Thanks to the SakuraKnight and SleeplessInTheCity for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

SpaPol: Mermaid's Treasure

Captain Antonio Fernandez Carriedo looked across the vast ocean. He knew that, somehow, he would find a beautiful treasure reserved only for him. A treasure that would be the envy of his arch rival, Captain Arthur Kirkland.

"Captain, what are your orders?"

He turned to see his first mate and brother, Miguel, standing behind him with a curious expression.

"We will wait for the sun to set," Antonio said. "And then we will sail in the direction of the first star that lights up the sky."

His brother sighed, running a hand through his own brown hair.

"Sometimes, I don't understand you," Miguel said. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Si," Antonio said. "The best treasure is the one you find by following your heart."

"Whatever you say. So, are we going to make music tonight?"

"Si, of course! We should have a fiesta, if possible."

…

Feliks was hunting when he heard the most beautiful sound coming from the surface. He looked up, puzzled, and swam to the surface. It was dark out, so he didn't mind.

He saw something large, and he recognised it as the thing that humans used to travel around on.

The mermen usually had nothing to do with the humans, leaving that to the mermaids. But he was curious.

He saw what looked like seaweed on the side, and found that it was firmer than seaweed. He used it to pull himself up, finding that moving around above the surface was a lot more difficult than moving underwater.

And it didn't help that his gills had become useless, forcing him to breathe with his lungs for the first time.

But it was worth it in the end. He had managed to pull himself so that he could see what was happening on the surface of the large object. And his eyes immediately fell on the source of the beautiful sound.

Antonio was playing the guitar and singing along, his crew listening intently. When the song was over, he glanced around at the members of his crew, before seeing something along the side of the boat. It looked like… eyes.

When the human looked at him, Feliks panicked, and he lost his grip, falling back into the water. He had to work hard to make sure that the object didn't hurt him.

Antonio had rushed to the side, his men looking at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Miguel asked.

"I thought I saw something," Antonio said.

What he could see was the water along the side of the ship being disturbed by something, and he was sure that he had heard a splash.

"I think it's time to turn in," Miguel suggested, and many of the others agreed.

Antonio stayed a little while longer, and only when he turned away did a blond head breech the surface, staring after the pirate.

Feliks was curious, and entranced. The human had done something that the females often did. Was that why the females often managed to entrance humans in order to mate?

Feliks wanted to know more, and so had decided that he would follow the humans to learn more.

…

A few days after the fateful incident, Antonio found his luck had changed dramatically.

They had run into another ship. And not any ship.

Britannia Angel, the ship of Arthur Kirkland.

And this time, Arthur was out for blood. And Antonio was losing badly.

He glared up at the man who had a sword pointed towards his throat, his own cutlass having been lost in the fray.

"Do you yield?" Arthur asked.

"I will never," Antonio spat.

"I think I have something that will change your mind."

Antonio was confused, until he heard a familiar voice scream. He turned his head to see Miguel being held between two of Arthur's crewman as a third was twisting a dagger between his brother's ribs.

"How much do you think he can take before he dies?" Arthur asked.

To prove his point, he nodded to the crewman, who removed the dagger and placed it against Miguel's ear, a thin trail of blood coming from the place where the edge dug into the other's skin.

"Stop!" Antonio shouted. "Alright, I yield. Just don't hurt him!"

Arthur smirked.

"That's what I thought."

…

Antonio looked over the edge of the ship to the water, swallowing nervously. His hands were tied behind his back and he was gagged. What made his situation worse was the fact that his ship was sank by Arthur and about ten members of his crew were now Arthur's prisoners, including his brother. The rest were dead.

"Rest in peace," Arthur said, before kicking the other overboard.

…

Feliks had heard thunderous noises, among others, when the second large thing had arrived. He had also seen the first thing going down to the depths, along with some of the humans.

But when he saw that human, his eyes widened, and he immediately went to his side.

Antonio's eyes widened when he saw the blond, and the other didn't hesitate in wrapping his arms around him before dragging him off.

He knew that humans couldn't last long underwater, but knew that their current location wasn't safe. He panicked when he felt the human going lax in his arms, and took him to the surface, scrunching his eyes when he was exposed to the light.

The human didn't seem to be getting enough air in. Was it because of the thing in his mouth? Feliks fumbled as he removed it, and the human spat out some water.

Feliks looked around, in spite of the blinding light, and found what appeared to be islands in the distance. Making sure that the human's head was above water, he made his way to the islands, trying not to worry about the fact that the human's eyes were closed.

…

When Antonio awoke, he felt sand beneath his back and waves lapping at his legs. He couldn't remember being on a beach.

As the memories of the battle and the aftermath returned to him, his eyes snapped open, only to see green eyes. For a moment, he was worried that they belonged to Arthur, until the other moved away, apparently startled by him suddenly awakening.

He sat up, keeping his eyes on the other. At first he thought it was a woman, until his eyes saw the flat chest. And when he gazed lower, his eyes widened when he noticed a green fish's tail.

"A… mermaid?"

Or would the correct term be 'merman'?

He noticed that his hands had been untied, and he reached out with one hand in order to touch the merman's face. The other shied away, looking terrified.

"Did you save me?" Antonio asked as gently as he could.

The merman looked at him, his head cocked. Antonio wondered if he could understand him.

"Thank you," Antonio tried again, adding a smile. Everyone understood a smile, right?

The merman shuffled along the water, until he was comfortable enough to swim. Antonio sighed as the other swam away.

…

It was dark, and Antonio had just finished building a fire when he felt something colliding with his head. He looked down to see a small pebble, and turned his attention to the direction it came from.

His eyes widened when he saw the merman, and the other had a large fish in his arms.

The merman smiled, before pushing the fish closer to Antonio. He noticed that the fish was already dead, and that there was a chunk missing from the creature's neck.

"Thank you," Antonio said, taking the fish.

His hand lingered for a moment on the merman's, and he noticed how the other's skin wasn't wrinkly, like a human's would be after being exposed to so much water for so long. It was smooth, and Antonio found that he liked it.

As he was cooking the fish, he noticed the merman looking on in puzzlement. He chuckled, before cutting a piece off with the knife he kept hidden in his boot. He gave the piece to the merman, who looked at it puzzled.

Antonio chuckled, before cutting off a piece for himself and eating it. The merman seemed to catch on, for he placed it in his own mouth. The merman's eyes widened, and he smiled, seeming as though he was gushing from happiness. Antonio chuckled at the sight.

"So, what is your name?" Antonio asked. "Mine is Antonio."

The creature made clicking noises, and Antonio sighed, figuring that the creature couldn't speak. He was still wondering if the creature could even understand him.

A while later, after they had both eaten, Antonio lay down on the sand, staring at the stars. He started to sing quietly, which seemed to please the creature.

Antonio turned to watch as the creature yawned, before snuggling next to a rock so that he was still in the shallows. Antonio smiled, and after a while followed the creature into sleep.

…

Antonio awoke some time later to the sounds of hissing and screeching. He turned to face the source of the noise to see what appeared to be five female figures attacking the merman.

"Hey!" Antonio shouted, going into the shallows. "Leave him alone!"

He held up his knife in front of him while he pulled the merman up. The females glared at him, hissing. They made screeching and clicking noises, and the merman followed.

Eventually, though, one of the females sniffed the air, scrunching her face in disgust. She made a few screeching sounds, and to Antonio it almost seemed like orders. The other four females growled, before leaving, and as they swam away, Antonio noticed that they also had tails.

"Mermaids," he whispered.

"How observant," the remaining female said, and Antonio yelped.

"You can talk?" he asked.

"I thought that was obvious."

"So, why doesn't…"

"Only the females use our voices to sound human," the mermaid said. "And only some of us bother to learn how to communicate. It makes hunting easier."

"Hunting?"

"Yes. Whether it's for food or for mating. And it's mating season."

"Is that why you attacked him?"

"No. The males of our species are impotent. That is why they are often shunned."

Antonio looked towards the merman, who was hugging his leg and trembling slightly.

"That one seems to have taken a liking to you," the mermaid continued. "And I think I know why. He can probably smell what I can."

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"You prefer men, don't you?"

Antonio blushed. His most guarded secret. How could they…?

"You're worthless to us," the mermaid continued. "You're better off as food. But that one wouldn't let that happen."

"Do you think you can tell me what his name is?" Antonio asked.

She looked at him oddly, before sighing.

"Feliks," she said, and the merman seemed to perk up.

"Gracias," Antonio said.

She huffed, flipping her brown hair.

"Try taking him further on land," she suggested. "You'll see what happens. Also, see if you can get him to kiss you."

"Why are you…?"

"Males are a nuisance, unless they can somehow help us lure humans to our lairs. And I suspect that you have someone that you would want to repay for leaving you on this island."

And with those words, she turned to leave, and Antonio looked down at the merman at his feet.

"Feliks," he whispered.

The other turned to face him and gave a small smile.

Frowning in curiosity, Antonio moved to lift the merman. Feliks looked panicked for a moment, and when Antonio managed to completely lift him Feliks started to thrash around.

"Shh," Antonio shushed. "It'll be okay."

He saw the merman's chest heaving, and in a moment the merman's arms were locked around his neck.

Antonio carried the merman until he reached the treeline, and he tiredly collapsed with the merman in his arms.

He breathed heavily for a moment before feeling Feliks claw at his back. Antonio looked down to see Feliks's tail shimmering, and Feliks was thrashing. Eventually, the shimmering faded away, and Antonio stared in surprise when he saw a pair of legs instead of a tail.

Feliks looked just as surprised as him, and kept running his hands over his new legs. Antonio tried to ignore how arousing that was.

Instead, he stood up and placed Feliks on his feet, laughing when he saw the other stumble.

"I guess I'm going to have to teach you how to walk," Antonio said.

…

The next day was spent teaching Feliks how to use his new legs. Antonio couldn't bear looking at the naked body the whole time, so he had removed his shirt in order to cover Feliks. He was glad that he was larger than Feliks, since his shirt managed to cover everything that was necessary.

Antonio was laughing at Feliks's latest attempt at running, but he stopped when he heard another sound.

Feliks was also laughing.

He smiled when he heard the other's voice, and looked over towards the other, seeing his green eyes sparkling.

He was right. He had found the best treasure.

…

A few days passed, with Feliks going into the water to get fish every time. It was on the fourth day that Feliks kissed him.

Antonio was surprised by the action, but yelped when Feliks dragged him into the water, and he completely panicked when Feliks dunked his head under the water.

He thrashed around, thinking that the other was trying to drown him, until he realised that he had no problem breathing.

As soon as he relaxed, Feliks dragged him into deeper water.

Antonio couldn't believe the beautiful scene underneath the waves. It truly was a treasure.

…

The two were staring at the sunset when Feliks said something for the first time, even if it sounded forced.

"An… to… nio…"

Antonio looked over towards the merman, whose eyes were wide as though looking for approval. And Antonio was sure that he truly had found his treasure.

Okay, so the prompt was: 'A merman starts hearing an inexplicable noise.'

Longer than the previous few.

So, mermaids are the dominant among them, and mermen are useless in the mating department. Unless they can somehow sneak aboard a ship and lead the crew to a mermaid's lair, where they will either be used to mate or become food. But whether or not the human would be good for mating also depends on the human's sexual orientation, and the mermaids could smell it. Since it was mating season, they were looking for a mate, and not for food. Merpeople can walk on land, if they have the proper motivation. It's how they survive if they're beached, for example. And a kiss from a mermaid/merman that is actually meaningful will allow the human to breathe underwater.

Yeah, if I ever write a full-on mermaid fic, expect it to be dark. Actually, I think I might do just that… Maybe one of the multi-chapter HCSS fics? Need to figure out a pairing though. Although I'll admit that I'm partial to Merman!Poland. I think he was cute here.

And the mermaid that explained everything to Spain is Hungary. Miguel is Portugal.