Desmond knows why Altair pushed the others out and back to their own times as quickly as he could. It's because he knows that the longer they stayed, the harder it would have been to say goodbye. Logically, that applies to him, too. Altair should be back in Masyaf already, back in his own time, his own life.

Instead, it's been five hours since Ezio left, and Altair's still sitting next to Desmond on the roof of the apartment, watching the stars come out. Neither of them speaks for a very long time, and then Altair says, "It's hard to believe these stars will all be different soon."

"A thousand years isn't that long at all, really," Desmond says. "Not with the apples, anyway. But I guess it's enough time for the stars to move."

They watch the sky for a little bit longer, then Altair says, "And there's more of them, of course."

"No light pollution," Desmond agrees. "I always liked seeing the stars in the animus, or when I was actually in the past."

They're making small talk, because neither of them wants to talk about what has to happen next. But it can't last forever. Finally, when Desmond can't take it anymore, he says- "Thanks."

"For what?" Altair asks.

"The first time we met, you saved my life," Desmond says. "Back in Abstergo, when we broke out, before I even knew you were in my head. You killed all those guards so we could get out, remember?"

Altair nods. "That feels like such a long time ago," he says.

Desmond laughs. "We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into."

"I'm just glad we all got out of it alive," says Altair.

"True," Desmond says. "I mean, technically I was dead for a while, and Connor was a wolf for a few days, and that time we all switched bodies was pretty weird-"

"Which time?" Altair interrupts, and they both smile.

"Good point," says Desmond. "But seriously, do you remember when that used to be a big deal?"

"Hard to believe," says Altair. Then- "I should thank you, too."

"Why?" Desmond asks. "When did I save your life?"

"It's not that," Altair says. "I can save my own life, but I never would have seen any of this if you hadn't ended up in my head."

Desmond snorts. "Well in that case, you might as well thank Vidic. I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"I'd rather thank you," says Altair.

"Fair enough," Desmond says.

Altair changes the subject. "So what are you going to do after this?"

Desmond shrugs. He hasn't actually thought about it. "Maybe track down my dad," he says. "Let him know I'm alive. Talk to my mom- I haven't seen her since I was sixteen. After that… I'm sure there's plenty of templars that need to be dealt with. And I mean, who knows? Maybe some of them can be brought around. Haytham's on our side now, and none of us thought that would ever happen."

"That sounds like a good plan," Altair says. "And I wish you the best of luck." Desmond takes his gaze away from the sky and looks over at Altair, who's looking back at him.

Their eyes meet, and Desmond asks, "Are you ready to go?"

"No," Altair says. "But I need to." He stands up, and Desmond takes the hand his ancestor offers him to help him to his feet. "It's been good knowing you, and I suppose if we're never going to see each other again, this isn't a bad way to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Desmond looks at him in genuine confusion. "You're talking like we're never going to see each other again."

"We're not," Altair says. "I'm going back to Masyaf. You're staying here."

"Obviously," Desmond agrees. "But I thought- oh."

"Oh?"

"You don't get it yet," Desmond says. He knows the others haven't figured it out yet, but they haven't been around since the beginning. Back at Abstergo, it was just him and Altair, and so he thought for sure that Altair would know already.

"Get what?" Altair demands. From the look on his face, it's clear he has no idea what he's missing, which is funny because it's so obvious.

"Never mind." Desmond grins. "I guess it's going to be a surprise for you, too." He notices Altair's expression, and quickly adds, "Don't worry. It's a good surprise."

Altair sighs. "Fine," he says. "I suppose I should trust you, after all this time."

"You should," Desmond agrees. "And you should probably be headed back to Masyaf. I promise- I'll see you soon."

He stands there and watches as Altair's apple flares into a steady golden glow. It holds steady for several long seconds, then fades away. When it's gone, Altair is as well, and Desmond is alone- truly alone- for the first time in a long time.

-/-

Apologies if this chapter reads a little awkwardly. I changed my mind about whose point of view I wanted this chapter written from after it was already done, so I think it came out kind of *blargh*. I don't know. Hopefully it's okay.