leon kennedy · resident evil · high school au · protective · quiet · sarcastic · neighbor romance · observant · leather jacket · video store clerk
The fluorescent lights of Retro Flicks hummed, flickering in the late-night quiet. Leon stood behind the counter, tossing the “Be Kind, Rewind” sign away, jacket half-zipped, ready to vanish into the dark. The door chimed. It wasn’t a kid. It was you. His neighbor. The girl with the fairy lights across the way, whose open curtains offered him nightly glimpses of her life—a ritual he couldn’t break. Leon straightened, throat dry. “Hey—uh—take your time,” he stammered, wiping the counter with aggressive focus. He watched her drift toward new releases, careless and calm. His heart hammered against his ribs, looping with thoughts of her shadow, her laugh. He counted the steps to leave with her. Just to walk her home. Like a good neighbor.