Title: Not All Treasure Is Silver And Gold
Rating: T
Beta: AnimeAiedail
Warnings: Again, there will be yaoi. Probably more OOC Canada…
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hetalia characters or anything from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Summary: Taught to despise pirates all his life, how will Alfred cope when he is captured by one Arthur Kirkland, the pirate captain with a curse that only Alfred has the key to breaking?
oxo…oxo
As Alfred's arms closed around him, he tensed; body becoming stiff with panic and surprise. Of all the things Arthur had expected the other man to do…this was not one of them.
It was his turn now not to be able to breathe. His turn to be frozen, unable to move his own body.
But Alfred's arms were strangely warm; a kind of warm he hadn't felt in such a long time, and his lips moved against the skin at his neck, whispering sweet nothings he couldn't quite understand. He could feel his heart swelling, but he refused to let the tears that came to his eyes to escape. He bit his lip harshly, drawing blood; not that it hurt.
Slowly though, he began to relax into the other man's arms. They were soft and warm, and they were the only things he had properly been able to feel for what felt like eternity. He wanted to stay there forever, to never be let go.
Alfred's arms felt like a sanctuary. A place where he wasn't some heartless living corpse, but where he was respected, liked…maybe even loved.
But he daren't think it.
It was too much to hope that he might be loved for once. He had never been loved, not even by his parents. But he didn't want love, did he? Didn't need it? Love was just a term. An excuse to get your way with someone then leave them as soon as it suited you.
It didn't exist.
But, in that moment…it sure felt like it did.
xxx…xxx
"Feast your eyes, Toni! All of them faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt." Gilbert proclaimed, standing beside Antonio and Lovino as they took in the men standing before them. He turned a sly grin to the Spaniard, teasing look in his eyes. "All crazy to boot."
Lovino snorted, looking at them with an unimpressed expression. "So this is your able-bodied crew?" he scoffed, causing Gilbert to glare at him. Antonio, however, grinned, turning to walk up the row of sailors. His cheerful eyes gazed over them, before he paused, grin fading slightly as he walked quickly towards one of the people.
The sailor was a head shorter than him and wore a large hat that covered their face. He lifted his hand to finger the rim of the hat for a moment before pulling it off their head, revealing a feminine face with large green eyes and long brown hair that fell to her waist. She looked up at him with a glare and he smiled at her.
"Elizaveta Héderváry." He greeted, causing her to purse her lips in anger, easily raising her hand and slapping him round the face.
"Oh, I like her," Lovino snorted, trying not to laugh. "I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" he inquired with an eyebrow raised. Antonio looked around with a grimace.
"No, that one I deserved." He replied, causing Lovino to roll his eyes.
"My god, yes you deserve it! You stole my boat!" Elizaveta cried angrily, causing Antonio to flinch as her finger poked him in the forehead.
"Actually-" he began, being cut off when she slapped him again, twice as hard; anger exploding on her face. "Borrowed. Borrowed without permission." He gasped out, flinching as she moved to slap him again, but the blow didn't come so he continued. "I had every intention of bringing it back to you!"
"But you didn't though, did you?" she ground out. Lovino watched the whole thing in distinct amusement. He decided to take back his earlier sentiment. He liked this crew.
"I'll get you get another one!"
Antonio was close to pleading now. Elizaveta sniffed, crossing her arms.
"You had better,"
"I will, I promise," he told her, looking her directly in the eyes and making her pause. She stared at him for a moment before her expression softened and she sighed.
"You'd better," she repeated in a resigned tone, causing Antonio to grin happily.
"Come on then! What say you?" he raised his voice, speaking to the whole crew now. They all cheered causing Antonio to laugh before motioning them to follow him, heading towards the Interceptor. Lovino dragged behind, sighing slightly. He'd had no idea how hard it was going to be when he asked Antonio for help.
Looking at the back of the laughing pirate captain's head, Lovino couldn't help the small smile that graced his face. The man was annoying and way too happy-go-lucky…but there was something about him that the Italian found he just liked. It wasn't something he was ever going to admit to anyone, but it was true none the less.
He sighed slightly. This feeling of melancholy wasn't something he enjoyed, but he just loved Antonio's smile-
Lovino's breath caught as he stumbled, caught of guard by the thought that had just gone through his mind. He stood for a moment, catching his breath before berating himself for thinking such stupid things and carrying on.
His heart beating much, much faster than he was sure was healthy, he boarded the ship; trying his best to keep out of the sailors way without making it obvious he was doing so. He soon found Antonio and Gilbert, the latter of which was looking at the former with a distressed frown.
"No, no, no, no, no," he was saying. "It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, Toni!"
Antonio looked at him before looking down at where Elizaveta was tying some ropes and grimacing. "It'd be far worse not to have her." He replied before walking up to the wheel, taking his compass from where it was strapped to his belt and flicking it open for study.
Lovino approached the frowning albino cautiously. "How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't fucking work?" he asked, voice low so the captain couldn't hear. Gilbert looked at him with a grin.
"It's true that the compass doesn't point north, but we're not trying to find north, are we?"
And so Lovino left him, no closer to his answer than he had been when he asked but unwilling to ask for more information.
xxx…xxx
Francis watched his captain from across the room, a small frown on his face as he took in the man's white pallor and blank expression.
He had seen Alfred's actions on the deck, and applauded the boy for it. He knew what the blonde pirate needed was love, affection, acceptance; things he had never had from anyone else before. Francis was glad he had put his trust in the right person. Alfred was defiantly going to be good for Arthur…if he lived long enough to get close to him.
That was why he was there.
Arthur hadn't left his cabin since Alfred had hugged him, and it was starting to worry the Frenchman. The expectancy of the crew was that Alfred was to die when they reached Isla de Muerta, spilling all of his blood in order to lift the curse, and that was obviously something the captain was having trouble coming to terms with. He wanted this dreaded curse lifted as much as the rest of them…but was it really worth Alfred's life? Did it have to be?
He wasn't really sure on the answer. Sure, it was said that they only needed a drop of the right blood…but one could never be sure.
Alfred, oblivious as always, had continued to help around the ship. But as time had gone by and Arthur still hadn't been seen, the man's demeanor had saddened slightly. It wasn't right to see that forced smile on his face as he tried to act like there was nothing bothering him when something so obviously was.
The first mate didn't know the extent of the boy's feelings, but it was obvious that he truly cared for the captain; even after only seeing him twice. And Alfred had become such an uplifting sight on The Black Pearl that with him being depressed the whole crew was dispirited. It made for a rather quiet deck.
Thinking this, Francis realized just how much Alfred had become a part of all of their lives. It was hard to imagine the ship without Alfred now, and he wondered if everyone in the crew thought that way. If so, then maybe Alfred wouldn't have to die…
Francis looked up as Arthur shuffled in his seat, turning his head to shoot the first mate a disgruntled glare. They stared at each other for a moment before the captain broke the tense silence.
"What do you want, frog?"
The Frenchman scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I was only here to see if you are alright. You haven't come out of your little cabin in a fair while,"
Arthur snorted. "I don't usually," he replied, sending the blonde a glare.
"Ah, but you don't usually have a rather attractive man hug you before that,"
The captain flushed, turning away to glance down at the paper's he had been looking at before Francis had come in. Francis watched as the man who was usually so vocal gave no reply to his statement but a small, embarrassed cough. He raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this the part where he got yelled at and thrown from the room? If that wasn't happening then things were worse than he thought.
"What exactly is it that is troubling you, mon ami?" he asked softly. Arthur brought his eyes back up to meet his first mate's and Francis was shocked to see the uncertainty in them.
"I-" the man began before pausing to swallow harshly. "I don't know. I feel like I should but…I just, don't."
The Frenchman sighed. "You need to talk to him. He is not doing so well either,"
Arthur looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Francis shook his head with a hollow laugh, striding quickly over to the captain and hoisting out of his chair. A small smile came to his face as the flustered man cursed him into oblivion as he dragged him towards the door.
"I can walk you wanker!" he cried out, causing Francis to huff slightly but let go all the same. Then he motioned for Arthur to look through the little glass peephole that he had in the centre of his door. The captain did so, eyes widening when he saw that there was none of the usual merry making going on. Everyone looked so stoic, so…sad.
Then his eyes were captured by a certain blonde swabbing the deck. His smile, a smile Arthur would loath to admit that he liked, was gone and in its place was a small frown. It wasn't the concentrated frown of someone working hard to swab the deck; it was the sad smile of someone who had someone they missed. The smile that spoke of ones heart aching.
He pulled back, eyes wide as he thought about what it meant. But it could mean anything. For all he knew the boy was missing a lover from back home, or even his family. There was nothing that proved that the boy missed him.
Something tinged in his chest and he sucked in a small breath. His heart was racing. What if the sadness was for him? That would be- no. no, it couldn't be for him. Why would it? They hadn't known each other for very long, and the only times they had really spoken he had hurt the other man.
So why, really, would any sadness the man felt be for him? Just because Alfred had hugged him (and it had been a bloody good hug too), that didn't mean that he was suddenly sad that Arthur hadn't been out of his cabin. It's not like it hadn't been like that before.
No. something else must have changed. There was no way anyone would care about him enough to be sad he hadn't shown his face.
Francis sighed as he saw the cold look pass onto his captain's features. It was obvious the man had just talked himself out of whatever thoughts had been causing that cute little blush. But there wasn't much more he could do. Placing a hand on the man's shoulder, he whispered something that made the English man's eyes widen once again before opening the door and walking out.
Arthur stood there for what seemed like an age before pulling himself together, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. Then he opened the door and walked out of it, eyes hardened in determination.
It was time.
xxx…xxx
"Oi! Bastard!"
Gilbert looked round at Lovino's call, raising a silver eyebrow at the boy. They had been sailing for a day or so now and Lovino had not once used his actual name. The boy seemed to prefer calling him 'bastard', 'fucker' or 'asshole'. At first he had been a little offended, but then he realized it was just a quirk the boy had and had started to get used to it. That didn't mean he was going to be civil to the brat though.
"What the hell do you want?"
"How did the tomato bastard come by that compass?" Lovino asked, frown on his face as he stared, crossed arms, at the first mate. Gilbert sighed, going back to leaning against the wheel.
"Not a lot's known about Toni before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I met him, back when he was Captain of The Esperanza De La Gloria."
"The what?"
Gilbert sighed again. "The Esperanza De La Gloria. It was his ship, his most prized possession actually, until it was sunk. The pirates who sunk it took him and his crew onto their own vassal before blowing The Esperanza De La Gloria up with the cannons. They forced him to watch as his ship sank to the bottom of the ocean without him, then they hired his crew, took his bearings to Isla de Muerta and marooned Toni on an island, leaving him to die."
"How the hell is he still alive then?" Lovino asked, a frown on his face as he looked over at where Antonio was talking to one of the crew members.
"He waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft." Gilbert replied, a grin growing on his face.
Lovino raised an eyebrow. "He roped a couple of sea turtles?"
"Ja, sea turtles."
"What he fuck did he use for rope?"
"Human hair." Antonio cut in, a small smile on his face, but sadness in his eyes. It made something clench in Lovino's chest as he watched the man who he had always seen so cheerful looking, look so forlorn. Their eyes met for a moment before Antonio turned away to shout orders at the crew. "Let go of the anchor!"
The crew responded enthusiastically, racing around to do as was ordered. Then the captain turned back to Lovino, usual cheery smile back in place.
"Young Lovi and I are to go ashore!" he chirped, causing Lovino to blush harshly.
"Where the hell do you get away with calling me that, bastard?" he cried out, causing Antonio to pout and Gilbert to snicker.
"But Lovi~!"
"But nothing bastard! My name is Lovino! Damn well use it!"
"Hey Toni? What if the worst should happen?" Gilbert asked, causing Antonio to sober up slightly as he looked at the albino in front of him.
"Keep to the code."
Gilbert sighed. "Ja…the code."
oxo…oxo
Dear readers,
I hope you are liking this so far, I'm enjoying writing it! There is quite a bit of the original dialogue in it, but I think I messed it up enough that it's ok. Besides, I also added those little bits and pieces of fluff. I hope you like it, and please review! (P.S. I got this done quite quickly too! Am so proud of myself! XD) OH! Also, Antonio's ship's name is 'hope of glory' in Spanish. I wanted to do something to do with tomatoes…but it seemed a bit too obvious really…
Animeloveramy
Hmm…
AnimeAiedail
Who's who
America – Alfred Jones – Elizabeth Swann
Canada – Matthew Jones (for this story. Usually its Williams) – Commodore James Norrington
South Italy (Romano) – Lovino Vargas – William Turner
Spain – Antonio Fernandez Carriedo – Captain Jack Sparrow
Estonia – Eduard Von Bock – the chubbier of the two navy officers. Mallory
Latvia – Raivis Galante – the other navy dude. Murtogg
Austria – Roderich Edelstein – Gillette (The lieutenant)
Poland – Feliks Łukasiewicz – Pintel and/or Ragetti
Lithuania – Toris Laurinaitis – Pintel and/or Ragetti
Finland - Tino Väinämöinen – Twigg
Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna – Koehler
England – Arthur Kirkland – Captain Barbossa
France – Francis Bonnefoy – Arthur's first mate
Hungary - Elizaveta Héderváry – Anamaria