A/N: And here I am again! I'm on a Spain craze right now, and I wanted to try my hand at writing humor (because I absolutely have little to no sense of humor). Please don't forget to review after reading, I'd love to know what you think (even if it's to complain about how much I need improvement.. ehem.) And this thing will be AU, depending on its setting after all.
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Hetalia. If I did, Spain will be showing off his sexy ass more often.
Little Antonio Fernandez Carriedo enjoyed the outdoors. He liked to walk around town and mingle with the people. It wouldn't hurt to share a smile to brighten someone's day, right?
On one particularly sunny day, Antonio decided to visit his good friend's house. Surely Bella would welcome him, or if he was lucky, might join him on his regular walk. Bella was new after all, she just moved from Belgium. On her first day, he cheerfully introduced himself to her and managed to make her acquaintance. The second day, he helped her settle down in her house. (And the Belgian treats she offered him were truly delicious. He felt sorry he hadn't brought her some of his paella!) He visited her from time to time, and enjoyed her pleasant company.
With a sunny smile already plastered on his face and some paella he packed for her, he walked right up her front door and politely knocked. No answer. Antonio tilted his head curiously and shifted his hold on the paella. Maybe he knocked too softly and she didn't hear. His smile as bright as ever, he knocked again. Twice. Thrice. Okay, so his knuckles were beginning to hurt at his constant rapping. Stepping back he stared blankly at the door as he heard the faint patter of feet and rustling of fabric. Bella's here! Thank goodness. He thought she wasn't home.
Antonio tilted his head a little to greet his friend. Bella was taller than him by a few inches. He quietly wondered when he'd reach puberty too. Girls seemed to have all the luck, outgrowing boys earlier. She was cute, her blonde hair curling and framing her face as she grinned and beckoned him in.
"I came to give you this! It's paella. I made it!" exclaimed the little Spaniard as he handed the surprised girl his homemade treat. "Thank you, Antonio. Would you like to eat with me?" "Uh, I actually wanted to ask you if you'd join me for a walk around town. It's warm and sunny outside! We can check out the shops or pass by the market. Or if you like, we could-" Antonio's excited ramble was cut off by a gasp from Bella. "I forgot!" "Huh? Forgot what, Bella?" Antonio watched as the Belgian hurriedly dashed inside the kitchen where the sounds of pots and pans clanging echoed in furious cacophony.
Antonio's eyebrows shot up as the smell of freshly caught fish wafted in the air. Did she just go fishing? Bella returned to where he was, a basket of fish in her arms. "Would you do me a favor? I'm sorry I can't go on a walk with you today. My older brother is visiting later and I need to get things ready for him. Also, I wanted to sell these fishes in the market, but I don't have enough time! Please, Antonio, just do this for me and I'll repay you. I'll walk with you next time and cook you something nice too!" the girl's mild ramble all floated in Antonio's mind, jumbled pieces of a puzzle he was still trying to make sense out of. It took a good few minutes of silence before Bella's truly sunk in, and the realization hit him like a tomato to the face. "Oh! So you mean instead of you coming along on this walk it'll be the fish?"
Bella flashed him a smile, although it seemed quite strained. Maybe her friend was just a little slow on the thought processes. Or maybe she had spoken too fast. "Yes Antonio, would you be so kind as to take these fish with you, and go around town." To sell them, of course. She was sure the entire basket would sell out in no time, knowing how charmingly irresistible the little boy's smiles were. "Can you do this favor for me please? I promise I'll make you a treat when you come back!" "Okay!" came Antonio's delighted reply.
The moment he was outside the house and walking along the streets, he hummed a cheerful tune to himself and smiled at passersby. The sun was warm and bright, the birds were chirping delightfully, as if greeting him. The smell of pastries from a nearby bakery wafted to his nose and he chuckled to himself. The colorful street shops were tempting him to drop by and take a look. And those lovely tomatoes sold at the market! How he'd love to eat one right now. He glanced at the basket of fishes in his hand. "Fish! Fish!" He cooed with a dreamy smile. Just think, he and these fishes would have the time of their lives touring around the city. Surely, Bella would enjoy all the stories they'd be sharing afterward. But still…why dead fishes? He really didn't know.
"Fish! Fish!" Antonio continued to croon in a loud, cheerful voice. The market loomed nearer in view and he added a skip to his step. Where oh where could the tomatoes be? Those lovely red- oh wait, he still had to show the fishes around the market, like Bella asked him to. "Fish! Fish!" Women buying their groceries would sometimes glance his way or flash him accommodating smiles of their own. Some of the older women would tilt their heads his way and one of them even peered into his basket. Perhaps they knew who the dead yet still fresh fishes belonged to? "Fish! Fish! Look, we're at the market now." Antonio raised the basket high and grinned. He skipped along the crowded streets, the noise from the market buzzing in his ears.
"Hey! You with the basket of fish, stop!" a voice shouted amidst the raucous, busy buyers and sellers. Antonio slackened his pace before halting completely to turn his head in the direction of the voice. A boy about the same age as he was running towards him. "Si?" "Y-you-" the other boy huffed as he finally stopped to catch his breath, glaring at Antonio with dark emerald eyes. Antonio offered another smile as he waited for the other to start talking again. The other kid looked sort of cute with a pale blond mop of hair framing his face and complementing his eyes, if only he didn't have such horridly thick eyebrows ruining it all. "Si?" Antonio prodded gently when the other boy finally straightened up to dust his shirt.
The blond with the caterpillar eyebrows frowned a little before speaking up, "H-how much?" At this, Antonio blinked. And blinked in silence some more. "Are you deaf? I asked how much." By now, the other boy was growing impatient at his silence. "Para que?" It seemed the blond only grew more irritated at Antonio's sudden reverting to his native Spanish. The mist of confusion still lingered in his head as he tried to comprehend. "How much are you willing to sell the fish for?" the other kid all but screamed at him.
And there it was, another tomato to his face.
"Huh? But these aren't for sale." Antonio replied simply. A shrug of his shoulders emphasized his point. It was the blond boy's turn to look surprised. His huge eyebrows shot up in shock and he reddened, although from embarrassment or anger, Antonio didn't know.
"B-but, you were calling out! You were selling those fishes just a while ago, shouting, 'Fish! Fish!' all over the marketplace. Now you're suddenly changing your mind? Is this because of my eyebrows again?" This time the blond boy was huffing in anger, glaring darkly at the bewildered Spaniard.
"But these really aren't for sale! We're just going around town." Antonio reasoned out, seeing that the blond kid was wanting very much to hit his face right now for the embarrassment caused. Then a brilliant idea crossed his mind just as the other boy's face was inches from his face, and those horrible eyebrows nearly touching his own.
He grinned amiably at the other's angry face and exclaimed, "Wanna come along?"
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think. The next part will be about Spain and Romano. Also, I had to make Bella at least a little more 'big sister'-like in this one. I enjoyed writing England. (He's still adorable, who cares about his eyebrows?)