Work Text:
When Ezio returned to Florence, he learned that Leonardo had moved to France – at the invitation of the French king. The Order had shown that it could survive without him during his time in the Ottoman Empire and so he had little regret leaving them behind.
Perhaps it was selfish, but Ezio had given decades to the Order. He felt after all the time, blood and effort he had sacrificed, he was justified in being selfish. Life was short and he wanted to spent whatever time he had left wisely.
He bid the other members of the Order goodbye, especially his sister and nieces and nephews, feeling his age and the unlikeliness of him returning to them, and found passage to France. Fortunately for him, Leonardo’s new patron was well known, as kings tended to be, and easy to find.
Amboise was a lovely little town with houses unlike any Ezio had ever seen before, located at the bank of the Loire. The King himself and his entourage had returned to Paris but Leonardo, he was assured, remained at the Manoir du Cloux.
It was a lovely place, with white and pink brick walls, two storeys high and surrounded by a park despite being in the centre of Amboise. A far cry from the tiny workspace in Florence where Ezio had first met him. He was glad to see that his friend was well taken care of even if a part of him wished Leonardo had stayed in Italy.
He might be feeling his age, but Ezio found it easy enough to climb the walls undetected and make his way into the house. As he made his way through the courtyard, he could already see the little touches Leonardo’s presence had left on the place. The aviary, the garden, the lack of meat in the kitchen.
Leonardo had never kept many servants even when he could afford them and so Ezio made his way to the house unhindered. The house was well-kept and beautiful, a far cry from the crammed studio where they had first met.
Ezio allowed himself a moment of nostalgia for the years of his youth before moving on to find Leonardo. He had told no one, not even his sister, where he was going so no one could’ve warned Leonardo even if their letters had reached him before Ezio did.
He kept his steps quiet so that they wouldn’t echo across the tiled floors as he passed a great salon and a bed chamber, which looked unoccupied. Ezio had wondered if Leonardo’s assistants had joined him or not, but if they had it seemed they did not live here with him.
Leonardo’s workshop was on the south-west corner of the building where he would get the most light, and as always it was a mess. Papers were scattered over every available surface together with paints, charcoals and similar clutter.
For a moment Ezio stood in the door and watched Leonardo, who was sitting in front of an easel, completely engrossed in his painting. It was a familiar sight; Leonardo always seemed to completely forget his environment when he felt inspired and Ezio was happy to see him like this.
He deliberately scuffed his shoes against the floor.
Leonardo, without looking up, asked, “Did you forget something, Francesco?”
“I’m not Francesco”, Ezio replied and watched with delight as the sound of his voice pulled Leonardo away from his painting and back into the world.
“Ezio”, Leonardo breathed his name, brush and palette clattering to the floor as he stood up. “You’re here.”
“I am”, Ezio replied with a smile so wide that it hurt.
With a speed that made a lie of his age, Leonardo crossed the room and hugged Ezio tightly. A little more than a year had passed, yet Ezio had dreamed about this moment for months, when he would finally reunite with Leonardo for good.
As soon as Leonardo let got a little, Ezio cupped his face in his hands and kissed him. This, he had dreamed about, too.
“Did you miss me?” He asked as he wiped away the tears from Leonardo’s cheeks.
“Not at all.”
“That is too bad, because I missed you dreadfully”, Ezio admitted and pressed another kiss to Leonardo’s lips. Even though he had never been to this house before or this country, only now, encircled n Leonardo’s arms, Ezio felt like he had truly come home.
“Perhaps a little”, Leonardo replied when they broke apart. “Did you find what you were looking for in Masyaf?”
They had talked about the journey for years before Ezio had finally gone. At first Leonardo had wanted to join him but his obligations to his patrons had kept him.
“I even brought you a gift: the memories of Altair.”
“You spoil me”, Leonardo said but Ezio could already see the glimmer of curiosity in his eyes. In some ways he was glad Leonardo had stayed behind, especially given how dangerous the journey had turned out, but in others he regretted not having him there. Altair’s legacy belonged as much to Leonardo as it belonged to Ezio and the Order.
“I leave for a year and you manage to find yourself a King as a patron, so I have to leave an impression”, Ezio joked. “Should I be jealous? I know of your weakness for handsome young men.”
Leonardo gave him an indulgent look. “You are biased, mi amor. No one but you looks at me like that these days.”
“And what kind of look is that?” Ezio murmured.
“The one you are giving me right now”, Leonardo replied. “I am not a young man anymore.”
“Is that a challenge?” Ezio asked, leaning down to nip at Leonardo’s ear lobe.
“Only you would take it as such”, Leonardo sighed but he craned his neck, so he didn’t seem to disagree.
“Please show me the undoubtedly lavish bedroom where the king of France hoped to be ravished by you only to be ignored in favour of a bird sketch”, Ezio murmured while he lavished attention to Leonardo’s neck.
“If you want to bring up old stories, Ezio, should I remind you of your years of ignorance of all things possible between men?”
Ezio grinned against Leonardo’s skin. “Have I not proven to be an eager student ever since?”
“You mean ever since you came to me in the middle of the night, in a jealous rage over Salai?” There was a sharp tug of Ezio’s hair and he raised his head to meet Leonardo’s eyes. They were sparkling bright with amusement.
“Speaking of jealousy, Francesco came with you?”
“Salai as well”, Leonardo replied. “But they are not staying here. They’re young men and should amuse themselves.”
“And who will amuse you?”
“Well, that’s what you’re for”, Leonardo said and pushed a leg between Ezio’s thighs against his hard cock.
Ezio’s curse was swallowed by Leonardo’s mouth, and all the following as well, until Ezio pleaded “Bed?” and Leonardo took pity on him.
/
The bed was draped in red velvet against dark wood with a mattress comfortable and broad enough to get well re-acquainted after more than a year of separation. After weeks of travelling, it felt like a luxury that should be enjoyed as thoroughly as possible.
Still, eventually they had to take a break. As Leonardo had said, neither of them were young men anymore. Remembering his younger self’s inability to commit and ignorance, Ezio thought that was a good thing.
“So”, Ezio said, stretching out on the bed next to Leonardo. “Did you seduce the King?”
“It can hardly be a called a seduction if they throw themselves at you”, Leonardo replied, eyeing a scar on Ezio’s chest. “That one is new.”
“I knew it”, Ezio grinned. “And here you wanted to make me believe clever young men had stopped swarming to you like flies to the honey.”
“You certainly seem to think I am edible”, Leonardo replied with a pointed glance at the large array of bruises Ezio had left on his skin.
“What can I say, mi amor, I missed you.” Ezio rolled over, half on top of Leonardo and kissed him.
“Get off me, you human incubus!” Leonardo laughed and tried to shove him off.
“An incubus?” Ezio pushed himself up on his elbows to take his weight off of Leonardo. “I thought those were only active during the night.”
“Perhaps you are an especially prolific example.”
“Flatterer”, Ezio grinned and leaned down to devote his attention to the parts of Leonardo’s chest that had yet gone unmarked.
Since Leonardo was carding his fingers through Ezio’s hair as he undertook his new mission, he couldn’t be too unwilling.
“I did not sleep with Francis”, Leonardo said eventually.
Ezio, too engrossed in re-discovering Leonardo’s hip bones with his tongue, needed a moment to realise who he was talking about.
“I know”, he said, glancing up at Leonardo. “You dazzled him with your brilliance and charm and left him hopelessly confused whether he wanted to pay for your art or sex. And since the Church frowns upon the latter, he had to pick the former.”
“You did neither.”
“Ah, but I seduced you.”
Leonardo raised his eyebrows like he always did when they had this argument. It was well worn over the years like a good pair of boots. Ezio pushed himself up so that they were face to face.
“Admit it, you wanted to ravish me on your work desk the very day my mother asked me to run that errand for you.”
“Being pretty is not a seduction”, Leonardo replied.
“A pretty face, no, but those codex pages I brought you, that’s a different story. With each one I spun my web around you, ensnaring you, entangling you”, Ezio wrapped his arm around Leonardo’s chest and pulled him close so that they were skin to skin.
“A brilliant plan”, Leonardo admitted, “if it had been deliberate.”
“You got me there”, Ezio replied and drew him into another kiss. Nothing could compare to this, to the slow slide of their mouths against each other, their bodies warm and alive and together. A thousand years would not be enough to tire of this.
“And where will your next adventure take you?” Leonardo asked after withdrawing from the kiss. “The wilds of Russia? The golden kingdom of Ghana?”
“I was thinking of an afternoon walk around Ambrose”, Ezio replied. “If you’re not too busy to show me around.”
“I meant how long will you stay, Ezio?” Leonardo corrected himself with a fond shake of his head since he knew Ezio was being deliberately obtuse.
“How long do you want me here?”
His answer seemed to take Leonardo aback. “But the Order – “
“Is in good hands”, Ezio finished for him. “I’ve given most of my life to it, kept it alive, made it flourish. I’m not a young man anymore and I’d like to spent my last years in peace. With you if you’ll have me.”
“Ambrose is not an exciting place unless the royal court comes to town”, Leonardo said, wariness conflicting with hope in his eyes. “Will it be enough for you?”
Will I be enough for you? Ezio heard the question without it being spoken. He took Leonardo’s hand into his and kissed his fingertips.
“You have always been more than enough for me”, Ezio answered. “If you’ll have me.”
“What makes you think I would refuse you?” Leonardo replied, leaning in.
“You’ve known me for forty years, perhaps you’ve grown sick of me”, Ezio teased.
“Never”, Leonardo said without hesitation.
“Good”, Ezio grinned. “I will find a way to make myself useful. Poor Batista will be out of a job.”
“I suppose you were useful back when you ran errands for me”, Leonardo said, a smile playing around his lips.
“I’m also pretty good at jumping”, Ezio added.
“I don’t have much use for that I’m afraid.”
“Too bad”, he said, affectionately bumping his nose against Leonardo’s. “I’m sure you’ll find something to occupy me with.”
“Yes”, Leonardo replied, just before he pulled Ezio into a kiss. “I shall.”