[Disclaimer: I do not own Assassins Creed or any content related to it's storyline or characters. This story is pure fiction from fan appreciation]

The air was cold and the night was clear, the full moon lit the dusty rooftops and the city was silent. It was around 4 in the morning, the time when everyone was sleeping and the streets were empty. Altaïr waited on the rooftop of a house which was next to a dark alley, it seemed like a shady place but it was perfect because no one went there at night. There had been rumours of murders, robberies, kidnaps and rapes in that dark alley, but that was not the reason why Altaïr was there. He was waiting for his friend, Malik. Altaïr was surprised when Malik agreed to meet him in private, Altaïr thought that he had not been forgiven, after all he was partly responsible for the death of Malik's only brother. Altaïr regretted his actions everyday, if he had not been so foolish then Kadar would still be alive and Malik would not have been so emotionally scarred.

He knew that Malik was scarred because one day he had stopped by the bureau later than the usual working hour hoping that no one would be there so he can access some information uninterrupted. He was about to enter the bureau but he heard someone breathing. The breath was suppressed at times but then it escaped in bursts of uncontrollable silent sobbing. He slowly entered hoping not to be noticed and he walked towards the back room which was lit by flickering candlelight. He did not dare to enter the room, instead he looked through the keyhole to see Malik slumped on the floor in tears looking his impressive drawing of Kadar. Malik had not always been good at art but ever since he had been locked away in the bureau to do mind numbing office work, art seemed to be his only escape from reality but this time reality was hitting him hard. He spoke to the drawing as if he was speaking with his brother
"My life is meaningless since you have been gone. I used to have a sense of duty, to protect and raise you but I failed my duty and you suffered the consequences. I do not know why you had to go and why I'm still here, there's nothing left here for me. There's nothing. No one understands my pain and there is death everywhere. They think it's normal, they laugh at death like a life is meaningless. I used to be the highest rank in our brotherhood and now even the novices show no respect. They see an old man who had a freak accident, they don't understand. Everyone thinks wants to see the freak show and I'm the freak with one arm. I have started to slowly hate the people here and ever since you have been gone the world seems so cold and evil. I want to go with you, why did you leave me here in this cold world?" he sobbed. At that point Altaïr felt he had heard enough and left quietly.

Ever since that day he had been determined to make Malik happy, he would write little cheerful notes for Malik to read when he was bored or feeling sad. He once stole a kitten and brought it into the bureau as a surprise for Malik. He remembered that Malik had been both pleasantly surprised and angry at the same time, he tried to tell Altaïr that work was no place for animals but he could not resist the cuteness and he smiled for the first time in a long time. Something touched Altaïr's shoulder and he almost fell off the rooftop in surprise. He suddenly remembered where he was and turned to see Malik.
"Did I scare you?" he said trying to suppress his laugh. He looked so confident these days, if a person looked at him they would never believe how broken he once was.
"No... I'm not scared of anything but I did not expect you to come. How did you get up here? I thought you couldn't climb since…" Altaïr stopped, he didn't want to remember what had happened on that fateful day that Malik lost his arm and his brother
"I can still climb… also there was a ladder" he replied avoiding the awkward subject
"I'm really glad you came here" Altaïr smiled nervously "there's something I've needed to talk to you about but I never had the chance to do so because-"
"I think I know what it's about"
"You do?"
"Yes. It's really obvious."
"So… what do you think I'm going to say?" Altaïr asked hoping that Malik really did know what he was talking about
"I've seen it in your eyes for a while. You do so much for me when I do not ask you for anything. You ask me to meet you in this secluded place in the middle of the night. I already know that you're a killer so there's not really much else that you would need to tell me in a place like this. You don't need to tell me anything because I already know" Malik smiled.
"Do you…?" Altaïr was speechless and surprised.
"Yes"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"And do you also…"
"Yes"
"I…" Altaïr did not know what to say but soon nothing more needed to be said when was pulled in for a long kiss. He could still not understand how someone who had once hated him could feel this way about him now. It seemed too good to be true, maybe it was, he didn't know but he had already stopped caring because he did not want to lose this perfect moment.