Hey guys, I'm back with another Assassin's Creed fic!

I think I like this one a lot more than the other one, and it's one of my favorite one-shots I've ever written.

Hope y'all like it!

Disclaimer: Tealgirl713 does not own Assassin's Creed. If I did, I wouldn't be angry about the end of AC3.

Most of the time, Desmond had a pretty good idea of what was going on in his life.

He understood the Animus, he understood the feud between the Templars and the Assassins, and he understood what he was doing here, in Monteriggioni.

But he had no idea what the fuck was up with Shaun.

Desmond had thought he was cool when they first met; a bit of an asshole, but still cool. And it had been plain from the start that Shaun wanted as little to do with Desmond as possible. So Desmond had stayed out of Shaun's way, for the most part.

Lately, however, something had changed. He'd started to really notice it right after they got to Monteriggioni.

Shaun was, well, tolerating him.

Desmond had always pestered him when he was out of the Animus, but now Shaun answered his questions with less venom and more enthusiasm than he'd ever seen before. Maybe Shaun was finally pulling the stick out of his ass and relaxing a little bit. Either way, Desmond preferred this newer, more cooperative and cordial Shaun to what he'd been before.

Still, he really wanted to know why Shaun was changing.

So one day, after a long session in the Animus, Desmond cornered Shaun at his work station.

"What is it now, Desmond?" Shaun asked. "Got another question about Renaissance Italy, or are you just here to block my way?"

"You've been…different, lately," Desmond asked lamely.

"What do you mean, different?" Shaun turned his back to Desmond as he straightened up his desk.

"Like right now! I mean, usually, you just brush me off when I ask a question, but here you are, answering it!" Desmond folded his arms and leaned back against a generator. "So I just wanted to know what was up."

Shaun finished tidying up and turned to face Desmond. "Maybe you've just become easier to talk to." There was something in his eyes that Desmond couldn't place.

They stood there for a second, and then Shaun got up and headed towards the door. "I'm going on a supply run!" he called to Lucy, who was still typing at her computer. She made a noise of acknowledgement. Desmond, struck with an idea, jogged to catch up to Shaun.

"Can I come with you?" he asked.

Shaun stopped walking and faced Desmond. "You know that's a bad idea, Desmond. Abstergo's looking all over for us, especially you."

"I'll be careful!" he said. "I've been dying to stretch my legs since we left the warehouse."

"Take a walk around Monteriggioni, then."

"It's not the same. Plus I've already been all over the place as Ezio a million times."

Shaun let out a huff of air and closed his eyes. "Fine. But if you bring any attention to yourself I swear that I will-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll be careful. I promise."

"Then let's go."

Desmond was so relieved to be away from Monteriggioni and the Animus that he was practically jumping around the store, as Shaun pushed a cart after him.

"Not exactly subtle, Desmond," Shaun chastised. "You're lucky there's almost no one in here."

"You try being stuck inside for a month. Then you can tell me to relax." He grabbed a box of cereal off of the shelf and attempted to slam dunk it into the cart, knocking Shaun and himself onto the floor in the process.

Desmond landed on top of Shaun, his hands the only thing stopping him from crashing right down on to him. He smiled sheepishly at Shaun, who gave him a disapproving look. He pushed Desmond off and stood up, looking around to make sure that no one had seen them. Then he resumed pushing the cart down the aisle. Desmond got up off the ground and followed him.

They meandered down the aisles of the store until they came to the back corner, where there was a plethora of doughnuts on display. Before Desmond could even get a word out, Shaun said, "No, absolutely not."

"But Shaun! Doughnuts!" Desmond was practically salivating as he looked at the delicious pastries behind the glass display case. "You don't know how-"

"How long it's been since you had a doughnut, blah blah blah." Shaun rolled his eyes. "You're not getting one, Desmond."

Desmond looked at Shaun and pouted. "Why not? It's not like getting a doughnut is gonna bring the entire Templar force down on us. It's a doughnut. A delicious, unhealthy doughnut."

Shaun sighed. "Fine. You can get one doughnut."

Desmond grinned and grabbed a maple bar out of the display case. "You're the best, Shaun. I owe you one."

He placed the maple bar inside a small bag and put it in the cart, next to the box of cereal.

For the rest of the shopping trip, Desmond was content to think about what his maple bar would taste like. He didn't bother Shaun, but walked calmly beside him. Looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Desmond could have sworn that Shaun was smiling. But he shook it off, sure that he was seeing things.

When they got back to Monteriggioni, Desmond immediately started on his maple bar. The deliciousness was just too overwhelming. He could feel the taste of heaven running down his esophagus and into his stomach. He looked over at Shaun, and his lack of a maple bar, and immediately felt bad. So he did the best thing he could. He tore off part of his maple bar and handed it to Shaun. Shaun looked at him funny, but took it anyway.

"Thanks," he said, almost suspiciously. Desmond smiled.

"No problem. Thanks for letting me come with you tonight."

Shaun scoffed. "Please. If I had said no you would have kept pestering me until I agreed. Don't give me so much credit."

"You deserve it though. I'm telling you, from day one you've been putting up with my shit, and I know that's been hard for you."

Shaun started to protest, but Desmond interrupted him. "I notice more than you'd think. I know that if you really wanted to, you could probably walk out of here, but you're staying anyway."

There was a pause, and then Shaun said, "You told me earlier that I seemed different."

"Well, you do!" Desmond put his hand on Shaun's shoulder. "When I first met you, I thought you were an asshole. I still think you're an asshole, but a…nicer asshole. If that makes sense."

"It certainly makes me feel a lot better about myself as a person," Shaun joked. He let out a laugh when Desmond punched him in the shoulder. "Kidding, kidding! Touchy, are we?"

Desmond laughed and finished his maple bar, sucking the last of the frosting off his fingers. There was silence until they were almost back to the villa. Desmond broke it by saying, "But seriously. Thanks a lot. For everything."

"Anytime, Des," Shaun said, stifling a yawn. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed. See you bright and early for another day of Renaissance Italy."

"Yep, see ya," Desmond said. Instead of following Shaun inside, he sat down on a bench just outside the villa. He wasn't very tired; being in the Animus was a little like taking a nap. Besides, it was always when he was trying to sleep that the Bleeding Effect was at its strongest. Sometimes, he would hear and see visions of Ezio's father and brothers being hanged, or the death of Mario. It was never easy getting to sleep after that. And he often experienced memories as dreams. One time he woke up in a cold sweat after running from city guards as Ezio.

On the more mild nights he would get up, go to the bathroom, and grab a glass of water. He'd fall asleep eventually sometime after that. Sometimes, if it was late enough, he would just stay up, reflecting on what he'd dreamed about.

Some nights, however, he couldn't even begin to calm down until he took a lap or two around Monteriggioni. The exercise cleared his mind, and he found it easier to sleep again, especially after the more vivid dreams.

After sitting out for a little while, he checked his watch. Almost 2 AM. He sighed, figuring that he'd hear it from Lucy if he was exhausted in the morning, and got up to go to bed.

Laying down on his bed, he thought once more about Shaun's changed attitude before drifting off into unconsciousness.

Like any other night, this one was plagued by a dream.

Unlike any other night, he wasn't Ezio, or even Altaïr.

He was himself.

He was back in his room at Abstergo, but something felt different. He looked around and he could see a fight going on outside his door. He looked carefully and could make out Rebecca, Lucy, and Shaun fighting Templar agents. They appeared to be losing the fight. Desmond called out to them, yelling for them to run and save themselves, pounding on the door, desperately trying to get it to open, but to no avail.

As he watched, they fell, one by one. Lucy fell first, a weapon pierced straight through her chest. Rebecca and Shaun had fallen back toward Desmond's door, but Rebecca was caught by one of the agents, her scream reaching Desmond's ears through the room's door. And Shaun―Shaun was pressed up against Desmond's door, looking back at him, while watching the agents slowly approaching him. Desmond had given up trying to reach him by this point, and was leaning flat against the door, refusing to take his eyes off of Shaun's.

He kept them there until he saw the focus leave Shaun's eyes, and his body sliding down the door. Unable to process what had just happened, Desmond broke down, yelling and screaming for somebody, anybody…

"Desmond? Desmond! Wake up!"

Desmond bolted upright, his body drenched in sweat. He looked around himself, and saw that he was back, safe, in Monteriggioni. He looked to his left and saw Shaun there, with a relieved expression on his face. Seeing Shaun reaffirmed that what he'd seen before was a dream, and Desmond got off his bed, crushing Shaun in the first hug he'd given for a long time.

Shaun didn't immediately back away from the hug like Desmond thought he would; instead he awkwardly patted Desmond on the back and returned the hug with his other arm.

After a few seconds Desmond let go, and sat back down on the bed.

"What happened, Desmond?" Shaun began, sitting down next to him. "I walked past you to go to the bathroom and I just saw you shaking.

"I…had a dream." Desmond looked down at his hands, remembering the horrible dream he'd had. "Well, it wasn't really a dream. More like a nightmare."

Shaun extended an arm and started rubbing Desmond's back. Desmond found this comforting, and continued.

"I have a lot of dreams," he said, with a little hesitation. He hadn't told anyone about his Animus dreams before. "Mostly they have to do with Ezio, and I've even had a few where I was Altaïr. But this dream was different. I was myself."

"Why didn't you-never mind," Shaun began, before interrupting himself. "Continue."

Desmond let out a small sigh. "I dreamed I was back at Abstergo, before Lucy and I left. You guys were all there, and you were fighting some Templars. And then…" His voice broke before he could finish. There was a strange feeling in the back of his nose, making it hard to talk.

"And then?" Shaun prompted, continuing to rub Desmond's back. "Look, if it's too hard, you don't have to tell me."

"No, it's okay," Desmond said. He took a deep breath. "Okay. You guys were fighting the Templars, and then…you all died. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was locked in another room, and I couldn't get out. I just…I'm so sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Shaun looked confused. "As far as I can tell, we're all still alive. No Templars have murdered us. So why are you apologizing?"

"I dragged you guys into this mess in the first place." Desmond pulled away from Shaun and stood up. "You guys wouldn't be in danger if you weren't trying to protect me." He walked out of the room and made for the outside, checking briefly to make sure it was still dark out.

Once he made it outside, he climbed onto the roof of the villa, and laid down, looking up at the still bright stars. It wasn't very cold outside, and looking up at the stars was very calming.

"It's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation, you know."

Desmond's reflexes kicked in, and he quickly spun up onto his feet. The intruder was Shaun, who must've snuck up behind him completely silent.

"Shaun! What the fuck?"

Shaun rolled his eyes. "You're not the only trained Assassin here, you know. And what was that you said right before you left? We 'wouldn't be in danger' if we weren't trying to protect you?"

"You wouldn't!" Desmond exclaimed.

"Did you miss the part about where we were all Assassins or are you really that daft?" Shaun said derisively. "No matter where we go, we're in danger. Assassins are an endangered species as it is. It's not exactly a walk in the park no matter who you are." He walked closer to Desmond. "In fact, protecting you gave us a lot of priority in the technology department. We're probably the most secure team in Europe, if not in the world."

Desmond was stunned into silence. He'd already noticed the shift in Shaun's personality, but now it was even more prominent. Even if Shaun hadn't said it explicitly, Desmond knew that Shaun cared about him a lot more than he'd used to. The old Shaun wouldn't have bothered explaining all of this to him, and certainly wouldn't have been concerned about a bad dream he'd had.

"If I had a choice," Shaun said, now standing right in front of Desmond, "a choice to go back and pick something else to do for the Assassins, I'd still pick you, Desmond."

"Really?" Desmond asked. "I mean, up until a few days ago, I thought you hated my guts."

"So did I." Shaun looked away from Desmond, off into the Italian countryside. "But over time, I've gotten used to you and your…Desmond-ness."

Desmond laughed. "Desmond-ness? What even is that?"

Shaun locked eyes with Desmond, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Well, for starters, it's a miraculous insufferability and a penchant for rebellion. Followed by a unique ability to drive me insane yet make me smile at the same time."

"Huh," Desmond said. "The insane part I knew, but I make you smile? I thought I just pissed you off."

"Oh, you do," Shaun took a step closer. "Immensely. But you somehow make up for it."

Desmond took a step closer to Shaun now, his arms crossed over his chest. "Then I've gotten used to your Shaun-ness."

"Pray tell, what exactly is this 'Shaun-ness'?"

"Well, let's see. You're a know-it-all with a stick up his ass, yet you still manage to be an okay guy. Take tonight for example. You took me to the store, let me get a doughnut, and you actually listened to me talk about my problems. I can name on one hand the people who would do that for me. Maybe I can only use one finger."

Shaun shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a nice guy." His voice was cavalier, but Desmond noticed him getting visibly distressed.

"Hey, Shaun?" Desmond took another step forward and placed a hand on Shaun's shoulder. "Are you okay? Are you getting cold?"

"N-no, I'm fine," Shaun said, albeit a bit weakly. Desmond wasn't convinced.

"Maybe we should go back inside," he offered. He took a glance at the sky around him. It seemed to be getting lighter. He took Shaun by the arm and started walking toward the edge of the roof that was closest to the ground.

"You first," he said when they got there.

Shaun turned away from him, looking down the wall. He muttered something, but Desmond didn't catch it.

"What?" he asked.

"I said, 'fuck it,'" Shaun replied, before turning around and kissing Desmond right on the mouth. Desmond had no time to react, and in his surprise he fell backward onto the roof, Shaun landing on top of him.

So many things happened in the next few seconds that, looking back on them later, Desmond could only recall them in slow motion.

His train of thought had completely shifted after the kiss, and now all his thoughts were a swirling disarray in his head. His first thought was 'now I know why Shaun's been acting so different'. His second thought was 'holy shit does this mean he's gay' followed immediately by 'holy shit does this mean I'm gay?' After this his mind completely lost track of everything and his body decided to stop listening to it.

At this same time, Shaun had remained on top of Desmond, retaining eye-contact, unblinking, obviously waiting to see what Desmond would do. So Desmond did something that he would remember for the rest of his life.

He kissed Shaun back.

Shaun immediately relaxed into the kiss, and Desmond pulled himself up so that they were closer to each other. He reached a hand behind Shaun's back to support him, and Shaun's hands moved behind Desmond's back as well. They were there for what felt like forever, the two of them suspended in their own reality, separate from the rest of the world.

Eventually, they broke apart. Desmond was flushed and Shaun was smiling, his breath coming out in little huffs.

"That," Desmond began. "That was…"

"Yeah," Shaun replied. "It was."

"So, does that…I mean, do you…uhh, do we"

"Well right now I'd like to do that again."

"Y-yeah, me too," Desmond stammered, still floored by what had just happened. Shaun chuckled and leaned in, their lips meeting again.

For the rest of his life, Desmond would look back on that moment with a smile, remembering just how it felt when he held Shaun in his arms for the first time.

I really loved writing this one.

I hope you all liked it!