FACE Mertalia

Pasta is almost as good as hamburgers... almost

"Uh, well, we were just ... just admiring your friend's cooking." Alfred squeaked as he looked at the imposing figure above him. Kumijirou poked his head from behind Alfred, where he had taken shelter to not be noticed by Ludwig, "Alfred won't stop complaining about how hungry he is." the seal softly said.

Ludwig blinked, confused, before he backed away and looked at them closely. After having made up his mind, the German motioned for them to follow. "Come on, I'm sure Veneziano wouldn't mind sharing."

"Really?! Dude, awesome, thanks!" Alfred cheered as he pumped his fists.

"Yes, vell, let's go." The German almost smiled at the boy's enthusiasm before he turned around and headed back, Alfred and Kumijirou trailing him.

As they approached, Ludwig called to the figure cowering behind the large pot, waving a little white flag, "Veneziano, come out, it was not a ghost; and before you ask, no, it was not a tomato fairy either. I found some guests instead."

"Really?" the merman said, peering around the pot, "But who would- Oh!" Veneziano raced out of his hiding spot to wrap Alfred into a suffocating hug. "Ve~ Look at you! You are sooo cute!" He pinched Alfred's cheeks as the merling wiggled, trying to get away.

"Veneziano, let the poor boy go, you're scaring him." Ludwig said, as he saw the faces Alfred was making at the other merman.

"Oh, right! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, but you are too cute! Do you want some pasta? I have some right here. Ludwig and I were going to share, but there's plenty to go around!" Veneziano released Alfred, still happily chatting, and proceeded to race around the camp, throwing ingredients into his pot of pasta, giving Alfred the chance to catch his breath and look around.

Veneziano had shaggy, chestnut hair, with a curl kind of like Matthew's sprouting from the side of his head. His tail was a much lighter green then Arthur's, more of a neon color than emerald. Ludwig's tail was a bright blue, matching his eyes; and he seemed huge compared to Veneziano, covered in muscle, while the Italian was more slender. Their camp consisted of two bedrolls, laid out on the sand, and the pot. Not to much to look at, but it organized and clean.

Ludwig was sitting on the ground near one of the bedrolls and motioned for Alfred to join him, "Tell me, vhat is your name? I vas rude to not ask before."

Alfred cleared his throat, "Oh, uh, I'm Alfred and this is Kumijirou." The seal had tried not to be noticed by Veneziano and was hanging around near the edge of the embankment. He wasn't a big fan of strangers dealing out hugs.

"In case you didn't already know, I'm Ludwig and that's Veneziano." The German glanced at the Italian, now singing softly to himself as he threw in the last few ingredients. "After you eat, ve vill talk. There are no mervillages nearby, so it is strange for you to be out this far. Obviously, there is a story to this." Ludwig said as he cut a glance at the merling next to him. Alfred wiggled his fins nervously. But before Alfred spoke, Veneziano broke their staring contest with a cry of, "Pasta!!!"

He had finished his pasta creation and handed both a plate of it, keeping one for himself, and sat down on the other side of Alfred so he was sandwiched between the two mermen. "I really hope you like it, little one! I put in garlic and tomatoes Antonio got me, all the way from Spain!"

Alfred nearly choked on the pasta he was already shoving into his face, "You-, you know Antonio?"

"Si, Antonio takes care of mi fratello, Romano!"

"Romano?! Really?! How are you two even brothers? You're so different!"

"You know Romano?! What a fantastico turn of events! How do you know him?"

"Francis is BFFs with Antonio and one time Antonio came over with Romano. I guess they thought we could play or something. That kid has the mouth of a sailor and doesn't even like hamburgers. He said he would rather eat raw tomatoes. Can you believe it! Well, we started fighting over which was better, so Arthur split us up and told Antonio not to bring Romano over again until he could mind his manners. That was a couple of months ago."

"Slow down, who are Francis and Arthur?" Ludwig asked, trying to keep up with Alfred's story.

"Well, when I broke into their house and Arthur caught me, and we told them my parents are dead, they decided to take us in. I guess they're kind of like my big brothers."

"Wait, you're saying Francis Bonnefoy and Arthur Kirkland took you in?" Ludwig looked confused as he tried to piece together the information Alfred had given him.

Alfred nodded and went back to his pasta. Veneziano had finished his plate already and looked longingly at Ludwig's half-eaten portion. Ludwig sighed and handed his plate to the Italian who squealed, "Ve~ Grazie, Ludwig!"

"Then you must know Gilbert." Ludwig said to Alfred. "Uhmn, I anow himn." Alfred said with a mouth full of pasta, "he'es realla kool."

Ludwig nodded but his expression didn't change, "Ja, he is my brother."

Alfred choked on his pasta again. Veneziano pounded him on the back until Alfred waved him off. "I'm okay now. So Gilbert is your brother? Wow...."

"So, little one, what are you doing out here? I mean, Arthur or Francis would be with you if you were visiting, so why are you all alone way out here?" Veneziano asked.

"Um, well, you might think I'm crazy but my twin brother, Matthew, was kidnapped. I'm trying to find him, and I'm not alone, I have Kumijirou." The seal had wandered off, but had come back at some point during the conversation, and was now eating pasta off of Alfred's plate.

Veneziano leaned toward Kumijirou and looked at him long and hard. Clearly confused, the Italian shook his head and sat back. "But he's a seal." he pointed out.

"Yes...." Alfred replied, not really sure how to answer. "But Kumijirou saw which way Ivan went and that's where we're headed now. Besides, before Arthur and Francis took us in we did just fine on our own." Kumijirou glared at the merling, but Alfred took no notice and started cleaning his plate.

Ludwig glanced at Veneziano, who whispered, "Come on, Ludwig, he's all alone, let him come with us! Or we could help him find this kidnapper Ivan!"

Ludwig sighed before he shrugged, "Vell, it's not like ve are getting anywhere in your training anyway. Might as vell."

"Yay!" Veneziano shouted, as he reached over and wrapped Alfred into another hug, "Ludwig said he'll help you find this bad Ivan, and then we can all go home and have pasta together!"

Alfred looked over at Ludwig through Veneziano's overenthusiastic hug, "Really?" he asked.

Ludwig nodded, "Vell, those vere not my exact words but, ja, ve vill help you. I can't let you run around looking for trouble all alone."

Alfred broke through Veneziano's arms and hugged the German tightly around the middle, "Thank you," he said softly. Ludwig was surprised but slowly relaxed and hugged the merling back. "Ve~ Group hug!" Veneziano cried, wrapping his arms around both, and grabbing Kumijirou before he could save himself by swimming far, far away.