A/N: Oiy, I know it's been a long time since I've posted on this, so I decided to give you guys the big one now :)

By the way, none of these things are in chronological order, so please don't get ratty at me. Also, I've never read the novels, so if I've missed something, don't bother telling me cause the chances are I just won't understand. Or care :D

He clambered over the ramparts and stood for a second, breathing hard and leaning against the wall for support. The climb had nearly killed him after that chase over the rooftops, but it was worth it to see the figure standing on the other side of the tower, gazing out to sea. It had been a little while seen they'd seen each other and he had thought maybe her effects were wearing off, but the moment she turned around and dropped her hood, curling one finger to beckon him forwards, he felt himself falling all over again. He couldn't wait.

She smiled winningly at the man stood before her and curled her index finger. God only knew how much she had missed his company, spending nights awake and waiting for a knock on her window, wandering around through the market place and hoping she'd be pulled into an alley somewhere, out of sight. But she was left alone and her formerly glorious and enlightened life now seemed rather lack-lustre without him. Having him so close and seeing in the very fact that he was here detailed that he wanted her just as bad; she wasn't about to make him wait.

He closed the distance in three strides, fingers sliding into her hair and crushing their lips together, striving to be closer to her as though she was his very connection to life. His lips seemed to burn her as he kissed her. She wrapped her fingers round his wrists and kissed him back, trying to match him in power and desperation. She couldn't win however and a slight twinge of fear ran through her as his tongue slid between her teeth. Maybe he was angry with her? She had of course been kissed before – Altair being one of her most recent of conquests – but she had never been faced with such ferocity. He had never kissed her so... hard.

He lost himself to the taste of her lips and her tongue, sweet as though she'd just finished eating an apple or something. He had missed this so much, missed her so much, he just couldn't bear to curb his enthusiasm despite his knowing that this was not the correct way to treat a lady. When she made a small sound of discomfort, or doubt – he could never tell the difference, he let them both come up for air, his golden eyes roving over Maria's face. She looked a little worried and he had to admit that he had never really reacted like that before. No wonder she was now a little dubious about him.

"Are you al-"

"Is it okay?"

They both stopped at the same time and a slight smile played across Maria's face at his choice of words. She knew what he meant of course, but it seemed that with her absence, his English had deteriorated somewhat.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are yo-"

She didn't manage to finish her sentence before he kissed her again, sweeping his tongue across her teeth, exploring the ridges of the roof of her mouth and making her shudder. She had always hated that little spot, but it seemed that men loved it. She hadn't the foggiest idea why, it felt terrible to her but then perhaps Altair didn't know how awful that felt. She pushed her tongue past his and dragged it along his roof. He broke away from her immediately and put a hand to his mouth, an expression of discomfort on his face. Ha!

She smirked and took his hand from his lips, kissing him gently and nibbling at his bottom lip, soothing the small bite with sweeps of her tongue. She didn't want him to do that again, but she sure as hell didn't want him to stop on his path to conquest. Taking the hint, Altair wrapped his arms around Maria, pinning them together, chest to chest, thigh to thigh. They shared a few more sweet kisses before it was time to get to business.

He ran a hand down her side, fingers catching and pulling lightly on her belts, before slipping up under her tunic and tucking into the waist band of her leggings. Maria shivered a bit as the cold costal air touched her bare skin and pressed herself closer to him. He smirked against her lips and backed her into the ramparts, sliding his mouth from her lips to her jaw, kissing the tilt. She gasped and dug her fingers into his clothes as his fingers explored her, stretching and stroking her insides, alternately soothing and inflaming.

His name left her lips on a whisper and he drew away from her, his lips having stayed to her neck, where a red mark was beginning to form. She shuddered as the first convulsions started and her hands left the stiffness of his clothing to scrabble across the stone on either side of her, searching for a point at which to hang on. She came with a gasp and a light cry of his name.

Not yet finished, Altair pulled Maria to him and lay them both on the floor in the hay. Maria was shivering now and Altair hurried to unbuckle all his gear. Allah above! Why did he have so much stuff! Boy was it cold up here. The wind was beginning to pick up slightly and was bringing a mist across Acre, but below the lip of the tower they were relatively sheltered. Maria sighed as Altair's weight settled over her, warm and solid and –Oh!

Barely a hiss escaped him as he pushed inside, the fingers of one hand fisting in her hair and the other in the hay beneath her, propping him up on his elbows as he moved. Maria forgot how to think as Altair's hand tugged her head back, pulled her by the hair he seemed to love so much and his lips began sucking on her neck. Her legs had long since wrapped themselves around his waist and she sought to still or synchronise their movements, anything to make this aching stop. But the assassin between her thighs wasn't stilling or letting her catch up, single-minded in his search for completion.

Somewhere in the 10 or so minutes it took for him to send them both over the edge, the hand that wasn't clenched around her hair had fallen to where they were joined, circling around a tingling bundle of nerves that Maria had been sure he'd forgotten about. She came with her back arched, eyes closed, mouth open and panting out broken fragments of his name as he muffled a groan in her chest.

Panting, he rolled off her and began to sort himself out, tucking things away and re-buckling his weaponry. Maria felt a little sad. Well alright, more than a little. She felt like she'd been let down again, just when things had felt right again and just when she had gotten him back for the slightest moment. Of course it wasn't anything more than a one night stand. Yes they'd had sex before and yes she really thought he wanted to do it again, but it didn't stop the world from turning, no matter the fact that hers had stood still only moments before.

"Altair..."

He stopped his buckling and glanced at her, lying half naked on the hay still, exactly where he'd left her. He felt suddenly ashamed. It looked – from here – as if he had merely used her and he dreaded to think about how it must have looked from down there.

"Maria," He leant over her and retrieved her leggings, then moved to her feet and began sliding them carefully back up her legs. "I'm sorry. You are more than this."

She frowned in confusion at his bad communication and sat up, taking the rest of her leggings of him and finishing the job. "More than what?"

"More than a nice woman." He frowned, clearly struggling to find the words. Good lord, he really had neglected his English hadn't he. At least 'the act' had required no words. "You are beautiful and I do not want to hurt you. If this is what you want," Here he indicated between her and himself, "I want you to come to Masayaf."

"Pardon?" She blinked a few times but Altair didn't repeat himself, instead returning to the task of re-equipping his gear. To Masayaf? Where the assassins live? Her? A Templar? It was like asking to be filled full of arrows – 'no no, I'll come to you.' She didn't know if she wanted that. But did she want this?

"I want you." She said, reaching out and taking his arm when he went to stand up, pulling him back down to her. She entwined their fingers. "I want you, but I'm scared of Masayaf."

He stroked her cheek lightly and gave her a sad look, before standing up and moving away and taking the dreaded 'leap of faith'. Maria stood up and went to the rampart, looking over the edge and watching as Altair fished himself from the pile of hay and jogged away into the shadows. Wow. That went well. She sighed and thought more about Masayaf. If she went, she would have to be his forever, bear him sons and play wife until she died, to prove that she was not a Templar any more. What would it be like – she wondered this many a time alone in her bed – to bear him sons? She put a hand on her belly and sighed. The chances were she would never know.

A/N: :P