The Act

Title: The Act.

Author: Nyarlathotep

Series: Assassin's Creed II

Characters/Pairings: Cesare/Leonardo, Ezio, Micheletto

Rating: Hard R

Specific Warnings: Oral Rape, (non-explicit) Some hitting.

Summary: Cesare and Micheletto corner Leonardo in his Roma workshop and attempt to ensure his continued cooperation

Cesare Borgia and Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci are actual historical figures but the versions of them which appear in this fanfic as well as Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Micheletto Corella are © Ubisoft



Fanfic and perversion © Nyarlathotep

 

The Act

When Cesare's hand fell, Leonardo reeled for a moment, his cheek reddening; instantaneously numb then suddenly stinging as his head snapped roughly to the side, blood welling in his mouth where he had bitten his lip. The backhanded slap was sharp and brutal, making his ears ring. Leonardo flexed his aching jaw, spitting a bit of crimson onto the floorboards. He returned a level gaze to Cesare's seething face, then let his eyes drift over the man's shoulder to regard Cesare’s man Micheletto, standing near the workshop door with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked on impassively, appearing relaxed and barely interested in the scene before him.



Leonardo idly wondered why Cesare's personal brute was not the one administering his beating.



But then again he was only useful to the Borgia while alive. Micheletto would simply murder him. Cesare only meant to frighten him with pain; to subvert his will with violence against his person and threats against his assistants, former patrons and friends.



Cesare demanded his attention again, filling his vision and Leonardo steeled himself, refusing to flinch back. He did not consider himself to be at all brave but he had seen so much bravery and sacrifice from Ezio over the years he had known the Assassin, to at least pretend at courage in the face of his jailer. Ezio would come and when he did make contact, Leonardo intended to be ready to assist him. In addition to designing flaws into his war machines and somehow smuggling Ezio the information on how to best disable them, he could distract Cesare from actively seeking the Assassins out, giving the Brotherhood time to plan and act. He could engage his mind and chart his own involvement in the grand play.



He could outwit his arrogant oppressor and best him at his own game.



Cesare's lips curled in anger and egotistical disdain, his wide eyes shot-red with rage and, the artist thought, maybe a touch of actual lunacy. Leonardo very quickly made his decision. He was an artist after all, he knew about expression and emotion. Leonardo screwed up his face into a mask of hatred he could never possibly feel in his heart, appearing to allow his anger to get the better of him.



"Despite how you have twisted my work, I am a man of peace, Borgia..." He spat intentionally, flecks of red from his bleeding lip speckling the hem of Cesare's doublet. "However, I can tell you that I will lift a glass on the day he finishes you."



That time the blow he received was administered by Cesare's closed fist and his vision went blue and then black for a moment, his knees sagging. Leonardo's stomach heaved and he thought in a brief surge of panic that he might actually vomit but as his sight cleared and the tinny whine in his head subsided into the dull roar of his quickened heart-beat, he forced himself to calm and inhaled through his still unbroken nose, straightening up again. He would continue to resist retaliating for as long as it took. His jaw ached and he could feel his cheek beginning to swell and purple.



"Your Assassino?" Cesare laughed like he hit; sharp and hard and humorless. "That figlio di puttana will never kill me." He hissed, glowering over his shoulder at Micheletto and growling. "Leave us... but maintain your vigil."



At this the man nodded and left the workshop for the anteroom, closing the door behind him with rather more delicacy that Leonardo had been expecting.



"Your dog obeys you well, however did you train him?" Leonardo had never considered himself to be particularly sharp of tongue. He was gentle, affectionate and polite, if a bit distracted... but the Bastardo, Cesare caused him to rise to it, he was more than a little ashamed to admit.



"Would you like me to show you?" Cesare's demeanor changed abruptly, like a theater performer in a two sided mask and he approached until they were inches apart and Leonardo could feel his heat. "That you can then return to your Assassino and mold him to him serve you as Micheletto serves me?"



The man was so close, cheek to cheek with him and his breath against Leonardo's ear made the artist shiver with something like loathing. The emotion was unfamiliar to him and he found he actually had to grit his teeth to keep his voice from quavering.



"Unlike you, Ezio understands loyalty of a kind beyond that which can be bought with lust or coerced with fear. You may be able to continue to force my hand but you will never force my heart against him."



"I have no need to further coerce your loyalty, Ma-es-tro..." Cesare stretched out the honorific with a sneer, closing the scant inch between them and finally Leonardo really did physically recoil, wincing as Cesare's ornate armor dug into his ribs through his heavy doublet and the man's hand groped between his legs in a manner clearly not designed to be in any way pleasing. "What I do with you will not be for nearly so lofty a purpose."



Of course the Borgia pig would take that as well. Leonardo internally scoffed at Cesare's predictability. After all the things Leonardo had been forced to endure at the hands of the Borgia, it was hardly surprising that someone like Cesare would be unsatisfied with simply taking control of his life and his intellect, telling him where he would live and what he must do with his time. Apparently all that was not enough for Cesare and it seemed he was now intent on using Leonardo's body, despite the artist's advancing age.



In his mind Leonardo rolled his eyes.



But he couldn't help but feel terribly guilty about working against the Assassins, regardless of the fact that his involvement was forced. He was ashamed of his general lack of courage and his inability to resist the Borgia's coercion from the beginning and reasoned that if it would help at all, he could endure this as well, for Ezio's sake.



"You would have me against my will?" he breathed in a voice which intentionally quaked with shock and fear he did not actually feel, reeling back to glare into Cesare's shining, ruthless eyes. He knew now that it would come down to this performance. If he was to be assured of enough freedom to continue to help Ezio while under Borgia watch, he must have Cesare convinced that he was thoroughly cowed. He felt he owed it to his old friend, so Leonardo would do whatever he could to help Ezio bring down the Borgia and free Roma and all of Italia from their corruption.



"Oh yes, Maestro... I would indeed." Cesare's laugh was calculatingly cruel; a mirthless sound only comparable, in Leonardo's mind, to the wild cry of the Pie* bird. That such a sound could emerge from a human throat briefly horrified the artist and for a moment the fear in his eyes was real.



It was enough to convince Cesare and he grinned maniacally, gripping Leonardo by the chin, twisting harsh fingers into his beard. Leonardo let his eyes drift to the side, focusing on something in the middle distance while he was pushed down onto his knees and made to open his mouth by the pressure of Cesare's hard grip on his aching jaw.



He kept memories of Ezio in the fore of his mind while Cesare was in his mouth; in his throat... How the Assassin would always greet him warmly with arms thrown open and how, when he would take his hood down, his eyes would shine with good humor despite the tragedy and constant violence which defined his life.



When Leonardo choked and began to cough, Cesare pulled back and slapped him hard in the face again, putting himself away wet with Leonardo's saliva and still hard as steel. He had not even bothered to finish.



Hot tears rolled down Leonardo’s cheeks and they were maybe a little more real than he would have liked, streaking his face and stinging his split lip as Cesare laughed, leaning far over where Leonardo bowed his head and shook, breathing hard and pressing the back of his hand against his sore mouth.



"I think I could derive some further enjoyment from you Maestro... Until that time..." Micheletto opened the door from the outside, just as Cesare stepped through it and Leonardo had no doubt that the man had been watching and listening the entire time. He shook his head wearily, struggling to his feet after they had gone and he could no longer hear their footsteps outside. Leonardo drew his curtains and settled into a chair, pouring himself a short glass of Grappa and wincing as it burned across his damaged lip and down his abraded throat.



Well, that hadn't been so bad. Leonardo was certain that he knew enough about Cesare Borgia to play this part. Cesare must have been nervous to come and personally abuse him and Leonardo speculated that it could only mean that Ezio was already in Roma... The artist smiled and sipped his Grappa.



For Ezio, he could endure as much as Cesare could give him.



---------------------------O-------------------O------------------------



^{*Until the 16th century, the European Magpie was just called a Pie.}