lovers rock – leon kennedy
pairing: leon kennedy x reader (ft other re characters)
summary: 4 times the team notices something's up with leon and the 1 time they figure it out (spoiler: he's married)
genre: fluff
Claire notices the ring by accident.
They’re in the middle of a debrief. Multiple papers are spread across the table, coffee’s gone cold, and Leon is leaning back in his chair with one arm slung over the backrest, listening quietly and absorbing the information seamlessly. He isn’t speaking much, nodding occasionally, eyes flicking between whoever’s speaking.
It’s when he reaches forward to slide a document closer that the light catches on his hand.
Claire raises an eyebrow in curiosity.
It’s a casual band, not decorated with gems. It sits on his ring finger on his left hand. The hand.
She blinks, certain she’s mistaken. Leon doesn’t wear jewelry. He never has, especially with the type of work they do.
The conversation flows around her, but she’s no longer following along. Her eyes drift back to his hand, specifically the finger, tracking the movement as he flips a page, as he gestures to a chart as he makes a point. She feels like if she rubs her eyes or looks away for too long, it’ll vanish.
By the time the meeting finishes, Claire convinced herself that she needs confirmation.
Everyone rushes out of the conference room, ready to start working. Sherry’s halfway out the door when Claire catches her wrist, tugging her back into the conference room.
“Did you see that?” Claire asks, lowering her voice. Leon’s hearing is freakishly good.
Sherry frowns. “See what?”
Claire tilts her head toward the conference room, where Leon is still inside gathering his things. “His hand.”
Sherry squints, trying to follow. “What about it?”
“There’s a ring,” Claire deadpans. “On his left hand.”
Sherry’s expression sparks with curiosity immediately. “No way.”
They both glance back to the man in question. Leon slips his jacket on, rolling his shoulders slightly, trying to ease the tension out of them, completely unaware of the scrutiny.
Sherry leans closer to her, whispering. “Maybe it’s nothing.”
“On that finger?” Claire raises an eyebrow. “That’s not nothing.”
Sherry purses her lips together. “Okay, but if he was married, we’d know, right?”
Claire scoffs. “Would we?”
Sherry frowns a bit at that. Leon’s always been private, sure. It’s a known fact that he likes to keep things to himself. Almost to his detriment.
“Maybe the ring only fits on that finger,” Sherry suggests. “Or he doesn’t know the meaning of the finger. Or-”
“Sherry, Leon’s not that stupid.”
They look at each other, then watch as Leon finally walks up to them near the door. He gives them a nod and a small smile only reserved for those closest to him.
“Everything good?” he asks.
Claire nods automatically. “Yeah. Just… talking.”
He raises a brow. He can tell there’s something more, but he doesn’t press. He never does. Instead, he lifts a hand in a casual wave and heads down the hall, footsteps steady as they echo.
The ring glints once more before he disappears around the corner.
Claire exhales slowly, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Sherry turns to her, eyes wide. “Okay, that’s weird.”
Claire crosses her arms, still staring at the empty space where he stood. “Yeah,” she murmurs. “That’s really weird.”
Sherry doesn’t mean to see it either.
She’s leaving a lot later than usual, caught up in paperwork that refused to end, and by the time she finally makes her way out to the parking lot, the sky has already started to darken.
She’s halfway to her car when the low hum of an engine draws her attention.
The Porsche is hard to miss.
Leon’s leaning casually against it, one hand resting on the roof, the other tucked into his pocket. He checks his watch, then glances toward the entrance.
Sherry slows her steps without thinking, curiosity pulling her attention in that direction.
A few seconds later, someone steps out.
Sherry frowns slightly, instinctively trying to put a name to her. She doesn’t recognize her from the office, and she’s certain she would remember if she had. The woman moves towards the black car, spotting Leon immediately.
He straightens as she approaches. Sherry notes that his shoulders relax, his lips curve upward, and his attention narrows entirely onto her.
They exchange a few words that Sherry can’t hear from where she stands, but the woman smiles, bright and wide, and Leon mirrors it. Sherry hasn’t seen him smile like that in a while. Then, without hesitation, he opens the passenger door for her.
Sherry’s eyes widen even more.
She watches as the woman slips into the seat, as Leon closes the door behind her and circles around to the driver’s side, as he glances at his passenger one more time before getting in.
The engine hums again, and the Porsche pulls away with the rev of the engine.
Sherry stands there, dumbfounded, for a few seconds. She blinks, shaking herself out of it, and hurries the rest of the way to her car.
Chris figures out something’s off when Leon turns him down.
It isn’t the first time they’ve gone for drinks after a long day, and it certainly isn’t the first time Chris has been the one to suggest it. It’s a routine that the two found themselves performing regularly, a way to digest everything they… deal with. Plus, Chris likes that Leon and him have similar tastes in drinks and bar establishments.
So, when Chris finds himself itching for a glass of whiskey, he doesn’t think twice.
They’re walking out of the building together, the afternoon sun casting long shadows on the pavement. Chris wraps up his story of the most recent mission he went on.
“Hey,” Chris asks, glancing over. “I’m probably gonna head over to the bar and drink a glass or two. You in?”
Leon looks at him, but pauses for a second before responding. Chris has never seen him hesitate like this.
Then, Leon shakes his head. “Can’t tonight.”
Chris slows to a stop, circling around to stand in front of Leon. “You’ve got something going on?”
Leon nods, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. Already made plans.”
Chris just stands there and stares. Leon’s response is… unusual.
“Alright,” he says, shrugging it off. “Rain check.”
“Definitely,” Leon replies. “Next round’s on me.”
They reach the parking lot, and Chris watches as Leon veers slightly, heading toward his sleek, black Porsche parked a little further down.
Chris leans against his own car for a moment, arms crossed, as Leon unlocks the door. There’s a brief pause before Leon gets in and he’s checking something, looks like his phone at a message. Chris swears he sees a glimpse of a smile as Leon slides into the driver’s seat and pulls away.
Chris watches until the car disappears from view.
Plans, he thinks. Leon has plans.
He huffs out a small breath, shaking his head as he pushes himself off the car and reaches for his keys.
Jill would’ve missed it if she hadn’t been paying attention.
Her and Leon stop for a coffee break in between briefings, a rare, small pocket of time. The place is small, a few blocks away from the usual rush of the main streets, and they wait silently in line, comfortable. Whenever it’s just them two, there’s not much chatter.
It’s their turn to order, and Leon, the gentleman that he is, offers to pay for her drink. When the cashier echoes their total, Leon reaches into his leather jacket for his wallet.
This catches her attention as her eyes focus on his expensive leather black wallet. Jill remembers when Sherry bought him that for his birthday. It’s worn, slightly shedding at one corner, but it’s just proof that it’s well loved. She sees his hand flip open the wallet, reaching for a couple of bills in the pocket.
That’s when she notices. There’s a photograph tucked into the clear sleeve.
It catches her attention before she can stop herself.
Leon doesn’t seem to notice. Like it’s always been there. He pulls out the cash, hands it over, thanks the barista, all with the politeness he always has. The wallet stays open long enough for Jill to see the photo.
She’s close to him in the picture, leaning into his side. Leon’s arm is around her shoulders, a curve of his smile. The photo is domestic and warm, she feels like she’s intruding an intimate moment by just looking at it.
Jill looks away before he can catch her staring, but the warm feeling from the photo stays.
The baristas call their names and hand over their cups. The warmth radiates through the cardboard sleeve. As they step outside, a breeze goes by, making her shiver at the difference in temperature.
“Since when do you carry photos?” she asks.
Leon pauses mid-step, glancing at her. They both know what she’s referring to. “Since a while ago.”
Jill tilts her head slightly. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
He huffs a soft laugh, shaking his head. “It’s nothing like that.”
Jill puts her arms up in fake surrender. She doesn’t push further even though curiosity pulls at her. She knows that in this line of work, there are just some things you want to protect. Keep to yourself.
As they part ways, she finds herself glancing back at him.
Leon slips his wallet back into his jacket, the photograph hidden once more.
Grace decides she’s had enough.
By the time everyone’s all in the same room again, the pieces started to come together. Claire and Sherry are big gossips, talking about Leon’s mysterious woman, and Grace, being the FBI agent she is, needs to come to a conclusion. Now.
Leon, for his part, is completely at ease.
He’s seated at the table, flipping through a file, either unaware or unconcerned with the glances everyone’s been giving him.
Grace leans back in her chair, arms crossed, studying him.
“So,” she coughs, cutting through the low hum of conversation. “Leon, are you seeing anyone?”
The room hushes immediately. Claire and Sherry’s mouths open wide in shock, Chris hides a smirk under his hand, and Jill simply looks up from the paper in her hand.
Leon looks up, blinking once, caught off guard by the directness. He closes the file, setting it aside on the table.
Claire leans forward. “Yeah?”
Sherry’s eyes are practically sparkling with anticipation. Chris watches with an even bigger smirk, and Jill remains still, observant.
Grace raises an eyebrow. “You want to elaborate on that?”
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” he shrugs.
“It’s a huge deal,” Claire argues. “You’ve been acting weird for weeks.”
“Weeks?” Chris repeats. “Try months.”
Sherry points at him. “You have a ring.”
Jill adds, “And a photo.”
Grace nods. “And apparently a whole secret life that we don’t know about.”
Leon glances between all of them, realizing very quickly that there’s no easy way out of this.
For a second, no one reacts. Leon sees all of the wheels in their heads turning, digesting what he just said. He can physically see the lightbulbs in their heads go off.
“You’re what?” Claire blurts out.
“Since when?” Chris demands.
“Married?” Sherry echoes, incredulous.
Jill just shakes her head, a small, disbelieving smile tugging at her lips.
Grace leans forward. “You’re telling me you got married and didn’t tell anyone?”
Leon raises his hands slightly, as if to calm the sudden wave of reactions. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” Claire says. “It actually kinda makes it worse.”
“We would have come,” Sherry trails off, sounding a little offended. “You didn’t even give us the chance.”
Chris crosses his arms. “You kept this from all of us?”
Leon hesitates, searching for the right words. Everyone in this very room is the closest thing he has to a family.
“We… were in a rush.” he finally answers. “It happened before I left for Wrenwood. There wasn’t time for anything big, and we probably didn’t want anything big anyway.”
Grace studies him. “So you just decided to get married in secret.”
“I thought I was dying, okay?” Leon defends himself. “I just wanted to marry her.”
Claire exhales sharply, running a hand through her hair. “Unbelievable.”
Sherry shakes her head, though there’s a small smile starting to form. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
Chris lets out a low sigh. “You owe us a long explanation.”
“And an introduction.” Jill leans back slightly, arms crossing.
“Of course,” Leon shrugs. “I figured that was coming.”
Grace smiles widely. “So when do we meet her?”
“Soon.” His expression turns soft, thinking about his wife at that very moment. Everyone in the room can’t help but smile at the sight.
And this time, no one misses the way his hand lays on top of the table, the ring catching the light, shining bright.
like this is my FAMILIA yall i love them so bad
i kinda had a hard time deciding the title of this actually... may change at some point iDK