The Guide to the Protector (A HetaOni, 2ptalia and Female Reader Fanfiction)

|ChApTeR FoRtY tWo| Selfless

~Previously~

"Hm. I think I want to tell you..."

"Tell me what?"

"The reason I got so worked up...it's because I don't w-want to lose you...

Again."

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S e l f l e s s

"Do you ever want to run away and start over? Wipe the slate clean. Begin all over again with a blank canvas? It's okay, we all feel that way sometimes. It doesn't mean you don't love your life or the people in it. It doesn't mean that you wouldn't give your last breath to see them happy.

Sometimes when we yearn to be selfish, it means we have been selfless for too long."

-Lang Leav

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"What...do you mean?"

Luciano took my hand, clutched firmly in his, and said, "Close your eyes. I'm going to show you a memory. It's going to be a little fuzzy because it came straight from my head and this happened along time ago, so I don't remember everything crystal clear."

"Okay." I nodded and gripped his hand, closing my eyes.

~Flashback~

I woke up, breathless and alarmed. I had jolted awake from a nightmare.

"I", I must repeat. It seems that this was one of those memories where I couldn't do anything but stare helplessly through the eyes of the me of the past.

'(Name)? You can hear me, right?'

'Yeah. So what's going on? When was this?'

I scurried out of bed and stumbled through the dark; it seemed that I was looking for someone.

'You had a talk with Holy Rome, right?'

'Yeah...how-'

'I couldn't help but to pick up on a few bits of your conversation. He's told you all about the deal you made with him-but he failed to mention that this wasn't your first loop.'

I patted down one of the beds, feeling my heart race as my hands were met with empty blankets.

There was no one on the bed.

'I suppose he never told you that...'

I stepped back, nervously digging my fingernails through my hair. I breathed heavily and rushed toward another bed. Driven to clumsiness by the steadily rising fear, I bumped into one of the mattresses and felt something fall and hit my foot.

'This wasn't the first time we've met.'

I swiveled around, my lungs closing up. A gloved hand reached out, cloaked in darkness, pressing its leather against my lips to seal them shut. 

"It would be a shame to hurt you. If I let go, you won't make a single noise, will you?"  

'Y-You...those are the exact words you said to me. Luciano, what's going on?!'