Did I break you guys yet? No? I'll have to work on that.
After Sofian left, Altair just sank down onto the couch, his basic cognitive functions failing him. He couldn't fathom how this had happened. The boys...They'd be taken away in just seven days. How had Altair managed to fuck up so royally that he was losing the last bit of family he had?
Altair wasn't sure how much time had passed before the boys poked their heads out of their room. Hesitantly, they approached him and gathered about his stiff form. Altair raised his head to stare at them and felt like a thousand pins were being pushed into his heart.
He couldn't believe that these boys, his brothers, whom he cursed at least once every day, the boys that he loved with all that remained of his black, dry heart, were going to be taken away. After all the hard work Altair had put into coming back and actually being here for them, it was all for not. In just a few simple words, Sofian had brought Altair's broken world come crashing down around him. And damn it, it wasn't fair to the boys! What had they done to deserve this? Sure, Altair wasn't the very best guardian, that title had belonged to their parents, but at least he was here and tried his damnedest to provide for them! And yet, that hadn't been enough.
"Altair..?" Ezio was the first to call out, his face fearful and uncertain. He must have already guessed what happened but hoped he was wrong.
Altair's heart squeezed tighter at Ezio's words. The hard realization that he would just have seven precious days before the boys would be gone forever came crashing fully down on Altair's shoulders and it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to accept.
He felt his eyes grow moist and did something that, under any other circumstances, he'd never be caught dead doing, Altair held his arms out for a hug. Desmond was quick to rush forward and hug Altair, still oblivious to the actuality of the situation. Next came Clay and then, after brief hesitation, the older boys. Altair wrapped his arms tightly around his dearest brothers and unwillingly the tears fell. He pinched his eyes shut tightly and nestled his face into Connor's hair, his tears wetting it. His body shook slightly, but no sound besides quiet gasping escaped him. He was never a noisy crier.
The boys quickly panicked, having hardly ever seen their older brother in this state, and asked again and again what had happened. Ezio quietly told them what he thought had happened and looked to Altair for confirmation. His head bobbed ever so slightly in a nod and he pulled them back into the hug. Now they started to cry to, Desmond being the loudest out of all of them.
The time passed sluggishly as the broken family stayed like this for a long time. Eventually they broke apart, forced to move on with life despite the heavy knowledge that now burdened their young shoulders. It was dinner time before they knew it, but Altair felt nowhere near well enough to cook so they just scavenged what little food they already had around in the kitchen. After the meal, that hardly anyone touched, they returned to the living room and turned on the T.V. to mindlessly watch the colorful images that flashed across the screen.
The house was eerily quiet, reminding Altair of the time just after their parents had died. When all the boys had finally realized that their mother and father would indeed not be coming home, they hardly spoke for an entire week. This time almost seemed to be worse. Not only were they losing the remaining parental figure they had, but there was a good chance that they would be going to different homes. The first crack in the delicate glass of their family had begun when their parents died and had slowly spread until now the glass was ready to break.
The ringtone of Altair's cell phone roused him from a sleep he hadn't realized he'd slipped into. He slowly opened his irritated eyes and glanced around. The boys were clustered around him, the flashing light of the T.V. making their sleeping faces look pale. What time was it? Altair looked at the clock and barely read nine-thirty in the darkness of the room. The ringtone persisted from somewhere by the computer table.
Careful not to bother the sleeping children, Altair untangled himself from the mess and padded over to his still ringing phone.
"Hello?" his voice broke, sounding terrible from both crying and having just woken up. Altair cleared his throat and tried again. "Who's this?"
"It's Maria, are you okay? You sound like shit. Did it...go well?" Maria tried to sound hopeful.
Altair paused, remembering the disaster earlier.
"Uh, no. No it didn't. Oh God, Maria, I'm gonna lose them." Despair found Altair's voice as he forced out the words. "Sofian said I have a week and then..."
"Oh fuck. Altair..." Maria's words failed her and they fell into silence.
"Do...Do you want me to come over?" she asked hesitantly after a while.
"No...No, that's alright. I just wanna be alone with the boys for a little while. Thanks for calling." Altair hung up and gently set the phone down, but suddenly he felt like hurling it. His usual characteristic anger was coming back with full force, crashing down around him like an ocean. It took all of Altair's willpower to not break something or yell in frustration at the top of his voice.
How had everything gotten so fucked up so fast?!
Desperately needing fresh air, Altair stormed across the room and pushed aside the sliding glass door, coming out into the cold night air. He took a deep, deep breath and turned his face skyward.
Despite Altair's internal havoc, the night was as beautiful as ever. The air was just getting cool, blowing through the slowly regrowing leaves of the trees in a peaceful rustle. The sky above was littered with stars that speckled the black void like spilled glitter. The halves moon glowed brightly down on those unfortunate enough to still be trapped on Earth.
There was a rustle from behind and light footsteps that alerted Altair to the presence of one of his brothers. To be around them made him feel so guilty, after all it was his fault they'd all be taken away.
"Hi," Clay's voice came out as more of a yawn. He sauntered up beside Altair, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Hey," Altair greeted halfheartedly. "What're you doing up?"
"I wanted," he paused for another yawn, and then fully cleared his expression, looking skyward with wide blue eyes. "To look at the stars."
Altair watched him for a minute. Clay had always stood out in the family of brunettes, having such light hair and eyes, ones almost as striking as Altair's. The boys would sometimes tease that Clay was adopted, which would earn them the child's fury, but it was all in good fun, and the oldest brother knew for a fact that he came from their mother's womb. He remembered vividly, and probably wouldn't forget anytime soon, Clay's birth. The father of the Ibn-La'Ahad household had been away on a business trip when Altair's mom went into labor earlier than expected, much earlier, and so the, at the time, fourteen year old boy had been the only support throughout the process. He had stood, mostly terrified but steeled, by his mother's side and held her hand, which had the death grip, as she pushed Clay out. He was the first of their family to hold Clay in his arms because his mom had been too weak. Altair remembered wrinkling his nose down at the pale, lumpy, wrinkly, squishy flesh sag that they called a baby and told his mother plainly that she should have no more kids. At that she just laughed and then sighed and smiled.
"Do you ever wonder," Clay's words brought Altair out of his thoughts. "What it's like to be up there?"
Altair turned his head upward again and ran his eyes over the stars. He shrugged.
"Not really."
"I do." Clay said fiercely. "Someday, I'm gonna be an astronaut and fly up in space with the stars."
Altair managed to smile and ruffled Clay's hair.
"Good for you, kid." he said with genuine approval.
Clay beamed at him and hugged his leg tightly.
"I don't want to leave." he spoke barely above a whisper.
"Me neither." Altair said at the same volume.
It was in that moment, standing out in the cold of night with one of his youngest brothers, that Altair firmly set his mind. In seven days Altair may lose all of his brothers, but before that time he would make sure that this coming week would be unforgettable. He didn't know at the moment how he was going to make it so, but he would. For the boys.
