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“Jesus fucking Christ it’s cold,” Piers grumbled, rubbing his bare arm. His skin was breaking in gooseflesh and he couldn’t suppress a violent shudder that went through him as the first gust of wind hit. The storm was picking up, what had been large and fluffy snowflakes hovering gently towards the ground were suddenly like sharp needles as the wind threw them against his bare skin. At least they were done here, and they would just need to head back down the mountainside and into their evac helicopter waiting for them.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Chris, that asshole, answered from right next to him. He was still wearing his own long-sleeved jacket, identical to the one Piers had lost when he’d gotten snagged to a mechanical doorway that hadn’t budged and the only way for him to get out of there was to ditch the jacket entirely. “I’m feeling pretty cozy.” As if to emphasize the words he lifted his shoulders, grinning broadly at Piers.
“Oh fuck you,” Piers groaned, flipping Chris off.
Chris laughed, but then he turned more serious, arching an eyebrow as they marched down the mountainside. “Seriously though, you gonna make it back there? You have the mylar blanket in your kit, you could cape up?”
“I gotta agree,” Leon spoke up right next to Piers, who almost cursed as he hadn’t even noticed Leon approach. Sure Leon was good at that, and he seemed extremely delighted each time he managed to sneak up on any of them and make them jump. Sufficed to say, he looked delighted a lot. Now he elbowed Piers while falling in step next to him. “As much as it’d be a shame to cover up those guns, you might freeze them off if you walk all the way down like this.”
Despite the freezing cold, Piers could feel heat rise to his cheeks. He ducked his head, hooking his chin in the sniper’s veil he still was thankfully wearing. “C’mon, wh—”
A loud roar cut through the air, and immediately everyone was on high alert. The ground shifted under Piers’ feet and before he even realized, he fell onto his back in the ankle-deep snow. The first thing he registered was that fuck it was cold. The second thing was that it was so cold it was actually burning. Only then something yanked on his arm and he was hoisted upwards, until he was dangling in the air by his arm. The creature roared at him, its foul breath hitting Piers’ face, and Piers squeezed his eyes shut as his eyes watered from how bad the stench was. Only for a second, though.
Then Piers opened his eyes and he was staring into the pitch black beady eyes of what could only be described as some kind of a twisted snow monster. Those tiny black eyes were nothing like the big, sad, almost human eyes that Piers had stared into half a decade ago. It was even a different arm trapped in the icy cold grip, but in his mind Piers was back in China, back under water, back in what he had thought would become his tomb as he’d gotten his arm shattered.
Piers wanted to struggle, he wanted to fight, wanted to reach for his rifle with his free hand, but he couldn’t. The panic welling up inside of him was too much, too strong, too overwhelming. He couldn’t move a single muscle, all he could do was stare right at the creature from wide scared eyes.
Then he watched as the creature’s hand burst into flames.
Only a second later the pain registered.
Piers screamed.
The pain was so intense he couldn’t do anything but breathe through it, but it only lasted for a few seconds until he fell onto the ground with a thud, face first in snow. There was gunfire around him, people yelling and running, and Piers could barely even struggle upright. Then there were arms around him helping him up, a solid body pressed against his own for support, and he was being hauled forward. He ran, put one foot in front of the other time and time again, blindly going where the person helping him was taking him.
The snow storm was picking up so much he couldn’t even see a foot in front of him. Neither could the person who was with him, as they both slipped and stumbled, falling down a slope of ice until they hit something hard. Only then Piers realized it was Leon, as again he got helped up and a familiar voice called for him. “C’mon Piers, in there. It’s safer.”
Obediently Piers followed Leon into a cave in the mountainside. They stumbled inside, and once the harsh wind was no longer blowing right at them it was at least a little easier to take in their surroundings. The cave wasn’t very deep but if they moved to the very back they were sheltered from the wind and the snow, and could even keep an eye on the only entrance to defend themselves in case one of those snow-monsters decided to follow them.
Piers could only grit his teeth and try to force himself not to shiver violently with how cold he was. His shirt wasn’t thoroughly wet but when he’d fallen from the monster’s grip some of the snow had gotten inside the shirt, and had melted on his skin making him freeze even more than before with just his jacket missing. On top of that his arm was throbbing with pain, making it hard for him to focus on anything at all that wasn’t the burning pain.
Meanwhile Leon was tapping at the comm. a little impatiently, and it came alive with a screech. “Chris?” Leon tried, frowning as there was no immediate reply. “Chris, you there?”
“I’m here,” Chris’ tinny voice replied, accompanied by a cacophony of white noise, some distant roars somewhere in the background. “You okay? Piers with you? ”
“Yeah, he is. We’re alive. Safe for now,” Leon supplied. “But I don’t know where, exactly. Lost our way in the storm.”
“Stay put,” Chris ordered. “We’ll come find you in a bit. First we’ll take out these assholes. There’s at least seven of them… ”
“Sure,” Leon agreed, glancing at Piers and giving him a faint smile. “Have fun.”
Chris’ reply got lost in the crackling of the connection, but neither of them really minded it as it was very likely that Chris was only telling Leon to fuck off or something along those lines. Leon ignored it all though, and instead approached Piers, looking way too concerned. “Let me see your arm.” He motioned towards it.
“It’s not that bad,” Piers said, but even as he spoke his knees buckled a little and he swayed in his place. Immediately Leon was there, providing support so he wouldn’t end up hurting himself more. With a grunt he yanked free the mylar blanket that was attached to his belt and haphazardly spread it on the ground, so that he could then help Piers sit down on it. It provided at least some insulation from the cold ground, and Piers was more than a little grateful to get off his feet for a moment.
Then Leon was kneeling next to him, gently grabbing his arm from where it wasn’t burned to give it a closer look. There was a section the size of the snow monster’s palm that was completely reddened and swollen, the skin blistering, and it hurt more than any burn Piers had ever had in his life. It hurt completely differently from how his arm had hurt when he’d gotten it so badly shattered in China, though, even if he had no words to describe it.
“Oh shit,” Leon grimaced. “This is gonna suck.”
“Well,” Piers drawled, trying to put on his best brave face. “Can’t get worse?”
“Oh trust me,” Leon said with a dry chuckle. “It can.” He shifted so he could crouch down and propped Piers’ arm against his own thigh, and even without being told Piers knew to keep it there. Leon was rummaging through the first aid supplies they had, but spared Piers a glance and a hint of a grin. Or a grimace, it was kind of a mix of both. “I haven’t gotten anything this extensive but I’ve been burned enough to know that burns suck. You’ll be feeling this for a long time.”
Finally Leon brought up the water canteen, showing it to Piers so he knew what to expect, before then slowly pouring water on the burn. It was cool but not too cold, and it felt good against the wound. There wasn’t enough of it to properly cool the burn down though, and they did need to spare some of their water in case they’d be in here for longer. Still, Leon used most of his own water to make sure the burn was as clean as it could be, under the circumstances. Then he took a wad of gauze, and slowly and gently started to pat the area dry.
Piers had to grit his teeth against the burn, but at the same time he had to swallow back sudden tears. Leon was being so careful, so gentle, that it made a lump rise into Piers’ throat and suddenly it felt hard to even breathe through it. Rapidly he blinked to clear his vision, taking a slow and shuddery breath, before speaking up to distract himself from the tenderness Leon was showing him. He had to get his mind elsewhere, or he would be reading way too much into Leon just being nice. There was nothing more to it, they had agreed—
“I’m sorry,” Piers croaked out, swallowing to get his voice to carry more steadily. Leon glanced up at him, and he didn’t even need to say anything to make Piers go on. “This is all my fault. I… I froze. Like a goddamn rookie.” He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut so tight he kind of saw bright spots of light dancing on his eyelids. Maybe it was the way Leon was being so tender with him, or maybe he was just still so shaken by the way he’d genuinely seen HAOS instead of the snow monster for a second back there. Maybe it was something entirely different. Whatever it was, he found himself going on before Leon could get a word in. “I thought I was over it,” he whispered. “Over China. But the second that thing lifted me up? I was back there.”
There was a short silence during which Leon kept on drying the burn, but just when Piers was about to speak up again Leon beat him to it. “I still get flashbacks to Raccoon City.” He spoke silently but firmly, but when Piers looked up Leon didn’t meet his eyes. Leon kept his gaze cast down, directed at what he was working on, but he went on speaking at the same time. “It’s been twenty years and I still sometimes freeze for a second when something reminds me of it. It’s…” He shrugged a little, looking up to give Piers a faint smile. “It’s not something one gets over. It’s not your fault.”
Piers wanted to argue. He wanted to tell Leon that at least Leon didn’t freeze so bad he got himself hurt, got people around him in danger, was a goddamn liability out on the field. But there was something so soft about the way Leon looked at him that all the fire died out and he couldn’t bring himself to spit anything back. Silently he nodded, pulling his lower lip between his teeth instead of saying a single word.
Slowly Leon began bandaging the burn wound now that he had cleaned and dried it to the best of his abilities, at least under these circumstances. He didn’t say anything as he was wrapping it up, his eyes cast down, and it took a moment for Piers to realize that Leon’s hands were shaking. It was only so slightly it was barely noticeable, unless you were paying close attention, and it was obvious Leon was trying to keep himself together.
“Hey,” Piers said, as softly as he could, his heart constricting in his chest. “It’s not that bad. It’ll be as good as new in no time.”
The words startled a wet laugh from Leon, and when he looked up his eyes had a glossy sheen in them. “Shouldn’t I be the one telling you that?” he asked. Not that he even expected an answer to it, not really. He took a shaky breath, one that made him shiver with it, and glanced back down at the bandaging to finally properly tie it off. Then he looked up again, and there was a clear moment of hesitation. He opened his mouth to speak, but then just stayed silent and searched Piers’ expression with his gaze.
Before Piers could figure out what to say, Leon decided to speak up after all. He had been holding on to Piers’ wrist as he’d tied the bandage off, but now he let his hand slide a little lower until he could grab Piers’ fingers. “I know we agreed we’d never speak of it again,” he started, still a little hesitant, trailing off.
Immediately Piers knew what he was referring to, and his heartbeat picked up until it felt as if his heart was trying to break out of his chest with how fast it was beating. It had been only one time, both of them slightly tipsy as they’d bumped into each other accidentally. The night had been crisp and cool, and Piers had felt courageous and a little reckless, and so he had kissed Leon right outside the pub. Surprisingly Leon had tasted of something almost sweet, and after the first kiss neither one of them had been able to stop.
In the morning they’d been lying in bed face to face, silently taking in each other, and agreed that it had been fun but that it would be a bad idea to do it again.
Only already a few days later Piers had been struggling to figure out why exactly had they agreed on that. Sure they both worked dangerous jobs, sure they were whisked away at a moment’s notice sometimes, but… they also both knew what the other was going through. They knew how the job was, what it gave and what it took, and in the end Piers only saw upsides there. So eventually he had come to the conclusion that for one reason or another Leon didn’t want to commit to even anything casual, and he’d decided to respect that.
So to have Leon now bring it up? Piers froze entirely, for the second time in the past hour, even if for entirely different reasons.
After a brief pause Leon looked up, his eyes so watery he couldn’t hold back the tear that spilled over. It was a strange thing, seeing someone like Leon so shaken, and Piers wanted nothing more than to wipe that tear away, to kiss the rest of the tears away as they fell. He refrained, though, and only met Leon’s gaze as Leon went on. “I know that I said it’d be a bad idea but I…” He shook his head slightly. “I would…”
Leon paused again, huffing in frustration. Eventually he got the words out in a near whisper. “Every morning I’ve woken up since, I just keep wishing you were there.” His voice was choked, not the same confidence and cockiness in it that Piers was used to hearing.
Piers didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to think, didn’t know how to even begin to sort through the turmoil inside of him. So he simply leaned in, kissing the next words right off Leon’s lips. Leon gasped at the first touch but then practically melted into the kiss, a low sound escaping him as he kissed back with everything he had in him.
Until Piers shuddered almost violently. The burn wound had distracted him from the cold for a while but now he couldn’t deny he was frozen all the way down to the bone, unable to suppress the shivers that went through him. It broke the kiss, and with a frustrated groan Piers let his forehead fall against Leon’s. “Fucking hell,” he muttered.
That made Leon chuckle, and he nudged Piers to make him sit up straight. “C’mon, you’re going to freeze to death. I can’t afford that to happen.” He reached out to grab the mylar blanket from Piers’ belt, unwrapping it quickly. Then he simply unzipped his own jacket, before throwing the blanket over his shoulders and moving behind Piers. It took a bit of shuffling from them both but finally Leon was sitting behind Piers, a leg on each side of him, and the moment Piers leaned back against Leon’s chest the blanket was wrapped around them both.
Leon’s chest felt immensely warm against Piers’ back, his arms around him solid and grounding, and Piers just let his eyes fall shut as he enjoyed the sensation of being surrounded by Leon. He was still shivering, his teeth clattering, but slowly warmth was seeping back into his limbs and he was beginning to feel more alive again. His arm still hurt, but Leon had bent his left leg so that Piers’ arm could be propped up on his knee, as they both knew it’d be good to keep it elevated.
Slowly Leon kept drawing circles on Piers’ side with his fingers, and it felt so achingly intimate that Piers simply had to distract himself from it before he’d say something utterly idiotic. “So,” he started, aiming for a joking tone, “all I had to do was to get burned by a giant snow monster to get back between your thighs?”
That drew a low laugh from Leon, who tightened his hold around Piers for a second. “Don’t get too cocky,” he answered, turning his head to brush his nose into Piers’ hair. “I could still kick you out and let you freeze in the snow.”
“You could,” Piers agreed, “but you won’t.” All that Leon gave him by way of answer was a low hum, and they fell into comfortable silence again. The wind was howling outside, but in the cave they were surprisingly well sheltered from the storm. It was almost cozy. Somewhere in the distance there were echoes that were probably gunshots, but they stayed put as they’d been ordered. Both their guns were on easy reach, though, just in case something would attack them.
Piers was almost growing drowsy, but then suddenly there were voices approaching them, and immediately he was on high alert again. Maybe Leon did have a point when he kept complaining that one could always hear the BSAA coming from miles away. Not that it mattered right now, but maybe they did need some lessons in stealth for the future.
The disjointed train of thought was cut when there was a voice so close it was probably just outside the cave. “Leon! Piers!”
“In here!” Leon called out. He sighed, clearly reluctant, but already began to shift away from Piers so he could stand up. As soon as he was standing he first made sure to wrap the blanket around Piers properly again, before zipping up his own jacket. Piers tried very hard not to read too much into the way he was being taken care of, but his treacherous heart did a little blip in his chest anyway.
Then Chris was right there, his wide frame taking up pretty much the entire entrance to the cave. The moment he saw that the two were both awake and alert, and thus at least mostly alright, his face broke into a grin. “C’mon, let’s get the hell out of here,” he said, motioning for the two to follow. Then he focused his eyes on Piers. “How bad did it get you? Can you walk?”
“I can,” Piers answered.
At the same time Leon scoffed. “What, you think I carried him all the way here?”
Chris ignored him. “C’mon, you accidentally managed to run to the right direction, we’re not far from the pick-up point. Better keep that around yourself,” he nodded to the blanket around Piers’ frame. “The storm is picking up.” Trusting that the others would follow him he ducked out of the cave, trudging down the snowy mountainside.
There was a second that seemed like frozen in time, during which they simply stared at each other. Then Leon nodded towards the exit. “After you,” he said, lips quirking up into the smallest of grins. “I’ll be right behind you. Again.”
“You’re impossible,” Piers huffed. He didn’t even try to hold back the answering smile, though. He didn’t say anything further, instead pulling the blanket around himself a little tighter before following Chris’ quickly fading footsteps. He didn’t look back but he could practically feel Leon right there, hyperaware of his presence all of a sudden.
Realistically speaking, they hadn’t even agreed on anything, hadn’t made plans or promises. Yet somehow it felt as if the entire world had shifted during the moment they’d shared in that cave.
There was time for those plans and promises later. Piers would make sure of it.