ONE SHOT 1 | Boxing and Whiskey
Connor and I walk along the streets of Boston, our hands brushing.
The moon shines above us, casting long, dark shadows on the ground. We enter an inn, the name of which escapes me. Inside, it's warm and filled with the beautiful sound of drunken men and pleasured squeals of women. In one corner sits Sam Adams, and he waves us over to his table.
"Connor! Clara!" He exclaims. "How are you?"
"Fine." I reply, smiling.
"Now, my friend Issac here thinks you've been… talked up." Sam says to Connor. Issac nods at us from his seat at Sam's table. "As you know, there is a boxing tournament here, tonight."
I raise an eyebrow and smirk, knowing where this is going. Connor can tell, as well.
"Very well." He says with a smirk. I'm surprised; usually Connor is withdrawn and quite focused. Letting himself go like this is refreshing.
Issac stands up. "Let's go then, boy!" He exclaims, his Irish accent and deep rumbling voice resonating around the room. He's older than Connor, but can't be much older than 30 years. He's much the same height as Connor, and the same build as well. This should be interesting.
The already-formed boxing circle is quickly emptied. There are a few dribbles of blood already left on the wooden floor. Connor tries to enter, but is blocked by Issac.
"No armor, boy!" He exclaims.
Connor looks back at me, then undresses until he's left with only his pants and buckskin boots. Honestly, seeing him shirtless, with his extremely muscled chest and dark skin, it still makes my heart beat unevenly.
Connor enters the circle and he and Issac raise their fists. A bell dings and Connor and Issac begin to fight, the crowd shouting and laughing.
"5 shillings on the Native!" I shout, holding out my pouch. About half the crowd clamors to place their bets, all the while Connor and Issac throw punches back and forth.
Connor throws a punch, Issac blocks it and counters. The two appear evenly matched, and I let out a laugh of enjoyment.
Suddenly, Connor throws a punch and Issac fails to intercept it. Connor's fist connects with Issac's head, and he falls to the ground, half unconscious. A jubilant roar erupts from the crowd, and I let out a shout of excitement. Connor makes his way over to me, and I walk over to him, all the while dealing out winnings to people who bet. Connor pulls me into his arms and makes a show of planting a large kiss on my lips. People cheer and whoop, and as we part I notice Connor's nose is bleeding.
"Nice fight." I say loudly over the crowd.
"Who's next?" The boxing master calls exultantly.
A large man walks into the circle and holds his arms up into the air.
"Any challengers?" The master calls out into the crowd. No one volunteers.
Suddenly, a thought strikes me. Why should Connor get to have all the fun?
I remove my armor, so that I wear only my pants, boots and shirt. I walk into the circle, and the large man spins around to face me. As he sees me, his face falls.
"I can' fight a woman!" He exclaims.
"Try me!" I shout over the crowd.
He raises his eyebrows, and then his fists; reluctant.
"Go easy on 'er, Jim!" A man calls from the crowd.
A few comments like that are shouted, before the master rings the bell again.
The man, apparently called Jim, approaches me reluctantly. He seems afraid to hit me, so I smile at him and slam my fist as hard as I can into his cheek.
Jim stumbles backwards, apparently not expecting that, and shakes his head a few times. The crowd roars happily.
Jim approaches me fast, his fist raised, and I can tell he won't hold back. I block his fist and twist his arm until it's behind his back. Then, I kick him in the stomach and let go of him, darting to the edge of the circle. Jim runs at me again, and lands a good hit on my nose, causing it to bleed. I wipe away the blood and continue to fight, which just makes the crowd yell louder. Jim and I duel, and in the background I hear Sam Adams placing bets on me.
Suddenly, I notice an opening in Jim's defense; whenever he goes to punch, he drops his guard around his ribcage. If I could land a good hit there, I could break his ribs, or at least end the fight.
I prance back and forth, tempting Jim to hit me, but darting back just at the last minute each time he tries to punch me. I try to anger him, to get him frustrated, and it's working. He throws his punch, and I run in, punching him as hard as I can in his ribcage. He stumbles back, groaning, and clutches his ribs. He tries to throw another punch, but can't summon the strength to. He raises his arms limply, in a sign of defeat.
The crowd roars, and this time I make a show of kissing Connor. I hear a shout from Jim.
"Oi, lassie! Bet you can' hold ya liquor as good as me!" He yells.
I turn around and smile cockily, raising an eyebrow. "You're on." I smile.
The crowd roars again, and Jim gets us both a few bottles of whiskey. He doesn't know my past history and experience with these matters; before I met Connor, I'd sneak out at night and participate in events such as these.
The first glass goes down both our throats. A second, a third, and after that I start to lose track. Not because the alcohol is affecting me, at least, that's not the main reason; but I've learnt that it's best to just keep downing the alcohol, and not to keep track. I adds pressure and stress, which is exactly what you don't want in a situation like this.
After a while, my thoughts become muddled, and everything just seems hilarious.
~!~
Connor watched as his wife downed glass after glass of the whiskey. It soon became fairly clear that she was going to beat the man in this too, but how she did it was a mystery to Connor.
After a while, people started to lose interest in the drinking game. The man who had challenged Clara fell asleep, and Clara sat in her chair, smiling broadly. Connor approached her.
"Clara, let's go home." Connor said.
"Nah, I don't wanna go…" She slurred.
"Clara, come. You are drunk." Connor told her.
"Pfft." She said, her eyes half closed. "I'm not drunk! You're just a silly man." She said.
Connor took her hand and lifted his wife into his arms, and she squealed happily. Connor nodded goodbye to the innkeeper and walked outside with Clara in his arms.
"Connor, put me down. I can… I can… What is it I can do again?" She asked.
Connor chuckled. "You cannot walk; you are drunk."
"I can walk! I'll show you!" Clara said, trying to twist out of Connor's arms and failing. He was too strong.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Clara asked loudly.
Connor laughed. "Home." He told her.
"Ah! Back to the homestead!" She roared enthusiastically.
Connor rolled his eyes; it was going to be a long trip back to Davenport.
~!~
I wake up and the first thing I notice is a splitting headache. My head feels like it's been split in two and then a child has played with the putty inside. The next thing I notice is my mouth feels extremely dry, and I'm thirsty. So thirsty.
Then I hear the noises of the forest. Are they louder than usual? The sounds hurt my ears. I open my eyes, and the light is too bright. These symptoms should last the whole day; excellent. Just what I needed.
Connor enters the room, and I swear he's stomping on purpose.
"Good morning." He says, smiling mischeviously.
"Go away." I mumble moodily, burying my head in my pillow.
Connor laughs and sits down on the bed, rocking it and bringing on a sudden wave of nausea.
"This is your own fault." He tells me.
"Please stop talking." I mutter.
Connor laughs again, but exits the room. I feel slightly guilty for behaving that way to Connor, but right now all I want to do is sleep.
~!~
Connor walked downstairs, a smile on his face. It had been fun to tease Clara a bit.
He knew she would probably sleep for the whole day, so Connor took his bow and arrows and headed out into the forest to hunt.
The sun shone brightly as he headed outside, the flowers were bright, the air warm. Connor looked to Achilles' gravestone, and thought of the old man for a while. He hoped Achilles would be proud of all that he and Clara had accomplished.
Connor walked into the trees, closing his eyes, relishing the sounds of the forest. Here, he had time to be alone. Not that he disliked spending time with Clara, but it was nice to be by himself sometimes. Besides, he doubted Clara would be very good company today.
The sun was bright, the air was warm, the forest was alive.
And all was well.
Hey, guys! So, what did you think of my first one-shot of Connor and Clara?
I wanted to let you guys know that I'm going to write an Assassin's Creed 2 fanfic as well. It will be an EzioXOc.
Also, I need ideas for more one-shots! It's hard to think of ideas! Please review, and I'll see you guys after I get a good idea!
P.S. I can think of ideas about as well as I can speak French (not very well) so I'm going to need your help! Reviews are the only way I'll be able to come up with ideas for the next one-shot, so if you want more, review!
And yes, I am aware of how much of a review whore I am. ;)
Love from Jenna!