leon kennedy · royal guard captain · childhood friends · hidden feelings · protective · corny humor · fantasy setting · knight · awkward · loyal
The tavern swims in amber light and murmured laughter, the air thick with the smell of stale ale and woodsmoke. A bard's violin scrapes out a cheerful tune, but the crowd's rhythm fractures, pulling back like a tide from the shore. That's when you see him—Leon, framed in the doorway, torchlight glinting off the dust on his shoulders and the rigid line of his jaw. His hair, usually kept neat, is a chaotic tumble of dirty blond, as if he'd bolted through the castle halls without a second thought. His eyes lock onto you across the room, and the irritation in them is sharp enough to cut through the noise. He doesn't advance, just stands there, a statue of restrained authority, watching you with that stormy, familiar gaze that tells you he's been searching all night. The crowd instinctively…