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1.The Call
Sherry calls, and Leon puts her on speaker because he's busy making breakfast. Ada's sitting at the table, scrolling through her phone, pretending not to listen.
"So how are things?" Sherry asks.
"Good. Really good." He glances at Ada, a soft smile forms on his face.
"Are you two being cute?"
"We're always cute."
"Ew. I don't wanna hear about it."
"Jealous?"
"Absolutely not. I'm just saying—your relationship is weird, and I love it."
Ada looks up. "Weird how?"
Sherry pauses. "Like... you're both terrifying, but you're also obsessed with each other. It's equal parts scary and sweet."
Ada and Leon exchange a look.
"She's not wrong," Ada says.
"About the scary part or the sweet part?" Leon asked.
"Both."
Sherry laughs. "Anyway, I'm glad you two are finally acting like normal people. It only took, what, three decades?"
"Sherry."
"Just saying!"
2.The Garden
Ada's in the garden, muttering at a tomato plant.
"Grow, you stubborn little—"
"Talking to the tomatoes again?" Leon appears, leaning against the trellis.
"They're not listening."
"Maybe they're shy."
"They're tomatoes. They don't get shy."
He crouches beside her and pokes the soil. "Maybe you're overwatering."
"I'm not overwatering."
"The leaves look yellow."
"Stress."
"What stress?"
"Worldly stress. Tomato stress. It's complicated."
He laughs, pulling her up. "Come inside. I'll make you tea."
"I need to tend to my tomatoes."
"The tomatoes can wait."
So she lets him lead her in. She knows the tomatoes will survive. Like they always do.
3.The Haircut
She cuts his hair because she can't stand his unchanging hairstyle. But she has no idea what she's doing.
"Hold still," she says, holding scissors in her hand.
"I'm holding still."
"You're fidgeting."
"I'm not fidgeting. I'm trembling with fear."
She snips. A chunk of hair falls to the floor.
"How bad is it?" he asks.
"Don't move."
"That's a lot of hair."
"I said don't move."
"Ada—"
"Trust me."
He doesn't. But he holds still anyway. She finishes, steps back, and surveys her work.
It's... not great.
"How bad?" he asks again.
"It's... fine."
"Ada."
"It's fine. It's... a look."
"What look?"
"Confident."
He stands up, walks to the mirror, and stares at himself. His hair is lopsided, uneven, and there's a patch near the back that's definitely shorter than the rest.
"You're not allowed near me with scissors ever again," he says.
She shrugs. "It'll grow back."
"It'll grow back weird."
"Then I'll fix it."
"That's exactly the problem."
She walks over and wraps her arms around him from behind. "I think you look handsome."
"You're lying."
"Completely." She smiles at his reflection. "But you're my handsome, so I get to lie."
4.The Cake
It's Leon's birthday, and Ada decides to bake him a cake. It's her third attempt, and it's the first one that doesn't come out as a lumpy, misshapen disaster.
She sets it on the table, proud of herself.
He walks in and blinks.
"Is that... supposed to be a heart?"
"It's a heart."
"It's kind of lopsided."
"It's a lopsided heart."
He squints at it. "And is that a candle in the middle?"
"It's a candle."
"Why is there only one candle?"
"I didn't know how old you were."
"You know exactly how old I am."
"Forty-six, right?"
"Fifty."
She laughs. "I was joking."
"So was I." He grins.
And she throws a napkin at him.
5.The Jealousy(?)
He's not jealous. He's absolutely not jealous. He's just... noticing that the cashier at the hardware store has been smiling at Ada for a little too long.
"Seems friendly," he says as they leave.
"He's just doing his job."
"Very friendly."
"Leon."
"I'm not jealous."
"You're definitely jealous."
"I'm just making an observation."
She stops walking and turns to him with her arms crossed. "The only man I want is you. You know that, right?"
He rubs the back of his neck. "I know."
"Then stop pouting."
"I'm not pouting."
"You are."
She walks back into the store, walks up to the cashier, and says something. The cashier looks at Leon, then back at her, and nods nervously.
"What did you do?" he asks as she walks back out.
"I told him if he ever smiles at me again, you'll break his legs."
"I never said that."
"I know." She smiles. "But he doesn't."
"You're insane."
"Insanely in love with you."
He arched an eyebrow. "That's the first time you've said that without me prompting."
"Don't get used to it." And she leans up and kisses him.
6.The Shower
She's in the shower, minding her own business, when the curtain slides open.
"Occupied," she says.
"I see that." He's standing there, completely naked.
"Then leave."
"Can't. Water's expensive. We should conserve."
She stares at him. "You're thinking about conserving water by showering with me?"
"Exactly." He steps in before she can argue. "Think of the environment."
The shower is small. There's no room for both of them, but he makes it work by pressing her against the tile.
"Water conservation," she deadpans. "Very noble."
He kisses her neck, and her head falls back. The water runs hot and the shower runs long. Neither of them cares about the environment anyway.
7.The Sleepover
Sherry stays over. She's on a break between missions, and Ada and Leon offer her a spare room. She's nervous—they don't normally do this. It's domestic, weird, and unexpected.
But Sherry shows up, and Ada makes dinner, and Leon tells terrible jokes. It's surprisingly normal. Almost like a family.
"Thank you," Sherry says, late at night. She's sitting on the porch with Ada. "For being... you know. Normal."
Ada raises an eyebrow. "We're not normal."
"Normal for you."
Ada laughs. "That's fair."
"He never talked about you, you know," Sherry says. "For years, I didn't even know you existed. Then one day, he just…mentioned you. And I could tell. Right away. That you were the one."
Ada looks out at the garden. "He waited a long time."
"He'd wait forever." Sherry smiles. "Some people are worth waiting for."
8.The Restaurant
They're at a fancy restaurant. She's wearing that dress—the one that makes him lose all coherent thought.
"Stop staring," she says.
"Can't help it."
"People are watching."
"Let them."
She kicks him under the table. He doesn't flinch. His eyes are fixed on her.
"Eat your food," she says.
"I'm not hungry."
"You said you were."
"I'm hungry for something else."
She slowly takes a sip of her wine, very calm, very composed. "Finish your dinner. Then we'll talk."
He finishes his dinner in under five minutes. She takes her time. Because she enjoys watching him squirm.
9.The Silence
Sometimes they just sit in silence. Ada used to feel strange—a person who lied for a living, now sitting in truth.
"Do you ever miss it?" she asks him one day.
"The missions?"
"The chaos."
He thinks. "Sometimes. But then I wake up, and you're here, and I don't miss anything."
She reaches over and takes his hand. "Me neither."