Hello dears! Herein lies my first fanfiction, an idea I just couldn't let go of. I'll update as often as possible. I'm not much of a creative writer, so critique would be really useful! Did a lot of research on sea mammals and human body limits hehe, do enjoy ^^

It started with a weekend-long fishing trip.

Ludwig was never one for fishing, but Gilbert had insisted he come to the middle of the Mediterranean on a tiny boat with no one but his annoying, self-obsessed older brother for two rainy days. Sadly this was no exaggeration.

When Ludwig tried to weasel his way out of it, Gilbert was as adamant as ever.

"Why don't you take Rodreich or Elizabeta? I have to work this weekend, and those two seem to appreciate your company." Ludwig didn't necessarily have to work, but certainly paperwork was preferable to the rainy forecast of the coming weekend.

"Aw, but West, Roddy has some dumb piano thingy and Liz is up in Vienna to watch him. I would've gone too if it weren't for the cost..." Gilbert drifted off slightly, putting on his best puppy face before continuing, "Besides! You're the awesome me's little bruder, and we don't get to do fun bonding stuff at all anymore!"

Ludwig sighed, "Gil, have you even looked at the forecast lately? There's a large rainstorm hitting on Saturday, we'll just get caught up in it and end up stranded!"

His efforts earned him a small sniffle from Gilbert. "But West! Everyone knows fishing is way awesome-r when it rains! The fish can't see us then so we'll catch way more!"

Ludwig grunted, "'Awesome-r' isn't a word."

"So you'll go?!"

"Fine."

So here they were, settled in a 1970's Thompson inboard, casting off into murky waters with glum skies overhead. Ha. Quite the brotherly-bonding.

Ludwig couldn't help but notice the leather seats were beaten and torn, the propeller rusty, and the floor in deep need of a hose-down. Gilbert would have called him out for OCD, but the whole boat needed to be completely redone.

Trust Gilbert with the rentals. Well.

Ludwig pushed back his straw-blond hair, sighing deeply before curling back down into his seat. Fishing was great. And by that, he meant they'd caught nothing all morning, and Gilbert just insisted they needed to go further from shore. Towards the oncoming storm, he might add.

Two sky-blue eyes surveyed the clouds, a frown forming on his thin lips as Ludwig noticed the darkening sky.

"Hey East!" Calling Gilbert by his nickname never failed to grab his attention, "The storm looks like it's directly overhead, we ought to head back soon!"

Gilbert just laughed, "No way West! Not until I've got something to show!"

Ludwig just sighed, resolving to straighten up and put away his gear anyhow. He knew Gilbert wouldn't allow them to leave until they had caught something, that's just how the dummkopf was. Ludwig figured it would give him some time to think, at least, and the report had said the storm wasn't too bad.

Italy was a beautiful place. Laid back, good food, friendly people... Nothing like their small German home town. It would be so easy to just relax and fall asleep here...the boat's slow rocking certainly didn't help. Ludwig decided nothing too bad would happen if he just shut his eyes for a few minutes...

Ludwig woke with a start. The boat's gentle rocking had become rough and jolting, and the skies were alive with wind and rain.

"Gilbert!" Ludwig struggled to stand; Why had his brother allowed them to be caught up in this?

"Hold on a sec, Lud! The awesome me has totally got this under control!" His brother yelled back from the steering wheel, knuckles white from his harsh grip. "The shore isn't too far off...I think!"

Ludwig was exasperated at this point; did Gilbert ever think anything through? Pondering on his dense brother would have to wait, they needed to get out of this gale first. He stood up and slowly made his way over to the captain's seat.

A particularly large gust of wind caught Ludwig off balance, and he staggered. His weight caused the boat to rock violently, and Gilbert let out a desperate yelp.

"Ludwig!" Gilbert only used his name when he was serious or scared witless. "Ludwig, please just stay there! I'll get us out, okay?!"

Ludwig straightened up to offer his help, there was no way he could let Gilbert man the boat alone. Then, he lost all trains of coherent thought as the floor seemed to move out from underneath him, and his face made contact with cold water. He struggled briefly, but all too soon, everything went black.

Feliciano Veneziano Vargas was not your typical mermaid. For starters, he was a male. Then, came the fact that he was about as ditzy as they come. Third, he truly didn't appreciate the sheltered, yet perfectly safe life he lead.

Most mermen felt privileged to live a lifestyle where humans could not touch them. You see, mermen are not at all like the typical-storybook-drop-dead-gorgeous-woman-with-obnoxiously-bright-fish-tails. No, mermen were mammals, through and through. The combination was more closely seal and human, rather than fish. The tail was thick gray blubber, with small fins near the human hips to aid in propulsion and land travel. Not that they could go far on land, but they certainly could pull themselves out to sunbathe or search for food.

There wasn't much magical about them either. A set of humanoid lungs coupled with the ability to hold their breath for absurd lengths of time. The only magical thing was the rumor of "the Wish" that floated amongst the merpeople. It was an old tradition, that stated that at the age of twenty, each merman was granted the ability to make one wish, that represented their truest desire. Since only the truest desires were granted, few had actually seen the wish occur.

Feliciano, for one, held it to be true. He was just over twenty years of age, and had curly copper hair and amber eyes. Most said he was unbearably cute. But he desired something more, something beyond this world of eating fish and sunbathing in the sand, far away from the prying eyes of humans. Feliciano wanted to meet one of these strange human creatures; he wanted to see the world beyond this quiet sandbar where he and his family lived.

There was supposed to be a storm today. Feliciano wasn't fond of foul weather, but it gave him ample opportunity to escape his overprotective Nonno and his fratello Lovino's cruel remarks. He was sure Lovino didn't mean it, he was just always grumpy. Didn't sleep enough, Feliciano thought.

As he tore through the rough waves, Feliciano took note of a strange object up ahead. What had Nonno called them again? Ah yes, a boat! Did that mean there were humans nearby? Feliciano's heart raced with excitement, as he put on a burst of speed, effectively scattering all the nearby fish. Oops.

Feliciano hung around the small boat for most of the day, disappointed with the lack of activity coming from within. Yes, there were small hooks being thrown about, but they looked sharp and painful. Best to leave those alone. It was relatively quiet for most of the day.

However, once the storm rolled in, angry shouting streamed from up above. Feliciano couldn't make out what was being said, but the vessel tipped dangerously. Oh no, did that mean they were in danger? Feliciano was always told that humans were evil and mean, but he had never met one, and he did hate for anyone to get hurt.

The yelling was soon accompanied by a large splash and a scream. Feliciano was shocked to see a body propelling through the water towards him. Did they find out where he was? Were they mad he was following, and had sent someone to hit him? These nervous thought flew through Feliciano's head, as he tried to think of something to say to the approaching human.

Quite suddenly, the body quit moving and began to sink. Feliciano realized that humans didn't live in the sea, the thing couldn't swim or see underwater! Lovino would have probably hit him for that bout of stupidity, or for not running away, or for even following the boat in the first place. No help seemed to be coming from the boat. Wait, where was that boat?

Feliciano's mind was made up for him, and he jetted over to the man, and pulled his head above water. Oh, what to do, what to do? Lovino and Nonno would kill him if he brought a human back. The man was quite muscular, and therefore heavy. Feliciano resolved to move in the opposite direction of his sandbar, to whatever tiny island he could find.

At long last, there stood out a tiny island, no more than a few square meters, with just a lone tree and small amounts of brush poking through the sand. Carrying the man was exhausting, and Feliciano resolved to just drag him up onto the beach. Exhaustion kicked in, and without much second thought, he curled up next to the man and fell asleep.