Hetalia is the one true god…too much game of thrones for me XD…these are starting to not sound like disclaimers…
In Due Time

Chapter 10: Brothers

Before the party

Katyusha sighed in the room. She was put in the room next to her sister's and although it didn't really seem like prison, she was bored and scared. Natalia, her sister, didn't seem to have anything to say. They always had a little trouble connecting. Both their heads turned when they heard footsteps.

Adrian approached the rooms and peered in the small window on the door of Katyusha's.

"Uhm, we're having a party up on the deck, you could join us if you'd like."

"What kind of idiot lets a prisoner join a party?" Natalia harshly asked, kicking her door. Adrian sighed.

"Well, I don't see why not." Katyusha clasped her hands together. Although she was afraid of the crew, she felt like she could trust Adrian. Plus she knows that 'Romano' will come save her is she's mistreated. He had a protective feeling over her, she could feel it.

Adrian felt a smile tugging on his lips. He unlocked her door to let her out. She smiled and thanked him, then chuckled when he pinked a little.

"I'm not coming." Natalia complained.

"Suit yourself."

Adrian guided Katyusha up to the deck and gained whistles on the way. The sun was had set by the time the music started to play. Laughter began to fill the air as well as with toasts made randomly and droplets of rum flying everywhere. Katyusha chose to sit next to Lovino on crates that some men brought out on the deck. Adrian couldn't sit next to her as Lovino glared murderously at him, causing him to shrug and walk away. The two made comfortable conversation until the teen was dragged off by the captain to dance.

She sat, a little uneasy after Lovino had left. Some of the men were making suggestive eyes at her, and she grew increasingly uncomfortable. That was, until a certain blonde came to sit beside her.

"Hey." Adrian greeted albeit awkwardly. She smiled, visibly relaxing.

"Hi."…Silence surrounded them until Adrian found the guts in him and cleared his throat.

"Would you like to dance? I can teach you it."

Katyusha's eyes widened slightly, her face growing a healthy shade of pink.

"O-ok."

Their dance was sweet, both their eyes not leaving each other's gaze. People stared, but they surprisingly didn't care and danced all through the night. Other couples were dancing alongside them, the chilly air made it perfect for pressing their bodies against one another. Nevertheless, like all moments the night passed and Katyusha returned to her make shift prison cell. However, she made sure to make him red in the face before going to bed by giving him a small peck on the cheek.

And that was how captor and captive became closer, in ways they never thought they would.

After their dance, Antonio and Lovino went to their room a little tired but Antonio was determined to get to know his little tomate more. Lovino changed while his boyfriend was forced to face a wall and soon the two were in bed, with the lighter brunette cradled in the older man's arms. Normally Lovino would have head butted him or cursed at him, he just didn't feel like it at the moment. They sat in silence for a short while until Antonio came out with his first 'getting to know Lovi' question.

"When's your birthday?"

"…June second, when's yours?" Lovino asked awkwardly.

"You know it's a funny thing, I don't really know." Antonio answered with a chuckle, making Lovino smile.

"Your mother didn't tell you?"

"Yea, she didn't like to talk about my birth, since it was the day my dad left."

"Oh."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how was your mother like?" Antonio asked with as much caution as he could muster. Lovino stiffened.

"Well, she was beautiful. She had a voice that could bring peace to anything and anyone within a twenty mile radius and her cooking could have killed someone." The aristocrat answered with a heartwarming chuckle that Antonio had never heard from Lovino, but it was quickly replaced with a hollow smile. It made the man's heart ache.

"And, she was the only other person who genuinely loved me."

"Who els-?"

"My brother."

"Well…I love you." Antonio confessed, his eyes staring into Lovino's widened ones, but he quickly looked away and didn't reply. Antonio held in a sigh, but wanted to ask more. He really felt that it was a good thing that Lovino was opening up to him.

"How, how did she pass away?"

"…"

"Well you don't have to say, if you don't want to." Antonio quickly supplied, afraid he may have crossed the line, but Lovino answered.

"Well, she and my father had decided to get a divorce and she didn't want custody of neither my brother nor me. I was only six then, I didn't even fully understand what was going on, but I knew to some level that I was never going to see her again. The night before she left I wanted to sleep with her so I went into her room but she was gone. I ran and ran as fast as I could to the main door but she was already in the carriage." Lovino's voice cracked. Antonio shushed him and rubbed his back.

"Lovi, you don't have to say more." He supplied, Lovino, however, shook his head.

"If would have been fine if it was just that but..." he started to choke up.

"But, five years later I, I found out that she had left because, because she had an illness. She left because she didn't want to die in front of her two children. She left because she didn't want to see us with tears streaming down our cheeks as she died, it's selfish…she could have told us!"

"J-just because she, she-" Antonio gently brought their lips together in a loving and passionate kiss. He couldn't bear to hear his lover sniffing and wailing, he had to do something. He kissed his tears and slowly lifted himself above Lovino. Caressing his cheek, he dipped down for another kiss. They continued to kiss until Antonio slid his hands lower to rub Lovino's hips and started kissing his neck. The teen moaned in pleasure, wrapping his arms around the Spaniard's shoulders he tilted his head to allow the man more access.

Antonio left light hickeys in places he deemed were useable to most people and somehow during the neck ravaging his hands had slipped his lovers shirt. He took it as an opportunity, he pulled Lovino's shirt off in a very quick, but in a very skillful way. Lovino shivered a little at his bare chest and it finally dawned on him what they were doing. His blush was so red it even spread to his chest area, thankfully it was a little dark. The aristocrat shied away from the exposure and brought his arms to cover his chest. He looked away, embarrassed.

"There's no reason to get flustered now." Antonio said with a laugh, trying to move the teen's arms away to take in the gorgeous body.

"Shu-shut up! I'm the only one half naked, I-I don't like it." He mumbled, his eyes focusing on the pole.

"Does Lovi want to undress me too?" he whispered in Lovino's ears, enjoying the potentially dangerous but still unbelievably adorable temperature rise that the man could feel through the their cheeks softly pressed together.

"Only to be fair!" He tried to reason with a red face and sat up, mumbling incoherent words –most likely Italian swears- but he fumbled to undo the buttons with trembling hands, making Antonio hold in is laughter.

"You know Lovi, you can just slip the shirt off me, you don't need to-" he was responded with a violent undressing of his shirt and also had it thrown at his face. He was surprised he wasn't angry, he actually found it endearing. Two months ago he wouldn't let anyone do such a thing and get away with it, but he had really changed with the new tomato in his life. Or rather, he was reverting back to his old self, before his pirate days. Lovino was lying on his side, covering his crimson face with his hands.

It was so embarrassing he could die! The only other person who had seen him naked was Feliciano and he's family so it doesn't count.

"Mi tomate~ don't hide your sexy self from me." Antonio joked, wrapping his arms around the Italian. He placed a kiss on his cheek. The teen was still covering his face and only then did the captain notice that the blush had spread to the teen's chest. The twenty four year old gulped, his little lover was just so cute!

"Lovi, if you're that shy we don't have to go any further." He again whispered into Lovino's ears, making the poor teen shiver. Antonio then gave up in coaxing him and instead drew the blanket up to cover him until his neck. He brought the blushing aristocrat close to his body and held him tight.

"I love you Lovino, don't you ever doubt that."

That night, the Italian slept with overwhelming feeling of happiness, as well as with a painful twinge in his heart. As if someone was drilling holes into his chest.

Lovino hummed and shifted in his sleep, waking up feeling something pressed against his chest. His eyebrows knit in confusion. Lazily bringing his arm to feel the warmth in the chest, he came into contact with soft curly hair. Antonio. He blushed in memory of the previous night, burying his completely red face in his lover's hair. Contemplating whether or not to get up, he realized that he didn't dream last night. A relived sigh escaped his lips, waking Antonio up.

"Morning il mio amore~" he purred in his best Italian, resulting in Lovino head-butting him in embarrassment. How his lover managed to do that while lying down was beyond him. Antonio groaned in response, his wounds now hurting more from his boyfriend's attack.

"So mean Lovi!" he groaned, making Lovino feel guilty. Just a tad though.

"It-it's your fault bastard!" Lovino stuttered. He still wasn't used to being treated affectionately. Granted, he received a fair amount from his brother but at least he knew the boundaries. Speaking of his brother…

Lovino felt the pain in his chest, similar to last night's. What was he going to do? Right now the ship was headed for Salerno, a small town where they could restock some of their medical supplies and other necessitates. It was still a long way to Venice, so he still had a lot of time he could spend with Antonio. But still, he felt continuous twinges in his heart and head with every thought of never seeing the pirate captain again.

The two got out of bed once Antonio was coaxed out of his pains. Lovino headed Antonio's study while the latter went to Matthew in case Lovino broke another bone and then, they continued like that. They woke up in each other's arms and Antonio would sneak up on his lover from time to time while he read or 'stole' him when he was spending time with Matthew. It felt nice, it was like the life Lovino wanted. Just to be free and live life without his father undermining him.

It was the life he wanted, but he had his little brother to protect. He loved his little brother more than anything. Even more…even more than he loved Antonio. Although the man would never know. Lovino couldn't say it. He wouldn't allow himself to say it. It would make it harder to separate.

"He WHAT?!" Matthew exclaimed, his mouth shaped like an upside down bowl. Lilli on the other hand smiled and extended a hand towards the doctor. Lovino started, confused. He had just told them that Antonio confessed his love for him, but when he saw Matthew curse and give some copper coins to Lilli, his eyebrow rose.

"Were you guys betting on whether or not Antonio would say he loved me?"

"No, we were betting on when he would say it." Matthew replied with a pout, putting an emphasis on the 'when'.

"Actually, Mr. Bonnefoy and Mr. Gilbert also owes me money." Lilli said with the same smile, making Lovino a little crept out, by what the Valentina pirates did for fun or by Lilli he did not know.

"What should I do?" Lovino asked, his face in his hands.

"Well, that depends, do you love him?" Matthew asked.

"I think, I guess, I don't know!" Lovino groaned.

"Wow, decisive."

However, Matthew's sarcastic comment was not well received. Let's just say, his friend is a head butting master.

The rest of their journey ran smoothly, Adrian and Katyusha became closer whereas Lovino ached and Antonio acted like an idiot in love, which he basically was. Arthur and Alfred and the rest of their crew was indebted to the Valentina pirates now but at the moment Antonio didn't really need them so they were to be dropped off at Salerno. Arthur was grateful, which was something because he was never usually thankful for anything, or he never really shows it. He thanked Antonio sincerely after the night of the party which gave the brunette goose bumps. The rest of Arthur's crew quit being pirates save for a few that were loyal to the captain.

When they landed in Salerno, Gilbert went with Matthew for some medical supplies, Francis, Vash, Lilli and two other men went to buy food while the rest were told to get some cleaning done on the ship. Antonio took Lovino out to shop for more clothes. Lovino walked with a small blush plastered on his face, trying to hide the embarrassment that was his boyfriend, but just as he left the clothes shop his eyes landed on something, rather, someone. Someone he didn't think he'd see for another month or so. His breath hitched in his throat.

"Fratello?"

A/N: So about last chapter ago I realized that this doesn't make any geographical and historical sense. I'm sorry that the setting is a little messed up, just think of it as a potato's world where nothing makes sense and where Lithuania is hot AHEM so anyways hopefully none of you are too bothered by it. And sorry for late upload, uhm, ahem, you see, ahem, a raccoon or smth just stole my, ahem, internet so pfft totally not my fault. Hope you enjoyed reading!