Upon leaving the store, Antonio made his way to the hostel he had booked at the last minute, which was conveniently close to the fashion district. He checked in quickly and strolled into the common room, glad to find there weren't too many people there. He had been to crowded hostels before, and it was rarely ever a good time. 

He put his new suit in his locker, making sure his padlock was fastened properly. There was no way he was letting an Armani suit get nicked. He gave a few polite waves to some kids who looked like they had just finished high school. Definitely British, he thought, noticing the boy's Man United jersey with disdain. 

There was an empty bottom bunk in the dorm, which he quickly made sure to claim by making the bed and writing his name on the adjacent whiteboard. Sitting back down on his bed, he plugged his phone into the outlet and checked his messages. His mother had sent him a text to remind him to eat. He then noticed a text from Feliciano asking if he had made it to the store alright. Antonio gave him an update, as promised, and smiled as the Italian sent back a gif of a man dancing victoriously. Antonio was feeling just as triumphant. 

Not really knowing what else to do and also feeling exhausted from the nonstop movement, Antonio decided to take a nap. He had a few hours to spare anyway. Getting comfortable, Antonio laid his head down on the pillow and prepared to knock out. 

After a few hours, Antonio eventually woke up to the sound of a pair of friends bickering about who would have to sleep on the top bunk. An unnecessarily loud game of rock paper scissors was their method of choice. Although mildly grumpy because of the premature wake-up, Antonio was already heavily invested in this game. The match was meant to be best of 3. They were tied. Antonio watched on as the American threw out a rock, and his British friend fell to a pair of scissors. 

"Git" the Brit grumbled, annoyed at the outcome. 

"You mean git your ass on that top bunk!" the American shot back, eliciting a laugh from Antonio. The two looked over at him as if they had just seen a ghost. 

"Oh my god have you been in here the whole time?" the Brit asked, "We are so sorry."

"It's all good" Antonio replied, shooting them both a smile. The two looked back at one another with a look that could only mean they were both dying of embarrassment. Antonio decided getting out of there would be his best course of action. He grabbed his phone and his other belongings quickly and made his way back to the lockers. 

He had to leave within the hour to get to Lovino's apartment in time for dinner, so he stood for a moment, pondering what to wear. He had only really packed super casual clothing, which Lovino had mocked him for earlier in the day. But he wasn't going to wear the suit, as that would be entirely too formal. Antonio was not one to typically overthink, but he was beginning to lose it. Was he going to look too casual? What is one supposed to wear to a reunion dinner with their long lost childhood love anyway?

Taking a moment to relax, Antonio unlocked the locker and shoved his bag inside. He wasn't going to change. Authenticity was more important to him anyway. 

On his way to Lovino's apartment he stopped by an enoteca to pick up a bottle of wine. Already a bit frazzled because he was on the way to dinner, the Spaniard was quickly overwhelmed by the large selection of wine. He decided to pick one at random, not really recognizing any of the labels. After checking out in his slightly panicked, broken Italian, Antonio was back on his way to Lovino's apartment. 

After walking for a bit and occassionally looking down at his phone to make sure he was heading in the right direction, Antonio found the orange building Lovino had described over text. Heading through the heavy oak doors, he made his way up the creaky staircase to the third floor and knocked on Lovino's door. 

The door swung open and revealed Lovino, who looked far more casual than when he was at work. Antonio was still somehow intimidated. It must've been the apron. 

"I'm still cooking so feel free to sit down wherever" Lovino greeted, waving a wooden spoon in the air as Antonio awkwardly held his wine in the doorway. 

"Hello to you to" Antonio muttered jokingly under his breath, almost glad they skipped pleasantries. Lovino's lack of care for polite conversation made him feel a bit more comfortable. It felt as if he had never left. It was the same old Lovino who wouldn't hesitate to trip him during their race to the gelateria after school. The same Lovino who would jump on Antonio's bed without taking his sneakers off. The same Lovino who would intentionally tell you exactly how annoyed he is with you at the exact moment he feels annoyed. It was an absurd level of bluntness that Antonio had been desperately missing since returning to Spain. No one quite did it like Lovino. 

"You can put the wine on the table" Lovino stated with an air of confidence that suggested he had been expecting Antonio to arrive with wine. Antonio obliged, moving forwards to put the wine down on the rustic wooden table in front of him. Lovino shot him an annoyed glance. "Wrong table."

Antonio let out a hearty laugh. "Where do you expect me to put it?" Antonio asked incredulously, a wide grin appearing across his face as he realized Lovino was putting up his classic aloof act. He used to do this when they were younger. Any time Lovino was feeling shy or uncomfortable, he would immediately talk very curtly and act like a tough guy. Antonio was starting to realize that not much had changed in so many years. Suddenly he was far less intimidated. 

"There's a table on the balcony" Lovino replied as if Antonio had been there before. Antonio continued to smile to himself at the ridiculousness of the Italian and picked the wine bottle back up off the table. Looking around Lovino's unbelievably homey apartment, Antonio noticed the open window in his living room. Ducking his head down a bit to fit through, Antonio took a step out onto the quaint balcony. He set the wine down on the small table that Lovino had set up with a potted plant and some dinnerware. The balcony had been decorated with old-fashioned lanterns and had a view overlooking Lovino's luxe neighborhood. It felt quite cozy. But also romantic?

Antonio shook the thought out of his head. An elegantly decorated balcony was not a romantic gesture, albeit his inner romantic felt otherwise. Snapping out of his admiration for Lovino's decorating skills, Antonio ducked back into the apartment and walked back towards the kitchen.   Lovino was turned towards the stove, stirring a pot as Antonio watched on, unsure about what to say. 

"You have a really nice view" Antonio decided on, regretting it almost immediately after it came out. 

"Thank you," Lovino replied, "they put me up here so I'd be closer to work." 

"Oh- very nice" Antonio muttered, "How did you decide to go into talent scouting?"

"I'm naturally judgemental and realized I would hate my life if I continued studying medicine instead of fashion" Lovino explained, eliciting a chuckle from Antonio. 

"Last time we spoke your only ambition was to work at the gelateria" Antonio joked. Lovino's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had recalled a long forgotten memory.

"And you wanted to work at the market because you thought you'd get free sodas!" Lovino exclaimed, expressing human emotion for the first time since Antonio had entered the apartment. Antonio smiled as he recalled their silly conversations. They wanted to work at the shops next to one another so they'd never be apart. Little did they know what the future held. 

"It's a shame I had to leave. We probably would've been running a criminal enterprise at this point" Antonio joked. 

"You're definitely overestimating our abilities" Lovino shot back, "Do you remember that one time we spilled tomato sauce all over your mother's white linens and tried to pretend that I had  fallen, cut my knees open, and bled all over them? Your mom looked for the wounds, found nothing, and we were caught immediately."

"I never said it'd be a successful criminal enterprise" Antonio replied. Lovino smiled fondly. The memories were rushing back as they recalled all the dumb shenanigans their family members had to witness. They stood in silence for a moment, ruminating on their adventures with knowing smirks. They really were the epitome of a chaotic duo. 

The sound of Lovino's cooking timer interrupted the silence, breaking both of them out of their zoned states of recollection. The Italian rotated back towards the stove, turning the stovetop off as Antonio watched on. 

"Need any help?" the Spaniard asked, attentively watching Lovino strain the pasta he had been boiling. 

"No no, you can go sit. I'll be out in a minute" Lovino replied, shooing Antonio away with the wave of his hand. Antonio nodded and walked out of the kitchen back towards the living room. Crawling back out onto the balcony, Antonio took a deep breath. Everything about this moment felt very surreal. Never would he have imagined a week prior that he'd be in Rome, eating dinner with Lovino Vargas. 

The mixture of the soft glow of the lanterns with the orange hue of the city streets made Antonio feel at ease. He had no idea why he had been so nervous to meet up with Lovino in the first place. The Italian was his best friend after all. No matter how many years had passed, that fact remained true. Not once had Antonio met another friend to hold all the love he felt for Lovino. It just remained there, in his heart, waiting to resurface upon their reacquaintance. Now was the time to get reacquainted.