The World Was Here First

014: Jealousy

"Bull Fight"

A prick of anger, the venom spreads quickly. Before it can be drawn out, the ugly, nasty feeling settles into your chest. For the long run.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. If I did, there would be more truth to all of those hints. Warning; mainstream AU, main focus on OC children, swearing, and things that will probably make next to no sense at all. Ever.

No more than a pinprick was needed to get him started. His blood would boil and he would see red

like the flashing, billowing fabric that would wave around, but it was never on the clothes, no, never, that would distract the bull from the real target but the colour didn't really matter in the end because he knew the bull would charge, would charge straight for him as long as he taunted it with that fabric that just seemed to move on its own in his hands and in the tumultuous wind

whenever he could feel that poison coursing through him. He had to clench his fists closed

in that deep red fabric, so flowing and long, ready to taunt that raging bull in front of him

in order to keep from acting on it. Because he shouldn't have been angry at this person,

oh but he was, he was very angry because they were threatening him they were teasing him and all of a sudden he was the bull, he was the bull seeing the red cloth waved in front of him and he wanted to charge, to dig his horns deep into the other's chest

the feeling should not have been there for this person, of all people.

Renato and Raelene were just friends. Just friends.

Seeing them interact, though, made him feel very green.

And not just the good kind of green, like on top of tomatoes; this green wasn't even classified in the greens anywhere, it was his own personal shade, and that was nothing to be proud of.

Envious of how they got along so well, he would spit names at his cousin's back in rapid fire Spanish and Italian

but mostly Italian, the way it just rolled off his tongue, he felt like he wasn't himself, he wasn't Jairo, he was Lovino, a child once more, yelling and ranting and raving at whoever dared oppose him with a fire burning too bright in his soul to be quelled or contained

when he wasn't paying attention. Jealous of Renato even occupying any of Ralene's time, he would have to remind himself

that the bastard didn't love him, he didn't care, he was just being his normal flirty self, like he was with everyone, Lovino wasn't special to him, that smiley bastard, hugging him was just the same as hugging Feliciano and that hurt, dammit, it hurt so much

he'd be getting his brother-cousin back in no time, and would dream up elaborate plots while he waited.

And in order to sedate such feelings, he would try to remember

the way they slammed him up against the wall, unwilling to touch him with gloved hands but at the same time grabbing him roughly by the hair to shove down on the bed, and he knew they were going to pump him with more of that sick stuff, that sick and twisted stuff that made everyone else fall asleep and not argue for a week after taking it, well not him, he had to rebel, had to keep fighting for what he came there to do in the first place, had to remember

that Renato had a puppy crush on Aniela, not Raelene. Raelene was free for Jairo. Besides, Jairo had recently moved up in rank, going from second mate to first mate!

And he'd been so happy, so happy about it, he had run all the way home and jumped up and down on his bed for a whole minute, trying to punch a hole through the ceiling which he couldn't reach and he did feel a bit sorry for Aniela since she had been first mate before moving away, but now he had taken her title and it meant he was closer to Raelene he was closer to her nothing could make him happier nothing and

What had Renato ever done to make such a big leap, huh? Nothing. Yeah, that was right. Absolutely nothing.

He was still jealous. He must have gotten it from his mama and papa

and they were together now but that didn't mean a thing, not a single thing, since Antonio was still his usual flirty self and it hurt to see him with others like that even if Lovino was the only one he would touch like that he would still go and do stupid things like talk with that damned smile, that damned smile to Feliciano and Lovino wanted to be the only one Antonio smiled like that for

it was so strong. The emotion was a hard one to ignore, and most of the time he was just barely able to not start a fight with his cousin-brother. Like his mama, he was a hothead; but like his papa, he knew when getting into a fight was a bad and pointless idea. He got a lot of his smarts from his papa

like how he could move just so and have Lovino feeling uncomfortable, just so uncomfortable, and there were kids around and that should have been illegal with how well he could do it, but he would have to save it for later, he couldn't do those kinds of things in front of Jairo even if Jairo already knew well enough what he wanted to do

Alex should have inherited more smarts from his papa, but was stuck with a pretty stupid mama, so Jairo could pity him a bit.

Even when she was caught up in talking animatedly with Renato, though, Raelene would look back to grin and wave to Jairo periodically, never being able to leave him out of the conversation or something. She definitely got that from her papa. Renato would look back and grin and wave as well, but that was normal for him, he had a really strange mama. Jairo could feel the blush burning on his cheeks every time

it happened every time that bastard did something and he would just turn and call him a cute tomato but he wasn't a fucking tomato and he would get all close and like that which would only make him turn even more red and that would provoke some more teasing which he hated, he hated, but he also really loved it

and a fresh dose of jealousy when the two would jump right back into their conversation. It was like they didn't even care all that much about him, just enough to make sure he wasn't forgotten.

"A treasure hunt!" Jairo couldn't help but feel himself snort so much like that bull digging its hoof into the ground, preparing to charge at the statement. A treasure hunt. Of course Raelene would come up with that. "With gold coins and everything! It'll be the loot of the century."

He rolled his eyes as he trudged along behind the two. It was always about the treasure with Raelene

and all he could imagine was one day in their different garb, hers being a traditional English pirate and his being a traditional Spanish matador, that she would pluck him up in her arms and declare him her treasure, only hers, because he wasn't a wimp but the thought of that was so enticing and he would reply, like a man, that she was his only love, the only one for him, and he wouldn't mess up like his mama he would be like his papa his papa was smoother in those kinds of situations and wouldn't Raelene love him even more after that?

If some suspicious men told her they had treasure for her in their sketchy-looking white van, she'd believe them in a finger snap and go along with it! It was really, really dangerous, which was why Jairo tagged along with her most of the time. He wanted to protect her

to be her hero, yes, as cheesy as it sounded, because her papa was always proclaiming to be a hero, but where was he when they had been chased by that scary creepy tall guy where had he been Jairo had been there and then Jairo had made sure to help Raelene get out of the situation to get out and get help is what he said but he was just trying to protect her from the creep to keep that guy from putting his hands on her in any way

to show her that he cared. He was pretty sure that, so far, it was working.

"We've had treasure hunts for the past three events in our class, though, Rae."

Jairo immediately aimed a glare at the back of his cousin-brother's head. How could he just shoot her down like that? Raelene loved treasure hunts, and if she wanted one, she would get it as long as Jairo had any say in the matter. And Renato would just have to step down and deal with it. He even opened his mouth

slick and hot, wet and enticing, he would do this because he wanted to, not because he was obligated, and he loved having Antonio underneath him, liked to make him feel good, because then he could prove that Antonio wasn't just in it to make Lovino feel good, Lovino could return the favour, like a good husband

to give Renato a piece of his mind, but Raelene was grinning widely, having been unfazed in the slightest by the comment.

"But what else are you supposed to do for Easter?"

"Oh~ True, true! Jairo~ Let's be a group for the treasure hunt!"

He didn't want to. He didn't fucking want to. All he wanted was to be with Raelene again, on their own

on a pirate ship somewhere out in the ocean, having adventures and sailing the high seas, looking for plunder, and stopping back in Spain or the odd town once in a while so Jairo could participate in a matador match, but they were okay because they were together, had each other, and that was all that mattered in the end.

After Aniela left, Raelene had been sticking with Jairo and Renato had clung to them both. For Jairo, it was kinda annoying, but since Renato was his cousin-brother, he had to make some kind of effort

to keep up the good work, to keep trying harder, to get his failing grade back up, because Lovino had said he would make it worth his while, and that meant he didn't really hate him, right?, that he was going to make some kind of conscious attempt at being closer, an effort

to be nice. Even if it meant sacrificing alone time with Raelene.

No one ever said he could be nice without meaning it. His mama did it all the time, after all, especially with Renato's papa.

"We'll have to check with first mate. Jairo! Would you mind if Renato came aboard to join us in the hunt?"

He could not resist

the way those eyes glistened, and he was lost all over again, dammit, how could Antonio have him so well analyzed, how did he know what made Lovino tick he was some kind of god with

that smile, those lovely blue eyes. So he huffed and shrugged in response. "What difference does it make to me? Stupid Renato can join us if he must."

"All right! Welcome to the crew, Renato. You'll take your mum's place and be first hand, all right?"

"Okay!"

Renato saluted with his wrong hand

just like his mama would during training sessions and his papa would turn red, oh so red, and start to shout that his mama was doing it wrong, that he needed to salute with the other hand but his mama knew it didn't bother him that much because he never turned that shade of red when he was angry

and another surge of jealousy washed over Jairo. Gosh, wasn't Raelene considerate of his feelings at all? Not that she knew, but still. Still, she really did take after her dad. "Big deal. When does it even begin?"

"On Easter, silly." That grin just made him feel special. Not that he'd ever admit it. Only when she turned

away from him, always away from him, it made him want to whine, but no, he was strong, and he didn't really care what that bastard did anyways

to Renato with that exact same grin did he have to wonder. "First hand, set a date for our excursion. That's when we'll set sail and find those doubloons come hail or high waters. Come sharp rocks or coral reefs!"

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

He saluted with his left again

tears rolling down his cheeks as his smile faltered and completely broke, unable to hold in the pain any longer, his first love had gone this way, he didn't want to wish anyone to war, wanted everyone to just get along and stay safe, no more deaths

giggling at the silliness of it all, before marching off rather professional-looking to do as he was asked. Raelene looked satisfied, and again, that green, poisonous emotion rippled through him. What if it was Renato she liked? The two did work well together

pressed up against one another, on the counter, not caring who saw, and he was holding a knife, and he knew that it wasn't blood on the blade, it was tomato juice from the tomatoes he had been dicing, not even when it stained his clothes and both bodies were limp did he admit to himself that it even was blood

having the same basic personality. Jairo was just a know-it-all hothead who wanted to be a matador. Could a matador and a pirate even work together? Jairo liked to think so. Jairo liked to think

frantically as he rushed about on deck, unable to calm himself, and calling for orders that they sail towards land, solid ground this instant or some of them would find themselves faced with a plank to walk because his wife was pregnant and she was pregnant and they had to get back to land fast or they would lose the baby just think

they could work. He hoped so much that they could.

"Jairo, you've been awfully quiet. Copper for your thoughts?" And Raelene was giving him that grin again, and that latent niceness was bubbling back up to the surface

because what else could he do but smile back at his love, his Antonio, even though they were both tired and sweaty and Lovino would insist on a shower for them both but he was just so damned happy that they were finally together, that they were finally one

so he grinned back. The thought of Raelene giving that smile to Renato struck out like a snake, and the poison was intensifying. "If you're worried about the loot, don't be. All proceeds go to the captain, and then she will divide it up evenly between the crew members and herself! Or, are you allergic to chocolate now?"

She was worried about him, too. But the quip about it being 'evenly' divided had already pricked that childish selfishness that he had,

absolutely hated, in fact, because it made him look like a brat and he was not a brat he was not his little brother Lovino was so much more than just a simple little brat,

punctured the inflating hope. "No, I can still eat chocolate. Why can't the treasure be something more useful, like tomatoes..."

He didn't mean to muse aloud to himself, but the thought slipped. He loved tomatoes. He really, really wished he could just eat them already instead of having to worry about his allergy. Raelene paused in thought for a moment before wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug.

"So my first mate wants the rubies of the sunny kingdom across the sea? We'll go and get some, then. No plunder is too wealthy or well-guarded enough for my first mate!"

She laughed, and for the first time in a while, Jairo laughed with her. No doubt Raelene was weird

aggravating the bull on purpose, making it see red and nothing but red before simply stepping to the side and presenting a blue cape instead of the longed-for red, and that shocked the bull just long enough to make it forget it was angry in the first place

but she did know how to make him feel special.

And did he ever feel special whenever he was with her.

A/N: ...I'm not even going to try and explain this one. All I can say is that when I was typing it up, Jairo practically bitch-slapped me, took over the keyboard, and spawned this.

And...I like it. A lot. It makes no sense, not even to me, but I really, really like it. Kudos to Jairo, not me, on this one.

Notes; Jairo (Madrid) is Lovi and Antonio's firstborn [I could explain about him for days, but I don't want the Author note to be longer than the piece]. Renato (Venice) is Feli and Ludwig's firstborn (and the oldest kid out of all of them). Raelene [London] is (you guessed it) Arthur and Alfred's firstborn. Aniela (Vilnius) is Toris and Feliks' kid. Not all of the things that are described in the italics are related to this universe (there's some things you'll notice from the actual Hetalia 'verse, and one thing from a different fic I read; obviously I do not own the idea behind that small description). And Alex is New Prussia.

Review and tell me what you thought...?