Vieri turned and stalked off, not bothering to see if Federico followed. He had better things to do than listen to him make smartass comments.
As he walked, his mood calmed. Federico started behaving, not only keeping his distance, but his hands to himself and his mouth shut, which, Vieri thought, was about damn time. Even though Federico wasn't actively trying to bother him, Vieri couldn't help but notice his happy humming. He stopped to glance sharply at him, and Federico halted in his steps as well, smiling.
Federico seemed thoroughly content and Vieri continued to walk, putting more effort into ignoring him.
Soon enough, the path opened up to a large, open area. Music filled the air and there were many people dancing. Men and women held their partner's hands and stepped gracefully along with the musician's tunes. This, Vieri didn't care for, and he made to push his way through. He was just passing a woman, the hem of her dress twirling about her ankles as she spun, when there was a tug at his sleeve.
Federico was eyeing the dancers with a smile before he looked at Vieri eagerly, his mouth opening, but Vieri cut him off swiftly.
"Don't even bother asking," he said, and Federico shrugged, grinning good-naturedly.
"Nothing to lose if I try."
"How about my respect in you?" Vieri muttered, glancing around the crowded area. Federico couldn't honestly be serious about wanting to dance. Not only did it look foolish, there was no point to it at all. He was about to start walking off, when he heard Federico speak in an incredulous voice.
"You have respect for me?"
"I know, hard to believe," Vieri said flatly as he looked away, paying him no mind. "But it's miniscule and the amount is so tiny that it rivals your brain size, so don't let it go to your head."
He yelled out in surprise when Federico suddenly ruffled his hair.
"Aw, I knew you loved me," he said cheerfully.
Vieri whacked his hand away viciously and shoved him back. "Watch it," he growled.
Federico bounded right back. "You act like it's my fault I can't keep my hands off of you," he said teasingly as he reached for him. Vieri nearly tripped in his haste to back up.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" he snarled.
"You weren't complaining earlier," Federico said rather smugly. "I distinctly remember you telling me to make this worth your time." He pressed a finger to his own mouth. "With a smile I might add."
Vieri glared at him. "We weren't out in the open earlier."
"We can still play around." Federico tapped his mask. "No one can tell who we are. Plus, it's getting dark." Vieri turned his narrowed eyes at the setting sun, gesturing at it.
"So what? That's not good enough." How slowly did he have to say it? The masks did not conceal who they were! Vieri was sure of it.
Federico sighed in exasperation. "No one can tell, Vieri," he insisted, and Vieri was about to snap at him for not listening, but he heard a cheerful voice break through the crowd.
"Federico!"
Vieri's attention followed the sound and he groaned when he saw Ezio slip through a group of people. Ezio walked up to the both of them, a large grin across his mouth and a mask adorning his face. He nodded to his brother in greeting, and when he looked to Vieri, he smirked.
"Vieri," he said curtly.
Vieri immediately shot a glare at Federico. "What the hell did you just tell me?" he said, cracking his knuckles out of reflex. "Something about no one being able tell who we are?"
"This doesn't count," Federico said desperately, and he gestured to Ezio. "He's my brother. How could he not tell?"
Vieri ignored him, instead rounding on Ezio. "What do you want?" he snapped.
Unaffected, Ezio spoke cheekily. "You not sleeping with my brother would be nice." Federico did not look happy about that.
"Oh, that wouldn't be nice."
Ezio gave him a bland look. "Wouldn't it?"
Federico shook his head. "I'll have you know that I happen to enjoy every moment together."
"You would think you'd know by now that sucking up doesn't work." Ezio motioned to a seething Vieri. "Not with him."
Casting a sidelong glance to Ezio, Federico spoke knowledgeably. "Sucking up works very well. Mostly sucking—"
"You two," Vieri pointed to them sharply, "shut your idiotic mouths."
Ezio nudged his brother. "You enjoy being talked to like that?"
Federico put a hand over his heart. "Every moment," he reiterated, a dramatic tone to his voice, and Ezio's mouth curved up at his theatrics.
"Liar."
Federico grinned outright at that and took his acting to an even more exaggerated level. "You doubt me and the depths of my love?" he cried out, causing Vieri to bristle instantly.
"What did I tell you about shutting your mouth!"
Ignoring the yell, Federico glanced around until he spotted a suitable weapon. He scooped up an umbrella lying across the seat of a chair and he wielded it like a sword. "I think I'm going to have to defend my honor against your accusation, good sir."
Ezio stared blankly until Federico looked at him expectantly. Shrugging, he matched the overdramatic tone of his brother's voice. "And I accept your challenge." He glanced around before snatching up a broom leaning against the wall. He pointed the wooden end towards Federico, shaking his head from the utter ridiculousness of what they were doing. "Though I'm certain this will not be a challenge for me at all."
"I'll make you regret your arrogance, child!"
Their weapons thunked together. What followed made Vieri want to stomp over to the two and hit them both over the head with their respective weapons. The two brothers attacked and dodged with flourish, creating enough of a ruckus that they caught the attention of a few of the dancers and those attempting to walk by. Vieri noticed that they mostly stopped to gawk for a few seconds before returning to what they were doing with a shrug. Apparently, the city was used to the Auditore boys' antics.
Vieri didn't know why he wasn't.
Ezio attempted a swing at Federico, but Federico dodged to the side and countered, whacking him in the ribs. Ezio yelled in surprise and backed away.
Federico took a step back and shook his head, resting the umbrella over his shoulder. "I really need to teach you how to handle a sword better." Ezio rubbed his side sullenly.
"I don't think I want to learn that from you."
"Okay, first off," Federico said with a grin, "your grasp needs to be firm."
"Federico…"
"You also want to take into consideration the length and thickness of the handle, that way you'll know how hard you need grip it."
"Are you even talking about using a sword anymore?"
"And then, you just need to keep your body relaxed as you time your thrusts with your strokes. It's easy. Anyone can—"
Federico had to whip the umbrella up with both hands to block against the broom handle sailing right towards his face. Ezio could not hold back his grin.
"You're too much."
Federico pushed him back with a smile. "Thank you." Then he quickly dodged when Ezio made to strike at him again.
Vieri growled at their actions, watching from enough distance so he wouldn't get caught in the middle of their idiocy. He should have just left, but Federico was like this every time Ezio was around, always paying more attention to his stupid brother instead of him.
Before he even realized what he was doing, he was marching over to Federico and grabbing his wrist in an iron hold. A startled noise left Federico's mouth when he was unexpectedly dragged off.
Getting his bearings, Federico laughed. Still clutching the umbrella, he waved to Ezio, and amused, Ezio waved back.
