Work Text:
Leon often is gone for days, weeks and months at a time. That's how it's been since Raccoon City. Never staying in his apartment for longer than a week and he told himself he was fine with it; that this is what is expected out of him after becoming a tool for the government.
Until he met you. Honestly, Leon didn’t believe he was worthy of love because who would love a man that failed on his first day of being a cop? He went through the motions of life and felt it was too cruel to weigh someone down with his emotional baggage.
You accepted him as he is. Trauma and all — loving him on the days where he felt fine; he was able to go out to places with you and treat you to a gourmet meal. Wine and dine you. Then of course out of nowhere, the random wave of emptiness — the sudden feeling of his body going numb and the world around him distorted.
He tried to hide that part of himself in the beginning of your relationship. But you noticed. You always did. You would drive back to the apartment and lay him on your chest so he has something to ground to. Leon never thought he would find someone that could care this much especially after ruining a dinner date from one of his PTSD attacks.
How can you love him when he failed so many people?
Leon could hardly accept your love at first and it took a while — a lot of emotional distance, arguments, running away. Until he finally accepted he wanted love — that was after the incident in Colorado and New York with Glenn Arias; he wanted to change and he did. That was over ten years ago.
Leon didn’t take missions often anymore recently, just the occasional ones that really needed him or he felt like he couldn’t walk away from. Especially when he had to find a cure of his disease — that was over with. And the trauma of Raccoon City of 30 years weighed off his chest after killing Victor Gideon stopping him from releasing more chaos.
He was done with the chaos of missions and decided to take a long break from being an agent to focus on what really mattered. His family. Ten years ago, Leon decided it was time to marry you ( he was done running away from you and he tried to prove himself every day you made the right choice in marrying him ) and have a family. It’s what he wanted for so long but never felt like he deserved it until you had told him you were pregnant six years ago; fuck he was so nervous and terrified that he would mess up being a father.
But you being you; you helped him go through the motions of fear and Leon allowed himself to breathe to figure this out with you –and he couldn’t be a better father. And now that he had time away from missions, he was going to spend it as he always did with you and his daughter Isabella.
Sundays were always reserved for his daughter. His six year old daughter had your hair and skin color but her eyes were entirely Leon's. You often joked by putting your hand over their eyes saying how their blue eyed stare scared you.
He never thought his life could turn out like this. At times he didn’t think he deserved this life yet with all he’s been through he tries to appreciate while he can because the world was too cruel and took innocent things quickly — and he would not allow it to take his wife or daughter.
That's why Sunday was for his daughter. To preserve this innocence before anything can take it away from him. Leon always did activities with his six year old daughter — take her to see that God awful spongebob movie though he liked watching the series and used some of the jokes when he was on missions.
Different movies that came out and of course family friendly movies — he hated the new shows for kids and went back to the basics of Oswald, Mickey Mouse clubhouse, Dora ( though that was a terrible idea because now Isabella only responded to Spanish words at times and his Spanish has been lackluster since the Las Plagas mission ), PBS kids cartoons.
Leon hated Barney and apparently so did your daughter because she began to cry from how terrifying he looked and he couldn't be more pleased to never have to watch that show again.
Though he caught her one time watching anime on Netflix and he was going to turn it off until he saw Dragon Ball z. He did the typical dad pose with his arms crossed and stood by the couch while you joined later to do whatever activities in their presence. (His daughter wanted to be Piccolo for Halloween, he took a photo of how ridiculous she looked and made it his home screen on his personal phone.)
Or other activities from taking her to the park, a family friendly activity involving sports ( which had his back aching from trying to stop a hyperactive six year old from bouncing all over the place.) Then to the more quieter moments where he would take her along with you out on a picnic around a lake watching her look and poke at everything curiously.
She was untouched by the world. And Leon wanted to keep that way as long as possible. So he didn't mind playing with dolls or dressing up with his daughter (as ridiculous as he might look) whenever she didn't want to go out. He was happy with whatever she wanted to do.
Today was a doll house activities — a major storyline that was ongoing, complex and utterly complicated. How did a six year old come with a story line as complex as this? He had no clue, he suspected it was because you let her watch some of the shows you watched while you did the laundry. He almost felt like his daughter was narrating a telenovela.
“And then, Miss Marcy came home to her husband kissing the maid only to find out the maid was Miss Marcy’s long lost sister who wanted to hurt Marcy for taking her candy when they were younger.” Isabella explained while holding the dolls up to Leon with each narration — the Barbie dolls he got her last month and the Goku figure she insisted on having for her dolls as the husband all while they lived in the Barbie dream house for her birthday.
Leon blinked at the story and muttered, “I need to talk to your mother about letting you see those shows on Netflix.” He took a deep breath while crossing his legs on the ground holding his own dolls making them do backflips off the house into the pool.
“No, no no!” Isabella shouted which made Leon look at her with a quirk concern eyebrow but her lips were pouting and glaring at her father. “You cannot make Miss Tracy do that, dad! Only Miss Darcy can because she's like you. You're ruining the story.”
Like him? Oh right, Isabella didn't know his true profession and believed he was some kind of hero from how you tried to explain why he was gone for long periods at a time. Not as often as he used to be but long enough that made her question where Leon went.
So you told her Leon's job kept him away because he was fighting bad guys like how Batman does. And of course she believed it.
“Wouldn't it be cooler if she was doing back flips off the house and into the pool? It makes the story dramatic.” Leon pointed out but his daughter wasn't having it, snatching the doll out of his hand that he sighed heavily. She definitely got the attitude from you. He’s too old dealing with your attitude but his six year old daughter’s too? He’s not excited for the teen years.
Leon just allowed his daughter to narrate and play with his dolls while he watched her. His eyes softened watching the sight in front of him. It was still hard to believe that he was allowed to have a life like this. That he earned it from years of fighting bio-terriosm. His family was the only good thing that came from all the trauma he suffered from.
That’s why he was quietly taking many photos on his personal phone of his daughter and was sending them to Grace. Bless her heart for enduring all the photo’s Leon has sent her recently. He believed that he was her only friend besides Emily at the current moment and he didn’t mind that fact nor mind sharing his life with her after what they experienced – he was close to her now.
Leon wanted Grace to meet you and Isabella once she had processed more of what had happened in Rhodes Hill and Raccoon City. He could already imagine how you would treat Grace, she needed that security and safety you bring; he was sure she would get attached to you too once she met you. He sent the attachments of the photos and immediately got a response.
Grace: ISTG she’s so cute
ISTG? He thought with furrowed brows. Leon blinked at her text behind his glasses (h his eyesight suffered terribly from the amount of flashbangs he had thrown over the years.) Too many times she sent him messages that he didn’t understand the meaning of. He didn’t understand today’s youth and their need to shorten words.
And he thought he was bad when he would send Hunnigan selfies with dead zombies.
Grace sent a picture of Emily playing in the park. He smiled at the picture and he breathed because at least he was able to save them from Raccoon City even if he was too late the first time in 1998 – Grace and Emily almost felt like his atonement for what he couldn’t stop back then. During his texting back and forth with Grace, Leon felt a small tug on his shirt. Immediately, he put away his phone to focus his attention on Isabella. “What is it, baby?”
“Do you think mommy will see that man again?”
Leon stared confused and tilted his head. “Man? What man?”
“The one that comes over. He comes around whenever you’re gone.”
Leon stayed silent. Too quiet. There were thoughts forming his mind and each one worse than the last. Children weren’t known to lie, they were painfully truthful like the time Isabella had said she hated Leon’s beard ( he was growing it out ) and he looked like a lumberjack that eats children. That hurt his ego and he was sulking for days after he shaved and felt extra sulky when you were laughing at him every time you looked at him.
Now, this? Some man was coming over in the presence of their daughter? Were you cheating on him? Dread filled his heart if that was the case and felt his palms sweating as they often did when his anxiety spiked.
He knew there was trouble in the past after China where he disappeared emotionally for a year and stayed in Colorado without saying anything but many times he tried to make it up to you over the years. He believed he redeemed himself enough. Was it because he was still taking missions? Were you feeling lonely and frustrated by him? He didn’t realize his hand was crushing around his phone to the point that it was making a creaking sound.
Isabella stared at him innocently before going back to playing with her toys. He had to take a deep breath before he got any more information. “Have you seen,” his teeth clenched as he seethed out the last part, “this man, baby?”
“Yeah, daddy.”
Oh, that was worse. Not only were you cheating but your daughter had seen his man. Interacted with him. Now his thoughts worsen: Did Isabella think he was going to be her new dad? Is my happy life over with because I’ve been an inadequate husband? Am I never going to see my wife or daughter anymore?
Leon needed more information. He was used to getting information out of enemies during missions with methods. Obviously, he wasn’t going to harm his daughter and had to choose a route that would get a six-year old to talk. “Stay right here, baby.” He pushed himself up from the floor trying to ignore how his bones creaked with age as his legs felt like jelly from all the anxiety being bottled up.
The route Leon chose? Getting Isabella’s favorite candy from the kitchen cabinet that she was limited on. You weren’t home at the moment since you were staying overnight at your parents house and he thought this was a perfect opportunity to get his daughter to talk without you knowing.
Leon came back into his daughter’s room, kneeling beside her. “Okay we’re going to play a game, baby. It’s called negotiations that we're doing.” His hand held out pieces of candy and her eyes immediately lit up. “Every piece of information you give me, I give you candy as an exchange, okay?”
Isabella nodded excitedly, placing her dolls back into their respective rooms to turn towards Leon. “You promise to give me candy?” She said in a skeptical tone, narrowing her eyes at him for a moment.
Leon let out a breath of amusement and nodded. “Of course, baby. I promise.” He said and closed his hand before she had the urge to reach out and snatch one out of his hand. “How often does this man come to the house?”
Isabella hummed in thought. “Like I said, daddy everytime you leave the house. Mommy said she likes playing with him.”
“Oh? Does she like playing with him?” Leon said through clenched teeth. He could only imagine what playing could mean. And he had a lot of images flooding through his head when he would play with you in the bedroom – now this random man was playing with his wife in his home? Fuck that.
“Mhm.” Isabella held her hand out expectedly. Right, Leon almost forgot his end of the bargain and unwrapped the candy, placing it on her smaller hand gently despite the anxiety and crawling anger he felt. She ate with a big smile, never sensing his inner turmoil.
He forced himself to take a deep breath and began more negotiations. How often did the man come to the house? Too often from the way Isabella explained. More candy was given. What did he look like? Isabella happily replied ( dark blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin.) And finally the most important, Leon needed to know the guy’s name for. . .personal reasons.
Leon took a deep breath and held the last piece of candy in the air just out of Isabella’s reach. “Okay, you’ve done such a good job so far, baby but I need to know one final thing before you get the last candy.” Isabella nodded with her eyes wide on the prize. “So what's the guy's name?”
“Ryan.” Isabella answered quickly using her hands to make a grabby motion.
But Leon completely went still for a moment, and then, “Ryan?!” Leon nearly shouted then composed himself once he saw his daughter flinch from the sudden loud noise coming from her rather quiet father; he hardly ever raised his voice around Isabella because he vowed himself to never be like his father but this was a situation that required a little shouting.
That was the name of your instructor at your pilates class. Leon never liked Ryan; he caught him staring at you multiple times and he stepped over the line too many times to count that maybe Leon had asked nicely for Ryan to back off if he wanted to keep getting money for his classes.
But never did Leon imagine that you would actually fall for the asshole charms. Insecurity crept up for a moment since Ryan was fifteen years younger than him. He had a fresher face than him, he clearly saw you more since Leon was often gone for days and weeks at time when the mission required it. Were you that bored with him that you had to run to your pilates instructor?
If you wanted to be with someone younger, fine, but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight first. Leon gave his daughter the last piece of candy and began formulating a plan he had to ask Sherry to find his address to have a talk with him. But first, once you came back; he was going to hear from you first hand when he came back from the office and you returned home.
“Are we done with our game, daddy?” Isabella asked with a bouncing stance.
Leon blinked and sighed. Great, he had to deal with a hyperactive six year old while having a potential cheating scandal in his mind. “Yeah.”
“Okay, then catch me if you can.” Isabella shot up and dashed out of her room.
“Wait, don’t run-”
Coming home to your daughter while Claire babysat her for the morning time made you sigh from how much you missed your daughter. You just came right in time to take her to kindergarten and you thanked Claire for being the best Godmother who only chuckled while taking her leave.
Driving your daughter to school was one of the best times spent with her, especially showing her your favorite songs from the 90s and 2000s. She seemed to like it more than the music that was played – while Leon showed her some rock music that didn’t have inappropriate songs, you showed her more R & B and pop music.
Your finger tapped against the steering wheel from the playlist bumping your favorite 2000s pop song while Isabella nodded to the music. Isabella was absentmindedly talking about what normal six year olds talk about and today’s topic was Star Wars. You firmly believe she might be a nerd when she grows up because on her fourth birthday, she dressed up as Yoda which got a laugh out of Leon.
Leon only laughed a lot because of the mix up of party invitations where Isabella said she wanted a princess theme so Leon told her friend's parents to dress up as princess too. But then she told you she wanted a star wars theme party; she was the only one dressed up as Yoda at the party and the photo taken that day cracks you and Leon up from how scared her friends looked surrounding her.
You listened to her talk about Star Wars until the sudden change of topic came up. “Do you think daddy will say sorry to that pretty lady?” Isabella questioned.
Confusion settled over you as your brows pinched together. You couldn’t remember if Leon had to apologize to you for anything. He hasn’t done anything in the past couple months that would warrant an apology. “What pretty lady, baby?”
“The one he sees while you’re gone. She came over yesterday while you were at grandma and grandpa’s house.” Isabella replied, messing with the hem of her uniform skirt.
You stayed quiet and turned the music to hear your daughter correctly. The only notification you got from the front door camera yesterday was Leon and Isabella leaving in the morning to go to breakfast and coming back. Then in the morning Claire and Leon trading places with a brief exchange and then nothing else. Could Leon snuck some woman through the backdoor or through some window? Or, did she somehow sneak in?
You didn’t want to think Ada Wong would be a homewrecker but that was the only person you can think of in this scenario. You knew the history between Ada and Leon from before you met him; and you had met him after Spain – he wasn’t shy in telling you that he had run ins with her since then and something had occurred a long time ago before he met you but nothing else has happened since then.
No, you didn’t hate Ada Wong but a doubt of insecurity came over you. Did he still want her? Was he tired of the boring family life especially with you because you weren’t an agent or mercenary? Fingers were rubbing on the leather of the steering wheel trying to calm your anxious heart.
“Do you know what she looks like, Isabella?” You asked carefully, trying to dispel the lump in your throat focusing on making sure you don’t get in a car accident.
“Yeah, I’ve seen her a lot of times, mommy.” Isabella said in an annoyed, obvious tone which made you huff from her attitude. Sometimes, you wished she got more of Leon’s personality than your own from how much attitude a small thing like her has. “Um, black hair, brown eyes. She’s not white, mommy.”
Your throat tightened harder. “Asian?” Isabella nodded. It was worse than you thought. Did Leon see Ada in Raccoon City again and somehow it brought up old feelings that he realized that she was the one he wanted. You couldn’t blame him, she was hot and cool; too badass compared to how you were.
At times, you often compared yourself to her. You were a simple scientist that worked with Rebecca Chambers and you were proud you were able to find cures and analyze viruses to help aid in bioterrorism. Nothing can take that away from you but then there was people like Leon, Jill and Chris who fought it head on to prevent it to spreading,
And somehow Ada was always just there too. You met her once before and that’s all it took to realize that Leon could have chosen her instead.
You wanted to ask more information from your daughter but the school was in view and you parked right by the entrance where the staff took care of the students. Leon chose this school because of the high clearance security and they were offering martial arts lessons which he made Isabella take; both of you knew that you could never be too careful.
“Have a good day, sweetie.” It was hard to keep a steady tone for your daughter that didn’t make it seem like anything was wrong when everything was wrong.
“Bye, mommy.” She reached over as you did to give each other a hug then she opened the door and got out of the car to find the attendant that escorted her through the school’s gates.
Being alone, thoughts swarmed in your head about the situation. What were you going to do about this situation? The very thought of going ballistic on your husband seemed like a good idea but no, you were past the stage of losing your shit. It would just be easier to ask him and figure out the next step because if he really wanted Ada Wong then he can have her, you weren’t going to beg for a man to stay.
Especially Leon Kennedy. No, when he came back home would be a perfect time to ask him.
Leon may have gone overboard with the situation. As soon as he got to the DSO building, he immediately found Sherry and asked her to look up Ryan. To find out everything and anything about that man. Unfortunately, the man was squeaky fucking clean. 3.5 GPA in College, never been arrested for anything serious. Was in a sorority but apparently was the outcast for being too nerdy. It was only after college that he gained popularity for gaining muscles and changing his appearance.
Leon scoffed each time Sherry had given him more information that didn’t give him a reason to go beat him up. His arms were tensing with each cross he kept doing across his chest and Sherry just stared at him. “What the hell is your problem, Leon?”
“Nothing.” He grumbled.
Because there was no real reason to start anything besides speculations that Ryan might be fucking his wife; Leon had a shitty day at work filing reports for the Rhodes Hill and Raccoon City incident. Fine, if Ryan had nothing against him; he was going straight to the source.
You.
Coming home was fairly easy when Leon practically ignored traffic laws. The questions in his head had been driving him insane all day that he kept mistaking his reports. He couldn’t focus on work; all he can think about was the possibility that Ryan might have been in his house right now fucking his wife on his favorite couch or bedroom.
The Porsche handled excellently as he did an abrupt turn and parked in the driveway. He didn’t even take his briefcase out. He got out, locked his car and immediately took his house keys to get inside. Leon wasn’t sure he was expecting, possibly hearing you moan or scream but it was quiet as soon he entered the entryway.
Perhaps, the fucker couldn’t please you well. Leon hoped that was the case because then he can feel a bit better about that. He closed the door quietly and walked inside the house further; the aroma smell of food hit him for a moment. He didn’t want to believe that Ryan was also using his kitchen, it wasn’t safe to be around knives if that were the case.
He popped his head over the corner like a cat trying to sneak up on a mouse but all he saw was you poking at your food with a huge frown and narrowed eyes. He didn’t see Ryan around which he let out a breath of relief and came out the corner with his arms crossed his chest.
Leon didn’t say anything for a moment and neither did you, but you acknowledge his presence from looking up. You were glaring at him. And he didn’t know why. A stare off ensued and neither of you broke contact; then both of you open your mouths.
“You’ve been cheating on me.”
“You’ve been cheating on me.”
Leon and you stared at each other and blinked confused. Now both of you are confused about what has been said. “Wait, what did you say?” Leon questioned, offended when the words processed in his head better.
“You’ve been cheating on me.” You said slowly, putting your fork down on the kitchen counter to hear him correctly too. “Wait, what did you say, too?”
“That you’ve been cheating on me. . .” Leon trailed off and uncrossed his arms to run his fingers through his hair. “You thought I was cheating on you?” A disbelief laugh came out of him from how absurd the situation became. “Sweetheart, truly, I mean this with love but are you dumb? I spent ten years begging for your forgiveness and tried everyday to make sure I never become the man I was after the President was killed again. Why would I cheat on you?”
“Why would I cheat on you?” You questioned back, equally offended and scoffed from the mere thought of ever finding another man who could be better than Leon. “I dealt with your shit for years. I loved you through the toughest moments in your life. I gave you a whole child and that shit hurt. I wouldn’t dream of having another man that isn’t you.”
Confusion laced on Leon’s face and he suddenly relaxed. But that didn’t make sense to what Isabella had said because children weren’t known to entirely lie about stuff like this. They didn’t know about infidelity so then what the fuck was going on?
“Isabella told me that a man named Ryan comes around when I’m not home and you like to play with him.” Leon pointed out with furrowed brows. “So I assumed you were screwing your pilates instructor. . .”
“What? Ugh, ew!” You exclaimed in disgust. “He’s way too young for me, Leon. Besides, I also say this with love but he’s bi and he’s dating a man right now.”
Leon stayed quiet yet his cheeks reddened with embarrassment for assuming the worst and practically went insane by having Sherry look up this man’s location. Because he thought if you confirmed you were cheating on him, he was going to pull up to Ryan’s house and politely show him what a DSO agent can do. “Oh.” Leon mumbled and sighed tiredly, “then who the hell is this man coming over she’s talking about?”
You paused for a moment and rolled your eyes realizing fully what Isabella had meant. “Our storyline with her dolls. I got her the new Barbie set from the movie and I told her that Ryan Gosling played Ken so we decided to use the name Ryan for her dolls instead of Ken. I told her I liked with Ryan when you weren’t around because he reminded me of you.”
Leon felt his face got hot now. The situation was utterly stupid for believing you would ever cheat on him and the whole time he went crazy was over a doll named Ryan. Leon felt dumb and insecure for thinking you would want someone younger than him. He was glad you express your disgust at the thought of being with someone younger because then that means none of them had a chance of taking you.
But that didn’t solve the issue of why you thought he was cheating. “Okay, then why did you think I was cheating?” Leon questioned, curiously now that he was beginning to calm down.
“Isabella told me some woman came over while I was gone.” You stated and that confused Leon more because he could not remember for the life of him some woman coming over when it had been just Isabella and Leon the entire time. “She described her as black hair, brown eyes and asian.”
Leon understood the implication on who you were trying to say and he scoffed. “You think Ada was here? Sweetheart, I haven’t seen her in forever and I don’t care to.” Leon replied.
“Then why would she tell me this?” Your voice went high which was a sign of insecurity Leon knew too well when it came to Ada Wong and how you felt about her. He wished you would stop comparing yourself to her when he chose you over and over. “There’s only one person that fits that description and she said you had to say sorry to her.”
“I literally have no fucking clue who she’s talking about.” Leon replied then paused trying to come up with a logical answer before you spiraled. Then something dawned on him. Asian, black hair and brown eyes. It was Miss Darcy, the stupid doll he kept making do backflips off the Barbie Dream house which he refused to apologize for because he thought making dolls do backflips were cool.
“Oh, Isabella was talking about Miss Darcy.” Leon paused with an exhausted sigh. “Her doll. Not Ada. She wanted me to apologize to her doll because I messed up the storyline.”
You blinked a couple times and groaned in equal embarrassment from the miscommunication situation that Isabella had created. “Well, you definitely should apologize because Isabella isn’t going to let her storyline be ruined. You know she is particular when it comes to her dolls storylines.”
A small laugh came out of Leon as he crossed the kitchen to you. His arms wrapped around yours and you immediately melted around his embrace. Relief flooded out of the both of you that a cheating scandal was definitely not happening and his lips began pressing rapidly around your temple in an effort to apologize. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to accuse you of cheating.” He mumbled against your skin.
“I’m sorry too.” You mumbled, wrapping your arms around his waist tighter. “I don’t know why I’m still insecure after all these years about Ada Wong. She really is cool and I wouldn’t be surprised if you did leave me for her.”
“Stop talking like that. Whatever I had with her was long done and it has been done since I met you.” Leon reassured you with a tighter hug. You nodded against his chest trying to ease those doubts that sometimes came. “Honestly, I thought you wanted someone more available than me if we’re being honest.”
“A man with too much time on his hand? Baby, those men are on podcast harassing women.” You joked and Leon snickered. “No, all I ever wanted is you.”
“Wrinkles, back aches and whiskey dick?” Leon joked yet there was undercut of insecurity that sometimes came out when he allowed himself to feel his emotions.
“That makes you hotter.” You confessed with giggles against his chest.
Leon rolled his eyes playfully and placed a lingering kiss on your forehead. The very sensation made your eyes flutter and sigh. Ease finally fell between you both in each other’s arms like this. “What do we do about Isabella giving us a scare like this?” Leon questioned. “Because I’m pretty sure she got these crazy storyline ideas from the shows you watch which by the way aren’t appropriate for a six year old.”
“Don’t scold me. You let her listen to rock, Mr. Kennedy.” You bit his chest through his shirt which he groaned. “This situation is the first for me so I guess we just ease up on playing with dolls with her.”
“Yeah, this situation was odd. . . by the way, where is our daughter?” Leon questioned, confused. He hadn’t seen his daughter come out running to him like she normally did when he came home when that was the best part of his day.
“Oh, Claire took her out just in case I almost murder you if you were cheating.”
“Fantastic.” Leon deadpanned.