Mafia!Romano x Mafia!Tomboy!Reader. Coraggio. 9

The water ran in rivulets down your back and made you shiver as you ran your hands through your sodden hair. You held your eyes closed as the water from the shower ran down your face. The One... He'd called you The One. Okay, so not directly, but that was what he had meant. Wasn't it? Was it? You sighed and lowered your head, opening your eyes and looking at the white tiled wall opposite you. Crossing your arms across your chest for a moment, you held onto the opposite shoulder and sighed, hanging your head for a moment before turning and shutting off the water. Opening the glass door of the shower, you stepped out and grabbed a towel, starting to dry yourself off.

    You weren't sure what you felt any more. You weren't even sure what you were supposed to feel any more. Should you still feel bitter that they kidnapped you? Probably. But you didn't. And Lovino most likely had a big part to play in that. You liked him. You really liked him. In fact, you loved him. After knowing him over five months, you felt like you knew him so well... Though obviously you didn't. What he did before you got in the shower took you completely by surprise. So the fact that you didn't know everything about him just made him all the more attractive in your eyes. The fact that he was keeping secrets from you just made you want to find out what else he was hiding.

    So you thought long and hard about it as you got dressed and dried your hair. Only to end up deciding to just keep calm and let things run their course. The ship had already set sail, and there was nothing you could do to stop it. It was either going to get where it was going or sink. And that's all there was to it.

    As you walked down the hall towards the kitchen, a delicious smell made your mouth start to water. Going into the kitchen, you saw straight away what was making the smell. Antonio, Feliciano, Lovino, Taylor and Felicia were all eating a slice of pizza that was covered in stringy cheese.

"Smells good." You commented, swallowing.

"We saved you a piece!" Feliciano and Felicia chorused.

"Huh. Thanks guys." You smiled and picked it up carefully, wary of burning yourself on it. "You make it Feli?"

"No." The two chorused again, glancing at eachother. "Lovi did~!"

"Don't call me that!" Lovino snapped at the two, before looking at you and blushing slightly. "Y-you said you were hungry, so..."

"So you made me a pizza." You finished grinning at him as you took a bite. "Hey, it's really good!"

"Don't sound so surprised." He said flatly.

"Sorry." You took another bite. "I just didn't think that you were much of a cook."

"I make pasta, Lovi makes pizza!" Feliciano told you brightly. And there it was. Another thing about Lovino you didn't know. He cooked. Will the list ever end...? You thought.

"What list?" They chorused. You turned crimson, not realising you'd said it out loud.

"Uhhh... The list... Of... The list of..." You desparately tried to think of something. "Uh, it's not important!" You stood quietly, eating your pizza and avoiding eye-contact.

"Hey bastards." A female voice came from the doorway behind you. Your eye twitched and you stiffened slightly, not turning around. "The Don sent me to remind king bastard to tell you all about tonight." With that footsteps left again.

"Wow..." You muttered quietly. "Cold much...?"

"Oh, right. Um, there's a party tonight." Lovino said, sighing. "It's at the same place as the last one. __________'s old place."

"Well that's not so bad." Antonio said.

"And we all need to bring a girl." Lovino finished.

"...Well that's not so bad." The Spaniard repeated, looking at Taylor.

"Not for you, you're married. It just means the rest of us have to pretend we're in a relationship." You could see Taylor shaking her head as Lovino spoke. After he'd finished, you cleared your throat. He turned to look at you. "O-oh, right..." He blushed and looked at the floor.

"Felicia will come with me, right?" Feliciano asked brightly.

"Si!" She hugged him, grinning.

"So I don't see your problem, fratello~" Feliciano grinned, Felicia still hanging around his neck. "After all, you don't have to take Lovina this time!"

"We didn't have to take anybody last time..." He muttered.

"So I'm going back..." You muttered quietly, dropping the pizza crust back onto the plate with a sigh.

"Well si, but you're not staying there." Lovino said. You looked at him.

"How do I know you're not going to try and kidnap May again?" You asked sceptically.

"We don't need to. We take you, they give us the money for you, then you come back with us anyway." He told you.

"...That's not fair." You muttered, blinking at him.

"Welcome to the Mafia, honey." Taylor said.

-----

    Later that day found you walking through the dusk up the path towards your old front door. The location was enough to make you uncomfortable, never mind the odd everyday clothes you were wearing to the party. The again, they were supposed to be bringing you home from ransom, why would they dress you up? Lovino did have a grip on your arm, but it wasn't nearly as tight as it looked. After all, where were you actually going to go?

    Reaching out, he rang the doorbell. A couple of seconds passed before your father pulled open the door. As soon as he saw you, his face lit up and he pulled you straight into a hug. Pulling you away from Lovino, Feliciano, Feliciana, Antonio and Taylor, he went to close the door on them. But you reached out a hand and stopped him.

"They carry guns, daddy..." You whispered in his ear. "It's dangerous not to let them in..." He looked at you for a moment, then stood back to let them in. On their way past, you winked at them. Your father closed the door and quickly led you through to the kitchen, where your mother and May happened to be sitting with their heads low. Neither you or your father said anything, but they both looked up.

"__________!" They cried in unison, getting up and rushing over to hug you tightly. You hugged them back, the guilt already washing over you that you would have to leave them again.

"Where's Blu? He never came back! The last time you sent him back, we sent a note back, but got no reply!" May said worriedly. She was being awfully talkative to say she'd never even left her room for years on end.

"Ro- um, one of the M-Mafia shot him..." You said quietly.

"Oh, love..." Your mother hugged you again. "We'll get you another bird!"

"No!" You pushed her away. "He can't just be replaced like some object!" You snapped angrily. "You should know that!"

"Of course I do, honey... I'm just so glad to see you're okay... May told us what you did for her... You were so brave!"

"I did what I had to. I had a better chance than she did... She couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag." You muttered quietly. "And despite getting shot on the first day, I'm fine, aren't I? Surely that stands for something!"

"They shot you?!" Your father asked. With a small sigh, you turned around and lifted up your trouser leg, showing the scar the bullet wound had left in your calf.

"I was running away. It was the only way they could stop me, because I kept fighting my way out of their grip." You turned back. "But it's not like you can call the police, I mean, they're practically under the Mafia's thumb, aren't they? As are you." You glared at your father. He just swallowed and looked away. "I understand what you meant now. All that time ago. Why you couldn't just sell the company. You had to consult the Mafia first, didn't you? And even if you did sell it, that would just mean the new owner would be under the Mafia's thumb too, and that could have earned you more than a few enemies!" Your anger was building, and that was made clear by the rising volume in your voice.

"_________, calm down, I-" He started.

"NO! I will not calm down! How could you not tell us?!" You shouted, referring to yourself and May. "Our life hangs in the balance! Our life, is overshadowed by the Mafia! WE HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW!" You heard footsteps behind you, and you glanced over your shoulder. Lovino. "I bet they're the ones who killed April aren't they?! Car accident my ass! Or maybe it was. Was it driven by them?!" Tears started to pour down your face, and your mother tried to hug you again, but you stepped away from her, going over to Lovino and hugging him instead. He was surprised, but he hugged you back, if a little hesitantly.

"Bella..." Lovino started quietly.

"What did you do to her...?" Your father asked, voice low but filled with anger. "What did you do to our little girl?!" He shouted, taking a few steps towards Lovino. "You monsters! That isn't our __________!" He yelled. You let go of Lovino with just one arm, slipping your hand underneath the open zip-up jacket you were wearing, pulling the handgun out of the back of your trousers where the muzzle had been tucked into the waistband. You held it up, but you didn't click off the safety. Your father stopped in his tracks, staring at the weapon in your hand with an open mouth.

"Be careful what you say, father." You said coldly, swallowing. Silent tears continued to pour down your face as you held up the gun. "You just called me a monster too."

"__________..." Your mother whispered, hands over her mouth. May stared at you, frozen in shock.

"You brainwashed her..." Your father's voice cracked. "I'll kill you!" He took another step forward and you clicked off the safety, making him freeze again.

"I earned the name Coraggio, father. I obviously didn't get it for no reason. A bit of courage is all I need right now." Your voice was surprisingly steady.

"Bella... Not today." Lovino whispered from behind you, gently pushing down your arm. He took the gun from your grip as you turned and buried your head in his chest, starting to sob. You heard him click the safety back on, and felt him tuck it into the waistband of his own trousers before he hugged you back, kissing the top of your head and rubbing your back. "Come on, I think we should go home..."

"She is home!"

"Are you not going to get the message?!" You turned around and snapped at your father. "How blunt do you want it?! I joined the Mafia!" You yelled at him, tears clouding your vision. "May..." Your voice dropped to something barely above a whisper.

"Yes, __________...?"

"I'm sorry... You are the best sister anybody could ever hope to have... And you'll make a great company head one day. I know you will... I hope I don't have to see you again." You turned your attention back to your parents. "You too, mother. But you." You glared at your father. "I'd be glad if I saw you tomorrow!" With that, you turned and left the room. Waiting just out of view, you heard Lovino speaking again.

"She means see you with a hit..." He said quietly, leaving your family. He looked at you. "Antonio should have got the money from your butler by now. We can go home."

"I'm sorry..." You whispered, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. "I didn't mean to lose it like that..."

"I know... Va tutto bene..." He muttered comfortingly, taking your hand and giving it a squeeze. "We all have moments like that."

"Why did you come...?"

"I heard you yelling. I didn't think there was much point in keeping up the pretence."

"I'm sorry, I ruined everything."

"No you didn't... Both sides got what they wanted. We got the money they paid, and they got to see you were safe. And they still know you're safe."

"From the Italian Mafia, maybe..."

"You're just as safe as me, Antonio, Feliciano, everybody. If not safer, because everybody looks out for the newbies. The Vets and the pedigrees, well. Everybody assumes they know what they're doing. You get Vets who are just lucky. Then you get clueless pedigrees, like Feliciano." The sound of Lovino's voice was enough to calm you down as you listened to his silky smooth accent.

"Lovino..." You said softly.

"Si...?"

"... I... Never mind." You shook your head, cursing yourself.

"Hm... Come on, let's find the others."