Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Matthew sighed. Directly across from him was Lovina, still unconscious and laying in the Captain's bed. Her bandages were soaking through again. On either side of her were Antonio and Sir Vargas, both completely ignoring the other and staring worriedly at Lovina.

Matthew spoke up softly, "You two are probably going to suffocate her like that."

Both suddenly looked up and sent him a glare each.

"No, I'm not!"

"He is!"

And then they both hurriedly returned to watching Lovina—after shooting each other glares, of course.

Matthew sighed and stood up. "Both of you, out."

They turned to look at him with disbelief.

"Feli will have to change her bandages again. Now out. And send Feli in if you will."

They rooted to the spot, looking at him more and more incredulously as time went by.

Matthew went over to him. "Out! Shoo!"

They hurried out of the room (did Matthew really manage to be that intimidating?), and a little while later Feli came in.

"Vee, is Sorella alright, Mattie?"

Matthew shrugged. "I don't really know." He felt his insides wrench at Feli's heartbroken expression. "But she'll be fine, I promise. You just need to change her bandages again."

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Antonio paced in the hallway outside of the room were Lovi was (after several minutes, Ludwig had managed to convince the old man to go back up on deck, probably to prevent murder or something of the like). Thoughts flurried around his head in a confusing blur.

Was Lovi alright? Why hadn't she woken up yet? She was still breathing. Oh, how he wished that Lovi would wake up. He wanted to see her again.

Suddenly, Antonio heard an excited "Vee!" come from inside the room. He pressed his ear to the door.

"Sorella! Veee! You're alright! I'm so happy! Veeeeeee!"

"I-idiota! Let go! Can't fucking breathe…"

"Whoops! Vee, sorry, Sorella."

"Yeah, yeah. You just got excited."

"Veee, how did you know!"

Antonio could just tell that his Lovi rolled her eyes right around now. He smiled at the thought.

"But we're both glad that you've woken up now."

"How long have I been out?"

Antonio pulled away from the door. Did he want to see his Lovi now? What sort of question was that? Of course he did. Did she want to see him? Antonio took a deep breath. He might as well find out the hard way…

He knocked on the door.

"Vee, come in!"

He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Feli!" Lovina scolded. "You don't just let anyone into a room. You have to ask who it is first. That way if you don't want them to come you don't have to let them in."

She nodded. "Yes, Sorella!" Despite her scolding, Feli was still beaming at Lovi.

Antonio walked over to her bedside (and he was grateful to Matthew for guiding Feli out of the room and closing the door behind him). "Lovi?"

Her face flushed (even though she was still rather pale). "W-what, bastard?"

"Lovi, why did you do it?"

"Why did I do what?"

He looked at her intently. "Why did you join the fight, Lovi?"

Lovi looked away. "To save my Nonno…" After a moment or two she snapped her head to look at him, eyes bright. "But it wasn't like I had a choice! Lars had beaten the guy he was fighting and I could tell he was about to go after Nonno! Two against one wouldn't have been fair…"

Antonio sighed and went down onto his knees. "Please, Lovi, never do that again."

"What! F-fuck no! I'm never going to stop protecting la mia famiglia!"

Antonio looked her in the eyes. "Can you at least do it in a way that you won't hurt yourself?"

"I can't make any damn guarantees, bastard."

"Can you not hurt yourself when you protect me?"

"N-no."

"Why not?" Antonio exclaimed. "I love you too much, Lovi. The thought of you getting hurt in any way at all, especially for me, tears me to shreds on the inside."

Lovi blushed and looked away again. "But I don't want you to get hurt either…"

Antonio's heart fluttered. "Lovi?"

"Because I love you, too, you fucking bastard…"

Antonio smiled so much that his facial muscles became sore. He kissed his Lovi on the forehead, and then quickly once again on the lips. "Te amo, mi luz. Now rest up, you look exhausted."

"You don't look much fucking better yourself, bastard."

Antonio laughed as he ran a hand through his tangled hair. Lovi didn't have to know right now that the shadows under his eyes were from not sleeping a single second since the fight. Just to be sure that she was alright.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

After a short while Lovina shifted to get out of the bed.

"Lovi, where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"No, Lovi. You need to rest," Antonio said.

She sat up stubbornly. Never mind her sudden light-headedness. "I'm going to take a damn walk."

The captain bastard looked down at her with worried green eyes, but Lovina did her best to ignore them as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Her legs were shaking, but no one would be able to tell through her loose pants. Probably. She pulled on her shirt (which was pretty fucking impressive considering all of her damn bandages!) and walked around the bed.

The captain bastard intercepted her. "Be careful, Lovi?"

Lovina clicked her tongue irritatedly. "I'm just going for a fucking walk around the ship. What the hell is there to be careful about?"

He smiled. "For me?"

Lovina felt her cheeks warm and she looked away. "Fine… b-bastard."

He pecked her on the cheek.

She swatted him away. "Stop that!" Her face flared up more.

He grinned. "I don't think I will, Lovi."

Lovina hurried past him to the door. "Bastard…"

Once she was safely in the hallway, she decided to walk up to the deck. Some fresh air would be nice. Oh…

There was Sadiq.

He nodded at her in greeting. "Lovina."

"Sadiq." She started to walk past him.

"It wasn't worth it, you know."

Lovina turned and glared at him. "What did you say, asshole?"

"That it wasn't worth it." He leaned against the wall. "You'll have to come back to the palace anyway."

She huffed. "That's none of your business."

"But it is my business, Lovina."

Lovina rolled her eyes. "You don't really care."

"But I do."

"Only to please you fucker of a father."

"At least I have my priorities straight," he seethed.

"And I don't?" she asked.

"You're so selfish, always doing only what you want and then deciding to have morals at the last moment.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "At least I have sense enough to know you will never really please your father."

SMACK

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Giulio started walking back down the stairs from the deck. He probably would be let back in by now. And Lovina should be waking up sometime soon. Giulio smiled at the thought. But he suddenly stopped at the sight before him.

Sadiq was glaring directly across the narrow hallway at Lovina, who supported herself with the wall. There was an angry, red mark across her cheek.

"What happened here?" Giulio asked.

Sadiq—the foolish bastard—snapped out of his focus. He paled considerably. "N-nothing, Sir Vargas."

Giulio prowled up to him. "Nothing? Nothing bruised la mia nipotina?"

The idiot stepped back.

"You honestly want me to fucking believe that nothing just happened to Lovina? When she obviously was struck across the face? And you are most obviously the damned guilty party?"

Lovina stepped out of Giulio's way carefully.

"There are too many things fucking wrong with this for me to even begin to explain to you, asshole. But I will list some of them anyway, because you're probably too dense to think of a single one. Firstly, she's already wounded. In my military, striking anyone in her current condition would unofficially get you beaten by your fellow troops, and the primus pilus would allow it to happen, because he would know you had damn-well deserved it."

"It's not your military…"

"It's not?" Giulio reached the still-retreating Sadiq and wrapped a hand around his throat to keep him from moving any further. "Tell me, you ass, did the soldiers at the barracks follow your orders or mine?"

Sadiq focused on trying to remove the hand from around his throat.

"Listen to me when I speak to you, fucker," Giulio barked.

The crown prince froze.

"Secondly, you lied. Lying is worth severe punishment, and lying about an offense committed is worth whipping—the number of lashes depending on the degree and circumstance of the lie. Thirdly," Giulio lifted the bastard with the single hand around his throat, "she was your fiancée, and that makes you more of an asshole than you already were."

"W-was?"

Giulio narrowed his eyes. "Did you think that I would allow you to marry la mia nipotina after that?"

"You c-can't do this!"

"But I did. The less politically-influential side of the engagement is allowed to break it off if the higher ranking side does something particularly inappropriate. And even from only the three reasons I gave you, I have plenty of ability to break this damned thing off." Giulio scowled at him. "You make me sick. Leave." He threw Sadiq onto the ground. "And tell King Serhan exactly why you cannot marry Lady Lovina. And if you tell a single fucking lie…"

Giulio watched as the crown prince ran away. He immediately turned towards Lovina. "Are you alright, Lovina?" He put an arm under hers to help support her.

"Yes, Nonno."

"Are you sure? Does your cheek hurt from what the asshole did to you? Is your shoulder alright? Why are you even moving around so early?"

"I said I'm fine, Nonno. And I'm taking a walk."

"Do you want to go up to the deck or back to bed? Maybe you should after all of that excitement…"

"I'll go up on deck."

Giulio helped his nipote up the stairs. Watching her mask her pain made his heart clench with guilt. He looked down at the ground ashamed. "I am sorry, piccina…"

She looked at him. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about."

"But I hurt you."

"Doing what a Vargas should, protecting la famiglia. You have nothing to be sorry about, and even if you did I would have already forgiven you."

Giulio smiled softly. "Grazie."

A/N: Meep! Angry Nonno is rather angry, no?

But! Lovina is alright, and that is what matters (mostly).

But thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, or reviewed! It makes me as happy as America if he got a drive-through McDonald's in his own garage~