PeaceMaker

"I understand," Antonio nodded his head, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's a shame that you had to feel that way though… because I could never harm you."

"I- I'm sure you wouldn't," Annabeth smiled lightly, "but how could I have been sure of that? I don't know you and most certainly don't know what your temperament was like."

Antonio nodded his head, "I understand," his eyes locked with Annabeth and a bright smile crossed his face, his hand touching his nape, "I guess I should be more open with that, right?"

Annabeth flinched, confusion forming on her face. "Huh?"

Antonio blushed. "I mean… I don't want you to be scared of me of course. Especially as I am not the type of person to be scary and all… I want to have a nice- friendship with you."

Annabeth stared at him for a moment, the confusion remaining on her face. 'Friendship?' she thought to herself. 'Friendship…' She gazed at him for another second. 

"Oh! Uh… of course, you don't have to accept-" Antonio immediately began, looking away from Annabeth as his face continued to heat up. "I was just suggesting because I don't really have that many friends and you seem like a really kind person and I like to be friends with a kind person because some people can be really fake and I don't want to be around those kinds of people but you seem really easy to talk to so I just wanted to be a little closer to you but it's completely fine if you don't want to because afterall, I don't want to force anything on you at all because that wouldn't be nice of me and it'll be very annoying for you to stay-"

"Sure," Annabeth smiled, her lips spreading into a bright smile. "I'll be your friend."

Antonio froze and like a bomb went off in his face, his cheeks grew bright red. "Ah...th-thank... Thank y-you.." he muttered, a little smile forming on his face as he touched his neck again. 

Annabeth chuckled, her smile evolving into laughter. "Hahahahaha...You're welcome hehe."

Antonio looked up at her, his smile settling into a thin line of no expression as he watched her laugh. 'She's beautiful… so beautiful…' he thought to himself as he stared at her.

"But…" she muttered, her bright eyes opening to look at him after her giggles settled. "Is..is there a way for me to repay you though? I mean for spitting on your face and all…"

Antonio shook his head immediately. "Nonono! Don't worry about it! I told you, I don't mind."

Annabeth let out a little sigh, "But still… I'd hate to look at you every day and remember the day when I spat on your face and then remember that I didn't apologize for it at all... That'll be humiliating. I'd rather be indebted to you and have a way to earn forgiveness."

Antonio stared at her for a moment before looking away. "But I told you…" he began, turning back to her, his voice trailing off when they met eyes. He let out a long sigh.

"Fineeee," he replied, to which a bright smile appeared on Annabeth's face again. 

"Yay!" she giggled, her eyes shutting as she gave a little exclamation of happiness. Seconds later, her giggle dies down and she locks eyes with Antonio. 

"..."

"..."

"Hahahahahaahah," they both burst out into laughter, laughing at nothing in particular for a minute. 

Antonio stood up from his position, a smile still on his face as he nodded in the direction of Annabeth's plate. "You still have a lot to eat, Lady Annabeth." 

Annabeth chuckled as she looked back at her plate. "A lot indeed… I think I may have gone a little overboard this time with the food."

"Wahhhht," Antonio exclaimed, sitting down in his seat. "No way, as long as you can finish it. I assure you that the food made for this event was meant to be eaten, not kept for decoration."

"Pfft-" Annabeth chuckled. "Then It'll be a shame if I don't eat it all, wouldn't it?"

"You do as you please," Antonio smiled, "I have no right to tell you what to do."

Annabeth grinned. She looked back at the plate again, cringing when she looked at the fruitcake. Antonio followed her gaze, his face immediately copying her reaction. 

"Ah… so that's what it was…" Antonio muttered, his voice holding a slight tone of disgust. He looked up at Annabeth at the same time that she did to him and they exchanged a little smile. "I told you that fruitcake did not taste the best. Those raisins completely ruined whatever chance it had at being a delectable piece of cake to eat."

Annabeth burst into laughter, using her finger to flick the cake to the edge of her plate pettily, "Agreed."

They laughed together again. 

Annabeth bit into her next mini sandwich, the same as the last. Antonio watched her eat, a little smile forming on his face again when he watched the little sparkle enter her eyes. 

"Someone likes tuna sandwiches…" He teasingly muttered, his words immediately catching her attention. 

"Is someone judging my food choices?" she asked, her eyebrows rising as her eyes squinted at Antonio. 

"Of course not my lady! Simply making a mental note," Antonio grinned, to which they exchanged smiles again. 

Antonio watched her eat for a little bit before he looked over at the people in the crowd, a little distance away. "Seems like the slow dances are going to last a little longer today," He stated, turning to Annabeth. "They've been dancing for at least 20 minutes now. I'm surprised they've yet to play Bolero… it seems the dances are long from over."

"Of course.." Annabeth replied, her hand covering her mouth, "this is an event for engagements for a lot of young ladies, I wouldn't be surprised if the dancing lasted for another hour or two, it should be the longest part of this celebration right?"

Antonio nodded his head. "It is." He watched Annabeth eat for another moment, hesitating before he asked his next question. "Do you... Not like slow dances?"

Annabeth looked up from her sandwich, her cheeks fully puffed with the sandwich. "No? Why do you ask?"

Antonio smiled, bringing out another handkerchief. He looked at her for a moment and exchanged glances with her, his eyes looking down at her lips. She gave a little nod. He leaned over the table and wiped her lips with the handkerchief.

"Done," he announced.

"Thank you," Annabeth replied with a smile. "But how many handkerchiefs do you even have on you?"

Antonio shrugged with a mischievous smile. "Who knows?" he smirked, "you'll have to use them all to find out."

"Really?" Annabeth raised her eyebrow, a smug smile appearing on her face, "is that a challenge?"

Antonio shrugged again. "Who knows? Take it as you want to my lady," he chuckled. 

"Don't regret that statement," 

"We'll see,"

They laughed together again.

"But seriously, why did you ask?" she asked.

"Just… you sounded a bit… blank when you were talking about it just a moment ago," Antonio replied. 

"You heard that much from a little comment like that?" Annabeth gasped exaggeratedly. "Quite the detective aren't you?"

"Nope… just like you pay attention to those I like being around," Antonio replied with a chuckle. He froze after he made the comment, turning to Annabeth. 'She didn't catch what I meant by that right…?' he thought to himself as he glanced at her. She was chortling. He smiled.

"But no… it's not that I don't like dances like that, it's just the whole process," she shared, "the process of dancing with people I don't even know simply because others think they may be my future husband or they themself just want to look more appealing by dancing with me."

"Ah… understandable," Antonio nodded his head, looking down at his fingers. 

Annabeth nodded her head, finishing another cake slice. Antonio watched her eat for a moment, his lips opening to say something before shutting again. He couldn't find the courage. 

Annabeth looked up at him, her head cocking to the side at his lost expression. "Is there something you'd like to say Marquess Antonio?" she asked, calling his attention to her immediately. She chuckled when she looked at his startled expression. "You've just been sitting there looking nervous and your mouth keeps looking like it wanted to say something.

"Ah.." Antonio muttered, his cheeks growing a bit red. "I do want to ask something…" 

Annabeth's head straightened and she smiled, reassuring him. "Yes? And that may be?"

"Since you don't hate the idea of dancing with someone…" he began, his voice trembling slightly, "I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me?"