Chapter Text
Ada never thought she'd ever find herself in a neighborhood like this nor spying on Leon Kennedy of all people. At this point, she thought he was deemed irrelevant to anything she could possibly be working on, but who's to say. She usually wasn't one to sit still for this long. But at least it was in a nice area. And she was getting paid.
After her nearly three-hour long surveillance, it was clear Leon wasn't home. So, it was just a waiting game to make some confirmations.
But suddenly, the garage door opened. Ada pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes and watched. The car that was in the garage didn't match what she knew Leon owned. But she knew this to be his address. Unless she got it wrong. That never happens.
You emerged from the door connecting the home to the garage, sunglasses on your head, purse over your shoulder, and tote dangling from your arm. You were clearly on your way somewhere, but you moved with grace. You seemed comfortable there. Like you lived there, even.
Ada squinted her eyes behind her shades as she watched you, intrigued.
You were so... ordinary, she thought.
And not in a bad way. Just not what Ada expected, granted she didn't expect you, or any woman to make an appearance at the Kennedy residence, at all. You looked too happy to be with Leon, as awful as that sounds. He had a traumatic past that teetered on a traumatic present, she was sure. It was that bad. And she was sure the state of the world affected you one way or another, as it did everyone for the most part, but you seemed very content.
Ada believed that she knew Leon well. She'd throw that in his face often. Ambiguity and remaining vague made him crawl. She loved it. Unaware that he had someone in his life that she didn't know about, or even have an inkling of, bothered her. Seeing you - a walking, breathing example of what Leon preferred - who he chose - had her questioning if she actually knew Leon at all.
Ada's eyes watched you back your car out of the driveway and drive down the street until you were out of view.
She looked back to the house. She was going to find out what there was to know, that was for sure. She had time today.
Getting in was easy. The security was lacking, which she did not expect from Leon of all people. However, once she was inside, she noticed the home could potentially be very armed. You just didn't maintain it well during the day. She was sure that would change after today, since the tool to bypass the lock burned the knob black in the center. Ada noted that while it did work on the average house, it was not discrete. This would not happen again.
The sound of her heels on the tile floor put her into a flow state. She was in no rush. As she passed what seemed to be a small mudroom off of the entryway, she slid the pad of her pointer finger across the top of a table. No dust. She rubbed the pads of her fingers together. "Hmph."
She reached the end of the front hallway, now inside the family room and adjoined kitchen. Ada sacrificed a moment to take it all in and sighed.
Again, ordinary.
She sauntered over to the kitchen island. Two wine glasses, a granola bar wrapper that couldn't make its way five more feet, and an empty bowl with a spoon in it. Ada eyed the glasses, noticing that one had a purplish red ring while the other didn't. Hm, one red drinker and one white. She wondered.
Ada found herself at the stairway. She rested her hand on the bottom of the rail and peered up the flight. A smirk danced across her face before she slowly made her way up them. There was something about being somewhere she wasn't supposed to be that ignited something in her.
The master was to her immediate left, which meant whatever to the right was irrelevant. Unless...
She decided to look anyway. Save the best for last. To the right, there was a hallway that contained two bedrooms and one, full bathroom. No cribs, thankfully. The first bedroom was an office. It was cleaned up nice. The second, another office. Sort of. More like a storage space. Ada didn't even make it inside with both feet, she just looked from the door, hand still on the knob. But right before she walked away, something caught her eye.
Leon's gear was huddled together on the floor. A backpack, holster, vest, and guards. But next to it, a craft box. And when the sun hit the room just right, and if Ada looked hard enough, she swore she could see some residual glitter on Leon's vest.
Adorable. Yuck.
Now, for the fun part. Ada picked up the pace as she made her way back down the hallway, making a beeline straight to the bedroom. She had no idea what she'd stumble upon. So exciting. Ada cracked open the door and after careful glances both ways, she made her way in.
It was a decent sized room. Not to her but probably to most, she thought. The fact that it looked like you had to force yourselves to fill the space only reaffirmed this. She tilted her head to the side as she picked up a framed picture of the two of you. A tasteful wedding photo. He looked a little younger than he does now, so Ada figured you had been around longer than she initially expected. Yes, it was cute. She smiled, promptly stopped herself, and set the photo down.
Next thing she noticed...the bed wasn't made. But unmade beds tell stories. She could practically relay your exact routine based on the state of your sheets - who slept on which side, who got up first, who needs white noise. Who gets thirsty. Who has allergies.
You are both far from the bedroom door, so Leon was free to pick either side. It seemed that he landed on the right side, farthest from the bathroom. But given the plastic water bottle and Stanley on the opposite nightstand, Ada didn't need to beat herself up to understand why. Also, his side of the bed was an actual disaster. The positions his pillows were left in made no sense. The fitted sheet clung to the corner of the mattress with everything it had. Not a great sleeper, she gathered.
She opened Leon's nightstand. The case for his watch was empty. Understandable. He had chargers and other cords. To what, who knows. Chapstick. Like 'ChapStick' chapstick. No scent. Ada raised a brow when she noticed a small pack of tissues but quickly noticed the Allegra next to them, box torn to shit.
Ada rolled her eyes and huffed, "Boring."
Cut to the left nightstand. Much more exciting. Ada peered down at your drawer as she opened it. Or... tried to. Something was caught, and given the absolute disarray that was visible, she knew there had to be something good in there.
Ada sighed and squatted down. "Good lord," she mumbled as she forced it open. "You and me both, girly."
Book. Earbuds. Loose jewelry. Lip balms (very plural). Batteries for whatever. Eye drops. Vitamins. Birth control pills. Hair ties. Passport.
Passport? Ada wasted no time snatching that up. She flipped it open and gathered what she could from the information provided. She snickered at your birth year. An impressive age gap.
"Oh Leon, you dog." She looked at your passport photo and faked concern. "Poor thing. Hope the money's up at least."
Ada sighed in defeat and tossed the passport back into the drawer. She practically slammed the door closed (she had to) and cleared her throat as a way to reset herself, as if suddenly aware of her diabolical level of unprofessionalism.
Nothing. There was nothing here. And that's what she deserved, she thought, for maybe crossing the line. For going beyond what the job asked of her in a way that she typically wouldn't. For letting herself into Leon Kennedy's home. But maybe that was for the best, because what if she had found something? She'd be asked how this hypothetical slice of information fell into her lap. Because of course Ada Wong would never snoop for the sake of snooping. Because of some guy. A guy who had mastered the art of mildly appeasing her to remain cordial in uncertain and sometimes provoked circumstances; no longer a rookie she could wrap around her finger. He hardly glanced at her now. Every exchange was short on his end, like he had better things to do. And maybe that irked Ada a lot a little.
And maybe you were why.
She needed to get back to the car and finish the mission as intended. As instructed.
Ada dusted her hands off - she was done - and turned to leave.
Which, as it turns out, is much easier said than done when there's a Glock pointed at your head.
It appeared that either Ada hadn't made the best use of her time or someone got home early. Because there you were. In all of your glory. The same blissfully unaware woman that Ada had watched skip down the steps to Pilates (or wherever the fuck) was now standing in between her and the only exit, demeanor nothing like what was previously sold to her.
Ada reflexively raised her hands, arms bent lazily at the elbows in a mocked surrender. She smiled like this was all a misunderstanding.
"Let's not be too hasty... Mrs. Kennedy." Ada joked. She was quick to notice no wedding band on your finger. "Or not quite yet."
"It's in a safe place," you said, as if you thought Ada was here to rob you. As if.
Ada feigned intrigue. "You don't wear it?"
"Not to the gym."
"Ah... what's your poison?"
"Pilates."
(Ada internally celebrated.)
"-Why are you here?"
"You're not going to ask who I-"
"I know who you are."
For a moment, it was silent. Both of you tried to figure out your next move. Eyes locked on each other. Ada's eyes looked over you as she remained perfectly still. You clearly have operated a firearm before given how naturally, and correctly, you held it. But it didn't match... you. It was obvious Leon had forced this on you as common knowledge. Probably so you could protect yourself if he wasn't around. For situations just like this; from people just like Ada. You were shockingly certain. She'll give you that.
"Well," Ada beamed. "Then you would know that I'm just a friend."
You chuckled. "Right."
"But remind me - and it may have just slipped my mind - who are you? I can't say that I've heard Leon mention you before. And I feel like with you two being so close, he would have certainly divulged by now." She spoke calculated. Smug. "Not that it's hard to get what you want out of Leon, as I'm sure you know."
The implications didn't cause you to falter. However, it did distract you from the fact that Ada had lowered her hands. And, in Ada's mind, this meant she had free reign of the room.
Ada took one step in confidence. Your pointer finger bent inward and no longer hovered over the trigger.
"I'll ask one more time."
"Please," Ada scoffed. "You're not going to shoot me."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because." Ada dared take another step. "I know Leon." And another. She happily watched you take a step back to correct. And then another. Your trigger finger hesitated. "And I know Leon would never give someone that could kill someone so easily the time of day."
Your stern look was replaced with a look of concern, like you had been found out. And Ada simply smiled in return.
"Although, I will say that despite every nook and cranny of this place screaming cat and dog, apples to oranges," and Ada sighed as if she just realized herself, "I do see Leon in you."
You lowered the gun ever so slightly, and Ada gave you a moment to process.
"Symbolically," Ada quipped dryly. "I haven't been here that long," She looked around, appearing to turn her nose up at the idea.
Ada didn't know if this realization painted you and Leon as the perfect couple or the worst. She'd leave you to decide what she meant. But she spoke the truth; while you both appeared different, you were similar. Mostly in your mannerisms. The sweetheart forced to put up a wall. Leon's proved to withstand the tests of time, while yours hadn't been exercised regularly enough to be an actual threat. Yet. But the 'please don't make me shoot you' in your eyes. She has seen it before when Leon was younger. The desire to be good.
You exhaled out of blatant irritation, your question still unanswered.
"I was just on my way out any way."
"Yeah, you are."
"Mmk." You watched as Ada joined you at your side as if she wasn't just busted for intruding. "Walk me out?"
She didn't wait for you to answer. She just sauntered away. And when you could hear walking down the stairs, you lowered your gun and exhaled like you had been holding your breath the entire time. This woman is just as much of a mindfuck as Leon described. Which he always did very carefully. And suddenly, all of the questionable moments you've heard about, you believed Leon. She was a maneater who wasn't afraid of anyone. Already, the mere thought of her exhausted you, even though she had just walked downstairs.
Ada turned at the door to passive aggressively bid you farewell. "Well, have a wonderful day-"
Slam.
Ada sneered, "Mrs. Kennedy."
Inside, the facade fell. You collected yourself somewhat before you rested your back against the door.
Ada looked around to see if anyone had witnessed the brutal send off. She tucked her hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and descended the porch steps.
You slid down to a squat, back still against the door. You wiped a single tear from your cheek, mostly out of frustration, with a closed fist that still gripped the gun. You breathed heavily, head bowed. Panicked. But then, after a single sniffle, you looked up and sat in the thought, like you were mulling something over. You blew your hair out of your face, took a deep breath, and forced yourself up.
As you walked down the hallway into the kitchen, you eyed the grocery bags that went forgotten on the counter. Right as you agreed that you would continue the rest of the day as if it was any other day, your phone rang. And given how desperate you were to retrieve it from your bag, you knew that you were going to foil your own plan.
"H-hey!" Your shaky hands juggled the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey."
"Hiii, baaabe," you practically sang. In an attempt to pretend that everything was okay, you overshot. You were winded. Already, you paced.
"I'm just checking up on you. You said you were going to call me when you got back to the house-"
"-Yeah, I know. I did say that."
It was quiet.
"Is everything okay?"
Your eyes began to water. You almost caved but, "Yeah! ...Of course. A-are you...going to be home soon?" You checked the clock on the stove and did the math on your own. "Yeah, you should be on your way back by now, right?"
Again, it was quiet, but you could hear Leon's car on the highway in the background. He was thrown off by your muttering. You were acting odd.
"Hello?"
"Uh, yeah," he resumed normally. "ETA says 7, so in fifteen. If you can wait that long." Leon attempted to lighten the mood.
"Okay, good-I mean-I can't wait. I'll see you soon."
Leon's brows furrowed as he stayed quiet, like he was listening for anything out of place or threatening in the background. He wasn't buying it.
His next inquiry, albeit with love, would be said seriously. "Hun."
But he was hung up on before he could say anything else. Before you could say anything else.
Leon heard the call end. He looked at his phone, sighed, and threw his phone into the passenger seat. He didn't know if he should be worried or ticked off. (He settled for both.)
You held your phone to your chest and glanced around the room. You did your best to ground yourself; to remember where you were. And that, at least now, you were safe. Leon would be home soon. In the meantime, there were groceries that still needed to be put away.
---
The sound of Leon pulling into the driveway alerted a neighbor, who just so happened to be outside, much to Leon's dismay.
"Evening!" The neighbor yelled out to him, doing his best to compete with vehicle idling in the driveway.
Leon ducked his head and raised a hand from the wheel. Evening.
The man began to shout casually about God knows what, gestures and all, from his yard. Leon heard none of it. He didn't care to either, if honest.
Leon pointed to his ear. Of course, the man nodded in understanding and pivoted the other direction. Leon's eyes followed the man until he realized.
"Don't come over here," Leon muttered to himself.
The man disappeared for a second, but sure enough, Leon could see him traversing his way up his driveway in his side mirror.
"Fuck." Leon tipped his chin downwards and looked forward in annoyance, knowing he had to use his last moments he had to himself to attempt to conjure up any remaining energy he had left to be somewhat pleasant. He had a long day, and whatever happened on the phone earlier had lit his already short fuse to begin with. (He is actively working on this, of course.)
For no reason other than feeling obligated to, Leon rolled his window down and turned off his ignition. Just in time for...
"Hey, how's it going, Leon?" Such a happy man. So full of joy and unaware. Bless his heart.
Leon put his game face on the best he could. "Good."
The man kept his gaze and smile.
Leon broke eye contact for a good two seconds to keep himself in check. "Oh.." like he forgot, "How are you and-"
"Shelly," the man almost bragged.
"Yes."
"We're great! She's great. Yeah, we actually just got back from-"
Blah blah blah. Blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah.
Leon nodded. His brows slid up his forehead with every word this man said. He could feel it, and he couldn't stop it. Insufferable. But it wasn't this guy's fault, he knew. That's just how it was around here. Leon made it a point to move somewhere that no one would suspect. The suburbs were the answer. Reluctantly. But this interaction served as a reminder of how much he missed a simple apartment and how temporary this arrangement had to be. Even if she liked it. The only reason he didn't immediately turn around and sell is because of her. And it was a safe place for her, which is what mattered most. But he had to admit, he missed when things were on his own terms. How the noises that bled through the walls were against his will and had nothing to do with him. He ignored it, because that was what you were supposed to do. He was a good neighbor. Here, you had to socialize to deserve that title. Hell, just to be decent neighbor. And anything below that invited speculation. Opinions. Discussion. Attention he didn't want nor could he afford, at least for now.
"Yeaah, but you had company, so she figured she'd stop by tomorrow or something."
Leon tuned back in. His sudden glare must have translated pretty well for him, because the neighbor repeated himself without Leon even having to ask.
"Right? Like a girl's day, as they call it? Missus had a friend over?"
Leon gazed downward as he tried to recall if there was, in fact, a girls' day. No bells were ringing.
The man continued, "Well, at least one. Short, dark hair. All dolled up. Figured they were going somewhere." The man then leaned in and whispered 'Asian' as if he'd get in trouble for it.
Leon threw his door open, nearly knocking the poor man over. He half apologized as he blew past him, ignoring the neighbor's pleas for context. He wanted to know, nearly demanded to know, if everything was okay. When Leon dismissed him, he assumed offense. He rattled on about intentions. He wasn't racist. 'I love Asian women, actually!'
"We're fine," Leon said more so to himself as he charged up the steps. He unlocked the door and threw it open with so much force that it ricocheted off the wall and back at him. He pushed past it, calling out for you twice, hardly giving you a chance to respond. He marched down the hallway with anger and fear of the worst building in every step.
He started to panic. His ears rang. He felt like he was trudging through wet cement that was drying up around him.
But then, you suddenly stepped into view. Just as usual. Your eyes widened as you popped out an earbud. "Hey, sorry I had my earbuds in. I didn't hear you come in." You watched as Leon's chest heaved. Your nose twitched. I mean, you did hang up on him earlier.
You shared a soft smile. "I made dinner." A peace offering.
Leon glanced over at the stove. You sure did. Chicken parm. A green salad. French bread. More wine... which you seemed to have put quite a dent in prior to him getting home. All seemed well.
You seemed... fine.
"Okay," Leon breathed out as he anxiously approached you, still not completely sold on everything being as it seemed. Before you could say anything, he cut you off. Much like you did to him earlier. But he silenced you with a deep kiss. The kind that would keep you silent for some time even after you parted ways. The two of you swayed. You hummed into it.
Leon broke the kiss and looked at you like it was nothing. The hand that cupped your face seconds before now palmed the side of your head like a football. He brought your head to his chest briefly and nonchalantly planted a kiss on the top of your head.
"Let's eat then," he said.
You watched as he left your side and plucked a vegetable from the salad as a snack. The evening had been restored.
He looked up and eyed you suspiciously when you didn't immediately join him.
"Oh, and..." Leon slid the wine bottle to himself.
You laughed. Yeah, maybe you went a little overboard while making dinner. The remaining could be Leon's ration for the night. It was only fair.
"And red, too. Look at you," he said as he took a sip right from the bottle. "Guess I'm still rubbing off on you."
You tensed up. You swear, you could almost hear her voice. Almost. Her unbothered, monotone chime that was equally cold as it was warm. 'I do see Leon in you.'
You dropped your shoulders, relaxed your jaw - fixed your face - before you responded sweetly, "Guess so."
---
"You leaving?" You inquired almost sadly from the stairs.
Leon looked over his shoulder, one foot out the front door. "No, just grabbing some stuff from the car. You headed to bed?"
"Yeah, 'm tired. I was just going to grab some water before I commit to being upstairs for the night."
"I'll get it for you," Leon insisted softly, somewhat offended. Like you've ever gotten your bedtime water yourself. "Just go upstairs, I'll be up in a minute."
"Okay," you half turned up the steps. "Love you."
"Love you." But he sounded preoccupied, definitely.
You watched the front door close. You stood there for a moment but decided to let it go and go upstairs. Today just needed to be over.
Now outside, Leon's mood shifted from neutral to absolutely livid. The man that was inside eating dinner with his girl, drinking wine and relishing in being home, melted off his face. He now wore a scowl. He scrolled through his contacts, stopping on one in particular, and put his phone to his ear.
Somewhat startled by her phone, Ada lifted her head off her palm and grabbed her phone off the armrest of her couch. She had gotten home a while ago, but private jets will offer that luxury. She saw who was calling. She wasn't surprised. If anything, she's shocked that he didn't call sooner. Her chuckle came out as a content hum. Ada paused her show and put her phone to her ear.
"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour," she said flatly.
"-Why the fuck were you at my house? Ada."
Ada sipped her own glass of wine. "Word travels quick, doesn't it?" She groaned when Leon didn't humor her. "I was just paying a visit. I wasn't going to hurt her. To be fair, I didn't even know she existed. Leon." She drew out his name as if she was owed some sort of explanation.
"Look, if you want be up my ass when we're out in the field, be my guest. Track me down, hold me at gunpoint, play your games, talk your shit, fine. But don't you ever - ever - show up here again. Understand?"
The suppressed rage in Leon's voice made her uncomfortable. She laughed to diffuse. "Leon..."
"-Do you understand?"
Ada couldn't speak. How she reacted to things, versus how she felt in that moment, did not align. Her eyes darted left to right as she thought of a rebuttal. It didn't come to her in time.
"You have no..." Leon noticed he had grown a little too loud for this time of night and started over, quieter. "My life outside of the jobs you love to crash is none of your business. (Y/n) is none of your business. And if I find out you try to bring her into this again - involve her in all of this - after I've done everything I can to keep her safe, to give us some semblance of normal, I will be at your door." He stopped for a moment. "And I will kill you myself."
Ada blinked as if she was almost struck, a quick flinch. There was a heavy impact behind Leon's words. He had never spoken to her that way. But the worst part of it all was that she believed he meant it. Her lips parted to speak, but again, she wasn't quick enough. 'Boop boop boop.' Call ended.
Ada looked at her phone, then up at nothing in particular. She let out a long exhale. "Well, copy that, then." She was visibly agitated. But also... impressed.
After Leon ended the call, he let his head fall back as he took a deep breath. He patted his phone against his palm as he looked out at the street. He meant what he said, but he also wasn't confident that he'd be able to follow through with ever killing Ada, if it came down to it. He just hoped she was at least somewhat receptive, so he'd never have to prove it. That she had some sense. Because if the day ever came where you were subjected to even a smidge of what he's seen, he would have nothing left. He relied on you to feel normal. You gave him something to come home to. Your innocence in all of it is something he'd do anything to protect, for both of you.
But that's enough ruminating for the night.
Leon walked back inside, greeted by only warmth and the fading smell of dinner. His safe place. His favorite place.
"Leon!"
He looked up the stairs. "Yeah!" He couldn't see you, but the look you always gave him was etched in his brain well enough now.
"Are you coming up?"
He couldn't help but smile to himself. Genuinely. The pull from the corners of his mouth had grown unfamiliar overtime. He missed it in a weird, never would admit to anyone, type of way.
But in that moment, as routine as it appeared, he knew there was no place he'd rather be than here. With you.
"Yeah, coming."