AN: You know what I've realized? I write these Author's Notes, not because I want to, but because I need to. Seriously. I have to write them. No one reads them, but I have to write them. OCD much? Fuck. So I didn't fix the rum problem because I'm super paranoid that all my reviews will go poof. Thank you anyways, Kaligoddess! About this chapter; don't expect much humor in here. It's just more expedition. Because that's how you write a story. Gotta give it some depth. It's sort of a short chapter, too... Yup, if you haven't caught on yet, I'm completely self-conscious about this one. Sorry. Haha. Moving right along... I need to explain the whole 'Ezio isn't gay' thing that Antonio talks about in this chapter. It's hard for me to believe that Ezio would be 100 percent homo when in the game he's such a player. It's much more likely for him to be bisexual. So that's what he's gonna be in this story. Just sayin'. Finally, I'd like to give a big thanks to all of the reviewers! You boys and girls have been making my days a whole lot brighter. :D
P.S. Word count is over nine thousaaaaaaaand.
WARNING TIEM: If you've gotten this far, I really don't think I need to warn you anymore. :/
Chapter Quattro
MY PIMP HAND IS STRONG
-
It was like an orgasm for his state of mind. There were no thoughts, positive or negative. The world only consisted of the throbbing in his knuckles, the adrenaline rushing through his body, and the ground beneath his feet. It was beautiful. For the first time in two weeks, he was relaxed. He was relaxed and happy.
Leonardo had only truly realized what he had done two minutes later.
"You... You punched me," Antonio said with wide eyes. The impact hadn't done much (he only had a split lip) but the fact that Leonardo da Vinci had just slugged him was a bit of a shock. The artist seemed to be just about as shocked himself.
"Antonio, I'm so sorr-"
"You punched me! In the face!"
Rosa, who had been silenced by surprise, now began to laugh.
"Antonio, per favore, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"In the face!"
"I'm sorry!"
Though Antonio should have been angry, his expression didn't show anything but pure disbelief. Even when he yelled, he didn't sound upset. Just confused.
"I thought you were against violence!"
Leonardo sighed, unsure how to respond to that. He was against violence. It was wrong and he would never resort to it again. No matter how stress relieving it was, Leonardo would resist the temptation.
"Come, follow me back to my workshop. I will treat that cut so it does not get infected," Leonardo said softly. Antonio didn't reply, he just pressed two fingers against his bleeding lip.
Rosa grinned. "Do not waste your breath, Leonardo. I think he is in too much shock to say anything right now." She grabbed the thief by the wrist and began pulling him along. "Lead us to your shop."
XIXIX
As soon as the artist finished cleaning up Antonio's split lip, the problem started.
The problem naturally being Antonio.
"Lesson number one," he said as Leonardo turned to put his medical kit away. "Do not apologize."
"What?" the artist asked, pausing to look back up at the other man who was sitting rather comfortably on a lounge chair.
Antonio grinned using only one side of his mouth, as to not disrupt his small wound. "Men do not apologize over such trivial things like a thrown punch. I made you angry, so it was perfectly acceptable for you to strike me. I will admit that I did not know you had it in you, mio amico. I am proud."
Leonardo could only stare, his mouth slightly ajar. Then he recalled Antonio's words from a few weeks ago, and he felt himself bristle.
"I – I thought I told you that I did not need help with things like that! You said you weren't going to bother me about the other night anymore!"
"Let me guess," Rosa said with a groan from across the room. "He offered to teach you 'How to be a Man'."
"Actually, Rosa..." Antonio cut in swiftly. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'How to be Dominant'. Doesn't that have a much nicer ring to it? 'How to be a Man' sounds so... barbaric."
"You are barbaric, you cretino!" Rosa exclaimed.
"Yes, but that's beside the point."
"Ugh! I cannot believe you! Leonardo, do not listen to a word this man says. He is just an old thief who is way too full of himself!"
And on that rather unhappy note, Rosa stormed out of the workshop.
"I'm not old..." Antonio mumbled dejectedly, furrowing his brows.
"Perhaps you should leave," Leonardo stated uncomfortably, pretending to busy himself with something in his medical kit.
"Leo. You know me by now, don't you? You know that I have a bit of what one would call a... stubborn streak. Even if I were to leave right now, I would not leave you alone until you agreed to take me up on my offer."
The artist flushed and whirled around to glare at the thief. "Antonio, I do not need you of all people to teach me how to be a man!"
"Who else would teach you, then?"
"I do not need anybody to teach me! I like the way I am! And if you were any friend of mine, then you would respect that and get out of my house!"
That shut Antonio up. For about five seconds.
"Leo, mio amico, I am not saying that you should turn yourself into another person... I am just trying to help you!"
Leonardo narrowed his eyes. "So far, your 'help' has not been very helpful..."
"That is because you haven't actually let me help you yet."
"And what, pray tell, do I need help with?"
Antonio stood up from his seat and gave another sardonic half-smile. "We already covered that, didn't we? But you punched me before we could discuss it any further."
The artist didn't know it was possible for his face to be as red as it was then. "Ezio has nothing to do with this..."
Antonio rolled his eyes. "Leonardo, please. We don't have the time for this cliché 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-I-don't-like-Ezio-that-way' bullshit. You like him. You know it, I know it, Rosa knows it... My God, anyone who has eyes knows it."
"But I -"
"No buts, my friend. I'm not going to go through another day of this 'oh-so-oblivious' nonsense!"
Leonardo paused for a moment, then laughed warmly. "Antonio, you are an interesting person."
"So is that a yes? You will allow me to teach you all the basics of being masculine?" The artist could practically see the eagerness in the man's eyes. Well, maybe he could learn something of remote interest... And it would also result in Antonio getting off his fucking case about it.
"I will consider it."
Antonio visibly deflated. "That is not what I..." Leonardo quirked a brow in his direction, which caused the man to exhale sharply. "Bene, bene... I suppose that is better than nothing."
The master thief began walking towards the door, his eyes focused solely on Leonardo's. "But please know that I expect you to have an answer by tomorrow night, Leonardo. If you do not come to me, I will find you."
The way Antonio said that made Leonardo a little uneasy, so he decided not to say anything about not having enough time to make a decision. Sometimes it was really easy to forget that the man was a killer. "Very well. I will be in your area around then."
"Oh, and Leonardo?"
"Si?"
"I hope you do not honestly think that you are the only man who finds Ezio attractive," he said flatly, leaning against the door.
The artist paled. "W – What? You... You think Ezio is-"
"Of course not," Antonio replied, mildly disgusted. "I'm just warning you."
"I don't understand what you're trying to say," said Leonardo.
"I'm talking about that 'friend' in Tuscany. I heard he's moving to Venezia in a few weeks. Which is a good thing and a bad thing, all in the same ugly package."
Leonardo still didn't understand, and his expression conveyed just about as much.
"Do I need to spell it out for you? Mio dio, and I thought you were supposed to be the smart one... That friend of Ezio's? He is a complete man whore. So if you're going to win Ezio over, we had better hurry up."
"Antonio! When did this turn into me winning Ezio over!? We don't even know if Ezio is gay or not!"
"Of course he isn't gay. He loves women. But that doesn't mean that he can't like men as well... And when was it not about you winning Ezio over?" Antonio smirked. "I will see you tomorrow, Leo." And just like that, the thief was gone.
Leonardo was still standing in the same place five minutes later. His mind was on overload. There was too much to worry about, to think of... He had never given much thought to the future, which worked out just fine for the artist. There were no promises to be made and no dreams to be broken. There were just days to be filled.
But now... Now he needed to consider the future. Leonardo had feelings for Ezio that went beyond brotherly love, sure. But were his feelings really that deep? Did he really like him that much? Enough to have to deal with Antonio and his stupid 'lessons'? Enough to actually compete with a total stranger for the assassin's affection? Enough to risk severing one of the closest relationships he had ever had? What if Ezio didn't want anything more from Leonardo besides friendship? What if Ezio wasn't even interested in men?
Leonardo was nervous about all of the drama that was sure to take place over the next few weeks.
But, like always, he was curious.
(Actually, that was a lie. He was just scared shitless of what would happen if he didn't show up at Antonio's place the next night.)