Just Beyond My Reach 17

Chapter 17: Two Week Reunion

The Venice streets were much bigger than anything that I had experienced—besides Rome, which was plenty bigger than Venice, but I had had Ezio when we went to Rome. I was all on my own here. Not that my usual judgment wasn't enough, but my anger and tears made it hard for me to really concentrate. So, it was only common sense that I became utterly lost in a matter of a few minutes from leaving the thieves home. My body shook from the coldness of the air against my still damp body, tickling into my wet hair and soaked clothes. Apparently, distressed and crying women were a common thing on Venice streets, for no one even paid me any mind. Through my furious haze, I knew that I should have just went back the way we had came, but then again, I had been in such a daze before I couldn't remember anything from the trip over, and what I did remember wouldn't be of any help to me. (All I could remember is Rosa in Ezio's arms, holding herself to him.)

After so long, I finally gave up, having come to the conclusion that I was circling around in a wide circle, not really getting anywhere. Sitting on a crate to the side of a building, I placed my elbows upon my knees and then buried my face into my palms, letting my shoulders shake as sobs of frustration shook my body. And even then, the hatred and pain faded into sadness and remorse. However sudden and strange, an odd adjustment, I started to cry because I was starting to feel myself fall farther away from my assassin...no, not just the assassin, but my best friend.

It was only a kiss...so, how did it end like this?

There was a nudge to the top of my skull, like a probing finger testing to see if I was still alive. Before I looked up, I wiped at my eyes quickly. Ugo stood over me, staring down at me with not his usually sharp and cunning eyes, but soft and somewhat caring. But he could afford to lift a sarcastic eyebrow at me.

"Lost?" He whispered.

I tried my hardest to smile—I really tried. But instead, a pathetic sob pushed through my lips and more tears dripped down my cheeks. Ugo obviously wasn't one to take crap or even to deal with other persons problems. He stooped over and took a hold of my wrist, holding me up so that I could stand. "Stop blubbering and let's go. You won't fix anything by crying." Not waiting for my answer, the young thief started to tug me down the streets. With my free hand, I used my wrist to wipe at my face again, muttering out 'sorry's' and 'I know's'. The tears had stopped flowing, and I silently followed Ugo through the streets. I panicked for a second when I considered that Ugo could have been taking me back to the thieves building, but my hysteria died down when I saw the tall building that I knew to be Leonardo's shop.

Ugo led me to the door. "Your destination, right?"

I nodded slowly, looking up at the building. "How did you know I wanted to come here?"

"Ezio tipped me off." I looked to the large door that led to the inside of the workshop, feeling another wave of disappointed wash though me. At least Ezio knew my brain better than anyone else. Before I went into the shop, Ugo tapped me on the shoulder lightly with his fist and said, "At least that was a good punch you gave him. Nice, solid follow through. There was blood everywhere in a few minutes."

I finally was able to smile up at the young man. "I didn't train two years with an asshole assassin for nothing. The real funny thing about it is that Ezio was the one to teach me how to punch like that." With two knocks on the wooden door, I left Ugo standing outside the shop, giving him a small 'thank you' before I closed the shop door behind me.


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It took me two whole weeks to get over how large Leonardo's new shop was compared to his older one. I indeed had to help him unpack and put everything away, but there was so much room that by the time we were done, everything was still spic and span. Leonardo reveled in it—he absolutely loved the new space, although we both knew deep inside ourselves that Leonardo would clutter it up more sooner than later.

For some odd reason, Ugo was at my side every day since the arrival. He'd show up little bit before noon and would show me around the city more before leaving back to the Guild when the sun started to sink. It was odd for one reason—I could tell that Ugo didn't like anyone that much, so I was at a loss as to why he insisted on sticking around with me. When I spoke to Leonardo about it one night, the painter said, "Perhaps Ezio is having him look after you since you two are having a childish squabble.'. Although I didn't appreciate Leonardo's response that much, I was gaining a good relationship with Ugo no matter the situation. It wouldn't be a long time until I realized just why I had come to accept his bad attitude to readily.

Those two whole weeks, I never saw Ezio once. Whenever I managed to get into the Thieves place, Ugo would rush me out too quickly for me to get a good look around. Antonio caught me once before Ugo could, but instead of rushing me out, Antonio invited me inside the building the thieves lived in. We only visited for a brief moment before Rosa walked in on crutches, holding her wrapped leg up a bit so she wouldn't walk upon it. I was glad to see that she was getting better, and I had smiled sweetly at her. She surprised me with an just as equally sweet and innocent smile at me before she hobbled out of the building. When she was walking out, Ugo happened to walk in, and before Antonio could even say goodbye, the young thief had seized my arm and towed me outside.

Ugo attempted to teach me how to swim on account of how "absurd" it was that I couldn't swim, although it didn't turn out very well. We usually ended up pissed at each other and giving up halfway through the lesson. I had heard from him that Ezio had learned how to climb buildings even better now, able to jump up the wall like I had seen Rosa do.

"Well, teach me," I asked him.

Ugo smiled and said, "I'm no the one to teach you. Ask him yourself."

I scoffed loudly. "I'd more sooner eat dirty snails and rats than talk to him."

"You're over exaggerating." Ugo moved and stood from the ledge we were both sitting upon, letting our feet dangle down just above the water, standing to face the morning sun. "Don't even try to lie—I've heard you say that it's weird to not talk with him. You haven't been apart for years you realize."

I frowned at Ugo. "How did you know that?" I certainly had never told him.

"You forget that I go back to the base and talk with him." Ugo suddenly smirked evilly and laughed. "I hope you know that I've relayed all of your 'unspoken' messages to him."

In horror, I gazed up at Ugo in bewilderment. "No!" I squeaked, standing from the ledge as well. "You didn't!" In actuality, I had given Ugo more descriptions of how much I hated Ezio in the past weeks, telling Ugo was I supposedly wanted to say to the Assassin, but I didn't actually think Ugo would tell him!

Ugo laughed again , tossing his head about a bit to shake off the few water droplets that were still in his hair from our swimming lesson. "I didn't. Calm down." He pointed at me, smirking broadly. "But know that I could have and will at any time."

Pouting at him, I bent over to put my boots back over my feet, not bothering to wipe the water streams that swirled around my heels. When I had my shoes on, Ugo began to lead down the cobblestone path, and I knew he wanted me to follow.

"Hey," I mused quietly, recognizing the street we walked upon, heading back to the workshop. Ugo acknowledged me with a short sideways glance. "Has Ezio said anything about me?"

I never got an answer. Just a stupid smile. There was moment just as such that I decided that Ugo was more stubborn than any one I had known. But something within me embraced his company, like I was happy just to have someone so criticizing in my life. He reminded me of some thing, although I knew not what is was...or whom.

When we were back at Leonardo's Ugo turned to me. "But I'm serious," he started again, "if you want to learn how to climb buildings efficiently, go talk to Ezio. I've heard enough from him and I know he'd be willing enough to teach you."

"Ehi, what do you mean 'I've heard enough from him'?" I asked, ignoring his words for the time being. Completely ignoring me, Ugo turned on his heel and walked away, disappearing in the Venezia crowd. I frowned. Douche bag.


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Leonardo asked of my help for the rest of the morning, making me move around some object in the shop. I finally came to the conclusion that I'd rather deal with Ezio than slave away at Leonardo's place. It was probably about mid noon that I decided to head out for the thieves Guild. Ugo had shown me the way enough times so that I could go on my own if needed. He tired of babysitting me all the time, and it was evident.

Even though I had claimed to be tired of Ezio, I really did want to see him again—Ugo had been right about it being weird not to see the assassin everyday. For as long as I could remember, Ezio had been there for me. Quite literally, too. Just to see that he was doing fine would suffice...but a little part of me wanted to see him torn down as if he had been wishing to see me too. I didn't want to be the only one who was weak in their will to fight.

The sun was so high in the sky, seeming to hang motionless at the apex of the sky, glaring down upon the top of my head, warming me sufficiently. The clear skies and burning sun ensured that it was to be a very hot summer. Venice lit up in the brighter days—not only from the sunlight that was spread along the lines of the buildings, but also from the shimmering waters that inked through the city. It was a surreal effect that I loved to gaze upon, the striking shimmers upon the dark stones of the buildings. I loved that the thieves guild resided so close to the water. I could walk along the edge of the land on my way to, staring out at the vast sea in wonderment, idly imagining just what other lands were placed beyond the waters, beyond my sight. I was going to admit, Venice wasn't the greatest smelling place in Italy. Sure, beautiful, but every beauty has a flaw and stench was this pearls chink. Due to the lack of growing area on the island city, and also to the vast population that lived in the homes, human wastes, animal waste...ANY waste was thrown aside into corners, into the water. It was enough to want to revolt against the smell.

I walked into the building's courtyard, nonchalantly rubbing at my nose. There were a few thieves leaning against the far wall, only paying me a small glance before continuing talking to each other. It wasn't just Antonio, Ugo, and Rosa who seemed to know everything about me. EVERY thief in the damned building knew exactly what my favorite thing to eat for breakfast was, I swear! Before Ugo found me and would usher me away out of the guild (he never seemed to like me being there very much), I knocked on the door that Antonio had led me to a few days before. Politely waiting until I heard a 'come in', I opened the door and pushed into the room.

It wasn't Antonio who answered to my knock, but another young thief who just regarded me quietly. "Um," I mumbled, point my thumb to another door across the room. "Is Antonio here?" The thief nodded briefly, flicking his head towards a small archway on the other side of the room before going back to polishing off a small knife he had in his hand. I gingerly made my way through the arch, led into another cluttered room with a desk piled with books and falling documents. Antonio was at the desk, staring down upon a parchment before he looked up to see me.

He smiled and stood straight. "Narina. So good to see you again."

I nodded and smiled back at him, allowing the man to walk up to me and give me a soft embrace. It was strange how much trust this man held from me and I hadn't even known him for very long. I had put the pieces together in my head earlier in the week and realized that this man was a part of the Assassin's Brotherhood, the Creed, as well. He knew of Giovanni, Mario, Paola, and La Volpe and spoke very fondly of them. It was as if they were truly siblings, and I smiled at the thought that they all risked each others lives to keep it as so.

"It's very good to see you too, Antonio."

We made small talk about the climbing hot weather, a bit about Leonardo and his work before he asked what I had came to him for.

" I'm looking for Ezio," I said evenly, trying not to give away my inner feelings. "He needs to teach me how to climb."

Antonio gave me a long, studied stare before gesturing up to the ceiling. "He's sleeping."

I felt my face fall into an embarrassing stupor, then I glanced out to the window to my right. "But...but it's noon! What's he still doing asleep?"

Antonio moved back behind his desk, looking over the paper he was studying before. "I had him run a few errands for me last night—free some of my men from imprisonment so that we may strike even sooner. It took him most of the night."

A moment a panic washed over me as I realized that Ezio was still moving forward in his journey despite me not being there. Was I really so insignificant in this whole thing? I lowered my eyes down to my feet after staring up at the window. "But..." I whispered. "He usually can't sleep with the sun against his eyes." It was true—I had known that to wake Ezio up was to open up the curtains in the room and that would wake him right up.

Antonio pulled out a quill and ink cap, writing out something on the paper. "He chose to sleep in the center room upstairs—the room that has no windows." The thief leader chuckled lightly, dipping the quill again. "Funny how he told us he chose it for his own safety against patrolling guards upon the rooftops when it was really because the sun irritates his sleep."

I didn't find the humor in it, but I let Antonio laugh lightly before I asked, "So, where's this middle room? I'm going to go try to wake him up."

With brief instructions of 'up the stairs, take a right, first door on the left', I made my way up the stairs back in the other room, the young thief still there cleaning his blade, this time not even sparing me a small glance. Up the noisy and creaking stairs, I took a right down a short hall that ended with a window down at the end wall. The first door on the left was actually the only door on the left, and I got the feeling that Antonio was making fun of me only moments before. I considered knocking on the door to be polite...but then I remembered that it was Ezio I was dealing with, so I just shrugged it off and walked immediately into the room.

Bad idea. It was pitch. Black.

Blinking rapidly as if to intensify my night vision, and with the help from the light that poured from the hallway, I realized that I was looking upon the edge of a bed with dark covers. I considered my options, which were: 1. Flail aimlessly into the room and hope to crash into something to wake up Ezio. 2. Go find something to light up the room. 3. Just forget about everything and go back to Leonardo's. I didn't like the first option very much—a sex crazed man in a dark room wasn't ideal...at least, I didn't think it was...I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to think of such things! What was I thinking? NEVER was a good time to think of such things! Feeling my cheeks warm slightly, I decided that I didn't want to give up so easily either, and I walked out of the room, intent on finding a candle or something. The hall that I was standing in had a candle in a holder upon the wall, but it wasn't lit. Being so short, I had to jump a few times in order to actually get a hold of the candle. When I had it in my grasp, candle dish and all, I remembered that Antonio had a lit candle on his desk downstairs and I went back down to the lower level. The thief and his blade were gone now, and I walked into the archway to confront Antonio. The man wasn't in the room anymore, but Rosa was, hunched over on her crutch. She looked up at me quietly, and I realized that it was a stand off almost, like we were battling for something. So it surprised me when she backed down and smiled softly at me. "Yes, Narina?"

I looked around the room after giving her a small glance. "Um...where is Antonio?"

Rosa raised a brow at me. "Are you looking for him?" Before I could answer properly, Rosa raised a hand to her mouth and yelled out "ANTONIO! Narina is looking for you!"

"No!" I waved the candle in the air, gesturing to the lit candle. "No, I just need a flame or something." I helped myself to the candle, lighting the one in my hands while Rosa watched me silently.

"Why do you need a candle in the first place?"

I turned towards the archway again, holding the now lit candle delicately. "Ezio's room is really dark," I explained. "I'm going to go wake him up."

Rosa frowned at me. "I thought you two were fighting?"

I paused in the doorway, hesitated, and then turned back to glare at Rosa. "I didn't know it was any of your business."

"Ezio's told me all about it," Rosa said smugly, smirking at me. "He's told me a lot of things."

It took some effort, but I got a sickly smile upon my face. "I'm sorry that your thighs had to deal with those lips of his. Excuse me." I stiffly turned back out the door and made my way to the stairs in the other room.

"Narina." I stopped and spared Rosa one last look. She was leaning against her crutch, smiling softly and somewhat legitimately at me. "Ezio hasn't even touched me. He hasn't even attempted to. I don't think that he even plans to. You don't have to get upset over something that hasn't happened."

My initial reaction was to glare even harder at the girl, but I had a strong and odd feeling that told me that she was telling the honest truth. Without a response, I continued up the stairs, not liking the way Rosa smirked so knowingly at me.

The candle helped out immensely in the dark room. I couldn't help but smile when I saw how cluttered the room was. It was strange to consider the fact that Ezio never spent much time in his resting spots, but they still became cluttered with odd clothes, weapons, papers and vials full of medicine. His assassin robes were laid out upon the desk in the corner and his swords and other weapons were on top of the robes, or leaning up against the side of the desk.

Moving the candle to the spot where the bed was barely exposed by the light flooding through the door, I froze for a moment when the candle dimly lit up Ezio's face. An overwhelming force crashed against me as I realized just how much I had missed his strong, broad face, his wide, scarred lips parted in sleep, his loose hair laying along his broad neck and his even, low breaths.

After placing the candle on the small bed side table, I collapsed at the side of the bed, folding my arms upon the blankets, cradling my head against my arms. I forgot all of my irritation at him for a moment. "Hey Ezio," I whispered gently.

There was no response (I didn't expect one from his sleeping form), and I stayed for a long moment just quietly watching him. I almost felt tears in my eyes as I studied my best friends face. I wasn't even sure how I had gone two weeks without gazing upon Ezio's face. I felt so full of emotions and raw feelings all of a sudden—if I were to compare myself days ago to myself now...I would have said that I had been feeling empty, walking around without a real purpose. I remembered what Rosa had said about Ezio never even attempting to touch her, and I snorted and laughed lightly. "Am I stupid to believe in that?" I laughed again. "Ah, who am I kidding? You've probably just slept around with other girls besides Rosa." My smile faded and I sighed. "I know that very well now..." I fell silent then, staring once again at Ezio's sleeping form, no longer wanting to wake him up and no longer wishing to learn the wall jump he had learned.

Many minutes passed before I sighed and stood from the edge of the bedside. In conclusion, I decided to let Ezio sleep, let him catch up on his 'Z's'. Taking a hold of the candle dish, I started to leave the room.

"Narina." I paused, then quickly looked behind me, waving the candle light above Ezio's figure again. Was he sleep talking? About me? I turned towards the bed fully again, gazing down upon the sleeping man. His eyes were still closed and his breaths were still even, but his face, overall, seemed more gentle in a complex way. "Narina..." he mumbled again, fading off.

For a moment, I thought for sure that he was awake, but a small, quiet snore reassured me otherwise. Oddly enough, I was flattered at his dream powered mumbles and I smiled lightly to myself. Perhaps I had judged Ezio's intentions too harshly. I had always known somewhere deep inside of me that Ezio did have a care about me, although it seemed otherwise. I'd have to talk with him sometime soon—tell him that I wasn't really mad anymore. I guessed that Leonardo would still need help back at the shop and I would take another day to come back and talk with the young man—perhaps the next day even. Closing the door softly behind me as I left the room, I smiled softly to myself as I regarded the sleeping and mumbling assassin in the room beyond the door. Then I walked downstairs, feeling content for the first time in a long while.


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My goal for the next day morphed from talking to Ezio to finding Ugo in the early morning hours. I had awoken early from my bed that Leonardo let me sleep in, and I had climbed out my window and up the tall shop, sitting upon the roof top to stare at the rising sun. It was spectacular, and I wanted a tour of Venice from the rooftops. It seemed like a totally different city from the high vantage point.

However, when I arrived to the Guild, Rosa stopped me before I could walk into the building and told me that neither Ugo nor Ezio were in at the moment—both of them training out the members that had been captured and turned frail in the cells the city had locked them in.

Rosa grudgingly kick at the crutch she leaned upon. "If it wasn't for this damned wound, I would be out with them."

I smiled lightly at her, and even laughed softly. "You have to heal up before you try this all over again."

"I know." Rosa grunted again, but gave me a soft smile. "You know, if you go about the city, you'll run into either of the boys. I think they're close to here in the first place, so it won't be too vast of an area to search."

I was almost surprised by her kindness, but I didn't allow it to really show. "Alright. I'll go look around for a bit. Grazie, Rosa."

Rosa gave me a slight nod and then I left the building, scaling up the guilds wall quickly just right out the entrance. Upon the roofs, I lifted a hand to my brow to block out the bright, morning sunlight, and I smiled lightly to myself. It was going to be a very good day—I could tell. Before I started to run across the rooftops, I took off my boots and rolled up my sleeves and pant legs. Since it was such a nice day, I might as well enjoy it thoroughly. Tucking the boots up under my arms, I began to walk among the rooftops, jumping across the breaks between them and scaling structures if needed. But finding Ugo and Ezio wasn't exactly an easy task, as Rosa had implied. Venice had oh so many corners and crevices, such buildings that differed in sizes and shapes. I was at a loss as to where to even begin where to look.

I'm guessing a few hours went by while I wandered around, and even then I hardly payed any attention in my search. Maybe, perhaps, if I had been more aware of my surroundings, I would have found Ezio or Ugo, but alas, I was just a simple girl curiously gazing at Venice from the high roofs. After a while, I my feet grew sore from stepping bare amongst the rough roofs, and I sat at the edge of a higher building, trying to hide from patrolling guards from lower roofs by hiding behind a large, stone structure on top of the roof, facing out towards the vast sea. Sighing contentedly, I leaned back upon my hands and kicked my bare feet happily in the air over the edge. It was wonderful to be free, to not have to worry about a ruling hand over you, to be able to find a spot as such where it seemed no worries would bother the calm air.

And then, of course, there was a disturbance. It was a guard's yell, exclaiming loudly in shouts of pursuing someone. The shouts became closer and louder, and I stood from the edge of the roof and made my way to look around the large stone structure to see what the big deal was. Not only did a gust of wind push against my face as I looked around the corner, but I was literally taken down, sent flying to the ground with something heavy landing upon me, knocking the breath out of me and disallowing me to breath once again. My head whacked against the stone roof too, and my brain was sent into a jumble. As the stars and suddenly confusion cleared from my eyes, the weight upon me shifted and then was quickly gone. I looked up while propping myself on my elbows. A hooded, strong figure stood above me, and I felt myself almost laugh out loud for a really odd reason.

"Santa merda," Ezio huffed, clearly out of breath. It was the last straw—I broke out in giggles despite how much my pounding head rebelled against doing so. Ezio, however, didn't see the humor in the situation (and I truly didn't understand what humor I saw either). Instead of laughing with me, he stooped down and took a hold of my arm, dragging me up to my feet before tugging me along the rooftops. The giggles left as soon as they had came, and I understood that we were being chased by a few guards when I threw a few looks back over my shoulder.

"Mio Dio," I exclaimed up to Ezio in huffs. "What the hell did you do, Ezio?" My smart ass tone was on in full blast, and I knew that he could hear it. Instead of answering, He only threw me a really, really odd and unsuspecting look of surprise. I felt my face twist up into confusion to respond, but he looked away and pulled me suddenly to the right, making us fall into a roof garden, my legs hitting the edge and causing me to fall sharply on my face. I was surprised that Ezio could keep from laughing at me as I sat up, sputtering out the dust that had clung to my lips.

I threw him a sharp look, but he didn't even notice before he took a hold of my arm again and pulled me close to him, pressing his stiff body up against the edge of the gardens walls, his labored breaths carefully contained in his mighty chest. Being tucked under his arm, I could see up his hood, noticing the sweat dripping down his face, the way his eyes shifted in a stealthy fashion. The more I noticed, the more I found myself turning into him to bury my face into his warm and sweaty clothes and finding the smell that I had come to love so dearly through the years, the more I found my fingers gripping onto the fabric, the more I found myself wanting to suddenly cry.

I realized that I had missed Ezio. A lot.

We didn't move for a while, after his hands had settled upon my hair and my back. The only sound was my pulsing heart in my ears and also the heaving guards rushing past the garden cover, yelling out that the assassin had gone missing. Although their voices and footsteps faded away, I only relaxed once I had felt Ezio grow less tense under my touch and the heavy breath he had been holding inside was left free through his lips. I then pushed away from his warmth and sat up straight, sitting between his propped up legs, pursing my lips slightly.

"How stupido are guards these days? I mean, seriously—when they're chasing someone on the rooftops and they suddenly disappear, you would only assume that they're hiding in the covered roof gardens." I scoffed. "Yet, they always seem to neglect to look!" I gave Ezio a roll of the eyes and shook my head. "People these days, I swear."

My face fell into another confused stupor as I realized that Ezio's facial expression hadn't even changed the entire time I had been talking to him. His eyes were carefully measured, and his brows were furrowed in his own confusion, a small frown gracing his lips. I felt my head tilt slightly. "Are you okay?"

I was surprised when his face suddenly crumpled and even more so when his arms were suddenly around me again, pulling me into his broad and strong chest, even his legs pressing against me as if he were afraid that I would try to pull away. Tucking my head under his chin, he pushed his face into my hair, burying his fingers in the dark strands while the other hand pressed in-between my shoulder blades. I had forgotten how warm he was and how much his embrace comforted me. Without really thinking, as if out of habit, I reached up and tugged at the back of Ezio's hood to pull it down from around his face. He shifted me in his hold so that his chin was pressed against my forehead, allowing me to realize that he had neglected to shave in a few days, his rough beard pressing against my skin.

He let out another deep breath. "Sono così contento che lei mi parla di nuovo, (I am so glad that you are talking to me again,)" he murmured softly, holding me to him even tighter for a moment. Of course I hadn't been the only one to have been suffering so much the past two weeks—it had been foolish for me to think that I had been the only one that had been hurting so much. The only thing that I was disappointed in now was the fact that I had been the one to give in first. I didn't say anything back to him, but allowed my hands to brace themselves against the back of his neck while I buried my face into his collarbone. As if time froze, we stayed like that for a good moment, breathing in each others presences softly. As the moment passed, so didn't our previous anger between each other, melting away from the warmth of reunion.

Then all too soon, he pushed me away again, causing me to drop my hands to his broad chest and to stare into his honey brown eyes. He was smiling, and his eyes had melted with a mixture of warmth and happiness. "You know," he stated, lifting one hand (which were both resting at my waist) to touch his chin, "you really hurt me with that punch."

I felt the smile spread across my face, and I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well, you shouldn't have taught it to me, should you have?" We both laughed together for a moment, and I reveled in the sound of it.

Still chuckling, Ezio jutted out his chin. "Kiss it better?"

Shaking my head but smiling, and pushed at Ezio's chin and stood up from his hold, brushing myself off. "Save your charms for another moment." I offered him my hand. "I want you to teach me how to climb buildings, if you're not too busy, that is."

Taking a hold of my hand, I helped pull him up so that he was standing, towering over me. I had also forgotten how tall Ezio was compared to me. "You mean the jumping up the wall trick?" he asked, squeezing my hand lightly before letting it go.

I nodded. "Si."

He pulled a thinking face, stroking at his chin again, putting his left hand on his hip. I gave him a small exasperated look, telling him that I wasn't kidding what-so-ever. "Okay," he finally said, "I have a proposition. If I teach you how to climb—"he pushed his face down into mine, making me lightly lean away from him "–then you have to kiss your punch better. Deal?"

Giving him an odd look with a weird smile, I questioned him with my gaze if he was being serious. When he responded with a smile and a raised brow, I felt myself laughing lightly under my breath. With a small pause, I brushed the hair from around my face and looked up into Ezio's face, smirking smugly. "Fine. You've got yourself a deal."