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

XII.

Hahaha I haven't slept in two days- *chugs huge mug of coffee*
~*~*~*~*~*~

Not long after Oliver left her, a familiar mess of brown hair took his place, making a smile come across (Y/n)'s face. Despite the lingering headache, she sat up in bed quickly, nearly falling back down when Abby tackled her in a hug. Already her heart was swelling with happiness. Though the last few days were blurry, she felt like it had been years since she had last seen her best friend. With everything that was happening, this is all she needed right now.

"I was so worried about you, (Y/n)!" Abby almost suffocated her with how tightly she was hugging her. She pulled away enough to look at her, noting the small bump on her head. "Are you alright? You've been missing for days." She added quickly, only sorta joking, "If I find out you've replaced me, we're gonna have a problem."

(Y/n) giggled. "Don't worry, Abby, that would never happen."

She was finally released from her friend's strong grip, and she turned her body so her legs could dangle off the bed, letting her scoot off the comfy mattress and stand up. It felt good to stretch her legs; as good as it may sound, she shouldn't stay in bed the rest of the day. She had too many questions, and she wouldn't be getting any answers by sleeping the day away.

Abby wandered over to where the armchair where clean clothes had been set aside for (Y/n). She held up a large faded white shirt, the sleeves pinched between her fingers. "Sorry, you have to wear one of the weirdos' clothes. They wouldn't have let me go to our place alone, and I don't know how you'd feel about a group of strangers knowing where we live," she said just as she brought the shirt to her face, sniffing it, then immediately scrunching up her nose. "Ew, it smells like dude."

(Y/n) snorted, and Abby grabbed the rest of the clothes and tossed them to her. "Thanks for letting me know. At least the smell will help me blend in here, wherever 'here' is," she added the last part, hoping to receive an answer for the implied question.

"They call it their 'headquarters'," Abby said, plopping down into the armchair. "Really, it's just some big house in some fancy neighborhood. It kinda reminds me of the house from 'Daddy Day Care'. Or, like, every other pre-generated house in The Sims."

"How would you know what houses in The Sims look like? You just make shitty properties so you can see how many ways you can kill your sims."

Abby shushed her, shooting her a playful look before switching to a more serious one. "Are you really okay?" She asked.

"I don't know." She wandered the room after changing into the large clothes that were baggy on her. "My head is killing me and I woke up in some strangers' 'headquarters', but, other than that, the situation doesn't seem too bad."

She ran a hand through her (h/c) hair, now standing at the window and staring out at the ordinary neighborhood scenery outside. Her eyes drifted to the paved driveway just below the window where a van was parked. Her stare lingered, as if she were expecting something or someone to show up in the driveway. From somewhere far in the back of her mind, she was reminded of a man in front of a window, frustration and curiosity etched onto his face while the light of the afternoon framed his features like artwork. As vivid as the memory was, however, the face remained a blur to her.

Her lips parted as she exhaled softly, closing her eyes, trying again, desperately, to remember anything. Finding herself, once again, unsuccessful, she suddenly turned to her friend, hoping she might know something. "Abby, can I ask you something?" When given a quick nod, she asked, "What do you know about Luciano?"

~With Luciano~

They were all silent, no one daring to meet the burning glare from the Italian, a glare so intense he could be throwing literal daggers instead of figurative ones.

He almost did when Flavio convinced Kuro to stop at a large park lined with various food trucks and shopping stalls because of a festival or something going on. They were just halfway to (Y/n), and Flavio made them stop. It infuriated Luciano, but, no matter how much he loudly protested and threatened, it didn't keep them from stopping.

The brothers sat together on a bench, out of the way of the busy event, while Kuro and Lutz stood awkwardly to the side, conversing quietly and trying to ignore Luciano's glare. Flavio gave them a subtle gesture for them to go somewhere else, and they nodded and wandered off to the cluster of shopping stalls.

Luciano sat with arms and legs crossed, tense, eyes following the two until they were out of sight. Flavio sighed. "Luci-"

"Don't call me that," he half-growled at him. He refused to spare him a glance as he continued. "We should be going after the ragazza, not fucking around here like we're on a road trip."

"I know, Luciano. I want her back just as much as you do." His brother shot him a skeptical look before looking away again. "But," he continued, "how do we know if she actually wants to come back?"

Like that, all of Luciano's attention was on him, and not in the best way. "What kind of dumbass question is that?! Why wouldn't she want to come back?"

"Well, she wasn't exactly with us by choice, was she?" When this time he gave no response, Flavio asked him, "I don't mean to be nosy—except I do—, but why do you care if she comes back or not? In fact, why do you even care so much that she's gone? That was a pretty big breakdown for some girl, fratello."

"Why does this even matter?"

"That's what I'm wondering. Care to give an answer?"

Luciano groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes tightly shut in frustration. "I don't like those stronzi winning."

"Now the real answer."

Damnit, why did he have to know him?

He let out a sigh of defeat, refusing to open his eyes and look at his brother. "It pissed me off that I wasn't there to make sure she was safe, when I knew that the Allies were planning to come after us. Now she's sucked into this shit storm."

Flavio gave him a soft look, then patted his back. "It probably would've happened regardless." He stood up from the bench. "We'll get her back, but, for now, let yourself breathe for a little while. Think about this," he suggested just before he left him, going to meet up with Lutz and Kuro.

Luciano remained at the bench, fidgeting restlessly as he allowed his thoughts to wander. It didn't take long for him to start pulling at his hair in frustration and growling, receiving sideways glances from passersby that he ignored. Eventually, he gave up. There's no way he could think of anymore excuses to cover it up.

He didn't want her back.

He needed her back.

And she would be coming back with them one way or another, no matter what the Allies did.