Chapter 6 REUPLOADED

brilliantmemories: I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that this is all googleit6's work. I haven't been able to write this story at all lately but I'm going to kick off chapter seven next time. In the meanwhile, enjoy (and I'm completely sorry for the large update gap)!

googleit6: Okay so this was up a while ago, but, as usual, someone didn't upload it properly, and stuff happened, and this is coming out about two weeks -probably more- after it was written. I apologize for someone's lack of brain cells. Enjoy!

"I should go talk to him…" Desmond mused, staring at Shaun's bedroom door with an almost alarming intensity.

Rebecca looked up from her Baby, an anxious look on her face.

"I think you'd better leave him alone, Desmond." She advised. "I've lived with him for a long time, and he is probably still just as mad as he was an hour ago."

Desmond frowned.

"I didn't mean to leave him like that. I have no idea how it happened." He muttered, putting his face in his hands.

He heard Rebecca's fingers still on the Animus' keyboard. She rolled her chair across the floor, its wheels scraping remorselessly against the wood.

"Geeze, Rebecca, you'll end up falling through the floor with that thing dragging around." Desmond observed, eyeing the wheels on the bottom of the chair, which he was sure would have sparks flying around them by now.

Rebecca chuckled.

"Doubt it." She said, pulling up next to Desmond and throwing her arm around his shoulders. "This chair has been with me for years. I found it in a dumpster out back, if you can believe it, one night when I went to throw the trash out."

Desmond smiled weakly.

"That's great."

"Well, sort of. It's just a chair, after all." Rebecca was silent for a moment, glancing at Shaun's closed door, hoping her voice wouldn't carry. "You know, things will be okay between you and Shaun. He just get's a little bit upset when people leave him for dead and all that great stuff." She explained, her eyes soft.

Sighing, Desmond stood up, and started pacing.

"I just wish I knew what happened." He mumbled, putting a hand over his swelling nose where Shaun had kicked him. Cheap shot. Who the hell kicks people nowadays, anyways?

Rebecca shook her head, rolling herself back to the Animus' keyboard after giving Desmond a reassuring pat on the back.

"I'm sure it was nothing. Just shock." She said, starting to enter some codes.

Desmond went to look out the window near his bed. The snow was still coming down. He stared out into the falling snow for a few minutes, hypnotized by the softly falling flakes. It was so peaceful out there. Inside, tensions were thick enough to spread on toast in the morning. And Desmond didn't even like toast.

All that could be heard were Rebecca clicking away on her keyboard, and Desmond's intermittent sighs that fogged up the window pane. It would all be so normal. A snowy day, someone ignoring everyone else on their laptop, someone working hard to make this get together memorable, someone mad in their room, and someone restless out of their mind. It was just like all the family gatherings Desmond had seen on TV.

Except most families weren't assassins.

Desmond started to drum his fingers on the window sill, watching the snow lazily. He could feel his eyelids start to droop. He wasn't that tired, but he couldn't help but follow the snowflakes as they fell down… down… Only to be snapped out of it by a loud yell from Rebecca and a resounding bang from the Animus.

Using the quick reflexes that he had started to inherit from Ezio, -that only worked sometimes- Desmond shot up from his seat at the window sill, leaped over the bed, and jumped down the stairs, and was standing in front of Rebecca in just over a second. She was crouching, and shaking.

"Christ, Rebecca, are you okay?" Desmond gasped, his heart racing. He put a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. Slowly, she turned a white face to him. Her eyes were wide.

"What the hell happened?" She panted, blinking rapidly.

Desmond led her to the bed, and sat her down on it.

"I'm not sure," He said quietly, trying to see if there were any physical marks on her. Rebecca stood up and took a deep breath.

"I'm fine," She assured him. "It just freaked me out."

Desmond met her stare with disapproving eyes.

"You're going to electrocute yourself with that thing," he told her.

Rebecca frowned.

"Don't insult me, Desmond. It just short circuited from me tinkering with it. I know what I'm doing, but I probably nicked something. I have to fix it before it starts sparking all over the place."

Desmond sighed, looking around awkwardly. He didn't want to physically stop Rebecca from going back to the Animus, and they did need someone to fix it.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and pushed Desmond out of the way. "Thank you, though, for helping me." She smiled at him. "I'm fine, and I'll prove it." She walked over to Shaun's bedroom door, and banged on it with her fist. "Thanks for helping, Shaun. I'm fine!" She yelled, banging on the door one last time before settling back into her chair by the Animus. She glanced at Desmond, a smile at the corner of her mouth. "See? I'm all good." And she returned to her machine, whistling.

"Whatever you say," Desmond sighed, walking out of the room. "I'm going to go see Lucy- be careful." He warned her.

"Yes, yes…" Rebecca replied in the kind of tone a teenager would answer their parents after having been asked to be at home before their curfew.

Desmond snorted, and walked into the hallway. He entered the warehouse, where the temperature dropped about ten degrees. It really was winter. His footsteps were echoing all over the warehouse. He wanted to make sure Lucy knew he was coming.

What Shaun said during his temper tantrum had been playing like a broken record in his head.

And most certainly, you will never, ever, ever get Lucy

And most certainly, you will never, ever, ever get Lucy

And most certainly, you will never, ever, ever get Lucy

Fuck. The cat was out of the bag now, and all Desmond wanted to do was shove it back in. He hated cats. And now, he hated them even more. Stupid little mean, condescending, annoying animals. Maybe he should get Shaun one.

Desmond reached the warehouse floor, looking for the blond hair. He weaved between the aisles of high stacked boxes, but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Lucy!" He called. "Lu-!" Suddenly, a hand was around his mouth, and he was shoved up against a stack of metal boxes. Ezio's reflexes had decided to leave him at a crucial point, and now he was defenceless and weapon less and skill less, and he was going to die right here in the warehouse and Shaun would be a tool about it and Rebecca would never get to use her Baby properly, and he wouldn't even get a chance to shove the cat back into the bag and… it was Lucy.

"Lucy!" Desmond sputtered, after she had taken her hand away from his mouth. She was smiling. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked. She smirked.

"I was testing your reflexes." She explained. "Unfortunately, you don't seem to have any at the moment."

"Well…" Desmond scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I had some, but they seem to have… taken a break."

"Taken a break, eh?" Lucy asked, dropping the pretence of playfulness. "That's not surprising. It's a lot for your system to handle at once, and it will be rejecting it as much as it can, so it will be difficult for said reflexes to find a grounding in you. You may not believe me, but those few days at Abstergo helped soften you up for this, when we actually need you to absorb as many skills as fast as possible."

"I don't want to give those bastards at Abstergo any credit for anything," Desmond said fiercely.

Lucy just stared at him apologetically.

After a moment, she asked:

"Is Shaun still… in a mood?"

Desmond nodded, and she sighed.

"You'd think we'd all be mature enough to realize that personal relationships are not important at all right now, especially when the Templars are hot on our trail." Lucy said, shaking her head.

"I don't think it can be helped, though." Desmond responded, suddenly getting the feeling that they weren't talking about him and Shaun at all.

"It may not, but that doesn't mean that things like that should get in the way. Feelings have to be pushed aside… for now." She explained, and, if Desmond was hearing right, he could have sworn he caught a hint of regret in her words.

They definitely weren't talking about him and Shaun.

"Then, you and Shaun can hate each other's guts as much as you want when this is all over, but, please, just put it aside for now. We're a team, and need to stay together."

Wait. So they were talking about him and Shaun? Desmond's head was spinning. He could have sworn he saw subtitles under their conversation, and they were in a whole different language than what had been going on at the surface.

"Yeah, a team…" Desmond mumbled, trying to figure out what he should say without looking like a total moron. Should he say something about what Shaun said earlier? Did Lucy even hear it? Did she dismiss it as Shaun just being furious, or did she just find the idea laughable?

Women. So complicated. Desmond thought scornfully, feeling the silence between him and Lucy thicken. Trying to disperse it, he blurted the first thing that came to mind, and there couldn't have been a worse thought in his mind to express to Lucy than this one.

"Do you find Ezio attractive?"

Lucy's eyes widened, and Desmond felt his face turn redder than the blood that had been pouring out of his ear earlier today.

What the hell was that? He asked his brain.

Retreat. Get the hell out of there, now! Move, move, move! His brain responded, in full-on survival mode. Desmond's consciousness might just leave his body behind, he was so embarrassed.

Lucy was silent, her face quickly catching up to Desmond's on the red scale.

"Um…" Desmond muttered, attempting to push his mortification aside; it was difficult. Mortification was heavy, in the way the Great Wall of China was heavy. It just didn't like to be moved very far- especially not by one person, pushing feebly on its base. "I'm going to go…"

Before Lucy could say anything, Desmond turned around, only to realize what he really was asking. It wasn't about Ezio. It was about him. The real question was, Did Lucy find him attractive?

This might be your only chance to find out, whispered his brain, completely switching sides from a few moments ago.

Traitor, Desmond mentally snarled, ignoring his instincts telling him that this might be his only chance to talk to Lucy- really talk to her.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Desmond?" Lucy asked worriedly, her eyes big.

Desmond shrugged her off, annoyed at himself. The embarrassment was back full force, and with it came his brain, telling him to stay, to stay here and talk, and try and explain the completely inappropriate question he had just asked. He was mad, now. It was building too quickly to be natural, and Desmond knew he needed to get out. Why was he so mad? His heart was beating, his hands were starting to shake. There wasn't even anything definitive he felt angry about. It was just pure feeling.

"I've never seen you like this." Lucy whispered, feeling the unmistakable tension that suddenly coursed throughout his body, "It may be a side affect of the Bleeding Affect.

Desmond whirled around, enraged, even though he knew it was ridiculous. Completely crazy to blow up like this, but he could feel it coming like a farmer could feel a storm.

Leave now, Lucy, the only rational part of his brain momentarily working thought didn't. And she was out of time.

"Oh, MORE side affects? Side affects of side affects? That's just great, Lucy. Awesome. I'm so glad to be a part of this little tree house club. You know, you ought to be more patient with this sort of thing. I don't see you or Shaun or Rebecca risking your life in that machine. You know, Rebecca just about shocked herself into a heart attack about ten minutes ago. And that was just with her fucking around with it! Imagine being in the machine when shit hits the fan! I'll be crispy fried in two seconds flat. Not even to mention Abstergo, who are coming with fucking tanks to knock down our little wooden tree house. No one wants you dead. I'm wanted dead by the most powerful corporation in the world, and our defences consist of three assassins and a chain lock. How do you think this will end, hm?"

When Lucy finally spoke, after Desmond's furious words finished echoing around the warehouse, it was a surprising contrast to how hostile Desmond had been just a moment before.

"We've paid our dues, Desmond. I told you about my life at Abstergo. I know about Shaun and Rebecca and all that they've been through. We've all done our part, and, unfortunately, it's your turn. You agreed to help us on your own terms. No one forced you. You can leave whenever you want. The door is right there. Thank you for what you've done up until now."

Desmond looked between Lucy and the door multiple times, his face stony. He was still breathing hard, and Lucy could sense that Rebecca was hidden somewhere at the top of the stairs, listening to every word. Shaun could probably hear Desmond all the way up in his room.

"Lucy, I don't know… why. I'm sorry," Desmond seemed to come to his senses, and Lucy was ready to embrace him, to tell him that it would wear off, that they would be okay. But to her surprise, Desmond didn't step forward to hug her, but took off out the door of the warehouse, leaving Lucy in his wake.

Desmond could practically feel the snow melting as it touched his burning skin. Now, his embarrassment came from his completely ridiculous temper tantrum. What had happened to him? Maybe Lucy was right, and it had been a side affect, which made him worry about other unforeseen side affects in the future.

"Christ, what the hell am I going to do?" He asked of no one as he entered the small courtyard beside the building.

"I hope you're so overcome with grief at your complete fuck up that you are out here thinking up ways to make it up to me. You know, like how you are going to contact all of my friends and get them to attend my surprise 'I'm so sorry I left you to die' party." Shaun deadpanned from a bench at the back of the courtyard.

"Shit!" Desmond shouted, jumping. "How the hell-? You were in your room and I never saw you… How did you get out here?"

Shaun smirked.

"I'm an assassin, Desmond. I may be a bit out of practise, but so are you and my female companions. You wouldn't see a tarantula crawl across the floor, if you were engrossed enough in something- like the snowflakes falling outside." He snorted. "I never took you for a 'contemplating the mysteries of the universe by staring out the window for hours' sort of guy, Desmond."

Desmond rolled his eyes.

"So you didn't climb out your window?"

Shaun narrowed his eyes.

"That would be depressingly ironic, wouldn't it? You leave me for dead by climbing up the side of a building. I save your life by climbing down the side of a building."

The snow started blowing harder, causing Shaun to take off his glasses and slip them in the pocket of his trench coat. Desmond narrowed his eyes.

"You saved my life by going outside? How does that work, exactly? Was the heat from your stare going to make me spontaneously combust?"

Shaun glared.

"I was so mad, Desmond. I could have killed you. Especially after Lucy wasn't there to protect you anymore."

"Yeah, well, kill me now. I don't think she'll be protecting me anytime soon." Desmond said dejectedly.

"Oh ho! Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up."

"What happened?"

"Ugh. I freaked out at her for no reason. It was so unprecedented. I got mad at the stupidest thing. I asked her an embarrassing question, and then I totally over reacted."

"What was the question?" Shaun asked, genuinely curious.

Desmond was silent.

"Come on, Desmond. You almost got me killed. I deserve to know."

"How long are you going to hold that against me?" Desmond asked, motioning for Shaun to slide over so he could join him on the bench.

"Well," Shaun stroked his faux beard, pretending to think. "It did happen today. I think I have a right to be mad, for at least today. But, if we live past today, I'll probably hold it against you, well, for a really long time. Leaving one to die is quite high up there on the 'never-letting-you-forget' list of things. And I'm quite a notorious grudge holder as well, so put those two together, and you don't have a serial killer's chance in hell at getting on my good side anytime soon."

Desmond groaned.

"I asked her if she thought Ezio was attractive."

"…and?" Shaun prompted.

"That was the question." Desmond explained, his eyes widening when Shaun stuck out his hand and whacked him upside the head hard enough to make his ears ring.

"You twat!" Shaun shouted. "What the hell? Are you thirteen years old? Christ, I was prepared for you asking her to marry you or some bullshit that was at least remotely funny. This is what sixteen year old girls giggle about at sleepovers, you tool. And, Ezio is obviously attractive. I'm sure Lucy had already decided it. Why is it such an awkward question? Please, let's hear this oh-so-good reasoning."

"Well… I think it was more of a 'Does Lucy find me attar- Wait. What do you mean, Ezio is 'obviously attractive'?"

Shaun smirked.

"Are you not secure enough in your heterosexuality to comment on another man's looks?" Shaun asked snidely.

"I'll never be secure enough in my heterosexuality to call my ancestor attractive." Desmond replied, putting his head in his hands. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

His asking Lucy if she found Ezio attractive was his way of asking if she thought he was attractive. Shaun thought Ezio was attractive. Ezio was Desmond's ancestor, and they looked very, very alike.

Shaun thought Ezio was attractive.

Desmond jumped off the bench so fast and so suddenly, that Shaun, who had slid to the end to make room, ended up in a pile of snow that ended up all over his probably very expensive black trench coat.

"What the fuck, Desmond?" Shaun shouted as Desmond sprinted out of the courtyard and away from him and the warehouse.

For a few moments, Shaun sat, stunned. Desmond was one fucked up guy- that was for sure.

And then he realized he'd have to go searching for the runaway assassin.

Shaun could only hope he'd be dumb enough to buy another motorcycle.

A/N: Hey guys! This is googleit6 talking. I'm so so so sorry this took so long to get out, and I have to tell you… it's not done. I flew solo this chapter, with brilliantmemories caught up with life and all, so I hope it's okay! The updates will most likely be spaced out pretty far from now on, and I can only apologize so sincerely over the internet :\. Hopefully you guys haven't given up on us, and hopefully this will pick up steam sometime in the near future, and hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter! See you soon! (Hopefully)

So that ^ was my author's note first time around. I'll just leave it at that, although I wish I had ripped more on brilliantmemories in it, but, hey. Such is life. Hope you enjoyed! By the way, it's not beta'd, as I'm sure you've noticed if you're already reading this. Once again, I apologize !