DISCLAIMER: Hetalia: Axis Powers – Hidekaz Himaruya
SPANISH GOLD
EPILOGUE
COAST OF SPAIN
1739
It was early-morning and bright yellow sunlight filtered in through the diamond-shaped windowpanes, bathing the captain's bed in summer's hot kiss. Antonio gazed down at the beautiful sixteen-year-old boy lying beside him in nothing but the Spaniard's threadbare shirt, which was too big for him. He admired the way it hung off the boy's artful body, revealing a dangerous amount of sun-kissed thigh. Antonio swallowed. How did this even happen to me? he wondered. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to leave Italy behind forever—all of it. He glanced at Lovino's peaceful face. He looked young and vulnerable, but Antonio knew he wasn't. Lovino had proven himself as a capable seaman (and pirate); had accomplished what nobody else could; and had earned the loyalty of the crew, who respected him as more than just a cabin-boy or the captain's lover, but as a man. Antonio smiled, fighting the urge to touch Lovino. And failed. I shouldn't be feeling this way, he thought absently, but the sentiment was hollow. Any guilt that resurfaced was fleeting. He loved Lovino. He always had, in one way or another. And that's all that mattered.
It had been three months since El Escape left Italy and returned to the relative safety of the Spanish coast. It had been a slow, cautious journey; they travelled only at night. But Antonio had been unconscious for most of the first month, and too engulfed by Lovino for the second to be much use as captain. The boy had stayed by Antonio's side for the duration of his long, painful recovery. He had done his best to make Antonio as comfortable as possible, yet had proved to be a strict nurse. His determination to keep Antonio alive and healthy had been unyielding: keeping him on bed-rest, feeding him and forcing foul-tasting medicine down his throat, and growling nastily at unhelpful—and often vulgar—suggestions from the crew. Lovino's resolve, his authority, would not be broken, not even when Antonio grew strong enough to give orders. Lovino simply ignored him; not as a stubborn child, but as a self-confidant man. "Would you please just lie down and let me take care of you, you bastardo?!" he snapped.
"I'm not leaving," he had said early-on.
The day Antonio had opened his eyes was the day that Lovino made his intentions clear:
"I think I've proven myself, don't you? I think I've proven that you need me just as much as I need you, Toni. I think you want me here just as much as I want to be, so I'm not leaving."
For a minute, Antonio had wanted to argue, but the feeling quickly dissolved. I'm finished lying to myself, he decided. Honesty, he resolved, would be his new policy (at least where Lovino was concerned). Despite Antonio's wild fighting-style, his uncontrollable berserker-like tendency, it was Lovino who had saved him; Lovino who had planned and carried out the plan; who had commanded a ship full of pirates; who had had the physical and emotional strength not to give-up. Antonio had never been so proud. "Perhaps we'll make a pirate of you yet, chiquito," he had teased. His body ached, but he reached up and cupped Lovino's cheek.
In reply, Lovino covered Antonio's hand with his, pressing himself closer. "I'll be whatever you want, Toni," he said tenderly, "just don't send me away again."
"No," Antonio agreed. "I promise, Lovino. I won't be making that mistake again."
It had been nearly four years since Antonio had found the Italian boy stowed-away in his cabin: four years of constant stress.
You're not supposed to be here, Lovino, he thought now, watching the boy sleep. Gently, he finger-combed the boy's silky, chocolate-brown hair off his face. It would be so much easier if you weren't. Easier, but not nearly as interesting— or worth living. "You're my gold, Lovino," he whispered, letting his lips tickle the Italian's ear. "You're my most precious treasure."
"And you're a bastardo," Lovino mumbled sleepily. His lips curled into a hesitant grin and he rolled onto his back, looking up at Antonio. "But," he added, flattening his hands against Antonio's bare chest, his heart, "Ti amo.
"Ti amo molto," he repeated, pulling Antonio down into a kiss. "Io ti amo sempre." I will always love you.
Antonio crawled between Lovino's slender legs, sliding his hands beneath the old shirt as he kissed him. The boy's skin was warm and soft and so inviting. "I don't deserve you," he murmured, then flinched: "Ow—!"
Lovino had nipped him in disagreement. "Shut up," he said, a threat lurking beneath the surface of his voice.
In defeat, Antonio pressed his forehead to Lovino's. "I can't give you the life you deserve, you know."
"Just give me you, Toni. You're all I want." Lovino kissed him; once, twice. "You're all I've ever wanted."
Antonio growled playfully in arousal. "You're young," he said huskily. He lowered his head to Lovino's neck, sucking the skin. The boy moaned in response, tensing as his back arched. "You don't know what you want, chiquito."
"I want you," Lovino said breathlessly as Antonio's hands seized him. His fingers curled into claws, clutching the Spaniard's shoulders as he whined and wriggled, trying to simultaneously escape and indulge in Antonio's careful ministrations. He nipped Lovino's flushed skin, leaving visible marks. The old, threadbare shirt fell to the floor, which left Lovino stark-naked and defenceless. Unabashed, he wrapped his arms tightly around Antonio, pulling him closer. Antonio teased the boy's cock, sliding his nimble hands from knee to hip and back in bitter-sweet torment. He could feel himself responding to Lovino's body, the boy's tomato-red face and his lips parted in an O of arousal. He felt his own cock swelling, hardening in preparation. His trousers soon joined the old shirt on the floor, leaving them skin-to-skin, and, finally, Lovino stopped fighting. He gasped: "Toni, I want you— now. Always."
"Sí, mi tesoro," Antonio said, kissing him. Anything you want. I'd give you the whole world if you asked, because— "Te quiero."
I love you.
FIN
THANK-YOU for reading. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated :)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank-you so much to everyone who has read and enjoyed Spanish Gold, despite my months-long delays. Your support (and reviews!) is wonderful and greatly appreciated. I hope you had as much fun reading Spanish Gold as I had writing it.
Cheers,
Shadowcatxx
