Mermaid (Feliciano Vargas x Hydrophobic!Reader)

Hey there guys~! I do not own Hetalia, the picture, or YOU!!! And now, speaking about the title, you, the reader, are afraid of water, not chemistry or rabies. Anyway, enjoy~!




[SECOND PERSON P.O.V]

Water. The bottomless pit of water that enveloped the children in it with its dark, cold waves. It was your worst fear: swimming.

Most people called your fear hydrophobia. Not that you had ever objected; after all, it was true that you had a severe trauma of water. You didn't know why, but it was controlling you, spreading through your veins and mind, making you hyperventilate at the sight of the liquid. Of course, you took showers, but that didn't really count. It was a big body of water that terrified you out of your wits, like swimming pools, oceans, rivers, lakes, even rain puddles. As a child, you had watched first-hand as your elder brother drowned in the ocean. The weather had been atrocious that day, and the life-guard did not notice the upcoming storm clouds. Your brother had been swimming in the ocean, his nine-year old body splashing through the waves, when they swept him away, further and further from the shore. No nine year-old could ever withstand such strong currents, and before you knew it, your whole family was watching in pure horror as his hand soon disappeared beneath the thrashing surface; the rescue teams had never been able to recover his body for his funeral. 

And what was worse, you never recovered. 
                                         
[TIME SKIP]

"Ve~! (Name)! Pretty ragazza! Come on, enter the water~!" 

The cheery voice of happy-go-lucky, slightly idiotic, best friend and childhood crush, Feliciano Vargas, snapped you back to reality. For the past two minutes, you had been freaking out at the side of the pool, shivering at the feel of the icy water on the tips of your toes. You had been invited to your other best friend's, Elizaveta Hedevary, birthday party, and since she was such an outdoor person, she had gone with a pool party.

Of course, the Hungarian hadn't known that you were deathly afraid of water (of course, or she wouldn't have had a pool party)- only Feliciano, and his friends, a German named Ludwig Beilschmidt, and a Japanese named Kiku Honda knew. Since they were the sons of your mother's good friends, Mrs Chiara Vargas, Mrs Monika Beilschmidt and Mrs Sakura Honda, the four of you hung out often when the mothers got together on their school gossip outings. Soon, the four of your became inseparable.

"I-I c-can't!" you insisted, walking backwards, "Can I just stay on the surface like Roderiech?" you gestured to the garden, where the teen was playing the violin with his eyes closed in concentration. When his name was said, he seemed to loose concentration by playing the wrong note, and he scowled in impatience.

Elizaveta shook her head and stuck out her tongue. "Nu-uh, (Name)! I already have one sissy friend, I don't need another! Come in and have fun!"

"Just get in already, idiota!" Feliciano's aggressive older brother, Lovino, growled.

"Come on, (Name), I'll help you in!" Feliciano chirped, beckoning you to come closer to the water. Wading through the Cerulean blue water, he held out his hands. You eyed the pool anxiously, as if it might grow jaws and snap at your ankles, to later on drag you into the underwater prison....

But nevertheless, you gingerly you climbed down the metal ladder leading down into the pool; the surface of the object felt like ice, chilling your blood by degrees. A cold chill ran down your spine, like a child darting around trees on a cold winter's day. Fear washed around your skin, causing goosebumps to to grow at a rapid pace. Stopping at the second-to-last hinge, memories of your late brother's death flashed through your conflicted mind. Like a chain reaction, your palms started sweating, and you froze in your spot. 

"(Name)? What are you waiting for.....?" Elizaveta asked, anxiety raising in her voice.

"Elizaveta-san, (Name)-chan is hydrophobic," Kiku stated out, as if it was a matter-of-factly. 

Your best friend covered her mouth with both her hand, muffling a gasp of surprise. "Oh my frying pan, (name), why didn't you tell me.....?" 

"It's alright, Elizaveta! I'll teach (Name)!" Feliciano said brightly.

"What?!" you said in disbelief, red flushing through your face like a storm cloud ruining a perfectly sunny day. No way! You were going to die of embarrassment if your crush had to watch you blunder around like an idiot in the water. 

"Yes! I insist! (Name), you can't go around forever not knowing how to swim!" Feliciano insisted, picking you up bridal style. In surprise, you let go of the ladder, allowing him to carry you off.

"Feliciano! Let me go!" you squealed, trying to kick his face. He swiftly ducked, laughing.

"If I let you go, I'll drop you in the water~!" he said in a mocking tone. Cornered, you glared at him through your fringe, which had come undone. 

"You win this time, pasta-addict...." you muttered darkly, crossing your arms over your chest in a defeated manner. Looking up, now that you were at a closer angle, you saw all the handsome features on his face which you had never noticed before: his silky auburn-brownish hair that fell across the sides of his face like curtains draped over the sides of a stage, how cute the goofy grin looked when it crossed his face, the adorable curve of his nose.....it all made you blush harder, made your heart beat so fast that you were sure it was going to pop out of your chest, made you want to drown yourself to spare the embarrassment.....

You liked him even more than you did last time, that was for sure. The thought of being taught by him was going to be pure torture. 

After that, the two of you had a verbal match of the words "I insist that I teach you" and "No, I beg you, just no" being tossed from side to side. It could have gone until the sun set, and until you both had a pretty nasty tan on your faces, but ELizaveta settled that.

"Say 'CHEESE'~!" she giggled, snapping a photo of you with her camera, "This is SOOOOO going on my blog!" 

It took exactly five seconds for you to realize that you were still being carried by him bridal-style. Your face, now the shade of one of Lovino's tomatoes, you demanded to be put down.

"So, do you accept, bella?" Feliciano asked, a smirk crossing his face. 

"Fine....just put me DOWN!!!" 

[TIME SKIP]

In the end, your swimming lessons turned out to be smoother than expected. Feliciano had managed to teach you how to enter the water without hyperventilating or splashing around like a fish out of water and doggie-paddle. He also had managed to clam you down when you broke down at the thought of your elder brother, stroking your hair and whispering comforting words in your ear. He really was fit out to work as a swimming instructor when he was older. 

You had yet to learn, but it was a good start. Feliciano even offered to teach you over the summer holidays, which were just around the corner.

"Oh my takaritas utensils, (Name)!" ELizaveta squealed, dolphin-swimming to you, "You did it! I bet you're really hungry, so I'll go set up the birthday lunch!" 

With that, she climbed out of the pool, shaking her hair like how a wet dog would. As if in cue, Gilbert hopped out of the pool, and ran forward.

"Race ya to the sliding doors, Lizzie!" he yelled tauntingly.

Elizaveta, being the naturally competetive tomboy she was, took this as a challenge. "Oh yeah, you un-awesome king?!" she shouted, racing forward, "I'll beat you! You just wait and see! Come on, Ludwig, Romano, Kiku, Roderiech! Go already!" 

"Oh, vhatever....." Ludwig sighed, hoisting himself out of the pool, "Vell, ve've better get going. Are you coming, Kiku?" 

"Hai, Ludwig-san," Kiku said obediently, following the German. 

"Hmph, whatever, idiotas," Lovino huffs, going with the flow nevertheless. He looked over at his younger sibling, "You coming, Feliciano?"

"Sure, fratello! Just let me help (name) out of the pool~!" the bubbly Italian called back. 

As soon as everyone was out of sight, you looked over at Feliciano, who surprisingly had not moved from his place. His eyes were fixed on the sky, as if something mesmerizing was up with the clouds.

"Hey, Feli....?" just saying his name made a blush of pink creep onto your cheeks. You furiously hauled the feeling away, knowing that you had to have this question answered before the end of the day. You made your way to him, but unfortunately, your ankle had decided to cramp on you at the exact same moment.

Before you knew it, you were submerged under the liquid. Fear quickly consumed you once again, fearing that you were going to end up like your elder brother, and your parents would now be childless. Bubbles erupted from your mouth as you let out a gasp of surprise, and your legs and arms kicked against the water, but to now avail. Closing your eyes, you finally accepted the fact that you were going to die.....

But you didn't. Instead, you felt two strong arms grab you by your arms and bring you back to the surface. Gasping for breath, you realized that your savior was Feliciano Vargas himself. 

"Ve~! (Name), you should really watch out more!" he sounded so casual, so carefree, even after you had nearly died. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" 

"Did I....." you felt your cheeks heat up, and you felt like slapping yourself, "Did I swim alright today?" There, your burden was off.

Now for the answer.....

"No, (Name), you did not swim well....." your crush's voice was hard and serious, which meant that the world had just ended.


His eyes were probably open now, which was something that even Lovino, his older twin brother, could never recall ever happening before; after all, what was Feliciano without his derpy, happy-go-lucky face? Bracing yourself for the impact of falling pieces of debris to start raining from the sky, you just managed to hear what he next had to say:

"You swam beautifully, (Name)," now you were being scooped into his arms, and you felt the soft surface of his lips on your cheek. Hurriedly steadying your rapid breathing, with your eyes as wide as saucers, you wondered if this was reality, or part of your vivid imagination.

"R-really...?"

"Yes! Like a mermaid," he whispered into your ear, "My very own mermaid."