A/N: This is odd, I wanted to write a merchant crackfic, but then... I felt the need to write something NICE. Yes, Triple T writing something nice. Call the damn newspapers.
Ashley/Merchant
Romance. No humor. At least not intended.
Dedicated to: Slouchingtygerfor making me turn 180 degrees and like Ashley. Omg. I still don't like her ears though. I hope you can live with Ashley and Mr. Merchant!
Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil 4 or any of its characters. They belong to Capcom. This ain't payin' the bills either. I wish. Pft.
More info: Two-shot. Because it's too much to put in one chapter. I don't like chapters that have over 3000 words, I have a small attention-span
Title credit: 'Midnight Burning Blue' comes from a song by Antichrisis called 'Like The Stars'. I thought it was fitting...
Leon and Ashley had been running around for what seemed like hours, being chased by people that no longer had a mind of their own. Those damn ganados had been coming from everywhere, and Ashley only wanted one thing; Peace and quiet for haf an hour. Half an hour would be enough to regain some energy and last through the rest of the day.
Leon had decided the best place for Ashley to be at that very moment would be on the lake. Or maybe he should say near the lake.
Not that long ago, after killing that damn giant fish he had found out that that strange merchant lived near there. He actually had his own little shop, well hidden from anyone to see. Unless they knew what the blue flames were about, but Leon reckoned not many did. He had never seen the merchant talk to anyone but himself, so he trusted the strange man.
Up to a certain point anyway.
When they found the door that was supposed to lead them to the lake they discovered it was locked. Leon remembered it had not been locked before, and he wondered why someone had closed it. Not really caring he decided to prove Hunnigan wrong and picked the lock.
When the doors opened he found a rather large group of ganados standing behind it, staring at something.
"Wait here." He mumbled to the tiny blonde standing behind him. With caution he approached the group of ganados, that still had not realised he was there aswell. When he reached them he saw what they were staring at, which would've been a large pile of fish. Leon snickered softly, he remember shooting those fish and then realising he couldn't take them with him. He was happy to see at least someone, even if they were ganados, would be able to enjoy them.
Or well, enjoy them... It wasn't until then that one of them spotted Leon.
"¡Un forastero!"
"¿Dónde está?"
"¡Por ahí!"
Leon sighed and cursed himself, he should have known better than to happily walk up to them and see what they were doing. Sighing he turned around and ran to a safe distance before throwing the group a few hand grenades. He wanted to laugh when one of the ganados actually caught one and got blown up in the process. But he knew better, these were once people too, and it was a sad thing they had to die, just because Saddler needed some weird minions.
Soon enough the path was free of ganados.
"Follow me."
Leon led Ashley to the place where that boat had been. He was surprised to see it there, even though he had left it at the other side of the lake. 'Someone must've crossed the lake a little while ago' he mused while enjoying his good luck. He was never a very lucky person, look at his situation, but sometimes 'they' were on his side. He didn't know who they were, but he silently thanked them anyway.
In situations like that it never hurt to have a little faith in the unknown. He had experienced that many times already.
He got on the boat and helped Ashley on it too. It all happened in a calm and quiet way. Both were tired and fed up with the situation, and there wasn't much to talk about.
Somehow every subject seemed inappropriate. Talking about friends and music while in the middle of nowhere, being threatened to some forces still unknown to them seemed strange. Talking about love and things related to that subject seemed awkward, especially to Leon. Talking about sports seemed stupid, because all they did was run around and fight. And talking about hobbies was slightly scary, because they were afraid they'd never get to practise their hobbies again... In this case especially Ashley was fearful.
Nearing the middle of the lake Ashley saw the blue flames appear in the distance. She had a weird feeling and turned to Leon to ask him what they were going to do.
"I need to get rid of Mendez," Leon explained slowly "and I want to make sure you're safe when I'm at it."
"You mean I would only get in your way." Ashley snapped.
"No, that is not what I mean..." Leon sighed. "However, there is a possibility that you would."
Ashley remained quiet for a few seconds, wondering if Leon was angry with her. He seemed annoyed, he had been like this for a few hours now. She hoped he wasn't angry, it kind of hurt her feelings.
"So you save me, and not too much later you bring me somewhere and leave me behind again?!"
"That's not what it is, Ashley."
"Then what?"
Leon steered the boat a little to the right and saw they almost reached their destination. "I'm leaving you here for a little while, because it's the safest place to be."
"Riiiight."
They entered the cave and soon enough reached the shack where supposably the merchant lived. Or one of the merchants. Leon had seen him so often, he was wondering if there were more than one. He wouldn't be surprised, with that get-up it could've been anyone. Even a woman with a very disturbing voice.
He felt Ashley move around behind him and freaked out a little. They were almost there, so there was no need to get comfortable right now. Leon had already been through enough trouble keeping the small boat stable with only him on it, being on it with two people seemed almost dangerous.
"Ashley, hold still." He mumbled.
"I hate this boat." She complained. "I'm sick of this shit."
"So am I, so the sooner we get there, the sooner I can get rid of Mendez and the sooner we can get away from this crappy village."
"Hmmmm... My butt hurts."
"You'll survive, now don't take a dive, I don't feel like fishing you up right now."
Ashley rolled her eyes, it's not like Leon was able to see it anyway. She decided to shut up for now and sit things out, because he did have a point. And she just couldn't wait to get away from here. She was craving for some normal food and a nice shower to wash away the stains of death and destruction.
When they finally got off the boat Ashley stretched her body, trying to make the ache in her muscles go away. This obviously caught Leon's attention, who eyed her without any shame.
It also caught the attention of the man standing behind the counter in the little shack. Of course nobody noticed that, because for some reason Leon and Ashley, and many others if I might add, thought the merchant didn't care about anything but guns.
They were very wrong though. The merchant cared for many other things, he had many interests, but in this time of need doing business was good and the cash came in faster than he could count.
So he was expecting some more cash when the strangers walked in.
"Welcome!" He boomed, "What're ya buyin'?"
"Hmm, nothing right now, there's something else..." Leon replied casually.
"What're ya sellin'?"
"I'm not selling anything either, I have a big favor to ask of you."
The merchant didn't expect this and needed a moment to decide whether or not to reply to that. And what he would have to say. In times like these he liked to stick to his most-used sentences, that only involved buying things, selling things and answering questions regarding his weapons and first-aid sprays.
But this man, Leon, was his most loyal and best paying customer. He never complained about his prices and he never complained about his bad habit of following people around either. Also, he felt like he shouldn't be an ass whenever the girl was around, it seemed rude and the merchant didn't want to across as rude. Especially not to women.
"What is it?" He finally asked.
Leon gave him a nervous smirk. "I need to do something important and dangerous, and I don't want her to come along with me, because well, it's dangerous," he said quickly.
"Your point, strangah?"
"I want her to stay here for an hour or two, so I can make sure she's safe when I'm out to do my things."
"You want me to watch the lil' lady?" The merchant asked confused.
Ashley, never being referred to as 'little lady' smiled and blushed. She wasn't used to people saying such things, despite the fact she was the president's daughter.
"Yes, that is basically it." Leon said, still nervous.
"That would mean I won't be able to take my business anywhere else, strangah."
"I know, but... I'm willing to put down more than the asking price for any kind of weapon you want to sell me... It's only for an hour or two, I promise."
The merchant chuckled. "We'll see about that, strangah. Two hours, if you're not back in two hours, I will leave to take my business somewhere else."
Leon nodded. "Thank you so much..." He said gratefully.
"Ehehehe, no problem, strangah, just don't screw up, I'm not here to save the day."
Leon left a few minutes later, after having his Punisher upgraded, and left Ashley behind with the strange man that was so full of his guns. He knew Ashley wouldn't like him for it, but he had to do what was best for her, and in his opinion he had done that. For now anyway.
Hm, that was part 1. Part 2 will be up in a few days.
If you like, review. If you have constructive criticism, review. If you're pissed and feel the need to flame, click that little X in the top-right corner of you screen and go outside to punch a tree. Punching trees works when pissed off.
I hope ya liked it... :) Until next time.