This was written as a request for kemonekko123 of deviantART.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA.
You woke up to the sound of shouting, as usual. You quickly jumped out of your hammock, noticing you were the only one still there. If you weren't outside cleaning the deck soon, Captain Vargas was going to skin you alive. You hurriedly put on your shabby shoes, thankful that you'd slept in your day clothes the night before. If you'd slept in your night clothes, you'd be even later. You grabbed your old faded bandana off your bed and tied it around your head as you sprinted up the stairs. You didn't want your hair getting in your face as you worked.
As you reached the deck, you looked around. Thankfully, none of your fellow pirates had noticed your late appearance. You grabbed a scrubbing brush and a bucket and set to work cleaning the deck.
"Oi! You!" yelled the strongly accented Italian voice of your easily irritable captain. You paid no heed to the words, not realising your mistake in doing so until you looked up to see the Captain stomping towards you, his face red with fury.
You ducked your own face down in fear, staring at the captain's shiny pointy boots as they clomped ever closer.
"You're late." He spat, as he kicked you in the side, "and for that, you will be punished. Meet me in my quarters once the sun has started to set. We will discuss your punishment then." He then turned on his heel and stomped back to his quarters, followed by his ever-faithful first mate, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, a Spaniard who tried to steal a hug from the fuming Italian.
Your eyes watered from the pain of the pointy boot, and bit your lip in an attempt to stop the tears falling. You succeeded, thankfully. Crying was considered a sign of weakness, and on Lovino Vargas's pirate ship, weak things were disposed of.
You feared the pirate captain more than death, and were dreading the confrontation later in the day. Not wanting to think about it, you resumed scrubbing the deck. You were so absorbed in this task, you didn't notice how quickly the time had gone by. You were only taken out of your trance when you felt a hand come to rest on your shoulder.
You turned to look up at the owner of the hand and found yourself gazing into kind hazel eyes, so unlike the cold, green, hate-filled eyes of the captain, even though these eyes belonged to his younger brother Feliciano, who was the ship's cook.
"Toni sent me to come and get you. You don't want to be late twice do you?" Your eyes widened in realization. You quickly looked over to the sun, noting its position in the sky. You almost missed the meeting. You made a mental note to thank Antonio later, before you thanked Feliciano and hastily put your cleaning supplies away. You then ran as fast as your two legs could carry you in the direction of the captain's quarters.
Reaching the giant mahogany door that Captain Vargas worked behind, you wasted no time in knocking, and waited for the accented voice of the captain to grant you entry.
"Come in,"
You pushed open the heavy door and entered the room, closing the door behind you. Captain Vargas was sitting at a desk looking over a map, and didn't look up at your entrance.
"I c-came, sir," you stammered, wanting to get out of the room and the captain's presence as soon as possible.
The captain looked up, and met your eyes with a harsh glare. The glare seemed to soften as he recognised who you were, but you weren't sure if you imagined it or not.
"I asked you here to discuss your punishment," he began suddenly, then paused as if he was considering what he was going to say next, "and I have decided not to give you one."
Your mouth fell open in astonishment, never had the captain been so kind! You'd been expecting ten lashes from the captain's famous whip as a minimum punishment.
"W-why?" you asked before you could stop yourself. You didn't want the captain to change his mind.
"You made up for it. You were still working until just a few minutes ago, am I correct?" I nodded.
"Yes,"
"Then there's no reason to punish you," he said, as his eyes strayed back to the map, "You've worked an hour later than everyone else, but you were an hour late." Your eyes brighten in happiness.
"Thank-you, sir!" you exclaim. You would've hugged the man if you were not so afraid of him. You turn to leave.
"Wait," you turned back, confused.
"Yes?"
"Don't think I'll let you off again, this was a one-time thing. You'd better be on time tomorrow," you nod in understanding, "If anyone asks, say I made you eat that English bastard's cooking. We can't let the crew think I've gone soft."
He chuckles, and you took the chance to leave, venturing off to the kitchen, and then, to your hammock.
The next day, you were out working on time. You looked up at the quarters and saw Captain Vargas, in the doorway as hee looked down at you, a smile on his face. You smiled back.
A/N: Sorry for my recent inactivity. I'll try to post more soon.