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Rain tapped softly against the apartment windows like a soothing melody as the lock clicked open. Leon stepped inside, shoulders heavy beneath his dark jacket, exhaustion clinging to him like second skin.
The hallway light spilled across the floor in warm gold, catching the damp strands of dark hair falling over his eyes.
He was already mentally preparing himself for a yelling from Ada, and Leon honestly wouldn’t oppose to that. He wouldn’t be suprised if Ada didn’t want to speak to him for days.
His whole body ached as he crossed the living room and let himself fall onto the couch with a long exhale. The cushions dipped under his weight instantly, familiar and soft as leon leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“You look really cozy.” Ada’s sharp voice disrupted the peace as she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, one shoulder pressed against the frame like she was holding herself up. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes which shows a lack of sleep, all because of him.
Leon sighed. “Ada, before you say anything-“
“Oh, I wasn’t going to say anything,” Ada cut in.
Silence.
“You left without telling me,” Ada stated, exposing the harsh truth of his actions.
Leon exhaled through his nose, both guilt and frustration consuming the logical part of his brain. Right now he was exhausted, and he really did not want to hear this, despite knowing he deserves every second of it. “I had my reasons.”
“Reasons? That’s your fucking excuse? That’s pathetic, Leon.” She laughed bitterly. “I’m supposed to be your wife Leon, not your afterthought.”
That caught Leon’s attention as he straightened, “I didn’t say you were-“
“No, you didn’t even say anything. That’s my problem Leon. You left me, without telling me anything. I had to find out through Sherry about the syndrome, racoon city, all that shit. All because my own husband decided to keep this from me.”
“I wanted to contact you Ada. I really did. But I had no connection, down at ARK-“
“You could’ve asked sherry.”
“I lost connection with her too.” Leon let out a short, humorless laugh. “So what, I’m supposed to send a pigeon next time?”
Ada’s expression didn’t change at the joke, “No, you should be a decent human and tell your wife before you leave for a deaths wish.“
Leon’s jaw tightened. “What do you want me to do, Ada? Refuse orders? Ask for a meeting every time something urgent comes up and hope it can wait until after we debate it over dinner?”
“I want you to include me in your life,” she snapped back immediately.
The silence filled the void of space as Leon struggled to form a response to that. Because despite the frustration and exhaustion he felt, Leon obviously knew he was in the wrong.
“You never tell me anything nowadays,” she said anyway, quieter now, the frustration thinning into something more fragile underneath. “You just decide what I can and can’t handle and- that’s not fair on me Leon. I’m left here to wonder what happens to you when you’re away.”
Leon stepped closer immediately, sensing the shift from anger to anxiety. “Nothing happened. I’m fine.”
“You don’t understand,” she said, too controlled, like she was trying to keep her voice from breaking. “Every time you’re late, I have to decide which version of the worst outcome I’m dealing with first.”
Leon stopped. “Ada…”
“I tell myself you’re just delayed,” she continued, faster now, like if she stopped she might not be able to continue at all. “Then I tell myself you’re injured. Then I tell myself you’re dead and someone just hasn’t told me yet because that’s what happens-“
“Ada, I’m here.”
“You’re here now,” Ada said, voice cracking slightly. “That’s the part I can see. That’s never the part I’m worried about. I’m worried about what’s gonna happen to you if I’m not there. What if I can’t save you?”
“You weren’t here this time and I still came home, didn’t I?”
Ada laughed bitterly, “According to Sherry, you were practically on your death bed at one point.”
The apartment had finally gone quiet in a different way. Not tense anymore. Filled with exhaustion as neither of them knew what to say to each other.
Ada was now sitting on the edge of the couch, hands loosely clasped in her lap, still trying to settle her breathing like her body hadn’t fully caught up with the fact that he was here. Leon stood a few steps away, jacket still half on, like he hadn’t decided whether he deserved to make himself comfortable yet.
Leon watched her for a moment, noticed the minor details of her trying to soothe herself, rest her pacing heart beat. He felt terrible, truly.
Leon crouched down infront of her, settling down on his knees. “Ada. Hey, look at me?”
Ada glanced up immediately, cautious more than anything.
“I’m really sorry Ada. For not telling you about this. That was really shitty of me to do so.”
Ada didn’t respond right away, still locking her gaze on him as if waiting for more detail.
“I keep telling myself it’s easier if you don’t have the details. If you don’t sit here waiting for updates that might not come.” A breath. “But that’s not really fair to you. I didn’t want to tell you about racoon city syndrome because I knew you’d worry- I knew you’d be terrified for me. And you’ve been under so much stress.”
Ada looked away for a moment, like she was trying to process that without immediately turning it into anger.
“That’s not your decision to make,” she said eventually.
“I know it isn’t. And I know this doesn’t fix it. But it won’t happen again, darling. I can promise you that.”
Ada studied him like she was still deciding whether to accept it, then finally leaned back into the couch with a small, tired exhale, which Leon took as a good sign.
“I can’t loose you Leon. I don’t know who I am without you.” Ada vulnerably confessed.
Leon’s heart ached at this, “You won’t ever need to find out. I promise.”
Leon shifted closer without really thinking about it, dropping down onto the couch properly this time instead of hovering like he didn’t belong there. His shoulder brushed hers, to which Ada responded by not pulling away.
Pushing it further, he reached carefully and took her hand that was resting on the pillow between them.
Ada looked down at it, then at him.
“You’re allowed to hold me, you know,” she said, almost casually. “I didn’t marry you for emotional distance.”
Leon blinked in response, before an almost boyish-like smile plastered across his face as he tugged Ada into a hug, finally allowing himself to rest.
Leon tightened his arms around her properly now, one hand resting between her shoulder blades, the other holding her a little closer by the neck like he was anchoring himself too. His chin brushed the top of her hair as the tension in his body began to drop.
Ada didn’t move away, rather her hands slowly came up and settled against his back, light at first, then firmer, like she was confirming something she didn’t want to say out loud. That he was still here, warm and breathing. Despite everything that had happened and the insufferable radio silence, he was alive and okay.
“You’re still here,” Ada said quietly.
“Yeah,” he assured.
Ada stayed tucked against his chest, one hand still gripping the back of his shirt like she’d decided that was her permanent position for the evening. He shifted slightly on the couch, pulling her with him so they were both more comfortable,
After a while, Leon shifted slightly. “I need a shower.”
Ada didn’t respond right away. Then, without looking up, “You also need rest.”
“I can do both.”
“You can do neither correctly,” she muttered.
He gave a quiet laugh, gently untangling her arms from his waist. She didn’t resist, but she did linger, fingers sliding down his sleeve a little too slowly before letting go.
“What if you collapse in the shower? You seem pretty weak right now.”
“Do you really want me resting on our fresh sheets covered in puss, sweat and blood?”
Ada hesitated at that, clearly battling the logical side of her and the urge she felt to still remain close to him. “Fair point. But I still don’t really think you’re in any position to be standing up for long periods of time.”
He stood carefully, rolling his shoulders. “Come with me then.”
Ada blinked. “What?”
“To the shower,” he clarified, like it was obvious. “Nothing that we haven’t done before, right? And you can worry about me then. Hell, you can catch me if I fall.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”