Heh heh. Hey guys. Been a while since I updated this story. Sorry that not to much happens here, but shit goes down in the upcoming chapters. Dunno when the next update will be... I'll try not to leave it as long again.

But hey!

I'm going to Colossalcon tomorrow! :D Friday through Sunday I will be at Kalahari at the convention~! I also get to meet my friend Dogsrule for the first time! It's going to be super cool!

It'd be awesome if any of you guys are going too :D

Lovino watched the bird fly off, the animal having obviously just been released from the ship judging by the letter tied to it's leg. He tried to think nothing of it, but something about the event seemed... suspicious.

Deciding to check on his twin, Lovino reluctantly swung his leg over the edge on the crow's nest. He began to clime down, wondering it he should tell Andray what he had seen. By the time he reached the deck, Lovino had chosen to worry about finding Feliciano first.

Usually, he could find the other by scent, but the entire ship smelled strongly of sea water and alcohol. It burned his nose a bit. Irritated, Lovino went to the door that would lead him down into the ship, and went through it, starting down the stairs.

He began his search in the sleeping area, hoping to find Feliciano napping. Luck was not on his side, as the room was empty. However, as he turned to leave, something caught his attention. A smell.

He turned back into the room and searched around, quickly finding the smell's source. It was a bird cage littered with feathers. Lovino picked it up curiously. "Who would be so cruel as to trap a bird in something so small?" he muttered. Not recognizing the scent of the human on the cage, he placed it back in its spot and left.

Stepping into the hall, Lovino again smelled the same scent that had been on the cage. Figuring it must be recent, he followed it down the dimly lite corridor all the way to the mess hall's kitchen door. He could hear humming on the other side of the barrier. Recognizing the voice and catching his brother's scent, knocked. "Feliciano!" he called. "If you're in there, get out here!"

The door flew open, but it was not Feliciano in the doorway. The man and boy both did a double take, the man in confusion, Lovino in surprise.

The hulking man scowled. "How the hell did you get out here?" he demanded. "You were just by the sink!"

"The hell are you talking about?!" Lovino shot back, feeling very satisfied by the shocked look on the other's face. "I've never seen you before in my life, bastard. I heard Feliciano and came to him." Before the man could answer, there was a squeal and a splash, then Feliciano appeared at the man's side.

"Fratello~! You came down from the basket thing~!" Feliciano chirped, jumping forward and wrapping his arms around his twin. Lovino noticed the man pale a little at the mention of his deserted post and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What?" he spat defensively. "Feli, who is this huge bastard?"

"Veh~. This is my friend, Clair~! He's the cook," the younger teen explained. "Clair, this is my older brother, Lovi~!"

"Don't call me that," the two said together. They blinked, then glanced at each other.

"Weird," Lovino said, right as Feliciano said the same. The elder of the two scowled and crossed his arms in irritation, not liking the synchronized speech he seemed to be caught in while Feliciano giggled at the occurrence.

"Who are you suppose to be, and what do you want?" Clerval spat, annoyed this new child making him look foolish.

"I'm Lovino fucking Vargas, you ass," Lovino responded in kind, his glare cold and hate filled. He didn't like this man. Not at all. "Don't get to close. You smell like a winged rat," he provoked. "Like shit and feathers."

The cook turned red with fury. "I cook your cook, you little brat," he hissed.

"Oh boo-hoo. You're like, a thousand years old and hissing. Real mature. Big scary moron goes around sounding like a cat."

Before the insults could escalate further, Feliciano jumped between the two as they moved closer to each other, placing a hand on both of their chests. "Stop it!" he cried. "Fratello, don't be mean to Clair! Clair, don't be mean to Lovi!"

Feeling far more idiotic for allowing a child's words to affect him so greatly, Clerval turned and stormed back into the kitchen, busying himself with starting preparations for dinner to get his mind off Feliciano's double.

When the man was gone, Lovino slapped his twin on the back of the head. "Idiota!" he said angrily. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Talking to strangers just like that! You have no idea what that douche is capable of!"

"V-Veh! Mi dispiace, fratello!" Feliciano squealed, covering his head protectively. "I just wanted a friend! He's going to teach me how to cook!"

"I don't care! Stop being so stupid! What id he had attacked you?! What if he'd hurt you, dumbass!? Come on, you're done for today. We're going to find papa," Lovino growled. He took his twin's hand firmly and led him off down the hall, following Nicolas' scent.

"Fratello, why are you so upset?" Feliciano asked as he was dragged along, trying hard not to fall on his face. "I didn't do anything bad."

"I just..." Lovino sighed and dropped his hold on the other. "I just worried, alright?" He crossed his arms and pouted. "You're a dumbass. I don't want you getting hurt thanks to your stupidity."

Feliciano smiled brightly. "Oh fratello. You care~." With a happy cry, he jumped on his twin and hugged him tightly. Lovino spat curses and struggled to get away, but quickly gave in. As they walked, he took Feliciano's hand again and went deeper into the ship in search of their father.

Nicolas and Andray were in the cargo hold, the captain showing his friend the treasure stored there. Mounds of gold and piles of gems and precious stones were scattered everywhere and Andray's voice was filled with pride.

"That one's from a Chinese ship," he boasted, pointing out a chest overflowing with jade and gold, silk garments folded neatly around it.

"Very nice," Nicolas praised, smiling. "You're very proud of this haul, I see."

"Si," the captain agreed. He leaned against a supporting pillar, giving the Italian a searching look. "... You're hiding something from me," he said after a pause.

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"What am I hiding?"

"I'm not sure. But it has something to do with Lovino and Feliciano I know it does. Where did they come from? You said they weren't from the village. How did they get there then?"

Nicolas sighed. "I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "They just showed up one day. They don't have any memories."

"And you just took them into your home? Goddammit, Nicolas!" Andray yelled, throwing his hands into the air. "You can't be so trusting! What if they're faking? What if they're dangerous? What if they're here to get revenge on you?"

"Then it will be my own fault," Nicolas said firmly. "Even if they are trying to get revenge, Ill deserve it. But I don't think they are. I really don't. They're hiding something, but I don't think it's dangerous."

Andray sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Nic."

"No clue."

Suddenly, the door burst open and the men jumped in surprise. "Papa, Feli's being a dumbass!" Lovino complained, stomping over to their adoptive father, dragging Feliciano after him.

"No I'm not!" Feliciano whined. "I was just being friendly!"

Lovino whipped around to face him. "He told us to stay away from there!"

"I was just being nice!"

"Idiota! People like him aren't nice just for the hell of it! He had a motive!"

"Boys, boys, boys!" Nicolas called, going to his sons and setting a hand on each of their shoulders. "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

"He was in the kitchen with that huge as fuck cook!" Lovino accused, pointing at his brother and staring up at his father. "You said to let him be, but no! This moron goes and starts calling him Clair!"

"it's a cute name!" Feliciano defended, turning his own gaze onto the older Italian. "I was curious! I didn't do anything bad! He invited me into the kitchen!"

"You got Clerval to invite you into the kitchen?" Andray asked in shock. "How? He never lets anyone in there."

"It doesn't matter how!" Lovino yelled. "He can't just go and do stuff like this!"

It then occurred to Nicolas what was wrong with the elder twin. "Lovi, do you think Clerval was going to hurt Feli?" he asked.

Lovino's face reddened in embarrassment. "N-No! Of course not!" he said a little to quickly.

Nicolas smiled. "You don't have to worry, Lovi," he soothed. "Nothing on this ship is going to hurt Feli, I promise."

Lovino crossed his arms and turned away, pouting.

"Well, now that that is settled..." Andray stood straight and stared down intimidatingly at the twins, towing over them. "Just who are you?" he growled. "I don't believe for one second that story Nic told me. People don't just appear in the forest."

Before Nicolas could demand the captain to leave his kids alone, Lovino was already crouched defensively in front of Feliciano, his eyes narrowed in a glare as a soft hiss escaped him. "Back up," he growled back.

"No," Andray defied. daring to move even closer. He was determined not to let his best friend be killed by the two children he's supposedly taken in.

Lovino felt his body heating up and knew that soon, fire would erupt form him. His eyes began to glow softly. Behind him, Feliciano let out a hiss of his own, not liking how Andray was standing over them so threateningly.

Nicolas was talking to the trio but was being ignored. Realizing what would happen if he didn't do something, the old fisherman ran to one of the treasure chests and knocked it over with a crash. Gold, jewels and precious gems spilled out across the cargo hold. However, his main goal had been achieved as the three were now watching him instead of each other.

"Everyone take a deep breath," he requested. "Andray, for the last time, they aren't going to kill me. Lovi, Feli, it's okay, he isn't going to attack you. He's just worried about me."

After a few, tense, seconds in which no one moved, Andray finally gave ground and moved back. He he did this, Lovino slowly rose from his defensive stance. His eyes remained distrustful and suspicious, retaining their glow. Feliciano shuffled closer to his twin, one hand grasping tightly onto the back of Lovino's shirt as the younger stood behind him, watching the captain with slightly narrowed eyes over his brother's shoulder.

"Now that everyone is calmed down," Nicolas said, "let's find out what the problem is. Andray, why do you have such little faith in my judgements and my sons?"

"As I said, people don't just appear randomly. They came from somewhere and I want to know where that was and why. I don't trust them at all," the captain spat.

"Asshole!" Lovino yelled. "What the hell did we ever do to you?! Fuck you, you have no idea who are and what we've been through! You don't know anything about us!"

"You're right. I don't and I don't trust people I don't know."

"Okay, we're done for now," Nicolas quickly interrupted. "Andray, if you can't be civil to my family, then please drop us off right now. They don't deserve to be treated so rudely, but this is your ship so I can't demand you to stop."

Andray was silent, thinking over his options. Finally, he scowled. "Fine. They can stay. I trust you, Nicolas. I hope you haven't made a mistake." Then the captain left, going up onto the deck to check on his crew. With Andray gone, the twins began to explore the area, curious about the many shinny objects.

Feliciano picked up a shield made of gold and encrusted with jewels. "Veh~. Pretty," he commented. He let the item drop from his hands, the shield clanging when it hit the ground, moving onto another treasure piece.

Lovino found a silver armband. The trinket was made to look like a snake, tiny emeralds acting as the eyes. "Creepy..." he muttered, turning the band over as he inspected it.

Nicolas smiled. "Let's go back up," he said. "Feli, you can introduce me to your new friend."

Feliciano's eyes lite up and he ran to Nicolas, hugging him tightly. "Yay~! Let's go, papa! Let's go, let's go!" he exclaimed, grabbing the elder man's hand and dragging his towards the stairs, also managing to snag Lovino as he went by, much to the older brother's annoyance.

Feliciano happily pulled his two captives to the kitchen, calling out cheerfully, "Clair~! Clair~! I want you to meet papa~!" He let go of Nicolas and banged on the door excitedly. There was a shuffling sound and the door swung open, allowing the three into the bright room.

It was nearing the time for sinner, this fact made obvious by the many pots and pans scattered around, the fire under the stove burning as something baked inside.

"I've busy," Clerval growled, not looking at them.

"Didn't stop you from opening the door," Lovino pointed out, much to the man's annoyance.

"Veh, veh, I wanted you to meet papa, Clair!" Feliciano repeated, bouncing to the cook's side. "He's really nice~!"

Clerval finally set down his stirring spoon and turned around. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly upon spotting Nicolas.

"Ciao, Clerval," Nicolas greeted, offering his hand to the cook. "I see you made friends with Feli. Please be nice to him." Clerval paused, then slowly shook hands with Nicolas, though they both seemed to be holding on tighter than necessary.

Lovino grumbled in irritation while Feliciano looked on happily. When the men finally let go, Clerval turned back to the stove.

"Get out. I'm busy," he said flatly. The elder brother was fine with this and quickly shoved his family from the small stifling room.

"I hate you so fucking much, Feliciano," Lovino growled, marching stiffly down the hall.

"Why?" Feliciano whined, his wrist caught firmly in Lovino's grip as he and Nicolas were dragged along.

"Because you're an annoying little shit and it's incredibly frustrating," he grumbled, causing the other to pout.

Nicolas smiled. "You know he's just worried about you, Feli," he comforted. "Don't be upset by his grumpiness."

"Oh fuck you," Lovino said, it now being his turn to pout as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Nicolas laughed, patting the elder boy's hair lightly. "Let's get some food, okay?" he suggested.

"... Fine."

The trio entered the filling mess hall, quickly sitting together at the same table as to not be separated.

"Feli," Lovino murmured, "stay close to me." The smaller boy gripping his brother's sleeve tightly, scooting closer, looking around at the burly men warily.

After all, you can't trust pirates.