Work Text:
…Present Day…
Leon let out a deep breath as he hung up the phone call with Grace, having called her to check in on her after she finally published her report for the Raccoon City cover up. He had been waiting in the parking lot of the local DSO base as they had managed to retrieve his Porshe Cayman from Raccoon City after he had gone in to find Grace and Elpis. He was shocked to see that the DSO had even agreed to retrieve the car as it was not government owned and was behind the blockade that the government had established. He figured it had something to do with Sherry pulling some strings as she had taken to being his guardian angel on the mission, even though she had stage one Raccoon City Syndrome. She chose to take the lead over Hunnigan when the cases began to pop up. Although Hunnigan was somewhat upset that he preferred to have Sherry in his corner during this case, she was more than supportive of Sherry becoming an official intelligence officer for the DSO and the other half of Leon’s intelligence team.
While Chris had his wolves, they had all known that the older Redfield had taken more and more time off in recent years, helping Mia Winters tend to her daughter, Rosemary—taking on a more paternal role for her to have. On more than one occasion, Leon had heard from Claire in conversations that Chris was being more of papa wolf than necessary for the young Winters as she was a rambunctious six-year-old. Her various abilities being studied by Rebecca to help the BSAA keep track of her as per the agreement to allow her to live a normal life with Mia. So, Chris had entered into a semi-retirement to help with her care, remaining her secondary consistent pillar of support and showing her photos of her father, Ethan. Chris was the ever so doting big brother through and through, Claire joked one time, expressing some mild jealousy towards the young girl as she monopolized her big brother’s time more than she could. Sherry and Leon both reminded Claire that she had nothing to worry about when it came to being the top girl in Chris’ life as she would always be number one until he married and had a daughter of his own.
The thought of Chris being a girl dad made Leon chuckle as Claire had mentioned to him he was a girl dad in his own right. Sherry had basically viewed him as a surrogate dad after Raccoon City, while Claire had taken on a surrogate mother role for her and while Sherry had insisted they go on a date, Leon and Claire never followed that advice from the young girl. They both, however, managed to remain single in the public sense which helped ease the young girl’s early fears of being abandoned by either one of them. Leon made double and triple sure that he was there for her, offering to adopt her formally when she turned sixteen. Claire had given her blessings for the adoption, explaining that Leon’s government job provided more financial stability for Sherry than her aid work would. Sherry had rejected the adoption offer but was willing to have Leon as a legal guardian for her, which allowed for him to pass his benefits on to her if anything ever happened to him in the line of duty.
As the helicopter began its decent, Leon watched with anticipation at finally being able to drive the car again. He also had a specific item inside the car in a hidden compartment that he had not checked since he went after Victor Gideon in Wrenwood that rainy night. He had promised he would check in regularly and he had long missed the check-in windows he had set up for it. He knew that she would be somewhat worried about him. Especially since most people had no idea what his official relationship status was on paper. What only a small ratio of people knew (literally five people) was that he had been married for the last six months. Turns out Raccoon City Syndrome will really put things into perspective for you in the kind of life you want for yourself outside of your work and Leon had finally made that connection when they started to see the signs six months ago.
While it had been discovered by Gideon that Raccoon City Syndrome was affecting all the survivors of Raccoon City and when Leon had seen the signs begin with Jill and Barry, they knew something was wrong. They had known that Jill had been infected by the T-Virus via the Nemesis, but she had also been cured by Carlos with the antiviral just like Claire had done for Sherry. Their progression was slower, but Barry was the first of them to truly show signs and while they had somehow managed to slow his acceleration down with a blood transfusion from Jill, they all knew they couldn’t expect her to do that for all of them. Barry’s symptoms slowed down and he had been listed at stage one for the last six months. However, when Leon started to show signs, he did a good job of hiding it. Until that night…
…. Six months earlier….
Leon had just returned to his flat after his latest mission, head hurting from the massive debrief he was expected to give the minute he returned rather than be given a proper night’s rest after a 16-hour flight. The briefing could have waited and even been delivered as a report but no, the new interim commander of National Security wanted to hear what Leon had to say right there and then. Several members of the agency tried to step in on his behalf and argue that he could write a report of the events but no, they wanted to stretch those authority muscles and piss him off instantly. He was beginning to understand Chris’ irritation with authority figures more as he got older and even considered retirement, but he had yet to properly choose a successor to the DSO as the poster boy and didn’t want to put Sherry into the spotlight.
Turning on the hallway light and putting his bag on the bench next to the door, he removed his boots and gloves, pulling off his jacket and hanging it inside the closet next to the bench, tossing the boots inside and the gloves into the bag before he locked the door behind him and made his way inside his flat. He walked over to the counter, turning on the overhead light so that he could wash his hands before he grabbed a drink. As he lathered, he heard the sound of movement in his flat, altering him to someone being there. He didn’t switch up his behavior as he was worried he was going to tip the person off that he was aware of their presence. Instead, he simply left one hand in the water while the other reached for his combat knife, but he was stopped when he felt a hand on the small of his back there.
“Sixteen-hour flight to do a two-hour debriefing is a bit much, even for your line of work, Leon.”
Leon stopped his motions completely, shocked to hear her voice. Especially after the last time they had seen each other in person. She had made it explicitly clear that she didn’t want to bring light to their relationship and that if he wanted it to continue, he would have to leave it that way or walk away. He had been thinking about walking away but the recent appearance of a black rash appearing on his shoulder was causing him to second guess his decision. That was three months ago, and he had kept his hidden from everyone, even her.
“Well, considering you and I are supposedly done, I expect you to not be in my flat… Ada,” he responded calmly. He didn’t move his hand back to the water and was shocked when he felt her arms wrap around his waist, her head against his back.
“I know. I know, Leon,” she said lowly, her voice holding a hint of some kind of hidden understanding. What he was not expecting was for her to take her hands and undo his gun holster, sliding it off his broad shoulders and placing it on the counter. Leon went back to washing his hands as she undid his utility belt from behind as well, making him wonder where she learned how to do such a thing. He decided to ask her later as he let her go about her motions, unarming him physically as she had already done emotionally for the nearly twenty-eight years.
“Ada…” Leon began but was cut off by her words. “Quiet, Leon. Let me take care of you.”
He let out a chuckle, knowing she was so determined to make him relax from the irritation he was feeling or she was trying to distract him from the whiskey bottle on the counter across the room. She had scolded him for drinking too much and he had told her he was cutting back but she could clearly see he was lying to her when he said he was cutting back.
“Why are you here?” Leon found himself asking as he turned off the water and dried his hands. He went to turn around and continue the conversation when he was stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. She was in one of his white dress shirts, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a couple buttons on top undone showing a red bra peeking through as she had a silver chain hanging from her neck. There was a gold teddy bear charm hanging from it with blue sapphire eyes, making Leon’s eyes get slightly teary eyed. It was a gift he gave her not long after his mission to rescue Ashley. A thank you gift for her help and he had never seen her wearing it ever, so he assumed she hated it and never kept it but seeing her there in his flat with it on made Leon wonder why she wanted to play mental games with him now.
“I made my choice,” she said quietly, not keeping eye contact with him, something she did whenever she was being honest with her heart rather than just talking to him straight. It was something she did only with him and he was grateful to have something genuine from her emotionally. “I decided that it was better for me to be open with you about every part of my life. We aren’t getting any younger and I can’t expect you to keep waiting for me. Sooner or later…you will get tired of chasing me. I thought I would be okay with that but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that who I am as Ada Wong can be tied to you and that night in Raccoon City. If I let go of you, I leave you alone to face those and all the other horrors you have faced all these years, alone.”
Leon felt a lump in his throat, knowing that she was the only person who truly understood how deeply he held onto the ghosts of Raccoon City and every other person he failed to protect or save throughout the years. For every one or two people he helped saved, he felt that dozens had died because of his lack of skill or not being able to get to them fast enough. He wasn’t strong enough other times, or he hadn’t pieced the pieces together fast enough to stop the bad guys and Ada understood that pain better than anyone because he had slowly begun to confide in her over the years—the guilt, the regret, the pain. Some people thought he had a savior complex. It was more of a guilty conscience, the memory of that father with his daughter in Raccoon City haunting him when he thought he was making some form of progress in the long road of atonement.
“I-I know…” he began slowly. “I was asking to much of you. Asking that we have a public relationship would be career suicide for me and a death sentence for you. I’m sorry.” Ada felt her eyebrows raise at the words he was saying, completely the opposite of what she had heard him say the last time they spoke about it.
“What’s going on?” she asked aloud, knowing he was not one to instantly cave in a conversation. “Who’s blackmailing you?”
This caused Leon to let out a chuckle and smirk at her words, “I wish it was something like that.”
This caused her to look at him more seriously, stepping back to take in his body language. Usually he was clinging to her, afraid she was going to disappear. Instead, he was gently but firmly holding her hands as he spoke, occasionally stroking her hands with his thumbs as he spoke or listened to her. He had a tired expression on his face but looking into his eyes she was seeing the signs of something she had seen in full force, a new disease that attacking survivors of Raccoon City.
She had been working with little Wesker in the last year, who had met with and linked up with Carlos Oliviera, a fellow Raccoon City survivor who helped Jill Valentine, as they were secretly investigating a sudden surge of Raccoon City survivors displaying signs of a new disease. It had a black rash, and the color of a person’s eyes was slowly leaving their eyes. If a person had lighter eyes, they were more likely to show signs of it. Ada noticed that Leon’s usually blue eyes were showing signs of lightening.
The one connection they all had? Being in Raccoon City those five days in 1998. Carlos was showing signs of it too, which meant they had to move fast in figuring out what it was that was affecting him because she knew it was only a matter of time before she displayed symptoms herself. She was worried that Leon’s bullet wound from back then would have been the reason why he was showing symptoms of this new disease now.
“Leon,” she began quietly, her hand reaching up to his cheek. “Have you been feeling okay lately?” She saw it instantly, the tension in his body language, like he was afraid of being found out. “Leon?”
Leon let go of her hands and walked away silently, unable to look her in the eyes. She was right. The group had just met a month before and the whole Barry being sick caught them all off guard. The little bit they did know according to Rebecca was that it was a not contagious by physical contact and that it starts off as black rash. That was all they knew. Barry’s symptoms had slowed and Jill was not showing more than a rash on her arm where she was hit by the Nemesis but other than that, nothing else. Leon hadn’t told them he was dealing with symptoms of this new rash, but he also knew he didn’t touch Barry or Jill’s rash locations which meant that he didn’t get it from them. Rebecca did mention that it did have the potential to be a fatal infection, so Jill and Barry offered to continue to stay in contact with her to give her updates while she researched the cause of it.
“Where’s the rash?” he heard her say, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. He hadn’t said anything to her about it. He turned around to see her staring at him, like she knew a secret he didn’t.
“H-how? How did you know about the rash?” he found himself asking nervously. He was starting to feel like that clueless rookie again and she walked over to a bag on the coffee table. Taking out a laptop, she sat down on the sofa, patting it for him to sit next to her. “You do know that your merry band of former cops is not the only group of survivors to make it out of Raccoon City?”
Leon let out a huff, “I know that.”
She smiled, “Good, let’s go over what we know. Grab a couple of glasses and bring the whiskey. You are going to need to see this information.”
Leon raised a brow but did as he was told. He joined Ada on the couch, pouring them both a glass and unbuttoning his pants, getting comfortable as he leaned back on the couch, watching her screen. Pulling up the photos that Jake had collected, she showed Leon what they had gathered so far information wise.
“This black rash is apparently affecting survivors of Raccoon City. Some people are showing signs sooner than others. Another detail we found was that it slowly lightens the eye colors of the people infected. We don’t know what causes it, if there are stages to it, and if it is a death sentence. We have been keeping an eye on your friend’s research as well as taking a look at other former Umbrella employees who might be researching it. So far we see about half a dozen of them researching it, but no one has identified it completely. The one thing I can tell you for sure to keep an eye out for is if the symptoms you are feeling get worse.” She looked at him sternly, taking a glass from him and taking a sip.
“Where are you getting this information? Working for someone like Simmons?” Leon asked sarcastically. He knew she wouldn’t reveal her sources to him, but what shocked him was her response.
“We can both thank Wesker Jr for being the way he is. Turns out he ran into the man who administered the T-Virus antiviral to Valentine who has been working with the South American Umbrella researcher that led me to Luis back in 2004. She used to work on the same time as him. She also has been monitoring Carlos since he came to her with the symptoms. So far, she has made the conclusions that I told you. She also contacted a couple of old colleagues to see if anyone of them have seen anything like it.”
Leon looked at her, “YOU found Carlos? The BSAA can’t even find him.”
Ada smiled, “Leon, I am not the only one who has a talent for disappearing from Umbrella eyes. When you look at it, former Umbrella employees have to keep themselves hidden in order to avoid being caught up in any more issues that come up. Coming back isn’t entirely on the table.”
“So, what made you come back?” Leon asked.
Ada let out a chuckle, “You, silly. I find leaving you alone not good for your mind.” She took another sip, watching him carefully. “So, you going to show me?” Leon hesitantly nodded before putting the glass on the table, lifting his compression shirt and taking it off completely, revealing a black rash forming around the exit wound of his old bullet wound. Ada let out a gasp at the sight, unable to fully process what she was seeing in person for the first time. She had only seen photos and videos but seeing Leon with it only brought it to home for her. Ada knew he could take care of himself but somehow seeing him facing an unknown fate with whatever this new disease was attacking Raccoon City survivors had her fearful for his safety for the first time in their over twenty-year history.
“It’s not that bad,” Leon said calmly. “Barry’s was much worse than this and it was on his arms too. Jill’s blood slowed and reversed some of his infection, but we can’t ask her to give us her blood as well. So, Rebecca took a sample of it and is going to run tests on it. Meanwhile, I am keeping my condition a secret. You’re the only person to know about it.”
“Leon…” she said somberly. She knew that for the DSO agent, trust was a very difficult thing for him to offer but their bond was a mix of trauma, mutual respect and their own romantic feelings all mixed together, so she appreciated being the first be told about his illness. “What are you going to do if it accelerates? Do you have a plan in place for the event of your illness killing you?” Leon let out a chuckle, “Sherry gets my death benefits. No spouse, no kids, parents died when I was young. So, nothing to worry about there.”
“Then maybe we can change that…” she said quietly. This caused Leon to turn to her, his face filled with shock and confusion. “W-What? Ada, we both know you cannot have children. The organization made you sterile to ensure your loyalty and efficiency for life. So, what would you gain from settling down with me?” She smiled at his consideration of her while understanding that he was still that oddly oblivious rookie.
“While you have been considering retirement, I have happily been enjoying mine for the better part of the year. I have been moving back and forth from here to my place since,” Ada replied playfully. Leon’s jaw dropped, “Retired? Wait. That means the fight we got into…” she let out a giggle, “…was a rouse to get you to not focus on me while I finished working out the details of this little case that Jr brought to my attention.” This made Leon huff in annoyance.
“That’s why you are wearing the necklace. There are no jobs to stop you.” Ada felt a pang of guilt knowing he was right, but she wanted to show him her own gesture of good faith. She had prepared two gifts for him before she closed her services entirely from the world. The first was in her bag, the second was in the garage.
“I did prepare something for you. Well, two somethings,” Ada said cheekily, putting the laptop on the desk and grabbing her bag. She pulled out a black box and gave it to him waiting for him to open it. He looked at her before picking it up and opening it, revealing an all-black watch with a black wing on the face. It was a high-end field watch with the name Hamilton on it. Leon looked at the watch and then back at Ada, his face shocked but also aware of the value of the watch in his hand.
“Ada,” he said as calmly as he could. “This is a two-thousand-dollar watch. Way above my government salary. People will talk.” She smiled heartily, “Leon, this is the best in field watches. You are the best in your field. It makes sense for you to have the best. I don’t care if they think it is too expensive. I think it suits you perfectly and this is your watch.” Leon smiled, understanding the sentiment that she had for him, but he knew the Hamilton watch was truly an expensive timepiece as he had occasionally found himself looking at it whenever he had to go watch shopping. At the rate he was going through watches on missions, he would have to consider it a travel expense for his line of work. Instead, he smiled, knowing she was right.
“Thank you, Ada,” he said calmly. He leaned over and kissed her cheek in appreciation. She smiled at him and replied coolly, “You’re welcome, handsome.” He got up to go put the watch away and grab his towel as he was going to take a shower. “I’m hopping in the shower. Care to join me?” Leon cheekily asked. Ada found her face turning red at the statement, knowing what he was asking.
“Sure,” she replied getting up from the sofa and joining him in the bathroom.
They laid in bed together, cuddled under the sheets as they usually did, quietly enjoying each other’s presence when Ada broke the silence.
“I have another gift for you still.”
Leon didn’t say anything as he gently ran his fingers along her arms, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms. He had been thinking about what she had given him for the information on the rash he had forming and even what Jill and Barry were going through. He wondered if the rash was transferrable and if he was risking her safety. Even though she said she didn’t care, Leon still worried about Ada and her overall safety, oftentimes more than he worried about his own safety.
She took his silence as a reason to continue, “It’s in the garage though. Before you say you can’t take it, I had it custom made with you in mind, so you don’t get to say no to me about it. If you don’t want it, I will just keep it as I find it to be quite lovely.” Her wording grabbed his attention, causing him to lift his head and look at her while she smirked at him. She had already given him a ridiculously priced watch, what the hell could he have been given by her that was in the garage.
“Why do I feel nervous?” he asked.
Ada simply smiled at him, “That’s just your brain tricking you into thinking this is a trap. I told you Leon, I am done with that life, and I have no desire to go back to being an internationally wanted spy. I have severed all those ties and turned in my credentials to the agency. I was released as long as I do not attempt to reenter the life via another agency or turn state’s evidence against them. They will monitor my life for the first five years, and I will be sporadically checked in on over another ten. After that, biannual check-ins for five more years. If I manage to complete these things, I am free to go completely, and the agency will let go of me. Not to mention, I have managed to tell a couple of trusted allies who you are and what you mean to me.”
While it sounded like a ridiculous amount of things to do in order to walk away from her life, however, Ada felt it was a fair trade off for her freedom without any legal consequences. It was all worth it to fully live her life no longer hiding and running from him. She had spent far too many years running around the world and giving him a form of work, but she also hated it when the missions would end and he would have that sad melancholic look on his face. The thoughts to walk away had originated in Spain after he had mentioned them going their separate ways and she felt the pain in her chest from his words, knowing it was his way of telling her that no matter what she did, they would always be opposed in the great bioterrorism war, and she was slowly growing tired of him being on the opposite side. She wanted him to be by her side again, working outside the system, but she also knew that as long as Wesker was alive then Leon would not be safe. Hell, no Raccoon City survivor would have been.
“So, what is this surprise?” Leon asked her as he gently kissed her shoulder, bringing Ada back to reality.
“Well, we could go see it,” she said cheekily but knew he was not going to move from the bed at that moment. After all he was completely comfortable and she knew when he was comfortable like this, there was no moving him from the bed. “So, are you going to take time off? Or are you going to go back to work in the morning?”
Leon groaned at her questions, knowing it was the routine for them normally. She would come see him, spend the night, bathe together, maybe a couple of rounds of sex, cuddles and then the questions of if he had to work in the morning. Sometimes he did. Sometimes he didn’t. It usually had depended on the mission. He had asked for a short vacation after this mission when they asked him what he wanted to do this time as he had been extremely irritated by the on-the-spot report in. So, they granted his request and he was on leave for the week. This meant he could spend more time with her, even if it was a little bit.
“I am here for the week then it is back to work,” he replied. She rolled over, wrapping her soft hands around his body and pulling herself into him, “Good. I need to go grocery shopping in the morning, and you can come with me. I kind of threw out half of your food. Read the expiration dates more often, Leon.” This made the agent chuckle as he found her domestic side endearing. It was a part of her she never showed to anyone and oddly enough she would teeter back and forth between being the independent woman and doting housewife—all of which had depended on Leon’s time after the missions. He had created a domestic routine with an international spy, he should have turned her in ages ago, but it was just like he told Ashley— “she’s a part of me that I can’t let go.”
He had found his peace of mind when Ada was around. She helped keep the nightmares away. She understood his trauma from Raccoon City in a way that he had not properly explained to anyone else in their group and most importantly, she was a constant reminder that no matter how many times he thought he failed at protecting people, she was his first true rescue, and she would never let him down in terms of having his back.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied jokingly, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes to sleep.
… Present Day…
Opening the glove box, he pulled out a black case that held his personal information, a key with a teddy bear charm (the same one from Spain) and a cellphone with a single phone number saved to it. It had dozens of missed calls and twice as many text messages telling him to call and check in and that if he didn’t by the end of the day tomorrow, she would notify Sherry via Jake.
He dialed the number and pulled it to his ear as he took his earpiece out of his ear, the phone being answered after the second ring.
“I was worried that the worst had happened,” she said coolly.
Leon smirked, knowing she was hiding her worry behind her old spy persona. He waited to hear her voice more, knowing she was trying to keep it together.
“Are you going to answer me? Or is it really you? Leon?” Her tone softened at the second question and damn near broke at saying his name, making his heart ache at the pain in her voice.
“It’s me. I’m sorry for not checking in sooner. Took them two weeks to finally get the car back from Raccoon City.”
“You didn’t come home because of the car?” Ada questioned bluntly.
This made Leon chuckle, “I do recall a certain someone saying that if I left on a mission with said car and came home without it, I would be sleeping outside for a month. Specifically in the parking spot for said car.” His voice held all the humor as he heard her huff into the phone. “Besides,” he continued. “I wanted to make sure everything for this case was concluded properly. It is technically the one we both talked about.”
Ada had gasped over the phone, knowing what he was talking about.
His retirement.
Leon had promised when they learned about the Raccoon City Syndrome that if he came back from the case alive and well, he would turn in his paperwork and retire properly. Ada had grown weary of him being in the field alone at his age and with the infection she had almost gone with him, but he insisted on her staying behind. She said nothing as he continued to tell her, “Besides, we might have another pair to worry about financially. Can’t just retire on them before I squared away the paperwork legally.”
This made Ada chuckle as she understood what he had done. Leon had given death benefits to Sherry legally, but they had agreed if he felt the need to “expand” his family, he would change the paperwork to add those additions. It sounded like Leon had found some additions in this case.
“Do they know that they have a dad who is now looking out for them from the shadows?” she asked cheekily. Leon laughed at the idea, knowing he wasn’t trying to be a secret paternal figure to Grace or Emily. Especially since Grace had formally adopted Emily as her own daughter, which would have technically made him Emily’s new granddad. Ada used to tease him about his overprotectiveness over Sherry and knowing that he had Grace and Emily now only confirmed how much more teasing he would get from the former spy.
“I told Grace that she would have me to rely on if she needed help for anything. She took in Emily, a girl from the facility and will raise her as her own child. So, I guess we are grandparents now? I also told Sherry that she in a sense has a sister now. They’re going to sit down for dinner with us next week.” Leon waited to hear what Ada would say but she simply let out a light laugh, enjoying the information of Leon “adopting” another daughter.
“You’re such a girl dad, Leon,” she said, making him let out a laugh. He felt his face grow warm and his heart swell with pride at being called a dad, something he had always wanted to be before the world went to hell on him that night. Looking at his left hand, he smiled, knowing that she was fulfilling his pre-Raccoon City dreams one day at a time…
… Six Months Earlier, the next day…
“There’s no way I can explain this to people,” Leon said blankly.
“Why not?” Ada asked. She had her arms crossed and was looking at him incredulously. “You work for the federal government, Leon. You have travelled the world and fought in various biohazard situations. You are technically single, don’t gamble, or do anything that would be considered financially irresponsible and the government compos your hotel and airfare. It makes sense you could afford this.”
Leon raised an eyebrow at Ada, “This is a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car! I can’t justify this!” He pointed to Ada’s second “gift” and was flabbergasted. He knew for a fact that people would talk if he drove to the office in that.
“So, you say you can’t justify a car you saved up for? A car that you invested in financially over the years?” Ada asked, her arms crossed as she watched Leon squirm while staring at the car. He was excited but at the same time he knew he couldn’t justify the price tag of the car, let alone explain it properly. He knew he had funds hidden away in different things—a trust fund he opened for Sherry, a 401K, two apartments that he rented out to people who wanted to be semi off the grid (escaping domestic violence situations, runaways from abusive parents, etc.), a couple of life insurance policies that would pay out upon his death and even an unknown to him number of actual cash hidden in a security box that he had his accountant take care of. That wasn’t including the two businesses he invested in, one being a Kendo family member who had continued Robert’s legacy of gunsmithing and the other was a bike shop that he and Claire gave money to in order to get a bike shop off the ground since Claire felt horrible that her bike was destroyed in Raccoon City and Leon always wanted to have bikes. They received ten percent of the profits each year, something that Leon insisted be done as a single thing rather than as a monthly payment.
However, this was an expensive car that was clearly customized, which meant the value of the car was higher that way. It was all black with tinted windows and clearly intended to look sleek but tactical. What really told him it was going to be impossible to write off to colleagues was the brand of the car, Porsche. Exhaling deeply, he finally looked at her to say something, but she cut him off.
“The 2026 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT is a high performance, 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 luxury SUV. It has 650 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque. It goes 0-60 mph in approximately 3.1 seconds. The top speed is 190 mph. It has all-wheel drive with rear torque vectoring and an eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission. It also has specially tuned adaptive air suspension, rear-axle steering, and Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) for maximum stopping power. We designed it to be a subtle dark and tactical design, custom "blacked-out" colorway with silver contrasting elements and Fuchs-style rims. Yes, it IS an expensive car. The MSRP for it starts at $214,800 but after all the customizations we gave it, the final total is $259,260.”
Leon felt his jaw drop at the specs of the car, knowing that it was more than a fortune to customize and even import a car of this caliber, so the number was far higher than that. Ada, watching him, grinned as if reading his mind, “Shipping it to the states was free. So no, I didn’t overspend or get overcharged. I brought Wesker Jr. with me to build it after all. He made some good applicable suggestions.”
This made Leon burst into laughter, truly amazed at how thoroughly she had thought of him when it came to her gifts. Usually it was an outfit, gear, or even a gun or two but this was the next level. More surprising to him was the thought and detail she had go into it.
“So, even with my terrible reputation with cars, you trust me with a quarter of a million-dollar car?” he said as he sobered up. Looking at her, he was shocked by her serious expression. “Ada?” Leon felt his blood run cold slightly, knowing that she was about to be blunt with him and sometimes that meant taking a hit to his ego.
“Leon Scott Kennedy, I am only going to warn you one time in regard to this car. Yes, I bought it for you, and yes, I am fully aware of your terrible driving skills. However, if you ever leave this car behind or total it, I will make you sleep in this very parking spot until I am satisfied with the period of time it takes for me not to be mad at you anymore or think of killing you in your sleep. Do you understand me, Scott?” Leon winced at the use of his middle name, knowing she was being serious. He nodded slowly, a quiet yes ma’am coming out him before she smiled at him again, closing the gap between them. “I’m so glad we had this conversation.” She hugged him tightly, kissed his cheek and gave him the key to the car after unlocking it, “Shall we?”
… Four Weeks Later…
Ada was shocked by the gesture Leon used to show his appreciation for her, to the point that she did something she never did in front of anyone… cried.
“L-Leon… it’s too much…” she said through tears looking at him. He smiled, glad to have gotten one of the sincerest reactions out of her since they first got together in secret all those years ago. He had known since Spain that she was the one he was going to spend his life chasing in terms of a partner to have by his side. Someone who understood his pain, his trauma, his work, and had no expectations for him. Ada was independent, strong willed, didn’t need him but chose to have him in her life, chose to be vulnerable with him… something he knew she could not do easily in her line of work.
With this sickness being confirmed as a disease that would affect survivors of Raccoon City and could get worse with time after being dormant for years, Leon knew he had to make things official between them for both of their sakes. He didn’t want to spend the last whatever amount of time he had left chasing her or pretending that they were not already an item. So, he asked Claire, Sherry, Helena, Hunnigan, Ashley, and an officiant to be there when he pulled the trigger on the proposal. He knew he caught Ada off guard because she was out for the day shopping for their flat. He had work so he couldn’t go with her, but he told her to make it feel as much like her home as it would be his, as long as she was there for Leon, it would be home.
“Ada,” he began calmly. “I know that we have spent the last 30 years chasing each other around, but I want to make things permanent between us. You understand my life in a way that only someone else who went through what we went through in Raccoon City could even begin to comprehend. You have had my back when you knew it would endanger your own life and I have chosen to do the same, even if it cost me my job or my own life. To me, you are home. You are my peace and the person I want to come home to. Before Raccoon City, I had all kinds of dreams in life but after, I was afraid to have those dreams. With you, I feel the pull towards them again and it has only gotten stronger the longer we are together. I don’t need a fancy, expensive wedding with a bunch of coworkers that hate me. I don’t care if the rest of my friends abandon me because I choose you. The people who matter most have always understood and stood by my decisions and they back this one.”
Ada looked up to see Leon’s core group of people that he trusted with all of his secrets. She jokingly called them the brain trust but understood that over the last 30 years, these women were the reason why he always made it home or didn’t fall into an alcoholic coma. She had always been grateful for their never-ending support, whether on the field or not. They were all bound by the horrors of bioterrorism but somehow had come out of it alive and well thanks to Leon’s efforts to keep them safe and try to guard them from those who wanted to exploit them for their skills. These women had earned her respect, admiration, and most importantly—her trust and she had not even worked with any of them. Leon spoke highly of all of them and beamed with pride whenever they reached new accomplishments.
“I don’t know how much time I have left but I know I won’t waste it wondering if I should ask you to marry me or not. So, I am finally gathering my courage to do it, even if you say no. I just want to be able to say that I did and that you heard my honest confession.” He rose to his feet, taking her hand into his. “I have loved you since we first met and to be honest, I don’t think I would have made it this far in my life without your endless support from the shadows. But I think it is time we take you out of the shadow support role and put you where you belong, front and center of the “brain trust” as you aptly named them. You have always been my partner. You are my other half. I trust you with my life. I always have and I hope that the feeling is mutual.”
Ada nodded gently, the tears still flowing but unable to find the words to speak as he finally asked, “Ada Wong, will you marry me? Hopefully, right now?” Ada let out a laugh as his face turned beet red with embarrassment from adding the second question. Grabbing his face and pulling him in, she whispered gently between kisses, “Yes. Yes, Leon. Yes.” This caused them both to laugh as they pulled apart and Leon led her over to the officiant who had begun the ceremony.
Sherry handed her a bouquet of red roses, while Ashley put a blue sapphire bracelet on her wrist. Hunnigan opened up a legal pad that had marriage documents prepared and signed by Leon already, passing her the pen to sign it as the justice spoke. Helena gave Ada her compact and a red lipstick tube, making Ada smile at the memory of leaving her favorite compact behind for him in China. She applied a dab of the lipstick before thanking her and passing it back to her. She turned around to see Claire standing there with a small box in her hand and tissues. “Don’t forget the something new,” she said playfully, winking at her. Nodding, Ada opened the box to see silver earrings that were in the same design of the teddy bear keychain she left behind for Leon in Spain, the studs to go into her ear were red—her favorite color. She smiled at her and thanked her, taking a tissue to clean her tears up a bit before Claire moved to the side to put the earrings on.
As the officiant asked her if she wanted to take him as her lawfully wedded husband, she fought the tears again and nodded. “I do.”
Leon felt himself smile, that gentle smile she had seen when he would talk about the girls or whenever he would reminisce about life before Raccoon City, the pure wholesome rookie she had met that night. Her peace. Her fortress. The one man who had never used or betrayed her. He was always willing to fight for her, even when he didn’t have the full story. She stopped being whoever she was born as that night. That night, in Raccoon City, she was born again as Ada Wong. It was why she never stopped using the name. She was born again through him. He was everything good in the world. A reason to see the good in people, even when she knew how horrible they could be. As the officiant told them that he could kiss the bride, Ada smiled warmly, knowing that she was always going to be safe in his arms. She trusted his mind. Trusted his decision-making skills and his instincts. She would go through her life over and over again if it meant she could meet him again every single time. She signed her name on the pad, noticing the date Leon signed his, her eyes watering again.
“Leon…” she whispered.
He nodded, not saying anything as he pulled her in to seal their union. As they pulled apart, he leaned his forehead against hers, taking in the sight of her. “Mrs. Kennedy,” he whispered. She grinned giddily at him, knowing that he was right to say it.
“Your signature is dated two weeks after you came back from Spain.” Leon chuckled, “I know.”
“You were sure then?” Ada asked him. He nodded, “Been certain since then. I knew I loved you from the first time we met, but I knew you were the one for me after I came back from Spain.”
“You’re so cheeky, Leon,” she replied playfully, making him smile again. “We will get through the rest of this life, together. You have my word, I won’t let you be alone.”
“I know Ada. I know.”