Archive of Our Own

Leon would’ve rather done ten thousand pushups with a fully grown man on his back than do what he was about to. 

He looked into the mirror, sighing under his breath. The blue, tailored suit he had on felt restrictive, cufflinks cold against his pulse points. The only comfort he had was the familiar weight of his holster under his left armpit. 

He didn’t really recognise himself whenever he wore suits. It didn’t feel natural. 

The itching urge to go out and knock back whatever alcohol he could get his hands on was incessant. Leon tried to remind himself that that was not an option tonight, not least because he was in the Whitehouse. 

It had been three weeks since he had returned from Spain, and things hadn’t gone the way he’d expected. It had been a foolish hope, but Leon had quite liked the idea of taking a little time off after everything, squirrelling himself away to wallow in memories and whiskey for a while. That didn’t happen. 

Instead, he became the man of the hour in all regards. In fact, he was the special guest at tonight’s gala. It was a miracle he’d managed to slip away. 

Slightly less disconcerting than the fact he was currently being regarded as a national hero by America’s elite and their protective agencies, he was also now enemy number one of a terrorist organisation, which had most definitely not been on his bucket list. 

Perhaps Leon should’ve seen it coming, but he hadn’t. There was a small yet vocal Spanish minority that didn’t appreciate his trampling of international order and the blowing up of an entire Spanish island in his endeavour to save the president's daughter. They of course could not explain that the population of said island had been infected with a deadly parasite, since the whole bioterrorism thing wasn’t really something the world's governments wanted to be common knowledge. 

And so instead he had become a bit of a Spanish pariah, a marginado, he supposed. Leon had seen it as all the more reason to vanish for a little while, but the President and his boss had other ideas. They figured that if they allowed him to do that, it would look like they weren’t proud of the work that he had done in Spain. As far as they were concerned, he had done a good thing and it needed to be celebrated. The world needed to know that they stood with the actions of Leon S. Kennedy, no matter if the Spanish people liked it or not. 

Which was exactly how he’d ended up here, hiding in the most pristine bathroom he’d ever been in to avoid the crowds of the US Government's elite. 

Leon hung his head between his arms, closing his eyes and sighing. Behind his eyes all he could see was a continued thrumming of light that seemed to line up with the anxious beats of his heart. 

At the very least, the fact that everything in the bathroom was marble cooled his warm skin somewhat. 

Leon wondered how long he’d have to stay at this before he could get away with excusing himself. How was he meant to be enjoying this when he felt like a prized sheepdog, being petted and coddled by the rich?

He turned on the faucet and leant down, swallowing some cold water. It didn’t quench the thirst for liquor, but it stopped his mouth from being so dry. 

Finally Leon straightened, taking another deep breath as he eyed himself in the reflection. 

He could do this. This was nothing. It was just one evening. 

Leon slipped out of the bathroom and back into the crowd, beelining for the side of the room. He was stopped often, by men who shook his hand and patted his back, or by women who grabbed him by the bicep and fluttered their lashes at him. 

Leon bared his teeth through it and finally waded through towards the snack table, where a few more awkward officials were standing and personal security lined every wall. Leon would’ve much rather he stood with them. At least he’d be working. 

He eyed the various tiny cheeses and non-descript cubes of food, fancy edible flowers and a large fruit centrepiece. Leon had no appetite. 

All of a sudden he felt a hand on his elbow and Leon turned, expecting to come up against another wine drunk woman. Instead, he found a familiar face. 

“Ashley,” his tone sounded a lot more relieved than he’d expected. Ashley smiled at him warmly. 

“Hey!” 

He had seen Ashley a handful of times since their escape, usually in passing through a medical tent or in the corridors of the Whitehouse. She scrubbed up well, hair styled intentionally and an emerald green dress pooling around her feet like liquid metal. 

“Look at you, in a suit,” she smiled wide. Leon couldn’t help but smile back, glad to be with a friend. 

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” he commented. He didn’t miss the tinge of red on the tips of her ears as she shrugged. 

“I’ve been looking for you all night. The man of the hours tricky to get hold of it seems,” Ashley cocked her head at him a little as he let out a scoff. 

“Yeah. You’re telling me.” 

Ashley glanced around, noting the few glances people were throwing their way. 

“You wanna go outside?” She asked, nodding towards one of the balcony doors. Fresh air sounded great. 

“Lead the way,” Ashley led him around the side of the room towards the double doors. Leon couldn’t help but notice a man moving with them, hanging back a little. Ashley’s personal detail, he imagined. 

When they reached the doors she turned back towards him. 

“Can you wait by the door please, Mark?” She asked. Mark the Security guy didn’t look best pleased about it. “Leon’ll keep an eye on me, won’t you?” 

Having something to do sounded good to him. He nodded shortly at Mark. 

“She’s in safe hands,” that was true at least. If Leon could keep her safe through that damn island, he was pretty sure he could handle a balcony in one of the most fortified buildings in the world. 

Mark nodded at him after a moment of hesitance and the two of them turned outside. 

Leon let the chill of the evening wash over him, leaning over the marble balcony and hanging his head between his arms. Ashley leant beside him, facing inward. 

“What’s on your mind?” She asked after a moment of quiet, the hubbub from the room behind them emanating into the space. 

“This isn’t my scene,” he answered vaguely. Ashley sighed. 

“Neither. Especially not anymore,” she turned and leant over the balcony shoulder to shoulder with him, watching small dots of security patrol the grounds that stretched out before them into the dark. “I feel like everyone’s expecting me to be normal. But nothing's normal anymore.” She said softly. “Does that make any sense?”

“Loads,” he answered with a reassuring nod. 

“Yeah, I thought you’d get what I meant.” Ashley sighed, before glancing sidelong at him. “How do you move on from it, Leon? Every time I close my eyes I’m back there. Every time I’m alone.” 

Leon wasn’t sure what to say to that. His heart ached a little for Ashley, mainly because he knew there was nothing he could say. No guidance he could provide, because Leon had no idea how to move on. 

“One day at a time, I guess.” Was his rather unhelpful response. He patted Ashley’s hand. “You’ll get there Ashley. It’s still early days.” 

Ashley sighed, leaning her head against his broad shoulder. Normally Leon would’ve gently pushed her off, eager for her to not get the wrong idea, but he would admit that the touch was nice. 

“I just feel so.. not me.” She continued. “I’m irritable, I’m anxious.” She listed. Ashley waved her free hand. “I was so nervous about tonight.” 

“How come?” Leon asked.

“I just- all this about the Spanish retaliation. I’m just worried that something’s going to happen to us.” 

“C’mon Ashley, as if I’d let anything happen to you.” He said, voice earnest. Because he was. Leon hadn’t gone through everything in Spain to let Ashley or her father down now. As far as he was concerned, Ashley was under his protection forever. He had a duty. 

She pulled her head from his and looked at him, eyes scanning his face. 

“You mean that?” She asked. 

“Of course. We’re a team after all. I’ve got to look out for you.” Suddenly, Ashley leant across the small gap and kissed him. 

Before he could really process what was going on it was over, Ashley pulling back as quickly as she’d pushed in. Leon blinked, frozen for a moment as her eyes widened with abject horror. 

“Oh my god I’m so sorry,” she covered her face with her hands and turned away. “I’m such an idiot,” 

Leon moved, hand on her shoulder and trying to turn her around from where she was trying to escape his gaze. 

“Ashley, it’s ok-“ 

“No, no I’m sorry Leon, I don’t know what I was thinking-“ she tried to shake him off but Leon turned her around and put both hands on her shoulders. 

He wasn’t mad or upset at all. It didn’t take a genius to work out that Ashley had a little bit of a thing for him. But that was ok. It was nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, given all that they’d been through, it felt fairly obvious. 

He wanted to say that maybe when he’d been twenty, he would’ve liked her back. But when he’d been that age he’d had a thing for Ada Wong, so maybe not. 

“Ashley, look at me.” After a moment of hesitation she pulled her hands from her reddened face, looking up at him with complete embarrassment. “It’s ok.” He reassured her softly. “Your feelings are all over the place right now, you’ve been through a lot. Nothing to be embarrassed about.” 

Ashley managed a shy sort of smile. 

“Thank you.” She said quietly. Leon squeezed her shoulders and let go, leaning back onto the balcony. Ashley regarded him for a moment longer, before settling back against him. She pushed some hair out of her face, cheeks still red. “I feel like you’re the only person who understands me at the moment, Leon.”

Leon wished he had someone like that. Well, he could think of one person, but he pushed the thought away as quickly as it had popped into his head. 

“I don’t trust anyone.” She continued, shaking her head. “I don’t even trust my detail.” Ashley picked at her painted nails. Leon didn’t say anything for a long moment, mulling over her words as a gentle breeze swept through the balcony. Personally, Leon was rather glad for Mark. It seemed his presence might’ve been the only thing stopping people from feeling as if they could waltz up to the two of them and completely interrupt their conversation. They were, after all, the stars of this pretentious show. “Yknow I was so nervous about tonight I threw up earlier,” she admitted, then paused. “I brushed my teeth after. Just so..” she gestured loosely to his mouth. “Just so you know.”

Leon let out a genuine laugh which clearly caught Ashley by surprise because the tips of her ears went red again. She smiled at him as he nudged her in the side. 

“How about I come onto your detail for tonight then?” He offered. “Unofficially.”

She glanced at him, eyes wide and hopeful. 

“You’d do that?” Leon would absolutely do that. Having something to do would make this night one thousand percent more bearable. He’d have exits to check and walls to sweep. He’d have something to focus on, which meant his brain couldn’t wander back to awful things as he stood about gormlessly. 

“On one condition,” he held up a finger. 

“Yeah?” 

“You handle most of the small talk for me.” It was a half joke. Ashley smiled and held a hand out. 

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Agent Kennedy.” 

He shook her hand firmly, before pushing off of the balcony’s edge. 

“Alright, let’s face the music.” He sighed, turning back towards the hell that was socialising. 

“You’ll stay close?” Ashley checked. He threw her a look. 

“C’mon Ashley, you’re my only friend in there. Where would I go?” 

She smiled warmly at him, face full of genuine affection and appreciation before she turned back towards the crowd. Ashley all but marched into her familiar territory, pausing to explain to Mark why Leon would be sticking close. 

He followed behind her, nodding politely at Mark who seemed confused but not suspicious. 

Leon stuck close to Ashley’s side as the masses descended, everyone eager to speak to the two of them together. 

It was a marvel to Leon how no one here, despite their positions, had the tact to wonder if it was appropriate to ask about the most traumatising event in Ashley’s life. But no. They probed, they asked inappropriate questions, made pointless comments, and Leon was in awe of Ashley the entire time. She had so much grace. She was so quick to elegantly redirect a question, or turn something into a joke, or make the most passive-aggressive, polite retort to something she didn’t like without a second thought. 

Leon was impressed by her sharp tongue and quick wit. It was more than he would ever manage in social situations like this. During a brief respite, when a tray of drinks sailed by Ashley picked one up and turned towards him to knock it back in secret. 

Leon scoffed largely in disbelief, putting a hand on her back. 

“Careful,” 

“God I hate this,” she muttered. “You know I told my father I didn’t want this at all, and that you wouldn’t either. Did he listen? No.” 

As if on cue, Ashley spotted her father over Leon’s shoulder and quickly pushed the empty glass into his hands. 

There was something incredibly universal about the experience of trying to hide underage drinking from one’s parents, he supposed. Or he guessed. He wouldn’t know. 

“There he is,” President Graham clapped Leon on the back as he swanned around to face the two of them, large smile on his face. Leon could see the tired eyes he carried with him. “The man of the hour.” 

“Mr President,” Leon nodded respectfully. Graham leant over and kissed his daughter on the cheek. 

“Are you having a nice evening, Ash?” He asked. Ashley threw him a rather exasperated look. 

“I’m too nervous, Daddy. I told you that.” 

“And I told you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Out of the corner of Leon’s eye, he spotted something. Conversation continued as he glanced between father and daughter, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

No. It couldn’t be. 

Leon shook it off after a moment, mainly because of the environment he was in. There was no way. No one was that ballsy. 

“Are you enjoying tonight, at least, Leon?” President Graham asked. He turned his eyes away from the crowd and nodded, lying straight through his teeth. 

“It’s a nice night.” He said. “I’m having fun, as long as Ashley’s here.” Her disgruntled face turned a little happier, and she smiled at him. 

And then, he saw it again. Leon turned towards the crowd, narrowing his eyes. There it was. A sliver of blood red, standing out like a sore thumb amidst the wash of gold, navy’s and deep greens. 

Ashley followed his gaze, suddenly concerned. 

“What is it?” 

Leon tore his eyes away from the crowd and back to the Grahams. 

“Nothing, I just..” he paused. “I think there’s someone I know over there.” He explained. “I’ll be right back,” 

He turned to excuse himself and Ashley called after him. 

“Leon!” He glanced backwards. She looked worried. Leon leant across and squeezed her hand tight, eyes boring into her own. 

“I’ll be right back, Ashley. I promise.” She searched his face for a moment before nodding and letting go. 

“Ok.” 

Leon offered another curt nod to her father before turning into the crowd, heart already pattering against his ribcage. 

She couldn’t be here. There was no way she would ever willingly plant herself in the Whitehouse, when she was considered an enemy of the state. Someone wanted dead or alive, which the federal agents she’d be mingling with should’ve known all too well. 

Even the thought of her being there made Leon’s gut twist in a way he couldn’t name but told himself was anxiety. If she was here it only meant trouble. 

Leon had half been expecting to find nothing when he got to the other end of the ornate ballroom. Perhaps he had simply imagined her, or perhaps she had slipped away. 

But he didn’t find that at all. 

What he found instead, leaning against a white stone pillar with a drink in hand, waiting for him, was Ada Wong. 

She looked much the same as when he’d seen her three weeks ago. Her makeup and hair were as pristine as ever, and she was in a beautiful red dress that, Leon couldn’t help but notice, hugged her body in all of the right ways. She had a small smile on her face and she was looking straight at him. 

Leon stood there for a moment, completely agog as he stared at her. She actually was just swanning around a gala full of the very armed people who would get several awards if they managed to bring her into US Custody. 

And she wasn’t even sweating. 

Leon approached, footfalls heavy against the floor. 

“Hey, handsome.” 

He wasted no time, crowding her against the pillar she leaned upon. Ada didn’t move at all, she just raked her eyes up his body and to his face. 

For a moment, Leon didn’t know what to say. Mainly because he had no idea how to feel. 

His brain and gut were churning with different thoughts and emotions. There was a large part that was angry with her, at the fact that she had taken the amber to do who knows what with, the fact that she had never explained anything to him and the fact that she had the nerve to turn up here. He wanted answers so badly from her Leon thought it might kill him. 

Part of him wanted to take her in. He couldn’t believe she thought she could come to an event like this and get away with it. Which he supposed, was what she was currently doing. 

When he looked into her deep eyes, Leon couldn’t help but notice the prong of hurt that stabbed deep. Despite all that had transpired in Spain, he still couldn’t trust Ada, and that hot prong was exactly why. Her betrayal kept him up more nights than he would’ve liked to admit.

The other half of his sleepless nights were due to the undercurrent pulling him towards her like a sailor to a siren. Leon couldn’t help the way he wanted to make up the little space between them right there in the middle of the crowd. 

He wet his lips, letting out a long breath. 

“What are you doing here, Ada?” He asked, voice low. Ada cocked her head at him. 

“I heard we were celebrating the man of the hour. You think I’d miss that?” It was as infuriating a response as always. The day he got a straight answer out of her was the day the government let him retire. His anger flared and Leon ducked closer. 

“Have you got any idea what would happen if anyone here realised who you were?” He muttered hotly. Ada only tilted her head at him, leaning forward slightly. 

“Maybe you should stop drawing attention to me then,” she whispered. Before Leon could reply, completely dumbfounded by her lack of fear, he heard someone call his name behind them. 

Leon turned, paling at the sight of his boss. 

Simon was Leon’s direct line manager. He had a fair amount of respect for the guy. He only wished he’d approve more holiday. 

“There you are- oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the other man commented, eyeing Ada who was still leant against the pillar. If only he knew who this was. This was a man who had every legal right and moral obligation to shoot Ada dead then and there. 

“You didn’t,” Leon’s voice came out a little more ragged than he’d expected. Simon raised his eyebrows expectantly and Leon realised he was being forced to introduce Ada Wong to his boss. “Simon this is..” he immediately trailed off. 

“I’m his date,” Ada held a hand out and Simon shook it. Leon swallowed tight, glancing at her sidelong. There wasn’t an ounce of panic in her. “Rosa.” The lies rolled so easily off of her tongue, Leon was almost impressed. 

“Well it’s lovely to meet you Rosa, I’m Simon. Leon’s manager,” Simon flashed him a ‘woah’ glance, before training his gaze back on his employee. “Senantor Hollis is looking for you, whenever you find a moment Leon.” 

“Thank you,” he nodded curtly. Simon clearly got the hint that he had in fact interrupted because, sparing Ada one more intentioned glance, he left with a polite smile. 

Leon breathed out, turning back towards her. 

“Do you actually understand how reckless this is, Ada?” He asked, voice low. “If he knew who you were, do you know how fast you’d get locked up? Interrogated?” Ada’s face didn’t change. 

“And what would you do, Leon? If they came for me?” She asked. Ada pressed forward from the pillar a little, landing a slender hand on his chest as she ducked into his space. Leon felt a little weak at the knees. It was all he wanted to take her away from here. But at the same time, the cockiness she had written all over her visit was driving him mad. She really did just do whatever she wanted with no repercussions. How unfair. 

“Would you protect me?” She whispered. The hubbub of the crowd all but fell away. Leon wanted to melt into her. She felt like the most intoxicating of poisons to him. 

But the question struck him like a bolt of clarifying lightning. Because he couldn’t tell her. He didn’t know. 

What kind of agent was he, if he was willing to throw away everything he stood for and had been trained to do for some mercenary when she batted her lashes at him?

Leon knew she was far more than that, deep down. But what could he do? Admit it? That was only a world of pain waiting to happen. 

“Or would you turn me in?” She cocked her head at him, eyes dark and deep as they bore upwards into his own. Leon regarded her from the end of his nose, refusing to tilt his face down to meet hers. He was sure it would only end in him doing something he’d regret. 

Leon hated this damn suit. He was so hot. 

“What are you really doing here, Ada?” He asked, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. 

“I told you, handsome. I’m here for you.” There was a tinge of sincerity in her tone that made Leon actually wonder if she was telling the truth. 

“Leon?” He heard Ashley’s voice approaching from behind and he turned to see her appearing from the droves. “Oh! There you are!” She seemed incredibly relieved to see him. “Did you find the person you knew?” 

Leon glanced over his shoulder. Ada was gone. 

He resisted an anxious sigh. 

“No, it wasn’t who I thought it was.” 

He was nervous now. Ada’s presence only meant one thing: trouble, which Leon was not looking to be back in so soon. Especially not with Ashley and the President of the United States also present. 

“Are you ok?” Ashley asked with a quiet frown, squeezing his arm. 

“Yeah fine. It’s just warm in here, isn’t it?” For a brief moment as Ashley nodded, Leon considered telling her the truth. She was the only person in the place who would understand the gravity of Ada’s attendance. 

But she was already nervous and Leon didn’t know for a fact that something was going to go wrong. He just had a huge hunch. Best not to stress her out over a hunch. 

“We can go grab something to drink. It might help,” Ashley took his hand and began to pull Leon through the crowd back towards the food table. Now, Leon scanned the room with intent. 

Things looked normal. No security out of place, no strange loitering or places to hide. No second floor or vantage points. 

And no Ada. 

Leon only tuned back in when Ashley passed him a large cup of non-descript, pinkish juice. 

“What is this?” 

“It’s punch!” She smiled. Leon couldn’t help but scoff. Having punch at the Whitehouse events definitely felt like an Ashley request. He took a sip of it. It was painfully sweet. “What do you think?” She asked. 

“It’s not bad, as long as you want dentures by thirty.” 

Ashley laughed, and for a moment Leon felt a little better. He didn’t feel safe by any means, but he felt less anxious than he had two minutes beforehand. 

And then, as if he’d jinxed it, Leon spotted a flash out of the corner of his eye. It was red and glaring and everything happened at once. 

Leon grabbed Ashley by the shoulders and threw them to the ground. A loud pop echoed through the chamber and people started screaming. 

Leon wasted no time, pulling back from covering Ashley to see her face pale and eyes wide. 

“Leon!” She cried in panic. 

“Behind the table, go!” He pulled her up and she crawled around to the minute safety of the side of the food table. 

Straightening as he pulled his gun from the holster, Leon glanced about the room. People were screaming and beginning to scatter, shoving their way through the crowds and trampling over each other. He could see various members of security trying to wade through the panic towards different people. 

But Leon didn’t trust them one bit. He had no idea where that shot had come from, and he wasn’t convinced it wasn’t someone who they were meant to be trusting. 

He looked around for the President, assuming immediately that that was who the hit out was on, but he couldn’t spot him or the First Lady. 

Leon followed Ashley to the table, and just as he crouched beside her another stray shot pinged off of one of the silver plates. She yelped in panic and covered her head. Leon squinted out through the crowd, trying his best to spot where it had come from. But for all he knew, there might’ve been multiple. 

“Leon! What do we do?” Ashley asked. It was a good question. There weren’t many viable exits, most of them blocked by the barrage of terror. People were flooding onto the balconies and to the corners of the room, trying to find cover wherever they could. 

But the longer they sat here the worse the situation would get, he was sure. 

Another shot smashed glass on the table and Leon ducked again, holding his free arm over Ashley’s head to protect her from the shards. 

And that was when he realised. 

This wasn’t a hit on the President. Not singularly at least. 

They were going after him. Whether he was the main target or he was in the way of their aiming at Ashley he didn’t know yet. 

“Wait here. When I say, we’re going to go for that door behind us.” Leon ordered clearly, completely ignoring the way his heart was hammering out of his ribs. It was just about waiting for the bottleneck to die down so they could make their escape. 

“Ok,” Ashley agreed, hugging herself as close to the table as she could. Leon peeked back over the top and finally spotted that red dot sight again, tucked behind a pillar similar to the one Ada had been leant against earlier. 

Where was Ada?

Had she known this was going to happen? 

To make matters worse, Leon could see two more sights aimed his way from different points in the room. 

Shit. 

He ducked back down to avoid another few attempts at his life. When he stuck his head back above the parapet he aimed straight down the first spot he had seen, shooting a few rounds just right of the pillar. 

Over the noise, Leon couldn’t tell if it hit. A shot rang out very close to Leon’s ear and he tried to flatten himself more to the floor. 

“Ashley!” Leon glanced right to see President Graham being ushered from the room, pushing against his detail in an attempt to get to his daughter. Ashley looked up, eyes wide and fearful. 

“Daddy!!” Security shut the door after him. Across the space Leon made eye contact with Mark, who was braced against a pillar of his own. Mark nodded, nodding his head at the door the President had just gone out of. 

Alright. 

“Ashley, we're moving. Just keep running, straight to Mark. I’m right behind you.” He told her clearly. Ashley unfurled a little to glance about, noticing Mark on the other side of the space. It was a little bit of an obstacle course to get across, the room still full of people running and shoving. But she nodded anyway, taking a shaky breath. 

“Ok!” 

“Alright, go!” 

Ashley leapt up as Leon did, aiming straight for the shooter tucked into the left hand side of the room. He moved close behind Ashley, reloading half way across the space. 

It was hard to tell, but he thought the middle shooter might’ve been down. He was still getting a fair bit of grief from the left. The right was surprisingly quiet. 

The shooter paused to reload as Leon hurried Ashley through the crowd and borrowed time. A man came out of nowhere and nearly bowled her over but Leon tugged her back by the arm and steadied her, before pressing her forward again. 

The shooter restarted their assault and Leon ducked low to avoid a shot that would’ve absolutely caught him between the eyes. 

Finally, after crossing the words longest room he all but pushed Ashley into the relative safety of Mark’s arms behind the pillar. 

“Are you injured, Miss Graham?” Was his first question. Ashley, out of breath and panicked, shook her head. 

“No. Are my mom and dad ok?”

“Come on. I’ll escort you to the safe room.” Mark pulled on her hand, gun drawn and ready but Ashley grabbed onto Leon.

“Leon, wait- come with me.” 

“Go to your dad, Ashley. I’m right behind you.” He said, squeezing her hand on his arm. She looked terrified. Leon could imagine why. Everything she’d been scared about happening tonight, just had. 

“Promise?”

“I promise. Mark’ll keep you safe,” Mark nodded curtly at Leon and with one more worried glance, Ashley followed him out of the room. 

Right. Time to see who their target was. 

The room was emptying rapidly now. As Leon press-checked his gun, he risked a glance out towards the ballroom. Glass was smashed, sparkling on the ground. There was a distinct spattering of blood, trailing in various directions, stark against the gold interior. Leon could hear the whistling of the wind. 

He saw the telltale red dot from his left again and ducked backwards, avoiding a shot that embedded into the wall behind him. Leon fired a couple shots himself, but none made contact. 

He needed a better angle. 

Leon considered his options. The next pillar was probably twelve feet away, towards the shooter. It was risky. There was nothing protecting him from his current position to there. 

But it had to be done. If he kept trying to waste bullets, he’d run out, and then he’d really be fucked. 

He glanced downward and steeled himself. 

“Fuck me. I wish I was drunk.” He muttered, before dashing for it. A spray of shots whistled over his head as Leon all but dove for the other pillar, pressing himself flat against it without a scratch. 

He let out a short breath and, peering around, got a good look at one half of the shooter. He was pressed as close to the wall as he could be, but it wasn’t enough to shield him completely. 

Leon dodged a few more shots, bar one which grazed his upper arm and ripped a tidy hole in the suit he hated so much, before turning and firing on his attacker. 

Two shots made contact and he let out a cry of pain. 

Then, as soon as it had started, everything was over. Police and security flooded the room from every door, including the one behind his attacker and grabbed him. As soon as they did he started screaming in Spanish, kicking at them and spitting in Leon’s general direction. 

Vindication about his theory didn’t feel great. It had been a hit out on him. 

Leon really hoped no one had been hurt in the crossfire. He wasn’t sure he’d ever sleep again with such guilt on his shoulders. 

“I’ve got two down over here, Captain! Requesting medical,” 

Leon frowned a little, risking a trip over towards the shooters. The kerfuffle didn’t allow him to get too close, and for someone who’d been doing most of the work of all of these men combined, no one seemed keen on making sure he was alright or giving him a pat on the back, but he could see through the group the men that they were talking about. 

The first was a guy crumpled against the middle pillar, assumedly the one Leon had successfully taken out. He had a nice chunk blown out of his shoulder and neck. It looked gnarly. 

The other guy, the red dot Leon assumed he’d spotted on the right, was far more bizarre. He knew he hadn’t gotten a single hit on the guy, mainly because he’d barley fired on Leon. 

And now he knew why. He was slumped face first against the pillar with a long crossbow bolt sticking out of his back, directly where his heart would’ve been. 

Ada. 

Leon considered himself a bit of an opportunist. Some would call him risky. Maybe even stupid. 

Noticing how easy it would be to slip away in the middle of all of this chaos, Leon did just that. He felt a little bad not beelining straight for where he knew they’d taken Ashley, but there was something more pressing to him in that moment. 

He traversed the panicked halls of the Whitehouse wing, sidestepping sprinting medics and pushing his way through crowds as silently as he could. Leon supposed, if he wanted to find Ada Wong, he had to exist in the fringes of it all as much as she did. 

And for once, he knew exactly what his plan was when he found her. 

It was easy to swipe some cable ties from a member of Whitehouse security as they bustled past. It was easier still to slip into a back corridor, trusting his intuition like a dog would trust its nose to a bone. 

And as he headed hurriedly down a flight of darkened, empty stairs away from the panic and fear of upstairs, Leon ran into her. 

She was stood at the other end of the corridor when he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Lit only by silhouette, Leon watched her pack down her crossbow into tiny parts, before arranging them inside her purse. 

“Ada.” He said plainly. She turned, glancing over her shoulder. 

“What are you doing down here?” She asked. “Sounds like the party is upstairs,” 

Leon’s patience snapped and he approached, footfalls heavy against the blue carpet. 

“Drop whatever you have on you, Ada.” He ordered. Ada only raised a lazy eyebrow. 

“Oh come on Leon. You of all people should know I’d never be involved with something as sloppy as th-“ He reached her and pulled a knife straight out of the back of his belt to her throat. Ada went still, surprised for all but a flash, before her polished demeanour returned. “Are you angry with me?” She asked. 

“Drop. It.” He told her. Ada eyed him for a long moment, pupils twinkling with something almost curious. She didn’t seem worried. She didn’t seem annoyed. She was just curious. 

Ada extended her arm and very deliberately dropped her bag onto the corridor floor.  Leon’s grip didn’t waver. 

“And the knife.” 

She sighed and leant down against the blade to dislodge a thick knife from the holster wrapped around her leg. She passed that to him. 

“What’s the plan now, Agent Kennedy?” She seemed to mock him, clearly believing that he hadn’t thought this through past disarming her and asking his repetitive questions again. 

But this time, Leon had other plans. 

He took the knife from her throat and turned Ada around, pushing her to the nearest wall. She let out a tiny intake of breath, the only indication that she was shocked. 

“I’m sick of your games, Ada.” Leon grabbed both of her wrists from behind her. Not hard enough to hurt, but just enough that she knew he meant business. Ada let it happen. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, sounding for the first time, genuinely baffled. There was no hint of fear in her voice. She was just confused. Despite it all though, she didn’t fight him. She didn’t try and push him off or tangle him into a knot which Leon knew she could do. 

She just glanced back at him as Leon pulled out the zip tie. That was the only time she made any sort of attempt at resistance, experimentally pushing back against him and the wall. But Leon didn’t let up, keeping one hand tight around both of her wrists as he tied them together with the other. 

Leon spun Ada around to face him and found that, surprisingly, she looked rather flush. Leon too felt flush, mainly with pure anger at her. Why she was so hard to rattle was beyond him. 

“You didn’t want to buy me dinner first?” She asked. Leon sheathed her knife in his own belt as Ada made a move to try and wrap her ankle around his leg. Leon didn’t trust it and he pushed her off, grabbing her by the arm. “What’s the plan, Leon?” She said it in a way that made her sound entirely unphased by the situation. 

“You’re coming with me.” He answered, tugging her up the corridor by the arm. Ada only dug her heels in slightly.  

“To where?” Leon wasn’t sure Ada had ever asked him this many questions before. It seemed he really had, finally, done something she hadn’t expected. 

“It doesn’t matter. Keep walking.” 

Leon kept a hand on her back, pushing her up the corridor. 

“Do you usually kidnap women on the first date, or am I just one of the lucky ones?” 

Leon ignored her, guiding her through the darkened corridors and out towards where he knew he’d left his car. 

He didn’t have time to consider whether or not this was a good idea. Ada was right, this was technically a kidnapping, even though the victim seemed completely unbothered by it. 

But Leon knew he may never get the opportunity again to find out what he wanted from Ada. If he needed to physically restrain her to get his answers, then he’d do just that. 

Leon kept a warm hand tight around her wrist when they broke into the cool of the evening. They were around a darkened corner, away from the panic and flashing blue and red lights a ways away. He’d never been more grateful for his private parking. It had seemed a little bit of a stupid gesture at the time, maybe not the gift equivalent for saving the president's daughter from an infected cult, but it definitely worked out when he wanted to kidnap mercenaries. 

Leon weaved through the other few cars that were there, reaching his own. He dug his car key out of his pocket and unlocked the back door. 

Opening it, he glanced at Ada. 

“In.” 

She looked at him for a long moment, eyes searching and with that same sparkling curiosity. She seemed almost to be wondering how far he’d really take this. If at any point he’d realise the insane thing he was doing and let her go. 

But Leon wasn’t going to do that. He knew it was insane, but he’d made peace with it. If he had to do an insane thing to get his answers and finally sleep at night, then he would. 

“Ada.” He warned. 

Wordlessly, Ada slipped inside of the car, never once breaking eye contact with him as she lowered herself down and settled, as much as she could with her hands behind her back, into the back seat. 

Leon shut the door and locked it, swallowing tightly as he made his way around to the front. 

Ok, maybe there was a tiny part of him wondering if he had lost the plot and should let her go.

No. He was doing his duty. Finding out anything he could about Ada Wong was important, for the safety of the country. How he got those answers didn’t matter so much. 

He got into the car and made sure every door was locked, starting it up. Leon turned the car around and took a side exit, since he knew the police would try and stop anyone from leaving from the front. 

It was a bit of an illegal route and he was pretty sure he’d trampled some nice red, white and blue flower beds, but there were more pressing matters. 

Leon kept his lights off until he was well shot of the panic and confusion of the Whitehouse. He knew they wouldn’t find anything useful in there. He’d kidnapped the only lead they might’ve had. 

Leon’s phone rang in his pocket. He didn’t pick it up. 

Glancing at the rear view, he saw Ada already staring. She blinked slowly like a cat, eyeing him in the mirror wordlessly. 

Suddenly being in a confined space with Ada made Leon think back, pointlessly, to that cable car. His heart picked up just thinking about it. In anger or something else, Leon couldn’t be sure. 

He’d felt so betrayed then. So used. And Ada had never offered a good explanation. 

Leon wasn’t sure there would be one. 

More pressing than that however, were all of her contradictions. All of the times she had helped him or saved him despite her mission, and all of the times where it made no sense. 

The answer had swirled around his head incessantly since he’d returned from Spain. What would motivate her to do that? Lust? Nostalgia? Tactical gain?

Or could it be, maybe, that Ada Wong just cared?

He needed to know. He had to find answers or Leon was sure it might kill him. That fervour kept his resolve unwavering. 

“So what is it, Leon? Are you turning me in?” She asked. Leon didn’t reply for a long moment, grip tight on the wheel.

“This is what’s going to happen Ada.” He said, voice steady. “You’re going to answer all of my questions. If you don’t, or if I think you’re lying, I will turn you in. And after tonight, I don’t think they’ll be as nice as me.” 

He was bluffing, a little bit. It would take a lot for him to turn Ada in. But he didn’t want to admit that. That made him bad at his job. 

Ada raised a lazy eyebrow in the rearview. 

“Look at you with a plan,” she said, voice almost amused. Her tone always sounded like butter. It made Leon’s grip loosen ever so slightly on the wheel, before he actively reaffirmed it. God, she was like a siren. “I quite like you forthcoming.” That was one word for whatever this was, Leon supposed. 

He ignored her goading and drove up the road, focusing more on the streets in front of him and trying not to get caught up in the wash of her sweet perfume. 

A thought flashed through his mind of just how easy it would be to pull this car over, hop in the backseat, cut her loose and get completely lost in her in that moment. The thought passed slower than he would’ve liked. 

Leon swallowed tightly. 

His resolve wavered ever so slightly. Was this mad? 

Before Leon could decide, he had pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building. Ada glanced out of the window. She seemed confused for a moment, before a rather delighted realisation lit her eyes up. She was enjoying this way more than he wanted her to. 

“Now you really should’ve bought me dinner first.” 

Leon got out of the car and made his way around to her, opening the door and helping her out. She eyed him for a moment, like a cat would playing with a bird, before he gently pushed her towards the building. 

Leon had deliberately chosen an apartment that was next to the fire escape, largely so he didn’t have to talk to anyone on his way in and partly because he wanted to feel like he had options for escape, should the situation ever arise. 

He hadn’t expected it to transpire that said fire escape was also great for kidnapping women. 

Leon walked her up two flights of external stairs before letting himself in through the always ajar door, into the apartment complex corridor. The building manager had always been very lax on health and safety. 

Keeping one hand on Ada’s wrist, Leon dug his house key out and unlocked his front door, pressing her inside before anyone could see them in the corridor and call the police. 

Only when the door was shut and they were completely in the dark did Leon consider the state he had left his apartment in. 

He flicked the light on and watched Ada scan the room from the door. 

He had left it in better states, but he’d cleaned about a week ago so it could’ve been worse. From the doorway he could see his small kitchenette and couch. Two doors were opposite them: a bathroom and bedroom. They were both closed, thankfully. He knew he’d left his bedroom covered in clothes after trying to find the right suit to wear for a few hours. 

On the kitchen side he had a grocery bag he hadn’t unpacked, empty whisky bottles sat in the sink and a rather sad looking fruit bowl. On the coffee table there were several holsters, silver polish and his spare handgun. The apartment looked a little stark, mainly because Leon spent so little time in it and didn’t care much to make it homely. It was perhaps a bit of self-inflicted depravity. 

Ada turned over her shoulder to him. 

“This is cozy.” She smiled. Leon glanced down at her and walked her backwards into the room. 

“Sit down.” 

“Is this intel technique in the STRATCOM handbook?” She asked, cocking her head at him. Her calves hit the couch. 

“Sit. Down.” 

Ada lowered herself onto the couch. Leon moved the handgun away from the coffee table and pulled it out to sit on top of it opposite her. She watched him silently, eyes never leaving his face. 

“Lay it on me then, handsome. Ask away.” 

Leon let out a long breath, eyes boring into her own. He considered cutting her free, but he didn’t trust her enough. Besides, she seemed comfortable considering everything, crossing her legs and sitting back against the couch. 

Now came the issue. What did he ask first? 

Leon’s phone rang again and he turned it off, setting it down beside him. 

“What were you doing at the gala tonight?” He asked first. Ada cocked her head at him a little. 

“I already told you that, Leon. I was there for you.” Leon frowned, shaking his head a little. That made no sense. 

Unless… 

“You knew there was a hit out on me?” He asked, eyebrows raising in surprise. Ada shrugged. 

But if she already knew that, that meant Ada was there… to protect him. Again. Why would she do that? Why would she come all the way to Washington and put herself at risk, being in the same room as people who could and would kill her, just for him?

“Well, you didn’t have the rounds to deal with more than three.” She said plainly. He blinked. 

“How many were there?” 

“How many Spaniards can fit in a pick-up?” 

God, she would never just give him a straight answer. But in a way, she didn’t need to. The truth of what she was saying was that Leon had been in a fuck ton more trouble before she’d arrived. And if Leon knew what she was like, she’d deliberately revealed herself to him, so that he’d be on high alert. 

Leon felt so easily read. 

And her plan was to vanish into the night without any explanation. How many times had she saved Leon’s skin that he didn’t even know about? 

And why? 

“Why would you do that?” He asked. She smiled at him. 

“You saved me in Spain from Saddler. I don’t do debt.” 

“Don’t lie to me, Ada. We’re not even. You’ve done more for me than I you and we both know it. You don’t owe me.” 

Ada brushed the toe of her heeled stiletto up the inside of his shin. 

“So why do you think I did it?” She asked. 

Leon could think of a few reasons. But he didn’t want to voice them. If he was wrong, he looked like a fool and it would sting more than he’d care to admit. But if he was right, it was worse. 

If he was right, Leon knew himself better than to think he could resist the truth. 

“Foot down.” He ordered. Ada seemed minutely surprised that he had called her out but she shifted her foot back, pursing her lips in a tiny pout. “Who were you working for in Spain?” Was his next question. Ada smiled, glancing away across the room to the darkened window. 

“I can’t tell you that.”

“That’s not an option.” He reminded her. Ada looked back at him. She looked conflicted, almost as if she wanted to call his bluff. Leon hoped she didn’t. He wasn’t sure what he would do if faced with the reality of actually taking her in. 

“Why does it matter so much to you, Leon?” was what she asked instead. “What’s done is done. Why can’t you just.. forget it?” Her choice of words seemed pointed, and Leon got the impression they weren’t talking about her elusive boss anymore. 

His frown deepened. 

“You’d sleep a lot easier at night if you didn’t worry about whatever I’m up to, and just accepted the help whenever I gave it.”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. 

“Why?”

“Because it makes no sense, Ada. You make absolutely no sense.” Ada tilted his head at him a little. 

“So stop trying to make sense of me.” 

It was a fair point. Perhaps if she had been anyone else, Leon would’ve been able to let the mystery go. But it was Ada, so he couldn’t. Besides, she was acting like he was the one chasing her, when she kept turning up whenever he happened to be about to get into trouble. 

“What did you do with the amber?” Leon tried to press on, but his resolve was weakening. He felt like he was going mad. Despite the fact that he literally had her tied up, somehow it still felt as if she had the upper hand. It was making him crazy. 

“I have it.” She said casually. Leon frowned. 

“You were paid to steal it for someone else?”

“Our visions didn’t align.” Ada answered smoothly. Leon stared at her for a long moment, cogs whirring behind his eyes. He could see the same opposite him. It was all a chess game to Ada. 

“Were you working for the same person in Raccoon City?” He asked, breaking the silence. Ada narrowed her eyes a little, settling back into the couch. It was strangely intimate, having Ada in his home. Despite the circumstances, she fit in well. Leon could imagine her in here with him. 

He tried to bat the intrusive thought away to the recesses of his brain. What a ridiculous sentiment. 

“Careful, Leon. You sound jealous.” 

“Ada-“ his tone was warning, but she cut him off. 

“Why don’t you just ask the question you really want to and let me go? I have places to be, rookie.” Her voice wasn’t light, but it wasn’t angry either. She just sounded a little bored. 

Leon set his jaw, old anger he had found in the underbelly of Raccoon City resurfacing like a snake up his throat. He leant forward a little. 

“What about the situation you’re in right now makes you think you have any control, Ada?” He asked. Ada leant forward too, unfolding her legs. 

“What about me gives you the impression I can’t get out of zip ties?” She asked, narrowing her eyes almost playfully at him. Leon was so furious he could feel it bubbling under his skin. 

“So why are you still here?” He pressed. Ada shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Maybe I’m just waiting for you to finally surprise me,” 

Leon crashed his lips into hers before he could think much more about it. In a split second, alarm bells starting ringing in his head and he nearly pulled back, immediately realising just how much of a bad idea this was. What kind of trouble was he trying to get himself into? 

But then Ada let out a tiny noise against his mouth and all inhibitions vanished. Every ounce of pent up frustration and confusion and longing poured out onto Ada’s tongue from his soul. The air around them was charged with so much, it was impossible to name. 

This didn’t feel anything like the kiss they had shared in Racoon City. That had been soft and youthful, earnest and sweet. This was anything but. 

It felt like a war, teeth brushing and tongues licking over one another. Leon pressed Ada backwards, and weighed up cutting her free. On the one hand, the idea of having Ada’s hands on his body was entirely thrilling. On the other, he just could not trust her. Besides, for the first time in his life, Leon actually had the upper hand over Ada Wong. 

She tasted sweet, like cherries and something more morbid underneath. Leon couldn’t help the way his heart pounded and his gut churned with anxiety. This was a horrible idea. 

But he couldn’t help it. He felt like he’d been drugged, hands wavering from where they were clutching at her neck, the other pressed against the skin of her back. There was still so much he was itching to know. But he wondered if he could find out the answers without having to ask. 

Maybe this would be just as enlightening. 

Leon pulled her up by the small of her back and Ada obliged, standing from the couch. With one hand slipping down through the slit of her dress and grasping at her thigh, Leon helped Ada straddle his lap, knees pressed into the cold of the coffee table.

In a way, it was all Leon had ever wanted to have Ada this close. His hands were full of her as they roamed her body and the thin fabric that covered it. Her perfume smelt like black cherry and vanilla. Leon felt like he could taste it on her tongue. He felt like he was drowning in it. She was bewitching. 

“Cut me loose would you, handsome?” She purred against his lips. Leon considered it for a moment. But no. This felt like the only way he had any semblance of control over the situation. 

“No.” He denied. “I like you like this,” 

He heard, so tiny he thought he might’ve imagined it, a sharp intake of breath from Ada. 

It sounded like something had finally surprised her. 

Leon chased the feeling like a drug, moving from her mouth to attack her throat, biting and sucking with the frustration of someone who felt like he was attracted to sand between his fingers. 

Ada tilted her head upwards and let out a gentle sound that went straight to Leon’s stomach. His hand cupped the back of her neck, keeping her caught between it and his hot mouth. Her hair tickled his jaw. 

There was something rather uncharacteristically possessive about the way he sucked this mark into her skin. Leon had never considered himself a particularly domineering person but this woman had pushed him so far off the edge he felt like he had no choice but to grasp for any crumb of control he could get over her. 

Ada had always had the upper hand. She was always one step ahead. 

It made him crazy. 

When there was a nice purple mark blooming on the pale of Ada’s throat, Leon pulled her lips back into his. She rolled her hips against him and a groan was pulled from his throat. 

Jesus. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been this hot. 

Leon broke the kiss to push his suit jacket off of his shoulders. Ada watched as he discarded it behind them. 

She eyed him, expression hard to read, as Leon unclipped his cufflinks with deft fingers and rolled both of his sleeves up to the elbow. It did very little to help cool him down. 

He looked back at Ada, who was eyeing his forearms. When she felt his gaze on her face she glanced back upwards to meet his eye. Her lipstick was smudged and the mark on her neck was thrumming a good blue. 

They regarded each other for a long moment, Ada tilting her head at him a little. 

“Is this repayment for saving your life earlier?” She asked. Leon pulled her closer, muttering into her lips. 

“You know I’m not going to let you go until you tell me why you keep saving my life.” He heard that same quiet hitch of breath that satisfied him so much. “I can keep you here a long time, Ada.”

“Oh yeah?” She asked. “What if you don’t like the answer?” 

That gave Leon pause. He didn’t know what she meant by that, but he wasn’t loving the implications. He glanced up at her dark eyes, pupils blown wide, and shrugged. 

“Then you better come up with one that I do like.” 

Ada’s eyes flashed with intrigue, searching over his face for a moment. 

“You are angry with me, aren’t you?” 

“Furious.” Leon kissed her fiercely again, Ada letting out a small sound as she responded in kind. 

He had a choice now, he knew. 

Everything in Leon was telling him that this was probably a horrible idea. His feelings towards Ada were impossible to articulate, or understand for that matter. A large part of him was insisting that this would only complicate the matter. A smaller part of him was saying perhaps it would finally get her out of his system. 

Leon didn’t trust that part of him. In fact, he feared quite the opposite. That if he went through with this he would spend the rest of his life clamoring for another hit. 

But here, in the intimacy of his own home with Ada so willing, on top of him and without the ability to immediately vanish, what came next almost felt inevitable. He would’ve had to be a stronger man to resist it. 

He pulled back, eyeing her face one more time as if the sight would somehow convince him to stop this. Ada’s cheeks were flush, lips swollen slightly and eyes dark and exacting. Something about his face clearly gave Leon away, as it always did with Ada, because she narrowed those dark eyes. 

“You can still let me go,” she pointed out, voice almost soft in the little space between them. Ada tilted her chin downwards, examining his face. “Can you go through with this, Leon?” It sounded partly like a genuine question, and partly like a probe. 

And suddenly, clarity hit Leon in the face. 

This was more than lust. 

Since Raccoon City, Leon had been trapped. His life revolved around doing what was asked for him, and disregarding his own safety to get it done. A dog on a leash with nothing to show for it and no support, bar a bag full of bottles sat on his counter. 

Ada was the only thing he wanted that he could physically grasp. Freedom may never be his, peace may never, but she could be. This could be. Perhaps this was as alive as he would ever get to be. 

Wordlessly, Leon stood, picking up Ada from underneath her thighs and essentially tossing her onto the couch. She bounced against the worn, brown leather and tried to steady herself, hands still incapacitated as they were. She glanced up at him, a tiny frown of what looked like confusion on her brow. 

Ada watched as Leon made his way over to the kitchen counter. He pulled off his holster with steady hands, removing the half empty magazine from his handgun and unloading the two spares he had too. 

Then, deliberately he took both his and Ada’s knives out from his belt and placed them onto the counter. Close enough to see, but not close enough to touch. 

Neither of them were going anywhere. 

He turned back to Ada to find her face full of genuine bewilderment at his actions. Leon stepped away from the knives and back towards her. He watched as her expression changed into downright arousal as Leon knelt on the couch and kissed her deeply. 

He moved fast, pressing Ada backwards until her head was against the armrest and her legs were up on the seat. She toed off her heels which landed with a clatter on the floor as Leon pushed her dress up enough to comfortably slot between her legs. 

Leon imagined it was a little uncomfortable having her arms folded behind her weight against the couch, but he didn’t much care. A little discomfort was the least she deserved for all the aggravation she had plagued him with the last six years. Besides, Ada seemed to be right where she wanted to be. 

Leon’s hands grasped greedily at her thighs as Ada all but trapped him between her legs with her knees pressed against his hipbones. 

She was insatiable in her kissing, pressing against him in all the ways she could to make up for the lack of hands she could put on him. Leon moved a hand inward, brushing his thumb gingerly against her underwear. He felt her let out a short breath from her nose and when he did it again she visibly shivered. 

It felt ridiculous to say, but watching Ada react in such a way was rather bizarre. It felt easy to forget that she was human too. She slept, sneezed, went shopping, had likes and dislikes. It seemed like this was one of her likes, if her reaction to his thumb dragging downward was anything to go by. 

She let out a breathy moan against his mouth, trying to shift a little closer to his hand. Leon paused, stilling his hand just above where she wanted him. He just wanted to see what she’d do. 

Ada let out another tiny noise. 

“Leon,” she mumbled against his mouth. Leon wondered absently what it would take to make Ada beg. It wasn’t something he’d been much interested in before, but there was something about the idea of the woman who had tormented him for so long being reduced to begging him for his touch that felt incredibly vindicating. 

He pulled away from her lips to look over her face. Her eyes were almost black. For a singular moment she bore an overwhelming similarity to a cat. 

Watching her expression carefully, Leon gingerly pushed her underwear aside and pressed the pad of his thumb to her clit. He watched her brows quirk inward and her lips part, as she let out a trembling breath. Leon didn’t look away as he began to gently massage the spot with his thumb, fingers splayed across her inner thigh to keep her still. 

Ada’s mouth opened wordlessly as her lashes fluttered shut, head settling back against the armrest. 

“Oh, Leon…” she moaned his name like a prayer and every doubt Leon had had about that night washed away in a mighty wave. 

He had pictured this scenario more times than he cared to admit and very rarely had he considered that Ada might be so blatantly vocal. It was as if every farce she ever maintained had immediately vanished, overtaken with pure need instead. 

Ada arched her back under his touch and with his spare hand Leon flattened her back against the couch. He could see her shoulders moving as she wriggled against what bound her wrists. It was almost delightful. 

“You want me, Ada? Is that it?” He asked, ducking down to pepper her neck again. “Is that why you keep turning up?”

“Maybe,” Ada got out breathlessly. That wasn’t a concrete enough answer for him. 

He moved his first two fingers, positioning them just below his thumb and dragging them slowly across the wetness he found there. Watching her face carefully, Leon gently teased her entrance with his fingers. Ada let out what he could only describe as a whimper which shot straight down his middle, eyes opening to look back at him. 

“You know, your little government friends are going to come knocking here looking for you soon,” she wet her lips with her tongue. “What are they going to think if they find you here like this with me?” 

Leon knew a probe when he heard one, but she had a point. It probably wouldn’t be long, especially because he wasn’t picking up his phone, before someone came knocking to make sure he hadn’t been murdered or bled out in his kitchen after catching a stray bullet at the gala. 

“I’d better make this quick then,” he considered, slipping his first finger inside of her. Ada whined under her breath, pressing against his body in all the spots that made her touch completely tantalising. Leon only gave her a few moments to adjust before slipping his second finger in, earning another tight noise from the mercenary. 

Nothing could’ve prepared Leon for how responsive Ada was. He was practically gleeful. 

He gingerly pumped his fingers inside her, spreading them apart and drawing them back together, producing small, breathless noises from the woman squirming underneath him. He took great pride in what he had already reduced Ada to, when he hadn’t even really gotten started yet. 

“You should wear suits more often,” Ada said breathlessly, eyes taking over his body and lingering on his arms. Leon couldn’t help but scoff. 

“As long as you never take this off,” he replied, brushing his other hand over the soft fabric covering her abdomen. 

“You don’t want me to take it off?” She raised an eyebrow. Leon tsked and gently pulled his hand away from between her legs. She let out a tiny noise, watching as Leon leant over her to grab his suit jacket from where he’d lobbed it on the floor earlier. 

Ada regarded him as he pulled his wallet out of his inside pocket and opened it, discarding it on the coffee table when he found the condom he’d been searching for. 

“Teeth,” he held the condom to her lips and Ada took the packaging between her teeth, ripping it open and spitting the top of the plastic out into Leon’s awaiting hand. 

Ada brushed her foot up and down the outside of his leg as he unbuckled his belt with one hand and fished the condom out for the packaging. 

Ada’s eyes flicked downward, teeth catching on her bottom lip as she watched him roll the condom on with adept fingers. He looked back at her, making eye contact. 

All he could see on her face was the sheen of satisfaction, with just a little bit of anticipation. It made Leon absently wonder if he’d been played. If this had all been part of her plan. 

But no. Judging on his outlandish actions that evening, there was no way Ada could’ve planned for this. She just seemed genuinely thrilled that the night had turned into this. 

Leon leant downward, capturing her jaw in his hand. 

“Do you have any idea how much you torture me, Ada?” He asked, voice soft. He could’ve sworn he saw her expression soften for a moment, before her mirth returned. 

“Make me regret it.” She whispered. Leon didn’t need to be told twice. 

Gripping her thigh as an anchor, Leon pushed himself inside of her. Immediately, it felt completely different to any sex he’d ever had before. It felt like a feast after being close to starvation. It felt like being enveloped by the delicious scent of vanilla and never needing anything again. At that moment, breathing to him was an inconvenience. 

Ada let out a trembling moan, back arching and thighs tightening around him in a way that felt completely overwhelming. He let out a noise of his own, a little more pathetic than he would’ve liked, but Leon couldn’t help it. 

Ada felt completely irresistible. Leon settled deep inside her, feeling her walls twitch as they accommodated him. 

He couldn’t imagine how overpowering this all would’ve felt if she could’ve touched him. 

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, Ada watching his face as he shifted positions ever so slightly. For just a second, her expression was unreadable. She pulled a face that Leon wasn’t sure he’d seen before. She looked completely unguarded, eyebrows drawn together and eyes shining. Then it smoothed out somewhat, and Leon wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it. 

He wanted to ask her what it was she was thinking about. He wanted to get into her brain so badly he thought it might kill him. 

But he couldn’t. This was the next best thing, by all accounts. 

Leon gently pulled out and shifted back in, watching her face for any signs of discomfort as Ada got used to it. There were none though, Ada only moaning again. 

He resisted the urge to plunge as deep as he could into her and stay there, drinking in the sensation of being completely surrounded by her. But Leon adjusted her slowly, leather couch shifting under his movement. He hung his head over her own, eyes closing for a moment to soak in the feeling. 

The smell of her was enough to drive him crazy. The soft noises she was making into his ear were probably enough to have him institutionalised. She felt warm and surprisingly pliant in his hands, breath tickling his jaw. 

“Fuck, Ada…” he muttered mindlessly, beginning to feel his way into a rhythm. 

Leon would be lying if he said this wasn’t everything he’d imagined the last six years, if not better. She was like butter. 

Part of him was regretting not doing this back in Spain. When they would’ve found the time was beyond him, but it probably would’ve made the entire experience a lot more pleasurable to remember. 

He pressed his open mouth to Ada’s, who was far too preoccupied letting out rather pitiful noises onto his lips to kiss him. Finally, Leon hit a reasonable pace, rolling his hips into Ada’s, deep and slow. 

“God- Leon-“ she stuttered, writhing a little under his grip. He imagined the sensation of being restricted was a little maddening for her. He personally found it incredibly gratifying. Ada managed to kiss Leon, whining against his mouth as she licked into it. 

It was hot and messy and largely pointless, but felt right. Leon would’ve been quite happy kissing her forever. Everything about this was dangerous in a way that felt like finally choosing something for the sole purpose of personal want. Doing this with Ada felt like the closest thing to agency he’d ever get again. 

He considered just how easy it would be to press her on questions right now. She was perhaps more inclined to tell him the truth than she ever had been. But Leon couldn’t find it in himself to care who her employer was. Why she kept coming back for him. 

Because that would make him a hypocrite. He kept coming back for her too. Maybe that was the only answer that mattered. It was the only one that made sense to him. 

And so, perhaps in the spirit of that truth, Leon decided to tell her the truth. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he muttered against her mouth. “I think about you all the fucking time, Ada.” One particular thrust made Leon moan, hanging his head in the crook of her neck. 

It was impossible to know what Ada was thinking when he couldn’t see her face. He pressed light, almost sloppy kisses to her collarbone, worshiping her skin. After a baited moment, she replied. 

“Why do you think I keep saving your life?” She got out. Leon raised his head to look at her, surprise evident. 

It wasn’t exactly a confession. But looking in her eyes, Leon could tell it was meant to be. 

He was expecting vindication to feel sweeter. The confirmation sat in the air between the two of them. He knew it. She cared about him more than she would ever admit. And every sleepless night Leon had spent wondering about her, wasn’t just driven by lust. This was something more. 

How terrifying. 

Leon didn’t know what to do with that. It was such a moment of clarity it almost made him panic, momentarily snapping him out of the haze he was under. 

But Ada clearly spotted his second of trepidation and rolled her own hips into his, making him groan. It seemed she wasn’t completely lacking control here. She was still, when it mattered, walking him like a damn dog. 

After a moment longer, Leon decided to shelve this heartfelt horror for later. There was no point ruining a good thing now. Besides, there was no saying he’d ever get this opportunity again. 

He buried himself deep inside of her again and Ada stuttered out a gasp. Leon settled a few inches from her face, watching every micro-expression carefully as he thrusted into her. She really was beautiful. Something about the way she watched his face, reacting to every little movement and shift made Leon want nothing more than to do this forever. 

She was completely singular to him. There was nothing- no one that could compare. 

Leon’s hand settled on her jaw for a moment, holding her close to press another open-mouthed kiss over the sounds she was making. When he pulled back, Ada tilted her head downward to find his pointer finger, taking it into her mouth. 

Leon practically felt every synapse in his brain light up as he groaned lowly, watching as Ada moaned around his hand, accommodating his second finger when Leon slipped it in. The feeling of her tongue and the light pressure of her teeth made him practically weak with imagination. She didn’t look away from his face, eyes glazed yet somehow entirely exacting. Somehow, Leon still felt like he was the one wrapped around her finger. 

What a woman. 

“I’m never cutting your hands loose.” He told her softly. Ada smiled, biting down lightly on the first bend of his pointer finger. 

In response to her, Leon thrusted a little harder, experimentally. Ada whined pitifully around his knuckles, letting Leon drag his wet fingers down from her lips to her throat, a singular string of spit following him. Leon was almost uncomfortably aroused. 

“Oh my god-“ she whispered. A particularly deep stroke made both of them moan, folding over each other like a perfect jigsaw. 

“Jesus- Ada- you feel fucking amazing,” he murmured hotly. Leon moved her leg, grasping at her thigh so she could hook it over his hip, pressing him in deeper at an angle. That made Leon groan loudly, pressing his sweat-slicked forehead to her throat again. He felt himself coming up on the precipice, so he moved his slick hand back downward to just above where he was slotted deep inside her. 

When he brushed his knuckles over her sensitive clit, Ada got out his name, voice shaking profusely. She threw her head back against the arm rest and Leon watched in ravenousness as she squirmed underneath him. Her skin was glowing with the sheen of sweat and she couldn’t control her expressions, all satiated yet craving. It was the most earnest he’d seen her since that bridge in Raccoon City. 

She had asked him in Spain if he thought she had changed. 

Leon decided that both were true. She had changed. She was more selfless now. Quick to help and offer aid, no matter the guise she threw it under. But at the same time, she felt as earnest as she had been the first night they’d met. Hiding under a facade of apathy still, but there when he looked close enough. 

He pinched her clit between his knuckles lightly, experimentally. Leon watched her twitch at the sensation, breath coming out short from her nose. He pushed upward to meet her again, bottoming out deep inside of her. Ada let out a completely pathetic sound that to Leon, sounded deliciously deplorable. He could sense that she was just as close as him, if not closer. 

Leon was itching somewhat to speed up or push in deeper but he kept pace, massaging at her clit and watching her face like he was looking at the world's most beautiful painting. 

Ada’s eyes opened and she met his gaze, pressing herself as close as she could in all the ways possible without the use of her hands. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could, her entire body trembled and she let out a sharp gasp. 

He watched in reverence as Ada orgasmed, brows furrowing and back arching towards his chest. The sensation of her tightening around him made Leon moan, drawing him tantalisingly close to the edge. He didn’t change anything as she twitched uncontrollably, letting out a string of broken moans against his mouth as she grinded down towards his fingers. 

“Oh my god…” she got out desperately. “Leon.”

Leon was sure he’d never heard his name said in such a tone. It was singlehandedly enough to throw him over the edge. He pressed deep into her, grasping at her shaking thighs as Leon groaned loudly into her mouth. It was the most overwhelming orgasm he might’ve ever had. It felt as if his entire body was on fire, lit up completely by Ada and her magnetic scent. 

The sensation against her sensitive body made Ada mewl, as Leon rolled his way into her for a few more strokes, feeling out the blinding orgasm. Ada hooked one ankle around the other and trapped him deep inside, leaving him to rock against her until the shaking subsided. 

Leon dropped his head, dragging his breathless mouth from her lips to her neck, littering her skin with pathetic kisses as they both tried to catch their breath. Ada kept twitching every now and then underneath him. 

He didn’t dare move. If he moved it meant that he had to figure out what to do next. 

Leon would’ve been quite happy to stay there, engulfed by her forever, until he died of starvation. 

After a long moment, where they both silently caught their breath, Leon straightened to eye her face. Her head was tilted to one side, face flushed and lips parted as she looked back at him with hazy eyes. 

Leon leant down and kissed her. It was far more gentle than any other they’d shared that night. It could’ve been argued that every kiss so far had all been stepping stones to get into the position they were currently in. They’d been driven largely by lust and a deep attraction. 

So now, kissing Ada just to kiss her, Leon felt a bubble of dangerous tenderness rising in his chest. Her mouth was soft and sweet. He brushed his hand down the side of her face gently, sweeping some hair away from her sweaty cheek. 

He wanted to say something, but couldn’t bear to shatter this moment, perhaps more than any they’d shared. It felt so right. Leon could’ve done this forever and never gotten bored, kissing her gently, hand tracing down to her thigh to brush light circles into her skin. He wondered if Ada would’ve been so content to lie there, kissing him if she hadn’t been tied up. 

Leon broke the kiss to sit back a little and surprisingly, Ada chased his lips and kissed him again. Apparently the answer was yes. Leon hummed, settling comfortably against her and revelling in the rare tenderness he had pulled from this cutthroat spy. 

“Leon?” She whispered against his mouth after a few achingly sweet moments. 

“Yeah?”

“My arms are going numb.” She admitted. Leon couldn’t help but scoff out a laugh, not expecting her confession. He pulled back to look at her, finding her face amused with his laughter. 

“Wait here,” he told her, as if she had much of a choice. Gingerly, Leon pulled out of her and untangled himself from her lean legs. He stood, taking a moment to soak in the scene beneath him. 

Ada was, by all accounts, completely disheveled by his own hand. It was satisfying yes, but also maddening to think he may never have this again with her in his own flat. 

Leon excused himself to the bathroom behind the couch, leaving the door open so he could keep an eye on her. He threw the condom away and cleaned himself up, redoing his belt and washing a hand towel under the warm tap for a moment. He didn’t dare look in the mirror. He knew if he did, the clarity of what he’d just done would be all too existential. 

Leon returned to Ada, who had sat back up and was no longer pressing her entire body weight into her bound hands. He sat beside her, wordlessly parting her legs with a gentle hand to clean her up with the warm towel. 

He felt Ada’s dark gaze on his face the entire time. Leon didn’t look at her. Neither of them spoke as he finished up, risking a tiny kiss to her knee before he stood and made his way back into the bathroom to throw the towel in the wash. Leon hesitated in the safety of the other room for a moment, wondering what to do now. 

He could let her go. He should let her go. There was nothing more he could pull from her and he had the aftermath of an attempt on his life to clean up. But the sanctuary of being in here with her was addictive. He didn’t want to leave it. This was the most himself he had felt in years. 

Leon made his way back into the room, sitting on the sofa beside Ada. 

“I have one more question,” he said. 

“When do you not?” 

Leon wet his lips, hesitating. He glanced down at his lap, before dragging his eyes back to her. 

“That kiss, in Raccoon City.” Her eyes softened immediately. For just a second she looked how she had done when they’d been there. “Was that just to get me to do what you wanted?” 

Ada tilted her head at him, brows quirking inward a little. 

“Leon,” she said softly. “I didn’t need to kiss you to get you to do what I wanted.” 

He blinked, searching over her face. 

Right. So that meant…

She leant forward, legs slipping off of the couch so she could get close to him. And Ada kissed him again, in that same tender and earnest way she had done back in that cable car. Her hand came to his cheek. 

Leon sank into it and squirmed away from it in equal part. He wanted so much more of this. But he knew that feeling this way about Ada of all people would only cause him a world of pain. She was like a ripple across water. 

Leon brushed his hand down her arm, settling his other atop of hers, where it was planted against his knee. It was such a sweet kiss Leon thought he might slip into a coma. 

Only when she pulled back and he could see her face did he realise what was different. 

Leon blinked in surprise, frowning down at her very much free hands, both marked with a red ring around the wrist. He met her eye, almost impossibly impressed with her. 

“How did you do that?” 

“You had a nickel in your wallet,” she said. How she’d used a nickel to get out of cable ties was a mystery to him, but that was exactly what she was so good at being. “I have to go, handsome.” 

“Shall I thank you, for saving my life?” He asked as she stood. Ada nodded back down at the couch. 

“I think you just did.” 

He watched in what he could only describe as awe as she slipped her heels back on, took back her knife from the kitchen counter and made her way over to his external window. 

Leon stood as she opened the window into the night. Then she paused, glancing back to him. 

“I’m not trying to.” She said softly. Leon frowned in confusion. “Torture you, I mean.” 

Leon sat with that for a long moment. It was an interesting revelation. 

But if there was one thing that he thought he might’ve realised, it was that Ada wasn’t the only one who was right where she wanted to be. 

“I never said it was a bad thing.” He replied. Ada tilted her head, smiling at him. 

Oh god. He was whipped. 

And then, like a knife cut through the haze, a loud rapping on the door shook Leon from the thought. 

He glanced towards his front door.

“Agent Kennedy! Are you home??” 

He glanced back at Ada, only to find an empty window and a light breeze shaking him to the bone. 

It was all Leon could do to push away the torturous emptiness it left him with. 

He sighed, glancing back towards the front door. 

Right. Time to come up with an excellent excuse as to why he’d left, that wasn’t kidnapping.