Hey guys, here's my next oneshot in this series! Like the other two, it is stand alone. I'm submitting this chapter as a WordPad file, so hopefully the formatting will stay the way I want it to. But please, if you have any suggestions for how to format my stories better (that is, which programs I can use because just the copy part of this site won't let me do that) then tell me because I desperately need to know. While the proper format isn't the most essential part of a story, I feel that it is nonetheless highly important and I want to make sure that the process of reading my stories is as enjoyable as possible.

With that said, here's the next chapter.

...

Connor played with his hands when he was nervous. While most people probably wouldn't notice it, Desmond had known Connor long enough (Hell, he'd even experienced part of his life through the Animus) to recognize the tell. That said, there weren't many things that made Connor nervous. The guy could charge into battle without a second thought, throw himself off of humongous heights fearlessly, and push through an inordinate amount of pain. However, one thing that was almost guranteed to make Connor nervous, Desmond reflected, was interacting with other people. Despite how many perople he'd killed in his life, despite all the things he'd seen and done, Connor was still...innocent. He was naive to the ways that other people worked for the most part, the dark thought and motives that guided their lives. Connor, believing that goodness would prevail in the end no matter the hardships it faced to get there, would be invariably hurt and crushed when those he trusted betrayed him, or used him to attain their own ends. While Connor definitely didn't trust every person he met, he also didn't immediately distrust them either. This caused the man a lot of problems, and Desmond knew that it contributed to his reclusive nature. Connor drew away from other people in an effort to protect himself from all the pain that they could potentially (and usually, in Connor's experience) bring him.

However, Desmond was one of the few people (perhaps the only person) that Connor allowed all of his barriers to be let down for. Connor laughed and joked around Desmond; he'd even opened up to Desmond about his fears and frustrations before (a big feat for a Kenway). Having someone think so highly of him, to have someone like him for him, and not for his ancestry or training, really made Desmond happy. When he'd been growing up on the Farm, he hadn't had anyone that he was close to. In fact, there hadn't even been many children there. Only a couple others, and Desmond hadn't had much contact with them anyway. When he'd left the Farm and settled in New York he'd had a few friends, but his past had put up a wall that stopped him from forming any closer relationships with anyone. Connor was, now that Desmond thought about it, the first person that he'd had be that close to him. And, if Desmond was honest with himself, he wouldn't mind being more than just friends with the other assassin. Connor was an extremely attractice man. Not to mention his personality; when he laughed or smiled, his entire being just lit up in happiness. Desmond just loved to see-

Oh fuck.

Desmond didn't have long to reflect on this new revelation, because here Connor came, fiddling with his hands. He hadn't done that around Desmond in ages, so Desmond immediately grew worried. He tried to hide it and smiled at Connor.

"Hey man, what up?" Desmond asked, trying not to wince at his awkward choice of words. Maybe it was because of his discovery that he was in love with Connor, but he suddenly felt tongue-tied, butterflies tying his stomach in knots. He wasn't sure if this always happened whenever he saw Connor, but the sensation itself wasn't all bad. The thought that Connor wouldn't return his feelings sure stung though.

All the time that Desmond had known him, Connor had never displayed any romantic interest towards anyone. Of course, that might just be Connor's social timidness, so Desmond reasoned that Connor could like someone and just hadn't told him. Desmond couldn't decide which caused him more pain: that Connor could like someone else, or that he hadn't felt comfortable enough to talk about it with Desmond. They'd shared far more intimate details than who they were interested in. Maybe, Desmond realized, he had pushed Connor away from him, and now he was here to tell Desmond that he didn't want anything to do with him anymore-

Jeeze, since when did Desmond become such a boy-crazed teenager? He forced himself to calm down. Jumping to conclusions without listening to what Connor had to say would cause more harm than good.

While Desmond was having his internal crisis, Connor stood in front of him, trying to gather his words for whatever it was that he was wanted to say. Connor opened and closed his mouth a few times, cleared his throat, and licked his lips before he said anything.

"Desmond, I...have something to tell you," Connor, said, his voice betraying his nerves as well.

Desmond nodded encouragingly. "I'm all ears man."

Connor nodded once, and then he nodded again, his adam's apple bobbing as he worked up the courage to say what he wanted to.

"I'm...ah...I'm...gay," Connor said, ducking his head with his cheeks burning red.

Blinking, Desmond took a moment to process this. Whatever he had been expecting Connor to say, it hadn't been that. "You're-what?"

"I'm gay," Connor repeated, seeming to shrink even more upon himself. To Desmond he looked as if he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

"I..." Desmond was flabbergasted, although there was a spark of hope in his chest that hadn't been there before. "How long have you known?"

Connor shrugged, wringing his hands together. "There's this man that I've been thinking about. I want to hold him, want to kiss him and call him mine," Connor glanced up at Desmond, and for some reason he flushed even more when he saw that Desmond's eyes were glued to him. "I can tell him anything, and be myself around him. He doesn't expect me to be anyone that I'm not, and he makes sure that I take care of myself."

...This was stargint to sound familiar to Desmond.

"He's kind to others without being a pushover, he's had a lot happen to him in his life that taught him the value of standing up for himself and his own happiness. He's brave and loyal, willing to sacrifice himself for what he believes to be right. I admire him so much, I want him to have everything he could ever need or want. I want to be the one that makes him smile and laugh because I..." Here the endless torrent of words that Connor couldn't seem to keep himself from saying suddenly stopped. He raised his head up to look straight at Desmond, newfound understanding shining in his eyes. "I'm in love with him."

Connor seemed to barely be breathing after his revelation, and Desmond couldn't blame him. His heart was beating fast, and he hoped fervantly that his guess wasn't wrong.

Taking a deep breathe, Desmond tried to keep his voice steady as he said, "You know I'm bi right?"

Connor's eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head, obviously not understanding what Desmond meant. Desmond had to fight to keep a goofy grin from sliding onto his face at the sight.

"Bisexual is when you're attracted to both men and women," Desmond explained, and Connor nodded his head in understanding.

"So you...like men too?" Connor asked, and Desmond knew without a doubt that he wasn't imagining the hopeful tone in Connor's voice.

This time Desmond did smile. "Yeah, but overall it really depends on the person, you know? Amd actually," Desmond added as if it was an afterthought. "I'm in love with a guy too."

"Y-You are?" Connor repeated, visibly deflating and hurt flooding his face. Desmond felt his own stab of pain at the sight, and hurriedly stepped closer to Connor before he could bolt away.

"Yeah, and I would tell you his name except no one but him that I know can pronounce it."

As soon as those words left Desmond's lips and Connor processed them, his eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but Desmond interjected before any sound could leave his lips.

"He's so handsome and strong, but on the inside he's really sweet and considerate. He loves animals, and he's always helping people out even if he doesn't particularly know them. He's funny and can be really sarcastic, although most people think he's purposefully being rude towards them even though it's just his way of joking around. He's completely dedicated to whatever he believes in, and always puts others ahead of himself. His life hasn't always been the happiest, but lately he's seemed a lot more joyful, and seeing him that happy makes me happy. I love knowing that he trusts me enough to come talk to me about anything, because I want him to know that I will always be there for him and that I will always love him. I want to see his smile get bigger and bigger each day, because I love to see him smile. He's getting better at talking to others, he's making real progress, and I know that'll help him along the road. And even though he isn't perfect at it he enver lets that stop him. He always pushes himself to do better. I love that about him, and I jsut want to be there for him to make sure that he doesn't push himself too hard. I just love him so much, I want him to be happy because he deserves to be happy."

Desmond finally stopped talking, drawing in deep breathes in a fruitless effort to slow his heart down. There was still so much that he wanted to tell Connor, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to put the rest of his feelings into words. All that came to mind was 'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...'

Connor was still staring wide-eyed at Desmond, and Desmond knew what he had to do next in order for his message to really sink in. Desmond stepped even closer to Connor until their chests brushed against each other. Connor was about a head taller than Desmond was, so he had to stretch a little to reach where he wanted to be. Desmond lifted his right arm and cupped the back of Connor's neck, dragging his head down the rest of the way until their lips were just barely brushing against each other. Connor's breathe ghosted shakily across Desmond's mouth. Taking his own deep breathe, Desmond closed the distance between them and pressed his mouth against Connor's. He brought his left arm to join his right one around Connor's neck, and he felt Connor slowly warp his arms around Desmond's waist. While their lips moved awkwardly at first, they soon grew accustomed to each other, allowing the kiss to deepen. As they kissed, Desmond's mind was in an ecstatic haze, blissfully ignorant of everything but Connor, the feel of Connor pressed against him, their lips pressed hungrily against one another's, and Connor's hands securely gripping Desmond's waist. As cliche as it sounded, nothing else in the world mattered at that moment but the two of them.

Eventually the need for air became too great, and they had to break apart. Desmond leaned his forehead against Connor's, and Desmond could feel Connor rubbing small circles on his hips with his thumbs. Desmond let out a breathy chuckle and opened his eyes to find Connor already smiling bashfully at him.

"So. Gay huh?" Desmond asked, and this time Connor joined him when he laughed before sealing their lips together once more.

...

I have a lot of feelings for these men and this was just sort of my way of venting that out. They both deserve so much love and happiness and neither one of them ever really got that and so I just-

Excuse me while I cry.

Anyway, hopefully that wasn't too bad, overly sweet, or the dreaded OOC. Although, to be honest, this whole thing is an AU anyway, so I think I'm allowed to have them OOC (at least a little, I'll try to keep it to as much of a minimum as I can).

I had something else I wanted to say but I forgot it. Oh well.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day/evening!

Also, to CyberSearcher: Yeah, this whole thing is really weird and I'm sorry XD The majority of the chapters will be for the pairing of Desmond and Connor, so if you don't like that I'm terribly sorry. However, you're always free to send me any requests or ideas that you have and I'll see what I can do. Despite Desmond and Connor being the focus of this series, it is still an Assassin's Creed series. But that first chapter was really cracky, I apologize for that XD I get most of my prompts from random prompt generators, since for some reason that allows me to work on them faster and better :/