Ezio ran down the dark alleyways of his home, his city of Firenze, made all the darker by the new hood he now donned. He felt the weight of his robes and what they symbolized. Death, betrayal, conspiracies, and unknowable truths, all things he had been blissfully unaware of a few years before. Hard years that had trained both mind and body to become the efficient killing mechanism that the Order required. It gave him power he never knew himself capable of before. And to think I was to be a banker like my father…
He let his mind drift, his body being so attuned to the environment around him that he could grapple up the side of buildings without so much as a thought to the task. His father had been so much more than he'd ever realized. A banker. Ha. The secrets and lies that he lived in were as much a part of him as the blood in his veins. It preceded him and his brothers and even his father. Who knew just how far back this war went? The moon was high in the sky now, fuller and clearer than he'd ever remembered. He sighted a steeple nearby and made the ascent within seconds, perching at the very top. There he remained in silence for a time just admiring the night.
It was nights like this that led him to reflect on his life. He tried not to think of the past, but thinking of the present wasn't much better. In fact, it possibly inspired even more apprehension. Not only the war with the templars, the corruption of Italy, his role in it, but also the war within himself. It was a battle he had been actively ignoring for some time now. Thankfully, there wasn't much time to consider matters of the heart when he was busy stopping the hearts of others.
And yet…
His dearest friend, Leonardo DaVinci, had been rather… different lately. More cryptic in his meanings. Ezio could not always parse what the man meant half the time. He was incredibly gifted with intellect and Ezio assumed that was all it was.
But that didn't stop him from feeling the way he did.
Ezio felt… uncomfortable, to say the least. Not in the presence of his friend, but of the feeling he got when his friend was close at hand. The looks that Leonardo gave him in the glow of candlelight while modifying Ezio's blade… It made him feel almost like a young boy in church who had just tried speaking to the little girl he stared at every Sunday two pews ahead of him. It was the only feeling he could compare it to in his experience. He loved Christina, but he…
Ezio looked up at the night sky and decided to head back. He'd told Leonardo he'd be by tonight. Ezio breathed in the cool, night air and descended down the tower again. He melded into the shadows as he flitted through the night toward the artist's home. The door was unlocked, as he expected. He felt conflicted by that—annoyance that his friend should leave the door unbarred when he was so embroiled in this conflict by association, yet, pleased that he'd left it open specifically for him.
Ezio barred the door behind him.
"Ah! Ezio! Is that you?" Leonardo appeared from further inside the workshop. He had dried paint on his hand.
"What have you been painting this time, my friend?" Ezio nodded to the paint.
"Well, I have started on another portrait, commissioned of course. A lady of high class."
"Was she clothed?" Ezio asked snidely.
"Not everyone I paint is nude, Ezio," he chided.
"Yet more than one expects…" Ezio walked over and collapsed into a chair. He watched his friend busily tidying his space. He was so disorganized but yet an absolute genius. He wondered if his friend was even aware of that fact considering he was so critical of his work, always believing he was destined to do something greater.
"Have you found any more codexes?" There was a hint of excitement in Leonardo's voice.
"No, I have not found any yet in my travels. Not since the last."
"Blast… Well, I'm sure you will find another soon." He put all the brushes in a cup and wiped up some excess paint.
"You really look forward to those?" Ezio posited.
"Yes, it is the challenge of the mind! The code, a puzzle. To discover what it all means, what it's all pointing towards!"
"Indeed. If anyone can decipher it, it would be you." Ezio felt exhaustion in his limbs but still found enjoyment in watching Leonardo light up over intellectual pursuits. Ezio could never keep up with it, but he hoped that he at least kept his friend's interest enough with the amount of armor and weapon upgrades he'd asked for. Leonardo had never asked for anything, not even payment. Some nights they would just sit and talk, perhaps drink wine. It seemed all Leonardo wanted was to know that he was doing something meaningful by sending Ezio out to change the world with his new equipment. That, and perhaps, enjoying the companionship of another like-minded individual—one striving for something greater than himself.
"Would you like a drink?" Leonardo held up a bottle of wine. Ezio sighed and nodded as Leonardo began pouring a cup. He handed it to Ezio.
"Grazie, Leonardo," Ezio replied as he reached out for the cup. He felt a caress of his skin as the cup exchanged hands.
No. He hadn't.
He peeked out from under his hood at his friend and then raised the cup slowly to his lips. Leonardo watched him drink and then began to pour a glass for himself. He sat down opposite him and they talked of the past weeks they'd spent apart. They laughed and joked and told stories and it felt like the old days. The days before his father and brothers had been hanged at the gallows. The smile of his friend was warm and inviting and Ezio felt at home. The night waned and soon the two fell to silence watching the fire in the hearth. He always dreaded this time.
It was time for him to go.
"Thank you, my friend, this evening has been… nice," Ezio said and hoisted himself up from the chair.
"Ezio, must you go so soon?" Leonardo had jumped up and grabbed his arm. As he turned back, he found Leonardo's face close to his. He met the gaze of his dearest friend with silence. "It is not often that I see you. Why don't you stay? It is so late and you are tired; why leave now when I have a bed?"
Ezio wasn't exactly eager to leave, but he felt he couldn't stay. It wouldn't be right. He felt that deep in his gut, but he couldn't explain why.
"I must go," Ezio said.
"Ezio…" Leonardo grabbed his face and kissed him.
"What are you doing!?" Ezio exclaimed.
"Tell me you do not also feel this," Leonardo demanded. He was stern and certain in his words. "I know it is in you too—I see it."
"Wha—" Leonardo moved in close and cut off Ezio's next question. The space of time that passed as hands rested on his waist, and held him there. Breathing was all he could manage as his mind raced. He could feel the heat from Leonardo's next words.
"You do not pull away," he noted.
"This… cannot be," Ezio mumbled.
"It is not unheard of between men," he insisted softly. There was a gentle understanding in his eyes.
"It is against decency." His heart slammed in his chest as he desired more.
"What is it that your Order says?" Leonardo ran a hand along the inside of Ezio's collar. Each inch of skin burned under his touch. "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."
Ezio gasped as Leonardo leaned in even closer.
"Decency and Truth are dictated by those that write history, those that control the world order. Are you not fighting for that world? Who is to say that what we know today wasn't written as such by those power-hungry templars of the past?"
"I—hadn't thought of that."
"Then let us live in this moment of what could be. A preview of things to come when you win this war." Leonardo kissed him again only deeper. Ezio didn't fight it this time. More and more he wondered what was even true and if any of it mattered anyway. He grabbed Leonardo and pulled him flush against him.
Leonardo chuckled between kisses. "You know, it is not so different than it is between a man and a woman." Leonardo unbuckled Ezio's cape and it fell to the floor.
"I can wield much more than a blade," Ezio murmured in a sultry tone.
"So the rumors say. I've heard of your skill with the ladies…" Leonardo raised a brow and lowered Ezio's hood.
"Perhaps I could model for your next piece…"
Leonardo opened Ezio's shirt and dragged his palms down to his abs with each word he spoke. "I would love to sculpt such a firm and strong specimen."
"Then feel free to study all you'd like." And with that Ezio closed the gap with his lips. They kissed passionately and a groan slipped from Leonardo as Ezio removed his belt.
"Come," Leonardo finally said as he broke the kiss. "Let me show you what it is to love a man." He coaxed Ezio toward his room and the assassin followed wordlessly.
It was just as passionate as with a woman, full of fire and desire. Ezio sweated and gasped overtop the artist as he had Christina years ago. To love so differently and yet so much the same.
That night had changed a lot of the assassin's thinking. Perhaps it was all a means of control; right and wrong really was a matter of perspective after all. He killed—which is inherently wrong to the established laws—but his reasons are just, making his actions right. Is it really any different in love as in war?
His mind raced with ideologies and ecstasy as he lay next to his dearest friend, catching his breath. Leonardo's eyes closed and his breathing deepened as sleep overtook him. The blush of dawn peeked through the curtains and Ezio knew things would be better if he made them so.
He would change the world so all could be free to choose their own path. The templars would not force compliance to achieve peace, because free will is a gift, a blessing of life and creation. He looked over at the creator sleeping next to him. Leonardo lived his life with confidence and did what he believed was right and would change the face of the world doing so, and Ezio admired that.
It would all be okay. Ezio would ensure it.