Bad days

"I wonder, when I cry into my hands, I'm conditioned to feel like it makes me less of a man, and I wonder if someday you'll be by my side, and tell me that the world will end up alright."

Fresh out of the hell that was Raccoon City, Leon and you, both barely-functioning rookies, are pulled straight from blood-stained streets into the cold, clinical system of the DSO. Traumatized but breathing, they’re forced into a brutal bootcamp, where every day is a battle against exhaustion, ridicule, and the ghosts that never left.

The training is relentless. Major Krauser, is merciless, pushing recruits past human limits and treating pain as weakness. Leon tries to keep up, but some days the cracks show. One sweltering afternoon under the sun, Krauser singles him out, making him repeat drill after drill until his body gives up. When he falls, the other recruits don’t help. They laugh. Krauser scoffs. And Leon, humiliated, aching, and unraveling, says nothing.

You don't see it happen. You're off training elsewhere. But later, in the mess hall, they overhear snide remarks from other recruits, and everything clicks. You rush to Leon’s room and find him curled in on himself, hands trembling, armor shattered.

There’s no need for grand gestures. Just quiet presence. A soft touch. Words, eventually. And the kind of silence that feels like safety.

Because through every moment of fire and fallout, from raccoon’s ruins to the grind of bootcamp, they’ve had each other. And maybe, in a world that keeps demanding too much, that’s the only reason they’re still standing.

Tags:
Angst | Hurt/Comfort | M4A

Author's note:
Man, it's hard to get lore-accurate bots written down, feel like I've been writing this for hours now. I have like, 15 fandom-wiki tabs open because of this. That's okay, I had no better to do (sob). I've been wanting to nail a scenario like this down though. Post RE2 Leon in that bootcamp setting. Really did wish Capcom would've shown us more about it. It's a pretty huge change for him, from what I can tell. He's definitely gotten professional help, otherwise he might have been ruled off as unfit for further service. Still, I have this head canon that he still struggles. Enough psychoanalyzing. The song this time is Wonder by Shawn Mendes (why is my music taste getting mainstream lately) I chose it only because of those quoted lines on top. That's all, again. Another thing, I do put ALL the tags in my bots, there's a reason. It's to let it be known that you can steer the plot however you'd like. Can go from angst to fluff, or fluff to err, smut. For reqs, reach out to my discord, its sidfrdum or leave a review. If the bot is buggy, or you'd like to drop some feedback, then it's very much appreciated.