Warnings: no beta, OOCness, English is not my first language, inconsistent tenses, i am very bad at prepositions, some curse words, implied sexual content, mentions of alcohol
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: this was supposed to be a 3k fluff idk where the angst came from 😜
Ada has had enough of European villages, but she supposed that this one was all right, especially when Leon thought so too. Large cities managed to hide them in plain sight, but unknown villages in a different continent were just as effective in concealing them.
It was Leon who chose their meeting place this time, and he picked a village somewhere in Ireland. There was a lake with a small manor in the distance, and near the lake were rolling hills. The village was big enough to be considered a town, and there were a handful of tourists milling around the streets that Ada and Leon wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs.
Ada strolled down a cobblestoned street, her luggage rolling behind her, until she saw a wooden signboard saying The Birdsong. The Birdsong was a café on the ground floor and an inn on its upper floors, and a glance at its glass windows revealed a mix of locals and tourists having their afternoon meals inside.
She opened the door and scanned the room for a sign of Leon. She saw him at the back, sitting in a booth that afforded him a view of the entire place. Ada knew that Leon had already located all the entrances and exits; Ada was the same. People from their professions always knew where the entrances and exits were.
"You're forty minutes late," Leon said when Ada approached him.
"Thirty-seven, to be exact," she said as she sat opposite him. She grabbed Leon's cup of coffee, took a sip, and placed it back on its saucer. "You'd know that if you looked at your watch." She tried to reach for Leon's coffee again, but he swatted her hand away.
"Hey, get your own," he said, sounding annoyed, but Ada could hear the fondness in his voice. "You can afford to give me this Patek watch, but you can't buy your own coffee?"
Ada propped a hand up and rested her chin on it. "Where's the fun in that?"
Leon gave her an unimpressed look. "Why were you late?"
"There was a luggage mix-up. Sorry. I'll make it up to you, okay?"
He leaned forward, grinning. "And how exactly are you gonna make it up to me?"
It was Ada's turn to look unimpressed.
Leon chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. He then drank the last of his coffee and signalled for his server. When his bill was settled, he stood up and grabbed Ada's luggage in one hand and held her hand in the other, leading her to the second floor. He exchanged smiles with the matronly woman behind the reception desk—presumably the innkeeper—before bringing her to their room.
(Ada thought that the innkeeper smiled at them knowingly, though what she seemingly knew was something Ada itched to know.)
One side of the room had an unobstructed view of the lake, the manor, and the hills beyond, and the other side overlooked the café-slash-inn's garden. Ada and Leon had been to a lot of places like this—a charming small town nestled in a bucolic paradise—but they also always put her in the danger of being lulled into a false sense of security. The greens of the leaves, the multitudes of colours of the flowers, and the singing and humming of birds and insects tempted her to let her guard down, to relax, to just bask in the peace and serenity—especially with Leon by her side. Would it be too much to just enjoy her holiday with this man?
Yes, it would. One mistake and everything would fall apart. One mistake and their lives would be in danger, and they might not see each other ever again.
"So?" Leon said as he set Ada's luggage aside. "What do you think?"
Ada strode towards the window overlooking the garden. "Beautiful. Reminds me of Florence."
"Doesn't it?" he said, stepping beside her and glancing down at the garden. He smirked. "Especially that gazebo right there."
Ada shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter." She then walked towards the other window and stared at the manor near the lake. "Does someone live there?"
"Not anymore, according to this." Leon pulled a pamphlet out of his trousers' pocket, opening it so Ada could see too. "A part of it can be rented for occasions, and they give guided tours."
Ada looked at the pamphlet. "And you can go on boat rides too. Very much like Florence indeed."
Leon turned to him, smiling softly. "Wanna go?"
"To the manor or the boat ride?"
"Why not both?"
Ada mirrored his smile. "All right."
"It's a date, then." Leon was still smiling. She could hear the joy and excitement in his voice, and when he looked like that—eyes wide and sparkling, mouth set into an eager smile—she found it hard to resist him.
So she kissed him on the lips quickly and said, "Whatever you say, handsome. Now, shall we walk around the place?"
Leon brushed her cheek with his thumb. "Don't you want to rest first?"
"I wanna see the place first." To map out exit routes and hiding places.
Leon seemed to know what she was thinking, because he nodded. "Okay. Come. I've been told that there's a vintage store three streets over. I wanna check it out."
She raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning to buy?"
"With all due respect, it's none of your business. Ma'am." His lips curled into a teasing smile.
Ada bit her lip and pulled Leon closer to her by his belt loops. "I'm a spy, Leon. It's easy for me to make your business my business."
He leaned forwards, bringing their faces much closer than before. "Is that a challenge?"
"It's not a challenge if it's easy." She gently pushed him away and walked towards the door. "You coming?"
Leon followed her and then closed the door behind them.
The vintage store was just like any other vintage stores Ada had been to. Nothing in particular stood out, except for Leon who was trying too hard to act casual.
First, the innkeeper, and now, this. Leon was up to something, and Ada would find out what it was.
"What's that?" she asked, looking over Leon's shoulder.
He slightly turned around, giving Ada a better view of the object. "Finally found what I came here for."
The object was a black choker with a red-and-silver butterfly on its middle. Leon went behind her and unclasped the choker she was currently wearing to replace it with what he found in the vintage store. He steered her towards an ornate-looking mirror, his hands on her shoulders.
"I feel like this one was made specifically for you," he said. "What do you think?"
Ada traced the butterfly pendant with a finger. "Did you have to dig around that bin just to find this?"
"Yes. And?"
Ada turned to him. "What are you planning, Leon?"
He smiled innocently. "I'm planning on spending the next three days with a beautiful lady."
Ada scoffed. "I thought you never made plans that far ahead."
"Not when it comes to you." The softness in his voice and expression deepened the cracks in Ada's amour—the same cracks that Leon himself caused. "You're always in my long-term plans."
She shook her head and went to another side of the store, not wanting to look at him anymore. "That's a foolish thing to do. You never know what's gonna happen to us."
"I know what's going to happen," Leon said, stepping behind her to unclasp the choker. "We are going to enjoy ourselves here for the next three days."
Three days—that was all they could afford this time. It might be days, weeks, or even months before they could see each other again, and Ada wasn't certain if these three days would be enough to sustain her in the coming time of their separation.
When did she start dreading leaving him? It used to be so easy to just leave without notice. Now, Leon's puppy-dog eyes were all it would take to make her stay for even an hour longer—an hour that would throw her entire schedule into disarray.
"This village is certainly big enough that three days would be enough to tour its entirety," Ada said, looking at teacups. She waited for a reply but it never came.
She looked behind her. She saw Leon at the register paying for his purchase—the choker, most likely—and exchanging a few words with the cashier. He was slightly blushing and was rubbing his nape while the cashier giggled.
When Leon came back, she asked, "What were you two talking about?"
"Nothing." He took his purchase out of the package—it was indeed the choker—and put it back around Ada's neck.
"All right, then, keep your secrets," she said. "I'll find out sooner rather than later."
Leon snorted. "I won't let you."
She moved to a different part of the room, one that contained used books. "For all I know, you're planning on meeting another girl."
"What, you jealous?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.
She took a book off a shelf and flipped through it. "As if."
Leon stepped beside her. "You know you're the only one for me, right?" His voice was low and gentle, but apprehensive—a stark contrast from his teasing tone just seconds earlier.
She faced him. "Don't you ever do some introspection and question your poor life choices?"
He met her eyes. "Every time I think about things, I always arrive at the same conclusion." He took a deep breath. "You'll always be the best choice that I have ever made."
It should be easy to tear her eyes away from him. It should easy to dismiss his statement with a smirk and a teasing reply. It should be easy to distract him from this kind of thoughts with a kiss. It should be easy to pretend that she didn't know how Leon felt about her, to ignore how he felt, and just carry on with her day. It should be easy to cut him out of her life, to never see him again, but here they were more than a decade after their reunion in Spain, and they were, for all intents and purposes, on date during their holiday.
Her first encounter with Leon changed her, and she hated it. She wasn't supposed to feel things for him, to want to continue seeing him, to crave him. What was she doing? This was against everything she knew.
She turned her gaze to the bookshelf, unable to continue looking at the sincerity and intensity in Leon's eyes. She returned the book on the shelf and grabbed another. "You'll regret that decision one day."
"No, I won't," was his immediate response. Leon didn't even pause to think about his reply; he just said it, as if there was no room for an argument.
She looked at him. She looked at the small but smug smile on his face, as if he was certain that choosing Ada wasn't a recipe for disaster. She looked at those shining blue eyes, which always looked at her like she wasn't some wretched creature with dubious morals. She looked at his expression—the soft line of his lips, the sparkle in his eyes, the arch of his brows—and thought about how easy it would be to disregard his affections for her.
It would be just as easy to admit to herself that she felt something for him, if only she wasn't a coward.
Deadly viruses, zombies, monsters, mutations, parasites—she would rather face those than face her feelings for Leon.
She put the book back into the shelf, suddenly hyperaware of the choker Leon had just bought for her. They loved showering each other with gifts—sometimes something as grand as a Patek Philippe watch, sometimes something as small such as a trinket from a vintage store.
Ada would treasure this choker like it was the most expensive diamond in the world, but right now, it felt more like a noose than a gift.
She found it hard to breathe.
"I need some air," she said, walking towards the door.
"Didn't see anything you like?" he asked.
She raked her eyes up and down his body. "I see something that I like." Yes, that was it. Flirting was easy. She could do that.
Leon rolled his eyes and opened the door for her.
Before they left the vintage store, Ada saw Leon exchanging a smile with the cashier, and for a brief moment, she forgot about the emotions warring within her as she tried to deduce what secret could Leon be hiding.
The next day, Ada put on the choker that Leon had bought for her. She also wore a boater hat—with a black ribbon tied around it—and then twirled in her red sundress, the heels of her sandals clacking against the hardwood floor of their room.
"Well? What do you think?" she asked.
Leon clutched at his chest, affecting a love-struck look. "Too beautiful for this world. Come here and let me kiss you."
"Don't order me around," she said as she stepped into Leon's arms.
His arms immediately wound around her as if by instinct, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and they shared a kiss.
"Let's go?" Leon asked when they parted.
Ada nodded, and she let Leon lead her by the hand.
He led her to the lake where they rented a boat that would pass by the manor's garden.
She looked at the horizon, at the water bubbling under the boat, at the looming manor nearby. She pressed her hat to her head so it wouldn't be blown away by the wind, while her other hand held the bottom of her dress in place.
She heard a camera shutter click, and she turned around to see Leon holding his phone up. It wasn't just any phone, though; they both had phones whose sole purpose was for contacting each other, and they were armed to the teeth with endless security features. Not only did those phones contain incriminating evidence of a federal agent's dalliance with a spy, but they also contained innocent and compromising photographs of said federal agent and spy.
No matter how much Ada lied to herself, she was human, and she wanted to keep memories of her times with Leon. That was why those phones would be impossible to break into, both digitally and physically. All of its contents can be found only the phone; backups didn't exist. Should the wrong password be entered three times, or should it detect unauthorised digital access, or should someone try to forcefully physically pry the phone apart, all its data would be wiped out and it would self-destruct.
Those phones could be their downfall, but they were also some of the only things keeping Ada tethered to humanity. The phones and their cases were of the same makes and models, but the cases' colours differ; red for Ada, and blue for Leon. He was the one who came up with the idea, and Ada made fun of him for it. It wasn't just the phone's contents that reminded her of Leon—it was the phone itself.
"Did I at least look good?" Ada asked.
Leon showed her the photo he had just taken. "Always."
"Don't get fresh with me, mister."
He shrugged. "Hey, you asked. I just answered."
He sat beside her. Their rower—Tom—told them an abridged history of the village, of the ghosts supposedly roaming the manor, and about the sheep farmers living in the hills.
Most importantly, their rower told them something that might help Ada uncover Leon's little secret.
"Ah, so there's one today," their rower said, looking at the garden at the manor.
"One of what?" Ada asked, following the Tom's gaze. She spotted a group of people crowded around two individuals facing each other, with a person standing in between them. She couldn't see clearly from this distance, but she thought there was something colourful dangling from the couple's joined hands. "A wedding?"
"No. It's a handfasting," Tom said, squinting his eyes. "That's Freddie right there. He's the go-to officiant for handfastings. See those ribbons between the couple?" Tom mentioned that he used to serve in the Naval Service, so Ada didn't question how a man his age had eyesight that good.
"Kind of, yeah," Ada heard Leon say.
She looked at him and saw him staring at the garden—at the handfasting couple.
"Vera told me about her husband," Leon said.
"Vera?" she said.
"So you've been to the vintage store," Tom said, momentarily glancing at Leon before resuming his rowing.
"Yes, yesterday," he answered, then told Ada, "She's the owner of the vintage store. She was temporarily manning the register when we were there."
"Handfasting is a tradition in this village. Every married person born and raised here has gone through a handfasting ceremony before or during their actual wedding," Tom explained. "It used to be legally binding in the ancient times, but nowadays it's usually done as a betrothal ceremony or as a part of the actual wedding. It's an ancient ritual celebrated by Celtics and Pagans, although these days, anyone can participate in it regardless of their religion or nationality." He turned to them, winking. "You two could even go through it, if you'd like."
Leon chuckled nervously. "That's…" He toyed with the hem of his jacket. "Yeah, that's…Uh…Well…"
Tom cleared his throat. "Didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, mate. My apologies."
"No harm done," Leon replied, smiling. Ada knew Leon well enough to know that his smile was forced, although she had a huge suspicion that it wasn't because of Tom, but rather, because of the situation per se.
A handfasting, huh?
She knew about handfastings. She had read about them, even witnessed one while on a job. The couple would join their hands together, and then the officiant would read the vows as they, or the couple's family and friends, wrap the handfasting cords around the couple's hands. These cords were made in various styles and ways, and could be bought or personally made for the couple. The colours of the cords would symbolise something to them, and significant objects, such as charms, could be tied into the cord. There was no set rule on how to make these cords, and each one was unique.
Handfasting was just as symbolic as an exchanging of rings. There might not be visible signs on a person's body that they were taken, but that doesn't mean that the exchanging of vows didn't occur. It was a quite literal tying of the knot.
Thankfully, the atmosphere quickly lightened up and the rest of their boat ride wasn't spoiled. Ada caught Leon staring wistfully at the manor garden a few times, but he didn't say anything. She felt like she should say something, but if her suspicions were correct, then commenting on the matter would destroy whatever fragile peace they currently have.
But then again, maybe they never got that peace back, especially when Leon refused to meet her eyes. Because if this was what Leon's secret was, then Ada had figured it out. They both knew how Ada would react, and it wouldn't be the reaction that Leon was hoping for.
She didn't even try that hard to discover what this secret was, but now, she wished she hadn't deduced it.
Lunch at The Birdsong was a quiet and awkward affair. Their conversation was stilted, and the simmering tension in the air suffocated Ada.
She sliced her sandwich with a knife. She said, "Penny for your thoughts?" and hoped that her casual tone wouldn't betray the worry she was feeling.
"Nothing," said Leon, shaking his head. He drank his water, then added, "Just thinking about all the work I'll come back to."
"Can't wait to leave me, huh?" She didn't mean to say the me part, but she did. Something about Leon's refusal to look at her ticked her off.
"It's not that. I—" For the first time since the boat ride, Leon met her eyes, and they were equal parts affection and disappointment. "You know I love being with you."
She might have partially opened a can of worms with her earlier statement, so before she could fully open it, she decided to do some damage control. She ate her sandwich and said, "I was just teasing you."
Leon forced a smile. "I know."
They both knew she wasn't just teasing him. They both knew that there was an elephant in the room, and that addressing it would fully open that can of worms from earlier, but Ada supposed that she would rather let the tension strangle her than wade through a sea of wriggling worms.
Leon quickly finished his meal and stood up. "I'll pay for our meal, so just take your time eating."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"I need some air."
Ada recalled a similar event last night. Leon had given her a gift—a gift that she was currently wearing. It felt like a noose then—it still felt like one right now—but she still wore it proudly to acknowledge Leon's affection for her. Maybe she wore it too because she felt the same.
She asked him, "When will you be back?"
He smiled—a small and tired smile, but genuine this time. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "In an hour, maybe. I just need some time to think. I'll message you." He kissed once more, this time on her forehead.
"All right. I'll wait."
He was beginning to walk away but he turned back, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "How the tables have turned."
Despite it all, Ada couldn't help but smile fondly.
Ada chose to return to their room and do some light work. She was on a holiday and she wasn't supposed to be working, but Leon wasn't around to make her holiday enjoyable. She could try to have fun by herself, but their boat ride had already dampened her mood.
Some minutes later, her phone chirped.
Where are you? Leon asked.
In our room, she answered.
Not long after, Leon returned with a small box of what looked to be pastry.
"You've been to the bakery?" she said, taking the box from him and peeking inside. She was a little overjoyed to see a small cherry tart.
"Passed by it before I came back," he said. He saw Ada's open laptop on the bed. "Are you working?"
"You're not here and I don't wanna go out alone." She took a bite out of the cherry tart then put aside its empty box. "Huh. It's good. Here, have a taste."
She held the tart out to him. He took a bite out of it as if by reflex, like sharing food was something so common between them.
And it was.
"Not bad," said Leon as Ada wiped the corner of his mouth with her thumb.
"So?" Ada said, sitting on the bed and putting her laptop away, eating what remained of her cherry tart. "Did you have time to think?"
Leon sat across her. "I did. And I came to a conclusion."
There was a sudden shift in the air.
"What have you decide on?" Ada had a huge hunch about what Leon could say next, so she mentally braced herself.
He stared at her straight in the eyes. He looked away for a second, and when he glanced back at her, his eyes were watery. "I want—I want to do that. Handfasting. With you. It's like engagement—Hell, it is engagement, and I want that kind of commitment with you."
She mentally ran a list of reasons why she couldn't be with him, about why she couldn't commit to him. She prepared to reject him as gently as she could, so when the next few minutes happened, only Ada's years of training in controlling her facial expressions masked her shock.
"I want that kind of life you," Leon said, his voice breaking. "A nice wedding, a cosy house, a kid or two, and dogs maybe…" He stood up and paced the room, making Ada unable to see his face.
He continued. "I want the apple pie life with you, and I realise now that completely eradicating B.O.W.s from this world is more probably than you settling down with me." He looked back at her again. He was on the verge of tears. "And I know that you're not the type to settle down. What I want is unattainable, and right now, it's more painful to hold on than to let go."
Ada's ominous feeling about this conversation came true, but it wasn't for the reason she was expecting.
"Ada, we need to stop seeing each other."
Her face remained unreadable, but she felt like her heart stopped. She didn't want to hear the rest of what he had to say, but she couldn't move and she was forced to listen to word after painful word.
Leon's shoulders sagged and his face was contorted into agony. "You can't give me what I want, and the last thing that I want to do is force you to do something you don't want. Not that I can force you. But I can't keep chasing you. You've always known about how I feel for you, but I don't even know how you feel about me." He huffed. "You spend all this time with me, touch me, kiss me, and hold me like I've never been held before, but what do all those mean, huh? Am I just warm body to you? And I just a toy, something to pass time with?"
No, you're not. You're not just a warm body. You're not just a toy. You're—You're—
For the second time that day, Ada found herself at a loss for words.
Wasn't this what she wanted—to get rid of Leon? To get rid of her one and only weakness? To get rid of the only (unknown) blemish in her otherwise immaculate reputation? If this was what she wanted, then why did she want to remove herself from this conversation? Why did she not want to hear the rest of it? Why did she want to rewind to the events of last night, when it was just the two of them operating on pure instincts and emotions?
She had been running away from him for far too long, and he got tired of chasing her. Sometimes, even the most persistent of humans got tired. Maybe it was all for the best. As heavy as her heart felt, maybe this was the most logical thing to do, because no one could use them against each other. They would destroy all evidence that the two of them ever knew each other, and in the process, Ada would destroy herself too.
"I already spelled it out for you so long ago," Leon said, still rooted on the same spot, still trying hard not to cry, still speaking on shaky voice. "You know how I feel about you. I'm in love with you. Are you in love with me?" A pause. A shudder. And then, "And I'm willing to fight for you. Are you willing to fight for me?"
Ada rarely stayed the night, because she didn't want to get used to the peace and comfort that waking up next to Leon brought her. She didn't want to get used to it, because if it suddenly got ripped out of her life, she would spend the rest of her days trying to fill the hole that it left inside her, knowing full well that it could never be refilled.
But somehow, she got used to it. She got used to meeting with Leon in foreign places and spending days and weeks with him. She got used to falling asleep next to him, to waking up in his arms, to cuddling with him on the couch and holding him in the bathtub. She got used to these tiny pieces of paradise—a glimpse of a life she could never have—and now, like a person deprived too long of air, she was gasping and craving for more.
And Leon was going to take it all away from her.
One could say she was a brave woman, infiltrating the parts of societies most would look away from. One could say she was a brave woman, because human-made abominations rarely fazed her. One could say she was a brave woman, because she had stared at death in the face countless times before and always ended up winning. But if she was so brave, then why couldn't she acknowledge what she felt for him and say it out loud?
Leon was always the one begging her to stay. Now, he was letting her go, and Ada couldn't make him stay.
But it was all for the best. If she repeated that enough times, it would eventually become the truth.
When Ada didn't say anything, Leon looked away from her. He looked at the window where the manor and lake could be seen, as if thinking about the things that could have happened but now wouldn't, all because Ada chose to follow her head instead of her heart.
There was a sniffle, and then he nodded. "I understand."
Be careful what you wish for.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything," said Leon, still looking at the window. "But yesterday, while I was waiting for you to arrive, the innkeeper told me about this village, about its traditions, about the handfasting. And she told me to talk to the vintage store owner, whose husband officiated handfastings. And all I could think of was doing that with you, because I love you." He looked back at her, shrugging, eyes red and swollen. "I guess you don't feel the same at all, huh?" He shook his head and laughed. "All these years of loving you…All these years of continuing on seeing you on the off chance that maybe you love me back…" His laughter continued, his shoulders shaking, until his laughter transformed into choked sobs.
When he looked back at her, Ada immediately hated herself for making Leon cry.
"At least we got closure," he said. "At least you didn't just disappear."
How many times had she been tempted to do just that—to cut Leon out of her life without warning? And each time she resolved to do that, she ended up staying the night, unable to wrench herself away from him.
This isn't who I am, she told herself. All these feelings, this longing, this hope— these are Ada's, and I'm not Ada.
Leon walked towards the closet. He got his duffle bag out and stuffed his clothes inside it. Ada wanted to stop him, but she was still there sitting on the bed, frozen.
"I've paid for until the morning after next," said Leon as he hastily shoved the last of his belongings inside his bag. "Check-out is at twelve."
He strode towards the door, and if he walked out, Ada knew she would never see him again.
She prayed to the god that may or may not exist that Leon would turn around and look at her so she could see him one last time.
And he did. He turned back, his eyes still swollen, but there was a tiny smile on his face.
"Goodbye, Ada," he said. "Take care of yourself, okay? I love you."
He opened the door, and Ada watched him disappear.
For the next few hours, Ada tossed and turned on the bed, her laptop lying forgotten somewhere. She didn't cry, but she stared at nothing and everything, not feeling anything. Wasn't this what she wanted—to be rid of her weakness? She should be overjoyed. She could finally cast aside this Ada Wong identity she had created and get on with her life. She could do her job without distractions and revert to being the emotionless robot she was supposed to be.
There were still so many things she wished she could have told him, but she had her chance, and now he was gone, never to return again. Maybe if Ada wasn't such a coward—
Ah, that was wrong. She wasn't Ada. Not anymore. Ada Wong ceased to exist the moment Leon crossed that door, and now, she wasn't sure who she was anymore. She, as a spy, was a blank canvas, and her mission directives dictated what kind of colours would be splashed onto it—what kind of persona she would adopt. She had pretended to be other people for so long that she forgot who the real her was, if she even existed in the first place. Maybe her real self had merged with Ada Wong. Maybe her real self became Ada Wong. Maybe she was Ada Wong.
She turned to her side and hugged a pillow. It smelled like Leon, so she hugged it tighter and thought of happier times lest she break down. It was crazy how last night, on this very bed, she and Leon held each other close as they repeated each other's names in the throes of ecstasy, but now, she was alone, having squandered her one and only chance for real happiness.
Happiness. Because that was what Leon was, wasn't he? He wasn't just a person who represented what happiness could be—he was happiness. She didn't come to him because of the reprieve he offered, but because he was reprieve itself.
She didn't see him all time. Leon dated other women, and she wasn't against it. Why would she be? They weren't together. He wasn't hers, and she had no claim over him. In fact, she encouraged it, hoping that someone else could give him what she was unable to give, that maybe Leon would forget about her and find his happiness elsewhere. But one time, Leon told her about a woman he dated who saw his Patek watch and the engraving on its back—
To Leon,
my favourite
–A
—and asked him who A was. Leon refused to answer the woman, and when she persisted, he broke up with her instead.
She knew she wasn't a good person, but she must be some fucked up in another level when she felt a frisson of joy upon learning that Leon was once again single. That meant she could see him again. That meant she could kiss him again, touch him, pleasure him, wake up next to him. She never saw him or contacted him while he was with other women, but the moment he was back on the market, she always came waltzing back into his arms.
She wondered if Leon was the only one doing the chasing. Wasn't she too, in another way? Why else would she keep tabs on his relationship status? Why else would she distance herself from him when he was with another, licking her wounds like a wounded animal? Why else would she hope that he broke up with whomever he was dating just so she could see him again? If she wanted him for just his body, if she didn't care about him, then she would come to him, even if he was dating someone else. She would come to him and claim him for the entire world to see, but she didn't, because she cared about him and wished that he could find someone he deserved. She wanted him to forget about her so she could forget about him, but wasn't she being foolish as she counted the days until Leon broke up with his girlfriend of the month? She didn't try to sabotage his relationships, but she might as well have, considering how much she wished for Leon to be single again. She might not be chasing him, but she had it just as bad.
Whenever Leon was dating other women, the phone she used to exclusively communicate with him would be kept in a locked box inside a safe, and she only took it out when he was no longer in a relationship. Now, it was useless. She should go find a hammer and destroy it, destroy the only link to Leon she had left.
And that was what she set out to do. She went out to seek the receptionist, but on her way there, she thought about the possible reasons why she wouldn't be lent a hammer. If you need to fix something in your room, the receptionist might say, we would be happy to fix it for you.
She stopped in her tracks. Destroying that phone with a hammer was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and she would be better off destroying it in her own flat so she could dispose of it properly.
So she passed by the receptionist's desk and greeted the innkeeper a good evening—who in turn looked…concerned—before coming downstairs, deciding to go to the pub instead. She should take a page out of Leon's book and drown herself in her sorrows. She should let the alcohol numb her and wash away the last traces of Ada Wong left inside her, so that when she returned to her world, she would be the blank canvas that she should have always been.
When she arrived downstairs, the café was mostly empty save for a couple near the entrance and a man at the back. The man was seated in a booth that faced the glass windows separating the café from the garden, and the combination of the low light and the moonlight cast him in a blue-ish tint, making his hair shine gold and his eyes blink like sapphires.
Leon.
Her breath hitched and her heart skidded to a stop. She walked closer towards him in small, quiet steps, legs almost shaky, and stopped about a foot away from him, just enough to announce her presence.
Their eyes met; he looked like he had cried his eyes out. The sight of her shocked him for a brief moment, then he smiled, perhaps a little embarrassingly.
"Hi, Ada."
And just like that, she was Ada Wong again—Ada Wong, who had undying affection for this man in front of her. A few hours without him and she was already like a fish out of water, gasping for air, and seeing him again when she thought she never would made oxygen rush back to her lungs.
"What are you doing here?" She was glad that her tone didn't reveal the tempest of emotions brewing inside her.
"I guess I was waiting for you to come down so I could catch a glimpse of you." He snorted. "Pathetic, I know, especially after I've said goodbye." He shook his head. "I don't want to let you go, but I love you too much to chain you down." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I love you enough to let you go."
"Will you stop saying that?" Ada said. She was getting irritated and she didn't know why.
"Saying what?" Leon was genuinely confused.
"That you…That…" She couldn't say the word. I love the colour red. I love high heels. I love form-fitting clothes. I love butterflies. I love my job. I lo—Leon, I lo— "That you…"
"What, that I love you?"
"Yes. Stop staying that." Stop guilting me. Stop making me hope that I could be with you.
"Why? It's the truth. I love you."
"Just stop it, Leon." Her voice was rising, but not enough to be heard in the entire café.
"Why?" He snorted. "Maybe I should have left when I said goodbye, but I have loved you for over ten years. You think my feelings are gonna vanish just like that?"
"I don't want to hear you say it."
"Then tell me why. What's the harm in saying it out loud? You don't feel—"
"Because if you don't stop saying it, then I won't have a choice but to admit to myself that I love you too!" Her voice was strangled; she was angry, but she was also on the verge of crying.
Leon stared at her. She must have been quite the sight—the normally calm and collected Ada had her fists balled up, her eyebrows drawn together, her mouth pressed into tight line. She was physically restraining herself from blowing up. Anger wasn't new to her—her other personas had volatile personalities—but Ada Wong rarely got angry.
How could she have been so foolish as to develop affections for a man she should have let die back in 1998? How could she have been so foolish as to let those lingering affections save that man from certain death back in 2004 by jeopardising her job? How could she have been so foolish as to let this persona take root inside of her and flourish, and let it live and thrive way past its expiration date? Her disguises were meant to be discarded after her missions, but here she was, still living the lie that started back in 1998.
She couldn't separate Ada Wong from her real self. She didn't have a sense of her real self anymore. As a young child, she was stripped of her identity so she could transform into another without a hitch, and while that made her an exemplary spy, somewhere along the way, she lost her real self. She could no longer separate the spy from the woman.
"I don't know who I am anymore," she said, sounding a lot more vulnerable than she wanted. "I've worn so many masks, and I'm not sure if those masks were based on my real self, or if those masks assimilated into my real self. I have no concept of self anymore." She crossed her arms, trying to make herself appear smaller. She would never do this in front of anyone except Leon, whom she trusted implicitly. "My favourite version of myself is the one who wakes up next to you. I love who I am when I'm with you. But I don't know if all of that is real. I don't know if these feelings are mine or Ada's."
Leon stood up, walked towards her, and cupped her face. "I know who you are," he said, brushing her cheeks with his thumbs. "I know the real you. You're Ada. You're my Ada. All those other personalities you've had to adopt…They're all parts of you, but they don't form the whole picture. You're a multi-faceted human being, and you have sides to yourself that I've never seen before and will probably never see, but that's all fine with me. I don't need to know everything about you to love you."
She shook her head. "How can you love me when everything about me is a lie?"
He took her right hand and placed it over his chest, over his beating heart, near the bullet scar that he had sustained because of her. "I know something real. You and me—that's real."
She clutched the fabric of Leon's shirt. She felt his heart beating, its constant thump thump thump that reminded her that he was real, and in a way, maybe she was real too. She liked to pretend that she didn't have a heart, but she did, and she was all too aware of how fast it beat and how high it soared whenever she was with him.
He offered himself and it was all too easy for her to take and devour, but what would she be able to give?
"You were right to leave, Leon," stepping back and putting space between them. "I shouldn't be caring in the first place, but I care about you too much to want you to be stuck with me. You were right. We should just end things between us." Before I get in way too deep and be unable to come out. "Find someone you can know inside and out without all the deception."
"So what you're saying is, I should go on dating other women and wish that I was dating you instead?"
The thought stung her. Still, she said, "No. You're going to date and date until you find the right one for you, and when you look back at your life, you'll realise how foolish you were for harbouring feelings for me."
"But I already found the right one for me. I'm staring at her right now." There was a pause, and he looked like he was about to reach out to her but decided against it. "I could go out there, get married, have kids, and be happy—but that would never compare to the happiness that you bring me. I don't want to settle down for less when everything that I'll ever want is right in front of me."
She took another step back, intent on separating herself from him before it got too painful. "You can never have the entirety of me, Leon. I would be unable to completely devote myself to you. You don't deserve that. You deserve the whole world and more."
"You're my whole world." Another pause. He gulped and sighed, composed his breath, and continued. "And I would rather have you in bits and pieces rather than not have you all. We already tried, remember? I said goodbye for what, six hours? And I'm so damned miserable. I never want to go through something that horrible again."
For a brief moment, he had stopped chasing her. The Universe brought them back together nonetheless. Why else would he be at the café in Ada's field of vision if she wasn't meant to see him?
He stepped towards her. He had always been respectful of her boundaries, never once demanding anything from her or making her do things she didn't want, but he took a chance and approached her. He left some distance between them, but he didn't push further and she didn't take another step back.
"And that was when I knew," he said, "that no matter whom I have been with, no matter where I was, no matter what I was doing, I would always want and need you. It sounds like the premise to a toxic relationship, but is it really toxic when I experience real happiness only when I'm with you? Is it really toxic if I feel the weight on my shoulders lighten every time I hold you? Is it really toxic when I feel at peace just by touching you?" He took a step towards her. "No. The true toxicity in here is trying to find happiness elsewhere when I already know where my happiness lies. I could pretend all I want, but I know with absolute certainty that it would be no good unless it was you."
Another step forward, and this time, there was only an inch separating them. He cupped her face once more and stared at her with imploring eyes. Ada's knees almost buckled, and her resolve almost wavered.
"We've separated—hell, we essentially broke up—for six hours," he said, laughing, "and look at us. We're both miserable."
"I can't give up this life, Leon. I'm too obsessed with my job."
"Sounds just like me."
"Don't do this." She shook her head. "Don't choose me."
"Too late. I already did." He held her arms. "We don't need to be married, or live together, or be in a…relationship. So long as I know you're mine, I'll be happy with that. I love you. All of you. Even the parts that you won't show me."
"This isn't what you deserve."
"Maybe not. But you're what I want. Anyone else wouldn't even come close. So you could either leave and pretend that you don't love me, or you could stay here and we'll see where this takes us."
"All you ever do is wait for me. Don't you ever get tired?"
"I'm fucking tired. Why do you think I left earlier?" He laughed, the action bringing their foreheads together. "But I waited for you to come down. I waited to see you." He stood up straighter so he could look her in the eyes. "If that's the only way that I could have you, then I'll wait for as long as it takes."
"I'm not worth it."
"You don't get to decide that—I do. And you're worth everything."
She scoffed. "Just earlier you said your goodbye, and now you're rescinding it and asking me to stay?"
He placed his hands around her waist. "That was before I learned that you love me too."
She turned away from him. "I never said that."
He smirked and nosed her hair, then pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You might as well have."
And then she let him kiss her. She tasted the mouth she thought she would never taste again, and then wrapped her arms around his neck so she could get more, have more of him, and get her fill so she wouldn't be left wanting again. But no matter how much she took, she couldn't get enough of him, and he was all too willing to give.
"Give us a chance," he murmured against her lips, "You and me officially. Let's give it a shot."
She wasn't born Ada Wong, but she was Ada Wong now, and Ada Wong loved Leon S. Kennedy. She wore a new mask every day, and she wondered if whenever she was with Leon, was she wearing a mask, or did that mask come off? Was she playing a role, or was she being herself, whoever that was? Leon was the glue that held her different identities together, and he was the anchor that kept this identity called Ada Wong tethered to a formless void disguised as a human being. She didn't have a man who loved her back, but Ada Wong did..
"Ada," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Say something." He gave a shaky laughter. "Am I gonna have to leave again? This time for good?"
"No," she said too quickly. "Say it again."
"What?"
"That name. Call me by that name again."
He smiled—a tiny smile, but full of gentleness and unabashed adoration. "Hi, Ada. I love you."
She leaned into his touch, into the gentle hands framing her face, into those hands that touched and held her like she was something sacred. "This body is an empty shell, but every time you call me 'Ada,' a soul inhabits it and I come alive. I become Ada."
"You are Ada." A kiss to her right cheek. "You're my Ada." A kiss to her left cheek. "All those times we've spent together…" A kiss to her forehead. "…those are real. All those times you've protected me…" A kiss to the tip of her nose. "…those are real. And you, standing in front of me right now…" A kiss to her lips, this one breathing life into her. "…you're real. And you're the one who saved me in Raccoon, in Spain, in Eastern Slav, and Lanshiang. Would I be standing here if you aren't real? I'm here because Ada saved me, and you're Ada."
As far as fake identities went, this one wasn't bad. Leon S. Kennedy's significant other? Now that was something to brag about.
He held her hands. "Let's get handfasted," he suggested, pairing it with the smile that Ada found hard to resist.
"You want to enter that kind of commitment with me when you don't even know my real name?" she said in a last-ditch attempt to dissuade him.
He frowned. "That's a lie. I know what your real name is."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
He nodded, smug smile firmly in place. "Yeah."
She decided to humour him. "What is it, then?"
"Ada Kennedy." He grinned like a boy who knew that he had done something wrong, but was gonna get away with it nonetheless.
She tugged her hands away from him and crossed her arms, levelling him with an unamused look. "You're on thin ice, mister."
He threw his head back in laughter. He grabbed her hands again and let his laughter die down. When he next spoke, there was seriousness in the glint of his eyes. "So? What say you?"
Her immediate reaction was to say no, but maybe she should stop denying herself the things that made her happy.
"If you change your mind," Leon suddenly sung, "I'm the first in line, honey I'm still free, take a chance on me…"
"Why are you singing that?" she said, half laughing.
"You say that I waste my time, but I can't get you off my mind, no I can't let go, 'cause I love you so…"
She cupped his face and kissed him to shut him up. She felt his arms wrap around her, his hands resting on the small of her back.
"All right," she said when they parted. "I'll take a chance on you. I'll take a chance on us."
The smile that Leon gave her was more than enough to wash her doubts away.
For breakfast, Ada and Leon went down to the café. They sat in the booth that Leon was occupying last night—the one that looked out into The Birdsong's garden. But instead of sitting opposite Leon, Ada sat beside him so she could stare at the garden, which now looked blurry because of the rain falling down the windowpanes.
Their empty plates lay on the table. Ada was clutching Leon's arm, her head on his shoulder, and she could feel each breath he took. It was funny how last night, in this same spot, everything between them almost ended. In a sense, something ended, which brought forth a new beginning.
Leon kissed her forehead.
"You've been staring through the windows for quite a while," he said, "and my arm is falling asleep."
Ada clutched his arm tighter, making Leon chuckle.
"Ada. We have to get a move on. We've got a handfasting to do."
She can hear the smile in his voice, and when she looked up at him, he was looking at her so fondly that her heart ached. Yesterday, he looked like his whole world crashed, but today, he looked like his whole world had been just remade.
And it was, if Leon's words from last night were anything to go by.
"I'm gonna get the ribbon," he said as he slowly disentangled himself from her (and Ada did not pout). "Wait for me at the gazebo in the garden, okay?"
"In the garden?" She glanced outside. "But it's raining and there might be people around."
"I already talked to the innkeeper. She said she'll keep it off limits until after we come out."
"Already charming other ladies, huh?"
He kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be back in a minute. Wait for me."
Their eyes met.
"I'll wait for you," she said. And she wasn't just talking about waiting for him in the garden. He had always been the one waiting for her, and now, it was her turn.
"No more waiting after this," he said before kissing her on the cheek once more and scampering away.
Ada didn't have a white dress with her, so she changed into the only other dress she brought—another red sundress. She wore the choker Leon gave her, and a black shawl over her shoulders to ward against the chill of the rain. She sat inside the gazebo, listening to the raindrops and watching water droplets slide on leaves and flowers.
The rain wasn't strong—just a drizzle, really—so very few stray droplets hit her, and certainly not enough to get her or her seat wet. The cobblestoned pathway in the garden prevented mud from caking her heels, but she inspected them all the same. She was getting handfasted, and while it wasn't legally binding, it was an ancient ritual that symbolised the union of two lives. It was a commitment ceremony, and she wanted to look her best. It was commitment without betrothal or marriage, and for the kind of lives they live, it was the perfect solution to an imperfection situation.
Not long after, Leon came back. Like Ada, he too had changed; he now wore a white button-down shirt and a navy blue coat.
He propped an umbrella against the gazebo's entrance, and when Leon saw her, he smiled.
"Hey," he said, "you changed clothes too."
"I wanted to look nice."
She stood up and Leon met her at the centre of the gazebo.
He took her hands and said breathlessly, "You're beautiful."
Ada didn't outwardly show it, but she preened. She straightened his collar and smoothed his coat's lapel, then cupped his face and brushed his stubble with a thumb. "So handsome."
Leon blushed and turned away from her, dislodging the hand on his face.
"Well?" she said. "How are we gonna proceed with this ceremony without any officiant or witnesses?"
"Vera asked the same thing." He reached into his coat pocket. Ada expected him to produce a handfasting cord, but instead, he got out a tiny black box. "I told her that we wanted to keep it private."
Which wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either. Leon might be in this village using his real passport and real identification cards, but Ada was here on a fabricated identity. They didn't want the officiant to use one of her fake names on a momentous event for them.
Besides, did they really need an officiant or witnesses to be present for their handfasting? They weren't doing this for legalities; they were doing this for themselves, as a celebration of the end of their on-off not-relationship. They weren't doing this so they could file a paper in the courthouse and have a paper trail that would lead back to them; they were doing this to show their commitment to each other. Their only witnesses would be the raindrops that would soon evaporate, the birds and insects that would never sing or chirp of their union, and the susurrations of the leaves and flowers in the passing wind. Maybe Vera the vintage store owner would know, and the innkeeper, and Tom the rower, but they wouldn't be actually witnessing their union. It was just Ada, Leon, and the garden cocooning them in this rare display of spoken love.
Leon opened the black box, and nestled inside were two silver rings.
"What are those for?" she asked. The Ada from yesterday would have bolted at the mere sight of that black box, but the Ada of today couldn't wait to slide that ring into her finger.
"Don't be alarmed," he said, taking the rings out and pocketing the box. "There aren't wedding or engagement rings—they're promise rings."
"A promise for what?" she said, not daring to hide the glimmer in her eyes.
Leon looked her in the eyes before giving the ring to her. She inspected it and saw the simple engraving was inside: L+A.
She gave the ring back to him. "When did you get these?"
"A few years back. I always carry them with me when we're together."
Her eyes bore into his, and she drank in the sight him—from the expectant look in his eyes, the tiny upward curl of his lips, the slight dampness of his hair and shoulders, and the watch he wore. She looked at him and thought of how long had she known him, about how long had she been running away from him and from her feelings for him.
"How long, Leon?" she whispered, her voice anguished. "How long have you been in love with me?"
He shrugged. "For practically half my life, loving you was the only sure thing I know."
"I'm sorry," she said, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm sorry it took me this long."
He patted her back and lifted her face, wiping away the tears that she didn't know had fallen.
"We're here now. That's all that matters."
He took the ring and carefully slipped it onto her right ring finger. She looked at her hand and marvelled at the sight of that silver ring, relished in its weight, and wondered how was she able to survive this long without it. Now that she was wearing it, something inside her clicked, like a puzzle piece finally completed a picture that she didn't know was incomplete.
Ada didn't need to be prompted to take the ring from Leon and slide it onto his right ring finger, and she certainly didn't need to be prompted to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss.
"Now, the ribbons," Leon said, and from his pocket, he produced a cord made up of three two-metre ribbons—one red, one blue, and one purple—braided together. "Vera made this for us."
He clasped her right hand in his, as if they were shaking hands, and their rings clinked. He laid the cord on top of their joined hands, and with his left hand, he awkwardly tried to tie the knot under their hands.
"I guess this is why handfastings have officiants and witnesses," he said, grumbling and groaning at the braided cord that wouldn't cooperate.
"Let me help you," she said, faintly amused by his struggle.
There was some awkward fumbling at first, but once they got into a rhythm, the first knot was secured.
"This knot represents my love for you," Leon said.
They tied the second knot with a lot less fumbling this time.
"This knot represents your love for me."
The third knot came without a hitch.
"And this final knot represents our union, and the new journey that we will embark on as a couple."
"A couple, huh?" She rolled the word around her mouth, prodding it with her tongue; it had a sweet, albeit foreign, taste. Never did she think that she would one half of an "official" couple.
"A couple of idiots who ran and ran in circles before getting to where they were always meant to be."
The knots weren't so tight that it constricted their hands, but it wasn't so loose either that it would slip away. There was just enough room for Leon to stroke Ada's hand with his thumb, and they shared a laugh.
They took two separate paths, only meeting occasionally, but now, their paths have been joined, and they would now walk together side by side.
Leon placed Ada's left hand on top of their joined hands, saying, "One hand above to protect…" Then he placed his left hand at the bottom. "…and one below to support." He gave Ada a nervous smile before taking a deep breath. "I promise you that no matter how long it will take, I will always wait for you. That you won't have to worry about a thing when you're with me, because I'll always keep you safe from harm. That you'll always have a home in my arms, and that I'll always catch you when you fall. That I will love you unconditionally, without reservations, for as long as you'll have me. All these I vow to you, and I pledge that you will always own my heart."
Her hands trembled, but he steadied them with his own.
"I promise you," she said, her voice nearly breaking, "that you don't need to wait for me anymore, because I'm finally here. That I will protect and save you, but not at the cost of my life, because I want us to survive and live together. That even if I'm consumed by my job, I will always come home to you. That no matter whose mask I wear, the person underneath would always be Ada, the one who loves you. I won't leave you again, ever. All these I vow to you, and I pledge to you that you will always own my heart. If you could trust in a spy's words."
"You're not a spy right now. You're just Ada. My Ada."
"I'm your Ada." She gave him a watery smile, and then took a shuddering breath to stop her tears from falling. "You gave me a home and an identity. A lot about me is built on a mountain of lies, but you, Leon, are the only real thing about me." In spite of the deep, steadying breath that she took, tears still streamed down her cheeks. "I'm Ada, and the love I feel for you, this is all real. These are my feelings, all for you."
It offered her comfort to see Leon in the same state as she was—tears falling from their eyes, half laughing and half crying, their joined hands shaking.
Slowly, they unclasped their hands, careful not let the cord fall to the ground. Leon neatly folded the cord and pocketed it for the meantime, but later, it would be framed and displayed in Leon's flat. He wiped Ada's face with cuffs of his sleeves, and then Ada embraced him and buried her face in his neck. She was certain that her tears wetted his collar, but he just held her and ran a hand up and down her back, his other hand playing with her hair.
They stayed like that for a while. Ada didn't make a sound except for the occasional sniffle, and when she had calmed down, her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet.
Just like Leon.
"Thank god I'm using waterproof makeup," she said, attempting levity. She wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, all the while still being held by Leon.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"I've been better."
Leon chuckled. There was no doubt that he was thinking about a similar exchange in Spain all those years ago.
For a moment, they stared at each other's red eyes and tear-stained cheeks before laughing and laughing, until their laughter brought their mouths together, and pretty soon, they were occupied with kissing each other.
Love was a fragile thing that could be easily crushed in one's hands. Leon gave Ada the power to break him, but he also gave her the power to rebuild him. Just like Ada. She was slowly tearing her walls down to completely let him in, let him see all the parts of her that should best remain hidden, because she knew that he would love her regardless.
She cupped his face and stared into those deep pools of blue before kissing him once more. "I love you," she said before placing another kiss on his lips. "I love you." Another kiss. "I love you." Another kiss. "I love you." Another kiss.
"I love you too." He took her hand and pressed a kiss on her new ring. "I'm now officially permanently off the market."
"Permanently, huh?"
Leon nodded, said, "Permanently," and then pulled her into another kiss.
The rain let up hours ago and the ground wasn't muddy anymore. The raindrops on the leaves have long since evaporated, but there was still petrichor all around. Ada had left her shawl in their room, deciding to enjoy the cool air. They trudged across the wooden pathway leading to a hilltop, which reportedly had a stellar view of the entire village. Leon took the lead. He held her hand to assist her, made sure she didn't trip on any rocks and pebbles.
"Hey, Ada," he said. Her named sounded sweeter than the last time he said it.
"What?" They were going uphill now. She was glad that she changed into a pair of practical boots that still went well with her sundress.
"Do you know what's the last thing I do before going to sleep?"
"Close your eyes?"
"Dammit Ada, I'm trying to be romantic here." He looked back at her in exasperation before shaking his head. "The last thing I do before going to sleep is think of you. I imagine the kind of life we could have had were we together. But those days are over, because I'm finally living that reality."
Reality. Root word: real. There were certainly going to be moments when she would doubt if she deserved Leon, if they were real, but the ring on her finger served as a constant reminder that Ada&Leon was a very real thing.
"Are you sure you won't regret your life choices?"
Leon stopped walking to look back at her. "I thought we were done with that conversation. I don't care who you were—" He looked pensive with his narrowed eyes, and then chuckled. "I don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did, as long as you love me…"
Ada rolled her eyes. "You are just the worst."
"How you got me blind is still a mystery, I can't get you out of my head—"
"Stop singing!" She tried to sound angry, but she just sounded fondly exasperated.
"—don't care what is written in you history, as long as you're here with me."
"Did you listen to the Backstreet Boys when you were at the Academy?"
"Who didn't?" He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Hey. When are we going to consummate our marriage?"
She furrowed her brows. "We're not married, Leon."
"Maybe we're not. But we basically eloped." He affected a pout. "And I want to do the consummation part."
She wrenched her hands away and walked ahead of him, leaving Leon a few steps behind.
"Ada, wait!" he said in between laughs.
He caught up to her, and when he grasped her hand, Ada held on tightly, intent on never letting him go again.
Their intertwined fingers gently swayed between them as they walked to the hilltop and into the sunset.
A/N: I may have gotten some details about handfasting wrong, so if you see any mistakes, kindly tell me!
Reference for the handfasting ceremony: a YT video that I couldn't link here
It was such a struggle to write this fic I got swamped with work during this fic's early stages, terrible and disappointing fandom things happened, and to top it all, I had to endure 35C (95F) heat, so I'm very glad that I finally finished this!
Mini playlist for this fic:
1. "Bird Song" by Florence + The Machine
2. "Hardest Of Hearts" by Florence + The Machine
3. "Haunted House" by Florence + The Machine
4. "Take A Chance On Me" by ABBA
5. "As Long as You Love Me" by The Maine
6. "Ni Guang" by Stefanie Sun
7. "Home" by Reese Lansangan