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Chapter 3

Leonardo couldn't help but flush deep red. He wished for his heart to stop, as it was so loud he felt the whole of Venezia could hear, including Ezio. As he shuffled over to Ezio, looking down at his feet out of embarrassment, he could not even begin to process what was happening, which was odd for a man considered a genius. It seemed to take forever to cross the room. Leonardo tried to calm himself by doing mathematics in his head, but no matter how many times he calculated, the sum of all products always equaled Ezio. When Leonardo tried to think of his past paintings, he imagined sketching Ezio's naked form. The subject of biology was no better. His heart fluttered in the back of his throat. When at last Leonardo crossed the room after days of travel, he met Ezio's troubled gaze.

"I have some of the materials, but I have some difficulty doing this myself. Por favore Leonardo, if you could…" He trailed off, gesturing towards the space between his legs, a modest sheet covering him. Leonardo's breath hitched when he saw the materials Ezio spoke of. He calmed however, gaining some confidence in what he must do.

Leonardo washed his hands in the bowl of warm water nearby and began his work. Even after Leonardo assessed the situation, his blush continued to float along the surface of his cheeks. If anything he could blame it on the proximity to the low crackling fire some few feet away. Ezio said nothing as he watched Leonardo puddling around about how to begin. Ezio did the only thing he thought would help. He removed the sheet.

Leonardo's eyes wasted no time taking in the sight before him. The large gaping wound was leaking a trail of blood down the side of Ezio's leg. It was already poorly bandaged. Leonardo's first instinct was to care for the wound, completely oblivious to Ezio's manhood, mere inches from the cut.

"I am glad that you came by Leonardo. I am not as skilled with the bandages as you are." Ezio's hand rose up to scratch the back of his head as he chuckled in embarrassment. Leonardo stayed silent and nodded. The wound wasn't as serious as he thought but still needed to be cleaned carefully. If Ezio developed an infection, he would require much more care and the thought of Leonardo being able to take care of his crush excited him. But Ezio's work was more important than Leonardo's own wants. He didn't want to stop Ezio from that. Dismissing these selfish thoughts from his mind, he set to work wiping the dried blood and disinfecting the wound with some alcohol. Ezio barely flinched at the burning pain and Leonardo mentally apologized. The pain was necessary to heal Ezio but Leonardo hated that he was the one who had to cause it.

After the wound was cleaned of blood and wet with alcohol, Leonardo padded it dry and covered it with gauze, then wrapped cotton bandages around Ezio's muscled thigh. Leonardo admired his work, and with his mind no longer clouded with the immediate need to care for Ezio, he finally noticed the close proximity to Ezio's penis. A small explosion went off in Leonardo's brain. Capillaries burst open, allowing more blood than ever before to flood his face. Before Leonardo knew it, he was hard. He backed away slowly, not able to shift his gaze. Standing up, his arms went to cover his embarrassment automatically.

"Y-you will be okay now Ezio…" His words were stuttered a bit as he tried his best to not reveal his secret to Ezio.

"Thank you Leonardo. You have been of great assistance." Ezio stood up, and held his arms out. Leonardo did not have the time to prepare for what would happen next. He was just as hesitant as Ezio was the first time he himself went to embrace the assassin. Leonardo would not be able to hide his erection if Ezio hugged him, but how often was he able to see Ezio, let alone hold his handsome naked frame in his own? This could be Leonardo's only chance.

Despite Ezio's wound, he walked up to Leonardo with ease and held him in his arms. The grip was tight but not suffocating, gentle and protective at the same time. Leonardo could not help but to wrap his own arms around the assassin. Just as soon as the embrace began, it ended, leaving Leonardo unsatisfied and lonely. He had forgotten about his erection but Ezio gave no noticeable sign that he had felt it pressed against him, regardless of his lack of clothing.

Stuttering, Leonardo spoke first.

"I'll…I'll see you another time…" He spoke quietly, hiding another creeping blush.

Leonardo left the Palazzo Della Seta happy, with some hope for the future.

Back in the streets, Leonardo had long forgotten his original purpose for leaving his house. In the huge mass of people floating around him, time seemed to slow down as he processed everything that had just happened. The nature in the city glowed greener then ever and shined all the more beautiful than it already was. Birds sang sweeter and Leonardo's ears drank in the sound like the sweetest honey. Leonardo began to walk back to his house. The crowd flowed around him like he was simply a lone boulder bisecting a small river. He was hardly concerned about where he was going. His mind was dazed with the past events that filled him with such ecstasy and happiness he could hardly believe it had just happened. As he replayed the scene in his head, he felt some part of his body wanted him to stop walking suddenly. He didn't listen.

-smack-

The chance that, so quickly he would arrived at his house and not realize in time that he would eventually smack into his front door since he was not 'mentally prepared' enough to open it, seemed slim, practically nonexistent. He did, however smack into his door. No one noticed his fumble. He collected himself, then opened the door and went inside. The painting that he had been working on earlier in the morning was still sitting there, half finished. It was due by the next day, to be presented at a party hosted by the bank owner who had commissioned it. The party was to honor the banker's daughter, who was to reach the age of maturity that day. The painting was of her. Such is the reason why Leonardo hated this painting so. The girl was not hideous nor was she extremely attractive. Leonardo did not care about the girl's attractiveness (as he had no interest in women physically) but something about this girl bothered him immensely. And it frustrated him ever more because he could not figure out the reason why. Whenever he tried to paint her visage on the canvas (from memory of course) he felt a strange emotion that he could not describe. This bothersome emotion permitted him to paint for only short periods of time as it would sometimes fill him with enough anger that he wanted to tear apart the canvas, scream and break things. Now, as he was staring at the half finished painting, he put his joyous memories of earlier that day aside, and with the passion and rage he felt towards the painting, towards that girl, he sought to finish it in one fell swoop, here and now. He painted aggressively, (although his skill did not falter). Leonardo had to finish it now, not only because he was greatly behind but because he could not stand to look at it one moment longer, knowing that if he did not finish it today, it would sit in his workshop, half finished, haunting and taunting him with its mysterious illogical stare. If he finished it now, he could cover it up until tomorrow, when he would later deliver it to the party and never see it, see that girl, again.

Hours passed. Leonardo barely shifted from his seat. His fingers, powered by hatred, never ceased moving. When he finally put down his pallet, it was nearing twilight. Leonardo had never painted out of anger before, but the majesty of the artwork was akin to the professionalism of his other drawings. He hated that. He hated that this girl was in any way related to his other creations, including the hidden sketches of Ezio. He sighed, and then turned the canvas around to face the corner so that the paint could dry and he wouldn't have to look at it. He let his brushes soak and went upstairs to bed.

The next morning, Leonardo woke up early. Groggy eyed and still half asleep, he crept down the stairs. The painting was still there, turned around and facing the wall as he had left it. The party wasn't until the late afternoon so Leonardo had some free time. Breakfast seemed like the logical first thing to do, but since his cold storage was filled with corpses for study, he would have to go out to the market to buy breakfast. A knock suddenly came from outside.

Upon opening the door, Leonardo came face to face with Rosa. It would be an understatement to say he was only a little surprised. Tumbling to the floor, Rosa giggled and helped him to his feet.

"Buongiorno Rosa. How can I help you?" Even though Leonardo had no particular taste for women, this did not prevent him from being friends with Rosa and a few others.

"Come Leonardo, today I will teach you how to be a man!"

"What?"

After little sleep, Ezio awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and clashing swords from the morning practice. The wound that Leonardo had patched up was feeling better. The bleeding had ceased long ago and now it would only be a matter of time before it was healed completely. As Ezio went to dress, a thought occurred to him. Currently he had been given some free time, and although the streets of Venice never stood still, there was really no immediate need for him to wear his assassin armor. Besides, he couldn't remember the last time he had cleaned it. If the white of the costume didn't give away his presence, the smell of it surely would. Cleaning the getup properly himself would take a while but not days. What would he do in the meantime?

"Rosa, per favore, where are you taking me?" Leonardo was frantic as Rosa dragged him along through the winding back alleyways. Having been practically abducted from his house, Leonardo wasn't even properly dressed. Being pulled around the city in his night gown by a strange woman couldn't possibly look good.

"That is for me to know, and for you to find out, Leonardo." Rosa smirked, giving Leonardo the impression that something bad was about to happen. He could only be dragged along and hope for the best.

Before long, they arrived at a deserted street graced by a small section of the canal. On one of the many poles that grew up from the water, a bag containing a small bundle hung.

"Here we are Leonardo." Rosa let go of his sleeve and stared at the pole with the bag, waiting for Leonardo to catch on. Leonardo, seeing nothing of interest in this part of town, turned around and began to head back to his house. Rosa did not give him that pleasure. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back despite his protests.

"Rosa, I need to get home and change. I shouldn't be walking around like this…" He gestured to his current attire, the long night gown and his all too familiar hat (of similar appearance but only used for sleeping).

"Do you see that bag hanging off the pole in the canal Leonardo?" Rosa pointed towards it, smiling devilishly. "Your usual clothing is in that bag. All you have to do is get it and you can put it on without walking home in embarrassment. However if you try to leave, I will strip you naked on the spot!"

Leonardo was shocked. Should he risk his well being to try and retrieve his clothing, or run home nude with but a hat to protect his vital regions? He couldn't possibly do the latter; much too embarrassing. However, it was still early. If he was quick he could make it back before any one saw him. 'No. No! Perish the thought. If someone were to see me, it would cause nothing but trouble in the future.'

"I suppose my only choice is to try to get my clothing back…" Leonardo sighed. How was he supposed to reach the bag? He could jump into the canal and swim to it, but reaching the bag from the water's level would be too difficult. He had seen Ezio jump from pole to pole; maybe he could do that same? It was risky but it was all he could do at short notice. He now realized why Rosa had said she was going to teach him how to be a man.

"Yes Leonardo. Quickly now, before the city wakes." Rosa smirked. This would certainly be entertaining.

Leonardo walked up towards the ledge of the small bridge that crossed over the canal. All he had to do was to balance himself on the ledge, and jump forward a few times. Only two empty poles stood before him and his prize.

'If I can just focus, this will be easy. But alas, what a mean prank to play. How did Rosa even get into my house? Well, she is a thief after all…do not allow yourself to get side tracked Leonardo. You must concentrate.'

Leonardo hopped onto the ledge, and stood erect. With all his attention aimed at the bag that carried his precious clothing, he took the first leap, and landed on the first pole. He knew if he waited too long he would fall, so the second leap came soon after the first. Once again, Leonardo landed, (not very gracefully) on the second pole. His balance began to fail and he struggled to pull himself together. One more leap and he would make it. Diving at the third and final pole, it did not occur to Leonardo that he could have easily jumped atop the third pole, grabbed the bag and returned to the bridge. The way he had jumped would mean that he would…

-splash- -thump-

Not only did Leonardo fall into the water, but he also managed to bruise his head on the pole, his skull connecting with it nicely. Fortunately some good did come from this. The bag fell off the pole, and even though Leonardo now had a splitting headache, he grabbed it before it touched the water's surface. Rosa couldn't help but burst into laughter from the scene. As he swam back to the bridge he grumbled and demanded Rosa helped him out, seeing as she got him into this mess.

"Good job Leonardo, -snicker-, a fine job indeed…Ha ha ha!" Rosa took a look at Leonardo after having pulled him out of the water and instantly stopped laughing and blushed madly instead. His white night gown had become somewhat transparent from being wet.

"Perhaps you should change now Leonardo, before anyone see you…" Rosa turned away to give him privacy and Leonardo blushed too when he realized why she had stopped laughing.

Now fully dressed, Leonardo could make his way home. He said his goodbye to Rosa and left, clutching the bag containing his now soaked night gown. Once at home he would dry the gown, but his first order of business was to feed himself. His stomach growled in agreement.

Thank you to all those who had read my story so far. I have lots of ideas for what is to come, so a new chapter will be out soon. Sooner if you read my above notice. - Author