Assassin's Creed Drabbles

↳ healing

slowly, deimos comes alexios with the help of your gentle nature. 

WHEN YOU FIRST met Deimos, he was a weapon for the Cult of Kosmos, and you were one of his targets. Hunted since a child because of the blood running through your veins —a Tainted One they call you, like a fire that could not be contained. Chaos made flesh. When Deimos first crossed blades with you, he knew something was different —especially when your fingers brushing against his arm left nigh permanent chills. No one had ever been able to take him on in a fair fight, but you had done so —almost effortlessly.

He had let you escape with your life then found you again in the streets of Sparta after Kosmos had fallen. Deimos takes to you like a moth to flame after a chance second encounter. You'd both spotted one another from across the agora, muscles tensing and fingers flexing as if to draw blades. Neither of you moves at first, though it is Deimos who eventually caves and approaches you —offering a fresh nectarine. When you take the piece of fruit from his hand, it feels like accepting a peace offering. The unspoken connection between you and Deimos is already there and a friendship quickly blossoms despite his tribulations and your troubled past.

For weeks, the meetings between you and he are in the meadows or forests —away from prying eyes, like those of his sister and mother. He says Sparta is his home now, but deep down you can see it is a lie. He is like you, a child of nowhere. Yet a part of you could call the Valley of Two Kings home if it meant being with Deimos. The gods must have placed you in Lakonia for this reason and for the first time you can thank them for something with sincerity.

Kassandra and Myrrine can both tell something is different about Alexios, though they cannot say what the cause behind the shift in his demeanor is. Taking it upon herself, Kassandra trails behind her brother one morning when he leaves before sunrise. She follows him through the polis and into the countryside, tracing his steps up a narrow trail leading to a hill overlooking the city with Mount Taygetos in the background. He draws in a slow breath as Apollo's golden light floods the valley.

Another figure joins her brother atop the hill and the Eagle Bearer must cover her mouth to muffle a surprised gasp when Deimos wraps his arms around you, stooping down for a kiss. Kassandra smiles the entire way back, eager to dispel her findings to her mother. Neither she nor Myrrine press him to say anything after following him that day, but they do start to drop subtle hints —speaking of love, marriages, and family. He suspects they know something.

Eventually, Deimos asks you one evening to come with him for dinner. He's spoken of his mother and sister before, but the thought of meeting them is nerve-wracking. His mother is the daughter of King Leonidas and his sister is the legendary Eagle Bearer —but even he carries a reputation as one of the fiercest warriors in Hellas.

Kassandra offers you a place aboard the Adrestia with her brother as she is planning on sailing again soon. A sedentary life is not something to keep a misthios satisfied for long. She does not know you well yet, but it is clear you bring out a better side of Deimos that makes him more like Alexios than the Cult's weapon. Despite Kassandra's offer, you and Deimos decide to remain in Sparta with Myrrine —it will be good for her to have her son around. His sister departs at dusk after a final meal, promising to return often if the winds and sea are favorable. The sadness in Myrrine's expression is quickly quelled when she turns, finding you and Deimos standing in the doorway, fingers loosely linked together.

That night, he holds you in his arms atop the roof of what should have been his childhood home. His dark eyes flit between you and the clear night sky. You can tell something is bothering him —he had not slept well the previous night, haven woke from a nightmare, and never trusting his mind to sleep again. Sitting up and breaking free of his arms, you shift —straddling his thighs and taking his handsome face into your hands.

"I know I'm a monster," he begins, voice cracking —not meeting your gaze, "but you look at me like I'm a man." You'd always looked past his bloody history because you had one too. "For so long I believed it was my destiny to bring order to the world–" he leans into the hand tracing over the scar on his cheek "–but now–" His voice and mind wander off, now he doesn't know what he's meant to do, and the weight of the uncertainty is almost unbearable.

"You still have something to live for, Alexios," you breathe, thinking of his mother and sister —his warm, honeyed eyes meeting yours. The use of his given-name surprises him still. Deimos is the man you met, but Alexios is the man you know. "And you have me." His lips kink into a smile, fingers ghosting across your shoulder and up the curve of your neck. He does have you. More than a year has come to pass since you both noticed one another in the streets, since then the days when you aren't in each other's company are rare.

He presses his head into your shoulder, inhaling the soft scent of lemon and roses. "You make me feel safe," you tell him with a smile. He sits back and you lean in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Even with all your prowess in combat, it is a good feeling to have someone to make you feel safe, secure —like nothing bad will happen again. "Like I'm allowed to do and be anything." For so long, you'd only seen as someone to be tamed by the Order of Ancients and Cult alike. Even Myrrine noted the strength and power in your blood, but Deimos has only ever looked at you as an equal. "I'm not just a Tainted One with you."

The soft smile on his lips does not fade. "No," he starts, tracing a scar on the inside of your forearm, "you're so much more." You surge forward, throwing your arms around him and press your face into his neck. Deimos falls backward onto the roof, pulling you with him. Turning his head, he nuzzles his nose against the crown of your head —lips ghosting over your temple. He loves you and perhaps one day he will admit it, but for now, he'll keep these moments close to his heart. Breathing in, he looks up at the stars. I am no longer Deimos, he thinks, running his fingers through your hair and across your back. I am Alexios.