Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed and all of its characters are property of UbiSoft. I do not profit from it, apart from getting entertainment from doing my fanfiction and improving on my language and writing skills. Also, all events and characters are purely fictitious and any similarities to people or events in real life are purely coincidental.
Written and typed as a submission for a Thanksgiving competition. The requirements for the submission is to having a Malik and Desmond pairing. But since I don't feel like portraying them as a couple, I hope portraying them as (possibly) close friends and housemates in some distant alternate universe counts. 
Malik gave a triumphant cry as the final scrape of his rake created a neat pile of dry leaves in his lawn. Gripping the rake under his left arm, Malik wiped the sweat off his brow and scratched his chin with his free hand as he looked at the brown leafy pile with pride.
It had taken all afternoon but it was well worth it. His precious lawn was neat once more, just the way he liked it. And he'd proven to Desmond, who had repeatedly insisted on helping him rake leaves in spite of repeated rejections, that he could do the job perfectly fine himself. And a damn fine job it was. Wiping at his brow again, Malik grimaced at the way his t-shirt was clinging to his body from the sweaty mess he was. Apparently, the raking had taken more effort than he realized.
Looking at his watch, he decided he'd just figure out how to sweep all the leaves into a garbage bag later. It was only thirty past five after all. Or he could just swallow his pride and get Desmond to do it when he got back. Right now, a long, relaxing hot shower sounded great.
Grabbing his rake and tossing it into the bin, Malik stepped off the lawn and into his house, eager to get his shower.
Now, all he had to hope for was that someone wouldn't decide to roll around in it. Or that someone's dog wouldn't suddenly decided to nose around in it and mark it.
Desmond whistled cheerily as he turned around the bend. His shift was finally over and he was eager to get home. It wasn't that he hated his job. It just got grating on his nerves when drunken people constantly blubbered their problems to him in intoxicated stupor.
Desmond was startled out of his thoughts by a sharp cry from above. Looking up, Desmond found his eyes widening in shock. What was an EAGLE doing in a city? He didn't have much time to ponder on it as the eagle flew out of sight. Then, he recalled his insistence at helping Malik rake up the leaves in their lawn. Grinning at the thought of having a pile of leaves to jump into and roll around in, Desmond decided that leaf piles were more important than random eagles and hastened his pace.
Minutes later, Desmond was dismayed to find himself standing in front of a VERY clean lawn. His disappointment was short-lived, however, as brown eyes zoomed in onto a large pile before him. Grinning in delight, Desmond ignored the odd looks he received from his neighbours as he gave a shout of joy and flopped into the leaves.
Malik, clad in only a white towel around his waist, stepped out of the steaming shower. That hour in there had done wonders for him. Distantly remembering some obscure news channel mentioning a clear night sky for that night, Malik decided he'd go brew a pot of coffee and go stargazing later. Stepping into the kitchen, he filled the pot, placed it on the stove and lit it when he heard a rather familiar shout which was followed by laughter.
Chuckling to himself, Malik shifted over to the window. A smile tugged at his lips. Desmond was such a-
The sight before him wiped any traces of mirth off his face.
-child.
Jaws dropped in horror as he saw his precious work being destroyed by the white hoodie-clad novice rolling around in it and laughing.
Desmond was destroying all his hard work.
Work which took him five. freakin'. hours. to. finish was being destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Promising murder in his eyes, Malik rushed out the front door.
Desmond rolled in the leaves, laughing merrily, before he got up. Looking at the destroyed pile, he felt a twinge of guilt. Malik had probably taken hours to rake up such a neat pile. He was so going to kill him for this when he found out. The guilt was washed away by a genuine fear for his life. Malik's aim with all forms of objects and sharp projectiles was deadly when angered.
Before he could locate a suitable hiding place, the front door slammed open. There, at the doorway, Malik stood in all his fluffy white toweled glory.
Desmond barely dodged the rake that flew overhead and thudded loudly on the fence behind him.
Malik swore loudly in Arabic as he surveyed the damage. Growling in irritation, Malik briefly considered picking up the bin and tossing it at Desmond, who was running for shelter behind a tree, as well. Just then, he heard girlish giggling to his left. Sharply turning his head to the source of giggling, he spotted four teenage girls huddled together, ogling and pointing at him. A dark blush crept across his cheeks as an awareness of how very naked he was came to Malik. In his anger towards Desmond, he had run out in only his towel.
Desmond peeked out timidly from behind the tree as he heard the door slam shut. The coast was clear. Sheepishly picking up the rake that was lying forlornly on the ground, Desmond began raking up the leaves. Knowing Malik, he was probably sulking off the rest of his bad mood.
Malik looked out the window at the night sky. Hours had passed since he had discovered the destruction of his neat pile of leaves. Giving a silent huff, Malik decided that he'd be damned if was going to let the incident stop him from viewing what would probably be one of the last few clear night skies for a while. Grabbing his pot of reheated coffee and a mug, Malik glanced out the window. Rolling his eyes at the shivering man outside, Malik felt a bit of guilt creep in at his earlier outburst. The poor man was probably hanging out in the cold, afraid to face his wrath.
Balancing another mug in his right hand and tucking a blanket under his left arm, Malik somehow managed the task of getting out the front door and getting behind Desmond.
Desmond jumped at the low, accented voice that growled in his ear, "Enjoying yourself?"
Teeth chattering and shivering at the cold, his hoodie having lost its ability to keep him warm, Desmond looked up at the man with uncertainty. He didn't seem angry anymore...
Rolling his eyes, Malik gently placed the items on the ground before settling down beside Desmond. "Novice," Malik growled as he lightly cuffed the back of his partner's head.
Wrapping the blanket around Desmond and himself, Malik surveyed the surrounding lawn. "You've cleared the leaves," he stated.
Desmond only nodded uncertainly, unsure of what to do in such an odd situation.
"Thank you."
Desmond merely coughed nervously and hummed in response. Edging closer to the man beside him for warmth in spite of himself, his arm accidentally brushed Malik's stump. Desmond tensed momentarily. Malik didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't make any mention of it. Said man was merely looking up at the clear sky, watching the stars.
Both men lapsed into a comfortable silence, with Desmond occasionally shifting closer to Malik for warmth and Malik offering him a cup of coffee. Minutes stretched on with only the chirping of crickets, an occasional rustle of sparse grass and the quiet slurping of black fluid.
Just then, a streak of light caught Desmond's attention. Swiftly turning his head in the direction of the light, Desmond broke out into a boyish grin and shook Malik's shoulder, "Mal! Look! A shooting star!"
Said man didn't reply. Puzzled, Desmond turned to see Malik staring at a sky with an unreadable expression. Grin fading slightly, Desmond prodded Malik lightly in the side, "Mal?"
Silence.
Perplexed, Desmond looked up to where Malik's eyes were seemed to be fixated on. There, a cluster of stars shone brightly. Desmond let out a whistle. Those were some bright stars.
Silence stretched on further before an accented voice spoke up, "That is the constellation, Aquila."
Desmond jumped slightly. "Aquila?"
"It is one of the brightest constellations at this time of the year."
Desmond mulled over the word and tested it on his tongue, "Aquila…"
Turning back over, he found that Malik's expression had turned pensive. "Mal… something bothering you?"
"Just reminiscing…"
Desmond merely nodded before both men lapsed into further silence. Whatever comfortable atmosphere that had built had now vanished along with the prior silence. Desmond felt curiosity creeping in on Malik's vague reply and felt like prodding him for answers… but it seemed like any talking would be counter-productive.
Desmond hummed nervously to himself before starting as Malik shifted closer. Damn, that man was making him awfully jumpy today.
"I had a… friend back home who was named after a star within that constellation."
Desmond raised an eyebrow at the man's words. He had never revealed things of his past before, at least not without incessant prodding, and Desmond had never really bothered to ask him about it. Eyebrows rising as a thought occurred to him, Desmond spoke before he could stop himself, "Had?"
Malik only hummed in response. Desmond picked his following words carefully, "Did… something happen to him?"
A mirthless chuckle was let out as Malik shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe yes… maybe, no. He and I, we were close childhood friends. We grew up together with my younger brother in a small village. Then, we enlisted into the army and served there."
Malik's voice had cracked slightly at mentioning his younger brother. Desmond's curiosity was piqued but he didn't press the man. He had the distinct impression that Malik just needed someone to listen right now.
"That fool, he was arrogant but I guess it was rightly so. No one could ever quite handle combat like he could. One might say he was a prodigy. I remember how he'd insist on defending Kadar and me when we were still children… even though I was perfectly capable of taking care of my younger brother and me."
Malik let out a wry smile at that memory. It didn't last long, however. Sometime during Malik's monologue, the mugs had been placed onto the ground, forgotten.
"Then, one day, we were sent out on a mission," onyx eyes darkened, "it was supposed to be easy. Just retrieve something from the enemy and return to camp."
Malik closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Desmond apprehensively placed his arm around Malik and let it rest lightly on his shoulder. Malik didn't reject it and leaned in.
"Maybe it was Altair's arrogance and idiocy. Maybe it was simply because I was inadequate. But the mission went terribly wrong… and I lost my arm. Kadar lost his life."
Desmond protectively tightened his arm around Malik. A brisk wind blew past and ruffled their hair.
"I wasn't fit for missions anymore and they put me into something you'd consider informatics. They said it was an important position and to consider it a promotion. After all, I could affect the outcome of one's mission in some way or another. But it felt more like an imprisonment, a death sentence to me."
Desmond dared a question, "You must have hated Altair."
A rough chuckle. "I suppose I did, for a while. But I forgave him. Altair had changed. He wasn't the arrogant man that he was before. And we all make mistakes. No one is perfect after all. Then… things happened. Long story short, I was released from the army and allowed to move here."
"And Altair?"
A forlorn sigh. "Maybe we could have been more."
Desmond stiffened at the implication of Malik's words but reprimanded himself silently for his reaction. "Goodness knows what has happened to him. We kept in contact for a time... then he met someone."
Malik smiled lightly, though the smile didn't quite meet his eyes, "The letters continued a while more… though they took much longer and came less often."
"They eventually stopped."
Desmond breathed out heavily through his nose rubbing Malik's arm gently, "That must have really sucked."
Malik chuckled at Desmond's choice of words, "I'd like to think that Altair has someone who loves him for the novice that he is and that he's too busy for silly letters now."
Desmond didn't question Malik further but simply pulled him closer. Malik followed compliantly, wrapping the blanket tighter around them. Silently, both men gazed up at Aquila as it glinted brightly in the star-strewn sky.
Too far for either man to see or hear, a lone eagle soared across the dark sky and let out a cry.
