51

Sorry about the super long wait. Life got busy. I'm going to try to update once a month. Not much of an excuse, but, I never forgot about the people who continue to show interest in my little story. ^_^

"Ow." I grump lowly.

"If you stop moving," A muffled, aggravated male voice says close to my right shoulder. "It will hurt less." I feel another poke and pull from a curved needle sliding through my skin.

"What I wouldn't give to have a bit of freezing, first." I mutter a touch wistfully as my left arm clutches the back of the armless wooden chair I'm straddling. My eyes are pressed shut as I concentrate on not moving my right arm.

"Ice is very expensive this time of the year. The only way to get this done is to endure it."

"That's not what I meant," I grumble unhappily. "And that doesn't mean I have to like it." He ignores my rants and continues to silently stitch the gash on my arm. Half a dozen or so pokes later, he stands and gathers his tools from the table beside him.

"Now remember to rest that arm or I will have to come back and stitch it again." He says in parting, leaving me to examine his handiwork. The stitches are snug but not too tight: a good job, all around. The skin next to the stitches is red but not inflamed. I imagine I'll have a very pretty bruise over the next few days.

"That was not so bad." Ezio speaks from behind me, making me jump a little in surprise.

"Says someone who still has his wisdom teeth." I mutter with memories of needles, unfrozen gums, and having teeth yanked out drifting through my mind. I stand up from my chair and turn to look at him. His eyes study my newest line of stitches for a few minutes before meeting my gaze.

"What are wisdom teeth?" He asks in confusion.

"They are molars that come in at the very back during puberty." I reply simply before continuing. "I had mine removed when I was 15."

"With all that you tell me of your time, it must have been easy." He responds easily. His right arm comes up and his body shifts to my left to drape his arm around my back.

An undignified snort escapes my lips. "Hardly. The stuff they use is supposed to numb your gums so you don't feel anything. Unfortunately, it didn't work, so, they pulled them anyways. Hurt like a bitch." I gripe with a touch of heat. A gentle tug of his arm has us walking side-by-side down the hall towards our rooms.

"I have nearly had several knocked out, in the past. I do not want to ever have that done on purpose." He says plainly, without malice as we climb a flight of stairs.

"I imagine that having a tooth or two knocked out in our line of work would be a lot worse than what I went through with mine." I concede his point as we reach the top of the stairs and turn towards my room. Noticing our direction, I look at him and give mild protest. "Aren't we…?" My voice trails off with some confusion as my left hand haltingly points down another hallway leading to his room.

"We could." He says with a leer and a seductive tone. "But you would get little rest if we go to my room." His left arm pulls me in closer to his side as we walk the last few steps to my room. The heat of his arm seeps through the fabric separating us. His teasingly warm lips place a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Second thoughts, hmm?"

My eyes roll while I grumble lowly under my breath. His chuckles echo lightly through the hall as we part ways.