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navstuffs · 1 year

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Hope

Pairing: Brotherhood!Ezio x GN!Reader

Summary: Ezio knows he shouldn't have hope - but he still hopes that you might be found alive.

Warnings: ANGST, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, reader is tortured, torture!!! , cursing, violence, ezio going through loss again, alternate good ending at the bottom.

Author's Note: hii! this came to me at 1:30 am and i wrote until 3 am. this fanfic has two endings! the true one, bad, sad and painful. and the good one, which is found at the end. so in a certain sense, you can pick the one you think is best! (no one asked but my fav is the bad one) if you want, you can listen to the song that helped me write this fanfic i found by amber run. hope you enjoy!

I'll use you as a warning sign (...)

And I'll use you as a focal point

So I don't lose sight of what I want(...)

And I've moved further than I thought I could

But I missed you more than I thought I would (...)

And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me

Talk some sense to me

(Amber Run - I found)

It could have been three days or thirty days. You don't know anymore. You try to keep yourself awake, but the pain, thirst, and exhaustion are too much.

It is hard to move. Your legs and arms have been bound with heavy chains since you arrived, and the last piece of food you had was what a soldier threw on the floor four, three nights ago? It had a weird taste, but you were so hungry you ate in one piece.

It had been an ambush. As the mission leader, it was your responsibility to realize that. But you didn't. Giving time for the others to escape, you stayed. You killed as many as you could. You got captured and taken straight to Cesare.

Cesar first bargained, saying all you had to do was share Ezio's locations and plans. He was going to reward you. He would make you part of the nobility. You spit on his face, getting your first broken rib that night.

They stripped you of your Assassin robe. You knew it was a tactic to shame you, but you didn't care. After being beaten up countless times, your honor no longer matters.

They have tried everything. To droll you in a bucket of water. Burn you with the heated point of a sword. Plucked one or two fingernails until you passed out with the pain. Not counting all bruises on your face and all over your body.

Cesare enjoys seeing you like this. He occasionally stops in front of your cell, tempting you: all you had to do was tell where your other fellow Assassins were. Where Ezio Auditore hid.

You said nothing. You never opened your mouth.

You heard from a few soldiers or thought you so, the leader of the Brotherhood was looking for you. Hunting. He had become even more ruthless, killing more and more guards. They had problems recruiting guards now. No one knew when they would get back home after work.

You didn't know if you wanted Ezio to find you, to see you like this. He wouldn't even recognize you.

You could only hope death took you before.

-x-

Ezio hasn't been thinking straight for ten days, four hours, and twelve minutes since the other Assassins returned without you. When he asked for an explanation, his heart already knew the answer. They explained there were too many. You had stayed.

"Dead?" Il Mentore asked, and they could feel the pain in his voice. They don't know.

Ezio didn't freak out. The anger from when he was an inexperienced and immature Assassin came back in full force. He was primarily angry at himself: he shouldn't have let you in. He shouldn't have allowed you to get so close. Why you had to be so stubborn? Why he accepted your help?

That same night, Ezio went out. Alone. Hunting for something to take his anger. Ezio didn't know when he stopped, but when he came to Tiber Island, his vests were full of blood.

Ezio fell into a chair, the hideout too quiet without your presence. Being the strategic leader at his side. Ezio wanted to feel your warmth. Your company. Your love. He can feel the tears dropping from his eyes, and he doesn't try to control them. He lets them run free.

When he went to bed, he had nightmares. Ezio saw his dad and his siblings hanged, screaming for help, and he can't do anything about it. Cristina dying in his arms, declaring her love, and he can't do anything about it. He saw you lying in a fetal position, your body pierced by arrows, blood dripping until his feet. Ezio tried to move but can't, desperately watching you die.

Ezio couldn't save any of them.

-x-

When Machiavelli brings news that the templars are keeping an Assassin in a secret location, Ezio tries not to be hopeful. Deep inside, he wishes it isn't you. He has no idea what they can be doing with you.

"Where?"

"Just outside Rome. I don't know the exact location, but I will try to get it. Ezio, it could be-"

"Let me know what you can find," Ezio murmurs before leaving.

He visits his mom and Claudia. His mom is sad and apprehensive. Claudia, on the other hand, tries not to mention your name.

"How are you doing?" Claudia wonders, her tone full of pain. His sister must be feeling terrible: you were Claudia's best friend.

"I want the body. I want to be able to bury it."

Claudia gulps, looking straight. They had dealt with death before, and deep inside, Claudia and Ezio expected it to become easier with time. Without controlling herself, she hugs her older brother, sobbing.

"Oh, Ezio, I am so so sorry."

"Me too," Ezio whispers back, his heart breaking into a million pieces.

-x-

You don't know why you are still alive. After another beat-up session, the guards seem to have given up on you. Even Cesare doesn't appear anymore.

Your clothes are dirty and ripped, and you can barely keep your eyes open. Your fingers are broken. They stopped giving you water. You know something is bleeding inside you; it is just a matter of time now.

You wish you could have seen Claudia. Maria. Leonardo. All your other Assassins. You wish you could thank them for all the lessons you got. You are happy they didn't come to save you.

You wish you could have seen Ezio one last time. Tell him it wasn't his fault.

-x-

When Machiavelli reveals the location, Ezio doesn't hesitate to go—joined by the same group you saved. The Brotherhood wants to give you proper rest. They know you wouldn't like that, risking the Brotherhood for a single Assassin, but it is you.

You are imprisoned in some fort just outside Rome, Machiavelli explained. For some reason, he didn't know the status of your life, but from what his informants saw, they were keeping you in a cell.

"Dead?" Ezio asks. There is no hope in his voice.

"They don't know. Ezio, do you think that is a good idea?"

Ezio doesn't know. He gets on his horse and is followed by the others. A small part inside of him is burning, inside his heart. It grows like a small flame that gets bigger on a cold and dark day.

It is hope.

-x-

You wake up with the sound of a distant explosion. Screams came followed, and the smell of fire. You try to lift your head, your survival instincts kicking in, but your body hurts too much. You wonder if you have arrived in Hell. You concentrate on the front door, your vision too foggy to see anything. You can hear the noises of a fight though you can't quite place what is happening yet.

You think you hear death calling your name.

-x-

Ezio is frozen in front of your cell. For a few seconds, he can't move or breathe.

It is you.

It is really you.

It barely looks like you, though. In a fetal position, legs and arms are tied with heavy chains. Ezio holds the bars with an intensity that might break them. What the fuck have they done to you? He needs to get you out there. Now.

He calls your name.

You don't seem to listen. Ezio tries again, this time more urgent.

You open your eyes, confused. You thought you heard Ezio calling. Trying to crawl across the floor, you focus your eyes on death.

It is Ezio. Hood down. You can barely see his face, but you know he looks as beautiful as ever.

"E...zi...o," You whisper.

Ezio gets the keys from the guard impaled against the wall. He ignores his shaking hands and opens the door, rushing toward you. When he touches your face, your skin is so cold. He calls your name again, waking you up.

"Io sono qui, amore mio, sono qui."

You barely seem to register what he says. Ezio glances at your body. It doesn't look good, but he is determined to get you off there. He lifts your body, and you groan in pain.

"I am going to take you out of here," It is a promise.

Ezio takes you across the corridors, walking as carefully as he can. He didn't want you to feel more pain. He is thankful he brought a doctor. He has to hope you can make it.

The place around him is destroyed, being burned to the ground. Ezio had told the other Assassins to look for other innocents inside the prison.

"I always have been hopeful. Always hoping you were alive," Ezio confesses, his voice trembling as if you could listen.

You are passing moments of consciousness and unconsciousness. You know you were in Ezio's arms (he knew you hated to be carried like that). You try to say you loved him, that it's too late, but no words come out of you.

Ezio finally gets to the entrance. His fellow Assassins were in the front with a small group of people. All looked malnourished but not as bad as you. The doctor, who was checking them, runs to you as Ezio places you on the floor as carefully as he can.

He can't leave your side. Ezio touches your face. He touches your cheeks. Your forehead. Your ears. Trying to memorize your features.

Your eyes open, and you do your best to keep them open. You know it is the last time. You can notice the doctor assessing you. He seems to say something to Ezio, and he looks defeated. The doctor gives you space. Nobody else dares to get closer.

"You were brave. Very brave this whole time. I am sorry I didn't find you earlier, amore mio."

Ezio holds your hand into his face, his heart heavy. He breathes deeply. He wants to scream at the world, not again! He wants to shout, he wants the doctor to find a way to cure you. He wants you to live. You deserve to live.

You have to live.

Breathing deeply one more time, his voice shaking and the tears falling down his eyes, he finally says.

"Go in peace."

You give him a half-smile, ignoring the pain on your broken fingers as you rub your face a little. You were happy. You saw him one last time. Ezio knew you loved him.

Numerous memories flashed behind your eyes. Your family. Your family being killed. Meeting Ezio. Falling in love with him. Claudia teasing you but happy her brother found love again. Maria thanking you for giving him hope. Your experiments with Leonardo. Mario's death. The beginning of the Brotherhood. Your first night with Ezio.

Ezio.

You want to apologize. It is not his fault. You want to say you love him and wish him a happy life. He will find someone. He will be happy. You close your eyes, never to open them again.

ALTERNATE ENDING (GOOD ENDING):

"We can try to move them, but it might be risky," The doctor warns as he returns, but Ezio ignores that. Leaving the rest of the Assassins to help the rest of the people, he places your body in the carriage with the doctor, focusing on taking you to the closest Inn, making sure to go slow.

He tries not to give himself hope, but you seem to be fighting.

The doctor says you aren't dead yet.

Ezio enters the Inn with you unconscious in his arms, the doctor at his side. The owners, an elderly older couple named Bianco and Pia, rush him to a room, where he places you gently into a bed.

The doctor asks Ezio to rip your clothes. He does so. Pia brings a bowl with water to clean your body. She doesn't say anything, but her eyes don't have much hope.

The doctor gives you a medicine that burns down your throat. He bandages pretty much your whole body and tells Ezio he has done everything he could. The following twenty-four hours are crucial.

Ezio doesn't sleep that night or most of the next day. He has seen a lot of things he would never forget, but your body would hunt him to his death. The elderly couple brings him bread and water, but he doesn't touch his food or water. Ezio is too focused on you to care about himself now.

When the doctor returns, he says your fever has spiked down. Your health is still critical, but your chances to live are higher.

Ezio holds into that.

He continues at your bed day and night. He hasn't taken his bloody clothes yet, and quite frankly, he is starting to smell. The old couple again suggests that he takes a shower. They have some clothes from their late son. When Ezio asks what happened to him, they simply answer that Bórgia men killed him.

Thirty-nine hours after rescuing you, Ezio falls asleep. Bianco finds him in a chair, keeping a vigil over your body.

Later that day, the doctor states you are out of danger. He doesn't know when you will wake up and if you ever will. For Ezio, that is enough. He knows you are a fighter, and you won't give up.

It is too dangerous to move you still. Ezio can't leave you. He starts helping around the Inn. He gets some thieves to run away, helps the couple get their money from a man who owes them and maintains the Inn as best as possible.

Ezio talks to you. He shares how life is going. Holds your hand. He shares that he misses you. That he loves you.

He can see your face slowly healing, but no sign of you waking up. He has sent some pigeons informing Claudia, his mom, and the rest of the Brotherhood of your well-being.

On the morning of the seventh day of your rescue, Ezio is helping Bianco in the garden when he hears Pia's scream.

"Ezio, Ezio!"

Running to the house, Ezio enters the room. Pia is near the bed, giving you water and gently holding your head. You are awake.

Ezio stops by the other side of the bed, unable to speak. Pia smiles at him, leaving them. You try to talk, but no voice comes out.

"I thought, I thought I lost you," Ezio confesses, slowly kneeling at your side. "I thought I was going insane. I thought I was getting punished again."

He kisses your bandaged hand so gently that you don't even wince in pain. You want to ask him many questions about how he found you and how you are still alive. Ezio seems to understand your concerns, rubbing your cheek.

"I will explain with time. Just rest now. Rest, amore mio. I will be here when you wake up."

You look at Ezio, really looks at him. Wondering if he can feel the love in your eyes. Ezio seems to understand because he smiles for the first time since he had you back.

"Ti amo anch'io."

MASTERLIST | EZIO'S MASTERLIST