Disclaimer: I do not make any attempt whatsoever in claiming that I own Assassin's Creed. That awesome game belongs to Ubersoft (Ubisoft) Montreal. xD
Warning: Rated K+ for a small innuendo. Slight spoilers for those who haven't played past sequence 9 of Assassin's Creed 2
Ezio laughed cheerfully as he ran across the rooftops of Firenze's buildings, trying to catch up to his older brother. Just minutes ago, Federico had dared his younger fratello at a race up the Santa Trinita church. This was one of the many battles of sibling rivalry that Federico and Ezio waged against each other, and though none of them was ever serious, they always ended up injured one way or another. However, the red sun was now setting over the city walls, and they did not wish to face a lecture from their strict father again from arriving at the Auditore household after dusk.
This time, they were racing, and Ezio knew that he was improving at his free-running. However, Federico was beginning to overtake him now, and the seventeen-year-old wanted to show that he could finally defeat his older fratello at this game.
"No shame in failure, brother!" Federico taunted him, increasing his speed.
Ezio saw the destination about 100 yards away from him now, but Federico was still leaving him in the dust. Finally, Ezio decided to hurl himself forward and tackle his brother right when they leaped onto the church rooftops, sending them careening towards the other end of the chapel. It was hard to tell who made it through the finish line first, but they didn't care anymore, as the two fratelli began to burst out in laughter when they landed on the church rooftop.
Still laughing, Ezio helped himself up and gave his competitor a hand when it was his turn to get up.
"Come on then," Federico panted, slight signs of exhaustion from the contest pulling at his stomach. "This way."
"Where are you going?" Ezio called to him.
"You'll see!" Federico replied happily. With that, he ran to the highest tower of the church and began to climb up.
~*~*~*~
A fireworks rocket that had trailed upward towards the night sky exploded in Ezio's ear, and he jumped in surprise. He found himself not in his younger self's shoes anymore, but instead, in the middle of Venezia almost ten years later. While he was having his momentary flashback, the festivities of Carnevale unraveled around him, filled with people dancing among the square and music provided by the many entertainers of the city. The now assassino frowned slightly, disappointed at the fact that his relived memory was not playing anymore.
"Ezio," he heard someone say, placing his hand on his shoulder. Ezio turned his gaze towards the direction that the hand came from and found himself staring at Leonardo da Vinci. Suddenly, recent memories started flooding into his mind. How could he already forget that he had invited his best friend over to the Carnevale festival?!
"Ezio," Leonardo repeated. He shook Ezio slightly so he could fully catch his words. This time Ezio managed to hear Leonardo speak.
"Si?" Ezio replied.
"Are you okay, amico mio?" he asked the assassino, concern coating his voice.
"Yeah," Ezio assured, shaking his head. Though he was in the company of the one he could trust the most, he still wore his hood up. "Don't worry; I was merely thinking on some minor matters." Leonardo softly smiled at hearing his words. Suddenly, another pop went off in the sky, followed by a series of hisses, whines, and crackles.
"Ahh," Leonardo exclaimed, "they're starting the fireworks show!" He tried to find the source of the noise, but all the buildings around him seemed to block the way to any way of watching the event. After he could find no stray firework high enough to reach over any of the buildings, his smile turned upside down into a look of sad disappointment.
Suddenly, a certain place appeared in Ezio's head, and he took the painter's hand. "I have an idea," Ezio said, grinning. He began to run, much to Leonardo's surprise, as the painter was still trying to point out any bursts of color.
"E-Ezio!" Leonardo yelled at him, stumbling to keep up with him. "Where are you going?"
"I know a place where we can view the fireworks perfectly!" Ezio replied, never wavering in his jogging. He came up to a ladder of a building perched near one of the major docks and scrambled up the rungs.
"B-but what about the archers?" Leonardo stammered. From the volume of his voice, Ezio could tell that he still hadn't climbed up the ladder yet.
"Don't worry!" Ezio shouted down towards the artist, who didn't even pause in his ascension. "There are no archers on this building!"
~*~*~*~
If there was one thing Ezio was definitely not good at, it was climbing. Federico, on the other hand, had skills that were equal to a monkey's. Federico scaled the tower of the church within seconds; meanwhile, Ezio had trouble finding gripping stones on the tower walls.
"Hurry up, Ezio!" Federico beckoned with a tone of sarcastic concern. "I'd like to get home to Father any day now!"
"Stai zitto!" Ezio shouted back at him. He heard Federico's hearty chuckle from the remark, and Ezio continued to climb with his best ability.
The teenager looked up and found a windowpane above his head. With a shaking arm, he tried to grasp onto the blinds, but they were sealed shut. Ezio growled with frustration and started blindly searching for lower gripping stones with his foot.
"Aww baby brother," Federico teased, still standing at the top of the tower. "I thought you said you were good at climbing up things! Now I can see that you were only referring to women's dresses."
"F-Fottiti!" Ezio exclaimed for the second time that day; this time, his face turned a bright shade of crimson. Once he lowered himself far enough, he began shimmying to another side of the building to find jutting stones there. Relieved, he started another ascent up the structure, remembering to concentrate and focus.
~*~*~*~
At last, the two men had both landed on the rooftops. The Assassin led the engineer to the other side of the building and plopped himself down on the edge of the building. He finally removed the white hood from his head since no one else was around them, revealing raven-black hair that blended into the darkened atmosphere. The painter closely inspected the rooftops and found the younger man to be right; in fact, there seemed to be no archers on any of the nearby buildings at all. After confirming this with a firm nod, Leonardo followed suit and sat down next to Ezio.
As soon as Leonardo positioned himself on the rooftop, a burst of red sparks emanated from the sky, followed by a loud BANG that popped in his and Ezio's ears. More fireworks bloomed from the blackness that was the night, all in different colors and patterns. Ezio could hear Leonardo "ooh" and "ahh" in wonder as the sparks flashed in his eyes, and a small grin appeared in his lips.
They sat there in their silence for what seemed like forever, watching the myriads of flowered sparks flash and boom before them. Their thoughts could not interpret the amazement and wonder that they had for the aesthetic show in front of them. Even the mysterious street performers could not compare to this.
It took Leonardo his full concentration to pry himself away from watching the pyrotechnics and turn to Ezio. The Assassin sensed the movement from his peripheral vision and met his eyes with Leonardo's. The painter clapped his hand on Ezio's shoulder and smiled at him.
"It's a good life we lead, amico mio," Leonardo whispered at him, even under the drones of the firecrackers.
In that moment, Ezio's breath hitched. His eyes widened with familiarity, and his heart skipped a beat.
Did he just find his dead brother's soul in Leonardo's eyes?
It was like even after almost ten years of his death, Federico survived the betrayal that took the lives of Petruccio and his father. Maybe Federico was giving his now-matured brother a sign.
"The best," Ezio murmured back at him, feeling the essence of déjà vu around him. It also seemed like nothing had changed, except for the fact that he was much older than the last time he had recited those words.
Leonardo's grin grew wider. "May it never change," he sighed. A stray rocket that deviated from the usual space of lights exploded at a much earlier timing, sending more sparks merely 20 feet above their heads. However, that did nothing to prevent the moment that Ezio was experiencing. Instead, it intensified everything with the sight of raining stars falling behind his greatest friend.
"And may it never change us," Ezio breathed, turning his gaze towards the fireworks once more.
~*~*~*~
Finally, Ezio managed to brave the scale of the building. He was dangling from the edge of the building now, his hands firmly grasped on the ledge. Federico crouched down and offered his hand this time in support. Ezio gladly accepted it, breathing a sigh of relief as he finally found his feet on the rooftop of the small tower.
"It is a good life we lead, brother," Federico said to him, still holding on to his hand.
Ezio sighed and smiled at his older brother. "The best," he replied. "May it never change."
Federico turned around and guided his fratello to another edge of the square rooftop. The sun had now fully set over the horizon, but the small traces of light were still retracting towards it. From the view of the tower, the Palazzo della Signoria and the Santa Maria del Fiore gleamed under the dying sunlight with a pearly finish. An eagle who was perched on the beam of the building had taken flight towards the two religious structures, and its shedding feathers began to float around the fratelli as well as the edifice.
"And may it never change us," Federico declared. Little did either of them know that that would have been the last promise they would ever vow to each other…
~*~*~*~
Ezio stared at the gray smoke that now replaced the fireworks. The show had ended with a huge spray of fireworks being released from the launching site and became bright enough to even fill the farther districts of Venezia with light. Leonardo's head was resting against his shoulder, and his quiet snores hummed against the assassino's ear.
His greatest memory replayed itself in Ezio's head. All those years ago, he was only a teenager, and he knew that he didn't fully understand what he had just said. If he had, however, foretold his brother's death, maybe he would have said it like he truly meant it.
Never…
The word echoed in his mind. He felt sad that he couldn't keep his first promise to his brother. Then again, he hadn't broken it – the conspiring Templars who had betrayed his family did. They disregarded all his father's morals and permanently snapped his family into pieces.
Then there was the promise he had made with Leonardo just minutes ago. This time, he had truly meant what he had said, so as to not deceive himself, Leonardo, or any of the upcoming actions that he would carry out towards or against anyone.
This time, this was a promise he knew that he would keep, no matter what.
Translations
Fratello, fratelli – brother, brothers
Amico mio – my friend
Stai zitto! – Shut up!
Fottiti – In case you don't remember from the cutscene with the doctor, it means "go f*ck yourself". xD
I found this really beautiful artwork on deviantART, and that was what inspired me to write this piece. That, and "Kings and Queens" by 30 Seconds to Mars, which, btw, is one amazing song. If anyone wants to see the picture, the link is (without the spaces): http:// jael-kolken. deviantart. com/ art/ AC2-Brothers-154504239
I've been getting really rude reviews lately, so let me say this: If you don't like any of my fanfics at all, you can either a) Write CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, like say how I should improve on one aspect of my piece, instead of just putting in "you suck/fail/whatever" or flaming; or b) Just don't REVIEW AT ALL. It's much easier to click the back button instead of wasting your time (as well as mine) with a negative review.
To those who weren't reviewing in that matter, please don't mind what I said.
Anyway, review please?