Desmond listened to everyone laugh for a few more minutes, all of them slowly sobering up from the fits, while he pulled himself together and lifted his head to give them the best annoyed expression he could muster. Natalie was still snickering at him and his brothers were both smirking. Shaking his head he stood and started grabbing plates from the table to begin clearing. Taking the hint his brothers and Natalie's began helping as well before moving to the counters and sink. Desmond set some of the plates in the sink as Dylan came up beside him.
"So are you planning to sleep with all three of them, or one at a time?" Dylan asked quietly so the three at the table wouldn't hear.
Desmond blushed and spluttered at his question while Duncan burst out laughing and Natalie giggled behind her hands.
"That's none of your business!" Desmond shot back quietly. Dylan smirked and was about to say something else, when they heard Natalie cough and snap her fingers. All three brothers immediately snapped to attention and turned to look at her expectantly.
"Alright boys, Duncan I want you putting away, Dylan and Desmond I want you two drying, I'll actually wash the dishes." Natalie commanded smirking slightly. The brothers gave a mock salute and moved to their stations while Natalie turned the water on so she could start scrubbing dishes.
There was silence for a few moments while Natalie started passing washed dishes to them, but after a few moments Duncan decided to speak up again.
"Okay, being completely serious now, what are you planning to do about the three of them?" Duncan asked quietly, shooting his gaze behind them at the table. Desmond looked over his shoulder slightly as he dried a plate to see that the three men were all talking quietly to each other. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned about that or not, but quickly focused again as he passed the dried plate to his brother.
"What do you mean? We're going to find a way to send them home." Desmond replied, ignoring the ache that started in his chest. He didn't want them to be sent back, but they had to whether any of them wanted it or not.
"That's it?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised? Two of them are confirmed historically important figure heads to the assassin order, and I'm sure Connor plays an important part in his own time as an Assassin." Desmond replied flatly continuing to dry any dishes handed to him.
"But Des, they're your soul mates." Duncan argued weakly.
"Boys drop it." Natalie said sharply, instantly shutting them up. Desmond gave her a weak smile which she returned. Leave it to his best friend to know exactly how sensitive that topic was for him, even after nine years she could read him like an open book.
They spent the rest of the time doing the dishes in silence, his brothers sending him glances that said they clearly wanted to ask further about the last topic, but stayed silent because of Natalie's constant pointed glances. Desmond focused on drying, occasionally glancing back at the three still at the table, smiling every time when he'd see them talking quietly and appearing completely relaxed.
Desmond finished drying the last plate and handed it to Duncan to put it away. He handed his towel to Natalie so that she could dry off her hands while his brothers were muttering about something behind him. Leaning forward Natalie stood on her tip toes slightly to speak to him as she opened her mouth to speak.
"You okay? I could tell they were touching on a touchy topic a little while ago." She asked, her voice low and filled with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine don't worry about me." He replied.
"Too late for that, been worrying for a little less then eighteen years of my life, I probably ain't gonna stop now." Natalie shot back with a snort. Desmond chuckled at her words and reached out to run his hand through her hair. She smiled up at him and took his hand so she could kiss the scared knuckles before moving in and wrapping her slender arms around his waist. She was practically dwarfed in the overly large hoodie she wore, but to Desmond it only made her even more adorable.
He loved Natalie, he did. Not in the way many had thought when they were growing up on the farm, but he did love her. She was his best friend and many a time had claimed her as his unofficial soul mate. No he didn't carry her name on his skin like he did with the three Assassin's at the table, but she was as important to him as they were. He didn't need to carry her name to know that she was meant to be his best friend or that he would be lost and miserable if she didn't exist in this world. Her name was written in his heart from the moment she smiled at him during training when they were eight.
Slowly releasing Natalie from the hug, he actually jumped when he felt a pair of arms replace hers. Desmond glanced over his shoulder to find Ezio had approached and was smiling over his shoulder at Natalie menacingly. Bless Natalie to death, even knowing who the man was she didn't flinch and simply returned the smile with one of her own.
"Oh trust me pretty boy, if I wanted him I could have him. I'm the only one he's straight for." Natalie replied teasingly, giggling as Ezio frowned at her response, "So don't think you're tall stature and warning smiles are going to stop me from hugging or holding my best friend."
Desmond laughed at her response while Ezio snorted and tugged the younger man closer to him. Appearing to not like Natalie's words any more then the Italian both Connor and Altair came over as well and grabbed Desmond's arms. The younger man found himself suddenly being dragged out of the kitchen while his brothers and Natalie laughed.
"You four have fun!" Duncan called, making Desmond's face heat up while he attempted to flip him off. He was dragged out of the kitchen and down the hall a ways to the bedroom he'd claimed for himself, though he was pretty sure the other three would be staying here in the evenings as well. Now that he thought about it, he had to stop that now before he let it get out of hand. He was already too attached to them, he couldn't risk getting used to having them with him even while he slept.
That thought was quickly squashed as he was dragged into the room and Altair turned to lock the door behind them. He turned to argue that action and tell them he would be sleeping alone, but that was cut off before he could begin as Connor quickly dragged him to the bed and practically tossed him on it.
"Wow, hey wait a minute!" Desmond exclaimed as Ezio was the first to crawl on the bed with him. All three of them had a look in their eyes that made Desmond squirm slightly.
"What's the matter tesoro?" Ezio asked, with a slight chuckle, "You aren't nervous are you?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I should let any of you throw me around like a rag doll." Desmond replied, glaring at the Italian man for a moment, before snapping his glare to the Native that had thrown him. Connor appeared indifferent to his glare and simply got onto the bed as well.
Desmond grumbled at their lack of care towards his irritation. He wasn't somebody who enjoyed being tossed around, Abstergo had done that shit and he wouldn't sit back and take that kind of treatment from anyone.
"Is something the matter habibi?" Altair asked, dragging the younger man's glare to him. The Syrian had moved over near the edge of the bed, but had yet to get on it yet. He appeared to be the only one who was actually concerned by Desmond's irritation and was watching him carefully.
"No, just don't like being thrown around is all." Desmond said with a sigh, dropping his glare and scratching the back of his head. Connor wrapped an arm around him and buried his face against Desmond's shoulder as, what the younger man assumed was, a sort of apology for having thrown him.
Desmond sighed at the action and leaned his head against Connor's to show he wasn't angry. Damn, he hated this. No matter how hard he tried to keep his heart as far from them as he could, they just did shit like this and suddenly he couldn't help but want to reach out for them.
"Perhaps we should get some rest, I am sure that we will have to deal with others such as your father tomorrow." Altair suggested, getting Desmond to glance up at him. The Syrian still hadn't got on the bed like the other two, but once the Italian and Native had dragged the youngest male under the covers of the bed, Altair joined them by laying on the other side of Ezio and staying closest to the edge. Surprised that by the sudden change in their attitude, Desmond barely had a chance to settle before two arms from the men on either side of him wrapped around his waist and both pressed themselves against him. Sighing, Desmond closed his eyes and barely registered a third hand that had tangled itself in his hair as he drifted to sleep.
~Line Break~
Desmond slowly woke and grumbled. He didn't want to wake up just yet, instead he wriggled closer to the warmth beside him in an attempt to try and keep that safe, warm feeling he'd had while asleep. A chuckle reached his ears and the warmth he'd pressed against vibrated with the sound, making Desmond crack an eye open to stare up at Altair. The Syrian was watching him with a small amused smile on his face.
"Good morning, habibi." Altair said. Desmond ignored him and closed his eye again before rolling to face away from him. Though with an arm wrapped under him from the man, he didn't actually get away from him.
Altair fell silent as Desmond continued to teeter between the dream and waking world. Desmond was thankful for that and just enjoyed the feeling of the Syrian laying beside him with a slight smile on his face. He eventually couldn't stay in the bed anymore and fully pulled himself awake by sitting up in bed. It was then that he noticed Ezio and Connor were both gone, making Desmond look to the Syrian beside him with a questioning gaze.
"They went to train for the morning." Altair said simply. Desmond nodded and got off the bed to get dressed. He hesitated when he felt eyes on him and glanced over his shoulder to find Altair watching him intently.
"Shouldn't you be off training too?" Desmond asked as a subtle hint.
Altair either chose to ignore the hint or didn't get it because he just shrugged as he watched the younger man intently.
"I can afford to miss a day of training." He replied simply. Desmond scowled at him slightly, before turning back to his bag.
"Well I'm going to spend some time catching up with Natalie this morning, so you can go join the other two." Desmond hinted again. This time he got no response and turned once more to find Altair still staring at him.
"Dammit Altair, I'm gonna change so get out!" Desmond demanded crossing his arms as he turned to face the Syrian completely.
After a moment of silence, Altair got up from the bed, but instead of heading for the door like Desmond had expected the Syrian walked towards him slowly. Desmond watched him suspiciously as he stopped just before him.
"You sound nervous again, habibi." Altair said quietly, making Desmond frown.
"I'm not nervous, I just enjoy my privacy. It's a luxury I haven't had much of for the last three months." Desmond replied. Altair smirked at him for a moment before taking his face in his hands. Desmond's face immediately lit up bright red and only became worse as Altair kissed his forehead before heading out of the room. Desmond stood there for a few moments still fighting down the blush as well as the overwhelming feeling of butterflies in his stomach. 'Dammit at this rate, it will kill me to send them home.' Desmond thought with a depressed sigh.
He swiftly got dressed and headed out to the kitchen. He was unsurprised to find Natalie there cooking away while she hummed a tune he didn't recognize. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans with a pair of black boots and a purple plaid button up shirt. Her long blonde hair was pinned up messily on her head with a clip that revealed some black writing that was just under the collar of her shirt on her back.
"Good morning Dessy, how'd you sleep?" Natalie asked without turning to look at him.
"Morning. I slept great, what about you?" He asked taking a seat at the table.
"I slept great, though I'm sure you slept much better surrounded by three wonderfully muscled men." She replied teasingly, making him blush.
"Oh hush your mouth, it's too early for your teasing." Desmond shot back, making the blonde imp giggle.
Desmond grumbled as he sat at the table, setting his arms on the table and his chin on his arms. He watched Natalie silently for a few minutes trying to figure out how to word what he'd wanted to talk to her about.
"Alright Desmond, what is it you want to ask me?" Natalie asked suddenly, pulling Desmond from his thoughts. She hadn't looked away from her cooking, but that didn't surprise him. His best friend had figured out a way to pretty much sense his moods a long time ago and that hadn't changed in the last nine years apparently.
"What makes you think I wanna ask something, maybe I'm waiting for you to start asking questions." Desmond replied. She may be able to read him like an open book, but that didn't mean he didn't still need time to gather his thoughts.
"Really Desmond? I can practically feel your eyes drilling curious holes into the back of my head. Now what is it?" She replied flatly, glancing over her shoulder at him.
He sighed at her response and buried his face in his arms for a moment, appreciating the silence Natalie gifted him with to gather himself.
"Alright fine, I need to ask about my names." Desmond said picking his head up.
"What do you need to know?" Natalie asked, setting the pan she had finished using aside and moving a few plates full of pancakes, bacon, hash browns and a large bowl of oatmeal to the table. She turned back to the counters to begin making some fresh orange juice while she waited for his response.
"Well, what can the placement of a name mean for starters?" He asked.
"Well it depends on where it's placed on your body. If it's over your heart it is often seen as your Soul Mate will protect you as well as make you feel safe and loved, if it's on your arms it can be a sense of strength or someone to pull you up when you are down, back can mean they are one you can trust no matter the situation or your past and so on." She replied.
"Alright and what if someone has multiple in the same place?" He asked cautiously.
Natalie paused her movements at his question and glanced back at him.
"Are yours all in the same place?" She asked with a curious tone.
"Yes..." He replied slowly.
"Well that is rare, then again having two names is rare and three is almost completely unheard of, but having all three in the same exact place is something I've never read about. However, going off someone having two names and having them in the same place I'd say it means you need triple the support on wherever it is placed. Tell me where are they located?"
"Right here, over my heart." Desmond said, placing his hand over his chest where he knew the names to be.
"Oh well that is actually understandable." Natalie muttered thoughtfully.
Desmond gave her a curious expression and she giggled softly when she turned to put the pitcher of orange juice on the table.
"I don't mean anything bad by it, I just mean that it makes sense for them to be over your heart. You may have had me and your brother's to love you growing up, but you never truly felt the love most children get from their parents. Bill was everything but a father most days and your mother was off on missions the moment you and the boys were old enough to take care of each other." Natalie explained.
"So why does that explain why my Soul Mates names are over my heart?" Desmond asked, slightly annoyed by the reminder of his parentless childhood.
"Well you can stand on your own when you are down and you don't need someone to have your back since you have me and your brothers, but what your soul recognizes that you need is someone who can love and protect your heart in a way that we can't. That's where your Soul Mate, or in your case Mates, come in. Their names are over your heart because they are what your soul needs. They will love and protect you in the way that you need." She replied with a smile, "I guess you could say they complete you, just like your name on their body completes what they need."
Desmond rolled his eyes slightly at her cheesy line, but at the same time knew it made sense. He was just about to finally ask if she had ever received her name when the door to the kitchen opened and his brothers and his three Soul Mates walked in.
"Good morning, little brother!" Duncan exclaimed. All five men were covered in sweat and dressed in sweats and tank tops. This led Desmond to believe that his brothers had probably joined the three others in morning training.
"Morning, how'd training go?" Desmond replied, receiving a grin from both his brothers.
"We'll give your boys this Des, they are skilled and we could learn a helluva lot from them." Dylan replied as he sat down at the table.
"Ah, Dylan William Miles you get your ass up from that chair and go wash up before touching any of that food!" Natalie snapped from where she had moved to grab the milk.
Dylan froze in mid motion of reaching for a piece of bacon. He made no move to argue simply shot to his feet and scurried from the room like a child who'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Duncan was laughing until a spoon hit him in the back of the head.
"That goes for you too Duncan. All of you sweaty men need to go wash up other wise you are going to have to deal with me." She ordered glaring at all of them. Desmond was holding back his laughter as he saw all four of the other men's eyes go wide before swiftly leaving the kitchen to do as told.
"I swear, over eighteen years of knowing each other and both your brothers still haven't figured out that I expect them to clean up before eating." Natalie grumbled as she set the milk on the table along side a tub of butter, a couple jars of jelly, a container of sugar and a bottle of honey.
Desmond laughed at her huffing and got up to wash his hands at the sink before returning the table. By the time Natalie had finished setting the table all the men had returned and took seats at the table. Ezio took up the seat to the left of Desmond followed by Altair and then Connor. It seemed all three had come to the understanding that Natalie was not to be trifled with and left the seat to the right of Desmond open for her while his brothers sat in the seats to the right of hers.
Breakfast went by with slight conversation, but mostly it was just more questions that Desmond's brothers and Natalie wanted to ask the three Assassins. Natalie seemed mostly focused on Altair, since her family line could be traced back to Masyaf, and the Grandmaster was more then happy to answer her curiosity. Desmond was extremely happy to find that Altair seemed to be warming up to his best friend. Though he had lived through far more of Ezio's life then the Syrian's, Desmond had always felt closer to Altair when he'd been going through his memories.
Not only had he had a far better synch rate with him, but Desmond had watched the Syrian grow in a far different way then he did with Ezio. He got to watch Altair go from being a overly proud and reckless man who believed he knew better then his fellow assassin's to a man who had been humbled and bettered by the punishment of his title being stripped. He got to watch his soul mate grow and change into an honorable and respectable man that he was so very proud to carry the name of, he'd even felt like Altair had been cursed having to carry the name of a runaway novice.
Desmond was suddenly pulled from his musings when a loud blaring alarm interrupted all of them. Natalie was on her feet instantly followed closely by the three time-travelers.
"What is that Nat?" Desmond asked, standing up as his brothers remained seated. "It's something I set up if someone not permitted into the Catacombs ever tried to open one of the entrances. It looks like someone not in my system decided to press their luck." Natalie growled.
"I'll give you three guesses as to who it is." Dylan said.
"Here's a hint, his name starts with W and ends with illiam." Duncan spat out, finally standing up as Natalie moved to leave the kitchen.
"Dad?" Desmond stated in surprise, moving to follow Natalie out of the kitchen.
"He probably heard that you were staying with me and headed over this morning to confront you." Natalie said as all the men followed the tiny blonde towards the stairs, "You don't have to come up Desmond, I'll get him out of here if you'd like."
Desmond shook his head and scowled. No way in hell was he just going to stay down here and hide like a frightened child. That was his father up there and dammit he was going to face the bastard if it was the last thing he did.
"No, I'm not sixteen any more Nat, it's time I stopped running from him." Desmond stated. Natalie nodded and continued leading the way as she headed up the spiral stair case. Desmond was close behind her not paying attention to who followed behind him. They reached the top step swiftly and Natalie wasted no time putting her hand against a hand print scanner to open the door.
Natalie stormed out of the door pushing back the tall man who had been trying to open the entrance. Desmond stepped out more slowly allowing Natalie to push the gray haired man out of her office and out to the bar. He was closely followed by Connor and Ezio flanking him on either side, while he felt the presence of Altair just behind him. Desmond could hear Natalie shouting obscenities in the other room and decided to take the time she was giving him to talk to his three Assassins.
"Alright, listen up, no matter what he says don't attack him. It's what he wants. If you attack him, he knows he's getting to you and will use whatever set you off over and over again until he finds something better." Desmond explained quickly watching as his brothers slipped past them to go into the bar. To back Natalie up no doubt, not that the little devil needed back up.
"We are skilled Assassin's tesoro, I am sure we will be able to keep our composure." Ezio replied with a slight smirk.
"We'll see." Desmond muttered before stepping towards the door.
He stepped out into the bar to see Natalie had practically cornered the man while she yelled. Looking at the older man he appeared to be in his late forties to early fifties, with a graying beard and a pair of light hazel eyes. Looking at him, it would be impossible to guess that this man was related to Desmond or his brothers. They looked nothing like him and they sure as hell didn't look like they could be his kids.
As Desmond came to a stop next to the bar counter, William noticed him and practically shoved Natalie out of his way to stalk towards his youngest son. Duncan easily caught the tiny blonde, while the three time-travelers took up defensive stances around Desmond. Their defensive appearances made William falter in his strides for a moment, before he focused on just scowling at Desmond instead. He stopped a few feet away from Desmond and crossed his arms.
"You come home after all this time and can't even be bothered to come meet your own father?" William demanded.
"I'm sorry didn't realize I was still a child and needed to answer to the beck and call of my father every time he throws a temper tantrum over something ridiculous." Desmond replied flatly.
"If not the call of your father then you should answer to the call of the Mentor of the Brotherhood." William said angrily.
"After seeing the lives of two Master Assassin's who became the Mentor's of the Brotherhood, I have found that you using that as a way of trying to control me has lost all intimidation behind it. I mean in comparison you are a pretty pathetic head of the assassins." Desmond shot back, receiving a glare from William.
William may think he knows how to hit Desmond in his weak points, but the youngest son has thicker skin then he did when he was sixteen. His father on the other hand has such a huge ego and so much pride about being the Mentor that his title is an easy target that Desmond can throw his verbal knives at.
"What would you know about being a Mentor, boy? You are nothing more than a runaway novice who is lucky that I have decided to allow you back into the brotherhood." William growled out.
"Even if you didn't want me back just so you could go through our Ancestors pasts to find the Pieces of Eden, you would drag me back into the Brotherhood simply so you could control me. And I'm only here because I have come to respect what Altair and Ezio worked so hard to rebuild during their own times." Desmond replied, feeling the three men around him shift closer at his last comment.
"Oh yes you are so honorable. I must say I feel sorry for the three who have to carry the name of a disgrace like you and they must feel so ashamed to have some runaway novice carry their names." William said with a smirk.
Before Desmond could say anything to the other three, Connor stepped forward and punched his father straight in the jaw. His brothers gasped slightly, while Natalie cheered in appreciation for Connor's actions.
"Say what you will about us, but don't you ever insult Desmond or us in such a way. We are proud to call him ours and we are proud to know he carries our names with a humble pride not many have." Connor stated angrily as he glared down at where William had landed on the floor.
"Even if he were to be the son of a Templar or a Templar himself, we would be proud to call him ours." Ezio added, making Desmond glance at him in shock. Ezio had a pretty good reason to despise Templars, to have him say something like that made a warm feeling spread through Desmond's chest.
William slowly stood from his place on the floor to glare at Connor. Desmond felt his hackles immediately rise at the glare. He was fine with his father's anger being aimed at him, but if that man made a single move towards Connor, he didn't care if the Native could take care of himself, Desmond would bring out a whole new level of anger that his father had never seen from him before.
"And who the hell are you?" William demanded angrily, standing tall to face off against the Mohawk. Not that it did much good, Connor was tall and built appearing more like a bear then a man when he stood in such an intimidating stature.
"Connor Kenway. And I don't care if you are the Mentor of the current Brotherhood, I will put you in the ground if you insult Desmond again." Connor replied with a growl, making William take a step back in surprise.
"How could Desmond receive the names of not one, but three famous Assassin figure heads?" William muttered, grabbing Desmond's attention.
"What do you mean?" Duncan asked curiously, before his youngest brother could.
The sudden sound of Natalie snapping her fingers had everyone, except William and Connor, glancing at her.
"I thought I recognized that name last night, but now I'm sure. Connor Kenway is the name of the Native American Assassin who literally built the Assassin Brotherhood here in America. He was the son of Haytham Kenway, A high ranking Templar of the Templar Order, and grandson to the Pirate-Assassin Edward Kenway. Oh I have so many questions for you when we are done here!" Natalie explained excitedly, her eyes practically sparkling as she stared at Connor.
"So Connor is another major historical figure head in the Assassin's history?" Desmond asked quietly. He tried to tell himself that his heart hadn't just shattered into a million pieces at the revelation. He knew there was a good possibility of Connor being important to the past, but he had secretly been hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could keep at least one of his Soul Mates with him. Instead, just like Altair and Ezio, Connor literally paves the way for the Brotherhood in the past.
"Yep and in fact I believe you boys are direct descendants of him." Natalie replied, excitedly.
Just like that Desmond's heart shattered all over again. Not only were all three of his Soul Mates important to history, but if he didn't send all of them home he and his brothers would never exist. Seeming to notice what was going through their little brother's mind, Duncan and Dylan pinched and poked Natalie's arms respectively making the young woman flinch in pain before glaring at them. She was about to yell at them, when William shifted grabbing all their attention again.
"This is quite amusing. Not only do you fail as an Assassin Desmond, but you can't even get a Soul Mate you can keep by your side." William said with a smirk. Apparently the older man hadn't learned from his earlier mistake of insulting Desmond, because he once again received a punch to the jaw from Connor.
Desmond barely heard William curse at the Native for his actions, as he turned away and began walking back to the Catacomb entrance. Seeming to understand that this was done, Natalie ordered Duncan and Dylan to throw their father out of her bar before she decided to gut him herself. Desmond blocked it all out, leaving the others behind so he could go to his room and think for a bit. His thoughts kept going back to the last thing his father said. He was right. Desmond was a failure as an Assassin, but what really hurt was that his father was right about his Soul Mates. He couldn't keep them by his side and he felt ashamed for them that they were forced to carry his name.
~Author Note~
I tried to wait for my beta to go over this first but I got too excited to post it :P
