AN: Finished Assassin's Creed: Revelations and just had to get this out of my head. Takes place after Revelations. For the purposes of the story, this reality assumes that Desmond's own memories can be plugged into the Animus, and that at some point he learns to operate the machine on his own.
He tosses and turns, but Desmond doesn't sleep. Like so many nights before, his feet carry him down to the room before his tired mind can catch up. Out of habit, he prepares the Animus without really thinking and plugs himself in to relive that same day again. The one day he almost felt safe since this whole messed up thing began.
He goes through the motions, says the words without meaning, just following the script of the past.
"You broke me out of Abstergo and brought me here just to make me an Assassin?"
Lucy stops and turns around to face him, "Look, there's a lot more to it than that, but it'll have to wait. Trust me, okay?"
Desmond smiles. With my life, he thinks, but his mouth says, "Alright, I'm in. Tell me what you need."
She is taken aback and regards him skeptically, "Really? You're sure?"
He looks surprised, "I thought you'd be happy about this."
Lucy stammers, trying to compose her thoughts, "Sorry, I'm...just a little surprised. I spent the whole ride over here figuring out how I was gonna convince you to do this..."
He answers quickly, "Save it. After what those Templar bastards put me through, I'm ready, willing, and able."
Then Lucy hugs him.
"Thank you," she says.
As usual, he doesn't let go. Desmond wraps her up in a tight embrace and holds her for as long as she'll let him. Predictably, she pushes him away slowly.
"What - ?" she hedges, confused. This comes from nowhere. She doesn't know what they've been through since this day. Not yet. She doesn't know what happens.
"I love you," Desmond whispers. The error messages flash again - Warning: Desynchronization - but he doesn't care. The future doesn't give him what he wants. This is the only way he can take it.
He lowers his mouth to hers in the briefest kiss as the world unravels around them. For a moment he holds her and captures her lips, before the Animus desynchronizes completely and ejects him back out into a world without her.
AN: First attempt. No beta or edits, just pure stream-of-consciousness-like flow of inspiration. No infringement intended, purely for your enjoyment, if you wish. Thank you!