Work Text:
It was quiet besides the sound of dripping water from just around the corner. Leon took in a deep breath, handgun raised, his back pressed against the cool tile wall at the corner. Who knew what he would find once he rounded it. He had suffered enough injuries today. He had been beaten and bruised, scratched and attacked, and nearly bitten on several occasions already. And how much longer before he found the central lab for the information he had been sent in to retrieve?
He took a deep breath, allowing himself to close his eyes just for a moment. Breathe. It wasn’t much farther. He was tired, but he could make it. Whatever was on the other side of the corner—he’d face it head-on.
He clutched his handgun and spun around the corner, only to slam into something—no, some one —swinging down from the tall ceiling above. He hit her with full force, and she practically smacked into him. He tried to catch himself, but tripped over broken crates and then crashed down three short steps, landing directly on top of his “victim” as his gun clattered across the hall.
They both groaned. More bruises to add to the rising list , Leon thought, as he propped himself up with his hands on the cool grating of the lab floor to see who he had just accidentally assaulted. He paused, hands pressed against the floor on either side of her shoulders, staring down into her bright green eyes. “Ada?” His voice was softer than he meant when he said her name. He was confused, but the emotion was quickly replaced by the warmth that he felt every time he encountered her.
Despite their awkward positions—her still laying on the ground, and Leon leaning over her, his knees on either side of her hips—Ada offered him a smirk, lifting her chin a little—such a smug expression. “Always a pleasure to run into you, Leon,” she teased. “But… this grating is rather uncomfortable to lay on.”
Leon remembered himself and quickly scrambled away from her holding out a hand to help her sit up. She took it with a nod of thanks. “Are you hurt?” He asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder as he furrowed his brow.
“Are you worried?” Ada smiled, “That’s cute. I’m fine.” She paused, watching with satisfaction at the growing flush on the man’s face. Leon didn’t know why, but he liked that she could do that to him. Then she seemed to remember, “What about you? No bruises?”
“There will be later,” he said, “But I’ve had worse.”
There was something akin to remembrance in her eyes, a spark of pain. “Yes,” she said, almost to herself. “You’ve always been strong… a survivor.”
She stood, heels tapping on the grating, and held out a hand to him. If only things were different. If only he didn’t have to rush to the main lab of this awful facility. Why did they always have to meet under such awful and inconvenient circumstances? He took her hand and she pulled him up, her hand remaining in his for perhaps just a moment too long.
“I know you’re here for the research,” she said, “And you’ve probably guessed why I’m here by now.”
“We both need to get to the main lab,” he huffed, reaching to pick up his weapon.
“We might as well go the rest of the way together,” she smiled a little. Leon watched as she pulled a small pistol from a holster at her thigh. Maybe he stared a moment too long. She cleared her throat. “Right, handsome?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, holding her gaze. He could tell she knew . She always knew. For one moment he let himself remember their kiss. Memories of the Raccoon City incident were never pleasant to think about, and Leon had been trying to erase them from his mind over the past few years, except for a few choice moments… and that was one of them. Did she think about that moment too?
“Let’s get to work,” Ada said, “The lab isn’t much farther from here. This way.”
He was happy enough to follow her lead. Ada probably knew the direction better than he did. So he admired her, without getting too distracted. Despite her heels, Ada was silent as she moved through the halls, weaving around corners, gun at the ready in case they should encounter trouble. And when they reached the white automatic doors of the main lab, she slowed and slipped in almost like a ghost. Leon followed her clumsily. He was a good agent, but he felt rather inept when he was with her.
“There,” she said, pointing across the room, “That’s the computers where you’ll find all the information you need to retrieve.” They crossed the room, and Ada got to work. Leon had been given an access code, and soon enough he was transferring all the data to a small drive he had been given. Ada was hovering over his shoulder.
“Aren’t you here for something too?” Leon asked. The moment the words left his mouth, the data finished transferring and a small compartment popped open by the keyboard, revealing a little vial of some sort of blue liquid. “What…?”
“I’ll take that,” Ada smiled, leaning over and pulling the vial away from its place before Leon could grasp it.
“Ada, wait—” The moment the vial was removed an alarm began to wail at the entrance of the lab, red and white lights pulsed in warning.
“Thanks, Leon,” Ada winked, blowing him a kiss as she backed up towards the door. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but I think this is our sign to get out of here.”
“You can say that again,” Leon groaned, yanking the drive free from the computer and slipping it safely into a case in his vest. By now, with that blaring alarm, every one of the infected left in the facility would be ambling towards their location.
“But…” Ada paused in the doorway, the red light pulsing just above her and reflecting in her pretty eyes. Leon flushed, watching her stance change as she admired him from where she stood. Her voice softened. “I hope we run into each other again sometime.”
“Anytime and anyplace else, huh?” Leon sighed. Their lives always seemed to bring them crashing into each other at the strangest times, their paths always intersecting over disaster. When would the day come when they met in a park, or in a coffee shop? When would their strings of fate intersect in the most perfectly normal way? He longed for that day, more than he could say out loud. A day when time was on their side at last. He had daydreamed about it more than he cared to admit. Perhaps he was still young and naive in that way, even after all the hell he’d been through… he still had hope that that day would come.
“Don’t miss me too much, Leon,” Ada smiled, spinning around and dashing away before he could call after her.
Leon let out a deep sigh, pulling his second pistol free from the holster at his hip. “No can do, Miss Wong.” Someday, his heart told him, as he dashed into the hallway after her. Someday.