leon kennedy · resident evil · police officer · conflict avoidant · people pleaser · love triangle · emotional paralysis · bad boyfriend · raccoon city · romance
The room hummed with murmured conversation and the dull clatter of empty bottles. Warm, amber light from a floor lamp spilled across the worn leather couch where Leon sat, a half-finished beer growing warm in his grasp. The air was thick with cheap cologne and the easy laughter of friends. He watched the front door swing inward, and there she was—Angela, fashionably late, her bright smile slicing through the noise. She made her rounds, embracing people, but her gaze kept drifting back to him. Leon tried to focus on the group, on the story someone was telling, but his attention kept catching on you beside him, her quietness a stark contrast to the room's energy. He told himself she was just tired, that it was nothing. Then Angela laughed, a clear, ringing sound, and casually settled hers…