Chapter 6

"…I'm not even going to ask about that," Alvarez muttered, his lips quirking upwards in amusement as he gestured towards Lovino's corner of the cabin.

Antonio flushed despite himself and shrugged. The Spaniard leaned forward to rest his elbows on the rough surface of the table that Carlos and Lars had dragged into his cabin about an hour ago, taking care to avoid the bowl of soup that Isabella had made.

"What is this about, hermano?" he asked quietly.

Alvarez shrugged and hastily swallowed a mouthful of his own soup, his green eyes widening in silent appreciation.

"Isso é bom (This is good)," he mumbled.

"Hermano," Antonio pressed.

The older captain sighed.

"Very well," he whispered. He glanced up at his brother, his expression pleading beneath his long dark hair. "Antonio… There's something that I have to say to you."

Antonio nodded patiently and waited, his lips quirking involuntarily when he heard a small rustle and a low curse behind him. Alvarez smirked as well and moved to investigate the noise, only to stop when Antonio shook his head.

"Un momento, por favor (One moment, please)," the younger brother mouthed.

Carmen and Felipe yelped when Antonio dragged them out from under his bed, their cheeks flushing identical shades of red as they glared sullenly at the floor in front of them. Antonio chuckled and shoved them gently towards the door, his lips curving upwards into a fond smile.

"Go to Isabella," he ordered. "I'll come to see you both after this is over."

The siblings nodded reluctantly and exited silently, their eyes flickering back towards Alvarez as they did so. The older Carriedo smiled hesitantly and gave them a small wave, his eyes widening in shock when Felipe grinned and waved back.

"…You have an interesting crew," the Portuguese man observed when the door had shut behind the siblings. "I can see why you told them not to defend you."

"You knew about that, then?"

"Sim (yes)," Alvarez admitted. "It wasn't hard to figure it out, irmão. I could tell by the way they looked at you that they wanted to defend you."

"Ah." Antonio walked back to his seat, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. "…Why did you fight me?"

Alvarez grimaced and reached for another spoonful of his soup, his lips twisting into a self-deprecating smirk when Antonio reached out to stop him.

"I know that it's my fault that you turned to piracy," the older man admitted. "When you came back to me in Italy and begged me to let you go, I should have let you but I…. couldn't."

"Why?" Antonio pressed gently.

Alvarez chuckled and shook his head. "I couldn't lose you. I'd already lost mamãe (mama) and papai (papa), I didn't want to let go of my only brother as well. And yet, I knew that you were unhappy around me…"

"It wasn't you, hermano," Antonio objected quietly. "I just didn't want the life that you wanted."

"Eu sei (I know). I didn't know it then, but… I think I got the hint when you ran away," Alvarez chuckled. "Next thing I know, there you are- prancing around on the deck of an enemy ship, practically begging to get yourself killed. I barely managed to stop my captain from killing you, you know."

"I didn't know that," Antonio admitted. "Francis told me that you were on the ship, but… He failed to mention that you weren't one of the one who were trying to kill us."

"The Frenchman?" Alvarez guessed. "I heard about him. The rumors said that you had formed a crew with him and some German-"

"Prussian," the younger man corrected automatically. "I met them shortly after I ran away from you. We stayed together until Gil left to take care of his younger brother when their father died. Francis… wasn't the same after we lost him. I left soon after and started my own crew."

"You know he's been tracking you," Alvarez murmured. "That Frenchman. He's probably been tracking you since you left."

"Sí, yo sé (Yes, I know)," Antonio admitted. "Is that why you-?"

"I didn't want you to be as unprepared as you were during that first attack," the older man explained slowly. "It's hard to fight against friends, and knowing you… It would be harder for you to defend yourself against someone that you loved than it would have been for me. I started these attacks so that you would be ready when he attacked."

"What about my crew?" Antonio interrupted, his emerald eyes flashing with old anger. "You took three of my crewmembers because they defended me."

"I wanted to test your crew, see how loyal they were to you," Alvarez muttered. "I didn't harm any of the ones that I took away."

"What did you do to them?"

"I let them join my crew," he insisted. "After a few weeks, I asked them if they wanted to go back to you. Every one of them said no."

Antonio stared at his older brother, his lips parted in shock. "Why?"

"Because you let them go," Alvarez whispered.

Antonio flinched as if he had been struck, his expression stricken. "I-"

"I won't attack you again," Alvarez interrupted. "You don't need them."

"What?"

"The way you defended that Italian boy," the Portuguese man murmured. "You would have killed me, wouldn't you?"

Antonio was silent for a long moment, his emerald eyes solemn. "…Yes."

Alvarez nodded with approval and stood, his lips quirking upwards into a small smile.

"I think it's time for me to go," he murmured. "There's a British galleon several leagues away that's been calling to me for the past week."

Antonio chuckled and stood as well, his expression contemplative. Suddenly, the Spaniard reached out and drew his brother into a tight hug, causing the other man to yelp in surprise.

"Ten cuidado, hermano (Be careful, brother)," he whispered.

Alvarez nodded stiffly and hesitantly returned the gesture before he turned away, his smile widening despite his best efforts.

"…Goodbye, Antonio," he called over his shoulder. "Call me if you ever need any-"

"I will," Antonio interrupted calmly. "Now get off my ship."

The Spaniard waited until his brother's laughter had faded from the room before he went to the window, his emerald eyes bright as he watched the Portuguese captain strut confidently onto his ship.

"…You can come out now, Lovi," he murmured.

The Italian swore colorfully as he stumbled out from behind his curtain, his cheeks scarlet beneath tousled auburn hair.

"How the hell did you know that I was there?" he demanded sourly.

Antonio shrugged. "Lucky guess… Would you like some soup?"

The Italian grumbled under his breath but slipped hesitantly into Alvarez's vacated seat. He was silent for a long moment, his amber eyes watching Antonio carefully.

"…Why would you kill your brother for me?" he asked quietly.

Antonio smiled.

"Because you're special," he whispered. "Besides, how can I get into heaven without you, mi angel (my angel)?"

Lovino blushed and focused on his soup, trying to ignore the way his eyes burned at the Spaniard's statement.

I'm no one's angel… Not anymore.

Hey! Sorry this is a bit short… And sorry that it took so long to get this up :/ Just a warning: Updates will probably still be a little slow. Mid-Terms are starting to come up, along with the school play, and my parents have lovingly informed me that I need to start writing scholarship essays soon… /shot/ Please be patient- I promise that I will finish this fic eventually!

Reviews make me happy, even when days are crappy! Review!