No excuses. I noticed that even though I've neglected this story for months, people still favourite or watch. It boggles me and has given me the drive to start writing once again. Since Christmas break is upon me and finals are finishing I have more time to write instead of study. –Author

Chapter 7

"Ah-ha, the first cut! This is so exciting!" Leonardo was beside himself with glee. A fresh new body, a new dissection kit and to top it all off the disease the poor fellow had succumbed to was unheard of. Discovery always made Leonardo giddy, in a sense. After the event of the early afternoon, and the night before, this was exactly what Leonardo needed to get him back on his intellectual game. Not to mention that discovering a new disease and a possible cure would help mankind, boost his reputation etc etc.

With his mind completely focused on the one hundred and fifty pound lump of dead cells and bodily fluids, it never once crossed Leonardo's mind as to what became of Ezio the night before. It didn't matter to him at the moment, as opportunity was knocking at Leonardo's mental door.

Ezio hadn't left his room all day. He couldn't bring himself to do anything other than sulk around in his own self pity. He hadn't meant to do any of the things he accused himself of towards Leonardo. His conscience was beginning to weigh down on him like never before. To him, it seemed like a sort of irony. Killing hundreds of innocent men (and guilty ones) to accomplish his mission never fazed him before. But a simple tug on his heart string sent him reeling into a guilt ridded spiral of depression. For an assassin of his caliber, it was pathetic.

"I cannot sit around like this forever...it is making me miserable..." Finding some strength, he got up and changed into fresh clothing. As he went to discard the soiled shirt and breeches, he realised that they were not since own.

"Cazzo! I can't stop taking from him! What is wrong with me?" The rage began to bubble up inside Ezio but he calmed himself and went to fetch some water instead. He had to wash Leonardo's clothes before bringing them back to the inventor.

It was the first time Ezio had done laundry. Usually the whole 'assassin' thing kept him on the run for days at a time with no rest. Which meant bathing wasn't always an option. When his stink began to attract guards and repel women, he knew it was time to get cleaned off. At which point he would just jump in a river and swim around. Free running around the roofs of the cities would dry him soon enough afterword. When he was at home, he had his sister and his mother, who seemed to do housework (including laundry) in their sleep (at least, Ezio never saw them do it, but the house was always spotless and he always had clean clothing to wear.).

After struggling to figure out the initial method of scrubbing the sweat out with his hands, and a good half hour later, Leonardo's clothes no longer smelled of sweat and sex. The only matter left was to let them dry in the afternoon sun and cool summer breeze.

After an hour, Leonardo had successfully cut open his body, isolated the bacteria in the lungs and sealed it away in a jar for further study. With the man interest of the body gone, Leonardo had then proceeded to check out the 'interesting things' the man had swallowed that Nicolo had mentioned. He was right, there were some interesting things in the man's stomach. A chess piece for one.

After which is was only a matter of checking if the lung disease had caused any other visible signs of destruction, which it hadn't, then closing the body up and then waiting for a body pick up the next day. It was a job well done. Once the area had been sterilized and properly cleaned, Leonardo took off his mask and wiped away the sweat on his brow. His heart was still beating fast.

And it soon the pace speed up, as Leonardo remembered the dirty secret he had hidden away in his room. Ascending the staircase, Leonardo creep into his bedroom, keeping a watchful eye on the non-existent nosey neighbours. Hung up over a chair were the clothes Ezio had left behind from the night before. Unwashed, they reeked of his scent, a smell Leonardo had come to enjoy far too much. He gently picked up the tunic and breathed deeply. This was the smell of Ezio, one that Leonardo would never tire of. It smelled of passion, strength, determination, all of the things Ezio had. It even smelled sexy, if that was even possible. Leonardo felt the smallest tinged of shame when he realised how turned on his was.

Another deep inhale and Leonardo almost couldn't take it anymore. The erotic scent drove him wild in his current state and all of the memories of their sexual encounter in the bathroom had made the feeling welling up inside him unbearable. He dashed to the window and locked it, closing the curtains as he did. The door to the room was also tightly bared. No one would witness his next shameful action.

With no chance of a possible surprise witness, Leonardo striped himself quickly and soaked in Ezio's smell. He caressed his body with the trousers and imagined that the silk fabric was brushing up against his naked body, not because of his own doing but because Ezio was touching him with his soft, gentle hands.

Leonardo's member was burning red, so filled with blood it stood erect and fully hardened. Longing for a quick release, Leonardo knew better and slowly pumped himself with Ezio's shirt. The sensation drove him wild and he fought with his body not to move faster, but to savour every second of this exotic ecstasy. His tip was leaking precum thought the silk top and though it hadn't already been long, Leonardo's mind was more powerful than his matter. The detailed images rushing thought his head sent him into a frenzy of moans and grunts. He could no longer stand.

"Ahh...hn...gh...E-...Ezio..." The name came out slowly but seemed sudden. It didn't surprise Leonardo; he knew his feelings for the assassin from the start. The strange mix of lust, desire, and love powered Leonardo through tougher days.

"Ohh Ezio...cazzo...fuck me...Ahhhh!" With a final yell of pure rapture, Leonardo came into the smooth fabric of Ezio's hand. The shirt, now more soiled than to begin with, contained Leonardo's essence and love for the assassin he desired more than anything in the world. Leaving the dirtied garment alone would make it harder to clean. He basked in his afterglow for a small while longer, then dressed himself and proceeded to clean all of Ezio's clothing. He knew that Ezio would come to pick them up eventually and they were going to be nice and clean when he got them back.

Doing some laundry had somehow brightened Ezio's spirits. Pretending to be a normal citizen in the city of Venezia was something he only got to do when he was blending in to throw off the men chasing him. It was a nice feeling, rustic and long forgotten. The cooling breeze tickled his nose and he sneezed. Recovering he thought to himself aloud.

"I cannot allow this whole thing with Leonardo keep me unfocused. I will repay him for everything he has done for me. But...I don't think I can do this alone." Ezio was right about that. When it came to love between men and women, Ezio was a master. But showing gratitude to a man like Leonardo was completely different. A quick embrace and a pat on the back wouldn't cut it. He needed help. And he knew just the person capable of understanding his needs.

Sister Teodora found that men were more open to religious change when it was presented in a different matter. That being a strange form of sacrilegious prostitution. Although the methods were different, the church Sister Teodora ran couldn't simply be called a brothel. Ezio knew she would be wise in the methods of pleasing men and even though he didn't plan to please Leonardo in the same way, she was sure to be helpful.

Sprinting along the rooftops with the near setting sun guiding him, he headed towards the Dorsodoro district.

At this time of the day, shops began closing up, but the city didn't shut down with the merchant's schedule. The night life was only just beginning and Venezia's residents were filing out into the streets to celebrate a long day's work with dancing, alcohol, and prostitutes. La Rosa Della Virtù was particularly busy tonight.

Pushing his way through the crowd of horny and quite possibly sexually deprived men, Ezio went in search for Teodora.

As the leader of the courtesans, she wasn't always involved with the main activity on the bottom floor. Many a time she would just observe from the inside balcony that circled around the main room where her girls entertained the guests. Of course, the purpose of Teodora's 'business' was not to charm and massage men to a happy ending but to convert them to a different faith. Anything else was just a favourable product of the initial plan. When Teodora wasn't keeping an eye out for her girls, she was in the back room, attending to men of higher social standing, men who needed a special treatment.

However when Ezio found Teodora, she was indeed watching the scene from above, but not her own girls. Recently there had been a large amount of women coming to La Rosa Della Virtù, but they were not seeking guidance from other women. Teodora had previously hired a very feminine male to work for her, but upon realising his true gender, couldn't bring herself to fire him. Instead she discovered that she was above to reach the other 50% of the population of Venezia through gorgeous men. It was working wonderfully.

"I see you have some new people in your employ Sister."

"Ezio! What a surprise, so good to see you." She smirked to herself about this. As an assassin herself she had the skills to detect matters in other people, especially men. Ezio was wearing normal clothing, something that never happened. Thinking back to her breakfast with Leonardo a few days ago, she concluded that the assassin was here because of him.

"Si Sigorina, it is always a pleasure." Ezio's natural charm around the women immediately took over, as he grasped her delicate hand and placed a gentle kiss upon it. "I have missed seeing your radiant beauty."

'Don't say things like that assassino, you'll make someone jealous.' "Grazie Ezio. Please, sit with me." The upstairs balcony was a restricted area for customers and not many, save for Teodora, were allowed to roam there anyway, but it was well furnished enough for more than just one person. The two took a seat on a plush love seat overlooking the newer section of the building, where the men met the women's needs.

"I know why your here Ezio. You need help with Leonardo." The statement surprised Ezio but he didn't show it.

"You are right. Leonardo has been an important asset in all my missions and my goal. He never fails to deliver, as an inventor and as a good friend. I feel that it would not be right for me not to repay him somehow."

"Ah yes that is quite the predicament. I think I may be able to help you Ezio." Gesturing to the main floor, Ezio's attention is drawn to a younger man escorting a group of young ladies.

"You already possess great skill when it comes to women, much like all the men in my employ. But what you lack is the skill to please men. Why don't you watch some of my girls work for a while? You may pick up something useful that can help you with your problem." Getting up, she turned and spoke with her back to Ezio. "If you are still conflicted, I'm sure you will find a solution but simply confronting the problem directly." With that she left Ezio to his business.

"Confront the problem directly..." If was an idea but Ezio could not waste the opportunity Sister Teodora had given him. He switched seats to overlook the female courtesans working their magic on the males. His eyes rested on a younger looking girl, blond and quite pretty.

"Oh Signore Angelo, your muscles have gotten so big since you last came." She spoke to a pompous old man who looked like he hadn't tried to tone his body for a decade. His laughter boomed out like the loudest of cannons.

"AHAHAH! Now that you mention it, I have been picking up extra shifts at the dock." Clearly to pay for all of the trips to La Rosa Della Virtù. It didn't seem like watching them would be too helpful. He switched to another couple and regretted it instantly as he noticed that a curtain had been drawn for privacy. No one else may have been able to see what occurred next but Ezio's top down view permitted him to observe, even if he didn't chose to. Ezio seemed to lack the parts to perform those actions towards Leonardo (in his mind at least).

Other than that one scarring memory, it didn't seem like any of the other courtesans were doing anything other than making false compliments to please the guests. Ezio wasn't simply going to lie to Leonardo to make him feel good about himself. It would sound ridiculous and it was no way to repay a great inventor and friend.

It was unfortunate but nothing Ezio was seeing was helping him. Almost everything was a combination of blatant lies and sexual deeds.

Ezio was still conflicted. He would have to deal with his problem directly.

Well I managed to get some sex in there but I'm still building up to important events. I've been craving good, nice long reviews for this story for a while so please give me my Christmas wish. - Author