Assassin's Creed: Phoenix

IV. family

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

Two things were running through William's mind as he stepped out from the dim yellow lights of the headquarters into the pitch darkness of the night: the first day he could properly sleep after his mother's death, and the Jennifer Hope person he was supposed to get information about.

Right next to him sat Connor, whose long brown hair was tied up into a messy ponytail, some strands braided in a traditional way. William couldn't help but smirk to the words that came out of the boy's mouth when he saw him, childishly innocent yet sarcastic in some way.

"Yeah, so are you." He replied, trying to hold his laughter. Yet Connor didn't burst out a laugh like he used to, instead he seemed quite serious. William's smirk slowly disappeared when he stared at Connor's brown eyes, the moonlight and the lights of the city far away reflecting in them. William could try his best to ease everything with jokes but the unavoidable talk they would eventually have was a pain in the neck. The silence kept growing as he stared at the young man he called brother for years. "You don't really seem happy to see me, though."

"I am." His soft voice cracked a little bit, but he went on. "That doesn't change the fact that I am angry with you."

William couldn't hide how surprised he was to hear this. "Angry?" His gray eyes widened as he stared without blinking. "Why?"

Connor turned to William at last, he had a crumpled face which William was familiar with. He'd have this face whenever he felt disappointed at something, in this case, that was William himself. "How many months has it been? I didn't hear from you, I didn't even know where you were."

"Connor..."

"I thought you'd reach out to me, eventually. You didn't."

"I had to. I'm sorry, Connor..." William's chest felt hollow. "Everyone thought I was guilty, no one ever actually listened what I had to say."

"Are you? It's not easy to believe someone who simply ran away." Connor didn't hesitate to ask, which shocked William. He stood frozen as he tried to process what he heard.

"Please don't tell me you believe I killed the Grand Master of Templars." He started getting defensive as his voice couldn't hide the anger he still had inside of him. "Not you, too."

"Of course not." Connor replied, taking a deep breath. "You're too smart to do something that stupid." He knew he had to explain himself further when he saw William's even more shocked face. "Look, all I'm saying is it was a dilemma, alright? Everyone was pretty convinced about you being the criminal and then..." He could see the pain in William's eyes, glassy and shimmering.

Connor knew it was a mistake to let all his emotions out before saying him a proper welcome. He tried to soften his voice and drop the attitude as he continued to talk. "When you went away, I realized I've never been all by myself in this place. I waited in case you'd reach out, but it got more frightening when you didn't. I thought the Templars came after you."

"They did." William shook his head. "That's why I had to disappear. I wanted to reach out, but it was too much of a risk."

"Did they hurt you? Where were you all this time?"

William sighed. "It's kind of hard to hide from the fuckers if you look like I do." He shook his crippled leg and raised his walking stick. "But no, they didn't hurt me. Just stalking, that's all. I went to my hometown though. Stayed in a friend's house for a while, didn't want to rent a place right away." He tried to smile. "I even met a couple of people you'd enjoy spending time with. I was with them, most of the time."

"So did the Brotherhood ask for you to come back for the Sage thing?" Though Connor seemed relax, the way his voice trembled gave away how uncomfortable he was about the unknown.