#conhayth ficlet

[sleepyfan-blog]

Two-part Drabble Game: 10 - After a near-death experience & 16 - “There’s nothing to be scared of, okay? I’m right here.” for Connor/ConHayth uwu

@balsaminaceae​

Fandom: Assassin’s Creed

Characters: Connor and Haytham Kenway

warnings: incest tw, modern au, stabbing tw

pairing: ConHayth

word count:1,930

summary: A normal work day for Connor ends terribly.

Connor was in the break room, eating lunch with his fellow coworkers and watching the tv. His father was at a press conference and they’d decided to tune in to see what he was talking about. Most of his coworkers seemed to be only half listening, but Connor, as ever, was completely focused on Haytham… Although the young man could readily admit that he was enjoying listening to the sound of his father’s voice, though the fact that Abstergo was expanding their veterinary clinic program from the initial three clinics that they’d opened last year to another eight - three outside of the US, in other countries that Abstergo had offices and other work buildings in - was rather exciting.

The young man had been tempted to apply for one of the veterinarian positions at the first three clinics… But they were a bit far from where he and his father lived - and with a closer Abstergo Employee housing… It was possible that he might have been tempted to move… At least while his father was jet-setting around the world for work purposes, although it would be very strange to be living in two apartments, and not something that Connor was very interested in… Besides while Connor had loved working as a vet in the small village that he had settled into while he had been there…

The setting of being back in a veterinary clinic might remind him of the small village, and while he knew that the anarchists were working against his father and would very clearly do anything in order to achieve their goals… Including and especially if they had the chance to kill his father, the young man still occasionally felt guilty for just up and leaving them as he had done … In order to protect himself from kidnapping… But still. Occasionally the feelings of guilt would remain, despite the fact that Connor was very much aware that he had left in order to protect himself… The young vet worried that he might feel guilty working in such a place - or it would remind him of where he’d worked previously…

Besides, he really enjoyed working in the research department with the raptors. Connor made sure to focus more on Haytham again as the other continued to talk, doing his best to not get distracted by the small smile on his father’s face - or the way the other’s tie brought out the blue in his father’s eyes. Haytham concluded the speech and was met with dozens of questions - each of which his father expertly answered. Once the press release was over, Corbin - one of his coworkers - switched the channel to a music channel while everyone finished the last of their lunches.

~

The young man was headed home from work - it was about a mile walk, but Connor enjoyed it, and it allowed him to exercise his legs a little before and after work every day. He stopped for a moment, frowning a little as he thought the saw someone familiar, sitting at a nearby café table. Was… Was that Myriam? He blinked in surprised and frowned a little, glad that he was on the other side of the street - even if she wasn’t Myriam, the resemblance was uncanny - and given the fact that she’d been directly involved in stealing the… Piece of Eden? That’s what the bitter old man who’d tried to take it from him had called it. Not that Connor had let him do such a thing.

He cautiously made his way down the sidewalk, hoping that if Myriam was, for some reason, at that café, that she wouldn’t notice him among the dozens and dozens of people walking on both sides of the streets - or through the cars that honked and slowly rumbled their way down the road. Not that he glanced at her more than one or two more times, as he didn’t want her to potentially see him looking at her, having recognized her if the person he was trying to get past really was Myriam.

A lightly accented voice sounded in his ears, right behind him, causing the young man to startle and try to get out of the way, but for several moments, whoever it was managed to hold him completely still which was a rather terrifying feat in and of itself “It’s a pity that he’s got you so deeply under the spell of the Piece of Eden. Hopefully this will wake you from it and you will realize the truth.”

“Let me g-mmph!” Connor tried to yell as loud as he could, but the person muffled him with one of their hands, as he felt something cold and sharp stab into his back. There was a cloth in the other’s hands and he tried not to inhale, but as he struggled, he found that he desperately needed to breathe and something that was quite possibly chloroform caused a deep darkness to overtake him. He heard shouting and felt the person let him go - and the sound of running as he passed out.

~

Connor woke up with a pounding headache, in a room with too much white and too much light. He covered his face with one of his hands as he groaned and tried to sit up, hissing in pain as his lower back ached. Memories of what had happened last filled him and the young man sat bolt up right, eyes switching to his second sight, despite the pain and the dizziness that was coursing through his body. He didn’t see anyone who was an enemy nearby… But he also didn’t see anyone who was a definite friend, either, which made the young vet rather nervous.

He switched his sight back to normal, and it was clear that he was in a hospital of some kind. There was a saline drip attached to his arm, but it had a rolling base to it, which was why Connor started to get out of bed. Someone had taken his clothes and everything else that he had on him and placed it in an open-faced cubby on the far side of the room, and he was going to get to it. He didn’t know if his father had been contacted - if the hospital he’d been taken to even knew that was necessary or not..

Had he been stabbed and kidnapped by the anarchists, so that he wouldn’t be able to escape as he had the last time they’d tried kidnapping him? If so -why was he in a hospital? Unless he was in an Assassin-controlled hospital? Connor had no idea how long he’d been out for, which was why he was very carefully swinging his legs over one side of the hospital bed and very carefully shifting so that bit by bit, he was starting to put his weight on his feet, one hand on the metal post that his IV bag was attached to, the other hand firmly gripping onto the hospital bed.

Haytham burst into the room, arguing quietly with someone in scrubs - either a doctor or a nurse, Connor couldn’t entirely tell “- and I’m telling you, I am very certain that my son is in this room and I will be seeing… Connor get back into bed. Now. You were just stabbed in one of your kidneys.”

“I… Rake:ni! I… I wasn’t sure if I’d gotten kidnapped again and was hoping to get to my phone to call you.” Connor murmured gratefully, leaning back against the bed, pulling his feet up carefully. 

Haytham moved further into the room, and the young man gratefully held tightly to his father’s hands when his beloved drew closer to be touched. He hadn’t realized that he’d been trembling until his father murmured gently “There’s nothing to be scared of, okay? I’m right here. I won’t let anyone try to cause you any harm.”

The younger man nodded a little, feeling himself relax a little, as he tugged the blankets up higher. He felt really cold. He blinked a little, feeling tired. “Okay. I’m glad that you’re here.” He wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to heal, but the young man was well aware that he healed a lot faster than most people. He wondered if they were in a normal hospital, or in the place where his father had been taken to, when the other had been dying. “Where are we? I mean… I know that we’re in a hospital but… Which one?”

“Meridian Park Hospital. A dozen people witnessed you suddenly collapse and start bleeding out - one of them thought to call for help - but not before someone stole your wallet - which is why no one here knew who you were, as none of them thought to go through your phone. I tracked your location through the phone and came as soon as I could. I knew that something was wrong when you weren’thome and was an hour and a half later than when I usually get home, and you hadn’t texted me about working late, orstaying out with coworkers or friends. So  I’ve already dealt with the potential identity theft issues on the drive over here, so you need not worry about that… And I informed your place of work that your work-badge had been stolen when you were injured, so you need not worry about that either.” Haytham explained, and the medical staff member frowned a little at that, although Connor couldn’t imagine why - perhaps that someone would steal his wallet and ID badge, but not his (very expensive) phone?

He nodded, still feeling dizzy. “Okay… Thank… Thank you for taking care of everything and coming to find me. I… I’m tired…” Connor yawned softly, though he hid it as best as he could, not wanting to be rude.

“Then rest. I will be here when you wake, I promise.” His father murmured, voice warm and gentle as the other lightly brushed a stray lock of hair that had come undone from his braid, tucking it behind one of his ears.

Connor nodded sleepily, sending the other a small smile as he settled into bed, grumbling a little “Wish I could sleep on my stomach… Stupid cord won’t let me.” His father chuckled softly at that, a wonderful sound that helped the young man fall asleep within moments.

[sleepyfan-blog]

omg those prompts, omg, I've been trying to figure out which could be the most positive one but I think I'd really like to see #6 or #3 for Conhayth? If you don't mind, that is. :3

@aridette

A/N: I knooow! It’s such a striking prompt set and I’d be delighted to write one for you~ :3 I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: minor character deaths, templars are assholes, angst, canon-typical violence

Pairing: Conhayth

Word count: 3,911

based on the prompt:

3) “I’m useless to you now.”“Oh please, you were always bloody useless. I love you anyway.”

Connor and his father had been working together forseveral years. Haytham had come to him months ago, with a letter in hand and athunderous expression on his face. The Templar Grandmaster had stolen a pieceof correspondence from General Washington – which would have infuriated Connorhad not the information on it caused the anger that had been coursing throughhis veins at the time to turn from his father to the rebel leader himself.There was horror in equal amounts as well – for according to the letter writtenin Washington’s own hand - the other had been culpable for the burning ofseveral native villages, including his own, towards the end of the seven yearswar. His father had warned him that Washington might do the same thing again,as some of the native tribes had sided with the British against the Patriots ina desperate gamble, hoping that they would enforce the treaty boundaries thatthe colonists not only ignored but blatantly disregarded and violated on aregular basis.

There were tribes who had sided with the Patriots,and more still who had decided to remain neutral during this conflict, but allWashington could do, if he was found out to have ordered such a thing was toclaim ignorance as to whether or not the village was friendly or enemy, andunable to stop his men in time, if they had been an allied or neutral villageor not. That information had brought the two of them together. That sharing ofinformation from his father – who could have just as easily hidden thisinformation until he, Washington and Haytham were all conversing with oneanother to reveal that bit of information – prompted Connor to confess why hehated Lee so much. Some of his anger had faded when he knew for a fact that Leehad not been the one to set fire to his village. He still wanted justice forbeing screamed at and choked as a small child but… His desire to actually killLee had diminished. Particularly when he found out that the Templar also had awife and twin children to whom he was devoted to and fought both wars toprotect them. As for Washington… The man was a symbol of the rebellion and oneof the most visible Patriot leaders, and killing him would cause a great dealof chaos.

The two of them had grown closer as they had workedtogether. Much closer. Connor remembered the long, tiring ride from a smallfrontier village that the two of them had stayed in overnight on their way fromaiding the Patriots to Boston with a warm fondness. It had been a couple ofyears ago, and Haytham had brought him to the other’s Bostonian home, pressinga kiss to his lips as soon as the door had closed behind the two of them andtheir horses had been stabled. That had been the first of many kisses. Some hadlead to sex and others had lead to the two of them being wrapped up in one another,off to sleep before they could do much more than kiss.

Connor knew that his recruits were understandablyhesitant about working with the Templars, but as the war against the Britishcontinued and the Colonial Templars proved themselves to be trustworthy andhelpful allies, the divide between the Brotherhood and Rite – at least in theEnglish Colonies – began to heal. More than that, it was interesting just howwell some of his recruits and his lover’s people. Connor was currently inBoston, checking on Duncan, Stephane and Clipper. A small frown appeared on hisface as he realized that none of them were at their usual haunts – and none ofthem were on missions. Connor asked of them to friends and acquaintances oftheirs, and not a one of them could say where any one of the three of themwere. Connor had come from Homestead, and they would have sent a messengerpigeon if they had reach the (small) stronghold that would have reached him onthe road.

However the longer he wandered the streets,searching for his recruits, he heard of a public hanging. The city wascurrently under control of the British, and several supposed Patriot traitorshad been caught and were to be executed in less than an hour at fortIndependence. Connor ran as fast as he could to the fort, intending to see ifthis was a trap, or if actual patriots had been captured. If the latter wastrue, Connor needed to find and rescue them before they were killed. It wouldbe easier if his recruits were with him, but that was likely what they weretrying to do – rescue the Patriots before they were killed.

Connor could not get into the fort as the guardswere on high alert – and from their sharply polished accents, had just arrivedone of the recently arrived supply ships straight from the heart of the BritishEmpire. He would not be deterred, so he hid behind a stack of boxes andwhistled lowly, waiting patiently for one of the guards on patrol to come overand examine the source of the sound. Once one of the guards did come over,Connor killed him swiftly. He knew that the sound would attract the attentionof the other guards and dispatched them just as quickly.

He scrambled up the side of the fort, keeping lowon the wall as he moved from one spot of cover to the next, searching for theentrance to the cellblock, where the prisoners would be kept just until theywere dragged out to be executed (and Connor knew this from miserableexperience). Unfortunately, there was a crowd of only half-willing (from themuttering he heard around him. Connor had pulled his hood up so that his facewould not be seen) citizens, waiting for the prisoners to be dragged forwardsand executed. Connor counted six nooses hanging and a terrible premonitionflashed before his eyes.

But… That couldn’t possibly be true! His recruitswere skilled fighters and good at escaping guards. More than that, each of themwere local leaders of the areas of the city that they lived in and were bothwell loved and protected by the citizens around them. But his fears wereconfirmed as one by one, his recruits were dragged up to the front of crowd byguards, a noose tightened around each of their throats. Like hell was Connorgoing to allow this to happen! His body was moving before he could reallythink, a smoke bomb in his hands as he leapt onto the platform, throwing thedistraction device down so that it obscured the sight of everyone around –including the shouting guards. He knew that time was precious, so he started tocut down each of his recruits, handing one of them a knife after he cut themdown and their hands apart so that they could help him free the rest.

By the time the smoke cleared, all six of them werefree and each was moving as fast as he or she could manage, heading for arooftop. Connor leapt and scrambled up to a roof, before turning around andgrabbing Stephane, who he had heard stumble and gasp behind him. Horror filledthe young Mentor as he realized that the Frenchman was gurgling in pain as hewas stabbed through by the bayoneted rifle of a smirking redcoat, who proudlywore a Templar cross. Connor threw the dagger he had been holding at the smugbastard’s neck, hoping that if it didn’t kill him, that it would at leastdistract the other from firing for a few moments.

His eyes scanned for the others – Clipper was makingdecent time and Duncan was right behind him. Dobby had already disappeared intothe crowd. Jacob… Jacob had gotten cornered by several guards and Jamie hadturned back to help. Connor drew his pistol and shot the guard who had beenclosest to the two of them, killing him with a headshot. He reloaded his pistolswiftly and shot one of the guards who was aiming a rifle at Clipper. Just ashe killed that guard, another pistol shot rang out and… Duncan stumbled, andfell.

Clipper turned and dove after the former priest,out of Connor’s sight. The mentor ran after his recruits, determined to try tosave at least some of his recruits. By the time that he had gotten to Jamie andJacob as the two of them were closest, each had defeated a half-dozen guards, butthey just kept coming and coming. Both of them looked bedraggled and neither ofthem had any armor and were armed with the knife that Connor had given him anda sword pilfered from a dead guard each.

Jacob spotted Connor as he started to close in onthe guards, shaking his head and shouting “You need to run, Connor! They’reafter you! We’ll fight our way out of this.”

Jamie nodded and tried to get the younger man torun, able to disarm and kill the closest guard to the three of them “Go,please. We will run after you do. Duncan needs help.”

Connor was unhappy about leaving the two of themthere. He tossed Jamie – who had a hand free – a smoke bomb and ordered “Stayalive and run as soon as you can.” and did as his recruits asked, trusting themto do as they had promised him.

He reached Duncan, Clipper and Dobby fightingseveral dozen guards and just managing to dodge the bullets of severalsharp-shooters who were posted. Duncan had been hit in the gut and was bleedingheavily. The former priest was fighting like a man possessed – then again,given where he had been shot, all Duncan could do was hope for was a quickdeath. Clipper was aiming for one of the enemy sharpshooters, and managed toget off a kill shot.

Dobby called up to him “Connor, they are lookingfor you specifically, get out of here! We can handle them. You’ve trained uswell. Get out of the city if you can manage it, as fast as you can.”

Connor protested “I can help you fight, and –”

He was interrupted as he heard an officious,British accented voice call out “First rank, ready, aim and fire!”

Dobby lunged and grabbed Connor as the man spoke,twisting so that she shielded him with her body as a dozen musket shots riddledher body, spraying Connor with her blood, but protecting him from harm. Shechoked out “Run, Connor. Please! You’ve lead us, and you have the ability tolead others. Stay safe, and stay alive. For us, aye?” A small smile appeared onher face as her eyes closed.

Connor gritted his teeth as a dark glare appearedon his face as he prepared to charge the line of red-coats to kill those whohad taken the life of one of his dear friends. A hand landed on the back of hiscollar and he was yanked into one of the barracks.

When he whipped around to face who had grabbed him,it was a bloody Jamie. “Mentor, please. You need to run. Templars fresh fromEngland have arrived and they managed to track each of us down and capture usin the night. They have a strange Object in their possession – a golden baubleof strange and terrible power. You need to survive this so that our order cansurvive. We’ll be right behind you. I promise.”

“… Fine. But the rest of you better survive. I willnot be able to finish this by myself.” Connor growled back, trying to get Jamieto look him directly in the eye. He wasn’t going to be the only one to survivethis, if he had to carry two of his recruits on his back while they kicked andscreamed in protest. With a steadying breath, the two colonial Assassinsrejoined the fray, with Connor reluctantly freeing as Jamie went after the seaof red-clad soldiers, helping to keep the foot soldiers at bay while Clipperdealt with the sharpshooters.

By the time that Connor had gotten back to theBoston safe house, he was near the point of collapse. It had taken him hours andhours to get back. There had been dozens of guards everywhere, and Connorpartially waited for one or more of his recruits to also escape fortIndependence, watching the walls and hoping that they would make it as well. Hehad very nearly went back into the fort, to try and rescue at least one ofthem, but their utter insistence on him escaping alive kept what were quitepossibly all of their final wishes honored.

He collapsed in the foyer of the small house,closing the door and groaning softly. He had a couple of small sword cuts froma surprisingly swift guard captain who had come upon him suddenly a little overan hour ago. He had killed the guard captain – who was shouting for assistance– and managed to hide until the guards had stopped searching for himimmediately. The injuries hurt quite a bit, but were not life-threatening. Whathurt more was the fact that his recruits had been caught and killed…Possiblyall of them… By and on the orders of Templars.

He had trusted his father and lover… And this iswhere it had gotten him – his fellow Assassins slain – he should have listenedto them when they said that it was a bad idea to try to ally with the Templars.That it could only end in pain and misery. That his piece of shit father wouldbetray him when it would hurt the most, and by the spirits, it was true. Theyhad been right and had paid for his miscalculation with their lives.

As if summoned to inflict maximum pain, Haythamappeared from the doorway on the far end, looking immaculate and untouched byeverything as always. He frowned a little at Connor’s disheveled andblood-covered state, asking with a look of mockingly false concern on his face,and voice deceptively worried “Connor, what happened?”

Connor glared daggers at his father, barely managingto stand –he was so exhausted and the rage and betrayal was causing his limbsto shake – biting out angrily “As if you don’t know. I’m useless to you now.”He would never again trust the other, and he certainly wasn’t going to beanother one of the other’s pawns.

Haytham huffed a little, coming closer and daring to put a hand on hisshoulder. “Oh please, you were always bloody useless. I love you anyways. Areyou done being strangely overdramatic and ready to tell me what happened?I just got a frantic message from John, saying that one of your recruits hadbeen captured by the new regiment that had arrived earlier this week fromEngland.”

“Do not. Give me that. LIE! The captain of theguard was a Templar, and there were more in the group of soldiers! They knewwho each of my recruits were and how to find them! How could they have knownthat, if you or one of your people hadn’t told them.” Connor hissed, eyesnarrowing to furious slits as he tried to wrench away from his lover’s grasp,swaying a little and staggering into Haytham. He was more injured and exhaustedthan he first realized. He had to get out of here, he had to get away fromHaytham before he passed out and was easy prey for the Grandmaster –not thatthere was much left of his Brotherhood – and little that Haytham did notalready know. Except…

Except the location of Davenport Homestead. He hadyet to bring the other to his – to his Brotherhood’s - oasis of safety and calmin the colonies. Part of it was that they all had to be in full agreementbefore they took any Templar there… And partially because he worried whatHaytham might do to the small, peaceful village, as the other meddled. It waswhat Templars did.

“I did not give them the names and locations ofyour recruits, Connor. I would never betray you in such a way. I have beenbetrayed at such a level, and I would never do so to another person… Especiallysomeone whom I love as dearly and care as much for as I do for you. I do notknow how they got that information but… I arrived here in Boston an hour ago,after I had gotten a message from Pitcairn, saying that one of your recruitsmight have been detained by some of the regiments who have recently arrived. Acouple of the men and commanders are Templars, but they are not under my commandand as of yet, none of them have reported to me to ask what the standing ordersare, nor how to interact with Assassins here.” Haytham answered truthfully,steadying his heavily injured son, hoping that Connor would believe him.

Connor stared hard at him, trying to decide whetheror not he was going to believe Haytham. Achilles’ mistrustful words rattledaround in his mind. But there was the years that they had worked together,loved one another (or at least, so Connor had believed they had) to bring aboutpeace and prosperity. There had been more than a couple of times when it mighthave been to Haytham’s advantage to betray Connor’s trust… but Haytham hadn’tdone so. He had even censured Lee for what the volatile Templar had done to himas a child, and promised that once the war was over, and his usefulness as aperson of import within the Patriots waned, that he would allow Connor to seekjustice for his crimes.

“I…” He activated his second sight, and Haythamshone a bright, soothing blue. If his lover had betrayed him, then the otherwould have shone a bloody red in his vision, whether Connor knew it for certainor not. He clung to Haytham and buried his face into one of the other’sshoulders, trembling a little “I… I saw three of them fall. The… The otherswere surrounded and… They begged me to run. I wanted to stay and fight but…Jamie… Told me that one of these new Templars was in possession of a goldenobject of terrible power… and that they were after me specifically…”

“… For now, let us hope that your other threerecruits survived. You need to get cleaned up and rest. We will deal with therest of this when you have healed. I will have my people gather information. Iwill speak with them later this afternoon, if you would like. Or…” Haytham pausedas he continued to gently pet Connor’s hair. He had started to do so whenConnor had first started to cling to him tightly. Haytham’s other arm hadwrapped around Connor’s waist, trying to help the other to keep steady andclose. “Or tomorrow, if you would rather I stay close tonight. I can send acouple of pigeons to the others, as there is a coop on the roof of this house.Which would you prefer?”

“… I… I would rather you stay close tonight.” So hecould watch Haytham. So that he knew that Haytham was safe. If his father diedor was captured today as well… Connor shuddered a little at that thought. Hehad lost more people whom he cared for than he had ever wanted to again today.

“As you wish, Connor.” His beloved murmured,pressing a kiss to Connor’s forehead as the other deftly carried him up to oneof the bathrooms. “I was just about to take a bath, so the water I hot, but youneed it much more than I do. Do you know how much of that blood is yours?”

“Most… Most of it is other peoples. Mainly… MainlyDobby’s. There was a… A firing squad and she…” Connor couldn’t say it, abjectmisery and guilt flashing across his face.

“Protected you, so that you would survive?” Haythamoffered quietly as they entered the bathroom. There was a large, claw-footed tubnear the fire to help retain the water’s heat. As Connor started to stare atthe fire and tremble more, Haytham tugged his lover’s chin down so that theslightly taller man was looking him directly in the eyes. “Connor… Today hasbeen a terrible day. Losing… Losing so many people at once is a hard thing toswallow. But you need to focus. In order to avenge them, and to make certainthat their deaths were not in vain.”

Connor nodded absently, tugging off his clothes –he was covered in blood, and he desperately wanted to get clean – not that hewould ever be free of the sights of his friends deaths in such a violentfashion. “Yes, Haytham. You’re right, of course I just…” Connor hadn’t criedsince he was a small child. It was one thing that the fire seemed to haveburned from him. But he was closer than he ever had been, to breaking down intoa sobbing mess.

“Take your time, Connor. Let me help you, andtogether we will get to the bottom of this. Those responsible will be killedfor trying to disrupt what we had been able to do here.” Haytham responded,voice firm but caring as he guided Connor into the bath. “Would you likesomething to eat, or a bit of tea to drink? How long has it been since you havehad anything?”

“I have not eaten anything since… Since before Iheard about the hanging, and that was in mid-morning.” Connor answered, voicesounding to him. As if another person was speaking, rather than himself. Hewould need to contact Aveline and tell her what had happened, so that shewasn’t caught off-guard. With a shake of his head, he snapped out of thestrange mental daze he had gotten into. Haytham was right. He needed to focus.“Could British Templars be trying to interfere with the war, now that they arehere? Would their interests align more with the Empire in which they live in,rather than with you, and their fellow Templar brethren in the colonies?”

“It can happen that different sects of the TemplarOrder find themselves on opposite sides of war. Generally we try to worktogether, rather a lot like different chapters of your Brotherhood worktogether, despite differences that their country of birth have. But it wouldnot surprise me if that was the case.” Haytham responded, a small sigh escapinghim as he shook his head. “I will bring you something to change into. Wash upwell, mm? I’ll make certain that there’s something here for you to eat.”

“I… Thank you rake:ni.” Connor responded, curlingone hand around one of Haytham’s arms, gently tugging the other closer to himand sitting up a little in the bath to kiss the other on the lips for a coupleof moments, enjoying the simple but loving gesture before letting go.“You are welcome, Ratonhnhake:ton. I will be backsoon.” His lover promised, staying until Connor had settled into his bathbefore leaving to get what he had said he would.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Content

Words: 2,600

Pairings: Morrigays, implied conhayth

Warnings: implied incest, fluff, mentioned character death, modern AU

Summary: Gist and Shay reflect on some of the things that had brought them to where they are today.

Birthday ficlet for @aridette! I hope that you enjoy it

“You seem to be rather pensive, Shay. Is something bothering you?” Chris asked, a concerned frown appearing on the blonde’s face as he shifted loser to his husband, pressing gentle kiss to one of the other’s cheeks.

Shay, who had been staring out of a window, lost in thought as his hands had been making part of dinner, shook his head and kiss Gist on the lips. He was tempted to pull the other into his arms and hug him, but as his fingers were still buried in the meatloaf that he’d been making... That probably wouldn’t go over well, in addition to being very unsanitary. He’d put the potatoes he planned to make into mashed potatoes in a pot with water earlier and the water was heating up well ... I was just thinking about stuff an’ things, is all.”

Shay packed the meatloaf into a tin and popped it into the already hot oven. He caught the concerned frown on his lover’s face and added “Nothing bad, I promise. It’s just... If someone told me when I was younger that I would have married a templar, I would have laughed myself silly. I’m glad that things turned out the way they did, though.”

“I know what you mean. If someone had told me that I would end up falling in love with a former Assassin I’d have thought they were messing with me. I’ll never forget the day we first met, my gallant hero.” Gist murmured, teasing his Shay a little “And how wary you were of Monro.”

“Oh hush you! They’d have killed you, if I hadn’t stepped in! I was wary of him as I didn’t trust that the devious Templar had in mind for me. Not that I would have tried to leave for the brotherhood then. Especially then, when their betrayal and utter disregard so fresh in my mind. Not that I’m eager to join them now, mind.” Shay sulked, sticking out his bottom lip a little in a subtle pout. He huffed a little as he washed his hands and dragged his husband in close, resting his chin on one of Gist’s shoulders.

“Hey, your hands are still wet!” The blonde playfully protested, shifting a little in the younger man’s arms. Despite his words, Chris wasn’t trying all that hard to escape.

“Muahahaha! Vengeance is mine!” Shay cackled, a mischievous grin appearing on his face.

“Oh dear what a terrible turn of events! I guess that I should -” Whatever the blonde was about to say was interrupted by a loud hissing sound that startled the both of them.

It stopped just as suddenly as it had started but Shay tugged open a kitchen cabinet, using the door as a shield as he pulled gist downwards with him, covering the blonde with his body as they both frantically looked for the source of the sound. The hissing sound came again before dying out and Shay realized what it was. A bush appearing on his face "... The potatoes are boiling over a little. I’ll go grab the lid so that the water cools off a little.”

"... Ah... You’re right of course. All of a sudden, I am understanding why Haytham pushed us to come this small town for a couple of years, anyways.” Gist remarked lightly, looking as sheepish as Shay felt.

"It’s his way o’ making sure that we stop jumping at our own shadows as we’ve been on quite a few... Intense missions in the last few years, I think. And the paperwork that he has us work on helps me at least feel useful during the week.” Shay remarked as he grabbed the lid and checked how cooked the potatoes were. They still needed quite a bit of time still.

“I agree, but given how harsh Birch’s tutelage was... It’s a bit surprising that Haytham pushed us to relax. He used to be rather a stern task master when we were all younger.” Chris murmured as he got up from where Shay had half-hidden him.

“If by that you mean an ornery bastard who was going to work everyone including himself to an early grave, aye. But Connor’s done him a lot of good.” Shay snarked back, watching the water boil and internally deciding on whether or not to adjust the heat a little or not.

“Shay, how could you say that?! He’s our grandmaster and to say... Okay, while that was true it’s rude to say it out loud.” Gist faux admonished, affecting a scandalized tone of voice and expression.

“An’ who’s here to tell on me? Just you.” Shay pointed out, dark brown eyes still shining with playfulness.

“That’s true... And you’re right about Connor being good for Haytham. I’ve never seen our grandmaster so content for so long, once Connor settled into his apartment permanently. Although I’m not sure what all those two get up to...” Gist responded, frowning little bit as he thought about the slightly...Odd relationship the father and son duo had.

“As long as they are happy, and no one is getting hurt it’s none of our business. We were really worried for a while that Connor might leave again, like he had when he was younger. Haytham and Connor were fighting something awful for a while, there.” Shay grumbled. He knew a bit more than most about the nature of the pair of Kenway’s relationship, but the two of them were consenting adults, and Shay wasn’t one to judge right from wrong in regards to such things.

"That’s true... I didn’t know that they had been fighting for a time... But I suppose that happened while I was off on that months-long undercover mission?” Gist responded, sighing quietly “And given how stubborn the pair of them are, I’m not surprised. I am glad that I missed that as our dear Grand Master would have been in a really bad mood and I am glad to have avoided being ordered “Not to smile like an idiot all of the time.” Or something like that. No one has yet told me what happened to Charles when I went on that week-long mission to help our French counterparts update the security on the shroud last year... And he was just gone. No one seems to want to talk much about either.” The blonde gently prodded.

“I hadn’t realized you weren’t there for that mess... ‘Course you mighta helped talk him out of trying to do something so stupid as he actually respected you.” Shay grumbled, rubbing his face a little before letting out a long sigh “Connor had finally finished moving back to New York all the way and had settled in. They’d also managed to finish settling whatever arguments that they had been fighting over for the past few years.” Shay paused for a couple of moments to make sure he was phrasing things in a neutral way, as he really didn’t like Lee and never had. "An’ Connor, bless his heart, came up to Haytham’s office that Monday morning, as his father had forgotten to grab anything for lunch and the grandmaster didn’t have a lunch meeting to go to.” 

Chris smiled a little at that. It fit the young Veterinarian’s personality to do so, and as Connor worked a couple of buildings over in the veterinary clinic that was subsidized and run by Abstergo, the young man had the chance to do so. “That’s very sweet and sounds like Connor, but what does that have to do with Lee’s absence?” The clinic was partially running to engender good will from the public at large as all including the most difficult and expensive treatments were priced only a little above at-cost for the clinic. The clinic offered free spaying and neutering services as well as the option to put an RFID chip inside one’s pet in case the animal got lost or was stolen. The clinic had been very successful so far and Haytham was looking into opening a couple more.

“I was getting to that Chris, be patient, love.” Shay chastised a little, pouting bit at the interruption “See, Charlie had been hoping to capitalize on Haytham’s lunch time to weasel his way into a sneaky possible lunch date... But Connor showed up and prevented Lee from being able to ask - Especially since Connor made those really delicious meat pies for lunch in addition to his devastatingly effective puppy-dog face. So Connor and Haytham went to the rooftop garden for a little picnic... Lee was really annoyed about that “As you know as well as I do how covetous he was of the grandmaster and Haytham’s time. So when he found out where they were he went storming up to the gardens in a towering temper. Half an hour later, Lee comes back angrier than ever, but with a plotting look on his face too.” Shay continued, pausing for a moment – both for dramatic effect and for another breath.

“I’m guessing that whatever plan Lee had cooked up backfired badly on him?” The blonde asked, wincing slightly.

“Yep. He tried to blackmail Connor into doing god knows what. Lad didn’t take that well and promptly told his father... And Haytham ordered the entire building to clear out for several hours but that they’d be paid in full for the time off. I got a text an hour into it and helped to clean up the blood. Lee had accused Connor of being an Assassin sent to seduce Haytham and to do something in exchange for Lee’s silence Haytham didn’t say and wasn’t gonna ask and I am happy not knowing.” Shay finished.

“Connor. An Assassin?” Gist sputtered.

“So Lee claimed.” Shay responded with a shrug and a grin. It was one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever heard too.

“The same young man who still cries after work when he has to put an animal to sleep? Who can’t lie his way out of a wet paper bag?” the blond muttered in utter disbelief.

"The very same." Shay remarked lightly, amused that his beloved seemed to be just as surprised and disbelieving of the claim as he had been. "Ziio had a couple of friends who were loosely connected to the Brotherhood, and taken together with Connor's stubborn nature and less than Templar leanings, Charlie thought it was a great idea to accuse the boy of being an Assassin. I don't know what he asked Connor in exchange for his silence, but Lee didn't expect that Connor would tell his dad about it, as he's not one and was very confused as to what an Assassin was and who these Templars were and why that was so important?"

"Ah. I am guessing that part of Haytham's displeasure was that he had to explain to Connor what the Brotherhood and the Templar Order were, putting him further in danger than before. Is Connor a member of the Order, or is he simply allied with us?" Gist responded "... Well, I suppose part of that entirely depends on Haytham's willingness to want Connor in on this darker aspect of life."

"He's in training, though he's not going to be a fighter. It's not in his nature, though he's got quite the talent for code-breaking and putting together all the little bits and hints of information out field agents gather to reveal the grander scheme that the Assassins in one area or another are planning before it's executed so that we can head them off." Shay responded, a small smile appearing on his face as he reflected on how far the young man had come in the year that he had been made aware of the shadow war that had been raging for over a thousand years. Connor was very determined to help them in any way they could, happy to finally understand what it was that his father had been hiding from him. "Did you know that Connor did have a couple of suspicions that something odd was going on?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Connor is highly intelligent and can be very observant when it comes to everything but when someone is romantically interested in him." The blond remarked lightly.

"Actually, about half the time he's being flirted with, Connor does realize. He's told me...But he feels uncomfortable  about trying to tell whoever it is that he's uninterested, so he pretends he doesn't notice while hoping that they will go away and find someone more receptive." The Enforcer corrected "He told me about it after I rescued him from a particularly... Focused person who was trying to get in close with out beloved Grand master and felt the best way to do that was to date his sweet, oblivious son... As for what he thought was going on, Connor thought that Haytham and the rest of us were LARPing - given the funny clothes we were wearing. And LARPing is Live Action Role Playing - like Dungeons and Dragons, only you dress up with a bunch of friends and actually act out the battle scenes and stuff."

Chris laughed at that, his bright eyes shining with mirth "I can understand where Connor might get that false assumption - and if Haytham were into such a thing, I have no doubt that he would try to hide it, rather embarrassed as he might be with such a nerdy side to himself... and the battle scenes might be a good way to train our recruits. I'll be sure to mention it to Haytham in passing, to see what he thinks of it."

"Haytham was made aware of the impression Connor was under and sighed for a while. If you do that, he'll know that I probably told you and then the both of us will be in trouble for teasing him like that... But it would be a good way for those who have neutral family members to explain why they have such things, if they're discovered... So if you want to endure growling about teasing him, be my guest, love." Shay responded, leaning in close and pressing a kiss to the other's lips before checking their dinner, finding that the potatoes were ready and began to mash them. Homemade mashed potatoes always tasted so much better than the dry, tasteless flakes.

"I will." Gist responded, a small smile appearing on his face after he happily responded to his husband's kiss. "Need a hand with that, or do you want me to cut up the veggies for the salad that we're having alongside the rest of this?" While some might think that being able to speak with your partner about such things was a boring and mundane task, the fact that they were able to be so domestic was a gift that the blond would always treasure.

"I've got the potatoes nearly done, so if you could cut up an onion and have it soaking in water, that'd be great. The meatloaf is going to take another twenty minutes or so to cook fully. I hope you like it, have you ever had it?" Shay responded curiously. He knew that gist was born in England, though he had moved to America at roughly the same time as Haytham had - quite probably as one of the other's group of Templars. There had been a recent purge and the Assassins in the US had been growing far too arrogant and had too much power... Which was true, as Shay had been part of the brotherhood when Haytham had first moved to America. But things were so much better now.