Wir versuchen= we try. And so they begin trying this chapter. Rome tries to be a good grandpa, and Romano tries to be a douche.

"Yes, he is."

Romulus tried to keep himself calm, clenching and unclenching his fists, just breathe through your nose, take deep breaths. He wasn't truly sure if he was terrified or angry, or perhaps a little of both. Feliciano wasn't stupid enough to miss this, it seemed, as his approach became increasingly timid.

"W-well, I was hoping we could maybe talk about t-this..."

Romulus couldn't handle it any longer. He allowed his body to slump forwards, burying his face in his hands.

"Do you know why this is a problem?"

Feliciano was slightly taken aback by this question. In all his years, he had been given many lectures about this type of thing, but never a direct answer as to why it was important.

"N-no, Nonno. You never told me. But you se-"

"Well then allow me to tell you. Have you never wondered where your parents were?"

Feliciano's mouth ran dry. This must be quite serious, as Nonno always stayed far away from this topic. But was making a human friend (or potential lover, he dared to think) truly this dangerous of an event?

"Well your mother, was a mermaid as fair as they come, and for the longest time she lived with me, just as you and Lovino do. When she was just a little older than you, she met a man. I suppose I met him too, great character and all. But a human, nonetheless. She ended up having you two with a fella from up North during the breeding season, but insisted the relationship was never there. She continued to chatter about her human friend, and from that moment on, she became increasingly distant, until one day she simply upped and left. I have no idea what happened, but neither returned to tell me anything. Your father never showed his face either, although I wouldn't have expected anything from a Northerner. So I took you two and moved as far away from shore as I could, so the same thing couldn't happen to you. So while you think it's all good now, and even if your friend is of good quality, I don't want my family torn apart. I don't want to never hear from you an then find out fifty years later that you were torn apart in a research lab."

Feliciano sat very quietly for several moments, before finally voicing his concerns.

"Is that what happened to her?"

Romulus pulled his face up out of his hands long enough to gaze intently into his grandson's eyes.

"Yes. Or at least I believe. Her friend worked as a scientist, at a research facility. I had limited understanding at the time, but I now realize she was manipulated into becoming a test subject of some sort. It's why most mermen keep to themselves. And it's why you ought to think before you act. Because even if your friend is honest, their societies are densely packed, and you would not be safe."

Feliciano couldn't stop the tears that welled up in his eyes. Was Ludwig like this too? Did he just want to bring him on land for fortune and fame, only to abandon him? No, Ludwig was too nice for that. But still, how was he to accomplish their goal of being together now that he knew this? Feliciano felt strongly about this, and the threats of research facilities were not going to deter him.

"Then Nonno, isn't there some way to make a merman grow legs, or a human grow a tail?"

Romulus' eyes widened in surprise. Feliciano was serious about this mess, wasn't he? Maybe he had already lost another one, but perhaps there was a way to hold on to him still. After all, while it hurt to have his grandson fall so hard so fast, it would hurt him more to see his heart broken.

"Well, do you remember..."

Lovino was furious.

Absolutely livid. And Antonio's insistent snapping at his tail did not help one bit. He had heard the whole thing. And still, after that whole fucking mess, his idiot of a brother wanted to run away with some dumb human bastard. Oh, he most certainly wasn't tracking his brother's trail because it seemed like fun, he wanted to find that bastard and shove a crab up his sorry ass. Ludwig, was it?

For whatever reason, Antonio didn't seem fond of this idea. And honestly, the dumb turtle was probably too happy go lucky for this type of a mission. He probably didn't want to see Lovino whoop someone's ass or his pathetic brother in tears. But Lovino was one hundred percent sure that his brother was diseased in the head, and it would all be for the better once this Ludwig fellow was gone.

His plan for strangling the human and hiding the body was nearly complete when he collided with a cold fiberglass hull.

"Hey! Who the fuck plants a fat hunk of steel right in my way!"

Well, maybe this was what Antonio was so worked up over. Certainly it wasn't good that he had run into a human vessel, but perhaps...Feliciano had mentioned the human bastard was stranded, and this would be the perfect opportunity to get him to leave without completely breaking his brother's heart.

"Oi! Is someone down there?" Called out a voice from above, and Lovino smiled inwardly.

"Oh, definitely not! This is just the waves making surprisingly accurate human language noises!"

A white head of hair popped up over the port side.

"Do you need any help?"

"No thanks," Lovino stated smugly, showing off his tail with little care, "I was just wondering if you could help a stranded man by the name of Ludwig."

The white-haired man's eyes went huge when he set his sights on Lovino's tail, displaying shocking red irises.

"W-well, I mean, yes, uh, Ludwig is my bruder, b-but, wha-? I-I, um, I mean what are you?! Are you even real?"

Lovino huffed impatiently. "Look, do you want to find your brother or not? Cause my idiot of a fratellino has been helping him, and I'd really like to pick up his trail again before your stinking gas fumes fuck that up too."

"W-well, ja, I guess, but-"

"Good, then let's go already. Just follow me."

The white haired man stared peculiarly after Lovino, before deciding to go against his better judgment and tag along.

Feliciano couldn't believe his grandfather had so readily agreed to his harebrained scheme. He supposed it had more to do with him meeting and assessing Ludwig than actually doing anything that would be considered helpful. Either way, the two of them were headed back to that tiny island now. Romulus had expressed concerns that Lovino might have done something rash in his fury, and Feliciano's brain couldn't help but entertain the idea. What could Lovino actually do? Perhaps he could find Ludwig, but what then?

Romulus was by no means thrilled with Feliciano's recent developments. Humans were dangerous creatures, and his family was the most important thing to him. But there was common lore floating around the merfolk that could potentially solve all of their problems. If this Ludwig fellow was quite as honest as Feliciano described, then he would readily comply. If not, well, things could get messy.

The tale followed along the lines of the parallel evolution of humans and mermen, with the differences between the two species at first being slight. Eventually, mermen slipped into the seas, while men developed advanced cities and technology. While humans developed at an alarming rate, mermen did not need to as a result of the shallow, warm waters they typically resided in. On occasion, when the species would collide, it was always the mermen at the disadvantage. To counteract this, the mermen appealed to an ancient wizard, Arthur Kirkland, to aid in their case. Legend stated that he had an affair with a merman, leading to the use of black magic to give his partner legs. The newly turned human wished to keep his brethren safe, and it was said that the two worked until the end of their lives to grant a single wish to any merman who truly needed it. It was a romantic, happily ending tale that seemed highly unlikely, but Romulus decided that it was worth a shot, since there was no legitimate way for a human and a merman to maintain a relation ship otherwise. He wasn't even sure how you were supposed to activate such a power, but Feliciano's happiness was worth trying.

Feliciano, on the other hand, had eaten the story up. He wanted so badly for such a thing to occur, either for him to sprout legs, or Ludwig a tail. He had always believed in the silly tales Nonno told him, because if he didn't, where was the joy in life? He would just grow up and grow old on this sandbar, living his life like any mindless fish did. Feliciano wasn't really sure how to address this wish-business, but something in his gut told him this was the correct thing to do.

When they arrived at the tiny island, Feliciano was horrified to find they weren't the only ones. Lovino rolled up smoothly onto the beach, wearing an expression that Feliciano could only describe as self-satisfied, and almost sadistic. Not far behind him, followed the same ragtag boat Feliciano had been following not too many days ago. Not yet!

With a strangled cry of "Ludwig!", Feliciano launched himself at the man, nearly bowling him over as he stood to observe the incoming vessel. Not wasting any time, he yelled out nearly everything that came to mind.

"Ve, Ludwig! I went and I told Nonno and he said he might be able to help, cause you see, there's this old story that might be true, and I really need it to be! Because I really wish I had legs so I could go with you! Please don't leave just yet!"

Ludwig was rather unprepared for the sobbing heap that was Feliciano. Tentatively, he placed a hand on Feliciano's back, gently rubbing circles into the small of his back in an attempt to calm him down. In response, Feliciano's tail curled around Ludwig's back, and he buried his face into Ludwig's shoulder, as if holding on for dear life. Ludwig's face flushed immediately, both from the contact and from the fact that Feliciano's brother and grandfather were both right there, with Gilbert no doubt off to the side.

As if things couldn't get any more awkward, Ludwig was soon left with a limp body in hand, as Feliciano slipped out of consciousness with a painful squeal.

Mhm. Fun. So yeaaah, I didn't want to have magical stuff at first, but it wouldn't realistically work out so! I took advantage of the fact this is a fantasy AU. Hope you all don't mind ^^ Conclusion coming up really soon.