"Another day full of useless training and no people to kill," Luciano ranted as he and his brother walked down an alley together.

"You know, it could have been worse," Flavio tried to assure the younger man.

"Worse?" Luciano flatly inquired, raising a brow for emphasis. "How could this day have been any worse?"

"We could have died, for one thing," Flavio started off, "and we could have gone to jail, for another."

"Why don't I feel any better?" Luciano asked. "Ugh, why couldn't you have been someone else's brother instead of mine?"

"Because they aren't so lucky," Flavio smiled.

Suddenly, they heard a feminine groan and footsteps running down the alley in front of them.

"Looks like a lady took a wrong turn," Luciano sighed. "Again. How many has this been in one week?"

"Aside from (y/n)?" Flavio asked. "I would say about three."

"Really?" Luciano wondered. "Just four? Seems more than that. Well, let's make it a fifth while we're at it, shall we?"

They followed the panting girl, hearing her muttering of, "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

"Are you in trouble, bella?" Flavio inquired from her left side.

The girl stopped running, turning around to face them with a shocked and angry expression.

"You two again?" she asked. "Ugh, this is the second time that I didn't bring my pepper spray with me."

"(Y/n)?" the two brothers replied in shocked unison.

"Oh, well that's fantastic," (y/n) answered sarcastically. "You remembered my name. How creepy."

"Where were you going in such a hurry, bella?" Luciano smirked.

"Home," (y/n) snapped. "Like the last time that we met?"

"Do you need us to walk you there again?" Flavio kindly offered.

"No," (y/n) harshly declined. "Like I said the first time, I don't know you or trust you. Besides, you only made me way more late the last time because you started talking to me like you are right now, so bye."

She turned on her heel, walking again.

"You got a boyfriend at home?" Luciano wondered.

(Y/n) stopped walking, turning to face them.

"I don't think that that's any of your business," she told them.

"Abusive boyfriend," Flavio nodded with a smirk. "Impressive, Luciano."

"He's not abusive!" (y/n) immediately defended, but she didn't sound so sure about that.

"You sure about that?" Luciano inquired with a raised brow for emphasis. "Because only an abusive boyfriend would put a time limit on a bella lady such as yourself."

(Y/n) sighed, knowing that she was defeated.

"Well, I can't just leave," she answered. "He has my number. He could contact me whenever he wanted."

"Here, let me see your phone," Luciano said, going into her contacts and blocking her boyfriend's number.

He showed the proof to her, giving her an assuring grin.

"See?" he asked. "No harm done."

"Th-thank you," (y/n) stuttered with a slightly red face, "but now I don't have a place to live."

"Leave that to us," Flavio winked. "We have a house not too far from here. You can stay with us until you get enough money from your job to get a place of your own. Deal?"

"Uh, no, Flavio, she can't," Luciano warned him through clenched teeth.

"Why not?" Flavio wondered, becoming confused.

"Because they would flip their lids if they found out that we brought her into our house without asking them!" Luciano explained.

"But we don't need their permission," Flavio countered. "Besides, she's practically homeless now."

"She probably has her parents," Luciano stated. "She can just go and crash with them, right? Or with her grandparents."

"But the others could use a female influence," Flavio suggested. "They're all too...whiny and reckless."

"Do you know how wrong that sounded?" Luciano snapped.

"You're right," the older male blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

"If it's too much trouble," (y/n) began, "I can just go somewhere else."

The two brothers went silent, and Luciano sighed as he realized that he had lost the argument between him and his brother.

"Fine, you can crash at our place," he reluctantly agreed.

"Really?" (y/n) asked, suddenly becoming thankful. "Gosh, that's so nice of you two, actually. How can I return the favor?"

"By coming with us," Luciano answered. "We'll take care of you, so you don't have to worry about anything except for your job."

(Y/n) felt tears prick at her eyes because of their kindness, and she nodded as she fell into step between them.

"We have some other roommates, though," Flavio began, "so I hope that it won't be a problem."

"Believe me," (y/n) laughed for the first time that they had met, "whatever they're like, they won't compare to my boyfriend."

"You'd be surprised, actually," Luciano told her. "They're weird, flirty, and overall ruthless. They're not like us at all."

"Except for Oliver," Flavio countered.

"What?" Luciano gasped. "He's the worst!"

"How many roommates do you have, exactly?" (y/n) wondered. "I mean, not that I don't mind or anything, I was just asking."

"Well," Luciano sighed as he opened up the door to the run down home, "prepare to meet eight."

(Y/n) walked inside first, the argument that must have been going on ceasing to silence as eight men looked at her with shock, just as Luciano had predicted.

"Uh," one man drawled as he became confused, "who are you?"

"I'm-" (y/n) began, but she was interrupted.

"This is (y/n)," Luciano informed the group. "She's crashing here for a while because she broke up with her abusive boyfriend and needs a place to stay until she gets enough money from her job to get her own place. Treat her with kindness and respect, which means no flirting with her or threatening her. Do you understand?"

"Well, I for one, don't mind the extra company!" an English man cheerfully grinned as he skipped up to (y/n). "I'm Oliver, what's your name, poppet?"

"(Y/n)," she said. "Goodness, what's with all of the nicknames? First it's 'bella,' and now 'poppet?'"

"Get used to it, dollface," the first man who had spoken said with a smirk. "Name's Allen, by the way."

"(Y/n)," she grinned. "What are the rest of your names?"

"I'm Matt," a blonde answered, "Allen's twin brother."

"That grumpy one wearing all of the black leather is my boyfriend, Francois," Oliver introduced with a giggle. "He's quiet and mean at first, but he's actually quite adorable once he warms up to you."

"That other blonde is mine," Luciano smirked. "His name is Lutz. Say hi to the bella lady, Lutz."

"Hello," Lutz said with an annoyed eye roll. "Sheesh, Luciano, calm down. I vas vaiting for zhe ozhers to go first, as is proper vhen greeting a lady."

"I'm Kuro," another male said, "and this is Xao."

"I can speak for myself!" Xao complained.

"Too late," Kuro replied, cleaning his katana on his lap.

"And I'm Viktor," a Russian male told her. "It's nice to meet you, (y/n)."

"Nice to meet you, too," (y/n) nodded respectfully.

"I can show you the guest bedroom if you want?" Flavio offered. "You will need some guidance in this house."

(Y/n) nodded, following him up the stairs and down the hall to get settled into her new room.