Chapter 8

"Wake up~ Wake up~ It's time to get uuuup~" The noise was much like the sound of nails on a chalkboard and Arthur's reaction was immediate; his hand whipped out and slapped the crap out of the source.

There was a loud exclamation and the sound of someone scrambling away. Arthur ignored it and curled up in his warm blankets trying to fall back into a blissful slumber. Alfred wouldn't have any of that. He began to sing again, farther away this time, no doubt out of hitting distance, "Come on Artie~ Or you'll be sorry~" Arthur didn't care, he needed sleep damn it! He turned away from the noise and squeezed his eyelids closed.

Suddenly there was a moment of bliss; an absence of any noise. The moment was swiftly broken by the feeling of a wet finger in his ear. Arthur jerked up, cursing and Alfred laughed.

Arthur turned around and glared at the snickering merman who was most unfortunately too far from reach, "Why must you wake me? What's so bloody important?"

"Well it's almost midday; you've got to get up and eat," he pulled out a plate seemingly from nowhere, "Here, I've got some bread and some seaweed."

Arthur looked at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief, "You woke me up for food and to keep me on schedule? Why the hell does it matter? You've kidnapped me! I don't exactly have anywhere to go!"

The siren ignored his outburst, "And I wanted to let you know that I have to leave and sort some things out. Oh, here's some fresh water for ya," he handed him a mug and before Arthur could blink leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, just as quickly as the temperature check the day before (or night, Arthur couldn't tell time in the cave).

"You did not just-!"

"I'll be back soon," Alfred said, cutting him off, "Have a look around, just don't explore the tunnels very much; it's easy to get lost in them. There's a river running through the first one to the left, take a torch with you and you can take a piss there or whatever you need. Just remember, don't try to escape." Alfred smiled brightly as he said the ominous comment before walking over to the pool. To Arthur's immense irritation he was not given a warning before tossing pulling down his trousers and throwing them to the side giving him another unwanted show of the merman's arse.

The merman dove into the water and popped out for a moment, "Goodbye, Sunshine!" he exclaimed before disappearing back into the water.

Arthur chewed on his stale bread, venomously staring at the blue water as if Alfred could see him. It wasn't like he could escape, he thought annoyed, he couldn't even swim. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, he quickly finished his breakfast.

After grabbing a torch and finding his way to the underground river he relieved himself (it had been a rather long time). It was barley a river, more like a fast flowing stream flowing alongside the path further into the cave. Arthur looked around for the end of it but the water on both ends flowed off into smaller caves carved out by the water that he could not fit in.

Urge to explore out of his system Arthur decided to take up Alfred's suggestion to look around where he slept. His eyes widened again with the sight of the gold as if he were seeing it for the first time. The sheer amount of the horde was incredible; Arthur estimated that if he were to take all of the treasure he could have easily been the richest man in England besides the King himself. But taking the treasure out of the cave would be an impossible feat, to swim with so much gold…it would take him years to get everything out and inhuman strength and the ability to breathe underwater. Who knew how long Alfred had been collecting and how in the world he carried the chests easily ten times his weight.

Arthur walked over to a small pile of gold, kneeling down and raking a hand through the coins. His hand closed around a fistful and he brought it up to his face. Each gold piece was different, 24 karat, and mixed with pearls and jewels. He could only imagine how much the treasure just in his hand cost. After carefully setting down the handful he stood up and walked around, stopping by objects that sparked his interest.

The chess set he had seen earlier was still sitting on the ground, the ivory box almost touching the waters of the pool. Arthur had played chess before and he hadn't been exactly good at it. He didn't mind; he much preferred a good swordfight any day. But his apathy of the game did not dissuade him from the set. The detail impressed him; the queens on both sides were two different, beautiful people, the rooks had emblems on their turret walls, even the pawns were an array of soldiers with subtle differences. Yet the gleaming gold and silver pieces did not sit in their respective places, speaking of an ongoing game. Analyzing the places of the pieces and the ratio of gold to silver pieces that were still left on the board it seemed that gold was losing the battle.

He continued to browse, finding a jade dragon the size of a pony, a ruby as big as his fist, and an ancient gold plated book with intricate illustrations and words in Old English. A true pirate, he felt giddy as he perused the bounty, laughed when he found a solid golden apple, and took a few swings of a sword so mighty that it could have been the mighty Excalibur. Oh he could entertain himself for weeks in that cave. A small voice in the back of his head told him he would have to but he pushed the thought away quickly.

Scattered almost randomly amongst the valuables were items that didn't fit, trinkets that perhaps held some sentimental value to the merman or, what Arthur preferred to believe, were things that the merman impulsively took out of curiosity. A woman's ratty umbrella, a leather bound book filled with pressed flowers, a pair of broken spectacles, a lamp encrusted with barnacles, a strangely shaped leather ball. One such worthless trinket caught his eye, a small green seashell. Something about it sent shivers of nostalgia down his spine, a memory that he had forgotten but suddenly remembered. For whatever the reason, he became so absorbed with the pretty green thing that he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.

"So you like shells?" a familiar voice whispered into his ear.

Arthur jumped and glared over his shoulder, slapping the hand that had found its way to his shoulder, "No! I just…I don't know…" he fingered the shell again, feeling the smooth pear-like inside.

Alfred smiled, "You can keep it. And anything in here really."

"It's not like I can take anything with me. You've kidnapped me," contrary to his words, his hand closed around the seashell.

"Ha ha, your words not mine. You can't honestly still be sore about it. I mean, you held me captive for awhile, at least I'm not threatening to sell you."

"Well, then why am I here Alfred? Revenge, to toy with me, to kill me? What kind of sick torture do you want to inflict upon me?" Arthur looked up at him, eyes shining with defiance.

Alfred only smirked and leaned forward, "Nah, I'm not interested in anything like that."

Arthur backed away instinctively, "What then?"

The merman turned away and ran his bare foot through the coins at his feet, "I don't think I'm going to tell you."

With Alfred's eyes away, Arthur reached behind and pulled out the dagger he had found amongst the treasures. Now to just keep the idiot distracted, "I don't suppose you can tell me where you've been swimming off to?"

Alfred didn't turn, allowing Arthur to take a step forward as he talked, "Well, I had to tell my friends what's happening and stuff. And there were some things I had to sort out."

"What a shame," before Alfred could get another word out, Arthur, with practiced ease, whipped out the dagger and pressed it to the merman's neck, "Really boy you shouldn't have turned your back to me."

Alfred, to Arthur's irritation and surprise, only whistled, "Nice one Artie. Mind putting that away? Someone might get hurt."

"Shut your trap whelp," Arthur hissed into his ear, "I'm in a particularly murderous mood today so don't provoke me."

Alfred smiled, "Okay! Now let's say you happen to slit my throat. I die. You live here the rest of your life or wandering the tunnels, you die, probably from starvation. Not a very happy ending," he spoke so cheerfully one would think he wasn't at knifepoint.

Arthur slowly grew more annoyed as he realized the merman was right; there was not getting out of here without him, "Shut your bleeding mouth!" he said then tried to press the dagger closer to Alfred's throat. However, he found he could not move the blade. Confused, he roughly pulled the handle only to find it immobile.

Suddenly the dagger was torn from his hands. Alfred slowly turned, holding the dagger by the blade between two fingers, "How….?"

Alfred shook his head, "If you aren't careful you could lose an eye with these things." Arthur watched in horror as Alfred grabbed the handle with his other hand and using only two fingers bent the blade so that the tip touched the hilt, effectively bending it in half. Arthur had held the dagger, felt the metal, it was iron.

All of a sudden it made sense as to how Alfred had brought such weighty treasures into the cave. Arthur took a step back, "You-you're a monster," he whispered.

The merman pouted, "Now that's not very nice. I'm just trying to help," as he spoke he bent the blade in half again and tossed it uncaringly over his shoulder.

At that moment on Arthur decided not to fight against the merman physically.

The rest of the day Arthur was quiet as Alfred babbled about trivial matters. No outbursts, no scowls, no angry mutterings, for the most party he just eyed the gleaming piles of treasure with a blank and impassive stare. Something was wrong, even Alfred, who was dense as a person could be when it came to others emotional states, could feel that something was off about the Brit. He frowned, "What's the matter Artie? You sick or something?"

Arthur was silent as he stared away. Alfred smirked, "You getting old Artie? Do I need to shout so you can hear me?" he poked his shoulder teasingly.

There was still no response and Alfred's frown returned, even more pronounced, "Artie?" When only silence greeted him Alfred decided to bring out the big guns. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth-

Arthur was roughly pulled out of his trance by a terribly familiar sound, "Good God, stop that!" he yelled over Alfred's screeching and covered his ears with his hands.

Alfred's smile returned at the sight of the angry man, and of course belted out another verse even louder than the first, "Oh my captain dear~ You're lonely I fear~ But soon we'll be togetheeer~~~"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Arthur grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his head, almost suffocating himself but not the sound, "PLEASE, I'll do anything just STOP!"

"Anything?" the singing stopped and Arthur unwrapped the blanket to see Alfred standing right in front of him leering.

Swallowing he bravely said, "Yes, anything."

"Kiss me," Alfred said simply.

There was a moment of stunned silence. "…What?"

"You heard me. Kiss me," Alfred looked down at the man expectantly.

"I will do no such thing!" Arthur sputtered, pushing him away.

Undeterred, Alfred took a step forward, "You said anything so do it."

Arthur crossed his arms, "No."

"Okay then," Alfred took another deep breath, "Ooooh~"

"Stop, fine, I'll do it.," Arthur said quickly, choosing what he believed to be the lesser of two evils. Alfred thankfully stopped and leaned down until they were at eye level. Arthur avoided looking into those blue eyes, staring cautiously at Alfred's cheek. He'd make it a peck, like a greeting. Taking a deep breath he leaned forward and closed his eyes.

Alfred's head quickly turned so that instead of Arthur's lips meeting his cheek they meet two soft lips. Recognizing the texture Arthur's eyes flew open and he swiftly pulled away, bringing up his hand and smacking Alfred.

They both pulled away, Arthur furiously rubbing his mouth and trying to ignore the warmth gathering in his cheeks and ears, "You bastard!" he hissed.

Alfred massaged his red hand-printed cheek, "Man you sure sting Sunshine," Alfred smirked, "Can't say I didn't like it though."

The next minute consisted of Alfred laughing as the furious man chased after him. The heartfelt moment came to an end, however, when Alfred dove into the water to escape the fate of being murdered in the most excruciating way possible.

AN: How exactly did Arthur keep that dagger in his pants? *shrugs* You've got to know these things when you're a pirate.

Hope you liked your bit of yaoi you fangirls you.

There are hints of Hetalia in the trinkets and treasures~ Andfutureplotpoints~