Title: Bootless
Author: Lady Schnabel
Pairing: AltMal
Summary: Don't ever sneak into the closed section of the castle of Masyaf. You never know what you'll encounter there and what cost you'll be end up paying.
Author's note: Hahaha there goes my first every AC fanfic.. And my first ever fanfiction written in English! Hope you'll enjoy and pardon my bad grammar.

Short moans of satisfaction followed as their bodies stopped still. The long continued motion of undulation ceased and Altair slowly collapsed over Malik's sweaty body, panting and chuckling lightly. Malik made a tired smile, keeping his eyes closed. They enjoyed afterglow in each other's arms, chuckling like they used to when they were teenagers.

It took few minutes till Malik decided that his lover's weight was suffocating and he was thirsty. He rolled Altair over and grabbed a cup of wine (which Altair secretly smuggled into Masyaf). After sipping half of the cup he put it down again and leaned on the cool stone wall.

"Isn't it nearly the time?" Malik asked lazily.

"The meeting?" Altair asked back. He saw Malik simply nodding.

Altair stared at his lover affectionately, caressing his thigh. Leaving a kiss on his knee, Altair crawled to his cup to check if there's some left. He only found it empty. They had to depart shortly to attend the meeting. So Altair decided to leave after he resolves his thirst.

"Hey Mal, can you hand me that if you are not…"

"Allah please have mercy!"

Suddenly Malik jerked back violently. The cup tumbled by his abrupt movement, spilling remaining content on the carpet.

"Calm down, brother," Altair said, his startle clear from his widened eyes. "I was only going to ask if you're not going to drink that..."

"You said this wing is empty!" Malik hissed.

"What?"

Malik opened his mouth for further protesting, but soon he rolled his eyes with frustration and threw his arms into the air. There was no way that his lover would understand his words in the first trial. No, he had to go over and over again and this time he wasn't in the right mood. It was the first time in three months that they were finally left alone from the rest of Brotherhood and- and Altair's wife; Maria. Malik could not afford to let anyone to sabotage this moment.

"I… you know what?" Malik rubbed his brows as his furious words flooded out from his lips. "You probably should keep yourself silent for the rest of your life, because whenever you open that damnable, mouth…!"

"My god, Mal. What's your problem?" Altair withdrew his body a little, distancing himself from Malik. Of course Malik didn't miss his reaction, and at last, there was no patient left to hold him back from bursting his rage out.

"Problem? What's my problem? It's you, idiot, not me! How on earth you feel like more drink, when the whole Masyaf is going to know about our relationship? The entire Brotherhood will be compromised if they find out that their Grand Master is a sodomite!"

"What are you talking about?"

"She just…! No, no no, I'm not going to waste my breath to you," Malik said, stretching out to snatch Altair's sword from the pile of clothes. "I am sorry but I can't let her to leave here alive. I hope you're smart enough to cover a girl's trail, Altair. This is for the Brotherhood."

"Her? What do you mean by her?"

"Didn't you see that? There was a girl in the corridor!" Malik yelled out without looking back as he strode to the half-opened door.

"I don't understand, Malik. There's no one in this wing." Altair protested as he stood up, awkwardly trying to put his pants on.

"I'm growing worried of your sight, Grand Master. She was standing right there…!"

Malik swang the door open and pointed the exact spot where he saw the girl. No one. There was no one there but utter silence. A cold chill ran down his spine. The long corridor was crouched down into absolute stillness, as silent as a great tomb of an ancient civilisation. And he could not hear the slightest noises that the girl would make while she's trying to flee. The place was dead.

"…The entrance of this side of castle has been sealed. For more than three decades," Altair finally managed to speak. "The only way to get here is through these windows, remember? That's why we chose to come here."

"And…" Malik whispered slowly. "The reason of closure was?"

"There was a mass suicide in the Houri Chamber…"

Malik's whole body paralysed. Altair's reaction was even worse than his; face turning white then blue as if he was drowning and his mouth open wide with disbelief. Malik once again quickly looked around the hollow corridor soaked in sticky darkness, and felt an icy wind brushing his cheeks, like a little girl's soft hair. Instantly he dropped the sword with a short gasp. The sharp metallic noise of sword striking the stone floor echoed in the hallway ghostly. Malik looked Altair over his shoulders with his trembling eyes.

Then, there it was; low giggles of young girls travelling from the deep shadows of the hallway, something could not possibly to be a wicked trick of winds. It was clear, manifest giggles... of human.

"Shit!"

And that was it. Malik gripped Altair's wrist as his lover hurriedly collected their garments that were scattered all over the room. After a second they were jumping out of the window like lunatics, half dressed, climbing down the castle wall as fast as they could manage, and ran across the garden.

They sat on the grass, hiding under a bush to hide themselves from any suspicious eyes. At the edge of the garden they stayed for a while, calming their pounding hearts and putting clothes on. A novice's voice called their grand master's name in distance. The meeting has started already.

Then Altair realised that another boot of him was not with them.

"Mal…" Altair murmured. "Where's my other boot?"

Malik swallowed hard. Shit. They looked back and checked the path they went pass but his boot was nowhere to be found. Altair stared at his lover pleadingly, but alas, Malik still held the last piece of sanity.

"I am not going back there. NO." He hissed under his breath.

"But Malik…!"

"Stop whining, Altair. Just get another pair."

"I can't attend the meeting like this. It's going to start now!"

"Then suffer," Malik said bitterly. "And I'm reminding you, that it'll be just you, not us. That place was your idea, after all, mighty grand master. I'll see you in the meeting."

"No, no no no, Malik! Mal! It was Maria's…!"

Malik strode out and left his desperately screaming lover behind.

That's how grand master Altair Ibn La-Ahad attended the annual meeting of the Brotherhood without a boot.