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1.The Morning Routine
Ada wakes first, as she always does. Old habits die hard. She lies still for a moment, listening to the rhythm of his breathing, and the way his arm is draped across her. She watches the light creep through the curtains, soft and golden, and wonders how she ended up here, in a real bed, (not a hotel bed) in a real house. (Not a safehouse)
With him.
Then he stirs, mumbles something incoherent, and pulls her closer.
"Five more minutes…" his voice still thick with sleep.
"You said that twenty minutes ago." She smiled as she brushed her forehead.
"Then twenty more."
2.The Guitar
He never forgot that. Even after all these years, he'd still tease her sometimes. "So when's that promised concert of yours happening?" and she'd roll her eyes and change the subject. But one evening, she brings the guitar out without warning. She sits on the couch, lets her fingers find the strings, and plays him a song she learned when she was thirteen, long before she knew what her life would become.
He leans against the doorframe, just watching with a small smile, and when she finishes, he doesn't say a word.
She looks up. "Well?"
He crosses the porch, kneels down in front of her, and kisses her like it's the first time.
"Always worth the wait." he says.
3.The Rainy Day
It started as a drizzle, then turned into a downpour that hammered against the windows and turned their garden into a muddy mess. Ada is standing in front of the window, watching the water streak down in rivers.
Leon appears behind her, wraps his arms around her waist, and rests his chin on her shoulder.
"Stuck inside all day," he murmurs. "What a tragedy."
"You sound devastated."
"I am. Absolutely crushed." He presses a kiss to her neck. "Whatever will we do to pass the time?"
She turns in his arms and raises one eyebrow. "Leon Kennedy. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking that we make tea and watch old movies, and what were you thinking?"
"Don't play dumb you stupid—" she shoved him, but she was laughing. He grinned as caught her hand and pulled her back, and they ended up sprawled on the couch together.
"Okay. So movie are we watching? " She suddenly sat up straight.
He narrowed his eyes at her, then pinned her back against the couch. "Oh now you don't get to play dumb."
4.The Bickering
"Did you move my keys Ada?"
"I didn't touch your keys."
"They were on the counter and now they're not."
"I have better things to do than hide your keys."
"You absolutely do, and yet—"
"Are you accusing me?"
"I'm not accusing. I'm simply observing."
"Observe your way to the front door and look in your other jacket."
A pause. Then she heard him from the hallway, "...Oh.They were in my other jacket."
She rolled her eyes. "Genius deduction, Agent Kennedy."
"I love you."
"I know. Now find your keys and get out of my face."
"Your face is very nice, though. I like your face."
"Leon—"
‘"Leaving, leaving now. Bye."
5.The Study
He's supposed to be reading reports and she's supposed to be giving him space. Instead, she's perched on his lap, her fingers threading through his hair, while his hands are gripping her waist.
"You're very distracting," his voice is rough.
"I know," she says, and she kisses him, slow and teasing. "That's why I do it."
He stands abruptly, lifting her with him, and she wraps her legs around him as he carries her to the desk. The papers scatter and a mug nearly topples.
"You're going to mess up your files."
"Do I look like I care?" He lays her down across the desk, and she laughs, low and husky, as he looms over her.
"This is very unprofessional, Agent Kennedy." She said with a sultry voice.
"Agent Kennedy is off duty." he smirks. "And you love it."
She doesn't argue. She just pulls him down and proves him right.
6. The Grocery Store
They're in the cereal aisle, and he's taking forever.
"Just pick one," she says.
"There are too many options."
"It's cereal, Leon. Not a life decision."
"What if I pick the wrong one and regret it for the rest of my life?"
She stares at him. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious."
She grabs a random box and throws it into the cart. "There. Picked. Now let's go."
He picks it up, inspects it, and puts it back. "No, the sugar content is too high."
"I'm going to leave you here."
"You wouldn't."
"Watch me."
She turns and walks away. He catches up to her in three steps, grabbing her hand, and she laughed.
"You're so dramatic." he sighed in mock offense .
"I'm dramatic? You just had a crisis over breakfast cereal."
"Valid crisis."
"You're impossible."
"Impossibly handsome?"
"No," she says, but she laces her fingers with his. "Just the first four syllables."
7.The Video Call
Sherry calls, and they're in the middle of... something. He scrambles for the phone, but Ada grabs it first.
"Hi Sherry," she says calmly.
"Ada!" Sherry's on the screen. "Is Leon there? I need to ask him something."
"Say no," he whispers urgently.
"He's busy," she says smoothly.
"What's he doing?"
"He's... painting."
"I'm painting?" he mouths.
"I'm painting," he says, louder. "Very busy. Painting."
"Painting what?"
"A... table."
"A table?"
"A coffee table."
Sherry squints. "Wait…is he shirtless?"
"Sherry," Ada says, "that's really not—"
"He's shirtless in the background. Why is he shirtless?"
"Because he's painting," Ada says, perfectly deadpan. "It's hot. The paint fumes are intense."
"I'm not dumb."
Leon groans. "Just hang up on her."
"I can hear you!" Sherry yells.
Ada sighs, hangs up, and turns to him.
"You owe me."
"For what?"
"For explaining why you're shirtless."
He stands up, shirtless and smiling. "I'll pay you back."
"You'd better."
8.The Cold
She's a terrible liar when she's sick. Which is ironic, because she's sort of a professional liar. But when she has a cold, all her subtlety seems to go out the window.
"I'm fine," she says, clearly not fine. Her nose is red and her voice is nasal, and she's wrapped in a blanket like a burrito.
"You're not fine," he says.
"I am. Absolutely."
"You sneezed seven times in the last five minutes."
"Allergies."
"You don't have allergies."
"Developed."
He crosses his arms. "Ada."
She sneezes again.
"Bless you."
"Shut up."
He brings her soup anyway. She stares at it like it has offended her.
"What is that?"
"Soup…?"
"I didn't ask for soup."
"You need soup."
"I need nothing. I'm—" She sneezes again, and he catches her before she topples over.
"You're going to bed," he says.
"I'm going to kill you."
"After bed."
But she lets him tuck her in, still muttering threats, and he presses a kiss to her forehead.
"I hate you," she says.
"You love me."
"That's the fever talking."
"Mmm."
She grabs his hand as he sits down on the bed, pulling her close, and she's asleep in minutes. He looks down at her, her face fierce and stubborn, but impossibly soft when she thinks no one's watching.
"Love you too," he whispers.
9.The Swing
Leon built it himself. It was lopsided and creaked ominously whenever anyone sat on it, but Ada never said a word against it. She'd find him out there sometimes, swaying gently, staring at the treeline like he was still expecting something to emerge from it.
One evening, she joined him. She sat beside him, letting the swing rock them both in a slow, rhythmic dance.
"You're thinking about it again," she said. Not a question.
"Hard not to." He rubbed his thumb along the armrest. "Twenty years. Feels like yesterday sometimes."
She reached over and took his hand. "I know."
"What do you think happens after?" he asked. "When we're done with all this. When there's nothing left to fight."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I think we sit on a porch somewhere. And we watch the sun go down. And we don't think about any of it."
He squeezed her hand. "That sounds nice."
"It's not nice yet," she squeezed bqck. "We're not there. But we will be."