Vieri struggled harder to jam his dagger into Federico's neck, but the crushing hold on his wrist kept it from meeting its mark. It was so damn close too—not even an inch away, but Federico dug his hand into his other arm, smashing it into the wall to keep him back.
He refused to look at the rope hanging loosely around Federico's shoulders, refused to acknowledge its very existence. He knew where it came from and what it was used for. He just didn't want to think about it, and he really didn't want to think about why Federico had it with him. Instead, he focused on breathing. But more importantly, trying to stab the bastard's throat out!
The grip on his wrist and arm quickly tightened, and Vieri struggled against how hard Federico pushed against him. He wanted to yell, but his chest was too tight, the effort of keeping Federico from shoving him back into the wall was taking up all of his energy.
Federico managed a grin through short, hissed breaths. "Your games are so violent."
Vieri snarled, surging forward, the tip of the weapon scratching skin before hands slowly, shakily, forced him back. He never gave thought to how strong Federico could be, and he could barely speak, barely breathe over how much he had to exert himself from having to push back. "You—You're the one—"
"I'm the one, what?" Federico spoke smoothly, eyebrow arched, his shoulders and arms taut from fighting to stay in control. "I'm not the one trying to stab another person."
"You break into my room after having stalked me for weeks!" Vieri shouted, his voice strained and his eyes narrowed in anger. "How do you expect me to react? Warmly?"
"Your window was open. I hardly call that breaking in."
Vieri glared at his idiotic reply. He didn't quite know what to make of this turn of events. Ever since that damn night that he had attacked Ezio, there wasn't a day that went by that Vieri didn't see Federico. He felt eyes on his back everywhere he went, and if that wasn't annoying enough, whenever he finally saw Federico crouching on the edge of a rooftop or sitting on a bench or simply walking past him, the bastard would do nothing more than smile crookedly and wave.
It didn't make him nervous. Vieri expected Ezio to come around and challenge him over what he did, but even after two weeks had passed, it never happened. Seeing Federico everywhere only pissed him off because he was a constant reminder that he had failed miserably that night, and Vieri was sick of it.
If Federico wanted to take the place of Ezio and challenge him, then so be it. Vieri would show him exactly why no one messed with him.
He jerked back against the wall to give himself the leverage he needed to slam his knee right between Federico's legs. The sharp, strangled yell and the way that infuriatingly amused expression turned to one of pain, had Vieri smirking instantly.
It was only too perfect when Federico succumbed to the pain and let go of Vieri's arms to fall hard to his knees. That sweet sense of victory came easily to Vieri as he took in Federico's strained groans, the way he hunched in on himself.
He had never fought against Federico Auditore before; who knew he'd be this pathetic? Vieri was enjoying this view very much. He jammed the bottom of his boot directly over the back of Federico's head, relishing the angry, wordless protest that he couldn't quite form.
"At least your brother usually puts up enough of a fight to make things interesting," he said with an amused smirk.
The second after he started to grind his foot into that mess of brown hair, Federico hit his leg off hard with his forearm, sending Vieri off balance with a surprised shout. Before he could recover, Federico snapped toward him with a fierce look, slamming his forehead directly into his groin. Vieri didn't know how he had gotten to his hands and knees, curling in on himself and gasping brokenly as his wide eyes focused intensely on the floor.
He struggled through his choked groans and could hear Federico continuing to suffer similarly.
"That was dirty." Federico laughed through pained, stuttered breaths and he glanced to Vieri out of the corner of his eye. "Now I can see why people just love fighting against you."
Vieri grit his teeth so much that it hurt, and he stared hard at his dagger, the weapon having dropped from his hand, clattering to the floor just out of his reach. The damn thing could have been bathing in that bastard's blood, could have been sticking half way out of his scrawny neck. He should have rammed it through him the first chance he had, but Federico had gone down so easily and Vieri had just wanted to enjoy that moment a bit longer before teaching him a lesson.
He struggled to reach for his dagger, straining his arm for it and cursing the traitorous thing for being a few inches too far away.
A hand grabbed the sleeve of his shoulder, keeping him from leaning further forward. He was spoken to in an amused voice. "Hold on there, Bloodlust."
Vieri's narrowed eyes shot over to Federico. "Are you that eager to die?" he managed to growl out.
"You know, it's funny." Federico's voice caught as he made to stand by using Vieri's shoulder to push himself up. He paused, his face scrunching up in pain before he coughed out a laugh and flashed Vieri a wide smile. "Because Ezio's told me you say that all time. Can't you say anything else?" Vieri bared his teeth right back.
"Go to hell," he spat, wanting to wrench his shoulder away, but furious over finding out that he couldn't with the heavy weight bearing on top of it.
Federico slowly rose to his feet, shaky and still breathing deeply. "That's another overdone one." Vieri really didn't give a fuck. "All I wanted to do was talk," Federico said lightly. "Is this how you treat all of your guests?"
"Yes," Vieri ground out, his arms starting to shake over the realization that he couldn't quite move yet, the wind still knocked out if him. He huffed as Federico assumed an easy stance, shrugging off the ordeal he just went through as if nothing had happened. Just how the hell could he recover so fast?
"So." Federico ran his hand through his hair, shaking off the traces of whatever dirt was under Vieri's boot. "Where were we before you tried to rip open my neck like some kind of rabid animal?"
Animal? Vieri scowled. How he wished Federico would step closer and say that. He'd show him what it'd be like to get mauled.
"You have nothing I want to hear," he said, bending one leg so he could stand up. He was so ready to slam his fist into Federico's conceited face, but he froze before he could get up, growling through clenched teeth over how much it hurt to move. Federico stretched, arms over his head while seemingly at ease over the whole situation.
"Really? That's too bad," he said lightly. "I have a lot of things to say."
Vieri snapped at him. "You think I care what you have to say?" Federico was dead, and when Vieri was finished with him, he'd get Ezio as well.
He tried to push himself up again, but pain lanced to his stomach, doubling him over with a stifled cry.
Federico tilted his head a bit, unaffected by Vieri's predicament. "I think I might be able to change your mind on that." He held something out in front of him and Vieri found himself glancing up at the length of rope—his rope. The one from two weeks ago that he used to tie up Ezio.
He had tried hard to forget that night. He had been so careless, so rash, that his plan completely fell apart and was turned around against him. Ezio had forced himself upon him so easily and without hesitation once he saw through him. And if that wasn't enough, Federico had to be there to see it.
He remembered that idiot's stupid laugh when he found them. He remembered the infuriating comments and his damn laid back attitude over the whole thing...up until he found out what had happened. Vieri took a deep breath, stilling as he remembered the look Federico had thrown at him then. The smoldering anger across his face had caused him to take a step back. Something in that look made Vieri not want to mess with him despite his pride adamantly trying to get him to.
And here that bastard was in his room, towering over him. He slowly looked at Federico, trying to keep his face neutral and his voice steady. "And?" he growled out.
Federico shrugged. "I'm giving it back to you. As nice as the thought was, my brother really didn't care for your gift."
Vieri opened his mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his gift, but Federico snapped up the rope and wrapped the ends around his hands, tightening his grip. Vieri didn't move, but Federico gave him a short laugh.
"Don't look so nervous." He yanked the rope taut, a small teasing smile pulling at his lips. "You're in good hands."
Shoving the pain to the back of his mind, Vieri scrambled up, not wanting to be on his hands and knees with Federico nearby. He stumbled away from him, stumbled back against his bed to lean heavily against it with Federico merely watching him, his eyebrow arched, the rope placed back around his shoulders.
Vieri tensed at the movement, but wondered why he wasn't taking the opportunity to attack him. He sneered at the thought that it was probably some sick tactic to make him squirm.
"Get the hell out," he said, his voice low. Vieri wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to jump into a fight without some type of advantage, and as far as he could see, he had none at the moment. "Now," he demanded.
Federico looked like he was thinking about it, but with the way he bit his lip, the corner of his mouth sneaking off to the side, Vieri knew he was playing with him. His voice rose high.
"Leave!"
Hands were held up in surrender. "All right. No need to yell."
Vieri stared in confusion as Federico walked past him and over to the window. "What are you doing?"
Federico glanced back at him. "I'm going home." He grabbed onto the side of the window and swung one leg over the ledge.
Vieri clenched his fists at his retreat. He honestly didn't expect him to listen, and with the way Federico practically waved off the entire situation, it was like he thought Vieri wasn't worth fighting. Vieri felt a bit insulted by that, and his confusion over his curt reply only angered him further. He swiftly made his way around the bed, ranting.
"Then what the hell was this all about?" he yelled, halting Federico in his escape. "You come in here and you think you can do what? Scare me?"
"Scare you?" Federico said immediately, sounding so incredulous that it made his pursuer stop short a few feet from him. Then he made an amused noise, that fucking, never-ending grin plastered across his damn mouth. "Come on, Vieri. There's simply no challenge in that. I mean, I'm talking to someone who runs away at the first sign of trouble."
An angry noise caught in Vieri's throat as he bared his teeth, his shoulders drawing up. He knew Federico could climb quickly and he wondered if he could get to him in time before the coward ran away.
Fuck, he thought, seething. Who's running away now?
That's when Federico started to laugh hard, clutching his stomach with one hand, and Vieri's anger built.
"What!" he shouted, sick and tired of his amusement.
"Nothing," Federico coughed out. "It's just—" He grinned. "No wonder you always win when the races are on foot."
Vieri knew, knew he was being baited, knew Federico was intentionally trying to upset him into overreacting, but he did not fucking care.
He ran at him.
He wanted to punch him right across the face, wanted to knock him hard out the window, wanted to take satisfaction in seeing and hearing the bastard's body break as it crunched against the ground.
It should have been perfect, but Federico rushed him as well, getting low and tackling him, stopping him completely. It was like running into a wall. Vieri felt it when a shoulder rammed into his stomach, his breath forced from his lungs as a loud cry. It didn't end there; arms wrapped around his middle with Federico's momentum taking him backwards. His feet could barely keep up and he had to grab onto the the body in front of him to keep from falling.
He swore out in surprise when the back of his knees hit the edge of his bed and then arms lifted him, shoving him further across the covers. He was slammed flat on his back, a grunt escaping his mouth. He barely registered that Federico was already on top of him, pinning his wrists down. Once he got his bearings, he stared up with wide, astonished features. What the hell just happened?
Federico took a quick look around. "Well, this is nice." He smiled down at Vieri. "Don't you think?"
No, seriously. What the fuck just happened! Vieri didn't know what to say and Federico's next words didn't help.
"I think it's fitting that we're on your bed."
"What?" Vieri did not like how confused he sounded.
"It's fitting." Federico's smile stayed warm and friendly. "Considering what I'm going to be doing to you."
"Doing what?" Vieri growled out. Was he going to try to beat him up? Pay him back for what he did to Ezio? Vieri couldn't wait to tie that rope around Federico's neck and yank it hard.
"Wow, I didn't think you were this dense." Federico sounded astonished. "Did you forget what you did to my brother?"
Punch him in his damn eye? That had felt unbelievably good.
Vieri glared up at him. "I hope he cried about it to you after."
It was far from a good idea to throw out taunts now, Vieri knew, but once again, he didn't care. That is, until Federico's smile twisted sharply into a scowl, his eyes narrowing as he stared angrily down at him. The look startled Vieri with its intensity and its suddenness. Federico was not someone who he would ever think to be intimidating, but for one brief moment, Vieri felt a bit frightened.
Yet as soon as that look appeared, it was gone, his expression soft and his smile wide again.
"You know, I really do like your room."
Vieri's mouth fell open. He spoke automatically, but his words had lost its fierceness. "What the hell are you going on about?"
"Well, you have to admit that it's much classier than outside on the ground next to a storage room."
Vieri was reminded of being on top of Ezio, trying to scare him but failing, and he searched for something snide to try to yell, but Federico continued to speak lightly.
"Were you perhaps going for something unique with that location?"
"Shut up," Vieri hissed.
"Because my brother does like doing things differently sometimes."
"Shut. Up."
"And he is rather fond of the outdoors, so you really must be paying attention to the things he likes."
Vieri snarled out viciously. "I said, shut your damn mouth!" The hands around his wrists immediately tightened to the point where he couldn't bite back a pained noise, Federico leaning down over him to whisper right in his face.
"Make me."
Vieri slammed his forehead against Federico's with such force that the both of them swore and shut their eyes tightly from the impact. The violent move served its purpose though and Federico's grasp on him loosened. Vieri wrenched his hands free and shoved Federico back hard enough that he landed on the edge of the bed and bounced right off, crashing to the floor with a shout.
Vieri was on him in an instant, grabbing his collar and slamming him against the ground. Hearing Federico cry out in pain and surprise when the back of his head collided with the floor had Vieri bunching up the front of his shirt and pulling him up to ram him down again. The hands clutching at his did not deter him from from repeating his crazed movement in trying to smash Federico's fucking skull in.
He drank in the clenched eyes, the gritted teeth, the way Federico tried to brace himself for impact while thrashing beneath him, his legs kicking at the ground to get leverage. Vieri wasn't going to stop until Federico fell unconscious. And then he'd slam him a few more times for good measure.
He yanked him up higher this time, wanting to add more force to the impact, when Federico's eyes flashed open and his hand shot up to Vieri's neck. Vieri flinched back, but fingers dug into his skin, a thumb jamming against his throat. He jerked away with a gasp, his own hands wrapping around the one choking him.
All it took was that one second and Federico pounced. He used his other hand to push himself up before grabbing Vieri's shoulder and shoving him backwards against the side of the bed.
Vieri quickly pried at the palm curled over his windpipe and tried to use use his feet to push himself back up, but Federico had gotten to his knees, giving himself a better angle to push down on him. Vieri found himself struggling to breathe, the pain intensifying with each moment, his head swimming and his ears ringing.
He couldn't get the leverage he needed to break free and Federico took away the last of his hope by grabbing one of his legs behind the knee and pulling him until he slid further down the side of the bed. He was stuck.
The more he tried to move, the more the hand pushed. Vieri suddenly remembered something about Federico: He was a climber. He climbed up walls, crates, buildings, ladders. He held himself from rooftops and window ledges, and he hauled himself over barriers. To do all that required a lot of upper body strength—something deceivingly unnoticeable with layered sleeves and a lazy ass attitude. And Federico did all that work so nonchalantly that he made it look easy.
Vieri felt all that strength behind those arms. They held steady until he was finally reduced to whimpering out brokenly, his jaw shaking as stared up helplessly at a progressively blurry figure in front of him. With one last noise, he stilled.
All at once, air rushed into his lungs, hands no longer held him up and he fell to the side, landing hard on his elbow. Vieri coughed mindlessly as curled his upper body on the floor, one hand cradling his neck, the other fisting through his hair to press against the pounding in his head.
Vieri had been into countless fights, but he never had someone choke him before. He couldn't believe how quickly it subdued him and how much it hurt. He blinked away tears, his chest heaving as he choked out loud, uncontrollable breaths. His hands were shaking.
This is exactly how he wanted Federico to die: slowly choking.
He heard him shift next him. Out of the corner of his eye, Vieri could see him settling comfortably cross-legged on the floor, looking as at ease as someone who didn't just choke another person. Federico spoke, sounding worried.
"You okay?"
Vieri pushed himself up on his elbows, glaring at the ground as Federico didn't wait for an answer and started to speak thoughtfully.
"Actually, this is good. I think we're finally getting somewhere."
"You—!" Vieri's voice caught in his sore throat, rage burning his insides from his nonchalant attitude. He was beyond pissed over what just happened, how Federico attacked him without hesitation and without fear of any type of consequence or without any thought to possible retribution. Vieri had been so thoroughly put in his place that he couldn't bring himself to attack Federico at that moment.
With the feeling of utter helplessness still fresh in his mind, Vieri ground his teeth together, his fingers clenching into fists as he growled out, "What are you talking about? Get where?"
Federico sighed in frustration. "I'm amazed at how you still don't get it."
Vieri fixed him with a fierce look, his anger rising further as Federico rolled his eyes and spoke to him.
"Listen, Vieri," he said, his tone serious. "You want to fight with my brother? Fine. I know Ezio enjoys it from time to time." Federico leaned towards him, his eyes narrowed and his voice low. "But don't you ever mess with him again like you did last time."
Vieri sneered right back at him. And what? Was he supposed to be scared? Federico gets some lucky hits in and now the bastard thinks he can order him around?
"I'll do whatever the hell I want, Auditore."
Federico bit down on his own lip, eyes hardening. "I'm warning you, Vieri. Mess around again and I'll show you what it's like."
"Stop saying stupid shit and make sense already!"
Federico frowned and responded slowly. "Force yourself on my brother again and I swear I'll make sure you regret it completely."
The anger dropped from Vieri's face, his fierce look turning blank. So Federico did know what he tried to do that night and how far he went. He thought Federico only knew how he tied up Ezio and beat him up. That much was obvious from the rope and all the injuries Ezio had. When Federico showed up that night, there was no indication that Vieri had done anything else and he was hoping Ezio would keep his damn mouth shut over it.
Vieri felt himself scowling. He really didn't want to think about what had happened then. He had gone a little too far and already paid for it. He didn't need to be reminded about it and scolded over it by an overprotective sibling.
Still upset over everything Federico did, and even more so at the thought of his failure with Ezio that night, Vieri didn't think twice about what he was about to say, becoming impulsive and rebellious as he always was when he was emotional.
He harshly and slowly whispered, "You know what? I honestly don't give a fuck."
There was a tense pause, the two of them glaring at each other. The room was quiet until Federico took a deep, controlled breath. Vieri was about to scoff at his reaction when that deep, controlled breath was let out in a loud, sudden snarl. Vieri jolted at the sound. A hand was already on him, grabbing his upper arm and he found himself being shoved and manhandled until he was flat on his back with Federico climbing on top of him. He shouted, ignoring the burn in his throat.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Federico ignored him.
Vieri growled and reached up to grab Federico's shirt, to push him away, but hands snapped around his. They were slammed against the ground to either side of his head with Federico lifting himself up to jam his knees into Vieri's biceps, straddling his chest in the process. He yelled in protest. The weight digging into his arms hurt and he was ready to yell some more, but Federico let go one of his wrists to grab his hair and wrench his head back. The second he cried out, fingers shoved their way into his mouth. His eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger.
What kind of stupid fighting tactic was this?
Fingertips and a thumb pressed hard against his teeth, pushing his jaw apart and not allowing him to close his mouth. He immediately bit down, wanting to break the fingers in half, but they only gave a little before holding steady. Vieri let out a frustrated noise at Federico's strength and jerked wildly at his arms to get them free.
It was when Federico let go of his hair and lifted up the hem of his own shirt to seek out the fastenings to his pants that Vieri froze, breath hitching. At that very moment he was painfully aware of how high up Federico was straddling his chest and how close he was to his face, particularly his open mouth.
He remembered with a start the things Federico had said that confused him at first.
I think it's fitting that we're on your bed.
Considering what I'm going to be doing to you.
Mess around again and I'll show you what it's like.
Vieri couldn't look away as the laces were yanked at and undone, his eyes wide. He was convinced this was a horrible joke. Vieri had not gone this far with Ezio. He hadn't planned to. There was no way Federico wasn't bluffing! He had to be! But Vieri didn't know much about Federico, wasn't interested enough to find out anything about him, so he had no idea how far he'd go with something like this.
The fingers in his mouth forced his jaw open wider and a bolt of fear raced through his body, his heart leaping to his throat along with a startled cry. He immediately started to thrash, fighting to get free, but Federico ground his knees into his arms, held him still, and kept him pinned down. The fingers in his mouth pressed him back against the ground relentlessly.
He frantically looked up, Federico seemingly more imposing and intimidating than Vieri ever thought he could be as he towered over him. Federico glared furiously down at him, lips pulled back in a silent snarl and he didn't falter in actions. He hitched up the bottom of his shirt and yanked the front of his pants down part ways, exposing the lower part of his stomach and making what he intended to do very clear.
Vieri found himself freezing up completely, unable to look away. He felt tears come to his eyes, his heart pounding, and he was unsure of why he felt so terrified at the moment or why he couldn't get himself to move. When Federico dipped his fingers down the front of his own pants, Vieri let out a scared, desperate noise, his eyes smashing shut.
His eyes flew open when a hand cupped his jaw and the fingers slipped from his mouth. Federico sat on his stomach, leaning down over him to glare right in his face.
"Is this enough for you?"
Vieri scrunched in on himself, silent and staring warily. He was vaguely aware that Federico was wiping the hand that had been in his mouth over his collar, gripping it tight. Which meant the hand that was touching his face had been down Federico's pants.
He jerked his head away, but Federico forced him back and growled menacingly. "I'm going to say this one more time. Stay away from him. Understand?"
Vieri found himself nodding.
"Mess around with my family again," Federico said softly, "and next time I won't stop."
Vieri shook his head at the threat and Federico gave him a lighthearted smile. "Good," he said, suddenly cheerful. "I'm glad you're finally listening and that you understand." The second he pushed himself off, Vieri scrambled up, scooting back against the bed with a glare on his face. Federico stared at him in amusement, his mouth quirked off to one side as he fastened his pants.
Vieri couldn't do anything but continue to glare at at him and breathe shakily. He still felt Federico's knees digging into his arms and his fingers in his mouth. He wanted to stand up and punch him clear across the face, but he didn't trust his legs to be able to keep him up at the moment. Federico laughed lightly and straightened out his shirt.
"As much as I'd like to stay," he said, acting as though he were simply taking his leave from a friend's house, "I have to go." He made his way over to the window, but abruptly stopped and turned. "Oh, almost forgot." He pulled the rope from around his shoulders. "Here." Vieri couldn't believe that he flinched, actually flinched, when Federico tossed the rope at him.
Federico gave him a lopsided smirk.
Vieri drew his shoulders up and scowled. What now? He tensed, his eyes widening slightly when Federico took a quick glance out the window before swiftly walking back over to him. Vieri was pissed at his body's reactions, the way it shook, the way it made him push himself into the side of the bed as if that would protect himself from the oncoming threat.
He shrank back when Federico crouched down on one knee in front of him, grinning and speaking cheekily. "One more thing." Federico leaned in and brushed his lips over the side of his forehead in a gentle, intimate kiss.
Vieri shouted in surprise and reacted violently, his fist catching the underside of Federico's jaw. Federico took the hit easily, laughing, always laughing. Rubbing at the sore area, he stood up, all smiles, and he playfully ruffled Vieri's hair, messing it up further. Vieri snarled and went to whack his hand away, but missed entirely as Federico darted out of reach.
"I was right. Your games are violent," he said teasingly as he ambled over to the window. He swung a leg over the ledge, and before he climbed off, he waved. "Maybe we can play again soon."
Vieri sat seething, shaking more out of rage than fear now. His hand was pressed against his temple where Federico had kissed him.
There was never a time when another person so easily overpowered him, so thoughtlessly humiliated him, and he had been too scared to think of a way out of it. Now not only had Ezio shown him up, his brother did as well.
Federico wanted to play? Then Vieri would show him exactly how his games are played.