Demi: I got a request from Raine and one other who wanted the second bit of this story to be posted here, as they could not access Tumblr for whatever reason, so here it is. But the majority of drabble stuff will be posted over on my blog :)

THE CAVE

"But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck."

He used to wonder, often, why the hell that intrusive bastard carried on interfering in his life. The damn stronzo just would not give up; it was like he was determined to change his mind on every single matter of his life, as if his own life depended on Vieri's.

Vieri soon realised that Federico was, in vain, attempting to find the key to his gilded cage; the younger male was trying to set him free, to give him the confidence to step out independently, to be his own person, not another Pazzi. He was trying to get Vieri to abandon his restraints, find strength in his faults and shortcomings, and ultimately doing what was best for himself.

Quickly, he thought of the truth. He realised why Federico interfered and stuck his damn crooked nose into his business. It was plain as day. Why else would he waste so much time, so much effort, so many smiles and so many kisses on him if he didn't?

He guessed that Federico loved him. And he guessed that, maybe, he loved him too.

(Unfortunately, I had to leave out "I Gave You All", as the song holds a lot of meaning to me, and I can't listen to it anymore due to past experiences.)

LITTLE LION MAN

"But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?"

He had been a fool. Such a damn fool.

Numbly, he realised that the saying, 'You never know what you have until it's gone' was goddamn painfully true. He had taken Federico for granted, just like everything else in his life. And now he had left and Vieri had no one. He had broken the only heart that had cared to love him, and now his own lay shattered, unable to clot and mend.

All those rebuttals, all those refusals, those insults and threats had added up to nothingness—Federico was gone, vanished, nowhere to be seen. Not a single warning, not a not, not a goodbye.

But he deserved it. He was a fool. Such a lonely, stupid fool.

THISTLE AND WEEDS

"But plant your hope with good seeds
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds
Rain down, rain down on me..."

Vieri was greedy—there was no hiding that fact.

In a way, it wasn't his fault. It was in his blood, in his very soul to be gluttonous; he was raised by a man who, had he been told his heart was made of diamonds, would not hesitate to rip it from his chest. Vieri grew up in an environment of selfish gain and, therefore, felt he had to have the best, had to be the best.

Federico, on the other hand—whilst coming from a very well-off family, a family that rivalled the Pazzi strength on strength—seemed to be the opposite. He didn't really care much for earthly goods. Whilst he wouldn't be prepared to willingly give everything up and live in utter poverty—he loved his easy life, after all, like any man would—he cared more for the emotional riches of man: love, affection, warmth, devotion—the list could continue onwards. He was a loving person; there was no other way to explain it. With Vieri, he was constantly the initiator of any physical contact, whether it was an innocent hug, or the seductive shift of fingers beneath clothing, and some days Federico felt frustrated by it all. He needed Vieri to pull down those remaining barriers and show his feelings, show his affections; he knew for definite that they were there.

He had tried to explain such a thing to Vieri, that it was better to live soulfully rich than physically, but Federico had already changed Vieri enough; to say that the elder male was not appreciating such lectures on how to live his life would be an understatement. Yet, strangely to Vieri, Federico did not push the subject further like other people in his life would have. The Assassin merely flashed a smile, nodded his head and promptly pissed Vieri off by swooping in for a kiss.

Federico really didn't mind how greedy Vieri was. It had taken time for Vieri to let down his barriers, and it would take even more time for Vieri to take that leap, that risk to show the affection his family had stunted. Vieri needed to push away that spiky shell he had covered himself with—all those thistles, vines and weeds—and Federico would help him, when it was time.

Because Federico would wait for Vieri.

AWAKE MY SOUL

"How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
This weakness I feel I must finally show

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life."

When Federico first entered his life, Vieri didn't know how to react. Well, he did. A firm punch to the nose was how he reacted, truth be told. He felt he was doing the world good by attempting to smack some common sense into the philosophy-sprouting buffoon. He thought he was in his own nightmare, trapped with this supposedly suave, son of a bitch.

Everything Federico did was about life, and enjoying it, to spend time loving others and oneself. Vieri would, every time, rebuke him, telling him that they were born and then they died—there was not much point to it. If there was a God, he made people and then took them away at any point in time. And then, as always, Federico would ponder such a notion, before promptly deciding that he or Vieri could die at any moment and that they should be together in their possible last moments. Cue the Assassin being punched, once again, and the Templar stomping away.

But then, one day, it changed. Federico, instead of leaning closer and lowering his voice to a belly-clenching, husky whisper, instead told him that, if Vieri's belief was true—that they were all merely destined to return to their maker with nothing left of their past life—then they should live life each day as it comes, to its fullest potential. We may all return to our maker in the end, and we may not have anything physical to show for it, but we have memories of triumphs and failures, of love and loss.

To which, Federico added, "So how about we love now? It'll be another loss to add to your list, otherwise."

He got more than a right hook for that.

AFTER THE STORM

"Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won't rot, I won't rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won't rot."

With every visit, every Codex Page given, Leonardo could see Ezio dying.

Not physically, not always. Sometimes, he would enter his workshop with another injury. When he started doing so, as the war became fiercer than Giovanni Auditore could have imagined, Ezio waved the artist off; they were merely scratches, they were nothing. But soon, with time, with age, Ezio began to grow weary. He would wordlessly allow Leonardo to tend to his injuries, explaining in a cold, clinical voice how he obtained the wound in question.

For a while, the visits stopped. Then, Ezio arrived unexpectedly with his uncle and Niccolo with that golden sphere, asking if he could decipher it. His curiosity was instantly spiked, but what propelled him, ultimately, to study the object was the spark in Ezio's eyes; it had been a long time since he had seen such a flicker. The events that followed led him to Monteriggioni, where he spent his days with Maria and Claudia, hearing nothing of Ezio or his health.

But soon, Ezio returned with his uncle, the Apple and victory in his grasp. To everyone else, Ezio looked fine, he looked truly alive and happy. Leonardo saw different. The storm had indeed passed, but now it was time to deal with the damage it had left.

He wouldn't let Ezio fade. He knew that, with this triumph and supposed end to their troubles, Ezio would slowly die away, shrink away, a shadow of his former self. Leonardo had always promised the Assassin that the days of their darkness would end and they would walk into the sunlight, safe, together. And so, that night, as the town celebrated with wine, dance and music, Leonardo held an exhausted man in his arms, tenderly kissing his brow and whispering further promises. They were home, they were safe. They had weathered the storm.

But what he didn't know was that Ezio had refused to die, refused to let go of Leonardo, refused to break those promises.

"And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."

I recently got forced- I mean, was... co-erced into getting that thing known as Tumblr (I feel like such an old cat lady), and I've set up a blog that I'll start to fill with writings; they'll be long or short, a flash of an idea or a full blown summary - whatever I can write. I will start posting stuff up there soon, but I thought i'd give a heads up, as I'll probably post the last half of this story on Tumblr, rather than here, as well as a lot of future work, cause all these OC stories are actually starting to get on my tits. And not in the pleasant way. I would start to post on Y-gal, on the account i lurk with, but now that the site might be going down, there's not much point. So, yeah, enough of the ramble.

Tumblr: demi-goddess(dot)tumblr(dot)com

Not requesting followers - merely a heads up that stuff will be on there :)

-Demi