Ezio's well used to the feel of a building full of assassins the night before a big mission, and the one they're planning to run against Juno is the biggest he's ever heard of. It's been a week since Connor went back to being human and Desmond brought Edward and Mary into the twenty first century. And that pre-mission feeling- that slow, creeping increase in tension, the silence that fills the apartment like a physical presence, it's getting stronger every day.
They don't have much of a plan, because none of the people involved are particularly good at following plans, and anyway they have no idea how hard it will be to take Juno down. All they know is where she is- or at least, where Altair saw her when John tried to kill him. For all any of them know, she could be somewhere else by now. They're going to have to play it by ear, and that has Ezio nervous. Maybe that's why he spends the night before the mission wandering the overcrowded apartment, not really able to settle for anything.
The first place he goes is the tiny living area off the kitchen, normally used for when one of them gets restless and needs a place to do sit ups or stretches or something else to work off excess energy in an enclosed space. With the apartment's current state of overcrowding (two bedrooms, eight assassins, and one templar), Haytham and Connor are taking turns sleeping on the couch when they need a rest. They're there now, actually- when Ezio walks over, Haytham's prodding Connor about how he feels.
"I told you," Connor says. "I'm fine."
"We're going after Juno tomorrow," Haytham presses. "I just want to know if anything's wrong-"
"Dad!" Connor's voice is exasperated, and for a second- putting aside the fact that they're talking about whether or not Connor's likely to turn into a werewolf during the mission, they could almost be a normal father and son.
Haytham looks up and notices Ezio. "Did you need something?" he snaps.
"Nope." Ezio grins and turns to leave. "Go back to your argument."
After that he checks out the smaller bedroom- usually, both of the bedrooms are used by whoever needs a bed, whenever they happen to be empty, but right now this one's been converted into a temporary infirmary while Mary builds her strength back up. As the only other woman in the group, Rebecca's been staying there too, and Edward- who clearly feels responsible for Mary, despite her constant protests- rarely leaves the room.
They're in the middle of a conversation when Ezio sticks his head in, so intensely focused on one another that neither of them even notices him. For a second, their postures and tones seem to imply that the two are sharing a moment, but their words have nothing to do with romance.
"You can't go back, Mary," Edward's saying. They're both sitting cross legged on the bed, so close they're almost touching. Almost, but not quite. "I've been talking to people- well, mostly Shaun, actually. He's kind of a prick but he's a good historian."
"I know," Mary says. "I've been talking to him too. And I know what you're going to say."
"You were supposed to die in that prison," Edward says quietly. "That's what history says, and if you go back, you could change everything."
"I know," Mary says. She doesn't sound upset at all, Ezio thinks, but then again he hasn't known her all that long. Edward, who's known her for years, frowns at her words. Maybe she's just hiding it well.
"It might not beall bad," he says.
"Edward-" Mary lets out an aggravated sigh. "It's different for me to be here than it is for you. You said you've been… what, sharing heads with these people?" she pauses long enough for Edward to nod, then continues. "You have this knowledge of what's going on here and how things work and I don't have that- Edward, I don't understand any of what's going on here." Her voice breaks right at the end, and Ezio leaves quietly as Edward struggles to find the words to comfort her.
A burst of laughter from the kitchen behind him, completely at odds with the almost somber mood in the bedroom, makes Ezio turn around. Desmond, Shaun, and Rebecca are gathered around the kitchen table, an open and half empty bottle of something between them. Desmond and Rebecca are the ones laughing- Rebecca's nearly doubled over and gasping for breath- while Shaun wears an affronted look that tells Ezio he's the butt of the joke.
It's the first time he's ever seen the three of them this comfortable around one another- since Desmond came back, the other two have been careful to keep him at arm's length, like they're not quite sure what to make of him. But to be fair, most of the time Desmond hardly seems to know what to make of himself. And even before that, when they were moving around from hideout to hideout, Desmond was keeping the huge secret of his ancestors' existence in his head a secret. Even if they didn't know the specifics, they knew he was keeping something from them, and that's the kind of thing that gets in the way of friendships.
But tonight at least they seem completely relaxed. Maybe it's the threat of impending death from Juno and knowing they could all be dead this time tomorrow, or maybe it's just the cheap alcohol, or maybe they really have managed to put all of it- the lies, the amnesia, everything- behind them. Whatever the reason, it's good to see, and Ezio doesn't interrupt them, either.
That leaves only Altair unaccounted for, and Ezio spares a second to check the other bedroom- the one he, Altair, Desmond, and Shaun have been temporarily crowded into- just to confirm it's empty before leaving the apartment and heading to the roof.
And that, of course, is where he finds Altair, sitting with his legs over the side of the roof, arms crossed over his chest, eyes focused on something in the distance that only he can see. He looks like he's in another world, but when Ezio sits down next to him, Altair stirs and turns to frown at him. "How is everything inside?" he asks.
"Tense, mostly," Ezio says, and shrugs. "Better than I expected, honestly."
"Good," Altair says, and then falls back into silence. Ezio waits for a second to see if he'll say anything else. He doesn't.
"How do you feel about tomorrow?" he asks.
"Fine."
"Because, you know, this is going to be dangerous, and difficult and… and bigger than anything we've faced before."
"Are you saying I can't handle it?" Altair snaps. Ezio ignores the tone though, because he knows what it means; Altair's putting up walls, pretending he's not as afraid as he really is. Ezio, not for the first time, is reminded that even if Altair was born and lived and died centuries before him, Ezio is still more than twenty years his senior.
"Not at all," he says, and clasps the man on the shoulder. "I'm saying I think this is going to be the hardest battle any of us have ever fought. And-" he doesn't realize it until he hears the words come out of his mouth, but that doesn't make them any less true. "I think we're going to win."
-/-
I would like to apologize in advance if updates get a little slower for a while; I got bit hard by a plot bunny this morning and I need to work on that for a bit before I can focus on this again. Hopefully not long, because this story is so close to wrapping up, and personally I can't wait to get there.