Chapter Text
Grace buried her face into her pillow, hugging it tightly as she quietly sobbed into it, seeking comfort that she didn’t have. The news of being fired from her job at the FBI had been the final straw for her already miserable state, and it didn’t help that she was all alone in her apartment with no one to comfort her except this stupid pillow.
Grace believed that post-Elpis, everything would’ve changed. That fate would’ve been kind enough to spare her and allowed her to properly heal from years of repressed trauma now that she’d finally learned of her true origins. However it had only created more problems for her in the long run, more questions that couldn’t be answered since ARK was buried now.
She missed Emily and her mother (adoptive mother, she corrected herself with a twinge of pain) so much… but at least Emily was still alive, and she was able to visit her every now and then when she wasn’t working overtime, which was a majority of the time.
Guess she’d be seeing Emily a lot more often now…
A name suddenly crossed Grace’s mind and she couldn’t help but let out a small whine. Leon.
Leon was the only reason Grace survived as long as she did in the first place, seeming to show up at the right moment each time she unknowingly walked into another death trap, and in the process Grace had imprinted on the man.
She squeezed her pillow against her chest, nosing the soft fabric a bit desperately only to be disappointed by the glaring absence of pine and leather, a scent she had begun to associate with the man. Leon had never stepped foot in her apartment or scented her things, but it didn't stop a part of her from hoping, somehow, that his scent would be there. Another, more foolish, part of her, conjured up the image of the omega comforting her in bed, whispering soft words as he held her and letting her cry into his shoulder. It was a reminder that at the end of the day, she was still alone, whether she liked it or not.
Admittedly, the idea of calling Leon had also crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to be a bother. When they parted ways, he had given Grace his number for emergency purposes, saying if she ever needed him to just call, but he hadn’t said anything about not using it for emergencies. It couldn’t hurt to check in, right? It was only 8pm, after all. She wasn’t sure what his work schedule at the DSO looked like but he was probably home by now.
She glanced at her phone, lying face down on the bed next to her. She bit her lower lip, thinking about it for a moment before picking up the phone. She quickly woke the screen up, being greeted with the screensaver that was a picture of her and Emily flashing peace signs at the camera, then typed in her password before navigating to her contacts. There weren’t many names on the list to begin with so she didn’t have to scroll long before landing on a contact that read “L. Kennedy.” Her thumb hovered over the call button, unsure if she should go through with it, then a voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Leon giving her encouragement to press the small phone symbol. The sound of the dial tone filled her room, causing Grace to nearly jump out of her skin. It felt like forever before the line connected, Leon’s familiar voice coming through the tinny speakers.
“Grace? That you?” The voice on the other end spoke, slightly muffled by the static but undeniably Leon.
Grace breathed a sigh of relief, trying to mask the fact she’d been sobbing just moments before. “H-Hi, Leon! It’s me… Sorry for calling you out of nowhere. Are you busy at all right now?”
Grace heard what sounded like a girl’s voice in the background-scratch that, multiple girl’s voices- and the sound of Leon gently scolding someone before he finally replied. “No actually, I was just making dinner for my family. Was starting to get worried since you hadn’t called yet after I gave you my number. Is everything alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Grace said. “Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing after…everything. You said you had a family?”
“Just a few aches and pains here and there, but that could just be my age catching up to me,” Leon answered with a soft chuckle. Grace responded with her own small laugh, glad to see the man was still cracking jokes. “But yeah, I do. It’s just my husband and our three daughters.”
“Wait, you have three daughters?” Grace practically shouted, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.
Leon's amusement could be heard over the phone. “Were you expecting a puppy instead?”
Grace shook her head fondly. “How old are they, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“My two oldest are Sherry and Ashley, they’re both adults but they came in town to visit after my mission. Then my youngest Rose, who’s turning 6 soon.” Leon explained.
“So, are they... all yours? L-Like, biologically?” Grace asked, not wanting to overstep and assume things.
“No, I pretty much adopted all of them,” Leon said.
Grace felt a strange sense of longing after hearing that, so she distracted herself by asking more questions.
“Does your husband know about your work?”
"He’s in a similar line of work,” Leon replied. “You'll never guess who it is."
"Do I even get a hint?" She asked.
Leon hummed, pretending to think it over, though Grace knew he already had an answer in mind. “Do you remember the guy you met, Chris, from the aftermath at ARK?”
“He’s your husband?”
“Bingo.” Leon laughed. “He might look scary but he’s actually a huge softie once you get to know him. Speaking of…”
Grace heard a deeper voice speaking to Leon on the line.
“Dinner ready yet, Le?”
“Yeah, give me a sec. I’m talking to Grace. Yes, that Grace…”
The line was quiet for a few moments before Leon spoke again.
“Chris told me to tell you he says hi.”
Grace smiled. “Tell him I said hi back.”
“I will,” Leon promised.
There was an awkward pause where both of them went completely silent, not saying anything. Grace wanted to say something else but she knew she couldn’t keep Leon from his family forever.
“Grace?” Leon spoke up, his voice softer, as if he could sense something was wrong even without seeing her.
Grace jumped at the sound of his voice, having lost herself in thought for a moment. “Y-Yes?”
“Lost you there for a second,” Leon chuckled, but there was a certain quality to his voice. He sounded concerned. “Do you have any plans for dinner tonight?”
“Ah, n-no! I was just going to heat up a frozen meal in the microwave honestly.” Grace admitted.
“Why don’t you come over for dinner?” Leon offered. “Last time I checked, you don’t live too far from us, and I made an army-sized portion of beef stew.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose-” Grace started speaking before Leon cut her off.
“Nonsense,” Leon said. “You’d be doing us a favor if you came over, actually. I don’t think we’ll finish this all, and Chris is picky about eating leftovers.”
Grace glanced down at her rumpled appearance, her pajama pants and old stained shirt. Not to mention, her hair and face which made it obvious she’d been in bed crying for the past few hours. “Send me the address and I’ll head over in a few minutes. I just gotta grab something presentable to wear.”
"Take your time," Leon said. “See you soon.”
Immediately after hanging up, Grace scrambled out of bed and into her bathroom, nearly slipping on the tile flooring as she went to wash her face in the sink and brush the knots out of her hair. Afterwards, she changed into a casual outfit, a pale green sweater and jeans. She took one last glance in the bathroom mirror before she left, making sure her glasses didn’t look crooked before she grabbed her keys off the counter and left her apartment, going downstairs to where her car was parked. The GPS estimated it would only take 10 minutes to get there, but for the whole 10-minute drive Grace’s hands were trembling on the steering wheel, and she could feel the sweat forming on her palms as they started to slip slightly. Leon wasn’t exactly a stranger, but she had the urge to impress him and his family she didn’t know existed until tonight.
Her GPS announced with a cheery noise that she reached her location, and Grace glanced out her window to see that she had pulled up to a cozy two-story house in a suburban area. The outside decorations were modest but she caught sight of a sleek black Porsche in the driveway that could only belong to Leon.
Stepping into the night air, Grace walked up the cobblestone path towards the front porch, wrapping her arms around herself in a nervous habit. To anyone else, it may have looked like she was cold, but she was burning up with anxiety. At the door, she took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell, waiting a few moments before she heard the sound of heavy footfalls approaching the door.
Chris was the one who opened the door, immediately towering over her with his impressive height. He had to be over 6 feet tall, she thought. The alpha was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt that barely hid the musculature beneath. The man seemed more…approachable, if you could even call it that, when he wasn’t in full tactical gear.
Grace was usually wary around any alphas being an unmated omega, her paranoia surrounding her second gender only growing as she got older, but Chris’ scent off the military grade suppressants was almost… comforting, in a way. He smelled like how autumn would if it had a scent, warm with hints of leaves and wood smoke, and the usual undertones of alpha, though more muted because he was mated. The only way she could describe his scent other than that was fatherly. His scent was one that made her feel like she could easily trust him.
Grace stood there for a few moments, taking in the unexpected yet calming scent that emanated from the large man before her until a different voice broke the silence.
"Chris, let the girl in already." It was Leon’s voice, full of gentle teasing.
Chris finally stepped aside with a slight chuckle, allowing Grace to come inside.
"Sorry about that," he said, his voice gruff but not unkind. "Guess my manners are a bit rusty, huh?"
“It’s a-alright. Captain Redfield, right?” Grace glanced around the house curiously as she entered. It was clear the place was well-loved. There were portraits of the family lining the walls with a few faces Grace hadn’t seen before, and a toddler’s toys scattered across the floor. The whole house smelled like home, a mixture of Leon and Chris’ scents with what she could only assume was their daughters. Grace nearly whimpered with the feeling that overwhelmed her then, but she kept it together in front of Chris, not wanting to ruin his true first impression of her.
“Only on duty,” Chris corrected her with a small smile. “Otherwise, you can just call me Chris.”
As Chris shut the door behind her, Leon came out of a side room, a warm smile spreading across his face as his eyes landed on Grace. He held a little girl with light blonde hair on his hip, who looked on curiously at Grace. "Hey, you made it."
Grace returned the smile without thinking. “Thanks for inviting me, you really didn’t have to.”
As Leon approached, his smile faltered for a split second, gaze lingering on Grace for a short period, as if he could see directly through the facade she had prepared before coming.
Grace fidgeted nervously under his heavy gaze. Had she done something just then? Was it that obvious that she had been crying earlier?
Leon turned to Chris with a smile, handing the pup off to him who whined loudly upon being taken away from Leon, making grumbling noises into Chris’ chest once she was settled in the other man’s arms. "Hon, can you go tell the girls we’ll be there in a minute? I need to talk to Grace about something."
"Alright, sure thing," Chris nodded, not missing the subtle undercurrent in Leon's tone. He kissed Leon's temple in parting before disappearing into the kitchen with the little girl, leaving the two to themselves in the hallway.
Leon glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone before turning his attention back to Grace, his expression concerned. “Is everything alright? You smell…different.”
Grace softly shook her head. “Y-Yeah, I’m f-fine. Just some stuff at work happened earlier, nothing you need to worry about.”
“Grace.” Leon’s voice was stern. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Really, it’s nothing,” she tried weakly, but even she could hear how little she actually believed in what she was saying.
Leon gently seized her hands from where they were still wrapped protectively around her chest, holding them in his. “Tell me what happened.”
“It’s stupid, really.” The words poured out of her before she realized it. "I’ve been so behind on my reports since the whole situation with Wrenwood and ARK, and everyday I go back to my apartment just to find myself alone again, and then I got fired, and I j-just..."
Her voice trailed off at the end, replaced by a sharp inhale as she tried to hold back tears, her emotions bubbling at the surface.
Leon’s gaze softened and he closed the remaining distance between them, pulling Grace into a tight embrace. As soon as Leon hugged her, the dam completely burst and tears streamed freely down Grace’s face.
Leon pulled her close, one arm wrapped around her shoulder while the other stroked her hair, like a comforting cocoon. Without thinking about it, Grace wrapped her arms around Leon’s waist and pressed her face into his neck, inhaling his foresty scent and staining his shirt with snot and tears.
Leon didn’t seem to mind, shushing her as she continued to let out soft sobs into his shoulder. "Calm down, baby. I'm here for you."
She felt the older man’s chin rest against her head, his scruff tickling her scalp, and a brush of lips against her hair.
“It’ll be okay,” he reassured her, still stroking her hair. “I promise.”
Grace didn’t know how long she was sobbing for but eventually she tried to calm herself, taking deep breaths in time with Leon’s calm motivating. She was so out of it she didn’t realize Leon had whisked her upstairs and into a bedroom at some point, a spare bedroom by the looks of it since it was bare compared to the rest of the house. They were sitting on the bed, Grace practically in Leon’s lap as her sobs gradually eased into hiccups then the occasional sniffle.
Even as her breathing evened out and her body stopped trembling so much, Leon made no move to let go of Grace. The younger omega equally returned the sentiment, clinging onto him like he was her lifeline. Although she was feeling a bit tired now…perhaps from all the crying she had been doing today, or the fact Leon’s scent was making her drowsy.
"There you go," Leon said, pulling away to brush Grace’s bangs away from her forehead. Grace let out a small noise of distress before she realized Leon wasn’t going to leave her, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you. Are you feeling any better..?"
Grace nodded slowly, too exhausted from crying to speak. She felt a bit guilty knowing she made Leon avoid spending time with his family just to deal with her emotional outburst, but she did feel significantly better than before.
The hand that was originally petting Grace’s hair moved to her back instead, continuous vertical motions that only served to make Grace feel more tired. Leon planted a kiss on her forehead before leaning forward and resting his chin on Grace’s head once more, letting out a soft exhale against her hair.
Leon whispered. “Just rest, sweetheart. We can talk more later.”
"Actually, c-can we lay under the covers?" Grace blurted out suddenly, her cheeks flushing even hotter, afraid Leon might think she’s being too needy.
"Of course." Leon carefully sat up, pulling Grace with him as he pulled back the comforter to lay under it. He placed Grace down like she was a child before climbing into bed next to her, pulling the blankets up around them and wrapping her arms around her smaller frame. "There, is that better now?"
Grace nodded into his neck, eyes growing heavier with Leon’s scent floating around her.
Before drifting off, she whispered, “Thanks mama…”
The words made Leon smile, holding her tighter against his chest as he slowly dozed off, with Grace already fast asleep by his side.
♡