This has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written but I hope it makes up for the late update. Please sit back and enjoy =3

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Hetalia nor do I own the songs from The Little Mermaid

Blue eyes looked at the medallion with a loving sadness. The merman trailed his thumb over the initials engraved in the golden heart before opening it to reveal a happy couple. A blonde merman with striking green eyes was grinning lazily, an arm wrapped around his blue eyed brunette lover. Toris wiped at a lone tear from his cheek but more followed. Despite what others said, time didn't soften the pain and he didn't want it to. As far as he was concerned it was when you started to become numb to it that you should worry.

"Tor-Tor?" Toris froze. Scratch that, when you started to hear voices, you should worry. He carefully closed the locket and tucked it away under his pillow. "Tor-Tor, like, please don't ignore me."

"You're not here," whispered the brunette merman. He refused to turn around. He'd experienced this before and always fell for it. Then he'd go into a depression a few days and his work would back up and…and it was just too much. Closing his eyes tightly, he counted to ten. "You're not here. You're not here. You're not-"

Pale warm arms pulled him against a slim body and he risked peeking down at the tail that wrapped itself around his. Pink. Pink with reflective purple scales and delicate flares at the tips of the fin. "I'm so sorry, Tor-Tor." The lips speaking were murmuring against the herald's skin making a wave of fresh tears resurface. "I made a terrible mistake going to him, I'm sorry, babe." The last part was whispered but Toris heard it. Toris turned around and stared at Feliks before pulling him in for a kiss. They wrapped their tails around each others and tried to get as close as possible.

When they pulled away Toris refused to let go of his little blonde, "Where were you, Fe?" Feliks swallowed the lump in his throat and looked away but his lover gently tugged at his chin so that he could look at him. "I'm not mad. I just…I just want to know why you didn't come back? Did I do something? Was it because of the fight we had? Because I swear I didn't mean any of it. When you left I felt like total shit, when you didn't come back at all I-"

Feliks put a finger to his lips to silence him, "No, babe. It wasn't you. You were right. I was selfish and a narcissist so I went to Ivan so he could change the color of tail. I thought that if I did that, you'd be less embarrassed of me. It was like a step forward towards my manly transformation and junk. Only thing was that he wanted something called vodka but I couldn't find any and when the third day came along, I was turned into a polyp."

"So it really was because of me."

"No! I, like, already said it wasn't. I just…I don't know I went for the easy route. I thought if I just changed my tail color, then the other mermen wouldn't tease you and it would show you that you mean more to me than this," he flicked his fin, "and I wanted you to be proud of being with someone like me."

"Fe, I am proud of being with you. I love you and I shouldn't have said those things. They weren't true, I'm just sorry that it took you disappearing for four years for me to realize that." Toris pulled his boyfriend to their bed and sat down. "I love your tail."

"Even if it's pink and guys tend to confuse me for a girl?"

Toris smiled and rubbed his nose against Feliks's, "Even then." Remembering something important he rushed to his closet and pulled out a small box. He swam back to Feliks and knelt before him, "I-I actually wanted to give you this. Um…Feliks, I know we've been apart for a long time but my feelings for you haven't changed in the slightest. Fe," Toris opened the clam box and offered it to his lover, "Will you make me the luckiest merman in whole ocean by accepting this ring and be my groom?"

Feliks blinked a few times before launching himself at his lover. "Like, is that even a question? Of course I will!"

Outside of their room many other merfolk were celebrating the arrival of their own loved ones, now free of the so called garden Ivan had carefully cultivated over years of preying on the miserable, lonely and depressed.

"Are you sure you want to go home, hermanito?" Antonio placed a gentle hand on his young brother in law. "Don't you want to see your human?"

Feli shook his head, "He's fine. I already checked; I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed."

"If you're sure that's what you want. Just give me a sec to tell Lovi and then we'll go home, k?" Feli just nodded and waited patiently for the Spaniard to go tell his brother that they were going home.

Ludwig had stifled a yawn as he got up from the sand, Alfred was still sleeping but he figured he'd be alright. Arthur was sitting on a rock just a bit away from them anyway, he'd be in good hands. He looked around for his little merman but didn't see him. 'He must be over at the spot where he dragged me,' he thought to himself. With an excited grin, Ludwig jogged over to that part of the beach, leaving behind his friend.

Lovino swam up to Robert and Rodrich after seeing his brother and boyfriend off. The two were watching Arthur and the two humans. "What are you going to do, Robert," he asked after watching Ludwig get up and jog to the other end of the beach. "Never mind, I need to go take care of something." The Italian merman swam away.

"Robert," called Rodrich softly as to not disturb Arthur's thoughts. "What did you do with Ivan's body?"

The king kept his eyes on his young brother when he answered, "I had him taken to the Mariana. Figured it was for the best, you know?"

"Yeah."

The two older mermen watched as Arthur sighed sadly. They could tell the little prince was itching to go to his beloved but was restraining himself because of his brother's presence. Robert let out a sigh, "He really does love him, doesn't he Rodrich?"

Rodrich nodded slowly, gently pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You know, it's as I always say, your majesty. Children need to be free to lead their own lives." He gave Robert a side glance when he heard his friend chuckle.

"You always say that, Roddy?" The black haired merman gave him a sheepish smile. Sighing sadly, Robert looked at his brother again, "Then I guess there's only one problem left."

"And what's that, Bobby?"

"How much I'm going to miss him." Lowering his glowing Trident to the water he sent a gentle beam of energy towards his unsuspecting brother.

Arthur had his green eyes locked on Alfred, watching as the human prince was slowly regaining consciousness when he felt it. The sensation was warm like tender caresses on his tail. He tore his gaze away to look down at what was going on with his fin when he realized that it was his brother's doing. The young prince sent Robert a grateful smile and the sea king returned it. This transformation was so much kinder than when he had first undergone it with Ivan. Sliding, down to the water he watched as his tail split into two, the need to go back up for air wasn't there so he assumed that his brother had allowed him to keep his merman lungs.

The sun was once again tickling his eyelids but Alfred didn't have his blankets to block them. Getting up, he pushed his glasses aside so that he could rub at his eyes. "Arthur," he called. Looking up he was saddened when he didn't see his love near him. He got up on shaky legs and called again, "Arthur!" A smile graced his face when he saw the blonde come out from the water. He ran to meet him half way and picked him up to spin with him in circles before bringing him in for a kiss. And another. And another. And another, making Arthur giggle. "Sorry, dude, I just," He paused to kiss his lover again, "I just really wanted to do that."

"You'll have forever to kiss me," said Arthur when Alfred finally put him down.

"Dude, that doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you now! Come on," Alfred picked up Arthur bridal style and ran back to the castle. "We've got a wedding plan."

"P-put me down, you git. I can walk you know!" Arthur blushed in embarrassment when he noticed that his brother still watching and buried his face in Alfred's neck.

Alfred just laughed and kissed his pouting lover, "You're too cute when you're all flustered you know that?"

Robert blushed and when he saw how much affection the human was showering his youngest sibling with. Clearing his throat he turned to his friend, "Where's Feli? I want to give him legs too."

"He left."

"What? Why? I thought he wanted to be with his human too."

Rodrich rubbed at his neck awkwardly, "Well, it's not that he doesn't love Ludwig…it's more like he's heart broken."

"What happened?" The brunette merman sighed and told his friend what had occurred over the course of the past three days.

Ludwig sped up his jog to a run when he spotted the familiar curl, his heart beating rapidly and grin becoming wider. That is until he caught sight of an olive colored tail instead of the beautiful dark aqua. "W-who are you? Where's Feliciano?" Ludwig was confused when he saw an older version of his love glare at him with pity.

"He went home," answered Lovino after studying the human before him. "I just came here to give you this." He pulled out the Iron Cross necklace he'd managed to take off of Natasha during the struggle. "He didn't-…just here."

The German took the necklace numbly. "Why didn't he give it to me? Wait! Please, where is he?"

"I already said that he went home," growled Lovino irritably. Then he added softly, "Don't worry. He just needs time to process everything that's happened. I'm sure you'll see him again soon." Lovi dove down into the sea leaving behind the heart broken blonde.

It wasn't until midday that Ludwig had finally made his way home. He was welcomed with the sight of Elizabeta swooning at the new happy couple. Gilbert rushed to pull his brother in a head lock, "Where were you, bruder? We're celebrating the Alfie's engagement with his merman and the fact that the Arschloch and his freak sister are gone for good. Can you believe that the dude you had in the room with you was actually a chick?! Man that was a really twisted family." The albino looked over his brother's shoulder, "Speaking of engagements, where's your cutie at?" The others stopped talking and looked over at Ludwig but the young German ignored them all and opted to go to his bedroom in silence.

Gilbert scratched at his cheek. "I'm going to go see if he's ok." Turning back to his friends he grinned, "I'm sure it's nothing. Why don't you guys keep eating? I'll be right back." The albino quickly walked to his brother's room and entered without knocking. "Luddy?" He sighed when he saw his brother's bulky form under the covers. "Luddy, come on, tell big bruder what happened."

"You already know," grumbled Ludwig through the heavy covers. He sniffed miserably, ashamed at himself for being so stupid. "I hurt him."

"…emotionally or," and then he remembered the bloody knees and swollen wrist. "Ah. I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't nearly sleep with a stranger. You didn't hurt the one person who means the world, I did. Not you, me!"

"Ok, ok. No need to snap, all you have to do is apologize and explain and I'm sure little Feli will understand. I mean you were under a spell just like Alfred. Right?" Gilbert watched the covers shake and he knew that his proud brother was crying. "Oh."

"I thought I was with him, Gilbert. I thought I was with Feliciano. I didn't know, he sounded just like him. He had the Iron Cross necklace I gave him, he told me about the promise we made when we were children. He told me that only an insane merman would be crazy enough to trade his voice for legs and now that I think about it, Feli traded the one thing that is very dear to a merman just to get a chance to see me and I rewarded him by hurting him. What kind of lover am I?"

"Well, in your defense, Nathan or Natasha whatever the hell her name was using Feli's voice. And the freak liked messing with people's minds so…yeah."

"You told me you were ashamed of me."

"Well, yeah but that was before I knew-"

"Doesn't matter!" Ludwig sat up to glare at his brother. "I should've known better. I never should've let that thing in my room!"

Gilbert sat quietly for a moment. It was strange seeing his brother like this. Last time he remembered it was when the kid was …well, just a kid. They'd come home the summer after they left and he and their father all but ran out to the pier excitedly. Wolfgang had taken a picnic basket of pasta and wine and Ludwig had a new toy boat that he wanted to show Feli. When the albino asked his mom she just patted his head and smiled knowingly, 'why don't you go with them? Maybe they'll introduce you to their friends.' So he tagged along with them but these so called friends never came. Never came the next day nor the next. Eventually his father stopped going but Ludwig never did. He'd spend the next three summers waiting on that pier until they sent both him and his brother to Alfred's.

"Do you think he still loves me?"

The albino sighed, "Well, I think so." He reached out and rubbed small circles on Ludwig's shoulder. Yeah, he saw how the merman would stare lovingly at his brother even before they knew who he was. There was no doubt in his mind that Feli felt just as strongly but…then there was that one factor. Would Feli get legs again and join them all on the surface like Arthur did? Or was this love doomed to end in a tragedy from the start? Wait a sec. "Hey, Luddy?"

"Hmm?"

"You know how Arthur got legs from his brother? Do you think you could get a tail? And if you could would you?"

Before Ludwig got the chance to respond a gentle knock came at the door before it opened. Matthew walked in with a letter, "Sorry for intruding but Alfred wants to get married within a week and he was wondering if we could borrow one of your birds, Gilbert."

"Er, sure thing, Birdie but why doesn't he just use his eagle?"

"He wants to invite your father and Liberty doesn't know that path yet."

"Oh, well, yeah. We can use Freiheit; it's been a while since he's stretched his wings." Gilbert gave his brother another pat on the shoulder before getting up and escorting his boyfriend to the aviary.

Merfolk sat around in the concert hall as Robert gave his speech in regards to the death of Ivan and welcoming back all those who he had kept prisoner. "And in light of the fact that magic saved my brother, Arthur, I hereby lift the ban on magic. All those interested in practicing it must first obtain a license to do so. Registration for classes for it will begin the late fall at the Atlantica Academy. Also, Prince Arthur will be forging a union with a surface dweller," he paused for a moment to let it sink in. "It…due to that union I will also allow you to visit the surface if that is what you wish. I simply urge you to be careful, while the humans around these waters are not what I expected, I can't help but be wary of the rest. So if you do choose to go to other waters, do so with caution. That is all; thank you and as always stay away from nets." Robert gave a bow before returning back to his family. He saw Feli sitting on the couch playing with a baby seahorse.

David sat next to Feliciano with another baby seahorse, "Aren't they cute? Murphy's mount just gave birth to them a few days ago."

"Ve~," murmured Feli as one attached itself to his wrist. The prince giggled and tried to unwrap the seahorse from his friend, blushing when his fingers brushed Feli's tanned skin. "Your majesty," Feli quickly got up and offered a bow when Robert swam closer to them.

"You don't have to do that, Feli." Robert lifted him by the shoulders, not missing when the young merman flinched at his touch. The red head sighed and helped him back on the couch and placed a hand over his bruised abdomen, "I'm so sorry about this. I truly never meant to hurt you."

"It's ok. I don't really feel it anymore."

Robert shook his head, "No, Feli. It's not ok. I'm the king and as king, it's my duty to keep you all safe, not inflict pain. As such, I'd like to offer you what I gave Arthur."

"Legs?"

"Well, yeah. Would you like that?" Feli looked away for a moment in thought while beside him he could hear David's breath come to a halt. Legs. He could be with Ludwig if he had them but then…from where he sat he could see Lovino and Antonio bickering. Rather, Lovi was bickering while Antonio was trying to smother him in kisses. "You don't have to decide now, I know that you'd be leaving a lot behind. But if it helps your decision, you and Arthur will always be welcomed back whenever you want to visit. You're lungs will remain that of a merman and if you want your tail back you'll have it." Robert began to swim away before remembering something, "I uh, I've fixed everything I-uh-damaged. It's at the cavern only I wasn't sure where everything went so it's-"

"Ve~ I understand, sir. Thank you. Oh! Um, Robert?"

"Yes?"

"Could…could I go visit Arthur? I'd like to help him plan the wedding." Robert smiled and gave him a nod making Feli rush to give him a grateful hug. "Grazie! Can I go now?"

"I'll go with him," offered David after placing the seahorses in their crib. "I want to see, Arthur too." The red head raised an eyebrow but allowed them to go. "We'll be back later. Come one, Feli!" The blonde merman took a hold of his friend's hand before taking off. "Er…where's the castle again?" Feli laughed and led the prince to the surface.

It was only a short swim over; oddly enough Atlantica was only a half mile from Alfred's palace which would make daily trips to visit effortless. Feli's heart raced as thoughts of running into Ludwig occurred to him. Perhaps he could avoid him if he did see him. He wasn't ready to face him after what happened with Natasha. What he saw couldn't just be unseen. His eyes narrowed as he recalled how she was straddled on his hips how he was flushed with-no…don't think about it! Feli wiped at his eyes to get rid of the tears and pulled himself out of the water. This was supposed to be a happy time, no need to worry Arthur because of his miserable love life. Speaking of which, "Artie!"

Arthur looked out of the dining room window and saw Feli waving at him with his brother at his side. He waved back and opened the window, "Hey! I was wondering where you went!" Turning back to Alfred he asked, "Do you think that we could continue the discussion outside? My brother and Feliciano are downstairs and I'd very much like to see them."

"Heck yeah!" Alfred rushed to go get a chest of ice, "We can have ice cream and stuff. Lizzy, do we still have some of that sea salt kind?"

Elizabeta rolled her eyes, "You know dear, why don't you leave the planning to us. It's bad luck for the groom to see all this stuff before the wedding you know."

"But we're both grooms. Won't it be bad luck if Artie see's it too?"

"Well, uh, hmm…I don't know. Well, we're just going to be talking about décor and such, why don't you go talk with the idiot chef about food?"

"But Arthur-"

"Won't be going anywhere, Al. Go on now, shoo." Elizabeta took the chest of iced sweets from her prince and shooed him away as she and Arthur made their way to the outside patio. She gushed when she saw Feli. "Look at you! You look so adorable with that tail of yours."

Feli smiled shyly, "Grazie." Climbing over a rock he slid down to the small pool and swam closer to them. "Hey, Arthur. Are you ok?"

"I'm splendid!" Arthur stifled a snigger when he saw how David rolled over the rock and fell into the pool ungraciously. "David, what are you doing up here?" He bent over to give his brother a hug. "I didn't think you'd be interested in visiting the surface."

David shrugged, "Oh you know, I was curious. Not to mention I escorted Feli here."

"I see."

The four sat and enjoyed their icy sweet treats as they discussed the details for the wedding. Arthur absolutely refused to wear a dress despite how much Elizabeta pleaded with him. He settled for an inverted colored suit based off of Alfred's own. So instead of the dark blue coat and white pants he'd wear a white coat with dark blue pants and black boots. Feli drew out some designs, keeping the sea military in mind. Though it hadn't been required of him, he had undergone training with his more military prone brothers, Robert and Christian. Flowers he had decided that blue hydrangeas would be best due to how pretty they were and because they reminded him of the water. He particularly liked how so many tiny blossoms came together to form a single entity. David didn't speak much during the visit, though it didn't escape Elizabeta how the merman would glance at Feli from time to time and blush whenever he'd 'accidently' brushed his fin with the Italian's own.

The sun was beginning to cast pink and orange hues across the horizon when Elizabeta went back inside and David decided to head back home. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me," he asked Feli.

"No, it's ok. I want to stay a bit longer." Feli bit at his thumb nail and avoided eye contact with the blonde merman.

"I can wait if you want."

"No, really, it's fine. I can manage."

"Are you-"

"Yes, he's bloody sure!" Arthur frowned at his brother. "Just leave us alone, we want to talk."

David stuck his tongue out at his little brother, "Whatever. I was just trying to be a gentleman. Later." He pulled himself over the bolder before disappearing back into the sea. Arthur waited until he the ripples stopped expanding to look at his friend.

"Please tell me you've noticed that."

Feli shrugged. "I've noticed for a while now." He chuckled weakly at how wide his friend's eyes got. "You didn't know?"

"No! If I did I would've tried to sway him off the chase. You don't feel the same obviously…right?"

"Of course I don't." The auburn haired merman ran a hand through his hair before looking up at the window where he figured Ludwig's room was. The two friends stayed quiet for a few minutes, simply enjoying the calming sound of waves break over the shore. Each were needed to say something to the other but were worried about what the answer would be should they ask. "Arthur, if I tell you-"

"Feli I want to ask-" They stared at one another and giggled. "Sorry. You were going to say?"

"No, you go first. What's up, Artie?"

Arthur blushed and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I was wondering… um, when are you going to move up here with us? Did Robert offer you legs as well? He did right?"

Feli looked away and bit his thumb nail again in thought. How to answer this? Pulling his tortured nail away from his mouth he looked up to Ludwig's window again, this time finding the German staring out of it right at him. "He did but…I didn't accept."

"What? Why the hell not?"

"Arthur, if I tell you something, promise you won't get mad." He waited for his friend to nod. When he did, the Italian merman flicked his tail back and forth slowly, "It was never really my dream to live up here. I only ever did because of Ludwig." He looked away from Ludwig's blue eyes and turned to Arthur's green. "I don't know if I can make that sacrifice again."

The blonde cocked his head to the side in confusion. "I don't understand."

"I want to be with him, believe me there isn't anything I want more but…I can't get the image of Natasha on top of him out of my head. I can't get the sounds I heard…I just I don't know if I can be near him and not think about what I saw."

Arthur reached out to wipe a tear from his friend's eye, "You know that Natasha tricked him right? He loves only you. I mean, Ivan convinced Alfred to throw me into prison and almost married him but I'm ok with it. Well I'm not but, everything worked out in the end. Things could work out for you too if you're willing to try."

"Would you feel the same way if you saw Alfred naked with a half-naked Ivan on top of him? Then for him to yell and you and make you feel like it was your fault and then pushing you away when you tried desperately to prove him that you were who you said you were? I could forgive him hurting my physically if he thought that I was an intruder but I told him who I was. He believed me and then for him to just change his mind about me because some bitch using my voice told him I was an imposter-" Feli narrowed his eyes in anger, "I don't know if I'm ok with that. I don't know if I'm willing to give up my life under the sea for a man who didn't even give me the proper chance to explain!"

Green eyes blinked rapidly as the blonde merman took in everything Feli just said. It was rare to hear his friend use foul language; usually it was his brother who resorted to use such colorful words on a daily basis. Then again, he supposed he could understand his anger. Just the remembering Ivan snuggling close to his Alfred was enough to make his blood boil; he could only imagine what it must've been like had his roles been reversed with Feli and it he had walked in on Alfred and Ivan in an intimate position. He'd probably had been sent to prison for murder. Arthur sighed and tried to calm his friend down with soothing circles at his shoulder. "What about me?"

"Ve?"

"What if you get legs so that you could stay with me?"

Feli's eyes softened and he placed a tanned hand over Arthur's pale. "You know that you are one of the best friends I've ever had. I don't think I've ever told you. At first you scared me because you were a prince and I when I was sent to you I thought that I was going to be your servant or something. Never did I think that the youngest son of King Triton was going to be like a brother to me. I never even thought that it was a possibility to make friends with the royal family."

Arthur chuckled, "Well, you do have that thing that seems to make everyone around you love you."

"So do you. If people just took the time to gently coax you out of your shell, then they'd see what an amazing person you are. Though with Alfred, it would seem like he had a bowl of tasty pasta at the end of your shell. You were quick to open up to him."

"I don't know why. I just…it felt right. You know? I guess when you love someone as much as I love Alfred, you're not afraid to expose yourself to them. No, that's not right. You are afraid but you do it anyway because you trust them enough to love you despite what they see."

Feli grinned, "When did you become such a poet?"

"Sh-shut up! I'm trying to be deep here."

"Should I get you a hat?" The two shared a laugh before settling down. "In all seriousness, Artie, I think it's time for you to live your own life, use you're youthful energy on having fun with Alfred. You're going to have a husband now and I don't think you'll have much time for me. It'll be ok." Feli pulled fished out a seashell from his satchel and broke it in half, "We're always going to be friends no matter what. If you ever need me just flick this. I'll come swimming as fast as I can."

"What is this?"

"My grandpa made a few of them. He gave me one and he held on to the other half and whenever I was scared or just wanted a hug I'd flick it along the side like this and his half would vibrate. Then he would come to me no matter where he was."

Arthur tucked his half safely into his breast pocket, "Thank you, Feli. Really, thank you for being such a good friend to me. I know I could be difficult sometimes."

"Think nothing of it. I know I can be a bit too silly sometimes too but you stayed when others would just push me away."

"You guys know I'm not going to stop y'all from seeing each other, right?" The two mermen looked up in surprise to see Alfred grinning lazily at them, Ludwig standing awkwardly next to him. "Hi, just came out to say that dinner was almost ready. Do you want to join us, Feliciano? We can get a tub or something so you can come inside or we can just bring the food out here. The night is a pretty one."

"Ve…" Feli felt Ludwig's eyes on him and he fidgeted under the intense stare. "Th-thank you but I have to get home. I told my family that I would be back by night time." Turning to Arthur he grinned, "I'll be back in the morning so I can start making you your suite. Buonanotte."

And so the week progressed, Feli would swim up to the surface to work with Elizabeta and Arthur with the wedding details. Ludwig would sometimes carry him inside so that he could work on the suit. It was during those few minutes that the German would try to talk to his merman love but Feli would only reply with simple phrases or one word answers. If he was lucky. Eventually Ludwig gave up all together and immersed himself in his tasks for the wedding to keep his mind off the ever growing depression that seemed to grow with every brush off Feli would give him. His tasks mostly included making sure repairs to the wedding vessel were completed in time and that's were Alfred and his father found him. With hammer in hand barking orders to the workers.

"You catch more flies with honey, son." Wolfgang gave a reassuring pat on a worker that walked by him, "Don't mind my boy, he just wants to make sure his best friend's wedding is perfect. Isn't that right, Luddy?" Ludwig grunted and wiped at his forehead.

"Dude, I think you should take a break. You've been out here since this morning." Alfred leaned against the rail and watched his friend pick up another nail. "Is this really because you have an OCD for perfection or…" He trailed off when a flash of pain ran through Ludwig's face but it was quickly masked with a frown.

"Why wouldn't I want tomorrow to be perfect," asked Ludwig as he brought his hammer down hard cursing when he missed the head and struck his finger. "Scheiße!" The blonde brought his index finger and thumb to his mouth.

Wolfgang gently took the hammer from his son's hand and gave it to another worker before leading both Ludwig and Alfred off the ship. "You know, son, sometimes the universe has funny ways of showing people when you're lying. Gilbert already told me what happened, talk about shitty luck."

"Vati, luck has nothing to do with what happened. I just…I don't even know any more." He watched as Arthur helped Feli back into the water before the merman swam away again. "He doesn't even look at me let alone talk to me." Ludwig looked down at his blue seashell bracelet, "Maybe…maybe I should just-"

"Boy, don't you even dare think about giving up." Ludwig looked up when he heard his father growl that out. Even Alfred had jumped a bit, not at all used to hearing the older German raise his voice. "Prince Alfred, would give my son and I a moment?"

"S-sure thing, sir. I'm going to go see if Arthur needs anything. Later, Luddy." Alfred dashed inside his castle in search of his fiancé.

Ludwig sighed and sat down at the patio with his father feeling a bit tense about what Wolfgang had to say to him. The older German took a seat across from his son and looked into the horizon for a few moments to collect his thoughts. "Do you remember Romulus?"

"He was Feli's grandpa," answered Ludwig almost immediately. "We never saw him after we left the summer home."

"Well yes and no. I wouldn't expect you to remember much of him because you'd always hang around his grandson." Wolfgang chuckled a bit at his son's blush. "He actually stopped coming before that. I remember it was after I introduced your mother to him."

"Muti knew about him and Feli?" This was news to Ludwig and he wondered why she never mentioned it or came to his defense when Gilbert would tease him.

"Mhmm. She was curious of the man who had…taken her husband's interest away from her." Wolfgang coughed to hide a blush. "You, er, are aware of the arrangement between your muti and I correct?"

"I was made aware of it, yes. I just never knew that you actually…"

"I didn't. Though I knew your mother wouldn't mind, she encouraged it actually, it didn't sit well with me that I would've been happy when her own lover was so far away from her. So I didn't pursue it. After talking to Feli, I really wish I did."

"You spoke with Feli? What did he say? Did he mention me at all?" Ludwig looked at his father desperately for answers but settled down when he saw that his dad wasn't going to spill whatever the little Italian merman said.

"Romulus died the day we left, he came to see you a few days later but by that time we were long gone. His brother sent for him so that he could go to a place called Atlantica to live with him and the royal merfamily. That's why he didn't show up those summers ago."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, son. I made a terrible mistake by not trying hard enough to make my feelings for Romulus known to him. He died not knowing that his own feelings were reciprocated and now I have to live with the curiosity of what could've been."

"But, Vati, I want to talk to him. He's the one who doesn't want anything to do with me!"

"Well, not to say that I agree with how he's handling things but I seriously think it could've gone a lot worse."

"What would you have me do?"

"What would you do?"

"Anything if it meant that I could be with him again." Ludwig crossed his arms and tried to keep his blush from reaching his ears. This whole experience was really taking a toll on him but he bared with it. He could only imagine how his little love was feeling.

Lovino was pacing his kitchen. Enough. He'd had about enough of all this brooding and weeping. Honestly! All Feli had to do is say yes to the legs and he'd get his happily ever after as well. But no, he was being stubborn. Earlier in the week Lovi had tried to convince his brother to accept Robert's offer but Feli had just given a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he retreated back to the cave he shared with Arthur. Later that night when he tried to approach the subject again the young merman had thrown a fit, yelling things about how he just wanted to get rid of him because Antonio was back. That couldn't be the furthest thing from the truth but it still stung that his little brother thought that Lovi would do such a thing. After an hour of sobbing and asking for forgiveness, Feli confessed that he loved his life in the sea too much before taking off to the cave once again. That had seriously worried Lovino; as far as he was concerned, Feli lived and breathed for his stupid potato bastard. Him saying something so out of character was really nerve wrecking.

The older Italian stopped swimming back and forth when Antonio entered the kitchen but the sad look on his face told him that things didn't work out so well. His eyes lowered to the full plate of seaweed pasta, "He still doesn't want to eat?" Scratch that, Feli turning down his favorite meal was more nerve wrecking.

Antonio shook his head sadly, "And to be honest I'm really starting to worry about him, mi amor. All he does is go to the surface and then come straight back to that cave. What is he even doing in there?"

Lovi sighed and rubbed his temples, "He's probably organizing it again. Che palle! What's it going to take to get through to him?"

"I could try." Both mermen turned to see David at the doorway. He flushed under their intense stares, "I could see if he wants some food."

"You know, you could try all you want there's no guarantee that he's going to take food from you. Let alone accept any advances."

"What advances?"

"Please, a sponge could see what you're trying to do. Listen to me kid and listen to me well," Lovi took the plate of pasta and handed it over to the prince, "Do not get your hopes up. What Feli is going through is only temporary."

David narrowed his eyes, "You know I'm getting tired of hearing that. Why is it so hard to believe that Feli is trying to move on?"

"And why is it so hard to believe that he was meant for that potato bastard? Yeah that's right. As much as it pisses me off its true, I can see things like that because of my scales. Lukas even confirmed it when I asked him. Whatever is uniting them is strong and highly rare, even amongst us merfolk. So you can try all you want, I just don't want you to get yourself hurt in the process."

"Whatever." David took the plate of pasta and left.

Lovino watched the prince leave before reaching a decision. Sure he was never good at magic but there was one thing that he excelled at. Heck, he could bet his bottom sanddollar that he was even superior in it than Lucas and Robert combined. "Come on, Tonio. I have an idea."

"Where are we going, Tesoro?" Antonio let his lover drag him out of the kitchen and towards the city where he knew Tino and his family was staying.

"I need to get some things from Lukas to make a potion to help my idiot brother's love life."

"Oh, ok!"

It hadn't taken David too long to reach the cave but it had taken him a few minutes to figure out how to open the door and another two more to keep the door open long enough for him to get through without dropping the food. He'd only ever been inside once and that was on a dare from his older brothers Murphy and Connor. They knew how cranky Arthur could get when his privacy was invaded.

David swam slowly through the cavern, pausing only when he heard Feli muttering to himself. Peeking around the wall he saw the merman carefully hanging one of the paintings Robert had restored. "There two ink splatters down fifteen to go," he said with a sigh. Swimming back he ran his eyes to the half organized cavern. "I looked at this stuff, thought it was neat. Who would've thought the collection would remain in-complete?" He trailed off before picking up another trinket, "And as I look at this trough, at the treasures untold, I realize that there's something I'll never be able to hold." Feli picked up pot and placed it on the shelf with trembling hands humming a tune to himself as he continued to line the shelves with figurines. He then started to string the compasses and pocket watches on their hooks, "There's gadgets and gizmos a plenty and whozits and whatzits galore. The thingamabobs? There's too many. And who cares? It's no big deal when there's no one here." He stopped organizing the things that needed to be hung and picked up the dancing couple figurine he gave Arthur. Running his hands across the man he spinned it gently so that it would play its tune, "I wanted to be where the people are but only because I wanted to see him dancing. Wanted to walk arm in arm down on…what was it again? Ah, street!"

Feli smiled to himself as he recalled his date with Ludwig. Then he recalled Natasha and what he walked in on. His smile evaporated and he tears welled in his eyes again. Why did he have to keep remembering that?! He realized that Ludwig was trying his hardest to talk to him, it didn't escape his notice how the blonde's heart would race every time he carried him inside the palace when he'd go up to work on Arthur's wedding suit. How his blue eyes would light up with hope when he caught the merman looking his way. Or how he'd hold him protectively against his strong chest, fingers discretely rubbing against his the soft scales of his tail in gentle caresses, the palms of his other hand pressing so tenderly against his shoulder. Everything the German did proclaimed how much Feli obviously meant to him and while the merman wanted nothing more than to press his lips against the others, that damn memory kept popping into his mind. Natasha's smirk when he entered further enraged him so he would just ignore all these painfully obvious signs from Ludwig.

Sinking back onto a rock, Feli figured he'd done enough cleaning for today. He did after all find what he had originally been looking for. He sighed and looked up towards the opening in the cavern where the sun's rays were peeking in and slightly warming the spot he was on. David cleared his throat and swam closer with the plate of pasta, "I brought this over. Antonio and Lovi said that you hadn't eaten and well…I was wondering if you'd like to share with me."

The auburn haired merman looked at his friend's brother then at the pasta. Yeah he hadn't been eating, but truth be told he didn't feel like it. What was the point? As if to contradict his thoughts, his stomach gave a loud growl making him blush in embarrassment. "Grazie, David. I guess it doesn't hurt to have a bite."

David grinned and sat next to him, gently handing over the plate of still warm seaweed pasta. The prince looked around the cave and whistled, "Wow, you and Artie really did collect a lot huh? You're doing a good job in putting it back to how it was before."

"Thank you." The sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound was that of Feli chewing every now and again. David rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Hey, Feli?"

"Hmm?"

"If you aren't doing anything later tonight, would you like to go see Murphy and Connor at the track? They're racing against the Vaporian brothers and, well...I was thinking maybe you and me could go. And then maybe after wards we could go do something else."

Feli sighed and put the now empty plate on a small table, "David, I'm glad that you've been spending time with me. Especially since I know that right now I'm not exactly in one of my better moods." Taking the prince's pale hand in his he met David's green eyes. "But, I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Because of that human?" When Feli let go of his hand David ran it through his hair in thought. "You know if you like him so much, why are you down here sulking?"

"Ve?"

"I don't know what happened entirely but from my understanding, Ivan's sister tricked him or something right? Then he tried to hook up with her thinking she was you. In his defense he thought he was with you and when he threw a fit when you interrupted, it was only because he thought you were interrupting his private time with you."

"I know."

"What? Then what's the problem?"

"What I saw…"

"You love him don't you?"

"More than I've ever loved anyone."

"And you want to be with him?"

"Desperatly."

"No matter what?"

"…you see that's one of the problems. I want that but I don't know how. I don't want to leave my home again. When I was up there, I was happy but I was also sad. Happy because I was with him, sad because I wasn't in here. The surface is nice and all but it doesn't beat the sea. But that is minor stuff," Feli hugged himself, "the important stuff still lies in the fact that no matter what, no matter how hard I try or how mad I want to, I cannot get the image of someone else with my Ludwig. I get that he thought he was with me, I really do. I can even admire the fact that he tried to protect 'me' but-"

"Nope!"

"Ve?"

"Nope, nope, nope. No buts. Here's how I see it. You love the dude and he loves you right? If you keep thinking about it and don't try to move forward, you are going to end up killing yourself. It's like fishes and sharks, they stop moving they die cause they run out of air." David kicked back and let himself float beside Feli with his arms behind his back, "Natasha was a devilfish, we've established that but the good part is that she and Ivan are dead so a repeat of what happened won't happen. But she's not really dead."

Feli cocked his head to the side in confusion, "She isn't?"

"Not if you keep her alive in your memories she not. And I bet that sea wrench is rolling in her grave in laughter because she knows that she's still causing you harm even in the water beyond ours." David saw Feli's amber eyes lower in sadness and he sighed again. Putting a hand on the Italian's shoulder he continued, "Our souls are like those ink splatters you got on the wall but then as we grow older or whatever, they start to lose pieces of what the image was. Through our life's experiences we get some of those pieces back but no matter how many of them we get back or how complete the image may see, there will always be that one little piece that'll be missing. Some people go all their lives not realizing it's missing, like my brother's Connor and Murphy. Of course they've got each other so who knows, maybe their ink splatter is complete and I just don't know it. But then there are some people like you who have already found that piece but had it ripped away."

"Sometimes when things are handled roughly they get damaged. And if that's the case then how will the picture look?"

"Freaking awesome! That's because even though it's a little rough around the edges, you still managed to get the piece back in. I think it makes it look even better because it shows that it withstood whatever hardships it was thrown. Kinda like scars right? They fade-"

"But they don't disappear."

"Yet they are reminders that you persevered. At least that's what Christian is always telling us." David pointed to a scar on his forearm, "Got this when I saved my little brother from a shark when we were younger. Bastard nearly took my bloody arm off."

Feliciano flicked his tail back and forth in thought, letting what David told him sink in. When put like that it made perfect sense. It even explained why his chest felt so hallow; it was missing the piece that was Ludwig dearly. He smiled then started to laugh, "Thank you, David!" Feli reached over to pull his friend into a hug. "I'll talk to him tomorrow after the wedding." The Italian merman picked up the empty plat and swam out of the cavern.

David watched until he couldn't see the trail of bubbles left behind by Feli's excited departure. Slinking back down onto a rock he glanced up to the opening of the cave, "You can come out now, Roddy."

A blue crab slowly made his way out of a fallen vase before transforming back into a merman. Rodrich eyed his prince with surprise, "I never thought you'd actually be the one to make him see what all of us have been trying to make him see."

"I'm not stupid. I know I act like a jerk but…I'm not really. And all the cheesy stuff about puzzles, well, I didn't make it up. After Robert fixed everything, I found this book by some guy named Plato who thought that our souls were made of three parts." David shrugged, "I had nothing better to do so I showed it to Kyle and we talked about it and I came up with the puzzle thing."

"I see." Rodrich pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. "But what possessed you to tell Feli that? One would've thought that you wouldn't have encouraged him to forgive Ludwig."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did. In your own way of course."

"Hm."

"Why?"

David chewed on his bottom lip as he contemplated how to answer the question when he finally shook his head with a grin, "Guess that no matter how much you try to pound the piece into place, if it doesn't fit it doesn't fit." He got up and began to swim towards to mouth of the cave, "No matter how much you want it to."

Arthur woke up to the gentle tugs and coos of his fiancé. Groaning he tried to pull the covers over his head until he realized what day it was. "Oh blast!"

"Heh," said Alfred with a grin as he tried to pull the covers back, "you ready for our big day?"

"G-get out, you git! Don't tug on that," cried the blonde merman. "It's bad luck to see each other before the wedding."

"But I already saw you. You look so cute when you're sleeping by the way." Alfred tugged harder and managed to reveal messy blonde hair, "come on, babe. You know you want to kiss me."

Arthur pulled the covers away from his face and scowled playfully, "I don't know, after all the kissing we did last night, I don't think I'm up for more."

"What?!"

He giggled at Alfred's horrified expression and pulled his pouting lover in for a kiss, "There. Now seriously, you need to get out before Elizabeta comes in and threatens you with her pan. I don't want my groom to be bruised for our big day."

Alfred rolled on top of him with arms on either side, "I'm a hero, no way is she going to force me away from my little merman without a fight." As he leaned in for more kisses he stopped mid-way when he heard the sound of metal gently hitting the flesh of an open palm.

"Is that so?" Elizabeta stared down her prince. Part of her wanted to let him have his way but another part knew that there would be plenty of time for that after the wedding. "Want to try me, Alfie?"

"Uh," the blue eyed prince scrambled to get up. "N-no, Lizzy. I have to uh-I'm going to go change into my uniform." He leaned over for one last kiss before dashing out of the room.

Elizabeta giggled, "Sorry about that, dear, but you know what they say about the groom seeing his beloved before the wedding."

"I do." Arthur got up and stretched, "We have the same superstition in Atlantica." He started to remove his clothing to get into the tub Elizabeta was starting to prepare for him. "Is Feliciano here yet?"

"I think so." The Hungarian looked up from checking the water temperature, "I saw Gilbert helping him board the ship." A gentle knock at the door made her quickly help Arthur into the sudsy water before answering it. "Speak of the idiot and he shall appear."

"Why do I always have to be the idiot," whined Gilbert as he handed over Feli. "Can't you for once call me by my name and not add 'idiot' before it? I'll have you know, intelligence is my middle name." Gilbird chirped in agreement.

The housekeeper took the merman from the albino and raised an eyebrow, "Then you're first name must be, 'I-have-no.'" She giggled at the look he sent her before shutting the door in his face.

Gilbert grumbled as he walked past Ludwig and Alfred's shared room. Inside, the German was fixing his the cords on his uniform while Alfred ran a comb through his hair. "You know this has got to be, hands down one of the best days of my life!" The blonde prince jumped up and down in excitement, "I'm getting married, dude!"

"Ja, I know, Alfred." Ludwig smoothed back his hair with a sigh.

"Don't sound so enthusiastic. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Is this about Feli?" When his friend didn't respond, Alfred stopped jumping. "You know he asked for you this morning."

"He did?" The taller blonde turned to face his friend, "What did he say? Is he here already? Where is he? I want to talk to him."

"Dude, chill out. He just wanted to see you but I told him that you were still asleep. He's probably in Arthur's room getting rea- Hey!" Alfred pulled Ludwig back in the room and shut the door, "You can't just barge in there. Artie's getting ready."

"But-"

"But nothing. Just wait till after the wedding."

"But-"

"Dude! What did I just say? No buts!" Alfred forced his friend to sit down and started to go on and on about this new thing Gilbert learned to make and how it had become his new favorite food. Max got up and stretched before walking out of the room through his kitty door and past Arthur's room to find out for himself what this so called hamburger tasted like. If he was lucky, maybe he could swipe one from the buffet table.

Arthur looked at himself in the mirror just as Elizabeta attached the medal baring the royal crest near his breast pocket. "There," she cried happily, "you're ready."

"Not yet!" Feliciano dug out a small box from his satchel and motioned Arthur to him. "Remember that day Damien attacked us?"

"Unfortunately." The merprince shuddered at the thought. "Why?"

"Well, that day I found this in the wreckage and I think it'll be perfect for you to wear." The Italian merman opened the box and pulled out the gem encrusted pin. "It's blue and old!"

"Feli, it's beautiful. Is it really ok for me to have this?"

"Of course!" Feliciano reached over and pinned it next to the crest. "There, now you're ready."

Elizabeta giggled and ran a brush through Feli's hair before picking him up. "Let's go boys, I can hear the bells ringing."

The wedding went by without a hitch. Matthew performed the ceremony once again only this time he did so with almost as much enthusiasm as his brother, a smile not leaving his face as the ceremony progressed. The couple said their 'I dos' and presented each other with their wedding bands before meeting for a kiss to seal their union. Beside Arthur, Feli clapped happily for his friend and husband while Ludwig did the same beside Alfred. The guests both on the ship and in the sea clapped just as loudly for the happy couple. Max gave a happy meow before jumping in between his master and his new husband, licking both with delighted purr. Arthur chuckled and patted the Maine Coon on his furry head.

Ludwig had caught Feliciano's eye more than once during the ceremony and couldn't help but smile. His heart beat raced with hope that his little love would forgive him for what transpired and would accept him as his lover. He reached into his pocket for and panicked when he couldn't find what he was looking for. "Scheiße," he muttered to himself as he checked his breast pocket, "Where did it-ah! I must've left it in my room." He excused himself and as calmly as he could, he rushed to his room in search of the small red box he was going to present to his Feli.

Beside Gilbert, Elizabeta wiped her tears on a handkerchief while the albino gave out a joyous shout echoed by Francis and Antonio. The two mermen had climbed onto the rail of the ship to toss petals at the two grooms and somehow had managed to befriend Gilbert almost instantly. They talked amongst themselves until a flash of blue on top of the carefully prepared wedding cake caught the chef's attention. No…it couldn't be. An amused chirp from his head and the sheen of a perfect royal blue confirmed that it was indeed the indestructible little bastard that had sabotaged his perfect dinner for Matthew. "Excuse me for second, guys."

"Ok," answered Francis, "but do make sure to warn Alfred what we told you before they set off for the, honhonhon, for the honey moon." He sent Arthur a mischievous wink before turning to talk to Antonio some more.

"Ja, ja. I will." Gilbert ran into the kitchen to find his cleaver.

Arthur caught the wink and rolled his eyes. Turning to Feli he and Alfred accepted the Italian's hug, "Be good to one another, si?"

"Are you sure you won't reconsider what I asked earlier this week," whispered Arthur.

Feli smiled gently and took Arthur's hand and placed it into Alfred's slightly larger one. "You won't be alone, amico. The both of you are going to have so much fun up here, I know it!" He looked over to where Ludwig was standing only to find him gone. Tears threatened to make an appearance but he fought them down. Perhaps he waited too long and Ludwig had decided to move on with his life. Giving his friends one last smile, "We'll see each other real soon." With those parting words he dove back into the sea where his brother was waiting for him.

Alfred was going to sneak another peck when they heard Gilbert give his battle cry, "I see you there, you little bastard!" Raising his cleaver over his head, the albino rushed towards the cake, slicing it clean in half, only Rodrich jumped out of the way. "Oh no, not this time!" He chased after the screaming crab and tried to nail him to the deck with his smaller knives but Rodrich proved to be too fast.

"Shouldn't we help him," asked Antonio but Francis waved his worry away and took a sip of wine.

Rodrich knew he shouldn't have pressed his luck by going aboard the ship as a crab but he knew he'd be safe. Elizabeta was near and she'd make sure he was safe. Speaking of which, he ducked out of the way just in time as Gilbert tossed him his cleaver. He ran a little faster past the Hungarian and jumped onto the rail. Turning around he saw, the albino's red eyes flash sinisterly and his grin broaden. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his savior and he couldn't help his own smirk from spreading across his face.

"Gilbert!"

"Wha-OW!" Gilbert clutched his injured head and glared at a fuming Elizabeta. "What the hell, Lizzy? That little shit was all over the cake. Look, there he goes!" He scrambled back onto his feet and narrowly dodged another swing from the infamous skillet. Looking over the rail he pointed to Rodrich, "Oi! Four eyes, you see a little blue crab? I saw him jump over."

"I'm sorry, I haven't." Rodrich pushed his glasses up his nose and sent Elizabeta a wink making her bring a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles. Gilbert grumbled in frustration and went back to his boyfriend and new friends. Elizabeta waved shyly to the dark tailed merman before turning away to help serve food to the guests.

"You know if you stare hard enough, you might just burn off her clothing," said Mathias slyly, earning a blush from Rodrich. "Or if you like I could always get my baby brother to mysteriously make it windy."

"Please," sniffed Rodrich. "that kind of behavior is so uncouth. Besides, I-uh- I don't need assistance to know what she," he cleared his throat, "looks like."

Mathias blinked before chortling obnoxiously and slapping his friend on the back, "Way to go, Roddy!"

"Right. Oh, and about your date with Emma…"

"Don't worry about it, man. I already asked her."

"And Lars was ok with it?"

"Sure, turns out he isn't a complete jerk after all. I think we'll be very good friends he and I."

"Lovley."

Ludwig rushed back to the deck with a proud grin. He finally found the damn box after all but destroying his room for it. Now, if only he could locate Feli and-

"He's not here."

The German turned to face Lovino who was helping himself to the stuffed crab, "What?"

"He left."

"But…I thought."

"Yeah, I know. My little brother is an idiot though and he thought he didn't want him anymore because you left before he got to say anything."

"That's not true!" Ludwig looked at the box in his hands and blushed, "I just…I wanted to give him this but I forgot it in my room."

Lovi stopped chewing and eyed the box suspiciously, "Is that what I think it is?"

"I…yes."

"And you think he's going to leave his life behind in the sea for you again? You know he loves it down there." When he saw the heart broken look on the German's face he decided to take pity and stop toying with the human. With a sigh he pulled out a blue flask from his bag and handed it over to the confused blonde. "If you are serious about my brother, drink that. It'll give you a way to be with him but you have to be absolutely certain that this is what you want. The effects are long term and while I'm sure the sea king would be willing to return you to your human state, I won't be able to make this potion again. The ingredients are really rare."

"Th-this will give me a," Ludwig licked his lips to moisten them, "This will make me a merman?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "And what do you want in return? Surely you can't expect me to believe that your just giving me something this rare."

"Che palle! Don't compare me to that sea demon, all I ask is that you make my brother the happiest merman there is. Drink it or don't. Just remember that there are others who would kill to be with him and if you don't hurry and propose to him you just might lose him. I'm going home after the party so make up your mind quick."

"There's a lot to lose here."

"So? My brother had a lot more to lose when he gave up his voice for you. At least you won't be turned into a polyp!"

"A what?"

"Never mind. Just think about it." Lovino took a long sip from his wine and jumped into the water.

Wolfgang came up to his son, "You're going to do it aren't you?"

"Would it upset you if I said I'm seriously considering it?"

"It'd upset me if you weren't." The older German gave his son's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Go get him, son. Be happy, ja? And be sure to invite me to the wedding!" Grin back in place Ludwig went back to his room to collect the box Feli had left behind and take care of some business before drinking the potion Lovino gave him.

Arthur and Alfred stood by the rail as Arthur's brothers came up one by one, lifted by a lifted pillar of water, to congratulate them, or in Murphy and Connor's case, threaten Alfred. "You hurt our little brother," started Murphy.

"And you're dead," finished his twin. Arthur rolled his eyes but couldn't help but fell touched at how much his red headed brothers cared for him. All his life they had been a constant source of teasing but there had been moments where, in their own way, they had showed him affection. Kyle came up to shoo them away with a half-hearted scowl.

The blonde turned to his baby brother and smiled warmly, "I'm so happy for you, Arthur." He reached over and gave him a hug, "I wish you nothing but the best. Just promise that you won't forget about us, lad."

"He ain't gonna forget about us, eh, Artie?" Christian came up in another pillar of water and gently pried Kyle from Arthur so that he could give him a hug as well. "Now, there's no sense in threatenen ya cause I know you know better. Right, boy?" Alfred nodded, desperately trying to keep the grin from his face. He was meeting his husband's brothers. Correction, his merman husband's merman brothers! How much more exciting could it get?! Christain nodded in approval and handed over a shell encrusted box to Arthur. "We won't be here to protect you anymore, Artie so take this."

"What is it?" Arthur opened the box and gasped, "But Chris, this was-"

"Dad's. Yeah. Figured you were the most worthy of us to have it."

"I don't know what to say." Arthur ran a white gloved finger over the black pearl handle then carefully along the darker pearl blade. "Thank you."

"I just hope you never have to use it." Christian looked down and saw that David wanted a turn. "Alright, well, we'll be seeing you, little brother." Kyle gave him a last goodbye and lowered them both to the sea.

David came up and stared at Arthur and Alfred, "I'm glad you found someone to make you happy, Artie. You two stay out of trouble ok? There won't be any big brother's around to save you from sharks this time."

Alfred scoffed, "Maybe not but there will be his heroic husband! Don't worry, babe, I'll save you!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Come off it, I can handle myself well thank you very much." He gave his husband's hand a squeeze before kissing the back of it, "but I do appreciate the gesture, love." Alfred grinned cheekily and claimed his merman's lips.

"Ok," cried David in alarm. "I just wanted to say congrats and good luck. I'll come up every now and again to bother you. Later, baby brother!" David jumped out of the pillar of water and back into the sea before he witnessed any more.

Finally, it was Robert's turn. Arthur pulled away from Alfred and leaned over the rail, gazing at his eldest brother warmly. Despite everything that may have transpired, the lectures he received, he knew that his brother only wanted to the best for him. Robert returned the affectionate gaze and cupped his brother's cheek in his hand, "You've done something today that I never thought possible. You and this young man have formed a union between the land and sea and I for one couldn't be prouder to call you my brother."

Arthur leaned in to the wet hand, his green eyes misting with tears and he brought the red headed king in for a hug, "I love you, Bobby."

Robert returned the hug with gusto, "I love you, too Artie." Bringing his hand to the back of his brother's head he placed a kiss on the younger's forehead, "I love you, too."

The two pulled away when they heard a whimper and looked to Alfred who was biting his lip and trembling with emotion. Arthur caught his eye gave a quick motion of the head towards his brother. Nodding quickly, Alfred placed a hand before on his abdomen and the other behind his back. To the best of his ability given his trembling spell, the blue eyed prince bowed before the sea king. His husband's brothers were mermen and that was cool. But the eldest was freaking Sea King! Unable to hold his position any longer, Alfred began to jump up and down excitedly before rushing over to Robert to give him a hug of his own.

Startled, Robert looked over to Arthur in question but the young merprince simply bit his gloved knuckle to hide his grin. "King Robert, I am so grateful that you gave me the privilege to marry your brother. I promise to limit what we take from the sea and everyone who wishes to come to the surface to visit will be under my protection. You have my word as the prince and hero of this kingdom."

Robert patted the boy's back before releasing him, "I'll hold you to that, Prince Alfred." Summoning his Trident to join him he grinned, "My brother can be a bit short tempered but love him all the same. Make him happy."

Alfred pulled Arthur to his chest and kissed his head affectionately, "Always." The happy couple watched as Robert activated his Trident and waved it above them, casting the prettiest rainbow they've ever seen. Merfolk aboard the ship jumped off and waved their farewell to their prince as the ship hoisted anchor and made their way back to the palace to drop off the guest before the married couple set off for their honeymoon.

Feli sat in the trough looking at his handy work. After leaving the party he had made his way back home and picked off where he left off in his organization. Everything looked as it had before and it tugged at his heart strings. "Ve~ it may look like before, doesn't mean it will be like before," he said to himself sadly. "A lot has changed."

"Ja, but change can be good, right?" The auburn haired merman stopped flicking his tail when he heard the familiar deep voice. Had that been his imagination? Tentative arms wrapped themselves around him and pulled him into a strong chest. That couldn't be his imagination. But how… bracing himself he leaned his head back to look up. Right into baby blue eyes gazing at him with the upmost adoration.

"Impossible." He didn't dare look away in case he really wasn't there. Ludwig lowered his head and kissed him softly. "You're crazy," he mumbled into the kiss.

The German gave a breathy laugh but didn't pull away, instead he kept his lips close to his lovers so that they brushed together with every word he spoke. "Maybe, but people do crazy things when they're in love. And I love you." Feliciano grinned and tackled his lover to the grotto's floor.

"How did this happen though?" Feli looked down at Ludwig, not at all bothering to get up.

"Your brother made a potion for me." Ludwig ran his hand through his lover's auburn hair and looked at him sadly, "I'm so sorry, Feli." Gently taking the wrist he had damaged in his blind rage he brought it to his lips, "I'm so sorry."

"Ve~" Feli bit his lip in thought but then shook his head, "It's ok."

"No, it's not. I-" He was silenced by nimble fingers and Ludwig made a point to kiss each pad.

"I'm sorry for being stubborn. I knew better but…I couldn't help but remember what I saw." Ludwig tensed under him and tried to speak through his fingers but Feli silenced him with a kiss. "Though, I know I won't be able to forget it any time soon, I think you can help me try."

"How?"

A mischievous smirk grew on Feli's face, "I think you could make good on that invitation you gave me. Hug and kiss me lots, that way I won't be jealous anymore!" He giggled when Ludwig blushed. Feli got up and kept himself suspended above Ludwig, his amber eyes taking in his lover's new form. The German's hair was no longer in the slicked back style he wore to the wedding, the gentle underwater currents played with his fringe and it swayed with every movement he made. It didn't go unnoticed that Ludwig tried to cover up his chest when he ran his eyes down his body, "What's wrong, amore?"

Ludwig's blush intensified, "I…I'm not-its embarrassing to be so exposed."

"Don't be, everyone here have their chest exposed. Well, except the mermaids. They have seashells!" He chuckled when Ludwig turned even redder and vaguely wondered if he would have to carry him to his room should he pass out. Feli gently tugged Ludwig's arms away, "Don't hide. You make a beautiful merman. Your tail is gorgeous."

The blonde's tail immediately twitched as if it was thankful for the complement. The scales were a beautiful cobalt blue that reflected a lighter blue when the light hit just so. It twitched even more when Feli ran a curious hand down the appendage. "Feli?"

"Ve?"

"I keep forgetting to breath," admitted the new merman shyly.

"I can understand that. When I first got legs, the ability to breath in the water was taken from me and I had to fight the urge to breath underwater. I guess it's the same for you, only you have to remember that it's ok to do so." Feli helped his love up, "Does it feel ok? Having a tail I mean."

"It…feels weird. It kind of moves on it's own doesn't it?"

"Yup yup. But don't worry, I'll teach you how to control it." He lead Ludwig towards his room at the palace.

"Feli?"

"Hmm?"

"How," Ludwig took a breath to calm his nerves, "h-how do…merfolk you know…umm, do what we're going to do?"

Feliciano giggled again and nuzzled against Ludwig's arm, "don't worry. I'll show you how your new body works."

Lovino and Antonio watched as the new couple made their way into the young Italian's room. Lovi had to fight back the urge to attack the German but remembered that it was because of him that he was down here to begin with. Antonio hugged his boyfriend close, "I'm so proud of you, Lovi!"

"Whatever. I still hate the potato bastard."

The Spaniard pulled away enough to look at Lovi questioningly, "Then why…"

"Because I hated seeing my Fratellino miserable even more. Sharing the sea with the potato eater is a small price to pay to see Feliciano happy. And believe you me that my idiot brother is going to be very happy by the end of tonight."

"Because he's going to make lo-"

"CHIGI! Don't say it!" Lovino covered his ears and blushed with embarrassment, "I don't want to know what he does in private. But yes, that and because the potato bastard is going to propose to him or something lame like that."

Antonio looked at him sadly, "You don't like the idea of marriage?"

"I don't really care honestly." At the sight of tears in his lover's green eyes Lovi sighed. "But…I guess if a certain someone would ask, I suppose I wouldn't have much of a choice but to say yes. So long as I got three meals and a guaranteed siesta at three o'clock minimum."

"Who? Whose that certain someone? Lovino," cried the brunette with alarm, "You didn't meet someone else while I was a turtle right?!"

Lovino stared at his idiotic boyfriend resisted the urge to head butt him. "No, idiot! I was talking about you!"

"Wah! Really? You'll marry me?!" Antonio swooped him in his arms and twirled them in circles.

"Yes, damn it! Put me down, jeez. You're lucky I love you."

"Aww, Lovi, you're red! You look like a cute tomato," cried the red tailed merman happily.

"Shut up!"

~One Month Later~

While friends and family celebrated the union between Ludwig and Feliciano at the waters right by the palace, Gilbert had searched the shallows for the blue crab that seemed to haunt his kitchen every now and again, elsewhere a platinum blond mermaid entered a beast like cave. The first thing she noticed was the lack of polyps her brother cherished and loved to invoke fear upon. Further into the cave she felt it. Or rather did not feel it. Natalya had intended to make good on her promise and never return to her siblings but when she felt a searing pain in her left eye and then nothing. She couldn't hear her brother's thoughts, feel his feelings. The last thing she remembered hearing, she tried to block from her memory. The young mermaid didn't need to hear what her brother thought of her stupid bewitching older sister. However the last thing she felt before everything went numb was his fear and heartbreak. It had taken a month to swallow her pride and come back but eventually curiosity got the best of her.

And here she was, lurking in the entrance way of her brother's cave, something she knew annoyed him to know end. Taking a deep breath she slowly swam inside and gasped at what she saw. The entire place was unkempt, vials broken, creatures dead. A foul smell came from his cauldron and algae had collected on his vanity. Any trace of inhabitance by a merman or mermaid had long been overrun by small wildlife and plant life. "No way would, big brother let the place go to hell," she muttered to herself. "Where did they go?"

Clearly her siblings had failed at their attempt to control the sea by conning the Trident from the sea king. And based on the gossip she picked up on, Arthur was well and happy. Did that mean he actually succeeded in getting that kiss before sunset?"

"It ain't a pretty sight is it?"

Natalya balled up a fist, her black scales shimmering before a shot a ball of energy from her hand at the intruder.

The merman let it hit him and chuckled, "It tickled. Please, mistress, can I have some more?"

"You're sick. What do you want, Damien?" The mermaid curled her lip in disgust, "Don't you have a posse to feed?"

Damien stopped laughing and growled angrily, his teeth becoming sharper, "They were my little brothers. And no not anymore."

"What happened?" Natalya turned her back on him and picked through the vials to see if she could salvage anything. She shivered when Damien came up behind her and ran his hands across her flat stomach before settling on her hips right where the torso became tail. "If you wish to keep those hands, Damien, you will unhand me. Ivan won't be happy to hear that-"

"Psh," scoffed the merman releasing her. "You're precious big brother is dead, Nat."

"…You're lying," she hissed.

"No, actually I'm not. I saw when they dropped his body in the Mariana. Him and what was left of your sister."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know the details but apparently Arthur vaporized her with the Trident and only her hand remained. They disposed of that in the trench too. Such a waste really. Natasha was pretty freaking hot. How she found shells big enough is beyond me." Damien ran a hand through his black hair and tossed his braid over his shoulder with a smirk.

"You're disgusting." Natalya finally understood why she was feeling the way she had.

"Jealous?"

"As if."

"Where are you going?"

"To the Mariana," she whispered. Her hands were beginning to shake as the news was finally sinking in. "I need to see for my self- let go of me!"

"No. Even for us that trench is too deep. You'll die before you even reach the bottom. Not to mention the pressure probably destroyed their bodies and if it didn't time sure did. It's been a month, Nat."

"So?! I-they-my only family's dead!" Natalya swam to her brother's cavern and wrapped herself in his blankets, ignoring how dirty they were.

Damien took pity and swam slowly towards her quivering form, "Nat?"

"Go away!"

"Nat? I'm not going to do that…"

The mermaid uncovered herself and hissed angrily, her eye glowing black as she attacked him. She pinned Damien down and held a glowing hand over his face, "Who killed him?"

Unfazed, the dark haired merman reached up and removed her eye patch to reveal a dead eye. A film had grown over the violet iris turning it milky, "The same person who killed my brothers."

"Who?"

"Arthur." Damien's own pupils were dilating but he fought the urge to transform into a shark, "He and that bastard Feliciano trapped me in the noose of an anchor. I was so pissed that I couldn't for the life of me change back into a merman so I was stuck there for some time. When I finally calmed down enough to free myself, my little brother's had died of starvation.

Natalya grunted and got up, "Maybe if you and your brother's didn't hunt merchildren you wouldn't have been banished and therefore you wouldn't be without family."

"You bitch! Maybe if your asshole brother hadn't been a greedy con artist, then he wouldn't have been banished and therefore get all of us magic merfolk sealed!"

"You would've still eaten merchildren."

Damien glared at the mermaid before smirking, "You bet your ass we would've. They're so…delicious." He watched as Natalya pulled out a box and started to place everything not broken in it along with spell books. "What are you doing?"

"I may not had be as strong as my brother or be a master of illusions like my sister but I am clever. Arthur killed my brother."

"And he got his happy ever after with his human."

"He doesn't deserve it but I find that patience is a virtue. I'm going to let him think he's safe, going to wait until he's at the happiest he can be. Then I'll strike. I'll rob him of his happiness and take the Trident from his asshole brother." She looked over at her brother's cauldron then at Damien.

The shark prone merman crossed his arms and cast her an amused expression, "If you want me to carry that for you, you better let me in on this vengeance thing. You're not the only one left without a family."

Natalya thought about her options and reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but you will do as I say."

"Will you punish me if I'm a bad merboy?"

"Shut up and take that damn cauldron before I break your fingers," she growled angrily as she reattached her eye patch. Damien chuckled again and did as she asked. Not because he was afraid of her or anything. He just didn't have anything better to do…

"Where to, Mistress?"

"We go north for now. I have my own cave in the Nordic region. Where my brother preferred the warm waters I prefer the ice cold ones. Come on," she picked up her box, stopping only to grab her brother's scarf and her sister's hair pins before heading out again. "We have a vengeance to plot. Arthur is going to pay very dearly for taking what was mine. He's going to wish he never set eyes on the surface and I'm going to make him squeal like the sea urchin he is."

Damien chuckled darkly, "Of course, Mistress."

Arthur woke up in a jolt, perspiration was running down the side of his temples, fringe matted down. His stomach was doing flips as he tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart. It was a bad dream. Just a bad dream. Looking over to his right, he groaned and leaned back against the head board when he saw that he'd only gotten an hour's worth of sleep. The party had only ended a while ago before his brother's and friends had departed back to Atlantica and Ludwig's family had gone to their own guest rooms in the palace. He smiled softly at the memory of Feli and Ludwig's wedding. Wolfgang and his wife had been ecstatic, they all but stamped the family crest on Feli's chest, probably would have had Ludwig not calmed them down. Gilbert had also welcomed his new brother in law with open arms and had once again partnered up with Antonio and Francis to cause mayhem, all in good humor of course.

The ceremony and party had been very intimate, the guest list was limited only close friends and family attended instead of the entirety of both kingdoms like his and Alfred's had been. Mathias and Lars seemed to be getting along well; Tino and his family had come down for the wedding. Tino and Feli had apparently become really good friends but honestly, who can meet the wayward haired Italian and not fall for his charm? Food had obviously been pasta, both human and merfolk recipes. Wurst and potatoes had been offered courtesy of Gilbert. Barrels of wine and beer imported personally by Wolfgang. Music of course was provided by Rodrich who had his ego elevated to monstrous proportions when Serafina Beilschmidt, or Mama Serafina she insisted Feli call her, praised his work and even went as far as to compare it to a distant cousin of hers…something Bach.

Alfred gently tugged his restless husband back into his arms. "What's wrong, Artie?"

"Nothing, darling," sighed Arthur as he was roused from his recollection. Despite recalling the happy moments he and his friends enjoyed hours ago, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that something wasn't right. "I probably just had a little too many sweets."

"Mmm." Alfred pulled Arthur's forearm to his mouth and he placed tender kisses along the black feather seal on it. "You know, I really love this thing. It's sexy."

"Really? I was thinking of getting it removed. Though to do it I'd probably have to go back to school to get my license." Alfred stopped kissing but didn't move his lips from the skin; he simply raised an eyebrow in question. "It's not a tattoo; it's a seal that keeps me from using magic. If I want it removed I'd have to go back to Atlantica Academy and take classes in order to receive a license to practice."

"Would you want to?"

"I don't know," sighed the merman as his husband continued placing sweet kisses on his arm down to his wrist. "Maybe…I'd have to turn back into a merman to do so. You could come with me of course."

The blue eyed prince stopped kissing and looked at his love with wide eyes, "No way, for real?!" He grinned, "That would be so totally awesome!"

"I guess it would be." They settled down and listened to the waves roll onto the shore before retreating again.

"Babe," whispered Alfred, "Why did you really wake up all of a sudden like that? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Probably. I don't really remember. Whatever it was, it made me feel sick." Arthur curled up against Alfred's bare chest, taking comfort in its warmth. He let out a content sigh when he felt his love trace circles on his shoulder.

"I know what can help you relax," whispered Alfred excitedly before turning his voice seductive. "As a matter of a fact Gilbert, Francis and Antonio told me something really interesting about merman biology."

Arthur rolled his eyes at the mention of the self-proclaimed Bad Touch Trio. "What did those perverted wankers say? If you had questions about it you could've come to me. I seriously doubt that frog Francis had anything of value to say. Don't forget that he was the one who told me that a fork was called a dinglehopper and I was supposed to brush my hair with it." The merman blushed in embarrassment as he recalled the day he tried to do that when he first got legs.

Apparently Alfred was remembering the same thing because he began to giggle, "Yeah, I remember that. Don't worry though, I thought it was cute." Rolling on top of his husband the mischievously seductive smirk came back, "but no, I don't think even you know about this. Antonio said that your brother's tried to keep it from you because you were their baby brother."

"Well spit it out then. What's this interesting knowledge you have?"

"How do you feel about having children?"

"What?" Arthur furrowed his bushy eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about, 'having children'? You mean adopt?"

"No. I mean exactly as it sounds like. You. Me. Kids."

A bubble of laughter escaped Arthur but he stopped when he saw that his husband wasn't laughing with him. "Y-you're serious? Dear, I think you are more than aware than I am a man."

"A merman."

"A male regardless. And as such, it is anatomically impossible for males to have children."

"Well, yeah, human males. Don't dude seahorses give birth to the baby seahorses?"

"I…I suppose so but a female is still-"

"Well, I think the concept is the same at least that's how they explained it to me. Besides it's just a theory. Your brother, Robert, seemed invested in it. Kept saying how apparently you and Feli were supposed to have all these kids. What was that about?"

Arthur scoffed, "Robert was drunk tonight. He thought that Feli and I were in love with each other because we were acting strange. Technically we were but not with each other. It was a few days after we saved you from the ship wreck."

"Ah." Alfred pressed a knee in between Arthur's legs and leaned down to nip at his neck, "So…you didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Perhaps if he feigned ignorance Alfred would forget about the whole thing…

"You. Me. Kids. Come on dude, imagine it. Little heroes with cute bushy eyebrows running around. Wouldn't it be nice?" And perhaps it was wishful thinking on Arthur's behalf.

So with a sigh, Arthur gave in. "I-I guess I wouldn't mind if it were possible. I'm not saying it is though because I'm still certain that it's impossible."

"Wanna find out?"

Arthur gave a mock sigh of resignation, "If I must." Smiling, he reached out to run his fingers through Alfred's hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The moon lit their room as Alfred pulled the covers over them. Soft touches and giggles came from under them, drowned out by the gentle sound of waves visiting the shore. In the corner of their room, in the cat tree, Max curled next to his new roommate. The Maine Coon carefully brought a heavy arm around the orange Scottish Fold, giving a loud purr of contentment when Oliver allowed himself to be cuddled. The two cats slept through the night, ignoring whatever noises came from their master's bed. They weren't completely sure what they were doing but whatever it was, it sure did make them happy. And a happy master is a happy kitty. Even if one of the masters was a little merman.

The reason why this chapter took so long to be posted is because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to put Italy and Germany back together. A part of me was even considering not putting them back together at all but that would've hurt my inner Gerita fan girl. I even asked my boyfriend but even he was stumped. Hopefully it all worked out in the end. As you guys can see, I do plan on writing a sequel featuring Sealand/Peter as USUK's son. It's my head cannon that he's their offspring in the anime/web comics. I mean come on he looks like a perfect combination of the two doesn't he? I know that seahorses only carry their offspring until birth but I'm going ahead and apply the concept loosely on the mermen, just know that it will not happen the way Alfred thinks it'll happen lol . A huge thanks to everyone who left me a review, added the story to their favorites and followed it. As per usual I will post up a Memo chapter to alert you when the sequel is up. Thanks again for the love.

PS: I wrote this after listening to Lady Gaga's Applause lol

I like to read your theories and thoughts on the plot
Though I guess I can understand that some of you just like to read
Emoticons and three letter expressions always work for me
"OMG! That was great, you've got to update soon ;)"

I live for the reviews, reviews, reviews,

I live for the reviews-views

Live for the reviews-views

Live for the way that you praise me and ask for more

The reviews, reviews, reviews

Give me that thing that I love (It'll make me write faster)
Put your hands down, and type one out (make it real nice)
Give me that thing that I love (They make me real happy)
Put your hands down, and type one out (doesn't have to be real long)

(R-E-V-I-E-W-E-S) Make em real nice
(R-E-V-I-E-W-E-S) Put your hands down, make 'em type, type
(R-E-V-I-E-W-E-S) Don't have to be real long
(R-E-V-I-E-W-E-S) Put your hands down, make 'em type, type

aycee-san: I literally had to look away when I read your review, it was making me blush too much ^/^ But it made me happy! Thank you so much for your kind words, it really means a lot. Yeah, it was upsetting to make them the bad guys in this story cause I love them so much which is why I tried to make Russia's death as sympathy indusing as possible. It was kinda hard because of all the bad thing's he did but I think the childish way he called for Ukraine did the trick. I think so at least. Thanks again for the review!

sallyatoyta: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, though I hope you enjoyed this one. I really wanted to make it a double wedding but I wanted to resolve the conflict between Gerita first. Plus I think England deserved his limelight.

zoewinter1: Not any more =3

elizabeta H. Austria: Sorry it took forever to update T_T

VivaAmerica: Thank you for the review ^_^ I'm glad that you stayed with me and the story, it means a lot. Truely it does.

YaoiFanGirl9211998: Yes, yes I did lol. I remember thinking, when I first watched the episode, that the scene was just like the scene where Ursula was singing to herself in the mirror. When I looked up the lyrics I saw that the song was inspired by said scene. Anyway thanks for the review ^.^ I hope you enjoyed this last chapter.

Dolly-Doll-Face: Yes! lol I'm glad you recognized it =3 I'm glad you thought so, I worried I didn't do the wedding crash justice. And yes lol, you hit the nail right on the head with Natalya. I'm planning on using her and Damien as the villains for the sequel. Thank you for the review and I hope I can count on you in the next story. If not thank you for sticking by the story ^_^