Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia~
Chapter 3: Reunion at Sea
Another few days had passed since Juan had been found, and the ship was well and truly in the middle of nowhere. Dark blue waves danced around the hull of the ship, various sea creatures such as fish swimming by every once in a while. The sky above was a picturesque shade of teal with almost transparent streaks of white painting the canvas. The late afternoon sun beat heavily down upon the hard-working crew, who were all going around doing their day-to-day chores.
Antonio had long since found his sea-legs - he could even stretch to say that he found the rhythmic bobbing of the ship quite relaxing. Therefore, he had no trouble as he stood with Romano by the boat's railings, gazing down into the deep blue. The higher-ranking pirate had a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes glazed over as if lost in thought. The quiet between the two was not uncomfortable, but peaceful, embracing the pair as they were left to their thoughts.
"Romano, sir!" a crew member yelled from behind the two. As they turned, Antonio could identify the sailor as Arthur "Storm" Kirkland, a man hailing from the Kingdom of Britain who had been forced on the ship by his brothers for 'a bit of fun'. Toni wasn't quite so fond of the Brit, preferring to ignore him than to listen to him drone on about rules and regulations. "Amour says there isn't enough wine in the cellar and requests we stop at the nearest port (preferably in France) to obtain more." The Brit pronounced the name Amour with a look of distaste on his face.
"Ugh," Romano groaned, placing his face in his right palm. "More wine? Just tell the bastard that we haven't got enough time to please his every whim and need. God, I've had enough of that bastard Francis' whinings on wine." Arthur nodded and retreated to the lower decks.
Antonio turned and asked his master, "Did you say 'Francis'?"
"Congratulations, you have ears," Romano answered sarcastically. "Of course I said Francis, idiota. He's the cook."
"Is his last name by any chance 'Bonnefoy'?"
Romano gave him a blank stare. "Yes. Weren't you supposed to know your crew members' names by now?"
Antonio, however, dismissed this question as his eyes lit up with glee. "Oh, I have to go see him!"
His sleeve was caught before he could run off. "Hold up a second. Why do you need to see him?"
"He and I were the best of friends as children! Since his father's the Duke of France, he and my father were very close. Francis, as well as a boy from Germany named Gil, were my best friends due to the friendship between our fathers!"
The younger man nodded, letting go of the prince's sleeve. "Fine, but I expect you back in ten minutes, capito?"
"Si!"
X-x-X
The water bubbled as it boiled in the pan, sizzling as extra vegetables were added to the mixture. Sniffing the air around the pan, the chef deduced that the soup would soon be ready. He smiled and was beginning to peel a potato when the door opened and he heard footsteps approach him. Expecting it to be Arthur, he said, "So, what did the petit Italien say?"
"He said something about not being able to cater to your every whim," a completely unexpected voice replied.
Turning, Francis' azure eyes were met with a sight he thought he'd never see; the man was around the same height as him, his curly brown locks bouncing around at ear-length. His eye colour was like that of a forest - bright and intriguing, with mixtures of various greens weaving in and out of each other to create the perfect hue. He wore a white shirt with brown trousers and boots, and across his face was a large grin, plastered below his nose.
"Antoine, mon ami, is that you?"
"Hola, Paco*!" the Spaniard replied, using the familiar nickname.
The blonde man stepped forward and embraced his friend, who hugged him back tightly. "Toni, it has been so long!"
"Si, it has!" They pulled out of the hug and grinned at each other, happy to be reunited after so long. "So, Amour, huh?"
Francis gave a chuckle. "It's my codename. Everyone has one, mon ami. Although, you wouldn't have one yet, you've probably not had the initiation."
"That sounds painful."
"Toni, you have not seen painful until you see Carlos playing Twister on Games' Night. Honestly, I have no idea how he even got his foot behind his head, but let me tell you, that game didn't end well for the other players."
X-x-X
As the cook and the prince reunited, Lovino returned to his gazing of the water, enjoying the peace that fell over him as he watched the fish leap through the waves. About half an hour after Antonio's departure, the Italian's younger brother Feliciano came to join him.
"Bella, isn't it," Feli came out with after a moment or two. "I love watching the sea like this. It's so...calming."
Lovino nodded lazily in agreement. "'Specially on a day like this."
"Yeah..."
The two fratelli fell into a comfortable silence, just as the elder boy had with Antonio earlier.
"Say, fratello?" Feliciano finally said, an unusually serious expression on his face. "What do you think of Toni?"
Lovino turned his head to face his brother's. "What d'ya mean?"
"Well, he must be special if you spend this much time with him. I mean, I barely see you without him nowadays."
It was true; ever since Antonio had joined the crew, Lovino was barely ever seen without the clueless Spaniard. Many questions flew through Lovino's head. Why do I let that bastard hang around me all the time? Is it because he's my "servant"? Or is it something else? And why does Feli want to know?
Rather than answering the question however, the elder Italian merely smirked and lunged forward to tickle his brother, chasing away the strange look and replacing it with the younger's signature smile. "Why? Is somebody jealous?"
Feli laughed and swatted away his brother's hands. "Hehe, fratello, you always make me laugh~"
Lovino snorted before they looked back out to the sea, upon which the sun was beginning to set. The sky had now turned into streaks of pinks, blues and purples; in the centre of the more orangey-red of these colours was the evening sun, glowing softly as it sunk below the dark water's horizon. The crew behind the pair were beginning to finish up so they could get dinner, which Antonio had helped the French chef prepare. Before they joined their crewmates, Lovino gave a small, almost invisible smile and said, "I suppose he's not too much of a bastard."
X-x-X
Translations:
Amour - Love (French)
Idiota - Idiot (Italian)
Capito? - Understand? (Italian)
Si - Yes (Spanish/Italian)
Petit Italien - Little Italian (French)
Antoine - Antonio (French equivalent of)
Mon ami - my friend (French)
Hola - hello (Spanish)
Bella - Beautiful (Italian)
Fratello/fratelli - Brother/s (Italian)
Note:
Paco - The Spanish nickname for Francis, according to both my Spanish teacher and various trusted internet sources. But seriously how the heck do you get Paco from Francis?
Author's Notes: Hey guys! I'm actually writing this AN ahead of time, but thank you in advance to everyone who may/may not have followed/faved this story since the last chapter was uploaded! :3
Feedback is, as usual, very much appreciated! Any comments or questions you have can be asked/commented to me via the little review box below :3
Thanks to: FonicCrystal for following!
Responses to Reviews:
Spamano4ever: Yup! Lovi is veery sly and sneaky x3
charcoal246: Thank youu~! I'm glad you're enjoying it :3 Hmm...good question... I suppose it's probably from reading too many pirate fics xD All I remember is thinking about Lovi and Feli being assassins and having to attack Toni, and then the idea just formulated in my head! Thanks again for the review :3
Epic F. Awesomesauce: Yup! Hehe xD I'm not sure why you're surprised, your awesomeness is in your name x3
Thank you all again for everything so far, and I do hope you're enjoying the story so far :3
I'll see you again in the next update! (Which I think is Sunday...right?)
~Random ( = ¬ = )7
PS: If the format is messed up, I'm sorry! Uploading this on my phone, I'll fix it if it's broken later~