I own nothing!

Romano was done downloading pictures of Germany and Prussia from the internet, and adding a variety of mustaches on them with Photoshop. It did very little to soothe his irritation. He mechanically began cleaning the house. All he wanted was a quiet week, away from everything and everyone, and now he had to put up with three self-invited guests. All he wanted was to spend this rare, obligation-free week of June at his place in Puglia, by the sea, swimming alongside the few people who had discovered the small passage to the beach almost right in front of his cottage, cooking for himself, reading in the balcony, sleeping, and, in the evenings, going to the open-air cinema at the small town near-by. Alone.

Instead, Feliciano had called to let him know that he had decided to invite himself, his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's brother to his week-long paradise, that was by now looking like something closer to hard labour.

Feliciano coming was not so bad, even though it meant double work, but spending time with his brother always made Romano happy. He had this feeling that he could not live with or without Feli, he was the person he loved the most, but also the person to bust his balls most easily.

But, Germany and Prussia? Germany annoyed him just by existing. That sneaky Conan the Barbarian had managed to keep Feli's affection even after all this torture he had put everyone through back in his younger days, and now he still kept it despite being his well-known anal self. He would have to put up with him with minimal swearing, because of Feliciano.

And Prussia? The court's clown? He was pleasant enough, Romano supposed, and he was a good distraction in world meetings, when things were getting too boring, or when Romano's own nerves were getting to the others. Prussia would always come up with something so ridiculous (and funny, he had to admit) that everyone would automatically be distracted. Like when he made a grave, and absolutely well thought-out presentation about how revival of the country of Prussia would give a serious financial push to the surrounding countries, including Germany, which would of course have to give up some of his own land. That was one unexpected treat! It had put the whole meeting in disarray, and gave them one free afternoon that was not foreseen by the official schedule. Yes, if he could put up with Germany for a week, surely he could do the same for Prussia.

Romano huffed. His dream-week would not have turned like this if he was in a relationship. Feliciano would never have dared to invite himself and his duo of faithful servants. Or maybe he would impose himself on a couple, just because he was who he was.

This kind of thinking was relatively recent in Romano's mind. He blamed long-term peace for these thoughts. He had never before actually considered a steady relationship, finding a nation of his own, and being together for as long as they could. And who could it possibly be? Everyone had thought he would end up with Antonio, who was indeed his best friend, but who could put up with this occasionally blood-thirsty fool for long? It was no wonder the Netherlands, who had committed himself to Spain was high all the time. And then there were all those happy couples of complete opposites around him, Finland and Sweden, his own brother and the overgrown Kraut, America and Ukraine, Greece and Japan, even Russia and Canada for crying out loud. And let's not mention France and England. Pretending to hate each other, when everyone knew they have been happily together for almost two centuries now. Maybe this pretended dislike was some kind of a role game they enjoyed. Pervs! They made him sick. Or jealous. Whatever.

By now Romano had cleaned everything in the cottage, and decided it was time he let his romantic ideas die down for the moment to consider the logistics of the visit. The happy couple would get the second floor, where the only available double bed was found. Romano had postponed putting curtains there, as he rarely used that floor, and there were windows everywhere. Maybe the morning sun would do him a favour and burn the annoying pair to ashes.

Him and Prussia would have to share the first floor. It was smaller, but had the bigger balcony overlooking the sea. He would have been a touch more hospitable and offer Prussia the only single room available, but it was too hot at nights. Prussia would definitely prefer the couch on the sitting room, where one could leave the windows open and allow a nice breeze to flow through. So, the pink flowery pattern of bed sheets for Feli (mwa ha ha live with it, Germany), the usual '70s psychedelic pattern for him, and Star War sheets for the couch.

Right as he was making sure the couch cover over the Star War sheets was immaculately spread, he heard the car going through the gate and parking in his small garden. Three tired and sweaty passengers emerged, and Feliciano run straight to Romano who went out to greet them.

"Hello, hello, brother!" Feli exclaimed while hugging Romano tight.

"Welcome Feliciano! Now get off me, it's too hot for hug therapy!" he said while pushing him aside.

"Welcome to you too, I guess…" Romano said looking towards the two German brothers who also came close to shake hands with him.

Germany was more civil: "Thanks for inviting us!"

"Well, it wasn't exactly me who invited you!" Romano responded throwing a menacing look at Italy, but lifting a couple of pieces of baggage from the bootlid nevertheless.

"Yes, but you wanted us here anyway! Cause we're awesome!" Prussia smiled.

Romano was ready to answer, but had no time:

"Wow, what a kick-ass place!" Prussia continued. He climbed up the stairs that led to the balcony of the first floor fast and whistled. "Nice house, Lovino! What a cute garden! And you can see the edge of the village from here! And the marina we passed by as we were driving here, and a full view of the sea! Oh, you can go nude here? I can see that woman's.."

Romano begun flailing his arms to get Prussia's attention and whispered: "Shush, we 're close, fuck, they can hear you!"

Prussia seemed puzzled: "Why, doesn't she know already she has no bathing suit on?"

Romano covered his face with his two palms. "God, this is going to be one long week…"

Soon the house was shown, and rooms allocated. After a not exactly subtle show of appreciation from Prussia for his Star War sheets that made Romano feel warm inwardly, everyone was sitting on the wooden chairs around the table in the balcony, sipping cold lemonade.

Germany, as serious as ever, was trying subtly to get the two Italian brothers to inform him on the visit schedule. Feliciano laughed, and passed his hand through Germany's strands ruining the hairdo: "It's vacation, Ludwig! It's summertime, there is no time table! We can sleep, we can eat, we can go on a walk whenever we feel like it!"

Germany seemed a bit disappointed and quite disoriented by Feli's plan for their vacation or lack thereof, but accepted his fate with grace: "Very well! No plan's the plan! I wouldn't mind giving that a try!"

"Exactly, bastard!" Romano exclaimed. "And right now, I say it's swim time!" he declared getting up from his seat. "Hope you brought your swimwear for Italian haute couture does not make clothing for pale asses!"

Prussia looked a bit alarmed and intervened with a muffled voice: "How about some food first?"

Gemany was surprised: "But you ate on the way here… a whole piadina with roasted pork…"

"And a cheese pie, and a big cannolo with orange cream, and a soda…" Feliciano added.

"Still hungry…" Prussia said guiltily.

Boy, was this guy a glutton, Romano thought. With his eating rhythms they 'd never make it to the beach the whole week… "With all this food you ate we can forget about swimming anyway. You'd directly go to the bottom of the sea and I would hate to feed the fish there with the pork in your stomach. It might be heavy for them…"

Feliciano could not help himself as the thought of food made him realize his own empty stomach. He screamed: "PASTAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" and everyone relocated to the kitchen, where the two Italian brothers quickly prepared a divine pasta napolitana, and the German brothers cleared the mess afterwards.

The food was delicious. Romano could see Prussia had trouble getting up from the table. He offered his tired and full with food guests a quick midday nap, which they all happily took.

A couple of hours later, everyone was refreshed and on their feet. It was time to visit the beachside.

It was by now around 5 in the afternoon and the sun was still strong. Romano and Feliciano told the others to put on their swimsuits and take a towel with them, and nothing more. They got a couple of water bottles, and some sunscreen. They put their flip flops on, walked down the stairs, through the garden, past the gate, and walked the rest of the slope that was planted irregularly with pines to reach the beach. It took them less than a minute from their door to the beautiful spot.

The wide beach had no sand, but small, gray and white pebbles. On one side, a couple of kilometers away, the beach was part of the nearby town, and on the other side of it, much closer, there was a rock barrier that hid the small marina close-by. In front of them, the sea, calm as olive oil, only blue and green colours.

Lovino just ignored the others, left his towel under a pine and his flip flops in front of the thin wave, and fell happily into the sea. He had put some sunscreen on ten minutes before they left the house so not to have to wait when they got there. He instantly dove and resurfaced later thirty meters from his diving point. He kept swimming, and diving for some time, just enjoying the water.

The rest were still putting sunscreen on. Soon, Feliciano and Germany followed. Lovino was watching them from afar, as they were swimming towards the deep waters to reach him.

Germany's style was impeccable. Lovino was –secretly- impressed every time he would happen to see him swim, and it happened almost every summer due to his dating Feli. Still, he knew that all of Germany's style came from training in the swimming pool, rather than the sea. When there were bigger waves Germany had to stay where his feet could reach the seabed. And he was such a laugh to watch trying to deal with pebbles, if the beach was not a sandy one, or watching his dealings with sea creatures. Lovino tried to stifle a laugh as he remembered Germany's attempt to walk the slightly sharp pebbles to get into the sea a couple of minutes ago.

Feliciano, on the other hand had a great swimming style, because, as Lovino, he had from his younger days spent a lot of his time on the beach. Nevertheless, he preferred to play with the water than skim through it. He would dive, and go snorkeling with his mask, play with urchins, try to "drown" and splash his friends whenever they less expected it. The child setting was complete, when, tired, he would sit on a beach and play with the sand or pebbles.

Lovino was different from both of them. His swimming style lacked Germany's perfection. And he did not care for many of the games his brother played. He swam and swam, he could swim swiftly in relatively big waves, he could dive for minutes and swim underwater for long distances, he could reach the seabed without any equipment up to a dozen meters deep. Lovino loved to "explore" the rocks in unknown beaches, he could fish, and he hunt for octopuses, something his cousin Herakles had taught him when they were children.

Lord, did he like the water! He was already almost an hour in it, he had swam to the marina and back, he had dived to the seabed, played and chatted a little bit with his brother, and gotten rid of a couple of urchins on the seabed too close to the shore, that consisted a potential danger for anyone entering the sea. Beside him, Feliciano was trying hard to sink Germany, who was obviously enjoying the game, even if he was making weak complaints. Where was Prussia, though?

Lovino remembered him going on a walk towards the direction of the town through the beach, returning at some point with a cool bottle of water he had bought, walking then towards the rocks, and throwing pebbles in the sea. Taking a look around, Lovino spotted Prussia lying quietly under their pine and reading a comic book. Not once in the water. What a loser! He had the best sea in the world in front of him, an opportunity of cooling himself off from the heat, but he preferred goofing around and reading primary school material.

This kind of felt like an insult to him and his country. Lovino knew he was overreacting, three minutes ago he did not care about where the guy even was, and now he had somehow managed to insult him by doing practically nothing. He had to make his visitor appreciate the beauty of the place! He got out of the water and went to shake the water off his arms and on Prussia who had not seen him approach.

"Hey! What are you doing? Prussia shouted. "This Donald Duck book was brand new!"

Lovino could not feel remorse for throwing salt water on a comic book. "What are you doing? Get up! You have not swum at all! The water is great!"

Prussia was still lying on his back, holding his book on his chest. "I don't feel like it! It's too warm to get into the sun! I have delicate skin!"

"I saw you walking towards the town, Prussia! And you have no problems, your sunscreen is working fine!"

"You saw that? Well, I, I just don't want to be in the sun anymore" Prussia stammered.

"Then why are you here? Why are you on the beach? You could have stayed at the balcony enjoying the view. Come on, just five minutes, you'll love it!"

Lovino grabbed Prussia's arm and pulled him upwards. He kept pulling him until they reached the edge of the water, Prussia's resistance stronger by the meter.

"Okay, okay!" Prussia shouted releasing his arm. "I'll go, don't make such a fuss!" He slowly proceeded towards the water and begun entering. He stood knee-high in water, walked a bit around sending a worried look towards the deep, and after a while commented: "It's fucking cold, though…"

Lovino spent a short time looking puzzled at Prussia with his hands on his waist.

"Are you kidding me?" Lovino complained. "You have been forcing us to listen to all those stories about how you can camp in the wild forests on any weather, how you never get cold singing the Christmas carols in the streets of Berlin, how to shelter effectively in the snow when waiting for a battle to begin, how you like hunting in the snow cause it makes your "adventure", "a touch" more challenging, and now you tell me this is too cold for you?"

"Well, there is a reason for being in the cold on these occasions, there is none now…"

"I will make it easier for you, don't worry!" said Romano, as he put his hands on Prussia's torso and pushed him towards the deep side of the water.

It was so sudden that Prussia yelped, and fell back, being for one moment submerged in the shallow water. He quickly begun flailing his arms and legs, in a frantic manner that Lovino would have found absolutely hilarious, weren't Prussia in an obvious panic. As soon as his face emerged he cried for help, and until his bottom discovered the seabed only a few centimeters bellow him, his open mouth had been filled with water by the waves he himself had created around him.

When he realized he was safe, panting and coughing, he looked at Lovino, with something between embarrassment and anger in his eyes. Lovino felt sorry for him, but there was no way he could pretend he had not seen that.

"You can't swim? You can't swim, really?!" Lovino was at a loss.

Prussia got up, his face redder than anything Lovino had ever seen, got out of the sea, and walked towards his towel and comic book. Lovino followed him.

"You should have said something, I would't have been such an ass, it's your fault, really…" Lovino continued.

Once Prussia reached his things, he turned around abruptly to angrily look at the Italian: "Shut up, okay? Just let me be!" He picked up his stuff and quickly took the route to the house.

Lovino could not remember a time when Prussia was actually angry at him. He could barely remember him being angry at anyone. He could not have that. So he picked up his stuff, and followed him to the house.

"Hey, Prussia," he shouted, "wait up!" He ran after him frantically. "Come on, I am sorry, I had no idea!"

Prussia reached the house and climbed up the stairs to the balcony. He turned to look at Lovino, he exhaled deeply and sat defeated on a chair. Lovino did not have much else to say, so he sat close to Prussia too. Prussia was looking at the floor, but Lovino could see him through the corner of his eye taking short glances at him.

"So… why?" Lovino broke the silence.

Prussia scrunched his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Yes, why? Why can't you swim, damn it? Any adult knows how to swim! It's abnormal, don't you get it? It's like not being able to ride a bike!" Lovino felt he was not helping, but Prussia did not seem so bummed.

"Well, I never had to…" he shrugged. "When I was young sitting in water was considered unhealthy you know… Besides," he continued with refreshed courage, "I am too awesome to need such skills! You don't need swimming in a battle, or for blogging, or cleaning, or playing the flute, or…"

Lovino interrupted him: "You play the flute?"

Prussia's cockiness was back in his cheeky smile: "Natürlich!"

"I thought it was just a gossip!" Lovino said. He did not complete this with what he had really thought, that Prussia had started the rumor himself.

"I beg your pardon, little Italian boy! It's been centuries since I play the flute! And, let's not deny it, I do everything perfectly!"

"Except swimming…" Lovino commented.

"Well, there's always an exception to the rule..." he admitted.

"Huh…"

Lovino thought for a while. He liked so much that Prussia was right back on course after that mini tantrum. He had bounced back and found himself in no time, after what, Lovino considered, a pretty embarrassing experience.

"Do you want to learn?" he asked tentatively.

"Learn what?" the Prussian man was looking at his companion but had lost his concentration.

"Swimming, idiot! Swimming, of course! Not drowning when in the sea, at the very least!" Lovino shouted.

Prussia's eyes widened. He looked up at the sky and thought about the proposition, slowly rubbing his jaw. "I could do it…" He began checking his fingernails. "I mean I can learn everything, I am fast with new skills…" Lovino stared at him in a don't-give-me-that-bullshit look. Prussia continued: "But I cannot learn just from anyone, it would have to be a top of the top teacher… I could do with no less, you know…"

Lovino raised his eyes to the sky in a silent prayer for patience. "It's me! I'm gonna teach you!" Lovino shouted. "Am I good enough for Your Highness?" he asked mockingly.

Prussia spread on his chair and crossed his legs. "You'd do, I guess…" he said grinning. He cleared his throat: "I could not think of anyone better, actually…" Lovino held his breath at the compliment. "But why would you, Mr. Grumpy?" Prussia asked.

Lovino laughed, trying to be nonchalant and funny at the same time: "As a Welcome to Italy, you muggle tourist, and a Sorry for bullying you at the beach, self-proclaimed-awesome-at everything Prussia! And my humble thanks for accepting me as a tutor, the honour you are doing me greatly surpasses my expectations!" he finished, rather mockingly.

Prussia laughed as well: "Thank you for accepting my superior qualities dear Sir, but…" he hesitated. "You know me for so long, Lovino. I know I am not your best friend or anything, but shouldn't you call me Gilbert by now? I mean, you almost drowned me today, don't I deserve at least that?" he asked batting his fair eyelashes.

Lovino could feel his whole face going on fire. The bastard! He had a nerve! "Ehm, sure, why not?" he said slowly, "I could try that. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable…"

"Not at all!" Prussia smiled. "And you should do the same with Ludwig, both him and Feli would appreciate it!" he added.

Lovino was frozen at the spot for a couple of seconds. He rose from his seat slowly, in a way that made Gilbert lose his mirth and subconsciously move just a little bit backwards.

Lovino turned his back, silently relishing Prussia's reaction. "I'm going for a shower. First swimming class tomorrow morning at eight."

Lovino woke up at seven sharp. He could not shake his winter program away in one day. He stayed in bed to consider last night. When they all gathered to the house after the beach they ate like hungry wolves. And then decided to walk if off by going to the town, walking the small sea-side road up and down, admiring the moon. They had drinks in a cute bar Lovino knew, and had a nice time in general.

Lovino had caught Pruss.. no, Gilbert! he corrected himself, looking at him quite a lot. It was obvious he was scared for the upcoming swimming lessons, and wondered if Lovino was good enough, and if he would keep him safe and sound in the water. The slimy bastard! First chatting and asking Lovino to use his human name, pretending to be friendly and everything, and then doubting his teaching potential!

Lovino huffed. He could not make out Gilbert's behavior exactly. Was there a hidden motive? And what could it be? To prove Lovino incompetent at teaching? That didn't seem likely… Even Prussia would not think of such a lame thing. Wait! Was he, himself, lame then for thinking that? Was he afraid he'd fail? Who was he kidding? Of course he was afraid. Not that he was doubting his own skills, certainly not… But Gilbert was a bit thickheaded for sure… Hundreds of years old and he still didn't know how to swim, tch…

He stood up after a while, used the bathroom, and then went to wake up Gilbert. The loser was wearing an AC/DC t-shirt ruined with blue ink. He remembered the day that had happened, in a world conference. Antonio had a pen leaking on his shirt pocket, and hugged Gilbert, ruining his clothes too. Everyone thought it a lucky event that Gilbert had not an expensive shirt or jacket to cry over, even if they thought the t-shirt was a ridiculous choice for the occasion, but Gilbert looked sad, as, as he said, this was his favourite garment. Last night, he had proclaimed the same thing, and added that the shirt held sentimental value. What a weirdo!

"Hey, Snow white! Wake up!" As the sleeping man did not stir, he began shaking his shoulder: "Wakey wakey! Bath time!" he tried again.

It took him several minutes, but he managed to get the Prussian out of bed, and into the toilet. A grumpy Gilbert came out of the bathroom, already in his swimwear, begging for coffee.

"No! Nothing for breakfast! We're going to swim now, okay?

"I'll just fall asleep and drown I tell you! I need my coffee!" Gilbert complained.

"Well, I need it too, your mousey whine is giving me a headache!"

"Then why don't we have some, you torturer!" Gilbert shouted.

"Because we can't! Just get on your feet and put some sun block on. I don't want you to look like a lobster at the end of the class!"

"You're teaching me swimming, this is hardly a class!

"It is a master class if I am teaching it, no matter the subject!" shouted Lovino. And then, "Oh, my God, we haven't started yet, and your deleterious effects are already here! I sound like you!"

"Anything that makes you behave like me is an improvement. Embrace it!" Gilbert offered happily.

Lovino threw the sunscreen bottle at him. Gilbert was awake enough now to catch it and use it. Since Feliciano and Germany had not come downstairs yet, they had to put sunscreen on each other's backs. -Well, that's awkward!- Lovino thought, spreading the cream on what he now noticed was a very well toned back. Gilbert shivered.

"What is it now? Don't tell me you're enjoying this, or I'll risk my future reputation as a teacher and drown you myself." Lovino said.

"You're tickling me!" Gilbert answered.

It was already nine o clock when they set off for the beach, and only a few families with small children had descended to have a morning bath, when the sun was not too strong. The water was as calm as ever, and cool, and crystal clear, and you could see every single pebble of the seabed. Lovino thought the circumstances were perfect for a swimming lesson. He quickly stepped in the sea, and stood where the water was waist high.

Gilbert was still a bit hesitant, but entered the water behind him, letting it reach his knees.

"Come closer, coward! You can't drown here!" Lovino asked him, splashing with his hands his own torso, face and back to get used to the water temperature. Gilbert speechlessly obliged, and stood right next to Lovino.

"Great! That's a big step for you…" the Italian mocked.

"-Beginning is half way to completion- the Greeks say!" Gilbert noted. "So, I'm half way there!"

"We'll see about that!" Lovino said. "What you have to do now, is to realize that you will not drown, unless something goes really, really bad. So, you're just going to lie down at the surface of the water, and I'll be holding you so you feel secure. Slowly and on your back, please!"

Gilbert was obviously feeling very insecure about this. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Will you hold me? All the time?"

"I said yes already!"

Lovino grabbed Gilbert's arms and brought him to stand sideways, right in front of him. He then kept a hand under Gilbert's waist, while with the other one he tried to push one of the other man's shoulders to make him lie down. He tried three or four times, while Gilbert's hands had grabbed Lovino's free hand like a life-saver and would not let go.

"Relax, relax! Do as I say!" Lovino commanded. Gilbert was now half lying on the surface of the water, holding Lovino's arm tight, in a distressed state he was trying to hide.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lovino asked.

"What?" Gilbert whined.

"Your feet are still on the seabed! Let them come to the surface!"

Gilbert looked at Lovino's face as if he was seeing him for the first time. "No they aren't!"

"Yes, they are!"

Gilbert, slowly, brought his right leg up, and could now see his toes out of the water, as he was supposed to. He then took a deep breath, released one of his hands from the deathgrip on Lovino's arms, brought it to his face to pinch his nostrils, and brought his left leg to join the right one on the surface.

He was a ridiculous sight, as he was half-lying, half hanging from Lovino, rocking on the water like a tiny boat in the middle of a storm. Lovino thought it was such a shame he could not make a photo of that spectacle. He could not help himself: "I thought your dealings with Russia's frozen lakes should have made you a bit more accustomed to water" he teased, reminding Gilbert of when he was a young kingdom, and a battle in Russia that ended up in a freezing disaster for him.

Gilbert had an extra powerful shiver at that. Lovino refrained from laughing, and tried to help him.

"Relax. Relax! Relax I say!"

Gilbert slowly opened his eyes and panting, he asked:

"Give me directions…!"

Lovino was impressed once again by this guy's self control. He was trembling like a fish out of the sea (on the reverse situation), and asked for direct orders to follow.

Lovino took a deep breath and started slowly. "Relax as much as you can. Straighten your back. I need you to be lying properly. Take a moment to feel my hand on your waist, I'm not letting go."

It took Gilbert some moments, but slowly, he got into a better position, lying a bit more naturally on the surface of the water, and breathing a little more easily, his hands still holding his teacher.

"Now, let your head in the surface of the water. More than that is okay, you have total control over that." he corrected Gilbert. "When you lie horizontally in calm water, your head can go deep enough to almost cover your eyes, but your nose will still be free to breathe."

"Relax your legs, let them float." Gilbert obliged.

"Relax your back now, slowly, and don't forget about my hand. I got you."

Gilbert opened his eyes to look at Lovino and gravely comment: "You'd better!"

Lovino smiled inwardly, and continued: "Now, slowly, let go of my arm."

Gilbert stiffened: "What? No way!"

"My arm is starting to ache, and becoming a leech on other people does not constitute swimming!" Lovino scolded him.

Gilbert apologized, and slowly let Lovino's arm go. He quickly brought his hands on his belly and grabbed them together. His weight fell more on Lovino's hand on his waist.

"Great!" Lovino took a deep breath. "Now, you will not go down, because I hold you, and all you have to do is relax, and find out how nice the water feels around you!"

Gilbert tried to do so. Every little disturbance in the water made him stiffen again, and it took him a while to get used to them. Once he felt somewhat relaxed, Lovino shook Gilbert's shoulder and asked him to relax his neck. After a while Gilbert achieved that too, and now he was lying in Lovino's arms completely calm, a big, happy smile on his face.

"You were right, Lovino! This is awesome…" he whispered with his eyes closed. "It feels like I'm flying…"

"Yes, doesn't it?" Lovino let Gilbert enjoy this moment for a bit longer. In the meantime, he had the chance to actually look at him. He had a beautiful man in front of him, something he had never noticed before. He already knew Gilbert had a charming face, but he had no idea of this lean, firm body and beautiful, milky skin. He could not take his eyes from the wonderful silver shades the sun gave to the wet hair framing Gilbert's face in the water. He felt his face going all red at the thought, especially because this was Prussia, this was Germany's brother, and one of Antonio's best friends, this was a guy he knew, and it made no sense to think such things of him all of a sudden. It was about time to continue with the course. He said in a low voice: "I'm gonna let go now, really slowly."

Gilbert opened his eyes, and his breathing rate went up again. But he was determined: "Okay, Lovino" he agreed.

"You will naturally stay in the surface. The air in your lungs and your body fat will easily keep you afloat."

"I have no body fat!" Gilbert said annoyed. "God, you'll kill me, because you haven't taken a proper look at me!"

"I said don't worry, and don't speak!" Lovino prevailed.

He very slowly let his hand withdraw from Gilbert's waist. His student's body followed the hand for a while towards the seabed, but after a dozen centimeters Lovino's fingertips were only hovering under Gilbert's skin, giving Lovino a weird sensation, like the sun became ten times stronger at that moment. He withdrew his hand some more, and Gilbert was now floating all alone.

"See? You did it!" Lovino said. "It was not that difficult, was it?"

Gilbert was laughing as he was floating in front of Lovino. He let out a loud howl to hail his success. "I'm the king of this beach!" he shouted.

A loud sudden sound made Lovino turn abruptly towards the shore, and almost drowned Gilbert who nevertheless managed to find the seabed and his footing fast. They both looked at a loss the bunch of children in their bathing suits, who were sitting gathered at the seaside close to them, laughing like maniacs, clapping, and pointing at Gilbert.

They were shouting "Bravo, bravo!" amongst their other loud remarks, commenting on Gilbert's swimming abilities, and Lovino's teaching powers. The two adults, completely embarrassed, left the water.

They sat under their pine, and took a minute to breathe normally again. A very young, small girl with long maroon ponytails and large almond-shaped eyes approached them, slipping all the time on the pebbles. She reached Gilbert, kissed him on the cheek, took off the orange arm floats from her arms, and offered them to him. Gilbert went all red again, and a new round of wild laughter came from the small underage gang on the shore.

When she left, Gilbert turned to Lovino. "Thank you, Lovi! It's the first time I managed to stay afloat like that!"

"And it will be the last if you call me Lovi again." said Lovino matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I'm sure you love it deep down… You never correct Feli when he uses it." Gilbert laughed.

"No, I don't love it!"

Gilbert kept smiling and did not press the matter any longer. "Tell me," he asked as he was lying down, putting his sunglasses on, and one leg on top of the other, "what did those kids tell us?"

Lovino lied down as well a bit further away. He put his sunglasses on too. "They said they had never seen anyone so white before, and that you must be a U.F.O. coming from a frozen planet."

"Hmmm, never heard that one before…" Gilbert commented.

"And that I am losing my time teaching something to someone so clearly unable to learn."

"That was hurtful!" Gilbert covered his chest where his heart should be with his hand in a mocking way. "I'm sure they'd never say this, these are your words!"

"And that you'd be safer if you were swimming in something thicker than water. Like Nutella, and other stuff I will refrain from mentioning." Lovino had now a cheeky smile on his face.

"Cheers for the sea of Nutella, I say!" Gilbert said. He passed Lovino his bottle of water, and once it had reached its recipient, he clinked against it with his own. "I only wish I had a picture of the lesson to put on my blog…"

Lovino thought Gilbert really shouldn't want one, but added nevertheless: "Well, I'm pretty sure the little monsters over there have some on their mobiles to give you."

By that time Feli and Germany were also on the beach, and Lovino felt there was too big an audience to continue.

The day gave them no opportunity to continue with swimming lessons. Once they left the beach, they had a snack, and left to visit an ancient roman theatre in the area. It was wonderful. They ascended the mountain using narrow, winding roads through picturesque villages, climbed to where the car could not reach, and listened to the history of the theatre and the history of its discovery, by the only guard found there. They sat on the stone seats, and Feliciano, from the scene of the theatre in the centre, gave them a small show, reciting in the most grandiose way he could a long and funny children's poem.

They then left the theatre, which barely had any visitors other than them, and continued their walk through the dry fields, reaching a high cliff which gave a breathtaking view to the villages underneath, and the endless sea. Feliciano put himself in Germany's arms, and they enjoyed together the beauty of the spot. Lovino accepted Gilbert's sitting next to him, and they silently just looked at the wonderful scenery.

It was late afternoon when they spotted the best tavern Lovino knew in the area, and had an early dinner. Germany was ecstatic with the excursion, he loved every little ruin they would come upon. Gilbert enjoyed the nature, the climbing and the view. Feli and especially Lovino were just proud of their country. After the beautiful meal, they drove back, had a drink in the nearby town, watched some tv and each withdrew to their rooms.

Lovino was thinking of the day spread on his bed. The whole day was great, he found out he could put up with the Germanic nations when he himself was having a great time, even if he had struggled hard to keep any vitriolic comments on them to himself. Minor exception to his good time that day, were the small bites of jealousy he would feel when watching his brother hugging his building of a boyfriend. This was another recent occurrence, and Lovino hated being jealous of Feli, because that had been his life so far and he was sick of it. Jealous not of Germany, of course, he laughed through his nose. But of Feli's happiness. And he wanted his life to be like that too.

He also thought of the morning lesson in the beach. He had had a great time with Gilbert, and it had left him a very welcomed feeling of accomplishment, even if Gilbert was far from swimming, still, by any standards. The lesson had brought him and Gilbert closer together, as today had felt like the group of four was separated in a couple of lovers (Lovino almost gagged at the word his mind fed him), and a couple of friends, rather than a couple of lovers and two individuals.

Gilbert was not just a clown for the crowd it seemed. Childish, surely, but also funny on a one-on-one encounter. He was interesting, Lovino decided. He again wore the ink-stained AC/DC t-shirt tonight. Lovino could suddenly remember crystal-clear how that t-shirt had been ruined, some months ago.

Lovino himself was standing almost in the middle of the room where the conference would take place. Feliciano had totally blown it again, as half an hour ago he had been unable to answer clear questions after the presentation they had so carefully been putting together for ages. Lovino was giving him hell. Germany and Gilbert were standing somewhere close, chatting lightly between them, Germany throwing worried glances to Feliciano, who was in danger of being choked to death by his brother at any second.

At that very moment, a delayed Antonio entered the scene, very cool, dressed smartly, impeccable hair, design tie and cufflinks, and a big, fresh ink stain on his shirt's pocket, he had no idea he was sporting. He cried from afar: "Lovinito!" making everyone turn to look at him, and came towards "Lovinito" at a fast pace. Lovino was pissed even more that he had to put up with another idiot, especially since this one would unavoidably ruin his shirt too. In fact, he was fuming so hard, he could hardly straighten his thoughts out anymore, and just watched catastrophe approach him with fast steps without doing anything. He took a look at Feliciano, who, defeated, resembled a wet cat by now, and the next thing he saw was Gilbert right next to him, hugging tight Antonio who had spread his hands towards Lovino, and by what seemed at the moment, taking one for the team, as Antonio would not stop unless he had ruined someone's outfit.

Lovino could now speculate that Gilbert was not just saving anyone who would be molested and soiled by Antonio's hug, but him in particular. He sat up on his bed fast. Was that even possible?