Handmade Embarrassment

Fanfiction by Krystal Shepard

Okay, so the italicized part is in the prequel for this fic, "Handmande Beginnings." Expect it to be posted as soon as I am finished with it.

This tells what I think Desmond did to deal with his Bleeding Effect symptoms. Not going any further into it, you shall understand once I am through with the fic.

Yeah... Not going to like playing through Assassin's Creed III... Especially the end...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations mentioned. I only own what Dezzy is embarrassed about.

-thisisaline-

Shaun mused, "Oh, what do we have here?" He had only meant to look for Desmond in the sleeping area the younger man had set up for himself. Having not found him, however, Shaun decided to take it upon himself to see if there was anything to further his quest to embarrass Desmond hidden somewhere. At first he had thought that his search would come up empty. There was nothing when they had his stuff moved out of the ordinary, and there was so little personal time and space in all the other hideouts to hide anything like that...

Which made finding the rather large white box under Desmond's bed all the more enjoyable to the Brit. "I wonder what this could be..?" he asked, dragging the box out from under Desmond's bed and into the open. A large red Assassin's symbol was drawn onto the lid in bright red sharpie - Shaun could make out small imperfections in the actual symbol - with the words, "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted," written underneath in the scrawl that is Desmond Miles' handwriting. Shaun gave a smug grin. "A secret porn stash? Pictures maybe? Oh, I can't wait to open this!" The historian lifted the box, and decided that this would do nicely in his goal to embarrass Desmond. He wouldn't have done such a good job in hiding it from them for who-knows-how-long if it wasn't important to him.

After all, nothing can be kept secret from Shaun for long. Nothing.

-thisisialine-

Desmond was just reentering the main chamber of the Grand Temple when Shaun announced, "Gents and Lady, look at what one Desmond Miles managed to hide from us," as he dropped Desmond's white box onto a relatively level surface. The young Assassin froze in terror, his amber eyes locked onto his box.

'Shit.'

Rebecca perked up once she saw the box. "One, you called me a lady; this is an improvement. Two, where did you find this?" she asked, moving to where Shaun deposited it. A smug grin was gracing Shaun's face, and dread started to join the terror. Even before Shaun said anything, Desmond was scrambling over the broken stairs.

"Under his bed."

Rebecca whistled. "Oh, this will be good."

Desmond made it to their side of the main walkway. "Shaun, no, please don't open that!" he begged, panicking. He managed to grasp onto Shaun's arm, and let his body drop. That did not seem to stop the elder man from shaking his head at Desmond, that smug grin forming into a smirk. William, at his son's actions, suddenly seemed interested in their actions. Desmond closed his eyes tightly to refrain from seeing William's almost knowing smile.

"Now son, you're around the right age. We know what might be inside that box, it'll be all right," William said, almost reassuring Desmond from his panicked state. The young man, however, shook his head vehemently in response. Shaun slid his arm out from Desmond's grasp, so he wrapped his arms around the historian's waist.

"No you don't, please Shaun, don't open that-"

Shaun tore the lid of the box off with a flourish.

Silence reigned for about a minute. Then...

"Plushies?" Shaun asked incredulously, looking down at the Assassin clinging to him tightly. "Plushies of your ancestors?"

Desmond flushed slightly, burrowing his face into Shaun's side. "Yeah," he whimpered.

Rebecca squealed loudly, "Oh my god, it's Leonardo!" Desmond peeked at her slightly to see her squeezing the Leonardo plushie. "He's perfect, and so squishy!" Desmond smiled slightly as Shaun pushed Desmond off of him.

"Oof!"

Shaun, glaring daggers at Desmond, gently picked up the Malik plushie that was sitting, recently repaired, at the top of the pile. "This was what you were doing, hording all the old clothes?" Desmond slowly nodded his head.

He, unnecessarily, explained, "I was compartmentalizing the Bleeding Effect; projecting the personality and memories into something constructive, and not harmful to my mind. I made sure, because of it, that every single detail on them is perfect." He heard Shaun whistle, and looked up from when his chin had fallen to his chest. The historian was turning Malik this way and that, examining the Dai's robes and clothes in general.

"This is exact, even for a yank like you." Desmond pouted. "Even then, how did you come up with this?"

Shaun somehow managed to ask his question over Rebecca's second squeal, this one of, "Crazy uncle Mario! And Giovanni!" All three men looked at the only girl and shook their heads. Then Desmond had Shaun's eyes on him, and if that weren't as distracting as annoying he was dead, a dead little gay soul.

Desmond shook his head. "Its... Lucy helped me come up with it. Right after we got to the hideout..."

-thisisaline-

Desmond glanced around at the small room he was given. His first day back in the Animus certainly went better than any other time in Abstergo. Luckily, he was allowed to exit it soon after entering Rebecca's "Baby," which was when he was shown right across the room to where his bed was.

Behind a glass fence.

In the same room as the damn thing.

'God damn my life.' Desmond shook his head as he shrugged out of his hoodie, leaving him in his dark gray tee shirt and his ever present jeans. 'He already hates me enough.' Desmond scratched the back of his head as he sat down on the slightly more comfortable, but not by much, bed than what he was once sleeping on.

"Hey Dez," a familiar feminine voice said. Desmond looked over his shoulder, considering he was facing away from the Animus section of the room. Lucy was leaning against the glass fence, a smile on her face. Desmond smiled back at her. He always found her so easy to look at, although he was not interested in her other than the feelings a brother would have. "Can I come over?"

Desmond only jerked his head, not really feeling in the mood for talking. His back and arms actually felt like he has been free running across Florence. Luckily, Lucy knew what the head jerk was about, and opened the door into his little, completely open room. "What do you need, Luce?" he asked quietly as she walked to his side of the room. Lucy shook her head as she sat down next to him.

"It's nice to see you interacting with them. And you seem to be handling Shaun decently." Desmond raised an eyebrow.

"You mean he's always that much of an ass?" Lucy gave a lady-like snort in response. Desmond shook his head at that. "Well then, I will keep that in mind." They stayed in silence for several minutes, until Desmond finally got uncomfortable. "Anything I can do for you, Lucy?" The blonde woman shrugged.

"Just wanting to know how you want to deal with the Bleeding Effect. It can really fuck with your mind, and... I just want to make sure we don't make the same mistake." That last part was said softer than the rest, and Desmond did a double take when looking at her. 'Shit, this has happened before? No wonder...' However, Desmond decided to keep his large trap shut. This Subject Sixteen seemed to be a rough spot in Lucy's past during her stay in Abstergo, and he did not want to make it worse. So, instead of focusing on that, he decided to think about her suggestion.

"...what do you mean?" he asked hesitantly, golden amber eyes glancing over at the female next to him. Lucy chuckled slightly and elbowed him in the ribs.

"You know, something constructive. Something that you can place all the memories and feelings into, other than your own mind," she said, a small smile on her lips. Desmond hummed, thinking the idea over. Lucy took his silence minutes later as an acceptance, considering he got a hand on his shoulder and a, "Get some sleep, all right?" Desmond absently nodded his head, mind still in the idea Lucy had blossomed.

-thisisaline-

Desmond shook his head, a small, sad smile on his lips that turned into a grimace upon remembering him plunging his hidden blade into her stomach. Shaun was humming as he started moving Malik's stub of an arm. "No wonder," he murmured. Desmond cringed slightly, as he imagined Malik biting Shaun for even daring to touch his left arm. Oh, he was so going to have to explain this one...

"...he doesn't like having his left arm messed with..."

Shaun glared at him, chocolate brown eyes holding confusion and anger in them. "Desmond, it's plush. The real Malik has been dead for nearly a thousand years."

Desmond shook his head. "No, I meant-" He paused to sigh and take a deep breath before continuing. "Logically, I know this. However, the side of me that has Altaïr's memories is currently cursing you out for touching something that Malik absolutely hated, period." Turning his attention to the tech that was setting up the Plushies on the surface that the box was set on, Desmond added, "Speaking of, there's an Altaïr, Ezio, and Conner in there as well." He then also noticed what his father seemed almost mesmerized by.

"Son, are these... clothes for them?" William held up what looked like part of Ezio's gray robes from the travel to Masyaf. Desmond flushed brightly at that as Rebecca then jumped at the small former pencil box he was using to hold Ezio's different outfits.

"By the Queen, Desmond, you are a girl." Thank you, Shaun.

Desmond's flush grew as he sputtered. "I-I am not! You really wanted more than ONE Ezio Auditore da Firenze?!" Rebecca hummed slightly, and Desmond added, "The outfits was as far as I was going with him."

Shaun and William rolled their eyes. Rebecca, who had found all three Assassin's, Haytham along with them, and was currently holding them, set all but Ezio down, then took the pencil box away from William. She had a smile on her face, and Desmond knew what she was doing before she even started: Rebecca was sorting out Ezio's outfits and deciding which to dress him in this time. He shook his head as the first, "Which one?," was asked of the air surrounding Rebecca.

He felt the eyebrow twitches come from William and Shaun, and decided he needed to leave. Now.

"Okay, well, while you all are going through my coping with the Bleeding Effect, I'm going to go crawl in a hole now." Desmond managed to slip past Shaun and William, but Rebecca snagged onto his arm before he could get past her.

"Wait, can I get one?" she asked, her eyes bright with alligator tears. Desmond stared at her for a couple of seconds before relenting.

"Fine. Who do you want-"

"Lucy?"

Rebecca asked in such a small voice that Desmond had to blink a couple of times in disbelief. Then, a small smile appeared on his face, and he whispered, "Wait here and play with the plush. All of Ezio's family is in there also." Rebecca broke out in a large smile, and he got her arms thrown around his neck.

Once she released him, Desmond turned and traversed back to his private space.

-thisisaline-

Shaun leaned against one of the pillars that marked the edge of Desmond's private space, not going past his current position. He was already pushing it with how close he was. He watched the ripple of muscle as the younger man - 'A mere recruit we are forcing to be a master Assassin,' Shaun thought ruefully - bent down next to a wall and pulled out a smaller box from a crevice in the stonework. "So, there was more," he said in a small voice, unnecessarily announcing himself to the young man. Desmond gave him a glare that made his look like simple stares, making Shaun actually regret doing what he did. "Listen, mate, I'm sorry that I brought your secret out in the open, but-" Before he could continue, Desmond was pushing a small blonde plush into his hands.

"Tell Rebecca I'm working on her jacket, and leave me alone."

With that, Shaun was once again left staring at Desmond's back - and backside - as the, now very grumpy, younger man walked back over to the second little box he was hiding. Shaun nearly said something else in return, to spark up their normal banter, but cut himself short. Desmond was clearly agitated with Shaun already, and saying anything else could cause all the hard work Desmond has done to turn to ashes.

So instead of saying anything, Shaun lingered at the edge of the private space as he watched Desmond pull out a plush from the box and hold it close to his chest. He eventually sighed and slowly walked away, examining what had been deposited in his hands. All the while, though, he felt eyes boring into his back.

It turns out that Desmond had made a Lucy plushie at one point, much to the shock of the Brit holding it on his way to the main group. Almost every detail was correct, from her shirt, that Shaun recognized as made from the actual shirt material, to her pants after leaving Abstergo. He had even managed to find big, bright blue buttons for the eyes, and the exact shade of yellow for her blonde hair. Shaun stopped when he got close to where they were set up, and smiled. Of course he would pay so much attention to the details of the modern day Assassin's that surrounded him.

Which made Shaun think back to that second box Desmond was hiding, and who all could be in there.

Shaking his head, he looked around the corner to see Rebecca actually setting up all the plush. "This is how it should of happened," she was saying, causing William to shake his head at that. Shaun knew the Mentor spotted him, and gave William a smirk. He hid back behind the wall, and stuck the Lucy plushie out around the corner.

In a high pitched, girly voice, he said, "Rebecca, I'm home."

Silence followed. The gentle shuffle of heeled boots signaled Rebecca turning around.

The squeal that followed just confirmed it.

"Lucy!"

Shaun's hand holding the plushie was tackled, and he quickly let the plush go so that Rebecca did not bring him down to the floor. A large smile was on his face, for once, and William walked over to where the two were currently standing. "Wait," she said, pulling the Lucy plushie away from her chest, looking it over. "He could not of made this so fast and have it so well made." She looked at Shaun, who shrugged and raised his eyebrows. "He had another box?"

Shaun quirked his lips slightly, and then Rebecca was off running in the direction of Desmond's private space. William shook his head. "My son makes dolls, and my tech support plays with them. This was not what I had imagined when I brought this team together." Shaun snorted.

"I do believe, sir, that nobody imagined this to happen," he said, a touch of humor in his voice. William gave him a look that told him to shut up.

Just in time for Rebecca to zoom by them, with Desmond yelling, "Rebecca, get back here!," following right behind her. The Animus technician cackled, and William and Shaun shared a confused look. Shaun was the first to walk into the work area, with Desmond running in right after him. "God damn it, Rebecca, do you have to open that?" he asked, moving right next to where she was placing the second box onto the same level surface that Shaun had placed the first onto.

"Yes! Especially if these are as cute as your others," she rationalized, holding up a finger to stop Desmond from arguing. Shaun could tell the younger man rolled his eyes, and just shook his own head. Rebecca opened the box slowly, and this time Desmond did not stop her like he did when Shaun opened the first box. Instead, he only stood there, fidgeting and gaining a quite large flush. She stared at the contents for a couple seconds, and then quietly reached inside to pull what looked like a plushie of her out of the box. "You made plushies of us?" she asked, looking up at Desmond with a soft look on her face.

Desmond sighed and looked away. "It helped to ground me in this time period," he said petulantly. Shaun walked forwards to look inside to see what looked like plushies of all of them.

"Me, William, Lucy obviously, Shaun... Is that Clay, also?" Rebecca asked, glancing at Desmond. He flushed brighter before nodding. "Huh... And I take it that is your mother?"

Shaun knew William had perked up at that. He hadn't seen his wife in months.

"And I see you even made one of yourself, and... A Warren Vidic with an arm and a leg missing?" Desmond snorted at the weird look he received.

"Voodoo doll. Me and Lucy had so much fun stabbing him with needles and cutting off his arm and leg," he said, a proud smile on his face. "The one thing we agreed on about our versions of anger management: taking it out on Vidic." Shaun shook his head at that as he picked up the plushie of himself. William was not far behind him in snatching the plushie of his wife and cradling it to his chest.

Shaun turned the plushie in his hands several times, taking in how rumpled it looked. "Is... is this what you think I look like? All rumpled and such?" Shaun asked, holding it up for Desmond's inspection. The younger man's flush encompassed his entire face, and Desmond refused to look at the plush in his hands.

"No." The younger man turned and walked away from the small group. Shaun raised an eyebrow, and looked at the plushie while making the plushie look up at him. The historian followed behind the young recruit, insistent on getting his answers.

"Then why the bloody hell is this one more wrinkled than the others? Don't tell me that you slept with this one?" Silence was Shaun's only answer. He stopped walking and stared at Desmond'sback. "Wait, you have been sleeping with the plushie of me you made. Should I be taking this out of context and assume that you like me?"

He received a blank stare from the young recruit. "What do you think? You seem to think you're smarter than everyone around you." Desmond then continued walking. Shaun did the same thing with the plushie that he had done before, and this time the plush nodded.

"Fuck."