Archive of Our Own

Grand Temple, Turin, New York (9 - 100 - 10 - 50) 

When Desmond was young, he had always been envious of the easy smiles and gentle touches the other children on the Farm received from their parents. His parents had always been busy and, while he believed there was a time when they had taken care of him like he was the most important thing in the entire world, he didn’t actually have any memories of it. As far as Desmond could remember, his parents had always been too busy for him. His father left the Farm a lot, most probably doing missions for the Brotherhood or going to another city to buy things they needed for the Farm while his mother was left as the pseudo-‘mayor’ in her husband’s absence and the only time she actually spent some time with him was during dinner and those had mostly always been quiet affairs as she would be too tired to converse with him. 

Desmond was usually left in the care of an old man everyone on the Farm called ‘grandpa’. He was sure the old man wasn’t related to anyone in the Farm and, now that Desmond thought about it, he might have been a retired Assassin. 

The old man was kind and he was always smiling. He taught Desmond games to play that didn’t involve his poor old bones moving too much and it would be years later that Desmond would realize that the old man had been teaching him skills he could use as an Assassin and framing it as games like the one where Desmond had to get a piece of candy inside the old man’s jacket without him realizing it or the one where Desmond had to get out of the house without the old man seeing him. 

It was… a bit screwed up, that was for sure, but those days had been fun for him when he had been a kid.

Then he started to train with the other children and nothing was fun anymore. 

His parents started to pay attention to him but only in training. They only talked to him to give him instructions and the only time Desmond had ever seen his father be truly emotional was when he would lose all his patience and yell at Desmond for not being able to do what he should be doing correctly. His mother, on the other hand, was just… too calm. Desmond didn’t understand it when he had been on the Farm but her calmness had unnerved Desmond. It was like no matter what he did, whether he succeeded or not, they didn’t matter. Any success he had would only be acknowledged with a nod and either an order to do it again or another instruction he had to follow.

By the time Desmond was twelve, he had stopped thinking of them as his parents. He still called them ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ but those were empty titles meant to keep them in the dark of his true feelings. They were his instructors and the leaders of their community, nothing more.

When Desmond received the cut on his lips during a sparring match with a bigger older kid, they became his wardens when his ‘father’ told him that he should have been faster and his ‘mother’ showed him a technique on how to move out of the way using minimal movements. Neither of them asked if he was alright nor did they even try to at least give him a handkerchief or tissue to press against his bleeding lips. It had been the older kid, his own opponent, who had looked at him worriedly and who had helped him clean his wound with the medkit they had in the training center.

Desmond didn’t even know his name.

When he was sixteen years old, the old man died. They said it was a painless death and that he had died in his sleep. Desmond had been the one to find him as he visited the old man every day after training, not because he was ordered to, but because he wanted to. There weren't any small kids for the old man to look at anymore and Desmond didn’t want him to feel alone and forgotten in this place. That was his reasoning anyway. As he grew older, he realized he had just been projecting his own loneliness on the old man. The old man’s house was always filled with new food each day, the small vegetable garden outside his home was always watered, and he always had stories to tell Desmond about the people on the Farm. Desmond knew now that almost all the adults on the Farm had been keeping an eye on him and helping him out. 

If anything, the one who was being comforted by a boy visiting an old man was Desmond himself.

That was why when the old man died, Desmond finally left the Farm.

As far as he was concerned, nothing was left for him on the Farm now that his ‘grandpa’ was dead.

They do say hindsight is 20/20 and Desmond made peace with his ‘parents’ and his upbringing. He even found an answer to a question he had about his ‘mother’ after reaching a Synch Nexus with Altaïr. He realized that the calmness that always unnerved Desmond had been very similar to how many members of the Levantine Brotherhood had treated their children. Altaïr had found them strange as well and he had vowed to show his sons he loved them but he understood that those parents had grown up in an environment where they had been raised to believe that showing love to their own children was a sign of weakness. It was a teaching that Al Mualim had enforced and even Altaïr’s own father had many instances that he had done the same to Altaïr. 

Desmond wasn’t sure what kind of upbringing his ‘mother’ had but Altaïr’s memories brought clarity to Desmond and he…  

He wouldn’t say he understood her or that he forgave her. It was more like… he was willing to make peace with her if given a chance. Maybe, if he felt curious enough, he would even ask her why she had acted that way towards her own son.

By this time, he supposed it was more accurate to say that he was… indifferent to her.

William Miles though…

Desmond wasn’t going to lie.

He left a message, a final will, addressed to Bill because of Ratonhnhaké:ton. The pain his ancestor had to go through as the hope he had of being able to find some kind of common ground, some kind of peace, with his father was destroyed and stomped on by his own father was what propelled Desmond to make peace. There would always be a part of him that would always wish for William Miles’ approval and that was what Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories and emotions had taken hold of, had twisted in Desmond’s mind via the bleeding effect. Sometimes, he would see the visage of Haytham Kenway in William Miles and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s hope would pull his heart. 

Desmond wasn’t heartless but, if he was being completely honest, saving William Miles from Vidic had been partly his bleed of Ratonhnhaké:ton asking him to save his father (whether he meant William Miles or Haytham Kenway, he couldn’t be totally sure), partly his bleed of Ezio reminding him that William Miles was still an Assassin and a brother that must be saved, and partly his bleed of Altaïr suggesting they use William Miles’ abduction as a way to get inside the Rome facility to cripple Abstergo and retrieve the battery they needed while finally taking out Vidic. Whatever feeling Desmond had about the entire thing had been… irrelevant, he supposed. It was simply easier to let the bleed of his ancestors dictate what he should do, to listen to the whispers of the dead to guide him.

Perhaps if things had been different, if Desmond had the time to actually just decompress everything that had happened to him since he had been abducted by Abstergo, maybe he would be able to actually think more clearly and to make decisions as himself. As just Desmond Miles, not as Desmond Miles the Assassin or Desmond Miles the Precursor’s Chosen Savior.

After they saved the world, he thought back then.

After they saved the world, he would take the time to actually think about what the fuck he wanted, maybe even have a crazy debate with his ancestors in his head about what they should do next.

Then Minerva appeared out of nowhere to warn Desmond that he was going to die if he used the device to save the world and Juno would be free to be the real-life version of Skynet or whatever megalomaniac bullshit plan she had up her sleeves, if she even had one.

He would have appreciated the heads-up to have been done before it was only a few hours until the world burned. William Miles’ begging meant nothing to Desmond. His bleed of Ratonhnhaké:ton did feel the pain but Desmond himself didn’t. Or maybe he was using his bleeds to compartilize his actual feelings.

Who knows?

By the end of this day, no one would, most probably.

Because Desmond was going to die.

Minerva’s plan was not feasible. For one, asking him to be some kind of 21st-century Noah or something to that effect didn’t sit well with any of his ancestors, and Desmond himself wasn’t really keen on having to deal with the guilt of being the person to sentence most of mankind to burn. 

So he watched William Miles leave the temple before staring at Juno as she waited with barely concealed anticipation for his death. She knew he would do it. She, Minerva, and Tinia had chosen him as their sacrificial lamb for this very reason. The only reason why Minerva had even interjected at the last minute had been because of Juno’s interference. She had been willing to let Desmond die to save the world before.

Or maybe she didn't? Desmond wasn’t even sure if him dying to use the device had been their plan all along or if this was one of the fuck ups Juno had done behind their backs. 

Regardless of Minerva's initial intentions, she was willing to let it burn if it meant keeping Juno imprisoned. 

Or maybe she was willing to let the world burn to keep Desmond alive? 

Yeah, right… 

Desmond wasn’t sure what Minerva was truly thinking or what the initial plan was before Juno did whatever she wanted and he didn’t really care.

It didn't matter what Minerva wanted. 

It didn't matter what Desmond wanted. 

As they say, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of one.

And at this point, Desmond wasn’t even sure if he even ‘needed’ or ‘wanted’ anything.

He guessed it didn't matter. 

Shame. 

He was sorta looking forward to the migraine he would get listening to Altaïr and Ezio bicker about what they should do after he saved the world. 

He placed his hand on the device and let it burn him, starting from his hand and traveling throughout his entire body. 

He screamed when the painful burning sensation of his arm transferred into the burning of his insides. 

He barely had any thoughts left but the pain.

For a brief moment, he saw a golden tree in a vast empty gray space, its branches slowly elongating and creating more and more branches. 

He heard the flapping of wings coming from behind him.

Then everything stopped.

The pain.

The burning.

Everything.

??? (0)

The screaming was the first thing he heard.

The muffled voices of a woman shouting “ Spingi! Spingi! Di nuovo! ” barely registered as he felt himself being…

Oh shit.

He was reliving Ezio’s birth again.

What the fuck?

“You’re doing great, signora ! Just a little bit more!” 

Why the hell was he reliving this memory again?

Oh, fucking hell.

Did he time travel back to the time when Lucy was going to take him out of Abstergo?

Desmond needed to think about this.

If he did time travel back to September of 2012, what would he do?

There were so many things he could change.

But the real question was… 

Would changing his fate be a better alternative for the world? Would he be dooming the entire human race by changing the future? 

“ Sì ! Sì ! Brava !” 

He felt someone clean him and heard her announce, “It’s a boy, signora !” 

He tried to breathe and, Jesus Christ, that hurt like a bitch.

He started to cry which was embarrassing and he would swear he didn’t do it on purpose. He barely felt someone clean him before wrapping him in something soft. A blanket, perhaps? 

Wait.

Where was Giovanni?

Wasn’t Ezio supposed to have problems breathing when he was born? Why was…

“You can’t come in yet! Wait-”

The door opened and Desmond froze when he heard a small child’s voice ask excitedly, “Is that him? Is that my baby brother?”

“ Mi dispiace , signora ! The children-”

“Let them stay.” Maria’s tired voice ordered. Even though the tiredness in her voice was clear, her tone was still gentle as she said, “Children, come.”

Desmond felt himself be transferred into another person’s arms and he heard the small gasps around him. He felt someone poke his cheek and he grumbled, trying to swat the finger away. His body was sluggish and didn’t do as he wanted as all he could do was raise his hand in the direction where he was poked at. 

“Don’t do that, Claudia.” Maria scolded gently and Desmond felt dread coil all over him.

If Ezio and Claudia were already here then that could only mean that he…

He wasn’t reliving Ezio’s birth.

“Yes, you must be nice to our little brother.”  

“What is our brother’s name, madre ?”  

“Petruccio.” Maria declared with a soft gentle voice, “His name is Petruccio Auditore da Firenze.”

Fuck.

Fuckfuckfuck.

Petruccio wasn’t his ancestor.

He could never be his ancestor considering he died when he was around 12 to 13 years old.

This meant…

Desmond didn’t time travel back to September 2012.

He was in fuck knows when in Renaissance Italy and he didn’t just time-traveled… 

He had been reborn as Petruccio Auditore.

Desmond got his 'oh my god, I got reborn as my ancestor’s little brother who is destined to die before he reached adulthood' freakout out of the way ‘almost’ immediately. It helped that being a baby came with a lot of opportunities to cry which… he did a lot. Desmond wasn't sure but there was something about a baby's body that made Desmond all teary-eyed and wailing even though he didn't exactly want to. 

Being a baby was also pretty boring so Desmond had a lot of time to waste. After he got his freakout over with, he tried to think about his current situation. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do anyway. 

Might as well try to be productive and figure some shit out. 

Right? 

Unfortunately, the only knowledge Desmond knew from Renaissance Italy was from whatever memories Ezio had and the database Shaun had created for the Animus. Both of which weren’t exactly helpful at the moment. Shaun’s database had focused on significant events that Desmond barely remembered (Sorry, Shaun) and Ezio’s memories…

He didn’t realize it before but the older got, the more he could say for certain that this whole ‘reborn as my ancestor’s doomed younger brother’ had fucked up his Bleeding Effect. 

He had assumed that his bleeds of Altaïr, Ezio, and Ratonhnhaké:ton were just sleeping or maybe he didn’t notice them because he was too busy freaking out but, by the time he was three years old, Desmond was sure that his bleeds of them were gone. They no longer appear before him like ghostly visages nor did he hear their voices inside his head. Their memories weren’t as clear as they were before as well, almost like they had been recorded through the reflection of murky waters.

He remembered the important parts: events, places, and people. Everything that had left a mark on his ancestors. But the small details… The little inconsequential thoughts and musing they had that made Desmond feel like he was close to them…

Desmond couldn’t remember them anymore.

It was painful to think about, like a huge part of Desmond’s entire being had been ripped away from him, leaving him with a phantom pain that he would never forget.

But it wasn’t like Desmond could wallow in his grief anyway because it was clear that he had replaced Petruccio Auditore.

And he was Petruccio Auditore. 

At the very least, he seemed to have gotten Petruccio’s weak body as well.

They had noticed it when Desmond wasn’t able to walk even though he was already two years old and Desmond tried. He tried so hard to get his body to move the way he wanted them to but, no matter what he did, his body was just…

Too frail.

His tenacity to finally walk on his own two feet had been a source of joy before as everyone cheered him on but, the moment the entire Auditore family learned from the many doctors they had requested to check on their youngest member that he had a frail weak body, Desmond’s stubbornness to try and walk had become a something to fear. It took Desmond two more years before he could walk and he could only walk for an hour, an hour and a half if he pushed himself, before he would become winded and his legs would begin to wobble dangerously. 

Many doctors had told them that his weak body needed constant care as it could very well break if he wasn’t careful, which Desmond believed was either the doctors making guesses based on their limited knowledge or because they wanted to have a constant source of income by ‘treating’ the Auditore boy.

Still, Desmond did have to admit that he did have a weak body overall. He even had a fever when he was three years old that left him bedridden for weeks. His mother had feared he would not last to see his fourth summer. He tried to tell her that he was going to be okay. That there was no need to cry.

But that only made her sadder.

Desmond felt guilty making her worry, especially now that he saw her as his mother.

Maria and Giovanni Auditore…

Both of them had simply been Ezio’s parents to Desmond.

Even when Desmond had Ezio’s bleed with him constantly thanks to his Synch Nexus with him, Maria and Giovanni had been… fond memories that Desmond was able to detach himself from. It was the same way for Umar Ibn-La'Ahad and Al Mualim from Altaïr’s bleed. It was harder to detach himself from Ratonhnhaké:ton’s love for his mother and his complex feelings for Haytham Kenway but Desmond could keep himself in check most of the time as long as he didn’t let his emotions get to him (something that he had problems with whenever it concerned William Miles).

Now though…

Giovanni and Maria loved him as their son and Desmond had never questioned their feelings for him. The ghost of Ezio’s love for his parents that Desmond kept was inconsequential. He loved them simply because there was not a shadow of a doubt in their love for him. They worried for him constantly and tried everything they could, everything that the Auditore money could give them, to find out if he could be cured. When it became apparent that his frail body was a sickness that would haunt him for the rest of his life, they did everything they could to ensure that their youngest son would have a comfortable and long life. 

It meant having to stay at home as it became clear that his frail body made him unsuited for normal schooling. He was given private tutors and Desmond actually enjoyed it. All of his tutors were nice and he knew that they felt pity for the weak Auditore boy. Desmond didn’t mind. He was used to being underestimated. It was better to be considered weak, after all. It made everyone lower their guards down around him.

He might also be using his cute childish features to get away with the various close calls he had whenever he would say or do something that no normal child should be able to do. As far as everyone was concerned, Petruccio Auditore was an adorable boy that was a bit strange because of the books he read in his free time.

Desmond didn’t really care much about reading during his previous life. Back on the Farm, they were taught how to read and write early on and there were a few books in the Miles residence that seemed interesting enough for him to check them out but Desmond would normally just find himself too tired after training to read in the first place. When he was in New York, he preferred watching the many bootlegged copies of movies he bought from the alley near his apartment because he liked the noise.    

Unfortunately, Renaissance Italy didn’t have access to DVDs and Desmond’s frail body made it hard for him to stay outside for long periods of time. 

Just an hour in the sun left him dizzy which was both weird and annoying.

Worst was the fact that his right arm didn’t work that well. He could use it to hold small things, sure, but its movements were slow and sluggish. It would tremble and ache whenever Desmond tried to hold something heavier than a butter knife and he would always feel this burning painful sensation whenever the sun’s rays touched it for more than maybe half an hour or so. The doctors didn’t understand these symptoms and he had been bled so many times that he had begged his parents to make them stop. He might have pretended to cry and beg loudly so it got the attention of his siblings who sided with him but it got the doctors to stop trying to make his arm ‘better’ so Desmond considered the entire thing a closed deal. 

The current status of his body, in turn, ensured that he spent most of his time reading the many books they had in their home with his right arm covered in bandages to minimize its exposure to the sun. Before long, he was requesting books that he vaguely remembered his ancestors had enjoyed as those books tended to keep Desmond’s attention enough for him to finish them and sometimes even reread them. It was also, sadly enough, some roundabout way to stay connected to his ancestors. Some of these books he would realize haven’t been written yet when his parents would inform him they couldn’t find them or if they would ask where Desmond had heard of the author’s name.

It wasn’t long before Desmond just focused on the many books Altaïr had hoarded. Thanks to the fact that Altaïr’s thirst for knowledge was deeply embedded into his personality, Desmond had slightly clearer (still vague but, if he thought about it hard enough, he’ll get the title and author) memories of the titles and authors of the many books that were once kept in the library underneath of Masyaf. 

It would take years before Desmond realized that all the books Altaïr remembered were considered rare and priceless. To Altaïr, they had been entertaining books to read, collect, and share with his son and fellow brothers so Desmond assumed they were like…

The past’s version of pocketbooks.

But, no, apparently, they were rare books that cost a lot yet Giovanni and Maria never batted an eye when he requested for any of them. It might take months (even years) before he received them but they would usually give him a copy of the book sooner or later. The books they could not find always made them apologize furiously to Desmond which he found a bit unnecessary but they always gifted him something similar and he would always thank them with a smile. They weren’t the books Desmond wanted but he would always feel grateful to them because he knew his parents did their best to find the one he wanted. These ‘consolation prizes’ were a testament to their efforts and love. 

The Auditores had always been a loving passionate family. Giovanni and Maria made it clear that they loved each of their children. Even when they scold their children, anger wasn’t at the forefront of their tone but disappointment and worry. Their children grew up loving one another because their parents loved each other and their children.

Even Claudia, who normally got annoyed with Federico and Ezio, enjoyed the company of her youngest brother. Ever since she started her schooling, she would talk to Desmond after her classes and teach him what she had been taught. He never had the heart to tell her that his tutors were actually teaching him lessons meant for a grade higher than Claudia’s even though he was two years younger than her because he managed to blaze through the more basic lessons. In reality, he had cheated because Ezio’s murky memories of the lessons he had as a child had helped him with all of his early lessons. Both Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton were also great sources of information. Ratonhnhaké:ton learned basic math and accounting because he wanted to take care of the homestead and Altaïr was well-versed in the classics, foreign languages, and theology because he was an annoying overachiever who hoarded knowledge like a man dying of thirst. All of these were murky to Desmond but it gave him a foundation to work with and that, apparently, manifested as being ‘Petruccio Auditore, the sweet intelligent youngest Auditore’ to his tutors. Still, he enjoyed listening to Claudia as she tried to teach him all of the things she was learning. 

When she was done teaching him (or, more usually, tired or bored of teaching), they would have tea while eating different pastries that Annetta would buy for them every time she went to the market. He would listen to Claudia talk about her day, her friends, and even about cute boys. She would ask how his day went and would listen to him talk about the books he read. They would giggle and whisper about the many gossips Desmond heard from the servants when they thought he wasn’t listening. Claudia was both his older sister and his best friend. He never had one before and… it was nice. 

There was something inherently cool about Federico Auditore. He was seven years older than Desmond and he took his role as the oldest son of the Auditores seriously yet he was always smiling and playful around his siblings. He didn’t treat Desmond special. If he was going to tease Claudia for stuffing her face with sweetbreads during her daily teas with Desmond, Desmond was going to get teased as well and his chubby cheeks would be poked at and smushed together as he heard Federico’s laughter and Claudia shouting at him to stop. 

Desmond let Claudia be annoyed for the both of them because he didn’t mind the casual teasing. He liked that Federico treated him the same way as he treated Ezio and Claudia. His older brother also had the habit of asking Desmond to play chess with him.

Desmond wasn’t going to lie. He was never actually good at chess before. He remembered the old man from the Farm trying to teach him but he had been too young back then and got bored. After he left the Farm, there was no reason for him to try it again and he didn’t have anyone to play with anyway.

But Ratonhnhaké:ton enjoyed chess and his memories made it easy for Desmond to see which moves were feasible and the best plans for his next three moves. Desmond couldn’t be sure but he believed Ratonhnhaké:ton wanted to honor Achilles’ memories. Achilles had been the one to teach him how to play and they would usually play a game or two whenever Ratonhnhaké:ton stopped by the homestead. After he had died, Ratonhnhaké:ton would ask the people of the homestead to play with him and even taught a few of them, including Prudence and Warren’s child Hunter and Ellen’s daughter Maria. He even found the time to play with Aveline de Grandpré during the short time the two of them tracked Officer Davidson. 

Desmond was sure it was cheating using Ratonhnhaké:ton’s expertise but he also sometimes forgot that their game of chess used a few different rules to the one Ratonhnhaké:ton was used to. His older brother just shrugged it off and reminded him whenever he slipped which he appreciated. But the main reason why Desmond enjoyed playing against Federico was because the oldest Auditore liked making risky moves. Desmond could say with certainty that, if they didn’t follow the rules of the game, Federico would probably do weird moves just to rattle his opponent and then use their confusion to strike from an unexpected place.

It was challenging and the randomness only made it more fun. Any time Federico would win, Desmond was left wondering if it was luck or if there had always been a plan underneath all the strange moves Federico had done as the only times Desmond would win would be the times where he was able to corner Federico and he would be forced to make any of the moves Desmond had already planned for. It certainly made their chess matches something to look forward to, that was for sure. 

Ezio was…

Ezio was the hardest and easiest person to get along with for Desmond. Because of his ‘past’ with him, it was easy to get along with him, to relax and laugh with him. But it was also because of his ‘past’ with him that it was easiest to slip when he was around Ezio. Most of the time, there would be instances when he would see Ezio and wonder why he was so young or why he was being so brash and lacking any sense of caution, forgetting that Ezio was simply a child being raised with love and living a peaceful life. Sometimes, he would look at this Ezio, this sweet energetic boy, and he would feel a pain in his chest as he remembered the many sufferings he would have to go through later in his life once the Auditore family had fallen.

But, most of the time, he would look at Ezio and see the smile on his face, feel the warmth of his hand as he ruffled Desmond’s hair, and hear the gentle tone in his voice as he asked his youngest brother how he was feeling today, and he would feel guilty.

His smiles, the warmth of his hands, and the gentleness of his voice…

They weren’t meant for Desmond.

All the love the Auditores were giving him wasn’t meant for him.

They were meant for Petruccio Auditore.

And Desmond stole his place. 

When Desmond was around ten years old, they moved into the newly constructed Palazzo Auditore in San Giovanni District. They were in the same district before but Palazzo Auditore was larger and its grand appearance showed the power and influence held by House Auditore here in Firenze . 

It also helped that, by this time, Giovanni was irrevocably close to House Medici. 

Desmond had… mixed feelings about that one. A part of him that sounded a lot like Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton knew that Giovanni’s closeness with the Medici, more specifically, with Lorenzo de' Medici, was dangerous. There was a fine line between being allies and being a powerful man’s lapdog and it was becoming clearer and clearer which side Giovanni was slowly being led to. On the other hand, there was a part of him that sounded a lot like Ezio that believed that Giovanni was doing what he believed was right. 

It also didn’t help that Desmond thought of Giovanni as his father and respected his decisions, whatever they may be.

Not that it mattered anyway. 

Desmond was just a sickly boy who had to hide his weak right arm with a side cloak bearing the crest of House Auditore and was huddled up next to his older sister as she held an umbrella above their heads while they took a stroll nearby with their older brothers as their ‘chaperones’, not that they could actually be counted as their chaperone as Federico was seventeen years old while Ezio was an easily distracted fourteen years old but, well, their parents believed they would be safe as long as they didn’t wander too far and he was pretty sure he saw some of the thieves working for La Volpe sitting by the rooftops and following them. 

Claudia would insist that she was holding an umbrella because they were beautiful and fashionable but Desmond knew that she was holding it above their heads to minimize her younger brother’s exposure to the sun’s rays.

They didn’t say anything out loud but he bumped his shoulder against hers to silently thank her. She bumped her shoulder against his hard enough to make him take a few steps to the side as a ‘you’re welcome’ reply as well as because Claudia Auditore can be a little shit just like her brothers.

It was while they were walking around the building to the east of Palazzo Auditore that Desmond noticed it. There was a feather stuck on top of a little wooden crane on the roof of a building to their right. Normally, Desmond wouldn’t even notice but…

It was glowing gold.

Even though Desmond hadn’t activated his Eagle Vision.

Speaking of the Eagle Vision, he found out early on that his Eagle Vision had also changed. His Eagle Vision had always been strange. During his final days in Abstergo, he managed to activate an Eagle Vision similar to Altaïr’s when he was in his mid-twenties. When he started bleeding while he was reliving Ezio’s memories, his Eagle Vision became a mix of Altaïr’s and Ezio’s own Eagle Vision. He remembered Clay told him that the more the Eagle Vision was used, the more chance it would evolve to what he liked to call ‘Eagle Sense’ and Ezio managed to do this by the time he was in Constantinople, being able to pick up trails left by his targets and notice disguised enemies, even going as far as being able to follow the scent vapors of datura and being able to diagnose an injured person just by listening to his heartbeat. Altaïr’s own Eagle Vision had also evolved by the time he had returned to Masyaf after assassinating Genghis Khan. Both of these evolved Eagle Vision became Desmond’s main Eagle Vision after he reached a Synch Nexus with them. When he started reliving Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories, his Eagle Vision further evolved and he was able to sense animals, not just people. 

Desmond still preferred to call it Eagle Vision because that was what he was used to.  

But his Eagle Vision as Petruccio Auditore… was even greater than the one he had as Desmond Miles.

For some reason, if he focused his eyes on a specific person, he could ‘tag’ them. Even when he stopped using his Eagle Vision, they would still glow and would let him see them through walls. There were also wispy mist-like threads around each person that left ‘trails’ behind that Desmond could use to follow them. If he focused on these threads, he would be able to hear their voices like whispers growing louder the more he closed the distance between him and the thread’s ‘owner’. 

Considering how he could now tag someone using his current Eagle Vision, that meant…

His Eagle Vision tagged the feather without his knowledge.

Which meant it was important and Desmond was curious to find out why.

That was why he tugged on Federico’s sleeve to get his attention.

Strangely enough, it was Ezio who asked before the oldest Auditore boy could even open his mouth. Ezio placed a comforting hand on Desmond’s right arm as we went down on one knee and asked worriedly, “What is it, passerotto ? Are you tired? Is your arm hurting?”

“I’m fine, Ezio.” Desmond tried to reassure the older boy before he started to get everyone worried as Federico looked ready to grab him and rush him back to the palazzo .

He wasn’t that weak, damn it.

Desmond patted Ezio’s hand and smiled at him as he continued, “The umbrella’s been very helpful.”

“Really?” Ezio raised his head to stare at Claudia who was smugly smiling from behind Desmond. 

Seeing the glare that Ezio was giving their sister, Desmond ignored whatever sibling squabble would now happen between the two and pointed at the feather, “Federico. Can you get me that feather over there?”

Federico turned to the direction that Desmond was pointing at and hummed thoughtfully. His eyes scanned the building and the nearby stall before replying, “I think I…”

Federico’s eyes glanced at the rooftops where Desmond was sure one of La Volpe’s men was hiding as he continued, “... can do that…”

Desmond noticed a flash of light coming from the rooftop but paid it no attention. The flash of light (which probably came from a mirror that had reflected the sun) would have been unnoticeable with how quickly it had appeared then disappeared but Desmond had a lot of practice with keeping a close eye on his surroundings (paranoia would do that to a person) but he didn’t show to anyone that he noticed it.

It did confirm his suspicion. 

Giovanni was already training Federico to be an Assassin and Federico was learning from La Volpe’s men, similar to how the thieves had further trained Ezio’s basic freerunning skills later after he became an Assassin.

He started suspecting it when he noticed that Federico’s footsteps had grown quieter a month ago and Desmond had been keeping a close eye on his oldest brother after that, mostly out of curiosity.

He didn’t expect Giovanni to train Federico this late. But, then again, Ezio never did find out when Federico had started his training and Ezio did learn how to become an Assassin when he was the same age as Federico right now.

It really wasn’t fair to compare the start of Federico’s training to Altaïr, who was raised to be an Assassin since he was taken in by Al Mualim following his father’s death, or to Ratonhnhaké:ton, who became Achilles’ apprentice at the age of thirteen. 

As he watched Federico climb the walls to reach the glowing feather, Desmond couldn’t help but instruct him, “Use the window, Federico!”

He knew that his suggestion would find its way back to his father but paid it no mind, being more interested in the way Federico was climbing. 

He was… definitely unorthodox, that was for sure.

Both Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton climbed efficiently and could easily figure out the most optimal path to take but that was because both of them had been climbing ever since they were children. It took years for Ezio to get to their level, having spent the start of his Assassin life climbing the way he always had, by picking the nearest climbable thing and just going from there.

Federico was quite similar in that aspect but there was a… showmanship to his movements. It was definitely entertaining to look at and he had a habit of taking risky moves that Desmond would only do if it was the best course of action at the moment. It did make him a lot faster than Ezio had been and maybe even Altaïr? Desmond couldn’t be sure about that one but he was sure that Federico was still a bit slower than Ratonhnhaké:ton. Then again, Ratonhnhaké:ton had always been faster and stronger than Altaïr and Ezio so it wasn’t really a fair comparison in the first place.

Federico managed to get the feather and quickly dropped down from the building, using a nearby balcony to backflip to the ground. Desmond and Ezio couldn’t help but clap at their brother who bowed dramatically while Claudia rolled her eyes. He handed the feather to Desmond as he said, “For my precious little brother.”

Desmond’s lips curved into a grin as he took the feather, “Thank you, Federico!”

His breath hitched when the golden wisps around the feather moved from the feather and into his hand. It started to disappear as it continued to move, almost like his hand was absorbing the golden wisps.

He blinked when he felt the fatigue that had slowly been building up inside him suddenly disappeared.

What?

“Is something wrong?” Claudia asked and placed a hand on her younger brother’s shoulder. 

He shook his head and held the feather tightly as he replied with a smile, “No. Everything’s fine. I was just admiring the pretty feather.”

Claudia stared at him quietly but Ezio let out a relieved smile as he said, “It is a very pretty feather. Do you like feathers, passerotto ?”

Did he like feathers? 

Normally, he would have said no but…

This feather…

It felt… nostalgic for some reason.

He knew that Ezio continued to collect feathers in memory of the real Petruccio and hoped that it would help his mother but the Animus had loaded all those feathers to look the same. A plain white feather.

But Ezio’s memories told him that Ezio actually took any kind of feather that he could find. 

But this feather.

He couldn’t be sure but it reminded him too much of the feather Altaïr would receive as a symbol of the Rafiq’s permission for him to assassinate his target as well as a way for them to confirm his kill by dipping it in the blood of his target. 

Desmond was pretty sure this was an eagle’s feather.

Desmond’s lips curved into a gentle smile. 

Altaïr and Ezio. Both names were connected to eagles. 

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s name, both his real name and his name Connor, didn’t have any connection to eagles but his ship, the Aquila, was both the Italian and the Latin word for ‘eagle’ and it was also the constellation where its brightest star was called Altaïr.  

So…

Desmond supposed…

“Yeah. I like this kind of feather.”

Ezio stared at him silently as he pressed the feather against his chest. Federico and Claudia stared at them and Federico rubbed the back of his neck while Claudia sighed tiredly when they both noticed Ezio’s eyes glow with determination. 

“We should head back.” Federico suggested before Ezio could do something stupid and reminded them, “It’s almost time for lunch, anyway.”

“Federico’s right. We did promise Mother we would be back before lunch.” Claudia nodded although she was sure they were just delaying the inevitable. They both had an idea of what dumb idea Ezio suddenly had and there was no way they would be able to stop him. Claudia pouted as she added, “If we don’t honor our promise, she might not let our dear little brother out next time.”

Desmond thought she was exaggerating but Ezio offered his hand to him and grinned as he said, “Then we better go. Shall we, passerotto ?”  

He transferred the feather to his right hand and let his side cloak hide it before he took Ezio’s hand and walked beside him as they walked back to Palazzo Auditore.

Palazzo Auditore…

The last home he will have before his death on December 29, 1476.

San Giovanni District, Firenze (1)

Living in Palazzo Auditore was… a strange experience. 

For one, Ezio’s memories of the palazzo were actually murkier than his memories of Villa Auditore or the countryside villa he had with Sofia. He couldn’t be sure why but he would assume that it was too painful to remember Palazzo Auditore for Ezio, even more painful than the destruction of Villa Auditore.

To Ezio, Palazzo Auditore was a reminder of his old life and the unjust death of his father and brothers. 

On the other hand, it was because Ezio’s memories of Palazzo Auditore were murky that Desmond found himself liking his new home. He was sure his feelings for the palazzo were his alone, not a residual from his bleed of Ezio.

He supposed he did like living in Palazzo Auditore. There will always be a part of him that would long to climb the tall towers of Masyaf, to hear the sounds of the busy streets of Monteriggioni, and to jump across the trees littering the Davenport Homestead but Palazzo Auditore and San Giovanni District definitely felt more like home now than the busy streets of New York and his crappy small apartment. 

Desmond supposed it wouldn’t be so bad living here until his death four years from now…

He had made his peace with it a long time ago.

Hell.

He had made his peace with his death back in the Grand Temple. 

As far as Desmond was concerned, his time as Petruccio Auditore was some kind of fucked up reward for his sacrifice.

Or maybe it was a punishment.

Who knows?

It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway.

He was a sickly ten years old boy who couldn’t even stay outside for more than an hour. What the hell was he supposed to do?

So Desmond did what he always did when life decided to throw him a curveball to the face.

He took it and went along with it.

That was when Ezio started to give him feathers. 

He wasn’t sure why his older brother decided to collect feathers so early but Desmond didn’t have the heart to refuse his gifts since he gave them to him with a grin and Desmond could see how ruffled and dirty his clothes were. He wasn’t sure where Ezio had gotten the feathers and he was pretty sure some of them were chicken feathers (he dearly hoped Ezio didn’t, like, pluck them off some poor chicken) but he accepted all of them with a smile and thanked him. He might have gotten carried away the first time Ezio gave him a feather because he had kissed the older boy’s cheek as a thank you.

In his defense, he had been defenseless over Ezio’s sheepish smile as he handed him a battered and slightly dirty feather. Both the feather and Ezio looked like they had a punch out in the middle of the street and rolled around the ground before Ezio finally won. It was so ridiculous yet Ezio’s disheveled look coupled with his sheepish smile was simply too adorable for Desmond that he gave him a peck on the cheek as a thank you.

Now, every time Ezio was to give him a feather, Ezio would lean close and turn his head. Desmond would blush but would give his usual kiss which would make Ezio grin even larger, much to Desmond’s confusion and embarrassment.

It only got worse when Federico and Claudia started to give him feathers as well and both of them expected their younger brother to kiss them on the cheek as well. Desmond was so confused at this point but he just gave them what they wanted and started a feather collection. 

Strangely enough, it was Federico who liked to give him colorful feathers while Claudia preferred giving him pristine white feathers similar to the one he asked for in the first place. On the other hand, Ezio liked to give him any kind of feather he could get his hands on which meant that Desmond was left with an assorted mess that he would try to organize based on what feathers looked similar to one another. His mother had bought him a big box to store them when she noticed that Desmond was having problems storing them in the small box he got earlier this year. He still kept that one feather in the small box though as it was… 

Well… special, he supposed. There was no other feather like it. 

Until Ezio gave him a feather that he said he got on the eastern side of Palazzo della Signoria. 

It was another feather that glowed golden even without Desmond activating his Eagle Vision. 

He took it from Ezio and his breath hitched.

He had been feeling under the weather all day but the moment the feather was in his hand, he felt… fine.

His lips curved into a big grateful smile as he said to Ezio, “Thank you, big brother!”

Ezio’s eyes widened at those words but Desmond didn’t notice it, too busy kissing his cheek before running towards his chest of feathers. Ezio noticed him take out a smaller box and place the feather inside together with one other feather.

The day after that, Ezio no longer gave Desmond random feathers. 

Instead…

He gave him feathers that glowed gold.

Before the end of 1473, Ezio managed to give him seven more feathers with the same effect as the last two. Ezio always looked so pleased when he got them, like… it took a lot more effort to get them than any of the other feathers he had gotten Desmond before. 

It took five feathers before Desmond’s curiosity got the better of him and he finally asked where Ezio had gotten all these feathers. 

Ezio’s answer surprised Desmond.

According to Ezio, all of these feathers were in hard-to-reach places and he had to climb or make use of certain platforms to reach them.

Also, it seemed that Ezio was getting a hang of all of this feather-collecting business because he was getting better at running and climbing all over.

And…

Ezio’s words were soft as he admitted, “I do not how but, whenever I try to focus very hard… I can see them. I can see these wisps of gold in a sea of gray that would lead me to them.”

Desmond’s eyes widened at those words.

He knew Ezio had Eagle Vision, of course, he did. He owed more than half of his original Eagle Vision to his bleed of Ezio after all.

But he shouldn’t be able to see the wispy threads yet.

Altaïr and Ezio didn’t have their Eagle Vision evolve to that degree until they were much older. 

Was… was all this feather hunting making Ezio’s Eagle Vision evolve much faster than it should?

Was this a good thing?

“And all these golden wisps… they all lead back to you, passerotto .” Ezio continued with a gentle smile. He caressed Desmond’s cheek with the back of his hand as he said, “These feathers were meant for you. That’s what my ‘sight’ is telling me.”

Desmond wasn’t sure what to say to that.

He knew that the feathers glowed gold, of course.

But he didn’t see any wispy threads that connected them to him.

What could it mean?

San Marco District, Firenze (9)

In mid-October of 1474, Giovanni took Desmond to visit Lorenzo in Palazzo Medici. He wasn’t sure why he was joining his father though and Giovanni had been quite tight-lipped as to why as well. Still, he didn’t mind the walk as his health had been steadily getting better. None of the doctors could find out why but they all agree it was because of the continuous medication and regular rest.

Desmond wasn’t so sure about that but he didn’t say anything as it wasn’t like he had any better explanation for it.

It was nice to be able to take longer walks with Claudia after all. It seemed her habit of getting both of them matching clothes and fashionable umbrellas to go along with them had gotten many more people in Firenze into walking with umbrellas. 

Did he and his sister start a fashion trend?

Desmond didn’t know enough about Renaissance Italy to know if he accidentally changed the future because of freaking umbrellas and he absolutely did not care.

The walk from San Giovanni to San Marco was a bit too much though and it wasn’t long before Desmond (who was already eleven at this point but he was smaller than most children) was being carried by his father, sitting on his father’s right arm as he held an umbrella above them. It was one of Claudia’s simpler umbrellas and his mother had been adamant that he take it with them just to be safe. 

It might be one of her simpler umbrellas but it was definitely eye-catching with its pure white design and vibrant red handle. 

Nothing shouted ‘we’re a family of Assassins!’ more than this red and white umbrella that Desmond was holding right now. 

Thankfully, their walk to Palazzo Medici was peaceful and Giovanni seemed to enjoy listening to Desmond talk about the latest book he was reading. 

On the border between San Giovanni and San Marco, Desmond noticed the golden glow of a feather stuck in a wooden crate on a rooftop just ahead of them. He patted the top of Giovanni’s head to catch his attention before pointing at it as he said, “ Padre , padre ! That feather! I want that feather!”

It took Desmond a few minutes to realize what he had just done.

He had been so excited over seeing another feather that he had actually acted like a child.

He had no excuse.

Seeing glowing feathers had created some kind of Pavlovian reaction for him as Ezio’s excitement was infectious. 

Giovanni chuckled softly and patted his back with his other hand as he raised his head to look at where his youngest child was pointing at. He frowned slightly as he commented, “It’s quite high up.”

Desmond turned to face him and frowned as he said, “That height would be easy for someone of your rank.”

He felt his father tense and Desmond knew he just fucked up.

“My… rank…?” Giovanni asked warily as he turned to face his youngest son.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

What should he say?

‘Yeah, you know, as the lone Master Assassin who is pretty much estranged with the rest of the remaining scraps of the Italian Brotherhood because you're also the Medici’s lapdog?’

He couldn’t say that!

For one, he loved his father too much to actually insult him (even if it was the truth). 

For another, he was supposed to not have any idea of what the Assassins were and that the Auditore was a family of Assassins in the first place. 

Ugh.

Desmond didn’t want to do this.

It was so embarrassing doing this.

But he knew he had no choice.

If he wanted to try and salvage the situation, this was the only way to do it.

“Uh-huh!” Desmond nodded with a bright grin on his face. He outstretched his arms and declared with as much enthusiasm as he could manage without getting embarrassed, “As the bestest Auditore! You’re sooooo much cooler than Federico and Ezio!”

Desmond pointed at the feather using his umbrella as he continued, “Federico could probably get that so that means you should be able to get that too, padre ! Because you’re the bestest and coolest Auditore!”

Jesus Christ.  

He hoped that was enough.

He wasn’t really sure how an eleven years old was supposed to act but he hoped that his attempt was… okay, at the very least.

It seemed it was because Giovanni laughed. He patted Desmond’s back and gently helped him to stand on the ground as he commented, “Well, when you say it like that, I must defend my honor as the bestest and coolest Auditore now, shouldn’t I?”

Desmond eagerly nodded as he placed the umbrella above his head. His lips curved into a grin as he felt Giovanni ruffle his hair before going down on one knee to stare directly at him as he instructed, “Stay here while I get your feather, understand?”

“ Sì , padre .” Desmond nodded solemnly. His father nodded back and ruffled his hair once more before standing. Desmond turned and watched as his father climbed the walls, reaching the rooftop with the speed and gracefulness of a Master Assassin. Desmond’s lips curved into a proud smile as his father just as quickly returned to him, offering him the feather with the flourish and showmanship he had seen from Federico before.

“Your feather, mimmo ,” Giovanni said with a smile.

Desmond took the feather, feeling rejuvenated once more, as he said, “Thank you, padre !”

He tugged on Giovanni’s sleeve and made him go down on one knee once more and pressed a soft kiss on his father’s cheek before leaning back and grinning as he said, “I feel so much better now! I think I can walk the rest of the way!”

Giovanni seemed surprised by it but he nodded and smiled at his youngest child. He stood and held Desmond’s hand, leading him to Palazzo Medici while Desmond placed his newly acquired feather on the small pouch he had on his belt, hidden by the side cloak with the crest of House Auditore embroidered in it.

He wasn’t sure what to feel when Lorenzo himself met with him. He had been confused by the fact that someone like Lorenzo would even want to meet with him and he wasn’t sure if Petruccio Auditore even met with the famed Medici head in the first place.

There was really no reason to, as far as Desmond could think of. 

Until he started to ask him strange questions.

It took a moment for Desmond to realize that Lorenzo was asking him questions pertaining to some of the books Desmond had read. 

He glanced at his father and Giovanni looked away.

That was all Desmond needed to know that his father had asked help from the Medici to find some of the books that Desmond wanted to read. His father had most probably also talked about Desmond’s love for rare books and that…

Had put him on Lorenzo’s radar.

Ugh.

He wanted to be annoyed at Altaïr for only having memories of hard-to-find books but he knew that it was his own fault for continuing to request them. He tried to keep his answers vague but he knew Lorenzo and Giovanni both realized he was doing it on purpose.

They were just too used to observing people for Desmond to be able to fool them.

Now, if he had been able to bleed as Altaïr, he would have been golden. No one had a better poker face than his stoic Syrian ancestor, after all.

Hell. He could have bled as Ezio and just charmed them into thinking Desmond didn’t know that much.

That would have worked…

Probably.

Their meeting with Lorenzo ended with him receiving one of the rarest books he had ever gotten in this life and a bunch more books that Lorenzo seemed to want him to read.

He wasn’t really interested in them but, since Lorenzo was the one to find this rare book for him (or, to be more accurate, for Giovanni), he supposed he could check them out later.

He shouldn’t have.

He should have just refused them the moment Giovanni tried to put them on Desmond’s reading table (which was really his bedside table because he liked to read in bed).

These books…

They were all books that talked about politics and management.

Not bank management, like Giovanni’s supposed job, no, no, no.

But the management of the state.

There was even a book that talked about diplomatic missions.

Fuck.

Desmond wished he was wrong but…

It was highly possible that Giovanni and Lorenzo were planning to make him work for Lorenzo, not as an Assassin, but as a statesman.

… Ugh.

Desmond knew that everyone noticed that he was in a bad mood. 

Hell, he was pretty sure his parents had an idea of what had put him in a bad mood and that was the main reason why his father had kept his distance and why his mother had told him ‘your father is thinking about your future.’ when she came and brushed his hair yesterday before he went to bed. Maria hadn’t brushed his hair since he turned nine and it was nice but the reminder that Giovanni did what he did for his sake only soured the experience.

He understood it, of course.

He had a weak body that was not cut out for field work and he was definitely more knowledgeable in various subjects thanks to both the remnants of his bleed of his three ancestors and the many books he read mainly because he was bored.

His Eagle Vision was also a boon and he was sure that Giovanni noticed his ‘gift’. 

Overall, he would probably have a better future becoming another one of the Medici’s lapdogs than trying his luck as an Assassin.

Still…

The very idea of being under the command of Lorenzo de' Medici was…

It made him cranky, for a lack of a better word.

He didn’t want to be tied down to a master. Altaïr and Ratonhnhaké:ton had taken in masters before and they had both been betrayed, by both Al Mualim and George Washington. Ezio had been fine having Lorenzo as a master but it was mainly because Lorenzo had treated him special, both of them honoring the memories of Giovanni Auditore, and Ezio’s closeness with the Medici stayed strong but became more distant after Lorenzo’s death.

Desmond…

Desmond didn’t want to be chained to someone like Lorenzo.

But that meant…

Desmond couldn’t even find the energy to laugh over the fact that it took having to be slapped in the face by the idea of being a Medici lapdog for him to realize that, even after these years of him telling himself that he was fine dying, in the end, he did, in fact, want to live.

He did, in fact, want to have a future in this new life he found himself in.

Before his mind could descend even further to this new discovery, Desmond gasped when he felt someone hold him from behind. He giggled when he felt the scratchy feel of a (pathetic attempt of) growing beard against his cheek and tried to pull away as he said, “Stop! Ezio! It tickles!”

Instead of honoring his request, Ezio rubbed his cheek against his younger brother, making Desmond let out a burst of laughter as he tried to pull away. He let the older boy pull him off his chair and carry him out of his room with his hands on Desmond’s back and under his knees. Desmond wrapped his arms around Ezio’s neck as he dryly reminded him, “I can walk, you know?”

“I do.” Ezio nodded and grinned at his younger brother as he said, “You’ve been walking longer and longer outside since we began to live here. Soon…”

Desmond tightened his grip on Ezio as the older boy twirled them around, “You’ll be spreading your wings and flying! You’ll no longer be my passerotto .”

Ezio stopped and smiled gently at his younger brother as he continued, “You’ll be a fully-fledged sparrow. No.”

Ezio led him to the palazzo ’s drawing room and Desmond’s eyes widened as he saw the unfinished canvas inside. 

“You will be an aquila ,” Ezio announced as he gently placed Desmond on the slightly raised platform in the center of the room. He gently lifted Desmond’s right arm and bent it slightly so his forearm was parallel to his throat before tilting Desmond’s head to the right so it looked like he was staring at his right arm. Desmond stayed still while Ezio walked towards the canvas.

He kept his head in the direction Ezio had put it in but his eyes moved to watch Ezio as he said, “Normally, you ask first if they want to be your model.”

Ezio chuckled as he began to paint, “Normally, my dear passerotto liked to say no.”

Desmond sighed softly.

There was a reason why.

The older he became, the more it became apparent that he looked less like Petruccio Auditore and more like Desmond Miles. His skin was the same pale complexion as Petruccio but he was sure that was because he had minimal sunlight his entire life. His facial structure, however, was definitely Desmond Miles. It was only his saving grace that Desmond Miles looked a lot like Ezio and there were no rumors going on that Maria had an affair and that Petruccio Auditore was not a real Auditore.

This meant that he shouldn’t leave any paintings of himself though. Anyone who would see it and knew about Desmond Miles would probably wonder why they looked identical. Being Ezio’s descendant wouldn’t cut it. 

Still, seeing the serious look on Ezio’s face as he focused on both his canvas and Desmond made it hard for him to simply leave.

For one, he had always liked Ezio’s paintings. They were simple, nothing as grandiose as Leonardo da Vinci’s works, of course, but Desmond could see the passion behind each painting he did. 

The ones he was most familiar with were all paintings of his targets though and Desmond knew they were made out of furious rage and an attempt to find catharsis after assassinating them and listening to their final words.

It was a way to honor their death as well as a way to find the courage to push forward.

Desmond preferred Ezio’s earlier paintings. 

When he was just starting, he would show Desmond the simple paintings he made and Desmond always loved them. They showed Ezio before he lost everything. 

They were vibrant and immature with a lot of potential and space to grow.

These paintings were a testament to Ezio’s life before he became an Assassin. To the happy childhood he had and the loving family who loved him.

And now, it seemed that Ezio wanted to paint his younger brother with an eagle perched on his arm for some reason.

“Why an eagle?” Desmond asked curiously. 

He wondered why Ezio had specifically painted that eagle. It wasn’t like any of the eagles Desmond remembered from his ancestors. It was definitely not the eagles who liked to fly over Masyaf nor was it like any of the eagles that Ratonhnhaké:ton saw in his travels. 

“I looked into your feathers and it seemed they all came from the same kind of eagle.” Ezio explained distractedly as he raised his head to stare at Desmond intensely, “Crestless hawk-eagle… that seemed to be the closest one I can find based on the sketches I saw.”

Desmond blinked at that and asked, “You… researched birds?”

Ezio wasn’t stupid, of course, but he hadn’t really had the ‘passion’ for academics. Especially about birds. He was now fifteen years old and, the last Desmond heard, he had started to visit the brothels nearby. Just flirting with the women…

For now…

So, yeah, the charming Ezio Auditore taking the time to research birds was surprising.

“I wanted to paint this so yes… I did.” Ezio answered with a shrug as he focused on the canvas. Desmond hummed, unsure how to process that. 

A moment of awkward silence passed between them before Ezio sighed and admitted, “I might have had help.”

Desmond raised an eyebrow at that. Ezio stared at his work in progress as he explained, “I met a young artist who has a workshop nearby. I… may have… landed badly on his workshop’s roof on my way home and fell through it.”

Desmond exclaimed with wide eyes, “Did you get hurt?”

“No.” His older brother shook with his head, “The only thing I had to nurse was my damaged pride.”

Desmond snorted at that and Ezio continued with a small soft smile, “He’s a nice man. He let me pay for the repairs and didn’t tell anyone about my strange… entrance.” 

“We got to talking and I found his company quite pleasing. I suppose that’s why I started to visit him whenever I go outside. Just to talk and see his wonderful creations.” Ezio admitted as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, “It was during one of my visits that he saw the feathers I was carrying and was fascinated by them. I told him about these feathers and he had a lot of books about different subjects and topics. One of them was supposedly a book about birds and it was filled with sketches of different birds. The crestless hawk-eagle was in one of the pages.”

Desmond’s jaw slacked as he realized something very important.

An artist who had a workshop nearby…

A nice man who was interested in various subjects, including birds… 

Oh, fucking hell.

Did this feather collecting thing just make Ezio and Leonardo meet earlier than they were supposed to?

Ezio grinned at him as he said, “He’s the reason why I’m painting this, actually. I told him I paint sometimes and he wanted to see some of my paintings.”

“I suppose I wanted to show him something much nicer than my previous works.” Ezio’s bashful expression was adorable but Desmond’s mind had just stopped working. 

They were painting buddies.

Ezio was becoming painting buddies with Leonardo da Vinci.

Oh god.

What if this entire thing got Ezio an apprenticeship under Leonardo instead?

Did Desmond’s goddamn feathers just change the freaking past and some of Leonardo da Vinci’s future works would now have Ezio as the primary model? Would his face appear on Leonardo’s Last Supper?!

Was it possible that Ezio’s face would become the face of Jesus Christ later down the line?!

Why does Desmond find that very idea funny?!

Thankfully, Ezio distracted him before his brain could turn into mush with the idea of Ezio becoming Leonardo’s model (and becoming Jesus Christ) by asking, “So I heard you met Messer Lorenzo. How was he?”

“Annoying.” Desmond deadpanned, making Ezio chuckled as he shook his head.

“Do not let our father hear that.” Ezio casually warned him with a grin, “You know how loyal he is to House Medici.”

“Are you?” Desmond asked as his eyes stared at his brother. Hearing Ezio hummed in a questioning manner, he clarified, “Loyal to House Medici, I mean.”

Ezio’s lips pursed slightly and he grew thoughtful as he continued to paint. With a slight tilt of his head, he answered, “No. I am not. Our house is allied to them, yes, but… well… I wouldn’t say I myself am loyal to him.”

Desmond wasn’t surprised. Ezio had never been loyal to House Medici. He was Lorenzo’s lapdog because of his love for his late father and because he believed that the Medici was needed for the stability and peace of Firenze . 

“Why should we even be thinking about loyalty and all that boring things?” Ezio asked with a sigh, “We are still young, passerotto . Children in their eyes! We should be allowed to play and to do whatever we want. ”

“You’re fifteen, Ezio.” Desmond deadpanned, “I wouldn’t be surprised if our parents are planning your betrothal already.”

Ezio groaned but didn’t say anything. Desmond knew that their parents weren’t though. They didn’t exactly conform to what was considered normal in Renaissance Italy and they never bothered to engage their sons with anyone even though that was what was normal back then. Claudia being engaged to Duccio when she turned fifteen had been because she had insisted that they were in love and their parents wanted to make her happy, not because they wanted to have her engaged by that point. 

“We could run away,” Ezio suggested jokingly.

Desmond snorted and a big smile appeared on his face as he entertained the thought, “And where will we go?”

For a brief moment, his mind conjured the welcoming fortress of Masyaf and the untamed beautiful forest near Kanatahséton and his smile faltered for a split second before turning into a soft sad smile. 

“We could go to Monteriggioni?” Ezio suggested with a shrug, “Uncle Mario has no heir. I think it would be easy to get him to make me his heir.”

Desmond blinked at that. 

“You don't want to be a banker so you’ll be a condottiero like our uncle?” Desmond asked.

“It will definitely be a more exciting life than being a banker.” Ezio commented with a shrug before raising his head to stare at Desmond as he continued, “Think about it. Monteriggioni would be better suited for us than Firenze . No power struggles. No Lorenzo de' Medici. None of all those annoying things.”

Desmond bit his bottom lip. 

It was such a tempting offer.

Monteriggioni was a symbol of peace and safety for him. And if they went there earlier, if they stayed there, he wouldn’t be in Firenze when it was time for him to die as Petruccio Auditore. 

He would be safe in Monteriggioni, with Ezio…

He could have a future there. A place for him in Villa Auditore. He knew enough to do what Claudia did during her stay in Monteriggioni. He also knew enough to support Ezio, not as an Assassin but more like a Rafiq from Altaïr’s time. 

It would be…

Nice.

A beautiful dream…

“If I say yes…” Desmond stared at Ezio as the words came out of his lips before he could even think of how stupid and how reckless they were.

“Would you run away with me, Ezio?”

Ezio stared back at him with clear eyes as he answered without any hesitation, “Yes.”

San Maria Novella District, Firenze (18)

To be completely honest, Desmond didn’t think of how his question would affect Ezio and the future of House Auditore. He had assumed it would simply be one of those strange one-off conversations children had. A ‘what if’ scenario that would end up as a simple dream.

He should have known better.

Among the Auditore children, Ezio had always been the one who worried about him the most. It was a strange feeling to be the object of Ezio’s attention. Desmond wasn’t used to it as Desmond Miles had never been anyone’s priority until his genes came into the picture and he remembered that, while Ezio did love Petruccio, he wasn’t that close to the youngest Auditore. He was closer to Federico if anything.

And he had no idea what prompted this change…

Until Claudia flat out stated it.

“Ezio is doing something stupid,” Claudia told him as they took a walk in Mercato Vecchio in San Maria Novella District. It was a beautiful cloudy day which was the best kind of day for Desmond. While he could stay outside in the sun for about three hours now, his eyes and arm were still too sensitive which left him with no choice but to continue staying inside their home. But on cloudy days like this? He looked forward to walking farther than the comforts of San Giovanni District and there were a few stalls in Mercato Vecchio that sold items from faraway places, including books and food. 

“Oh?” Desmond as he adjusted his hold on his preferred white and red umbrella before asking, “And what is our dear brother up to this time? Did he finally enter one of the brothels? Or was he caught in bed with someone?”

Claudia gave an unlady snort and rolled her eyes before telling Desmond in a resigned ‘my brothers are idiot’ tone that Desmond had become familiar with, “He’s been saving up the money he finds.”

Claudia leaned close to Desmond as she whispered conspiratorily, “And I’m quite sure he’s deliberately looking for more items he could sell or return for a reward.”

Desmond turned to blink at her as they continued their slow walk, looking at the different stalls littering the marketplace.

He knew that Ezio’s Eagle Vision made it easy for him to find money or trinkets he could sell. At first, he had thought it had been a nice ‘game mechanic’ in Rebecca’s Baby to keep Desmond from becoming broke and unable to buy medicines and replenish Ezio’s ammo that made every place Ezio went to filled with treasure chests he could loot but, apparently, it had been based on Ezio’s habit of finding lost items that could be sold or could be returned to their original owner who would reward Ezio. The Animus had streamlined the process to make it seem like Ezio was just looting treasure chests or actually actively stealing but, no, Ezio just had a knack for finding things that could give him money.

In other words, Ezio was using his Eagle Vision as a lost-item detector and reaping the rewards which the Animus skipped and just gave Desmond the money in the end to simplify the process and keep it from overloading the Animus’ processor.

Desmond wasn’t sure what to think about Ezio’s ‘get money’ schemes but it was his Eagle Vision so he just let Ezio use it however he wanted without saying anything. 

But what Claudia just informed him about was strange. They all had a monthly allowance and Maria was more than willing to give more as long as they explained why they needed the money. Their monthly allowance was enough to let Claudia buy a new dress each month with enough remaining money to buy a few accessories to go with it. Desmond had saved most of his allowance just in case he found a book he wanted to buy during one of the many trips they took to this marketplace or the one near to their palazzo in San Giovanni District.   

He knew that Federico mostly blew his allowance in the company of Paula’s wonderful women and Ezio was certainly supposed to join him in that regard given time but…

Ezio had never saved up before. 

Even when he became an Assassin, he had simply let Claudia take care of the books in the Villa and used the profits to help Monteriggioni.

“Now, what would our dear brother want that would be so expensive?” Desmond wondered out loud, now completely curious. 

It was like he was seeing a new side of Ezio and it was definitely entertaining to watch.

Claudia turned to look at him and stared for a few seconds before asking, “You don’t know? I would have assumed you would know.”

Desmond turned to look back at her and frowned as he asked back, “Why would I know?”

Claudia rolled her eyes once more before saying with a tired sigh, “Ezio tends to become dumber than usual whenever it concerns you, dear brother.”

“He does?” Desmond asked, now utterly confused.

Claudia shook her head in disbelief and mumbled, “All my brothers are idiots. O mio dio , please give me the patience and the strength to not slap sense into all of them.” 

Claudia’s eyes darkened as she deadpanned, “Repeatedly.”

Desmond laughed at her sister’s vicious streak, a trait that all Auditore seem to possess one way or another, and patted the arm wrapped around his as he said, “Please share your wisdom to your pathetic brother.”

He made sure to look at her with pleading big eyes as he added, “Please, dear sister?”

Claudia stared at him for a moment before letting out another tired sigh. She nudged her shoulder against his as she said, “That. That’s the reason why Ezio has turned into an idiot.”

Desmond winced as she pinched his cheek and pulled it slightly, all the while continuing, “When you were young, you wore this soulless expression on your face. Do you remember that?”

Desmond didn’t but he was pretty sure Claudia was talking about the time when he was still reeling over the whole ‘holy shit, I’ve been reborn as Petruccio Auditore, what the fuck?!’ mindfuck and grieving over the loss of his bleed and connection to his three ancestors. Thankfully, Claudia didn’t wait for him to answer as she continued, “We were young back then and you reminded me a lot of that exotic porcelain doll I got from the far east. Beautiful but emotionless. A doll.”

Desmond didn’t think he had been that bad back then.

Was he?

“Then we all heard you would always be sick and your first smile to us had been a sad one. Like…” Claudia paused for a moment before continuing, “Like you had accepted the fate that the God Almighty had given you and all of these…”

She waved her free hand in Desmond's direction as she continued, “... is simply you being completely alright with it.”

She turned to stare straight ahead as they continued to walk but it was clear neither of them was paying any attention to the different stalls at all anymore. Her tone was a bit sad as she continued, “It was Ezio who wanted to do something about it. Who wanted to see you smile like you were truly happy. But we were children so we tried to play with you. Tried to get you excited by the things that excited us and made us happy.”

Her walk slowed as she continued, “But you didn’t really smile. Definitely not the smile we wanted to see. The books our parents gave you made you grateful but you always looked so serious reading them. Sometimes, you even look sad.”

Desmond bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from explaining that the reason why he had been sad at times had been because he remembered when Altaïr had read the same specific sentence or paragraph that had made such an impact on him that Desmond could still remember the book even with his murky memories. It was the longing of someone long gone that made him maudlin. 

“Whenever you played chess with Federico, you would be so focused. Don’t get me wrong. Your thinking face is adorable.” Claudia added with a shrug.

“Thank you?” Desmond said, unsure what to think about that. 

“Whether you win or lose, you would smile but… it’s not exactly a happy smile.” Claudia looked thoughtful as she mused out loud, “It feels like you’re remembering something bittersweet. Federico could never figure out what it is that makes you have such an expression.”

Desmond wanted to sigh. It wasn’t like he could explain that it was because, every time he finished a match with Federico, he always expected to hear Ratonhnhaké:ton congratulate him for a match well fought and, a second later, he would remember that he was no longer bleeding Ratonhnhaké:ton. It wasn’t even a memory and he never reached a Synch Nexus with Ratonhnhaké:ton so it wasn’t like he became a ghostly visage that offered small commentaries and advice like Altaïr and Ezio. His bleed of Ratonhnhaké:ton had mostly been him bleeding as him. But he still missed Ratonhnhaké:ton and wished to have been able to reach a Synch Nexus with him. To have been able to converse with him. Playing chess always made him remember that.

“And whenever we have afternoon tea, you look relaxed and you would smile but…” Claudia stared at him as she said bluntly, “Your eyes. Your eyes always looked like they were etching everything to memory. Like you were painting every single moment because you believe it will not last.”

At that, Desmond stopped and his eyes stared at the ground ahead of them.

He couldn’t even say anything about that.

That had always been the crux of his entire existence as Petruccio Auditore. 

He knew that Petruccio was going to die on December 29, 1476. 

His death, together with Giovanni’s and Federico’s, would be the start of Ezio’s journey to becoming the legend he was. 

It was… a necessary sacrifice.

And Desmond had made his peace with it.

That was why he treasured the peace and simplicity of his afternoon tea with Claudia. He treasured Claudia as an older sister and as his best friend.

Because this Claudia held the fierceness and wildness that he had seen as Desmond Miles through Ezio’s eyes but this Claudia also still held a childlike innocence and a softness that would be tempered after the tragedy that would befall their family.

This Claudia wasn’t the Claudia from Ezio’s memories but Desmond’s Claudia. His big sister and his best friend.

The Claudia Auditore that he had come to love.

It was… painful.

Staying with the Auditore. Being one of them.

Even if he took Petruccio’s place, even if his existence at this time meant that the real Petruccio had been erased, he still…

He loved them.

He loved his parents. He loved his siblings.

He loved being his version of Petruccio Auditore. Not the sweet innocent sickly boy from Ezio’s memories but this strange sickly child who loved to walk around holding an umbrella above his head and had an obsession for the feathers of a specific kind of eagle.

He wanted to stay being his version of Petruccio Auditore.

He wanted to live.

As an Auditore.

As an…

“But when you got the feather you requested from Federico…” Claudia’s lips curved into a relieved smile, “For the first time since you came into our lives, you smiled as bright as the sun.”

Desmond stared at her, unable to say anything.

“That’s why we tried giving you more feathers.” Claudia looked a bit embarrassed as she admitted, “We wanted to see you smile like that again. It took a while before we realized that you only want a specific kind of feather and it seemed Ezio’s gift was the only thing that could help find these golden feathers…”

Desmond’s eyes widened at those words and he immediately cut her off, “Golden feathers? Claudia… are you saying… you can see them too?”

She pouted as she admitted, “It took a long time of trying to understand Ezio’s explanation of his gift and I can only see the gray world for a second or two but I’ve been getting better. Ezio told us we need to keep using it to make it easier to use it for longer.”

We…

Did that mean that Federico’s Eagle Vision had also been activated?

Did… this whole feather collecting thing actually make all the Auditore children activate their Eagle Vision?

It was possible, of course, and it seemed Ezio had been teaching them the same way he taught his recruits back in Tiber Island when he became the mentor. The Eagle Vision was not, as many believed, hereditary. Sure, certain bloodlines would have an easier time than most in activating it but it was possible for anyone to activate it. It was a requirement in the Levantine Brotherhood after all. No one could pass the rank of Novice until they could use the Eagle Vision for at least five seconds. Only then would they be able to ‘graduate’ by performing a leap of faith on the tallest tower in Masyaf fortress. 

He knew, for a fact, that Claudia did activate hers later in life, once she started training as an Assassin but Federico…

He was sure both his father and oldest brother didn’t have access to the Eagle Vision before their death.

He was also sure that Uncle Mario and Machiavelli didn’t have access to it as well. 

The teaching of the Levantine Brotherhood, passed down to them by their predecessors, had been lost. Ezio’s own teaching of how to activate the Eagle Vision had been mostly him trying to explain his own experience and learning from the many failed attempts Claudia and his first batch of recruits had to go through.

And, by the time Desmond had started his training on the Farm, those teachings had been lost as well and the Eagle Vision had been relegated into a mythical hereditary ability that William Miles hoped his son would be able to do. That had been one of the main reasons why he had married Desmond Miles’ mother, as far as Desmond knew. 

He wasn’t even sure if they loved each other.

Not that it mattered, he supposed.

“But my less than stellar gift is enough at the moment.” Claudia pointed above the middle of the marketplace, “I was able to see that before you did, after all.”

Desmond’s eyes widened once more as he noticed that there was a feather with golden wisps all around it stuck on top of a tall pillar. It seemed that there were a few rocks weighing it down and keeping it from being carried by the wind. Claudia’s eyes shone with determination as she said, “I plan on getting that for you.”

Desmond’s eyes widened even further. 

Holy shit.

Did that mean that Claudia was also getting freerunning lessons from Federico and Ezio already?!

Just how badly was Desmond fucking up the timeline because of these goddamn feathers?

“I will have to tell our dear brothers to not take it- Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Claudia growled as they both noticed Ezio running from the edge of the rooftop towards the pillar. 

“Ezio, no-”

It was too late.

Ezio took a leaping jump towards the pillar and managed to grab hold of the top of the pillar before he fell. Many of the people nearby gasped as they noticed him but he paid them no heed, pulling himself up and taking the feather from the top of the pillar. He dusted it off and grinned as he waved at them.

“Showoff,” Claudia mumbled and wrapped her arms around her younger brother as she glared at the feather thief. 

Ezio jumped off the pillar and landed gracefully, making a few of the people nearby clap while others mumbled how he could have hurt himself, the idiota . He began to walk towards them but something seemed to have caught his eyes as he turned to his right and began to look at a nearby stall.

Claudia sighed in resignation before commenting, “No one wanted to see you smile that brightly again more than Ezio. He always worried about you, you know. When you were born, he wanted to be your favorite because he thought I was Federico’s little sister so you have to be his little brother.”

Desmond wasn’t sure what to say to that so he kept quiet. 

“Such an idiot.” Claudia said fondly, “He always felt bad not being able to make you smile. It only got worse when you asked Federico to get your first feather instead of him.”

Desmond frowned at that.

He had asked Federico because he was sure that their oldest brother could get it for him. He was pretty sure that Ezio wasn’t even climbing walls back then and he didn’t want him to get hurt trying to get the feather for him.

Also… he might have used it as an excuse to see if Federico had truly started his training.

Maybe.

“I’m pretty sure he’s much more obsessed with finding these feathers than you, that’s for sure.” Claudia deadpanned and waved a hand towards Ezio who seemed to be in deep conversation with the man manning the stall, “Most, if not all, of his idiotic plans, are connected to you, one way or another.”

“Searching for books about birds to find where the feathers came from and becoming friends with a promising artist in the process? Obviously because of you.” Claudia recounted bluntly, “Wandering all over Firenze looking for all those feathers? Absolutely for you.”

“Having some kind of passionate discussion with some merchant? No doubt for you as well.” Claudia deadpanned as they watched Ezio and the merchant talk quickly. There were a lot of hand movements going on and Desmond couldn’t be sure but was…

Was Ezio haggling?

“How are you sure he’s doing it for me?” Desmond asked with a frown.

“That merchant sells exotic items like furs and silks from faraway places. I remembered you looked at his wares for a while last time.” Claudia remembered and it actually took a while for Desmond to remember what she was talking about.

Oh. Right.

That was because that merchant had a few books written in Arabic. 

He didn’t buy anything in the end as most of the books the merchant was selling were more of the… well… the 11th century (yes, it was that far back) version of erotic pocketbooks, and Desmond didn’t have any interest in that subject.

Still, they watched as Ezio ended their conversation with a grin and handed the merchant something. They were too far for Desmond to see just how much he paid the merchant and his eyes widened when he noticed what Ezio had bought from the merchant. 

It was a red sash…

And white and gray fur.

“I think these were meant to be for you, passerotto ,” Ezio said with a grin as he offered them to Desmond. Desmond silently took them and his breath hitched.

Up close, he was sure of it. The red sash was the same color as the one Altaïr preferred. There was no doubt about it.

And this fur… 

This was the same color as the fur of the spirit wolves that Ratonhnhaké:ton could summon in that alternate reality he and George Washington saw when they both touched the Apple at the same time.

Desmond’s Eagle Vision didn’t tag them as gold at all but… Ezio was right.

These items. Even if they weren’t the original. Even if it was simply a coincidence that they held the same colors as Altaïr’s sash and the fur of Ratonhnhaké:ton’s spirit wolves.

That was enough.

His lips curled into a soft grateful smile directed at Ezio as he said, “Thank you, Ezio. I love them.”

He was sure of it now.

The feathers were making him stronger.

Ezio had been in the district because he had been hunting for more feathers. It was the only district in Firenze left that his three older siblings hadn't checked and Ezio managed to get five of them, including the one that he ‘took’ from Claudia. 

A few minutes later, Federico joined them, having made the feather hunting competition with Ezio and managing to get four feathers all by himself. Federico groaned that he had bad luck as he picked the northern side of the district while Ezio went for the southern side. He got three feathers quickly but the fourth one had been along the city walls which meant he had to wait for the patrolling guards to change shifts so they wouldn’t see him climb the walls to get to the high wooden pole where it had been stuck on. It wasn’t like Ezio had a better time. He had to listen to people shouting at him for climbing the freaking Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and the guards were already on their way to apprehend him when he finally got the feather and he had to use the surrounding rooftops to run away from the city guards.

… It was a good thing that Giovanni was close to the de facto leader of Firenze then.

Still. Because of Federico and Ezio, Desmond now had twenty-seven feathers and, according to Ezio, there were no more golden feathers left in Firenze .

This would have meant that they had done it. They had completed the feather collecting ‘event’ that Desmond had accidentally started.

But Desmond felt like it wasn’t complete yet.

Like… they weren’t even close to finishing at all.

He didn’t know why though.

Was it possible that there were feathers out there?

But why?

In the first week of January of 1475, Claudia woke Desmond up in the middle of the night. He was groggy as hell and he was pretty sure he just cursed at Claudia in modern English, their native Florentine Italian, antiquated Arabic, and Kanien'kéha language in his half-asleep state. 

“Ezio’s planning to leave!” Claudia hissed frantically and Desmond yawned. 

He rubbed his eyes as he mumbled, “Where’s he going?”

“I don’t know!” Claudia hissed as she pulled Desmond off his bed. He groaned but let her do as she wanted. Claudia looked ready to just drag him to god knows where but she was kind enough to wait for him as he wrapped the red sash onto his neck like a makeshift scarf (it was in the middle of the night and it was cold, damn it) before wrapping the fur around him like some kind of shawl. His sleeping attire wasn’t really meant to handle the bitter cold outside in the inner courtyard where Federico and Ezio seemed to be having a heated whispered discussion of some sort.

Desmond yawned once more and wrapped the fur tightly around him as they approached the two oldest Auditore children (well, teenagers) currently too preoccupied in their heated whispers, complete with big hand gestures, to notice their two younger siblings staring at them.

Well.

They were preoccupied until Desmond sneezed.

Everyone turned to stare at him as he sniffed and rubbed his nose with his hand. There was no way he was dirtying the red sash or the fur with his snot.

“Claudia!” Ezio shouted as he rushed towards them, “Why would you take him out here in the cold?!”

He wrapped his arms around Desmond and began to usher him inside as Claudia tried to reason, “He’s the only person who can stop you from doing something stupid! Like running away from home!”

Ezio and Federico shushed her frantically and Federico gently pushed her so they could follow Ezio and Desmond inside. They went to the nearest room which turned out to be Ezio’s room and Desmond let his older brother make him sit on his bed. 

“Tell him not to leave!” Claudia ordered Desmond as she watched Ezio kneel in front of their youngest sibling, rubbing his cold hands and breathing warm air on them, “Tell him he’s being stupid leaving Firenze !”

“Claudia, lower your voice!” Federico hissed as he opened the door slightly to look outside before closing it, “Father might hear you!”

“Good! Father should hear about this stupidity!” Claudia stomped her foot but, strangely enough, she was now hissing instead of shouting. Claudia turned to glare at their oldest brother as she hissed, “Why haven’t you told Father about this anyway!? You know this idiota won’t listen to you!”

“We don’t know what Father will do if he learns that Ezio plans to run away with Petruccio!” Federico hissed back and rubbed his forehead as he groaned.

Claudia’s eyes widened at those words and she turned to stare at Ezio and Desmond.

Desmond was too busy staring at Ezio with wide eyes, all thoughts of sleeping thrown to the abyss by the sheer idea that Ezio was planning on taking him with him.

Oh fuck.

Did Ezio take Desmond seriously when he asked if he would run away with him?!

Fuckfuckfuck.

“Why?” Claudia’s tone showed both her confusion and hurt as she gripped the fabric of her nightgown tightly.

Ezio’s expression darkened slightly and he gently caressed Desmond’s cold cheek with his right hand before he turned to face Claudia as he explained, “Father wants him to work for Lorenzo de' Medici and he doesn’t want to.”

“So your plan is to run away with him?!” Claudia hissed as she took a step towards them, “Why not just talk to Father about it?!”

“Do you really believe that Father would be able to tell the Medici no?” Ezio hissed back, “He’s become too close to Il Magnifico to tell him no. Our family’s alliance with the Medici will be put into question if words even got out that Father had done such a thing.”

From the tired resigned look on Federico’s face, it was clear that he agreed with Ezio’s assessment.

“And running away is a better idea?!” Claudia retorted with a frustrated hiss, “Ezio! Think about this! Where would you two even run away to?! Are you planning on leaving Italia ? Where would you go? Montréal?!”

“Monteriggioni,” Ezio explained as he stood and placed a warm hand on Desmond’s shoulder who could only listen silently as everything continued to spiral out of control.

“Monteriggioni?!” Claudia hissed out of surprise.

“Uncle Mario’s town.” Ezio explained as calmly as he could but Desmond could see he was losing his patience the more Claudia stared at him like he had lost his mind, “Uncle Mario has no heir. I can talk him into adopting me and Petruccio as his sons. The Medici and Father cannot do anything once we become his sons as we’ll be members of his family and of Monteriggioni. We will be safe there.”

Federico groaned and rubbed his temple furiously.

Desmond could relate.

Ezio didn’t know that, at this point in time, their uncle was the de facto mentore of the remnants of the Italian Brotherhood. Asking to be adopted by their uncle was the same as asking to become part of the Brotherhood. 

Giovanni’s dealings with the Medici were forgiven by the Brotherhood because they had no choice. They were too few in numbers already and the Templars had been quiet (as far as they knew) but they were far too preoccupied trying to keep peace in all of Italia with their too few numbers that… well…

Desmond wasn’t sure just how distant Mario and Giovanni’s relationship had become ever since Giovanni left for Firenze but he knew that their uncle wouldn’t blink twice in adopting them both if it meant that he could train Ezio to become an Assassin and to have him as his actual heir. Not as the ruler of Monteriggioni but as the next mentore of the Italian Brotherhood.

Jesus Christ.

He was getting a headache. 

All of these were because he didn’t want to become a Medici lapdog? Fucking hell!

“Uncle Mario is a condottiero !” Claudia reminded him, “He commands a lot of mercenaries who fight wars, Ezio! You’re seriously thinking of becoming a condottiero ?! You!?”

Ezio glared at his younger sister but didn’t have time to defend himself because she continued, “Mercenaries tend to get lots of enemies! You’re going to stay in a place that could easily become a battlefield!?”

“But we will be free.” Ezio retorted, “Our brother would be free to choose his future.”

Desmond’s hold on his fur tightened. 

Ezio was doing all of these for him.

To make sure he was free to choose his own future.

But what would happen if they did leave for Monteriggioni?

Sure. Desmond would live. He wouldn’t be in Firenze when it would be time for the Auditores to be executed.

But that also meant Ezio wouldn’t be here in Firenze to keep their mother and Claudia safe. That meant that their father and Federico would die without Ezio knowing that Alberti was a traitor.

That meant he was leaving the rest of their family to the Templars.

Unless…

Desmond raised his head and turned to stare at his three siblings.

“Let’s all run away.” 

All of them stared back at him with wide eyes. 

Desmond suggested with a big grin on his face, “All four of us. Let’s all run away to Monteriggioni!”

Federico believed he didn’t know what he was saying. He still believed that Desmond was too young to understand the gravity of what was happening. Maybe he even thought Desmond believed running away was like taking a vacation or something. 

Ezio thought he had lost his mind (which he probably did, all things considered). Ezio running away with his youngest brother? That would definitely fuel the rumor mill but it could easily be spun as a calculated political move by both House Auditore and House Medici once their uncle adopted them. But all four Auditore children running away to Tuscany? If word got out, this could easily be a scandal that would destroy House Auditore in a way that the Templars hadn’t been able to even after executing Giovanni and his two sons. 

But Claudia…

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Claudia exclaimed loudly, making both Federico and Ezio shush her in fear of someone hearing them. She ignored them and gave a bright smile directed at Desmond as she continued, “We’ll all run away. When Father and Mother learn we left, they will have no choice but to listen to us.”

Claudia nodded and briskly walked towards Desmond. She grabbed his arm and pulled him off Ezio’s bed and began to drag him quickly out of the room as she said, “We must begin preparations immediately. I will be in charge of packing for our dear brother. God be merciful if I let either of you help him. He’ll forget to pack enough clothes and bring all his books instead.”

Ezio and Federico were left to stare at them with open mouths, unable to even get a word in as Claudia continued as they left the room, “Federico, make sure Ezio gets us a carriage big enough for all of us. He should be able to buy a nice one considering how much he had been saving up. Also, maybe think about getting a few mercenaries for protection who wouldn’t rat us out to our parents before we leave. Shall we leave tomorrow? We should, shouldn’t we? We shall leave tomorrow night. Bene !”

Claudia closed the door behind the two of them and her grip on Desmond’s arm tightened. She led him back to his room as she whispered furiously, “This is an awful plan! A stupid plan! A plan that someone as dumb as Ezio and Federico would make! Please tell me you have a better plan hiding behind this idiotic plan!”

Desmond thought about it for a moment before grinning at his furious sister, “I have a plan hiding behind this idiotic plan.”

Claudia relaxed slightly at that.

“But it’s a crazy plan,” Desmond admitted as he continued to grin at his sister.

Claudia let out a groan and she raised her head to stare at the ceiling as she lamented, “ O mio dio , please grant me the patience and restraint to not slap all my brothers. Repeatedly.”

Desmond laughed and nudged her shoulder. Claudia turned to stare at him and his lips curved into a soft smile as he said, “Thanks, Claudia. For staying with us even when we’re being idiots.”

Claudia’s face softened and she nudged her shoulder against his as well. She stared in front of them as she said, “That’s what siblings are for.”

They did, in fact, leave in the middle of the night the very next day. Federico and Ezio only packed one bag filled with clothes and a few personal items they didn’t want to leave behind while Claudia packed three bags filled with clothes, accessories, and many more items, all of which Federico and Ezio had to get out of the palazzo in secret earlier in the day after the servants had finished cleaning their rooms so they could leave immediately after dark. Desmond was sure that the only other person who knew of their plan was Leonardo because Ezio couldn’t keep a damn secret from his dear friend and Desmond had noticed that all of the things they smuggled out of the palazzo earlier were glowing gold inside Leonardo’s workshop. Desmond didn’t say anything as he knew that, no matter how young Leonardo was at the moment, his relationship with Ezio was already at that point that there was an undeniable loyalty between them that would keep him silent. 

Who knows? Maybe Leonardo would be tempted to join them later in Tuscany instead of moving to Venezia .

Desmond was already planning to fuck up House Auditore’s future. Why not fuck up Leonardo da Vinci’s too while he was at it?

He’ll just go with the flow with that and let Leonardo’s future be changed by Ezio Auditore’s constant presence in his life. Desmond already had his hands full with the preparations he needed to make before they left Firenze .

Desmond’s clothes only filled one bag but his books definitely took a while to take out in secret as well. He didn’t bother to bring any of the books Lorenzo wanted him to read but the other books, both the books that he requested because of his ancestors’ memories and the books that had been gifted to him over the years, were coming with them. No one tried to argue about these and Desmond knew that it was another testament to how much they had been spoiling him over the years that even Claudia didn’t try to get him to at least leave half of them behind.

To be completely honest, their casual acceptance of Desmond’s plan was a clear indication that they couldn’t say no to their youngest brother and that wasn’t actually a good thing if one was to look at it from an objective standpoint.

Desmond was going to use it to his advantage though.

Claudia was his greatest ally among his three siblings. She would do what he wanted for as long as she believed that he knew what he was doing. She also made her opinion clear and didn’t bother to mince any words at all which he appreciated. 

Ezio was a fifty/fifty deal for Desmond. On one hand, Ezio would do anything Desmond wanted because he wanted to make his youngest brother happy. On the other hand, Ezio would do anything if he believed it would make his youngest brother happy and would probably not even consult Desmond beforehand. Case in point: this entire thing was happening because Ezio was planning to run away with Desmond without even informing him beforehand. Sure, they talked about it ONCE but Desmond had thought it was just one of those ‘what if’ scenarios, and, dear lord, Desmond wasn’t even sure if this wouldn’t be called kidnapping if Ezio did manage to run away with Desmond had Federico and Claudia not learned about it. Then again, Desmond wouldn’t have even hesitated to run away with him anyway as he was clearly special to Desmond, both as his older brother and as his ancestor. He would have preferred getting a heads up though. Was ‘voluntary kidnapping’ a thing?

Federico was the actual one who would make or break their plan. Between the three, he had the highest probability of ratting them out to their father and he didn’t even have to speak with him directly. Just a simple message to one of La Volpe’s men would be enough to tip off their father. But Desmond didn’t believe he would do it. Federico would be too worried about what would happen to them if their father found out all three of them conspired to run away. Federico may act all cool and relaxed but he was the worrywart among the four of them. Desmond wouldn’t be surprised if Federico was imagining that Ezio would be sent to boarding school (Desmond doubted that), Claudia would be sent to a convent (hah, good luck to them), and Desmond would end up on house arrest (... probably?). It was because Desmond knew that Federico was worrying about them that he knew that their oldest brother would stay by their side. He didn’t agree with the whole Tuscany ‘road trip’ for sure but he wasn’t going to stay in Firenze while his three younger siblings traveled all on their own.

And they had to travel all on their own.

All the mercenaries in Firenze all worked for Giovanni one way or another and just talking to them would tip La Volpe off because of the many people working for him or were willing to tell him anything for ‘monetary compensation’. Desmond knew that Federico knew about this and that was why he requested that Claudia tell Federico to help Ezio with the preparations so he would be too busy helping Ezio to have a moment to contact any of La Volpe’s people. Claudia raised an eyebrow at being asked to be the one to tell them but did as he requested. He knew Claudia understood why the order had to come from her and not him. Federico and Ezio both saw Desmond as their weak younger brother who needed to be protected. It would take more time as both of them would ask why Desmond had made such a request, was he okay, did he need help, was there a specific carriage he wanted to use, etc, etc. Claudia wasn’t going to be asked about all that. They would just sigh and shake their heads but do as she ordered because nobody could say no to a feisty Auditore lady. 

There were a lot of things they needed to do before they left and they needed to do them quickly. 

And they did manage to leave Firenze at around 2 AM. The guards were easily bribed to let them pass and it helped that it seemed like the two oldest Auditore boys were leaving as both Desmond and Claudia hid by sitting on the floor of the carriage with a blanket over their heads, making it look like Federico and Ezio were taking a trip and took a lot of luggage with them for some reason. It truly said a lot about Ezio’s ‘popularity’ in Firenze that the guards easily believed Federico’s lie that they were on their way to Venezia to woo a Venetian lady that had caught Ezio’s heart. 

Desmond and Claudia were able to finally sigh in relief once they were out of Firenze but sleep eluded all of them. He knew that leaving this quickly had been risky but there were two main reasons why they needed to leave as soon as possible. 

One: the more they spent time preparing to leave, the more chances Giovanni and La Volpe would have to figure out their plans.

Two: the longer they stayed in Firenze , the more time Federico had to change his mind.

And Desmond’s plan would only work if all four Auditore children were to run away.

… Hopefully, anyway.

Monteriggioni, Tuscany (27)

Their journey to Monteriggioni was a peaceful one. The sky was cloudy so they let him sit up front. Claudia insisted that he keep using an umbrella even if the sun was being covered by the clouds and Desmond had stopped trying to get her to understand that he had no need for an umbrella during this kind of weather. At this point, the umbrella was pretty much part of his outfit anyway.

Also, it was a nice wacking tool if necessary. 

Still, it was nice sitting in front and seeing the scenery that had been mostly fast-forwarded by the Animus. It was also nice that he got to sit with Ezio as it was his turn to be their coach. They talked about nothing important and Ezio seemed to enjoy listening to Desmond point things at him, like a specific plant that he recognized from the many medicinal books he had read or a random sheep that looked like it had gotten lost or something.

It was nice and relaxing.

Inside the carriage, Federico had managed to smuggle out a lute and he began to play as he sang. Desmond immediately recognized the tune that Federico was playing as the same tune that Ezio had played back in Constantinople. His songs were different from Ezio’s snarky half-hearted songs though. 

They were beautiful songs about having a simple life full of happiness and love. Romantic songs of nightly trysts that made Ezio laugh while Claudia had shouted that she wanted to sit in front but never bothered to get out of the carriage anyway. Joyful songs of energetic children and mischievous siblings.

They were…

Songs sung by someone who loved his life.

Desmond wondered if Ezio, the ancestor from his memories, still remembered Federico’s songs. Had he made up his own lyrics because it was too painful to sing Federico’s songs? Or had the passage of time made him forget the lyrics, leaving him with only the memory of the tune?

They managed to reach Monteriggioni by late afternoon. The mercenaries guarding the walls had been skeptical of their arrival but they seemed to relax once it became clear after checking the carriage and scrutinizing the papers Federico gave them that they were who they said they were. Desmond wasn’t sure what those papers were but he was certain Federico hadn’t ratted them out, otherwise, Giovanni would have caught up to them already. It was highly possible that Federico may have ‘borrowed’ some kind of paperwork that shows who they were but… well…

Desmond wasn’t going to pry. 

Not when he was too busy staring at the feather stuck on the pole just above the entrance to the town. He was sure that Ezio saw it too because he was glancing at the feather and at Federico repeatedly. When it seemed he was getting ready to just climb the walls and get the feather already, Desmond grabbed his hand and held it tightly with his right hand, keeping him from doing something that could get them in trouble. 

They needed to meet up with their uncle without any trouble. His plan hinged on them getting into their uncle’s good side enough to be able to stay in the villa. 

Ezio squeezed his hand slightly to silently tell him that he understood but neither of them let go of each other’s hand. 

That was when Claudia whispered from Desmond’s other side as she stared at the same feather they were staring at, “I’ll be taking that feather later.” 

Ezio turned to glare at her and whispered back, “I saw it first.”

Claudia turned to face her older brother and raised an eyebrow as she haughtily asked, “Do I look like I care, Ezio?”

She flippantly waved her hand in a shooing motion at Ezio’s direction as she dryly suggested, “Why don’t you look around the town later and find other feathers instead, hm?”

“Children, play nice,” Desmond mumbled with a sigh, as he squeezed Ezio’s hand and nudged Claudia’s shoulder. 

Thankfully, Federico finally received the guards’ approval to enter the town and they were informed that some of the mercenaries their uncle employed would be escorting them straight to the villa where their uncle was waiting for them. 

Desmond took a deep breath before walking inside. 

Here goes nothing, he guessed.

“Uncle Mario. We’re here to join the Assassin Brotherhood.”

The confusion on everybody’s faces was to be expected.

Just a few seconds ago, Mario was exchanging pleasantries with Federico, happy but confused to see all of his nephews and niece without any prior letter to let him know they were visiting. They did the usual greetings ‘oh, you’ve grown so tall’, ‘you’ve become so beautiful’, ‘I remember when you were just this small’, blah, blah, blah.

Desmond let Federico take charge of their side but the moment Mario had asked what they were doing here, Desmond had announced that little bombshell before Federico (or Ezio) could tell him about their family drama.

There was wariness in their uncle’s eyes but mostly he was just as confused as the rest of them. He glanced at Federico who shook his head as the poor young man’s eyes remained wide before their uncle turned to face Desmond and gave him a big grin as he asked, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pe-”

“ Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine ,” Desmond stated, using the same tone and accent that belonged to Altaïr. 

Both Federico and Mario stared at him with wide eyes and Desmond said, “Federico is ready to be inducted to the Brotherhood while Ezio and Claudia are ready to begin their Assassin training, Uncle Mario.”

“As for me…” Desmond took out a journal from the sachet he had clipped to his belt. He handed the journal to Mario as he requested, “I would like to be given the Italian Brotherhood’s rank equivalent to the Levantine Brotherhood’s rank of Rafiq.”

Mario took the journal and opened it, his eyes widening as he saw what was written inside.

“I trust that would be enough to vouch for my abilities?” Desmond asked with a polite smile.

It should. 

He just fucking copied Altaïr’s entire codex from memory and rewrote it in a mix of Italian and Arabic. 

All done in a single sitting yesterday after he finished packing. 

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad’s Codex. 

Or, as Rebecca liked to call it, Altaïr’s Greatest Hits.

Desmond couldn’t even remember why they started to call it that but the nickname had stuck.

Shaun had been the most enthusiastic about the pages themselves when they learned that Ezio would be collecting them. Desmond had been too overwhelmed by Ezio slowly bleeding into him to care that much before.

But, even after his bleed of Altaïr was gone, Desmond could still remember the codex pages. 

That was because he had read them. 

Over and over again. 

After he recovered from his coma.

These pages, these small snippets of Altaïr’s life, were one of the few things that Desmond could still access. His armor had been destroyed. No one knew where his sword was, although there were rumors that someone in Abstergo had it but Rebecca found out that it was just a replica. The real pages of the codex were lost but they had been digitally added to the Assassins’ network thanks to the Animus.

Desmond wasn’t even sure why he kept reading them.

Maybe it was because, between Altaïr and Ezio, Altaïr had always been more of a mystery to him. Ezio’s life had been an open book to Desmond from the very beginning and Ratonhnhaké:ton had been similar but Altaïr…

Even when he bleed as Altaïr, his Syrian ancestor remained mostly quiet, only offering advice or instructions when he felt like it. Abstergo’s Animus wasn’t as immersive as Rebecca’s Baby and Vidic didn’t really care all that much about immersion. As long as they got what they needed from the memory, everything else was inconsequential. 

That was why, even when Desmond would reach a 100% sync rate with Altaïr in any of the memories Abstergo wanted him to access, he always felt like… there was something missing from their connection. His connection with Ratonhnhaké:ton had been deeper and they hadn’t even reached a Synch Nexus. 

But Desmond still loved Altaïr just as he loved Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton. They had been the closest persons to him as Desmond Miles and he still carried a torch for all three of them even after he was reborn as Petruccio Auditore. 

Rereading his codex pages until he had memorized all of them had been a way to find something connected to him. Had been some way to honor his sacrifices and the tragedy of his life.

And, now, Desmond had used it as bait.

He believed Altaïr wouldn't mind. He wrote the codex for the Brotherhood and Desmond gave his copy to the de facto mentore of the Italian Brotherhood. 

That should count for something.

Also, he would like to think that Altaïr had a soft spot for him. His bleed of him certainly had one. Then again, all three of his bleeds had a soft spot for him and he never found out if their feelings for him were a mirror of how they would have felt had they personally met Desmond or if he had unintentionally projected his desire for them to like him into his bleeds. 

Just another question he would never be able to answer, he supposed. 

Mario hadn’t agreed to his request which he had expected. He did, however, say that he will think about it before changing the subject and suggesting they all have an early dinner and retire for the day. 

Everyone agreed because it had been a tiring ride anyway.

Later that night, all four Auditore stayed in the room that Mario had given to Desmond and Claudia was the one who had pressed for more information, to know what the Assassin Brotherhood was and how it was connected to their family. Desmond didn’t mind telling them the truth. They needed to learn the truth, especially Ezio. 

He knew Giovanni had wanted to give all his children a happy childhood, free of the responsibility and dangers of being an Assassin and being connected to the Brotherhood, but…

Desmond believed they were old enough to decide for themselves if they wanted to continue their current life or if they wanted to join the Brotherhood. 

They should be given a choice.

Ezio should be given a choice.

He knew Federico had made a very grave misunderstanding.

He had assumed that Desmond had learned about the Brotherhood by chance. That he had eavesdropped on them talking about it or one of his many books had actually mentioned it and his little brother was so smart that he managed to figure it all out. He seemed to assume that at least one of the books that had been written in Arabic that Desmond had read had been connected to the Levantine Brotherhood in some way. Federico didn’t know the significance of the journal Desmond gave Mario as he had not been informed of what the Codex was so he assumed Desmond had just compiled all the information he knew about the Levantine Brotherhood or something. 

Desmond didn’t bother to correct him. It wasn’t like he could actually tell him the truth. 

‘I’m actually from the future but I died and got reborn in the past as your little brother. Oh, yeah, I’m also Ezio’s descendant so I’m like your great-great-great-great-grand-nephew or something.’

Yeah.

There was no way Federico would believe that. 

The following morning, Ezio left the villa early to find other feathers since Claudia had, indeed, taken the one by the entrance to the town and Federico had managed to get the one near the blacksmith before Ezio. 

This meant that Desmond had twenty-nine feathers as of today.

It was a sunny day today so Desmond was left to stay inside the villa while Federico volunteered (was coerced) to show Claudia basic close quarter combat techniques. Claudia wasn’t sure if she wanted to be an Assassin but she definitely wanted to learn how to fight, especially now that she knew about the Templars and about how many of them were actually in Firenze at the moment.

Oh yeah. 

Desmond did tell them that last night.

He didn’t give out any names but he might have implied that the main reason why he had suggested they all run away was so their parents would have an excuse to meet them here and they could talk about the Templars currently hiding in Firenze .

Anyway!

Since Desmond was staying inside, sitting on his bed with his back pressed against his pillow with the red sash wrapped around his neck and the wolf fur on his lap, over his blanket, he had been bored enough that his mind had wandered over the origin of the feathers. His musing had given him a possible but strange possibility. He couldn’t be sure as it had been a long time for him already and, to be completely honest, collecting all those feathers back when he had been reliving Ezio’s memories had been a chore, but…

It was possible that the feathers were located in the same places that the feathers from Ezio’s memories had been. 

But, if he remembered them correctly, those feathers had been random feathers that Ezio found in his travels, turned into a more ‘game mechanic’-like system by the Animus. 

It was a strange thought but it was possible. The only way Desmond could say for sure was if he was to receive feathers from the other places Ezio had been.

That meant he would have to visit…

San Gimignano.

Romagna and Forli.

Venezia .

For some reason… something inside Desmond was telling him there was no feather for him to find in Roma even though Ezio did collect feathers there after the fall of Monteriggioni. 

He couldn’t truly explain it but it felt like these feathers were connected to him and Ezio in a sense that they were connected to a specific time period of Ezio’s life that Desmond had relived via the Animus.

His musing was cut short by the sound of the door to his room creaking open.

“ Buon giorno, passerotto .” Ezio greeted as he entered his little brother’s room. He didn’t bother to take off his boots as he sat on the bed right next to Desmond, grinning as he asked, “ Come stai ?”

Desmond raised an eyebrow at that. Sure, he hadn’t seen Ezio all day but the greeting seemed unnecessary. Still, he answered with a smile, “ Sto bene . What about you, Ezio? Did you have a good walk?”

Ezio’s grin grew and he showed Desmond two feathers that glowed gold in both of their Eagle Vision as he said, “I may have had to go on horseback to find these nearby.”

Desmond chuckled and took the feathers from Ezio’s hands as he asked, “And how nearby were they reall-”

The moment he touched the first feather, Desmond’s breath hitched. 

The golden wisps that had always surrounded the feathers were familiar. They had always been familiar. 

And the feelings he received from them were also familiar.

But it was only after he had touched his thirtieth feather that he finally understood why.

They felt like an echo of the Apple’s power.

Like a small fragment of its power had been embedded in each feather. 

Desmond finally realized it after touching this feather.

Wait.

An eagle feather…

… that held a fragment of the Apple’s power?

It couldn’t be… 

Could these feathers have been from Altaïr? 

…

No way.

There was absolutely no way.

That was too far-fetched even for him.

… Unless…

“Ezio! Petruccio!” Claudia slammed the door to Desmond’s room. She was breathing heavily as she shouted, “Father and Mother are coming! Federico and Uncle Mario just went out to meet them outside the town.”

Ezio stood while Desmond sighed and placed both of his newly acquired feathers inside the box before placing the box on his nightstand. He took the wolf fur and wrapped it around his arms like a shawl as he said, “You and Ezio should go greet them. If they ask where I am, tell them I’ll be in the Sanctuary.”

“The what?” Claudia frowned and Desmond patted her shoulder.

“I’ll show it to all of you later.” Desmond said, lips curving into a small smile as he requested, “Please, Claudia? Federico needs your support.”

“You mean he needs me and Ezio there to share Father’s wrath.” Claudia deadpanned, making Desmond chuckle.

“You know what they say, misery loves company.” Desmond retorted with a grin. He nudged Claudia’s shoulder and she rolled her eyes but didn’t protest.

He knew she would do it.

Not just because Desmond asked her to but because there was no way in hell Claudia Auditore would leave one of her brothers behind to suffer alone.

Even if it meant suffering through the wrath of Giovanni Auditore. 

“When I said Federico needs ‘your’ support to Claudia, I was actually talking to you too,” Desmond said in a resigned tone as he walked down the stairs leading to the Sanctuary underneath the villa.

“I know.” Ezio acknowledged before admitting without a hint of shame, “I simply decided to ignore your request. Federico’s stronger than you think, passerotto . He can face Father even without Claudia there to hold his hand. Mother’s scolding though… Well, none of us would be left alive after that.”

Instead of saying anything, Desmond simply hummed to let Ezio know he had heard him. 

“Also, Father wouldn’t be too angry at Federico. He knows us too much. He probably figured out by now that Federico went with us to keep us safe. If anything…”

Ezio stopped talking as they reached the main area of the Sanctuary. Desmond still remembered the awe and curiosity Ezio had when he first came into this place and he wondered if this Ezio, this younger Ezio who had only known about the existence of the Brotherhood for a day, also felt the same way.

To Desmond, the Sanctuary brought a sense of nostalgia and a bit of pain. Not just because the statue of Altaïr stood in front of them, behind iron bars that separated them from his armor, but because this had been the last real hideout he had as Desmond Miles where there were times when it felt like it was kinda fun being an Assassin. Chatting with Rebecca, purposely getting into Shaun’s nerves…

Talking to Lucy…

Maybe if things had been different, maybe if he hadn’t died…

Maybe he could have had a close friendship with Rebecca and Shaun. Their relationship had only started to grow into more than teammates and comrades back then. Maybe if time had been kinder to Desmond, he would have gotten close to them. 

He supposed it was just one of those ‘what ifs’ that would forever haunt him.

“Ezio! Petruccio!”

Ezio immediately grabbed Desmond’s shoulder and pulled him until he was partly covered by Ezio as he dragged him to the nearest wall. Giovanni briskly walked down the stairs, his eyes scanning the Sanctuary before they landed on the forms of his two remaining runaway sons.

“Brother, calm,” Mario suggested in a calm tone as he followed his brother down the Sanctuary. Desmond waited for a few seconds but nobody else followed them down. 

Desmond slightly sent a prayer to both Federico and Claudia. They were most definitely getting chewed out by their mother right now.

“Do you know what you have done!?” Giovanni’s voice echoed all around the Sanctuary as he began to pace and Desmond had to tilt his head.

Huh.

He believed this was the first time that Giovanni had ever raised his voice to the both of them. Even when he was scolding Ezio and Federico, Giovanni’s voice usually stayed the same.

At a glance, it would have probably shown just how angry he was but the fear and worry in his eyes made it clear to Desmond that his shouting was a way for him to express just how he truly felt after learning that all of his children were missing.

“Getting everyone to run away! Going here without informing any of us! Telling them about the Assassins! Telling Claudia about the Assassins!” 

The way Giovanni stressed Claudia’s name only showed how he was still seeing them all as children. 

Did he even realize that, given time and proper support, Claudia would be a great Assassin all on her own?

Desmond knew she would. When Ezio left everything to find Altaïr’s library, he had named Claudia to stand in for him as the mentor of the Italian Brotherhood, not because of their familial ties, but because he knew that Claudia had what it took to lead the Brotherhood in his absence. 

But Giovanni probably didn’t see that.

He probably only saw Claudia as his precious little girl who needed to be protected.

“They needed to know the truth.” Desmond tried to explain as calmly and respectfully as he could, “Especially with the Templars already planning their move-”

Giovanni cut him off, “The Templars have been silent for years, son! They’re not looking to unearth some kind of mystical relic in Cyprus! There isn’t any grand conspiracy to kill us and House Medici two years from now!”

Ezio froze.

Oh, yeah.

Desmond didn’t tell them about that.

To be fair, he didn’t expect Giovanni to just blurt out all the things he remembered from Ezio’s murky memories. He had listed them down on the last pages of the journal he gave Mario because he wanted to believe that painstakingly rewriting Altaïr’s Codex in Italian (with a bit of Arabic thrown into the mix, just because Desmond couldn’t help himself) would be enough proof for them to take his warning seriously. 

This was what he got for being so optimistic.  

“I do not know how you learned about Altaïr’s Codex but this?” Giovanni shook the journal in his hand before slamming it to the ground, “This is far too much, Petruccio! Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad is one of the most respected Assassins in our history! To disrespect his legacy by making a mockery of his writings-”

“Enough!” Desmond wasn’t able to contain himself and he stepped out of Ezio’s protection. Such a commanding order coming from someone usually calm and kind as the youngest Auditore was surprising enough that everyone couldn’t find their voice.

“You think that I would do such a thing?!” Desmond shouted, unable to stop the anger swirling in him at the very idea that he would do something so horrendous to Altaïr’s memories. 

If anything, all of this idea that Altaïr was a legend and a paragon of what it meant to be an Assassin was what was disrespectful.

Altaïr had been a flawed man who made so many mistakes in his life that haunted him until the very end. 

Ezio had been the same.

Ratonhnhaké:ton had been the same.

They were people, normal human beings who lived and did their best even against insurmountable odds.

They weren’t god-like legends.

They weren’t simple characters in stories passed down through the Brotherhood.

They were…

They were Desmond Miles’ ancestors and the three men who meant more to him than anybody else ever did. 

And he had a chance right now, at this very moment, to create a future where one of them could have fewer regrets than they would have had, to have a better future, a future surrounded by people who did not need to die.

Altaïr was already dead, alone in the tomb he had created himself.

Desmond would long be dead by the time Ratonhnhaké:ton would be born.

But Ezio…

This Ezio…

His older brother…

“Everything I wrote in that journal is real.” Desmond tried to get his father to understand, “I know that Codex like the back of my hand. I am the only one in this entire world alive right now that could do that.”

“And why is that, Petruccio?” Giovanni challenged as he took a step toward his two sons, “Tell me, son. How could my youngest son know so much about the Brotherhood, about Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and about the Templars plan here in Italia ?”

The way Giovanni stressed the words ‘youngest son’ finally clued Desmond in on why Giovanni was dismissing everything that was in the journal.

Just like how he saw Claudia as his precious little girl who needed to be protected, he saw Desmond as his weak little boy. 

He saw him as Petruccio Auditore, his youngest son.

“You don’t believe me because you see me as a son. Fine. I’ll tell you the truth. I was reincarnated as Petruccio Auditore da Firenze but, before I was born into House Auditore, my name was…” 

Could he do it?

Could he tell Giovanni who he was?

Who Desmond Miles was?

Would he even believe him?

As his mind crawled to a stop at the very idea of finally telling someone who he truly was, Desmond’s eyes glanced at the statue behind Giovanni. His lips moved on their own, forming words before his mind could catch up, “Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad of the Levantine Brotherhood.”

Giovanni and Mario stared at him silently for a few seconds before Giovanni finally spoke.

“What?”

Yes.

What, indeed.

Fuck.

Desmond was a hypocrite.

There was no way to sugarcoat what he had just done.

He considered all these talks of Altaïr’s legacy as disrespectful to the man himself but, here he was, using the memories he gained from both the Animus and his constant bleed of Altaïr prior to being reborn as Petruccio Auditore to validate his claims of being Altaïr’s reincarnation.

O mio fucking dio .

Things just went out of hand from there.

There was no way Desmond could try to backpedal after making such a huge announcement. Not only that, using Altaïr’s name was an easy way to get them to listen to him and take him seriously.

… After they stopped thinking he had lost his mind, of course.

It took a lot of questions about Altaïr’s personal life (which Desmond had repeatedly told them were useless since he was sure they had no way to confirm if he was lying or not), a lot of time spent speaking and writing in the kind of Arabic that Altaïr used, and a bit of lying.

By the end of the long conversation between him, his father, and his uncle (with Ezio strangely and worryingly silent the entire time), he knew that both Giovanni and Mario weren’t entirely on-board with the whole ‘I’m the reincarnation of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and you will listen to me’ thing that Desmond was (apparently) sticking to but they both agreed to Desmond’s suggestion that they look for validity to these ‘premonitions’ that the Apple had given him during his previous life. 

This meant that they were going to find out if Rodrigo Borgia had any connections with the Templars and Desmond was sure they would find something that would implicate him.

Giovanni had been reluctant to spy on Uberto Alberti since he was a close friend to both House Auditore and House Medici but Desmond managed to get him to agree that tailing Alberti could be Federico’s test to see if he was ready to be inducted into the Brotherhood. Even if he gets caught, he could just say that he was practicing or that Giovanni had him tailing those who knew about the Assassins as a form of training. 

Alberti may get suspicious if he catches Federico but Desmond was confident that his oldest brother wouldn’t be caught.

By the end of it, Desmond was exhausted and emotionally drained.

Giovanni must have realized that he had touched a nerve when he asked about the ‘mythical’ library in Masyaf.

Desmond couldn’t help the grief that showed on his face as he answered all of his questions about the library with a few words.

“There’s nothing there. All of the books were given to Darim when the Mongols attacked. It’s not even a library anymore. It’s a tomb for a tired man you keep calling a legend.”

Desmond didn’t even bother to join them for a late lunch, preferring to retire in his room. He laid down on his bed and held the chest filled with the feathers in his arms, his head bowed with his lower face slightly covered by the red sash while the wolf fur was draped over his upper body. 

His eyes closed and he let himself be dragged into what he hoped would be a peaceful dream.

Just a little nap then we’ll be ready to face the rest of the Auditore again.

He dreamt of a golden tree in a vast empty gray space. The same golden tree he had briefly seen when he had died as Desmond Miles. 

This time, there was a glowing male figure in front of the tree and Desmond’s breath hitched when he recognized his own voice coming from the figure as he greeted, “Hello, Petruccio.”

The golden figure tilted his head as he corrected, “Ah. You don’t like to be called that, do you?”

“Not really,” Desmond replied as he watched the glowing figure warily.

Giving off a glow the same as an Isu device? Check.

An empty gray space that may or may not be the same ‘The Gray’ where Juno had been imprisoned in? Check.

It seemed that Desmond was, once again, being visited by another one of Minerva’s kind.

“So…” Desmond casually walked around the tree as he kept an eye on the golden male figure, “I’m guessing you would be the one who left those feathers for me to find?”

The golden wisps of those feathers did look a lot like the golden tree’s glow.

“What are you planning?” Desmond asked with narrowed eyes.

“There is no plan.” 

Desmond rolled his eyes as he mumbled, “Yeah, right.”

“And I simply assisted the one who left those feathers for you to find.” The golden figure continued, turning his attention to the golden tree as he added in a monotone voice, “This branch is quite unique. Your existence in this time gave him new life and a connection to me.”

“Who?” Desmond asked and the golden form pointed at one of the branches.

“He wanted to help you so he gave up a hundred of his feathers for me to imbue with just enough power to slowly heal your body.” The golden form explained as Desmond tried to find out what he was pointing at.

His eyes widened when he noticed that there was a small eagle perched on one of the branches. Most of its body was covered in white feathers with the exception of its wings and head which was brown. It took a moment for Desmond to see it as its entire form was glowing the same gold as the golden tree.

It was the same eagle as the one Ezio had painted.

“He had been healing in this place after sacrificing his feathers but it is time for him to leave. He should be well healed by now.” The golden form waved a dismissive hand as he continued, “He’s the one who wants to speak with you.”

“Oh. Thank you… Uuhh…” Desmond rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed to be talking to an eagle.

Wait.

An eagle.

Who left those feathers for him.

An eagle.

Who was given new life because of him.

“Are you…” Desmond’s widened eyes stared at the eagle as he asked, “Altaïr?”

Desmond didn’t know it was possible but the eagle’s eyes widened as it stared at him.

Desmond didn’t know how he knew it but he was sure that the golden figure without a face was silently judging his sanity and wondering just what kind of mental gymnastics Desmond had to go through to get to that weird conclusion.

“He’s not…” Desmond felt his entire face start to heat up as he asked, “He’s not Altaïr, is he?”

“No.” The golden figure replied at the same time that the eagle shook his head.

“Oh.” Desmond rubbed the back of his head again as he sheepishly said, “Sorry?”

“It’s okay.”

Desmond’s eyes widened as he recognized the young voice coming from the eagle.

“I’m sorry I’m not the one you’re expecting, Desmond.”

“Petruccio…” Desmond whispered, unable to say anything more as the eagle continued.

“Thank you for saving my family, Desmond.” 

“I haven’t saved anyone yet.” Desmond tried to correct him but the eagle shook his head once more.

“You will.” The eagle said confidently before turning his head to stare at the golden form, “Right?”

“Based on the current calculations and the probability of each sub-branches…” The golden figure nodded as he continued, “Yes. All sub-branches with a probability of 80 and higher all have Giovanni Auditore, Federico Auditore, and the Desmond of this branch known as Petruccio Auditore live past December 29, 1476.” 

“Oh.” Desmond blinked at the golden figure.

He wondered if he was some kind of Isu device that they had used to see the calculations.

He hoped not.

It sounded like a lonely life.

“See?” The eagle turned to face Desmond once more and happily said, “You’ll save our family. I know you will.”

At the reminder of who he was, Desmond couldn’t help but whisper as he looked away, “I'm sorry… I… I took your place. You should be the one with them, not me.”

“No. You're wrong.” 

Desmond’s eyes widened as his head quickly looked up to stare at the eagle.

“If you hadn’t taken my place, Father and Federico would die with me two years from now.” The eagle reminded him in a gentle soothing voice, “Mother would never be the same after losing us, Claudia would be left alone for so long and Ezio… Ezio would suffer so much.”

The eagle raised its head to look at the dreary gray sky as he continued, “When I was about to die, I wished for my family to be saved. I wished… to be free.”

“That’s when I saw you in my sight.” The eagle lowered its head to stare at Desmond, “You never knew what it was like to have a family like mine and your love for Ezio is very similar to mine. That’s how I knew it had to be you. You could save them. So I made a deal with The Reader.”

The eagle tilted its head towards the quiet glowing figure before continuing, “My place in the calculations for a chance to save everyone. I knew you’d save them and you’d come to love them just as I have.”

The eagle flapped its wings and flew off the branch. It flew towards Desmond and he raised his arm so that it could rest on it. The eagle stared at his eyes as he said, “You didn’t take my place, Desmond. I gave it to you. You’re not my replacement.”

“You’re the Petruccio Auditore of this branch.” The eagle declared, “You’re an Auditore just like me.”

The eagle flapped its wings and began to slowly rise up in the sky. Knowing he was about to fly away, Desmond shouted, “Wait! Where you going?!”

The eagle let out a burst of childish laughter before replying, “Anywhere I want! I’ve always wanted to see the world and now I can!”

“But…” Desmond wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.

Petruccio Auditore had been a sickly child who couldn’t even leave his home. Desmond had been able to walk around because Petruccio and the golden form had sent him a hundred feathers that would slowly heal his body.

What right did he have to ask Petruccio to stay with them? To be part of the family even if he was no longer human?

“How about we make a deal, Desmond?” The eagle playfully asked, “Get all my hundred feathers and get healthy then…”

“Try and catch me.” The eagle challenged, “If you catch me, I’ll stay with you.”

“That’s not…” Desmond stopped as he realized what Petruccio wasn’t saying.

By the time Desmond would have gotten all hundred feathers, many years would have already passed.

By that time…

Maybe Petruccio would be ready to come back home. 

“Okay.” Desmond let out a small smile as he nodded, “I’ll hold you to that, Petruccio.”

“I’ll see you later, Desmond.” Petruccio flapped his wings and flew away, “Good luck!”

“You too!” Desmond shouted, unsure of what else to say.

He watched as the eagle seemed to turn into golden dust that disappeared as it fell to the ground. The gray space was slowly becoming engulfed in light and he turned to face the golden figure as he said, “Thanks… I don’t know why you helped Petruccio but… thanks for doing it anyway.”

The golden form seemed to be staring at him for a moment silently. He didn’t give him any reason why nor did he try to correct him. Instead…

“Safety and peace, Messere Auditore.” The golden form said as he nodded at him. His usual monotone voice was replaced by a soft tone as he requested, “Take care of Ezio for me, okay?”

It was already nighttime when Desmond opened his eyes. He blinked when he noticed that Ezio was lying next to him, on his side facing him. His eyes were closed but Desmond knew him enough to know he wasn’t asleep. 

“Ezio…” He whispered.

Ezio’s eyes opened and his lips curved into a small soft smile as he greeted, “ Buon sera , passerotto . Are you hungry? You missed lunch and dinner.”

Desmond moved his hand towards Ezio’s direction and his older brother held it. He squeezed the bigger hand currently holding his as he asked softly, “If I told you I'm not who you think I am, what would you say?” 

“Would you…” Desmond’s words halted for a moment as fear gripped his heart. His next words were even softer and would have been inaudible had it not been for the silence of his room, “... Would you still think of me as your brother?”

Ezio stared at him for a moment quietly before whispering back, “That depends. Did Maria Auditore not give birth to you?”

“She did,” Desmond answered truthfully. At the very least, Maria Auditore did give birth to him when he was reborn as Petruccio.

“Did you not grow up with us?”

“I did.”

“Are you not the same passerotto that I give all of those feathers to?”

“I am.”

“Then it seems to me you are who I believe you are,” Ezio concluded with a slight nod.

“And who is that, Ezio?” Desmond asked as hope and fear warred in his heart.

“My dear younger brother,” Ezio answered with clear eyes and a soft smile. He squeezed Desmond’s hand tightly as he continued, “My one and only passerotto .”

Desmond’s eyes began to water at Ezio’s honest answer. He leaned closer as he whispered, “Ezio…”

“Yes?”

Even though tears began to fall from his eyes, Desmond’s smile was big and bright as he said, “Thank you for staying by my side.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Ezio whispered back and Desmond closed his eyes as he felt his older brother kiss his forehead. Ezio pulled him into his arms and Desmond returned his embrace as he heard him whisper, “Thank you for being born, my passerotto .”