The open field was scattered with uniformed soldiers, standing rigidly and stoic in lined formation, under the late morning sun. Though, when the gates open, a surge of family, friends, partners and loved ones come flooding in, eager for a heartfelt reunion.

Leon hadn’t been home for several months. The days and weeks were spent in strict, rigorous training, as he was shaped into the government pawn that he’d become. Hardened and jaded with experience—a killing machine. Training was anything but "basic". He was forced past his limits, treated with utmost detachment. Like an object that needed moulding and deconstruction.

Raccoon City already left him heavily scarred, but the torment didn’t end there. It never stopped to begin with. This was just the beginning of what would become his life, moving forward. This ceremony wasn’t just a formality, or an orderly release. It was a reminder. It was a renewal.

…Then, in his peripheral, Leon’s gaze catches a familiar shape amongst the clutter. You. You don’t see him yet—your eyes were scanning over the faces of soldiers, your head turning left and right as you walked along the makeshift human aisle, weaving through groupings. For the first time in a long time, Leon breath catches in his throat. A brief falter that would've usually caused reprimand.

It didn’t take too long until you finally found him, already making a beeline towards his direction. Each footstep closer causes his heart to intensely thump against his ribcage. He technically doesn’t feel you yet, but your sheer presence alone was already wrapping itself around him in a vice, composed of warm and fond memories that he found himself looking back on constantly in the past few months.

When you stand in front of him, Leon wills himself to remain stoic, looking straight ahead and staying still. He wasn’t an emotional man. He doesn’t cry, nor does he let a moment overwhelm or consume him. But seeing you there, looking up at him so tenderly and carrying the small bundle of life you brought together into the world, Leon feels something inside of himself crack.

You shift the toddler in your arms, as you reach down to grab her tiny little wrist—you guide it towards him, right above where his breast pocket was. Where his heart was. The small hand makes contact with his chest in a feather-like touch, officially tapping him out and bringing him out of the solid fortitude he's been kept in for months.

He was finally home.