Chapter 7

All Brooke could think was, Nothing ever good comes from parties, when she walked down onto the first floor. She stood there for a minute, wide eyed and stunned at the scene before her. Then, when her mind recovered, anger started to set in. They were all injured- Ezio was bleeding down his face and judging by the bruises around his head, could have a concussion. Why did they come here? The idiots! "Go to the hospital!" She finally exclaimed, and a shocked silence greeted her. Then, Ezio immediately started to fervently shake his head. "My mother works there. If she finds out if I got into a fight-,"

"You think you can heal in one night?" Brooke interrupted, and he grimaced, then stood up. Ezio walked over to her, rag pressed against lip, a black eye, and blood dripping along his jaw. She fully took in his injuries, her eyes flicking across his body, and then was even more adamant that he go to the hospital.

"Mom's out of town, but people will find out if I show up there. She's a nurse, and has... friends." He sounded scared, but why was he scared of his mother? Desmond walked over, also sporting a few shiners, but not nearly as bad as Ezio.

"And more importantly- Ezio, Clay and I drank tonight. We can't show up at a hospital without getting arrested. Besides, you said you would patch me up if I got into a-,"

"Only because I didn't think you were stupid enough to get your ass handed to you- and you'd show up in the most godforsaken hour of the night!" Brooke's voice raised up and she ran a hand over her face. She turned around to pace, but Clay was standing behind her and stopped her. She looked up at him with a scowl and folded her arms. "You two are fine, just put some ice on it. But he," Brooke pointed at Ezio, "Could have a concussion. And need stitches."

"No way." He shook his head and tried to smirk at Brooke but winced in pain. He put more pressure on his lip from the rag, and Brooke could only imagine how awful the injury underneath could be.

"We're not going to a hospital," Clay told her, and she frowned. "What even happened?" she asked and Ezio started to recall what happened.

"Well, I was partying and, er-,"

"Hooking up with a girl, when a couple Holy Cross idiots showed up. Long story short, Clay decided to start a fight. He was getting his ass handed to him, but Ezio decided to take his place." Desmond tossed an annoyed look at Ezio to stop his protest about "getting his ass handed to him."

"I joined in, along with most of the Ackley upper class-men," Desmond continued and then cringed, "One of the guys, Vieri, took his keys and made them brass knuckles." Brooke's eyes widened, and looked at Ezio with surprise. The women self defense classes that her high school had forced upon her informed girls to put keys between their knuckles because it would seriously injure anyone who attacked them. Ezio didn't have that severe of injuries considering he was fighting a guy with brass knuckles, and must have been an adept fighter. But still a dimwit for not going to the hospital.

"Idiots," She groaned, and ran a hand over her face as she walked toward the fridge. Brooke opened the freezer and took out the two extra ice-packs. Turning around, she tossed them at Desmond and Clay. They all looked at her, waiting for her answer. She threw hands up in defeat.

"Fine, I'll help! But if Ezio has a concussion, you all are gone- I will personally drive you to the hospital." Wherever it is. Ezio exhaled loudly in relief, and Brooke pointed at him.

"Go to the table." She pulled her hair back into a bun as she walked over to the drawer, and took out her mother's suture kit.

She walked over to Ezio, "You're stupid idiot, you know that?" She asked him as she pulled a chair across from his and sat down. He smiled slightly, "Dolcezza,* you do care." He sent her a wink as he sat down across from her, and Brooke rolled her eyes. "Spegnerlo.** Three in the morning is never the time for flattery," she told him, and Ezio's eyes went wide, "You know Italian?"

"Poco,"*** She replied with nonchalance as she took the bloody rag from his lip and smirked slightly at his dumbfounded expression. Ezio's eyes were wide, and he looked at her in a new light. "H-how?" He asked, and Brooke pursed her lips as she looked at the nasty wound on his face. The flesh opened, and while it wasn't deep, facial injuries generally bled more than other injuries. And this cut was definitely one of them. Brooke turned Ezio's head to the side and she put a hand on his chin to keep him steady and get a closer look.

"I lived in Florence for one summer. My dad was studying Dante, and I picked Italian up," She answered his question, and then released his head to turn and look at Desmond and Clay. "Do one of you have an iPhone on you?"

Desmond tossed her his, and she switched on the flashlight feature. Brooke shined the light in each eye and found the pupils dilating. She sat back, and gave Ezio his rag back. "What's your birthday?"

"June 24, 1997," He answered with an eye roll. She frowned at him, and asked another question, "Where are you?"

"Your house," Ezio replied smoothly, cocked his head to the side and pouted slightly, "Do we have to continue?"

"Three more questions. What's the square root of 256?" She asked as she started to pull out more supplies, and he was silent for a second, before saying, "I wouldn't know that even if I did have a concussion." Desmond rolled his eyes and approached them, while holding the ice pack to his jaw. He sat down on the table, and gently kicked Ezio's chair.

"Who's your first time?"

Ezio turned around to make a face at Desmond, and his eyes pointed at Brooke for a second as if to say, "No!" Brooke let out a sigh, "Ezio, I could care less about your love life. Just answer the god damn question." She set out supplies like the lip suture scissor, hemostat, a black suture, and needle. A bag a alcohol wipes followed, and once they were all set out on the table, he eyed them nervously.

"For me?" He gave a nervous laugh, "You shouldn't have." Brooke took out the scalpel in hopes of intimidation, "Talk," She commanded, pointing the scalpel blade at him. The intimidation worked, as Ezio swallowed and quickly answered, "Cristina Vespucci!" He yelped, and Brooke glanced at Desmond, who nodded. "He's fine, Brooke." She sighed, and put the scalpel away.

"Okay, fine." She grabbed a alcohol pad and gripped Ezio's bloody chin. "Shit, he gouged you on the mouth," She muttered as she pressed the alcohol pad into his cut, in an effort to stanch the bleeding and clean the wound. Ezio jerked away, and nearly toppled over in surprise and pain.

"Ah!" He shouted, clutching his face and turning away. Clay looked over in surprise, and Brooke hit Ezio's arm, making him yelp again. Ezio looked at her again, rubbing his shoulder and looking rather shocked, "What was that for?" He complained, and Brooke furrowed her brow at him. "I have to clean it, Ezio. So sit still."

"Why can't you just bandage it?" He asked, and Brooke grabbed his chin to keep him still, and leaned in close to start cleaning it again.

"'Cause I have to see if it needs bandages or sutures, dolt." She muttered, and Ezio started to wince as she cleaned the wound again. He didn't move, but he he did started to look closely at Brooke, his eyes sweeping across her face and then going lower. "Eyes up here, Prince Charming," She reminded him, and Ezio became slightly red as he jerked his gaze back up. She finished cleaning the wound, sat back and grimaced. "You definitely need stitches."

Ezio looked at her seriously, "You can stitch, right?"

"Of course," Brooke scoffed, and then bit her lip, "But I haven't actually done a lip. I don't want to leave a scar." Ezio's eyes narrowed, "Scar? I can't have a scar!" His voice to raise in volume, and she scowled, "Then go to the hospital, dumb-ass!" Ezio quieted, and Brooke arched an eyebrow.

"Well?"

He sighed, and waved a hand, "Fine. As long as my mother doesn't find out I got into a fight again." She nodded, and picked up the curved needle. Automatically Ezio started to eye the tool apprehensively, and Brooke put up a hand. "I need you flat on your back. Get on the table."

"What?" He asked, and Brooke looked pointedly at him. "I said, get on the table. Like, lie flat on your back, with your head beside me." She pulled a chair aside, and started to move the medical supplies from the table onto the seat of the chair. Ezio sighed, and clambered on top of the table. He cautiously lay down, the table creaking under his weight and he put his head tentatively against the wood. His eyes darted over to Brooke, who grabbed the needle, suture, and peered over him.

"I wish I had some numbing medicine," She muttered, and Ezio's eyes flew wide. "There's numbing-,"

"Please be quiet, I don't want to mess up and end up doing more damage than good. Capisce?" She told him, and Ezio nodded, his eyes still wide and Brooke grabbed another alcohol towelette to clean the cut out one last time. She took a deep breath, and steadied her shaking hand. One, two, three.

Brooke inserted the needle and carried it through the other side. Pulling the suture through, she closed the first part of the skin, tying it off, then using her other hand to snip off the tail, she continued her work one Ezio's face. The stitches had to be close together, thus making the overall work difficult, as he also would wince in pain at the insertion of the needle, and then let out a soft, "Ah!" or "Ow!" if Brooke tied off a stitch. She worked slowly, as her hands would shake at certain points and going fast would lead to disaster.

About 15 minutes, Brooke finished, and set the suture and needles down. Ezio had five stitches. She let out a breath, I didn't do too badly, she thought with relief, and slumped back in her chair. Ezio's eyes opened, "I'm done?" He asked, and she nodded and closed her eyes.

The table let out a groan as Ezio scrambled off. She opened her eyes and also stood up. Ezio touched his sutures curiously, and then made a slight face. Alarm went through Brooke and furrowed her brow in concern. "How badly does it hurt?" She asked, and Ezio grinned half way.

"It will feel better if you kiss it," He told her, and automatically, Brooke rolled her eyes and started to put away some of the supplies. Ezio turned to Desmond and asked, "Did she completely scar me?"

Brooke turned her head to look at them, and arched an eyebrow. Desmond shook his head, "Your black eye is now the attention getter. Although, the dried blood under your chin could compete." She rolled her eyes and refocused on putting away everything.

"Good, now I know where to send the guys who get messed up by Knight assholes." He laughed, then let out a groan. Brooke's eyes darted over to Ezio, who put a hand on his lip, and then pulled it away to check if he had torn a stitch. No blood came off, and none of the stitches were torn. "Shit, that hurts," He said, turning to Brooke. "You couldn't have made it so I could actually laugh, or smile?"

Brooke rolled her eyes and zipped up the bag, "You're welcome." She turned to him, setting the bag on the table, and said, "Next time you want to wake me up at the most ungodly hour to be stitched back together, bring some sort of bribe. Like a cupcake." Brooke stretched and let out a yawn. He frowned at her, and then Ezio started to grin, before wincing in pain. "Cupcake? You got it, dolcezza. Chocolate or vanilla?"

Brooke rolled her eyes, and walked over to the kitchen sink to wash her hands. "Chocolate, obviously."

She turned on the water, and a flash of red made her look down at her hands. Brooke felt appalled when she realized that her fingers were covered by Ezio's blood, and her stomach turned as her mind just said, "Oh my god." She stuck her hands under the water, and automatically started to furiously scrub her hands in an effort to rid her hands of the blood. As Brooke scrubbed her hands, the exhaustion that had been held back by the shock and adrenaline of the morning's excitement started to return.

Her hands finally returned to a normal color, and she let out a sigh of relief, that turned into a yawn. Brooke rinsed her hands off once more, and glanced up when Ezio arrived at her side. He started to wash his hands, and focused on her with half of his signature smirk.

She rolled her eyes and reached over him to grab a towel. His eyes were obviously on her, and Brooke ignored his shoulder pressing into hers. The girl started to turn around and dry her hands, when Ezio twisted around and planted a kiss on Brooke's cheek. Blood rushed toward her cheeks, and he let out an, "Ow!" as her foot instinctively slammed down on his. "Jesus, dolcezza, is this how you respond to a kiss?"

"From you? Yes," She nodded, trying to ignore her flaming cheeks, and pushed off the counter top. She dropped the towel on the counter top, and ran a hand over her head. Ezio looked at her with a confused expression, and Brooke looked around at the kitchen. Desmond and Clay were talking by the island, and she walked over to them. "Now go home, it's," She checked her watch, "Four in the morning. And I have work tomorrow- or today." Another wave of exhaustion hit Brooke and she rubbed her eyes as she turned around to walk up the stairs.

"Uh, Brooke?" Desmond asked uncertainly. She stopped, twisted around, and looked at him through one eye, "Yeah?" She asked, then yawned again. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and said, "My dad just got back and we can't let him see us like this. Could we... stay here?" Brooke let out a groan and turned around to continue walking up the stairs. She waved a hand as she walked, "Just stay downstairs. I'm going to bed," Brooke trudged up the stairs, and heard Ezio call after her.

"Want any company?"

"Not from you," Brooke replied as she undid her bun and trudged up the steps. He leaned against the railing of the stairwell, and looked up at her. Brooke paused, looking down at him and frowned. He was obviously pulling some sort of 'puppy dog' look. "Sweet dreams, dolcezza." She rolled her eyes and continued to walk up the steps.

"Night, puppy eyes." She growled as she reached the top of the stairs, and heard Ezio repeat in confusion, "'Puppy eyes?'" Brooke smiled slightly and continued to her room, toward her bed, and toward sleep.

Maybe in the later morning, she could wake up and everything would be normal.


Brooke was exhausted, hungry, and a fine mess the next morning when she hauled herself out of bed. 9 o'clock in the morning was way to early to work in the summer. She pulled on her bikini, shorts, and sandals, and then attempted to tame her wild hair, then gave up and pulled it into a bun. She walked around upstairs, procrastinating, and knowing that breakfast would only be a scramble of pulling together the scraps of food left in the house. And then, she remembered that there was a chance of the 'guests' from last night, still inhabiting the kitchen, and walking downstairs become all that much harder.

At 8:40, Brooke forced herself to walk down the steps, only to see the kitchen and living room abandoned. She saw three blankets were neatly folded on the couch, and a note scrawled on top. "They're gone?" She voiced her disbelief and walked over to the couch. When she picked up the note, and read what it said, Brooke couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Dolcezza, thank you for helping us. Check the refrigerator for something that is also sweet. Continue being your... lovely self. XOXO- Ezio Auditore." She put the note down, and cautiously approached the fridge. Her hand closed around the handle, and felt her stomach turn as she swung the fridge open.

There, sitting in the center of the fridge was a chocolate cupcake.


Salvete! A little Italian translation for you all! (By the Way. I don't speak Italian, so I only use Google Translate. Sorry if they are kinda wonky if you do speak Italian.)

*Dolcezza- Sweetness

**Spegnerlo- Shut it

***Poco- A little

A/N: Yay for fast updates! And I'm very excited to write the next chapter because... High school awaits! These first chapters are kind of the prologue, and now I can really take off with this story! Anyway, thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys rock! R&R. Valete!