Hi again everyone! Did you all have a good spring break? Sorry about the big gap, but don't worry, I'm back and ready to get writing! Thanks for the favs, follows, reviews, and patience, enjoy :)
Work was running along just smoothly at the pharmacy when Altair got a call from the hospital.
"Hello?" he answered, confused because he didn't recognize the number.
"Hello, this is Urgent Care, I'm calling for Altair Ibn-La'Ahad." a smooth female voice replied.
Altair's gut immediately tensed and he feared the worst. The only reason he'd be getting a call from the hospital would be if one of his brothers was in it.
"Uh, yeah, that's me, what happened?" he asked slightly more urgently than before.
"Your younger brother Ezio was admitted to our care about ten minutes ago. He was involved in a fight at school and got a cut vertically along his lips. It's nothing serious, but it'll need a few stitches." the woman answered just as calmly as before.
Altair breathed a silent sigh of relief but just as quickly his brows turned down in a frown. Couldn't that kid stay out of fights for two consecutive days? God, it seemed Altair was getting calls from school every other day about Ezio starting fights.
"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." Altair sighed into the phone then hung up.
It only took a quick, unpleasant conversation with Mr. ad-Din Sinan before Altair was temporarily relieved of work to go visit his brother. Despite being assured by the caller that his brother was in no imminent danger, Altair still drove faster than usual to reach the Urgent Care with a curious nervousness in his gut. Altair noticed that he was having this feeling more and more when any of the boys got hurt, this anxiousness to know that they're okay and they'll be alright.
When he finally arrived at the hospital, Altair approached the desk and asked for Ezio. He was directed by the receptionist to a doctor who was caring for the young boy. He told Altair that it would only take ten to fifteen minutes to do the actual stitches but he wanted to keep Ezio for at least an hour. It took a bit of convincing on Altair's part to get the doctor to just release Ezio after he got his stitches. With the business taken care of, Altair went to wait.
Twelve minutes later, with the stitches completed, Altair was invited into Ezio's room. The boy in question was sitting on a hospital bed looking the same as always plus an angry red cut that ran across his lips with several stitches keeping it together. He gripped at the edge of his shirt with a slightly nervous air like he was ready to pull it up and use the fabric as a shield to protect him from his older brother's wraith.
"What did you do this time, you idiot?" Altair walked in with these chiding words.
"I didn't do anything." Ezio quickly jumped to his own defense.
"Okay," Altair rolled his eyes. "Then what happened?"
Ezio's face screwed up in a scowl as he stared at the floor. "Vieri de'Pazzi." he spat the name. "He was insulting our family. So I said how his mom was a cow and he's a spoiled brat who gets whatever he wants because his dad's rich. Then he threw a rock at my face." Ezio grumbled the last part.
Altair couldn't help that light chuckle and smile that tugged at his lips. It seemed the brothers were more alike than Altair would like to admit.
"You're stupid, you know that?" he teased slightly.
"I know." Ezio replied and tried to grin, but then grimaced and decided against it.
The older brother sighed and sobered quickly as he stared at the younger. What was Altair going to do with him?
"Alright, here's the thing, you got your dumbass clocked by a rock and landed in the hospital and I still have work to do so you're going to have to come to the pharmacy with me for a little while." he laid out the haps.
Ezio perked up slightly at that. None of the boys had ever been to either of Altair's jobs so the boy was naturally curious about what Altair did.
The doctor returned and gave Altair a prescription for painkillers for Ezio's face and then allowed the boy to leave with strict instructions to take it easy on his mouth. The two brothers left the hospital and Altair headed right back to his work. Ezio walked into the Wal-Mart with wide, curious eyes and was, as expected, disappointed when he saw the pharmacy.
"This is where you work?" Ezio asked, glancing around with distaste.
"Yes, now get that stupid look off your face, you knew I work at a pharmacy." Altair snapped, tying on his apron.
Ezio wondered around the area of medicine, examining different things and being reprimanded by Altair as he went. The older brother followed the younger around, putting back anything Ezio picked up and just generally making sure Ezio didn't screw anything up.
"Is it bring your brother to work day?" the dry comment came from Malik as he milled around near the pharmacy.
"No, this idiot caught a rock to the face." Altair said, shooting a glare at Ezio. The younger boy just turned his face to make the new wound even more obvious to Malik. Malik scoffed and shook his head.
"Way to take care of your brothers."
Altair turned his glare on Malik. "Oh I'm sorry, would you like to watch after four little devils twenty-four-seven?" he snapped.
Malik's expression softened, seeing Altair was clearly stressed. "Sorry," he replied, his tone more gentle now. "Is he okay?" Malik's brown eyes watched as Ezio wandered off farther into the pharmacy.
"Yeah," it came out more as a sigh. "He's gonna need to keep the stitches in for a few weeks, but other than that, he'll be fine. Other than a severe case of dumbassary that is." Malik chuckled softly. Altair caught the quiet sound and smiled ever so slightly, glad that he could elicit the sound. It was music to his ears.
A crash suddenly came from behind along with a soft 'whoops'. Altair stomped off down the aisles and found that Ezio had dumped over a shelf, spilling bottles and boxes of medication all over the floor.
"Agh! Okay, c'mon," Altair growled, grabbed Ezio's arm and dragged him back to the counter. He set the brunette down on a chair and gave him a stern look. "You stay here and don't touch anything, while I go fix the mess you made." Ezio rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, turning away from his scolding brother.
As Altair disappeared behind the rows of shelves, Ezio reluctantly did as he was told and stayed at the counter. He laid his arms across the smooth surface and rested his head across it, boredly staring over at Malik.
"Hey," he said dully.
"Hello." Malik replied politely.
A quiet minute passed between them.
"So you like Altair, huh?" Ezio finally spoke up again.
"Wha-What?! No!" Malik quickly denied, his face flushing a slight pink. "Why would you even say that? Your brother is a huge jackass-er, I mean, moron." Malik remembered he was speaking to a child and rephrased.
Ezio's shoulders slumped and his newly scarred lips turned down in a pout.
"Well I was more of hoping. Because Altair likes you."
Malik blushed even darker. "Wha...No, that can't be, he hates me." he said, shaking his head vigorously. "How would you even know? You're like, twelve."
Ezio gave him a sly look. "I can tell by the way he looks at you. He likes you. And he's lonely you know. Ever since mom and dad died..he's been lonely." Ezio turned his head on its side and stared at Malik carefully. "But...maybe he wouldn't be if he had someone."
Malik sputtered but found no words, eventually his lips just set in a flat, flustered line. Ezio seemed to be taking great amusement in Malik's reaction. He grabbed a sticky note, Altair kept a supply of them under the counter, and a pen. In very cramped and scribbled handwriting expected from an eleven year old, Ezio jotted down a phone number. He peeled off the note and handed it to Malik. The other took it and gave it a careful look before raising his gaze to Ezio.
"What's this?"
"Altair's phone number. He's really not as much of a jackass as you might think. If you decide you like him, give him a call." Ezio told him.
"You're...oddly mature for your age." Malik noted slowly.
"Only in romantic matters." he answered with a cherub grin, making him wince slightly.
"I'll think about it." Malik eventually decided, and walked away, still staring at the number.
Altair came back to the counter just as Malik had left Ezio's sight.
"He's gone?" he asked in a slightly disappointed voice.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be hearing from him again." Ezio replied slyly.
Altair gave him a suspicious look. What was the little deviant planning?
