This was finished sooner than expected, and I don't think it's quite as polished or as good as I'd like it to be but... this was the way it had to be. Also, Kadar is a new one for me, as I've considered exploring his character but never gotten around to actually do it. Malik and Altaïr are just too much fun to give me time to develop someone else! This little scribble was inspired (and pretty much ripped straight from) by allahdammit and her picture: allahdammit . deviantart gallery / 33672493# / d4luvaa
As I've said before, go and have a look at her gallery! It's crazy nice!
Also, I'm really sorry if there are any spelling-errors in this, but I had to put all my energy in finding and replacing every auto-correct my computer had done on Kadar's name. Apparently his name is Dakar accoring to the auto-correct...
"Speech"
"Thoughts."
To all of the amazing and sassy assassins that commented and faved my previous AssCreed story: Thank you so much, you are all such brilliant people and you honour me with all the nice words! Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Assassin's Creed games, nor am I in any way responsible for allahdammit's genious. That's all her, people.
It was just a simple game of chess. Like, really.
Yes, he knew his brother recently got this weird-ass guy trailing him practically everywhere and that the library was open for all students. And yes, he knew that the weird-ass guy was Altaïr ibn la-Ahad, star athlete of the school, (and yes, maybe he had been kind of looking up to this guy before. Like, a lot) and related to none other than the (in)famous casanova Ezio Auditore.
"Oh, and that other guy. Doug? Dean? Nah... Desmond! Desmond Miles."
Right. What he just didn't know was-
"Hey, bro." He whispered close to Malik's ear. "Why did you bring him?" He tried not to laugh as he felt the involuntary twitch of his brothers shoulder as he mentioned their... guest.
"Fuck you Kadar, I didn't bring him here." Malik hissed lowly as he plucked up a black pawn and knocked over one of Shaun's white ones, smirking at the dirty look the Brit gave him. "He just... followed me here. Now shut up."
Kadar took his big brothers foul mood in stride and looked over to where Altaïr stood, uninvited but still there, close to Malik's side and gazing down at the chessboard with a face that expressed an impossible mix of intense concentration and extreme boredom.
Exactly what Kadar himself had felt before Malik basically forced him to learn the rules, just to make him stop asking about every move and complain about the tedious game. Now, it was more... tolerable.
"Now it's just fun to watch Malik kick Shaun's ass."
Kadar grinned at Altaïr, who was completely unaware of the attention as his eyes were fixed on Malik's hand that was moving the pawns around. Yes, Kadar also knew that his big brother was kind of the best brother ever; he was really smart, he could kick ass if he wanted to (even if he would never brag about something like that) and he could cook the meanest curry ever. Not that Kadar would say it aloud anytime soon, but still. His big bro was cool. He hadn't figured he was stalker-worthy but whaddaya know? His grin was replaced by a frown as he studied Altaïr more closely.
"The fuck is he wearing? A zip-up hoodie? Didn't he wear that the last time he followed Malik around? That's just tasteless..."
Kadar thought about the weirdness of the situation, about having his big brother's own shadow being replaced by some jock who obviously didn't know shit about neither chess nor fashion. Like, how the hell did that come to be even close to normal? His frown deepened minutely.
"As long as he's not really bothering Mal, I guess it's okay... it is kind of hilarious."
The blue eyed brother smiled as he saw Malik sink deeper into concentration, completely ignoring Altaïr's presence, and chanced a subtle look at Lucy. She saw him looking (she always knew somehow, and he found it funny to try to go undetected even though he knew it was never going to happen) and she flickered her eyes over to Altaïr. He nodded and then shrugged his shoulders as she raised her eyebrows quizzically. She then shook her head, and looked back down to the carnage on the checkered playfield. It meant that no, she didn't know what the hell he was there for either.
The library was comfortably lit, the hushed mumbles and soft rustling of pages being turned by fastidiously studying students (and the suspicious sounds over by the autobiography bookshelves, that Kadar did not want to listen to because it was pretty obvious there were two people in the library not studying... well, maybe just each others mouths) were adding to the calm atmosphere. Shaun gave a little vindictive chuckle as he knocked Malik's horse over, maybe a bit more violently than it was necessary, and Rebecca whistled.
"Nice move there, four-eyes." She said, laughing at the Brits curses.
For some reason, Altaïr's eyes snapped up and glared darkly at her. Just a quick look, Kadar wouldn't have ever seen it if he hadn't been standing so close, and he was pretty sure the buoyant girl hadn't noticed it at all.
"Weirdo."
"What about four-eyes 'Becca?" Malik waved his own reading glasses at her. "I didn't quite hear you..." He snickered as she stuck her tongue out. Altaïr looked slightly appeased, and Kadar wasn't even going to bother try to figure out why.
The game went on and Kadar leaned on Malik's chair, halfway bored and halfway interested in the game. The tension was building up, now every move mattered and even Rebecca (whom he thought unable to concentrate on anything for more than five seconds, if it wasn't music or technology) was immersed in the battle. Shaun was balancing on the hind legs of his chair, mumbling as he thought his next move over.
It was nice to know that someone could at least challenge Malik at this game, since Kadar himself was way to tired of loosing within less than ten minutes and besides, he found the game too slow and too serious for his liking and would never give it the time of day to practice.
Beer-pong, on the other hand...
"Checkmate." The word slid over Malik's tongue and past his curved lips with devious ease, as he placed his queen in front of Shaun's doomed king.
The redhead looked dumbfounded. "Wha-?"
"YES!" Altaïr's loud whoop startled pretty much everybody out of the concentration, and Shaun succeeded in tipping over his own chair in surprise, falling backwards with flailing arms and glasses askew. The resounding crash was magnificent.
Kadar quickly jumped to the side, Altaïr's hand almost punching him in the face as the man threw up his arms in happiness. "God!" Kadar exhaled in shock, looking at the bigger man who grinned down at the chessboard where Malik's black pawns stood victorious.
"Seriously, the hell is wrong with this guy? Is this who I thought was kind of cool?"
Rebecca was trying to grab hold of Shaun's hand, as the Brit was now sprawled on the floor like a turned over turtle, and at the same time tried not to get kicked at as Shaun tried to stand up only to realize that the chair was still there and very much in the bloody way.
A foot collided with Rebecca's knee and she yelped in pain. "Sh-Shaun! For Christs sake-" She grabber the arm that was blindly headed towards her stomach, and succeeded in stilling the angry man on the floor. Kadar was pretty impressed by her reflexes.
"The fuck are you doing? Shut up!" Malik hissed after his initial shock wore off and his shoulders relaxed somewhat from the defensive posture he'd adapted. He shot irritated glares at the people who'd turned their heads towards the commotion and, as the whispering crowd took the not-so-subtle hint to look the fuck away and shut the fuck up, he turned his dark eyes to Altaïr.
Kadar took a small, tentative step backwards as Altaïr lowered his arms somewhat sheepishly. Kadar had seen that look on Malik's face exactly four times. One of those times involved an unannounced party while Malik was away, invitations extended to everyone (like, Craigslist-plus-Facebook-everyone and some more), some stuff going suspiciously missing, lots of tequilaand lots of vomit in their bathtub. Kadar now feared for the person invoking this particular response from his brother. He looked over to Lucy, who'd also crept backwards as she saw that Rebecca needed help. She met his eyes; he grimaced and motioned with his head at his brother to make her realize what kind of shitstorm Altaïr just had released.
She looked properly worried.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? We're in the library, you novice!" Malik snarled, bracing his hand on the table to get up.
Kadar took yet another step back. "Novice? Did my brother just call Altaïr, the amazing athlete and badass... a novice?"
Altaïr looked surprised and, if possible, even a little offended. "But you won, didn't you?" He waved a hand carelessly at the chessboard, sounding like it was the most logical thing in the world to, while still totally uninvited, express joy over a chess-victory by roaring and thrusting clenched fists skywards.
Malik didn't look impressed. "Of course I did."
Here, Shaun decided to make his opinion known, whilst still struggling to get into a normal, vertical position. "You bloody idiot! You weren't even welcome!" This was, Kadar assumed, aimed at Altaïr. "And I can beat you! I demand a rematch!" And this was aimed at Malik.
Kadar was starting to realize that this afternoon could quickly take a turn for the worse, as it had now swerved off into what-the-fuck-is-happening-land and continued headfirst into unknown territory. At least Shaun's little outburst had steered his brother off the beaten track towards rage. But the situation was far from okay. "Hey, bro-" He started, but was ignored in favor of Altaïr.
"You ignorant fool! You don't shout in the library! And for the last time, stop following me around!" Malik was standing up now, cheeks slightly flushed and spitting accusations, and seemingly ignoring Shaun's angry rant.
Kadar decided to try again. "Mal, dude, I think-"
Altaïr's mood visibly morphed from lazy indifference to agitated cockiness. "Tch, who cares? This place is dead anyway, 'cept for the two lovebirds over there-" He raised his voice again, looking towards the autobiography section and there was a sudden shuffling sound signaling that yes, the lovebirds had heard that and were scrambling to get off each other. He looked back to Malik and a taunting smirk stretched his lips. "-and for your information Malik, I can go wherever the fuck I want."
Lucy, who'd been politely quiet until now, cleared her throat. Kadar was grateful for her contribution to restore sanity. "Please, both of you, calm down. It's really not-"
"Altaïr! Answer your phone sometimes eh, fratello mio!"
Kadar wasn't sure he could take much more of this. Malik never told him that his stalker could induce this much madness.
Ezio Auditore, the man, the myth, the legend (and the potential std-spreader) was walking up to the group, laughing as he looked over to where Shaun was now struggling to fix his glasses so they wouldn't poke him in the eye, and waving a cellphone at Altaïr. "I've been looking for you, and then a little bird tells me you're in the library of all places."
By now, all the people in aforementioned library had thrown Malik's previous warning out the window and were openly staring at the unfolding scene. Kadar didn't quite know if he wanted to die or if this was somehow going to be one of the best moments in his young life. It seemed to lean towards the first for the moment. At least it would be pretty memorable.
Altaïr gave Malik an odd look, Kadar couldn't really see that well since he was standing behind his brother, and then glanced at the incoming Italian. "Yeah, here I am. And now I'm leaving."
They were momentarily interrupted as a short, slightly chubby girl and a boy with freckles hurriedly stumbled past them, both red in the face and hair ruffled, and when the girl's hair swished by her neck, Kadar could see the hickey below her ear. They seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there.
"Fuck, this is just too much for me. And Malik says I'm the one always getting into strange situations!"
Altaïr leaned forward, as Ezio was busy with laughing at Shaun who was finally standing up on his unsteady feet, and his scarred mouth was suddenly by Malik's ear. "And you're just angry 'cause you wish that was you and me, Mal."
Had Kadar stood just a few more steps away, just a few baby steps, he had not been forced to overhear that. Malik froze up, then his eyes darkened with rage and he pushed the bigger man backwards, and for once Kadar actually felt that his brothers anger was pretty well placed. He was a bit confused with what Altaïr had said, and maybe he'd misheard some of it (he really, really hoped he had), but he didn't think it was a very... decent thing to just tell someone. Especially not Kadar's own brother.
A sudden pinprick of protectiveness shot through his heart; he'd have to ask Malik about this later. Siblings looked after each other after all. And, he thought with a shrug, if everything was fine, siblings also blackmailedeach other from time to time. This situation was sure to come in handy some day.
And with that charming farewell, Altaïr and Ezio were heading towards the exit and most of the people in the library were turning back to their books, whispering and laughing quietly between them as they all probably gossiped about the latest stunt the angry, one-armed nerdy guy and the muscular, cocky and cool guy had pulled.
Kadar himself sighed, took a quick look at his wristwatch, and tried to speak to his still seething brother yet again. "Look, I know you're mad and all but you-"
"I what, Kadar? Can't he just leave me the hell alone? What is it that's so damned funny with following me around all the time?" Malik muttered, pulling his hand through his hair with jerky motions. Was his cheeks a bit red? It was hard to tell in the dim lighting... maybe it was nothing.
"I don't know Mal, really don't." He shrugged, feeling a bit irritated as Malik's anger was again directed at him. But it'd be fine, it was always fine in the end of the day. He showed Malik his watch. "But don't you have class like... right about now?"
The older brother stilled. "Calculus. Shit."
Lucy looked at him, her grey eyes large. "With Vidic?"
"Yeah." Malik breathed and grabbed his bag. "Bye." He was out the door in less than three seconds.
Rebecca limped up to Kadar, absently rubbing her wounded knee. "Is he on the track team?"
"What, Malik? No." Kadar answered, and almost choked on his own spit as he swallowed harshly when he felt Rebecca's... well, to put it in polite terms, rather generously sized bosom were pressed against his arm as she leaned on him to better knead her leg.
"Would Lucy notice if I just... maybe moved... or maybe just... happened to look down?"
Yes, she probably would. The girl noticed practically everything.
"Would she tell Malik?"
The chances were that she would, sometime anyway. The risks were too high.
"Well, he should be." The black haired girl said, straightening herself up.
Kadar startled. "Wha-? Who should be what?"
Lucy giggled, and Kadar silently cursed her. Rebecca just looked at him as if he was acting very silly. "Malik, of course. He's pretty fast for someone so..." She looked like she couldn't come up with a good word, and settled for waving her hands about, like everyone would understand anyway.
"Aggravated." Shaun supplied as he put the pawns in boxes, movements a bit stiff. "He could always ask Mr. Zip-up hoodie for professional training tips."
Kadar laughed. "Yeah, what's up with that anyway?" Maybe Malik's friends could shed some light on the situation.
"The hoodie or the guy stalking your brother while wearing it?" Rebecca snickered, fiddling with her headphones. "To be honest, I don't have the slightest clue. He just shows up wherever Malik happens to be, tags along for a while until Malik really loses it, then puts on his swagger and walks off." She grinned. "It's kind of hilarious."
Lucy shook her head. "I don't think Malik finds it funny... they don't get along very well."
"Like cats and dogs." The Brit agreed, and put the boxes with chess-pawns away. "I wish the -what did Malik call him? Novice?- yeah, I wish he would sod off. It's impossible to concentrate when that bloody wanker is around."
Kadar nodded and followed them out into the corridor, thinking back to the way Altaïr had acted around his brother. Why couldn't his previous idol and his brother just either A: Get along or B: Ignore each other, like all other sane people? They were just... weird. Okay, so they were kind of funny too, but... there were limits on how much a younger brother could endure!
The group said that goodbye's and see-you-later's, and Kadar wandered off towards the cafeteria, absently looking for familiar faces. Two people huddling together by a table waved at him, and he recognized them as Rauf and Paola and he waved back, happy and relieved to find some normality to help him cope with the latest development in his amazing life. But before he made it over, his cellphone buzzed to life and informed him that he'd received a text message. Touching the screen, he discovered that it was from Malik.
[Hey, sorry for earlier, not you I'm mad at. He's just such a fucking idiot. I'll make curry tonight.]
Kadar smiled as he texted back. [nah, it's fine. i think he's funny. ur curry is the best! Thanks.]
Life really was kinda good.
Lamest ending ever. Shoot me, please.
I realised halfway through that I'm much more comfortable writing Malik's sassy sarcasm, his feelings and his messed up way of contradicting himself but still being perfectly logical than I am writing a happy, normal little brother. Kadar is difficult, man!
Thank you all for reading all the way down here, I couldn't be happier that people take their time of day to look at my bad atempts at copying allahdammit's art and CC-universe into words! Reviews are pretty much the best thing ever, and if you feel like leaving one, please do. I'm such a sucker for that kind of thing.
I know I had something else to say down here, something kind of smart, but I forgot what it was. Hugs to you all!