Leon gently sat Rose upright on the train's bench. The metal was cool under her feverish skin, and Ada got to work getting the train up and running. Rose was blinking back into consciousness slowly, her lips curving upwards when she recognized Leon's blurry image hovering above her like a worried phantom.
"I must have died," she mumbles, her words slurring a little. "Or been dreaming...because I keep waking up to you fixing me."
Leon lets out an exasperated exhale, trying to turn it into a chuckle, but it was dry. "Lucky I keep showing up to save the day."
"You're becoming predictable...rookie," Rose smirks as she readjusts on the seat. The train jerks backward, and then forward, a loud hiss and screech coming from the breaks as the train starts to crawl forward at a sluggish rate. Leon doesn't respond for a moment, but he stares at her in that piercing way he always did. Though silence fell upon them, it wasn't uncomfortable. They simply didn't need to say anything.
The train began to pick up speed gradually, and Rose's vision cleared up as she reorientated herself. Her eyes sought out the lunch box, and she sighed in relief, relaxing against the back of the bench when she saw that it was in Leon's possession. She wondered if he was going to put up a fight when she asked for them back. Would Ada get involved? She scowled at the thought. If Ada decided she needed to intervene, Spencer would never let her leave again. He'd consider her a failure, and this would have been a waste. She would have teased herself with the thought of freedom and with the thought of seeing Leon whenever she wanted.
That fleeting dream of dancing together in the kitchen of a place of their own seemed so far away. Distant, and blurry, it was getting lost in translation within her own mind. Being with Leon was turning into seeing Leon. It didn't sit well with her.
Leon sucked in a shallow breath, drawing her attention back to him. She faced him, tilting her head curiously as she watched the shadow of uncertainty wash over his sharp features. "The other day...were you in my apartment?"
He knew the answer. He had his memories, even if his actions had been loosened with alcohol. He'd never been one to have blackouts. It was the unfortunate consequence of his natural tolerance of alcohol. Everything he drank for...what he wanted to forget, it never went away. But...the alcohol numbed the hurt that came with the memories, so it was worth it to take that extra double shot. So, even though he knew she'd broken in and had stayed the entire night, he wanted to see if she would lie to him. If she lied...it would crush him. It would mean that she had changed more than he thought and that he couldn't trust her as much as he had the past couple of years. Had working under Wesker warped her into another version of Ada Wong? He didn't think he could go through that again.
For a moment, he thought he saw her expression darken as she readied a denial. He stood as still as a statue, not daring to move or change his expression as he waited for her to damn them both. Indecision danced between her eyes, and he hoped she couldn't see his plea within his own. Her heart hammered in her chest, and for a split second, she thought she saw her own reflection in his eyes. She opened her mouth, her tongue flicking nervously against her lips as she tried to find the right words, to come up with a response that wouldn't break them both.
Before she could speak, a deafening screeching sound cut through the air, metal tearing open like paper, and huge, gnarled claws punctured the side of the train. The sound of something monstrous scraping across the wall was followed by an agonizing, gut-churning screech.
Leon's reflexes kicked in. He lunged forward, his body colliding with hers as he dragged her to the floor just as the Licker's claw came slashing down. Rose's scream of pain pierced the air as three sharp gashes tore through her bicep. Blood began to drip down her arm, her torn shirt hanging loosely from her shoulder.
Leon didn't hesitate. He threw himself over her, using his own body to shield her from another attack. The Licker, now monstrous in size, hissed loudly, swinging at them again, but Leon fired—one, two, three shots—all hitting the creature's head with sickening precision. The monster screamed, a high-pitched wail of agony, as it recoiled, leaping backward and disappearing onto the roof of the train with frightening speed.
For a moment, all Leon could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat in his ears, the shrill sound of the train's brakes protesting the sudden speed, and the faint ringing of the gunfire that had only just faded. He glanced down at Rose, his breath coming in shallow bursts, and his focus immediately shifted to the blood soaking her arm.
"Stay down," he ordered, his voice low and urgent as he checked her injury, his mind already racing with what to do next.
The train lurched again, sending both of them sliding across the floor, crashing into the bench's leg. Pain shot through Rose's hip and Leon's side, but he barely flinched. His attention was entirely on her, on making sure she was still conscious, still breathing, still alive.
Her vision was blurred again, the world spinning around her, but Leon's face was the only constant—his eyes locking onto hers with a fierce determination.
"Leon..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos of the train.
"Not now, Rose," he muttered, his hand gently pressing against the wound on her arm. He could feel the heat radiating from her skin, her feverish condition was only worsened by the blood loss. "Just hold on."
Leon slowly raised himself off of her, the train rocking again and nearly knocking him off his feet. He grabbed onto the handrail to keep himself upright, ducking as the creature drove its claws in through the roof. The bone just barely missed his head, causing Leon to grunt in surprise as he avoided having his skull caved in. Leon shot up through the hole it left behind, the Licker jumping away to reappear at the side of the train.
Rose, still lying on the floor, watched the monster from her prone position, her head spinning from pain and the lingering dizziness of her injury. Her gaze dropped to the lunchbox, now sliding dangerously across the floor toward the train's open edge. It was too close to falling out. She could feel the panic rising in her chest as she pushed herself up on her uninjured arm, gritting her teeth against the searing pain in her other.
With a low grunt, she army-crawled across the floor, her injured arm outstretched, desperate to grab onto the lunchbox before it disappeared into the night. Her fingers brushed the rough black strap, just as the Licker's monstrous body appeared again in her peripheral vision. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to steady herself, focusing on the lunchbox in her grip.
The air suddenly grew thick with the metallic scent of blood. As the creature loomed beside the train, dark, viscous fluids from its body dripped down onto Rose's outstretched hand, sizzling against the floor. She froze, her body tensing, her breath coming in shallow gasps, before Leon's gunfire erupted, the sound deafening in the confined space. His shots punctured the air, landing in the Licker's hide with sickening thuds.
But then the creature moved faster than she could react.
In a blink, its long, serpentine tongue—sleek and bone-like, impossibly quick—shot out with a wet, slick sound. The tongue wrapped around her arm with a vice-like grip, and before she could scream, it yanked her forward with terrifying force. The momentum pulled her entire body toward the monster's cavernous mouth, its rows of jagged teeth gleaming in the dim light of the train.
Rose cried out, her body jerking helplessly as the Licker's tongue tightened around her. Pain shot through her arm, both from her wound and the sheer power of the creature's grip.
In the chaos, the lunchbox slipped further toward the edge. Her heart dropped as she saw it teeter, inches from falling off the side of the train, to be lost in the dark abyss below.
"Leon!" Rose's voice cracked, her body flailing in desperation. She tugged against the tongue wrapped around her arm, but the monster's strength was overwhelming. It was dragging her closer, its putrid breath hot on her face, the grotesque scent of its saliva thick in the air.
Leon's mind screamed into overdrive. His gun emptied, but the Licker was still moving, still pulling Rose closer to its deadly maw. He didn't hesitate; his instincts took over. He dropped the empty magazine from his gun, sliding a fresh one in with a practiced motion, just as the monster began to drag Rose's body closer to the edge of the train.
Leon's eyes flashed with certainty as he readied himself to take out another disgusting monster. He dove toward them, a blur of motion, using every ounce of strength to put himself between Rose and the creature. As he did, he shot again, the impact of each bullet resounding like thunder. This time, his aim was precise—he didn't just shoot at the Licker; he shot at its tongue.
The bullets tore through the Licker's slimy appendage, and with a shriek of rage and pain, the creature's grip slackened just enough for Rose to yank her arm free. She tumbled backward, her body colliding hard against the floor, her breathing ragged from the terror and pain.
Leon was already there, grabbing her under the arms, pulling her away from the edge, and dragging her to safety, his muscles straining against the weight of the situation. As he hauled her back toward him, his eyes flicked to the lunchbox, which was now perilously close to falling off the train. In one quick motion, he reached out, his hand just brushing the strap, and pulled it back into the safety of the compartment.
With both of them now safe from the Licker's grasp, Leon pulled Rose into his arms, his chest heaving as he checked her injuries. The blood from her arm was already starting to soak through the fabric of her torn shirt, but she was still alive. And that was what mattered most. The sound of the Licker's pained screeches echoed in the air, but Leon didn't have time to listen to it. He hauled Rose to her feet, his arms tightening around her as he checked her for more injuries. Her breathing was ragged, her face pale, but her eyes still held that fire. That was something Leon never wanted to lose sight of. She was tougher than she realized, tougher than most people gave her credit for.
"Stay with me," Leon muttered, his hand gently brushing her blood-soaked arm. He wasn't about to let this creature get another shot at her. Not after everything they'd been through.
Rose nodded, gritting her teeth against the pain. "I'm not going anywhere." Her voice was raw, but there was a sharpness to it that grounded him, reminded him that she was still in this fight.
The train rocked violently beneath them as the Licker, now recovering, slithered up the side, its grotesque body clambering over the train like a spider. Its massive claws scraped against the metal, creating sparks that lit up the darkness around them. Debris now littered the ground, including long, metal shards of siding and benches. Rose stooped down and picked up a jagged rail that had fallen to her feet, ready to use it for close combat if she needed to.
Leon glanced at Rose, his eyes locked with hers. They didn't need to speak—it was all there. They were in this together.
Rose gave him a tight, bloodied smile, and then, in an instant, they moved as one.
Leon fired first. His shots rang out like thunder, tearing through the Licker's massive frame. The creature screeched and recoiled, but it didn't back down. It lashed out with its clawed limbs, aiming for them both. Leon grabbed Rose's uninjured arm, yanking her to the side just as a claw slashed by, barely missing her. The air smelled of blood and sweat, the noise from the Licker deafening as it scrambled across the train, its tongue snapping in and out with terrifying speed.
Rose gritted her teeth, clutching her injured arm but refusing to let the pain stop her. She knew Leon wouldn't give up on her, and she wasn't going to let him fight alone. She stood up, ready to charge again. But Leon beat her to it.
The Licker lunged at them, its tongue shooting out like a whip, ready to grab them both again. Leon ducked and rolled, avoiding the deadly appendage by inches, and landed behind the Licker. The monster turned on him.
Without hesitation, Rose sprinted forward, using her remaining strength to push herself toward the Licker's side. As the creature turned toward Leon, she slid underneath it, dodging the flailing claws, and came up directly behind it. With a savage roar, she slammed the makeshift shard of metal deep into its back. The Licker howled in pain, but it didn't stop.
Leon was already on the move, charging at the Licker's exposed side. With a single, well-aimed shot, he blasted a bullet into the monster's exposed nerve center, causing it to falter and reel back. The creature stumbled, the damage slowing it down—but not enough.
"Now!" Leon shouted.
In perfect sync, they acted. Rose spun to the side as Leon fired again, hitting the Licker directly in the head. The creature screeched as the impact caused it to flinch back, disoriented for a moment. That was all they needed.
Leon bolted forward, kicking the Licker's clawed leg out from under it, sending the monster crashing to the ground. The Licker snarled, blood dripping from each bullet wound, but it was weakening. It roared in fury, its body spasming as Leon and Rose both lunged toward it with a deadly combination of precision and brute force. Rose, still reeling from her injury but driven by adrenaline, moved with a vicious speed. She drove the shard into the Licker's exposed brain, using every once of superstrength she had to drive it through the soft tissue and hard bone underneath until the railing tore through the roof of its mouth. Leon delivered the final blow, slamming a metal rod into the base of the creature's throat, nearly severing the head from its body.
The Licker's body went still, its final breath gurgling out in the quiet aftermath.
Leon stood over it, his breath coming in heavy gasps, his gaze fixed on the now-dead creature at his feet. He glanced at Rose, who stood beside him, panting, blood smeared across her face and hands, but her eyes burning with the same fire as always. Rose grunted as she walked over to the lunch box, a pained sound leaving her nose as she bent over to grab onto it. The rough strap rubbed against her exposed skin, but she was just happy that the vials inside that she'd risked her life for were safe.
"You're not going to give whatever is in that box to him, are you?" Leon's words bit at her, cold, and so reminiscent of when he couldn't stand to be near her that it cut deep. Rose slowly turned to face him.
"I have to. It's the only way for me to have the freedom we need to keep seeing each other."
"But at the cost of how many lives?"
Rose flinched at his tone. Would he not risk everything for what they had? That in itself hurt a little. She was reminded of a saying she'd read a long time ago...a lifetime ago. Good guys would let one person die to save the world...but the bad guys, when they loved you, would burn the whole world just to see you safe. Was she the bad guy?
"There's got to be a loophole," she started, but Leon cut her off with a sharp shake of his head and a bitter laugh.
"You have to pick a side, Rose. There's no teetering on the edge here."
She stared at Leon, his eyes dark with a mixture of anger, frustration, and something she couldn't quite place—disappointment, maybe?
She clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening around the lunchbox. The vials inside were a promise. A means to an end. But hearing the venom in Leon's voice made her wonder if it was worth it. If it was worth him.
"You think I don't know that?" she finally said, her voice strained but steady. She stood taller, the pain in her arm and side forgotten for the moment. "You think I'm choosing this? You think I'm not torn up about it? I have no choice, Leon. This is the only way we—I—get out of this nightmare. I'm not doing this for Wesker, for Spencer, for anyone but us."
Leon's eyes narrowed, a deep frustration burning behind his gaze. "This is about you, Rose. You're willing to sacrifice everything for a future you think you can have, a future that's built on lies and bloodshed. What happened to fighting for the right side?"
Her throat tightened, the words catching in her chest. "I am fighting for the right side," she snapped, her voice shaking with emotion she couldn't quite contain. "What if the right side is never the one I'm supposed to be on? What if the only thing that matters is surviving? You don't get to tell me I'm wrong when I've been fighting just to stay alive for so long."
Silence fell between them like a heavy fog, suffocating and thick. Leon's face softened for a fraction of a second, his expression showing the briefest flicker of understanding. But then it was gone, replaced by the hardness he always wore when it came to this. To what she was doing. What was she doing?
Even if she got free...was she going to lose him? For good this time? His question from earlier rang in her ears. Were you in my apartment? He knew...but he'd been testing her. She was...she was failing.
"Don't pretend you haven't already crossed that line," he said quietly, but his voice was like ice. "Because I'm seeing it in your eyes, Rose. You're willing to destroy anyone who gets in your way now. Even me."
Her breath hitched, and she almost dropped the lunchbox. She could feel her chest tightening, the words digging into her like a knife. She wanted to protest, to tell him he was wrong, that she wasn't some monster. But she knew better than anyone.
There was no clean side to be on anymore.
"I don't want to lose you, Leon," she whispered, the words so soft they almost got lost in the noise of the train. The world around them seemed to fall away in that moment, as if they were the only two people left. "But I don't have a choice. If I don't do this—if we don't do this—there's no freedom. There's no us."
Leon's jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. "What if there's no us after? You don't even know what you're sacrificing. I'm not just talking about your soul. This—" he gestured toward the lunchbox, "—this could destroy everything, Rose. You're playing with fire, and I'm not sure I can stand by and watch you burn."
Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. "Then I guess you'll have to choose too, Leon. Are you going to stay and fight with me, or are you going to walk away? Because right now, I'm not sure what's left to hold on to."
The space between them stretched, tense and taut, as Leon studied her. His gaze was unreadable, like stone, but she could see the conflict written across his face, the way he struggled to reconcile the person he'd once known with the woman standing before him now.
Finally, he took a step toward her. His hand, still trembling slightly, reached for the lunchbox. For a moment, Rose froze, her body going rigid, but when he didn't take it from her, she slowly let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"I don't know if I can agree with what you're doing," Leon said, his voice quiet, but there was a strange note of tenderness to it. "But I'm not going to let you do this alone."
Rose blinked, surprised by the words. "What does that mean?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Leon's expression softened, the anger and frustration melting away as he reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. His touch was warm, and for a fleeting moment, she felt the connection they'd always shared, the bond that had survived everything. "It means that if I have to spend the rest of my life fighting ugly ass monsters just to have you back, then I'll do it. But...Rose, if you give that to him, things change between us."
Rose sighed, tilting her head down and breaking their eye contact to unzip the lunchbox and pull out the anti-virus. Spencer didn't have to know that it'd been there. A little lie would cover it up. She placed the vial into Leon's hand. "This is the anti-virus to the T-Virus. Get it to whoever you think will do the right thing."
Leon's eyes darkened as he took the vial from her, his fingers brushing against hers for just a moment. His grip tightened around it, as if he were holding onto something far more fragile than a simple glass tube. His jaw clenched, and he didn't speak immediately. His gaze dropped to the vial in his hand, and he tightened his grip once more, as though he could will the right answer to appear in the sterile glass.
She exhaled slowly, her chest aching with a truth she wasn't sure she was ready to face. "Maybe I'm not the same person you knew, but I'm still the same person who loves you. I always will be. I just… I just don't know how to make that right anymore."
They both froze, the words ringing in the air and shocking them both. Rose realized they had never said that word out loud. I love you felt like a curse in this world. Like, if you said them to someone, you were sure to lose them. But they'd already lost each other more times than they could keep track of. They'd already been through death together. Should she say them the proper way? Should she say those exact words?
The air around them seemed to freeze in that moment, the space between them charged with an electric silence. Leon's gaze locked onto hers, his expression unreadable, yet there was something raw in his eyes—something vulnerable that made her heart skip a beat. They had never said the words out loud before. They had danced around it, hinted at it in the quiet moments, but they had never dared to say it. She'd always been so afraid of saying it.
I love you.
He took a step closer, his voice barely above a whisper when he finally spoke, his words thick with something she couldn't quite place. "We've both been through hell. And somehow, we're still standing."
Rose's throat tightened, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. The words hovered there, just out of reach. The ones they both knew they needed to say, but neither of them was ready to admit. They had been running from them, both scared of what would happen if they let those feelings out in the open. But now, standing here with him, she realized that maybe it was time. Maybe, after everything, it didn't matter if the world around them was falling apart. Maybe it didn't matter if they said it aloud or not, because the truth had already been written in every action, every look, every fight they'd survived together.
"I'm so afraid of losing you again," she said softly, the words trembling as they left her lips, but there was something resolute in them too. "I've lost you too many times already. I just—" She paused, trying to find the right words. "I just want to have something real with you."
Leon's expression faltered, and for a brief moment, she saw a glimpse of the man he used to be—the one who believed in the impossible, the one who was ready to sacrifice everything. But that man had been shattered, just like she had been. They had both been broken and remade too many times to count. Still, his next words made her heart flutter in a way she hadn't expected.
"I love you too," he said, his voice steady but with an edge of vulnerability that had always been there, just hidden beneath the surface. The simple words felt like a weight lifted between them, but at the same time, it felt like they had just stepped into something far deeper than either of them were ready for.
Rose swallowed hard, blinking back the emotion that suddenly threatened to overwhelm her. She hadn't expected him to say it first. She hadn't expected him to say it at all, not in this world where every connection seemed doomed. But there it was, hanging between them, as real as the blood they had shed together.
A small, shaky breath escaped her as she took a step toward him. She reached out, her fingers brushing against his, not quite holding on, but offering something—anything—that could bind them together in this mess of a world they were trapped in. "Maybe we're both crazy," she said softly, a quiet laugh escaping her. "Maybe we're just… two broken pieces trying to make something out of this wreckage."
Leon's lips twitched into a small, reluctant smile. "Maybe. But I'd rather be crazy with you than alone."
She nodded, her heart swelling with something between relief and hope. The world outside the train was still a terrifying unknown, and everything around them was still chaos, but for a moment—just a moment—they could hold onto something real. Something they had fought for, bled for, and almost lost too many times to count.
"I don't know how this is going to end, Leon," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I'm glad we're in it together. Whatever happens, whatever comes next…"
"Yeah," he interrupted, his hand gently squeezing hers, his grip a promise. "Together."
Rose closed her eyes for a moment, her breath steadying. He'd said that line so many times. He'd always been so sure about that. A steady captain leading her through a stormy sea. It was the one thing that had remained true between them. One promise he had kept over and over again. "I love you," she finally said out loud. It felt like a burden had been lifted from her and she felt several pounds heavier.
She'd always imagined that she would say her first admission somewhere nice. Maybe on a date atop a Faris Wheel. She'd imagined fireworks lighting up their kiss. It was a childish fantasy, and this way just seemed so fitting. It was the life she led. How else would her first admission go, if not it be them standing just two feet away from a mutated beast they'd just killed together? That was about as romantic as the two of them had ever gotten.
This...was right. Rose smiled at Leon, and his lips curled up in response, both of their eyes lighting up brighter than any firework.