Shout out to Hinotori-hime! No my friend, you are not the only shipper of this pairing! :)
The only thing with writing a Spamano story was that, while it is one of my favored pairings, I was a little worried about my portrayal of them. Delighted to know I'm on the right track!
Lovina didn't realize she'd spent the entire day scrubbing away at the filthy kitchen until Antonio came in with a lantern. She was standing back in the doorway, trying to decide if she'd gotten everything.
The pirate whistled softly. "I should have gone to Port Diego years ago, Lovi."
"Don't call me that," she grumbled, glaring at him. She would have been more enthusiastic about it, but she was tired. She might enjoy working, keeping her hands busy, but it was tiring.
"It still suits you," he chuckled. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he gently guided her out, pulling the door closed. "Come, you can cook tomorrow. Tonight, eat, rest, sì?"
Lovina had to smother a yawn before she eyed him. "Am I going to have to sleep in your damned bedroom again?"
"Where else would you sleep? Consider it your safe haven, Lovi. I tell my crew, unless it is life or death or I'm already dead, don't go in my rooms. One did not listen, so I killed him. Now the others listen. Besides, if you do not sleep in my bed with me, you sleep below with the crew."
"That's blackmail, bastardo," muttered Lovina, deciding their previous deal was no longer in effect.
"Maybe. I don't mind."
"How the hell can you smile so much?" demanded Lovina as she stomped across the deck. "You're a damn pirate."
Antonio considered this as he held the door open for her. "Yes, I am a pirate. That does not mean I can't be nice. You know that, right?"
Lovina was about to snap "no", but stopped herself. What if that made him mad, like before? Once she was thinking about it, she had to admit he wasn't all that bad. Hell, compared to her old governess, the pirate was a saint when it came down to how they treated her. Yes she was a prisoner here, and given the chance she'd run like hell. Yes she'd been scared shitless her first night there, but even so he hadn't actually physically hurt her. He didn't hit her or yell at her, didn't degrade her or make her feel like a waste of resources, just the opposite actually.
"You're a damn ass, you know that?" she informed him, marching passed the pirate into what she now viewed as the world's most comfortable prison cell. "Sei un bastardo stupido."
"Are the excessive insults because you're about to complement me, Lovi?" asked Antonio, smiling as he shut the door and lowered the bar into place.
Glaring out the window, ignoring the heat in her face, Lovina said, "You're nicer than that bitch governess ever was. Better than nothing, bastardo."
Antonio's face brightened, something Lovina hadn't thought possible. "Really? So all the nasty names don't mean you hate me?"
Before Lovina could set him straight, he executed a hug attack, grabbing her up and lifting her feet off the floor. "Hey! Let me go idiota! Put me down you stupid-
The pirate cut her off before she could finish her insult, and Lovina's eyes went wide. She was too shocked by the fact he actually kissed her to do more than hold perfectly still. She was still mimicking a statue when Antonio pulled away, still smiling.
"I still can't believe you've never been kissed, Lovi," he said, setting her down on her feet. "I know you have a temper, but you're very pretty."
Lovina vaguely heard him, but her arm was already in motion. No sooner had he finished the complement did the smacking sound of skin-on-skin ring through the cabin. It had been a reflex, really, she was still startled by the combination of the kiss and getting called 'very pretty'. It wasn't something she was used to, to say the least.
Antonio just blinked at her, her hand still resting where it had slapped him on the cheek. He seemed more baffled than upset, returning her stare. "Eh...you okay, Lovi?"
Lovina yanked her hand away, and really hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt, she demanded, "Why the hell did you call me pretty, pirate bastardo?!"
Said pirate cocked his head, and smiled, despite the red handprint he was now sporting. "It is true, no? Lovina is very pretty, even if she had a dirty mouth and gets mad a lot."
Again, this was not something she was used to. So rather than swear or punch him, or both, Lovina found herself frozen in place, face getting redder and redder.
Antonio's smile broadened, and he poked her cheek cheerfully, "Your face looks like a tomato! It really suites you. I never saw a cute tomato before."
Lovina had never been so embarrassed in all her life. It finally erupted, breaking her shock. "Get out!" she shrieked, shoving the pirate towards the door. "Get out, get out, get out!"
Antonio, still grinning, was quick to scurry out, though he did lock the door behind him. Lovina braced her hands against the wood, head hanging as she breathed heavily. What was wrong with her? Yes she had a temper but usually she had more control than this. It was pathetic how easily he could derail her. Then again, aside from her family no one had ever called her 'pretty' before.
Was that it, why he did it so easily? She was used to odd looks, to being ignored by people Nonno labeled 'prospective husbands'. It was the first time in her life she wasn't ignored in favor of Feliciana. Even after she'd met Ludwig, and the first meeting was all it took for Feliciana to decide, they still had their eyes on her. Even when a blind man could see she adored Ludwig...Lovina had tried to ignore it, hiding behind her temper, but it still stung. She knew her personality had had a lot to do with it, and they were twins for pities sake. Why else would everyone and their mother think Feliciana so much more attractive?
If he meets Feli, he'll change his mind, she thought miserably. Everyone does. He just hasn't met her yet. Even Nonno liked her better. He never said it because he's not supposed to play favorites, but he never had to.
Lovina, tired and brooding, drifted over to the corner under the window. The sun was setting on the other side of the ship, slowly dipping the room into shadows. She sat with her back to the wall, drawing her knees up under her chin. Even though she was hungry, she wished Antonio would stay away, though he would most likely bring food when he came back. That was just her luck, wasn't it? The only person to have a notable level of interest in her was a pirate.
Closing her eyes, it wasn't long before Lovina nodded off, still trying to decide if this was just an elaborate way of getting into her skirts or if Antonio really did have a fondness for her.
BREAK/BREAK\BREAK
When Lovina woke up, she was starving. As she sat up, it occurred to her that she should he sore and cold as well. Considering she'd fallen asleep in a tight position on the floor, she should have been. Now she found herself in the bed, covered in blankets. A tray with more food on it sat on the desk, just like the day before. Antonio was gone again, though when she started to crawl off the bed she found the other side still a little warm.
The food was the same, but still good, fresh from the raid. Besides, she was starving, and even half rotten food would have tasted good. Lovina cleaned the tray, gulped the water down, and went to the door. It was open again, and she wondered if Antonio didn't just lock it at night.
There were a few white puffy clouds on the sky when she came out on deck, looking around. The sun shone down brightly from its place in the mid-morning sky, warming her face. Lovina found herself cracking a smile, and though she knew the sun would no doubt become blistering later in the afternoon, it felt nice now.
The wind was just as strong as the day before, and she grimaced as the flyaway's and stray locks attacked her face once more. The ribbon had come loose in the night, and before she could grab it the wind whipped it away, yanking it overboard before she could grab it.
"Damn it," she muttered, grabbing at her locks.
Heaving a sigh, she turned back into the wind, letting it push her hair back away from her face. This time she ripped the ribbon from her other cuff, leaving it as ragged as its partner. She tied the scrap of ribbon around as much of her hair as she could, huffing out a sigh when she'd finished.
"I can see why sailors hack the stuff off," she grumbled to no one in particular.
"Don't do that, Lovi," said a voice from behind her. When she swung around, startled, she found Antonio standing behind her, a frown on his face. How hadn't she heard him come up? He was wearing boots on a wooden ship for pities sake.
"Why not?" she demanded, folding her arms. She'd never actually cut it off, she liked her long hair thank you very much. That didn't change the fact that it was damned annoying when you were on a ship where the wind was constantly blowing.
"You shouldn't," he insisted, and then turned towards the hatch in the middle of the ship's deck. "Wait here."
Lovina frowned as he dropped below. Shrugging it off, she turned to look over the lapping waves, peering down over the rail. One of the other ships were farther behind, looking more like a toy than a vessel in the distance as it trailed behind them. The other was a little farther behind them, but not by much.
This time she heard Antonio as he crossed the deck, and when she turned he had a scrap of red cloth in one hand. He gestured for her to turn back around, which she did wearily. When she felt something drop on top of her head she demanded, "What are you doing, bastardo?"
"You will not cut your hair," he said bluntly. "But if it annoys you I can fix that. Hold still, please, Lovi."
Lovina considered wiggling, because he'd called her Lovi, but he had said please. Considering she was told constantly to use it herself, no one ever really directed it at her. Besides, she was getting irritatingly used to the nickname. It was certainly better than the ones she'd known people had called her behind her back. Her only complaint then was that they hadn't been very creative.
Antonio wrapped one edge of the cloth just above her forehead, bringing two corners of what appeared to be a triangular cloth around at the base of her neck, tying them together with a few quick movements. Then he stepped back and said, "There. Better, sì?"
Lovina reached up to carefully feel around his work, curious. The irritating flyaway's were gone, at least. She soon found he had tied the cloth over her head like a handkerchief, keeping her hair back and her flyaway's down. "Not bad," she admitted grudgingly. Then she realized something. "Hey, where'd my ribbon go?"
"I'm keeping it," said Antonio simply, smiling cheerfully as he stood beside her.
"Why?" grouched Lovina.
"Because."
"That's not an answer, bastardo."
Antonio shrugged, but didn't say anything else.
BREAK/BREAK\BREAK
Lovina poked around the kitchen when the sun reached its noon point. She moved all the food and anything cooking related to the kitchen, and took stock of what she had. Mostly it was things like dried meat, hardtack, bread, cheese, plus a barrel of apples. There were a few bags of flour and a bag of sugar as well, but she set those aside for later. She could make more when what they already had ran out.
She was wondering if she should try to make a sort of stew, both for the sake of variety and to make the food go a bit farther, when the door creaked open behind her. Not turning around she asked, "What do you want, bastardo?"
"I ain't the captain, wench."
Lovina whirled around, facing the crewman. This one she recognized, the man who had captured her in the first place. He had a very unpleasant grin on his face, made even more so by the few green teeth that had yet to fall out of his mouth.
Propping her fists on her hips, Lovina decided to pretend she wasn't unsettled by him cornering her in the kitchen. "What the hell do you want?"
"I want what was supposed to be mine, before the captain took you away from me."
Lovina took a step back as he advanced. "Stay away from me."
Grange ignored this, but it wasn't until he grabbed her shoulders Lovina panicked. She opened her mouth a screamed, feeling a faint sense of gratification when it came out loud and piercing. As she did it, she drove her knee up as hard as she could and slammed her head forward.
Something cracked, and a wheezing whistle escaped Grange's mouth. Lovina continued to scream as he fell into the counter, clutching his family jewels with one hand and his bleeding nose with the other. It only lasted for a moment, and even as he crashed into the wood surface he was reaching for her with his blood-covered hand.
Lovina bolted for the door, only to crash into Antonio as he threw the door open. She stared up at him, wide eyed as he grabbed her shoulders. She felt a tingle of icy fear dart down her spine when she saw the look on his face, but then noticed it wasn't directed at her this time. It was directed at the man stumbling after her, face contorted in anger.
"I said no one was to touch her," he said coolly. As he said it, he put an arm around Lovina's shoulders, pulling her behind him.
Lovina peeked around him as Grange said, "I brought her in, she was my take. If you're going to keep her for yourself- "
BANG!
Lovina squeaked, clapping her hands over her ears as the crack of a pistol rang through the small room. When she peered back around Antonio, she saw Grange fall to the floor, blood pouring from a wound in his chest, where she knew his heart to be. Her mouth fell open slightly, and she stared up at Antonio as he coolly holstered the pistol.
By this time several members of the crew had gathered in the hall behind them. Antonio grabbed Lovina by the wrist, pulling her out. "Dispose of that," he ordered as they parted to let him pass.
Lovina couldn't find her voice to protest as she was pulled along, back up on deck and into the cabin. Once inside Antonio shoved the bar down and yanked her into his arms, holding her tight. Lovina went ridged, but felt the tension slowly melted out of her. She didn't wiggle or swear, just buried her face in his coat and closed her eyes. She'd never admit it, but Grange had scared her, scared her bad.
"Oh Lovi," murmured the pirate after a long minute. "I heard you scream. What did he do?"
"Nothing," mumbled Lovina.
Antonio loosened his grip enough to reach down and grip her chin, lifting her face. "Lovina, if he did anything to you-
"He didn't!" protested Lovina. "He grabbed me, I screamed, kneed him in the balls and head butted his damned ugly face. That's it. The bastard hurt a hell of a lot more than me when you found us."
Antonio seemed to relax a little. "But you were still scared."
"Was not," grumbled Lovina, looking away.
"It's okay to be scared, Lovi."
Lovina wanted to swear at him, but her eyes were starting to burn, so was her nose. She buried her face in his chest, hoping he wouldn't notice. If he did he didn't let on, holding her with one hand and stroking her hair with the other.
Of all the things she hated doing, crying was at the top of that list. Why was she so scared, anyway? She'd been in a much more compromising position that first night. Why did Grange getting close scare her so much more than Antonio ever had?
Damn this bastard is confusing, thought Lovina miserably. Why can't he be like everyone else?
She ignored the voice in the back of her mind that wondered if that was such a bad thing.
Sei un bastardo stupido- you're a stupid bastard
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