A/N: This was an old story I decided to revisit and write again. I recognize it's not my best, but the plot was too much fun to leave in my old writing style. I left most of the dialogue the same, but I changed pretty much everything else. Oh, I haven't played any RE game, but I've watched videos and talked about Leon quite a bit with one of my friends, so I think I have an okay grip on his character.

Lastly, this takes place at the end of RE4.

Warning: Possible OOCness, slash, corniness, and many other things.

Pairing: Leon x Kalas.

Try to enjoy this attempt at a rewrite, yes?

Learning to Live

"There's someone I need to see," Leon tells Ashley when they reach land, and she looks at him, perplexed at the look on his face. He's not one for showing too much emotion, but a look of affection rests on his features. "I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience for you."

Ashley couldn't help the laughter which escapes her, and she waves a hand at Leon's confused stare. "You saved me a lot. I don't mind. Who is it, though?" She feels a faint prick of annoyance when the agent shakes his head. "You can tell me. I won't go ratting it off to anyone."

"It's a private matter," Leon replies, his tone giving away he was done with the conversation. Ashley sighs, but she didn't expect anything different. Leon was, well, Leon. He keeps to himself about most things and it was something she got over after a while.

It takes a couple of hours, but they reach a local hospital, confusing Ashley more than she already is. Why were they here? Was his friend sick? Or maybe some secret lover battling a terminal disease? She shakes her head. She doubts it's any of those things, but she still wonders who could be at a hospital, of all places.

"Wait here," he tells her, giving her a brief smile before walking up to the nurse's desk.

-v-

The woman behind the desk looks up from her paperwork and a wide smile etches its way on her face as she says, "Leon! It's been awhile since we've seen you. Where have you been?"

The agent shrugs. "Sometimes, I wonder myself." Then, in a softer voice, he asks, "How is he?"

"He's making so much progress. You wouldn't believe two weeks ago, he couldn't get out of bed, but now he's starting to walk. It's astounding. Come, follow me. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

She organizes her notes before walking down the corridor to Room 37. Her features break out to joy as she knocks on the door. "Hello, Hawkins? Someone is here to visit him. Someone quite important, I might add."

"Is it you-know-who?" the nurse on the other side of the door asks. "If it is, I think they'll be able to help."

"It might be! I'll bring him in." She pushes open the door and gives Leon a brief nod. "Go on. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you've returned from whatever you've been up to."

Leon nods in return as he enters the room. There's a bed, a heart monitor, as well as two bars not far off from the bed to help patients start walking again. Nurse Hawkins coaxes a young man whose hands grip the bars as if his life depends on them. "Come on, sweetie," she says encouragingly. "You're getting better."

He doesn't respond, but moans in pain when he attempts to move his foot forward. His hands grip the bars harder when he's able to move it. "Ahh. D-Do I… have t-to… g-get to the… e-end?"

"Yes, darling. You can do it." She looks at the agent and winks. "Someone here might be able to help you."

"S-Someone…?"

Leon lets himself smile a fraction as he walks over to the man and he places a gentle, warm hand on his back. "Someone like me, maybe."

"L-Leon?" Kalas whispers, turning his head a bit to meet the warm eyes of the other male. "I-Is… that y-you?"

"The one and only, lover," Leon says easily, moving forward to press a gentle kiss between his love's sweat slicked brows. He inhales the familiar scent of the woods and wonders how he went so long without it, yet shaking himself, he goes at the end of the bars. "You can do it. I know you can. Baby steps, okay?"

"A-All right…"

Leon gives him an encouraging smile. "Don't force yourself to walk too fast. You have to take this at your own pace. One foot in front of the other, a little bit at a time. Focus on something else besides the pain."

The agent entices Kalas for half an hour before he reaches the end and collapses in his arms. His breaths come out in wheezes and gasps, so Leon runs his hand through circular motions on Kalas' back, whispering soothing words until his breaths return to normal. Even then, the younger man nuzzles his face in his neck, mumbling incoherent words.

"What was that?" he asks, pulling Kalas back to stare in his eyes, giving an internal wince at the pain he sees in dark blue irises.

"I-I said… Welcome back, i-idiot," Kalas mumbles. They stare at each other for several moments, both basking in the pleasure of being together after such a long time apart. Leon comes to a decision at that moment; he won't ever leave for months at a time without getting something of his partner's to hold onto.

However, Kalas' words float to his mind, and he let out a breathy snort. "Hey, what did I do to deserve the idiot part of that?" Leon knows the answer to it, but he'd rather cajole the answer out of him.

"Because you a-are," Kalas says, tone heavy with sarcasm and a tiny bit of humor. He reaches down to intertwine his finger with Leon's, and a small smile goes on his face when he squeezes his hand. However, Leon finds he wants a little bit more, so he leans forward, pressing his lips against Kalas' for a brief moment before pulling away, a little smile on his face. "H-Hey!"

Leon shrugs in answer and pulls his love closer to him. He was back from protecting Ashley and he has no plans to be on another mission for a good couple of months. As Kalas sighs in content and wraps shaking arms around him, he hopes he can uphold his silent vow.

-v-

From the door, Ashley giggles to herself and turns away, hiding her smile behind her hand. "So he's the reason Leon needed to come here and why he rebuffed my advances. He's cute." She goes towards where the waiting room and her smile widens. "I'm happy for them both."

When Leon comes back, saying they can return home, she nods and says nothing. He doesn't need to know she knows his secret.

Fin.