It's The Same Old World

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEE! XD And since I am such a compassionate human being, I give you, my dear readers, this special chapter on my actual birthday (24th Sep)! Please be aware that this is only for fun and is not at all in any way part of the plot!

Thank you to all the readers who left a suggestion, I loved every idea and plan to incorporate almost all of them later on in the actual story, so do not fear!

BUT special mentions go to MerlinTardis, xSaerin and SOPH (guest) for the inspiration. I decided I couldn't just go with one submission and mashed them into one crazy chapter!

ENJOY MY PRETTIES!

SURPRISE CHAPTER: In which we discover a birthday party can lead to injury

For various subsequent reasons, that mainly involved consuming vast amounts of alcohol and cake (myself only really participating in the latter of the two), our little troupe, consisting of Connor, Suba and myself, now stood in a deserted park. The cause of this was to celebrate our gracious host, Suba's birthday.

The evening started off with everybody giving their birthday wishes and gifts to Suba. Not long after this, the alcohol was opened along with the cake being lit, blown out, cut and finally shared. Gradually all the guests were in high spirits, including myself. I must admit, I did help myself to a few glasses of beer and perhaps some wine, however, I was still very much in control of my mind and actions. I have no knowledge at what point exactly, that the drinking got out of hand, but I do recall sitting in a corner with Connor. I believe I offered him my glass of beer, which he curtly refused, but after coaxing him for some minutes he grudgingly took my drink and swallowed. We sat there in silence, sipping in turn on that one beer. Perhaps the alcohol was starting to slipup my tongue as I began to question Connor about his life. At this moment in time, both Connor and I had drunk our fair share, so the conversation between us flowed considerably more than usual.

"Since you and Suba appear to have a great deal more knowledge about me, I'm actually curious to know what your mother was like."

Connor looked slightly stunned and I feared I had somehow struck a wrong chord with him, thankfully, however he did not show any signs of anger, instead his face softened a fraction.

"My mother was a very beautiful and strong woman. Intelligent too, she taught me a great many things which I shall never forget." I saw Connor's amber eyes brighten up and wondered if he had inherited them from her. "Her love was deep and gentle; she kept me safe and warm from the harsh winter nights yet she could also cool and soothe me through the searing summer days."

"If it's any consolation, I'm sorry that the events turned out this way. Your mother seemed to be like one of those rare women which most likely explains why I must have fallen in love with her."

The younger man half-smiles and I tactically move on to avoid darkening the atmosphere anymore. From then on, what happened next is all a bit of a blur. I recollect looking at the time and thinking it was getting extremely late, it was past midnight. When I found Suba amongst a gaggle of her friends, downing some clear liquid, I made forward to her.

"Suba-Suba!" I called her name many times before she turned to me. "It's getting rather late and we should make haste to leave."

"Who let Shakespeare in?!" a voice shouted out, followed by raucous laughter.

"Shhhhhh, guys, don't be like so mean!" giggled Suba, waving her index finger to her lips. "Leave Haytham alone, coz he's like my bestest friend for ever and ever and ever…"

Rolling my eyes, I squeezed past a few bodies and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Suba, I think you have had enough to drink. Let's retire back home now before you do anything you'll regret tomorrow."

"Jesus Christ, Haytham!" Suba, tipped her head to the shoulder where I was touching her and squinted at me. "You're a fucking genius! Guys, Haytham's a fucking genius, like, did you hear what he jus told me?! I should go home before I… ahem, before I do anything to regret tomorrow! Isn't that jus so clever?!"

There was a mumble of agreement but nobody made to leave so I gently prised the bottle away from her.

"NOOOOO!" screeched Suba in my ear. "NO, that's minee! I wan' it back! I-I need it!"

"Look, if you promise to come home with us, I'll give you back your drink." I proposed with a sigh.

"Yeah, fine! Jus gimme back the-"

"You need to promise."

"Fucks sake, Haytham, I fucking promise, I'll fucking come home with you! THERE!" Her eyes blazed with an anger I had not seen before and I reluctantly handed back the bottle.

She took a gulp of the white spirit as soon as she received it. To make sure she'd follow, I had to hold her arm and guide her to the front hall where Connor was waiting, leaning against the doorway.

"She's drunk." I announced to him as he cocked a brow at the swaying female beside me.

"Er, no!" Perked up Suba. "I-I-I'm not drunk- I'm jus a bit squ-squi-squiffy!"

Before we head out, I declared to no one in particular, "On behalf of Suba, I'd like to thank you all for a –an enjoyable evening. Let us away."

"WAIT!" Suba cried, her face distraught. "My presents…we can't jus leave them in the dining room! They'll be nicked, won't they?!"

"Connor, go collect them while I watch Suba." I ordered without a second thought.

"What? Why can't I watch over her?!" The assassin argued.

"Because I said so! Now hurry up and go!"

Huffing, Connor marched in through the house and came back a few seconds later bearing an armful of gifts. After, extending my hands to help him carry a few of them, we finally set off.

And thus we somehow managed to find ourselves in an empty park. It was Suba who had led us here. Stupidly, I thought that the night air had done her some good and cleared her mind enough to know the short-cut back home.

Suba now skips into the children's playground that was walled off from the grassy park. It had the usual layout of a park, swings, a seesaw, a slide, some rocking horses and some kind of climbing frame. She makes a beeline for the swing and sits down, swinging her feet that just skimmed above the floor.

"Somebody push me! Please!" demands Suba.

I look to Connor and nod at him and in reply I receive the driest look as he places the presents on the floor and goes to Suba.

Spotting a bench, I gather the birthday tokens and take a seat, watching Connor push Suba on the swing. Hers is a face of utter delight whilst his is utterly grim.

"Higher, higher!" she hollers as he grits his teeth and pushes with all his might, sending the swing and the girl to new heights.

"SHIT IT'S TOO HIGH!" screams Suba and I could see the whites of her eyes from where I sat. "TOO HIGH!"

In alarm, Connor, grabs the metal handles and uses the heels of his feet to halt the swing. Suba lurches forwards but doesn't manage to fall flat face as her arms are linked around the chains of the swing.

Instead of bursting into tears or being deterred from doing any more vigorous activities, Suba begins to cackle loudly and hops off the swing as if nothing had happened. Sticking her tongue out at Connor, she suddenly runs towards me.

"Haythammm! Look out!" Suba cries as she springs from the bench onto the wall. "Hey guys, watch me parkour!"

Without warning, she begins to jog across the wall, arms outstretched to keep her balance but at times wobbling precariously. I admit it was the most awful free running I had ever seen.

"Suba, no! Don't run across there!" I warn sternly. To prevent any more damage, I stride beside her and hold out my palm. "Come on now, just take my hand."

"Are you going to teach me to free run if I hold your hand?" asks Suba with a devious grin.

"Of course, I will…" she slaps her hand in mine and I grip it before she could wriggle away. "…after you become sober."

She pouts back at me as I gently ease her back onto solid ground with no injuries but before I could get her to promise not to free run any longer, she slips out of my grasp, giggling.

"Oh I'll prove to you I'm sober and an awesome free runner!" she exclaims and proceeds to the climbing frame. It was a square-shaped structure of wood with one side being made up of rope, another with only bars going across and on parallel side's there were three hanging tyres and logs.

Suba starts on the side with the rope net and with surprising speed manages to scuttle up high, which was a dangerous height for unskilled (and probably unexercised) young girls. All this time she was singing some absurd song:

"How many fools can I kill today?

Too many to count don't get in my way

I shoot a mo'fo in the throat with my bow

Tomahawk chop is my deathblow!"

When she reaches the top and crouches low on the wooden bar adopting a stealth approach, I realise what she was about to do.

"Tomahawk, Tomahawk, T-T-Tomahawk, Tomahawk!"

Suddenly, she leaps off, arms in the air, her loose hair flying wildly behind her and her mouth flung open with an ear-piercing scream erupting out of it. With a sickening thud, she lands on her feet but the suddenness of it all causes her to collapse.

Sprinting, Connor reaches her writhing form before me and kneels down beside her.

"Are you a complete fool?!" I snarl as I quickly examin her ankles. To my utter relief there were no bones poking out but my patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Father, now is not the time for that! Suba, how bad is the pain?"

She is curled up in a ball; her face is scrunched up and whispers hoarsely, "Fucking hurts…"

"Do you think you can stand, Suba?" Connor enquires softly.

"Does it fucking look like I can?!" is the angry hiss.

"Just try!" I urge petulantly.

The Assassin shoots me a dark glare. "Suba, you have got to try and get up. We cannot leave you here like this. My father and I are here to support you. Please attempt to stand."

Shutting her eyes, as if gathering her strength, Suba nods once. Connor motions me to put an arm around one side of her body and we gently sit her up.

"Wait, let me just…"reaching her fingers out, she touches her ankles and winces loudly. "Shit."

"Are you ready to stand now?" prompts Connor lightly.

"Oh fuck this shit. Let's just try and get home already!"

With Connor and myself on either side of her, we slowly and carefully help her rise. When she stands to her full height, she grabs tightly onto our upper arms and bites down on her bottom lip. To support her, we put her arms around our shoulders.

"Haytham, Connor, remind me never to drink again." Says Suba resignedly.

I reply wryly, "I shall do so with great pleasure."

Once Suba feels confident enough to take the pain of hobbling, we pick up her birthday treasures and make way for home.

Extra A/N: Yes, I wrote it from Haytham's POV, I hope you noticed… I was just trying out one of the suggestions to give a different perspective. But I'm pretty sure I'll just stick to Suba's POV in the actual story. Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought of this little random chappie!