Eventually Matthew went wandering around the ship, unable to sleep and not really wanting to stick around to have Alfred's continuous snoring grating on his ears.
There were only a few men out on deck at the time. One steering, one smoking, and a small boy sitting out on the bow and… Crying?
He blinked, frowning somewhat and inching closer.
Romano didn't look over, hugging himself.
He watched for a few moments. This was the boy that had been stuck under that bag earlier… "… Um… Hey…" His voice, as usual, was much too soft; normally he wouldn't have been heard, but seeing as things tended to quiet down at night, there was a slightly larger possibility this would be possible.
The boy blinked and wiped his face on his sleeve. Maybe he could pretend that he hadn't heard him…
The colony waited for a rather long time, unnaturally patient with the way he was accustomed to being dealt with. It was a bad habit for him, waiting and waiting in hopes someone had actually noticed him. In this case however, it seemed that no one had. "Are… are you okay…?" It was worth at least another try, right…?
He winced. "What do you care?"
"Well… I…" He bit his lip. Why shouldn't he care…? Granted, he didn't know the other nation very well, but that was no grounds to be insensitive… "It's just… you're crying…"
"Yeah because of you, you damn bastard!" He snapped angrily, wiping at his face with a bit more vigor. "Now the damn jackass is going to get rid of me because he's got something better!"
The younger colony jumped, shrinking back slightly at the unexpected anger that was sent his way. "I-I… I didn't mean… I mean… He's j-just watching us, is all…" he fidgeted, staring at the other with slightly wide eyes. "Just until big b-brother can come back from his meetings…"
Romano snorted, shaking his head. "He's never going to give you back…"
He froze up, going slightly pale. "But… n-no… he said…"
"He lied, dumbass." Romano hissed.
The smaller northern colony took on a slightly panicked look, glancing around as though he'd find his older brother or some proof that this was a fluke. "But…"
"Now that he's got options about which colonies he has he's going to toss out the rotten one. Me. I'm just gonna end up dead somewhere, I just know it." He looked away, trying not to let the fear show in his eyes.
Matthew sat down, trying to swallow the knot forming in his throat. But Antonie wouldn't lie… He was a friend… Francis was always going on about how much fun they had together… "N-no… maybe… maybe you just heard something wrong… 'c-cause…"
"I'm not wrong. He's always been talking about all the other little nations and how cute they are. He never talks about me. It's always you or Alfred or Fratello or… He's not going to let you go back…"
He fidgeted, feeling somewhat light-headed. "M-maybe… maybe he doesn't talk about you ar-round you 'c-cause… 'cause…"
"He never does. Not to anyone. And nothing good if he ever says anything." He looked away, getting up.
Matthew glanced up at him, trying to hide the terror behind his eyes. It really didn't work the best, though…
Romano stalked off to the cabin they were all sleeping in.
