What did one do when one woke up to another dream?
Master Kenway on Charles’s left, brows knit in concern. Gray eyes scanning the length of Charles’s torso, lingering slightly on his shoulder
Connor Kenway on Charles’s right, a damp washcloth in hand. He was gently dabbing at the sweat on Charles brow, each touch as delicate as one might apply to clean fine China. His amber-brown eyes were gentle and soft.
It was a dream.
It must be.
Master Kenway cared for him but would never be at his bedside unless he was seriously injured. And Charles’s wife distrusted him, was alternately suspicious of him and disdained him in the real world. To have such tenderness from him was...
First everything he could ever want from his children and now the two most important people in Charles’s life?
His dreams loved to mock him with what he couldn’t have.
Charles made to turn away, feeling suddenly bitter.
He stilled when a dull ache spread from his shoulder.
Pain.
There was no pain in dreams, right?
Not physical pain at least.
So the fact that he felt pain must mean...
He glanced towards his wife, who had ceased his ministrations and now regarded him with worry.
Could it-could it really be real? These two men at his bedside, one a former enemy, now a cautious ally treating him with such gentle care. It couldn’t be.
Master Kenway he could believe if he’d been injured as his pain would suggest, but his wife?
“Connor?” he whispered, almost scared to hope.
His wife lowered the washcloth and looked away, a soft stain of red across his cheekbones.
“You exacerbated your injury to save my life. To save us all. And, I—,” he hesitated, biting his lip in consternation.
Connor rubbed at his face nervously.
After a moment, he looked back at Charles.
Charles could hardly believe it when his wife reached out, grasped his hand and bowed his head over it.
“I misjudged you. I may have misjudged all of you. And I apologize for that. You displayed remarkable fortitude, courage and generosity. Without your actions, I would not be alive right now.”
And Charles shuddered at that thought.
“I have shown you little more than distant courtesy and sometimes, not even that. It would have been excusable if I had still been your enemy, but we are allies now. And my treatment of you, my crew’s treatment of you, has been abominable.”
Charles glanced quickly at Master Kenway and saw that, like himself, his eyebrows had decided to make permanent home in his hair.
“I make amends, if you would allow them.”
Ah.
Charles felt a smile creeping on his face and ruthlessly squashed it. It wouldn’t do to raise his wife’s suspicions now that he had finally made some ground.
“I confess I am astonished,” he began slowly.
It was imperative to choose his words with care.
He quickly looked at Master Kenway again and saw the look of approval in those grey eyes.
“I did not think your own treatment of me so horrible.”
He was gratified to see his wife look at him in surprise.
“Your crew, I do not particularly care for, but they cannot be blamed for their protectiveness over their captain.”
And, loathe as he was to admit it, they could not. He would have done the same had he been in their position, with such a desirable and somehow oblivious young Omega captain.
“But if you wish to make amends, then know that I would restate my request to help bridge the distance between our two organizations.”
His wife’s eyes were round now, staring at him as if at a person that he had never met before.
Charles supposed that he really hadn’t met him before. The Charles his wife had known in this timeline had been exclusively an enemy. Had behaved terribly to the young boy that was his wife and been present at many of the greatest tragedies of his young life.
He would present a new Charles, as he sometimes was with the Order and those he loved.
“I would join you, partner with you, on future missions. I would fight at your side and at your back, if you would have me.”
If the Omega would trust him.
It was a test of sorts, only one that Charles was giving.
Would Connor shy away from his earlier desire to make amends due to his own fear of Charles? Would it even be possible to progress so far in so little time?
His wife looked down again, eyes fixed on his lap.
“You are very concerned about our alliance.”
The ‘why’ went unspoken.
Charles decided to answer it anyways.
“I am tired of the loss of life on both our sides.”
He had said it before, and it was true.
Johnson and Pitcairn were good men that Charles got along well with. Johnson was a bit too preoccupied with the Natives’ wellbeing (and look where it got him) and Pitcairn a bit too rigid and by the book, but both were honorable and worthy men.
And although Charles had killed them in the last purge, he supposed that there had been a few Assassins that were upstanding citizens otherwise. Even Achilles Davenport himself, ridiculous old codger that he had become, was someone to be respected.
Connor looked at him in consideration.
“There are ways to end the loss of life without such a personal interest.”
Master Kenway decided to add his thoughts then.
“You will find that Charles is very committed. It would not make sense for him to advocate something and then not participate in it himself.”
Connor looked thoughtful again, and Charles looked gratefully at Master Kenway.
Those grey eyes fixed on him and seemed to warn him to make the most out of Connor’s apparent softening. They needed to push this offensive if Charles ever wanted to get his wife back.
“And I would partner with you because I know that your apprentices do not trust me and would be so busy watching their backs around me that they would open themselves to attacks from their real enemy.”
Connor smiled at this.
“And perhaps,” he mused, “you would not trust them as much as you have not had experience with them?”
Charles conceded with a nod. It was one of his considerations.
Connor shook his head.
“You will need to work with them sooner or later if this alliance is to be real.”
Charles didn’t really need it to be real. He just needed the one with Connor to be real.
Connor looked at him again, looked at his father and Charles both.
“But you are right. Now is not the time for that.”
Connor focused his gaze on Charles alone, and Charles shivered at the intensity of that amber-brown gaze.
“I mean what I said earlier. If you wish to partner with me on future mission, then, if my father agrees, so be it.”
In Pursuit of Happiness 22
Chapter 23 - Change
What did one do when one woke up to another dream?
Master Kenway on Charles’s left, brows knit in concern. Gray eyes scanning the length of Charles’s torso, lingering slightly on his shoulder
Connor Kenway on Charles’s right, a damp washcloth in hand. He was gently dabbing at the sweat on Charles brow, each touch as delicate as one might apply to clean fine China. His amber-brown eyes were gentle and soft.
It was a dream.
It must be.
Master Kenway cared for him but would never be at his bedside unless he was seriously injured. And Charles’s wife distrusted him, was alternately suspicious of him and disdained him in the real world. To have such tenderness from him was...
First everything he could ever want from his children and now the two most important people in Charles’s life?
His dreams loved to mock him with what he couldn’t have.
Charles made to turn away, feeling suddenly bitter.
He stilled when a dull ache spread from his shoulder.
Pain.
There was no pain in dreams, right?
Not physical pain at least.
So the fact that he felt pain must mean...
He glanced towards his wife, who had ceased his ministrations and now regarded him with worry.
Could it-could it really be real? These two men at his bedside, one a former enemy, now a cautious ally treating him with such gentle care. It couldn’t be.
Master Kenway he could believe if he’d been injured as his pain would suggest, but his wife?
“Connor?” he whispered, almost scared to hope.
His wife lowered the washcloth and looked away, a soft stain of red across his cheekbones.
“You exacerbated your injury to save my life. To save us all. And, I—,” he hesitated, biting his lip in consternation.
Connor rubbed at his face nervously.
After a moment, he looked back at Charles.
Charles could hardly believe it when his wife reached out, grasped his hand and bowed his head over it.
“I misjudged you. I may have misjudged all of you. And I apologize for that. You displayed remarkable fortitude, courage and generosity. Without your actions, I would not be alive right now.”
And Charles shuddered at that thought.
“I have shown you little more than distant courtesy and sometimes, not even that. It would have been excusable if I had still been your enemy, but we are allies now. And my treatment of you, my crew’s treatment of you, has been abominable.”
Charles glanced quickly at Master Kenway and saw that, like himself, his eyebrows had decided to make permanent home in his hair.
“I make amends, if you would allow them.”
Ah.
Charles felt a smile creeping on his face and ruthlessly squashed it. It wouldn’t do to raise his wife’s suspicions now that he had finally made some ground.
“I confess I am astonished,” he began slowly.
It was imperative to choose his words with care.
He quickly looked at Master Kenway again and saw the look of approval in those grey eyes.
“I did not think your own treatment of me so horrible.”
He was gratified to see his wife look at him in surprise.
“Your crew, I do not particularly care for, but they cannot be blamed for their protectiveness over their captain.”
And, loathe as he was to admit it, they could not. He would have done the same had he been in their position, with such a desirable and somehow oblivious young Omega captain.
“But if you wish to make amends, then know that I would restate my request to help bridge the distance between our two organizations.”
His wife’s eyes were round now, staring at him as if at a person that he had never met before.
Charles supposed that he really hadn’t met him before. The Charles his wife had known in this timeline had been exclusively an enemy. Had behaved terribly to the young boy that was his wife and been present at many of the greatest tragedies of his young life.
He would present a new Charles, as he sometimes was with the Order and those he loved.
“I would join you, partner with you, on future missions. I would fight at your side and at your back, if you would have me.”
If the Omega would trust him.
It was a test of sorts, only one that Charles was giving.
Would Connor shy away from his earlier desire to make amends due to his own fear of Charles? Would it even be possible to progress so far in so little time?
His wife looked down again, eyes fixed on his lap.
“You are very concerned about our alliance.”
The ‘why’ went unspoken.
Charles decided to answer it anyways.
“I am tired of the loss of life on both our sides.”
He had said it before, and it was true.
Johnson and Pitcairn were good men that Charles got along well with. Johnson was a bit too preoccupied with the Natives’ wellbeing (and look where it got him) and Pitcairn a bit too rigid and by the book, but both were honorable and worthy men.
And although Charles had killed them in the last purge, he supposed that there had been a few Assassins that were upstanding citizens otherwise. Even Achilles Davenport himself, ridiculous old codger that he had become, was someone to be respected.
Connor looked at him in consideration.
“There are ways to end the loss of life without such a personal interest.”
Master Kenway decided to add his thoughts then.
“You will find that Charles is very committed. It would not make sense for him to advocate something and then not participate in it himself.”
Connor looked thoughtful again, and Charles looked gratefully at Master Kenway.
Those grey eyes fixed on him and seemed to warn him to make the most out of Connor’s apparent softening. They needed to push this offensive if Charles ever wanted to get his wife back.
“And I would partner with you because I know that your apprentices do not trust me and would be so busy watching their backs around me that they would open themselves to attacks from their real enemy.”
Connor smiled at this.
“And perhaps,” he mused, “you would not trust them as much as you have not had experience with them?”
Charles conceded with a nod. It was one of his considerations.
Connor shook his head.
“You will need to work with them sooner or later if this alliance is to be real.”
Charles didn’t really need it to be real. He just needed the one with Connor to be real.
Connor looked at him again, looked at his father and Charles both.
“But you are right. Now is not the time for that.”
Connor focused his gaze on Charles alone, and Charles shivered at the intensity of that amber-brown gaze.
“I mean what I said earlier. If you wish to partner with me on future mission, then, if my father agrees, so be it.”