Assassin's Creed One Shots

Show Off (Arno X Reader)

"Want to come with me?" You ask, hoping he'd say yes. And fortunately, he did.

Arno saddled up a mare named Bella, a beautiful bay horse with a white stripe down her face. She was very fit and was mostly trained for jumping obstacles, but she was one of the more spunky horses so you knew Arno would have a hard time handling her, but he knew what he was doing.

Both mounting your horses, you and Arno set out for a trail ride along the fields outside of the city. You went through muddy and rocky trails, ducking your heads to avoid being slapped in the face by branches and leaves. You would jump over fallen trees and go down steep slopes; it was turning out to be a brilliant day for you, and for Arno.

Eventually the two of you ended up in a large field that gave the entire view of the city you were living in. You cold see the other horses from the stables running and eating in the paddocks, a sight you loved seeing. It was so serene and calm out here in the open, free of all problems and breathing in clean air. You closed your eyes to take it all in.

"You really are at peace out here, aren't you?" You heard Arno ask.

Your eyes open and your head turns to see him smiling kindly at you with his hands resting on the front of the saddle. A smile spread across your face as you returned to view the sight in front of you.

"Est-ce si évident ?" You say as you chuckle softly. Your hand went to rub your horse's neck to calm (him/her); being in a big open field like this usually gets (horse name) excited, so you knew what your companion was waiting for; for you to let them wide open, let loose. That's when you got an idea.

You looked over at Arno with a smirk on your face, which clearly showed you were up to something. This made Arno cock a smile back at you, making him tilt his head in question.

"What's with that look?" He asked.

Biting your lower lip, your hands tightened on the reins which made your horse paw at the ground even more, making (him/her) more ancy to run. It was hard to stay in place now.

"How about we have a little race, eh? From here to the end of the field. Whoever wins has to groom the horses once we untack them."

It took Arno a moment before he finally agreed. He reached his hand over for you to shake to confirm the challenge was on, he still had that cheeky smirk on his face telling you he wouldn't go easy on you. You laughed and readied yourself, tightening your legs and pulling your arms into your sides.

"One. . .Two. . .Three!"

The two of you were now in a dead run with your horses, their hooves pounding rapidly on the dirt and flinging up grass and dust, hungry to get to the finish line. Your horse was breathing furiously as (he/she) kept (his/her) head high, legs stretching out as far as they could to gain speed, feeling the adrenaline rush through your body. The wind blowing against your face felt wonderful; you felt so free, so open and happy, it was wonderful not having to worry about anything except for the finish line. Well, maybe not for long.

In the distance you could see a long dark figure that was spread across the path ahead, and you were going to fast to go around it.

Arno was quite puzzled once he saw you taking back speed and slowing down, but he was still pacing quickly towards the barn. It wasn't until he finally looked forward that he saw the long log just mere inches from the front of his horse, he had no time to react. Quickly pulling back on the reins, Arno yelped as his horse skid to a stop, sending the man over the animal's head and out of the saddle, making him fly a good feet before he landed on the ground. You watched as he rolled a couple of times, but then you proceeded to catch his horse and go over to him while leading his animal. Arno curled up on the ground, holding his stomach and groaning as his teeth gritted from the pain. That was definitely going to bruise. His eyes opened once he heard you laughing and horse hooves approaching. He was greeted with a black and whiskered nose.

"Does this mean I win?" You ask, grinning slyly. Arno growled up at you, his brows furrowing in displeasure.

"Oui. . ." He said defeated. "You win."

Giggling happily, you jump down off your horse to help Arno up, he grimaced and put his hand on his back to relieve pressure from being thrown off. You smiled up at him, thankful he was alright.

Unfortunately for him, Arno's misery still lingered as he untacked, brushed, fed, and watered both horses while you watched while laying in a big pile of hay. You would tease him by talking to him in a baby voice and sucking up to him.

"Thank you Arnoo~"

"Oh shut it." He'd say.

But he would dip his hand into the water bucket and flick some of it at you to stop you from laughing at him, which would only make you laugh more and have him start up as well.

Despite the bad fall and now smelling like manure and horse, Arno had a great time with you. His smile told was proof enough, and just seeing him made you happy. You helped him put away the horses into their stalls and proceeded to the city gates, casually walking along and talking. Before Arno left to go get clean up to meet Elise, he turned to you one last time.

"Thank you (y/n)," Arno said kindly. "That was certainly the best way possible to start my day."

You bow your head and smile. "No problem Arno. If you ever want to go for another ride, you know where I'll be every morning."

You were expecting him to leave then, but Arno came up to you and gave you a quick and friendly hug, feelings his hands rest at the bottom of your back. Your smile grew bigger as your heart began to race; to get a hug from Arno was a cherished moment to you, since he rarely ever does this. When Arno pulled back to look you in the eyes, you chuckled softly and patted his arm.

"You should probably get going. Elise is waiting for you."

"Good day to you my friend."

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Rushed, but I haven't uploaded anything for this series in a LONG TIME.