Peace Maker - Chapter 176

Annabeth chuckled as the little baby clutched her finger. She looked down at the little child in her hand and then back up at Antonio. “Come here.”

Antonio flinched, his cheeks heating up immediately at Annabeth’s words. “W-What?”

Annabeth looked up at him, her eyebrows rising in curiosity. “You don’t want to come?” she asked to which Antonio stared at her blankly, his eyes falling to the baby in her hands and then back up to her face.

He stepped back a bit. “Ah… no…” he muttered, a nervous chuckle leaving his lips. “I’m not that good with babies… I’ve never actually been in close contact with them before so I’m not sure if I’d be that much of a good presence around them.”

Annabeth grinned, standing up from her position on the ground. “Well then,” she muttered looking down at the baby in her hand for a moment. She shook its little arms with a bright smile on her face. “Should we go to him then, sweetie?”

Antonio’s shoulder’s lowered for a moment when he saw her smile. It was like a spell over him. He couldn’t look away from it. When she started moving towards him, however, he flinched again, his eyes widening as they locked on hers.

“I don’t think this is the best idea…” Antonio chuckled nervously when he looked at the baby.

Annabeth burst into laughter, the baby in her hands giving a cute giggle to match. “Who said I was going to let you hold her by yourself? I’m not crazy haha,” she teased, “I’m already doing a lot by being in the room, let alone let an inexperienced person hold her.”

Antonio chortled nervously, his hand touching the back of his neck and eyes avoiding Annabeth’s gaze when she stood in front of him. “So I’m not going to hold her at all?”

“Didn’t say that either,” Annabeth grinned stepping closer to Antonio.

It was too much for him. The visuals, the setting, her smile, and even her presence. Everything about her and this moment were just too much for him but… his eyes looked down at her and the baby. That was what made it all the more beautiful.

“Come here,” Annabeth asked again, her eyes locking with Antonio’s.

This time, his body moved on reflex, stepping right in front of her immediately. They stayed in eye contact for a moment, stuck. The baby makes a little chuckle, drawing Annabeth’s attention to it, the daze in her eyes clearing a bit. She chuckled and then looked up to Antonio, flinched when she noticed he was already looking at her.

Then she felt it, a twinge of nervousness, like a little dot of emotion that confused her for a moment. It was for less than a second, but at that moment she noticed the pink of his cheeks and the brightness of his eyes. It was stifling, bright, and intensely appealing. Like a whirlpool almost, drawing her in without her permission.

She blinked it away.

“Hold out your hand,” she asked, looking down at the baby who stared up at her with sparkling eyes. She smiled. ‘Yea… it’s just normal, just like these little baby’s eyes. Nothing to get flustered by.’

Antonio immediately complied with her words and spread out his hands sharply, his hands almost hitting the baby. Annabeth swatted it away in time.

“Woah! Be careful!” She warned, her eyes looking up at Antonio’s immediately with alarm. He stared back at her with fear in his eyes.

“I-I- I AM SO SORRY! I KNEW I SHOULDN’T HAVE GONE NEAR THE BABY! I’LL LEAVE RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANT ME TO! I’M SO SOR-” He began, his voice being cut off by a light chuckle.

He paused, his eyes looking at Annabeth with nervousness and curiosity. “Wha-”

“You’re so scared!” She teased, “such a scaredy-cat.”

Antonio blushed, pulling down his hands. “See… I told you I’m not good with babies.”

“Nono, don’t say that,” Annabeth giggled, holding the baby carefully in one hand as she grabbed his gently, “how would you know what you haven’t tried.”

“I’m not trying to cause an accident trying to figure that ou-”

“Trust me,” Annabeth interrupted, reassuring Antonio with her eyes, her grip on his hands tightening momentarily.

He blushed and nodded his head meekly to which Annabeth nodded her head reassuringly.

She stepped closer to Antonio, holding out the baby in front of her slightly. Then she pulled his hands closer to her gently and rearranged them into a more fashionable manner for holding a baby.

She looked up at him who was already looking down at her with calm eyes. His arm trembled when their eyes met. She chuckled, “Ok make sure to stand very still, I’m going to let you touch the baby now.”

Antonio stiffly nodded his head and looked down at the baby in her arms as she took one more step towards him and then moved the baby towards him, placing her hand underneath his forearm and her other hand shifting to hold the baby’s legs as she laid her gently in Antonio’s hands.

Antonio flinched from Annabeth’s close contact, feeling her lukewarm hands on his arm and some strands of her hair brushed against his head when she bent over to look at the baby. He turned away immediately, his grip on the situation slowly breaking.

“Look, Antonio,” Annabeth muttered, her gentle voice snapping his head back to her. “Isn’t she so cute?”

Antonio’s eyes followed her gaze, his eyes running over her features, from her deep-green eyes to the nice slope of her nose and to the few pieces of hair that leaned forward with her face when she moved. A slight smile appeared on his face when she grinned, his eyes so transfixed on her every movement.

“Hey… I told you to look,” Annabeth pouted, her head turning to look up at Antonio. Their eyes met almost immediately, “Don’t you want to see the cute baby-”

Instinctively, Antonio’s left hand slid out from under her hand that held the baby’s leg and rose up to her face. There it froze for a moment before continuing its movements towards her face, his warm hands taking the loose stands and brushing them behind her ears. She shuddered when his hand brushed against her ears for a moment, his warm and rough fingers sending a shiver down her spine.

“I do want to see,” Antonio grinned, his eyes moving directly from her hair to the baby in her arm, his hand sliding back underneath Annabeth’s hand and holding it softly.

He leaned forward to look at the baby, his smile growing brighter when he locked eyes with the baby. “Hi cutie,” he greeted.

Annabeth stared at him for a moment, her heart clenching for a moment. ‘What the-‘ she muttered, her head turning to the baby immediately to distract herself from the loud thump that resonated in her chest.

Their heads leaned closer to each other, touching each other very lightly as they both looked down at the baby. The baby stared up at the both of them, her eyes switching from Antonio to Annabeth and then back to the both of them. After a moment of examining, she smiled, her chubby arms reaching up to touch their cheeks as she giggled.

“Ohh~ look at you being so adorable do you like this?” she asked the baby, her head shaking slightly and her eyes squinting lovingly at the child.

The baby giggled again, her chubby hands brushing against both Antonio and Annabeth’s faces. “How cute you are,” Antonio chuckled, his gaze softening into the same emotion in Annabeth’s eyes.

“And innocent too,” Annabeth added, her voice trailing off for a moment before she continued.  “I hope you stay that way for a longggg time!”

Antonio chuckled, “Me too.”

They both stayed there for a moment playing with the baby until a thought crossed across Antonio’s mind. “Is that why you like kids so much?” he asked as he locked eyes with the baby, “because of their innocence?”

Annabeth paused for a moment, like she was trying to decide whether or not she could answer the question. She was. “Hm.. no. More of the reason that I like their presence. They aren’t overbearing, they don’t ask too many questions and they don’t judge my outfits and even best of all, I don’t have to worry about whether or not they’ll spread words about me the moment I leave,” she smiled lightly. “It’s the beginning of their life. The moment where their innocence is the only thing they have and the only thing they need to worry about except from eating.”

“So you feel the most at ease with them?” Antonio replied.

“Yea… I want to be like them,” Annabeth chuckled. “Carefree and cute.”

Antonio turned to her, his eyes running up her features. ‘Well you’re already one of those…’ he thought to himself.

“What about y-” Annabeth turned her head abruptly, freezing when she faced Antonio, flinching from how clear his eyes seemed to be when their eyes met. “-ou..” He was close.