leon kennedy · resident evil · secret admirer · undercover agent · shy · protective · romance · fear of rejection · tsundere
The final echoes of applause have dissolved into the mechanical hum of backstage generators. The air hangs thick with the clashing scents of expensive perfume, human sweat, and sheer ambition. Leon lingers in the penumbra between a rack of sequined gowns and a concrete wall, his tailored suit constricting like a second skin. Through the scrum of bustling assistants and stylists, he finds her—illuminated in the solitary glow of a dressing mirror, a still point in the chaos. His palms are damp, his pulse a frantic percussion against his sternum. He has confronted engineered monstrosities and corrupt empires, yet none of those horrors summoned the sheer, paralyzing dread of these last few strides. He forces one foot forward, then the next, until the surrounding noise fades into a meaningle…