if Arthur is going to give Gibraltar back any time soon...?

laughs at the mere thought of it. In other words: absolutely not.

pouts. But it's so small, and it's in the Spanish peninsula!

reminds Antonio that the people in Gibraltar voted against Spanish sovereignty. Twice.

that the situation might change if he offered them some delicious homemade Spanish food! Tortilla, paella, gazpacho, empanadas...yum!

not. But if Antonio is in the mood to share the food with him, he'd gladly open the doors to his home...

would love to share his food! He feels sorry for all those poor people eating fish and chips, after all. Especially those in Gibraltar...

disagrees. Fish and chips are just fine! And more dishes make up the English cuisine than that!

supposes that if fish and chips are 'just fine,' he won't have to share his food after all. Oh well, more for himself then!

demands that Antonio give him some food, or there will be an upset Englishman at his door relatively soon.

trying to figure out why an upset Englishman would show up at his door if he didn't give Arthur food. What?

Spanish food!

happy about that, but is still confused wondering what the upset Englishman has to do with any of this.

the upset Englishman. ): Upset and hungry.

finally gets it. Anyone would be upset from always eating British food. But it's okay, Spanish food makes everyone happy!

end you. Right... after he eats. So you better get ready, 'cause he's heading over to your house.

distressed and confused again. What did he do this time? Oh well, better get started on the food so it's ready by the time you arrive!

knocks on Antonio's door a few hours later, dressed in a clean white button down shirt and some slacks.

still has his apron on and is busy neatly placing some shrimp on top of the paella. "It's open, come in!"

steps inside, humming at the delicious scent of food. He heads over to the kitchen, rather hungry. "I didn't come too early, did I?"

smiles at Arthur. "Not at all! The paella still needs about 5 minutes, but the gazpacho is on the table along with some tapas I just made."

smiles slightly, looking rather pleased. "Anything I can do to help?"

doesn't really trust Arthur's cooking skills, so he nods towards some toothpicks on the table. "Could you put those on the tapas, please?"

nods, getting the toothpicks to do as he's instructed. (Damn Antonio. He could've made the paella taste so much better...!)

really hopes Arthur doesn't mess up with the toothpicks. He laughs, not even Arthur could be capable of messing that up! ...right...?

doing an excellent job of putting the toothpicks in! When he's done, he sits, waiting patiently for the paella. Damn Antonio for making his

food look so damn delicious...

walks to the table carrying the big paellera, and is relieved to see the tapas have survived Arthur. "There, now everything's ready!"

smiles a little, looking at all the food. "I really do appreciate that you've prepared all this for me."

happily smiles back, serving the gazpacho. "No problem! Big meals are always nice, but they're nicer with good company!"

chuckles, certainly appreciating being referred to as 'good company'. "Thank you," he says, and looks around, uncertain what to start eating

first. In the end, he goes with the gazpacho. "Mm... it's delicious, Antonio."

happy to hear the praise. "Thank you! I'm glad you like it!" He also begins with the gazpacho, but not before taking a pincho de tortilla.

nods, eating at a steady pace. Christ, it's been forever since he had some good food... (not that his food was bad!) "I've always liked it."

really likes how much Arthur is enjoying his food. And it was cooked in such a hurry! "Maybe you should come by more often! You're already

in a much better mood than before."

smiles slightly as he continues eating. "...Perhaps I will, since you've extended the invitation. The weather is far more pleasant here,

too."

really happy to hear this. A big part of his economy depends on tourism, after all! "Yes, the sun is really bright here, especially these

days! It's perfect for my tomatoes~"

shakes his head, just a little amused. "You and those tomatoes..."

swallows one of the tapas and gives Arthur a bit of a clueless look. "Eh? What about them?"

"Nothing. You just seem to like them a little too much."

laughs. "I don't just like them, I love them!"

chuckles. "Yes, I've figured that. You're lucky your weather can accommodate them so nicely."

nods. "Mhm. But it's a little more complicated to grow them in the winter, and sometimes there's droughts that can be really troublesome."

takes some paella, humming. "You ought to take half of my rain, then. It'd be lovely to be able to go out without an umbrella."

smiles as if all of his troubles are solved. "Then I'll ask you for some rain next time I need it!" He cheerfully munches on an empanada.

continues to eat, clearly enjoying the food. "It'd be nice if I really -could- give you some of my rain."

sorry for Arthur. To think this kind of food is rare for him... "If we both think about it and wish it really hard, maybe it could happen!"

chuckles, taking an empanada to eat. "That's a little childish, don't you think?"

shrugs. "We'll never know until we try!"

just shakes his head. "You can't think that it's actually possible..."

smiles and shrugs again. "How do you know it's not?"

raises an eyebrow. "...Because you can't control the weather."

blinks, still smiling. "But maybe it listens to us!"

scoffs, just continuing to eat. "And who are we, to command the weather?"

peels and eats one of the shrimp that was on the paella. "If we ask nicely and show how much we want it, I'm sure the weather will listen!"

can't believe that Antonio is serious. "...The weather... doesn't work like that, Antonio."

it's not going to work with Arthur being this way. "Ah well, you don't have to do it if you're so against it. I'll still give it a shot!"

chuckles, just... wow. "...I can look into my magic book, if you'd like."

stares. He believes in believing, but...magic? Well, if it will make Arthur try, then... "..okay! We should both try our hardest!"

nods, though he still thinks this is all very ridiculous... "Wouldn't too much rain kill your tomatoes, though?"

thought they had this figured out before. "Well, yeah. That's why I only want some of your rain, not all of it."

hums thoughtfully. It'd be difficult to control the weather using magic, but-- oh, bollocks. It likely wouldn't even work, anyway. "If you

say so..."

convinced about this plan. "If my tomatoes grow better when I talk to them, this has to work too!"

raised an eyebrow. "...You -talk- to your tomatoes? What do you even discuss?"

nods, because talking to tomatoes is obviously the most normal thing in the world. "Well, I tell them things I hear in the news, how my

day's been, what's on my mind...anything really."

can't help but chuckle a bit at that. "...I see. And this really makes them grow faster?"

nods again energetically. "Yes! And they grow bigger and taste better too. Look, there's the proof!" He points at the tomato slice on one of

the remaining tapas.

takes he tapas and eats it. He did have to admit, Antonio's tomatoes were always rather delicious... "And what does it taste like if you

-don't- talk to it?"

tries to remember, because now he always talks to his tomatoes! "Hm...less sweet. More bitter. And they're less juicy and a duller red."

doesn't... really believe that, but nods nevertheless. "I see. Well... continue talking to your vegetables then, I suppose..."

that he's doing good to the world by giving Arthur some advice on food. "Of course! You should try it too, I'm sure your cuisine

would improve!

shakes his head. "No thank you. My food is fine as it is, really."

inwardly cringes. No, it is not fine. It's far from being fine. "I see you talking to the air sometimes, so why not try it on the food too?"

huffs, frowning. "It's not the air, it's the fae. Don't offend them like that."

no idea what Arthur's talking about. "Ah...sorry. Still, give it a try! I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised."

shakes his head. "I'm afraid I've no time to talk to my food. To be frank, it sounds... a little ridiculous."

Arthur's got the wrong idea. "Oh, but it doesn't take any time at all! I just do it while I water the plants. It's also a

nice way to reflect upon your day. And while you're at it, you help your vegetables grow!

scoffs, still refusing. "I don't grow vegetables in my garden though, Antonio. I grow flowers. The vegetables, I leave for the farmers."

looks dejected "Oh, I see..." But then brightens up again as he realizes something. "Then talk to your flowers! They would grow prettier!"

chuckles a bit at how quickly Antonio brightened. "...They're already quite beautiful, though."

nods in understanding. "Of course. My tomatoes were beautiful too, but then they became even more beautiful. Really, it's possible!"

finishes off his food, smiling slightly in amusement "Ah, well... we'll see about that... but if there isn't any change, you'll owe me a

crate of tomatoes for all the wasted effort."

not risking giving his precious tomatoes to Arthur. ARTHUR. "But it's not an effort! It's actually fun,

and..." and Arthur's NOT wasting his precious tomatoes "and I just made you lunch didn't I? So that's like an early payment!"

shakes his head. "No, it doesn't count. If my flowers aren't more beautiful than they are now, you owe me tomatoes." And that was final!

planning a funeral for his lovely tomatoes, just in case. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, o brave, beautiful, tasty

tomatoes. "But you have to promise you'll try your very best, or else it won't work!"

chuckles. "Yes, yes, alright, I promise." Like hell he was. Free tomatoes!