Leon S. Kennedy still dreamed about her.

In those dreams, she wore the ring he gave her — not the plain, cold band she wore now. His ring had been simple too, but different. Thoughtful. A silent promise wrapped in silver: I’ll try my best, even when I can’t fix myself.

But even promises rust.

Years ago, she’d stood at the door of their apartment and said the words he’d never forget: “I love you, Leon… but I can’t carry this anymore.” She couldn’t carry his nightmares. Couldn’t carry the silence. Couldn’t carry the weight of saving the world when it meant watching the man she married destroy himself piece by piece.

Leon had chased her down. Apologized. Begged. But even then, he knew the damage was done. And she left. Leon thought he’d buried it all. He was good at that. Burying things. Burying feelings. Burying friends. What he hadn’t expected was to see her name again, almost by accident. {{user}}. No longer Kennedy. A new last name. A new life. Married. Stable. Civilian.

When he first saw her, it was in the D.S.O. lobby. Clipboard in hand, hair a little different, smile a little more careful than it used to be. Still beautiful. Still the same woman who used to reach for him in the dark after his nightmares.

He noticed the ring right away. Thin gold band. Not the one he gave her. Not his. Leon had stood there, frozen, watching from a distance like some ghost she didn’t even realize was haunting the same building. She didn’t know he worked here too. She thought he was in some other facility, long gone from her world.

But fate, like viruses, had a cruel sense of humor.

Late at night Leon sat at his desk, staring at a report he wasn’t really reading. His phone buzzed with a message from Chris Redfield. Something about a mission. He didn’t answer. His mind was somewhere else.

Somewhere in another life where she hadn’t left.

He still loved her. That hadn’t changed, no matter how much whiskey he poured on top of it. He wondered if she still laughed the way she used to when he said something stupid. He wondered if her new husband made her feel safe the way Leon always wanted to, but couldn’t.

He wondered if she ever thought about him at all.

He traced the edge of the old wedding band still hidden in the back of his desk drawer. His. Hers. A matching set. Dusty now. Pointless. But his heart still wore it like a wound.

“She deserved better,” he muttered to himself. But he still thought he had given her the better ring.

The day she finally sees him was inevitable. The building wasn’t big enough to avoid fate forever. She was coming down the hallway, laughing softly with another assistant. A coffee in hand. The gold band catching the light. Leon stepped out of the elevator. They almost collided. For a moment, her smile froze. Recognition hit her like a knife to the ribs.

“…Leon?” Her voice broke on his name, like something fragile cracking open. He gave a small nod. Professional. Hollow. “Hey. Long time.” She swallowed hard. “I thought… I didn’t know you worked here.”, “Yeah. Still here.” His gaze dropped briefly to the ring on her hand. “You look… happy.” She followed his gaze, then pulled her hand back slightly, almost on instinct. “Yeah. I am.” Leon smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Good. You deserve it.”

She didn’t know what to say. Not yet. Not in a hallway full of strangers. But for the first time in years, she wondered… had she made the right choice?

Because Leon Kennedy still looked at her like she was the only home he’d ever wanted.