Author's note: based on a post I saw a while ago on tumblr. Set somewhere after Ezio leaving to Monteriggioni but before Venice, I guess. Right after meeting La Volpe in the market, maybe. I kind of lost track of time while writing it.
AN2: I also tried to avoid slash as much as possible, but it kind of slipped in.
Ezio breathed in deeply as he heard the guards walk away. He waited a few more minutes before coming out of the rose-leaf cart and looking around to see where he was. It was often a habit of his to run so far from where the guards started the chase that it was not rare for him to get lost. It didn't take long for him to recognise the place this time. He smiled to himself, thinking how odd it was that, when being chased by guards who guarded a codex page, he ended up exactly where he was going next. He walked towards the workshop door, some petals still leaving a trail behind him, and knocked on the door, going in without waiting for an answer.
- Leonardo! – He said to his friend, already reaching out for the codex, knowing Leonardo would offer his help, as he always did.
- Ah, Ezio, there you are. I'm afraid I cannot help you now.
Ezio stopped his hand and stared at the other man.
- Am I... interrupting something? – Was that a hint of disappointment in his voice?
- Non, non. But I was just getting ready to leave, I'm going to the market now. – There was a pause, as if the man was thinking about what to say next. – Would you like to come with me? – Leonardo's eyes shone brightly, he was certainly excited about going out.
Ezio's first instinct was to refuse and tell him he was busy, which technically was true. But as soon as he gazed upon the other man again, he sighed and agreed. He could never say no to Leonardo, even when he wanted to. His friend was just like a lost puppy and could not be denied anything.
- Ah, perfetto! Grazie, amico! – the artist said, reaching out for Ezio's arm, grabbing him and dragging him out of the room, actions that surprised the assassin.
They walked along, silent in the beginning, Leonardo obviously paying attention to something other than Ezio.
- Leonardo, amico, why are we going to the market? – Ezio tried to break the silence as he was starting to grow annoyed by the fact that his friend was ignoring him. – Don't you have assistants that buy your supplies for you?
Leonardo stopped walking and put his hand on Ezio's shoulder, smiling.
- But we are not going to buy supplies, non, my latest imprenditore provided plenty of those. This is a special mission, mio amico. – Ezio frowned in confusion, making Leonardo giggle. – Do not worry, you'll see. – He said as he continued to make his way between the crowds.
It did not take long for them to reach the place. Ezio looked around, remembering his meeting with Volpe. He looked back to where his friend was, and felt his heart skip a beat when he found no one by his side. Looking around again, he found Leonardo standing in front of an animal merchant who sold pigs, birds, dogs and cats. Ezio wondered how he, of all people, was often fooled by the artist.
- There you are! – He approached the blond man who didn't even look up from the animals he was focusing on. – I didn't take you for a fast man, for a moment I thought I had lost you.
- Sì, sì – the artist said and after a long pause between them he looked up to the merchant who was looking at him anxiously. – I'll take all of them, signore.
Ezio gasped loudly, and so did the merchant, neither expecting Leonardo to reach such a, in lack of a better word, peculiar decision.
- Think carefully, amico. Do you even possess such resources?
Leonardo searched his pouch and counted his florins, sighing loudly as he realised he did not have enough of them. Alone, at least. He handed all he had in hands to the merchant and then turned to Ezio.
- Do you have some florins you could lend me?
- It depends, how much do you need? – The assassin asked suspiciously.
- Mille... – He said in a low voice, half expecting Ezio to deny. Which was why he popped his eyes in surprise when he felt his hand getting heavier as the other man handed him the money.
- Grazie, amico! I-
- No. – The other man interrupted him. – There's no need to thank me, this is nothing compared to what you've done in my behalf.
Leonardo smiled brightly and Ezio sighed and rolled his eyes, hoping the artist was not planning anything eccentric, which, he knew very well, was always the case.
The merchant thanked the two men loudly and happily, and offered to help them carry the animals to wherever they were going to. Leonardo politely declined, causing Ezio to pop his eyes this time.
- Ma, amico, surely only the two of us cannot carry this entire load!
- Sì, we can. – Leonardo said, handing Ezio the cages with the bigger animals, then carrying himself the birds. The artist walked away at a quick pace, despise the weight he was carrying, leaving Ezio no choice but to follow him. They didn't walk much, though, as they soon got to a more distant, somewhat empty square.
- Now... – The artist said, placing carefully the cages he was carrying on the ground and helping Ezio do the same. – We release them.
- Che!? – The assassin was so struck by that revelation he almost dropped the animals he was carrying. Unable to use his arms to express how astonished he was, he frowned as much as his eyebrows would allow him.
- Well, not the birds, not yet. You can start with the pigs; I'll take care of the dogs.
Ezio was still baffled as he watched the artist open cage after cage and how every animal seemed to silently thank him before running away oddly fast.
- If you didn't plan to keep them, why bother spending so much money with those animals? – He said at last, getting out of his initial state of surprise and crouching to do as he had been told.
- Ezio, many of those animals that are now free were destined to become nourishment.
- You speak as if it was something bad.
- And you, as if it was something good. And besides, they are not supposed to be kept in tiny, uncomfortable cages, don't you think? – The tone in which the artist asked made Ezio agree with him almost instinctively. – Now, if you could help me get these cages on the top of that house.
Ezio nodded and did it without questioning, even though he still wondered why his friend had done this. After getting all the cages where the artist had asked, he helped Leonardo himself to get there. He let out some birds, who flew away almost immediately after being released, and then moved on to the other cages, not looking at the animals again. Ezio, however, was curious to see which way the birds would go and decided to watch them. This decision allowed to witness them fly majestically, and then proceed to poop over the people on the market. He brushed his face with one of his hands, shaking his head negatively.
- Leonardo, amico, perhaps this is not the best of your ideas...
- Sciocchezza. Look at how glad they are to be free again! – The artist said as he opened the last cage.
- Yes, I can see it. – Ezio said sarcastically, still looking at the semi chaos that was installing in the market.
Leonardo had planned to spend the day like that. Ezio sighed and rolled his eyes, but he didn't really want to leave. His friend was really enjoying doing it, and it was nice to take a break from running and climbing. Although they could not go back to the market, thanks to Leonardo's "armata volante di cacca" – as Ezio repeatedly called them when the inventor saw the results of his rescue mission – there were plenty of merchant stands spread throughout the city.
They went on like that until Ezio started to complain about running out of money when they were on the fourth stand.
- Already? – Asked Leonardo, a little surprised.
- There are many animals in this city, amico. Perhaps, if I could find a chest, they usually hold plenty of florins if they're guarded by-... – He looked at Leonardo, stopping himself from finishing the sentence as he saw the look of pure confusion in the other man's face.
- You steal from people?
Ezio did nothing but shrug, even though he didn't have a proper answer for that question.
- It's, uh, part of the job, so to speak.
Leonardo opened his mouth to reply to that statement, but instead turned his head the other way and pointed.
- Like those two chests over there?
Ezio eyed the direction his friend was indicating and saw that it was indeed what he was looking for. He nodded. Leonardo then bought one of the bird cages from the merchant and told Ezio to wait for him. Ezio frowned but agreed. He followed the artist with his eyes until the man was out of sight, just to see him appear nowhere but right over said guards and release the birds on them. It didn't take long for Ezio to realise his friend's plan. He lifted his eyebrows, but prepared himself to act, sitting on a nearby bench. As soon as the attack started, distracting the guards, he went into the room and looted both chests as quick as possible, acquiring 1400 florins and a good laughter at the completely surprised and indignant guards. He walked back to the stand, and saw Leonardo running towards him, giggling. He had small bruises in his hands that worried Ezio, but the look of happiness and slight mischief in his eyes assured he was okay.
- That was clever... – Ezio said, extending his arm to hand Leonardo the money.
- Grazie, I- Hey! – He complained as the assassin pulled his hand back the moment he was about to get the pouch. Ezio smirked and handed him the money this time.
- But I am more. – He winked.
Leonardo frowned jokingly at him, feigning indignation, making them both giggle. The merchant – who had witnessed everything – watched them thoroughly, annoyance and confusion in his eyes. He ended sales and left the stand as soon as they paid him. Ezio laughed again, but Leonardo scowled at him seriously this time.
- Is it always like this?
Ezio was not expecting that question. He pondered how to reply to it for a while, but in the end he shrugged.
- I usually blend in the crowd. They tend to get a little sospetti when I do things that are... – he lifted his hands and folded his fingers to indicate quotation marks – "socially unacceptable", though.
Leonardo lifted and eyebrow but said nothing, cueing Ezio to move on.
- Climbing, pickpocketing, I'm not even sure I know. Sometimes running is too. And not all people react the same way. – He paused and scratched his head, still thinking of other actions that could fall into the list. – Killing is pretty much a consenso, though.
For a moment the assassin thought this information would make his friend want to turn around and walk away, but after what Ezio would have described as an awkward silence, Leonardo placed his hands on the other man's shoulders and smiled shyly.
- Ezio, I am certain that your adventures are far more entertaining and exciting than what we are doing, and I appreciate the fact you agreed in coming all the same. – He let go of the assassin's shoulders and turned around, grabbed Ezio's arm and pulled him forward. – We cannot stop yet, we've only covered two districts!
-X-
It was almost dusk as they made their way back to the workshop, when something caught Leonardo's attention.
- Ezio, how many florins do you still have? – He held the assassin by his arm.
- Not much, but I can always try to find another chest. Perché? I thought we had covered all districts...
- Sì, but we missed that one.
Ezio looked in the direction Leonardo was pointing and gulped.
- Uh, amico, perhaps we've done enough for a day... – He reached his arms out and held the artist back.
- But look how miserable it is, jammed into a prison far too small for him! – Leonardo broke Ezio's grab and walked towards to eccentric seller.
- It's far too dangerous to be let lose in the city.
- Sciocchezza!
- Leonardo, per piacere. It's a tiger!
The inventor frowned.
- Just because he's a little more dangerous than the other animals doesn't mean he's supposed to in captivity.
Ezio lifted an eyebrow.
- That is a fairly reasonable cause.
- You're dangerous. Why don't they put you in prisons?
- They try, which proves my point.
- And you do not desire to be imprisoned, which proves mine.
Ezio sighed. They could quarrel like a married couple as much as they wanted; he knew he'd never convince his friend. He was probably just as stubborn as he was. "These artists..." he thought. He had to think fast. If he could not convince him, maybe it was possible for the man to be distracted. The assassin watched Leonardo as the artist made his way to the merchant, fiddling with something in his hand. "... Wait, is that... my pouch?!" he thought as he reached out for the empty spot where his bag of florins lay before, just to confirm his suspicions. He pondered about what to do when he remembered he still had the codex page. "Well, this will have to do..."
- Leonardo! – He called, lifting the scroll above his head and waving it around.
The other man stopped and turned around, eyeing the assassin thoroughly. He walked towards Ezio and snapped the codex out of his hand.
- Bene! Another codex page! – Leonardo said, slightly overexcited about it. – We must not waste time... – He spoke as he almost dashed back to the workshop.
Ezio sighed in relief. Before following his friend he gazed back at the animal. He saw it indeed looked miserable in confinement. "Maybe if..." He shook these thoughts away. "No, it's just plain dangerous."
He spent the night at the workshop, waiting for Leonardo to decode the page. He dozed off a couple of times, and even when he did so the tiger didn't leave his head. A little after dawn, as he woke from the third nap, Ezio noticed Leonardo had fallen asleep over his desk. He left, silently, determined to solve this problem at once. But, for his surprise, someone else got there first. He sat on a bench nearby and listened.
- This one will serve as a nice cover!
- Why, indeed. You have good taste, signore.
Ezio shoved his hands on his face and groaned. "Another life I could not secure." He walked back to the workshop slowly, sorrowing. Leonardo was looking for him by the door. The assassin watched the smile on his friend's face lightly fade as he told him the events that happened at the merchant stand.
- Mi dispiace, Leonardo. I could not protect it.
The artist leaned forward and hugged his friend. Ezio lifted his eyebrows and tensed at first, sinking into the embrace as he relaxed gradually.
- Va tutto bene. – The other man smiled again, proudly this time. – For a man who takes lives, you did well in helping me save them. – Leonardo handed him back the codex, now deciphered. – Now go, do not waste more of your time.
The assassin left to accomplish his missions, a smirk stuck in his face. Perhaps sparing lives had more advantages than taking them.
AN3: Sciocchezza = Nonsense. (It's one of my favourite Italian words so I just could not leave it out. And even though the Italian insertions are "glitches" in the Animus 2.0 translation system in the game, sliding random Italian words in makes it feel more natural for me...)
Va tutto bene = It's alright
I don't speak Italian yet, so if anything is wrong it's Google's fault.