Fate's Strings (2p! Hetalia x Reader)

Chapter Sixteen

"Enough of this," Luciano growled, interrupting Lutz's report to him.

He was sitting at the head of the table in the meeting room. Lutz, Kuro, Flavio, and Gilen were gathered there with him, along with a few of their men. They were all there to report their findings to him...their findings on where (Name) could have disappeared to. After all this time, he still refused to stop looking for her. 

His feelings continued to bother him....the urge to solve the mystery on who took her and to make them pay for stealing from him, his desire to have her with him again, and the guilt that was slowly beginning to grow inside him...Guilt caused by what he had done to her while she had been locked in that room. 

He had been so focused on his goal at the time that he didn't care what methods he used to achieve it. And now that he just wanted her with him, not for the information she possessed, he realized that she might not ever forgive him for his actions. That realization was made clear to him by a strange conversation he had with Flavio the day before.

"Fratello....maybe we should give up," he had been drinking, enough for Luciano to question if he was verging on being drunk.

"What are you talking about?" he really didn't want to pay attention to his brother's alcohol fueled ramblings, but knew he had to ask because Flavio would keep talking even if he didn't.

"(Name)....we should give up on looking for her....wherever she is, I'll bet she's better off."

"Better off?! What the hell are you insinuating?!"

Luciano was ready to full on snap from that statement, but when he turned to his brother, he was caught off guard. The look of guilt in Flavio's eyes was overwhelming. He had been drinking, and drinking always made him more sensitive to his feelings. This was something he wouldn't say to Luciano normally. Since he felt so strongly....maybe Luciano should listen without arguing for now.

"Don't you think....what we did to her was awful? Don't you think that wherever she is, she's still suffering because of it? She'll never forget what happened. What if she's having nightmares about it? What if she gets scared every time someone does something that reminds her of us? We scarred her....She'll....she'll never forgive us."

"Fratello, I know you might not admit it, but I know you well enough to tell. You care about her....you didn't know that until she was gone, though. If you really do care about her, you should give up. Whether she's with Oliver again....or someone else...or even if she made it back home....hopefully she's with someone who can heal those scars we caused. Hopefully she's somewhere better. We should stop looking. Because even if she could find it in her to forgive us eventually, she never will if we tear her away from that again."

Luciano was silent. That was really how his brother felt? He wanted to get angry, he wanted to yell and take it out on Flavio. But it wasn't Flavio's fault. He was telling the truth. Thinking back on how terrified she was whenever he entered her room, there was no doubt in his mind it was true. 

He had done something unforgivable to (Name). And if he was going to be angry at anyone, it had to be at himself. He was the one to blame for it. He was the only one who tortured her. The others just kept quiet about it because they knew it would be pointless to speak out against him.

"You....how dare you...." Luciano muttered, but the emotion in his words wasn't anger.

Flavio could tell....His words had gotten to his brother. Luciano....was guilty....Without another word, Luciano left the room. And Flavio was slightly hopeful....maybe now they really could give up on their search.