Spain X Reader ART TRADE

Antonio Fernández Carriedo is not fond of the cold.

He moved here from Spain over the summer, and he enjoyed the extreme and warm weather. He worked on his garden constantly, which is what first drew you to your olive-skinned neighbor. Well, the first thing that caught your eye is that Antonio is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, basically a picture of perfection, but the care he gave his precious garden absolutely brought you head over heels for him. Besides, he grew the best tomatoes in your whole entire town, which is how you met.

Your best friend, Circe, is the flirty kind, and when she laid her eyes on the sexy Spaniard, she was absolutely sold. She wanted him. So, she spent a whole weekend throwing out her best moves, but Antonio isn't the brightest crayon in the box, so he completely missed what she was trying to do and invited her in. She was completely devastated by his unknowing rejection (and she keeps trying and failing, actually), but she did mention that he had her taste one of his tomatoes, and they're absolutely delicious.

So, naturally, being a vegetarian, you wanted to try one of these delicious fruits/vegetables…but by that point, Antonio had been your next door neighbor for nearly two months, and you were way you shy to say a word to him. All you could do is admire him as you worked on your own garden of vegetables and fruits and flowers, wishing you could get your tomatoes to his level.

And then you decided to steal a tomato.

It took you two weeks to build up the courage to do that.

There isn't a fence that separates his yard and yours, so when you thought he was out, you sauntered over, squatting down to look at his tomatoes. You knew the other neighbors constantly took some of his tomatoes without asking, you figured you really shouldn't have such a heavy conscience. You grasped a ripe tomato and were about to pull it when…when he stepped out.

"¿Que haces?" he asked as he leaned against the door frame to his back door.

Your face shot up in color as you stood, and suddenly, you were forced to speak or forever have to face the agony of having him as your neighbor. You racked your brain to decipher his Spanish, and his green eyes bore into you, imploring you to speak.

"Uh…well, you have lovely tomatoes!" He had asked "what are you doing"…right? "I was…just observing them. I hear they taste fantastic, and I am insanely jealous…because I have some…but they're not very big or as tasty as I hear yours are." You decided honesty was the best policy, and you simply "forgot" to mention that you were also planning to steal one of his tomatoes.

"Oh," he said, a grin spreading on his face. "¡Gracias! Do you want some?"

"Uh…what?" you asked, your hands going limp.

Was it really this easy?

"¿Quieres unos tomates?" he says in Spanish.

You blink rapidly and nod, completely confused by his actions.

Antonio went into his house and came back out with a basket. He got out a few of his best tomatoes for you, placing them in the basket, and he handed the basket to you.

"Here," he said cheerily. "Enjoy!"

And that is how you two became friends.

You were a nervous wreck around him at first, battling between your desire to be his friend and your huge crush on him. He often came over and gave you some vegetables from his garden, especially his tomatoes, and he would in turn get some from your garden, which he admitted he admired (though you still find it hard to believe, since it is nothing compared to his masterpiece). He often made conversation with you, getting you to open up to him until you were entirely comfortable with him.

He admitted his tomatoes, the heat, and you were the things that made is stay here the absolute best (you blushed like crazy at that).

However, Antonio didn't anticipate the winters here. Even if it was sweltering during the summer, the temperatures quickly dropped during the winter, and it snowed constantly. Winter was the only time when you ate fruits and veggies from the market, and you normally didn't like to.

This is why Antonio is in your house tonight, huddled in a blanket as he teeth chatter and his whole body shakes. It is a pitiful sight, and he looks so miserable, you simply want to wrap your arms around him and tell him that it'll be all right, that you'll be there for him.

"W-why…is it so cold?" he says with a thick, Spanish accent.

Dear God, he has a sexy voice.

"It's winter," you say as you hand him a warm cup of cocoa. You feel really bad for him, but you're not exactly sure how to show it. "I guess it never really gets like this back in Spain, huh?"

He shakes his head as he drinks his cocoa, and when he pulls back, you see he has a bit of a mustache from the foam. You laugh lightly as your fingers lightly whisk the foam away before you realize that's a flirty move, and you shouldn't be flirting with him when your best friend is so desperate for his attention. He then catches your finger while you're lost in thoughts and licks the foam away, making your face the color of those tomatoes he treasures so bad.

You nearly jerk your hand back, holding it against your chest as your heart starts to pound. His face loses a bit of color at your reaction, and he seems to realize he went a little too far with that move.

Geez, what exactly is he trying to do? Is he teasing you?

"Hey, (name)…?" he says as he opens up space in the blanket, adding a smile to his words. "I heard body heat makes people that are cold regain their body heat faster. ¿Compartes?"

You try to shoo away the fury of blushes on your face as you nod because Antonio isn't used to this cold at all and you crawl towards him. You're only doing this because he happened to get stuck outside in the snow, and the power in his house blew out. Otherwise, you'd be running away from his embrace. He puts his arm around you, covering you completely with the blanket.

"You're so nice," he whispers before taking another drink of the cocoa. You can hear the sound of him gulping it down, can feel the warmth of the hot beverage wafting towards you. "Que rico," he muses, and you find yourself smiling a bit, entirely happy that you're doing this with him and that he is enjoying your cocoa.

He finishes it quickly.

Except then he simply puts the cup down on the floor and extends his feet out on the sofa. You move so that he can do that, nearly straddling him as you try to get off, but he simply pulls you down, letting you rest your head on his chest as your pillow. You squirm a bit until he asks you to stay and keep him company, and then you go completely still on top of him, wanting to hide your red face.

You spend the next few minutes with eyes wide open, listening to the rapid beats of his heart as he falls asleep.

But you don't mind the position.

Antonio's body is incredibly warm, and he smells really nice, like the earth and…tomatoes, and he makes you feel really safe and secure. Even if you're still really shy around him, you're happy that he likes to spend time with you. You're happy that you're sleeping with him. Honestly, for this one moment, you want to be entirely selfish and keep him entirely to yourself.

Only yours.

Dreaming about something that seems so impossible as the outgoing Spaniard falling in love with in the introverted you, you close your eyes and finally fall asleep…but it feels like five minutes, even if when you wake up, there is the brightness of the new day streaming in through your windows, the snow reflecting off tons of light.

"¿Has dormido bien, querida?" Antonio asks you as he feels you shifting underneath him.

"Huh?" you ask, looking up at him. You have no idea what he said, and you're pretty sure "querida" means…"love" or "sweetie" or something like that…but why would he say that to you?

"Did you sleep well?"

"Oh. Yes. I…uh…I'm sorry that I fell asleep on you. I was going to go upstairs to my room to sleep...but I guess I was drowsier than I thought." You sit up on him, realizing how intimate this position is, and you get off him, suddenly feeling…painfully cold. "Do you want breakfast?"

"What are you going to make?"

"What do you want?"

"Anything is fine," he answers.

"I can make you some scrambled eggs and grits with toast…but I don't have any meat, sorry. You know I'm a vegetarian," you say.

"I'm okay with whatever you want," he says as he gets out, heading over to you. He lightly grabs your chin, inclining your head back. "Do you prefer I cook?"

"B-but…you're my…my guest," you stammer out.

He grins at your response. "You're so cute when you're flustered." He lets go of you before heading into your kitchen, looking for the items to cook. "Espera," he tells you, and you sit down on one of the dining room seats, waiting anxiously.

He must be playing with your emotions. Does he know you like him? Maybe Circe found out and got jealous of your friendship, so she told him, and now he's teasing you. But why would she do that? She's a flirt, not a backstabber.

"I…I am going to go wash up," you quickly tell Antonio before heading upstairs for a quick shower and to wash your mouth.

You take a speed-shower. Usually, you take about fifteen or twenty minutes in the shower, but today you cut it down to less than five, and you're happy your hair isn't insanely long or anything. When you're done, you wrap the towel around you and brush your teeth before leaving the bathroom for your room so you can change.

"(Name), where are you? The food's…d…one…"

You look up and catch Antonio staring at you. Your whole face becomes really hot and red, and you start saying, "Uh…um…j-just…a moment…for…um…I'll be…there…just…wait." Then you rush into your room, locking the door.

You quickly go and throw your clothing and dress, towel-drying your hair quickly before going downstairs.

Antonio is at the table, and his face instantly goes bright red when he sees you. "(N)-(name)…" he blurts before he pulls out a seat for you. You sit down, thanking him, and he sits near you. "I…hope you like your food…querida."

He called you that word again.

You take a brazen step. "W-why…do you keep calling me that? The word 'querida'?"

He looks down at his plate. "Because I like you, (Name)."

"Of course. I mean, we're friends—"

"Te amo," he suddenly says, his face meeting yours. "Honestly, I was very happy when you came over to look at my tomatoes because it gave me an excuse to talk to you… Siempre he querido hablar con usted…but I never had the courage to…because…eres tan hermosa y reservada y…… I was shy, okay?"

"You were too shy to talk to me? But…you talk to everyone. You're always so outgoing and happy and loquacious…"

"But you're different…"

You guys sit in silence, staring at each other, before you take other leap of faith and stand, going over to him. You take him by the chin and suddenly press your lips against his. His arms going around your waist, and he brings you down onto his lap, kissing you back with more passionate force than you could ever muster.

This is your first real kiss…and you're happy it goes well.

When he pulls back with a grin, you smile and whisper the words, "Te amo tambien."

The grin on his face spreads, and he pulls you back in for another kiss.