"That's more like it!" Shay crowed, lifting up the little Templar artifact, only to hear guffawing behind him.
"Do you always congratulate yourself on finding things?" Aveline asked. "It seems a simple matter of understanding a map."
"Aye, and with no map I've now found the prettiest Assassin ever to walk this Earth," he told her with a smile, tucking the artifact in his pocket. "Certainly should be permitted to congratulate someone for that."
"You could congratulate the Assassin in question," she suggested. "Beauty requires hard work, I'll have you know."
"Hard work that's much appreciated," he assured her, taking her in his arms as she reached up to meet his lips with hers.
"As I appreciate your hard work," she murmured, one hand reaching down for his trousers and worming in past his belt.
"Wait-hey-your hand is really cold!" he practically yelped, and she smiled and pressed her body to his. "And you're definitely not dressed for this weather." He felt very protective of her exposed cleavage, and her impractical little shoes were already full of snow.
Haytham walked up at just that moment; he'd been standing in a thicket of trees nearby for the past couple of minutes. "Oh, please, can't the two of you wait until you can get to an inn?"
"Haytham, you have no idea how long it's been since I've seen him."
"Judging by your reaction, at least a century."
"Where are we?" she asked, "somewhere in Acadia?"
"Aye, and it's bitterly cold," Shay told her, taking her in his arms and kissing her.
"Then perhaps you should, ah, what was it? Find out about my presence here and rent us a room?" she suggested. "A room with plenty of warm blankets...and you to warm me up..."
He blushed, then took her by the hand as the three of them walked back to the Morrigan. Aveline kept nearly tripping in the ankle-deep snow, and Shay had to steady her more than once. "Gist! We're staying overnight here, tell the men!"
Gist laid a finger alongside his nose and winked knowingly. "Will do. Enjoy your visit with Aveline!"
"I will!" Shay called, grinning.
"I'll stay aboard the ship-" Haytham began, then frowned as Shay walked alone towards the town. "Run along, Aveline."
"I find that I can't," she muttered, annoyed.
"What? Oh...Shay, a word, please," Haytham called.
Shay returned, frowning with confusion. "Aveline? What's going on?"
She pointed to Haytham. "I'm visiting him."
They all stood, staring at each other for a minute. "Oh, absolutely not," Haytham insisted. "I'll not be sharing a room with the two of you. I know what you get up to, I don't need to watch."
Shay began, "We could..." but then trailed off.
"Don't be ridiculous," Aveline said briskly. "We'll rent two rooms, one for Haytham and one for Shay and me. Then I should be able to be close enough."
Finding a room proved to be relatively hard; the only inn was more along the lines of someone's unused bedroom. At least the door locked.
"No," said Haytham. "Two rooms or the deal's off."
"You could sit in the corner with a blanket over your head," Aveline suggested.
"No," he repeated stubbornly.
"Erm, Aveline, love, I don't think I could if he was sitting right there," Shay added.
"Then Haytham can sit outside the door and wait for us to finish," Aveline tried.
"I'd still be able to hear you, I'm sure," Haytham said with another long-suffering sigh. "But very well. Only call out to me when you do; I'm tired and would like to sleep as soon as it's safe."
"He acts like his eyes would be scalded by the sight of an inch of my skin," she complained to Shay, once they were inside the small room.
"I think he's just prissy."
Aveline looked out the window. "You should open this and close it, as if I were sneaking in through it." It was nice and creaky for what she always called "verisimilitude".
"And now, my lovely lady Aveline, I think I must get you into this bed quick as a wink." Shay pulled her over to the rather narrow and lumpy bed spread with an ample amount of blankets and quilts.
Aveline pretended to gasp. "Oh! And here I thought you were a gentleman. Well, this will make things easier." She pushed him onto the bed and climbed atop him, nimble hands working at his buckles with practiced speed.
"I can hear you!" Haytham hissed from the armchair he'd wrestled into the hallway. "And what do I do if the family asks why I'm here?"
"Tell them the truth, but loudly. Your friend needed some privacy," Aveline told him matter-of-factly as she tore open Shay's jacket.
"Oh, and that won't get us thrown out for immorality," Haytham snapped.
"At least you'll have a place to sleep," Aveline said cheerfully.
"You'd better stay off that trundle bed, that's mine and I don't want it dirtied before I sleep in it," Haytham griped.
"Too late!" Aveline giggled.
"I do hope you're joking," Haytham told her mildly. "If I find that you've desecrated my bed I'll go sleep on the ship."
"Too much talking," Shay complained, and Aveline returned her attention to his amazing hands under her skirt.
Haytham sighed and tried to block out the noise-Shay was trying to keep quiet but Aveline clearly wasn't-to read his book. Yet again, distraction intervened, in the form of another visitor.
"Whoa! What's up? Why are you sitting outside this door?" Desmond asked, nearly losing his balance as he appeared on the floor in front of Haytham's chair.
Haytham sighed. "Shay and Aveline."
"Say no more, dude." Desmond frowned. "Why aren't you in, like, another town by now so you don't have to hear them?"
"Because I'm too kind for my own good."
Desmond stared as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "You're what?"
"I value Shay," he said through gritted teeth. "Therefore, when Aveline visits me, I do foolish things like sit outside a door so that Aveline can be close enough to him to be...close to him."
Desmond nodded. "You're a good wingman."
"Indeed, whatever that means." Just then, Aveline made an unidentifiable noise that probably signified intense pleasure, and Haytham firmly stared at his book.
"Why don't you get your own room?" Desmond suggested. "For both of our sakes."
"I very much wish I could," said Haytham, yawning.
"Dude, you got sexiled when you were tired? Not cool, guys, not cool!"
"Don't make a fuss, Desmond," Haytham insisted.
Desmond banged on the door. "Make it a quickie, you two! Be nice!"
Aveline's voice floated out. "We're done, but he ripped my dress."
Desmond made a face. "Tacky templar!"
Aveline giggled. "Is 'tacky' another word for, what do you say, 'sexy'?"
"You're such a good wingman, Haytham," Desmond told him.
Aveline leaned out the door, eyes alight, Shay's shirt falling off one shoulder, and smiled. "We finished," she said simply. "He's asleep."
Desmond and Haytham waited until they heard the rustling of blankets that meant Aveline was back in the bed, and only then opened the door. "I'll sleep on the floor," Desmond was quick to offer.
Haytham rolled his eyes and marked an imaginary line on the trundle bed. "You may have this half." Aveline chuckled from where she was curled up with Shay.
Desmond nodded. "Fair deal!" He figured if Edward showed up, they could deal with that problem when it happened.