Capítulo Diez
Gilbert watched attentively as Antonio and Lovino walked about the main deck, both lost in idle conversation. He smiled slightly as Lovino laughed—most likely at one of Antonio's corny jokes—and shook his head. The Prussian felt a tinge of joy knowing that his best friend and newest acquaintance were slowly starting to improve their terms with each other. Watching them interact positively reminded him of memories from the not-so-distant past, in a secret spot hidden amongst the trees of the Black Forest, the full moon dimly filtering through the leaves…
'No…don't go there, Gil…' he scolded himself. 'Don't think about the past… Not now…'
His crimson stare absorbed the situations around him, but—regardless of his chastising—his mind continued to wander. All he could focus on was a pair of dazzling violet eyes and a small, adorably compelling smile. He reminisced of smooth skin as pale as ivory, and hair the color of decadent chocolate. The caress of specific long, slender fingers enticed his desires. He craved the touch of his dearly beloved, and his mind reeled with both memories and fantasies alike.
"Damn it…!" he groaned, covering his eyes with a hand. "Why can't I get him out of my mind…?"
The albino first mate removed his hand from his face and replaced it on the handle of the helm. A soft sigh escaped his lips, and his concentration was once again drawn back to Antonio and Lovino.
'Look at them,' he mused. 'It's like their entire relationship took a full three-sixty degree turn… I wonder what they talked about earlier?'
He smiled slightly, secretly hoping for the best between the two, especially for Antonio's sake. He knew that if anyone could break his closest friend free from the clutches of darkness and borderline insanity, it was definitely ambitious Lovino.
'…Ambitious Lovino…' he repeated mentally. 'Ambitious…almost like….no! God damn it, I can't take this anymore! How long do we have before we reach Spain? I need to get back to Germany! …I'll stop by his place in Austria…so I can just…say hello. Yeah…'
Swallowing a knot in his throat, he shook his head and shouted, "Antonio! Be a pal and take over your ship!"
"Why?" Antonio called back, looking away from Lovino to respond. "Is something wrong?"
"I wanna take a nap!"
"But you just woke up about an hour ago!" the Spaniard huffed, not wanting to cease his conversation with the Italian next to him. "I'm busy!"
"…Please," Gilbert pleaded. "I really just need a couple more hours of sleep. That's all I'm asking…"
At that moment Antonio realized that his trusted first mate was serious. Emerald eyes softening, he gave a slight nod and trekked towards the helm.
"You okay…?" he asked, taking the wheel.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired is all."
'Ay, stubborn bastard…' the Spanish captain thought. 'He'll never drop his pride and admit that he's upset.'
"If you say so. Alright, go take a nap."
"Danke."
"De nada."
Gilbert slowly descended the small flight of stairs and walked the main deck before disappearing below to his quarters. Antonio sighed softly and shook his head.
"What's up with him?" Lovino asked, climbing the stairs to the poop deck. Sitting against the right gunwale, he added, "It's like someone came along and pissed in his wine."
The pirate chuckled.
"No, no, it's much more than that. I'm pretty sure after knowing him all these years, he's thinking about Roderich."
"…Oh…" Lovino could only reply, looking down at the wooden boards of the deck. "Y-yeah, he told me all about what happened…"
"I figured he would. Once you get him started, he won't shut up to save his life. He won't open easily when he's upset, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. That's why I always know when it's Roderich on his mind."
"Does he really love him that much…?"
"You have no idea, Lovino…" Antonio sighed. "He never wanted to lose Roderich… He was so broken… Still, he managed to pull himself back onto his feet and move on—somewhat. Usually he does well with putting the past behind him, but these past few days he's been slipping quite horribly. Something's triggering it…"
The Italian stood to his feet and approached the captain. After a brief moment of hesitation, he cautiously placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder; Antonio looked at him.
"You care about him greatly," he stated. "It's really obvious..."
"Sí," the pirate answered curtly. Biting his lip after a minute or so, he quietly added, "When you've got no one else to depend on, it's only natural that the one person who has been there through thick and thin with you is the one you care for most…"
"Mm…"
Antonio shook his head yet again.
"Maybe you're the one triggering his memories."
Lovino stiffened and swiftly withdrew his hand.
Snarling a bit, he hissed, "Again with the blaming me! Che diavolo, it seems to be your favorite thing to do! You bastard, just because I'm being held captive on your fucking ship doesn't give you the right to go around and blame me for every goddamn problem that sprouts up! You're such an asshole! Seriously! I can't stand you! The fuck am I even doing talking to you? That's it, I'm done! I'm going back to the room. I—"
"Lovino," Antonio groaned. "Please don't do this right now. I'm not blaming you for his problems. I'm just wondering if you somehow bring up past memories! The only reason I think that is because you probably remind him of Roderich."
"...And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"According to what Gilbert has told me, I can't help but make some connections. Though you two are very different, you're also both very similar in some ways. For example, you both have ridiculous tempers..."
"Whaddaya mean 'ridiculous temper?'"
"...Exactly."
"Shut the hell up!"
"And thus my point was proven yet again."
"You piss me off so bad!" Lovino snapped, crossing his arms.
Antonio chuckled in response.
"And yet you're still standing here talking to me."
Lovino scoffed and rolled his eyes before shaking his head. Running a hand through his hair, he muttered, "Okay, fine, whatever. You have a point. So…what're you gonna do, then?"
"I'm not going to do anything," the Spaniard said. "This is entirely on Gilbert. There's nothing I can help him with. In fact, knowing him, once we reach land he's going to head straight for Austria to find Roderich and make peace. That's the only thing he really can do, honestly."
"Yeah, true… …So, what are you going to do when we reach land?"
Antonio stood in silence for a few minutes as his mind processed the question. Lovino watched with a raised eyebrow, wondering if he had somehow broken what little sanity the pirate actually possessed. Hell, he was wondering if the question broke him all around in general with the way he was taking so long to respond! It wasn't until the emerald-eyed captain smirked did the Italian lord realize that he finally had an answer.
"First thing I'm gonna do is grab the first pretty lady I see and give her a big kiss, just for the hell of it. Next, I'm gonna head back home, kick open the door, and fall onto my bed and just sleep for God knows how long~"
Lovino bristled at the older man's answer.
"Stronzate!" he cried. "That's a load of bullshit!"
"What, are you…jealous~?"
It was at this point that Lovino began to blush. Shaking his head feverishly, he shrieked, "Only in your dreams, you insane bastard! It's bad enough that you think you have feelings for me, but now you're going delusional by thinking I might actually be jealous because you kiss some girl? Fuck you, you crazy piece of shit!"
Antonio only laughed.
"Aaah, Lovino, I'm kidding~ Calm down, yeah?"
"Hmph…whatever…" the Italian muttered, crossing his arms once more and puffing out his flushed cheeks.
"Qué lindo~ You remind me of a ripe tomato when you do that~"
"GO TO HELL!"
Antonio snickered and shook his head. Wiping the amused tear from his eye, he snorted and said, "Okay, enough of that. What are you going to do when we get to land?"
"Jump on another ship bound for Italia so I can get home and be away from you," the young lord spat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Antonio warned, turning his head to look at his captive. A spark of something sinister glinted in his eyes as he forced a rather demented grin and added, "If you did, I'd find you and bring you right back~ I have no intention of letting a treasure such as yourself go any time soon. You're here for a reason, and here you shall stay unless I physically state that you can go back to your beloved Nápoles."
"I'm…not afraid of you anymore," Lovino huffed boldly, daring to make eye contact with the pirate. "After all the things you said, and after the way you've been acting for the past couple days, I know that you won't hurt me anymore. You're too smitten."
"You're right~ And I know that you wouldn't really leave, because you care a bit too much about me than you realize, Lovi…~"
"Ch'! I-in your dreams, Toni. I'm serious when I say I'd leave! I-I'd book it right back to Napoli in a heartbeat…"
As Antonio gazed at him, Lovino swallowed and fought back another oncoming blush. Wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers, he averted his gaze to the sea in order to avoid the Spaniard's piercing stare and freakish grin. Antonio only watched him fondly, his mind whirling with twisted thoughts and fantasies that aroused his hungering body a bit too much. Fighting back the beast that threatened to devour his entire being, he concentrated on the remainder of his civilized psyche and pondered his feelings.
"If it's any consolation, Lovino," he said after several minutes, drawing his prisoner's attention back to himself. "The more I think about it, the more I realize that I care for you just as much. And you're right, I wouldn't hurt you again. But I'm also serious when I say that I'm not letting you go. I'm selfish, and I'm going to keep you all for myself."
"Even if I never returned your feelings?" the Italian asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"…Sí. Even if you never returned my 'feelings.'"
"…What the hell is wrong with you?" Lovino abruptly questioned. "One minute you're cheery and fun, the next you're serious and concerned for the wellbeing of your friend, then you go batshit, and now you're all…serious and concerned again! Seriously, I think you're mad."
Antonio laughed and shook his head before directing his attention back to the sea.
"Beyond mad, my friend," he admitted. "Beyond mad. Let's just say that I'm…on the brink of total destruction. A passionate dance with insanity and death all in one~"
"…I challenge that, then."
The pirate suddenly gawked. Shaking his head wildly, he managed to choke out, "What?"
"I said I challenge your insanity!" Lovino repeated, a strong sense of determination washing over him. "I bet…if you worked hard enough to 'capture my affections,' I could bring you back from that 'brink of insanity' shit."
"Now I'm starting to think that you're the mad one, Lovino," Antonio sighed, his head now shaking gravely. "You're a strange one indeed…"
"Then…I guess that means we make a perfect pair, ne? ….I think your idiocy and insanity are contagious. I cannot believe I just said all that ridiculous bullshit!"
"Either way, I accept your challenge."
"Wait…what?"
"I said I accept!" Pausing to genuinely grin goodheartedly at the Italian, the Spaniard continued, "If I can win your affection, we can see if you can indeed turn this Hell bound scallywag around and set him on the path to Heaven. What say you, my good sir?"
Lovino smirked.
"You got yourself a deal, bastardo."
Antonio's grin twisted into another smirk of his own.
"Wonderful."
The duo smirked at each other for several seconds before Lovino suddenly remembered his Prussian acquaintance.
"….Oh, shit, wait! What about Gilbert?"
"Ah, I'll check up on him later. He will survive until we reach España."
"…Ah. Well, if you say so…"
"I know so! I'm never wrong~"
"Now you're just being an egotistical dickwad."
"Eh, it comes with the position~"
The Italian couldn't have picked a better time to roll his eyes and cackle in amusement.
~Continuará~
FINALLY. For the love of…my brain is shot! Sorry to keep you all waiting, but here it is (ignore the shitty ending)! Can you tell I had issues with this chapter? XD
But wow, I was surprised some of you guys responded to my note! I though y'all would just ignore me! I feel special! :'D Either way, the deal still stands: I get 200 reviews after I post chapter 11, and I'm gonna do something special for you guys and post chapter 12 in five days or less after that!
But thank you guys so much for bearing with me and supporting this story! Without you, this story would've been scrapped from day one! So stick with me 'til the end, and we'll make this fic a success! FIGHTING! :D
But alright, enough blabbing. Until next update! ;D
