Assassin's Creed Drabbles

↳ loose lips

add a bit of wine to the occasion and you find yourself more than willing to tell alexios how you really feel. 

EVER SINCE KEPHALLONIA, you and Alexios have been inseparable. Now you've sailed across the Aegean with him as he fought to reunite his shattered family and bring about the downfall of the Cult of Kosmos. His story is one of Homeric proportions and the historian, Herodotus, is eager to preserve it for the ages. No matter what is written, it does not change that the eagle-bearing misthios has been your closest friend for more than two decades.

When Alexios returns to the Adrestia at sundown, he finds the crew amid a celebration for Barnabas' daughter, Leda. It is her name-day and the first one she has spent with her father. The reserve of Samian wine had even been brought above deck for the occasion —of which you had already had several cups and the warmth in your gut was beginning to spread. "Alexios!" You cry. It is good to see him back so soon.

His grin is wide and bright, and when you stumble toward him, he is there to catch you in his arms. You stare up at him, there's a splattering of mud and blood on his cheek but he's handsome as ever —his tawny-gold eyes focused on you despite the ongoing revelry. "I think you've had enough to drink," Alexios laughs, setting you on one of the benches at the stern of the trireme.

"And you haven't had enough!" You challenge, watching as he works the ties of his vambraces loose —stashing them, along with his greaves in a trunk. He shakes his head, plucking the half-empty cup from your grasp, and finishes it with a single drink. Since the commander's return, the celebration quiets down and stops altogether when he shouts for the deckhands to prepare the sail and oars. He's received an urgent message from Timo in Naxos requesting his aid.

The wine has left you emboldened and now that most of the crew have gone below deck, it leaves the two of you alone beneath the stars. His chin is propped up on your shoulder, one arm loosely wrapped around your waist. You have been in this position many times before —even when you were children under Markos' care— but as of late, your heart has started beating faster whenever you're close. Luckily tonight, you can blame the heat rising to your cheeks on the strong wine.

"Alexios?" You whisper, shifting to be able to look at him. His eyes are closed and the tension in his expression fades into nothing. He makes a hmm sound that comes from deep in his throat. "I like you."

One of his dark eyes pops open, a smile kinking his lips. "I like you too," Alexios replies, not thinking much about it. You had been friends for ages —of course, he liked you. 

"No," you start, voice trembling, "I like like you." It feels odd to confess the truth of your feelings and even worse to know that a life-long friendship now hangs in the balance. Alexios remains silent, eyes flitting across your face as though he's searching for something. It feels like your heart has become a stone and sinks hard and fast into the pit of your stomach. "But I know," you whisper, the dejection and heartbreak evident in both your countenance and tone, "just friends."

Alexios purses his lips, unsure what to say or do. "I think you've had too much to drink," he tells you, crossing his arms —this time the mirth in his voice is gone. You bite down hard on your bottom lip, swallowing the lump in your throat as you turn your back to him and settle in for the rest of the night.

The Eagle Bearer hears soft sobs after some time and sees your shoulders shaking. He runs his hand over his face —knowing that come the morning the events between you and him would be nothing more than a hazy dream. Besides, Alexios wants you to be cognizant when he tells you his long-harbored secret.

"Finally awake?" Alexios asks, smiling as he watches you roll onto your side with a groan —a poor attempt to block out the light of the morning sun. He is in an oddly chipper mood for it to be so early.

You sit up with a groan, hands immediately going to cradle your head. It feels as though someone is using your skull as an anvil. The prior night is nothing but an uncertain blur. Alexios laughs. "Don't mock my pain," you bite back, but then he offers up a cup of water. In two large gulps, it is gone. Setting the cup aside, you notice Alexios' gaze is still focused on you, and the faint smile on his lips has not faded. "Why are you looking at me like that?" You ask, suspicious.

"Because I like like you," he answers —voice unwavering and smile bordering on cocksure. You freeze —hardly daring to even breathe, his words bring everything back in a wave of clarity. Heat races to your face and a lump grows in your throat again. You shake your head —heart pounding— not quite believing your ears or eyes. "Always thought it was cute when you turned red like that." Alexios muses, his hand outstretched to cup your cheek.

"You're lying," you challenge. After all, he'd shrugged off your confession last night —blaming your words on the strong wine.

"Am not," Alexios rebuts. His tawny-gold eyes have a twinkle in them, his smile genuine. You are the person he trusts wholly, one of the few people in Hellas who know the truth and his past. You had been there when he washed up on the shore of Kephallonia and nigh every day since then. If there was one person Alexios would spend the rest of his life with, it was you. It is only a pity both of you had waited so long to act on the feelings beyond friendship.

The hand on your cheek slips back into your hair and then Alexios' lips find your own. His kiss is everything you've dreamt of and more —a sweet paradox with his rough lips and gentle manner. He pulls away too soon but it is only to watch the soft smile overtake your rosy lips. You comb your fingers through the stubble on his cheek and jaw before leaning forward. As your lips met, he wraps his arms around your middle, keeping you close to him —where he had always kept you in his heart. One chapter in your and Alexios' stories had come to an end, but another had just begun with the rising sun.