((Do you think you have read this before? It's mostly because you have and I have changed a lot of things. Now I know people do not like commenting but it would help me out to get your take on the Revamped chapter so I can know I'm not screwing it up completely))

Ezio frowned a little as he realised that out of all the Assassin Recruits who had come to see him off, none of them were his sons. He expected to see his eldest at the very least or even a glimpse of his younger son amongst the loyal friends he would miss sorely – but he could not see their faces in the small crowd. "Claudia, are you sure you can handle this rowdy bunch for so long a time? It is not a few months, Sister, it could be a few years...you will listen to Machiavelli, Si?"

"I swear, Ezio!" Claudia exclaimed as she threw up her hands, "I have run your accounts for how long? I can handle this lot and The Rose just fine...and Machiavelli can kiss my - " The Master Assassin pulled the younger woman into a hug before she could finish, mostly because the man she was about to insult was behind her and mostly because he would miss her whilst he was in Constantinople. She held him back just as tightly, "Be careful out there, Ezio, you are not as young as you think you are..." stroking his bearded jaw, Claudia gave him a weak smile, "I wish you would take a few of your Recruits with you, even Matteo or Giovanni – they are desperate to go with you and it would be an excellent opportunity for them to meet and build bonds with the Ottoman Assassins."

With a frustrated heave the Assassin gave his sister a stern look, "No, Claudia, no. They are young, I do not want to get killed in a foreign land because I am constantly worrying for them, they are staying here and will train...maybe when I return we can discuss sending them on higher profile missions."

'Maybe' usually meant 'Never' when Ezio referred to his sons. It was not a case of they were not skilled Assassins, they were more skilled than most, and it was not the case of they were children, they would be twenty years old in few months time. It was because they were his children that he was so protective, it was because he had so little family left, his sister and his sons, and if he had to hold them back and coddle them and tell them where they could go and who they could talk to...then that is what he would do until his dying day. "I know they are angry that I am doing this alone but it is for their own good and the good of the Brotherhood; it is my duty alone."

"We are not angry..." Ezio's eyes widened slightly at the two figures coming out of the shadows and to either side of Claudia. Both were just shy of towering over their father's height, another inch or two and they would officially be taller than him, which would be annoying, both were in their everyday clothes and that was enough for Ezio to understand their lateness. They were fresh out of a brothel, probably overslept and too tardy to change into their hooded uniforms before running to the dock – by the way they were huffing and puffing with their usually tan skin slightly reddened, they had run pretty damn fast. "Sorry, Papa," One of the young men stepped forward to embrace him with a firm squeeze, "We were worried we had missed you."

Smiling fondly, Ezio pulled him a little closer, "You like to make your old man worry, Matteo, you know I am getting too old for such things, right?" They laughed at what was blatant lies, as Ezio pushed his oldest away to arms length he found another body against him in a much more restrained hug, "I was getting to you, Giovanni." The embrace was gone as fast as it had come and now he found himself eye to eye with his children, thinking how it was ridiculous for them to look so like he did when he was seventeen, something his mother had liked very much before she had died. They wore their hair as he had before he'd cut his shorter, the silky strands were a darker brown than his had ever been, a trait from their mother, both were handsome, their golden eyes mischievous and their very presence oozed with charm. The only other difference they held from his teenage self was that they were not as broad as he had been, their faces were softer and their bodies better for stealth and speed than brawling like idiots as he and Federico had been. "I wish you two would stop growing, at least until I return to Roma...can you do that?"

"Sorry, Papa." Matteo grinned easily, "When you come back, not only will your sons still be the most attractive twins in all Italia but also taller than you."

"...I will have to stop slouching if that happens," the ship behind him began ringing its bell to notify the passengers that it would be leaving soon, "I need to go but promise me something; promise me that you will stay safe and you will not follow me."

Matteo huffed slightly, "I promise I will not follow you to Constantinople."

000

Matteo turned in a small circle, his arms thrown out as he gave a satisfied look to his twin, "Here we are! Constantinople, I told you we could trust that Captain!" He seemed proud of himself, straightening his robes out until he felt they were presentable and grinning like a fool, "Papa is going to be surprised!"

His brother looked at the ship they had just left with disdain, he moved his hands in a flurry, to anyone else it looked like Giovanni was just waving his hands about in the air but Matteo rolled his eyes, "It is not a pirate ship, they were traders..." another flurry of gestures, "I did not sell us into slavery! This is Constantinople," Giovanni stared at the other in horror, he did know what they'd been doing didn't he? How much trouble they were in? The ship they were on didn't have anything to trade until after they'd sacked another ship – Their father was going to kill them! Matteo blinked in confusion, looking up innocently at his twin, "Stop worrying...no...what? Papa is not going to 'kill us, bring us back with that apple thing and kill us again'." With one last huff, Giovanni pointed at his twin and drew his finger across his throat, Matteo shrugged, "But we are in Constantinople."

Giovanni shook his head.

"No? Brother, this is Constantinople." The nice Captain had told him so.

Another shake of the younger twin's head.

Matteo's shoulders slumped a little, "Alright, I admit it does look a little like...China?" Obviously they were not so far east, perhaps a short sail a little further would lead them to Constantinople, taking hold of his brother's shoulders and giving a wry smile, Matteo said, "Look, I have a little coin left, we can get a room at an inn tonight and tomorrow we can do a little pick pocketing for a proper ticket on a proper ship that is going to Constantinople. Deal?" Matteo smiled gently as his brother agreed readily, the annoyance in his amber eyes lessened.

00

It had been pure chance that they had gotten onto a ship heading for Constantinople, they had been scouting at the docks when a raggedy sailor had offered them money to help man a ship – headed in the same direction their father had gone a little under two months before. Matteo had promised not to follow his father...he never promised not to follow his brother though, and his brother was mute, so he never actually made the promise not to follow their father in the first place. So with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a hastily written message to their Aunt Claudia they were on their way.

They were in a modest little inn, paid for in stolen coins and charming smiles,

"Excuse me," Giovanni looked up to see one of the bar girls smiling at him from the doorway, "Did you need anything bringing to the room? I noticed that you were both a little haggard and that your brother...oh..." she lowered her voice a little upon realising that Matteo was sound asleep with his head on his twin's lap, "Looked very tired." she stood a little awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do with a man who could not speak, "Um...Oh, are these the clothes you need washing? Can I take them?" At his nod she smiled and bundled the clothing up into her arms, "Would you like anything else..from me?" The young man didn't miss the hint in her voice of what she was offering; had his brother been awake the cad would have taken her up on the offer. She was pretty, a little older than him but pleasing to look at but he didn't want a whore for the night, "You scholars are too gentlemanly, I am going to stop offering to men in these particular robes." he tilted his head a little at her disappointed comment, "Hm? Oh, Dev, someone who stays here, he wears these too," She proffered up the clothing in her arms, "I recognise the pointed hood, the styles are a little different and the material too...he always turn me down even when I am just checking on him...he comes back injured a lot...dock workers." She shrugged to herself and wandered out without another word.

"Did you hear that?" Looking down, Giovanni caught his brother's sleepy gaze and nodded whilst bringing the hand that had been stroking the other's hair up, a few careful gestures were made and in just a few graceful movements of his fingers Giovanni could see his brother thinking hard, "Si, you make a good point, Vanni, it does sound like there is another Assassin here but what do we do?" shrugging a little, the younger twin clasped his hands together as if he were clapping hands with a fellow Assassin, "Make friends with him, eh? Alright, it makes sense, maybe they can give us directions or something." Matteo got up from and stretched a little, straightening out his cotton shirt as he meandered to the door, "We just have to look for someone who looks like a member of the Brotherhood."

The first place they searched was the bar downstairs, it was a far cry from La Volpe's inn back in Roma where they had actually felt quite safe around the thieves, it was clean enough but it was poorly lit, the dark wood of the buildings structure doing nothing to help and they struggled slightly against the sea of dock workers and whores. "I do not see anyone with a hood..." Matteo said quietly to his twin as they met back in the middle, Giovanni rolled his eyes and pointed to their own lack of hooded robes, "You make a valid point...how about we split up and knock on the doors upstairs?"

Rubbing his face in slight irritation, Giovanni wondered if his brother had always been this stupid or if he was practising for something. Knock on people's doors and then what? Sure, Matteo could spin some tale about having the wrong room or if they had seen his lost kitten but Giovanni didn't feel he could pull it off – he didn't speak! He'd be punched out for knocking on someone's door and not saying anything. Matteo put his hands on him and smiled sheepishly, "I will ask about my lost cat upstairs, you return to our room and wait for me." With that, his brother disappeared up the stairs again and left him to his own devices; well thanks for that, dick.

As he ascended the stairs he wondered if this supposed Assassin was even in the building, there were many nights that he was never at home and instead on a rooftop scouting. Or in the Brothel with his twin, they never went to their Aunt's brothel though – that would just be strange – usually Matteo would spend the night in some woman's bed whilst Giovanni sat on the buildings roof...because he really wasn't interested in the women there. Of course his brother didn't know this piece of information. "Sorry, have you seen my kitten? He got out of my bag whilst I was in the bar...no? ...Are you married?" Unbelievable – well, no, very believable actually. Giovanni tried to catch his brother's eye before he managed to charm himself into the woman's room, had he forgotten the possible ally in lieu of a pretty face already? A discreet 'go away' hand signal was made and Giovanni huffed indignantly before unlocking the door to their room and entering.

The youngest Auditore found himself staring at a stranger in the room, they were rummaging through the meagre possessions that had been left in the bedside drawer, stopping instantly the second Giovanni shut the door behind himself and rose a fine eyebrow as if to say, 'Can I help you?' The stranger had the decency to shut the drawer and turn to face him, that still didn't excuse the break in, even if this was probably the mysterious 'Dev' they had been looking for. He was the same height as the twins, his body a little broader, though Giovanni had a feeling that there was a bit of bulk to the man's robes that perhaps made the man seem bigger than he was, he wore the robes of an Assassin, a slight variation of the Italian style, more intricate with the designs on all the trimmings, the peak of his hood bore similar stitching and instead of a red sash about his middle was a turquoise sash, though that had blood slowly bleeding into it. It also appeared that his robes were a light mocha colour as opposed to the favoured white but what really stuck out was the flat, metal mask covering the man's face. "Do not yell."

Of all the things for the stranger to say it was telling a mute man not to yell. Giovanni's eyebrow rose just that little bit higher. "You know what I am and I know what you are, we may be of different Brotherhoods but our goals are the same, evet? Think of me as a nosy brother who has come to rifle through your belongings to make sure you are in fact a brother." He knew he was freaking the other out by not speaking and that gave him a strange sort of satisfaction, well, he assumed the awkward silence and stance from the other meant he was freaked out because Giovanni couldn't see his face to confirm it. "Um...I am...Devrim Tazim, I am from the Ottoman Brotherhood of Istanbul or Constantinople as you may know it." The silence remained and the Italian could see the tension in the other as he broke into more words, the Italian seemed a little strained on Devrim's tongue and Giovanni was certain this man had learned his language but never really had to practice it, "You are...?" a gloved hand made circles in the air as he waited for a response, "Oh, come on. I know I am understandable...are you mad that I was going through your stuff? What if I promise never to shove my hand in your trousers again?"

Giovanni snorted in amusement, the man probably meant he would never go through his drawers again but it was funny none the less. Walking further into the room, the Italian, still shaking his head as he chuckled silently to himself, went about stoking the fireplace and placing the kettle over it. He left his guest standing like an idiot as he went about making the room comfortable to sleep in, it was nearing midnight after all. "...Are you going to say anything?" Giovanni rolled his amber eyes at the masked Assassin before pointing to the growing stain of blood on his robes and making an up motion as an order to remove the clothing, "What? It is just a knick from a spear, I can tend to it myself...seriously though, say something to me, I do know a lot about your culture but in mine you are being a little rude."

"Says the man covering his face." Both Giovanni and Devrim startled a little, neither having heard Matteo come in until he had spoken. "You should have whistled, Vanni. I got worried when you did not lock the door behind you." Matteo sat down in the nearest chair, tugging off his boots as if having an armed, stranger a few feet away wasn't a big deal, "Why are you in our room?"

"You are twins..." A different silence settled in the room, one where two identical sets of eyes stared – really stared – at the intruder. They watched the man squirm, imagining that the face beneath the mask had heated up in embarrassment, he cleared his throat, foot scuffing the floor slightly, "That was obvious...As I was telling your brother, my name is Devrim and I am from the Istanbul branch."

"Oh, well we were hoping for someone from Constantinople..."

This time it was Giovanni and Devrim looking at him like he had plague. Giovanni gained Matteo's attention quickly, holding out his right hand, palm down with his fingers wriggling, then arching his left hand over it until he got an understanding nod from the other, then making a little 'equals' sign in the air before pausing to think and finally pointed to his eye, then to his feet and finally bringing his hands to his head with his index fingers pointing outwards like horns. It took a couple of seconds but Matteo let out a long, 'ooooooh' before brightening up, "Constantinople is Istanbul."

Devrim seemed at a loss, "What was that all about? What is," he pointed to his eye, then his feet and then copied the little horns, "Supposed to mean...are you two using code? We are on the same side, you know, I spotted you two earlier in full Assassin regalia..."

"You do not see too well out of that mask, eh?" Matteo stood up, practically swaggering toward his brother before slipping an arm around his twin's shoulders, "Your eye, that is for 'I', as in, 'I went out. Your feet, you are standing still so that means 'stand' and the nifty little horns stand for 'bull'. Add them together and you get..."

"I – stand – bull...Ah! Istanbul!" The Assassin said nearly in excitement, "Then the one before was for the ship yard for Constantinople. But there is not bridge over the water, my friends."

Giovanni blinked, wasn't Leonardo supposed to be making a bridge to go over the golden horn? Then again, when did Leonardo finish anything... "Details." Matteo said with little care, "But to clear things up a little. I am Matteo Auditore Da Venezia and this is my brother Giovanni: He is mute."

Feeling eyes on him, even through the mask, Giovanni suppressed a shiver at the attention that was being paid to him now, gloved hands came up to the mocha hood and pulled it back along with removing the mask, "I feel like a fool." The comment was accompanied by a charming smile on the man's face, "I hope you will forgive me if I offended you." Giovanni couldn't help but shiver this time; the man's eyes were beautiful. He was attractive too, a more rugged attractiveness than the twins own and those near silver eyes just made Devrim Tazim the most gorgeous man Giovanni had ever seen. His dark hair was just shy of resting on his shoulders, falling in messy waves about his face, that strong, handsome face with a completely edible, stubbled jaw...Giovanni took a sharp intake of breath as he quickly chased those thoughts away. He needed to stop staring at the darkly tanned man like he wanted to eat him and let his brother handle things.

"If he did not like you, you would be dead," Matteo said whilst Giovanni got to work on making drinks, "You are injured, let Vanni patch you up and then we would appreciate your help."

"It is not a big deal..."

"I see." Matteo gave a great sigh, pouting ever so slightly and making Giovanni have to hold in a snort at the dramatics, "He sneaks into our room, gives you hassle, fratello mio, then refuses to get medical treatment from a qualified - " A vicious jab hit him in the ribs, "Ow, ow...Alright. A nearly qualified Dottore to help him." He made a show of walking to the only unoccupied chair in the room and collapsing into it, "He does not trust us, Vanni."

It was Devrim's turn to look mildly insulted, "Oh your poor, little Italian heart must be broken."

"Shattered."

The younger twin nearly said, 'please, god, yes' when Devrim replied with a playful, "And getting naked will mend it again?"

"Letting us help you will mend it. We are all fighting the same war and be honest with me – would you not be upset if one of us refused your help?" The victory was obvious to the Auditore when Devrim stood to remove the sash, undo the robe and pull up the cotton shirt beneath, "You realise there is metal in that wound, right? What were you doing before you decided to climb in through our window?"

Giovanni gently made Devrim sit again, kneeling by his side to better see the damage, he already had a damp cloth in hand to clear away some of the dried blood. He had been right, the Turk was not as bulky as he seamed, he was lean and strong, just slightly more toned than he was and his muscled jumped every time Giovanni put his hands on him, "I actually did not realise I was carrying a spearhead around with me...could you maybe be a little more gentle?" He was completely ignored as the younger man pressed against the wound, paying no mind to the pained whine as he dug into skin and muscle to retrieve the metal sliver, "A-ah...I...I was tying up a few loose ends – Ow! Give me a second." Giovanni tensed as the man's hand wrapped around his wrist, stopping him from pulling the metal out any further, looking up, gold met silver and Giovanni shivered again, "I am a terrible patient, can you just yank it out?"

Matteo leaned over with a smirk, "Would you like me to hold your hand?"

"Would you like me to punch you in the face – Acaip cehennem!" During the distraction, Giovanni had taken the chance to tear the offending object from the Assassin's body and was now pressing hard against the renewed bleeding. Despite the angry, also quite obscene, swearing in Turkish and pained breaths, Giovanni thought the man took it quite well and pat his thigh before getting up to find his leather pouch. "Butcher." He flashed a toothy grin at Devrim, coming back with a needle and thread.

000

As it turned out, Devrim Tazim was very easy to get information from once he had realised that Ezio was their father; it had taken him a while to remember the significance of the name 'Auditore'. He had informed them that he had passage on a ship for Constantinople, a two month long trip that had been fully booked for more than a week. Fortunately he was willing to share his cabin with them, feed them and get them back to their father in one piece because as far as Devrim was concerned; he needed all the help he could get. He'd been in Cyprus for over a year collecting evidence for a very serious plot against the royalty in his country, a Templar led plan that would cause chaos and quite possibly kill the best, future, Sultan they would ever had. Plans, maps, correspondences, contacts and some references to some sort of library, they were all sealed away in a parchment tube that had been sealed ridiculously tight and kept close to the Assassin at all times. It had to get to the Ottoman Brotherhood – straight into Yusuf Tazim's hand.

They got on the ship easy enough, no one really questioning the two extra passengers with the Turk as the crew seemed more interested in the large supply of gunpowder being loaded, "That is more explosive powder than I ever want to see," Matteo commented as he helped secure his brother's hammock in the cramped cabin, "Though I did see a couple of things I did want to see more of," Giovanni made an hour glass shape in the air, a wry smile on his lips as he rolled his eyes, "They were very pretty and I have not had a woman in a month, fratello, a month! How can you stand it? Come with me to help them with their luggage and maybe we can both get some action tonight." Devrim chuckled at the signed answer, he couldn't tell exactly what was said but it was definitely a negative and then the older twin was looking at him, "What about you? I hate not having a wing man – maybe I can give you some wooing tips."

"I am not really interested in any of the women in this ship and I am very capable of getting anything I desire; maybe I could give you some tips." He had already begun pulling things out of his pack so didn't see Matteo huffing slightly, "I would prefer to be a few miles from shore before I explore the ship, go find a pretty girl, Matteo, you can brag about it later."

"Fine, fine, I will consider it an early birthday present to myself."

"It is your birthdays?" Devrim asked in surprise. "I would have baked you a cake."

Matteo shook his head, "No, it is at the end of this month but I like to treat myself." The Italian threw his robes into his hammock and undid a few buttons on the silk shirt he wore beneath, "And you need to bake two cakes as our birthdays are a day apart, ciao amico!"

Before Devrim could say another word he was gone, "You two are just strange." For a while the two Assassins organised their belongings, well, Devrim organised and Giovanni hid his more obvious weapons amounst the beams across the ceiling. The Turk felt eyes on him as he went about his business, it was a feeling that usually had him on edge but the Auditore's eyes were welcome. He was a little shy, the communication between them was going to be difficult, he was full of potential though, Devrim was not blind to the way Giovanni looked at him; it was a hungry look and everything about the Assassin seemed to scream 'want'.

"Sooo...any reason you are not joining your brother in the hunt for women?"

"...," Giovanni looked at a loss, his hands twitching as he fought his instincts to answer with them, instead he frowned unhappily and turned his back on Devrim to remove his robe, throwing it with his twin's.

"I can lip read or find paper and ink. You are far too interesting not to talk to." Devrim got up from the only actual bed in the cabin, walking until he was a little too close for Giovanni to find comfortable and forcing the other to take a step back. "And you must want to convey something to me, I mean...all the staring you do when you think I can not see."

Giovanni took a few more steps away, avoiding the hand reaching out to touch him, the skin between his brows scrunched up as his back hit the rough wall of the cabin – he pressed his hands against Devrim's chest and mouther quite clearly, 'What are you doing?!'

Devrim grinned, "Looking at you. Returning the favour as it were because whilst you were staring at me; I could not look at you." And he was doing just that, admiring the way a blush slowly crept upon tanned skin, he was just the tiniest bit shorter than the Turk, perfect for him to notice pupils dilating in honey coloured eyes and fell sure enough to rest his hand on the Italian's hip. "You are quite beautiful for a man," the blush intensified but Giovanni was rolling his eyes, "No? How about...Gözlerin çok güzel," They were close enough that Giovanni's shiver ran through them both, "Hmm, I see you can understand me, is it my language or my voice that makes you hot? Either one, I do not care, I am going to kiss you now."

The younger man's eyes doubled in size and he shook his head side to side vigorously. He wasn't physically trying to stop Devrim though and the hands on the Turk's chest had curled into the mocha robes; it wasn't much of a protest. The Italian's lips were pliant and his mouth was hot and delicious and surprisingly, to Devrim anyway, inexperienced. A strangled sound came from the man and he pushed his body up against him only to pull away as if the length of their bodies tight together had burned. Turning his head to the side, Giovanni shook it again, his lips moving frantically, the few words that Devrim could decipher were, 'No' and 'We are men'.

"You kissed me back. I do not really need more proof to know we have the same wants." His fingers rested on the Auditore's jaw, gently bringing them nose to nose before stealing a chaste kiss, "Have you ever been with a woman?" Giovanni seemed reluctant to answer at first, his blush deepening, "I am going to take your silence as a no." The glare he received was magnificent and Devrim had to laugh, "How about a man – surely if you have not bedded a woman then you must have been with a man?" Fingers pulled at the fastenings of the high collared shirt Giovanni wore, lips brushing against the skin being revealed, followed by a knee pressing firmly against the interested bulge in the Italian's trousers, "Have I surprised you with how quick I have made my move? I should tell you that I am a little impatient for things I want and with the blatant attention you have been giving me – it is clear you want this from me, do you not?" Moaning quietly, Giovanni's head fell back against the beam to allow lips to trail beneath his chin, coarse stubble scraping against his throat, "Such pretty moans, Giovanni, I would like to find out what other sounds I can draw from you, will you allow me to find out?" He was grinding down against Devrim's thigh; seemingly more and more excited with every question the Turk asked until he was quivering and tangling his fingers in dark, wavy hair. Devrim chuckled, sending vibrations through the other as he began suckling against the skin of his neck, "As you wish, güzel. I promise to be gentle with you,"

His teeth scraped over Giovanni's neck, catching on a shallow ridge and before the Turk could figure out what it had been he found himself shoved forcefully away, hard enough to send him sprawling onto the floor. "W-What are you...doing...?" his words died quickly in surprise as he saw the other sink to the floor, his right hand clasped firmly around the left side of his neck as if he'd been attacked. He looked...frightened? "Giovanni?"

"...I...I...sorry...I just...j-just..." harsh, shallow breaths made there way through kiss plumped lips, mangling the gravelly, quiet words being – painfully, thought Devrim – forced out.

"You can speak..." He crawled forward until he was knelt over the younger man, his hand resting on a shaking shoulder and lamenting at the loss of the heat and passion in this body just seconds ago, "What did I do wrong? Please, tell me...or show me or write it to me – I do not care just let me fix it." He sounded so desperate, Giovanni must have thought so to because he compliantly, if not a little dazedly, turned his head to the side, exposing the jagged, white scar that started from just under his left ear to his Adams apple and baring a light mark where Devrim's teeth had been. "Fuck. I – I did not know...I hurt you, I am so, so sorry."

Giovanni was shaking his head, covering Devrim's mouth to stop the apologies, "Just...b...bad mem – memories." It was at that moment in which Matteo had waltzed in through the door, excitement all over his face as if desperate to tell them about his latest conquest, he seemed to not understand why they were on the floor for the longest time before his smile dropped and his eyes darkened.