The assassin ducked hastily under the overhang that guarded Leonardo's workshop and knocked on the door. He waited a few seconds to no avail - there was no answer. Ezio rapped harder. His friend still did not answer. Worried that Leonardo might very well be out for the night and his trek in the rain was for naught, he tried the door which surprisingly swung inward. He stepped inside to see Leonardo painting by candlelight on a huge canvas.

"Ever the artist, Leonardo."

Leonardo spun around, nearly dropping his palette in the process.

"Ezio! Mi amico, is something the matter? You never visit this late."

"No, I was just-"

"Your clothes Ezio, you're soaking wet! Per favore, per favore, come inside!"

Ezio felt a small grin play on his lips as he closed the door behind him and made his way into the studio. Leonardo skittered about, hastily trying to find a spot for his palette so that he could attend to his guest. He eventually found one but many papers and knickknacks clattered to the floor as a result.

"I see you still can't keep yourself organized."

"I'll clean it up later - really, really it's not a priority right now." Leonardo dragged Ezio further inside by the arm to finally stand on a fine rug near a group of candles.

"Leonardo, the rug -"

"It'll dry. Now tell me Ezio, what brings you to my home this time of night in the driving rain?"

Ezio couldn't help but laugh at his friend's concern.

"You should calm down. Nothing's wrong, I just needed to get out somewhere that's dry."

"Out from where?"

"La Rosa Della Virtù."

Leonardo didn't seem to hear where he "escaped" from - probably for the best considering he didn't want to speak of anything that would dredge up his inner emotions.

"We need to get you out of these clothes."

"Does it even matter? I'm not a newcomer to swimming in -"

"It doesn't matter, Ezio. It's bad for your health, no matter how you paint the picture. You need to take this dripping mess off before you catch a cold."

"It's fine really. I can just -"

"No. Take them off - I'll fetch you something of mine. There's a small room in the back you can use," Leonardo said, pointing him in the right direction. "Now hurry up! Let me just find something..."

Ezio made his way to his designated changing space, stifling a laugh as his friend tore the room apart to find him something to wear. The assassin quickly found himself in what appeared to be a cluttered storage room. In all the years he had known him, he really hadn't changed at all. Shutting the door behind him to the noises of Leonardo destroying his studio, he immediately began to strip himself down. Bit by bit, Ezio felt his body grow lighter as he shed the drenched clothing. Soon enough he stood bare in the storage room.

The knob turned and the door squeaked slightly open. Ezio jumped.

"Dio, Leonardo! Did it ever occur to you to knock first? Just because I enter places without knocking doesn't mean an assassin doesn't desire his privacy!"

"Relax, mi amico. I'm just throwing you some clothes. No need to work yourself up over nothing. Now watch, I'm going to drop it and shut the door - non agitarti."

His host threw a bundle of fabric into the storage room floor. As soon as he was closed off from the main studio, Ezio separated it to find a cream-colored linen shirt and a brown pair of loosely fitting brown breeches. He made for the pants first, followed by a struggle with the top - it didn't fit correctly which made sense considering Leonardo didn't spend his days scaling buildings, inadvertently toning his upper body in the process. With a small sigh, Ezio attempted to fold it up the way he found it and then opened the door to the workshop.

"Mi dispiace, but the shirt didn't work for me. I hope you don't mind."

Leonardo spun around towards Ezio, taking what seemed a bit longer than normal to elicit a response.

"Bene?" Ezio inquired with raised eyebrows.

"It's fine, really its... not everyone has my... body type," he stammered.

"Leonardo, should I be the one asking you if everything's okay?"

"No, I'm fine, really. I've probably just been overworking myself... as usual." Leonardo gestured towards a small stuffed couch. "Mia casa è tua casa."

Ezio weaved his way through tables among other objects and sat down on half of the couch that was offered to him.

"Really, Ezio, per favore, make yourself at home."

"If you insist." Ezio spread his body over the length of the couch. After sleeping on straw mattresses and god else knows where for the past so many months, he felt as if he were lying on luxury. Leonardo had returned to his painting by the time he got situated.

"So Ezio, why are you really here?" He swiped a stripe of paint over the canvas.

Ezio had been hoping that his friend would forget to ask. He provided him a comment that spoke "Don't ask".

"I just needed some peace and quiet for awhile."

"I see."

A silence followed Leonardo's terse remark. Ezio truly appreciated that his friend didn't inquire into things that he would rather not talk about, but since he did show up an unexpected guest...

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

"As you wish."

Another silence. Ezio watched as Leonardo worked on his painting. A long swipe here, a dab there, some mixing on his palette... to watch him work was just fascinating. Though he hadn't held the same opinion when they had initially met, Ezio regarded Leonardo as a prodigy. He was multi-talented, from painting to inventing and worlds beyond, the man was a genius, managing to add a certain aesthetic quality to everything that made his pieces seem larger than life. All Ezio was good at was climbing buildings and killing people - not the most elegant skillset.

To watch Leonardo work was mesmerizing.

"So, what is this newest creation?" Ezio asked in attempt to break the lull in conversation.

Leonardo chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it new. It's a work in progress that I've been attending to over the past few months. I finally picked up some inspiration today and here I am."

"Working yourself to death in the middle of the night? How surprising," Ezio laughed.

"Bene, I may look diligent now but I find it quite difficult to finish what I start."

"If that's so, then how do you manage to churn out my codex pages?"

"You're a special case."

"I'll take you for your word."

The painter laughed once more. "But, to answer your question, this is 'Virgin of the Rocks'."

"I'm afraid I don't quite see it."

"Like I said, it's a work in progress."

Yet another silence as Leonardo placed another touch on the canvas.

"You know Leonardo, you should really finish more of your paintings."

The man turned to face Ezio, mixing a pool of paint all the while. "And what makes you say that?"

"I have never met another man with such a talent for artistry."

"Talent alone is not reason enough to finish something."

"But wouldn't you of all people think it a crime to leave such beauty unfinished?"

"Ezio, take this word of advice from me - an artist is never finished with his work. So whether I stop now or when I send it off to the commissioner, it will always be unfinished in my eyes." He returned to his work. "But grazie for the compliment, mi amico."

Yet another silence followed the short discourse. Ezio continued to observe his friend paint. Swipe, swipe, dab, swipe, swipe, dab. Watching his friend work was almost as beautiful as the work itself, even though he couldn't make anything out of it. But it didn't matter - beauty didn't have to be recognizable.

The next thing Ezio knew he blacked out to the scene of Leonardo painting his masterpiece.