Tuesday Afternoon

If someone had told Desmond that he and two of his ancestors would be spending the day at an aquarium, he was very sure he would have laughed and asked what exactly said person was on.


And yet, here he was, walking through the entrance of the newest aquarium in the city with the two assassin's flanking him on either side, mumbling various things in awe at the giant tanks and the almost surreal, dim lighting that cast a blue hue onto everything it reached- or, Ezio was. Altaïr was silent, but the subtle changes to his normally impassive expression told the whole story.


Desmond was still unsure about how they winded up in his apartment's living room, soaking wet and dressed exactly how he remembered them. However, he /was/ sure about the fact that they had been at each other's throats, blades out, and demanding answers in voices that were /sure/ to be heard next door. The sheer noise of it all was what had led him into the room in the first place, freshly showered, tense with unease- for all he knew, it could have been another attack by the Templar bastards-and decked in nothing but a pair of loose fitting jeans. Everything following that single moment had been a combination of fright and a heaping amount of awkwardness as he tried to explain to Altaïr and Ezio, with great difficulty, who /exactly/ he was and what had happened(as far as he could guess). When he reached the end of the entire fiasco, the descendant was now extremely grateful of the striking resemblance they all shared. It made the.. task, if you will, somewhat easier. At the very least, they had decided not to kill him. Unable to think of any place he could put them, he had come to the conclusion that they should live with him. This decision, even though Desmond /hated/ living with other people, was oddly.. alright. The day to day amusement of trying to explain 21st century technology to Ezio(who, on his second day, tried to eat some soap that 'smelt' like strawberries), coupled with the sort of quiet interest Altaïr had as he went about his questioning, grew on him until he could no longer picture his former, lonesome life.


A week later, when Desmond had come to the conclusion that they could /probably/ start to venture outside his apartment, Ezio had spotted the ad for the grand opening of an aquarium in the newspaper and abruptly decided that they /had/ go and see it. Altaïr, however, didn't seem so thrilled about the idea, and from what the ex-assassin could remember of his time in the Animus at Abstergo, he had a perfectly good reason not too. Desmond, after being assaulted with childish begging in Italian, had reassured Altaïr that the water was behind /really/ thick glass walls and decided to take them the next day.


The descendant's thought train would have continued on for quite some time if a persistent hand hadn't kept waving in front of his face, bringing Desmond out of his daze, his brown eyes blinking rapidly as they focused on to Ezio's amused expression. Altaïr stood next to him, head canted ever-so-slightly to the side as if saying "you aren't one to space out".


"Sognare ad occhi aperti? Or, ah, daydreaming, Desmond?"


The Italian's smirk caused the person in question to roll his eyes and take in where exactly they wound up while he was lost in his thoughts. From what the 21st century man could tell, it appeared that they had almost made it to the first exhibit; the North Pacific Ocean.


"I'm not daydreaming. I'm just thinking. Something that you wouldn't be so familiar with, Ezio."


The snide remark was entwined with his own amusement, eyes flickering from Ezio to Altaïr, then to the upcoming glass walls. Inside them, he could just make out the movement of black and white bodies. Before Ezio could give a proper reply, Desmond parted his lips and raised a hand to point at the tanks.


"Look over there!"


Just as Desmond predicted, Ezio's attention automatically slid to the direction he was pointing at. After a brief sound of surprise, the more outgoing of the three took off in said direction, exclaiming various things in his native language.


"Ah! Sorprendente! What strange birds!"


Heads turned and followed the Auditore with much muttering, causing Desmond to resist the urge to face palm. Altaïr, meanwhile, was growing more and more interested in what was causing his Italian descendant to act the way he was, and sped up his pace until he was near enough to press the palm of his right hand onto the glass.


"What are they, Desmond?"


Ezio's head was turned to him, eyes sparkling with delight. In response, the Miles boy felt his lips curving into a grin.


"They're penguins. Most of them live in Antarctica."


Ezio mumbled the name to himself, his gaze leaving Desmond and returning to the penguins. Altaïr had perked up at the mention of Antarctica, turning to the man almost identical to him.


"Antarctica..?"


Desmond blinked, then gave a nod and shifted his position, searching his mind for a proper explanation of the place.


"It was discovered way, way after both of your times.."


Altaïr's features darkened in the span of a second before it went back to normal, also returning his gaze to the penguins. Ezio settled for acting like he hadn't heard anything. A pang of something that could very well be guilt radiated throughout his body, and it occurred to him how.. horrible it must feel to know you were supposed to have died long, long ago. Luckily, Ezio's continued questioning quickly made that feeling go away.


"Why are they swimming?"


A pause, and Desmond shrugged.


"Dunno. They can't fly, so I guess they needed a way to get around."


Ezio turned back to them, apparently awed by the fact that a bird couldn't fly, and proceeded to regard each and every one with renewed curiosity. Then, his gaze returned to Desmond.


"Why do they walk so funny?"


Desmond shrugged again, and was about to answer with a "I don't know", when something caught his eye. One of the smaller penguins had shuffled close to where Altaïr stood, head cocked to the side and studying the man behind the glass with as much interest as Altaïr was giving it. Altaïr, having noticed this, mimicked the penguin, then let his right index finger slide up and down the glass. When the bird's head followed the finger, delight instantly pooled into the eldest assassin's gray-ish brown hues. In order to see if the penguin would do it again, Altaïr, instead of a line, drew a circle. And, like before, the penguin's head followed the movement. The rather adorable sight had made Desmond smile to himself, absentmindedly shoving his hands into his pockets in order to protect them from the cold radiating from the habitat. It wasn't long before Ezio had caught sight of the penguin and man interacting and instantly let a whine spill from in between his scarred lips.


"Not fair! I want one.."


Desmond, at this, couldn't hold back a chuckle. Altaïr simply flashed Ezio a smirk. In retaliation, Ezio pushed away from the glass and sidled up to Desmond, throwing an arm around his shoulder.


"I'm bored with these, ah, penguins. Let us go see something else!"


Too busy trying to wiggle his way out from under the taller man's arm, Desmond didn't notice the way Altaïr's eyes narrowed and something akin to possessiveness clouded the emotion in his formerly delighted eyes. The Auditore, apparently satisfied with the reaction he had earned, had been about to tug Desmond closer if the shorter male hadn't have succeeded in his wiggling away with a light dust of pink on either of his cheeks. Altaïr looked smug for the smallest of seconds, and after giving the penguin a brief nod as a way of saying goodbye, stepped up to his two descendants.


"Shall we go, then?"


Both Ezio and Desmond had parted their lips to say something, but stopped when they noticed the way the penguin had followed Altaïr the best it could from behind the glass. Desmond blinked, and Ezio smirked.


"Looks like you have an admirer, Altaïr."


Altaïr raised an eyebrow, then looked back at the tank with a bemused look on his tanned features. For the second time, Desmond couldn't help but smile. Ezio, apparently bored with the scene already, began walking toward the path to the next exhibit, clearly expecting the two to follow. Altaïr, almost hesitantly, began walking after Ezio with Desmond trailing behind, gaze trained onto the penguin that /still/ followed Altair behind the glass, until neither the tank nor the penguin could be seen anymore.


The next two exhibits passed by with with uneventful, documentation type stuff that made Ezio yawn and complain about how they needed to hurry up and get to something 'cool'. Of course, all complaining was silenced as the main attraction, the final exhibit, came into view. The entrance was a giant door with a gift shop next to it that urged the crowds to buy the featured toys and clothes, as well as cameras. The latter device perplexed Ezio, and caused him to bug Desmond until he finally gave in to the Italian man's demands, and purchased the smallest one available. As soon as Desmond had handed the camera to him, Ezio proceeded to run around and snap pictures of just about everything, including an annoyed Altaïr, until it occurred to Desmond that the Auditore was more than likely going to use up all the film. After he, with help from Altaïr, retrieved the camera, Desmond tugged his two ancestor's toward the exhibit and stepped through the door.


"Mio dio.." came the whisper from Ezio.


"Woah.." was Desmond's.


"This is.." even Altaïr, it appeared, was at a loss of words.


As soon as their eyes adjusted to the even dimmer lighting, they were able to make out the wide tunnel and rounded ceiling two stories above their heads. Everything but the floor and railing was made purely out of glass, letting them easily see through to the seemingly endless depths of crystalline water and schools of brightly hued tropical fish. Ezio had taken to circling around them, apparently trying to take in as much of the scene as he could.


"Amazing! Al di là amazing.. ! There's so much fish.. and- ah!"


Ezio's sentence was cut short as a sea turtle made its serene way through the water, unaware of the effect it was having on the noble man. Desmond chuckled, but found that he was agreeing with everything the Italian said. It really was beyond amazing. Due to his former lifestyle of trying to stay off the radar, he never really /had/ time to go out and do things like this. Suddenly, it occurred to Desmond that Altaïr was no longer standing with them. A few seconds of looking around was all he needed to spot the elder a little ways away, walking with his hands in his pockets as if in a daze. Once the Miles boy made sure Ezio was preoccupied with following the turtle, he made his way to Altaïr, and, when close enough, tapped him on the shoulder.


"Cool, huh?"


Altaïr's gaze slid to him, fixing Desmond in a stare before he finally nodded and returned his attention to the glass walls.


"I never knew that there was so much life under the water."


Desmond blinked and fixed Altaïr with a stare of his own, mind hurrying to think up a decent reply.


"Yeah. You didn't really like water that much, did you?"


Altaïr's attention once again returned to Desmond as he considered what his descendant asked, until finally he shook his head.


Their conversation would have gone on longer if a loud shout hadn't made both of their heads snap around and focus onto the rather loud source of the disturbance.


"Look! Look! Behind you! Quickly!"


Ezio's tone, almost breathless with excitement, caused them to cast their gaze onto the tank as fast as they could.


"What, Ezio? I don't see anythi-"


Desmond's voice had stopped in its tracks,  finally seeing the large, dark shape swimming with a lazy sort of elegance toward them.


"What is it?"


Ezio's voice came from somewhere next to him, still as breathless as it had been when he first spotted the thing. Desmond, in order to identify it, studied the shape as it swam even closer until he could easily make out the deadly, streamlined body.


"Uh.. I think it's a.. shit. I have no idea what kind it is, but it's a shark."


Altaïr was observing it intensely, almost as if he expected it to leap through the glass and attack them. Ezio, just as enthralled, was facing the tank next to Altaïr, both hands gripping the railing.


"I suppose you want a picture.."


At the mention of a picture, Ezio's entire face brightened, having forgotten about the little device he had so much fun playing with earlier.


"Of course!"


In response, Desmond reached around to fish in his back pocket, eventually pulling out the camera and lifting it up so he could peer through the viewfinder. Ezio had long gone back to watching the shark, one of his hands now pointing at it, and didn't notice. Neither did Altaïr, who was facing Ezio with his head turned toward the tank.


"Smile!"


Only when Ezio and Altaïr's faces turned toward him, a grin on the Italian's face and a rather annoyed-looking expression on the elder's, did Desmond's finger press down upon the shutter button.