Doctors Orders | La squadra x Reader

5 | I'll Always Come Back

(lengthy chapter as a treat for all of the support + a little fluff at the end!)

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Prosciutto has always been very encouraging-- Though sometimes that 'encouragement' is about as helpful as any dad's lecture. 

The team likes to believe it was him that made (Y/n) finally find the confidence to go out into Italy on their own, barren of any help at their side. It was also him that, through a bit of practice, found the full extent of (Y/n)s ability, and how powerful it can really be. 

Thankfully, even as timid as they are, the only reason all of that could happen was because (Y/n) wasn't as shy to trying new things, or as lacking in confidence as Pesci.

Melone, however, is still the same old worrywart-- Though 'suppose that the term 'same old' wouldn't make much sense in his case, as he's never really been so fussy over anyone.

It goes like this: (Y/n) told him all about their childhood, how they lost their sight, how they adapted, and all there was to know that wasn't personal, and he immediately becomes empathetic and somewhat obsessive. 

When they were, say, around nine, it first began to set in. There was a thin fog that began to appear wherever they looked. At first, (Y/n) had only assumed it was poor weather, and that, somehow, fog just appeared everywhere, inside a building or out.

Maybe that was just them in denial, or maybe it was just the creative mind of a nine-year-old trying to find an explanation to something odd. It could've been either, really, because kids at that age are not as dumb as most make out to be. Just naïve. 

(Y/n)s mother happened to be a single parent, working a couple jobs here and there to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, so they were used to being by themselves through the long hours of the day, and even deep into the night. It was only when they weren't able to see the time on the stoves clock that their troubles began. 

Mother came home at ten, sometimes eleven, but the splotches of white mist in their eyes made it nearly impossible to tell the time. They don't care how late she came back, or if she came back at all, as they were well aware of their circumstances-- all they wanted to know was what the time was, to see how late it would become before their eyes began to weigh down. 

At twelve years old, it grew to be so bad that all that was visible was nothing more than shadows beyond a cloak of plain color, moving and contorting as the environment changed unpredictably. "Mother would come back soon," This they told themselves often, always so sure that their internal clock matched the one on the stove or wall. 

It wasn't as good as they thought. Perhaps a few hours ahead, or sometimes a couple behind; though in general it was whenever it became dark that panic would set in. The sun would set, and they would wait an hour, then two, then begin to think something happened at three, then cry at four until she'd return.

A simple doctors visit told them all they needed to know. That 'snowstorm' they were stuck in was actually cataracts, though it was surprising it developed that quickly and at such a young age. By the time they'd managed to get checked up on, it was still the slightest bit too late, and their vision loss became permanent.

Granted, it probably still could've been fixed at the time, but no amount of money their mom could scrape together would've been able to cover their medical bills and not leave them in debt. Still, it's not like their mother was a horrible person, and still wanted to provide the best life possible, even if that meant picking up yet another job. 

Day melted into night in a blur of colors, washing against the sky again and again as it became days between the time (Y/n) would see their mother. They weren't entirely helpless, still managing somehow to make some half-decent food for themselves, but it definitely became lonely.