Since he hadn't been properly looking at the menu, it took Berwald a minute to respond. He didn't know Italian food well anyway; this place had been a suggestion from Mathias who was always trying to butt into his life more than necessary. "Spaghetti 'n meatballs," he said finally since it looked simple and at least half way familiar. "...you?" he asked after another minute of silence.

Antonio just smiled in response before tilting his head and humming with innocence. "I was hungry?" They both knew that he came to see Lovino though. He said as much with his eyes even if he needed to keep the lie up for the sake of the other's grandpa. Hopefully, Lovino wasn't upset at him for real.

"Um..." Tino looked back down at the menu at the pasta selections. "Chicken Carbonara sounds pretty good." he eventually said. He didn't really know Italian food very well either. Unless it was like take-out. Not anything that you could get from a restaurant. Though he was sure this was going to be way better than take-out.

A light, barely noticeable blush formed on Lovino's face. "You'll have to order something if you want to be here." He told him. It didn't matter what he ordered. He just had to have something in front of him so that Romulus wouldn't be able to kick him out. Which he probably would do if he didn't get something.

Berwald hummed some sort of half-assed excuse of an answer that was supposed to be words, but didn't sound like words at all. He found himself staring at Tino for a second before he made himself look down. He knew staring at people was bad. He didn't mean to look so stern, but it was his natural face after all. Although this was their first date and he should be making a good impression, he had no idea how to go about doing that.

Antonio huffed as as he internally cried with glee at the small flush on Lovino's face. "Of course I planned to! It would be sad not to help your business." He even brought his wallet for the occasion which was more than you could say for most days. Without looking at the menu, he counted off a few things on his fingers. "I want some bread, a glass of red wine, and...ooh, those fried cheese stick things!"

Lovino wrote down what Antonio ordered. "That will be ready in just a moment." He told him before taking the order to the kitchen. With that done, he went back to the most recent table and stopped. "Are we ready to order?" He asked, holding his pen at the ready. He wanted to get the over with so that he could go spend time with Antonio. Not that he would ever admit that to that bastard.

Tino felt himself fidgeting as Berwald stared at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when nothing came out. When the waiter came it was a relief. He turned his attention to the man. "I'll have the Chicken Carbonara." he told him, smiling slightly. He tried to think of something to talk to Berwald about once the waiter was gone.

Berwald ordered the Spaghetti, but even though so much time passed, he still didn't have anything to say. He didn't show it, but this whole thing made him nervous. He opened his mouth once. Nothing came out. Somehow or other, he ended up with his phone in his lap, opened to the site they met on as he looked for something to talk about. Once he found something, he cleared his throat and spoke without lifting his head because that would make things worse. "Your profile says ya 'ave a dog...?"

Antonio stretched back in his seat and watched Lovino's every move. He looked good in his work clothes, though he'd probably get hit for saying that. Really, it was fun hiding behind the grandfather's unhappy eye, but it'd be nice to be accepted too.

Tino watched as the waiter wrote down their orders and walked away. Then he turned his attention to Berwald. After a moment when it appeared he wasn't going to speak, he instead looked around the place again, watching the people around them. When the taller man did so am, h jumped slightly not expecting it and turned his attention back to him. "Yes, that's right. Her name is Hanatamago. But I just call her Hana. I adopted her from a shelter when she was a puppy. She's my little baby." He said.

Lovino took their orders to the kitchen. He went around looking for anybody who need something before bringing Antonio his order. "Here you go, bastard." He said as his set the food and wine in front of the Spaniard.

Berwald smiled a bit at that. "Cute," he murmured. He had a fondness for dogs himself and had one as a kid, but one seemed like too much of an addition to his household now. With quick glances, he looked at Tino over the rim of his glasses. He looked comfortable talking about the dog and since Berwald had nothing else to say, he nodded his head to encourage the other to keep talking. This would go so much easier if he didn't have to create all the conversation. "Hanatamago?"

When Lovino came back with the food, Antonio smiled softly at him, wishing they could be alone if only for a minute. "Thanks. It looks yum," he said before picking up one of the cheese sticks. He offered it to Lovino with a bright smile. "Want one?"

"Yeah.. When I was naming her I wanted to name her Go For It! Bomber!, Sardine-Panic, or Bloody-Hanatamago. Which I thought would be great names for her. But the guy said that it would be weird to name her any of those so I settled for Hanatamago." Tino explained. He didn't understand why the guy at the shelter didn't like his chosen names. They sounded cool.

"I can't eat while I'm working." Lovino stated, taking it anyway. He didn't care if Romulus didn't want the employees eating while they were working. At least, not the servers. He knew for a fact that the people who worked in the kitchen snuck a few bites every now and then. Besides, he was hungry he thought as he ate it, not caring that it was hot.

Berwald snorted at the names, sounding the most relaxed he had since the date started. Tino talked in such an carefree way, sounding excited about such a little thing. It contrasted with his own self. "I like 'em," he stated. And he really did. Silly as they were, they were fun names. "'Specially sardine-panic."

Antonio laughed a bit, though he really was glad Lovino accepted the gift. It meant he wanted to be with him right now too. "Don't say you can't and then best it anyway," he chided like he actually cared. "Aren't I such a bad role model? You grandpa will never like me now." He sighed as some of his smile fell. "I really wish you were sitting across from me right now, not working."

Tino beamed at him. "Thank you! I'm glad someone agrees with me." He told him. He was feeling much better than he was at the beginning of the date where he felt mostly intimidated by Berwald. But he could see that he was a good guy. He just had a hard time showing that. "Do you want to see a picture of her?" he asked, already pulling out his phone and finding a good picture for him and handing the phone over.

"He already hates you. Though I don't understand why. You're way better than the macho potato bastard Feli is dating who he has no complaints against. That just isn't fair." Lovino said. He looked around for a second. "If you give me a couple minutes I should be able to take a break for a while. N-Not that I want to spend time with you. I just want to sit down for a while."

Berwald barely had a chance to nod before Tino pushed the phone over to it. He took it gingerly in one large hand and looked at the fluffy little white thing on the screen. His answering grunt could be interpreted as amusement, though most didn't listen close enough to hear such nuances. "Cute. She looks happy," he said before pushing the phone back over. He found himself missing the feeling of having a pet in the house.

"I'm trying to make him like me more!" Antonio whined. He never did anything wrong in the first place. Was it because he worked in a club that he had I'll repute, but he was a DJ, not something awful. Really it made no sense to him. The comment about the 'potato bastard' left Antonio falling into laughter. "Come on, he's not that bad! Ah seriously Lovi..." He shook his head with a fond smile before patting the seat next to him. "Well I'll be waiting here when you get your break."

"I'd hope she was happy. I give her lots of love every day." Tino said, taking the phone back and looking at the photo for a moment, a fond smile on his face before putting it back in his pocket. He really did love his baby. "Do you have any pets?" he asked. He knew Berwald's profile had said he hadn't. But sometimes people didn't put that down so he was curious.

"R-Right." Lovino stuttered. He left and gathered up the most recent order and carried it to the table. "Here you go gentlemen. Enjoy your meal." he told them as he set them down while thinking to himself how much he hated being forced to be nice to people. But he wasn't allowed to be his normal rude self. After that, he got himself some food after informing Romulus he was going on break before returning to Antonio's table and sitting next to him.

Berwald shook his head. "Peter wants one," he said without thinking. The boy did after all and Berwald told him no because he had no responsibility despite saying he did. Berwald forgot that Mathias urged him not to mention he had a son on his profile though because he'd never get a date then. Children killed dating potential.

Antonio barely touched his food while he waited, preferring instead to make this a social meal. He hated to eat alone from the start, so why start now if he'd have a cute Lovi at his side soon? "Ah, you're back!" he grinned when Lovino sat. "Would you like another cheese stick?" he asked and held it out, fully intending for the other to bite it out of his fingers.

"Peter? Who's that?" Tino asked, confused by that. There were many possibilities on who that could be. Anywhere from being a brother to a friend to a boyfriend. He really hoped it wasn't the last one. He would hate himself if he was on a date with someone who was already in a relationship. He never considered the possibility that it could be Berwald's son. That would be something that would have been on his profile, right?

Lovino could tell that Antonio was intending for him to eat it out of his fingers. But there was no way he was going to do that. At least, not in public where there was a chance Romulus would see them. Didn't need to give him any more reasons to hate the Spaniard. Instead, he just reached out to take it.

Berwald froze. Oh, he shouldn't have said that. But really, he thought Mathias' advice was wrong. Even if the date ended now, he thought his partner deserved to know about his son because he could never date anyone that didn't want Peter to be a part of their life. Staring down at the table, he finally answered. "...My son. Shoulda mentioned 'm before..." He knew Tino would frown at him, probably leave, but he still had to say it.

Antonio pouted long an hard, waiting for Lovino to eat the cheese. When he tried to reach for it instead, he held out tighter, but eventually let go when it seemed Lovino wouldn't play his game. He'd rather let the other eat than keep playing. "I bet you get hungry working around food all day. I'm just being helpful," he said with a soft smile.

"You have a son?! How old is he? Do you have a picture?" Tino asked, excited about this. Sure, this was something Berwald should have put on his profile. But he was telling him now, so it was okay. From the way the other man looked, he appeared to think the Fin was going to leave for this. But there was no way he was going to leave. He loved kids! That's why he became a kindergarten teacher.

"I know. But you can't do things like that where Nonno could see. I don't want to make his opinion of you any worse." Lovino told him, eating the cheesy bread. The realized what he said would almost be a compliment and that would ruin his image. He had to fix that. "N-Not that I really care, tomato bastard.." he stuttered. There, that was better he thought to himself, eyes down and a light blush on his face.

This reaction baffled Berwald. Was Tino...excited? He glanced up, just staring for a second as he absorbed the reaction. "Yeah...he's twelve." He reached pulled out his phone again and flipped to a picture Peter took of himself, or one of the many such pictures on his phone. The kid seemed to think it was amusing. "I adopted him three years ago," he added as he gave the other his phone. After all, a twelve-year old kid seemed a little old for him.

"I don't think we can make his opinion worse!" Antonio whined. "Come on, help me think of a way to make him like me. There's got to be a way!" Considering he never did anything wrong in the first place that he knew of. Reaching out to take Lovino's hand, he smiled. Of course Lovino cared. It showed in all of his gestures. "Because I want to be with you and I want everyone to accept that."

Tino was surprised when Berwald told him Peter was twelve. He was expecting a younger child considering the other man's age. But him being adopted made sense. He took the phone from the other and looked at the picture. "He's adorable." He told him, giving him a small smile. He looked at the phone for another moment before handing it back and looking down. Only in that moment did he realize their food had arrived. He hadn't even noticed! He took a bite of it, not wanting it to get cold before he could eat it.

"Who cares what the old man thinks. He just doesn't want me to be happy." Lovino stated, taking a bite out of his pasta. He was convinced of this fact. If Romulus wanted him to be happy, he would accept who he was dating like he did for Feliciano. But it was obvious who the favorite was and nothing he did would ever change that.

A slight, rueful grin curved up Berwald's lips. "Don't tell 'em that. Got a big head already." He shook his head, just thinking about his preteen kid. Peter could be such a handful, but he couldn't imagine his life without the kid either. After pocketing his phone again, he pulled his food closer and eyed it. It wasn't quite like the Swedish meatballs he was used to, but pasta was pasta. He took a bite. "S'not bad."

Antonio pouted at that, wanting very much to pull Lovino into his arms right then. But that wouldn't help anything. "Don't say that. He's your grandpa and he loves you. Of course he wants you to be happy!" He doubted very much that Romulus was the sort to doing something spiteful to one of his kids. Family was family and he always believed that they should stick together and love each other no matter what.

Tino hummed in agreement that he wouldn't say anything about it to Peter, knowing he probably would anyway if he ever met the kid. He just couldn't help it. Kids were adorable and he couldn't stop himself himself from cooing over them. "It is very good. Do you want to try mine?" he asked, holding out a bite for the other to take.

"If you say so.." Lovino said, a bit doubtful. He thought about how Romulus had already all but welcomed the damn potato bastard Feli was dating into the family even though they'd only been dating a short while. While he and Antonio had been dating much longer and all his boyfriend got was glared at for being near him in any way. He really didn't understand his grandpa's reasons for this. Though he must surely have a reason, right?

Berwald stared at the bite for a good many seconds. No matter how much he longed for these kinds of moments, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed by them. Gingerly, he used his fork to move the bite onto his plate before he ate it, because that was the most he could manage. He nodded once. "Good." After another second, he moved his plate closer to offer Tino a bite of his since that was polite after tasting some of his and Berwald was nothing if not polite.

"I do," Antonio said. His simple response held no hesitation, only conviction. He didn't need to shout because it just was. Shaking his head, he continued to look at Lovino with a soft smile. "I think you're wonderful and one day, everyone will know it and accept it." He had no doubts.

Tino as a bit disappointed by the way Berwald took the bit of food. He had been hoping the other would eat it off his fork. That's what people did on dates, right? He couldn't remember. This was his first date in a while. He kept a smile on his face though so that the other wouldn't notice his disappointment as he took a bite from the other's plate. "It is good." he agreed.

Lovino could feel himself blushing at Antonio's words. He offered the other man a small smile before he realized that he was starting to get mushy. He stuffed some food in his mouth and turned his head away while he chewed, his cheeks still red. He wished he could be as sure about things as the Spaniard was. But there was always a small bit of doubt in the back of his mind.

Berwald fell into silence as he continued eating. Really, he felt so happy this date was going so well. He didn't expect it and yet Tino still seemed interested. Considering how much more comfortable he was with online communication, most people would be bored by now. In most cases, he would not already be this comfortable. "'M really happy ya met with me," he said suddenly. Tino needed to know just how badly he didn't want to mess this up.

Antonio enjoyed every bit of the other's mushiness. He didn't say anything though, just ate in silence with most of his attention on Lovino. It turned out so worth it to get him to sit down and talk. After a minute, Antonio forced himself to ask the question he was thinking. "When does your break end?"

Tino jumped slightly when Berwald suddenly spoke. He had not been expecting that. He felt himself blushing at the other's words and he offered the man a smile. "I'm happy we're meeting too." he told him. He really was. Berwald seemed like such a nice guy despite the fact that he looked extremely intimidating. But he wanted to know the man beneath the tough exterior, no matter what it takes.

Lovino was enjoying the silence but looked at his watch when Antonio's question. "I've got time still." he told him. Though it was a lie. His break ended five minutes ago. But, he was still eating and he wasn't ready to leave the Spaniard alone just yet. He was enjoying being with him, whether he admits it or not.

Not having anything good to say to that, Berwald just nodded his head. If be were the sort of man to blush though he would be. Berwald stared down at his plate. Since he sat in silence for so long, he managed to eat it all but he was still hungry. He looked at Tino and found himself wanting to know as much of his tastes as possible. "...want dessert? " he hesitated.

Antonio quirked one eyebrow. He of course had special skills with reading Lovino's lies, but he decided not to call his boyfriend out on it. After all, Antonio exclaimed enjoyed their time together just as much. But it was a little boring because he couldn't mess with the cute male like he might at home. Flicking a bread ball at Lovino, he let out a whine. "Am I going to be the one who gets in trouble? "