Work Text:
2018
Ada is stretched along the length of the sofa with one leg tucked beneath her and another extended with a soft throw pooled around her ankles. The room is quiet except for the occasional turn of a page and the distant hum of something mundane like traffic as Leon watches her quietly.
He has been doing it for the past twenty minutes or so, once he was done wrapping up some last minute report work and sending it over to his office. Today is one of those days where both of them find themselves at home, with not much to do, and Ada, Leon has realised, loves to spend her leisure time reading. It wasn’t something that he was aware of back then because they only had stolen hours which were spent getting familiar with each other's bodies because most of their meetings were short-lived and spontaneous.
Things however changed in their forties, once they decided to give whatever this thing was, a name, by exchanging rings and saying their private vows in a chapel right outside town. So, now if they were not working, they were lazing around their new apartment together, and Leon appreciated simply being able to be in her company for long hours but that didn’t make him any less needy.
If it were up to him, he’d spend the whole day just cuddling her close to him but Ada apparently found a copy of Gilead more exhilarating than him.
Yeah, no….
He moves to sit by her leg, looking at her in a way that is not subtle at all, as he slowly runs his finger down her toes.
“Ada….”
“Mm.” She hums, scanning the lines with such focus as if it is the most fascinating thing in the world for her.
When he realises she’s not sparing him a glance, he shifts, sliding down until his head is near her lap, placing a light kiss on the skin of her thigh exposed below her shorts.
“Ada.”
“Yes?” she says, distracted, already flipping another page as he inhales the scent of her bodywash–roses and sandalwood.
“You’ve been reading for hours.”
“It's barely been an hour.” She finally glances down at him, just brief enough to acknowledge him, before going back to the book.
“Feels like hours to me.” he reaches for her foot where it rests under the throw, pulling it gently into his lap, before pressing a small kiss to the arch of her foot, her neatly manicured nails catches the thin strip of afternoon sunlight slipping through the window, the light glinting softly each time she shifts. She exhales, a quiet, patient sound, her toes flexing slightly as she speaks without looking.
“Don’t you have something better to do?”
“Better than being near you? Nope.” He lowers his head onto her leg then, settling there with a soft, deliberate weight. One arm drapes loosely over her shin, holding her in place like she might otherwise escape him. Leon knows he’s being clingy but after spending years where he barely got to hold her till the wee hours of morning, because she would somehow slip by in the dark, and he wouldn’t have any idea when he would see her next time, he thinks he has earned this much.
“Let me finish this chapter.” Her hand comes down to softly ruffle his unruly hair with assurance and he finds himself leaning into her soft touch.
“You said that last chapter.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“Leon…” she warns, but there is the faintest hint of amusement creeping in now, watching him press his cheek on her leg as he refuses to let her go. He wonders if she’d get mad if he uses her bodywash the next time because it really smells good and this way he can carry her scent with him for when he has to go out on his next assignment.
“You love that book more than me.”
He feels her eyes on him then, head shaking lightly as she cradles his jaw. “Why don’t you call Helena or Sherry and catch up with them over brunch, hmm? I’ll be done by the time you come back, hon.”
What? Didn’t she say that she was going to stop after this chapter?
He lifts his head, realising that drastic measures need to be taken if he wants her attention on himself and so he moves before she can anticipate it, hands finding her sides in one swift motion.
She jerks at the feel of his palm. “Don’t you dare.” her calm composure cracking just a fraction.
Too late.
His fingers press in, light at first, then more deliberate, and Ada reacts in a way that feels almost unbelievable if you did not know her. She inhales sharply, then twists, the book slipping in her grip.
“Leon-stop!”
He does not wait.
Not many people know this about her of course but Ada is extremely ticklish, a trait Leon has found useful whenever he wants to subdue her or catch her attention like right now.
He tickles her properly now, fingers quick and merciless at her sides, and the sound that comes out of her is sudden and bright and completely unguarded as it bursts out of her like it surprises her as much as it does him.
“Stop-stop—” She is laughing-full, breathless, spilling over herself as she tries to twist away from him, one hand pushing at his shoulder, the other trying to protect her sides.
“You—this is…ridiculo-”
“You told me you’d stop after the last chapter.” he says, entirely unrepentant, continuing his merciless assault on her as she wiggles like a worm and the sight is so funny and adorable that Leon cannot keep the smile out of his own face.
“You’re…being…a child—” Her words break apart into laughter again, head tipping back against the arm of the sofa, the book now completely forgotten somewhere down on the floor. She tries to kick her leg free but he has her loosely pinned, not holding tight enough to trap her, just enough to keep her from escaping easily.
“Say that you love me more than the book.”
“I—do-” she gasps, then immediately dissolves into laughter again as his fingers find a particularly sensitive spot.
“That sounded unconvincing.”
“I do—” she insists, breathless, pushing at him harder now. “I do, I do….just—stop—”
He slows, but only slightly, drawing it out, watching her carefully. Her composure is completely gone now. Hair a little out of place, cheeks flushed, eyes bright in a way he does not get to see nearly often enough.
“Again,” he says.
She glares at him, or tries to, but it is ruined by the lingering laughter in her voice. “You are impossible.”
He gives one last quick tickle for good measure, making her yelp as she half laughs, half protests, and finally manages to shove him away properly this time, catching her breath as she sinks back into the sofa. The redness in her cheeks spread down her neck and her collarbone as she takes a deep breath.
Leon doesn’t waste any time as he leans over her so he can cuddle her properly, nose resting against the crook of her neck as he sighs with content.
This is all that he has wanted to do since the very morning.
Silence settles among them as she doesn’t protest this time and instead runs her hand over his back gently, easing out the tension in his shoulders as he closes his eyes.
“I do wonder what your juniors would think,” she points out. “ you know…the ones who seem half afraid to breathe around you, if they knew their senior agent is like this.”
2019
Leon steps inside the foyer of their apartment, locking the door behind him as he hears a faint noise coming from inside their bedroom. Ada must have been back from her job earlier than he anticipated and he cannot keep the smile off of his face. No matter how much of a worst day he had at work, Ada’s presence is enough to make it all go away on most days.
“Ada?” he calls, setting his keys down.
No answer.
He heads towards their bedroom, the bathroom door is slightly ajar, as he pushes it open, eager to soak in her face. She is standing by the sink, one hand braced against it, the other holding something in her hand that she is staring at like it might change if she looks long enough.
“Ada.”
She doesn’t startle, just turns slowly towards him, and he is taken aback to see her face pale, paler than usual, as she swallows.
“You are back already.”
He steps closer, alarms going off in his head, because he’s not used to seeing her look like this, not even when she got sick on the rare occasion. His eyes immediately fall to her hand and he freezes when he realises what she’s holding.
It's a pregnancy test.
A positive pregnancy test.
Oh…
This is….
He feels the weight of it settle somewhere deep in his chest, because this is not something they planned, or even discussed really despite the countless occasions in which they let their guard down and got careless. Maybe, years ago, the idea had existed in some distant, abstract way for him, something he assumed would come with a different life, but all of that has been disillusioned well in his twenties itself.
And so his first instinct is not the idea of a child but her.
“Ada,” he says again, softer this time, because he cannot imagine what she must be feeling right now.
“I’m fine,” she replies immediately, too quickly for her own good, her voice even but thin as she rummages around the counter. “It might not be accurate. I’m gonna do more tests.”
He wants to ask her when she suspected it, was it before she left or after, and he wants to assure her that he’d be happy with whatever she decides to do. She sets the first one down with care, almost too much care, like it is something fragile, and reaches for another one from a different brand and another after that.
“You don’t have to do it right now,” he says.
“I’d rather know,” she answers, already moving, already opening the packaging with precise motions.
He doesn’t argue and when he realises she’s not pushing him out, he chooses to stay. He leans lightly against the doorframe as she does her business, already dozens of thoughts running inside his head at the possibility of what if. More than a decade of this and never once had they had this scare but now when they are both well in their forties…Leon can’t help but wonder if it's truly the first time this has happened because it's not like they used to live together before.
What if…
Pushing those thoughts away, he focuses his attention on her, because she matters more, as she studies the new sticks placed on the counter.
Time seems to stretch on for hours and when the result appears, she looks at it for a long moment, and he is too scared to look down as he studies her expression.
“It's negative. Both of them.” She sets them down beside the old one, fingernail pressing against her palm as he blinks, unsure of what to feel in the moment so the only thing he can say out loud is Oh.
“I’ll get it checked properly tomorrow,” she adds after a moment, her tone returning to something closer to normal. “Just to be sure.”
“I will come with you,” he offers.
“No,” she refutes, voice firm in a way that makes it clear that she doesn’t want him here and Leon feels frustration bubble up inside him because he wants to be there for her, but Ada has always been incessantly independent in a way, which had taken him a while to accept so he doesn’t argue.
“Alright.”
The next day drags at a snail’s pace, each hour stretching thin as he sits at his desk, staring at reports he has read three times without retaining a single detail. His focus slips again and again, thoughts circling back to her and more than once his hand hovers over his phone, tempted to call, to ask if she is alright, what the doctor said, whether she ate, whether she is alone, but each time he pulls back, knowing she would not have wanted that. By midday the restraint starts to feel like a mistake, by afternoon it becomes something close to irritation, and by the time evening finally arrives he does not bother with finishing anything else, already reaching for his jacket and heading home before even bidding anyone a goodbye like usual.
He is already at home by the time she returns, shopping and grocery bags loaded in her hand as his heartbeat quickens. Ada seems composed as usual as she sets the bag down, before looking back at him.
“False alarm.” she informs him before he can ask her himself. “Nothing to worry about.”
Oh.
Leon refuses to address the hint of disappointment that settles somewhere deep inside his being as he watches her.
“That’s a good thing.” It's half a statement, half a question as she gives him a small nod in reply, taking off her stilettos, before removing her jacket.
“It is. Imagine changing diapers at this age.” There is a faint attempt at humour in her voice but it does not land as Leon instead focuses on her choice of words. Even if it had been positive, it's not like they needed to keep it so why…
She moves past him, heading toward the bedroom to change, smoothing invisible creases from her sleeve as he chooses to follow her.
“And are you okay?”
“I am fine.” Her voice controlled as usual betrays nothing, at least to the people that don't know her but Leon knows better after years. He thinks he has a pretty good read on her by now.
“Ada.” He starts gently, approaching her as she lets out a quiet breath, something between a sigh and a dismissal. “Leon don’t.”
“Talk to me, sweetheart.” He wraps his arms around her from behind, rubbing soothing circles on her forearms as he feels the unease in her shoulders as she shakes her head and looks down.
“I never wanted children.” she reminds him as he nods, even though this is the first time they are even having conversation around this topic. He doesn’t respond, choosing to let her finish what she is saying as her fingers fiddle with the thick fabric of his sweater.
“I wouldn’t be good at it anyway,” she adds after a second, the words coming out more quieter than before, her composure beginning to fray at the edges. “I’m not… suited for that. I don’t have the patience. Or the… warmth.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is,” she insists, though there is less conviction now. “I wouldn’t know what to do. I’d do it wrong.”
“You have had more than enough patience for me, Ada. Don’t discredit yourself.” He murmurs in her hair, as he feels her exhale a bit shaky this time and he understands what she’s feeling, he knows that he feels it too.
“I didn’t even want it so why…” There is a crack in her voice, before he turns her around to embrace her fully, letting her hide her face in his chest.
“Shhh.” Kissing the top of her head, he buries his head in the crook of her neck. “Its okay to feel like this, you know. You don’t have to make any excuses.”
She is silent for a moment before her breathing breaks–just a soft, uneven inhale, and then another before her shoulders tremble slightly as she finally lets herself feel it. And Leon can only hold her tighter, steady and reassuring as the soft, restrained sound of her cries echoes softly in the room, because sometimes words just aren’t enough.
2021
Ada was away on a job when it happens. Leon’s last assignment went ugly as he lost almost all members of his team, sans a rookie of twenty three. All of them were in their twenties, bright, fresh faced, and optimistic in a way that he had been back then. It has been rough and Leon didn’t know what he could do for the pain to stop so he did the only thing which felt natural.
Ada comes home to empty bottles scattered all across their living area, overhead light dim as she finds him sitting underneath it, playing with a half filled glass, eyes barely able to stay open, or even register her presence before she kicks one bottle.
He squints his eyes at the noise, trying to make out her figure before a smile spreads across his face, which is anything but genuine. “Hey, you. When did you get here?”
She watches the slight imbalance in the movement, the fraction of a second where he steadies himself against the back of the chair as he approaches her for a hug and Ada turns her head away at the heavy smell of alcohol that lingers from his entire frame. His eyes are bloodshot and she wonders when was the last time he actually got a whole night of sleep? She had been gone for over three weeks now, quite a long time in a long while, and its when Helena has contacted her, Ada doesn’t even know how she got her emergency contact from, asking her to come back as soon as possible because her husband was spiralling into another self destructive episode that she got on a plane, after abandoning her job.
“When was the last time you had a shower?” She puts some space between them to study him closely as he lets out a short humorless laugh.
“Wha…is that the greeting I get?”
Their whole place is a mess, pizza cartons left half-open on the table, a takeout box tipped over near the couch like it had been forgotten mid-meal. The air feels stale, heavy with the kind of neglect that has been building up over days. She looks back at him then, properly this time, taking in the unshaven jaw, the exhaustion sitting deep in his eyes.
“When was the last time you had a proper meal?”
“Gee…what is this, twenty questions?” He wobbles slightly as he tries to back off, and Ada knows that he is inhibited wayy beyond normal because Leon has good alcohol tolerance, where he had found himself going to work all inhibited as well and nailing the assignment but this….this isn’t normal. She hasn't really seen him this on edge since back in 2014 when he was after Glenn Arias network and everything went to shit.
Ada cannot even remember the last time she had seen him drunk for that matter. It had been before they got together in all sense, he has been doing good over the years, only sharing a glass or two with her on special occasions so it breaks her heart to see him ruined like this.
“Leon…you cannot save everyone, everytime you-”
Wrong choice.
His eyes flare at her in a way that she hasn’t seen him so long. “Thanks for the pep talk, Ada. Reaal Nicee. Now can you give me some space so I…” He reaches for another bottle on the countertop as she presses her lips in a thin line.
“I think you had enough.” Snatching the bottle from his hand, she throws it in the trash chute before moving to do the same with others, as Leon gets alert, grabbing her hand as he shakes his head.
“Stay out of it.”
“You should have thought of that before begging me to be with you.” She snaps at him, throwing the remaining bottles with fueled anger as she hears him pace behind her.
“I want to be alone.” he states flatly, messing up his already untamed hair as she feels a headache creeping in.
“You think they would have wanted to see you like this?”
He laughs at that as if she has cracked the funniest joke, making her wrap her arms around herself as she waits for him to stop. Tonight is going to be difficult.
“How would they know, they are dead, remember?” he reminds her, as she exhales. “ I let them down.”
"And what about those you managed to save?” she counters. “Do you carry that the same way, or is it only the failures that belong to you?”
“Oh please…I don’t need a lecture least of all from you of all people…” he scoffs, in a way that reminds her of those ugly fights which they used to have in early days as she looks away.
“This is not about me. Don't do this to yourself.”
“Of course…nothing ever is about you.” He mocks, giving her a once over. “Because god forbid, you ever opened up to me about your past…but I am not allowed to ask you that, oh nonono…”
“My past has never been an issue with us, you know that.”
“Ahh Ada…ever the perfect woman….Of course, I’m the problem. It’s not like MOST of the issues in this relationship have anything to do with you and your damn avoidance or your ability to give a straight answer.” It isn’t the first time he has brought this up but its been so so long since last time that she has almost forgotten that Leon can be quite scathing when he wants to be.
She grows quiet then, because he knows just how difficult it has been for her to open her heart, and share things with him, and to let herself lean on another person, and how her avoidance has been a result of that, because she never thought that she deserved him. This is the one thing he knows well about her.
She feels realisation dawn upon him as he realises that perhaps he went too far but she doesn’t stay to see the aftermath as she heads towards their bedroom, locking it for good measure.
...
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Ada doesn’t remember when she fell asleep last night, all she remembers is the beginning of a throbbing headache after she took a hot shower. She tries to change her position but feels something heavy on her middle, realising with a delay that Leon’s hands are wounded tightly around her stomach.
“I am so sorry.” She hears him whisper. “I didn’t mean what I said.” -she refuses to turn around and acknowledge him just yet. She hears some shuffling before she feels his lips on her forehead, making her frown as she closes her eyes–the faint scent of his bodywash reaching her nose and she realises that he must have taken a shower sometime last night.
“You were right, Ada. You always are. I just didn’t want to hear it, because…” he lets out a soft chuckle at that. “Losing someone never gets easy. I tried..I really…” she feels dampness on her cheeks and it hits her that he has been crying and how can she ever turn her back on that, and so she gives him her attention, wiping the tears rolling down his cheeks as she takes in the devastated look on his face.
Oh Leon….
She leans in and presses a soft kiss to the bridge of his nose, lingering there for a second as if reminding him that he is here and not alone. He folds into her then, head buried against her chest, arms tightening around her like he is holding on to the only steady thing he has left, and the restraint he has been carrying finally gives away. Ada closes her arms around him as she feels his body shudder with a sob, one hand coming up to cradle the back of his head, the other moving slowly along his back in a steady rhythm, patient and sure. It is not easy to see him like this. It never is, but it's better than him reaching for a drink and running away from the pain by drowning himself in alcohol.
And so she allows him to feel it.
2023
The venue is polished to the point of sterility, glass walls, low golden light, and practiced smiles as if every word is weighed before it is spoken. Leon has worked rooms like this before– years of practice as the golden boy has trained him to throw a couple fake smiles here and there, nod along whenever a senator or a minister sings his praises and so on. Sure, he has never done this so far from home-in Germany of all places, where he was on some assignment and later forced to attend this event but isn’t this all the same no matter the country?
He is already getting sick of it and craves a drink, but he has promised Ada to stay far from it after the fiasco two years back and so he can only sip on this tangy mocktail, the one Hunnigan had offered him ever so ‘kindly’ to keep his cravings in check, and he’s not so sure anymore if he’s thankful for her company here.
Leon tries hard not to wrinkle his nose at the poor taste of the drink, mentally cursing the woman once more. His eyes scan the perimeter in his usual assessing way, ensuring that there isn’t anything that stan–
He pauses, blinking, adjusting the reading glasses, more of a progressive glasses really for regular wear, which he had donned because he is going through some mission report on his phone in the midst to keep himself busy.
Yes, while he isn’t a big fan of these, Ada had forced him to start using them for his own sake, when he started having difficulty reading the letters in his report, and also because he looks dastardly handsome in them, her words not his!
And so imagine his surprise when he spots his lovely wife prowling through the crowd like she belongs there. The color of her dress hits him before anything else–deep wine…so like her. The gown follows the line of her body with quiet precision, high at the neck as it exposes her long arms, then falling cleanly all the way down before opening at the back in a long, striking cut which makes him curse out loud because what the fuck.
He feels his chest pounding against his ribcage at how beautiful and disarming she looks–soft curls gathered neatly to expose the line of her neck and shoulders, a few loose strands framing her face as her dark red lips smile at something the-
Leon notices the man at her side a second later, and his focus sharpens instinctively, his gaze narrowing before he can check himself. The man is older, well into his sixties, carrying the kind of polished excess that reads as wealth before anything else. French, if Leon remembers correctly. Étienne Moreau. A major investor, influential in the circles that matter, he has done his homework before coming here of course. Just not enough to know that he'll see his wife in the company of said man.
His grip tightens on the thin glass, as he watches that sleazy man’s hand rest on her back as he leads her to a crowd of people to introduce her- on her bare skin for that matter.
Ada lets him.
Leon knows exactly what she is doing, he can read it in the angle of her shoulders, the way she tilts her head just slightly when she listens, the small, measured smiles she offers that reveal nothing and everything at the same time. She is working, playing a role, drawing information out of someone who does not realize he is giving it.
He knows all of it but it still doesn’t help.
His gaze drops, almost involuntarily, to her hand, her ring finger bare, which he has expected it to be, but it doesn’t ease the ugly feeling gnawing up his chest.
Their relationship has always been a private affair. In his work, only few people know that he is taken and even less of them are aware of his marriage or Ada for that matter. Well..only Helena really knows the full story with Hunnigan and Sherry loosely aware of the fact but he has never expected Ada to do the same, because she operates in entirely different circles.
Heck Leon is absolutely sure that right now she isn’t even using the real name…well the one which has become real to her from the day she met him, or so she had told him.
Leon’s jaw clenched as he quickly finds his mood getting foul. Sure, they stay out of each other’s way and don't really probe into the kind of work they did, and he has absolute trust in her, especially now that she takes up on jobs exposing someone or the other's secrets, stealing information which can harm only the ones who hurt others, but he is only a man after all.
He doesn’t like the absence of ring on her finger more so than he does his own.
Because there is nothing on her that says she is his.
Nothing that tells anyone in this room to look at her differently, to step back, to know their place.
And that man does not step back even though Leon is well aware that she must have met him just a while ago.
He leans in, says something low enough that Leon cannot hear it, and Ada’s lips curve just slightly in response, which is entirely fake, because what would this man know about Ada’s real smile or her full belly laughter. Those are only reserved for him.
Leon shifts his stance, forcing himself to look away, to refocus on the room, on the exits, on the movement of people that actually matter, while trying to work out the kinks in the report on his screen, but the damage is already done, because he can barely keep his eyes off of her.
She moves through the crowd with ease, her presence adjusting seamlessly depending on who she is speaking to, the false name slipping from her tongue like it belongs to her, and through it all.
Until she turns slightly, her gaze sweeping the room in that precise, efficient way he knows too well….slow but assessing in a way as to-
And then she spots him. Her eyes widen for just a fraction, clearly not expecting to see him here out of all places, yeah that makes two of them, because he has been called here last minute, before she looks away, as he leans on the column, sipping on what seems to be the fourth glass of that drink for tonight.
Huh, it's starting to grow on him.
Now that she knows he’s here as well, Leon finds her eyes finding him every now and then, she doesn’t hide the appreciation in her eyes as she takes in his tailored suit, and the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Some other time, Leon would have been amused to find her attention drifting back to his face over and over, just because she loves the look of them on his face but he’s too damn pissed to really soak in it.
He has never considered himself to be a possessive man before, simply because he never thought he could have more with Ada than just fleeting encounters, but now that he had tasted how good it felt to be hers, and for her to be his, he couldn’t stand the thought of otherwise.
He knows that Ada isn’t anymore comfortable than he is, as that man places a light kiss on her cheek, which makes Leon want to pummel him to the ground, french greeting his ass, but then she’s excusing herself from him, heading towards the set of doors that ease out of the ballroom. She throws him a quick glance over her shoulder and he takes it as his signal to follow her.
His steps are hasty, as the sole of his shoes clicks against the polished floor, he doesn’t know for how long he follows her, before he sees her entering a room down the end of the hallway and he doesn’t waste any time.
“You didn’t tell me you’d be here.” are the first words out of his mouth as soon as he slams the door shut, and when she turns around his brain short circuits because this close, she leaves him absolutely breathless, making him want to worship the ground she walks on because how can anyone be this beautiful?
“I didn’t know you’d be here either.” She points out, closing the distance between them as her hand falls on the collar of his shirt, smoothing it over, before she looks at him.
“Who is he?”
“A means to an end. Ran into him at the party.” She traces his jaw, letting out a half smile, as if aware of the storm that has been brewing inside his head. “Don’t worry, I’m ditching him after this. I already have what I came here for.”
His hands come to encircle around her waist, pulling their bodies flush as her heels make it so that they are nose to nose.
“Don’t look at me like that.” she warns him, able to feel all of him like that as his eyes darken at the perfect pout of her lips, wanting to ruin them, to tear apart her dress, and lose himself in her until he cannot remember his own name.
“I’m the only one that can look at you like that.” He reminds her, tracing his lips down the length of her neck, as she lets out a breathless moan, her hand closing in against the hard curve of his bicep as he gives a particular hard bite which has her pulling away with a gasp.
“You can’t leave marks.”
He raises an eyebrow at that, watching her eyes drink him in the same way he does her. That wasn’t a no.
“Tell me to stop.” He is close enough that his lips hover over hers before they softly part, her fingers digging in his shoulders as he hikes up her dress, squeezing the soft skin of her thighs as she throws him a coy smile.
“ Like I said…don’t leave marks.” she reminds him again, her mouth close enough that he feels her hot breath against his, before bringing his mouth down on hers in a searing kiss.
He can hear the faint echo of the crowd from below, as he loses himself in her. He has enough semblance of control to not tear her very expensive cocktail dress as he tastes her after lying her flat against the table, his hand gripping her hard enough to bruise the skin of her thigh, but it is hidden under her dress so it's not like anyone can ever see that but him. She comes on his tongue sooner than he expects with a loud moan, which is drowned underneath the voice of someone speaking over the podium and he has barely gotten up before she pulls him closer and slams him against the wall, kissing him like she's been aching for him just as much as him if not more and he cannot keep the groan out of his voice, as he indulges her just as eagerly.
The door slams against its hinges as she tastes herself on his tongue, mouth wide open in a pant as he moves inside her– it is dangerous, it is risky as anyone can come up the floor, hear those noises which they don't bother keeping down but they are too far gone to care....and its not like its their first rodeo, there have been multiple occasions in the past when they have flirted with the thrill of keeping it a secret, out in such public places.
He feels her hips rolling against him to take him better than before as he lets out a moan right against her ear. Leon has tried to throw away his glasses in the midst of it to better kiss her, but she has said no, her eyes naked with desire like never before and he wasn’t shocked at all to find his wife’s uninhibited want for him keeping it on…its not like she has ever tried to hide it anyway as she wound her legs tight around his hips, encouraging him to fuck her harder with those pretty words whispered in his ear.
Leon doesn't know how long they are at it when her nails dig itself hard into his shoulderblade, reaching inside his shirt, sure to leave her mark as she clenches him tight, mouth falling apart as her head falls back on the door when she reaches her peak, him following her immediately after as he empties himself inside her, studying the pleasure on her face through his half-lidded eyes before he leans his forehead against her.
..
....
.......
Later on, when they make themselves presentable, Leon can’t keep the satisfied look off of his face as he sees her pull up her panties without cleaning his spend. Ada notices the look in his eyes and can only roll her eyes as she pulls her dress up her chest.
“You are insufferable.”
“Says the woman who led me here because she couldn’t resist me in my glasses.” he reminds her cheekily, pulling up his suit jacket as she clicks her tongue, her lipstick all but gone, coloring his face of course as she tries not to laugh at the hot mess that he is.
“When are you coming home?” He asks her once they both are decent enough to mingle with the crowd again, hoping against all odds that Hunnigan hasn't noticed his absence yet because he has put his phone on mute as soon as he started following Ada. Can you blame him?
“If everything goes well then I’ll see you on Friday, handsome.” She leaves the room first so as to not draw any suspicions, throwing him a wink over her shoulder. “Try not to miss me too much.”
”Will try, mam.”
He chuckles to himself, finally feeling sane enough to return back to his post, and assume the role of a good samaritan as is expected of him.
2026
Leon has seen too many variations of infection to mistake it now as it spreads across his skin. When Sherry later pulls him to say something she can’t in front of others, he feels a loud exhale leave his chest as he sees the same mark running down her skin. No. Not Sherry. Not her too.
It seems bigger than the both of them when they dig into the old news report of bodies piling up, all survivors of raccoon city and they don’t waste a time scrambling, looking for others and ensuring they are alright. Claire, Jill, her friend, Carlos and Ada.
She is away on a job, continents apart when he reaches out to her, he tries not to be obvious of course, acting the part of a husband missing his wife, making light enquiry in her health, because he cannot have her thinking something is wrong, as Ada has gotten very good at reading him over the years.
Leon thinks he does a good job acting as if everything is fine as he studies the faint lines beneath the skin. He had tried earlier, out of habit, to put the ring back on. It would not go past his knuckle and that bothers him more than it should because he has built a habit of wearing it openly a while ago, uncaring what others think, because he doesn’t give a fuck anymore.
Going back to Raccoon City felt like stepping into something that should have stayed buried, the ruins carrying echoes he had spent years trying not to hear. Every street, every broken structure dragged memories back with a clarity he did not want, hurting him more than his infection ever could but he didn't stop. Leon isn’t even sure how he manages to survive but he does eventually, all because of that girl Grace, who reminds him of a younger version of him, and he feels lighter than before as he steps back into their home, after hours of debriefing.
First thing he does is scrub himself clean, and before he knows it he is passed out on their bed, unaware of his surroundings. So, when a light touch wakes him up sometime later, he is unsure of where the fuck he even is before the familar face of Ada greets him through half open eyes and he cannot help the emotions that build up inside him as he pulls her in a tight hug, because for a moment there he has thought that he might never see her again. That he’ll never have this again and to–
“Ahh.” She winces at his touch and he pulls back immediately, opening his mouth to ask what’s wrong but that’s when he sees it.
“You are okay.” She smiles, inspecting him, but Leon isn’t registering anything as he feels the noises around him fade away, only able to hear the loud thrumming inside his chest as he sees the dark splotches covering her neck, spreading down the skin which is covered by her jacket.
No no no no…
No…
Ada collapses in his arms a minute later, as he scrambles to get Sherry on the phone, his body moving in auto pilot as he does everything he can to not throw up as he holds her in his arms, the mark reaching up the side of her face which he failed to notice earlier in his sleep-laded state. He has been sure, no? They had been sure that no one except him and Sherry were infected so how…
How....
He wonders if she has gone looking for her own lead or what, because she has left in a hurry and he should have known better and if something happens to her, then he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot himsel–
Sherry and Helena arrive quickly, but Leon barely registers the door opening, barely registers anything beyond her. He does not let go of Ada even once, his grip stubborn, almost desperate, as they move around him, as they prepare the dose, as they tell him to give them space and he simply cannot. His vision blurs at the edges, voices folding into each other, someone calling his name more than once, but it does not reach him fully. All he knows is the weight of her in his arms, the way her breathing falters, the way they lower her onto the mattress and he follows, unwilling to put even an inch of distance between them.
There are words, somewhere in the room and he only catches fragments of it. The infection has spread further. Worse than his. Questions about how she even made it back like this, how she managed to keep moving through that level of pain without collapsing. Each word lands somewhere distant, dulled by the haze settling over him, but it still cuts him deep.
Leon remains half delirious for the most of it–the dose taking its sweet time with her this time around, as his gaze finds her hand without effort, like it knows where to go even when the rest of him doesn’t .
Her finger is bare.
It shouldn’t be.
He frowns slightly, slow and unfocused, trying to make sense of it, and then he remembers the chain looped around her neck. He has seen it before, the ring resting against her collarbone, hidden, kept close in the only way she allows herself.
His hand moves clumsily, reaching for it, fingers brushing against her neck until he finds the chain and pulls it free with care that feels instinctive even through the fog. The ring catches the light faintly as he slips it off, his hands steadier now despite everything else unraveling.
Then he takes her hand, lifting it gently as his thumb brushes over her knuckle as if grounding himself before he slides the ring back where it belongs.
It fits.
It does...
Wait….
The marks covering her hand have disappeared as he feels a lump in his throat, grabbing her hand tightly, he gently leans down to listen to the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Thump thump
It seems normal now.
Before he can take a sigh of relief, or say something, he feels a light touch on his head, twenty eight years of familiarity hidden under the callouses before a soft voice reaches his ears.
“Hey, you…”
It's her voice.
And Leon feels like he can finally breathe again.