It wasn't fair, he mused, as he watched the party-goers do their thing, that he had been dragged from his little cubbyhole lined with his favorite blankets. He had finally been able to go to bed after finishing finals, and Ezio had made sure he wasn't isolating himself before his timer reached zero, dragging him to some impromptu party at the request of his brother to get him out of the house. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to meet his lover. He checked the timer on his hand again.

Three minutes.

He didn't want to meet his lover because he was certain his brother wouldn't approve. His brother was so protective of him, and he was certain he couldn't be a good lover. He was positive, because while he was cute, he was also still younger, and he was pretty sure he would never be what another guy would want.

Yeah, he knew he was gay. He knew he was pathetic, and the kids had told him throughout all of middle school and high school that he wasn't ever going to get his soul mate, or his soul mate would leave him. He had been continually told he was doomed to be alone all his life, but the timer on his hand had reassured him otherwise. He was relatively "excited" to meet his soul mate here—maybe he wouldn't he notice him, in the middle of the party. Maybe he would he be surrounded by people, and he would merely get a hello. Then he wouldn't have to worry about disappointing him or her. He sighed. He was doomed, he realized, to always be the "cute younger brother," and it didn't matter what his brother tried to get him to do (such as baseball instead of tailoring, which he enjoyed much more) or how many karate lessons he took, he would always look effeminate.

He stared at the table as people continued about their ways around him, and he almost wanted to reach for the cheese puffs on the table, but he figured if he did, he'd drop them or be shoved or someone would steal them. There were just too many people in the tiny apartment to be good for one's health. There was so much food right now, and all he wanted to do was curl up in his cubbyhole because his favorite snacks were always within arm's reach. Of course, this would be after he showered again. He still felt gross. He hadn't told Malik about what had happened yesterday as he walked home, and all he actually wanted to do was hide in the bathroom here.

Two minutes.

He could feel an arm wrap around his shoulders from behind. "Hey, faggot, what're you doing over here all by yourself?"

He winced: he knew who it was. It was the guy from last night, the one who had cornered, kissed, and touched him before he had shoved him away and run. He still felt slimy from it. He snarled.

"Go away, Robert," he growled.

"Come on, faggot, you're never gonna get anyone else. Let's go have some fun."

"I don't think so, not after last night at the bar."

"Oh, come on, consider it foreplay."

"Foreplay? Hardly, I would consider rolling around in a bag of poisonous vipers better foreplay."

"You wound me, queerbait. Why don't you open up that tight little ass of yours?"

"Open my ass? Only when shit comes out. Otherwise, I'll wait for my timer to go off before I open anything to a stranger."

He clenched his fists in his pants, trying not to punch him. He didn't want to make a scene at Ezio's party.

"You don't have a timer."

"Yeah, I do. Don't worry—you're not the one otherwise you'd see it."

"Your brother is a happier person than you are right now."

"Funny. I think you should go over there."

One minute—time flew when he had fun.

"No, I think I like it right here, you little fairy. Let's go have some fun."

"You're drunk. Leave me alone."

He winced at the feel of lips on his ear, and he swore he smelled alcohol. He wouldn't be surprised. It was Ezio hosting the party.

"I'm not giving you the option, bitch. Let's go and get it on."

Kadar looked at his hand, cringing.

Thirty seconds.

All he needed was to wait. He tried to jerk away when he felt his tongue on his ear. "St-stop, Robert!"

The man laughed drunkenly and uproarishly. Several people looked at them, and all of them ended up walking away with a grin. They probably thought he was just telling a great joke. He wasn't going to let him get away with his plans. He had no intention of letting him kiss him again like last night. Those malicious eyes turned back on him after the laughter had subsided, and he watched as they looked behind him, only to look thoroughly pissed off, and he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and blinked, only to be met with the most beautiful man in the world crouching in front of him. Golden eyes seemed to be staring straight into him, and the man's face was the most beautiful one he had seen in a long time.

"There you are—is everything okay?"

Kadar swallowed, his face turning bright red as he realized that he could melt just listening to the man talk. He blinked again, nodding slightly.

"I-is n-now that-t you're h-here."

The man smiled softly, rising and sitting on the couch, pulling him into his lap. "Good. I thought you were going to walk off with someone else."

That voice was so quiet and calming, Kadar swallowed and relaxed into his arms as he looked. Robert had vanished.

"Now that he's gone, you owe me a name."

"It's Kadar Al-Sayf."

The man hummed as he rested his head on his shoulder. "Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, soul mate."

His eyes widened, and he swallowed again. He could feel his entire face getting warm as he felt a hand cover the hand with the timer. He watched it be lifted up to have his knuckles kissed by those stunning and perfect lips. Surely, this guy was lying. There was no way he was going to be united forever with this drop-dead gorgeous man. This man needed to be married off to produce more beautiful children. But, as if to prove the man's point, he watched with morbid fascination as his hand was turned over.

The timer was gone.

Desmond sat on the edge of his bed, his bedmate forgotten as he stared at the clock. He was tired, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep after having sex with her, but it was just a few more seconds, then he would officially be eighteen and would get his timer. He squirmed, staring at his hand waiting and watching. He was dying to know how long it would be before he met his soul mate for the first time after turning eighteen. He swallowed, fidgeting on the edge of the bed.

There.

He blinked at the softly glowing blue numbers ticking down the seconds. Surely there was something wrong. His timer had little more than a minute on it. There was no way he was going to meet his soul mate just passed three in the morning after working in the bar (illegally, but he loved it). He stared at it, watching the time count down. Perhaps someone was going to break into his house. Then he would rather kill the damn person over marrying them. He didn't want to have to kill his alleged soul mate. He frowned. There was something wrong. He sighed and went to get up to grab something to defend himself with when he felt a hand grab loosely at his arm.

"Desmond, no."

He turned to look at Adha, her hair all over the pillow and messy as she stared up at him groggily. Her eyes were clouded with sleep as she tried to wake up so she could grab his arm tighter to keep him there as the bed sheets fell away to show him her perfect body. He smiled warmly and took her hand from his arm. She was a year and a half older than him, and he had never been so happy other than when she approached him over Altair (who's timer had gone off after meeting Kadar, since only the partners could see the timers) a year ago. He sat back down and looked at her before letting go of her hand and stretching out to pull her against him again.

"But baby…"

He caught a glance of his hand as he trailed his fingers along her jaw. The timer was missing. He blinked. His timer was gone already. That made absolutely no sense. He furrowed his brow, and as he thought about it, he could feel the pieces coming together before it clicked: Adha was his soul mate. He could feel it within him, a deep happiness welling up inside him, and he could feel himself grinning. She yawned and moved in closer to him. She was starting to wake up—he could tell after sleeping with her for so long. Her face was pressed against his chest, and her arms were tucked in against her as he pulled up the covers to keep the chill of the night off their bare skin. Her skin was smooth and warm beneath his hands, in pale contrast to his darker skin. He supposed he looked "exotic," but Adha was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. He kissed her head, realizing that if his timer had been for anyone else, he probably would have been severely hurt trying to let her go, since she had already taken his heart (she had taken his virginity, too).

"Gotta timer yet?"

"Come, and gone."

He could feel her smile against his chest. "Good. I've been dying for about a year now, waiting. I couldn't wait for you to see your timer, too."

Ezio couldn't believe his timers hadn't gone off yet. For all they were worth, they were driving him up a wall. He threw parties, passing out invites to random strangers on the streets and telling them to bring their friends, just so he could meet his soul mates, and yet, still the damn things kept ticking. Okay, so perhaps he threw the parties regardless of the timers, but he always had hoped they were wrong so he could meet them earlier than anticipated. He was getting frustrated. He had hoped and prayed for his timers to go off earlier. The blue, cryptic numbers were pissing him off. He wanted to rip his arm off. There were two timers, just sitting there, ticking, and he scowled at them as he sat in class, the clocks slowly ticking down through his final year of college and last class of the day. Less than an hour on the timers, and he was stuck in class. He was never going to get out to meet his soul mate.

"Ezio Auditore, please pay attention."

He jerked, staring up at the board.

"Sorry, ma'am," he smiled, "I was thinking about how lovely my soul mates must be to be waiting for so long to meet them."

The girls started whispering, amazed he hadn't found them yet. He had already gone through one major, a business major with minors in Spanish, French, and Italian (since his father was an immigrant), and now he was taking more classes in Chinese, banking, and accounting thanks to his father, who wanted him to become the co-owner. He was already forty, and he was never one much for waiting. It was time for him to meet his soul mates.

"If you can answer this question, the class can go."

He blinked, looking up at the board. Of course he could answer that question. He had already taken this course, and the teacher didn't remember him. He sighed, got up, and answered the question as he packed his bag. The professor looked surprised, and the younger students were cheering. He was more than happy to sling his bag over his shoulder and walk out. It was time for him to go for a walk.

As he paced out of the building and headed toward the park, he mused on his life. He had been successful with his life. He had helped Malik hook up on accident, Kadar, Altair, Cristina (that had broken his heart), his two brothers and his sister, his acquaintance, Salai, and countless other names and faces he didn't remember that had thanked him for his parties. Of course, that had been in his younger years. Now he preferred the bar where Desmond worked during the day, from eight to three so he could see his kids as much as possible. Life was unfair sometimes, but at least he had his family—as Desmond had refused to let William anywhere near his children.

No, he thought as he paced down the path into the park: the timers were unfair.

With a grunt, he sat on a bench, dropping his bag beside him and scratching at his beard.

"Oh, my, your timer's about to go out, isn't it?"

He jerked and looked to the side to see a man older than him smiling at him. He had long blonde hair and a beard.

"H-huh?"

"Your timer," the man said with a warm smile as he nodded at it.

Ezio lifted his arm, frowning as he saw one of the timers frozen at 00:00:00:00:00, no more years, days, hours, minutes, or seconds. It had to have been wrong: he was not gay—not that he hadn't had his fair share of wild flings with men, but he still enjoyed a woman more.

"Leonardo! Leonardo, is that him?"

He blinked, hardly noticing as the second timer went out. A younger woman, maybe in her twenties, with red hair and a petite body came running toward them. She was carrying a stack of books in her arms, and she smiled brilliantly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hi, I'm Sofia Sartori, and this is Leonardo. Are you our second lover?"

"He is, Sofia, if you check your arm…"

He glanced at his own to see the two clocks gone. He blinked. This might be a fair arrangement. He rose and took the books for her, offering her his seat. She blinked and sat, smiling warmly as he gave a half-bow.

"I am Ezio Auditore."

Leonardo chuckled. "It's a pleasure."

And as he spent the rest of the day with them, inviting them over and having dinner with them and his family, he realized that he was going to have a better set of partners than any of the people he had helped set up. And while he would have to get used to Leonardo (not to the idea of a threesome), he was pleased to find out that the blonde man and Sofia were exactly alike. Life may have made him wait for years to meet his soul mates, but they were going to be more than worth it, if the shocked expressions on his parents' faces were anything to go by as he introduced them to both of his newfound lovers.

I guess... I don't know. What do you think?