-10-

Gabriela found herself whisked away onto Ezio's back as he carried her to the shelter from the hideout. All it took was a simple response:

"I might as well, Ezio."

The tone of her voice and the way she had said "yes" made him a little nervous, but nevertheless happy, or so she had thought when she saw the somewhat hidden smirk on his face. Her hands were wrapped around his neck and they were beginning to get a little cold. She also noticed he had no difficulties carrying her—it made her wonder whether it was because she was petite, or if he was used to carrying her limp body from before…

Using one hand to hold one of her legs up, he used his free hand to open the door. The shelter was quiet; Guido had probably gone back to his family's home for the night, and Adele was most likely getting ready to go to bed. Only a couple of flickering lights from the candles that were meant to guide someone up the stairs were lit. The two eyed the door in front of them, which had enclosed Ezio's chambers. He hobbled over to the door as quietly as he could and used the same hand to open it.

Ezio set her down on the bed as he turned to the door and closed it. Gabriela quickly examined the room. His room looks the same as when I was last here months ago, she thought, examining the same topaz-colored blanket covering his bed. The sound of the door closing shut alerted her; she turned her head towards Ezio, who was already removing his armor and weapons. Mimicking the master assassin, she began to remove her vambrace, along with her gloves, sash, and belts.

He went over to his desk after he removed most of his equipment, and using a match, he quickly scraped it against the wall to start a little flame. Ezio carefully lit the candelabra on his desk for some dim light between the two. Pulling his hood down, he looked over at Gabriela; it was hard to tell with how dark the room was, but her hands were shaking a little bit as she was removing the last accessory—her crimson belt.

"Gabriela," he said, reaching out and putting a hand over her hands which were over the sash. In surprise, she jerked a bit and looked at his face. As always, Ezio's face was warm and inviting, and though her trembling had mostly stopped, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"I…I am sorry, Ezio," she said, letting out a sigh.

"Do not be," replied Ezio, leaning in towards her. Though she was well-aware of the fact that he was leaning in for a kiss, her body did not move. In fact, out of instinct, she closed her eyes and leaned her head forward and slightly tilting it at an angle as well, breaking the awkward barrier between the two as the pressed their lips together. And before Gabriela knew it, they had continued to swap saliva for what seemed to be forever. Her body began to melt on the bed as the kissing continued.

He eventually broke away from the kiss and she looked up in both surprise and slight disappointment, as if she had wanted more of his signature kisses—his gentle, warm kisses. He pulled his white assassin robe, along with his boots, off, and then slithered onto the bed while hovering over Gabriela, giving her one more kiss while he was still clothed in his tunic and trousers.

"You still have your sash and your robe on, signora," he muttered in a low, seductive tone. And for once, she smirked.

"Mi dispiace, signore, who is still in his clothing as well," she joked in response. While he was still hovering over Gabriela, she began to slowly remove the sash as Ezio carefully watched. But the pace she was going at was like a tease for him. In the dim light, she could barely tell he was nibbling at the corner of his lower lip.

As soon as she loosened up the sash, Ezio leaned his head down over to her left cheek, brushing his lips against her skin and placing his mouth over her left ear. "Perhaps you could progress a little faster, as I do not like to be teased," whispered Ezio, also smirking.

Gabriela chuckled as she completely removed the sash and tossed it off of his bed along with the other clothing. "Si, si," she replied. "Let me get up and remove my robe."

Ezio pulled himself away from the bed to give Gabriela her space. And as soon as she could see again after pulling her robe off of her body, she realized she was facing a topless Ezio who was loosening up his trousers. Her face turned red as she dropped her robe onto the floor. Her eyes gazed at his chiseled body and his arms; there were scars everywhere, which did not bother her. But the fact that his toned body and arms were hidden because of his attire was very misleading.

You cannot expect much from a master assassin who has done this for more than half of his life though, argued Gabriela in her mind. And out of instinct once again, she removed the upper half of her dark gray outer layer, revealing her corset without realizing it until she felt the slightly cold air touching her bare skin.

"Bene," murmured Ezio with a sheepish grin, as he hovered over Gabriela once more. "We can crawl under the covers."

"…You do not expect me to undress myself more?" she questioned him in confusion.

He looked at her in surprise. "I did not expect a woman like you to get so...comfortable, so fast."

"…Va bene. I am just starting to get colder."

She immediately pulled the blanket and the comforter from the top of the bed to loosen them up, providing the couple their loose space underneath it. As soon as Gabriela slipped underneath, she found Ezio sliding in right behind her and wrapping an arm around her body once they had gotten comfortable and pulled the covers up over their shoulders. Before she knew it, the two of them were face to face, side by side beneath the warm covers. With each exhale Ezio gave, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her body, giving her slight goosebumps.

"Gabriela…" he stated her name, placing a hand on her cheek and stroking her smooth skin with his thumb. He pulled her in closer to his body as they continued to lay side by side.

"Ezio," she whispered his name in response. She placed a hand on the top his chest and grazed her fingertips down, feeling every crease from the muscles and scars from previous battles on his body. He pulled her face closer to his as she removed her hand, and she inched her head forward to eliminate the distance between the two, with their lips interlocking. Gabriela's mind had drifted off with each kiss—each warm, passionate kiss. She could feel her body melt again in his warmth as her heart began to pound faster, and her hands fumbled around from his back to his head. Ezio's own hands were gently moving from her cheek and to her left shoulderblade, brushing the scar delicately; he pulled away from her lips and left a trail of soft pecks from his lips, starting from her jawline down to the side of her neck. Ecstasy overcame Gabriela as her head craned to the side, involuntarily gasping.

The two rolled over, with Gabriela on the bottom and Ezio on top, holding his weight up to prevent himself from crushing her frail, tiny body. He continued to plant kisses away at her neck as one of her hands reached for his own, signaling them to lock their hands together. His other free hand trailed from her shoulderblade to her left breast clothed by her corset, where he gave it a firm squeeze and began to knead it in his hand gently.

"Ezio, please, no," breathed Gabriela quickly in surprise, who jolted a bit and stopped Ezio from continuing his kisses. A look of disappointment flushed all emotion from Ezio's face.

"Va bene, whatever pleases you," he murmured, pulling his hand away from her mound and pecked her neck once more. "You are not shivering or trembling anymore. Are you feeling warmer now?"

A tiny chuckle resonated from Gabriela. "I was when you were planting all of those baci on my neck," she said. "Thank you, Ezio."

"Mmm? Shall I continue then?" purred Ezio, stroking the skin slightly below her neck.

"Perhaps in a little bit." She gently pulled Ezio's head down closer to her face as she tilted her head. Gabriela parted her lips, and both his and hers had met. Their eyes had closed once again to take the moment in; a few kisses in, the brushing of his tongue against her lower lip signaled Gabriela to part her lips more without any hesitation. Each kiss from that point on was fiercely passionate as their tongues had touched, yet there was a subtle hint of gentleness in every one of them. And before she knew it, they were both getting lost in kisses.

As time had passed, Gabriela found herself cuddling up against Ezio's chest as they slept the night away, with his arms wrapped against her petite body.

…

"Do you need help with something, signora?"

Gabriela turned around around from the stall of weapons and armor, and found herself gazing at a young man, about 5'7", eyeing her with his soft hazel eyes. She examined his layered brown-blonde hair that reached his chin and his facial stubble, which were kempt. The navy blue coat over his slightly broad shoulders covered his ivory tunic underneath, and part of his black slacks, which were partially tucked into his black leather boots.

"Si, I was wondering if you could repair my family—I mean, brother's, dagger," she said, lifting the cloak over her shoulders and removing a sheathed dagger. She handed it to him carefully. "It seems that the blade has snapped into two."

He cautiously unsheathed the dagger and eyed the end with the handle. The entire blade had been broken off of the handle, and rested within the sheath. He placed the handle back on top of the sheath.

"The damage is not as bad as I thought it would have been, and it can be fixed," he said, holding tightly onto the sheath and the handle to prevent it from falling apart as his hands rested beside his hips. "It should be repaired within a few days. Please come back to this stall on Wednesday, and request to see me."

"Mi dispiace, but what is your name?"

"Valerio. Valerio Bianchi. I look forward to seeing you return on Wednesday…er…it seems that I do not know your name, either—"

"Gabriela. My name is Gabriela Merlo."

Valerio grinned. "Va bene Gabriela. Addio and take care."

"Addio, Valerio." She turned around and walked away, in the direction of the dark sky. The sun was beginning to set and she could see the gradient of the sunlight and the starry sky. There wasn't much time to waste; Gabriela wanted to get back to her home before the entire sky was dark, and because she did not want to bring the family horse with her into the city, she regretted leaving it at the edge between the city and the plains of the Campagna District. There was quite some distance for her to cover between the stall in Centro District and her horse.

She walked as fast as her legs could take her, silently cursing at the length of her legs with each and every step she took. Out of instinct, she pulled the charcoal hood of her cloak over her head, and looked slightly down as she fast-walked on the cobblestones.

I wonder how Orazio broke the family dagger anyway, she thought. He is normally cooped in his room, doing who knows what, although I suppose he could have gotten in a crazy fight, or something silly…

Gabriela immediately felt a slight tug at her cloak, accompanied by a bump, and looked up. She eyed what had seemed to be an orphan boy chasing the other orphan boy that had bumped into her, both of whom were going in the opposite direction as her. Turning around, she looked at the two orphans as they continued to run in disapproval.

"Watch where you are running!" she hollered out to them, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the shout. Shaking her head, Gabriela continued to walk back to the border, continuing to think about her brother and what he could have done that broke the dagger, without actually telling his sister.

And then it hit her. She remembered the feeling of her cloak pulled in one direction as the two orphans passed by. Groping her outside pockets quickly after stopping in her tracks, she began to search to see if the crimson pouch of florins still remained with her. With no luck from those pockets, she began to search her inside pockets as well. Nothing.

Her pouch of florins was missing.

Her heart began to race in panic. Too much time may have passed for her to run back to the innermost part of the city to try and find those orphans, especially with the sky beginning to get dark. But most of the money she had kept was in that pouch, and she knew she had to get it back at any cost.

There was no other choice at this point. She turned around and began to bolt towards the heart of Rome; Gabriela kept her eyes open to see if anyone was carrying or holding her pouch of florins, or if there was any sign of the two orphans.

After running through the city for a few minutes and scouting for her pouch and the two orphans, she stopped a couple of blocks away from the stall. She took a few breaths and hunched over, feeling a cramp in her side as she winced in pain. They weren't found to be anywhere in sight, and Gabriela began to lose hope. The center of the gradient between the two skies was moving towards the western horizon. At this rate, she would be home by the time it was completely dark, much to her dismay.

Gabriela took a couple of deep breaths before standing up straight again. As soon as she stood up straight and stretched her back out a bit, a couple of young child-like cries were heard around the corner. Out of curiosity, she tiptoed closer to it and leaned her ear closer, trying to get a sense of what was happening.

"Lasciarmi andare!" cried one boy.

"Per favore, signore!" pleaded another. "We were not doing anything!"

"Not doing anything?" questioned a familiar voice. Gabriela immediately recognized the owner of the voice—Valerio. She popped out from behind the building and watched the events unfold in front of her. Valerio was holding one of the orphans at the back collar of his tunic, whereas the other orphan was on his knees, begging Valerio to set the boy down. "I see a crimson pouch of florins in your pocket, and overheard you two admitting to pickpocketing from a young lady outside of my stall."

"We're sorry!" said the orphan still hanging in the air, who looked like he was on the verge of tearing up. "We just need florins for food!"

Valerio sighed. Before setting the orphan down, he nabbed Gabriela's pouch of florins from his pocket and grasped it firmly in his right hand. "Stealing others' florins is not right." He reached into his coat pocket and grabbed two coins, handing one each to the two boys. "One florin for both of you. If you ask for money instead, perhaps someone will have the cuore to provide you some money."

"Mi dispiace," recited both of the orphans in unison.

He shook his head. "I believe that should be said to the young lady over there." Valerio pointed to Gabriela, who stood dumbfoundedly.

The two boys looked at Gabriela with sorrow. "Mi dispiace, signora," corrected the orphans.

"Lo ti perdono," said Gabriela calmly.

"Now, shoo, shoo, go purchase your food before it gets dark," motioned Valerio. They bolted off into the shadows. Gabriela's eyes gazed into Valerio's with compassion as he walked closer to her, holding her pouch up.

"Grazie, Valerio," she smiled. "But how did you know that was mine?"

He rotated the pouch to show her the small golden embroidery at the bottom. The text was tiny, but it had the inscription G. Merlo in unique lettering. "I noticed the embroidery as soon as I grabbed your florins from the boys. You are the only person with the family name of Merlo that I am aware of. I assumed the G stood for Gabriela as well, unless if it stood for Gabriele or Gerardo or anything similar." Valerio handed her money pouch back to Gabriela. "When I met with you earlier, I saw your pouch sticking out of your cloak pocket as well. I was afraid of it falling out or that something similar to this incident would have happened."

She chuckled. "Very observant, aren't we? Regardless, I do appreciate what you have done, Valerio. I really do. However, it is getting dark now, and I must be taking off. I will see you on Wednesday."

"Aspetta," he called out as she turned around, causing her to do a double-take. "Won't you let me walk back with you, to accompany you?"

Without hesitation, she replied, "Si," and they began to walk back to the border together.

…

A/N: Surprise, surprise, I actually made Ezio a gentleman and just had them cuddle for the first night together. :P Also, I'm not a huge romance-writer, so writing this scene out did make me feel a little awkward at times and so I feel like this entire scene might have been awkward. Any feedback would be appreciated!