This story is also featured on my deviantart account, TheRavenWhoSangFire. I will update it there before I update it here.
Warnings: Yaoi/Slash and a lots of it...and Desmond and Ezio being douches.
Have fun! And please take some time to review.
Desmond was doing his best not to laugh. Across from him in the cramped booth at the hole-in-the-wall café, his older brother Ezio was grinning proudly, slinging his arm around his boyfriend Leonardo's shoulder. Leonardo was focusing in on his large cup of coffee, resolute in his attempts to ignore the two tan men and their devious plots.
"Are you sure it will work?" the younger sibling asked, mischief glittering his eyes in the weak fluorescent light. His own cup lay forgotten on the small table, the cold dregs swimming pitifully in the leftover liquid at the bottom of the cup. The place was a decent dive for college students, quiet and empty for study hours and private for planning pranks like this. The owner was a mutual friend of the three men, a lesbian tech-geek named Rebecca. While it wasn't the largest or nicest café near the college, it was cheap and had good coffee—and tea for Desmond's British lover Shaun.
"Why wouldn't it?" Ezio challenged, sipping his mostly milk coffee. At Desmond's dubious expression, the Italian language major added, "Malik agreed to help our cause."
The bartender smiled at that. Malik was their older brother's best friend/significant other. While Altair loved to annoy the older man, he would do anything he said. The plan was forming perfectly. Both brothers suddenly looked at one another and grinned dangerously.
Leonardo did his best not to notice.
Altair was tired. The apartment he shared with his—idiot—younger brothers had never seemed so far from the foreign language building, but then again today had to be the day that Desmond had borrowed his motorcycle and Ezio had promised his artist to a date thus he had the brothers' car.
It was times like this that he wondered if it had been a good idea to encourage his brothers to attend the same university as him. There was barely a year in between each of them though, and for years people thought they were triplets; it just seemed natural that they stayed together. They were so much alike. Even their majors resembled each other.
Ezio was focusing in on Italian, mainly, but was also taking classes in music and art. Altair guessed this was to impress his boyfriend, but he digressed. Desmond was double majoring in Romantic languages and journalism, a contrast to his European History lover-boy. Altair was majoring in Arabic and Criminal Justice, the same as Malik.
He smiled as he thought of Malik. Before they entered their relationship, when they were still just best friends, Altair couldn't look at the other man without feeling a pang of sadness. He was, after all, the driver when their car had lost control and crashed off a bridge. Malik's brother Kadar had become trapped as the vehicle sank in the lake while Malik and Altair managed to escape but not without some injury. Altair had it easy, a scratch on the lip—now a permanent scar—and a few cuts on his back. Malik though nearly lost his left arm—he did later—as the glass and shrapnel ripped apart the flesh, muscle, and nerves. A stump now stood in its place, a reminder to Altair to cut down his own pride.
For a while, Malik had blamed him, rightfully so in Altair's opinion, but with therapy and help from Desmond and Ezio, he finally accepted the scarred man back into his life and eventually his heart. Not that they acted like it…Malik and he always had an interesting relationship.
"So you've finally showed up, dumbass," the one armed man snarled from his post, leaning on the door to the apartment heavily. The dark jacket he always wore contrasted nicely with his white button up which in turn brought out the bronze of his skin and the mousey brown of his hair. Tight dark wash jeans framed muscled legs—since he couldn't lift weights except with one arm, he was determined to run at least four mornings a week—and black, slightly heeled (though he would never admit it) boots covered his calves down to his feet.
Overall he looked delicious. Altair knew though not to say that out loud while in "public" so he quickly unlocked the door and usher in the tall man. Malik paused just inside the doorway to peck the scar at Altair's lip before plopping himself down on the couch. Altair allowed himself a small smile, closing the door and sauntering over to the seat next to Malik. The other man huffed and leaned in the lie on Altair's chest. They shifted soundlessly so that Altair was lying on the couch fully with Malik on top of him. The stump of Malik's left arm brushed Altair's hip, and he fought the urge to kiss the top of his friend's head.
"Your brothers want us to meet them later for something," the older man grumbled.
Altair grew instantly suspicious. "For what?" he questioned, afraid.
"Who knows with those two…but Leonardo is involved so it can't be too bad," Malik urged, trying not to tip the other man off. It seemed to work because Altair settled down and mumbled something about taking a nap before rushing to meet the idiots. Malik set an alarm on his phone before settling into his own nap.
"Why am I getting involved in this rubbish again?" Shaun huffed for the fifth time. Leonardo simply nodded his silent agreement beside him, never removing his eyes from the sketch pad in his lap. Their boyfriends had just explained the plan to them in full, and neither was happy with the prospect.
"Because, Shaun, you love me," Desmond supplied. The Brit grumbled something into his palm, trying and failing to resist the urge to massage his temples. His usual sweater vest was covered in liquid from the preparations, and his temper was barely under control. "And because Malik believed it would be hilarious."
"Malik is also the one who thought it would be funny to switch Lucy's shampoo out with Nair. The poor bint hasn't seen daylight in weeks," Shaun countered. The other three men paused and turned towards him, shock plain on their faces.
"That was Malik?"
"Wait that wasn't Ezio?"
"Hey! Why would I do that?"
Shaun knew a migraine was coming, and he was hoping he could curl up with Desmond and a cup of Earl Grey before it got too bad. He glanced at the younger man, praying for his pain to be noticed even subconsciously, but his lover was too engaged with the miniature argument surrounding whether or not Ezio had the balls to modify Lucy's shampoo. He sighed to himself, resigning to a night of irritation and pain. Leonardo, sensing Shaun's aggravation, quickly broke up the two brothers before they could come to blows, giving the Brit a look of camaraderie.
The two men had to stick together after all. The brothers and Malik were slightly insane, and while they loved their counterparts, Leo and Shaun felt overwhelmed after a while.
"Where is Malik? He and Altair should be here!" Ezio complained loudly. Leonardo ignored him, sitting again with his back against a wall and his sketch pad in his lap.
"We're here," the Arab man called out, practically dragging the oldest brother by the hood of his jacket. Altair was cursing and grumbling under his breath; his whispered monologue abruptly ended though when Malik unceremoniously dumped him on his ass. With a curse, ignoring the laughter of his brothers and the rolling eyes of the Brit and the artist, Altair scrambled to his feet and took in his surroundings.
"You brought me to the campus gym," he stated, trying not to groan.
"No shit, dumbass," Malik smirked, crossing his arms. "Any more obvious observations that you want to make hiding in that massive brain of yours."
Shaun was back to pinching the bridge of his nose and sat down quietly beside Leonardo.
The bloody night just wouldn't end.
After much wrestling, the two brothers finally fitted Altair with a blindfold and drug him through the gym building. The two "normal" guys followed them slowly, trying unsuccessfully to blend in with the dark walls. Altair remained suspicious and disgruntled. His boyfriend was behind him, pushing him by the shoulders (ahem…shoulder) while the two idiots he lived with were tugging on his arms. He was almost positive that Desmond had stolen Rebecca's video camera and was filming the entire ordeal.
"Stop," Ezio commanded him, skipping out of the way and grabbing the blindfold. Altair stood dumbfounded, staring at the Olympian sized pool like it was a portal to Hell itself. He looked to Desmond for explanation, but his youngest brother was fiddling with a flip camera. Malik still held his hand to his shoulder, so he turned to receive support.
Malik however was grinning madly. "When's the last time you took swimming lessons?" he asked in an innocent voice though his visage betrayed him.
Altair gasped as he realized the trap he had been led into. "Malik, whatever you're planning, please think about it," he practically begged, embarrassed. Damn that camera in Desmond's hands.
"I didn't plan anything. This was all Ezio's idea."
Altair's head swiftly looked to Ezio who was, as well, grinning madly. He wasn't expecting to be tackled from the front.
Time seemed to freeze as he turned towards his attacker. Malik, with his one arm wrapped around Altair's waist, was gleeful. In the background, Ezio and Desmond were laughing and high-fiving as Desmond tried not to drop the camera. Leonardo was desperately shrinking into the wall while Shaun was tugging him towards the door, watching the event with wide, fearful eyes. As time caught up with him, a violent yell flew from Altair's throat.
"Oh fu~" and then he was submerged in the deep water of the pool. Under water, Malik continued to grin as he pushed off of Altair's chest to get back to the surface, driving the younger deeper into his personal hell. Realizing, almost too late, it was learn to swim or die, Altair began to violently move his arms and legs, hoping to move in the direction of the surface.
He broke through for enough time to take a breath before he was under again. In his breath though, he released a rather girlish scream, and when he emerged again, he could hear his brothers and his so-called lover laughing at his reaction.
"I'm going…to kick…your asses…as…soon as…I…GET OUT OF….HERE!" His threat, hilariously, was chopped to pieces by his drowning, though the three got the message and ran.
Cursing, Shaun handed his phone to Leonardo so it wouldn't get damaged and jumped in to save the struggling man.
"Just so you know," the Brit said as he finally pulled the older man out, "Leonardo and I told them not to do this. We are NOT involved."
Altair nodded. He knew who was.
Hoped you liked it!
R&R