Chapter Seven: The Beach
All of the attention on the beach effectively shifted to an army green replica of the military vehicle, a Volkswagen Iltis, customized to appear as though it had been through battle and Hell itself - with chipped paint, bullet holes, and charred metal - and back again in order to suit its even flashier owner. The vehicle was host to four rambunctious teenagers as it rolled into the parking lot, blaring 1980s punk and heavy metal. In the driver's seat was a young German man, wearing nothing but a pair of black and white swim trunks with the Prussian eagle, a dark gray muscle shirt, and cheap rubber flip-flops costing only two euros, exposing his pale, translucent skin to the harsh rays of the sun, and a prissy young Frenchman dressed in an unbuttoned short-sleeved silk shirt with floral print, white swim trunks with red stripes running down the sides, and woven designer sandals was seated in the passenger seat. The aforementioned young Frenchman was trying to change the music to something, anything, on the mainstream radio. He would have been successful as well if it wasn't for the fact that the young Englishman, dressed in a pair of swim trunks with the Union Jack and a thin white hooded pullover that hid his well-built muscles and inked skin even with the sleeves rolled all the way to his elbows, seated in the back kept whacking his hand away from the knobs with a beach umbrella. Of course, the young Englishman himself was hindered by the young Spaniard, shirtless and in a pair of deep red swim trunks with golden accents, who also occupied the back of the Volkswagen. The Spaniard was also hellbent on making a point that he wasn't planning on sharing the backseat either. There were innumerable attempts to throw the Englishman over the side of the car just as there were innumerable attempts to keep the English bulldog accompanying them inside the car, afraid that he would leap out of the vehicle in all of his excitement. (The Scottish Fold had opted to stay in the comfortable air conditioned apartment today, not one for the hot blazes of the sun.)
Gilbert pulled his custom jeep - self-modified, he had boasted, by the awesome me - into a parking slot, perfectly aligned, and killed the engine. As soon as he did so, two other parties greeted the new arrivals. The first party consisted of Yao Wang and his siblings, Jia Long and Xiao Mei, all of whom were dressed a little more conservatively. Well, Yao definitely was; his younger siblings looked like fashion models from some Asian street catalogue, beach edition. The oldest Wang was dressed in swimming trunks and a t-shirt with cheap rubber sandals. Jia Long, on the other hand, donned a pair of swim trunks and a sleeveless hooded jacket, walking barefoot, and Xiao Mei wore a sleeveless white sundress with a frilled and laced skirt over a peach two piece swimsuit that tied around her neck. Woven flat sandals adorned with light peach flowers to match the ones in her hair protected her feet though they had done little to keep the sand away.
The second party, on the other hand, consisted of Elizaveta Hedervary, Roderich Edelstein, and Ludwig, Gilbert's younger brother, all of whom had volunteered to help set up their pavilion tent and get the food ready. Elizaveta was already dressed in her green two-piece bikini with a teal sarong wrapped around her hips as a cover-up much of the men were slightly disappointed to see while Roderich was dressed as stiffly as ever in a pair of khakis and a white button shirt. At least, and this made Gilbert rather proud, Ludwig was dressed more appropriately. The younger boy was wearing a black tank much like his brother with a pair of khaki shorts.
"You guys can't go a second without making a scene, can you?" Elizaveta admonished accusingly as she approached them. Arthur and Antonio hopped out of the back, Winston following their example, only to be caught by Arthur before he damaged a bone or two, and then lifted the cooler filled with bags of ice out of the back as well after the blond clipped a lead to Winston's collar and secured it around his wrist. Gilbert and Francis grabbed the packs of soda and handed them to Ludwig and Roderich before pulling the packs of bottled water out of the back. Knowing that they were going to be with a number of uptight honor students at a party thrown for minors, the boys had opted to abandon the alcohol lest they be lectured by Yao Wang, Elizaveta, Roderich, and Ludwig. "Do you have anything else?" the Hungarian girl inquired skeptically as soon as she saw what they were carrying. The brunette knew all too well how Gilbert felt about beer, after all.
"Nope, the awesome me, being so observant that I am, decided to leave behind das Bier so Wang here wouldn't get his panties in a knot!" Gilbert cackled. The Chinese man glared indignantly at the comment but said nothing in response to the barbaric German. Really, why couldn't he be more well-behaved like his little brother? That ought to be a shame! "Anyway, let's get moving! Did you guys pick out a spot yet?"
"Of course, we did! We got here almost thirty minutes before you guys!" Yao snapped. "We had to get something done! Did you think we were going to wait for you?!"
"Ouch," Gilbert returned with feigned hurt.
"Oui," Francis contributed just as melodramatically, sighing, "and after all the trouble we went through to buy the biggest cooler we could find in three stores!"
"Like, only three?" Jia Long commented sarcastically.
"Give or take a few," Arthur piped up with a wry smile as he tried to prevent Winston from pulling him along. "Okay, take away two, actually. We went to some outdoors place and just got the biggest cooler we could find there."
"Points to honesty," Jia Long remarked with a roll of his eyes. He jerked his head towards the direction of the beach and said, "Let's get going. We still have a lot to do." The conjoined parties willingly obliged and followed the birthday boy to the beach, where a moderately sized white pavilion tent was already set up. There was a rather large grill yet to be prepared and a plastic table with only a couple of bags of potato chips and a few jars of dip.
"Set the cooler there," Yao instructed as he pointed a corner diagonal to the grill. He emptied a bag of charcoal into the grill and said that he would get started on the fire.
"What meats do we have?" Francis inquired curiously.
"Elizaveta and I brought hot dogs, hamburger meat, and buns," Roderich informed politely. "I believe Yao has brought some marinated barbeque meat."
The Chinese young man nodded sagely. "Yes, Korean BBQ," he confirmed, "for that noisy Yong-Soo. It really is quite good though."
"Speaking of hamburgers, Jones said that he would bring - and I quote - 'everything we need, dudes,'" Arthur added as he emptied a plastic bag of ice while Antonio dumped a multitude of soda cans into the cooler. At Arthur's imitation of the American, however, everyone burst out laughing, including the stiffer ones of the party. It was completely perfect, after all, in comparison to Alfred's failure of an attempt at a "British" accent. ("Of what region? Oh, never mind that! Of what country?" Arthur had often teased him.) For a moment, everyone continued their jobs in relative silence. Arthur and Antonio continued preparing the cooler with Gilbert taking up the responsibility of shooting water bottles inside the cooler like a basketball, much to Yao and Roderich's disapproval, from the other side of the pavilion. Elizaveta seemed half-tempted to join his game and beat him though. Meanwhile, Yao, Francis, and Roderich were trying to tame the fire, and Jia Long and Xiao Mei were idly eating a bag of chips, waiting for the taller guests to arrive. Winston laid at Arthur's feet, content with licking a cold ice cube, before it mysteriously disappeared, making the dog whine. Arthur handed him another ice cube with a brief pat on the head. "I also spoke with Lovino Vargas, and he said that he would try to bring some pizzas from Pizzeria Romana."
"You spoke to my Lovi?" Antonio seethed from the other side of the cooler, glaring adamantly at the Englishman.
The blond returned his glare with a void and empty expression in his green eyes, which darkened slightly due to the lifelessness, before remarking, "Yes, I have a mouth and all of its components - tongue, lips, teeth, you know, the works - along with vocal chords. I believe I can speak and am capable of speaking to whomever I please." The Briton scoffed lightly at the scandalised visage that overcame Antonio's features, knowing that he had just heightened the Spaniard's suspicions tenfold. "It was a coincidental meeting anyway. You have no need to be concerned; what I am to do? Steal your boyfriend?"
"Oh, regarding l'amour, Rosbif, I have something to propose to you," Francis spoke up before the matter spiralled out of hand. He figured this was as good as any other time.
"I'm not marrying you, Frog."
"This is not about that one time of which we have agreed never to speak again!" Francis exclaimed indignantly. Of course, this had managed to successfully capture everyone's attention in the tent.
"Those were the words that came out the last time after you said, 'I have something to propose to you,'" Arthur countered bitterly, ignoring the shocking sensation that was overwhelming their friends. "What am I to expect of you, Frog?"
"Kesesese! Franny proposed to you, Artie?" Gilbert sniggered.
"Oh my!" Elizaveta squealed.
"Amigo, since when were you - for this diablo, you- what is - I don't even - ?"
"Aiya! Let's just hurry up and set up the stupid tent! Stop wasting time, and, Kirkland, stop feeding your dog ice cubes!"
"Ça suffit!" Francis cried in distress. "This is regarding ma cousine, Michelle! I think she has un harceleur, and I wanted to ask Arthur to do something about it!"
"A stalker?" Arthur repeated, appalled, with wide eyes. Sure, he knew that Chelly was an attractive girl, but he never thought or even imagined that she would one day have a stalker. (Then again, he never actually wished her ill will.) Regaining his wits, Arthur resumed emptying a second bag of ice into the cooler while Antonio emptied a pack of Coca-Cola, knowing that this was not his place to interfere. He did, however, listen out of concern for his friend - as they all did. "Dear God, how did this happen?"
"Je ne sais pas," Francis responded dejectedly. "She works at an ice cream parlor, you know? She says she recognized him from there. Anyway, as the head of the disciplinary committee, I would like you to help her - me, her, and our family - Arthur, s'il te plaît - I ask of you - "
"Lift your head, Francis," Arthur barked. "We may have been lifelong enemies in our past and current lives, but I have no intention of doing you this one favour - " at this, Francis' face fell " - as an officer, that is." Arthur smirked. "We are some sort of twisted definition of friends, so I will help you and Chelly."
"Merci beaucoup, Rosbif! Je n'oublierai jamais ce moment!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your chin up, Frog," Arthur returned in his friendliest manner.
"Please, all of you, keep this a secret," Francis pleaded with their witnesses. "I need not matters spiraling out of control." The rest of them reluctantly agreed - though Roderich, Ludwig, and Yao still believed he ought to get a policeman, which Elizaveta, Gilbert, and Antonio found useless, involved - and returned to their merry-making.
Soon enough, the Canadian-American twins arrived. According to the brothers, Matthew was born on Canadian land while the family was on vacation, and Alfred was born on American soil after they returned to Boston. As though to support this story, Alfred was wearing a pair of swim trunks with the American flag, and Matthew wore swim trunks with the Canadian maple leaf. Of course, neither boy bothered to explain why they had different last names since they claimed that it was a long story, but nobody really cared enough to learn why. All that really mattered was that both boys carried lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheese, and everything else needed for hamburgers to the pavilion without getting sand into the ingredients. Following after them were Kiku and Yong-Soo, who had arrived at the same time, not together, as Kiku had feverishly explained to avoid any misconceptions. Yong-Soo was boldly shirtless, carrying his clothes in a string bag on his back, while Kiku was dressed similarly to Yao in a t-shirt and shorts.
The Korean boy had brought a small chain stereo with an iPod/MP3 dock to play anyone's music. It was currently blaring Korean pop, much to Arthur's disdain and Alfred's fascination, that Jia Long was trying to change to Cantonese pop though Yong-Soo - defying his own words that the stereo was open for anyone's use - kept playing his boy bands and girl groups. On the other hand, Kiku had brought a scrumptious cake with a chocolate plate reading, "Happy birthday!" in white frosting and handed it to Yao, who placed it on the table right beside the chips. Soon afterwards, Feliciano and Lovino Vargas had arrived in matching outfits: white t-shirts and similarly styled swim shorts, only in different colours - Feliciano in green, Lovino in red. The younger of the Italian twins bounced towards the beach with a pan covered by aluminium foil, topped with a mountain of paper plates and plastic wares, with which Ludwig and Gilbert immediately assisted, while the older was having difficulty carrying almost nine boxes of pizzas. Arthur and Antonio jogged to the older Vargas, each taking three boxes, and carried the new load to the plastic table.
"So how are we doing this shit, bastards?" Lovino inquired, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to relax his sore muscles.
"Well, we were just going to have a food pavilion as an area to keep the wind from blowing sand - or, at least, too much sand - into the food," Arthur informed politely, trying to hold back Winston from jumping on the Italian boy. "We were just about to put up the netting when you arrived - oh, for Pete's sake!" Arthur yanked on the lead "Win - " Arthur grunted " - ston! Hold still!"
Lovino smiled and shyly patted the dog between the ears.
"He really likes you."
"Cheh, I can tell," Lovino responded dryly, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, get one of the tall bastards to do it," Lovino muttered grumpily. "And what the hell is playing?" He could faintly catch "Hey, sexy lady!" in the lyrics and only stole a glimpse of the source, averting his gaze when he saw Alfred and Yong-Soo doing some strange dance.
Arthur chuckled and remarked wryly, "My thoughts exactly," at the same time as Antonio's, "Lovi, you look so cute today!"
Both their voices were overpowered by Feliciano's, "Ve! Look! Fratello and I made fettucine alla bolognese! It's super yummy!"
"Jia Long!" a voice over the hills cried. Heads turned to see Emil Steilsson sliding down the sandy dunes with his half-brother, Lukas Bondevik, and their friend, Mathias Kohler, with his cousin, Berwald Oxenstierna, who, naturally, brought along his "wife," Tino. The Icelandic boy gave his best friend one of his rare smiles and chirped, "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Emil," Jia Long replied, returning the smile that quickly flashed away as though it had never existed in the first place. Nobody seemed to be fazed by the quick smile as hardly anyone but Arthur and Emil even noticed. Before Yao could say anything, Jia Long mentioned in an offhand manner, "We need a little help with the tent."
That made Mathias laugh and chirped, "Alright, that's a pretty obvious cry for help! I'll help you guys out!" With that, Mathias went to fetch one end of the clear plastic tarp while he tossed Berwald the other end. Gilbert and Ludwig were already setting up one side of the tent while Matthew and Alfred were handling the third, and Francis and Roderich were fixing the curtains through which people could enter and exit the tent. Antonio had pulled Lovino away to grab the first plate of food when more and more of the party guests poured into the beach.
There was everyone from the S-Class, including Vash Zwingli and his sweet little sister, Lili from 1-A, and a good number of other third years. Lovino was able to recognize the ones whom he served on their first day of vacation at the pizzeria, Sadik Adnan, Eduard von Bock, and Lars de Vries with his sister, Manon, who happened to be in Lovino and Feliciano's class. There was a third year student he faintly recalled seeing in the halls, a Romanian boy named Vladimir, who was always wearing a strange tiny top hat and had a strange pointed canine and oddly colored pink eyes that Lovino was convinced were contacts. At any rate, the Romanian boy approached Arthur unabashedly and struck a conversation with him and Lukas without missing a beat. (Lovino couldn't ever recall the three of them being friends though.) Even Ivan Braginski and his sisters, Natalia and Katyusha, managed to make an appearance at Yao's invitation. The Russian seemed particularly amenable today even around Alfred.
The Bonnefoy girls arrived as well. Émilie was dressed in a pink tankini top with a pair of white denim shorts while her cousin wore a blue bikini boldly complimenting her curves. Lovino caught sight of Francis whispering something into Michelle's ear, causing her to blush and stomp towards Arthur, angrily snatching his hand and holding it in hers. She pulled him down with a powerful yank and whispered something to him that made him nod in understanding. He patted her head, consequently running his fingers lightly through her dark hair, making her flush with embarrassment, with a subtle smile only the two of them could see. Lovino fumed. What the hell did he just see? Shameless bastard, flirting right in front of him - in front of everyone! - like it was just the two of them in the world!
The Bonnefoy girls weren't the only second years beside him and his brother and the potato eater though. The cross-dresser Feliks had accompanied his shyer friend, Toris, to the party and made a point to announce boisterously that he was Toris' date – although Lovino was pretty damn sure that they came from the same car as Eduard. Surprisingly, the reserved Vietnamese vice-president of the student council, Lien Nguyen, dressed in a light jade green sundress and straw sun hat, also made an appearance with her Thai and Macanese friends, Nirand and Lin Tou, all of whom wished Jia Long a happy birthday. The only other first years that arrived later were the Cuban, Ricardo Cruz, who had come to wish his friend Matthew a happy birthday, and Raivis Galante, who had come with his cousins, Toris and Eduard.
"Lovi, do you want to swim?" Antonio chirruped beside him on the beach towel he and his friends - Gilbert and Francis because el diablo Inglés was definitely not his friend - had brought. They sat underneath a red and white beach umbrella, listening to Yong-Soo's Korean pop while eating from a plate that Antonio piled with food.
"Dumbass, if we swim now, we'll get cramps," Lovino pointed out dryly. He watched as Gilbert roped the three mystic bastards - Arthur, Lukas, and Vladimir, who were all pretty damn dark and mysterious - into a game of beach volley ball with him, Alfred, and Mathias. Arthur was all too eager to join, being the competitive bastard that he was, and dropped off his dog with Lovino without hearing a single protest, securing the lead around Lovino's wrist, making the Italian blush furiously in embarrassment at the skin contact. Of the other two mystic bastards, Lukas was too tempted by the prospect of beating Mathias to care that he didn't even know the rules of beach volley ball, and Vladimir, not wanting to be left out, happily complied.
"Hey!" Ludwig exclaimed from the pavilion. "Bruder! Don't forget your sunblock! You are at higher risk for sunburns and skin cancer!"
"Ja, ja! Don't get so uptight, Lutz! See! Sunblock! I'm putting it on now! Here, Arthur, catch!"
Lovino's hazel eyes widened to the size of the moon upon watching Arthur strip off the thin hoodie, gulping saliva that began flooding his mouth before it had a chance to drip past the corners of his lips, but, despite that, his surprise wasn't well masked either. He didn't even notice that Winston had ate the hot dog Antonio had put on his plate and was now licking the side of his face in appreciation. "D-Damn," he muttered subconsciously.
The blond had an image of a golden lion and a silver unicorn on their hind legs battling each other with a red dragon hovering above them, circling his arm like a band or a ring, on his upper left arm. Over his heart was an image of a rose inked with red and white petals, green leaves, and a gold center while a red electric guitar was inked on the left side of his abdomen, wrapped with wiry thorns like barbed wire and surrounded by plush white feathers like ones from an angel's wings. When he turned, Lovino caught sight of yet another tattoo on Arthur's right calf and wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. Sitting upon a blooming rose was a lithe, slender, barefooted woman with pointed ears and long, silvery hair cascading down her back. Seemingly iridescent wings sprouted from her back, and a flower crown graced her hair while rose petals made her dress. Then on his back was four blue sirens and mermaids feverishly, fervently, and furiously pulling apart a Jolly Roger set upon a flag with a background made of a swirling, spiraling pattern resembling a sort of Gothic, Victorian theme in black and blue. The flag ripped apart by the mermaids and sirens was further torn into two to reveal Arthur's bare flesh and faint white scars clawing down his back, from each corner. Lovino was positive those scars were not inked, but nobody else seemed to notice them.
Of course, Arthur's inked skin did not captivate only Lovino. A good number of guests both inside and outside their party stared in awe. Yao was one of the few who scoffed in revulsion, and Lovino's own brother, however, was one of the few who approached the blond bastard about the designs. "Ve! What's all of this?" he inquired curiously, momentarily forgetting the fact that he was deathly afraid of the green eyed wonder. Feliciano poked Arthur's red guitar, and Lovino blew a fuse. A part of him nearly exploded and shouted, "Why the hell are you touching him, idiota?!" but he contained himself. What does it matter who touched him or whatever?
"Oh, this? This is Lucy," Arthur explained nonchalantly, unperturbed by Feliciano's sudden interest in his skin. He even allowed Feliciano to rub the sunblock on his skin just so the air-headed artist could get a closer look, dammit! "She's George Harrison's Gibson Les Paul, originally a Goldtop, see. John Sebastian used to own her until he traded her for an amplifier when his blew up, and the next bloke - Rick Derringer - had her refurbished with a clear red finish popular with SG models when she was looking a little worn for wear. When it was done, he didn't quite like the feel, so he turned her into a shop in New York, where Eric Clapton bought her. In August of 1968, Clapton gave it to his good friend, George Harrison of the Beatles, who named her Lucy after the redhead comedian, Lucille Ball. To me, this guitar is legendary, so I had her inked with thorns and wires to remind myself that, should I ever encounter Lucy, to keep my mitts off. She was kidnapped once, you know? I'm afraid that I would be the next bloke to do it."
"And this?" Feliciano bent to point to the woman on his calf.
"That would be my interpretation of Titania, Queen of Fairies," Arthur answered proudly. "I think that she would be best known for her role in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but she is portrayed differently in popular media and culture, depending on what it is, of course."
"What about this?" Feliciano inquired of the rose on his chest.
"That, lad, is the English Tudor rose," Arthur replied, proudly, "national emblem of England. The red rose itself is considered as the national flower of England."
"And that?" Feliciano pointed to the image on his left biceps.
"Right, the lion is a symbol of England, the unicorn is Scotland, and the dragon is Wales - three nations of the United Kingdom. I hadn't thought about what to do with Northern Ireland just yet," Arthur confessed. "It's bloody moronic to have a random shamrock or leprechaun with a lion, dragon, and unicorn. The image loses its ferocity."
"Maybe I can help with that!" Feliciano beamed, all fear of Arthur dissipating, and Lovino wanted to smack that silly smile off his face. When Arthur gave him a warm smile like he was staring at a small child, the older Vargas wanted to scream at him, too.
"Thanks, lad," Arthur responded shortly.
"And on your back?"
The smile on his lips turned bitter, but nobody seemed to notice except for Lovino. It was a sensitive subject, and the older Vargas wanted to knock Feliciano upside the head for even bringing it up. "Sirens and mermaids are said to lead sailors to their deaths at sea," he answered shortly. "It's a reminder of the past." The blond didn't seem to mind so much when Feliciano still hovered about him curiously, staring at the inked skin with pure and utter fascination, even after the game commenced and even after he was done putting on sunblock, passing it to the next person to use. Lovino did mind though. What the hell was that idiot doing - getting so close to Arthur?! It was ridiculous! The heated Italian hadn't even noticed that he was staring enviously at his brother and longingly at Arthur's skin, but Antonio had and rightly directed the source of his anger to Arthur. Dammit, Lovino cursed, he wanted to get a closer look, too. However, he was here with Antonio, and Arthur was with his friends.
"So how long did it take to do?" Feliciano asked curiously as Arthur spiked the beach ball over the net, standing on the sidelines and covering his head to prevent any stray balls from hitting his head.
"The smaller ones took around an hour. The guitar no more than three, if I recall correctly," Arthur smacked the ball to Lukas, who returned it to the opposite party, "and the one on my back took a few days to get all of the mythical creatures and designs done correctly. I didn't get it done all at once though. Lucy was my first - got her done about three years ago."
"Wow! And did it hurt?"
"Mildly, yes," Arthur answered before returning the beach ball and scoring another point for his team. He cursed when Alfred served a monster ball that left a deep indention in the sand. He cast a glare to the youngest member of the disciplinary committee. "That's it!" he tossed the ball into the air and slammed his palm against it, returning the favour in full. The surprise lasted on both sides before the game was called to a tie by Elizaveta, who wanted to do a girls' game. Her suggestion was fully supported by Yong-Soo and Francis.
Feliciano's fascination didn't last long when Ludwig and Kiku approached him with plates of food. Feliciano eagerly grabbed a plate of food and sat with a sulky Lovino, irritated Antonio, and concerned Winston, who nuzzled Lovino curiously. Oblivious to the atmosphere as per usual, Feliciano chirped, "Artù is an interesting person, ve, Fratello?" while happily petting Winston.
"Since when did you call that bastard 'Artù'?" Lovino retorted snarkily, taking a bite of his pizza and shoving a plastic fork full of pasta into his mouth. The older Vargas was adamantly avoiding the hamburgers and hot dogs Yao and Roderich were taking turns grilling unlike his younger brother, who savored foreign foods, and instead fed them to Winston. "I thought he was il Leone Rampante d'Inghilterra."
"Ve, it's not nice to judge people by the cover, Fratello," Feliciano replied sagely with a slow nod of his head as though to reaffirm that statement.
Lovino's face gradually turned and glowed a dangerous red, fuming, before he muttered an exasperated, "Cheh, whatever, idiota." Lovino glared at Ludwig, deciding to take out his anger on the unsuspecting muscle-head inside, and asked, "What the hell are you doing here, potato eater?"
"Err, I was invited?"
"By who?"
"Jia Long?"
"Cheh."
"You look cranky, Fratello," Feliciano sang before leaning over and wrapping his arms around his brother's shoulders. "That's no good! You should enjoy yourself! Look, pretty girls!" Feliciano pointed to the girls playing volleyball. Manon, Lili, and Elizaveta were on one team while the Bonnefoy girls and Xiao Mei were on the other team with Lien Nguyen as an alternate for either side. The game quickly ended with Elizaveta's team taking victory though.
"Who wants to play chicken?!" Mathias boomed, cracking with wild laughter as he lifted Lukas onto his shoulders. The Norwegian boy glared indignantly at the brute below him but had little effect. Instead, in order to avoid face planting in the sand, he grabbed hold onto the brawny shoulders.
"Awesome! Lizbet! Come on, let's team up!" Gilbert crowed.
"No way!" Elizaveta snapped angrily, crossing her arms over her chest and retreating to the food pavilion, where she helped Roderich serve food to their guests. Gilbert pouted until he roped a curious Xiao Mei into playing on his team. The latter ended up running to Kiku to pull him into the game and raced into the nearest bathroom to change into the beachwear she had brought with her, a conservative white one piece with a sarong similar to Elizaveta's, once more leaving Gilbert alone. Feeling pity for the poor soul, Émilie reluctantly became his partner.
In the meanwhile, Francis had pushed a reluctant Michelle into Arthur's arms, and Lovino thought he heard something snap when Arthur lifted Michelle onto his shoulders. He gave the islander a comforting smile when she voiced her anxiety. Lili was prevented from joining by her overprotective brother, but a soft place in Emil's heart volunteered in her place. Jia Long, in the midst of the mayhem, thought it to be amusing to have the Nordic brothers face off and ended up carrying Emil on his shoulders. However, his strength was lacking, and his friend was more concerned than amused for both their sakes when Jia Long was having trouble staying upright. They weren't the only ones struggling either. Feliks had decided to join the game, and Toris was struggling to support both of their weights as well. Nirand ended up forcing Lien into game even though she was arguing heatedly about how she was wearing a sundress - not swimwear - to which Elizaveta mentioned how she brought a spare in her car. Lien squeaked when the Hungarian girl eagerly escorted her to the parking lot. She returned later dressed in a green two piece, trying to cover the amount of skin she was exposing.
"This looks fun, ve!" Feliciano chirped and pulled on Ludwig's arm. "Let's do it, Ludwig!" The potato head reluctantly put away his food to follow Feliciano to the shores where the teams were lining up.
"Lovi, do you want to try?" Antonio asked the older Vargas.
In response, Lovino snorted. "No, it looks stupid. Let's just watch." He wanted to see where this Michelle and Arthur thing was going. Really, since when were the two of them together?
Antonio was content with that answer though and mused, "I'm going to take a siesta then! Wake me up when the diablo Inglés is going to lose."
"I won't," Lovino promised nonchalantly. The Italian watched as Elizaveta paired the matches by drawing names out of Lien's sun hat. Gilbert and Émilie were the first to match against Arthur and Michelle. "If you want to see who wins or loses, then wake up you stupid tomato bastard."
The Italian strained his ears to hear the exchange, but his efforts were wasted when Gilbert vociferously boasted, "We're so awesomely going to kick your asses! Right, Émilie?!"
Arthur snorted, holding tightly onto Michelle to prevent her from falling off his shoulders. "Since when have you ever kicked my ass, Gilbert? Honestly, you think after three years of defeat that you would understand!" the blond retorted.
The match began with the girls gingerly trying to push each other off the shoulders before Gilbert roared and took initiative to ram his side into Arthur. The blond nearly toppled over, making Michelle shriek, until he shouted for "Chelly" to hold on. Émilie grasped onto Gilbert's silvery white hair for dear life when the Lion returned the favour by splashing salt water into the albino's red eyes, making the German roar thunderingly, "Verdammt, Arthur!" Michelle shyly reached for her cousin and poked her lightly in the stomach, making her squeal and inch away from the islander girl, only to fall off Gilbert's shoulders. A wave washed over them, dragging all four members underwater momentarily, before they all surfaced and laughed manically.
Ivan Braginski, who was building a sand castle with his sisters, chuckled quietly at the sight a few paces away. "Isn't this fun?" he mused.
Meanwhile, Lovino glowered menacingly at the islander girl without even realizing it. Fortunately for the Italian, the Spaniard was fast asleep to confront Arthur about anything. Unfortunately for the Italian, Antonio had pulled him into his chest like a stuffed toy and cuddled with him. The older Vargas struggled out of his hold, wiggling out of the embrace and scooting a good meter away from the older brunet. Even the next showdown hadn't cheered him up any, despite how ridiculous it was.
The match between Ludwig with Feliciano on his shoulders and Jia Long and Emil was next, but there was hardly a match because Feliciano began cowering when Jia Long used all of his strength to support Emil for a moment. The Icelandic boy used that chance to reach for Feliciano, who ended up falling when he pulled away in fear and dragging Ludwig under the salty waters with him. Of course, in the next second, Jia Long collapsed under Emil's weight, but the two of them still won.
Lovino scoffed to himself and reclined on his back, feeling the rays of sun pound against his skin, and closed his eyes. At least the Spaniard was right about one thing: it was a good time for a siesta.
"Hey, guys!" Alfred cried as he pointed to the setting sun. "It's time for the surprise!"
"Surprise?" Matthew repeated in mild confusion. "What surprise?"
"You stupid little git!" Arthur snapped fiercely, glaring at the American twin with flashing green eyes as violent as lightning strikes, and whacking him upside the head. Alfred whimpered like a kicked puppy. Winston peered at Alfred curiously as he rested on Arthur's lap, wondering if the human was actually a fellow dog in disguise, before turning his attention back to the ice cube he was given. By now, a good portion of the food had been devoured, and leftovers were gladly given to Winston despite Arthur's protests of, "He'll get fat, you bloody twits!"
Nevertheless, despite Alfred nearly blowing their cover, Yao brought in a large ice cream cake that he had especially ordered for this occasion almost a week ago from the ice cream parlor nearby. There were sixteen wax candles all lit up as the Chinese young man brought the cake to the plastic table. Everyone parted their lips and began singing, Matthew included, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear - " here, Matthew was startled when people began smiling at him, chorusing, while he was uttering the name of the Chinese boy sharing his birthday " - Matthew! Happy birthday to you!" They all cheered, clapping, and embraced the Canadian in a group hug. That was when Matthew realized Jia Long was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as the song ended, fireworks shot up to the sky, glowing vibrant colors of red, orange, blue, green, and pink. Matthew's violet eyes fell upon the younger Chinese siblings lighting up a number of - surely illegal - fireworks. Jia Long gave him a rare smile before returning to his stoic expression.
"Come on, birthday boys! Blow out your candles!" Yao called out. Jia Long held onto his sister's hand as they raced back to the pavilion. Matthew was pushed in front of the cake, where he found his name decorating the top of the cake along with Jia Long's. The blond raised his head and nearly asked how, why, when until Yao raised his soda can and everyone else followed suit, leading everyone in saying cheers with "Gan bei!" while everyone else spoke in their native tongue and laughed at the cheesiness of it all.
"Make a wish!" several of their guests chirped.
"Hurry up and blow out the candles!" some of their guests bellowed.
"Cake! Cake! Cake!" a good few of their guests chanted.
Jia Long exchanged a glance with Matthew and began counting down with his fingers, starting with three. As soon as he laid down the last finger, the two boys simultaneously extinguished the flames.
"Well, Mattie?" Alfred mused from beside him, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders. "How was your birthday?"
Tears dripped from the corner of Matthew's eyes, and he hastily wiped them away, laughing, and replied softly, "It was amazing! Thank you, Al; thanks, everyone."
Everyone began parting to reveal Gilbert and Arthur drinking lemon soda on their beach towel. Jia Long soon joined him after stealing a slice of cake for all three of them. "If you have to thank someone," Alfred told his brother, "you have to thank them. They came up with this idea." Matthew smiled gently at the trio, who returned the feeling in their own unique way. Gilbert cackled and gave him a thumbs-up while Jia Long nodded and Arthur shrugged nonchalantly, though he inched a bit closer to his dog and ruffled Winston's fur affectionately, hiding a shy smile.
Moments later, after finishing off the cake, most of the guests had left. The remaining group - consisting of Gilbert, Francis, Antonio, Ludwig, Feliciano, the Braginski and Wang siblings, Alfred and Matthew, Lovino and Arthur - huddled around the dying embers of the grill, roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories - much to Alfred's horror - and jokes. In reality, Arthur was sitting off to the side, lazily stroking his sleeping bulldog, and staring into space. Lovino joined him and spoke, "Hey, special privileged bastard."
"Hey, yourself, little ankle-biter," Arthur returned idly.
"You barely spoke to me at all today, and you were the one who invited me, dammit," Lovino remarked bitterly.
"I didn't think you would need any more attention considering how your boyfriend was fawning all over you," Arthur replied with a half-hearted smirk. He yawned. "Anyway, shouldn't you keep Carriedo company? He's glaring quite angrily at me, I believe."
Lovino snorted. "I can talk to who I want."
"You can talk to whom you want," Arthur corrected.
"Shut up, smart ass."
"Gladly."
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Aren't you going to go home if you're so tired? What about your cat?" the brunet inquired innocently.
"Elizabeth is being watched by Miss Jane," Arthur informed shortly. "She loves the poor kitten to death, but at least I know that Lizzy wouldn't be ignored or neglected." He blinked. "And Gilbert drove me here. Carpooling is good for the environment. I know you drove your brother here, so aren't you staying because he is?"
Lovino clicked his tongue simply to avoid speaking, knowing that Arthur had a point. Instead, he changed the subject, "So what are you going to do? Just sit here by yourself?"
"Well, you're with me now, aren't you?"
Lovino's face flushed, flustered, as he responded, "Yeah, I guess I am."
"Hey," Arthur nudged him lightly with a devilish smirk on his lips, "watch this." The English boy pulled Lovino along with Winston cradled in his arms, and, together, the two of them joined the others in roasting marshmallows, occasionally contributing to the conversation, which led to them agreeing to another ghost story, and when a moment of silence passed through the group as they thought of a story to recount, he lowered his voice and began singing in a mantra-like chant, "Bring on the fire, bring on the hell. Set everything aflame, so that no trace remains. Bring on the fire, bring on the hell - "
Jia Long snorted softly, but Alfred, on the other hand, cried with tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, "I feel like we're summoning the devil!" The brawny American cowered just like Lovino's younger brother, who hid behind Ludwig in fear of what was to come out of the fire.
"Sí," Antonio muttered, "el diablo Inglés."
Lovino burst out laughing in amusement, making Arthur smile.
A/N: This is one of the longest chapters written, topped only by the climax of the entire story, because I didn't want to split the beach party into separate chapters, ha.
Also, regarding dealing with stalkers, it's always best to go to the authorities first because, even if it seems useless, policemen are supposed to take stalking cases seriously. It's better to deal with a stalker case than a murder case in my opinion. Don't do what these boys and girls are doing about Michelle's stalker case; it's not a good example.
Yes, Yong-Soo and Alfred were dancing to "Gangnam Style" earlier. I had to make fun of it.
Arthur's tattoo of Lucy is a reference to a line in England's version of "Marukaite Chikyuu" in which he sings, "My tattoo really hurts, but it's a hot six string!" To me, Lucy is a pretty legendary guitar, on top of being bloody gorgeous! I figured Arthur would share a similar respect for her, heh. His other tattoos are references to England's pirate days (as well as something else in relations to this story), the creatures that he sees in canonverse, and simply Great Britain's national symbols.
Finally our favorite part - Unofficial Names:
Lili Zwingli - Lichtenstein
Vladimir Popescu - Romania
Natalia and Katyusha Braginski - Belarus and Ukraine
Lien Nguyen - Vietnam
Nirand - Thailand
Lin Tou - Macau
Ricardo Cruz - Cuba
I would also like to thank everyone who favorited and followed this story! I'm really honored, and it makes me feel all fluffy and warm inside!
