~Don't Be Afraid~ (2p!Italy x Reader)

X.

It was already close to dinner time, and, Luciano had to admit, it'd been a good day. Yeah, his clothes were ruined. But he could get new ones. After all, he was the one who had suggested that paintball fight, so obviously he should've known better. Even his brother was careful about not getting paint on his clothes -if running away shrieking at the first sight of danger is the definition of "careful".

He sat at his desk, scanning through the papers spread on the dark oak surface. After Flavio informed him that the Allies would be launching an attack on them, Luciano had been spending all of his spare time planning their defense. There was no telling when they would attack, but they could still be prepared. He planned to tell (Y/n) at dinner; he thought she should be ready if they were to show up.

Luciano was no longer surprised by his feelings of concern for the girl, or when his thoughts wandered to her. It had only been days since he stole her away, but it was like she had always been here. He was beginning to think she didn't even want to leave. She's made no real attempts since her first night, and everyone -himself, included- have grown quite attached to her.

She was...different from other people he had known. In fact, she had been the first to so fearlessly lash at him. The first to make him try to be threatening, but, even then, she refused to back down. Trying to get to her was like fighting against a brick wall with bare hands; impossible. The girl proved to be full of surprises that never ceased to amaze Luciano. One of those surprises being that he genuinely cared and worried for her wellbeing.

The Italian didn't realize he had been zoning out until there was a knock at the door. Without sparing a glance, he replied, "Come in."

The door opened and in walked Lutz, wearing a grim expression and tightly gripping a folded paper in one hand.

When he said nothing, Luciano looked up at him, a brow raising in question. "Lutz, what is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" He said as he gestured a gloved hand to the papers on his desk. "If you've got nothing to say, then get out."

Lutz blinked a few times, as if snapping out of some trance, then cleared his throat before stepping forward, combat boots causing the wood floor to creak. "Sorry," he held out the folded yellow paper -probably from a legal pad- to Luciano so he could take it, then said, "you've got a letter, sir."

The brunet's dark brows knitted together into a frown, not looking away from the tall German man even while he unfolded the paper. "From who?"

"The Allies."

He paused, almost in disbelief. "What..?"

"They were here."

At that, Luciano hastened to read the letter from the enemy, fingers noticeably starting to shake from the anxiety. It wasn't even a letter. It was simply a few sentences in a scrawled handwriting that was recognizably Allen's. It read:

"Found your little treasure, Luci. Give up, or we use her for target practice. You're fucked now.
~Allies"

Luciano immediately became outraged, standing up quickly and flinging his desk chair to the side, fuming. Lutz, used to his outbursts -and having had one himself when he himself had read the letter-, made no sign of flinching or stopping the smaller man from tearing the letter and some of the other papers to shreds. Loud curses and shouts were heard throughout the house, leaving empty echoes of despair.

The brunet slammed his fists down on the desk, shaking, letting out one last loud "FUCK!" before sinking to his knees and hiding his face in shame. It was then that Flavio and Kuro rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

Flavio, seeing the office in such disarray and his brother looking so...helpless. Broken. He wasted no time getting to his brother's side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. His brows furrowed with concern.