Summary: When 21-year-old Giotto Maestri's fiancée walks out on him just days after giving birth to their baby, his plans for the future are derailed and he's left floundering. But with a son to raise and a vigilante-group-turned-mafia to run, he has no choice but to pick himself back up and keep moving forward. RaF revamp.
SkyGem: Heya lovelies! Long time no see! So, a quick explanation on this. I know it's been years since the last real update of RaF, and you all have been waiting so patiently, and I'm so sorry to have left you hanging. But life got in the way for a while there, and when I finally did find time to sit down and try to figure out what was going on with my fics, I found that I just…didn't like them anymore. Now don't get me wrong, I still love the concepts and the verses, but my writing had changed so much since I'd started them, I just couldn't figure out how to continue. So after much debate with my lovely Bleach-ed-Na-tsu, I finally decided to go ahead and revamp some of my older fics, and RaF is the first to get a makeover! A lot of the major plot points will be staying the same, but there will be a lot that's different as well, so make sure you don't skip over any parts, yeah? I'll try not to make it too repetitive so that it's still enjoyable. Thank you very much for staying with me all this time, and I hope you enjoy this new old fic!
"Tsunayoshi."
The name escapes her as barely a whisper of breath. He has a crown of fine brown hair, thick and soft; his cheeks are red and healthy, his eyes squeezed tight in sleep. He's absolutely beautiful, and as her eyes travel from him to his father, breathing deep and even next to him, she feels her stomach twist in anxiety.
They look perfect together, complete. Little Tsuna curled into his father's broad chest, thick, powerful arms draped gently around him, and Nana finds she can't breathe.
Only twenty-two, and already a mother, a bride-to-be with a charming fiancé and a comfortably large house in a pretty little neighbourhood in Sicily – she had never imagined this would be her life, had never wanted this kind of life.
Her future is pressing in, settling heavy and stifling on her shoulders.
She can't breathe.
She sits up, her thin blanket slithering off her and onto the floor at the sudden movement.
Neither of them wakes up.
She gets out of bed quiet and slow, so slow.
The house is quiet, and the housekeeper won't be in for another hour or so. She needs to be gone by then.
She moves silently around the bedroom, not making a noise as she throws clothes and photos and little trinkets into a duffel bag.
Not more than twenty minutes later, she's got everything she'll need, and about a dozen things she won't.
And just like that, she's gone, with nary a glance back at her beautiful baby and her charming fiancé and her comfortably large house in a pretty little neighbourhood in Sicily.
She steps onto a bus, and as the driver pulls away, she finds that she can breathe again.
Giotto is startled awake with a gentle hand on his shoulder, and a tearful face looking down at him.
The silence in the room tells him that Tsuna is still asleep, so he chokes back his startled gasp and sits up carefully, so as not to wake his son.
Looking around, he notices that Nana isn't in the room anymore, and his brows furrows in confusion.
He turns back to the housekeeper, a pretty, nervous young thing who still looks to be on the verge of tears.
"Nana?" he inquires in a whisper, and she shakes her head helplessly.
She seems to be getting only more agitated as the seconds pass by, so Giotto turns to pick up Tsuna so he can move him to his crib before the two of them leave the room.
The baby monitor held loosely in his hand, Giotto leads the housekeeper down the stairs and into the kitchen, so that they won't accidentally wake Tsuna up.
He gets her a glass of water, making her drink before turning and leaning against the counter.
"So?" he asks once she seems to have calmed down a little, his voice calm. "What's wrong?"
The housekeeper, who had finally looked almost composed, became suddenly agitated again.
She sets the glass of water down and twists her fingers together, a nervous habit.
It takes her a moment to finally gather her courage, and Giotto waits patiently.
Finally, she squeezes her eyes shut and says in a rush of breath, "She's gone!"
And whatever Giotto had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that.
He stares at her for a moment, his eyes wide and uncomprehending. "Gone?" he asks. "My Nana?"
The housekeeper nods.
"What do you mean she's gone?" His eyes are wide, his face bewildered.
And she finally breaks down, hiccoughing and trying not to wail too loudly and around her sobs Giotto can make out phrases like "told me not to say anything" and "postpartum psychosis" and "depression."
Giotto lets her talk herself out, his eyes wide and confused as her words fizzle down to a trickle.
"Then…when is she…" he starts, desperate, but trails off as he sees her apologetic expression.
She shakes her head.
"She's not coming back."
SkyGem: That's it for the prologue! Please do leave a review letting me know what you thought! Anything in particular you're looking forward to for this re-write? Any requests you want to make?
Also, a BIG thanks to everyone who's added me to their favourite author's list! I recently passed 3000 favourites and it really motivated me to finally get this first chapter out. I love you guys so so so much and I look forward to your continued support! Wanna see if we can make it to 4000?
