#the other auditores are just enjoying the pastries

[teecupangel]

this is pretty hard to put into words but just hear me out. Imagine Desmond as a baker. Like a literally pastry/bread maker.

So the idea is that he'd have time traveled, by the apple or isu bullshit it's up to you, and basically gets adopted into this nice old family who own a bakery. They teach him everything and he settles down a bit. But it turns out he's travelled to before the executions of Ezio's family, where he has a chance to save them, but was warned against it by Minerva (or whoever) because it would mean the end of the world. So he has this moral dilemma the entire time. But also, he wants nothing to do with the Brotherhood. He's done with the Assassin's and Templars for a lifetime.

Then Leonardo comes along, because there's a nice family bakery down the road and he was craving something sweet, and sees Desmond (who is completely freaking out) and Leonardo assumes something... That he's Giovanni's bastard son. Which leads to a large moment of misunderstandings in which Leonardo is trying to tell the family that Desmond exists without sounding like he's accusing Giovanni of cheating but also trying to say something quick. Because if he saw the connection, so would other people.

But Maria, ignoring all the failed attempts of poor Leonardo, goes and orders a large amount of baked pastries to be delivered to the villa in celebration of someone's birthday. Lo and behold, Desmond appears to deliver the goods (and then to disappear into oblivion, because he just couldn't help himself to not see the family again)

Everyone stops when they see Desmond and Leonardo almost passes out from the pure amout of stress he had taken on. Then there's this whole scandal and poor little Desmond is smack dab in the middle of it.

Desmond could find baking as relaxing in the sense that baking requires precision and any deviation in the recipe (that is not like sugar content) could easily destroy it which, for someone like Desmond, might mean that the baker has complete control of what’s going to happen.

At least, if Desmond can’t have full control over his life, he could have full control over the pastries he makes.

Also, if we set it up so that Desmond wouldn’t know much about baking before he got adopted BUT he does know what pastries and cakes should look like and the ‘usual stuff’ that should be in them, hell, he could accidentally invent pastries that shouldn’t exist during that time period.

He would be known as someone not afraid to experiment and try new ingredients and people assume he’s a mad genius but Desmond is just trying to find possible alternatives he could use for the pastries he knows about but doesn’t exactly know how to make.

So Leonardo would be interested in the products themselves but also because of the rumor of this pastry/bread madman and both of them just stared at one another with wide eyes because Leonardo is thinking “Oh no, Giovanni cheated on Maria!” and Desmond is thinking “Oh fuck, what the hell is Leonardo doing here? Okay, stay cool, stay cool, stay freaking cool, Desmond”

And Leonardo becomes a regular because goddamn those pastries are to die for and Leonardo enjoys being Desmond’s taster (or, as Desmond like to call him, his guinea pig) all the while trying to drop hints that he knows who Desmond’s real father is.

Desmond misunderstands this hints as Leonardo knowing that he’s connected to the Auditores and he thinks if anyone could think “Ah! Of course! Time traveling bullshit!” as a reason for Desmond’s existence, it would be freaking Leonardo Da Vinci.

And, just to make everything more complicated, Desmond tries his damnest not to get near the Auditores but it wasn’t like they could reject Maria Auditore’s orders because that was a lot of money and also it would be social suicide to be known as the bakers who said no to the wife of Lorenzo’s unofficial second-in-command.

Instead of Desmond being the one to deliver it though, Ezio gets roped into getting the orders and Desmond freaks out because “oh shit, Ezio! Ohshitohshitohshitohshit!” so Desmond does want any normal person freaking out and out of option would do at that situation, pretend everything is fine and smile and be polite on the outside while just going “AAaaaaaaahhh *deep breath* aaaAAAAAAAAAHHHH” on the inside and Ezio is just staring at him and being uncharacteristically absentminded which Desmond assumed meant he must have just seen Cristina or something.

Instead, Ezio goes to Leonardo after delivering the pastries and go “I THINK MY FATHER CHEATED ON MY MOTHER AND HAS A SECRET CHILD!”

And Leonardo just goes “YYYYYEEESSSS!!!!”

Cue Leonardo and Ezio trying to drop hints to Maria about Desmond’s ‘real’ parentage (which Maria mistakes as Leonardo and Ezio really liking the pastries) and dropping hints to Desmond about his ‘connection’ to the Auditores (which Desmond mistakes as both Leonardo and Ezio coming close to finding out he’s a freaking descendant of the Auditores that time traveled) while Leonardo and Ezio suffer through both of their ‘obliviousness’.

(By the way, all this pastry talk made me remember Tasting History with Max Miller on youtube and, if you’re curious what food was like in the past, check his videos out. He even has a playlist for Medieval and Renaissance food)

[eleanorbloom]

Meet My MC: Eleanor Bloom

Hello! So, I’ve been wanting to do this for MONTHS. Since I started posting When You're Ready series to be exact, but I never found the perfect face claim to do a nice moodboard. That changed a few days ago thanks to a random post in Tumblr where I discovered this Queen 😍😍😍

Let me introduce you to my main Open Heart MC (I have another MC for the mini series I’m writing, but I’ll make a separate post when it’s due). This is the woman I've been building and destroying as I write the series, and despite her suffering, is the luckiest bitch on earth 😂

Edited on August 15th, 2021.

Name: Eleanor Andrea Bloom

Nicknames: Ellie, by her friends and family in general; Sunny or Sunflower by her dad; Andrew by her brother; Elle by Bryce; Ella by Keiki.

Face claim : Ivana Baquero.

Height: 5'4 (167cm)

Date of birth: December 14th, 1992.

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

Education: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Family: Robert and Verónica Bloom (parents), Benjamin Bloom (younger brother, 6 years younger), Ricardo Díaz and Ofelia Velásquez, chilean maternal grandparents, Albert and Lorraine Bloom, paternal grandparents.

Love Interest: Bryce Lahela. (At first was Ethan, but he's now competely in the past.)

Personality: Eleanor is outgoing, kind, caring, and is always ready to help others; she also has a profound sense of empathy. In front of adversities she's resilient and stubborn, a total fighter for what she considers right. Unfortunately that leads to focus more on other people's needs instead of their own.

Messy overthinker.

She's clever and very intuitive. In High School she was one of the best students of her class, but she was also a bit of a troublemaker, always standing up for others and fighting for what is right.

Her passion for medicine and fighting for her ideals was inherited from Ricardo, who was President of the Medicine Students' Union while he was at college in the 60s in Chile.

Family Background:

Eleanor was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a family of parents who fell in love at the young age of 16, and that have been together ever since.

Robert works as Engineer in Construction while Verónica is Auditor in a Financial Firm.

Benjamin is studying Naval Engineering at University of Michigan.

Her paternal family is from Columbus, OH.

Her maternal grandparents are chilean and lived as exiled in USA after the Military Forces made a coup d'etat in the country (1973). Both were members of the Socialist Party and, at the risk of being arrested (and tortured) for their political tendencies, Ricardo accepted an offer to do a fellowship in pediatrics in Columbus, OH. Ofelia worked as Mid-wife in Chile but stayed at home the first years to help Verónica with the new country and the new language, and because she and Ricardo wanted more kids. After sixteen years (1974-1990), as democracy was reinstated, both returned to Chile with their two younger children, of 12 and 9 at that moment. Verónica stayed as she was studying and had plans of making family with Robert eventually, once they finished their studies.

Despite the fact that her grandparents weren't living in USA when she was born, she's very close with them and her chilean family in general. Normally The Blooms travel once a year to spend the chilean winter holidays or the national holidays in September, although the last few years have been just Verónica and Robert because of Benjamin's college schedule.

Interests.

She likes to listen to music, specially pop. Taylor Swift is her favorite artist of all times. She also listens a lot of Spanish-speaking music, like Reggeaton (mostly to dance) and chilean artists like Francisca Valenzuela, Los Bunkers, Alex Anwandter and Javiera Mena.

Eleanor is a coffee person, and is more a sweet tooth than salty, all thanks to the pastries and cakes Ofelia prepares every time she visits Chile.

She likes to cook and bake things, but she's not a fan as Sienna.

She likes to read, but above all she enjoys taking long walks and sometimes, if time allows, do some hiking.

She loves romantic movies and her favorite Christimas Movie is Love Actually.

She LOVES dancing, especially reggaeton (which she learned to dance it during her visits to Chile), but now that she has Bryce as partner she loves it even more because the boy has moves and he's the only one that can keep up with her just as she likes (and even better). Besides is a sexy activity and one of their favorites foreplay 🤭

Random facts.

Her parents called her Eleanor because during High School, her mother was obssessed with Eleanor Roosevelt, and her father just liked the name because it was a Beatles' song (Eleanor Rigby).

Her dad started calling her Sunny or Sunflower since she was 7 for her bright and caring personality. And since then the sunflower has been her favorite flower.

She's fluent in Spanish. Even thought she learned a lot during the her visits to Chile on vacations over the years, she became fluent after she spent two months in Chile before going to college.

____

Thanks for reading! I had all this information ready to be published for months, but I didn't want to post it without the face claim.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Eleanor a bit more 😊

[witch-of-letters]

Our Work Is Never Done, Part 1/2 (Ezio Auditore x Reader)

Word Count: 4073

Summary: You are a Spanish Master Assassin who has accepted the contract to kill a low-ranked Templar in Rome. Ezio decides to lend you a hand, but even that doesn’t prevent the mission from going south.

Author’s Note #1: I’m really trying to break the ice mountain called ‘Writer’s Block’, so writing this fic and posting it is the first step to doing so. The plot is rather random, but it worked for me as it wasn’t that difficult to think through (my brain has difficulties with writing short stories though, lol, so that’s why I decided to divide the one-shot into two parts for easier reading).

Please note that there are rather negative references to the Christian religion, and the Reader is described as a fervent atheist. My work is purely fictional and is not meant to offend anyone. So without any further ado, relax, sit back, and enjoy reading this fic!

Author’s Note #2: Translations are at the end. Cursive - thoughts/emphasis/Italian. Bold cursive - places/Spanish

Feedback and comments are much appreciated ;3!

Chapter 2

     “Come forth and browse my wares! Fabrics from all over the Mediterranean sea!”  

     “Jewels! Buy some jewels! Necklace for a lady, a ring for a man!”  

     “Freshly baked pastries! Straight from the oven!”  

   Perched on the roof of a building, you watched as the merchants tried to turn people’s attention to their wares. Some of them took notice and approached the stalls, others simply ignored all the shouting, preferring to only look and move on. If it weren’t for the fact that you were on a mission, you would definitely buy some kind of trinket (courtesy of being paid handsomely for completing the contracts).

 For once, your target was an actual Templar rather than a sleazy and greedy noble, or some other little villain. Normally you preferred to leave them to the assassins of lower ranks, finding that while ridding towns and cities from evil was all good, your skills were still wasted on rabble. You weren’t named a Master Assassin for nothing.

 Soon enough, your target, Antonio Vello dei Campo, walked around the market, seemingly disinterested in what the merchants were offering. He even turned down a gently spoken offer of a generous discount by a woman, whom you saw attracting people with her beauty and charm. Judging by the bulky men at his sides, he was being escorted by them, very likely for protection from attackers. They glared at anyone who stared too long at their master. A pathetic attempt at intimidation, but it was enough to make the folk turn their eyes away.

 You contemplated your options of attack. Usually, the contractors didn’t care enough to specify in which fashion the intended target had to be killed, leaving only the small description on a parchment. Antonio wasn’t that important of a Templar. Sure, he had a lot of connections in both Italy and France alike (most of them made through arranged marriages with his family members), but he didn’t care enough to further all of his Order’s goals, making him a rather untrusted member among his comrades. That is why your reward would only be some 1500 florins. A big disappointment for you.

 As he moved further into the market, you stood up to follow his party, using your Eagle Vision to keep track of him (something that only your closest friends and family knew - especially the Auditores). And while you were more silent and stealthier than La Volpe himself, you still prayed to whoever was above, that no guards would spot you on the roofs. They were annoying enough to be a huge nuisance to the assassins.

 Getting rid of his bodyguards would be an easy feat as you often come across such brutes in your travels. You knew all their weaknesses, and no matter what kind of armour they wore, they would always fall by your blade. But then again, you couldn’t just underestimate them. Such behaviour can often prove to be fatal when one isn’t careful.

 Continuing to keep an eye on him, you quickly and carefully moved across the roofs. From the sidelines, it looked like a graceful dance, with the way you moved your limbs. Your friends and comrades loved to point that out, much to your embarrassment. You knew that you were very skilled, of course, but you were not the one to brag about it, and that’s what Ezio loved about you.

 *****

 Unbeknownst to you, his heart always clenched at the mere mention of your name, finding out one night after fighting the traitors within the Spanish Brotherhood that he had fallen in love with you. At that moment, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts go back to Cristina, his first love. He had long ago let her go, as he couldn’t be with her while avenging the deaths of his father and brothers. He even beat up, or rather tried to talk sense into her fiancé to be a good and loving husband to her, for Dios’ sake! But when he thought about you, he knew he would do things for you so much more than that. Aside from you being very skilled and humble, he loved your divine beauty - the way sun shone down upon you, putting your auburn locks ‘on fire’; your freckles that dotted your cheeks and forehead; and your athletic figure, putting all the other girls to shame (with the exception of Claudia, of course). He loved how you were able to speak many languages besides your mother tongue with the greatest of ease. He loved how kind and caring you were to children. He loved how you aided him in searching for eagle feathers for his mother. And he loved how passionate you were about changing the world for the better. He loved everything about you, but even he had his own insecurities.

 For one, he knew that he had a reputation of a womanizer (something he was never actually proud of), and he didn’t want you to think that you would be just a ‘fling’ to him. For two, you had rarely reciprocated his attempts at flirting with you. While you had mentioned that you were very bad at flirting with men and women alike, he could never have imagined that you would be so oblivious when it was being directed at you instead. For three, he was afraid of being rejected. You were his best friend and he was yours, but even that couldn’t assure him that you wouldn’t tell him ‘no’ if he were to confess his feelings. He was a grown man, but with you, he felt like a shy little boy twiddling his fingers.

 Despite Maria being in a catatonic state for a long period of time, it didn’t stop her from being observant. She saw how much attention her second-born gave to you, always looking directly you with a gleam in his eyes that she could only describe as ‘being in love’. After you gave her the eagle feathers to complete Petruccio’s collection, she was immensely grateful for your support, already thinking of you as her second daughter. She could only pray that Ezio would man up and buy a ring for you.

 To Claudia, you were a complete stranger at first. You were a foreigner and an assassin on top of that. You were glad that Ezio had spoken to her about you, believing that face-to-face introduction would go easier that way. It did, of course, just not as warmly as you had envisioned. She wasn’t rude to you, but she still held herself with pride and a certain coldness you had a rather hard time shaking off. But after many attempts at befriending her, Claudia finally caved in, surprised that you were so relentless. From then on, she became your second confidant - someone, with whom you could speak about your growing feeling towards her brother. Boy, was she glad to start making future plans for your eventual wedding (as Ezio had confided in her about his feelings for you too). She wouldn’t, of course, dare to say such a thing out loud. Well, only to her mother, that is.

 Mario, oh Mario, was more than very welcoming. When he first saw you, he immediately went for a hug which you returned wholeheartedly. He was glad that Ezio was making friends while travelling (and he secretly hoped that you would keep him from falling over the edge with his vengeance). When he brought Ezio to his study for a talk, he told him that you were a keeper and that he shouldn’t let you slip through his fingers. He even mentioned he would be glad to attend your wedding, making Ezio choke on his water in surprise. You didn’t forget to tell him how much you loved his uncle’s joviality. After all, you did need someone to lift up your spirits after botched missions, or whenever one of your friends/allies was killed.

 Everyone around you saw that you were meant to be together. Where he was hot-headed, you were calm. Where you were shy, he was confident. You completed each other. You were soulmates.

 *****

 Antonio didn’t stop walking until they reached Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. The square in front of it was large, and far too open for your liking. You did not want to kill him in public, even though it was easier to do. Thankfully though, he entered the church. You would have to wear a perfect disguise...as a pilgrim.

 “It is a good day, is it not?” Ezio’s voice brought you out of your thoughts, effectively stopping you from proceeding with the mission.

 “Ezio! What are you doing here?! I’m on a mission!” you spoke with clear irritation. You hated being interrupted like that. He got the clue though.

 “Mi dispiace, Y/N. I didn’t realize.”

 “No, you didn’t,” you glanced at him,” but my target is in that church. Have to go inside and finish him off.” You didn’t care if you sounded rude, crude, or bloodthirsty. It was just a part of the job, and you didn’t care how you worded your sentences.

 Ezio squinted his eyes at the building, ”You need any help? I’m available.”

 “Of course you are,” you huffed, but without any malice whatsoever. You couldn’t stay mad at him for long. “Come along.” Before Ezio could respond, however, you were already scaling down the wall. Once you reached the ground, the two of you split up, so that you wouldn’t garner the attention of the guards positioned in small groups around the square.

 Avoiding them on any other day is fairly easy, but today, they seemed to be on high alert, eyes trained on people like hawks’ are trained on their prey. As far as you knew, there were no important celebrations planned today nor was the church being closed off for the visit of some nameless ruler within Italy. So to remain unseen, you had to blend in within the bustling crowd of people. Thankfully, no one seemed to care about a suspicious-looking hooded person walking around them (much to your - and Ezio’s - initial confusion at the people not recognizing the assassins moving right next to them, as you were quite     sure that wearing a hood in public was the most recognizable of all assassins’ trademarks).

 Despite you hailing from Spain and training under the hand of the then-leader, Benedicto, La Volpe was the one to teach you how to remain unseen in the crowd. While he himself never gave out any of his secrets, you still pointed them out, much to his shock and surprise, having never expected to be so translucent in his actions (at least in front of you anyway). You even knew his real name, which he pleaded you not to reveal it to anyone. You understood him. Very few people did.  

 From the corner of your eye, you spotted Ezio, calmly moving forward like he was just a regular person enjoying his day. You admired that about him - how he never seemed to be nervous or indecisive when he was on a mission, and sometimes, you wished you could be the same (as many of your former friends and comrades have pointed out how tense and serious-looking you were when working for your Order - you simply did not take the duties of an assassin as a joking matter). And while neither of you were great thinkers like Leonardo, you still had that certain air of wisdom around you, having seen things that most people would never see in their lifetime. Knowledge was power, and both of you recognized it. Your shared experience within the Brotherhood was what made you two unique in a way - you understood what being a real assassin entailed, and how much one had to sacrifice for the sake of others.

 Only a few moments later, you arrived at the east entrance of the church, walking into shadows. To blend in with the pilgrims, you had to shed your assassin robes for a dress or remain in your own pair of breeches and a white shirt (which were quite form-fitting and would most certainly attract the attention of men inside the building).

 “What next, uccellino?” you heard from beside you.

 “Get me a new dress, for one. I want to get inside but not by sneaking.”

 Ezio placed his hand under his chin in thought and hummed, “I see. Perhaps we can ask a servant for a spare change of clothes for us both.”

 You had to suppress a laugh at the thought of Ezio looking like he wanted to pray to the God he didn’t believe in. He narrowed his eyes at you, “What is it?”

 “Nada. Nada. It’s just that I have a hard time with picturing you as a devoted pilgrim wanting to do all that stuff with drinking ‘Jesus’ blood’, ‘eating a piece of his flesh’, and making a cross in front of yourself.” To think, any other religious person would strike you down for that comment alone. You really don’t care about that though.

 “So you’re saying that I don’t have the looks of a pious man?” his eyes were glaring at you, but his voice was teasing.

“No, you don’t have the ‘looks’ of a pious man, you have the ‘looks’ of a handsome asesino,” you retorted.

 “You think I’m handsome?”

 He was, but you didn’t dare to admit that out loud, so instead, you just walked inside the church to find a servant, leaving your enamoured friend behind.

 Soon enough, you spotted a young girl (perhaps of the age of twelve) carrying a crate full of candles. Before she could walk out of the room, you jumped in front of her, making her shriek in surprise. You quickly put your hand on her mouth while making a ‘be quiet’ gesture.

 “Promise me you won’t scream,” you told her. The poor thing looked frightened, wanting to run away the moment you released her. Ezio was watching from the corner, unseen.

 The girl looked around frantically, trying to see if she had an escape route or if she could grab anything to help her push you off of her. Grabbing her chin with your free hand, you forced her to pay attention to you.

 Looking her right in the eyes, you repeated, “Can you promise me that you won’t scream? I am not going to harm you, little one.” The girl gave you a single nod, no glimpse of a lie in her hazel eyes. You released her.

 “Di cosa hai bisogno da me?” she spoke.

 “We want some regular clothes for us both,” you gestured at yourself and Ezio. At the sight of him, the girl's eyes widened. He wasn’t that tall of a man but he still looked intimidating with his dark robes and Altaïr’s armour on.

 The girl motioned with her hand to follow her downstairs to the lower level of the church. ‘Servants’ quarters. Of course!’ you remarked, mentally cursing yourself for not thinking of those before. Yes...you and logic were not as good friends as anyone else might think. That didn’t stop you from being very skilled in other areas though.

 Without breaking your quick strides across the long hall, you glanced around from beneath your hood, noticing that not one soul was inside. It was a bit strange but not overly so since it was almost noon and they were most likely just performing their daily duties. Ezio, on the other hand, did not feel at ease at all. While he has never seen anything like that before, he knew that children could be used for sinister purposes as well as any grown-up, mostly for leading men and women into ambushes by lying; playing on their innocence to charm their way into people’s hearts, or even getting paid for killing their hirers for killing their enemies (and even that was a rare case). Dread was twisting his gut.

 No sooner than his chain of thought had ended, did they arrive in a well-lit room with a lot of big cupboards.

 The girl approached one of them, pressing her hand on the wooden door, “I vestiti di cui hai bisogno sono qui, signora.”

 You took a look inside. There were plenty of simple shirts and breeches. Even a couple of brown-coloured dresses. Good enough for you both. With no further thought, you grabbed a pair of each, tossing one to Ezio. You did hope they would fit him, or else, they would tightly cling to his physique...distracting you. Walking into an adjacent room, you redressed quickly, and neatly folded you assassin robes before hiding them in an empty chest.

 “Are you ready?” you heard Ezio asking.

 “Si. Let’s get going.” You walked a few steps before suddenly pausing in the doorway, “Wait a moment. Where’s the girl?!”

 Ezio looked around. Indeed, the girl had vanished, probably the moment you started taking off your robes. His heart clenched at the thought of her running upstairs to rat them out, but he had to remain focused on your task. Come what may, you two would have to improvise if it came to Antonio being alerted of your presence.

 Sighing, you continued walking back to the stairs while subtly checking if your blades hadn’t fallen off of you. The Bells signalling the start of a mass were already being rung. When you reached the ground floor again, you saw a sea of standing men and women before you, neither your target nor his bodyguards in sight. Even by briefly activating your Eagle Vision you couldn’t spot them.

 “Fuck,” you quietly swore under your breath, already getting frustrated at how your mission was proceeding. Ezio noticed the brief furrow of your brows, not enjoying the sight of a frown on your beautiful face in the slightest. Even he tried using his special sight, but like you, he had no luck. Was this Antonio that slippery of a bastard?

 You pulled Ezio in the middle of the huge room and made the sign of a cross on your chests. It felt absolutely distasteful to you, for you did not believe in ‘God’. If he ever existed, why hasn’t he shown his face? Did he think of you ‘mortals’ as too inferior to actually see it? You never believed in all that bullshit the church was propagating and its priests were spewing, and yet, you couldn’t deny that people needed something to believe in, even if it was a ‘nobody’ above your heads.

 The head-priest started with a simple ‘Preghiamo’, before reciting the prayers. People around you murmured along, some of them with heads bowed, others were keeping their eyes on the man and their hands clasped together. You acted as the latter, not daring to miss Antonio. After a few minutes though, you started to fidget, just waiting to dash forward and out of the stuffy room. At the end of each passage, everyone murmured ‘Amen’.

 You jolted a bit when a rough hand was placed on your shoulder.

 “Calmati, amore,” Ezio whispered, attempting to calm you down with his smooth baritone voice. It helped, but you turned your head to the side to prevent him from seeing you blush at his use of the word. The man had too much power over you already.

 “We need to get going, Ezio,” you whispered back. “We’ve been here for some time already and we still haven’t spotted him. My guess is that he’s still within these halls, as I haven’t heard the guards opening the big door.” With that you swiftly moved away from him, gently weaving through the throng of people until you reached the entrance to the side passage leading further into the church. Ezio was right on your heels.

 “I can’t wait to get out of this dress! Ugh!” you pulled at your scratchy collar. “But unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to change our clothes.”

 “I rather like seeing you in one. You wear them too rarely.”

 “I am a woman, but in our line of work, they’re simply impractical. They’re good whenever I need a disguise but they simply won’t do for assassinating people...or escaping enemies.”

 “True.”

 “There,” you pointed at the stone rafters above, ”we climb them, get a better view of this place. Before you get that thought inside your mind though,” you waved your your finger at him, “do not look up.” You immediately started scaling the wall, not being that mindful of your dress, of course.

 Now, while Ezio once loved looking up the skirts of women, he dropped doing that the moment he realized he was in love with you, the thought of it suddenly becoming disgusting to him. He wouldn’t dare to allow such indignity to happen. Not from himself. Not from anyone. Instead of retorting back, he kept silent and followed you up to the rafters. He too wished he had his assassin robes on. No good would come out of it if you two got spotted by either the priests or Antonio’s entourage.

 “Shhh, be silent for a moment.” You listened closely to all the sounds around you.

     The water dropping onto the stone ground below.  

     The murmurs of the praying pilgrims behind you.  

     The sound of someone unsheathing their sword -  

 “Wait! Did you hear it?!” you inquired urgently, stopping Ezio from moving altogether.

 “The sound is coming from over there,” he pointed at a small but heavy-looking door at the far east corner.

 “Then let’s get to it.”

 Thankfully, that part of the church was empty of the priests and the servants, making it easy to sneak around. You doubted that Antonio’s room had more than one door, but even then, you could be wrong, as the door could lead into basement instead. Normally, you would do some reconnaissance in order to plan ahead and keep the chance of a failure to a minimum, but now, you’d have to improvise.

 “We have to go inside through that door. I see no other ways to enter the room.”

 Ezio cast a glance at his steel gauntlet, the hidden blade ready to be sprung out at any moment. You readied your own.

 With a quick inhale, you opened the heavy door with force...only to find Antonio lying in the pool of his own blood. Your eyes widened at the sight. You and Ezio arrived too late, but you had to keep your head cool and eyes focused.

 Turning him over, you saw the wound in the centre of his chest, dark red blood staining his overcoat.

 “Stabbed through the heart. What a painful way to go…,” you murmured quietly as you closed the man’s eyes with your hand. Ezio put a hand on your shoulder.

 “It’s not your fault, Y/N.”

 “No, it isn’t, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it,” you paused, looking at Antonio’s corpse again. “Did his guards kill him?”

 “Possibly, since I don’t see them in here.”

 “Ah, then I guess that his ignorance of his superiors’ orders has finally caught up to him. He never was a ‘good’ Templar. Still, he could’ve told us at least something, but now, he’s dead and his lips are forever sealed. I’ll have to tell Mario about this.” Before you could leave though, Ezio pulled you into his embrace which you gladly returned. No words were spoken between you because they weren’t needed. They were unnecessary.

 Suddenly, the heavy door closed behind you with a loud screech. You ran towards it, trying to pull at the handle, but it didn’t budge in the slightest.

 “¡Maldición! ¡Estamos atrapados!” you shouted angrily. Ezio knew enough Spanish to understand what you meant, and he couldn’t help but be angry himself (something that hasn’t happened a lot in the past few years). You saw some kind of smoke coming from under the door.

 “Are they starting a fire behind it?!” You were not comfortable with the thought of being burned alive, even if it was beside the man you loved.

 “I don’t know, but...wait, do you smell it?”

 “Smell what?”

 “Something sweet and...calming.”

 Indeed, when you inhaled the air, it had a whiff of sweet vanilla and jasmine, almost instantly calming you down. Something wasn’t right though as your eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier, and all of your senses became dull. The last thing you heard before your mind shut down completely was a confused     ‘What-’.

Translations (Spanish):

Dios - God

Nada - Nothing

¡Maldición! ¡Estamos atrapados! - Damn it! We’re trapped!

Asesino - assassin (male)

Translations (Italian):

uccellino - little bird

Calmati, amore - Calm down, love

Mi dispiace - I’m sorry

Di cosa hai bisogno da me? - What do you want from me?

I vestiti di cui hai bisogno sono qui, signora. - The clothes you need are here, lady

Preghiamo - Let us pray

Tagging: @sassenach-on-the-rocks // @marshmallow--3 // @assassins-and-hidden-blades // @bangtansugababy // @imagines-of-the-creed // @kittitt // @kisstheassassins // @iceboundstar // @unreadpoppy // @ass-sass-sin-o // @one-who-hunts-eagles // @deejayers // @lefrenchfrye // @mavriarch // @theswordofeden // @mindadarksight // @undertastic-dork // @storminwomanform // @fanfic-reblog-central

[kenjiro-s]

Sugar, spice and everything nice, ch. 2

Of pastries and late-night talks

Taichi was generally a calm and collected person. He liked his baking business, enjoyed the long and delicate process of decorating the pastries and the pleasant atmosphere in the café made him happy. He thought he was a good balance for his boyfriend who, while sometimes twitched from nerves, was usually a mature adult. Not today, apparently, because he was still fuming about the new trainee who was not even in his department.

- …and he dared to tell me, looking down on me, mind you, that my files were a mess ! I am an auditor, I know how to keep things in order ! Kid starts a week ago and already has half the station up on their toes. The officers love him, of course, since he is always so polite, but they haven’t seen his face. He completely ignored Kuroo when he was giving him instructions…

- You thought that was funny. – Eita looked up from his desk. Taichi was leaning on the door frame, smiling slightly, and drinking in the sight of the man currently trying to remove his tie and complain at the same time. Pale blond hair and dark eyes contrasted sharply, just like his personality – gentle and caring, and, at the same time, sarcastic to the point of venom. They evened each other nicely, if he was honest.

- It was hilarious. But that’s beside the point. He even wears his hair in some ridiculous sharp line that’s not even straight, I mean, who does that ? – Sharp line, huh ?

- So it’s not because he is pretty enough to be in a magazine ? – It was a wild guess but he’d always been good at those.

- That’s besides the po…Wait, how do you know ?

- He was at the café a few days ago. I am going to guess one of you sent him. That was mean, Eita. The new kid, and you already try to run him to the ground. – Taichi clicked his tongue. – He got under your skin fast. Must be a very interesting…colleague.

- You know it’s not like that. It’s just…

- It could be. I haven’t seen you that flustered since you were trying to ask me out for the first time.

- I thought we agreed to never mention that. Ever again. – Eita frowned slightly. They’d talked about that when they got together the first time, a long and tense, at least in the beginning, conversation, until they reached the conclusion they both agreed that if the time came, they would not mind a third. But that had been three years ago and Eita was not there yet. Taichi knew him, though, knew he was hot-blooded but people never left such a lasting mark on him. And, as far as he’d heard, the new kid knew exactly where to push to rile a group of otherwise emotional, but positive people. It only made him more curious about the slim caramel-eyed young man. – It’s not…I don’t know.

- You don’t have to make a decision now. Or ever. But if you think I would be that hurt, you are solely mistaken. We talked about that, Eita. I am not telling you to do anything. I am simply saying, don’t discard it.

- He’s annoying. And I know he does it on purpose. Damn it !

That was enough for the day, Taichi decided. Eita was predisposed towards heavy migraines and judging by his twitching eyelid, he was close to a burn out. He did not say anything, just reached and slid a finger up his arm and along his neck, ending with a fingertip gentry touching his forehead. Dark eyes met his and he smiled. Just a little, but Eita had always been clever. Strong fingers clasped his and he was pulled down on the couch.

Warm lips ran up and down his throat, tiny bites interrupting the smooth slide, and long fingers deftly loosened the buttons of his shirt. Before he knew it, Eita was kissing him like a starving man and his hands were definitely roaming, sliding and pulling on his clothes, and he felt the heat rise somewhere on his neck and spread down his chest. He smiled lightly, nibbling a little, and pushed his own hands under the other man’s clothes. Just, because he usually radiated controlled laziness, that did not mean he could not be energetic when…properly motivated. Yes, truly a motivation.

Eita woke up at some point, his back uncomfortably stiff and one arm asleep where Taichi was lying on it. The glowing numbers on the TV showed a little after midnight. He snorted. Not even thirty and already acting like old men. Though his partner had to be at the café at 5:30 every morning, so maybe going to bed early was not such a bad idea. And talking about beds…He carefully slid from under his boyfriend, although he tended to sleep so deeply he did not feel earthquakes, hear thunderstorms or knew when Eita came home when he had to stay until the middle of the night at the station. Eita poked him a little, just enough to get him in an uncoordinated half-asleep state and dragged him towards the bedroom. There was no point in both of them suffering on the next day. There, he pushed him down on the soft sheets and crawled after him. They were both asleep a minute later.

His back did hurt on the next day but the show currently happening in the office across from his was almost compensating for it. As far as he could understand, which was easy since Kuroo was shouting loudly enough for the whole station to hear, Shirabu had come bright and early, and had sorted the entire paperwork in several ways/ Seriously, what was with the kid and files ? They were, apparently, colour-coded. Colour-coded. Who did that in real life ? Someone who was about to get maimed by his supervisor, if Eita could guess. He decided to interfere since the investigation after a possible murder in the middle of the station, in front of witnesses and in broad daylight would be a hell to conduct. Also, he kind of wanted to see the young trainee’s face. Kuroo’s was easy to imagine, but the new wild card was interesting to observe. Eita looked around for his own trainee but he was nowhere to be seen, having gone with Ushijima to collect evidence on site on a simple case. The stoic officer would be a good mentor for the overenthusiastic young man.

Eita tiptoed. While gossip was one of the few ways they entertained themselves in the station, he did not want to look too invested. The volume still wasn’t going down so he guessed it was safe to use a more direct approach.

- I am simply saying that now it would only take seconds to find anything you might need. It’s by date, name and urgency. I don’t see the problem…

- You don’t see ? There was order ! I knew where everything was ! – Kuroo was doing a rather good impression of a conductor, his hands trying to help his mouth catch up with his mind, and Shirabu…Shirabu just stood there, looking down his nose on a man about 10 cm taller, wider and with several years more experience, not even mentioning the fact that he was the expert in the room, and his face was calm as a spring night but his eyes were burning. Eita wished he had time to go and get popcorn as this was about to get interesting. – You should not just move stuff around…

- It will take you a day to get used to it. – The room sunk in silence. Eita hadn’t even noticed Kuroo’s consultant who, for some reason, hung out at the station even when his services were not needed. Kenma was curled in one of the old stuffed chairs and seemed deeply engrossed in whatever was happening on his tablet. Eita suspected he was not even working half of the time. But, he was also the only one who could cut through Kuroo’s moods like a knife and leave him more collected than ever. And it worked every time. The IT expert opened his mouth once more and then decided against it. After a sharp glare at his assistant, he spun on his chair and focused on one of the monitors on the desk.

- Next time ask first, get it ? You are still my assistant. I need to know what you’re doing. Understood ?

The “Yes, sir” was the fakest one Eita had heard and that was considering that one time he and Taichi had tried spicing things up in the bedroom and ended up with him giggling on the floor and his partner deciding he was done with him for the night. Eita had convinced him otherwise, of course, he knew his weak spots and how to get him helpless in under two minutes, but the memory brought a smile to his lips. Which is when Shirabu looked at him. Busted. Warm light eyes narrowing dangerously, the young man turned on his heels and went to dig around one of the newly sorted cabinets. Eita was sure the other man did not need anything from there and, as far as he could see, his ears were red at the tips. So he reacted, he was simply too good at hiding it. After another small smile at himself, Eita went back to his office before someone else saw him. Only two more hours before his lunch arrived. He stretched his whole body before dropping in his chair. He could wait.

Kenjiro busied himself a little more with the folders, pretending to check if his tags were correct. After he was completely sure the auditor had left, he got up and walked to the table he was given for a desk until they got him some real furniture. Glancing at his boss with the corner of his eye, he saw he shouldn’t have worried. Kuroo was currently staring at his consultant ( Kenma, his name was Kenma, no honorifics, please ), while the latter’s attention was focused on his tablet. Kuroo tended to do that a lot, Kenjiro had noticed. Stare at Kenma, that was. It was cute. It would be even cuter if they gave him something to do and then left him to it instead of hanging over his shoulder through the entire process. He knew he was new, but Kuroo had spent three days showing his everything and testing him to make sure he knew how to operate the equipment. Well. It didn’t really matter. He shouldn’t have let the expert rile him up, especially when he knew he was right. The office had been a mess and after spending half an hour looking for a folder, Kenjio had given up and decided the project could wait. The project he had to currently focus on if he wanted to finish it on time. Sure, he knew he had more than enough time, but leaving everything for the last moment was simply not in his style. Now, where was his software…

Some time later, he was not sure how much, a laugh caught his attention. He peeled his eyes from the monitor, noting that two hours had passed and he’d done almost everything in his project. But that was not what was important now. The important thing was that Semi, the blond man from the office across the hall, who had witnessed the entire scene the morning, was laughing gently, his face all soft and warm and his eyes – twinkling. Kenjro felt his breath stop. He was…beautiful. Without his scowl and tension, he was lovely. Kenjiro moved a little closer, only half aware he was doing it. That’s when the other person moved in his field of vision. Kenjiro almost tripped, managing to stop in the last possible second. It was the man from the pastry shop. With the same lazy almost-smile and sleepy eyes. And, judging by the air of familiarity between them, Kenjiro’s chances with either of them had just gone up in flames. Not that he’d ever had a chance. He stopped. What was he thinking ? He did not even want a chance with the tall man from the other department or the pretty cashier who saw too much. He definitely did not.

Things were looking up. Taichi knew Eita too well and he’d seen the young assistant’s face when he’d caught sight of him. Definitely interesting.

- Make sure to walk around occasionally, would you ? Can’t have you complaining about your back like an old man when you’re trying to catch a younger lover. It will not work. – Seeing his boyfriend playfully sputter was worth the long trip from the shop. –Oh, and there is white chocolate muffin in there. Tell him it’s from me for my favourite police customer.

- I thought I was your favourite police customer. – Pouts looked too delicious on Eita’s face and Taichi smiled a little.

- You are my all time favourite customer. Now, I have to run. Be nice to your colleagues. – Eita was working so Taichi did not kiss him but he still slid his fingers along his palm and winked. He had croissants to bake, there was no time for playing. Not yet.