๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
Husband!Leon ร Wife!Ada | Wedding Day | Aeon | One Shot
Art by @/brilenorearts on Twitter (me)
The sky seemed suspended between gold and ivory, as though the afternoon refused its own destiny of becoming night. Light spilled across the grass in a delicate glow, filtering through the ancient canopies of the trees, turning every leaf into a tiny fragment of glass bathed in sunlight. The wind drifted through the flowerbeds with the gentleness of a forgotten prayer, and the fragrance of the blossoms mingled with the warm scent of sun-soaked earth, composing a memory that did not yet exist, but one they would both carry for the rest of their lives.
The ceremony was small, private, and intimate, held in a secluded place deep within the countryside of Sichuan Province. Not because they lacked influential names to fill the wooden pews, nor because their lives had been devoid of people. Quite the opposite. They had known governments, armies, mercenaries, scientists, survivors, and ghosts. They had crossed continents and passed through cities already condemned long before they themselves knew they were dying.
But they discovered, a little too late and yet at precisely the right moment, that their love had never belonged to a spectacle. It had always bloomed in silence. In the pauses. In the glances no one else ever noticed.
Leon stood before the improvised altar beneath the shade of an old oak, unable to shake the feeling that all of it possessed the fragility of dreams: so beautiful that it seemed almost destined to vanish at the very first touch of reality. The fabric of his suit rested neatly upon shoulders shaped by a lifetime spent bearing the weight of weapons, guilt, and farewells. Even so, for the very first time, his shoulders felt light.
But had it not always been that way whenever it came to her?
Her presence carried the lightness of orchids, ๅ
ฐ่ฑ, even in the darkest moments and whenever he needed it most. Whether in the battles against bioterrorism or in the battles he fought within himself, she was always there, like a gentle touch that eased the pain and the sorrow of the darkness that had once seemed endless years ago.
Leon had never imagined he would live long enough to wear a suit for anything other than a funeral or some internal assignment at the White House. But perhaps hope was precisely that, and carried exactly that kind of weight. Almost none at all. Light as a feather, and like a mind finally allowed to rest.
And then she appeared. Ada Wong.
There was no grand music, for none was necessary. Her presence was magnificent enough on its own. There was only the whisper of leaves dancing in the wind and the distant song of a few birds that seemed unaware of the solemnity of that moment.
Ada walked slowly along the path of pale stones. Her dress possessed a quiet elegance, crafted from soft layers that followed her every movement like mist gliding across a lake at dawn. The lace bore intricate embroidery, and tiny crystals traced delicate constellations across the fabric, while the translucent veil dissolved her silhouette into something almost ethereal. Resting in her hands was a small bouquet of white lilies, flowers that seemed to understand the secret language of the serenity of their love.
There were those who said that Ada Wong's beauty lay in her perfection, painstakingly shaped and honed by the years she had spent as a spy. But Leon had always known otherwise.
Her true beauty dwelled in her invisible scars. In the silences she chose with such care. In the way her eyes carried entire storms and, even so, still found the strength to reflect tenderness.
She lifted her gaze, and their eyes met. In that instant, time became a motionless river, and Leon forgot the vows he had so carefully written and rehearsed for weeks. Everything slipped from his mind, for nothing else mattered.
He forgot the guests. And for a few seconds, he forgot every battle he had survived and every ghost that still haunted him. All he could think was that this woman, so often lost among smoke, ruins, and farewells, was now walking toward him not to leave, but to stay.
Leon felt his eyes begin to burn, and then he smiled, embarrassed. Few things had ever been capable of unsettling the legendary D.S.O. agent. Ada Wong was one of them. And she was there, close enough to notice the shimmer of unshed tears even before the first one found its way down Leon's cheek. She felt her own tears finally allow themselves to overflow.
A gentle smile curved her lips.
โ Leon S. Kennedy... you're cryingโฆโ Her voice was soft, almost like a secret entrusted only to the wind.
Leon let out a quiet, broken laugh.
โ I promised myself I wouldn't do this.
She raised her hand to his face with an almost reverent tenderness. Her fingertips caught the tear before it could fall, as though she were saving a single drop of rain.
โ I'm glad you broke that promise.
Her own eyes shimmered with tears she no longer wished to hold back. Because with him, she no longer had to pretend to be anything.
โ You're crying too.โ He smiled and, just as gently, did the same for her, brushing a tear from her cheek.
โ Yeah, I... I am โ She said, with quiet wonder.
From time to time, they would pause simply to take in the depth of how much they had changed, comparing themselves to the two young people who had first met on a night of nightmares inside that police station in Raccoon City.
When the time came for the vows, Leon pulled the folded piece of paper from his pocket. He looked at it for a moment. Then he slipped it back inside. No written words seemed capable of reaching the magnitude of that woman or of that moment.
โ I spent so many years believing my life would be defined by the people I couldn't save...โ His voice faltered softly. โThen you came into my life. And somewhere between all our partings and returns, you taught me that there is courage in allowing yourself to be happy. You were never the destiny I expected to find... but you became the home I never imagined I deserved.
Ada remained silent. Her eyes shone like two stars hidden beneath the tranquil surface of a lake.
She took a slow breath before speaking.
โ For a long time, I believed that loving someone meant learning to say goodbye before even saying hello. It was the only way to survive. And surviving was all I ever did. But you were patient with every one of my silences... until they stopped being prisons and became a place of rest. By your side... I discovered that love does not demand escape. Only the courage to remain. And now I know that I no longer have to be afraid of loving... or of being loved.
The wind swept through the garden once more, loosening a few petals from the lilies of the simple decorations and sending them drifting slowly around the couple, together with blossoms from the surrounding garden, like tiny flakes of light and color.
When they exchanged rings, Leon held Ada's hand with the utmost care, as though some childlike part of him still feared she might vanish between his fingers like smoke. She noticed. She always noticed everything he tried to hide beneath the composed demeanor of the nation's heroic agent, just as he had always noticed everything she tried to bury deep within herself. And that was one of the most beautiful things about the love they shared: they loved one another for exactly who they were, without masks and with every one of their imperfections.
She squeezed his hand in return with quiet certainty, as if answering an old fear without needing to utter a single word. And when their lips finally met, there was no urgency. No sirens, no gunfire, no monster lurking in the darkness, waiting for the moment to tear them apart. There was only the fragrance of lilies, the gentle warmth of the sun resting upon their skin, and the wind carrying Ada's veil like translucent wings.
Two hearts that, after so many years of walking alongside death, discovered the rarest miracle of all: that love was not about surviving the end of the world, but about finally finding a place where the world could come to an end every single day within the same embrace, without either of them ever having to say goodbye again.
No more separate ways. Now, after a long battle, they both had a place to go home to.
Author's Note
The artwork used in this post was illustrated by me โก
Also, English isn't my first language. I translated this story myself and did my best to preserve the meaning, tone, and emotions of the original Portuguese version. If you notice any awkward phrasing or mistakes, I appreciate your patience. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. โก
And... I hope you caught the little reference about what Nakanishi once said about Leon deserving "a place to go home to." Hehe โก
