An: The idea was inspired by the song 'After Hours' by We Are Scientists (surprise).

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The Italian night air was cool as it caressed her skin. The soft curls of her auburn hair danced around her face, as she stood in front of the assassin's hideout; her eyes cast up towards the night sky that was reflecting perfectly in the nearby river. A soft shiver touched her spine, and the hair on her arms rose against the black shirt that clung to her body before she heard the door open and listened to Seeley's feet crunch on the steps as he moved to her side.

"Are you cold?" he asked, as he noticed how her arms were crossed over her chest.

"No," she answered, nodding towards the road and stepping forward slowly. "Just...a shiver."

"How did the rest of your day go?" Seeley whispered as they stepped from the cobblestones to the bridge. "Machiavelli didn't go too hard on you once you woke up did you?"

"Machiavelli...hard on me?" Temperance chuckled, shaking her head and staring out into the moonlit river. "Yeah right. That man is mush when it comes to me. He just asked for a specific amount of money for me to collect in the day, and then constantly asked about what we were doing tonight. I think he's jealous of you."

"Well, according to you, this isn't a date, so he has no reason to be jealous," he teased, poking her shoulder gently as they mindlessly passed through the dwindling crowds of people.

"But, as you demonstrate perfectly...men are hardheaded, and too stubborn for their own good."

"Well...we have to have SOME sort of downfall."

"No, you mean YOU need to have some sort of downfall...I can find multiple traits I don't like in just about every man I meet."

"So you agree...I'm seemingly perfect?"

"You're cocky," she corrected; tightening her arms across her chest, and looking up to the large buildings that stretched above her head. "I...I actually asked you to come with me because I have something to ask you. Will you...will you help me?"

"Help you with what?" he asked, glancing at her face, before he looked up to try and see what her eyes were locked on.

"My leg," she whispered. "I...I think it's well enough for me to free run again, and I need someone there to spot me just in case. I don't know how well my leg will hold up under me, and I want you there, because I trust you enough to catch me if I start to fall."

"Good, because I'll never let you fall," he smiled, reaching out and grasping her hand. "Come on, that cathedral over there looks easy enough to climb. If you feel better...maybe we'll up the stakes a little bit."

"Thank you," she hushed, as she let him lead her towards the side of the church. "I...I appreciate you helping me with this."

"Free running is a huge part of who you are isn't it?" he asked, tilting his head and recognizing the vulnerability he heard in her voice. "You feel out of it not being able to run across the roofs of the city."

"More than I can explain," she assured. "I hate moving through the street. I have to mess with guards all the time...up here, if I'm quick enough, I can get out of their sights before they feel any inclination to come after me. I fly up on the roofs...and I miss being able to look down on the city. I miss being high up in the air."

"Then come on," he smiled, stepping backwards until his back was pressing against the other wall. "I'm sure you can do this without my help."

Temperance nodded, and did the same; gaining some distance between herself and the side of the church before she ran forward and jumped towards the wall. The frames of the glass and the molding surrounding the large, elaborate stained glass windows were easy grasps for her as she pulled herself further and further away from the ground. She felt the strain in her muscles, and felt the slight twinge of pain in her leg as she pulled herself to the top of the molding, and bunched her legs before she leaped upwards, and caught the bottom of another large, circular window. She could feel his eyes boring into her as she slid her way up the building, and once she was able to pull herself to the top, she could have sworn that she heard him sigh with relief.

"Were you scared?" she asked, smiling and moving her leg around cautiously.

"Well, yeah. I didn't want you to fall," he explained, stepping closer to the large steeple. "How do you feel?"

"Amazing," she returned, looking out over the bright fires that lit the city. She was overwhelmed by the beauty that overtook her, and she felt her lips curling in a soft, child-like smile...the same smile that brought a hard crushing feeling to his chest.

"How about we go higher?" he asked, nodding towards a larger tower that matched the height of the church, and most likely doubled it. "Think you can handle that?"

"I'm positive I can handle it...and I'm positive that I can beat you in a race up there," she teased, walking across the roof of the church, until she reached the flat surface that connected a string of houses towards the tower.

"You really think you're faster...and a better climber than me?"

"I know I am, and I will be happy to prove it."

"Alright then...let's see it."

"On three," she offered, smiling and counting to 'two' before she bolted away from him, and leaped from rooftop to rooftop with surprising grace. He rushed to catch up with her, but alas when he caught her, she was already pulling herself up the tower. The distant sound of an angered voice stilled their race though, and the sound of an arrow flying and hitting the stone by her hand sent her falling the short drop towards the roof.

"Let's go," he laughed, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the tower; leaping across the tops of buildings until they found a wooden sign they used to slide to the ground on. The guard that had alerted them kept up the high speed chase, and their running was filled with laughter as they continued to evade the persistent soldier.

He followed them through alleys, and climbed up ladders when they reached the roof tops. He shot at them with a sloppy precision, and huffed and puffed all the while chasing them through the rich district of Rome. They turned a sharp corner, and dissolved into a labyrinth of alley ways; trying to keep their lips shut, and their laughing to a minimal. They would glance over their shoulders, feeling glee as they ran away from the guard, and once they finally met an open plaza, Seeley ran towards the large wagon of flower petals that was settled in the middle.

"Get in this," he said; sliding his hands along her hips as he helped her into the wagon, and then buried himself within their hiding spot. She giggled mercilessly, and he couldn't stop smiling as they arranged themselves in a way that was comfortable. He moved his arm around her waist, and brought his hand over her mouth; listening intently to the footsteps that were creeping closer to their hiding spot. The tip of a sword made its appearance through the pedals, and his arms tightened around her as he pulled her into his lap, and away from the prodding soldier. He removed his hand from her mouth, and rewarded her hip with the warmth his palm provided. The soft curls of her hair brushed against his face, and his breath was hot against her cheek; his attention becoming focused more on the delirious smell of her hair, instead of the man that was searching for them.

Eventually though, the soldier grew tired, and he grumbled in protest before making his way in a direction he thought they went in. They waited minutes in their closer company; settled comfortably in each other's arms, until they realized that the proximity was no longer appropriate, and that they could move.

He was the one to exit first; his head on a swivel as he made sure that no one was watching them. Then he whispered to her, and reached in for her hand; helping her from the large wagon , and unconsciously letting his arms slip around her until she was stable on her feet. His hands softly brushed down her back; landing on her hips as their eyes met, and they shared a tender smile. He reached his hand up, and with deft fingers, plucked away a flower petal that was stuck in her hair.

"Come on," he whispered, as he brushed the flowers from his assassins uniform. "There is someplace I want to show you...even Cesare's men aren't going to stop me from giving you the sight you have craved for so long."

~*~*B+B*~*~

"I don't know what I miss more," she mused, as they rested back against the cold roof of a tall, abandoned military watch tower. "Seeing the city from so high up...or being so close to the stars. Being up at this height...away from the light of Rome...all the stars are so much brighter."

"When I was growing up," she muttered. "I would take my blanket, and my pillow, and lay on the top of the thieves guild...so I could fall asleep under the stars. La Volpe's father had him study astrology, and he would always come up with me, and show me which star is which, and he told me of all of the stories behind the constellations. And then he would tell me all these over-fantasized and romanticized stories that he knew eased my curious mind."

"Well this isn't even the highest point in Roma," he explained, absently reaching over and brushing his fingers against her own. "This is just the highest point I thought you could handle with your leg. How does it feel?"

"It hurts," Temperance answered truthfully. "But I'm sure it's just because of my drop from that tower to the roof. It's nothing terribly unbearable...just a sort of dull nagging pain. It comes and goes."

"Do you still have medicine at the hideout?"

"Yes mother," she laughed, reaching up and brushing her fingers over her eyes. "Don't worry so much, I can take care of myself."

"Someone needs at least one person to worry about them unconditionally."

"Well you chose the terrible time to choose to worry," she muttered. "We're going to be in dangerous situations every single day. I don't want you losing sleep because you worry about me."

"Alright, then I won't lose sleep over it," he said. "But...I don't sleep throughout the day. I'm guessing that, by this agreement, I can still worry about you then?"

"Am I ever going to be able to convince you otherwise?"

"Probably not Temperance."

"Well...I guess it's nice to a point," she said, rolling onto her stomach, and resting up on her elbows. "No one ever cared where I went when I was a kid. I just...went where I pleased. Which, was a terrible, terrible decision some days."

"Did...did anything happen to you?" he asked, resting up on his elbow and moving his hand so that it settled on her lower back.

"No...not like that, but, I got sucked into some spouts with the wrong people. I was manipulated and forced to steal large amounts of money for petty thieves that threatened my life if I refused their orders. I was small, I looked scrawny...no one would give me a second glance if I slipped in somewhere," she whispered, lowering her head to her crossed arms. "I was...kept with them for months until La Volpe finally found me. To say the least...I didn't get to leave the guild for the next couple years of my life."

"You're not that girl anymore," he hushed, his hand still at her back as he leaned down to look in her eyes. "You aren't scrawny, and you aren't unnoticeable. You're a fascinating, funny, infuriating, short-tempered, bad mouthed, beautiful woman. You are able to go unnoticed because you are the best...not because that's who you are. You worked to be hidden in all the right ways...besides, I can hardly picture you 'shy'."

"I was awkward," she said. "I still am sometimes."

"You don't seem awkward around me."

"I know...which really confuses me. Usually, meeting and having to work with new people isn't easy for me. I'm not someone who will trust easily...but you seem to be different."

"Because you know that I'm no better than you," he whispered, smiling at her and reaching up so that his fingers could brush against her cheek. "Right?"

"Well, if you want to add insult to injury...you're exactly right."

Seeley laughed and shook his head, smiling as she seemed to lean into the touch he held against her cheek. "You look exhausted...do you want to head back to Island?"

"No," Temperance answered automatically. "No...I want to stay right here."

"Just...tell me if you get cold," he hushed, smiling when she closed her eyes and seemed to sink into the fresh air that was circling her body.

"You're here," she murmured. "You'll be warmth enough if I get cold."

~*~*B+B*~*~

"Tell me a story," she whispered, as she felt him becoming restless beside her.

"A story about what exactly?"

"Your life...if you want to. See, I don't know anything about you...other than the few details that I have learned. What did you do when you were a kid? Did you always live in Monteriggioni?"

"No," he answered quietly. "No. I lived in Firenze most of my life. I was a hell child, that snuck into women's rooms in the middle of the night, and started mob fights in the street. I lived with my mother, my father, and my younger brother Jared. Jared was the favorite, I was my father's pawn, and my mother didn't really do anything. My father was ruthless, and forced me to train as an assassin before I could write my own name."

"Seeley, you don't have to tell me this if you don't want to," she stopped him, moving her hand to his forearm to close the small amount of space that was still held between them.

"It's fine...besides, I know about you, you should know about me," he explained, moving his fingers so that they covered her own. "At this point, I was only 18, and Rodrigo Borgia, along with his men, created this conspiracy against my family. I witnessed the their hanging, and the guards of the city were ordered to find me. Eventually I had to leave Firenze, and headed to Monteriggioni. Rodrigo was my target, and I set out on a mission to kill the man who killed my family. I spent years of my life running about Italia, wasting my time until I got to Roma. I can't tell you the miles I accumulated in those past decades. I can tell you every street from Firenze, to Toscana, to Romagna, to Venezia."

"Wow," Temperance whispered, brushing her thumb against his arm. "How about...something happier? Surely there has been a woman along the line that you have loved."

"Well...that isn't necessarily happier. Her name was Rebecca."

"That's a pretty name..."

"I wish I could say she is a pretty person...but, the way our 'relationship' ended makes me think otherwise. She was an assistant to the Contessa of Forli. I was supposed to go to Forli to speak with Catarina Sforza; so that I could form an alliance with her, as a representative of the assassins. I met Rebecca when I was stumbling through the castle, and even though I gave her my heart, she found that she was interested more in money. She left me to marry a noble from Spain. Lord knows where she is now."

"Well...even though her name is beautiful, she seems to be awfully stupid," she muttered. "Let greedy women scrounge for money...their motives will never change, even when they find someone who is rich. They will learn to manipulate, and become people that closely resemble monsters. Even though I'm sure it hurt for her to leave...even if it still does...she never deserved you in the first place."

"I'm not this wonderful man that you think I am Temperance. I'm not someone who must be 'deserved'."

"You seem to be stupid as well," she laughed, shaking her head and moving her fingers from his arm to his cheek. "I'm very intelligent, and I find that I am right in most situations. Wise up and listen to me...you're going to have to get used to it anyway."

"What's going to happen if I don't listen to you?"

"Hmm that's for me to know, and for you to find out. Though...I advise that you try not to find out , because it will not be a fun experience."

"I guess I'll just have to trust you this time," he muttered, smiling as her eyes began to heavily drift closed. "Good night Temperance."

"Good night Seeley," she returned weakly, and she snuggled closer to him for warmth, and fell asleep with her head resting against his shoulder.