EnglandxRomano

England sighed at the boy's blatant disrespect. He knew in his heart the boy would be safe wander the ship; his crew really were just a bunch of over grown puppies, after all. He even had a couple that had cried when a seagull accidentally flew into the mast and died. They gave it a proper funeral, laying it to rest in the ocean where they deemed it belonged. He felt a smile creep onto his lips at the memory, almost chuckling but not quite.

He glanced back down and realized he wouldn't be able to get any work done. Boredom strikes again. He sighed and reclined in his chair before deciding to make some rounds on the ship, just to make sure everything was in order with his crew. And maybe run into a cute Italian boy or two along the way... He mused to himself as stood before shaking the thought away as though it were poison. He opened his door, shutting and locking it behind him.

Arthur walked around the deck for about twenty seconds before he realized something was amiss. His crew was sliding everywhere and those who weren't were gathered around a very flustered looking Lovino who was holding a mop. He watched a few seconds as they pantomimed a mopping motion. Np doubt trying to teach the boy how to use a mop properly. He chuckled and picked his way over to them carefully. He stopped in front of the boy, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.

"And why, pray tell, are you standing in the corner?" He gave them all a serious look. The crew looked confused. He broke out into a smile, relaxing his position and laughing, "You should be sliding around having fun with everyone else! Forget the mopping, will you?" He threw his head back and laughed.

Lovino had been stopped by the men who handed him to mop, at first he thought they were going to yell at him but to his surprise they started to explain how to mop, but he was quickly becoming confused by the minute, "Listen here lad you gotta mop right to left." The first one said and the other man on his left shook his head, "No, no! Left to right boy, that's how you do it!" He said and the the third snorted, "You idiots are both wrong, its front to back." He said crossing his arms, Lovino held his mop unsure of which advice to go with, that was until the captain showed up and moved through the men, looking at all of them.

He asked them why they were all standing around, a hard look on his face but to his surprise he just started laughing short after, saying that instead of working they should all just slide around and that's exactly what the men did as soon as Arthur declared it, Lovino watched as the men slid and slipped happily, laughing loudly. He even noticed the eye-brow bastard joining in.

It did look like fun....

One of the men beckoned for him to join and Lovino smiled a little as he managed to slid over to the men quite gracefully, he wasn't as big or bulky so he slid around with ease and couldn't help but laugh out loud to himself as he slipped around the other men with ease, he was having fun, it had been so long since he relaxed like this, but soon he had become so absorbed in his sliding around that he ended up crashing into someone, falling on top of them with a "Oof!" Slowly Lovino opened his eyes and with a blush realized he had landed on Arthur, he quickly tried to scramble off but because of the wet floor only succeeded in falling on him again, his face landing in the other man's chest as he still attempted to get up, he winced a little as his ankle throbbed but he ignored it as he was more focused on getting up, he may have had fun in the little time that he slid around but for some reason he just didn't want to be near the captain.

England was having fun, sliding around the deck with his crew. He laughed and watched as he saw Lovino join in, happy to see something other than a scowl on the boy's sweet looking face. He'd been absolutely right; the Italian looked downright gorgeous when he smiled or laughed. He wanted nothing more than to take him back down to his cabin and ravage him until they- Wait! No, no, no. He shook his head. He couldn't think like that. This boy was a guest after all, and pirate or not, he was still a gentleman with morals and ethics. He nodded to assure himself, though briefly wondered if morals were really worth passing him up...

He was lost in his own thoughts, still sliding around, avoiding men as best he could on the slippery deck beneath him when all of the sudden, someone slid in front of him out of nowhere, plowing right into him. He watched in confusion, still slightly disoriented--only having kept his balance due to years of fighting-- as the smaller person that had run into him tried desperately to back away, only succeeding in falling against him once more. He smiled when he realized it was Lovino.

He chuckled, pulling the boy up, his feet briefly not touching the ground before setting him down so he no longer needed support to stand, "Be careful Mr. Varags. Your ankle could get hurt if you fell." He heard a couple crew members exclaim, now fussing over the Italian boy's ankle and he smiled at their compassion. "See, no one wants you hurt. It's not just me. So do us all a favor and be more careful with yourself, okay?" He asked, nearly laughing as the watched his crew drag the Italian away to examine his swollen ankle.

He crossed his arms and watched in amusement.

Lovino had been lifted up and set back on his feet, his feet momentarily not touching the ground and he didn't look at the captain as he told him to be careful on his ankle and pointing out yet again no one wanted to hurt him before he could give him a retort to his utter shock the other men crowded around him, inspecting his ankle and before he could protest one of them lifted him off his feet and carried him over to a non-slippery part of the deck as they resumed checking him over.

The italian stayed quiet as they argued over a best way to treat it, this was really weird to him, he had never had anyone let alone this many people get flustered over him, hell not even the tomato bastard cared about him like this when he got hurt.

He sobered up a bit when he thought of the tomato bastard, that old rusted knife that been put in there by betrayl in his heart gave twist, slowly lovino shooed them off, ”I'm fine, I'm fine, just let me up.” Lovino said waving his hand at the men in a shooing motion as he started to get up.

"Hey, hey, hey. I don't think so..." One of them said while another chimed in, "You shouldn't be standing on that! Let alone walking..." They sat him back down and one of them carefully took his ankle in their hand. He slowly re-wrapped it, making sure it was tight, but not tight enough to cause discomfort. The men were saying calming things, or protective things to him, trying their best to help him feel at ease with his ankle situation.

Arthur watched and felt a warmth blossom in his chest as a product of pride. He was almost positive that Lovino would be feeling at home here in no time-- whether he wanted to or not. He noticed the other's discomfort and smiled wryly, assuming it was because of a bad memory or another equally painful past experience. He crossed his arms again, and decided to walk over to them. He said nothing, just listening to the others fuss over the younger boy.

"You should really let us help you out; don't struggle." Another man said, petting the boy's hair gently.

Before Lovino could really get up he was gently pushed back down by the crew, he sat there awkwardly as they all murmured and said calming or protective things to him, it was a little overwhelming, another told him not to struggle and to just let them help him but when he tried to pet his head he ducked, he didn't want any of them snagging his curl on accident, he looked over at Arthur who only seemed amused by the situation and he threw him a cold glare.

Lovino was not liking all this fussing and he certainly did not like being treated like a child which is what it came down to in his mind, he pushed himself up and manged to weave out of the group of men, using his size to his advantage, they just stared at him and he straightened up, "I'm fine, seriously, no need to worry you *strano pirati preoccupanti." Lovino said, saying the last part in Italian knowing that they wouldn't know what he was saying.

Part him was whispering at him for moving away, saying it was rude and that he should of enjoyed it while it lasted while a a louder voice was yelling at him for not moving away sooner, that he was stupid for even thinking for a minute that any of this caring and kindness was real...

Lovino took off in a different direction, running towards the other side of the ship where he could be alone, he rubbed his temples, sighing, he knew that this type of affection and kindness wouldn't last, so he knew he shouldn't even enjoy it and think it was real...yet some where deep in him he wished that for a little, he could just pretend that it was...

-----
*weird worrying pirates

England frowned when he saw the boy take off and noticed several of his crew had become disgruntled and somewhat frantic at the boy's rejection of their help. He calmed them down before saying, "Alright, it's okay. I'll go look for him and see to it that he takes it easy, alright?" He watched as the crew begrudgingly agreed, disbanding from their huddle and scattering through out the ship to do their duty.

He began looking for the boy, hoping he hadn't hurt himself further by sprinting off like that. He was also a bit worried because the ship was rather large and easy to get lost on/ That's not to say it would be difficult to find your way back; it was just more of a pain than necessary. He searched the ship over, leaving no roomed unsearched and no corner unchecked. He began to grow impatient and slightly worried as he came towards the end as he'd been unsuccessful as of yet.

He opened the door and saw Lovino tucked into a corner, curled up in a ball. He walked over to him and crouched beside the Italian, though making no move to touch him, "Mr. Vargas? The crew is worried about you. You ran off rather quickly. Is your ankle still alright? How many times do I have to tell you not to run on it."

He paused when he got no answer and sighed, "Listen; I know you're unhappy to be on this ship, but we really don't want you hurt. I've already promised to drop you off at the next port we raid. Everything will work out." He waited patiently for the younger man to respond, still crouched beside him. He shifted slightly and sat down fully, in a cmore comfortable position, showing he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Lovino didn't move when he heard Arthur come in, he didn't want to look at him and he basically ignored him when he asked if he was ok and saying the crew was worried about him, he didn't answer the blonde but to the Italians further annoyance the man didn't seem to be willing to leave anytime soon seeing as he went from crouching beside him to taking a seat, crossing his legs waiting patiently for him to answer.

'Ugh what is with this guy, why can't he just leave me alone....!?' Lovino thought to himself, his fists balling up, He looked up at him, glaring, "Why can't you just leave me alone?" Lovino hissed at him, "You're always coming after me, and don't give me its "Because I'm a captain and your a guest and I have to watch out for" Bullshit, just leave me be! *Sdraiato, fastidioso pirata!" Lovino spoke the last words rapidly in Italian, before calming down again, He couldn't help but look away from the captain's eyes, the way he was looking at him in worry, they reminded him so much of Tomato bastard and he hated it, it's like the devil himself thought it would be funny to put Lovino in such a situation like this.

"Go away...." Lovino said tiredly, trying to ignore the pain in his chest, the man reminded him so much of the Spaniard, back when he thought the Spaniard was kind and caring and he hated it, he didn't want to think about that man, but that's all this man did, bring back all the pain and he hated it, *"Questo deve essere uno scherzo crudele giocato dal diavolo..." Lovino mumbled to himself, looking down again.

----------
*lying annoying pirate
*This must be a cruel joke played by the devil

England merely shakes his head, "I'm not going anywhere Mr. Vargas. I've got nowhere I'd rather be at the moment than bothering you with my clearly unwanted company." His voice had a little more than a tinge of sarcastic humor to it. He gave the boy a sideways look and a sly smile that turned into smirk when he saw the boy's face. He mistook the pain in the young country's eyes for irritation and raised his eyebrows.

"You know Mr. Vargas, despite what you may believe--or want to believe that is-- I'm not going to hurt you. And I'm not going to leave you here alone when something is clearly wrong. It has nothing to do with your being a guest I'm afraid; It's our policy that whoever sets foot on this ship--so long as they aren't a prisoner--is officially a part of the crew and will be treated as such. As far as we're concerned, you're family until we drop you off at that port.

"We're here for you but it goes both ways you know. The crew expects you to be there for them. They're naive for pirates. They truly believe everyone is good unless it's been proven otherwise to their faces. They believe in you. They believe you'll care for them." He paused, "And I believe you're only pushing us away because something or someone has hurt you. And now you're too scared to face becoming close with anyone else. You're blocking yourself off and you're the one suffering for it." He looked at the boy, examining his beautiful amber eyes as he spoke, "And in the long run, you'll be hurt worse than now, alone, and with a string of hurt people behind you." He looked away, waiting for the boy's angry response. He knew it was coming; he'd practically asked the boy, 'No, please, do yell at me.

Lovino's hands shook in rage when he saw the smirk on the captain's face, he blood boiling as the man spoke more and more, he couldn't hold back, the young Italian surged forward grabbing the man and tackling him and before he could stop himself he punched the man in the face, "I DON'T need anybody! Tell your crew to leave me alone and after that how about you leave me alone till we reach the next port, I DON'T need anybody! And who cares if I leave heart-broken people behind me, somebody always left me behind, so why should I give a shit?! Huh!? Why!" Lovino yelled at grabbing the front of Arthur's shirt, balling the fabric up in his fist.

"And you don't know a single thing about me so don't act like you do you fucking eye-brow bastard, I'd rather be alone forever because its better to suffer from that then to suffer from people always lying and leaving you behind!.....In this world no one actually cares about anybody we all just lie and steal to stay alive and in the end that's exactly how everyone treats people!" Lovino yelled, that one rule...that rule was the first rule the tomato bastard ever taught him and same exact rule is the excuse he used on him when he left him behind, behind alone in streets..he had used Lovino to get ahead and Lovino had fallen for it...all of it...even that tomato bastard.

Lovino felt his eyes start to sting and before he could stop himself he felt hot tears slide down his cheeks, he glared down at the brit, "Just leave me alone..I don't need your fake kindness..." Lovino growled before getting Arthur and taking a seat back in his corner, looking down, angrily wiping away his tears, trying to hold back his anger and heart break, “Just leave me alone...please...” Lovino whispered brokenly.

England didn't budge, "I'm not leaving you Mr. Varags. As much as you might detest me and my crew, I won't leave someone who's clearly hurting; someone who's suffering right before my eyes. I know I can't do much, but I want to try. I want to do something." There's a desperation in his voice, "You're hurting and it's obvious. Someone as strong as you seem must be hurting so badly to let it show through. You don't strike me as the type to show your weaknesses to others."

"Is it a past love?" England sounds sympathetic, "I've had my heart broken too, believe it or not... I fell in love with this man who left me behind. He had pretty blue eyes that reminded my of the sea and sky and hair like the sun. His smile was brighter than anything I'd ever seen. We were just two homeless teenagers. He was younger than me and I taught him the ropes. He got a chance for a better life and just like that, he left me behind. Left me for dead."

Arthur sighs and leans his head back, looking up at the dank brown ceiling of the ship's wood, "I told myself I'd never trust anyone again. I'd never let anyone close enough to hurt me that way. But... living like that is lonely. And it's dangerous. Before I knew it, I found myself aboard a pirate ship working as a cabin boy. When the captain got injured in a battle, he left the ship to me..." Arthur smiled sadly at the bittersweet memory, "And I found myself captaining this ship."

"I know it seems like this end of the world right now, but I promise you Mr. Vargas... Life has a funny way of working itself out. When you think it's all going your way, it turns you upside down and spits you out... and just when you're about to give up, you suddenly find yourself right side up again."

Lovino listened to the man's tale, it sounded so similar to his...maybe he would understand his pain if he told him but a big part of him screamed no, that if he told him he'd only leave himself open for pain, Lovino glanced at the man, his expression was one of sympathy, those bright green eyes looking at him with such open kindness, Lovino hurt so bad, he had been hurting for so many years.

Lovino took a deep breath and began to speak, "I....lost my baby brother first....we were so young, our mother abandoned us on the streets around the time I was nine, he was two years younger then me, it became my soul purpose to protect and care for him but one day the Spaniards came, I had made the most stupidest mistake of my life that day, I left my brother with one of the Spaniards, he promised me he would look out for him while I got food....I trusted him so stupidly and when I came back I saw that they were taking him away, I ran forward and took a small knife that I always kept in my pocket out and threw it, it hit the man in the leg and I moved forward trying to get my little brother away but they attacked me, I watched helplessly as they stole him away...right out of my hands...I remembered I screamed for him and he screamed for me but the man I had stabbed began to kick me in my stomach and his men joined in." Lovino said breathing deeply as the old pain came crashing on him in waves, his eyes glistening as he looked at his hands.

"I was sure I was going to die that night, bleed to death, I remember I thought I was going to bleed out there in the dirt with no one to remember me by and no one would care but then I don't know, I woke up in a small hut, a weird looking boy beside me, he had tousled brown hair and a smiling face, and such beautiful green eyes...just like jade, he was three years older then me, he saved me...." Lovino said trailing off not sure if he could continue but he looked at blonde who just gave him an encouraging nod.

"We became fast friend, he was a master thief and he showed me the ropes of everything, we did everything together and lived by a strict code that he had made that he lived by that helped us stay alive." Lovino said smiling fondly at the memory, "He loved tomatoes, that bastard almost got me killed multiple times trying to steal the ripest tomatoes..." Lovino continued as he gazed up at the ceiling as he felt the tears sting his eyes.

"When we were teens the Spanish police caught us....we had been about to make our ultimate steal, a pearl necklace that we would use to buy a better life, I was the bait but things went wrong and I was caught and so was he...I pleaded for our lives but then to my horror the captain of the police took an unusual and un-welcomed liking to me and the tomato bastard saw it as an opening, he offered me to the police! That bastard gave me away in exchange for the pearl necklace...." Lovino's fist shook as a a lump formed in his throat.

"And you want to know what he told me......Lovino said staring up at the ceiling as a single tear from his glistening eyes, He told me "In this world no one actually cares about anybody we all just lie and steal to stay alive and in the end that's exactly how everyone treats people..." that was always our ultimate rule, but I had always foolishly thought that rule didn't apply to us...after all the things we did for and to each other....I guess I was wrong, he got the necklace and ran off....leaving me with the captain....I was terrified out of my mind and that night I fought with all my strength and got away...but barely with my life, I've been alone since then, I don't trust anybody because trust is just a beautiful lie that hides the ugly truth...I can never trust anybody, that was the one rule that he left me with and that's a rule I live by..." Lovino finished and he touched his cheek, he hadn't realized how much he had began to cry, tears streaking down his cheeks as all the old memories hit him hard.

"I don't know what I did wrong!" Lovino yelled his voice raising as he thought more about, "I gave him fucking everything and he traded me for a fucking necklace! Like I was nothing and he was right...I am nothing!" Lovino cried the his heart ached, he buried his head in his arms as his body shook with his sobs. Lovino didn't even care how weak he looked now as he continued to say to himself that he was worthless, the pain too much, too raw from being bottled up.

England listened attentively to the horrific story; it sounded so similar to his own. He grimaced once the other boy was finished talking, "You didn't do anything wrong and as much as it pains me to say it... What your... mentor said was at least half true. Most people in this world lie and cheat and steal, only thinking about themselves. What he forgot to mention however, is that not everyone is like that. There are people that understand your pain."

"When you find someone who can understand you, empathy is established and you can bond with the other. Those bonds you create will last for life if you take care of them. There's always a chance for love. Always a chance for a new life. Without hurting others. That man that you were with clearly didn't see things that way because he was too selfish to do so. He deliberately used you. I was in the same situation, Mr. Vargas, so you can't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I have credibility, if you will. And I want to help you. Genuinely. From the bottom of my heart. And not just because we're similar."

"But because we're not as well. There are so many things you could teach me. And there are so many things I could teach you. And we can hold on to each other. That's what my entire crew is, you know. That's why despite their pasts and their differences, they all get along. And one after another, they learned to love each other and others... Even if sometimes it's hard to. Love isn't easy. It isn't like in fairy tales. It comes out of no where and while it's stronger than anything, one wrong move can destroy you as a person. It can destroy you from the inside out, but that love will still remain."

Arthur looked into the boy's amber eyes, "I know I told you I'd let you off at the next port we stop at--and that offer still stands--but... you don't have to leave Mr. Vargas. If you'd like, you could stay. We could be a family. And there's no one here that could betray you." He gave a wry smile, "We're in the middle of the ocean; there aren't many people they could 'betray' you for..." He chuckled lightly, "It's up to you though. We'll let you go if it's what you need, but to be honest, everyone here can tell you're in pain. They've all been there before--for different reasons of course-- and they want to help... So just... think about it."

Lovino listened to him talk about bonds and how he wanted to help him, it felt so nice have someone tell him he did nothing wrong after believing for so many years that it was, Lovino looked into his bright green eyes, he knew his pain, he understood Lovino, Lovino suddenly felt at ease with the man, he suddenly felt the urge to be closer to the man, to know him better, he wanted to stay by him, something that he had avoided feeling for anyone in a long time and to his shock Arthur offered for him to stay on the ship, a home, a family, something Lovino had craved for so many years.

The thought of finally belonging somewhere was something that made his heart flutter, "Arthur I..." Lovino began but just then the ship gave a huge shudder as the sound of a cannon fired off, Lovino's eyes widened in surprise and fear, 'No! Is the ship being attacked?!' Lovino thought jumping to his feet at the same time as Arthur, he looked at Arthur's face, he was listening as another shot was fired and Lovino suddenly felt cold fear course through him when Arthur told him to stay put while he went out, leaving him behind, Lovino stayed there shaking in fear.

Lovino stood in that small room, 'What if there is a battle?! Arthur could be hurt...could be...killed.' That one thought finally snapped Lovino out his fear and cowering and forced his legs to move forward, out into the battle.

England was intently hanging on to the other boy's words, feeling as though they might have just had a breakthrough when all of the sudden, he heard cannons being fired. He jumped to his feet at the same time as the smaller boy and listened closer. Damn it... it's too close to be a coincidence... Someone bloody git is attacking my ship! "Mr. Vargas, stay here, please." He paused, "Or... just stay below deck in general!" He rushed off to his cabin and pulled on his coat and hat. He fastened his sword o his side and took off for the top deck. Once he was up, he skidded to a halt just in time to see a ship advancing towards them from the East.

"What's happening?" He demanded to a random crew member. They briefed him on the situation; apparently one of the vessels for the *Spanish armada was attacking with the intention of seizing the ship. Next thing he knew, members of the Spanish crew were making their way onto their ship, invading and battling. The ship's captain came directly at him, not wasting any time and he fought back hard.

He parried his sword and ran back a couple steps as the Spaniard advanced upon him before turning and flipping their circumstances. He had the other captain at the edge when something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He made sure he had enough time before turning and seeing Romano on deck. One deck in the middle of a fight He began to panic and desperately yelled, "Mr. Vargas! Get below deck now! Please!"

Lovino ran to the top of the deck, watching as the men fought bravely against who he noticed were people from the Spanish armada, he looked around frantically, looking for Arthur, he spot him locked in battle with who he assumed was the Spanish captain, he started to move through the fighters, dodging swords and falling men, he watched as Arthur managed to turn the tides of the fight but he froze when he saw Lovino.

Lovino heard him yell at him to go back below deck but just then he saw the other captain surge forward, his sword raised, Lovino's body reacted on instinct and he reached behind him and with blinding speed threw the knife that he always kept on him which hit the captain dead between the eyes, Lovino breathed heavily, as his heart pounded then it seemed like there silence as the Spanish crew took notice of their fallen captain.

"That boy killed him!" He heard one yell and just as Lovino turned to face the voice a blade flew in front of his face, he barely back-peddled in time but the man advanced, Lovino looked around frantically for a weapon, something he could use to defend himself, he bumped into a fallen man behind him and noticed a sword laying next to him, he grabbed it and gripped it tight, Lovino almost had no idea how to use a sword, the man advanced and Lovino manged to block the first attacks before the blade was knocked out his hands and a hard kick was delivered to his chest, sending him crashing into the edge of of the ship.

He glared at the man, that confident smirk that he held, the same that the men who stole his brother had worn the time when he watched his little brother be taken from him forever, Lovino straightened up, and glared straight at the man, "*Vieni! Attack! Bastardo spagnolo!" Lovino yelled and the man swung his sword, Lovino ducked but upon coming up the man had swung again, the blade catching his arm, Lovino shouted in pain but kept goading the man till the man lunged forward and then Lovino side-stepped and just when he thought the man had gone over-board he had caught Lovino's bad arm dragging him over, but Lovino caught the railing, holding on tight as the man attempted to make him fall with him.

"Help! Somebody! Please!" Lovino yelled as he tried to get the man off of him, his grip slipping as his other arm bleed and burned with pain.

-----
*Come! Attack! Spanish bastard

England watched in horror as the Italian rushed towards him. "No! Go ba-" His breath caught aa a knife came flying past him from the hand of Lovino. He gaped opening as it caught the other captain in the throat and killed him instantly. Good God... I will never anger that boy as long as I live... Be still my heart all those times he could have taken MY neck out... He felt a bit sheepish. He watched as the other crew realized what had happened. "That boy killed him!"

Arthur barely had time to blink before Lovino was being attacked again. He fought his way through the crowd, cutting down any of the opposing crew who got in his way. He needed to keep an eye on his Italian-- and just when did he become his?-- lest he get hurt. "Mr. Vargas watch out!"He heard a voice scream and it took him a few seconds to realize that it was he who had screamed it. He watched in slow motion as a blade cut the smaller boy's arm.

The young Italian kept taunting the bigger man still. Dear God I pray he has some sort of plan... England said to himself, unable to tear his eyes away form the scene being set before him. He nearly shouted again as the opposing crew member lunged for Lovino, but he stopped when he saw the boy's plan. He smirked to himself, Damn smart kid... He thought with pride. He had only a few seconds to revel in the small victory when he saw Romano being pulled overboard with the larger man. His heart nearly stopped beating until he saw that the Italian was still hanging on to the edge for dear life, his knuckles white from the effort.

"Cover me!" He shouted to his crew as he fought his way closer yet, all the way to the edge of the ship. He could only hear the blood pounding in his ears; all the fighting behind him simply background noise. He reached the ledge and grabbed the boy's arm, "Hang on to me!" He yelled, "I've got you! Just trust me! Let go! I'm going to pull you up!" He noticed the man clinging to Lovino's leg and nearly growled. He pulled the younger nation up, successfully pushing the other man off in the process. He embraced the shorter boy the second he was safely on board.

He heard one of his mean call out, "Take care of him Captain! We've got these guys!" Arthur simply nodded and took the boy below deck. He was burning up from adrenaline, but didn't bother shrugging off his captain's coat or hat. He hated wearing them; the looked amazing on him, but they were such a hassle. He looked nothing like the crew member Romano had mistaken him for when they'd first met. He looked the image of a fearsome captain. He quickly bandaged the boy's arm and said quietly, "I told you to stay below deck Mr. Vargas." He couldn't hide the worry in his voice.

Lovino's grip had began to tire and just when he felt himself let go someone grabbed his wrist, he looked up to see Arthur,he heard the blonde tell him to hang on and trust him and he did, he held on tight as arthur pulled him up while knocking the man who was hanging onto his bad arm off as he pulled him aboard.

As soon as Arthur had got him back on the deck Lovino found himself locked into a tight hug, his head spun and his arm burned from the cut but in that split second Lovino felt utterly safe in the captain's arms, he kept a tight grip on him as he was tugged to his feet, his head spinning from the loss of blood and pain.

Arthur took him below deck to his cabin where Lovino took a seat on the bed, clutching his arm to try and stop the blood that already soaked his shirt, he watched in a daze as he saw Arthur bring back some bandages to wrap his arm up.

Lovino watched silently a he wrapped up his wound, and shivered, Arthur in his full captain attire made all those stories he heard as a child seem more real, he truly looked fearsome, but what broke Lovino out of his thoughts was the sound of the older man's voice, so quiet and filled with worry, as he reminded him that he was suppose to have stayed below deck.

Lovino looked at the captain who was staring at him intently, his bright green eyes full of worry, ”I was worried you'd be killed eye-brow bastard....” Lovino said trailing off, not sure what to say, the moment he had even thought about Arthur being hurt something had snapped in him, something that forced him into the fight, to throw his knife and kill the spanish captain, something that had allowed Lovino to trust the man when he had pulled him back onto the ship, Lovino felt so confused in that moment as he stared at the man before him, his head spun and his arm hurt and before Lovino could realize what was happening everything went black, his head pounding as the last thing he saw was Arthur moving to grab him.

Arthur sighed and sat in front of the boy, burying his face into his hands, "You scared the hell out of me Mr. Vargas; I, along with the rest of the crew acknowledge you as one of use already, but you didn't have to fight. At least not until you've had some proper training." England paused and looked up into the boy's beautiful amber eyes, shaking his head, "Not only that, you disobeyed my orders. Lucky you, no one heard me give them, so I don't have to 'punish' you." He gave a wry smile, "I'm sure you've figured out this ship's 'punishments' aren't typically what you hear about at port. Most captains punish their crew by whipping them or some other... horrid... way of demanding respect." He gives a sheepish smile, "I don't have the heart. If I'm angry with you, you'll know it because I'll have some words with you and you'll end up with bathroom cleaning duty..." He shudders, "Though that might just be a form of torture in itself..." He winked, smiling.

Arthur stood and stretched, "And last on the itinerary of things I want to say to you is: Thank you." He gave the boy a slight bow, removing his hat as he did so. When he righted himself, instead of placing his hat back onto his head, he set it on a desk. He smirked at the boy. "By the way..." He began, "Do I still look like a 'lowly crew member'?" He asked, poking fun at the boy's previous attitude towards his image.

He crossed his arms and tilted his head, looking at the Italian as he did so. His captain's coat was long and read with a lot of unbuttoned buttons. He had on his usual white button-down shirt and his black pants, which complemented the black trim along the edges of the coat. He gave the boy an unguarded, raw, pirate-y smirk that could be deemed nothing below 'devious' or 'mischievous.' He uncrossed his arms and sauntered over to the still-sitting Italian boy, moving with confidence and grace, "I'm the captain for a reason Mr. Vargas, and you'd do well to remember that." He grins, mischief twinkling in his green eyes, "I may be a nice man and fair to my crew, but we are pirates. And if you stay, you'll be a pirate too. Welcome to the life of a pirate."

Lovino had blacked out and when he opened his eyes it was night, he could tell by how cool the air felt, he looked around and noticed a form laying near-by, resting at a desk, he instantly saw blonde hair peaking from underneath a big pirate hat in the dim light presented by a dying lantern and Lovino instantly knew it was Arthur, Lovino sat up, rubbing his head, he remembered bits and parts after he blacked out, Arthur talking and Lovino snorted as he faintly remembered some things, "Pft, that eye-brow is a idioto, talking to me in my sleep." Lovino mumbled as he got up slowly, he arm aching dully as he moved past Arthur's sleeping form and paused before moving back to the bed and grabbing the blanket, draping it over the sleeping man, looking at the man confused for second trying to figure out why he did that before making his way outside.

He took a deep breath, his arm still hurt a bit but nothing he couldn't handle, if anything he was out here for a reason.

To get his knife back, it was special to him, it was the knife he had used to stab the man who took his brother in the leg and he always kept it close to him after that.

He looked about and noticed some bags and shuddered when the smell hit him, it must have been the dead bodies, he moved closer and started looking through them for the captain, grimacing as he noticed the mouths and noses were sowed up, he had heard it was pirates tradition but it looked horrible, he finally found the captain, he held his breath as he undid the bag and frowned, his knife wasn't in the man's head, he redid the bag and looked around the ship deck that still had weapons laying about, he searched blindly in the dark, groping for weapons, once or twice cutting his hands a little before he felt his hand close around a small knife and lifted it up to inspect it in the dim moon light, he gave a sigh of relief when he saw that indeed it was, the worn out piece of an Italian flag that covered the handle telling him so, he pocketed it behind him and walked over to the edge of the boat, looking out to sea.

Lovino's mind wandering to events that had all took place yesterday before the fight, he thought especially hard on Arthur's offer, the cool ocean breeze made him feel calmer but his thoughts gave him a headache, then a new thought formed in Lovino's mind, 'What if I just agree to stay with him and convince him to sail near the Italian shores....maybe then I can find my brother..' Lovino froze with that thought, he suddenly felt guilty about thinking of using him like that....

But at the same time he didn't, even Arthur admitted that in end everyone just uses people....Lovino swallowed, his eyes looking out to sea, a plan like this had never presented itself to him before, he thoughts swirled around in his head as he sighed, unsure of what to do now with that new thought stuck in his mind.

England awoke to a very cold bed. Now... this wasn't an unusual or even slightly abnormal occurrence seeing as Arthur Kirkland hadn't had a lover to sleep beside him in years. However he was nearly certain he had fallen asleep with someone beside him. He bolted upright in the bed and organized his thoughts, realizing something was most definitely out of place. Or better worded: Something was most definitely missing. And his name was Lovino Vargas.

"Mr. Vargas?" He called softly, hoping he might have just missed him, but when he heard no reply he called a bit more frantically, "Mr Vargas!" He got out of bed and started out the door. He checked all over beneath deck and found nothing. Finally, he arrived, panting on the deck. He took a moment to catch his breath, breathing in the salty sea air and letting the rocking of the ship calm his heart from its panic. He looked around.

He saw Lovino standing near the bags of the dead bodies and quickly strode over to him, "Thank goodness I found you... I was worried. I hadn't the slightest where you'd gone!" He rambled back and forth for a bit before coming to a head and settling on, "Wait a tic, is your arm okay? You lost a lot of blood and I didn't know if you would be alright and then you fainted and I didn't know what I was going to do-" He started babbling again, this time more vigorously and with more worry.

He paused at the end to take a big breath and look up into the amber eyes he'd been seeking for the past twenty minutes, feeling a sense of relief swell inside his chest and nearly come out in the form of more rambling.

Lovino looked up to see Arthur strode over to him quickly, babbling about his arm and how worried he was, "I'm fine, no worry, my arm will be alright, I've had much worse done to me, I'm tougher then I look." Lovino said standing up from the dead bodies staring at Arthur thinking about his plan, guilt tugging at him, begging him not use this man.

But another part whispered that he could finally have the chance to find his brother, and that part was louder. "I was thinking about your offer...." Lovino began, cutting off the older man's rambling, who paused to look at him, Lovino swallowed down the guilt, pressing forward with his golden rule.

"I have decided that instead of getting off at the next port I will stay a part of your crew, I thought about what you said and it makes sense, I want to stay, if the offer still stands. "Lovino added hastily, looking at the man intently, waiting for his answer. 'I can't let my guilt hold me back from this chance...Feli...I will find you now that i have the opportunity too...' he thought determined. "I promise I'll pull my own weight around and I'm already skilled in a weapon so you won't have to worry about me." Lovino continued unsure if the captain had changed his mind or not.

Arthur smiled, barely able to contain his excitement and took the other man's hand in his own, "I'm so glad you've decided to stay with us! The crew will be so happy!" He smiled widely and paused before saying softly, "I'm sure this will be a great time of forgetting your pain and focusing on your future..." His smile and eyes both soften, "I know your life has been difficult--and you should always learn from others' as well as your own mistakes--but you don't have to live in pain. And you definitely don't have to pull yourself up alone. Now you have us. And I can assure you we will never let you down."

He gives the amber-eyed boy a serious look and adds, "If there's anything you need to talk about or ask me, I'll be sure to do my best to supply you with what you need. So don't hesitate... I don't bite." He looks around thoughtfully, "I wish we had alcohol to celebrate, but the rum is still missing." He put in as an afterthought, "I wish I knew where it had gone so that we could toast... It would have been splendid for this occasion, don't you think?"

He shrugged and looked the Italian up and down a few times, once again taking in the smaller man's appearance. This time, he took the time to appreciate it and smiled to himself as he admired the boy. He gave him a smirk and gave a small bow, "Welcome to the crew."

Lovino had to hold in a grimace as the man kept speaking of letting go of his past and that this was a way to move forward, Lovino just shook his head yes to all of it, trying to ignore the heavy feeling on guilt settling into the pit of his stomach, resisting the urge to pull his hands away when the taller man took them into his own happily chattering about the future, he especially felt uncomfortable when the man got serious, telling him if he needed anything at all he could tell him.

Lovino gave the man a side-ways glanced when he mentioned the rum again though, he sighed and slowly pulled his hands out of the Brits, moving to the spot where he had hid it, he pulled up the board and picked up the rum and replaced the board back, he walked back over to Arthur and presented him the rum, hoping that he wouldn't get into too much trouble, he just felt like he should return it and in this way test the waters with brit.

"I'm sorry I took it." Lovino mumbled, the apology feeling weird in his mouth, as he held the bottle of rum awkwardly out to the man, "I suppose you want this back and since I'm part of your crew now I guess I'm in trouble right?" Lovino couldn't help but ask sheepishly.

England blinked in surprise as he watched the smaller Italian boy pull away from him and walk over to a floorboard before bending down and lifting it. When he pulled out the rum and began to talk, it was all the captain could do not to laugh. When he was finally finished, he threw his head back laughing-- something he hadn't done in a while before the brunette had joined them-- and he shook his head.

He wiped the tears from his eyes that had gathered in the corners from laughing and said happily, "No, I'm not punishing you! I think it's hilarious that you hid it this long!" His emerald eyes were alight with amusement and joy as he looked into the boy's own amber orbs. "I can't believe you thought you'd be in trouble for something so trivial! Really now, all you did was save me from having to deal with a tipsy crew!"

He uncrossed his arms and strode over, "But nevertheless, the crew will be happy we found it." He gave the young man a wink, "After all, who would have thought that they had misplaced it in their excitement to get back to work, hmm?"