Accessories. So inspired lately. Not to write, but inspired with ideas galore… Will I ever complete any of these stories? Will I live off of oneshots for the rest of my life? Who knows. I'm just glad that I've completed at least one freakin' story during the summer… Now it is winter when I'm posting this. Doesn't that say something about my procrastination skills? Oh hm, what to get accomplished…
Oh yes, I should explain that when I say 'child' I mean older than 'young' but not in that 'pre-teen' stage. Just so you know.
Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed or any of its characters.
Federico perched himself on top the roof, idly watching the boys try- and eventually fail- at scaling the building. They reminded him of a colony of deprived rats and he wasn't far off from the truth. He couldn't help but laugh at them; they were all silly children anyways. Situations like these happened frequently in the Auditore's life. However, he never found interest in those who chased him. Those children were simply blank faces on a canvas. No... Only one child in particular caught his eye. He was there for every chase and this time was no different. This child was standing back away from the crowd, dressed nicely in dark green attire. It was obvious that he was a child of a wealthy family. He left his dirty work to the rest of the child as he stood back, barking orders and insults. The other children obeyed, or at least tried to…
It was entertainment to Federico, nevertheless.
"Get down here, you coward!"
Federico chuckled at the request and swung his feet joyfully over the side of the roof. His tiny fingers played with the necklace around his neck out of habit, twisting and turning his family's insignia, making the boy on the ground fume at the sight. Oh yes, he was having too much fun this evening. "Who are you calling a coward? You're the one who called your dogs on me just because you saw me walking down the street! Why not come after me yourself?"
The other sneered as the Auditore triumphantly laughed down at him. It was true… Once he saw the glistening A worn on the boy's neck, anger boiled inside him, itching for a fight. There was
The encounter continued as usual. An insult here, a tease there. Another threat, a toothy grin. The gang continued their attempt to reach the smirking Auditore on the roof but was only left panting from exhaustion. It was futile. But they never learned from their mistakes.
Or so Federico thought…
Suddenly, their leader roughly pulled another boy to the side and whispered something in his ear. Federico raised an eyebrow, watching as the message was soon spread to each kid. "This is new," he muttered to himself, observing curiously. It took only a couple of minutes until the children ran from the alley, leaving only Federico to stare down at their leader. An eyebrow quirked upwards as the child raised his fists, instigating a one-on-one match.
"Come down here and fight!"
There was no reason to decline the offer that he could find. It mildly surprised him that the boy would do such a thing. Without protest, Federico nodded along and jumped from the roof, landing safely on some wooden crates before leaping to the ground in front of the other. He flashed a sly smile, knowing it infuriated the other when Federico showed off. "What's the matter?" He made a childish taunting face, "Is Vieri de'Pazzi jealous?"
With that comment- the tiny itty-bitty comment- the fight began. Vieri rapidly leapt forward, his fist aimed right at the other's smirking mouth. However, the Auditore was quicker. Blocking the first punch, he grasped Vieri's wrist, tugging him forward and off balance. Federico watched in amusement as the Pazzi stumbled from his own stupidity and crashed into the side of the building.
Federico chuckled, twirling his necklace again. "I thought you wanted a fight?"
The fight continued on for what seemed to be forever in the children's minds. A hit there, a block here… Somewhere in-between Federico squeezed in a taunt and tease. Vieri was knocked backward from another hit from the Auditore, his ear ringing from the blow. Federico remained unscathed however. How did he do it? Vieri was older than him. More experienced than him! How is that stupid Auditore winning?
The other must have been thinking along those lines as well… Or at least gloating in the fact that older doesn't mean better. He watched as Vieri clutched his shoulder and winced in pain, obviously the end of the fight was near. Federico gave a slight comical bow before turning to leave. "You're weak. See, this is what happens when you order others to fight for you…" He let out a small laugh, still breathing heavily as he did so. "A life lesson inde-"
Fingers gripped the necklace, instantly stopping his heart. The material burned his neck as he was roughly pulled back into the fight, the tug overthrowing his balance, causing him to tumble to the ground. A body climbed on top of him, the weight on his stomach pinning him down with ease. In a panic, he began to struggle. The other's lips quirked upwards as the tables instantly turned.
The grip was still strong on the necklace, the wrist twisting to tighten pressure, almost cutting off the air supply. With a pull, Federico's head was forcefully lifted from the ground to stare into the face of his attacker.
The boy's face was reddened from anger; blood trickled from his hairline, obviously from where Federico knocked him back only minutes ago. Eyes were clouded with rage and hatred. Lips were quirked upwards into a bloodthirsty grin.
With a shaky breath, he spoke. "You are an Auditore."
"A proud one."
The way he answered without hesitation made the other gag. It was as if pride was encoded in the Auditore bloodline. It was sickening. Vieri twisted the necklace again, his smirk growing as he heard the other cry out in pain. "Such a filthy name, why do you wear it as if it were gold?"
"Because I was born an Auditore, I will live as an Auditore, and eventually I will die an Auditore. There's no need to feel shame about something that can't be changed."
Another overly rehearsed line. Vieri wouldn't be surprised if his family made him recite that twenty times a day. Federico's face was now turning a light shade of purple, his eyes becoming blood shot and skin becoming cold. Hands were gripping onto Vieri's clothes, trying to push him off. However, they only succeeded in pleasing the sadistic one further. Vieri pulled the other close, practically spitting each syllable out as he spoke. "I promise you will come to see the stupidity of those words and will be sent to an early grave…Your pride will die with you and so will your stupid memory."
With that, the Pazzi reared his arm back and Federico was lost in darkness.
Vieri frowned upon seeing the object… Well… He frowned even more than usual, if that was possible… Was that possible? At first, he walked into the prison with a stoic expression, smirking slightly as the guards took him to the higher cells. They all knew how the Pazzi's have been showering themselves with pride over the whole event, so the guards did not think much of it. However, as they entered the desired room, the cocky smirk faded. He barked at the guards, ordering them out of his sight and they did so without question even though they gave a strange glance back at the man as they made their retreat.
But this… seeing it made matters even worse…
Federico placed it in the other's open palm, a genuine smile upon his lips as he watched the other scowl down at it with enough hatred to melt the damn thing. He lightly chuckled, "Glad to see you recognize it."
It took a few seconds before Vieri could actually speak, he was afraid that he would somehow fall apart under all this pressure. Eventually he sighed and flipped the item over to examine it further. He wouldn't look up- no, he couldn't. He would lose it all if he saw the other's expression. Instead, he zeroed in on the detail of the insignia. "I thought I broke the damned thing."
"Oh… You did… I took it home where it was quickly repaired. I could never clean all the blood from the tiny details, however…" Federico quietly chuckled at the memory, how he swore on that day to never wear anything around his neck again. He never wanted to be caught vulnerable a second time. "Never wore the thing after you broke my nose though, even after it was fixed. I simply carried it around with me. As a reminder… Or better yet, as a good lucky charm."
Vieri laughed at the other's idiocy. "What good luck?"
"No matter what stunts I pulled… I never had more damage than a broken nose inflicted upon me. Lots of scratches and bruises, black eyes, and so on… But never something fatal like a cracked skull or a snapped-" he stopped, realizing this wasn't the road he wanted to go down. "The point is- it's lucky and I want you to have it."
He didn't want to ask his next question, but he knew Federico wanted to tell him. Might as well give the idiot what he wants. Only for today though. Only for today. "Why do you think you don't need it now?"
"Tomorrow… Eh… Well, tomorrow I'm going to be wearing a new accessory. If I had that on me, it would just clash with my outfit. We wouldn't want that." Vieri flinched as the other chuckled at his own little twisted joke. No, there wasn't anything funny about this. Not at all. Federico went on though, cheerful as always, "And I need to look my best for the public… After all, this will be the last time they'll see my bright and shining face. I better make some kind of lasting impression."
"You know, often people relieve themselves when they are so brutally pulled into the afterlife," he couldn't help but mutter in a harsh tone, thoroughly aggravated since Federico refused to take this seriously.
"Then I must make sure I am wearing brown pants on that date. I want to look damn good for the crowd at my execution."
Utterly ridiculous.
A choked laugh escaped the Pazzi's lips, followed by another and another. Soon he found himself shaking, on the verge of hyperventilation. Vieri could not take it anymore, his grip tightened on the necklace as his gaze shot up. At last, their eyes met. Federico's were bright, full of happiness but at the same time, anguish… He knew it would never have worked out; it was a forbidden romance after all. Those never go over well.
"I want you to hold onto it. My pride as an Auditore will die with me but my memory should not. Treat my memory as if it were your pride- no, please don't wear it on your chest, I'm afraid you'll be on trial for treason before you could say, 'Damn it Federico.'" He was trying to be funny but it wasn't working. It made the matter even more depressing. Vieri tried to turn away but Federico wouldn't let him, putting his hand on the cheek of the other man, forcing him to meet his gaze. The Pazzi's free hand snapped up, but he didn't push it away like he originally intended. Instead, he covered the hand with his own, holding the warmth to his cheek and watched as the warm smile returned to the other's face. "But honor it just the same. Take this as a request of a dying man…"
Federico was always smiling and so annoyingly cheerful…
Vieri felt his chest tighten, knowing all too well that he'll miss the damn idiot's jokes and comments. He'd miss the game of cat and mouse they played that would leave him infuriated but quite amused at the same time. How he had a sixth sense of knowing where he was at all hours of the day. How he could easily distract him while in a competition. How he was the center of one being's universe. His idiotic laugh and his ridiculous lopsided grin…
His Federico…
Warm tears started to roll of his cheek and before he knew it, he completely shattered. He did not care if the guards could walk in at any second and see him sobbing over the fate of one Federico Auditore… Honestly, all he wanted right now was for all this to go away. He should hate the Auditore like he did years ago… Back when they were children brawling in the middle of the streets of their city. It was when they were mainly concerned about the feud between their families; the mysterious dispute against the Auditore's and the Pazzi's with no regard for such life or death consequences. It was one pride against another.
Everything had to fall apart sometime. Vieri could not recall when he actually started to give a damn for the renowned Casanova of Florence. It just happened, in his opinion. Between the teases, relentless brawls, and rebellious nights, the bastard grew on him to where he never had enough strength to push him away. Not like he'd ever admit that sort of thing to the Auditore's face, even if these were his final moments in life. He had a feeling the idiot knew anyways.
Vieri shuddered, resting his forehead against the cold metal bars. "You don't know how much I want to hit you right now."
At that, the other dropped his hand and snaked his other arm through the bars of his cell, gently wrapping them both around the Pazzi. It felt nice to hold him, one last time. He hummed in reply, slowly closing his eyes. "I know… I love you too."
End of Oneshot. I hope this all makes some sense in the long run? Maybe? I wrote this out of the blue because I was watching Lineage and was like- 'Federico looks like he needs a necklace. I wonder why he doesn't have one.' Because Vieri will obviously break your face. Federico and Vieri have become one of my favorite pairings… I've been working on lots of stories about them but… I only write the dialog first and then put in the details later because I'm so goddamn lazy. Oh yeah, and it's because I have no actual motivation for writing anymore… but I still want to keep to my deadline because I hate leaving all these stories unfinished.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story.
Review if you wish, tell me what you think, suggestions, comments?
YourConscience813