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Jameel removed his blindfold and stared at the sky. Each breath brought with it the knowledge of the hidden blade's presence, the cold metal so near to taking his life. The Master Assassin ignored the others gathered around the ring, and, for the moment, ignored Lex's presence.

Had he truly been serious, you would have been dead already, Jameel, he thought to himself. And had I been truly serious, so would Lex. We must be faster. Much faster. Especially in the beginning.

"Let me up," said the downed man. Lex drew back, broken out of his battle haze, retracting the weapon. He kept his eyes on the sand, a cold lump settling in his chest. A tremor snaked up his frame before a hand settled on his cheek. Brown eyes found blue as he blinked the grit from his eyes and focused on Jameel. "What prize does the victor claim?" The Sparrow stood and held out his hand to the other man.

"Yallah, Red Owl. I thought sparrows were the only ones to take dust baths." Jameel squeezed his lover's arm tightly as he was levered to his feet, coming away with blood on his fingers as he released him. The cheers of the Novices were muffled, sounding as if he heard them through a cloth wrapped over his ears. Lifting Lex beneath his arms, he set him down on the other side of the ring and pushed him toward the door to the keep. The Sparrow glanced back at him before reluctantly threading his way to the infirmary to have his wounds tended.

As the crowd began to disperse, the Novices and Journeymen muttering among themselves, the Masters giving him appraising looks, Jameel noticed who all had been assembled there. A low chuckle escaped his lips. And so the Red Owl is humiliated in front of the entire Brotherhood... The Grandmaster and his wife, no less! His feet began to carry him somewhere. To where, he wasn't certain, but he let them move nonetheless. This stings. It shouldn't. It was Lex. It was only a lesson, a simple show of training. Yet it stings more than any physical pain I've encountered. Very vicious blow, my Sparrow. What a very vicious blow you've dealt me.

As he made his way out of the training yard, the Red Owl stalled, hearing Gilbert say quite happily, "Pay up!" He looked at the two men as Desmond handed over the coin he owed.

"It was sheer dumb luck," grumbled the Novice.

"You'll pay up nonetheless, my friend."

"Desmond." The bartender looked up at his name being called. He then found himself on the ground, his mouth full of sand and pain ringing in his head. The German shifted, raising his blonde brows at the taller man's slip of control, but not as surprised by it as he seemed. Jameel continued on his way, leaving the young man from the future to swallow down what grit he had to and to spit out the bloodied bits he couldn't.

When Lex returned from the infirmary, his arms bandaged almost from shoulders to fingertips, a few bandages over his chest as well beneath his tunic and hood, the Master Assassin had disappeared from the training yard. Frowning, Lex set out toward the village. He stopped when a flash of white caught his eye far above him. Turning his feet, he made his way to the ladder standing against one wall, climbing up toward the top of Masyaf's tower.

Standing at the top, he looked at Jameel through the two columns that flanked his seat. He was seated on one of the diving-board-like planks, the one beside that which Lex had performed his first Leap of Faith from. Jameel heard his footsteps, but didn't shift his gaze from the river far below, watching the winding course even if so far above it was almost impossible to see the flowing of its current except for where it crashed against the rocks that jutted from its waters. He had a hunch it was Lex. That was why he continued to stare out at the river even as the footsteps grew louder, stopping just behind him.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Jameel shifted himself so that one arm was propped on a crooked leg, allowing the other to dangle from the side of the plank, but didn't turn to the Journeyman.

Instead of answering the question, he said, "I've been humiliated most of my life. Every time I prove myself, something happens and it all collapses. I feel sometimes the only reason I'm ever taken seriously is because I'm an Assassin." His head lowered, white hood following. A smirk curled his lips. "That was never the case with you, was it, my little bird? You saw me as a man first, an Assassin second. I thank you for this. Even for this latest humiliation in the courtyard. I thank you for it. You can leave for home with a clear conscience now that you've beaten me this way."

There was more to it than this, he knew. He kept his lips sealed on his true feelings, though. Now was not the time for weakness. Better to give his lover a lie than to force him to stay and hurt.

"I thought you were gonna take my head off, Jameel!" Lex shouted, his voice echoing briefly as he strode over and stepped onto the planking in front of the Master Assassin, reaching down and hauling him up by his robes. Jameel stumbled to stand straight, eyes wide. He was shaken by the smaller man's anger, shaken physically as well, the fists he more than likely could have crushed within his own jostling him back and forth like so much limp meat. "If my pinning you out of some insane desire to accomplish the goal of self-preservation makes you emo as much as this, throw me off this tower right now!"

He spread out his arms. "Well? Go on! Do it!" The Sparrow looked him in the eye. "You're Jameel the Red Owl"--his voice quavered--"my lover, the most badass Assassin ever! If someone plucked your eyes out with a spork, you'd still be able to reach over and...I dunno, rip out their larynx or whatever the hell's closest at that point in time!" He groaned. "Please, Jameel, stop emoing. So you've been humiliated most of your life. You've gotten over that s**t before. No different now." He took a shaking breath and took a step backward, then another. "And if those piss ants so much as make you have an inkling of thinking you're anything other than what I just said, I'll kill 'em so slow they'll wish they were all aborted fetuses by the time I'm done." Another breath. "So, are you going to push me or what?" He took one foot off the edge and leaned back.

Jameel was momentarily stunned as his lover backed toward the edge of the platform. That animal in the training ring wasn't him. That animal had nearly killed Lex. A few centimeters one way or the other on his neck and his life would have flowed out into the sand. The only reason it was held back for this long was because of the Creed. I lost control. Started changing into something I'm not... His mind snapped into focus as his eyes registered the Sparrow's tilting backward. Several things rushed through it at once.

He would fall off center and break his bones. No, the lean was too far for that.

He would fall and miss the hay entirely, continue falling into the river, be swept away.

For an instant, he caught a glimmer of fear in his lover's eyes.

Jameel grabbed Lex by the front of his robes, pulling him away from the edge, and kissed him.

Nobody else was around but them, the usual guards having gone to retrieve their replacements from their quarters some little while ago. Nobody else mattered but him, the one in his arms.

Lex returned the kiss feverishly, arms locked around him. "Every try a double Leap?" he murmured, kissing him again. "Two people at the same time?" He smirked. "Probably never done it while kissing, huh?" Jameel grinned.

"I've never tried it. I've tried the Leap of Faith backwards a few times, even sideways, but never with someone else. Let alone while kissing them." He kissed Lex again, trusting the smaller man to guide him through the Leap as his mind briefly turned over what Lex had told him. What he'd said gave him a few ideas, but what was a spork? It could be a good thing, but in the eyes?

Lex smiled and took his hand, moving over to the edge of the plank. The Sparrow kissed him again softly, deepening it as he folded the Owl into his arms and stepped off into the air with him.

Jameel felt himself tip forward, then no ground. The sensation of falling...or flying...whichever came first, then the hay bale. He popped his head out of the hay bale, their lips parting, arms tight around Lex. "That was..." He trailed off, speechless.

Lex laughed as he sat up and nodded, head also breaking the surface of the hay. He grinned over at the man, then leaned his head into his chest. The Sparrow blinked as the muezzins started up their mid-afternoon adhan, raising his eyes and looking into the icy ones above him.

"You've got hay in your hair." He reached up and lowered Jameel's hood as he began pulling out the stalks. He pressed a hand to the Red Owl's cheek gently.

Jameel reached over and lowered Lex's hood, pulling the straw from his hair before running his fingers into it. He sighed, "I'm going to hate to see you leave." Lex wrapped his arms around him.

"I'm gonna hate leaving." He looked toward the rest of Masyaf, expecting Desmond to just run over, crystals in hand. His head was turned gently back by his chin so he faced the other Assassin once more.

"Maybe stay just slightly longer?" Jameel bent his head and kissed him once more, lying back in the hay with him.

As the two lovers were speaking in the tower, Desmond was having a talk with Gilbert and Sarah over the issue of just how long they should remain in Masyaf. After much holding back of Sarah, who abhorred the idea of having to see the two young men leave, Gilbert suggested, "Why not leave them another day or two, Desmond, at least until we've all said our goodbyes?"

Agreeing grudgedly, the Eagle walked toward his haystack. He looked down at the two men as he saw them eating each other's faces there.

"Well," he announced, "Altair's taking his sweet a** time about getting back to us with the solution, so looks like we've got another day or two of waiting. Guess we'll be going back tomorrow night or so. Now get your asses out of my haystack! You've got the entire damned top of the tower to lie on!"

"Your haystack?" Jameel snorted. "This isn't your time, Desmond, as you like to remind us, so you haven't a single claim to this haystack."

Lex cackled as he stood and pulled Jameel up after him, "C'mon. Let's let his highness at his beloved. He's right anyway. We do have the top of the tower." The two set off toward the ladder to return to the top of the tower. "Wanna sleep up there tonight?"

Jameel made his way to the top of the tower first. When Lex pulled himself up from the last rung to the top, he found the Red Owl waiting for him, motioning for him to come join him where he lay on the floor, having stolen some cushions from the floor below. The guard had looked slightly put out at the pair's antics, but hadn't stopped him from taking his bedding.

Lex laid down with his hands behind his head, shifting his eyes from the cloudless sky above to the Owl's eyes. "Beautiful." A light blush colored his cheeks as the word left his lips.

"Yes?" Jameel chuckled. "Oh, were you talking to the sky, or me?" He laughed at the blush on his lover's face, kissing it away. In all his travels with the Sparrow, he felt he'd seen him more embarassed than any other emotion.

"I wasn't looking at the sky when I said it, Jameel." Lex turned on his side, wrapping an arm around the Owl's waist. He smiled and kissed his cheek before nestling down into his arms.

Jameel smiled. Burying his face into his lover's hair, he soon drifted to sleep. This would be the last time they slept like this before it was just him, sleeping by himself. How long would it take for his scent to fade from the pillows in his room? He clutched his Sparrow to his chest to ward away the impending nightmares of lonely souls and the possibility of eternal sleep if he slipped up even once. No pleasant dreams came to him, but he held him tight in his arms all the same.

After being held so tightly, Lex watched him for a minute before lowering his head and shutting his eyes. He sank into sleep, fingers curled into his Owl's robes.

The next morning Lex stirred just before dawn. He sighed and looked down at Jameel. Leaning his head back down again, he listened to his heartbeat.

Jameel felt a weight on his chest when he awoke. He found Lex sprawled atop him, using him as both pillow and bed. He grinned and cast his eyes to the ceiling, fingers stroking the smaller man's neck. There was no sense in disturbing him, so he let him sleep on.

"Morning or afternoon?" Lex slurred, finding he'd dozed off and the light had grown around him since the last time he was awake. Toying with a strand of Jameel's hair, the Sparrow followed the Master Assassin's eyes ceilingward. "What? Are the cracks changing into the prophets? Is that why you didn't wake me up?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You looked so comfortable." Jameel shifted himself as Lex turned, pressing his back to his chest and twining their fingers as he looked at the ceiling. He tilted his head to look up at him, smiling and pointing with his free hand.

"If you squint and tilt your head, that cluster over there looks like a minotaur with a flamethrower." The older man gave him a patient smile in return and kissed his brow, settling back and listening to him talk about what he saw in the meaningless zigzags above them. Jameel made no comment, letting him talk. Who knew when he'd get to hear the Sparrow again? Just keep rambling and I'll be satisfied, my love.

"You make a good body-pillow. Y'know that?" Lex rolled so he was lying beside him, head on his shoulder. He began to fiddle with his hair again, coaxing it into little tufty spikes, kissing his neck. "I love you." He laughed. "Probably sick of hearing me say that, huh?"

"Why do you say this thing?" Jameel gave him a confused glare, hugging him like a stuffed toy. "I like hearing you talk. I'd never tire of hearing you say that, not if you said it a thousand times over for a thousand years." He nuzzled against his cheek, blowing out a stream of air against his ear just to bug him. Lex squirmed and buried himself deeper into his arms, sheltering his ear against his neck.

"Glad to hear it, but easy on the death glare." Lex returned the hug, working his face into his hair. He tugged at Jameel's ear in response to the blowing. "Asked it 'cause I'm allowed to be stupid sometimes, aren't I?"

"I suppose so." He gently poked the Sparrow in the chest with a finger. "But don't overdo it." Jameel's grin faded away suddenly, his gaze softening considerably. His mind had started to drift to when Lex would leave for his own time. That would be a rather lonely experience--no, that was an understatement. It wouldn't be lonely but devastating on both sides. What will I say to you then?

Lex looked at the finger still pressed to his chest before taking it and twining the rest of them together.

"Yeah." He met his gaze, wanting to say something, but unable to find the words that would lead to anything other than a torrent of further words and most likely tears. "I won't forget. You don't forget. All right?" He lifted a finger and poked his nose. "Or else." He nodded.

"I'll never forget, Lex." Jameel grinned again when his nose was poked, tilting his head and kissing the finger. He sighed, taking Lex's hand and pressing it to his lips. If the need arose, he would most likely take a woman, but the knowledge that there was a standard none of them could reach for him left even the idea of the act with them meaningless. I'll never forget you. No one will ever come close.

Lex echoed the sigh, sitting up and feeling just about every joint pop.

"Oh, yeah, that always goes well." He flopped back down again. "So, are we just gonna lay here or...?" The Sparrow looked back at Jameel. "Not that laying and enjoying the view isn't great." His mind was stuck on thinking forward, toward the end of the day. He forced himself to think back and thought too far, his mind resting on the problem that had brought him there in the first place. "Hey..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

"What? What'd you want to say?" Jameel propped himself up on an elbow, eyeing him curiously. "If it involves executing a Leap of Faith without clothes and landing on Desmond, I'll have to say no. The only reason I'd do that is if I'm drunk! Besides, I don't want to have to hear Desmond whine all day. I don't want to have to hear him at all, really."

Lex laughed, "No, no, it's nothing that involves Dessy. Just... Well, what would you do if you had no weapons on you and some guys were chasing you down to do their damnedest to make sure you didn't get up again when they were done with you?" He swallowed and licked his dry lips. "Stupid question, right?"

Jameel gave the Journeyman a rather confused look. What precisely did he mean by that? Was someone after him? If they were, the little display from yesterday should have warned them away well enough. And if not...

"I'd find a weapon and fight back." Jameel raised himself to a sit and held Lex's face between his hands. "And if there are no other weapons left to you, I'd hope you'd use what I've put into your head, little bird."

Lex nodded, giving him a small smile as they stood and made their way down to forrage for some breakfast.



"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Amir shouted, clinging to Lex, who was sprawled on his back in the dust. "No! I don't want Brother to leave!" Tears streaked messily down the Coal Tit's face as he sobbed himself hoarse. "My brother! Mine! You can't leave! You can't..."

"Shhhh. Stop, little brother. Stop, brother dear." Lex kissed his forehead and hair gently, rubbing his hand down his neck and back, the other around his waist. He wiped off Amir's face with his sleeve. "I have to go back."

"No!"

"I have to, Amiri."

"No!" Amir hugged him around the neck. "Ich bin dein Prinz! Ich verbiete es und keine Widerrede!" Lex shook his head and held the boy close as a fresh wave of sobs wracked his frame.

Lex stood, only for Amir to pull from his arms and race off. Sighing, he followed after the boy at a quick run, but he was already hidden. The Journeyman searched through the smallest nooks and crannies and corners for him until he decided to check the one place he hadn't looked yet. Making his way through the village from one end to the other, he passed through the market and on to the stables.

There Badr stood waiting for him, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed over the black cloth mask that covered the lower half of his face.

"What have you done with Amir? I found him in Ya-Bint-al-Hawa's stall crying so heavily he couldn't speak."

"I told him that I have to leave," said Lex. The narrowed eyes widened.

"You what?"

"I have to leave," he repeated. Badr frowned deeply, brow furrowing, eyebrows pinching together. He strode toward the other Assassin so they stood nose to nose.

"As your Sheikh and elder brother, I forbid this."

Lex shook his head, "Amir already tried that, Badr." Looking the older man in the eyes, he said a finally time, "I have to leave."

"Yela'an..." The messenger seemed to deflate at this, then rallied, stiffening in a show of anger. He snarled, "Fine! Fikk wle, zift!" Lex smiled a little at this.

"Wa ana uhibook, ahk al-ahkbar." The masked man stood there for a minute before looking at the ground. He reached up and drew back his white hood with one hand, revealing a head of almost hood-headed black hair, part tied back into a short ponytail high on his head. His right ear was decorated with three pierces: two on the cartlidge, one on the lobe. The black mask came down to rest around his neck, revealing his face in full. Three scars decorated the right half of his face, one cutting across into his hairline to stop just above his ear, another curving down by his eyebrow to end near his eye, curving slightly back on the end toward his hair. The third started just below his eye and cut in a ragged sort of crescent to just short of the tip of his nose, cutting across the top his nostril. The last scar was straight down over his blind left eye, starting at his forehead, down through his eyebrow, and ending mid-cheek. Along his neck and throat were the faintest traces of burn scars.

Lex found himself pulled to the messenger's chest. He returned the hug after a moment before Badr tilted his chin up, dipping his head to kiss both his cheeks and his forehead. "God be with you, Skandar. If you ever have need of my sword arm or dagger-tongue, I will come to your aid as I've sworn."

"Yeah. I'll hold you to it." Lex nodded and clapped him on the back, turning toward the stables, only to stumble back as Amir raced off again. Groaning, the Sparrow set off once more on the Coal Tit's trail.

The chase ended at Gilbert and Sarah's home. Lex shed his shoes and knocked on the door. Gilbert opened the door and ushered him inside.

"What's going on?" asked the tall German.

"Amir came running in with his face covered in dust and tears," Sarah added. "Has someone hurt him?" Lex swallowed at the sight of the woman, her a strand of hair slipping out from beneath the scarf she wore over it, a baby held in her arms. It was a tiny little thing from the looks of her. The Sparrow felt guilt gnawing heavily at his belly for not even noticing when Sarah had given birth, or hearing the news.

"When...?"

"Last night. You missed nothing, Spaetzlein, that I wasn't allowed to see myself," Gilbert laughed. Sarah shifted her arms, showing him the little girl swaddled in the small blanket. "Her name is Marianna."

"Marianna, huh?" Lex touched her cheek gently, then looked up at feeling Sarah's hand on his shoulder.

"What's happened to my son, Skandar?" she asked, her face serious. Lex sighed and braced himself inwardly for a possible slap.

"I told Amir that I have to leave." The hand fell away from his shoulder as silence heavy as the inside of an empty torture chamber filled the room. "Desmond told us that Altair's found a way to get us home. I have to go back with him." He followed the two to where all three of them could take a seat before he continued, "There are things that need to be sorted out there."

"Will you be coming back?" asked the couple in one voice. The young man swallowed hard.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to come back. If I can, I'll try. I promise." He shook slightly. Sarah gazed at him for a long moment before she put her arm around him and drew his head to her chest. Lex hugged her loosely, careful of the babe in her arms. "Yowch!" The Journeyman hissed as his hair was yanked by Marianna. The baby blinked at him, tugging at the chubby fistful of locks once more before her mother made her release him. "She'll hold a sword about as well as any pan, I can guarantee that with that grip she's inherited."

"Perhaps she will," said Gilbert. The German looked down at his young mentor before picking him up and hugging him tightly. "Gott gebe euch Kraft, mein junger Freund."

"Kommen du und deine Familie um mir Lebewohl zu sagen?" Lex returned the embrace before looking up at the man. Gilbert nodded.

"Natuerlich, aber es ist nicht nur meine Familie allein." The man tilted his head and settled a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "Wir sind auch deine Familie, Jungchen."

"Ach!" Lex laughed, blinking to keep the tears pricking the edges of his vision within his eyes. "Wirst du dann Onkel Tancred meine Gruesse ausrichten, Falke?"

"Natuerlich, Spaetzlein." The two nodded and hugged again before Lex made his way to where Amir was curled on Gilbert's bed.

"Amir?"

"Go away."

"Amir, listen to me." Lex edged into the room and sat on the bed. "I have to go back. It's...it's my home."

"Liar! This is your home!"

"But that was my first home. And it's in danger."

Amir sniffled and glanced over his shoulder at him questioningly. "It is." Lex nodded. "And Desmond and I are the only ones that can save it."

"From White Cloaks?"

"Yes, from the White Cloaks." Lex held out his arms. "Come here." The Coal Tit stared at him a moment longer before crawling into his arms and snuggling down. The young man ran his fingers through the boy's hair. "It'll be all right."

"Will you come back?"

"If I can." Lex managed a smile. "You know I love you, don't you, sweet brother?" In answer, Amir sat up and pressed his face into Lex's chest.

"My brother." The boy sniffed, working his face deeper into the Sparrow's robes. "My big brother kills all the Templars and comes home."

"Uh-huh." He kissed his head. "And when I get home, you'll be there to hug me and tell everybody I'm back."

"Brother?"

"Hm?"

"What's your first home like?" Lex smiled and began whispering in his ear. Amir curled his fingers as he listened to the talk of flying machines and underwater machines and carts that moved without horses.

"How big is it?"

"Big as the sky."

"No such thing," the boy yawned, eyes slipping shut as he fell asleep to the calling of the evening prayer. Lowering him down to the bed to sleep, Lex paused and looked around. Seeing nothing else to cover the boy with besides the blankets he slept on, he drew his white overtunic from his shoulders and placed them over Amir.



Desmond rose from his hay, shaking it out of his hair and clothes. Changing into his twenty-first-century attire, he went to look for Altair. The man wasn't hard to find, standing in the library with Maria and Malik. Desmond moved aside to let Badr pass and nodded to them.

Altair nodded in return and his descendant walked down the corridor to Jameel's room, nearly knocking his head on the top of the doorframe before he ducked down low enough to peer inside. The Master Assassin sat in quiet contemplation of the board between them, the Journeyman doing likewise.

"It's time, guys." The younger Eagle returned to where Altair and Maria had finished setting up some rough bedding, taking one of the crystals by the string Altair presented it to him on. He then looked up as the other Assassins entered the room and gave the two Falcons, the Hawk, and elder Eagle a two-fingered salute.

Lex moved into the room with Jameel, their hands clasped tightly together. Jameel looked at Altair as the Grandmaster explained, "You must put the crystals around your necks and act as if you're bedding down. Keep your minds focused on the last place you were at in your time. Once you've gone from the immediate area of the place, remove the crystals and you will stay there. Safety and peace be upon you both."

Desmond nodded, checked that he had everything he needed, and put the necklace on, lying on his makeshift bed. He looked at Lex and gave him a thin smile before closing his eyes.

Lex nodded and looked at the others. He swallowed and nodded again to them before turning back and looking at the Owl. The Red Owl. His Owl. Jameel. He hugged him tightly, shaking. He looked at Altair, Malik, and Maria before taking a long breath and slowly putting the necklace on, lying down on his back on the free bed. He took another long breath and was about to shut his eyes when...

"Lex." He turned his head and lifted his gaze to Jameel's face. The Master Assassin's eyes stared into his, soft and intent. "Ya'aburnee, habibi." Lex trembled, choking down a sob with as much force as he could muster. Resting his head back against one of the pillows, he closed his eyes and focused, focused on home.