Summary: In a world where after your 18th birthday, you do not age until you meet your soul mate, William Miles makes a rather... Distressing discovery.
William came to check up on the Assassin cell that had ahold of his son as he was in the area, and he had heard that something had happened to Desmond. He figured that his stubborn son was simply being more unreasonable than usual, and the last time they had seen one another, Desmond had been sixteen and had fled the Farm that evening.
Bill had not expected to see the other hooked up to the animus, having fallen into a coma after the apple had forced his son to kill Lucy - who had turned out to be a Templar traitor - which was an unfortunate state of affairs, but as she had served the purpose of getting Desmond the flying hell away from Vidic and his sadistic band of pseudo-scientific assholes, the American Mentor could not find himself overly affected by her death - but he did hide his apathy from Shaun and Rebecca - for whom the betrayal stung bitterly and the death saddened them.
He had dismissed the younger pair of Assassins, telling them to get supplies and find a hotel to shower and rest in for the evening, as he would watch over Desmond. They nodded and left obediently and Bill moved over to where his son was resting, and he silently wondered how deeply in Ezio’s consciousness and memories his son had sunken. Bill also wondered when his gangly, awkward son had turned into a sturdy, handsome young man who-
He shook himself mentally, a small frown appearing on his face as he wondered where the hell those strange thoughts had come from. Desmond was his son and he shouldn’t have such inappropriate thoughts. Bill huffed silently, realizing that he was getting a little over-emotional at finding his son again, only to have the other in such a delicate state of mind - possibly unable to escape his own mind, which would be heartbre- ... It would be disappointing but as Desmond was still going through his ancestor’s memories, they might be able to coax him into the next ancestor they needed him to go through – one Haytham Kenway. After Haytham, Desmond would go through Ratonhnhake:ton’s memories and then perhaps Edward Kenway’s as all three had contact with at least one Piece of Eden throughout their lives.
The mentor turned away from his son, intent on walking to a nearby window and taking a breath of fresh air, but he found that his body was refusing his orders. It would not move from where he was, by Desmond’s side. At the same time, the intense desire to kiss his own son rose up. The other’s lips were unfairly pretty, begging to be kissed. His hands itched to touch Desmond, to see how the other had grown and to hear and see the other squirm under his ministrations and William realized what this was, from descriptions that he had garnered from those who had the fortune to meet their soul mates, and finally be able to get older than eighteen years old. While having a young and strong body had it’s advantages, Bill was tired of looking as though he had just graduated high school.
Why the universe had seen fit to mock him horribly by making his soul mate his only child, William did not know. Perhaps it was because he was an Assassin and killed people... But he was protecting humanity from the steel-fisted grip of the Templars, who sought to break the free spirit of humanity, to control everyone around them so that they could impose order on the world and take freedom - take true life - away from everyone else, supposedly so that the world would be filled with peace despite the fact that every time the Templars were in power enough in a country that they could control the govern entirely, the simmering resentment of the populace always boiled over to the point where a Brotherhood would form, and the Templars would lose that country - occasionally via a violent revolution that swallowed the country up for years.
Desmond was his soul mate...Gorgeous, stubborn, feisty Desmond. Bill wanted very much to come closer and kiss  Desmond, to see if that might wake the younger man up. He shook himself of that childish notion - kissing one’s soul mate awake from a coma was a patently ridiculous notion that had been scientifically proved not to work, despite the old wives’ tales of miraculous things happening to cure or heal one soul mate, because of the other soul mate (or soul mates) presence(s) or because they were kissed gently on the lips. There was nothing he could do but to watch over the other and keep his hands to himself.
Desmond deserved a better soul mate... A better father, than one who wanted into his pants, that had driven the other away so that the younger man had fled and had managed to hide for years, and might have hidden longer, had the other not given into the temptation of getting a motorcycle. Of course, a motorcycle was one of the things that Desmond had wanted since he had been very young, and Bill hadn’t blamed the other for getting something reasonable and easily maintained, as the freedom of a motorcycle was well worth the added dangers, if you knew how to drive it well. A longing sigh left Bill’s lips and he concentrated hard, turning away from Desmond again and forcing himself to walk over to his work laptop and do something useful, rather than pining for someone he absolutely should not have... Despite being soul mates. They were supposed to be platonic soul mates, being related to one another and he wouldn’t let his lecherous body force himself on his unconscious son.
If... When Desmond woke up and realized what they were, Bill decided that they would have a long conversation about what sort of boundaries that they should have, what sort of relationship - if any - they would have with one another. If Bill was smart he would leave now, while Desmond was still in a coma and stay as far away from Desmond and this small group of Assassins as he possibly could. Nothing pleasant or good could come of the two of them bonding as soul mates. It would weaken them both in ways that the older Miles really did not want to deal with... There was also the fact that Desmond would likely be driven insane by the bleeding effect... And they needed the information that Desmond’s DNA possessed, desperately. But the thought of knowingly allowing his soul mate to be driven insane was enough for Bill to growl in anger and worry. He wanted to take Desmond (and the animus, which was helping to keep his stubborn, handsome, bright soul mate alive) and hide him in the most secure area that the Brotherhood possessed.
But that would be counter to the needs of the Brotherhood - and they needed the information and searching for the pieces of Eden through traditional methods was slow and inefficient to a degree... They simply did not have the time... Especially as the Templars were going through memories of captives, searching for anything remotely useful, including and especially Pieces of Eden. They had to play the same game, if they didn’t want to lose the war... And they were already having problems - the Templars were ascendant the world over, and they had effectively taken over Russia, with a puppet in power, whose every move was controlled and administered by them. They needed the information that was in Desmond’s genetic code, and they did not have the facilities to go through the other’s memories without Desmond himself going through them.
~
It was sheer agony being in Desmond’s presence as the other was unconscious. Bill longed to touch and kiss his soul mate... To see if he could gently shake the other awake, as if the other was only sleeping, and could easily wake up at any moment... Which was... In a sense... Very true. Over the next couple of weeks that blended into months as Desmond went through the last of Mentor Auditore’s memories, he helped them stretch and bend Desmond’s muscles, so that they did not atrophy as badly as they might otherwise do so, along himself those platonic touches, while the younger Assassins watched, as he did not trust himself not to touch where he shouldn’t while they were away.
They had set up in a cash-only hotel a couple of days ago, as they needed to do laundry and Bill... Bill needed to sleep away from where Desmond was lying, unconscious. It was getting more and more difficult not to do something to his precious soul mate, even though the other was unconscious. Even if it was just holding the other and begging Desmond to wake up, damn it! But that would be counterproductive in a number of ways.. Which was why he was by himself, in a rather... Suspect hotel, eyeballing the phone and wondering how much they would charge him for a stiff drink to help him relax and forget what continued to press heavily on his mind.
There was a rapid knock on his door, before Bill could make up his mind as to whether or not being tipsy would help or hinder him, and the mentor walked to the door, one hand gripping a weapon behind his back, just n case he had any unwanted company, silently cursing the fact that there wasn’t something on the door that would allow him to see who was standing outside of the door before he opened it. Bill cracked open the door and glanced out to see who it was, his eyes going wide and the knife in his hand dropping to the floor, embedding itself in the cheap, wooden floor with a dull thud. “D-Desmond?”
"H... Hi dad... Uhm... Is... Is anyone in the room with you? I... I want to talk to you, but I want to talk to you alone, please?” Desmond responded, looking pale and a little shaky.
Bill’s phone buzzed in his pocket at the same time, and he rather suspected that it was a text message from one of the other younger Assassins, informing him that Desmond was awake, but they didn’t know where the other had gone. “I am alone. Come in. I suspect I know what this about.” He opened the door wider and stepped back, silently gesturing for the other to come in.
Desmond nodded, looking shaky still as he walked into the room. The younger Miles walked passed him... Or walked to him, before latching onto him, a whimper escaping Desmond "I... I didn’t know we were soul mates... But please... I... My whole body is on fire and I need you.”
The mentor gently guided Desmond to the bed, setting the other on it, ordering “Stay there. I need to close and lock the door.” His son nodded and - for once - did as he was told without a snarky comeback. He locked the door as securely as he could, placing a chair under the handle of the handle for good measure. He double checked that the windows were closed and locked, as well as that the curtains were hanging so that the room was completely obscured from the outside. He checked for listening and recording devices - just in case - before turning back to Desmond, who looked like he was seconds away from leaping up at him.
“Dad please... I can’t... I... I need you please! We... We’re soul mates. I didn’t know that before I left and my body is on fire and damn it, I wanted to talk to you but please... Please fuck me.” Desmond begged, unable to stop himself from pleading, though he looked rather frustrated by how needy he was.
“I... Desmond I am well aware that we are soul mates. But son... What sort of relationship do you want, now that you are aware of this? I.. I found out when I came to check up on you and the others, after finding out that you were in a coma. I want you – but we should tmmph!” Bill responded, trying to keep his distance from Desmond, as he knew that he should try to stay as far away from the other in this small hotel room as he could. His son clearly wasn’t thinking all that clearly and one of them needed to, before they did something utterly stupid and irreversible.
Desmond had tackled him against a wall, pressing a frantic, clumsy kiss to his lips, his arms curling around Bill’s waist and the younger man pressed himself desperately to him “Please! I... I need you... I know I keep repeating myself but holy hell I’ve never wanted someone so much in my life... And... And you... You keep... You keep calling me son.” There was a teary, but happy expression on his face.
“Of course. Unless you have decided otherwise, your name is Desmond and you are male, yes?” Bill responded, worrying that perhaps he had misgendered Desmond.
“Yes, of course! I just... I wasn’t... You really... It’s just sometimes Shaun... Shaun forgets and it... It hurts when he calls me the wrong name.” Desmond responded, shivering a little, beaming happily as he cuddled closer to Bill, a small sob in his voice.
“They told me that you went by Desmond and preferred male pronouns... Besides, you told me when you were five that you were a boy. I believed you then and I still do now. I asked what you wanted your name to me and we went through a baby book of boys’ names until you picked it out.” Bill rumbled, a frown appearing on his face “I will have words with Mr. Hastings about minding his language better. He’s done that before with others and I have scolded him about it in the past. I was a little concerned about his behavior in that regards when he was assigned to you... Unfortunately he’s one of the best networkers we have.” There was a hint of a protective growl in his voice.
Desmond shivered in his arms, pressing closer still, grinning happily, despite his eyes being very wet “Th-Thank you. Rebecca usually hits him when he messes up... Or at least she did before... Before Lucy an... I went into the coma. It’s just... It’s... I... It makes me so happy that you... You’re using the right pronouns and name.”
“I’ve been a piss-poor father and an even worse soul mate, but remembering that is the least that I can do.” Bill rumbled. The desire to take Desmond was still high, but being able to hold his son - his soul mate - was helping.
“You’re doing better than most...” Desmond mumbled, curling into his father, yawning a little “Want you... But I’m so tired... I know I’ve been in a coma for a while but... Finding you was hard and...” He yawned again.
”It’s been quite the day, I can understand why you are tired” Bill responded “May I pick you up? So that I can set you down on the bed, and we can rest together. I will text Shaun and Rebecca, telling them not to panic, that I found you and that we’ve had a chat. I haven’t told them that you and I are soul mates.”
“I did kinda wander off without telling them where I was going. Then again, I did talk to them for a bit and they said that you were nearby and I... I just had this urge to talk to you and when you opened the door the reason why hit me all at once and I... I’m... I’m not sure what to do now... At least we might be able to grow old together...” Desmond mumbled “And yeah, you can carry me, if you want to. Rest sounds good. B-But we will... We will do it when I’ve got more energy, yes?”
Bill smiled softly at that, bending forwards a little as he gathered up his son, murmuring “Thank you, my handsome soul mate. As for sex... We need to talk in the morning about that, and other aspects of a relationship that both of us would like to have with one another. God knows I want you so badly but we need to be careful.”
"I... Understand. I wanted to talk to you but..” Desmond responded, his last sentence dangling a little.
Bill glanced down at Desmond, curious as to why the other hadn’t finished his sentence, smiling a little to himself as he pressed a fond kiss to one of the other’s cheeks as he realized that Desmond had fallen asleep in his arms. “I love and trust you as well, Desmond. I hope that you don’t freak out too badly when you wake up tomorrow.” He carefully set Desmond down on one side of the bed, taking off the other’s shoes and heavy hoodie before gently tucking him in and taking the other side of the bed, an arm wrapping around the other’s shoulders as he fell asleep, feeling content and happy in a way that he hadn’t in over a decade.
Bill was surprised that he was drifting off to sleep so quickly... Then again he had his precious soul mate with him, and so far, Desmond seemed to be himself. Hopefully tomorrow would go well, though Bill would be sure to prepare for his son to freak out pretty badly, as while blood family could be platonic soul mates, it was very clear that neither of them were reacting to one another in a platonic fashion.
With a sigh, Bill dug out his own phone and texted Shaun and Rebecca, after reading their frantic message about Desmond’s disappearance, telling them that he’d found his son - or rather, Desmond had found him. They had a brief chat and Desmond had fallen asleep while they were talking and that his son would be staying with him until morning. After that, the mentor fell asleep.
character: hate them | don’t really care | like them | LOVE them | THEY ARE MY PRECIOUS
ship with: Reaper76 is one of the few popular ships I will ship in this fandom, let me tell you.
friendship them with: Widowmaker never did let him shut her out---their pasts and stubbornness are too equally matched. For all Sombra grumbles over being treated like the bebé of their makeshift family it gives her a sense of place that she typically can’t allow herself.
general opinions: A roommate in Nerd House (where I live) has her room near the living room where all the gaming systems are. She doesn’t understand a wink of Overwatch, yet there have been moments where Reaper goes into his, “Die! Die! Die!” and you can here from the back bedroom, “Shut up, Hot Topic!” (I do love this asshole, but, oh my God, this is now what comes to mind whenever I think of him, help.)
