder," she quipped playfully, but then added more seriously, "but you know I'm afraid of hurting you. After all, I'm still a threat."

"Ashley–" He started to protest, ready to reiterate the words he'd already spoken this morning, but she lifted her hand to stop him.

"Don't worry, it's not getting to me. I'm just saying I relate, and that's why you shouldn't beat yourself over it. You're only human, remember ?" She'd already told him that on the morning of his hangover.

He laughed. "You say that as if it's something I can forget."

"Well it's sure not getting through that thick skull of yours !" Ashley scowled, poking his forehead.

"Then I guess you'll just have to keep reminding me." The corner of his mouth tugged into half a smirk as he said this, and she almost – almost thought he was flirting with her. "But in the meantime, maybe you should eat up before your food gets any colder." He added, pointing to her plate.

"Oh shoot !" Indeed, the food had gone cold during their conversation.

After clearing the table, Ashley had gone to take a shower. Her brief absence gave Leon some time to think about what she'd said. You make me want to be strong and brave, and you inspire me to fight back. Unbeknownst to her, the words had moved him more than he'd let on. She didn't realize just how strong she'd already become, and he admired that about her. Her resilience and stubbornness to push on, despite her obvious fear.

But…it's true she wasn't as physically vulnerable, anymore. This morning was proof enough of that, and Simmons hadn't come out unscathed from the experience…something that pleased Leon more than it should have. But with this new development in Ashley's condition, who's to say what he had planned ? Especially with the 'extreme' methods. Whatever they were, it couldn't be anything good. They still had to talk about that, agree on some plan if things went south…which, if Leon's gut feeling was right – and it rarely wasn't, then they most definitely would.

On cue, the bathroom door opened, and Ashley stepped out in a fresh set of clothes. This time around, she was wearing a white hoodie and a pair of shorts with knee-length socks. It was a casual look – not nearly as subtle as Leon wanted, but he couldn't really complain with how her white top was accentuating the colors of her face, bringing them out. Her soft blonde hair, curling around the light green of her eyes, matching her pink lips perfectly.

"I'm done. You can have the shower now." She said brightly, a weightlessness to her steps as she plopped down on the couch.

He was sorry for his next words. "Actually, I want to talk about Derek Simmons."

"…right. What about him ?" She was clearly trying to be casual, but Leon could see how her muscles tensed at his words.

"I don't know what he's got planned for tomorrow, but we need to be prepared for anything. The question is, how do we do that ?"

"Well…didn't Mr. Thompson say the government and the D.S.O had measures in place in case things went bad ?"

"Yeah. But that's for after the fact – not before, or during. By the time anyone steps in, it could be too late."

She nodded, agreeing. "Then…what about a safe word ?"

Leon blinked. "A safe word ?" He repeated.

"Uh-uh ! A safe word if Simmons takes things too far. It'll be faster than calling out for help, or something...I don't know, maybe it's a bad idea."

He thought about the fact that there was a good number of situations where she wouldn't necessarily be able to speak, let alone say the safe word, but he decided against mentioning it. Besides, he'd be damned if he let any of those scenarios play out. He shook his head at her uncertainty. "It's the only one we have, so we might as well. Any ideas ?"

"Hmm…how about silver-lining ?" Ashley blushed as she said this, averting her gaze.

Hadn't they talked about silver-linings just yesterday ? She had been awfully mysterious about the topic, and the fact that the word came up again was making Leon even more curious, like an itch that needed to be scratched. He leaned forward on his elbows. "Are you still not gonna tell me what your silver-lining is ?" He couldn't help asking.

"I will. Just…not right now."

His eyes narrowed, watching as she played with the hem of her top. Eventually, he relented with a sigh. "Silver-lining is too much of a mouthful. Silver might do it though, but the shorter the word, the better."

And so they spent the next half hour talking about potential safe words. When they finally agreed on one, both individuals set off to do the same thing in order to pass the time; read.

Leon grabbed a random book from the ones he'd bought. He had never been much of a reader, but it was never too late to start. Besides, it's not like they had a million things to do in his small apartment. Normally he'd be training at one of the D.S.O's facilities, practicing his punches and refining his kicks, but with the threat of the media looming over their heads, it was best to limit their outings to a minimum.

And so he read on. His attention was focused on the first few paragraphs before his gaze started drifting. First to the window and at the street down below, then at the door – as if something could burst in any moment, before inevitably falling on Ashley.

While Leon was sitting on the armchair by the window, Ashley was curled up on the couch, tucked in the corner as she read…the spy who fell in love ? Amusement made him smile. "Interesting genre." He commented.

Ashley's head shot up, eyes wide, before snapping the book shut. She shrugged. "I like mystery thrillers."

"And romance ? Involving spies ?" His mouth grew wider with every word. She chucked a pillow at his face – which he deftly avoided, his smile turning into a full-blown grin at her pout. "Sorry, but you'll have to aim better."

She threw another pillow. "Or maybe you should stop moving so much !" They stood up, weaving around each other as she threw pillows and he continued to avoid them. They were both laughing now. "How are you so agile ?"

Leon decided to grab a pillow too, launching it at Ashley. He promptly regretted it as it hit her square in the face. The apartment went silent as the two individuals stared at each other.

Ashley lunged.

Leon ran.

"Get over here !" She yelled.

"I'd rather not !" He replied, jumping over the counter. He glanced back, seeing Ashley hot on his heel. This was a whole other level of scary.

Because he was so focused on avoiding the furniture, he didn't see it coming – when a pillow suddenly smacked the back of his head. Damn, were these things always so hard ?

"Ha ! I finally got you." Ashley exclaimed, the threat disappearing from her eyes as she grinned in triumph.

He chuckled, bowing at her victory. "That you did, Ms. Graham."

"Wow, I haven't had this much fun in ages." She sighed as she collapsed on the couch, slightly out of breath from their chase. Leon sat down next to her, not at all affected.

"Feel better for it ?"

"Oh yeah. It's just what I needed. Sometimes you just got to have some fun, you know ? Let loose a little, no matter what's going on in your life."

Leon was surprised to find himself agreeing. "Yeah, I guess you're right." The last time he had fun was before Raccoon City, which felt like another lifetime ago.

Ashley gasped dramatically. " You ? Agreeing to having fun ? You sure you don't have a fever ?" She leaned forward to press a hand on his forehead – but he caught her wrist before she could.

"I'm not that much of a workaholic." He protested through narrowed eyes.

She laughed. "Uh, I'm pretty sure workaholic is your second name !"

"Then let me prove you wrong." Her smile faded, replaced by surprise as Leon leaned into her lips.

To be Continued