Assassin's Creed (c) Ubisoft
Note: There is a joke in the title.
"Bye Dad, have a good day at work!" Jenny called, waving as her father drove off. She turned and looked at Haytham, who was sitting on the couch reading a book. He seemed utterly engrossed with it, smiling and sometimes giggling to himself as he calmly turned a page. Jenny sat on the couch, pulled her feet up and grabbed the TV remote. "Whatcha reading, tyke?" Jenny asked, tucking some hair behind her ear. She grabbed for his foot, in a playful manner, but Haytham drew his feet closer, glaring at her haughtily.
"James and the Giant Peach," he said, sticking his nose back into the book. Jenny frowned.
"Do you mind if I watch TV?" Jenny asked. "The Parkers is on soon."
"Do you have to? I like reading out here," Haytham whined, looking at her. Jenny frowned. "Besides, don't you have to make dinner?"
"I was thinking about ordering pizza," Jenny said, tossing some hair over her shoulder. Haytham arched a brow. "You like pizza right?"
"I like pizza," he said slowly, wondering what his sister was plotting.
"Okay, so pizza sounds good to you?" she asked.
"You just want to flirt with that pizza guy," Haytham pointed out, watching his sister's cheeks color. "Don't you?"
"Shut up, Haytham," Jenny growled, eyes glued to the TV. Haytham smirked, turning a page.
"Kissy-kissy," Haytham teased, "someone's in looove!"
"What! No! You're making things up, Haytham," Jenny said, clicking the TV on.
"Do you even have money?"
"Dad left us forty dollars," Jenny said. "So yes," she looked at him and grabbed his foot. "I do have money!" she shook it.
"Ach! Jenny, stop that!" Haytham squirmed away, giving his sister an indignant look. Jenny laughed, grabbed her brother by the arm and pulled him close, wrapping her arm around his throat and rubbing her knuckles against his head. "Jenny!"
"Oh, you are no fun, you need to lighten up, Hammie." Jenny let her brother go.
Haytham froze, staring at his sister with wide eyes filled with something akin to embarrassment and horror. "What did you call me?"
"Uhm… Hammie? Is that okay, Haytham is a mouthful," Jenny said. Haytham flushed with embarrassed anger.
"Haytham is not a mouthful!" Haytham seethed. Jenny gave an indignant snort. "So, don't call me that!"
"Dad calls you sea urchin," Jenny pointed out.
"Father is Father," Haytham muttered darkly. "Just because he does, doesn't mean you are allowed to butcher my name!"
"Whatever," Jenny said, "I'm still going to call you Hammie."
"Don't you dare!" Haytham squeaked. "I can't be… if my friends found out…" Haytham rubbed his face. "Fine, I'll call you Jen-Jen."
Jenny felt her brow twitch as she stared at her little brother. "Why you little twerp!"
"I won't tell Tony the pizza guy if you promise not to tell my friends," Haytham said, sitting up straighter on his side of the couch, gloating. Jenny wrung the pillow in her hands.
"Fine. You have a deal and speaking of friends," Jenny began, fluidly changing the subject, "why don't you play in the treehouse I found you in?"
Haytham scowled and plopped back onto the couch, arms folded over his chest, one hand clutching his book. "The Assassins have it," Haytham spat.
"The Assassins?" she arched a brow, and Haytham gave her a look. "Oooh, the other group of boys you play with."
"I don't play with them," Haytham said in a haughty tone. "I play with the Templars. We're knights. The tree house is ours, but the Assassins ambushed and stole it from us. We haven't been able to figure out a plan of attack to get it back, despite Shay's best efforts at being a spy."
"Well, maybe I can help?" Jenny offered. Haytham looked at her, a frown on his face. He rubbed his face. "I'm older and stronger, and I've done such things before."
"Really?"
"Yep, I pranked my entire high school my senior year," Jenny said with a grin, "day before I graduated. I and some friends were able to get the principal's car to the roof. So, if you want a surprise attack, I'm your girl."
"You'd really help?"
"Sure," Jenny said, "I mean you are moping around the house because some jerks kicked your ass."
"You aren't allowed to say that word," Haytham said, and imploring look in his eyes.
"What word?"
"The last one, with the a."
"Why?" Jenny wrinkled her nose.
"It's a bad word, Aunt Mary will tan ya hide if you say it around me," Haytham said. "I'm young and innocent and such profanity shall not soil my virginal ears." He grinned at her. Jenny rolled her eyes.
"So, who is this Aunt Mary anyway? I don't think Dad had a sister. Did your mom?"
"Mother's family didn't like Father. They are estranged. Father told me that when Mother died, he called them to tell them, he barely got the news out before they hung up on him. Father didn't see them at Mother's funeral, so I don't think they showed up."
"Wow," Jenny whispered, "what a bunch of bitches."
"You can't say that word either," Haytham chimed. Jenny rolled her eyes. "But I agree. I mean, Mother was their daughter and she died. They should've at least cared and what about me? I'm their grandson."
"Don't worry about them Haytham," Jenny said, "you have me now."
"Thanks." He smiled. "So when are you gonna order pizza?" Jenny sighed, rolling her eyes.
Haytham sighed through his nose, swallowing nervously as his friends came over. He never had any of them over to his house. The furthest Shay got was his doorstep and they just ate popsicles. Today, however, involved them actually going into the house.
"Wow…" William whispered. "Why have you never brought us over before?"
"Because my father lives here," Haytham grumbled, not wanting to get into his father. "My sister made lemonade."
"Since when did you have a sister?" John asked.
"Since I was born, apparently," Haytham said with a shrug, pulling out the pitcher of lemonade and glasses for him and his friends. He poured the pale yellow-grey liquid into the cups.
"This house smells weird," Thomas muttered, then glared when William elbowed him. "What? I'm just saying it does."
"You need to be nice to the host," William pointed out, accepting his glass of lemonade from Haytham with a soft thank you.
"It's fine," Haytham muttered, sipping his own drink. "The house does smell weird." He looked up when he heard the door the back yard open. He paled when he saw his father and sister walk in.
"Hey, Haytham, is that your sister?" Thomas asked, pointing to Jenny.
"Haytham, I didn't know you invited your little friends," Edward said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'd've clean the house a bit." He glanced at the dirty dishes still in the sink. "So, you kids staying for dinner?"
"No," Haytham said sharply, before any of his friends could answer, "we are just here to lay the plan for taking our tree house back," Haytham looked at his sister, "we could use Jenny's help too."
"I'm still not sure what you guys want me to do," Jenny muttered as she started cleaning the dishes.
"Jen, you don't have to do that," Edward muttered, but his daughter glared at him and continued the task.
"That's why we're here to discuss it," Haytham said. "It shouldn't take very long since Shay was our spy for so long, he knows everything about how the Assassins do stuff. William and Thomas got their parents to buy squirt guns and water balloons."
"Yeah, it's just… planning on when to attack now," Shay agreed.
"We could use your sister as a distraction," Thomas said, "I mean, she's super pretty."
"I doubt the Assassins will be duped with a plan like that," Haytham said, "hold on, I got a map." He slipped off his chair and scampered to his room. He returned a short time later with a piece of paper, childish drawings done in crayon. "Here," Haytham said, a blue crayon around in his hand. "Shay says the Assassins are in there from noon to four-thirty every day," he drew blue unhappy faces in the tree house. "Now we are here… and during the hottest part of is when they do nothing!"
"So, we attack then?" Thomas asked.
"Exactly!" Haytham shouted.
"We can do it today even! We have the time," Charles supplied. "It's only o'clock."
"We can gather everything now," William said.
"Yeah!" the others agreed.
"And afterwards, you boys can come here for dinner," Edward said, "I'll make burgers and hot dogs."
"Father," Haytham muttered, "that won't be—"
"Yeah! Awesome! My mom won't mind! Can you make cheeseburgers?" the boys shouted, drowning out Haytham's protests. Edward chuckled.
"Alright, burgers and hot dogs it is," Edward said.
"Jenny, you'll help us take the treehouse back right?" Haytham asked, looking up at his sister.
"Dad?" Jenny looked at Edward.
"I can manage, Jen," Edward said, "go play with your brother." Jenny grinned, putting the last of the clean dishes into the drainage area.
"C'mon," she said, looking at Haytham and his friends, "let's go kick some butt."
Storming the tree house wasn't difficult, it would've been if it wasn't for Jenny and Shay. Both were able to get the Assassins into a sense of false security. That's when Haytham and the others opened up the attack, pelting the Assassins with water balloons and squirt gun fire. The Assassin boys screamed, and Achilles, who happened to be playing with them, told Shay they'll never play with him again.
The Assassins weren't totally ill-prepared though, having a stash of squirt guns themselves and they returned fire, and soon enough both sides were soaked, grins of triumph (or frustration) plastered on their faces, wet hair clinging to their foreheads. The crowning achievement was when Jenny climbed up the rope escape and hosed the Assassins, screaming 'For the Templars!' as she chased the rest of the Assassins out the treehouse with the hose.
"C'mon! Here's our chance!" Haytham shouted, sprinting towards the treehouse. He fired his squirt gun at the fleeing Assassins before dropping the weapon and climbing up the later. "Nice work, Jenny," Haytham said and tore down the Assassin images inside the tree house, before going to the edge. "We did it guys! The Green Dragon is ours!" Haytham shouted. The cheer went up among the Templars, as the six other boys climbed up.
Haytham watched as the Assassins grumbling trotted down the street back to their houses. Grinning, he scanned the lot, trying to spot if any of the Assassins would come back or had hid. None, but he noticed that Ziio was walking pass the lot. "Ziio!" he shouted, scrambling down as fast as he could. "Ziio! Ziio!" he ran across the lot and skidded to a halt by her.
"Haytham," Ziio greeted, arching a brow. "Why are you alright?"
"I… I mean, we, the Templars," Haytham stammered, pushing the loose wet strains of his hair out of his face, and he tugged at his wet shirt. "We took back our treehouse," he said, puffing out his chest a little with pride.
"Hey, Haytham! Stop making kissy faces at Ziio and come up and celebrate!" Thomas shouted, waving a can of root beer. "My big brother would say: you should just get on with it man, kiss her, if ya like her!" Haytham flushed at Thomas' words.
"Haytham? Why are you red?" Ziio asked, glancing up at the boys in the treehouse. Haytham looked up when Jenny's shadow fell over him. "Who are you?" Ziio looked up at Jenny.
"My sister," Haytham explained in a mumble. "Jenny."
Jenny smirked, placing her hands on her brother's shoulders. "Kissy-kissy Haytham," she whispered just loud enough for Haytham and Ziio to hear her. "Someone's in looove!"
"Jenny!" Haytham seethed, pulling away from his sister. Jenny laughed, before going back to the treehouse to celebrate with the other boys. Haytham glanced at Ziio, noticing that the pretty Mohawk girl had a blush tinting her cheeks. Haytham hung his head, ashamed his secret got out. He moved to leave by Ziio grabbed his hand.
"Is it true?" she whispered, holding the ends of his fingers to prevent him from running off. "What your sister said?"
Haytham's flush deepened, his entire face, neck and ears a deep cherry red. He couldn't look at Ziio, but nodded. "Yeah, it is."
Ziio was silent for several moments. "Good," she said, causing Haytham to snap his gaze to her. "I was afraid that I was the only one."
A little smile curved Haytham's lips and he quickly leaned in, pecking her cheek. Ziio's blush deepened, she let go of Haytham's hand and touched her cheek. "Bye," she whispered, a smile on her face and she ran off down the street. Haytham watched her go, and once he was sure she was gone he gave a boyish whoop of joy, jumping into the air as he did so.
My birthday is tomorrow. This chapter took way too long to get up. Next chapter begins the angst fest. We're also going to be aging Haytham up. He'll be ten in the next chapter. Finally!
Stay tune!
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-Nemo