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"Master Malik!"

"Haven't I told you to not call me "master"?!" Malik shouted from behind his desk, not looking up from the books he tried to translate.

He only raised his head as the only reaction he got was panting.
Malik simply had to laugh upon the novice's shocked expression and the panic in his eyes. He put away the quill and walked around his desk to stand in front of the slightly panting boy. There wasn't much difference in height anymore, he noticed. The boy had grown in those last few months.

"What is it, Kadar?" he asked, voice calm and warm. He couldn't help it. Most of the time he kept talking to the boy as if it was his long since dead brother standing in front of him. It didn't matter that there was the obvious similarity to Altair, his father.

The name alone brought back memories, both happy and sad ones. All the time, whenever the boy was called. He always hoped to see his brother when someone called the boy.

"Tanakh! He… he…" the novice stuttered, pulling back his hood to comb through his brown hair, damp from sweat. Malik once again laughed whole-heartedly as kadar's eyes shot around the room, clearly looking for an escape route, just in case.

"What did my son do now, Kadar?"

The boy blushed a deep red and looked onto the ground. He raised his left hand, fingers touching his lips, eyes speaking of disbelieve. Malik noticed none of his fingers missing, only some kind of burn mark on the back of his hand showing that he was an assassin of the creed.

"Tanakh, he… k-kissed me…" Kadar muttered, clearly embarrassed.

Malik simply loved the boy like his own younger brother if he behaved like this. It always seemed as if his soul was now in his best friend's oldest son. The only physical similarities between the boys were their bluish grey eyes. It was still a mystery to Malik how Altair's son couldn't get those predator's eyes his father had.

"Calm down, Kadar…" Malik chuckled and patted the boy's shoulder, "What's so bad about a little kiss?"

There it was, the glare that normally only Altair managed to give Malik. The Dai only shrugged a little bit, waiting for an answer.

"He… uhm…"

"What? Speak up, novice…" Malik provoked, knowing fully well that Kadar's reaction would be the same as Altair's was when they were younger, fighting in Jerusalem whenever they met. At this times, Malik simply had to notice how similar father and son were.

Kadar's still trembling voice made him snap out of his thoughts.

"Damn, Malik, he kissed me the way, my father would kiss you while… uhm…"
Kadar had almost shouted at first. But only after a few words were said, he had grown more and more silent. Apparently did he notice how private the topic was. His face was now of a flaming red.

"So… That's what was going on!"

Malik turned towards the stairs on the other side of them room, where Altair just appeared. He was dragging Tanakh, Malik's son, after him. He was smiling, something that wasn't as rare anymore since the two boys were born. Malik was aware of the change. They didn't even fight as often anymore. At least not because of missions.

"Please, Aquila, get him!" Tanakh whined, struggling with all his might. The eagle, still too small to get even the tiniest animal without any help, only cocked his head, not knowing what to do.

Altair smirked and made a strange noise. Aquila cried out and jumped onto the master's shoulder. Altair stroked his feather's almost lovingly with one hand, still holding Tanakh in place with the other.

"Have you already forgotten, that it was me who gave you Aquila? I was the one who saved him so he listens to my command first…"

"You goddamn… stronzo…" the boy cursed, using the little Italian he had learned already. Altair who understood the word without any problems, simply laughed and shoved him over towards Kadar. The boy tripped, but Kadar managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"See, Kadar? You care about him. Otherwise you wouldn't even have tried to catch him. So, this problem is solved… On with the next: How would the two of you know about the love life of your fathers?"

Altair's voice had grown cold, icy even, so did his eyes. It was frightening. Both novices could clearly make out the threat. So they did, what every smart assassin would have done if they stood in front of a pissed Altair.

They ran.

While Tanakh made a dash towards the garden, where he slept, drew and wrote all the time, Kadar hurried to get into his room.

In the distance they could hear their fathers laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kadar licked his lips as he watched the girls in the garden.

Their master had really taken them to Jerusalem, to a whole new district even.
It was like paradise to the young assassins who had never left Masyaf before.

They were allowed to spend the night as they wished. Kadar had immediately started to follow one of the beautiful girls walking around in some of the streets. She had led him here, into a garden. He sat on a stone wall, looking down to them.

They giggled as he hopped down, the grace of a cat making his jump seem easy.

"Who might you be, young master?" one of the girls asked, stepping forth. Long hair, shining in a light brown, almost gold. He shook his head, gaze wandering to another one as he spoke.

"Kadar Ibn-La'Ahad is my name…"

"Are you with the master coming from Masyaf?" another one asked. Dark hair, almost black eyes. He nodded. She was to his liking and both of them knew it.

"Yes, I am…" he whispered. He inched closer, his feet not making a single sound as he did. The girl smiled, knowing. She leaned closer, allowing him to kiss her.

But he couldn't.

As he leaned closer, he could see the reflection of someone in her eyes. White robes, dark hair hidden underneath the hood, eyes wide open in shock.

Kadar didn't have to think, he simply acted. As fast as he could he shoved her away, turned around and ran towards the wall, scaling it within seconds.
He was sure he had seen one certain person. The boy who was the most important to him, more than all the other assassins.

"Tanakh, wait!" he shouted as he chased the other, only seeing his white robes disappearing behind conrers from time to time. Then the younger boy started to climb onto the buildings.

Both of them knew that Kadar was the fastest when it came to climbing. And he was well aware that Tanakh wanted him to catch him before anything could happen.

They hadn't talked to each other in months.

Tanakh had been afraid of doing something they might regret afterwards – like that kiss. And Kadar wasn't really sure what to think of his friend's behavior. It wasn't like him. He was really worried by now, after seeing that hint of sadness, of despair in his eyes.

Kadar hauled himself up, crouching at the edge of the building.

There wasn't any place nearly as high as the one they stood on, so there was no way to escape – but jump. Both of them were panting, Tanahkh almost sobbing as they stared at each other.

"Tanakh… please… calm down…"

The younger one shook his head, taking a step back, towards the edge, body trembling.

"Don't do that, Tanakh… Haven we always been a family until now?"

"We have… But I don't see you as my brother… not anymore…"

Kadar knew what he meant to say. It perfectly made sense.

The bitterness in Tanakh's eyes whenever they saw Altair and Malik talking gently, kissing even when they thought themselves to be alone. the hate when someone referred to them as brothers. The happy glim in his eyes when he managed to hug Kadar.

Or back then, the sheer happiness that gave his eyes life as he had kissed Kadar.

"I can't act as a brother anymore…" he sobbed, tears running down his cheeks, "I love you too much… But I know I'll always be alone with that feelings…

Damn, I'm one lonely soul, am I not?"

With that he stepped backwards, over the edge, a sad smile on his lips. He feel. Kadar rushed towards him, jumping after him without a second thought, watching him fall not only into despair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was lying in his bed, eyes closed. He didn't move as he listened to silent footsteps in the hall, coming closer slowly. The door opened and closed, lock clicking as it fell shut. Tanakh's breath hitched as the blanket was raised at a corner, bed creaking as someone climbed onto it and lay down next to him.

The intruder moved closer until Tanakh could feel a warm chest pressed against his bare back. It was comfortable like this, one arm draped around his waist.

In the moon's faint light he could make out the bandages covering the skin from the hand onwards until right beyond the shoulder. He knew exactly how the arm looked underneath, all swollen and different colors.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered into the darkness, fingers now stroking the injured hand, feeling the unusual heat beneath the rough material. He was the cause of the injury. Without him, none of this would have happened. Hot breath hit his neck and ear, making him shiver slightly.

"It doesn't matter as long as you're alive, Tanakh…" Kadar murmured, still a hint of pain lingering in his voice. Tanakh had to swallow at the lump forming in his throat.

He had heard him scream as they had pulled and pushed his bones into the correct places. But he still wasn't mad at Tanakh for causing him harm. He was only worried that he could have died if Kadar hadn't jumped after him, clinging to him for dear life while gripping the wall.

And breaking his stronger arm in the process. He wouldn't be able to act as an assassin for months maybe. He wasn't even able to use the hidden blade.

"How can you still be so nice… You should hate me…" Tanakh almost sobbed, feeling tears flowing from his eyes. He struggled to get away from Kadar but was instead pulled even closer.

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to…" the older boy whispered, his voice soothing as he somehow managed to snake his other arm around Tanakh's body, the younger now lying on it, "You are my family… I'm unable to hold any grudge towards you…"

Tanakh cried, sobbed even louder upon hearing those words. His body shook.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I still can't think of you as a brother…"

"You don't have to…"

Tanakh went silent. He could clearly feel lips against his neck, kisses being traled over his tanned and scarred skin. He shuddered as those lips moved over to kiss along his shoulder.

"Family doesn't always mean siblings, parents, children… You should know this by now… Malik and Altair are "family" too… Because they love each other…

And so do we, am I wrong?"

"What?"

Tanakh thought he misunderstood something. He didn't want to get his hopes up only to fall into despair once again…

Kadar chuckled just the same way as Altair did when talking to Malik. He pulled his right arm back, pushing himself up on his elbow to bend over the younger one. They looked into each other's eyes in the darkness, their eyes almost glowing.

"I hope you understand it now… I love you…"

With that, he descended upon Tanakh, bodies pressed flush against each other, kissing slowly, gently.

When they broke apart, tears of joy were filling Tanakh's eyes. He bit his bottom lip, looking away ashamed. He wasn't going to cry in front of the older assassin again. Kadar smiled, whipping the tears away.

"No need to be ashamed of showing tears…" he murmured, kissing the last one away, "Not in front of your family… I'm there for you, Tanakh… And so will be our fathers… So don't hide your feelings from now on… We'll understand…"

"Thank you…" he whispered, letting the tears flow, clinging to Kadar, "I love you…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He stood there, enjoying the silence of the fortress at night. It was like a blanket draped over him. Smiling he looked through the window, watching the single eagle flying around outside.

"You solved the problem?"

"How did you notice?"

Kadar turned around, looking Altair into the eyes. Never before had both of them seemed so calm, he thought.

The master assassin shrugged.

"You seem… calmer, somehow… Content with yourself…"

"I am…"

"You aren't mad at him? You might never be an assassin again…"

"I will be one… I promise you, father… But I won't be one driven by grudge… He's my family… I told him before: I'm not able to hate him…"

"It's not a question of "family"… Malik hated me once… even though we were a family…"

"You aren't the same as you were back then… That's what he told you, right? I, too, am not the same as back then when I was mad at Tanakh for kissing me… We change…"

"But our bonds don't…"

"That's what I wanted to say, father… But if I were you, I'd go back to Malik…"
Altair raised an eyebrow. He could hear the amusement in his son's voice.

"I… overheard… Malik telling you that he'd "bind you to the bed If you ever again leave it before the sun rises"… Am I correct?"

Altair shook his head, sighing.

"You are too much of an assassin, sometimes…"

"Says the assassin who never showed any feelings until he met the right man…"

"A strange family indeed…"

Description
"Master Malik!"

"Haven't I told you to not call me "master"?!" Malik shouted from behind his desk, not looking up from the books he tried to translate.

He only raised his head as the only reaction he got was panting.
Malik simply had to laugh upon the novice's shocked expression and the panic in his eyes. He put away the quill and walked around his desk to stand in front of the slightly panting boy. There wasn't much difference in height anymore, he noticed. The boy had grown in those last few months.

"What is it, Kadar?" he asked, voice calm and warm. He couldn't help it. Most of the time he kept talking to the boy as if it was his long since dead brother standing in front of him. It didn't matter that there was the obvious similarity to Altair, his father.

The name alone brought back memories, both happy and sad ones. All the time, whenever the boy was called. He always hoped to see his brother when someone called the boy.

"Tanakh! He… he…" the novice stuttered, pulling back his hood to comb through his brown hair, damp from sweat. Malik once again laughed whole-heartedly as kadar's eyes shot around the room, clearly looking for an escape route, just in case.

"What did my son do now, Kadar?"

The boy blushed a deep red and looked onto the ground. He raised his left hand, fingers touching his lips, eyes speaking of disbelieve. Malik noticed none of his fingers missing, only some kind of burn mark on the back of his hand showing that he was an assassin of the creed.

"Tanakh, he… k-kissed me…" Kadar muttered, clearly embarrassed.

Malik simply loved the boy like his own younger brother if he behaved like this. It always seemed as if his soul was now in his best friend's oldest son. The only physical similarities between the boys were their bluish grey eyes. It was still a mystery to Malik how Altair's son couldn't get those predator's eyes his father had.

"Calm down, Kadar…" Malik chuckled and patted the boy's shoulder, "What's so bad about a little kiss?"

There it was, the glare that normally only Altair managed to give Malik. The Dai only shrugged a little bit, waiting for an answer.

"He… uhm…"

"What? Speak up, novice…" Malik provoked, knowing fully well that Kadar's reaction would be the same as Altair's was when they were younger, fighting in Jerusalem whenever they met. At this times, Malik simply had to notice how similar father and son were.

Kadar's still trembling voice made him snap out of his thoughts.

"Damn, Malik, he kissed me the way, my father would kiss you while… uhm…"
Kadar had almost shouted at first. But only after a few words were said, he had grown more and more silent. Apparently did he notice how private the topic was. His face was now of a flaming red.

"So… That's what was going on!"

Malik turned towards the stairs on the other side of them room, where Altair just appeared. He was dragging Tanakh, Malik's son, after him. He was smiling, something that wasn't as rare anymore since the two boys were born. Malik was aware of the change. They didn't even fight as often anymore. At least not because of missions.

"Please, Aquila, get him!" Tanakh whined, struggling with all his might. The eagle, still too small to get even the tiniest animal without any help, only cocked his head, not knowing what to do.

Altair smirked and made a strange noise. Aquila cried out and jumped onto the master's shoulder. Altair stroked his feather's almost lovingly with one hand, still holding Tanakh in place with the other.

"Have you already forgotten, that it was me who gave you Aquila? I was the one who saved him so he listens to my command first…"

"You goddamn… stronzo…" the boy cursed, using the little Italian he had learned already. Altair who understood the word without any problems, simply laughed and shoved him over towards Kadar. The boy tripped, but Kadar managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"See, Kadar? You care about him. Otherwise you wouldn't even have tried to catch him. So, this problem is solved… On with the next: How would the two of you know about the love life of your fathers?"

Altair's voice had grown cold, icy even, so did his eyes. It was frightening. Both novices could clearly make out the threat. So they did, what every smart assassin would have done if they stood in front of a pissed Altair.

They ran.

While Tanakh made a dash towards the garden, where he slept, drew and wrote all the time, Kadar hurried to get into his room.

In the distance they could hear their fathers laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kadar licked his lips as he watched the girls in the garden.

Their master had really taken them to Jerusalem, to a whole new district even.
It was like paradise to the young assassins who had never left Masyaf before.

They were allowed to spend the night as they wished. Kadar had immediately started to follow one of the beautiful girls walking around in some of the streets. She had led him here, into a garden. He sat on a stone wall, looking down to them.

They giggled as he hopped down, the grace of a cat making his jump seem easy.

"Who might you be, young master?" one of the girls asked, stepping forth. Long hair, shining in a light brown, almost gold. He shook his head, gaze wandering to another one as he spoke.

"Kadar Ibn-La'Ahad is my name…"

"Are you with the master coming from Masyaf?" another one asked. Dark hair, almost black eyes. He nodded. She was to his liking and both of them knew it.

"Yes, I am…" he whispered. He inched closer, his feet not making a single sound as he did. The girl smiled, knowing. She leaned closer, allowing him to kiss her.

But he couldn't.

As he leaned closer, he could see the reflection of someone in her eyes. White robes, dark hair hidden underneath the hood, eyes wide open in shock.

Kadar didn't have to think, he simply acted. As fast as he could he shoved her away, turned around and ran towards the wall, scaling it within seconds.
He was sure he had seen one certain person. The boy who was the most important to him, more than all the other assassins.

"Tanakh, wait!" he shouted as he chased the other, only seeing his white robes disappearing behind conrers from time to time. Then the younger boy started to climb onto the buildings.

Both of them knew that Kadar was the fastest when it came to climbing. And he was well aware that Tanakh wanted him to catch him before anything could happen.

They hadn't talked to each other in months.

Tanakh had been afraid of doing something they might regret afterwards – like that kiss. And Kadar wasn't really sure what to think of his friend's behavior. It wasn't like him. He was really worried by now, after seeing that hint of sadness, of despair in his eyes.

Kadar hauled himself up, crouching at the edge of the building.

There wasn't any place nearly as high as the one they stood on, so there was no way to escape – but jump. Both of them were panting, Tanahkh almost sobbing as they stared at each other.

"Tanakh… please… calm down…"

The younger one shook his head, taking a step back, towards the edge, body trembling.

"Don't do that, Tanakh… Haven we always been a family until now?"

"We have… But I don't see you as my brother… not anymore…"

Kadar knew what he meant to say. It perfectly made sense.

The bitterness in Tanakh's eyes whenever they saw Altair and Malik talking gently, kissing even when they thought themselves to be alone. the hate when someone referred to them as brothers. The happy glim in his eyes when he managed to hug Kadar.

Or back then, the sheer happiness that gave his eyes life as he had kissed Kadar.

"I can't act as a brother anymore…" he sobbed, tears running down his cheeks, "I love you too much… But I know I'll always be alone with that feelings…

Damn, I'm one lonely soul, am I not?"

With that he stepped backwards, over the edge, a sad smile on his lips. He feel. Kadar rushed towards him, jumping after him without a second thought, watching him fall not only into despair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was lying in his bed, eyes closed. He didn't move as he listened to silent footsteps in the hall, coming closer slowly. The door opened and closed, lock clicking as it fell shut. Tanakh's breath hitched as the blanket was raised at a corner, bed creaking as someone climbed onto it and lay down next to him.

The intruder moved closer until Tanakh could feel a warm chest pressed against his bare back. It was comfortable like this, one arm draped around his waist.

In the moon's faint light he could make out the bandages covering the skin from the hand onwards until right beyond the shoulder. He knew exactly how the arm looked underneath, all swollen and different colors.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered into the darkness, fingers now stroking the injured hand, feeling the unusual heat beneath the rough material. He was the cause of the injury. Without him, none of this would have happened. Hot breath hit his neck and ear, making him shiver slightly.

"It doesn't matter as long as you're alive, Tanakh…" Kadar murmured, still a hint of pain lingering in his voice. Tanakh had to swallow at the lump forming in his throat.

He had heard him scream as they had pulled and pushed his bones into the correct places. But he still wasn't mad at Tanakh for causing him harm. He was only worried that he could have died if Kadar hadn't jumped after him, clinging to him for dear life while gripping the wall.

And breaking his stronger arm in the process. He wouldn't be able to act as an assassin for months maybe. He wasn't even able to use the hidden blade.

"How can you still be so nice… You should hate me…" Tanakh almost sobbed, feeling tears flowing from his eyes. He struggled to get away from Kadar but was instead pulled even closer.

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to…" the older boy whispered, his voice soothing as he somehow managed to snake his other arm around Tanakh's body, the younger now lying on it, "You are my family… I'm unable to hold any grudge towards you…"

Tanakh cried, sobbed even louder upon hearing those words. His body shook.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I still can't think of you as a brother…"

"You don't have to…"

Tanakh went silent. He could clearly feel lips against his neck, kisses being traled over his tanned and scarred skin. He shuddered as those lips moved over to kiss along his shoulder.

"Family doesn't always mean siblings, parents, children… You should know this by now… Malik and Altair are "family" too… Because they love each other…

And so do we, am I wrong?"

"What?"

Tanakh thought he misunderstood something. He didn't want to get his hopes up only to fall into despair once again…

Kadar chuckled just the same way as Altair did when talking to Malik. He pulled his right arm back, pushing himself up on his elbow to bend over the younger one. They looked into each other's eyes in the darkness, their eyes almost glowing.

"I hope you understand it now… I love you…"

With that, he descended upon Tanakh, bodies pressed flush against each other, kissing slowly, gently.

When they broke apart, tears of joy were filling Tanakh's eyes. He bit his bottom lip, looking away ashamed. He wasn't going to cry in front of the older assassin again. Kadar smiled, whipping the tears away.

"No need to be ashamed of showing tears…" he murmured, kissing the last one away, "Not in front of your family… I'm there for you, Tanakh… And so will be our fathers… So don't hide your feelings from now on… We'll understand…"

"Thank you…" he whispered, letting the tears flow, clinging to Kadar, "I love you…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He stood there, enjoying the silence of the fortress at night. It was like a blanket draped over him. Smiling he looked through the window, watching the single eagle flying around outside.

"You solved the problem?"

"How did you notice?"

Kadar turned around, looking Altair into the eyes. Never before had both of them seemed so calm, he thought.

The master assassin shrugged.

"You seem… calmer, somehow… Content with yourself…"

"I am…"

"You aren't mad at him? You might never be an assassin again…"

"I will be one… I promise you, father… But I won't be one driven by grudge… He's my family… I told him before: I'm not able to hate him…"

"It's not a question of "family"… Malik hated me once… even though we were a family…"

"You aren't the same as you were back then… That's what he told you, right? I, too, am not the same as back then when I was mad at Tanakh for kissing me… We change…"

"But our bonds don't…"

"That's what I wanted to say, father… But if I were you, I'd go back to Malik…"
Altair raised an eyebrow. He could hear the amusement in his son's voice.

"I… overheard… Malik telling you that he'd "bind you to the bed If you ever again leave it before the sun rises"… Am I correct?"

Altair shook his head, sighing.

"You are too much of an assassin, sometimes…"

"Says the assassin who never showed any feelings until he met the right man…"

"A strange family indeed…"