1:30 AM; shuffling could be heard from the living room, along with the sound of heels dropping on the hardwood floor. The mission had taken much longer than Ada had anticipated, even with the unrequested help of Leon. So, what was meant to be an in-and-out heist became a in, run into Leon, kill a lot of guards, get the objective, run like hell, and out. It sucked, but at least Ada could leave that all at the door to her apartment. It used to be just her, but now it's her and them, the scientist she was hired to keep alive.

Them, or Rory Matthews; A umbrella scientist who was currently working for Wesker against their will. They were nice enough, but also clumsy, extremely paranoid, and honestly…they were getting in Ada’s way. Walking through the hallway to the bathroom, Ada poked her head into Rory’s room to make sure they were in there; Only to make sure they were accounted for. That’s what Ada kept telling herself at least, but it’s becoming harder and harder to keep the scientist at arms distance; Rory’s starting to notice it too, the change in behavior when they’re together. What seems good to them could get her killed in this specific line of work; she just needs to remember why she’s doing this, the paycheck.

An hour later, Ada walks out from the bathroom in a fresh pair of sleepwear, ready to finally relax before she notices the kitchen light is now on. Grabbing the paring knife from where she stashed it, Ada lurched to the doorframe. Peeking around the corner she realizes it was just Rory, her shoulders slump as she lowers the knife. Walking around the corner, she puts the knife on the counter and leans against across from Rory. They look up from their phone, a tired small adorning their face as their eyes met. How could someone like them make her heart warm like that?

”Hi” “hey” They exchanged greetings in quiet voices, like the time of night wouldn’t allow them to talk in normal volume. “I honestly thought you’d be out cold right now doc. So, what gives?” Ada asked “So many questions at such a late hour…” Rory groaned. Noticing Ada expected an actual answer, Rory slouched in their chair and sighed; “I heard you come in and wanted to see how the mission went.” “As well as you would expect.” The pair sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming from the traffic outside and the occasional Instagram reel from Rory’s phone.

All of a sudden, Ada starts to get up; “I’m gonna make something for a really late dinner. You should go back to bed- it’s bad for the brain to be up this late” Rory scrambles to stand up, mostly from the stools being half their size. “I could make something for you-!” “What?” Ada asked, genuinely. No one had ever offered something like that, not like she had anyone to offer that before Rory. “Why would you want to do that? I get your living with me, but that doesn’t mean you have to do stuff to keep your stay” The raven-haired woman tried to explain, with Rory shaking their head in reply. “I understand that, I just thought you might be tired from the mission; it was more of a kind gesture than anything else.”

Ada sat with that and pondered, before begrudgingly sitting back down for the Redhead. She was exhausted from the mission; they were right about that, but she didn’t know whether or not to trust Rory’s cooking. “Fine. just know I won’t be too happy if my foods charred, Doctor. “The mercenary warned playfully, leaning against the marble tabletop. Rory chuckled as they walked over to the cabinets, taking a gander at what they had. “It’s been a while since we went to get groceries, how ‘bout we go this weekend? In the morning so they’ll be less people to worry about” Rory continued to yammer on and on; all the while Ada sat and listened.

It ended up being a simple chicken alfredo, no surf and turf but it did the job. “so..” The redhead trailed off. “Is it good?” Good would be an understatement. It was basic, yet the fact it was made by someone else from the goodness of their heart added a sort of homey feeling Ada hadn’t experienced in years. Ada nodded, “not terrible, color me impressed Doc” She praised Rory, getting up to clean her plate and take care of the dishes Rory dirtied cooking. It was the least she could do since they cooked for her. It had been this way for quite a while, a quiet understanding of give and take. Though it started to feel like Rory was doing simple gestures without expecting anything in return; it felt nice, albeit a little suspicious at first.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I am beat” Rory states, ending the sentence with a yawn. “You’ve been awake for thirty minutes” She replied. “hey, I can still be tired-! and honestly, you look Tired to” Rory examined her tired state, having taken notice of her near to closing eyes. They were quite observant when it came to details like that; it might be one of the reasons why Wesker wants them on his side so bad. Making their way to their respective rooms, Ada began to think about their relationship. it was complicated to say the least, they both left hints to the other of their underlying feelings. Ada however knew the risks of a romantic relationship, it would be dangerous and they already had a hefty target over their head as is. So as much as Ada wanted to, she couldn’t; she’d have to try harder at keeping the doctor at arm's length for both their sakes.

Ada stopped in the doorframe of her bedroom, before turning to say over her shoulder "thanks for dinner, by the way". Rory just nodded and smiled at her; how could they just do that? Know what she's done and still smile at her? " of course, see you tomorrow maybe?" "... Yeah, tomorrow."