Machiavelli cursed silently, feeling the burn of the sun on his exposed back. Mornings were not his preferred choice of day. He stirred to stretch, then froze, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Buongiorno," purred an annoyingly familiar voice. Oh, here we go again. Machiavelli suddenly regretted leaving his window unlocked. He sat up, purposely facing away from his visitor.

"Hello, Volpe. To what do I owe the grace of your presence this morning?" He didn't even bother to conceal the malice in his voice. The thief wasn't welcome, and he knew it. He circled around the bed, stepping within the politician's eyesight.

"No need to worry," Volpe raised his hands in reassurance, quickly sensing the Assassin's irritation. "I'm here on strictly business. Don't shoot the messenger." A wry smile spread across his mouth. Machiavelli huffed impatiently. Mornings were not the right time to deal with infuriating thieves. Or any time, for that matter. "Speak quickly. Some of us have noble work to do."

Volpe sighed. "And here I thought we were making such great progress. Oh, well. Pessimists will be pessimists. Anyhow, Claudia requires our help. It seems someone has been harassing her girls…again."

"Why does she not go for her brother for help?"

"Claudia realizes how busy Ezio can be, so she requested our help. She needs us, Niccolo. No amount of slacking will make this problem go away. And I'm positive that you would rather help a fellow Assassin than deal with paperwork." His violet eyes bored into Machiavelli's.

The politician waved his hand impatiently. "Fine, fine. I'll meet you at the brothel in an hour."

La Volpe nodded solemnly, then turned to leave through the window. He placed a foot on the sill, then paused. "Oh, Machiavelli?"

"Si?"

"You might want to start locking your window. You never know what kind of monster could come in."

A book traveled through the air, aimed for the fox's backside, but he was already gone.

*cough* So, first fanfiction! This was supposed to be a oneshot, but then a nasty plot bug made a home in my cranial cavity, and this was born. Urm, I'm sorry this is so short, but I promise, there will be tons more to come. Expect heaps of distrust and sass from both parties. 'Cause, y'know, Machiavelli and La Volpe have to behave like ten year olds toward each other. Mrmm, I'm getting all excited at the thought.

Ooh, look! I see people with keyboards and knowledge of the English language! I wonder what they're capable of… (Reviews are greatly appreciated)

~Lynn