A game, or real life? (Ezio x reader)

A bright future filled with setbacks

I slowly cracked my eyes open, and the first thing I felt was a profound feeling of exhaustion that weighted down upon my entire body. I could barely move, but a soft sound coming from the right side of the bed caught my attention. Looking over, my heart couldn't help but melt at the sight.

Altaïr was sitting on the edge of our bed, his gaze locked onto the tiny frame of our newborn baby. A boy. Unfortunately, he hadn't been allowed to watch the birth of his son by the midwives, who claimed that it was "no place for a man". If only I could draw like him, I would've immortalized this moment. Though I doubt that, even if I were gifted in drawing, I would've been able to fully capture the beauty of this sight. He looked so mesmerizing as he held our son so delicately, so tenderly in his arms. He wasn't wearing his hood, allowing me to fully see his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Suddenly, all those hours of pain seemed so...unimportant. Getting to see Altaïr like this was more than worth all the pain in the world. Mustering all the strength I could, I reached out to gently rest my hand on his thigh. And immediately, his gaze met mine. "Maria..." he breathed out, immediately moving closer to me. "By Allah, he is so beautiful..."

"He looks like his father..." I replied softly, giggling. "I bet he'll be just as strong too..."

"No, I bet he will have the intelligence of his mother." He shook his head, smiling. Then, much to my joy, I felt his strong hand delicately caressing my hair. "Forgive me for not being here with you. I wish I could have been here, holding your hand."

"I know, but you would've had to face the wrath of the midwives." I teased, giggling softly. "Don't think I did not see them literally dragging you out of the room."

"I could not help it. I wanted to be here with you." He chuckled out. "We need to think of a name for him..."

"Darim." I immediately replied, closing my eyes. We had discussed this in the past, but the name Darim stayed engraved in my mind ever since. "I'd love to name him Darim..."

"Darim..." he whispered, and I could tell that he was looking at our son. I smiled softly. I could tell he liked it too. "It's perfect... Welcome to our world, Darim...Darim Ibn-la'Ahad....our beautiful son..."

I jolted awake with a choked gasp, immediately sitting up on the bed. Damn, another one of those "dreams". I wiped the thin sheet of sweat away from my brow with a shaky hand, panting. Over the past 3 years, they've only been getting more frequent, more repetitive and overall, more real. And though time went by, I still didn't find any explanation as to why I was experiencing these dreams. I wasn't using the Apple, nor was it within my reach while I slept. But I was quickly snapped back to reality as his arms wrapped themselves around my waist oh so lovingly. I sighed and leaned back, lightly colliding with his chest. "Un'altro sogno (Another dream)...?" Ezio asked softly, and I could tell that I had woken him up.

I softly cursed under my breath, but ended up nodding. "Yeah... they're still just as confusing..."

"What did you see this time...?" he softly asked as he leaned back down and onto his pillow, and with his arms around me, I had no choice but to follow suit, resting my head on his shoulder.