Warming Up

It was November in Venice, and the weather was slowly turning colder. While the sun still shined brightly on most days, it was obvious that the summer season was ending. The rainfall had increased too, threatening many a festival for some weeks. It was only a matter of time, before the rainfall turned into snow.

It was late in the evening, where Ezio found himself sitting atop of one of the many tall buildings in the beautiful city. Golden-brown eyes stayed on the sky, where the noticed the clouds were becoming darker and darker by the minute. Rain could be coming, but the sky's looked like that all day…he thought, as he looked back down at the city below his feet. Despite the darkening sky, people were still out and about, keeping themselves busy in the marketplace, or just going out for a walk with friends or loved ones.

Ezio grunted, as he shifted his position, allowing his legs to dangle over the edge. His body ached slightly, and it was no surprise. Earlier that day, he had completed yet another assassination mission. The assassination was simple enough, however the man's guards raised the alarm quite quickly and soon Ezio found himself fighting off at least thirty guards, before finally escaping. They didn't do any major damage other than the usual scratches and bruises, though a head-strong guard did managed to get a good blow at Ezio's left arm. A make-shift bandage made out of a strip from his cape was now wrapped around it, though it had quit bleeding awhile ago. I should still get it looked at, though…. he thought, gingerly touching the area.

Then it rained.

It wasn't soft or gentle. No…it started pouring instantly.

Ezio let out a yelp, as he was almost instantly soaked with cold water. He stood up, swearing softly under his breath. Normally, the rain wouldn't have bothered him. But being close to the winter season, the rain was uncomfortably cold and the breeze that followed wasn't making things better. Top that off with it being night, and things got extremely colder.

"One of the few times I don't want to be wet…." he muttered under his breath, trying and failing to wring out his assassin's robes. The rain was doing a good job of having the robes become much heavier than they needed to be. Even the hood was starting to stick to his head. Ezio knew that he would have to seek out some type of shelter soon, before he found himself sick and unable to do anything.

He quickly remembered that Leonardo da Vinci was back in Venice. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ezio was glad that he had shelter from the rain. The only bad part was…that Leonardo's workshop was on the other side of the great city of Venice.

"Merda." swore Ezio softly, as he started bounding across the rooftops in the heavy rain, praying that the artist wouldn't mind him dropping in…completely sopping wet.

***

Leonardo whistled under his breath, as he looked out the window. One moment, the streets were dry and the skies were dark. Now, one could barely see a foot in front of their own face, the rain was coming down so hard. Thankfully the artist had no commissions to deliver that evening—there was no way that he would be able to deliver painting in this kind of weather.

"I wonder how long this one will last…" he muttered under his breath, as he attempted to organize the various objects on his desk. It had gotten to the point where something was falling off every time Leonardo even sat down. After a bottle of ink got smashed on the floor and left a nasty stain, he found it high time to organize, even a little bit. However this kept him distracted from the line of commissions that he had yet to do. While he didn't have any to deliver tonight, the rest of the week was a different story.

This rain doesn't provide much inspiration either. he thought, with a frown. When the sun shone brightly in Venice, he found that the buildings, the canals, and even the people became more beautiful and worthy to sketch. However, during the rain and gloom, only the depressing parts of the city seemed to stand out to Leonardo. Sole,sole…ritorno a Venezia.

While moving a few things around on his desk, Leonardo found his thoughts drifting to his friend, Ezio Auditore. It had been a few weeks since he had last visited, but the artist was used to Ezio's disappearances. But that didn't stop him from worrying about him. Too many times, the assassino came back wounded and exhausted. Not all the visits were (thankfully) like that, though. Even if there was no business to be discussed, Ezio always found time to drop in and shoot the breeze with Leonardo, if even for a handful of minutes.

I wonder where he could be…

Leonardo came back to the present, thanks to the knocking at his door. For a moment, he did nothing but stare at it, before realizing that someone was really there. Swearing softly under his breath (and almost tripping over the leg of a chair), the artist made his way to the door, "Mi dispiace, mi dispiace! I'm coming!"

The sight that greeted him when he opened the door, was a soaking wet, yet smiling, Ezio Auditore.

"Buona sera, mio amico. …May I come in? Its rather chilly out here…" said Ezio, the smile on his face looking like it was frozen on.

Leonardo was stunned for a moment at Ezio's appearance; as it looked like the assassin had decided to go swimming in the canals on this cold evening. Knowing that wasn't the case, the artist immediately stepped aside, inviting him in, "Of course, of course! Get in here, before you catch cold!"

Ezio didn't hesitate, as he nearly ran inside Leonardo's workshop. It was so much warmer than outside, that he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He stared down at his feet, as he realized that in the few seconds that he had stepped inside, a puddle of rainwater was already starting to form. Wow…

"Why were you out in such a rainfall?" asked Leonardo, as he closed the door and stepped closer to the soaked assassin. It was then that he realized that he was actually shivering. It was slight, but it was definitely noticeable.

"I was on the other side of Venice, just relaxing." said Ezio, as he pulled down his hood. He frowned, as he almost had to peel it off of his head. Even while covered, his hair was soaked as well, "The clouds have been dark for awhile, so I didn't expect this kind of rainfall. I kind of got caught off-guard…"

"Didn't you think rain was soon to come, viewing the clouds?"

"The sky's been dark for a few days, so I thought nothing of it."

"You couldn't smell the rain?"

"…You can smell rain coming?"

Leonardo sighed with a smile and shook his head, at Ezio's innocent expression. Knowing that Ezio was still freezing, he went back to business, "Anyways, you had better take off those wet clothes. I'll get a warm towel to dry you off."

"Grazie, Leo." said Ezio, smiling at his friend. As he walked off, Ezio immediately started taking apart the assassin's robes that were currently plastered to his body. Every time an article came off, it landed on the floor with a loud 'shluck' noise. Too bad these robes aren't water-proof…he thought, as he peeled another article of clothing off of his body.

Soon, Ezio had completely rid himself of all clothing, except for his pants. Though now he wasn't sure if he should've taken the clothes off, as he was shivering harder now. He wrapped his arms around his body in an attempt to retain at least some body heat. Cosi dannatamente freddo…

Leonardo came back quickly, a large towel folded in his arms. His eyes shot to the laceration on Ezio's arm, before wrapping the towel around his cold, wet friend. He felt Ezio's body instinctively come closer to his, as he leaned around him, making sure that the towel would be enough to cover him. Once he was satisfied, he made his way towards the wound, watching with raised eyebrows as Ezio removed his wet pants, letting them fall to the floor, before wrapping the towel tighter around himself.

"Let's get you by the fire, so I can take care of this." said Leonardo, gesturing to the wound on Ezio's arm.

Ezio nodded and followed the artist over to the already roaring fireplace. He quickened his pace and sat down on one of the cushions that were laid out. He then readjusted the towel, so that his left arm was out and easy for Leonardo to tend to. Also, his bare feet were sticking out, being right by the edge of the fire, but far away enough so that they didn't get burned.

"I'm guessing you're lagging behind on some of your commissions, hm?" asked Ezio, as he looked behind him at Leonardo, who was unburying the medical kit from under a pile of canvases. He had decided to buy one, as it came in handy whenever Ezio showed up wounded.

"Is it that easy to tell?" asked Leonardo sheepishly, as he made his way back to the assassino, sitting next to him and opening up the kit, "I have five pieces that are to be delivered near the end of this week. I haven't started on any of them."

"Preoccupied with other things?" Ezio let his eyes wander, as he saw random gadgets around the workshop. The flying machine was hanging from the ceiling and looked like it was getting a few new upgrades. Random pieces and parts of another invention took over one entire desk, and blueprints of other inventions were scattered along the walls.

"If nothing artistic comes to me, then my creative mind takes over." said the artist with a grin, as he soaked a small cloth with antiseptic and gently dabbed the wound. Ezio flinched and hissed, as a sharp pain went through his arm. His adrenaline had been running on full-throttle, when he had received the wound. At the time, it didn't seem more than just a scratch. It was afterwards when his entire arm was covered with blood that he realized that it really was more than just a scratch. No wonder it stung, when Leo put that stuff on it….ow…

"This is the most superficial wound I've seen on you in awhile." said Leonardo, as he put the slightly red cloth aside and got out the salve instead. It still hurt when it was applied to the wound, but the pain had toned down to a dull throbbing, "Hopefully it'll stay that way."

Ezio laughed softly, "I do, too. I've got enough scars on my body. Soon, all the pretty ladies will be too scared to get near me!"

Leonardo playfully flicked Ezio on the side of his head, before bandaging up his arm, "Giovane mondano e frivolo."

Ezio laughed hard, as he felt the soft bandage being wrapped around the wound on his arm. It didn't take long for Leonardo to finish and, when he did, Ezio snuck his arm back under the towel that was still completely around him, both keeping him warm and dry. For a moment, he thought Leonardo had gotten up, but a sudden tugging at his hair told him otherwise.

"Huh?"

"Having a wet head isn't going to help you not catch a cold." said the artist, as he set aside the ribbon that held up Ezio's hair, before taking the towel that was wrapped around the assassin and taking the slack to dry his hair.

"Wah! N-Not so rough, Leo!" yelped Ezio, as he felt Leonardo's fingertips start to dig into his scalp through the towel. He may be an artist, but he can be really strong at times…

Leonardo chuckled, as he lessened the pressure on the assassino's head, "Mi dispiace, Ezio." His fingertips, instead of pressing into Ezio's scalp, were now moving around slowly in small patterns. The action felt oddly calming, and Ezio soon found himself closing his eyes and leaning into Leonardo's touch.

"Calmante?"

"Si."

Leonardo chuckled once more, as he finished up and brought the towel down from Ezio's head. Eyes still closed, he frowned as the sudden stop of the comfortable massage on his head. However, he was quickly brought back to reality at Leonardo's sudden bought of laughter. He looked over at the artist, who was almost doubled over, a hand over his mouth to try and keep the giggles from coming out. However, he did notice that Leo's clear-blue eyes (which were slightly wet from the tears of mirth forming in the corners of his eyes) were focused on his hair.

Thanks to Leonardo's vigorous drying, Ezio's normally smooth hair now had strands sticking up all over the place.

Ezio didn't have to look in a mirror to know what Leonardo was laughing at, "My hair exploded, didn't it?"

"Si, si. Extremely." chuckled Leo, standing up straight and trying to calm himself.

Ezio thought for a moment, before crouching down, his body tense and a wolfish grin on his face, "Well then, let me make your hair explode then!" With that, he launched at the artist, who easily avoided him with a yelp. The assassin landed with a 'thump' on the floor and nearly lost his towel. Realizing that it was much warmer by the fireplace, he quickly crawled back, curling up on the cushion in a cat-like fashion.

"Freddo…" muttered Ezio, pulling the towel around him, which was now acting more like a blanket than a towel at the moment.

"I'll go and get some wine." said Leonardo, as he smiled at Ezio lying down on the floor, using the cushions as a make-shift bed. Its hard to believe that he's an assassin…

"That sounds great." said Ezio, as he rolled over and looked up at Leonardo, "That should warm me up quickly. Plus I haven't had good wine in awhile."

"Ah, this wine that I bought the other day is eccellente!" exclaimed the artist, as he turned around and started searching the room, "I'm sure you'd like it too, seeing as how you have quite the sweet tooth on you."

"A sweet wine, eh?" said Ezio, smiling as he rolled back over, watching the flames dance in the fireplace, "Suoni delizioso!"

Ezio let out a relaxed sigh, as he continued to stare into the fireplace. While he was still somewhat cold, the removal of his wet clothes and being by the fire was slowly driving the coldness out of him. The warmth from the fire also seemed to dull the pain in his arm, though Leonardo's medicine was working wonders on it as well. I'm glad there's at least ONE place in Venice that I can relax…he thought, smiling softly as he snuggled further into the towel/blanket and cushions. He knew that he should put on some clothes and get rid of the towel…but right now, he was far too relaxed to even move.

"Grazie, mio leoncino." he whispered under his breath, as he closed his eyes. Within moments, he fell fast asleep.

***

He really does have the remarkable ability to sleep wherever he likes, doesn't he?

Leonardo looked down at the now sleeping Ezio, placing a hand on his hip as he did so. Somehow, the Auditore managed to fall asleep wrapped up in the towel like a cocoon, and half sleeping on top of and half sleeping buried underneath various cushions.

"At least its more comfortable than sleeping straight up in a chair." he muttered, as he kneeled down and pulled the towel down enough so that he could see the bandage on his left arm. He undid it slightly, and examined the wound underneath. Even though it had only been a few minutes, the redness was starting to die down and it had completely stopped bleeding. As the artist rewrapped the bandage, he was amused at the fact that Ezio didn't stir once. As a small experiment, he even took the entire arm and moved it about a little. No reaction from the assassino.

"Still the same as ever." chuckled Leonardo, as he allowed Ezio to have his arm back and covered him back up with the towel. While a towel wasn't a good blanket, it was so wrapped around Ezio's body that Leonardo knew he would have a hard time taking it off. That, and the fact that he was still completely naked under the blanket posed problems. If he's warm, well and happy, then I am as well.

Brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Ezio's face, Leonardo leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the assassin's forehead.

"Buona notte, Ezio."