Shaun took great pride in the fact that he did not sleep with Desmond that night. Seriously, he deserved a medal or something. That isn't to say that Desmond didn't trail kisses and gentle touches all over Shaun's body in places that made his breath hitch and his toes curl. Or that he didn't kiss him in that spot just underneath his bellybutton that made his stomach jump. Oh no, not at all. Medal? More like the Nobel Peace Prize.

And so the pair lay in the warm afterglow of confession, talking nonsense about nonsense and simply enjoyed each others' company. Desmond had somehow wound up wearing Shaun's Fred Perry sweater, but Shaun didn't mind.

He also didn't mind the smug look Rebecca gave him when she innocently wandered in the next morning. Shaun just gave her a lopsided smile, glasses askew. Really, he knew he should have been singing her praises and running around carving statues in her likeness out of solid blocks of marble. The fact he wasn't riling him up as per usual seemed to ruin her fun, and she soon left. Shaun figured he'd save that tidbit of knowledge for later date.

Desmond peeked up at him from under the folds of the comforter.

"Gotta 'member to thank Lucy." He mumbled.

"What's that?"

"'S whole dancing thing was her 'dea."

Shaun raised an eyebrow.

Dancing Thing?

If Rebecca wasn't such a bloody saint, and Shaun wasn't so enamoured with the being in his bed, he'd have gone out and skewered the Yank in a second.

That girl couldn't keep a secret to save her life.

Ezio unwrapped himself from Leonardo's torso as he woke, careful not to disturb the sleeping artist. Dusting a pair of light kisses over Leonardo's eyelids, he watched with glee as Leonardo's mouth curved into a smile. The blonde's eyes fluttered open and he sat up, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Buongiorno, Ezio." He murmured.

Ezio grinned, reclaiming his place on the artist as he lounged across Leonardo's lap like a cat, practically purring. Leonardo laughed, resisting the urge to scratch Ezio's chin or rub his stomach.

"Oh, Ezio. I still have no clue what I'm going to do with you."

Ezio looked up at him, solemn. "The life I lead…it's unpredictable. I can't… I can't always stay by your side when you need me. I won't be able to watch you flourish, or grow old-"

Leonardo put a finger to Ezio's lips, cutting him off.

"Ezio, I know. It hurts me, too, but we have this moment, and perhaps others to come, so let us enjoy them while they last." Tracing his finger over Ezio's scar, he drew in for a kiss as Ezio threaded his hands though Leonardo's hair, pulling him closer.

Desmond looked at Shaun intently, brows knitted.

"We don't really have a "relationship environment" type-thing going on, do we?"

Shaun rolled his eyes. "Desmond, sometimes you are just so dense. You think I didn't know that?" Desmond flinched at his words, and Shaun felt his heat sink. He sighed, reaching out to stroke Desmond's cheek.

"We certainly don't have all the time in the world to be together, but we have now, and I intend to make use of it." Shaun grabbed Desmond's waist and hauled the man into his lap for a hug. Desmond dug his face into Shaun's shoulder, inhaling the scent of metal, old books, and earl grey. Shaun comforted the man on top of him, kissing him along the line of his jaw. Desmond looked up at him, bleary eyed.

"Can this become, an…uh, you know… regular thing?"

Shaun rolled his eyes again. "So dense. How do you even function?" His mouth quirked into a smile as he drew Desmond in for a kiss. "Idiot."

Ezio finished getting dressed, glancing out the window at the carnage in the streets from last night's events. Carnivale bled streams of colour all over the city. Leonardo strode in, carrying some painting supplies. Ezio sighed.

"I…I have to go now."

"I understand. I hope I will see you again soon, Ezio. Make sure to say thank you to Rosa and Antonio for me."

"And you make sure you get started on those commiss- wait, Rosa and Antonio? What did they do for you?"

Leonardo gave a wry smile, glancing at Ezio's mask that still lay on the table beside him. "Oh, nothing."

~Fin

A/N: Welp, it sure has been a long ride! I apologize for how long it's taken me to finish this lovey. No hard feelings? Naaah. Anywho, A huge shout out to all my alertists and reviewers, you've been awesome! This story is now complete, although I may give it a run through and fix my errors.

(Hey anonyhat, I haven't had a chance to personally thank you due to your anonymity, but thanks for your multiple reviews on many of my works, they were very encouraging and I greatly enjoyed reading them!)

NINS OUT!