Tomato of the Sea

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Warning: AU, Lovi's way of verbally expressing annoyance, male x male pairings, and a very bipolar Gilbird fluttering about.

Here's the kidnapping conclusion brought to you by a long report I have to finish and procrastination! Enjoy!


oOo


Alfred read and reread the wrinkled paper in his hand. As much as he wished he could change the words scrawled onto it, he couldn't. They stared back at him agonizingly.

AlFred, cOme FiNd me iF yOu waNt tO See yOur FrieNd.

It held no clues about who wrote it or who it was about, but Alfred didn't care. He knew his best friend was in danger and if anything had happened to Lovino, he'd make the son of a bitch responsible regret it.

Alfred tightly clenched the paper that destroyed his peaceful morning with just 11 words. He ran out of his house, slamming the door behind him. His feet hit the dirt path in at lightning speed, each step sounding like thunder in his ears. It wasn't often he let his temper get the best of him, but he was already going over all the ways he was going to beat Lovino's kidnapper into oblivion.

He tore through Canton doing his best to find his friend before it was too late.


oOo


Lovino blearily forced his eyes open, but was too dizzy to make out anything. He felt a chill go through his body, making him shiver down to his core. Suddenly, someone laid a blanket on him.

Is that Alfred…? Where is Alfred…?

Lovino tried to call out to him, but the strain was too much. The brunette had never felt so miserable in his entire life. Whatever hell he was experiencing was far worse than the time he and Feli were introduced to wine (and the horrendous morning that followed), the time he accidentally broke his Nonno's favorite vase in his attempt to help clean, or the time he witnessed the potato bastard confessing his feelings to his dimwitted brother. Even the whole nearly getting himself killed escaping Torredirosso paled in comparison to this.

He closed his eyes and let the darkness take him once more.


oOo


Alfred ran to Antonio's produce stand first. If Lovino had helped him out today, he might be able to get a better idea of when he was taken or how far he might be by now. Sprinting through the crowd, Alfred could see Bella chatting with Antonio while picking up food for the café.

"Antonio!" Alfred exclaimed halfway across the courtyard. "Have you seen Lovino?"

"Eh?" Antonio blinked as the blonde rushed over. "No, Lovi hasn't been in today. What's wrong?"

"I-I haven't seen Lovino since lunch and when I got home just now, I found this," Alfred showed him and Bella the note.

Upon reading it, Antonio's eyes hardened and took a cold gaze Alfred never thought possible from the cheery merchant.

"Bella, Esmerelda, and I will search the north half of the town," Antonio said in a deadly tone. "You take the south."

"Who's Esmerelda?"

Antonio took out a powerful-looking battleaxe from beneath the fruit and vegetable stand.

"She is."

Esmerelda glistened in the late afternoon light, hungry for battle. If he squinted, Alfred could have sworn he saw specks of red staining the handle…and he doubted it was tomato juice.

Having worked with Antonio before, Bella had already been acquainted with Antonio's own brand of 'Bandit Insurance' and didn't even flinch. Instead, she walked over to Alfred and gave him a comforting hug.

"We'll find him, Alfred," she said with complete confidence. "Lovino is going to be okay."

Alfred nodded and a feline smirk appeared on the blonde woman's face.

"I can't say the same for whoever took him, though…"


oOo


Lovino stirred again in his sleep, feeling as though his body was being ripped apart from the inside. He brought his knees to his chest and let out a faint whimper. Why was this happening to him? From beside him, he heard a male voice speaking a strange language. Something about frogs and sod and barmy…was he kidnapped by foreign pirates or something?

After all he'd been through, he was kidnapped by stupid pirates who would probably use him as a pincushion for their swords and then feed him to the sharks when they realized he was useless to ransom.

Fucking great...

Tears pricked at his eyes. He started to think he might never see Alfred or anyone else he befriended in Canton ever again. It was so difficult for him to make friends in the first place, much less the good ones he found here. And Feliciano... He had sworn to his brother that he would survive and find him someday. If he died here, he'd never see his friends again and break his promise to his little brother. This made his chest start to ache for different reasons as the poison continued to run through his veins.

He didn't want to die!

Not without seeing his friends and family again…Not without seeing…Alfred…


oOo


Back in town, Alfred was making very little progress finding Lovino and was beginning to lose what was left of his composure. The blonde had desperately hoped that Antonio and Bella were having better luck than him, but he doubted it. They had split up to cover more ground an hour ago and he hadn't heard any word from the duo. Alfred knew he needed to recruit more help, and as if on cue, Matthew appeared across the marketplace. He had very nearly run over Gilbert on his mad dash to his younger brother.

"Bro!" Alfred shouted, finally remembering the brakes in his feet. He had been running for some time now, but his face was still as white as a sheet.

"Alfred? What's the matter?" Matthew asked. He could see something serious had happened.

"Yeah, any special reason you nearly crashed into the Awesome Me?" Gil stopped hugging the wall and dusted himself off. Above him, Gilbird chirped wildly.

"It's Lovino!" Alfred managed to shout, fishing around his pocket for the letter. He pulled it out and showed his brother and the albino, whose eyes widened as they read it.

"Alfred, that's terrible!" the soft-spoken brother covered his mouth in shock. How could something like this happen? Especially when Alfred was finally so happy… "What can I do to help?"

"I dunno…" the taller blonde admitted. "I've been searching the south side of town for an hour while Antonio and Bella took the north, but we haven't found anything!"

"Relax, the Awesome Me and both Birdies will help you find him!" Gilbert struck a dramatic pose. "Gilbird! Find Alfred's grumpy roommate!"

The yellow bird shot off in a seemingly random direction.

"He's on his trail already!" Gilbert boasted.

"…Or he's luring you back to the birdseed stand," sighed Matthew.

"Wait, what? Ach!" the albino chased after his feathery companion. "Gilbird, no! We already graced the owner with our awesomeness this week!"

Matthew sighed, but patted his brother's shoulder to comfort him, even just a little.

"We'll find him," He smiled. "Lovino's tough, I'm sure he'll be alright, eh?"

"Yeah…" Alfred replied. He wanted to believe his sensible brother, but he couldn't help but worry. He just wanted to know that the brunette was safe.

Even if Lovi was able to take care of himself, he could still be tricked, or knocked unconscious, or forced to cooperate at gunpoint. None of the spunky tsundere's knife skills would be able to help him in a situation like that.

Cutting the corner and taking a side street to the local blacksmith shop, Alfred decided to ask Kiku. With any luck, Lovino already escaped and was buying weapons from Kiku to further beat the daylights out of the cocky kidnapper.

"Kiku!" Alfred pushed past a customer the blacksmith had just finished working with. "Have you seen Lovino?"

"No," the shorter man replied, taking in the distress flickering across the blonde's face. "Has something happened?"

"I…I can't find him anywhere," Alfred admitted, head hung low. "I think somebody took him!"

"Took him?"

"As in kidnapped him! They even left a note and everything!" the blonde's voice escalated as he became more and more visibly upset. "I've gotta find him, Kiku!"

"I am very sorry, but I haven't seen him, Alfred-kun," he replied softly, wishing he had better news. "If I hear anything, I'll let you know."

Kiku watched in awe as Alfred only nodded in return and took off running out of his store. The blacksmith had never seen a look of such intensity coming from his typically carefree friend. It was actually kind of inspiring. Alfred really did look like the brave hero willing to rush into battle with dragons, warlords, and any fiend that stood in his way of rescuing his special someone.

A small smile formed on Kiku's lips as he grabbed the store keys. He only had a few minutes to find and inform Elizabeta (assuming she wasn't already stalking Alfred) before resuming tailing the blonde…and assist him if needed, of course.


oOo


In the end, all of Alfred's efforts seemed to be for naught. Nobody had seen Lovino, but agreed to keep an eye out for him. It was starting to get late, so Alfred made his way to the older part of town. Given the time, the Library should be closing soon. Maybe Arthur could help him find Lovino or have an idea of what to do next.

"Dad! Dad!" he pushed the doors open and started to call out for Arthur. "MOOOOOM!"

His impatience was starting to show, but he didn't care as the librarian quickly made his way over to him, trying to shush his loud son.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, barging in here and screaming at the top of your lungs?" the blonde scolded him, ignoring the volume of his own voice. "Are you trying to wake him up, you tosser?"

"Wake who up—no! Nevermind! Look, Dad, this is important!"

"About time you show up, too!" Arthur went on, shoving his son of sorts through the doorway leading to his office. "Lovino suddenly took ill and I didn't know what else to do!"

"W-What?!"

"Poor lad passed out and I didn't want to move him too much…"

"What's going on here?!" Alfred asked in disbelief. His previous rage was replaced by confusion. For an instant, he was glued to the floorboards.

"Would it bloody well kill you to lower your voice?!" Arthur hissed, standing over someone curled up on the couch.

Alfred peered closer, but the lump of a person was wrapped up in so many blankets he was almost unrecognizable. The only thing identifying him was the distinctive hair curl and brown hair poking out of a small opening by the edge of the couch.

"Lovino came to visit the library and suddenly collapsed," Arthur explained. "I've been looking after him since this afternoon. I even left you a note to come over."

"You wrote this?!" the younger blonde held out the creepy note.

"How else were you supposed to know where to go?"

"I don't know; a description?" Alfred shot back, still outraged. "I thought someone kidnapped Lovi!"

"Kidnapped him? That's ridiculous! We only had lunch!"

"Oh, god! You killed him?! Alfred rushed to the brunette's side, kneeling beside him. "Lovino? Lovino, can you hear me?!"

Arthur responded in kind by kicking the blonde's foot.

"Unlike you wankers, he actually appreciated my cooking," he blinked, remembering something. "And why didn't you tell me you were living together?!"

"That's why you poisoned him?! You killed my best friend because I forgot to introduce you first?! What the hell, Arthur?!"

"A-Alfred…?" Lovino began to stir. "Is that…you…?"

In a flash, Alfred held his hand tightly.

"Yes, I'm right here, Lovi! It's me!" His bright blue eyes became sad. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I swear I'll never leave your side again! I'll protect you from Arthur's cursed cooking from now on, so please don't die!"

"Bloody idiot…" the librarian rolled his eyes.

"O-Okay, bastard…just…just make the room stop spinning…"

"You bet," the Hero of Canton scooped him into his arms. "Let's go home, Lovino."

Lovino buried his face in Alfred's shirt, feeling warm and safe. He didn't care where they went as long as it was far away from the scones from hell.


oOo


A/N

Sorry about the choppiness of this chapter. At least Lovino was found safe and sound (mostly)! The Hero's rescue mission was a success, although they're both probably going to put off family dinners with Arthur for awhile now… ^^

In case you're wondering, Arthur's note was written strangely to make it seem creepier than it actually was. At the time he wrote it, Arthur couldn't find Alfred and was in a hurry to get back to the Library where he left Lovino who had passed out from (food) sickness. Guilty conscience?

~Rajikka

Translations

Tsundere (Jp.) – Arthur Kirkland. Haha, just kidding. (sort of.) A tsundere is a type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. Iggy and Lovi are two good examples of this character.

Esmerelda (Sp.) – "Emerald"

"Frogs and sod and barmy" – A few British words and phrases. Frog is an offensive term for a French person. To "sod off" is to "piss off" or "get lost" while barmy means to have gone mad or crazy.