Archive of Our Own

The storm raged on through the mid-Atlantic city, rain pouring and lightning cracking. It lasted all day and dragged on into the early evening. It was a nice autumn storm, one of the last they’d get before winter finally came and the rain was replaced by snow. Ada Wong stood on the rooftop, looking out towards the tall apartment building where one specific man resided- one Leon S. Kennedy. This was usual for her, zipping across the roofs of the buildings with her grapple gun, popping into his apartment, and waiting for the fun to start. It had been too long for her liking since she’d seen him last. Half a year was a long time for someone with needs like hers… needs only one person could take care of. Needs she’d only let one person take care of. Needs that she only trusted one person with. Trust was something Ada Wong didn’t spread lightly, either.

Work had kept her away from him for so long. She’d been jetting across the glove for the past few months, stealing whenever she was paid to steal, spying on whoever she was paid to spy on, sabotaging whoever she was paid to sabotage, using whoever she needed to use… Her mind flits back to a tryst she found herself in a few months back where she almost had to give into the guile of some swollen politician in order to swipe a thumb drive with classified information in it. The difference, though, was that he didn’t touch her- she made it out with the intel without ever having to remove her clothes. It was pathetic, and Ada did it entirely for the intel, and maybe blackmail if he didn’t play nicely. But in the back of her mind the entire time was this specific arrangement. That was the most important thing in the world to her.

She’d really come to enjoy this arrangement. As the years passed, Ada Wong started looking forward to the next time she’d get to visit his little government-sponsored apartment, and stare into those stormy eyes that seemed to make her melt like nothing else in the world could. Not that she’d ever willingly admit it, though, obviously. Ada Wong was a world-renowned (and wanted worldwide) spy, espionage artiste- she would never in a million years outright admit that a man made her feel anything. Especially when that man was an agent of the United States government, an organization who had a price on her head for a long time but could never seem to catch her.

That made it even sweeter, actually. Corrupting the government’s little darling boy.

Okay, maybe she can make an exception.

The only thing that wasn’t sweet was the eventual parting she knew was coming. At first it was easy, slipping out after putting him to sleep and not worrying about it until their next rendezvous… but as time passed on, an odd feeling settled low in her stomach at the thought of leaving without a word, and an ache in her heart started making her reconsider leaving. The best she could offer him were notes signed with her lipstick.

But she had to leave. Such was the nature of her life. She always had to leave. It was to keep him safe, out of the crosshairs of whatever enemy she’d already made and would make in the future… and that list was already far too long to burden another person with that problem. Not that he would ever understand that, of course...

Ada tugged her jacket closer onto her as she stepped out into the rain, heeled boots clicking across the concrete roof she was perched on. She reached into one of her pockets, pulling out her grapple gun. She stared into the apartment across the street. The window was open and a dim light was illuminating a little of the living room, how considerate of him to leave her an entrance. Looks like he left the TV on as well. It doesn’t seem like he’s home.

Ada smiles. She’d have been able to get in even if it was closed. She aims the gun at the fire escape, and fires. The hook catches the railing, and when the line is good and taut Ada flies across the way, unseen by anyone, and acrobatically flips herself over and onto the fire escape. Out of the rain, she shakes out the excess water from her shoulder-length hair, and moves towards the window. One to keep her hair short, Ada’s let her hair grow a little bit since they last saw each other. She hopes he likes it.

Something feels different this time. She can’t place what it is.

Ada stands outside of the window but not in the middle of it. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, steeling herself to walk in. She puts on that face she has on every time they come across each other, that self-assured swagger and bravado of someone who thought they were untouchable. She was taught this a long time ago- look and act like you belong and no one will ever question it- and that lesson still served her to this day. And this attitude with him was usually just a buffer, a foreplay of sorts for them before the real fun started.

With an arrogant smirk, Ada pulls the window open a little further to allow herself entry into his apartment. She climbs onto the window sill, holding a thigh angled upwards that left little to the imagination (just in case he’s watching), and swings into the apartment carrying her head held high, scanning the living room of the twelfth-floor apartment like she had just broken into a vault in the heart of the Pentagon. She stops dead in her tracks after two steps.

The smirk fades almost instantly.

The apartment feels different. All the lights are off. It smells like nicotine- cigarettes… Ada doesn’t think Leon smokes, and even if he does, he’s never done it around her. The only source of light in the entire place is the muted TV which is stuck on the news. The apartment is usually cold, how she likes it, but this time it’s much colder than usual. It’s unfamiliar, like a crypt. A thin layer of dust coats many of the things in the room. Her heart begins to pound and her breathing quickens a pace as she starts scanning around for him. Her mind immediately assumes the worst. Her stomach drops.

Her eyes go to the corner of the room, where the recliner sits beside his almost too comfortable couch.

He’s sitting in the recliner.

Leon Kennedy sits slouched in the recliner, staring at her with glazed over eyes. Ada’s eyes meet his and something somewhat similar to anxiety starts to bloom in her gut. Her feet turn to cement under his stare. The warmth that’s usually in his gaze when they look at each other is gone. All she feels is a freezing cold.

Putting it lightly, Leon looks like shit… and he looks furious. She’d only seen him like that once, and it wasn’t aimed at her. His brow is furrowed in an unfocused glare. There are deep, near black circles underneath his eyes like he hasn’t slept in weeks. New cuts and bruises are on his face. Unshaven stubble lines his jaw, unlike him- he’s always been more of a clean shaven man. While his gaze is transfixed on her, he seems to be elsewhere as he takes a long draw from a lit cigarette between his fingers. Smoke blows from his lips.

Ada’s eyes drop from him to the table before him. There’s a bottle of fireball on it, nearing the bottom quarter of the bottle. An ashtray with multiple ground-out cigarettes and their embers sits beside the bottle, and in front of them sits his favorite pistol, that he affectionately called Matilda.

Her stomach drops as she fully takes in the scene.

Her throat works as she gulps. “You know, those things will kill you,” Ada says quietly, trying her best to keep her voice light and not betray her countenance. She can’t keep a slight waver out of her words, though. The last time they’d been at odds like this was years ago, after everything transpired in Spain. She wonders if he’s decided to start holding that against her again. If only he knew…, she thinks. The PPK strapped to her thigh holster underneath her black tunic dress starts to burn. Adrenaline spikes and Ada is on edge. Leon is a safe place. He never makes her feel like this.

Her words draw him out of his daze, and Leon finally registers that he’s no longer alone. Instead of his gaze softening, however, it hardens considerably as he fully focuses on her. “Ada Wong,” his voice is rough and raspy, like he’s been yelling for hours on end. If he wasn’t looking at her the way he currently was, she’d have melted at the gruff sound of his voice and given up to him immediately. Instead, she shifts on her feet. He leers at her like a predator staring at prey that’s fallen into a trap. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he continues, his voice adopting a mocking edge, mimicking the lilt she loves to use on him when they encounter each other out in the wild… but it lacks the familiarity she uses with him. The air in the room changes once more, the tension thickening to a haze that couldn’t even be cut through with a chainsaw. All of Ada’s confidence evaporates before him. He really is angry, and she doesn’t know why. Leon leans forward, grounding out the cigarette in his ashtray. He makes deliberate eye contact with her, pressing down harder as he snuffs out the marlboro. The unspoken threat hangs dangerously in the air… at least, it feels like a threat.

He looks so angry.

Ada shifts uncomfortably on her feet. Maybe she shouldn’t have come tonight. Maybe this was a mistake. She’d been looking forward to this for months, really looking forward to seeing him, and now that she’s here, she feels unwelcome in a place she’s always been welcome. Maybe she’d finally overstepped, overstayed her welcome and was now having to reap all that she had sown through the countless late-night escapes and sweet nothings whispered into his ear over the years. The line between them begins to fray. But, after her last mission, her heart aches at how much she wanted to see him. Leon reaches back towards the table, grabbing the bottle and holding eye contact as he takes a long draw from the bottle. He swallows slowly, exhaling loudly as he puts the bottle down a tad too hard on the table. Every one of his movements are deliberate, an act of sorts.

She’s uneasy, on the back foot already as his gravelly voice bounces off the walls of the apartment. Ada isn’t one to be put on the defensive or spooked so easily, and Leon usually can’t disarm her this quickly. She fumbles for the words, eventually settling on, “...I wanted to check on you.” The rest of the words are unspoken, not the way that things are going right now. She steps towards the kitchen, feeling his piercing gaze on her as she takes it step by step. Her heels clack on the vinyl flooring. She can’t tell what he’s looking at, but it looks like his eyes are aimed at her thighs, like he can see her concealed-carry pistol. Normally she’d smile and make a small jeer at him, but she bites it back.

His eyes are darkened. His expression is unreadable, like he’s itching for a fight. For a second, Ada worries that he’ll snatch Matilda off of the table and unload the magazine into her before she can react. What is going on?

This is not how these rendezvous usually go.

She walks towards the kitchen like one does when a barking, aggressive dog has its eyes trained at them, keeping distance and not letting breaking eye contact. She doesn’t feel unsafe, but she doesn’t exactly feel as safe as she usually does here. Safe would be cradled in his arms on the couch. Not whatever this is.

In the kitchen she hangs her jacket on the coat rack and neatly places her boots beside the rest of his shoes like she always does. She debates on putting the stiletto boots back on so she doesn’t feel as small standing before him, to give her some kind of fake upper hand. And, against her better judgment, she removes her the concealed stiletto knife and her pistol, hanging their holsters from the coat rack as well. She can’t shake the feeling of how wrong everything happening right now is. If this was an assignment, she’d already have bolted and been long gone. But, given her predilection towards Leon Kennedy, she pushes that feeling down into the dark place where all the rest of her negative feelings go to die and persists. She will get to the bottom of this. She will figure out what’s got him so angry tonight. Even if she has to use some more of her spy tactics, much to her chagrin. She hates having to mix her work life with what little of a personal life the two share.

She grabs a cup and opens the pantry, pulling out some cheap yet extremely strong overproofed liquor that Leon keeps for when he really wants to get wasted. His taste in liquor is awful- all picked to get drunk, not to sip on. It isn’t her usual choice of drink, nor is it the quality she prefers to imbibe with, but it always gets the job done- that much she will concede. Maybe she just needs to take the edge off. She pours a rather tall glass of the clear liquid, and finishes off the bottle by taking a swig directly from the bottle’s dregs. The liquor lights a fire in her throat all the way down, yet it has the exact opposite effect of what she wanted. It settles in her stomach, mixing with the anxiety she’s already feeling.

Ada Wong doesn’t get anxious.

Ada Wong doesn’t get anxious.

She’s anxious right now.

Ada steps back into the living room to face Leon, turning on one of the lamps to give them at least some light. “Well, aren’t you considerate,” he finally answers, voice like a hiss, pure venom in his voice. He sneers at her again “I guess I should feel honored that the Ada Wong decided to come visit me after all these months. Do I live up to your expectations? Is this reunion as special as you hoped it would be?” The cynicism and pure hate that lace every syllable that leaves his mouth makes her flinch ever so slightly.

He notices it, even if he doesn’t say anything. Ada takes a drink from her cup and swallows roughly. She can feel his eyes on her, laser-focused on the way her throat works while the liquor trails through her esophagus. Against her better judgment, Ada sits on the arm rest of the recliner, but keeps her legs away from him. His eyes focus on the black stockings she wears.

She takes another sip, steeling herself. “Are you okay, Leon?” she asks. She doesn’t really know the words, or how to be open emotionally to offer herself as shelter from his storm.

Leon laughs- a dry, humorless laugh. Like he’s forcing himself to laugh. “What do you care?” he snarls. That stings. Under her worried gaze, Leon tries to stand up from the chair, but he’s unsteady, and Ada presses him back down into the chair. She can’t hide the hurt expression on her face at his words and the weight they carry. The realization dawns on her that once again he has fallen into the belief that she doesn’t really care about him, that she’s just someone who drops in from time to time and fucks him, manipulates him to her whims, then leaves to go make his professional life harder while he’s on assignment. Forget the countless times Ada’s saved him, going out of her way on her own missions to help him and make sure he lives to see another day.

Maybe I deserve this.

I definitely do deserve this, because of everything I’ve put him through over the years.

Everything I’ve done was to protect him in some way, even if he can’t see it.

The justifications don’t make Ada feel better. Especially with the absolutely livid look on his face. “Talk to me,” she whispers, leaning towards him. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” Gone is the practiced velvety tone that she’s spoken in for so long that it’s become second nature. She speaks in her natural voice, laced with genuine worry- this voice is one only he hears. And he’s heard it more than anyone else ever has. He doesn’t answer, instead continues to glare at her. “Please talk to me,” she says, “Tell me what happened, because this isn’t you.”

Fires rage in his eyes as his face snaps towards her. “What would you know about me?” he bites, making eye contact again. Bloodshot blue eyes meet chocolate brown eyes, and Ada wilts a little bit underneath his glare. That doesn’t happen, either. The script has been flipped completely in five minutes. And no matter what she does, she can’t make it better. He thinks she doesn’t know him. He thinks this is all a manipulation ritual, that she’s just acting until she can get what she wants from him.

She knows a lot, Ada thinks- she knows he cares more than he likes to admit. She knows that he’s more of a cat person than a dog person. She knows that he was raised by his grandparents. She knows that he likes drawing, and he has a heart of gold. Ada knows that he’ll always do what he thinks is right, no matter the consequence. She knows how he takes his whiskey, his favorite foods and color, and yet that isn’t enough for him. His gaze falls again, away from her, and his long hair keeps his face out of her view as he pinches the bridge of his nose. She notices streaks of silver in between the sandy blonde. He’s too young to have grey hair.

It must be the stress of his job. It’s no secret that the government’s been using him as their whipping boy for over a decade, and now the effects of the never ending abuse are starting to manifest physically.

She tries to gingerly turn his head back towards her, but Leon snatches his head away from her. A peek of something catches her eye from underneath the collar of his shirt. She raises her hands, but they hesitate, hovering above the waffle-knit shirt he wears. Ada swallows and steels herself, reaching towards him. She expects him to lash out, to grab her by the wrists and throw her off of him, but he sits deathly still while she undoes all the buttons lining down his shirt. She pulls open the shirt, and frowns at what looks back at her.

A long, angry red gash that creeps across the right side of his chest towards his stares at her. It honestly looks like a claw mark. It’s jagged and lumpy, like the sutures keeping it closed were removed a few days too soon. There’s fresh burn marks on his neck. Her stomach drops. She could sew him up better than this, and take care of those burns. She’s done it before. He’s done it for her many times. She wants to put a hand on his chest, lay her head on him and whisper that everything’s gonna be okay, but she knows that will just make things worse in his current state. She looks down to his arm. There’s a small circle-shaped wound directly in the center of his forearm, lined up perfectly with one of the bulging veins. It’s a needle mark. A red bracelet is still on his wrist. He’s been in the hospital. And he just got back recently, from the looks of it.

Normally, the sight of his wounds lights a fire inside of Ada, giving her a near-unquenchable thirst for him. This time, she just feels awful. She hasn’t felt emotions this strongly in an extremely long time.

Guilt washes over Ada. She didn’t even know he was sent out on assignment, and she kept a closer eye on him than even his handlers did. She always knew when Leon Kennedy was being ferried across the world on a plane to spread the government’s agenda… but he somehow slipped through the cracks this time. And this is the cost of letting him out of your sight for a few days. Look at how much he hates you right now. “Did something happen on your last mission?” she intones softly, reaching a hand out to trace a featherlight touch along his jaw. The second her skin grazes his, he jerks away as if her touch pains him.

He doesn’t look at her as he speaks. “What do you care?” he says. “You’re just here to use me to get off again,” Leon continues with a scoff. Her guilty conscience catches up to her and hits her like a train. His mind is set. She knows firsthand just how hard it is to change Leon’s mind when he’s convinced of something. And right now he’s convinced of her intentions. That is what most of these trysts have become- Ada breaks into his apartment, and sometimes they ‘fight’ (with their weapons) like they did in Spain, and the untamed sex starts then and there on the living room floor with a knife resting on Ada’s throat, or she saunters in and immediately disarms him with a few dulcet words, a genuine smile, coupled with a wandering hand or an errant kiss or two… leading to the same result. That’s what time allowed for nowadays. They hadn’t gone on an actual date in a long time.

But tonight that isn’t the only reason she’s here. She is here for sex (she can’t resist him, and he can’t resist her), guilty as charged, but for a long time Ada has put Leon and his wellbeing above her carnal desires. He occupies a large spot in what’s left of her heart, a longing she can’t ignore. It’s why she’s kept coming back to him for so long. She was taught a long time ago that attachment will destroy her career, but ever since Raccoon City back in 1998, Ada has been drawn to his man.

She recalls the bright-eyed, naive cop who was throwing into the fire. The one who had stars in his eyes when he looked at her. The one she betrayed. Now she looks at the jaded man, driven to the brink by his work, who won’t even look at her.

That, coupled with the harsh words he speaks, drives the knife deeper into Ada’s heart. In wrenches in her chest, and she swears she can feel her heart breaking. Her eyes drop down to the hospital bracelet on his wrist. Her heart wrenches again and her eyes start to burn. Ada blinks away a single tear at the worst possible time. Leon looks at her as the emotion starts to make her eyes glass over. She didn’t think he could get angrier, but he looks on the verge of exploding now. He’s absolutely convinced that she’s manipulating him, and there’s nothing she can do to convince him otherwise.

For a long time, Ada could only feel a slight empathy towards Leon’s plight. That was all her frozen heart would allow. But as the years passed and his earnest smile melted away the ice, she now feels everything ten times harder after years of suppressing her emotions. She feels awful for Leon. Seeing him like this kills her. She always tried not to let his career choice and their opposing allegiances drive a wedge between them, but the damage that the United States government is doing to him is nearing too much for her to bear. There’s an out. She wants to offer it to him, but she knows he’ll never take it. His life isn’t meant for hiding out in multiple safe houses stashed around the world, never knowing which one will get raided and riddled with bullet holes next, living his life out of a go-bag, forced to work a life in espionage- that isn’t a life for him. While he was trained to walk in shadows, Leon Kennedy is a man of action, a soldier on the front lines in the war against bioterror. Still, she so badly wants to offer him the out, a life spent with her away from everything where she can take care of him. A life that only concerns the two of them, with nothing but peace and nobody to intervene. No worries about anything. Just them. But, she knows all too well that they dug their graves a long time ago when they chose their allegiances.

Instead of speaking, Ada takes in a deep breath and opens her throat, letting the entirety of her cup of alcohol down. It burns hotter than the sun on the way down, and she nearly gags on it, but she’s tougher than that. She winces as the liquor hits her stomach and is already working its way into her bloodstream, and sits the cup on the table beside the bottle. Ada offers him the only thing she knows to offer. With a deep breath, she gathers her confidence, and whispers into his ear, “You know your options, Leon… I can help you relax and forget about everything for a little while, or we can just sit and stay right here for as long as you want.”

The offer is always there. He doesn’t have to go through with sex- she made that clear to him a long time ago. She’s grown and can handle rejection. But, the offer is still there if that’s what he wants. Sex isn’t what it’s all about for her, despite him believing it is right now. Another wave of guilt washes over her as he stiffens. He’s thinking. She knows he is. And she’s already prepared for either possibility. She just hopes this won’t add to his ire.

Seizing her opportunity, Ada pulls Leon’s head towards her and cradles it on her chest. She runs her slender fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. He sighs, and then shudders. For a second, Ada thinks he’s about to start crying. That’d be okay. She wants to encourage him to cry, to let it all out, to lower his defenses for just a little bit for her to try and make things better.

Like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole.

She presses her head onto his, soaking in his scent. Normally Leon smells like a mix of sandalwood and leather, mixed with the coconut scent of the cheap cologne he loves so much. Tonight he smells like jet fuel, fire, and blood. This isn’t the way her Leon smells. God, he’s tearing her apart.

He inches away from her and laughs bitterly. Leon turns towards her, making eye contact again before his eyes drop to her thighs again. “Damn you, Ada,” he rasps. For a second she thinks he’s about to get up and leave. Before she can react, his hand is gripping her neck and he’s pulling her into a searing kiss that leaves her lips bruised and her heart pounding. She’s dizzy. Their lips break and her breath hitches as he captures her lips again and again. Ada rests her hand on his chest and lets out a soft moan against his lips. The pressure Leon’s putting on the sides of her neck and the fervor he’s kissing her with is enough to start driving her towards the edge already. He pulls her fully into his lap with a growl.

This is not how this usually goes- Ada is the one in control. She lets him drive her wild, but she is always the one calling the shots during these encounters. She will control the tempo, and like the good boy he is, Leon always falls into line, lavishing her body in all the right ways as she croons him on until they both find release. Tonight is not like that. Leon is fully in control with barely any effort. A spark turns into a fire raging in her stomach as Leon begins to bend her to his whim right there in the recliner. His free hand snakes around her waist, rooting her firmly in place on top of him. His body coils, like a viper ready to strike.

Their kisses continue to grow faster and more feverish. Ada mindlessly grinds against him, feeling the pressure start to manifest underneath her as he assaults her lips with his. She moans into his mouth again, and his tongue drives its way into her mouth, lapping against hers. She can feel his anger in the way he kisses her. It’s a brutal blitz, one with intent of conquest. She starts to surrender herself into him. With an impressive display of strength, Leon rips her dress off of her with one hand, throwing the torn fabric garment onto the floor, exposing her bare chest and toned stomach to him. His mouth finds her breasts, biting down on her nipples and lining kisses between them. Ada whines and grips his forearms, manicured nails digging down into the skin hard enough to leave red crescent-shaped bites.

Leon’s mouth finds hers again, snaking his tongue back into her mouth. When he’s had his fill, he breaks the kiss, and his free hand reaches over to the table. He keeps Ada held in his lap and grabs the bottle of fireball, taking another long sip from it while maintaining eye contact with her. He exhales and Ada basks in the cinnamon on his breath.

Without a word, he scoops her up and starts carrying her through the apartment towards his bedroom. Thunder cracks outside and the rain picks up. Through the flashes of lightning Ada can see the flame of desire burning in his eyes. She feathers a few soft kisses along his jaw and throat as he carries her. Normally, he likes this. Tonight, he doesn’t react.

He roughly throws her on the bed and is on her immediately. The silk sheets (a gift, courtesy of Ada, because she refuses to sleep on anything but the highest quality material when she can help it) are like ice on her back. Leon is on top of her now, his touch fire and kiss poison as he lowers onto her once more. His kisses leave her mouth, down to her jaw, and as soon as his mouth reaches her neck he starts latching down onto her. The strangled cry that leaves Ada’s mouth is a mix of a gasp and a whimper as Leon lines bites all the way down her throat. It hurts, but the sensation burns the fire inside of her even hotter. She can feel them already start to bruise as he works his way down both sides of her throat. She tries to speak, but he silences her with lips on hers again. Her thoughts are thrown into a frenzy as his hand clamps down on her neck again. His other hand rips off her stockings and he growls against her teeth. Ada’s only response is to kiss him harder and rake her hands along his back, dragging the French tips down the length of his spine hard enough to draw blood. The corded muscles of his back underneath her fingertips are pulled taut. He’s so tense. Ada rakes harder. It’s a fruitless endeavor to try and gain some form of dominance back, but Leon isn’t having it. He hisses from the pain she inflicts and grabs both of her hands.

In an instant, both of Ada’s delicate wrists are pinned above her head by only one of his hands. His grip is like a vice. There’s no getting out of it. Ada knows she doesn’t want out of it.

His other hand trails down past her waist. Two of his fingers parts her and a third drags itself along and over her pearl, making Ada’s back hike up and her breath hitch loudly. She’s soaked already. She swears he makes some sort of satisfied huff, and then he plunges two fingers inside of her. Her heart hammers inside of her chest and she cries out when his fingers push their way inside of her.

“Look at you…,” Leon drawls above her, curling his fingers up and starting to rub along the ridge inside of her. It’s a slow rhythm, but slow works too well for Ada because it makes her whine breathlessly and arch her back against the bed, hiking up into him. In the near-dark lighting of his bedroom, she sees him mouthing something as he works his fingers into her, but she can’t make it out. “Did you miss this? Did you miss me?” Leon continues, that edge still in his voice. It’s driving her insane. “It’s been six and a half months since the last time I saw you. The last time I felt you.” His tone is harsh, mocking her underneath him as she bucks her hips with every stroke of his fingers. Some twisted part of her, buried deep down inside of Ada, can’t help but love it.

She doesn’t answer him. Her brain can’t even think about forming words as she works herself against his fingers. Ada nods her head frantically as another whine escapes her lips. No words isn’t enough for Leon, however. He slows his pace to a crawl and Ada frantically tries grinding against his fingers. His movements inside of her are much rougher, more purposeful, eliciting more desperate gasps from Ada. “I asked you a question,” he growls, his husky voice and cinnamon whiskey flavored breath taking over her world. “Answer me,” Leon demands.

All Ada can manage as he strokes inside her again is a shaky, “Y-yes…”

Her words do something for him. Another growl rips its way out of his throat. “That’s my girl,” he sneers down on her. The derisive edge hasn’t left his voice. Regardless of tone she can’t help but love hearing him say my girl. Her head is swimming, a mix of the alcohol and the pleasure. He quickens the pace of his fingers and lowers himself down onto her once more. She can feel his teeth grazing her throat, searching for an inch of unmarred skin. When he finds it, he bites down onto her neck like a vampire and Ada bites down the cry into a small whimper. For a second she’s worried he’ll actually tear her throat out, and that exhilarates her.

When he finally lets go, Ada can feel her heartbeat in her neck where his mouth just was. He makes eye contact with her again, a cruel and wicked smirk on his face. He’s satisfied with what he’s doing to her. Leon is completely in control- and Ada doesn’t concede control like this to anyone. But here she is, being taken by Leon, allowing him to take out all of his anger against her. For a second his fingers stop as he shifts and she keens against him. She half-expects him to grab her by the hair and bury himself in her mouth, bruising her throat, but it seems he has a little more respect for her than to do that despite the rage that’s taken over his body.

Instead, Leon works her with his fingers faster and faster. Ada’s moans quicken and she feels the pressure building up inside of her. He grunts something that she can’t understand, and she knows she’s getting closer and closer by the second. Leon continues stroking inside of her until the dam breaks, and Ada crashes over the edge with a cry, her body quaking through every second of the orgasm. Her head swims and she barely registers being flipped over, the pillow being slid under her stomach, and her hips being drawn up to present herself to him.

They don’t usually do this position. Usually by Ada’s choice. She always wants to look at him. She always wants his eyes locked on her.

Ada barely registers anything other than the cold air of the bedroom during the lull. She barely hears the rustling of his pants as the orgasm is still ripping its way out of her. Leon lines himself up and presses into her before she’s fully come down. She hisses through the pain; she’s always struggled to take him right at the beginning. It’s a good type of pain, a sensation she’s come to know and to love. Once he’s fully buried himself hilt-deep inside of Ada, Leon begins fucking her like an animal. His strokes are long and rough, pounding her. Their skin slaps against each other in their frantic rhythm. His grunts are quiet, a stark contrast to how loud Ada is being. She tries to speak, to say anything to Leon but he feels too good and her moans turn to mewls. One phrase comes to the forefront of her mind: I’m sorry- I love you- I’m sorry- I love you-

She tries to speak between the gasps and whimpers. “I’m sor- I l-,” is all she gets out. This only seems to make Leon angrier. He starts fucking her harder, pushing deeper into her, cutting off her words. She wonders if he’ll say the exact opposite of what she thinks. She can feel the pressure building up in her core again, finding herself seconds away from the edge again.

Another orgasm wracks its way through Ada’s body and she feels like she’s about to shake to pieces. Leon doesn’t coax her through it with a voice dripping with honey like he usually does. She tries to keep pace with him, moving her hips against his, a conscious move to keep her from fully unraveling. He leans down over her, breath tickling her ears. “Not so tough now, are you? Mm?” he murmurs. Ada answers by arching her back further into him, fully surrendering herself into Leon, hoping to ease the ire that’s set its sights on her. Another whine escapes her as he slowly pumps in and out of her, savoring the way she’s coming undone underneath him.

Leon’s pace gradually picks up. One of his hands grabs her hip to brace himself, the other finds a fistful of her hair. He yanks her hair back, forcing Ada to look at him and the scowl on his face. He thrusts harder into her, he’s hitting her cervix now and Ada can’t do anything but helplessly whine as he presses her down into the mattress, hovering above her. His hand leaves her hip, palming and squeezing at her breasts. He’s leaning over her, almost close enough to kiss. Ada tries craning her neck higher to reach him but he’s just out of reach. “Open your mouth,” he pants, voice straining against the pleasure he’s getting from her. Ada acquiesces like following his order is the most natural thing in the world. A long line of spit trails down from his lips and into Ada’s open mouth, and she swallows it. “That’s right…,” he sighs. He looks completely and utterly satisfied with himself, his face a mask of smugness she hasn’t seen in a long time.

The pace changes again. Leon pushes Ada’s face down into the sheets and bends one of her arms behind her back and presses the other down into the mattress. He thrusts hard into her, panting harder and harder the longer he fucks her. “You belong to me,” he manages between pants. “You’re mine and mine alone. You belong to me. No one else gets to touch you like this. No one else gets to fuck you like this. Do you understand me?” Leon’s husky voice echoes off the walls of the room. It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than her. He doesn’t normally talk to like this. Ada’s excited moan comes more from the sound of his words than the sex. That fact was already common knowledge. She didn’t need to be reminded.

His words turn the fire inside of her from a small blaze to a raging inferno, now an all consuming conflagration.

“Have you been fucking anyone else?” comes Leon’s dangerous challenge. “I’ll know if you’re lying. No one else gets you like this, do they?”

She keens into him, whining and bucking as yet another orgasm starts to manifest in her core. This next one may be the death of her. “No, Leon,” she mewls, “Only you. Only ever you.” She isn’t lying to him; she’s had zero sexual partners since they started doing this. The first time they ever hooked up Ada knew that she’d never want anyone else. Ada’s words are honey-sweet and she says it so smoothly that Leon doesn’t question it. He growls like a chained beast about to break free.

His strokes slow to a crawl. His hand yanks her hair back again. “And you’re never going to fuck anyone else… Are you?” he growls in her ear. There’s an unspoken threat hanging in the air, conveyed by the killing edge in his voice. The ecstasy she feels is rewiring her brain. She wants to answer but the only thing she can whine only vaguely resembles a yes, but that’s not good enough. His volume raises, not quite to a yell but definitely louder than normal. “Answer me, Ada. Say the words.”

“I’ll n-never fuck anyone else,” Ada stammers.

For anyone else, this would be beyond embarrassing. But for Leon, Ada will forever make an exception.

“’Atta girl…,” Leon drawls with a velvet in his rough voice that she never knew he had. That, coupled with a few more strokes, is enough to send Ada over the edge a third time. She can feel her body starting to give out but she can’t stop yet. Ada tightens herself around Leon, and finally he starts to crack. A hollow gasp escapes his lips as she keeps tightening herself; Ada trembles underneath Leon. He releases his grip on her, but continues a steady and harsh rhythm into her. She’s completely gone, surrendered into him, hips bucked up and back arched as tremors quake through her. She can’t stop the flow of sighs and gasps with every stroke he puts into her. The words still bounce around her mind, but she’s too far gone to verbalize anything.

Leon’s pace and his haughty groans culminate in one sentence: “I’m getting close. I want to do it inside of you, m’kay?”

Yes. Ada agrees wordlessly, frantically nodding her head and grinding backwards into him. Leon allows no words as an acceptable answer this time, and he grips the supple skin on her waist hard enough to bruise. He hastens the pace, breathing getting quicker and shallower the closer and closer he gets to the edge. Ada’s getting close, too. “Come on, baby, come with me,” he drawls.

“Fuck…,” Leon groans. Ada feels him starting to come, and she tightens herself around him. She coaxes every last drop out of him and into her with a long, breathy moan. He growls like a beast during the duration of his climax, digging his fingers deeper into her pale hips. Adrenaline runs sky high through Ada as his warmth spreads into her, wracking her entire body with a shiver. They don’t do that, either. Ada’s never been on birth control. Leon always pulls out. It’s worked for them for years with zero contraceptives ever used. As the brain fog clears, Ada realizes they’ve made a dangerous choice, because now that she’s experienced that, she’s going to only want more of that from now on.

They stay silently joined together for a long moment, before Leon releases his hold on her and pulls out of her. He lets out an airy sigh and looks towards the ceiling. Making every movement deliberately, Ada rolls onto her back and pulls Leon down. She cups his face in her hands and she kisses him softly and sweetly in contrast to the raw anger he fucked her with. She moans against his mouth and breaks the kiss, pressing his forehead into hers. He can’t see the smile on her face. She feels her heartbeat between her legs.

Instead, he just looks hollow, empty. The anger is still evident in his face. Ada’s stomach drops as the high of her climax wears off; this is not the Leon she knows. He steps back and zips his pants back up, then disappears into the bathroom. He comes back with a warm rag, and then digs into his closet, producing an old pair of sweats and a shirt for her. It’s a wordless offer without an actual apology for destroying her clothes, and Leon still won’t let her see beyond the set in his jaw and furrow of his brow. She mouths thank you as she sheepishly takes everything from him. He won’t make eye contact. Leon grunts and stalks back towards the living room, leaving her alone on the bed.

Ada’s throat tightens with emotion. Yet another thing that isn’t normal between them. She limps from the bed to the bathroom and cleans herself off the best she can. Heat burns between her legs. She pulls on the dark jogging pants and throws on the tee shirt- it’s a grey Wrenwood University shirt that absolutely swallows her. Her favorite of Leon’s. She stares at herself in the mirror. There isn’t an inch of skin on her throat that isn’t already turning a bruised violet. Her lipstick and mascara are absolutely ruined. Sweat glistens along her forehead. She reaches into one of the cabinets, where Leon keeps the makeup wipes for her, and cleans up her face. Ada ghosts a hand over her throat. She wanted all of that… but she hoped it would have calmed Leon’s anger.

Once she’s cleaned the best she can, Ada walks back to the living room, bracing herself on the wall as she limps along. Her entire body aches. Her heart hurts because he didn’t collapse into the bed with her.

She finds Leon sitting on the couch now, poring over the bottle of fireball and with another lit cigarette between his fingers. There’s a muted football game on the TV. Leon does occasionally enjoy catching live sports, she recalls. He spares her a sidelong glance as she limps towards the couch, sitting down close to him. Not touching, but close enough to remind him I’m here. I didn’t leave, and I’m still here.

They sit in silence, the only sound is Leon’s drags from the cigarette.

“I didn’t come here to use you,” Ada finally says, her voice coming out barely above a whisper.

Leon’s throat works and cigarette smoke billows out of his nose. “Liar.”

Ada swallows hard, and her voice starts to constrict with emotion. “I’m not lying. I do care about you, Leon,” she says, but it’s so obvious that everything tonight is just fighting a losing battle. Maybe any other day she’d be able to convince him to come to his senses, but his demeanor coupled with the copious amounts of alcohol he’s ingested, all the odds are stacked against her.

“You sure have a funny fucking way of showing it.” Leon’s tone is sharp and he’s back to glaring at her. She flinches. His voice is a biting intonation that she’s only heard him use against those he considers his enemy.

He sits shirtless on the couch, with his wounds and scars on display, yet another stain of proof of the missions his government keeps sending him on, each one harder than the last in the hope that this time will be the time he doesn’t make it back. Ada steels herself, and reaches out to touch his arm. Leon winces and violently jerks away from her touch, and her heart drops. “What happened?” she asks. “Please talk to me. I had no clue where you were. I would have done whatever I could to help you, you know that. I wouldn’t have let this happen to you, Leon. I’m sorry,” she stresses the last words.

Ada knows she’s pushed too far the second the words leave her mouth. The frayed knot between them finally snaps. Leon swallows hard and his gaze falls back to the handgun on the table. “Get the fuck out,” he says, voice a harsh whisper.

She feels like she’s been shot. Actually, being shot hurts much less- “What?” she recoils, “Leon? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

The dam breaks. Ada Wong cries freely for the first time since she was a child. She can’t stop the tears as they fall even as she tries to put herself back together. Maybe I deserve this, she thinks. She never begs anyone for anything. Begging is beneath her. As a matter of fact, she isn’t begging now, she’s pleading with Leon, grasping at straws-

Their eyes meet. His blue eyes are like ice. “Get. The fuck. Out,” his tone is far harsher now.

The rejection stings more than a bullet could. Ada swallows. The tears trailing down her cheek sting, too. When they first shared an intimate evening together, she vowed that Leon would never see her at a low point. That she would always carry that smug bravado with her. That’s all come crashing down. Leon’s erected a giant fortress around himself. And her fortress has just been nuked.

She stands up, and moves towards the kitchen. She grabs her jacket, slips on a pair of his sandals, and stuffs her weapons into her pockets. Deep down, Ada knows that this isn’t the Leon she knows and feels for, and he isn’t really in control. The demons he carries on his shoulders are the ones in control tonight. She summons all her remaining bravery and stands before Leon. “I’m going to give you some time to cool off. We’re going to talk about this when I come back. This isn’t over. You aren’t going to just freeze me out like this, Leon, and you won’t call me a liar when I’m telling you the truth,” she says. Her voice wavers, but she knows the words are settled in his mind.

Before he can answer, she snatches the Matilda off the table and steps towards the window.

Leon stands, reaching out and failing to catch Ada. “That’s my gun,” he says, a deep frown on his face.

“I’m well aware,” Ada replies stiffly, tucking it into her waistband. “And I’m taking it away from you so you don’t blow your brains out after I leave. Believe what you want, but I do care about you, Leon. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have put myself in danger to save your ass so many times,” she says sharply as she steps out of the window and raises the grapple gun towards any building that isn’t here. “I will come back once you’ve calmed down a bit and will actually talk to me. Don’t even think about locking the window. I’ll just break it. You know I will.”

Leaving him to wallow in self pity isn’t exactly what she wants to do, but Ada knows better than to stay here with him as volatile as he is. Some space will do him good. She looks at him one last time, a sad smile crossing her lips as she zips away from the building before he can react.

The evening rain is cold, but Ada finds an awning to hide under on a rooftop away from Leon’s apartment but still close enough to observe him through a small telescope she always keeps. He just sits there on the couch for an hour with his head in his hands. He doesn’t drink or smoke anymore after she leaves. Ada can’t tell if he’s crying or not. Eventually, he stands and walks towards the bedroom.

He’s gone for a little while, and when he comes back he’s in clean clothes and looks a little less haggard (at least from a distance). Leon wastes no time in grabbing his motorcycle helmet and leaving the apartment, slamming the door behind him. He never closed the window.

He’s probably going to a bar for a change in scenery.

Ada leaves the awning and stands on the rooftop for a while, letting the bone-chilling rain ground her back to reality. She wonders if things are thoroughly fucked for good and if there’s anything that can be salvaged out of it. She hears the screaming of his motorcycle as he speeds away and into the wet streets. Has she gone soft?

Maybe, Ada muses, maybe she’s gone soft.

The fact that she does care so deeply for Leon is what troubles Ada. Especially because she’s been so emotionally detached for most of her life, told by her teachers that emotions equaled weakness. And now, she has no idea how to actually offer emotional support to the person she wants to help without putting everything she knows in danger. That’s another difference between them. Everything like that comes so easily to Leon. Every time she closes her eyes she can see the rookie cop she met in the parking garage of the Raccoon City police department, voice tight and eyes fraught with worry. The one who took a bullet for her without a second thought. The one you used.

She’s used to the past, where those who would stupidly cling to her would all eventually come to the same attitude. And she’d just shoo them away, because she wasn’t invested, and it was easy. But Leon Kennedy, damn him, was so different; the years she’s spent with Leon actually mean something to her. She’d walk away and never look back from any of the rest of them. So, why now, is she sitting on a rainy rooftop, waiting for him to come home so she can try and fix whatever has broken?

What if he doesn’t want her to try and fix it?

Ada sighs. It’s worth a shot. She owes it to herself to at least try. She decides she’ll be waiting on him whenever he finally decides to come home. They can talk then.

She waits for a little while longer before returning to Leon’s apartment. As she climbs back inside, Ada pulls the window to, but leaves it open enough to air out the scent of cigarettes and sex that’s permeated the apartment. She decides to clean up the mess he made, and straightens up the living room while she’s at it. Her torn clothes are gone, she notices. Against her better judgment, she sits Matilda on the kitchen counter. Why are you doing this?

Ada can’t answer that.

When she’s done with all the straightening up she can stand, Ada disappears back into the bedroom. She needs a shower and some dry clothes. She enters the closet; there’s a small wardrobe off to the side that’s only filled with her own clothes, but Ada always finds much more comfort in his clothes when she stays here. She moves towards the wardrobe where Leon’s casual clothes are kept, but freezes when she sees something new hanging up in the closet. She stares at a camouflage shirt and pants, the same color camouflage she’s seen US military special forces wearing. A muted green plate-carrier vest also hangs, sporting a centralized patch with sewed on text reading Kennedy- DSO. These aren’t the typical pieces of equipment he uses in the field- matter of fact, Ada has never seen him wear anything resembling a soldier’s kit.

So this is the turn his career has taken.

It’s obvious, really, that the longer Leon’s stayed in service to the government, they’d shift his work from clandestine missions against BOWs to straight-up being an attache on military operations. That would explain the burns and the new wound on his chest.

Ada’s heart wrenches uncomfortably in her chest.

She grabs another set of clothes and disappears into the bathroom, something else she’s done so many times over the years.

The shower water is scalding hot, just the way she likes it. She scrubs herself with Leon’s soap, washing away the sins of their earlier act. It’s a pitiful bid, an attempt to try and bring forth any sense of his familiarity back to her. Her mind continues to wonder what went horribly wrong to make him act that way. A few more tears fall down her face, mixing in with the torrent of water coming from the shower head. All she can think of is Leon.

When she’s fully cleaned and the bone-chilling cold has exorcised itself from her body, Ada steps out of the shower. She can hear commotion somewhere else in the apartment as she brushes her teeth, removing the lingering taste of liquor from her mouth. Leon’s home. She hadn’t even heard the door closing while she was showering, lost too deeply in her thoughts. Ada dries herself off, tugs on more of Leon’s clothes, and starts walking through the apartment.

As she nears the kitchen the scent of meat, rosemary, and garlic fill her senses. Her stomach growls, Ada realizes she hasn’t eaten since the day prior. She hears quiet music coming from the living room- that angsty rock music he loves so much. Ada treads lightly through the apartment, in case he’s still on edge, and finds him standing over the stove. He’s cooking. And, he’s also humming along to the song playing on the TV. She recognizes the song. She eyes me like a pisces when I am weak, I’ve been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks...

Ada sees flowers in a small vase sitting on the kitchen counter. Blood red roses stare back at her. The floor betrays her and creaks as Ada stands in the archway to the kitchen. He twitches the slightest amount. “I hope you’re hungry,” Leon says over the sizzling of the steak he’s cooking. His voice is much softer now. After a second, he turns towards her. The anger in his features has been replaced by a soul-deep weariness. A small smile tugs on his lips at seeing Ada Wong standing in his apartment wearing his clothes, but when his eyes fall to her bruised neck his smile fades.

“...I could eat,” Ada’s tone is slow and cautious, eyes leveled at his.

Leon doesn’t answer, instead he turns from the stove and strides towards her, wrapping her in a tight embrace that Ada can’t help but melt into. One of his arms wraps snugly around the small of her back and the other cradles her head into his chest, stroking her still-damp hair. Gone is the scent of death he carried earlier, Leon now smells like he normally does. There’s a faint note of aftershave on him. He trembles against her; Ada’s small hands rub circles into his back. “I’m sorry, Ada,” he whispers, voice tight with emotion. “About everything- all that earlier. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I shouldn’t have accused you of the things I did. It won’t happen again. I am so sorry, Ada,” he says as the trembling intensifies. Ada doesn’t answer, instead she continues the rhythm of her hands massaging his back, an attempt to soothe him.

She can’t help but forgive him.

She knows better than anyone the weight dealing with lives like theirs carry. They’ve both taken things out on the wrong people.

Ada hums against his chest.

He swallows. “My last assignment was completely off the books. I was in Taiwan. Things went bad,” he finally murmurs. “Worse than anything I’ve ever been through. I lost so many people. People I was responsible for. People I knew. People I considered my friends… all dead. And I’m still here. They didn’t care. They never do. I warned them what would happen if we went in. I knew what was gonna happen. They didn’t listen to me. They never do.”

That’s all he says, but it’s enough. “Oh, Leon…,” Ada whispers, holding him tighter against her. Now it’s Leon who melts in her grip. He sighs against Ada, shoulders sagging into her like the weight of the universe is pressing down on him.

“I feel like no matter what I do, there’s never a difference being made. I can’t get Krauser’s words- ‘you can’t save anyone’ out of my head. And after Taiwan I feel like he was right. I think they’re giving me harder and harder assignments each time I survive because they hope I won’t survive the next one. I feel like I’ve outlived my usefulness to them. Maybe I don’t want to make it back from the next one,” Leon whispers.

You saved me, Ada thinks, you don’t know it, but you’ve saved me.

She doesn’t know what to say other than, “You’ve saved a lot of people, Leon. You have brought some good into this world. Everything’s gonna be okay.” Ada strokes his hair and holds him as closely as she can, hoping the small act of intimacy will be enough for right now. They stay wrapped in each other for a minute before the smell of something charring hits Ada. “You should probably get back to cooking,” she whispers.

Leon turns back towards the stove, to the steak that’s starting to burn in the pan. “I guess that’ll be mine,” he mutters. Ada can’t help but feel empty in the absence of his presence against her. Her stomach growls again- she’s experienced Leon’s cooking so many times before. He’s actually a good cook when he isn’t fueling his body off of frozen pre-cooked meals and instant coffee (and a much better cook than Ada, but she’ll never clue him in on that). Having his cooking ruined all the Michelin star restaurants Ada spoils herself with during her travels. None of them compare to him. She steps towards the flowers. “Flowers for me?” she asks as she picks up the roses and inhales their sweet scent. “You do know how to make a girl feel special,” Ada teases.

He freezes for a second, and Ada worries if she’s pushed him too far again. “Yeah,” he grunts, “...I know it’s not a lot. I’m not really in situations like this very often so I don’t really know what to do.”

Ada crosses the kitchen and plants a small kiss on his cheek. “It’s more than enough,” she says. Leon blushes the slightest amount. It’s okay. Things are gonna be okay.

Leon finishes cooking the rest of the meal and guides Ada back to the couch in the living room. He’s got a single candle lit on the table, and places down two plates of steak and asparagus and two cups of water. No more alcohol for the night. Neither of them need it. Leon’s already cut Ada’s steak, she smiles softly at the gesture. Before they eat he flicks through the TV channels, searching for some shitty movie for them to laugh at and not really pay attention to, as is tradition between them.

Eventually, he finds a rom-com. Neither of them can stand them, but Leon’s jokes and commentary make the movies so much more bearable. They eat in silence, knees brushing against each other, and once done Leon blows out the candle and moves back to the kitchen to wash up. Not wanting to be alone, Ada steps to the kitchen to be with Leon, wrapping her arms around his waist while he cleans. She hums into his back. Leon silently washes the dishes, setting them in the drainer beside the sink with robotic precision.

He finishes the dishes, and turns, wrapping his arms around Ada. They stand there in the kitchen held tightly to each other, staring into their eyes. “Hey, trouble…,” Leon murmurs. Ada lets out a humored sigh and nuzzles her head against his chest. He holds his breath for a few heartbeats.

Finally, he breathes, “That won’t happen again.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, I’ll do better about controlling my emotions. I was in a dark place after that last mission. I took it out on you. That’s one hundred percent what it was. I took all of my frustrations and my anger out on you. You don’t deserve that. I blamed you. None of my problems are your fault… You deserve more than someone who acts like that.”

Ada reaches up and traces a finger along his jaw. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. “Leon, I don’t know how to show it, but I really do care about you. I wouldn’t trade you, or this, for anything, even with all the trouble that comes with it,” she says. “I just have a hard time expressing that I’m here for you. I never learned how to be that sort of person… but I’m trying. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She places her hand on Leon’s cheek, and he closes his hand over hers. “Do you think we could ever have a normal life together? Somewhere far away from all of this? Just you and me, no worries at all?” he asks, voice a whisper.

A sad smile crosses her face. “I don’t know. Maybe one day,” she offers. “I’m not sure either of us could handle ‘normal,’ especially after everything we’ve been through.”

He chuckles, and his thumb grazes down her bruised throat. Black and violet splotches line down Ada’s slender neck. He looks like he feels guilty. “I’m sorry about this, too. I don’t know what came over me,” he murmurs, tracing his thumb along her throat.

Ada’s ears tingle. She doesn’t get flustered either, but having to admit things as personal and intimate as this is as close as she’ll get to being flustered. “Don’t apologize, Leon… I was… into it, I guess you could say,” she says, grabbing his wrist and smiling at him. It isn’t the full admission that being marked by Leon Kennedy makes her heart do backflips, but it’ll do for now. A look crosses his face and his mouth works to make an oh.

“And, uh, I guess I also owe you for the clothes I ripped,” Leon says sheepishly. It’s so funny, a man his age and as large as he is flustered in front of Ada.

She smirks. “I'll put it on your tab.”

He laughs again, the sound like music to her ears.

Leon scoops Ada up and carries her back into the living room, plopping down on the couch while cradling her against his chest. Ada’s arms wrap around my neck as he shifts into a more comfortable position for the both of them. “If this is the most ‘normal’ we ever get, I think I could die happy,” he murmurs into her. They sit there for a second, the only sounds in the room coming from the movie on the TV and the soft rainfall that’s continued into the hours of night.

The softness has returned. They lay on the couch, hands resting on each other in a casually intimate way they’d never share with anyone else. “How long are you in town for?” Leon asks as he flips through the TV channels to find something else to make fun of.

“How long do you want me in town for?” Ada asks, a coy smile aimed at him.

He hums. “Long enough for you to let me take you out for dinner,” Leon replies.

“Leon Kennedy asking me out on a date?” she muses, smile growing. “You know,” Ada teases, “Usually you ask the girl out before you take her to bed with you.” His face turns beet red and she can’t help but chuckle at that. She rubs a hand along his face. “I suppose I can fit it into my schedule…,” she whispers.

He leans in and takes her lips in a slow kiss. “Good. Because I already made the reservations and I don’t want to be charged extra for cancelling,” he whispered.

A mirthful laugh escapes Ada; “Leon, darling, your planning is awful. I highly doubt you already made a reservation, especially after the last date we went on,” she croons into his neck.

“Still holding that against me?” he grunts, “I definitely called and they just didn’t put our names down.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night…”

“Usually, you do,” Leon says. Their eyes meet again. “It’s been too long, Ada… I can’t say enough how sorry I am for how I acted earlier. I don’t know if I can forgive myself for hurting you.”

The apology is bittersweet, and while Ada knows he means it fully, she still hurts knowing that he even felt that way. “Will it make you feel better knowing that I forgave you after I left the apartment?” she whispers, brushing her fingers through his hair. He looks down at her and gives a tired smile, and shrugs. He’d always held onto so much guilt. Usually, taking his mind off of the subject at hand was the best tactic. Usually by messing with him. Ada rubs his bicep. “You know, I’m half-convinced you pump these up,” she teases.

Leon feigns offense. “This is one-hundred percent all natural,” he says, a mock bravado entering his voice. He flexes the muscle underneath Ada’s grasp.

“You certainly know how to use them,” Ada purrs, batting her eyes and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Flirting like this isn’t below her, and with the way Leon always reacts makes it so worthwhile. He blushes again and shifts underneath her. She finally feels like they’re back on the path forward. She takes her hand from his arm, and rubs underneath his eyes. “You need to sleep,” she finally says. “Let’s go to bed.”

Before she can get up Leon’s picked her up for the third time that evening, but this time when he carries her towards the bed and Ada trails her kisses along his throat and jaw he hums softly and smiles. He lays her down on the bed like she would break if he did it any harder, like she was an expensive art piece that had to be handled with the utmost care. They move quietly, getting into their varying states of undress to sleep. Ada sits up and pats the bed in front of her. “Lay down,” she says, tone soft but leaving no room for negotiation.

Leon acquiesces to her like second nature, giving her a long kiss before laying down and putting his head in her lap. His eyes are closed and he sighs softly, the weariness evident in him. Ada runs her hands through his flipped bangs, massaging his scalp. A certain three-word phrase enters her mind again as his breathing slows. The tension in his body starts to evaporate second by second, like he’s about to melt in her hands. Leon reaches a hand up towards Ada, cupping her cheek. She leans into the touch, kissing his fingers. “You really are trouble, you know that?” his sleepy voice murmurs.

“And yet many of our rendezvous begin with me finding you in some sort of peril…,” Ada whispers back to him, putting on her usual dulcet voice just to mess with him as he falls asleep. “How fortuitous.”

“I just play it up so you’ll come to my rescue…,” Leon murmurs.

A comfortable silence falls over them. Ada’s content to stay like this all night. “Maybe you could move in,” Leon finally breathes. Her breath catches in her throat.

“Oh, Leon… I don’t think you’d want me redecorating your apartment…,” Ada whispers.

“We’ll see…,” he says.

Ada smiles. Moving in with Leon is… rather unrealistic, given the nature of their lives, but the idea of permanently sharing the space fills her heart with warmth. Maybe. She’ll think about it.

“You’re so much more possessive of me when you’re drunk,” she notes.

“...Bad thing?” Leon whispers.

She hums, acting like she’s considering it when she already knows the answer. She just wants to mess with Leon. “I like you telling me that I’m yours,” she finally relents. “Maybe do it more.”

“Hm. Good,” Leon whispers, voice getting huskier the closer he gets to falling asleep. She’s always been so good at putting him to sleep.

Serenity falls over the two of them. Ada continues working her hand into Leon’s scalp and his breathing steadies. Before she knows it, Leon’s fast asleep in her lap. She’s watched him sleep before. When he’s alone, he thrashes and he talks. He relives all the nightmares he’s been through. When he sleeps by Ada, however, he’s peaceful and still. She’s always taken pride in that. She moves gingerly to get out from underneath him, and lays down, pulling his head onto her chest. Leon huffs softly and throws his arm over the top of her. Ada hums, ghosting her fingers along his bare back as his sleep deepens.

She closes her eyes, letting the comforting weight of Leon’s body pull her to sleep.