Beauty and the beast |Mafia! Romano x reader| 4

"Training?" you asked, voice laced with confusion. "Why would I need to do that?" 

He paused, eyeing you with the uttermost shock; but something in his facial expression suggested a touch of admiration. Instead of staring at you as if you were the most ignorant fool to ever be blessed on the planet, he thought of your question as a sign of innocence. 

Something that sparked new found appreciation. 

Romano walked slowly in your direction, keeping a well distanced space between you both. 

"What do you think would happen if an enemy infiltrated this mansion? That wouldn't be much of a problem because we'll kick their asses of course." he started, a dark smile creeping onto his features. "Everybody in this household are trained killers-" 

That statement cut deeply into you. 

It was quite believable to a great extent, especially when the men who walked around here were all either buff body guard-looking individuals or just very bad ass, but Antonio? He was probably the air head that just can't read the atmosphere at the most crucial times. 

"except for you."

True that.

***

Of course, Romano wasn't dumb. 

Before he even let you enter all those lounges and access the main building, he took great precaution. He ran a background check under your name as well as inspected any other possible identities that you could be using as any possible alibis, but you came out squeaky clean. This way, it wouldn't tarnish his name if he had ever let an undercover spy to enter some of his most secret chambers in his abode.

That consisted of an underground room holding all sorts of weaponry- ranging from a simple pocket knife to a bloody rocket launcher. 

Trailing close behind him, he made his way swiftly down a flight of stairs and was blocked by a dead end.

Well, it looked like one at least.

Reaching for his right hand with his left, he peeled off his matte black glove, revealing his long slender fingers. He pressed his palm flat against an invisible finger print sensor, in which you presumed what it was the moment he touched it. A rumbling force similar to that of an earthquake suddenly shook at you both, where you involuntarily fell onto his back from the unexpected shaking of the floor. 

You widened your eyes and immediately flew off to cling onto the wall, startled at the fact that you touched him. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! It was the shaking, I'm very sorry!" you exasperated to him, your words falling out of your mouth in a relentless manner. Fear evident in your voice, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face you. 

"Why are you apologizing so much? I get it, it was the shaking. Are you that afraid of me?" he narrowed his eyes, a few streaks of red painting on his face from the slight annoyance at the emotion of rejection. 

"W-what?" you stuttered. "You're not going to punish me or anything?" 

This could be an accurate depiction of a result of staying too long in an orphanage, where the only entertainment you like was pretty much just watching television. Eventually, you had figured out how to work around the station and picked up a liking to crime-related films and shows.

His cheeks erupted into flames and he mustered a deadly glare at you. "Don't say it like that!" 

Withdrawing back from his sudden outburst, you nodded. "Okay, okay!"
 
Lips forming into a pout, he grabbed your arm and pulled you through the long hallway like a rag doll. You found his speed quite hard to catch up with by walking, so you ended up half power-walking and stumbling behind him. That was when you had reached a door at the very end, again sealed for security. He unlocked it with both hands, causing the door to slide upwards and reveal a man's paradise inside. 

Your stomach dropped, the rows and rows of sharps, explosives and fire arms making your hair stand on its end from witnessing such lethality in one large room. 

Although there were at least four lights for every square meter on the ceiling, the room kept its mysterious darkness. Never having experienced this much thrill and anxiety all your life, you took his word and clung onto him for support where your legs no longer provided. Your head was spinning and you felt as though you were about to faint right there on the spot. 

You just couldn't comprehend how a human could walk in here and exit without a scratch. 

Gripping onto his shoulder and arm, you leaned on Romano, where he didn't seem to mind in the least. Rolling his eyes over to your half-lidded ones, you appeared as though you were about to fall into unconsciousness from the overwhelming sensation of fear. The sight triggered a memory that he thought he'd buried, making it resurface into a vivid flashing of both images and emotions. 

Flashback 

Romano struggled to reach the gun's trigger with the little fingers that he had. It wasn't just that, but the ear-splitting, explosive bang this foreign object emitted that was the feature that scared him into tears. Heart pounding and pumping adrenaline through his veins, he still persisted in accomplishing the fruitless achievement of shooting a gun. Finally setting his fingers in a position that could just manage to activate the gun, he raise his arm and pointed the end of the sig sauer to one of the wooden targets around 30 feet away. 

It was one of the easiest guns to shoot at least. 

His arm was pulsing in time with his heart beats, emphasizing how nervous he was at this moment.

If he failed even to make a mark on the board, he'd be killed by frustration. 

Narrowing his eyes with determination, he targeted the middle of the head and pressed firmly to release a flash of a bullet. The small, nimble bullet hit the dead center of the head, much to his surprise.

"I... I did it!" he cried in joy, as if he was over the moon. Shortly after, he was swarmed by a pair of arms to wrap around his shoulders. The arms belonged to a young adult male of a Spanish background, his caretaker. Sometimes Romano thought that he was closer to him than ever to his parents that he had little recollection of, but he would never admit it.

"You did it Roma! I'm so proud of you! You shot your first gun!" he cheered, throwing him into the air.

Now that he looked back at that memory, he thought of what Antonio said was stupid. 

No person in the right mind would ever want their child to shoot one of those monsters, no matter the circumstances. Especially if they're only six years old. 

"Hey... You won't have to touch any of those yet," Romano spoke softly, filling you up with relief. "I'll teach you how to fight first, and maybe you can hold one of those when you feel comfortable." 

"Thank you so much. I'd probably end up shooting the ceiling!" you chuckled nervously. His lips twitched into a smile, but he quickly hid it before you could catch it. Walking you over to another room joined with this one, your heart rate slowly returned to its normal state as you laid eyes on something other than guns but a large, rectangular mat scattered with poles, sand bags and a square of sand near the corner. 

As your curious eyes explored the room, they were covered by a couple articles of clothing that were tossed onto your head. 

"Ah! Who turned off the lights?" you exclaimed, extending your arms out and feeling whatever was in front of you. Romano snorted and watched you shake off the sports shirt and pants he gave you. 

"Put those on and we'll start our first lesson." he stated, taking off his suit jacket and tossing it into a random location on the ground. He didn't give you any further directions on where to do that, so you only watched him and stood there obediently. Although he was just taking off the top layers of clothes, you were still mesmerized by how he moved, especially in the the way how he took off and loosened his tie around his collar by pulling it down in a sideways motion.

He did this while closing his eyes, so when he opened them, he was greeted by your attentive stare. 

"Hey! Y-you idiot! I told you to change into those clothes!" he said, face flushed with embarrassment. "Were you staring at me the whole time?" 

That snapped you out of your daze, forcing you to gather up the sports gear and make a bee line to the corner of the room. 

"Sorry! I'll just change here. Don't look!" 

No promises. 

Sliding your old jacket off of your shoulders, you pulled your shirt over your head and threw it on the ground. Then, you slid your legs out of your pants and replaced it with leggings. Twisting your body back over to Romano, you caught him red handed. 

Or red-faced. 

Heat rushed up to your head and you rushed over to him with your teeth clenched together with an intention to hit him. On second thoughts, that may not be the best idea. 

"I told you not to look!" you hissed at him.

He crossed his arms and displayed not a single sign of guilt. 

"You can' tell me what to do - you were looking at me as well!"