Chapter Text
Leon should've seen that coming.
The bliss was never supposed to last. It was a miracle it lasted this long.
The bubble burst two years after that fateful night in Tokyo, the night Ada came back to him.
Her appearance in Easter Slav had broken the ideal world he'd been living in for the last two years and now his bosses are targeting her yet again.
He doesn't know what to do. He handed over his report about the mission last week - after being scolded for disobeying direct orders - and interrogated on how she'd managed to escape the barrel of his gun.
The worst thing is Ada isn't answering his calls or texts. Leon knows she's a busy woman but her silence only makes the knot in his chest worse.
God, he hopes she's alright.
The knock on the door startles him even though he knows who it is.
Claire's standing outside, dark shadows under her eyes that contrast with her pale skin. She's a wreck and Leon has a clue about it.
“I hope you're in for ice cream”, Claire lifts the bags with at least five containers in it.
“Do you've rocky road?”, Leon opens the way for Claire.
“That and more”. Claire deposits all the ice cream on the nearby table. “I need all the sugar I can get today”.
“You look like shit”.
“Thanks”, she says with a half smile, pulling Leon into a hug. “It's good to see you”.
Claire wasn't okay. It's the way her shoulders sag when she backs away, the smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
“Pride and Prejudice?”
“You know me so well”, she answers, which is how they end up comfortably on the couch, eating ice cream at 6pm on a Friday afternoon.
After a teary eyed Mr. Darcy confesses in the rain, Leon tries his luck. “So, want to tell me about it?”
“There’s not much to tell, really”, Claire looks up and Leon can clearly see the unshed tears clogging her eyes. “Jill broke up with me”.
“What?” Claire's eyes tell everything he needs to know. Still, it doesn't seem right.
Once upon a time, Leon might have thought Claire liked him more than a friend should and he dreaded the day when she would confess her feelings and he would have to let her down gently. The confession came years after Raccoon City - a little after Operation Javier - but he couldn't be more wrong about the subject of her affections. It was humbling, to say the least.
“I mean, it's not like we had an actual relationship, you know? We had stolen moments, that's all”, Claire tries to downplay and Leon tries his hardest not to draw a parallel to his current situation.
“I don't think Jill saw it that way”, he tries to mend it the best way he can. Jill wasn't a close friend by any means but he saw her with Claire enough times to know Claire wasn't seeing things clearly.
“She asked to be left alone. How else can I interpret that?”
“She’s been through hell recently. Maybe she just needs some time to find herself again”. Claire had told him what'd happened to Jill at the hands of Wesker. Jill was traumatized and was pushing people away as a result of that, Leon knows that feeling all too well.
Claire sighs in defeat, cleaning her tears away.
“I hate when you make sense”. She pouts at him like a child. “I feel so stupid!”.
“You're not stupid. You're in love”.
“Worst thing that's ever happened to me”, Claire turns back to the TV in time to see Mr. Darcy walking through the fog in true romantic hero fashion. She points at the screen. “Why can't it be like that instead?”
“Tumultuous and difficult?” Leon teases.
“At least they're together by the end of it”, Claire menacingly points the spoon at him. “Don't judge me, Mr. Don't do relationships. I know who you're waiting for”.
Leon crosses his arms in defense. “Do you?”
“A certain spy you can't forget even though you should”. Claire stuffs her face in ice cream waiting for Leon's comeback that never came. He's looking at the ground, in deep thought. “Alright. Spill it”.
“What?”
“You look like your brain is melting from the inside. What is it?”
“I… saw Ada, recently”, Leon gives in. It was better to disclose some of the truth than outright lying to his closest friend.
He hates lying to Claire but she's relentless once she knows something's wrong and Leon just isn't ready to share the whole story.
“In Easter Slav”, he adds, stuffing his mouth with a spoon full of ice cream.
“Oh. I heard what happened there”.
“Yeah. It was a real shitshow. I just wish I knew why she was there”, he confesses.
They have a deal. No work, only fun. Leon is well aware that he consented with the terms but doubt eats away at him, bringing his worst fears to the forefront. What if she's just using him again? What if he's just a toy in her sandbox?
Ada's silence is getting to him, making him doubt every good thing they ever had.
Not that Claire is aware of this.
“You know why she was there, Leon” , Claire's voice is soft as if she is speaking to a child.
“Yeah, I know. You can call me delusional”.
“I'm just saying”, Claire lifts her hands in surrender. “You know her line of work, what she's done. If you were in love and I'm not saying you are”, Claire preemptively adds just as Leon was about to protest. “Could you get over all of that just to be with her?”
Yes. The inner reckless voice that Leon keeps locked inside the dustiest corner of his mind all but shouts.
His work, all the years he dedicated to stopping bioterrorism. Could all that fall short compared to having Ada in his life forever?
That question rattles Leon more than he can show Claire right now.
“We live two completely different lives”, Claire raises her eyebrows at him, all too aware of Leon's deflection tactics.
“Who knows what the future holds? Seven or ten years from now you could be changing diapers by her side. You just have to get over everything else like the murder and theft".
“Ok. Movie's done. Time for bed”.
“I'm joking!” Claire laughs at him and Leon smiles back but she doesn't know and it's killing him to keep the secret. “And tomorrow is Saturday".
“Doesn’t change the fact that I need to sleep”.
“Alright. I'll get out of your hair”. Claire gets up from the couch and starts to clean up the coffee table that's full of empty ice cream containers.
“Nonsense. That's why I have a guest bedroom”.
“Thanks, Leon”.
“Just rest ok? Everything becomes clear after a good night of sleep”.
“You too. Good night”.
After turning off the lights, Leon crosses the corridor to his room, his bones are so tired he's about to fall asleep on his feet but something catches his eye.
The window is open.
The night breeze is light and comforting but he knows he left the window closed, he always does - thanks to his paranoia of always being watched - which can mean a lot of things.
- He's actually being watched.
- His room could contain a bomb and he could explode at any second now.
- She finally took pity on his endless calls and decided to answer in the most Ada way ever.
There’s a little note tucked under his alarm on the bedside table.
Miss me?, the note reads with tomorrow's date and a location downtown.
Leon's smile tugs at the corner of his lips. He can finally breathe again.
“Can you stop pouting?” Ada glares at him through her sunglasses.
“I'm not pouting”, Leon hides his face behind the coffee mug. “I'm just worried about your choice of location”.
It's Saturday and they're in a busy cafe during rush hour. Hardly a discreet place.
“Why? Did you want something more private?” Even with her sunglasses on, Leon knows Ada is arching one of her eyebrows in a challenge.
“Sorry if I worry about you. I thought something had happened, you didn’t return my calls”.
Ada takes the glasses off, revealing her beautiful but tired eyes, the bags under her eyes still apparent despite the makeup.
“I had to lay low for a while after what happened with our mutual ‘friend’ and then I got this job…”
“Something I should know about?”
“Just a guy being creepy. Comes with being a woman in this field”.
She seems… troubled. Rattled is a better word. Leon never saw Ada with such a distant look on her face.
“Did this guy do anything to you?” The worst scenarios come to the forefront of his mind, his heart racing at the thought of Ada being in harm's way while he lives his boring office life.
“I know how to take care of myself”, she takes his hand on the table, reassuringly. The contact alone helps ease his mind a little. “I'm fine. I promise”.
“Is this guy why you're here?” The thought of Ada with someone else is enough to fill him with jealousy, even if the guy is a creep.
God, he feels like a teenager with his first crush.
“Rules, remember?” Leon withdraws his hand, looking anywhere but at her.
No strings attached, he recites to himself until his stupid heart catches up.
“Maybe I just missed you so much that I’d risk my cover coming back to your country just to see you in person”. It’s a nice picture, it’s just hard for Leon to believe it. “Why can't it be that?”
“You could've called me, you know. ‘I’m alive’ and all that”. Ada laughs at his moody answer and Leon feels that tight knot of worry he carried for her finally untangle.
“I lost that phone in the Australian sea so I knew you'd be an adorable angsty boy about my whereabouts and I thought an in-person visit would cheer you up”, Ada explains, a smile tugging at her lips. “Imagine my surprise when I see that Redfield girl in your apartment”.
The way she said those words… maybe…
“Are you jealous?”
“Me? Hardly”, Ada denies the claim so fast it can only be true. Leon nods in amusement as the faintest color rises to Ada's cheeks. “I'm not”.
“Right”, Leon settles the debate, feeling lighter than when he arrived.
Maybe, just maybe, they're both past the ‘no strings attached’ phase.
“Do you want a tour of the city? I can be a very fun guide”.
“Aren't you worried your pals will see you with the enemy?”
The question is laced with hidden meaning. Are you ashamed of what we have? Of who you are when you're with me?
The answer to these questions is a clear ‘no’. Leon would shout from the rooftops how much he lov- likes being with Ada if that was possible. If they were different people leading very different lives he'd be unbearable about her.
“I can always plead the fifth”, it's what he ends up saying.
Ada smiles.
When he's old and alone or in his dying moments after a monster ends his life for good, Leon will remember this day.
Ada in her light blue dress and white boots walking over the cherry blossoms, talking about how it looks just like the ones in Japan near one of her safe houses; Leon buying them both tacos from the street vendor and seeing her face light up at the taste; Ada laughing on the whole tour around the Spy Museum, explaining how ludicrous those devices are as Leon just watches her.
Most of all, he will remember their hands intertwined during that whole day, her smile, the easy conversation that flowed about dreams, memories and plans for the future as if they're an ordinary couple and all the stolen kisses along the way.
They crash through his apartment door in a frantic motion of kisses and hands travelling all over each other, the months spent apart finally taking its toll as they rush to the bedroom.
“You're gonna be the death of me”, Leon manages to say between kisses, Ada's warm hands unbuckling his belt with practiced ease.
“Less talking, more action”, Ada whispers in his ear and Leon all but melts.
“Love how your mind works”, Ada laughs as Leon pushes her on to the bed, his arms caging her in between.
It's all fire and passion as they grind against each other, too impatient with all the pieces of clothing still separating them. Leon takes off his shirt as Ada's nails rake against his chest, going lower and lower…
There’s a knock on the door.
They both freeze for a moment. Ada looks at him, expectantly.
“It's probably my neighbor, Mrs. Khan. She likes to gossip, she can come back later”, Leon goes back for a kiss just as the knocks resume.
“You better get that”, Ada decides for them. Leon sighs, stepping away from her and picking up his shirt from the floor. “I'll be waiting. I promise”.
“Don't move”, he closes the bedroom door just in case. Mrs. Khan doesn't need to know he has a lady guest.
The woman at his door is not Mrs. Khan.
“Juli?” His cousin is staring at him with those big brown eyes and an awkward smile.
“Surprise?” Juliana's Italian accent isn't as thick since the last time Leon saw her.
“Aren't you supposed to be in Italy?”
“You'd know the answer if you picked up my calls”, she guilt trips him. It works. She turns to her left and tries not to shout. “Luca, come here!”.
“You brought your kid?” Leon peeks over the corridor to see a little boy with brown curls running to them. He was just a baby about what? Three years ago?
“Kids. Isabella's with Marti”, She adds. “I've tried to call you five times today”, Juli holds on to Luca by his shoulders so the kid won't go running anywhere. “Will you invite me in or…”
“Of course, sorry!” Leon fumbles as they pass through. “My battery died, I just got home”.
Leon freezes for the second time in minutes. Ada's in his bedroom.
Waiting.
“Oh, sorry for barging in then. I just wanted to see you now that I'll live around here”, Juli looks around, frowning at a particular corner. “Is that a purse?”
Leon follows her line of sight to see Ada's black purse hanging off the little table at the corner of the room.
“You're moving here?” Leon tries his best to keep the conversation on Juli but his cousin is not so easily fooled.
“Marti got a job offer”, she waves it off like it's nothing, walking to the purse. “Am I interrupting something or you got a girlfriend I don't know about?”
Leon can feel his cheeks heating up. He's a capable agent that got into way worse situations, he should be able to lie on the spot.
“No, it's a… actually…”
He's so bad at this.
“It's mine”. Ada is at the beginning of the hallway, wearing one of his coats over her blue dress.
“Oh, I'm really sorry for coming then”, Juli apologized with an awkward smile.
“No need to be sorry, Leon was with me all day that's why he wasn't picking up”, it was true but coming off Ada's tongue the words flowed so effortlessly that Leon would've believed the craziest lie coming from her. “I'm Ada. Nice to meet you”.
“I'm Juliana and that's my son, Luca. Nice to meet you too”, Juli goes over to Ada with a hug and kisses her on the cheek in true Italian fashion, Ada handles with grace. “I'm his beloved only cousin”.
“On my mothers side”, Leon's voice finally returns after witnessing his worlds clashing. This was certainly a dream, a very crazy dream.
“Yeah, I can see the resemblance”, Ada jokes, looking back and forth between them.
Leon's sure he looks like the whitest man alive next to Juliana's olive skin and wavy dark hair. She reminds him a bit of his mother, Sofia Kennedy had a fair complexion but the black hair that fell over her shoulders in waves was the same, the kind brown eyes too.
“Aunt Sofia married a generic white man, God bless their souls”.
“Thanks, Juli”. Leon chuckles.
“Why don't you guys catch up a little? I'll start on the coffee”, Ada says.
Leon accompanies Ada with his eyes as she walks by him, near enough he can touch her arm. She looks back at him for an instant in reassurance. Leon's dying to know what's going on in her head, mingling with relatives and friends wasn't on their undrafted contract. Is she fine with playing his girlfriend? Did she consider him as her boyfriend?
The no strings attached relationship was becoming way too tied.
“Your girlfriend might be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen”, Juli whispers, taking him by his arm and dragging him to the couch.
“She's uh… she is beautiful”, he can feel his face getting hotter as Juli grins at him. Even now, he couldn't deny it, he wanted Ada to be his girlfriend, even more than that, really.
“My little cousin's in love”, Juli turns to her son, who's solely focused on his gameboy. “Did you hear that Luca? Uncle Leon is in love!”
“I'm literally two years older than you”, Leon rebukes.
“But I have two kids already. That makes me older in principle”. Juli retorts.
“Are you going to marry the pretty lady, uncle Leon?” Luca chooses that moment to speak up.
The moment Ada enters the room.
Fun.