Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or it's characters - all I own is the combination of words and the plot, as well as the very few OCs used in this story.

Chapter 2: Eavesdropping and Stowaways

Lovino Vargas was an intelligent, fast-moving creature when he had the motivation.

Unfortunately, if he did not, he was slow and unmotivated.

That's why after a few days of having the Prince of Spain as his manservant, he was beginning to get a little bored.

The man may have looked rather attractive, what with his chocolate-brown locks which fell messily into forest green eyes, standing out against tanned skin covered by a mere white worker's shirt and brown trousers with boots. However, Antonio really was extremely talkative, a slow worker, and very, very annoying - or at least, in Lovino's opinion he was.

"Oi, tomato bastard!" the pirate called using the newly formed nickname he had come up with when the man was blathering on about his favourite foods, which mainly consisted of tomatoes and Spanish cuisine.

"Si, Romano?"

"Fetch me a glass of red wine, and get me the good stuff this time, dammit!"

The Spaniard nodded before making his way out of the cabin, allowing the door to swing shut before it burst back open again.

"Ciao, mi nipote!" a cheery voice cooed through the room as a middle aged man entered.

To tell the truth, the man barely looked 30 years old, and yet he was 55. His dark brown hair with its many curls was styled gracefully to suit his tanned face, with its clear jawlines and bright brown eyes. He smiled gracefully as he approached his grandson's desk, his white shirt unbuttoned so his toned chest was visible.

Lovino sighed. "What do you want, nonno?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about our last target." His voice had suddenly gained a serious tone.

After a short period of mental reasoning, the younger Italian decided to let the man speak. "Close the door and sit down."

X-x-X

Antonio sighed as he picked out the correct wine bottle and began to pour it into the glass. Sure, he enjoyed being out on the open waves - for the first time in his life, he felt completely free to travel the world as he had always wanted to!

However, he did worry about his family back home. What were they thinking right now? How had they reacted when they were told of his disappearance?

Another thing he wondered about was Romano. The so-called 'fleeting-phantom' didn't really seem all that amazing to the Spaniard so far - all he had done was sit on his ass and order him around. Antonio didn't mind the work, of course, but he did wonder if he'd ever be able to figure out his master's true identity, or even the meaning behind the task - was it just the name, or was it something deeper than that? Was he to...find out more personally about the pirate? Was he to...become friends with him?

It all made Antonio's head hurt, so he preferred not to think about it.

Picking up the glass of wine, he began his journey back to the pirate's cabin, and was about to open the door and enter when he heard a voice.

"Are you sure about this, nipote? What if your fratellino lets it slip by accident?"

"Nonno, you're the one who gave me this task. At least have a little faith in me, dammit. Plus he's a complete dipshit anyway. Can't even figure out port from starboard."

"...But are you completely sure?"

"I dunno, but he will if you keep talking. He's right outside the damn door."

Silently cursing his inability to eavesdrop, the Spaniard pushed open the door and delivered the wine before apologising for listening in. "I just didn't want to interrupt your conversation."

"Well just leave and go swab the decks or something." Romano ordered scornfully. "If I find you eavesdropping again you will be walking that plank."

Antonio nodded before leaving once more, in order to fulfill his master's orders.

X-x-X

"By the way, how did your father react when he heard?"

After the Spaniard had left, the two pirates had continued on with their conversation.

"The usual." Lovino shrugged. "They don't call him Rabbia for nothing."

Romulus gave a short chuckle. "Well, I can see where you get it from, I suppose."

"What does that have to do with anything?!" the younger pirate said indignantly.

"Nothing, nothing! Don't mind me!"

The captain began to laugh to himself, leaving Lovino agitated in his chair, arms and legs crossed until his grandfather controlled himself.

It took a while, needless to say.

However, just as Lovino went to open his mouth when his nonno had calmed down, a yell came from the deck above.

"Stowaway! Stowaway! I've found a stowaway!"

Almost immediately the two Vargases rushed up to see what the problem was. On the deck, most of the crew had formed a circle around something which was invisible to their eyes from where they stood. Just as the First Mate, Rabbia, entered the deck, the captain and his grandson found a way to push through the crowd to see what the fuss was all about.

In the middle of the deck, curled in on himself was a small man with brown hair, a creamy tan and shaking shoulders. He looked completely terrified.

"Stowaway!" Romulus boomed at the man, immediately knowing what the man had done. "What are you doing on my ship?"

The man hesitantly looked up at the captain with his turquoise-green eyes. "I-I'm sorry! P-please don't kill me!"

"I asked what you are doing here! Answer my question!"

"I-I saw you kidnap His Highness!" the man finally stuttered, causing a certain Spaniard to gasp. "S-so I followed him here a-and was going t-to hide until night, w-when I could s-steal him back, b-but the ship had already started s-sailing, and I w-was stuck."

"So it's because of the new powder monkey, eh?" Romulus said. "Bring him here!"

One of the crew members dragged Antonio to the front, causing the mouse-man to gasp at his plain workers' attire.

"Do you know this man, powder monkey?"

Antonio looked at the man and nodded, his eyes full of honesty. "He is one of the castle's servants, sir."

"I see." Romulus stated. "Well crew, looks like we have another new powder monkey to play with." He grinned mischievously. "See to it that he gets some working clothes and a bed somewhere by tonight, and throw his old clothes to the fish. They're not worth a single cautorillo*."

The crew slowly began to disperse, until only Antonio, the servant, and Lovino were left on the deck. Lovino looked to the former. "Clothes are in the storage room below. Find him a place for a hammock in the workers' cabin. I expect to see him working by sunset at least." And with that, the Italian strode back into his cabin to continue his previous actions.

X-x-X

Antonio was extremely relieved when his friend was spared and Romano left. "Juan, what are you doing here?!"

The mousy man, Juan, replied, "I'm sorry, Toni, I followed you out of the castle. When I saw you get kidnapped, I had to try and help you!"

Antonio gave him a small smile. "Thank you for caring, but you should really think about these things first. What will your family think?"

"What about yours?" Juan retorted. "I'm not the priority here. Your family rules the entire kingdom! What will they think, hearing their only son and heir to the throne has been kidnapped?!"

"I can't help it, you could have! You could have gotten the guards instead of doing something so reckless!"

"But-"

"I have no choice but to stay and work here." Antonio concluded. "I don't exactly feel like walking that plank any time soon."

Juan nodded resignedly before the two men made their way downstairs to sort out the newcomer's hammock.

X-x-X

Translations:

Si - Yes (Spanish/Italian)
Ciao, mi nipote - Hello, my grandson (Italian)
Nonno - Grandfather (Italian)
Fratellino - Little brother (Italian)
Rabbia - Rage (Italian)

Note:

Cautorillo - Pirate currency, the lowest coin value, according to a website I found using Google.

Author's Notes: Wow, already 8 follows, 7 faves, and 2 reviews?! Thank you all very much guys! I never expected to get this much of a reception after only one chapter! I hope you all continue to enjoy the story :3

So yeah, not really much to say here this time~

Feedback is very much appreciated! Feel free to drop a review below~
If you're curious or confused about anything at any point, feel free to ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability! No questions about what happens at the end or anything though, 'cause that's spoilers~

By the way, I may not be able to update on Wednesday since I'll be in London! Therefore it's not likely that I'll have access to the internet "OTL. If I do have internet access at any time I will try to update this! Even so, if I don't update on Wednesday expect one on Friday as well as the usual Sunday update :3

Thank you to: Alice Vargas, Croatoan Sun, Epic F. Awesomesauce, Kittyruvsyou, Roxburry Black, Spamano4ever, charcoal246, and justthatweirdgirl for following!

Thank you to: Alice Vargas, Epic F. Awesomesauce, Spamano4ever, TheDeadOne28, charcoal246, justthatweirdgirl, and littlehanyan for favouriting!

Responses to reviews:

Spamano4ever: Heh, don't we all! xD

Epic F. Awesomesauce: Yes I did xD Funny thing is, I'm reading that story too~ (it's awesome btw)

Thank you all again, and see you next time!

~Random ( = ¬ = )7