I am so sorry it took so fucking long guys omgg it was beyond ridiculous how long it took me. Between the move and the new job it took way longer than it should and I'm so sorry for that.
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Natalie stared at the locked door before her with a concerned gaze. Desmond had locked himself in his room in the catacombs and had refused to answer when anyone knocked. She knew what his father had said had struck a cord for him, but it concerned her greatly to see her best friend so greatly affected by his father. Even as a teen he had been angered by the things William would say to him not upset by them. The fact that he had been able to upset Desmond so greatly that he would even ignore her, angered and worried Natalie. It had been hours since William's visit and Desmond had skipped lunch with everyone, which in turn made her three time travelling residents begin to worry for the younger man as well.
Sighing, Natalie closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, trying to think of a way to convince her friend to come out of his room or at least let her in. The sudden feeling of something curling around her leg had her eyes snapping open and she looked down to find a fluffy cat sitting at her feet staring up at her with a pair of bright blue eyes. It's fur was mostly white all over it's body, except for the tip of its ears and its face which were a silvery grey color.
"Boris, I thought I locked you up in the room. Silly kitty, you can't be roaming around alone down here." Natalie cooed squatting down to pet the cat behind its ears. Boris was a Birman that Natalie had found on one of her missions. He had only been a kitten when Natalie had found him in an alley way she had taken cover in. She had instantly fallen in love with the tiny fumbling fuzz ball and had hidden him away in her hoodie pocket.
Boris meowed at her and rubbed his face against hers, making her laugh softly. She quickly scooped up her cat and stood up once more to stare at the door.
"What should I do Boris? He won't let anyone in and he won't talk to us when we try to speak with him." Natalie said quietly. She didn't expect a response from her cat, but she often found if she could verbally hash out an issue then she could better find a solution. And well, Boris was a great listener.
"He's upset over the things his father said. I can understand that it must be hard for him, after all his ancestors are important figure heads from the past."
Just like that it hit her. Desmond's Soul Mates were major figure heads, ones they had to find a way to send back to their own times. What his dad had said in the end hadn't just struck a cord for Desmond, it had stabbed him straight through the heart and left him to patch up the hole. Frowning, Natalie tried to think of a way to comfort him. She knew of one way, which would be finding a reason for why his three boys would have to stay. That would be her top priority. She would have to do some research and she would need the apple as well, with Desmond's permission of course to use it. Next she could do something that might help him see a bright side to all this until she did find a solution. For now, she had to get in and speak with Desmond.
Giving herself a firm nod as if to confirm to herself what she was about to do, she set Boris on the ground and reached up into her hair to pull a hair pin from it. She bent and twisted the pin a bit before walking up to the locked door and slipping it into the lock. She twisted and pushed at it a bit until she heard that familiar and welcome click and swiftly slid the door open. Desmond was sitting on the bed, staring at her wide eyed as she slipped in with a cat just ahead of her.
"We gotta talk Dessy." She said simply, shutting and relocking the door behind her.
"There's nothing to talk about Nat." Desmond replied, his face returning to a somber expression.
"Stop that right now." She said sternly, walking up and standing in front of him, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and acting like this is the end of the world."
"What would you know Nat, you will probably never have to worry about having to give up your soul mate just for the sake of existing in the first place."
Desmond's tone had turned angry and he glared up at Natalie, but that didn't deter her. She simply glared down at him, before sighing and making her final decision.
"Jacob Frye and Shay Cormac." She said simply.
"What?" Desmond said, a confused expression crossing his face as he stared at her.
"My names, Jacob Frye and Shay Cormac. Jacob Frye was an assassin during the Industrial Age in London. He was a brilliant Assassin along side his twin Evie." Natalie explained, sitting on the edge of the bed with a sad sigh, "Shay Cormac was an Assassin turned Templar during Connor's time. Not much is known about him other than that he betrayed the Brotherhood and joined the Templars."
"But how can that be, how can you have the names of people who are long passed. How do you even know these men from the past are your soul mates Nat?" Desmond asked, seeming to find ways to arguing the point she was trying to make.
"The same way you knew Altair and Ezio were yours when you went through their memories. You know I'm a history buff when it comes to the Assassin's history. The moment I read about Jacob, I knew in my heart that he was the one who's name was printed upon my skin. Same goes for Shay." She replied.
"How long have you had them Nat?"
"I think I was twelve when they appeared for the first time. Dad was just getting into teaching me about the Assassin orders around the world when he came to Jacob. I heard Shay's later when I started doing more research on the American Colonial Assassins. But when I learned about how Shay became a Templar I knew I could never reveal the names. I would never disgrace one of them by keeping only one of them a secret and yet I was afraid of the ridicule I would receive if I were to reveal Shay's name to anyone."
Natalie stared at the ground where Boris sat at her feet staring at her with his blue eyes. Those blue eyes that seemed to be so intelligent and spoke more words then any human probably ever could.
"What are you trying to say Nat?" Desmond asked quietly.
"I'm trying to say that you should be grateful for the gift you've been given considering you are someone who has the names of men from the past. You have gotten to meet not just one, but all three of them. I promise I'm going to find a way for you to keep your boys if it's the last thing I do, but in case I can't you need to understand how lucky you are Des. You got to meet them, where as I will never get to meet mine." Natalie replied, before raising her hand to stop his next words, "And I'm not saying this to make you feel sorry for me or to guilt you into getting over this because the thought of giving up my soul mates if I ever got to meet them kills me, knowing you are going through that exact issue feels the same way. I told you this so that you can understand what a gift you have Desmond. You should enjoy it not dwell on it."
"Nat... I'm sorry." Desmond said, sorrowfully.
Natalie smiled at the young man beside her. She knew he'd feel sorry for her anyway, but she couldn't help that. She just hoped her words would help him to enjoy what a blessing he had been given.
"Forget it. Now I also came in here to ask you something." Natalie said pulling her legs on the bed to face him.
"What is it?"
"I need to borrow the Apple. From what you told me, it is what brought those three here so maybe if I can analyze it a bit I can figure out why it sent them here and if there's a possibility in them getting to stay."
"I don't know Nat, the Apple is powerful and if your mind isn't strong enough it can drive you mad."
"Then help me. This is so you can keep your boys, but I need the apple to help me figure out a way for that to happen. You know me, Desmond if I start getting to obsessed I give you full permission to let you kick my ass."
Natalie waited patiently for his response as Desmond took on a thoughtful expression. She knew if she was gonna figure out a way to help Des keep his boys, she would need to start with the Apple.
"Fine, but you are to only use it when I'm around. I think I'm the only one who can control it properly without losing myself to it." Desmond said finally. Natalie nodded eagerly and rolled herself off the bed, making Boris jump away and hiss in surprise.
"The sooner we get started the better. Do you have it here or did you hide it?" Natalie inquired.
"It's in my bag."
"Good grab it and let's go, we're going to my library."
Desmond smiled slightly as she scooped up her cat once more and headed for the door. She waited by it as he grabbed his bag and reached her.
"What's with the fuzz ball anyway, Nat?" Desmond asked curiously. Boris was staring at him with curious eyes, sniffing at Desmond's hand when he held it out before pressing his face against his palm.
"This is Boris. Found him on one of my missions a couple years back and couldn't say no to him. Of course, he was just a tiny little ball of fluff back then." Natalie replied, smiling as her cat quickly turned his affections towards her when she said his name. Desmond chuckled as the cat rubbed his head under Natalie's chin.
"Anyway that's a story for another day. Let's go."
With that said, Natalie unlocked his door and threw it open before swiftly leading the way out of that hall way and back towards the stairs. Just before reaching the stairs she turned down the hallway just next to them. She swiftly moved to one door way which was slightly opened and shut it completely before continuing past it to another door. Opening that one she revealed a huge library that seemed to take up the space of three of bedrooms, with floor to ceiling scripts, books and scrolls.
"What do you do, keep the whole history of the assassins down here?" Desmond asked, staring in awe at what he was seeing.
"Well duh. You know my obsession with the Brotherhood's history. Of course, every single thing down here is in codes only I can crack, even the old scrolls and scripts. Why do you think I learned some dead languages. This way if anyone ever did get into my catacombs they would never be able to read any of the items here." Natalie replied proudly.
She had collected every single item in her library whether from missions or simply by claiming them from the Brotherhood's archives. She had even transferred a lot of the older stuff into her own code before swiftly removing them from the library and hiding them away. Though a lot remained due to how few people could read the language anymore, she still took no risk on keeping anything in her library that wasn't hidden away in a secret code of some sort. One of her Soul Mates may have been an Assassin turned Templar, but that did not mean she was gonna give the Templar Order an opportunity to get Brotherhood secrets. She was a dedicated Assassin and though she loved Shay no matter what decision he made in life, she would not assist the Templars in anyway. In fact she had every intention of making their lives very difficult for as long as she remained an Assassin.
Focusing on the task at hand, Natalie moved to one of the large tables she kept in the room and set Boris on it.
"Shut the door and bring the Apple over." Natalie instructed, moving to a shelf to grab a few books she might need. She heard Desmond slide the door shut and lock it before his footsteps made their way to the table. She returned to the table just as Desmond pulled the Apple from his bag and set it on the table. Natalie stared at the golden sphere in awe and curiosity, pushing away Boris unconsciously when the feline went to bat at the object.
"Bad kitty, don't touch." Natalie said absently. She swiftly turned to the books she'd set down and flipped them open to a few pages. The three she'd grabbed had a few pages about different Assassins, such as Altair and Ezio, who had had contact with Pieces of Eden. This being Ezio's apple, she had one of the books open to listings of those who had been in contact with it in Italy.
"Alright tell me, Des, what exactly happened when your boys showed up?" Natalie asked, looking to her best friend.
Desmond glanced at her before turning his expression thoughtful as he remembered what happened.
"Not much to tell. I mean we had just gotten into the vault and I picked up the Apple. Next thing I know there's this bright flash of light and I'm being tackled by Altair." Desmond replied, focusing back on her.
"Interesting. So it activated on its own without any orders." Natalie said thoughtfully, flipping through one of the books.
"What are you thinking Natalie?" Des asked, leaning over to try and read her books.
"I'm not sure yet, but I don't think the Apple has the power to simply pluck someone from a different time. Any pages I have on them doesn't mention such a power. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't have the power to mess with fate." Natalie replied, before pointing at it while looking at him, "Mind if I pick it up and examine it?"
Desmond shook his head and she immediately reached out to pick it up in her hand. The moment she touched it a light exploded in the room, making both of them cry out in surprise and sending Boris hissing and spitting off the table. Natalie rubbed at her eyes as the light behind her eyes faded and she swiftly opened them to see if anything happened to Desmond.
"Des, you okay?" She asked, seeing her friend rubbing at his eyes as well.
"Yeah, the Apple still here?" He replied, blinking his eyes finally. She glanced to the table and hummed an affirmative as she saw the golden object still sitting on the table. It was then that she heard Boris growling on the other side of the table, making the blonde move to go calm her feline.
"It's okay now Boris, no need to be-"
Natalie cut herself off as she saw two men slowly rising from the ground on the other side of the table. Pausing only for a moment, she swiftly released her hidden blade and vaulted over the table to tackle the closest man. The man grunted in surprise and Natalie swiftly pinned him before pressing her blade to his neck, making him tense up.
"Who are you and how the hell did you get into my Sanctuary!" She demanded, as she heard Desmond scuffling with the second man a little behind her. From the sounds of it he wasn't having any issues taking them down and she had nothing to worry about. The man pinned under her had what appeared to be shoulder length black hair pinned back in a ponytail by a piece of string with a pair of dark eyes that stared up at her in surprise and confusion. Over his right eye was a scar slanting across it yet the eye itself was completely unharmed. His attire was strange and appeared to be similar to that of old time colonial attire.
"Where am I and who are you?" The man asked in a thick Irish accent that sent a shiver down Natalie's spine. She'd always been a girl for accents.
Shaking herself mentally to clear that thought away she glared down at the man and pressed her blade closer to his neck.
"I asked first intruder! Now answer me! Who are you and how did you get into my Sanctuary!?" Natalie demanded angrily. The man beneath her didn't respond, instead he swiftly grabbed her wrist and flipped them so she was pinned beneath him instead.
"Natalie!" Desmond's shout made the man above her freeze as he went to reach for a weapon. It gave Natalie just the opening she needed. Swiftly bringing her feet up to press against his stomach, she shoved with all her might and threw the man away from her and onto the hard wooden table. She flipped to her feet, before leaping onto the man once more, trapping his arms under her legs as she straddled him and pressed her blade against his neck once more.
"I will only ask once more. Who are you and how did you get into my Sanctuary!?" Natalie demanded angrily, drawing blood as she slightly cut into the man's neck.
"Shay Cormac."
Natalie tensed up at the name and stared down at him with wide eyes. She must have heard him wrong, there is no way he just said what she thought he said.
"What did you say?" She whispered.
"My name is Shay Cormac and I have no idea how I got here. Now." The man replied, before bucking up. He managed to flip Natalie over while she was too shocked by his response to react and she swiftly found herself beneath him once more, her back pressing into the hard table.
"Mind answering my own questions?" He asked as Natalie stared up at him still too shocked to speak. The man above her stared down at her expectantly, but beyond holding down her arms by her head made no move to draw any weapons.
Suddenly Desmond came barreling over and tackled the man off her, snapping the blonde from her shocked state. Grinding her teeth, she flipped to her feet once again. She swiftly turned to help Desmond only to have an arm come around and wrap around her neck.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Shay there, mind answering our questions now gorgeous." The second man spoke in a thick British accent. Finally Natalie's anger snapped and reaching up to grab the second man's arm, she snapped her head back into his face and brought one of her elbows back into his rib cage. The man grunted and released her, giving her the opportunity to spin around and kick him straight in the gut. "That's it! This is my Sanctuary! My home and if you two don't sit the fuck down and let me figure out this situation I swear I will do far worse then gut you!" Natalie shouted, making all three men in the room tense up in surprise.
Desmond instantly straightened from where he'd been trying to pin Shay and stood at a soldier like attention. Natalie ignored him, quickly flicking her gaze between her two intruders. Neither seemed to happy about being ordered around, but swiftly stood and took a seat at the table anyway. The blonde glared at both of them and looked to Desmond.
"Are you hurt, Des?" She asked, moving over and scooping the Apple off the table. She didn't want either men trying to take it until she was sure this wasn't some trick. She had a feeling that if one man was claiming to be Shay the other might claim to be another familiar name, but that didn't mean it wasn't a trick. She deposited the Apple in Desmond's hands before turning back to the two men.
"Alright, I got one of your names, but not the English gentleman." Natalie said calmly, looking directly at the second man with a cold and calculating gaze.
The second man was tall like the first and even with his older English attire, Natalie could tell he was well built. His hair was brown and slicked back under the hat he wore with a pair of light brown eyes that stared at her with curiosity. He had a slight scar over his right brow and a smirk on his face that could make any red blooded woman swoon. However, Natalie was a professional Assassin and she did not swoon when there was a risk of being attacked.
"I am Jacob Frye, my lady. And who, may I ask, are you?" The man replied still smirking.
"My name is unimportant, I'm more concerned with how you two got here." Natalie replied, turning to Desmond as Boris jumped onto the table to inspect the two men.
"Do you think the Apple had something to do with this?" She asked, staring at her friend.
"It's a possibility, the same light happened just before those three appeared too. Except this time you touched the Apple which means these two must be-"
Natalie cut Desmond off by holding up her hand and glancing at the two men. She was surprised to find Boris happily rolling over to let the two men rub his belly as he demanded their attention. It wasn't unusual for Boris to be affectionate with a stranger, but showing his belly after only just meeting a person was completely unheard of. She was the only one Boris trusted that openly. Jacob appeared to be enjoying petting the cat, while Shay was petting the feline with a raised eyebrow as if curious of its behavior. Shaking that thought away, she turned her focus on the two men, making them both glance at her as they felt her gaze.
The Apple had pulled Desmond's three Soul Mates to his time and it seemed it had done the same for her after they'd come into physical contact with it. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried by this. If it had just been Desmond's Soul Mates she had to worry about it would be fine, but one of hers was a confirmed Traitor to the Brotherhood. She didn't care anymore if anyone knew Shay was meant to be hers, she took pride in the names she carried now without the idiocy of her young teenage years to weigh her down over them, but she worried for Shay. Being a Templar among Assassins was never good it didn't matter what time period you are from. She had no doubt he was still a Templar, which meant she would have to do everything in her power to protect him from the other Assassins.
The sound of someone knocking at her library door had everyone in the room snapping their heads around to look at the door. Shaking herself swiftly Natalie straightened up and contemplated opening the door, but decided against it.
"What is it?!" She called instead.
"Hey, Nat is Des in there with you? The boys out here are starting to get worried about him, especially since they didn't find him in his room." Dylan's voice came through the door, making Natalie almost give in to her want to open the door.
"Yes he's in here with me. We're doing a little research into the Apple, I'll be out in a bit to start on dinner for everyone, for now inform those three that I am looking after Des and he is perfectly fine." Natalie called back, receiving a 'yeah' in response.
Desmond sighed beside her, making her glance at her best friend. She could tell he wanted to go and assure his Soul Mates that he was fine himself, but they needed to figure this out before they just left the room.
"I know you wanna go see them, Des, but just a little longer here okay? We have to figure this out. After all we literally just had the Apple drop an Assassin-turned-Templar into my Sanctuary." Natalie said, grabbing Desmond's attention. He nodded at her, but swiftly turned his attention to Shay as the man stood.
"How do you know about the Assassin's? Are you an alley of theirs?" Shay asked accusingly. Jacob in the seat beside him had taken on a very suspicious gaze as he watched both Shay and her carefully. However, Natalie was too busy glaring at Shay's angry accusation to pay him much mind.
"And if I was? What are you going to do, Mr. Cormac? You are in an unfamiliar place and out numbered. It would be very unwise to start things when you don't have any advantage." Natalie replied, coldly.
She didn't care if he was her soul mate, she would not be treated so disrespectfully in her own home. Shay glared at her for a moment, before seeming to collect himself and sat back down.
"Fine, you have a point. Then, please pray tell, who are you? I believe the two of us deserve to know, since we are in such an 'unfamiliar' place as you put it." Shay said, directing to himself and Jacob as he spoke. Natalie thought for a moment before glancing at Desmond, who simply shrugged as if to say it was up to her.
"Fine. My name is Natalie Azrael, I'm an Assassin and the head of the very Assassin Sanctuary you are currently sitting inside of." She replied, crossing her arms and watching as both of their faces were graced with surprised expressions.
"You are Natalie Azrael?" Shay asked, receiving only a nod. It wasn't a surprise for them to know her name, they probably carried hers on them as well in fact it was rare for someone to have a Soul Mate who didn't share their own name.
"Well I must say, you are far prettier then I could ever have imagined you'd be." Jacob said suddenly, making Natalie blush in embarrassment and surprise.
Natalie quickly recovered shaking herself and cocking her hip as she set her hand on her hip. She gave the Brit an unamused look which didn't deter his growing grin.
"Focus Casanova, we have more important things to do then listen to your failed attempts at flirting with me." Natalie said smugly, smirking at Jacob's surprised expression.
"And what could possibly be more important then discussing your beauty, my dear?" Jacob asked, recovering quickly.
"Well for starters informing you that you are currently in the year 2012 and secondly figuring out how to convince the rest of the Assassins who frequent my Sanctuary that they shouldn't kill Shay on sight." Natalie replied, quickly turning her mind inwards towards her own thoughts to figure out a solution.
"Nat, I hate to point out the obvious, but as you said this is your Sanctuary. A place where one can go to be safe, I'm technically a former runaway and most Assassins don't like me for it yet I came here knowing I'd be safe because you are giving me sanctuary." Desmond pointed out, grabbing her attention, "This is your home and you run it. If you choose to house and protect Shay then that is a decision no one can argue against."
Natalie stared at him for a moment before literally face palming. He was right. This was her place and if she could throw out the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood then god dammit she could tell any others off who tried to harm Shay in anyway.
"What would I do without you, Des?" She asked rubbing her now reddening forehead with her hand.
"Well you survived nine years, I think it's safe to say you would do okay, but you sure do a lot better with me here." Desmond said teasingly. Natalie chuckled and turned to the two men at the table, who had once more had their attention grabbed by her cat.
"Alright gentleman, stick close to me or Des here at all times. Especially you, Shay. Once the others find out who you are they will not hesitate to give you hell even with my protection." Natalie said loudly, making them glance up at her.
"I am a trained Assassin my dear, I believe I will be fine." Jacob said with a smirk.
"You aren't the one I'm worried about. They will accept you without question because you're an Assassin. Shay not so much. According to what little information I have on him in my library, he betrayed the Brotherhood and turned on them to join the Templars before beginning to try and wipe out all Assassins." Natalie explained glancing at Shay to see his eyes burning with anger.
"I turned on them because Achilles sent me to get a precursor artifact that once removed started an earthquake that destroyed an entire city and all the lives in it!" Shay defended himself standing up angrily.
"I have no doubt you left for a reason that indeed sounds justified, however, the story passed down through the Brotherhood doesn't detail why you left simply that you are a traitor and that is what most will see you as." Natalie replied calmly.
"So that's it then, I follow you around like you're my warden. I don't think so sweetheart." Shay growled.
Natalie just stared at him with a calm expression. She wasn't trying to be his warden, just his metaphorical shield. If she wanted to be a warden she'd strip him of his weapons.
"If I was going to treat you like a prisoner, I wouldn't let you keep your weapons let alone allow you to walk around my Sanctuary freely. I am a proud Assassin, but there are people who will always come before the Brotherhood or my Creed and my Soul Mates are two of those people." Natalie said quietly, keeping her gaze locked on Shay's angry ones. Shay seemed to calm slightly, but she could still see anger blazing in his dark eyes.
"Look, Natalie and I have been best friends since we were kids. She's willing to go up against the Mentor of the Brotherhood for me, so I can promise you there isn't anything or anyone in this world she wouldn't go against for you." Desmond said, grabbing Shay's attention.
Shay seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding and sitting back down. He gave Natalie an apologetic smile and quickly glanced away to pet Boris, who had moved to sit directly in front of Shay to get the Irish man's attention. Natalie let out a relieved sigh and straightened.
"Alright then, since we have that figured out. What do you say we get out of the library, I have to get started on dinner." Natalie suggested, moving to the table and scooping up her cat while Desmond followed after her.
She unlocked the door and stepped out of the way so Desmond could go off to find his three boys, while Natalie turned back to her own pair of men.
"Are you two coming?" She asked. They stared at her for a moment before looking at each other and standing up.
"Where are you leading us, my lady?" Jacob inquired as they approached her.
"To the kitchen, where else would I make dinner." She said matter of factly, quickly leaving the room. She stopped by her room for a brief moment to deposit her feline inside before swiftly shutting and making sure it was locked so he couldn't get out again. She then led both men down her hall and back to Desmond's hall and into the kitchen there.
Natalie was thankful to find that no one was there at the moment, which would give her some more time to think of what to say about explaining the two with her. She directed for both to sit at the table, while she quickly moved around the kitchen grabbing food and spices she might need for dinner. She had originally planned to make an Arab dish of some sort, but she didn't have the time to prepare one now at least not one to her liking, so instead she focused on a simple dinner of beer battered fish and some French fries. She swiftly made up the mixture for breading the fish she had and pulled out the fryer to start heating it up.
She let out a breath as she washed off her hands and turned around to the table while she dried them. She eyed the table critically, knowing it didn't have the room for the two extra bodies who would be joining for dinner. She'd have to length the table, thankfully it was one of those with the pull out middle so it wouldn't be super difficult, getting even more chairs on the other hand that would take a couple of chairs from the library.
"So what is the plan now, A stor?" Shay asked, pulling Natalie's attention to him.
"What do you mean?" She replied, giving him a curious look, not catching what he had called her.
"Well obviously we were brought to the future, what is your plan for us being here? Or are you planning to return us to our own time?" Shay inquired calmly, receiving a punch from Jacob for asking about sending them back.
Natalie thought for a moment. She didn't want to send them back, not if there was a way to keep them, but she also wouldn't make them stay if that wasn't what they wanted.
"Honestly, I don't know at the moment. My original plan was to find out why Des' boys were sent to our time and to find a way for them to stay since I can tell they don't want to leave him anymore then he wants them to go. But for you two..." Natalie paused, looking between the two men at the table who watched her patiently. She wanted them to stay more then anything, but she also knew that if it wasn't what they wanted she'd sacrifice her own happiness for theirs without even a thought.
"For you two, I want you to stay, I really do. But don't feel obligated to stay if it's not what you want. I've survived twelve years knowing I might never get to meet you two, I can live the rest of my life knowing you two are happy." She said honestly, turning back to the fryer to drop the fish in it.
She jumped as a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She hadn't heard the person move let alone get up from the chair they'd been in, which was a scary thought, Natalie's senses were hyper sensitive compared to most, because she lived in the catacombs under her bar. She was privy to any and all noises made around her even when she had ear plugs in her ears while working in the bar. The fact one of the men in this room had just snuck up on her threw her off and scared her beyond comprehension.
"I have been waiting my whole life to find you, and you really think I would just leave you?" Shay's thickly accented voice sent shivers down her spine as his breath fanned across her ear.
She didn't know how to respond to his words, so instead she brought her arms up and laid them over top of Shay's with a slight sigh. She leaned back into him, shutting her eyes as she enjoyed his arms around her. She was pulled from the peaceful moment as the beeper on the fryer went off. She reluctantly pulled herself from Shay's arms and moved to drop the fries in first. Just because they were eating fish with the fries didn't mean she had to make everything taste like fish. She set the timer for them and turned back to face Shay with a slight smile. "That's a matter for later. For now, I have to finish up dinner and focus on convincing the boys not to kill you once I explain who you are." Natalie said calmly, receiving a slight chuckle from the Irishman.
Natalie waved him back to the seat at the table and began shuffling around the kitchen pulling out plates, silverware and cups for the table. As she juggled everything with an expertise from years of catering the bar as well as making food for large groups of assassins, she was a little surprised when a bunch of the objects were suddenly taken from her arms. "Please allow us to help, my dear. We aren't completely useless in setting a table." Jacob's voice filled her ears as she turned to find him and Shay had moved to help her. She wanted to argue that she could handle it, but decided to just let it go and nodded as they began setting things up at the table.
By the time everything was finished and set up at the table, Natalie could hear all the boys coming down the hall from the training room. Before any of them could step foot into the room however, Natalie stepped out and gave them all a pointed glare. The only one who seemed to have not even been heading for the door had been Desmond who had continued on past the kitchen to his bedroom door. "You all better wash up before she shows you why you she's allowed to run this place by herself!" Desmond called back to the others, making them all quickly scramble off to do as the glare suggested.
Natalie re-entered the kitchen and was greeted by Shay and Jacob chuckling at her actions. "Don't laugh you two may have helped but you have to wash your hands too." She ordered pointing to the kitchen sink with a stern gaze. Neither man argued they simply laughed as they moved to do as told. She nodded in approval as they came back and sat down and then nervously waited for the others. She wasn't too nervous about Desmond's boys, their opinion didn't really matter to her since she didn't really know them, but Duncan and Dylan were a different matter entirely. Desmond may have been her best friend since they were kids, but Duncan and Dylan were her team, her friends and her family in every sense. It would devastate her if they didn't accept both her soul mates, just as it would if Desmond hadn't. Thankfully her best friend never judged her and she never worried about him not accepting as seen from earlier with his lack of care towards the topic.
Desmond was the first back from cleaning up and he wordlessly moved to take the empty seat beside Shay, leaving the one between Jacob and Shay open for her. Des gave her a comforting smile as she gave him a thankful gaze for his obvious act of helping cover Shay's open side from the others. Though it calmed her, his smile didn't send her worries away completely and they only grew tenfold once again when the others slowly started filing in. Desmond's boys gave a brief glance to the two new comers, but clearly believed they belonged there without question since Natalie wasn't making a fuss. Duncan however, sent them a suspicious stare and stood behind his seat while Dylan straight up glared at them.
"Natalie, who are these two?" Duncan asked curiously glancing at the blonde who hadn't taken her seat yet.
"Boys I'd like you to meet Jacob Frye and Shay Cormac, time travelers and my soul mates." Natalie said calmly waiting for the onslaught she knew was coming.
~~Page Break/Author's Notes~~
So what did you guys think. I know she doesn't have one soul mate, but thanks to a reader on this site who voted, I got the idea of making it Shay, but it was originally supposed to be Jacob because I liked the idea of his sassy ass playing off of her own sass. So I decided on both because I am indecisive and well ideas began to form. Now the main focus will still be Des and the boys, but I figured I could also do a sort of side plot with Natalie and her own boys that crosses with the main plot when we follow Des' p.o.v also i will be doing more Natalie p.o.v in the future with maybe a few p. with the other boys depending on how my mind goes. Anyway let me know what you guys think and I will try and get the next chapter out a little sooner. Also hey let me know if you guys want a little side story about how Natalie met Boris cuz there is no way that is going to make it into the story ever XD
