Ezio finds Sofia still waiting when he comes out of the keep. She smiles at him, but there's worry in her face. "Are you alright?" she asks. "You were gone a long time."
He doesn't answer, because he hasn't decided if he's alright or not. Instead he says, "I'm sorry I made you wait."
"It's alright," she says. "I know you went because it was important to you."
"It was," he agrees. "But not in the way I was expecting."
"Tell me about it," she says.
"I..." for a moment, he hesitates. He's kept his secrets for so long, it's hard to imagine a life without lies. But this is the woman he's fallen in love with. And he's already told her about the assassins, and their creed. And she's still here. "Sofia, when I went in there, I thought I could give up the life of an assassin. I wanted to. I'm getting too old for this."
"But?" she prompts. "I can tell there's a but."
"But my story is one of many," Ezio says. "And the part I have to play here is over, but there are always other stories."
"I don't understand," says Sofia. "What are you talking about?"
And so he tells her. Under the shadow of the ancient assassins' stronghold, he empties himself of secrets and lies. He offers Sofia the truth, because he can't think of a way to keep lying and still claim to love her. When he's done, he waits while she considers everything he's said.
"Are you sure you're not just crazy?" she asks, after a while.
"Mostly sure," Ezio says.
"Hmm." She gives him a long, appraising look. "Ezio, do you love me?"
"I do," he says.
"Well then that works out nicely," Sofia says. "Because I love you too. I'm not so sure about these others, yet. But we'll work something out."
"Thank you," Ezio says, and he means it. But he means so much more than the words can express. He's spent his whole life chasing revenge. More than three decades, spent in the pursuit of death. And he doesn't regret his actions. He believes that he's done the best with what he was given, and that's always been enough for him. But now- now there's a chance to really live.
There's Desmond and Altair, still fighting for the cause Ezio has given his life for. And he's more than ready to help them, in any way he can. But there's also Sofia, who he's ready to spend the rest of his life with. He can already tell this isn't going to be an easy relationship. Given the unusual circumstances, there's really no way it could be. But it's more than he's ever had before.
-/-
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: The reason I don't write romance.
But no seriously. Here, have a filler chapter because I wanted to show that yes, Ezio will still be in this story, but the whole Sofia thing is still going on. I thought about skipping it, but then I thought, nah, there doesn't need to be a weird grandfather paradox thing going on with Desmond here.