Work Text:
stay?
To say Ada’s week had been shit was an understatement.
When they assigned her to retrieve some samples from an old lab in Hong Kong from a rival company she thought nothing of it. “Easy money” she told herself. And it was supposed to be an easy job, but a mission that was only going to take a couple of days turned into a week and now she was laying behind an abandoned building, boots full of mud and a bullet wound on her left shoulder . As if it wasn’t enough that she was bleeding out, she was also out of ammo.
Perfect, just perfect.
She couldn’t even remember why she took the job in the first place, it was almost like an automatic response to everything they ordered her. Everytime her burner phone rang, she knew she was already on duty, without even knowing what she was supposed to do. Ada didn’t question what kind of jobs she was taking or how it could affect others.
“It’s not like I’m actually the one who’s causing all those problems” she thought.
Just a pawn in a big, perfectly calculated game.
Yeah, that’s what she thought, but lately things have been getting harder for her. These missions aren’t what they used to be and Ada knew that it was because of who she left behind at home every time.
A week earlier in New York City
“I can’t believe you are really going to take this job”.
Claire said in a passive aggressive tone. She always tried to make it look like she didn’t care and completely failed at it. Claire Redfield was a giver after all, looking out for others was just the way she was and Ada knew she couldn’t do anything about it.
Ada sighs “And what am I supposed to do? Say no? You know I can’t do that.”
Ada said with a tired voice. She saw this argument coming the moment she accepted the job, but Claire was especially irritated tonight.
“You could tell them that you are sick. Or that you quit, that would do.” Now she was pissed off, Ada could understand that Claire was mad but implying that she could just pack up and quit, she had to be joking.
“Not everyone can have a fancy office job at Terrasave, you know? Some of us were born into this shitty life, Redfield”
Ada was being bratty, she knew it, but she didn’t care.
“So that’s how it’s gonna be? After all these years, you still are not ready to start living a normal life? Why is everything always so complicated with you?!”
Claire was starting to raise her voice now, it was definitely unlike her.
“Don’t yell, you’re gonna wake up Sherry” Ada said.
The argument was heating up and she was scared that Sherry would run into them like this. Ada would never forgive herself if Sherry thought that she had hurted Claire’s feelings on purpose, her opinion was one she cared about a lot.
“I’m not yelling, Ada, I’m having a conversation. That’s what adults do when they want to work things out” she hated when Claire used that tone with her, it made her feel small and stupid. Like she was an emotionless person.
“Why do you treat me like some neglected child that doesn’t know how these things work? I’ve already told you, I can’t quit.”
“How do you even know?”
“BECAUSE I DO!!” Ada snapped. “Do you know what they would try to do to you if I even dared to leave them? Or Sherry? You think the Raccoon City aftermath was bad for her? You have no idea how it would be if these guys got to her!! So for once, why can’t you just listen to me?!”. Ada sighted and catched her breath. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. Raising her voice was unlike her, but it hurted a bit more knowing that it was Claire the one who was victim of her frustration this time.
Tears started to form in Claire’s eyes, she didn’t dare to move, knowing that she was one blink away from breaking down.
“It feels like you are not even going to try to stop it, like this-” she gestured at the house, knowing she was referring to her and Sherry; “-all of this is never going to be your top priority”.
Ouch, Ada thought.
A looming silence fell over the room. They were in the kitchen of their apartment, Claire was slightly leaning on the counter, the palms of her hands on it, while Ada was standing in front of her, dressed in her distinctive red blouse and ready to walk out the door at a moment's notice.
“Claire… you know how this works. Remember, right?”
She moved a few steps forward, enough to show comfort yet not too close in order to respect Claire’s space. Ada was actually proud of herself. She had changed a lot these past few years, and she knows it was because of Claire and Sherry. A few years back she wouldn’t have said a word and just walked out of the door without giving it too much thought. But now things have changed, she was actually concerned about the way her actions affected her loved ones, and by loved ones she meant Claire and Sherry.
“Of course I know how it works, do I have to remind you how we met, Miss FBI?”. Claire said in an obviously sarcastic yet serious tone.
Wow, now that one stung a little bit. Ada’s frown deepened, she couldn’t believe the argument had gotten to this. They would fight, of course, but bringing up Raccoon City was low, even for someone like Claire.
It was always like this, two steps forward then three steps back. Ada felt like no amount of nice words, gifts or affection could make up for the mistakes she had done in the past, and Claire’s mistrust was proof of it.
But before Ada could say anything, Claire opened her mouth first:
“I’m sorry… that was incredibly immature of me, you know I didn’t-”
“I know you didn’t mean it, Claire...” Ada said before Claire could continue, “...but still. I feel like we are never really going to get there, you know?”
“What do you mean?” Claire said in a soft voice, a single tear had now escaped her eye. Ada wasn’t one to show vulnerability but in moments like these, when she turned her lips down and her eyes were fixated on the floor, Claire knew she fucked up big time.
“You are never going to really trust me, are you?”. She was definitely speechless now. Claire wanted to immediately deny it, of course she trusted Ada,
Right?
She loved her, more than anything, and she knew that Sherry loved her too. So why was it so hard to say it out loud?
“Fuck, Ada. I do, you know I do.”
“You do what?”. They both knew where this was going but Ada didn’t care, she needed to hear it for her.
“I… love you. You know I love you”. Claire whispered, Ada almost didn’t catch it if it wasn't for the fact that she knew the answer long before she responded.
“That’s not what I asked you, Claire…” The tone in Ada’s voice pained Claire, but she could only look into Ada’s eyes and stay still.
Silence, just silence. Claire attempted to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. Ada took that as an answer, and with that, she picked up her gun and backpack and started walking towards the door. “Ada wait-” Claire couldn’t let her go this way without talking things out, not when she was about to leave for a dangerous mission What if something happens? Would this be our last conversation?
Ada took a deep breath and picked up her bag.
“Tell Sherry I’ll be back as soon as possible, and that I haven’t forgotten about her birthday, I promise I’ll be here. Maybe she can trust me on that one”
The door slammed on Claire’s face, so hard it resonated throughout the entire house.
Ada left for Hong Kong that night. Leaving both of them incredibly hurt, and with a million things left to say, but none of them willing to take the first step. None of them being brave enough to face the truth and nature of their relationship.
That night, Claire didn’t sleep. Neither did Ada.
Present time, Hong Kong
The injured shoulder was starting to become more sore, she was even starting to feel some nerve pain on her right one. “Kinda like phantom pain I guess”, she chuckled. In an attempt to see how the wound was doing she accidentally slipped and knocked herself onto the wall “Shit!, fucking hell, where’s that damn bandage” she rummaged through her bag and there it was, the first aid kit. It wasn’t much but it would be enough to disinfect the wound and sew it up.
“Now I got both shoulders fucked up, wonderful”, the scar on her right shoulder from that night in Raccoon City served as a reminder of everything she used to be and wanted to leave behind. Claire’s face when Ada pulled out the gun at the NEST lab still gave her nightmares. Maybe that’s why she kept running away from everything and everyone: them, Sherry, her feelings, her guilt… . Deep down she knew these jobs were a way of getting out, when she felt like things were starting to get too real. When Claire kissed her scar when they both laid in bed, it overwhelmed her so much to the point where she didn’t even know what to do with all that affection.
“I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve her”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small photo. It was a polaroid that Sherry took last fall with the camera they had gifted her for her birthday. In the picture, Ada was hugging Claire by the waist and Claire blushed, slightly leaning into her while laughing. Ada was holding a giant teddy bear with her free arm and her face was hidden into Claire’s neck, it looked like she was kissing her there. They were at a fair near Connecticut, a remote place where they would not be seen or recognised. It was one of the few times when the three of them could go out and have a bit of normality, Ada was home for the weekend and Sherry insisted on doing something fun before she had to leave again.
Connecticut, last year
“Please please pleaaaaaase, just let me play one time and if I lose I promise we’ll just go to the rides. I won’t ask you again, please” Sherry begged them to let her play one of the games. It was the typical game where they had to shoot and knock down all the bottles to the ground. The prize was a giant teddy bear, of course. Sherry was weak when it came to stuffed animals and Claire was weak when it came to Sherry, but still, that wasn’t enough to convince her.
“I don’t know, Sherry. You know I don’t like games that involve guns and stuff”.Claire had to be the mature one in these types of situations but Ada was always ahead of her.
“Oh come on Redfield, it’s not even a real gun she can’t hurt herself with one of those”.
Claire rolled her eyes and gave her a deadly stare.
Damn, if looks could kill, Ada Wong would be dead right now.
Sherry looked at her with puppy eyes “this kid I swear” she thought to herself. But unfortunately for Claire, she was at disadvantage here with both Ada and Sherry teamed up, so she gave in.
“Alright, alright. But just one round and Ada will help you out” Claire said firmly.
“¡Yes ma’am!”. Sherry was a smartass, but so was Ada. They knew how to get things their way.
And they won, of course. With Ada’s help it was an easy win, even if the whole thing was rigged. Ada approached Claire with the plushie and gave it to her
“What is this?”
“It’s a teddy bear, Sherry and I made a deal. If we won, the prize would be yours, so there you go Redfield”. Ada smirked.
“You little…”. Claire sighted. “Sherry I thought you wanted this, you earned it after all”. “It 's ok! Being able to play with Ada was enough for me. That was really fun! I just wish we could do this everyday…”
A tear almost escaped Claire’s eye. Ada just gave her an unapologetic smile, the guilt was killing her. But she was quick to turn things around, as always.
“How about you put that camera we gave you to use, huh? Come on, take a pic of me and Claire with the new addition to the family”.
Sherry laughed. She was a good kid, never complained and always had a smile on her face. The least they could do after Raccoon City was give her a good life. In their own way, of course.
Ada hugged Claire’s waist, “let’s do our best pose, Redfield, we have to look pretty for Clairebear” Ada held out the plushie and Claire laughed.
“Don’t be a weirdo, you know I’m gonna sneak it into Sherry’s room as soon as she falls asleep” she whispered.
“Stop moving, this is the perfect angle!!” Sherry was holding up her camera, she looked extremely concentrated
“Jesus, what a demanding photographer,” Ada laughed.
“Aaaaand… that’s it. Three, two, one, say Clairebear!!”
Both of them screamed: “Clairebear!!”.
Click!
—
The gunshots in the distance brought Ada back to reality. Saddened, she put the photo back into her pocket and took her gun. “Fucking bastards, you really aren’t going to let me go without a good fight, huh?”. But Ada knew the mission was long over, she couldn’t fight all of them, at least not like this. She had all the documents she needed so staying there and getting herself killed wasn’t an option.
With the help of her grapple gun she moved through the high buildings, avoiding the cars and hiding everytime she felt like she made too much noise or someone was nearby. Soon she arrived at the meeting point where there was a helicopter waiting for her.
“You got it?”. Her boss asked her through the radio. Right now she was working for some new guy called Wallace. She didn’t give too much thought about her superiors' identities, after all, she wasn’t really Ada Wong either.
“I got it just in time, they were going to blow up the whole place to destroy the evidence. I’ll charge you extra for the inconveniences, I almost lost my arm back there ”. Ada said in a sarcastic tone, but Wallace knew she was dead serious.
He chuckled, “you work well Ada, I’ll give you a free week before we move onto the next thing I got prepared for you. I need you well rested and ready”.
The helicopter started to take off, Ada barely had time to grab onto something and lost her balance. The polaroid she had in her pocket fell out but she moved quickly to catch it before it went flying out the window.
She watched Claire's face for a second. She looked so beautiful that day, how happy she was in that photo and how when they got home she couldn't stop smiling and laughing everytime Ada or Sherry would call her Clairebear.
“I’m just glad you are here, you know?” Claire hugged Ada's waist as she pulled her closer and gave her a small peck on the lips. “It could always be like this…”
Oh, how Ada wished it could always be like that.
“Ewww, stop! Gross”, Sherry threw the teddy bear at them and made a grossed out noise, like a typical kid when they see their parents being all lovey dovey with each other. They both chuckled. Claire caressed Ada’s cheek in an attempt to get her to look at her.
“I know you’ll probably have to leave again soon, but just for tonight, can you stay?” Ada almost died then and there. She loved Claire so much it destroyed her to see her beg for something so simple as staying the night. But that was the life they had, the life she had chosen.
"Of course I'll stay"
The realization hitted her at once. What the hell was she doing? Running around, picking up dangerous jobs, lashing out on Claire when all she wanted was for her to be safe, to return home to them.
This wasn’t Raccoon City, she wasn’t that kind of woman anymore, and it was Claire Redfield’s fault and oh, how she loved her for that. Ada didn’t only cherish the people she had in her life, she also cherished herself and how far she had come since 1998.
“I don’t want to run anymore, I don’t have to…”
Sherry’s birthday was going to be in two days. She missed the last one, of course.
“You know Wallace”, Ada turned on the radio again while still looking at the polaroid. “There's no need for me to take a vacation ‘cause this was the last time. Don’t contact me again, ever”
“Wait, what? What the fuck, Ada-”. She threw the radio out of the helicopter and pulled out her gun, pointing it at the pilot. “We are changing routes, take me to New York”. The pilot shivered but remained silent. Ada pulled the gun further into his head, she wasn’t messing around. “Take me to New York. Now”.
Two days later, New York City
“Sherry, I need help!”. Claire tried to balance herself as she walked through the door of the apartment. Birthday cake on one hand and house keys on the other. There were still some preparations left but the guests were going to start coming soon. Her mind was running with the things she still had to get done before 6pm.
“Okay I got the cake and the appetizers, Chris is bringing the balloons later…” Claire mumbled to herself, not lifting her eyes from the to-do list she had on the kitchen counter.
“Sherry, can you please come here and help me?It's YOUR birthday party after all!” sigh “This girl, I swear-”
“She probably can’t hear you”.
That voice, it couldn’t be. Claire gasped and turned around. She was really here, it was real.
“I bought her some new headphones, she must be trying them out right now so expect little to no answer in the next thirty minutes” Ada was obviously nervous, but she was bad at this and joking was a way of self-defense when it came to expressing her feelings.
Claire remained silent. Ada thought that she was mad but reality was that she was just speechless. She never comes home so soon, Claire thought. And it was true, Ada’s missions usually took a good two weeks or even more. And after the argument they both had the last time, Claire didn’t even think that she was gonna come back.
But there she was. Here, at their apartment, in time for Sherry’s birthday. She always misses birthdays and other celebrations, so this was a first for both of them.
“Hey…”
“Hi”
It was awkward, but Ada didn’t know what to say. Should I just apologize? Nah, she is probably still mad. Crap, I should’ve bought a rose bouquet or something on the way here.
Claire interrupted Ada’s train of thought as she slammed her body into hers in a bone crushing hug.
“Ouch, ouch my shoulder-”
“Sorry! Oh my god are you ok? Are you hurt? Where?” Claire was examining Ada’s body in search of a wound or scratch. Ada just looked at Claire in awe, took her hands in hers and raised them to her lips to kiss them.
“It’s ok, I’m ok. Just a small scratch, I’ll survive”.
“Okay… okay”. Claire sighted in relief.
Silence again. God they really were terrible at this.
“Claire… I’m so sorry-”
“No, I'm the one who should be sorry” Claire interrupted her “I was unfair and childish, I shouldn’t have given you an ultimatum like that. To think that you could have…” She was crying now “...that something could’ve happened to you…”
“No, no, no, no Claire, hey-” she lifted her face grabbing her chin to make her look up “you did nothing wrong. I was the one who was unfair to you and Sherry. You both deserve someone you can trust, someone who stays…”
“Ada I understand your job-”
“Well you won’t have to, not anymore”. Claire’s breath catches in her throat. “Wh- what do you mean?”
“It means that it’s over. That I’m staying, for good this time”
“Ada, wait what-”
“No more leaving the house in the middle of the night, no more birthdays away, no more lies… I promise, it’s over. It’s over, Claire.”
They were both a mess at this point. Ada wasn’t one to cry, but the water welling up in her eyes gave her away. Claire wasn’t holding back, one would say she was ugly crying. It almost made Ada laugh.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure, Claire. I love you. Both of you”.
And with that, Claire closed the gap between the two of them bringing their lips together. Ada was hesitant at first but gave in soon, it was hard to deny Claire. She slightly opened her mouth and teased Claire’s lips with her tongue, to which Claire gave permission immediately by reciprocating the same affection. They could taste the tears that had fallen down from Claire’s eyes but they didn’t care, Ada felt like she could kiss Claire forever. It was the sweetest thing.
A noise made them pull apart from the kiss, they had completely forgotten about Sherry in the room next door. Thank God for those headphones. Best purchase ever made.
Claire cleared her throat “But how did you-”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll… I’ll figure it out, I swear. You know I’ll keep you both safe-”
“Ada. Ada!” she shushed her “it’s ok, it’s ok I-” Claire took a deep breath, “I trust you, Ada”
Oh, how long she had waited to hear those three words. Now Ada was the one that was crying, but these were definitely happy tears.
“Oh god, thank you, thank you… God, I love you so much” Ada leaned forward so that her forehead was against Claire’s. This is everything she could’ve ever wanted and more. Finally, a place to call home, somewhere to come back to.
The moment was interrupted by a high pitched voice
“I hope you guys are not being disgusting out there! My birthday, my rules. So no more kissing today!”. Claire and Ada laughed so hard it echoed throughout the entire apartment.
“She’s especially stubborn today”. Claire warned Ada.
“Wouldn’t want it any other way…”.
THE END.