As soon as Alfred saw the port in the distance he couldn't wait any longer.

"How long will it take?" he asked for what was the tenth time. Arthur's eye twitched slightly and he replied stiffly, "I told you three minutes ago… we'll reach our destination in one hour!"

Alfred wiggled around and ran across the deck to find something to do in order to occupy his time. He was too excited. He just needed to get off this ship and step onto some land. Even though it hadn't been that long since he was captured, he still missed it.

Alfred found himself mopping up the deck even though he had only completed this task a half hour before. He hummed to himself and found himself lost in a fantasy world as he cleaned the deck. He imagined good things. He imagined the beaches of Tortuga and how good it would be to feel the sand between his toes. He imagined arriving there and seeing his brother waiting for him. He smiled slightly at the second thought.

"Alfred!"

He blinked and looked around. His eyes brightened when he saw land looking so much closer that it had earlier. Arthur was looking at him.

"Stop that and help the others. We'll be arriving in a few minutes."

Alfred saluted with a brilliant grin and hurried to put the mop and bucket back in the cleaning closet. He ran back on deck to help the rest of the crew.

Arthur watched him for a few moments and thought back to their encounter in the storage room a few hours ago. Neither of them had said anything about it, and Alfred acted as though it didn't happen. He was as bright and energetic as he was just before the incident. Arthur however, didn't talk to him unless it was necessary. He didn't even know what happened. They just… he didn't even want to think about it. A blush crept over his cheeks and he made sure he had his back to the crew so no one could catch a glimpse. He sighed and glanced ahead.

Alfred hadn't forgotten what had happened. He just didn't want them both to feel awkward. He just smiled and continued with his day like nothing happened because he wanted to believe that that was the reality. He knew it wasn't but he would do anything to believe it.

Arthur glanced behind him, his blush now gone, and steered the ship to the port and ten minutes later, he was shaking his head at Alfred who was flailing around and declaring how much he'd missed land.

Arthur sighed and called, "Alfred! Get over here!"

Alfred ran over to him with a wide grin, "Yeah!"

"You are to stay with me at all times. Under no circumstances are you to wander alone. Oh and wear this," he handed him an eye-patch and Alfred burst out laughing.

"You're kidding?"

Arthur glared.

Alfred's grin faded, "Oh… you're not?"

"No. I'm not."

Alfred took the eye-patch from him and took his glasses off. He slipped the patch over his left eye and pouted at Arthur, "My vision is worse than before."

"Deal with it, if you are recognised, you will be killed, no questions asked. If you are told to tell your story… make something up," Arthur told him.

"My story?"

He nodded, "About how you came to be on my ship. Someone is bound to ask."

"Sure…"

"Jolly good. Now then, let's go."

Alfred thought it was funny that the first place Arthur went after arriving on the island was a pub. He'd tried to escape a few times but Arthur was always watching him, even when he couldn't see him he just knew when Alfred was trying to make a run for it. Alfred didn't like it. He wanted to explore! He'd never been here before and every part of his being was screaming for an adventure, even if said adventure would be dangerous. But Arthur was having none of it, oh no… the Brit would keep Alfred at his side at all times and the American wasn't allowed to talk unless spoken to.

Alfred didn't know what his problem was. Why was he so protective? Surely he was just a burden to the pirate and the sooner he got rid of him the better? No, this wasn't the case. Admittedly Arthur had become somewhat warmer towards Alfred over the last couple of days and it wasn't that Alfred didn't appreciate that (seriously, who wants to be glared at all day, every day?) but he did wonder why.

Alfred looked around as Arthur got them a drink. He noticed the barmaid greeted Arthur like an old friend and gave him their drinks for free, as a welcome back present. Arthur smiled slightly, "Thanks Feliks…"

"You're, like, totally welcome Arthur!" Feliks giggled placed the glasses on the bartop and walked away. Alfred looked over at Arthur and asked, "How do you know her?"

"By her I presume you mean him?" Arthur smirked, "We're old friends."

Alfred spluttered, "That's a dude?" he asked, totally bewildered as he looked down the bar and Feliks winked at him. Feeling slightly afraid, Alfred grabbed their drinks and led the way to sit down at a table by the window. Arthur followed and when they sat down, neither of them said a word. Alfred looked out the window and wondered who should talk first. The silence dragged out longer than he wanted so he piped up, "So… why are we here?"

"We need supplies," Arthur replied shortly and sipped his ale quietly. Alfred nodded.

"I see. What kind of supplies?"

"Food, water, ammunition…" Arthur replied bluntly and fell silent once again. Alfred sighed. It was so hard to keep a conversation with this guy!

He folded his arms on the table and rested his head upon them and cast his gaze out of the window. This was so boring! Staying at Arthur's side constantly felt so restricting! He was itching to get outside and wander around, even if it were only for an hour. Alfred sighed heavily as the door to the pub opened and someone called out, "Arthur! Mi amigo!"

"Oh bloody hell…"

Alfred sat up and looked around to see a man walking towards them with a big smile. He wore a long red coat with a fancy hat similar to Arthur's. From what Alfred could see this man was tanned and had somewhat curly brown hair. His expression was a total opposite to Arthur's. His warm smile made Alfred smile too, unlike Arthur who kept his trademark scowl firmly in place.

The man pulled up a chair and sat next to Arthur, who glanced at him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The man shrugged, "I decided I needed a vacation."

"You really are a twit…" Arthur sighed and grumbled into his glass of ale. The man's smile didn't falter and he responded, "Why are you here, Arthur? Surely you're not here for a vacation too?"

"Git, I have more important things to do that take a vacation!"

Alfred snickered and Arthur glared at him. Unaware of the glare Alfred just smiled innocently as the man asked, "And who's this?"

"This is Alfred. He works on my ship. Alfred, this is Antonio, an acquaintance of mine…"

"Hi!" Alfred greeted and extended his hand for Antonio to shake. Antonio accepted his hand and shook it firmly and continued to smile.

Arthur looked between the two of them and wondered how two people could smile so much.

"Antonio how's your crew?" Arthur asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"They're fine. They're around somewhere. I think Lovino is still sulking in the ship," he sighed and shook his head. Arthur nodded and before he could reply Alfred asked, "Who's Lovino?"

"My first mate," Antonio replied, "I wish he would come and join me, but he's just so grumpy."

"I know what you mean," Alfred grinned and a shooting pain shot through his shin as Arthur's boot came in contact with his leg. He shot the pirate a glare but it was dwarfed by the captain's own glare. Alfred came to the conclusion that Arthur could out-glare anyone.

Arthur stood and left the table without a word, and walked to the bar to get another drink. Alfred watched him as Feliks struck up conversation to which Arthur responded immediately. Alfred wished he could talk to Arthur like that.

Antonio, who had been watching him the whole time, spoke up and asked, "So… how do you know Arthur?"

All right, Alfred. Time for some epic story telling.

"Well, to cut a long story short… I was shipwrecked after getting into a battle with another pirate ship. Arthur's ship sailed past and he rescued me. So I'm working for him on his ship," Alfred nodded. His story was partly true. He did get shipwrecked, and he was sort of rescued.

Antonio nodded and asked, "Who were you fighting?"

"Eh… I can't remember. Just some random pirates…"

"How long ago?"

"A few days."

Antonio nodded and replied, "Alright," he smiled and Alfred asked, "You're a captain, right?"

"Si, you could tell?"

Alfred nodded, "Your hat is like Arthur's."

Antonio laughed, "I guess it gave me away."

"So, what's your story?" Alfred asked. Antonio leaned back in his chair and began talking.

"It all happened six years ago. I was born in Madrid, Spain, to a wealthy family. We relocated to a small port town and every day I would go to the harbour and watch the ships for hours on end. I decided that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to sail the world."

Alfred smiled. That was his dream too, but he knew that Antonio's outcome was a little different to his own.

Antonio glanced out the window for a couple of seconds then looked back at Alfred, "I knew my parents wouldn't allow me to go if I told them, but I knew I had to leave. I decided it was worth a try, so I asked them. Of course, the answer was what I expected."

"So then what did you do?" Alfred asked. It was obvious that he didn't listen to them otherwise he wouldn't be sat here now.

"I needed to go, my whole being longed for it, so in secret I gathered a crew and eventually after watching the harbour for a few days, we commandeered the grandest ship we could find, and left Spain."

Alfred's heroic side almost resurfaced but he somehow managed to keep it down. He didn't like how Antonio practically stole a ship, and no doubt fought its previous crew, but if he revealed what he was thinking then he would be caught for sure. He took a breath and his smile returned, "Then what?"

"It was great," Antonio replied, "We sailed and saw the world. The ocean was more beautiful than I imagined it to be. But one day… we were attacked."

Alfred eyes widened, "By who?"

"Asian pirates. You must know that at the time it wasn't our intention to become involved with piracy. We were just young souls looking to see the world, that's all…" Antonio insisted. Alfred believed him. He nodded and stayed silent, urging him to continue.

"They almost destroyed us," Antonio said, "I was glad that this ship was strong. Her cannons were excellent and gave us a chance of a fair battle. Eventually the other pirates sailed away and we were able to make repairs. However, many of our supplies were lost in the fight, such as food and water, and we were days away from land. Two days later, we got desperate… a merchant ship sailed past and we took control of it. We killed the crew, stole their supplies and burnt the ship down. I had never felt so good."

Alfred felt his blood boil. If this was Antonio's story, he wondered about Arthur's.

Antonio continued, "So that's how we became pirates. And then I met Lovino."

"How did you meet him?" Alfred asked but Antonio shook his head, "That is his story. You must ask him."

Alfred opened his mouth to speak but Arthur returned to the table and said, "Alfred, we're leaving."

Alfred almost pouted but decided that if he did, Arthur would probably hit him. He stood and Arthur said his goodbyes to Antonio and the two left the pub.

"It's getting late, so we'll head back to the ship. The rest of the crew have gathered some supplies so we'll need to spend a little longer here in order to obtain more. Then we'll leave."

"How long are we here for then?"

"I'd say about three days," Arthur replied and walked back onto the ship. Alfred nodded and stood on the deck.

"I'm going to stay out here a little longer," he said. Arthur looked back at him and paused for a moment.

"Alright… but don't leave the ship."

"Sure…" he said and walked towards the railing.

"Goodnight…" Arthur said and retired to his cabin. Alfred smiled in response and leant against the railing and looked at the setting sun.

He thought of Antonio's story and couldn't help but wonder about Lovino. He would find out one way or another.

A/N: The cast is getting bigger with the introductions of Spain and Poland, and also the brief mention of the Asians means they'll be introduced at some point in the story :3

I'm also trying to find a way to work in Ivan, his sisters and the Baltics, so if you have any ideas then leave a comment and I'll consider it. If your idea is chosen, you'll get full credit of course. (both ideas on here and dA will be considered).

I don't have much else to say, so have a nice day ^^

~Iggy :)