Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. All rights go to its creator.

Summary: Feliciano, Arthur, and Lovino learn the hard way that actions have consequences.

TW: Punishment in the form of whipping. Light torture.

Two of A Kind: Chapter 4: Faults

Hunger Induced Hysteria.

Mishkat said he didn't believe the surgeon, and that he really didn't have anyone else to tell. Alfred wouldn't hear anything that refuted the surgeon's diagnosis, he said Arthur was valuable, the more unhinged the better, maybe they could become as infamous as Captain Morgan.

Lovino couldn't see anything from the ship, but Feliciano had been worried something terrible was going to happen. So he had his suspicions, but wasn't fully convinced to actually say anything about it.

"You don't think he lost his mind, so what?" Lovino asked Mishkat, he had pulled Lovino into his quarters.

"I don't think he's a human at all." Mishkat said, walking past Lovino from the door.

Lovino squinted his eyes and crossed his arms, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Come on, listen to me. He ate that man like a wolf would eat its prey." Mishkat sat on his desk.

"So what is he, a wolf man?" Lovino rolled his eyes.

Mishkat shrugged, "Maybe."

"Mi fratello is not involved with a wolf man. That is foolish. You should just keep that to yourself."

Mishkat frowned, his gaze suddenly intense,"Just keep an eye on your brother. He might be in danger."

Lovino waved him off, and left said Boatswain's quarters. Lovino had been appointed to the position of Cook and made his way back to the kitchen.

Apparently the merchant ship they had ransacked was Germanic, so he only had that type of food to work with.

Lovino made stew, with hearty potatoes, lentils like kidney beans, and leftover rat meat. He seasoned them with oregano, and some other spices he had raided from their kitchen. Their vessel, The Moselle Cordelia, had been a British privateering ship, which meant they had absolutely no spices on board, or the rats got into them, but Lovino heavily believed the former.

"I think this is going to be our last use for the rats." Lovino muttered more to himself than his appointed assistant, Arthur.

Alfred had appointed Arthur to be their quartermaster, but Arthur declined the position, saying he felt more useful in close working quarters with Lovino in the kitchen.

Lovino had no idea why, maybe Feli suggested he try to get along with him. They were involved with each other whether Lovino liked it or not, the exact nature of their relationship unknown to himself. Lovino often sent the man to gather what he needed, and he did so dutifully, so Lovino couldn't complain.

And although he gave Lovino an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, it was quiet. Arthur rarely spoke a word, just watched him, with those soulless green eyes of his.

00000

Lovino, sometimes, took a dish personally to Alfred. Alfred didn't have a servant, he said something about how he didn't particularly like the idea, which Lovino didn't think made any sense. Other times Lovino had Arthur to do it.

Lovino told Arthur to watch the pot while he brought Alfred his bowl of stew. As the Captain, Alfred got to eat first.

"I'll be here a little while then."

"What?"

Arthur gave him a look, and Lovino furrowed his eyebrows.

"You take longer than I do."

"D-do you fucking keep count? T-that's—What is wrong with you?"

Arthur didn't answer the question, walking past him to stir the pot of stew. Although Lovino swore he saw a smirk on the other man's lips.

Lovino bristled."You barely speak, and Feli's the only one who can stand being around you. Of course I take longer than you, y-you lusus naturæ."

Lovino walked out of the kitchen with a huff, making sure the bowl of stew didn't spill with the subtle swaying of the boat. A deckhand shouldered past him with a waste bucket. Lovino didn't bother saying anything, too wrapped up in his thoughts.

Feli didn't tell that blond bastard anything did he? It isn't his fucking business.

When Lovino stopped by Alfred's doorway, the blond was squinting at a book. He seemed to be struggling to read. The previous Captain had a pretty extensive library, Feliciano had mentioned it to him when he and Arthur were looking around.

Lovino took a deep breath, puffed out his chest and barged right in. "Food is here. Clear that shit so it won't get cold."

Alfred looked up from his task and gave Lovino one of those radiant smiles he often wore. He swiped his desk clear, shoving books and scrolls to the floor.

"The chef has decided to grace me with his presence today, huh?"

Lovino rolled his eyes, "Even Arthur can't mess up stew, and I decided I had enough energy to bring it to you today."

"I know you work so hard. Feeding such a large crew by yourself. Do you need another assistant?"

Lovino felt heat warm his cheeks as he set the bowl down in front of Alfred.

"Too many cooks in the kitchen would fuck up my process. I'm fine, now eat up." Lovino waved him off.

Alfred sniffed the aroma of the stew and Lovino was going to exit. How could Arthur even tell the difference? He stayed a moment or so longer than he did, it wasn't a large difference.

"Do you have to go back now?"

Lovino halted just before the door, swiftly turning around to face Alfred with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I mean, it won't take long for me to eat, and I wouldn't want you to have to make two trips."

Alfred looked at him with those earnest blue eyes, deep as the depths of the ocean, and Lovino felt whatever rebuttal die on his tongue.

"Yeah I'd fucking hate to make two trips. I can spare a few moments."

Lovino walked over to the book Alfred had been trying to read, something about the documented exploits of Captain Sir Henry Morgan.

"You're really into him, huh?" He bent down to pick it up before holding it up for Alfred.

Alfred squinted at the book, "Oh! Captain Morgan, he's rather infamous. Gilbert used to tell me stories about him. I guess this Captain was an admirer too."

"You uh need help reading it?"

"I just can't see too good is all. I know how to read and write. Gilbert made sure of that!" Alfred said through a mouthful of stew. Then he grinned.

Lovino pursed his lips and let a breath out of his nose.

"You miss him don't you?" Lovino placed the book on Alfred's desk.

Alfred snorted, "What? No! It's how these things go! Crews split up all the time." Alfred avoided his gaze briefly, flickering it skyward. "Some get taken prisoner, others are traded. We're fugitives, running from the law!"

Lovino stared Alfred in the eyes when his gaze landed back on him.

"Feli fucked up everything. I know it. He's an idiot, and he doesn't think about how shit affects other people. I'm sorry Alfred. Dammit I should've tried harder to stop him."

Lovino felt himself shaking, he clenched his fists as he willed his anger to simmer down.

"Lovino, really it's alright."

"Stop lying to my fucking face! Gilbert meant everything to you and because of my foolish brother, you can't see him anymore. How could you possibly not hate him o-or me?"

Alfred shrugged, "Alright, I admit, I do miss him sometimes." Then Alfred stood up and reached over the desk to place his hands on Lovino's shoulders. "But Lovino, two things: one, what your brother does isn't your fault, you tried, and that's all you can do. And two, I'm the Captain of this ship! If Gilbert could see me now, if we ran into him, he'd be so proud of me!" Alfred grinned, full teeth, before he filled the room with a hearty laugh.

Lovino felt a lopsided grin tug at his lips, Lovino sometimes thought Alfred's laugh was bothersome, but other times it was his favorite thing in the world to hear.

00000

Feliciano was not particularly pleased to be assigned fishing duty with Arthur. Lovino needed another meat source, Arthur was his assistant, so it was his job, but Arthur asked Feliciano to accompany him. All Feliciano could think about was sitting in the scorching hot sun for hours at a time, and how miserable he would be. He had gotten used to being the newly appointed Cooper. He didn't have much work to do and got to stay below deck most of the time.

Arthur had made him an umbrella to shield him from the sun, but had shed his clothes soon after to jump into the water. Feliciano had a feeling that the siren missed home, the water probably beckoned him, and until now he had ignored the call.

They were supposed to be fishing. Feliciano hadn't caught anything on the fishing rod he made, and pulled it up, feeling the effort useless. He soon felt boredom start to creep in as the seagulls flew by in the sky. He sighed, resting his head on his palm, and elbow on his knee. The waves stilled to a quiet lull.

He got lost in a daydream, one where he could bask in the rays of the sun, and eat fresh tomatoes, the juice splattering on his lips, as the rest slid down his throat. It would settle in his stomach, and he'd hum. He'd have crows feet around his eyes, and know that one day he'll be laid to rest.

That was until Arthur appeared in front of him, popping above the surface with a few punctured fish.

Feliciano almost forgot what Arthur really looked like, having not really seen him in his siren form since they got off the island. That was around a year ago now. He had fins on the sides of his head where his ears would go, his arms were littered with gold scales, and his eyes were still emerald green.

Feliciano gasped as he leaned over and reached out to grab the fish from him. Arthur held them out of reach. The siren smirked at him, before grabbing his wrist. He hoised the fish onto the boat right before he pulled Feliciano into the water.

And at first he was frightened, flailing his arms and kicking his legs. But Arthur held him upright, and he calmed down.

"You're so mischievous! My heart almost stopped! I thought I was going to drown."

Arthur pointed at him with a webbed flesh-covered finger and then downward.

"You want me to go underwater with you?"

Arthur nodded.

Feliciano grinned, "Sure!"

Arthur dipped below the surface of the ocean so fast that when Feliciano blinked he was gone.

Feliciano kind of splashed the water in a sort of a panic. He took in a breath and stuck his face in and tried to look below him, squinting at the murky depths of the ocean.

And suddenly he felt something grab him from behind, and pull him down. Feliciano wanted to scream as he was pulled backwards, said grip pulled taunt just under his ribcage. He was pulled upside down, he clawed and kicked fruitlessly toward the increasingly distant surface. Trying to grasp onto something, anything.

Feliciano took a moment to calm himself when he was righted onto his stomach, and he saw a few dolphins swim past him. He was pressed against something warm, and noticed he was being held by scale covered arms. He looked up to see Arthur laughing at him, air bubbles escaping from his mouth. Feliciano scrunched up his mouth and furrowed his eyebrows. But he wasn't really upset.

Feliciano had of course never moved through the water at such speed like this before. His arms and legs dangled uselessly, almost as though he were gliding effortlessly.

Seaweed poked out from the abyss below. And Feliciano had to swat krill that landed on his face. Schools of fish scattered and darted around to avoid their path.

Feliciano suddenly felt like his lungs were going to burst, and slapped Arthur's arms. He pointed to his mouth and he brought him back up. Feliciano took in a large gulp of air. He gripped his soaking wet cloak as he'd done so, pulling it over his head.

"That was amazing!" Feliciano turned to face him. He pressed his hands flat onto the siren's chest, his scales were a bit rough to touch.

Although initially he seemed terrifying, Feliciano thought instead he was something to marvel at. He brushed his fingers over the gills on the siren's neck.

Arthur slapped him on the top of his head.

"Oww! What was that for?"

Arthur shook his head and pointed to his neck.

"Ah! No touching your gills. Sorry."

The sun was dipping below the horizon, seemingly disappearing into the ocean, bathing them in a warm orange glow. Arthur's scales seemed to glisten in the waning sunlight.

"We should get back into the row boat."

Arthur pulled Feliciano to him, gently this time, and Feliciano laid on top of him like he would a raft.

And he listened to Arthur's heartbeat as they floated back to the row boat, gently lulled by the rolling waves.

In moments such as these, Feliciano remembered that Arthur provided him comfort too, a sense of belonging in a place where only the two of them resided.

And it suddenly became clear to him, "Ti amo, Arturo." He murmured against the siren's chest, letting his eyes slip closed.

00000

It was getting late, and they hadn't pulled the boat up yet. Feliciano hadn't given the signal either. There was a rush of crewmen past the kitchen, back and forth.

Lovino was starting to get worried. How long did fishing usually take?

He was pacing in the kitchen, when there was a slight knock from the doorway. Lovino gnawed at a hangnail, as his eyes shifted to meet Mishkat's teakwood brown.

"The moon is full tonight."

"Shove it up your ass! I don't need this right now!"

"He is all alone out there with that monster. I should have volunteered myself." Mishkat shook his head, a solemn look on his face.

"Alfred ordered us not to kill Arthur, remember? What am I saying? Arthur isn't a wolf man. He's just a creepy little man who sticks his nose in my fucking business."

"Alfred didn't say we couldn't subdue him. I found wolfsbane in the former Boatswain's belongings in case things got serious." Mishkat shook a vial of what looked to be some kind of herb.

"He's not gonna hurt Feli even if I entertain your delusion. T-they're um uh…friends or something."

"Let us just hope Feliciano can fend for himself."

Feliciano and Arthur were pulled up shortly after, soaking wet to their bones. The fish they had brought were barely enough to cook with. A mariner who was scraping barnacles off of the side of the ship said he'd seen the row boat abandoned a few times. And so, upon seeming to have abandoned their duty, someone suggested they be flogged.

They had all been gathered by the Quartermaster to stand on the deck. Lovino did not want them to be flogged at all. He looked to Alfred who was going to speak. Yet the growing chants of, "Flogging! Flogging! Flogging!" drowned out any opposition Alfred might have had.

"Alright men settle down!" Alfred commanded as he made his way toward Feli and Arthur. The crowd of crewmen dispersed to allow for a path to them. "We settle this the democratic way. Votes of 'Yay or Nay' for each."

Alfred held up Arthur's arm first, feeling his throat suddenly dry, unable to croak out an answer for his vote. But it mattered very little in the face of the overwhelming amount of "Yay's" he received. Arthur was rather unpopular, that was true, and his slight favoritism from Alfred up until this point had put a target on his back.

When Feliciano was called next, Lovino found his voice again to yell "Nay" with presumably the rest of those who'd worked with him below deck. But alas it was not enough to be a majority. Lovino felt something heavy settle into the pit of his stomach. Again, Feli had done it again, he had allowed Arthur to get him into trouble. Lovino, his older brother, couldn't protect him, and he couldn't bear to watch him get punished.

They were taken to the holding cells in the brig to stay until sunrise. Lovino was restless that night, plagued with dreams of wolf men tearing him to shreds, of wolf men getting to Feli and swallowing him whole.

The sun was bright, but when was it ever not? Feli was brought out first, they would be stripped of their shirts in front of the entire crew, tied to the grating, and whipped on their bare backs.

Feliciano pleaded for a recount, he pleaded to keep his cloak on. His amber eyes bore into the face of the Quartermaster, Lutz. He was a tall, broad shouldered, muscular man of Germanic descent, who had a scar on his left cheek. He had cold baby blue eyes, fair skin, and dirty blond hair.

Lutz said he didn't care, as long as his back was exposed. Two other mariners tied Feliciano's wrists and ankles to the grate. Lovino couldn't bring himself to look, and soon enough Feli let out blood curdling screams.

Lovino squeezed his eyes tight, willing the torture to be over soon.

"I-I didn't even touch him Captain. H-his skin started burning, turning charred, almost like I had touched him with a match flame." That voice sounded like Lutz. Heavy strides alerted Lovino of Alfred's descent from his position near the wheel.

Feliciano continued to scream.

"Hmm, maybe he's an albino. I suppose that is punishment enough." Alfred said, shifting his weight onto one foot, then the other. He could hear it in the creek of the wooden floors.

Those screams quieted down into whimpers, and Lovino allowed himself to look as they untied Feli. His cheeks were stained with tears, and Lovino couldn't meet his eyes, shame burning his cheeks.

Arthur was brought out next, and he was bound by his wrists and ankles to the grate just like Feli had been.

And somehow those soulless green eyes found him, despite the massive size of the crew, despite Lovino's wish to seamlessly merge into the crowd unnoticed. And Lovino was a bit taken back to see in them remorse, for what exactly?

For not following orders?

No. For what happened to Feli. They had both failed him, and they both had to live with that shame.

Lovino could hate Arthur all he wanted to, but there was something about that vulnerability in his eyes that wouldn't let him fully do so.

Arthur was quiet, barely making a sound, only the occasional scrunch of his face in pain let them know he was actually feeling every crack of the whip. And even that didn't seem like it was enough for those booing and hissing in the crowd, restless.

It seemed to go on for entirely too long, but Alfred stopped Lutz soon enough.

Lovino stirred a pot of fish stew later that evening. The silence that filled their space in the kitchen was thick like a fog. His back was to Arthur who sat on a barrel of molasses, bandages ran across his midsection.

"I think it might be best if you keep your distance from him." Lovino found himself saying.

"Lovino I–"

"I don't care. He's all I've got, and I don't want to see that shit happen again. Find someone else's brother to ruin."

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Feliciano basked in the glow of the moon. The Moon was always a constant in his life, and he liked consistency, considering his life had become so hectic lately.

Feliciano bounced on his toes, lighter than air. He was in love! Yes, the thing artists devote their pieces to, their muse, their ambition, their passion.

His siren companion was quieter than usual, tracing nonsensical shapes into the wood of the bow with his finger.

Feliciano wanted to shout, he wanted to explode, he wanted to jump, he wanted to be right just where he was. He wished his companion felt the exact same way, instead of troubled over something Feliciano had no awareness of.

"Amore mio a cosa stai pensando?" Feliciano whispered.

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. Feliciano tapped Arthur's head.

Arthur turned to face him with watery eyes. Feliciano cupped his cheeks, mouth in a pout. Teardrops wet the pads of his thumbs. "Why are you sad?" After a moment of silence he dropped his hands. Feliciano gasped, pointing behind his back,"This? It's all better, see?" Feliciano turned around and pulled his shirt over his head.

He tried not to flinch at the warm fingers poking and prodding his back before he turned back around. Although it did not brighten Arthur's expression.

"It's all my fault." He said, voice barely above a whisper, and Feliciano felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.

"No, no." Feliciano shook his head. "I know you missed the ocean, I wouldn't have traded yesterday for the world."

"I don't like to see you hurt."

Feliciano huffed, and puffed out his chest, "What about you? I don't want you to be hurt either. We'll be more careful next time" And that got him an eye roll from Arthur. "No more crying," Feliciano cupped Arthur's cheeks, pulling him down to kiss his eyelids.

Arthur closed his eyes as he let out a hum in agreement.

A/N: It called to me, to keep writing this. The punishment did too, believe it or not. I said 'yeah, they could have fun but at what cost?'

lusus naturæ - Latin for "freak of nature."

2p Germany - Lutz

Translations Courtesy of Google Translate:

Ti amo– I love you

Amore mio a cosa stai pensando? – My love, what are you thinking about?